BOOK REVIEW OF LIFE OF PI BY YANN MARTEL

This book review is written to find the strength and the weakness in Life of Piwhich is written by Yann Martel. “The Book Review of Life of Pi” is focusing on the content of the novel finding the strength and the weakness. The strengths are the plot and the main character named Pi, the weakness is the end of the novel. The plot conveys how the author describes all situations in this novel clearly and the main character shares readers about how to face the world and Pi shares lots of values in his life as a tough boy. The weakness is the end of the novel, Martel does not give an explanation about why Richard dumps Pi without saying goodbye at all. This novel conveys about anything that people think. A novel does not deliver any knowledge of life, but in this novel I read many valuable words

Recall error and recall bias in life course epidemiology

OBJECTIVES I propose a distinction between recall error and recall bias and examine the the effect of childhood financial hardship on adult health, subject to such recall problems. Studying the effect of childhood hardship on adult health is a prototypical investigation in life course studies where both non-clinical factors and long-duration processes are at play in determining health outcome. These factors and processes are often elicited retrospectively. Unfortunately, retrospective information on childhood hardship is often subject to recall error and recall bias. There is surprisingly little methodological work on how to purge their effects in retrospective life course studies. METHODS I recast a variant of generalised latent variable models as covariate error measurement model to purge recall error in life course study. Additionally, I recast the endogeneous treatment model as a solution to the problem of recall bias. I apply both models to examine the effect of childhood financial hardship on adult health status of more than 359,000 European respondents from 23 countries. In addition, I validate the solutions using the National Child Development Study cohort where both prospective and restrospective information are available. RESULTS Childhood financial hardship has a strong effect on adult health status. Once recall error is accounted for in a generalised latent variable model, the effect reduced by an order of magnitude though remain statistically significant. Applying the endogeneous treatment model of recall bias suggests that childhood hardship is systematically misreported by respondents. Once this bias is purged, the effect of childhood deprivation on adult health increased markedly. Such an increase is consistent with multiple direct and indirect pathways linking childhood hardship and adult health. CONCLUSION Problems of recall error and recall bias are common in life course retrospective studies. Applied to data from 23 European countries, the proposed solutions recover the effect of childhood hardship on adult health outcome.recall bias; generalised latent variable model; life course; childhood hardship; European Survey of Income and Living Conditions; EUSILC; NCDS

Neighbourhood social capital and individual mental health

Neighbourhood social capital is often claimed benecial for health, yet evidence of this contextual eect in the UK has been thin. To examine this eect, I draw upon Grossman health production model and Blume-Brock-Durlauf social interaction model underpinning the effects of neighbourhood social capital on individual health. This study uses two most recent independent surveys on neighbourhood social capital and on individual mental health in Wales. Both are linked based on neighbourhood. I nd that many forms of neighbourhood social capital, measured with widely used questions, improve resident's mental health (SF36). Public health practitioners have these measures as additional tools to draw upon in formulating public health policy.social capital; SF36; quality of life

Pembelajaran Operasi Hitung Aritmatika Sosial dengan Menerapkan Metode Computer Based Instruction (CBI) di panti Asuhan Talenta Delpita Medan

Perkembangan teknologi informasi pada generasi sekarang ini cukup luas dalam tujuan untuk mendukung kinerja manusia yang beraneka ragam. Salah satunya yang sudah menjadi kenyataan dalam perkembangan teknologi seperti komputer. Saat ini computer mempunyai peranan yang sangat penting terutama bidang  pendidikan. Seiring perkembangan jaman maka komputer menjadi satu-satunya pilihan tepat sebagai Media Pembelajaran yang sangat dibutuhkan oleh Panti Asuhan Talenta Delpita Medan dalam membantu penyampaian bermacam Materi Pelajaran kepada anak-anak khususnya Materi Operasi Hitung Aritmetika Sosial. Dengan demikian anak-anak dapat belajar secara mandiri tanpa harus di tuntun oleh Guru Matematika yang bersangkutan namun dapat di pandu oleh seorang pembimbing yang memahami cara pengoperasian computer. Metode ini disebut dengan istilah Computer Based Instruction (CBI) yaitu Sebuah pembelajaran terprogram yang  menggunakan komputer sebagai sarana utama atau alat bantu yang mengkomunikasikan  materi kepada anak-anak sehingga mudah dimengerti serta menambah semangat untuk belajar

The Effect Of Using Four Square Writing Method On Student’s Writing Descriptive Text At Smp Negeri 2 Percut Sei Tuan

Skripsi ini berfokus untuk mengetahui pengaruh penggunaan metode menulis empat persegi terhadap keterampilan menulis siswa di SMP Negeri 2 Percut Sei Tuan. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan rancangan kuantitatif eksperimental. Populasi penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 2 Percut Sei Tuan. Penulis ingin mengetahui perbedaan hasil tes menulis deskriptif siswa di kelas eksperimen dengan menerapkan Metode Four Square Writing dengan kelas kontrol tanpa menggunakan Metode Four Square Writing. Sampel penelitian ini berjumlah enam puluh siswa dari siswa kelas delapan SMP. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan dua kelompok purposive sampling yaitu Kelas Eksperimen dan Kelas Kontrol. Kelas eksperimen diajar dengan metode Four Square Writing, sedangkan kelas kontrol diajar tanpa Metode Four Square Writing. Instrumen pengumpulan datanya adalah ttest tulis. Penulis mengambil 30 siswa sebagai kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol mengajar 30 siswa. Data diambil dengan memberikan tes menulis. Tes yang digunakan adalah pre-test dan post-test untuk kedua kelas. Nilai rata-rata pre-test dalam metode Using Four Square Writing adalah 64,67 dan pre-test di kelas kontrol adalah 37,5. Nilai rata-rata post-test dalam menggunakan Metode Four Square Writing adalah 64,67 dan post-test di kelas kontrol adalah 37,5. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan uji-t. Hasil perhitungan menunjukkan bahwa t hitung (21,14) lebih besar dari t-tabel pada taraf signifikansi (?) 0,05 dengan derajat kebebasan (df) 58. Artinya terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan Penggunaan Penulisan Four Square Metode pada keterampilan menulis siswa. Jadi, hipotesis nol (H0) ditolak dan hipotesis alternatif (Ha) diterima

Utilization of NoSQL database for disaster preparedness

Ponencias, comunicaciones y pósters presentados en el 17th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science "Connecting a Digital Europe through Location and Place", celebrado en la Universitat Jaume I del 3 al 6 de junio de 2014.Nowadays, in the age of big data, geodatabases become more critical with respect to geospatial data volume, variety and capacity. It is required that geodatabases must be capable enough to cope with high stakes of geospatial data service during production, manipulation and publication stages. The concept of NoSQL database has been introduced as a potential alternative solution to existing SQL databases which is supposed to grow more rapidly in the near future. It has the prospective to combine the powerful capability of GIS data processing with an approach of non-relational Data Base Management System (DBMS). This type of data warehouse can potentially accommodate variety of information over the World Wide Web (www) space with different structures into one single geodatabase. MongoDB as one instance of NoSQL database introduces an open source document storage empowered by a replication using data partitioning approach across multiple machines. For the work described in this paper it has been used for the integration of open access geo-information by extracting geospatial information from a near real time earthquake service i.e. Geofon. Geospatial information is extracted from the Geofon uniform resource locator (url) then transferred into documents in MongoDB. This demonstrates the geospatial data integration in order to improve earthquake information contents as well as to enable GIS analysis approach using Python scripting environment in ArcGIS 10 platform. It shows a reliable performance even for handling a relatively big geographical names data from GEOnet Names Service (GNS)

IPTEK BAGI MASYARAKAT UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KETAHANAN PANGAN: PENERAPAN METODE SRI (SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION) DI KECAMATAN NAMORAMBE, KABUPATEN DELI SERDANG, SUMATERA UTARA

Meningkatkan produksi beras sebagai bahan pangan utama di Indonesia merupakan tantangan ketahanan pangan. Ketersediaan produksi dapat ditempuh tanpa harus meningkatkan penggunaan sumberdaya alam melalui peningkatan produktivitas lahan, mengingat masih besarnya kesenjangan antara produksi yang dihasilkan petani dan potensi yang dapat dicapai. Kegiatan pengabdian pada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan produksi padi di Kecamatan Namorambe, Kabupaten Deli Serdang, Sumatera Utara, melalui penyuluhan dan pelatihan yang bersifat partisipatip dengan implementasi langsung pada areal usahatani petani peserta (demonstrasi plot), meliputi: (i) pemupukan tepat (jenis, jumlah dan waktu aplikasi), (ii) teknik sederhana seleksi benih, (iii) teknik sederhana pengolahan jerami (limbah produksi padi) menjadi pupuk organik yang diaplikasikan dalam budidaya padi, dan (iv) teknik penanaman padi metode SRI (system of rice intensification) dengan dua bibit per lubang tanam dengan umur bibit lebih pendek. Hasil yang diperoleh: (i) produksi padi meningkat dari sekitar 5,4 ton menjadi 8,75 ton/ha (peningkatan 62 %), (ii) penggunaan bibit berkurang dari 40-50 kg menjadi 10 kg/ha (turun 75 – 80 %), biaya pengolahan tanah dan penggunaan pupuk (Urea, SP-36 dan KCl) berkurang 50 %, dan (iii) petani mampu mengolah limbah panen padi (jerami) menjadi pupuk organik yang penggunaannya akan meningkatkan kualitas tanah. Kegiatan ini diharapkan dapat dikembangkan dari tingkat demplot menjangkau kelompok masyarakat yang lebih luas sehingga teknik budidaya ini semakin cepat diadopsi oleh petani padi di Sumatera Utara. Kata kunci: Ketahanan Pangan, Iptek bagi Masyarakat (IbM), Metode SRI (system of rice intensification), pengomposan pupuk organik, Sumatera Utara ABSTRACT Keywords: Food security, Sci-tech for community, System of Rice Intensification (SRI), Composting organic fertilizer, North SumatraTo increase rice production as a staple food in Indonesia is a challenge to food security in terms of availability, in line with population growth and an increase in per capita income. The availability of production can be pursued without having to increase the use of natural resources through increasing productivity, given the large gap between the production produced by farmers and the potential that can be achieved. This community service activity (sci-tech for the community) aims to increase rice production in Namorambe District, Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatra, through participatory extension education and training with direct implementation in participating farmer’s farm (demonstration plots), including: (i) proper fertilization (type, quantity and time of application), (ii) simple seed selection techniques, (iii) simple composing techniques of paddy straw into organic fertilizers applied in rice cultivation, and (iv) rice planting method SRI (system of rice intensification) with two seeds per planting hole an earlier replanting. Results obtained: (i) rice production increased from about 5.4 tonnes to 8.75 tonnes / ha (an increase of 62%), (ii) the use of seeds was reduced from 40-50 kg to 10 kg / ha (decreased by 75 - 80 %), reducing of land processing costs as well as fertilizer application up to 50 %, and (iii) farmers are able to process rice harvest waste (paddy straw) to become organic fertilizer, which will improve soil quality. It is hoped that this method can be replicated to reach a wider group of farmers at the farm level

Sosialisasi Penelitian Tindakan Kelas Untuk Guru SD Negeri 173122 Hutabarat Partali Julu Kabupaten Tapanuli Utara

Penelitian Tindakan Kelas adalah metode untuk mencari tahu apa yang terbaik di kelas sendiri sehingga guru dapat meningkatkan mutu pembelajaran siswa. Ada empat konsep utama dalam penelitian tindakan kelas, yaitu: perencanaan, tindakan, observasi, dan refleksi. Guru dapat mengevaluasi kelas dengan menerapkan konsep tersebut. Implementasinya juga dilakukan di setiap mata pelajaran di kelas guru. Guru dapat melakukannya saat mereka mengajar siswa mereka dalam proses pembelajaran. Dengan sosialisasi ini, guru dapat mengevaluasi kelas mereka dalam kegiatan sehari-hari mereka di sekolah. Penelitian tindakan kelas memberikan dampak positif bagi guru dan juga sebagai peneliti

Students' Perception on the Discovery Learning Strategy on Learning Reading Comprehension at the English Teaching Study Program Christian University of Indonesia

Abstract The main objectives of this study are to discover and examine the students’ perception on the use of discovery learning strategy on reading comprehension and to see whether the students are interested in using discovery learning strategy on improving their reading comprehension. This study is a survey research. This study was conducted to all students of the English Teaching Study Program (ETSP), Christian University of Indonesia. To achieve the objectives, data were collected using questionnaire and interviews. The data was analyzed descriptively through Microsoft Excel 2007. Based on the data analysis, it can be concluded that the majority of students agreed that discovery learning strategy can enhance their reading comprehension and they want this strategy implemented in their reading class. Furthermore, they were interested on learning or improving reading comprehension through discovery learning strategy. Keywords: reading comprehension, discovery learning strategy, perceptio