A Study of Group Learning Among ELT Practicum Students through Analysis of Their Teaching Practicum Journals in A MAELT Program at Assumption University

Teaching Practicum (TP) is important for trainee teachers and many studies have been conducted to help improve the quality of TP recently. This research aims to analyze ten journals written by ten trainee teachers during their practicum in a MA – ELT program at Assumption University. These trainee teachers came from three different countries: seven of Chinese, one British, one Burmese and one Vietnamese. They all had different backgrounds in terms of culture, perception and education. The procedure to analyze these journals was done by finding similarities and differences within the journals of these trainee teachers. The trainee teachers had to communicate and share their ideas and thoughts to each other in order to learn and improve through their journals. The outcomes revealed the evaluation of the practicum from the trainee teachers’ points of view. In addition, the outcomes also provided helpful implications for both trainee teachers and supervisors in using journals more effectively

Applications of Silicon Compounds in the Synthesis of Insect Pheromone Analogs.

Pheromones are highly active chemical messengers which are secreted by a member of an animal species and elicit a definite behavior in other members of the same species. The study of insect pheromones has recently attracted great attention because of their purely scientific interest and their favorable prospects for the control of pest insects. The study in this dissertation aims at the elucidation of some important aspects of the mechanism of perception of insect pheromones, which is based on the fact that the cyclic analogs of the natural pheromone have partially fixed conformations, whereas the straight-chain natural pheromone is more flexible and can adopt numerous conformations. The cyclic compound which best mimics the action of the natural pheromones presumably has a conformation similar to that which the pheromone adopts when bound to the receptor site. The project includes the following: (1) Syntheses of cyclic analogs of natural pheromones: (i) 4-ethyl-3-(5-acetoxypentyl)cyclopentene (20) and its cyclopentane (18). (ii) 4-methyl-3-(5-acetoxypentyl)cyclohexene (21) and its cyclohexane (19). (2) Structure elucidation including conformational analysis. (3) Results of conformational energies derived from MM2 calculations. Compound (20) was synthesized from the kinetic silyl enol ether of 2-(5-acetoxypentyl)-3-ethylcyclopentanone (37) which was treated with BH\sb3. THF, followed by acidification, to give (20). Compound (21) was also obtained using the same method from 2-(5-acetoxypentyl)-3-methyl-cyclohexan-one (63). Compound (37) was reacted with p-toluenesulfonylhydrazine in DMF-sulfolane having p-toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate as a catalyst, and followed by NaBH\sb3CN to give 2-(5-acetoxypentyl)ethylcyclopentane (18). In a similar manner, 2-(5-acetoxypentyl)methylcyclohexane (19) was obtained from (63). Several less successful routes to these disubstituted ring compounds were explored. The structures of (20), (18), (21), and (19) were assigned based on \sp1H NMR, \sp{13}{\rm C}-NMR, IR, and MS spectral data. Their stereochemical assignments have been made on the stereochemistry of analogs, their epimerization under alkaline conditions, or the coupling constants of the two hydrogen atoms on the two carbons bearing substituents. The most stable conformations of the 5- and 6-membered ring systems are in an envelope and a chair forms, respectively from MM2 calculations

Corrosion protection of carbon steel by an epoxy resin containing organically modified clay

This study focusses on the use of montmorillonite clay (MMT) treated with an organic compound (aminotrimethylphosphonic acid (ATMP)) and dispersed in an epoxy resin to improve corrosion protection of carbon steel. X-ray diffraction was performed to verify that the individual silicate layers were separated and dispersed in the epoxy resin. Corrosion resistance of the coated steel was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (LEIS). Three systems were tested: the epoxy clear-coat, the epoxy resin containing 2 wt.% clay and the epoxy resin containing 2 wt.% clay modified byATMP (ATMP-modified clay). From conventional EIS, it was shown that the incorporation of clay or ATMP-modified clay in the epoxy matrix significantly improved the barrier properties of the coating. The corrosion resistance of the carbon steel coated by the epoxy resin containing ATMP-modified clay was higher than that obtained for the system containing non-treated clay. Local electrochemical measurements performed on scratched samples revealed the inhibitive role of ATMP at the carbon steel/coating interface

Characterization of pig farms in Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces

peer reviewedIn order to characterization of pig farms in the Red River Delta, a study was conducted on 90 pig farms in Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces from June to December 2006. Results show that most of the pig farms had been built for five years with a small size (0.5 hectare per farm). The invested capital was about 300-400 millions VND per farm. Four main sow groups used in the farms included crossbred exotic sows (51.1%), crossbred sow between local and exotic breeds (14.4%), purebred Landrace and Yorkshire breeds (15.6 and 18.9%, respectively). The boars were various (Duroc 30%, Yorkshire 21%, Landrace 13%, PiÐtrain × Duroc 36% and others). The pigs farms were faced with several difficulties such as limited land, lack of invested capital, uncontrolled quality of breeding pigs, high costs of feed, poor hygiene condition and diseases

Contract Farming as a Determinant of Promoting Tea Marketing Channel for Small Producers in Phu Tho Province

Making contracts between farmers and firms (contract farming, for short) plays an important role in establishing access to the agricultural markets for the small producers, especially in the developing and less developed countries. It is argued that contract farming provides farmers with the assured sale of their crops and agro-business firms with a steady supply of agricultural products required by the market. This paper focuses on analyzing benefits of tea producers through signing contract with firms. By using relevant research methods of verifying studying areas, making Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and surveying farmers, the paper finds that although contract farmers receive lower fresh tea price in compared with the price received by non-contract farmers, they would have higher price stability and are provided with market guarantee mechanism. These benefits are really important in context of globalization and market liberalization with the demand for high quality and high value products. It is highly recommended that small farmers therefore should participate in the coordination model between farmers and firms in the process of tea production and marketing in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam.Peer reviewe