Professional Discourse Community of Teachers through Critical Classroom Analysis within Teacher Education

AbstractThis paper explores teacher discourses and the intricacies of discourse communities of teachers. A modest attempt is made to link the discussion to professional discourse community, teacher education, and language for specific purposes (LSP). Through this grounded approach to critical classroom discourse analysis, I intend to share insights gathered from classrooms of teacher learners interacting among themselves and with their teacher educator in a teacher education course. Findings suggest that teacher education courses serve as a fertile ground to examine teacher discourse and understand discourse community of teachers. Such insights, I hope, are useful to LSP practitioners and educators in general

Developing online community: where does teacher practices fit in?

Developing communities is one of the main emphases tertiary institutions have due to the potentials of community. Its potentials in the academic domain or professional domain have been established by Brindley, et al. (2009), Gratton and Erickson (2007) and Palloff and Pratt (2005). Other researchers have also indicated that community can enhance quality of interaction (Salmon, 2004) because it enhances “the flow of information among all learners, the availability of support, commitment to group goals, cooperation among members, and satisfaction with group efforts” (Rovai, 2001:33). Picciano (2002) has also pointed out it affects academic performance and coursework completion. The professional domains also capitalise on community diversity in terms of knowledge and experience to realise workplace’ initiatives (Adler and Heckscher, 2006). With the provision of online learning environment (OLE) at tertiary institutions, developing a community is becoming more viable because teachers are able to plan and orchestrate instructional experience, assess and make changes in situ to support the development of online community so that interaction among students are promoted and students

Validity of instrument to measure mathematics teachers’ perceptions towards problem-based learning activities

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a proposed method for teaching mathematics in primary education in the education 4.0 era. This method enables teachers to conduct effective instruction by allowing students to explore alternative solutions to problems. This study was conducted to develop and validate an instrument for evaluating primary school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of PBL activities. This research is quantitative, and a questionnaire was employed to collect data. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively utilizing Cronbach’s alpha and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). It is determined that Cronbach’s alpha is 0.885, with a factor eigenvalue greater than 1. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value for each construct is 0.50, whereas Bartlett’s test value is statistically significant (<0.5). Each item has a factor loading of 0.50 or higher and a standard deviation of ≥60%. This study’s results indicated that this instrument can be used to investigate primary school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of PBL activities involving group division, generating ideas and learning issues, identifying problems, self-directed learning, synthesis and application, reflection, and assessment

English for Art Communication to Enhance Quality Programs

AbstractEnglish-medium instruction has become a common approach to increase the international isation opportunities of academic institutions. This article presents the results of a survey (N=80) and a focus group discussion to identify students’ attitudes toward specialized English for art, and their experiences and challenges regarding English-medium education. The findings showed that communication and understanding were the challenges that concern the nonnative students in the focused international institution. The study also indicated that senior students have higher awareness of their need for specialized English than freshmen. The paper confirms the significance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction for students and recommends an on-going communication and academic writing courses to contribute to the quality of international art communication

Lung Function Test among Abrasive Blasting Workers in Lumut, Perak

Abrasive blasting process is a common process in marine industry. This process was use as main cleaning process method and normally will release fine dust that hazardous to human health. Main effect from fine dust to human health are respiratory failure such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Lung function test can be used to detect any respiratory problems in human. The objective of the research to evaluate the effect of dust exposure from abrasive blasting to the workers. This study are conduct among workers work in dusty environment in Lumut, Perak, Malaysia. FEV1/FVC value from lung function test were evaluated to determine the severity of COPD among workers. While FEV1 prediction show restrictive pattern and use to determine any respiratory or lung problems among the workers. From the result, it does not show any COPD problem among workers. However, FEV1 show that some workers need to go for detail medical surveillance because of the result is less than 0.8. Employer and workers need to understand and know their work related risk to minimize the risk arising from their job or work conducted

Development and Validation of a Virtual Moving Auditory Localization (vMAL) Test among Healthy Children

Introduction: The ability to localize sound sources is crucial for humans. Due to specific hearing disorders, the affected individuals may have problems to accurately locate the sound sources, leading to other unwanted consequences. Nevertheless, a simple auditory localization test (that employs moving auditory stimuli) is currently lacking in clinical settings. Essentially, the objectives of the present study were to develop a virtual moving auditory localization (vMAL) test that is suitable for assessing children and assess the validity and the reliability of this test. Materials and Methods: This study consisted of two consecutive phases. In phase 1, the required stimulus and the test set up for the vMAL test were established. Two loudspeakers were employed to produce five virtual positions, and eight different moving conditions were constructed. In phase 2, 24 normal-hearing Malaysian children (aged 7-12 years) underwent the vMAL test. The validity and the reliability of this test were then assessed using several validation measures. Fleiss Kappa and Spearman correlation analyses were used to analyse the obtained data. Results: The vMAL test was found to have good convergent validity (kappa = 0.64) and good divergent validity (kappa = -0.06). Based on the item-total correlation and Spearman coefficient rho results, this test was found to have good internal reliability (rho = 0.36-0.75) and excellent external (test-retest) reliability (rho = 0.99). Conclusions: in this study a new vMAL test was developed and proven to be valid and reliable accordingly for its intended applications. This test can be useful in clinical settings since it is simple to administer, cost-effective, does not take up much room, and can assess auditory localization performance in children. The outcomes of the present study may serve as preliminary normative data as well as guidelines for future auditory localization research

The unusual presentation of ceacal cancer with synchronous tumor at descending colon: a case report

Synchronous primary colorectal cancer is rare and only occurs in 2% to 11% of all colorectal cancers. Thus, preoperative or intraoperative detection of synchronous tumor is vital because if they are not recognized, they may present at an advanced stage, thereby reduce the probability of cure. Early identification of synchronous tumor may alter the extensiveness of the surgical procedure in order to decide for strategic therapeutic management

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent by new bacterial strain Comamonas sp. EB172

A new isolate designated as strain EB172 was isolated from a digester treating palm oil mill effluent and was investigated by polyphasic taxonomic approach. The cells were rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-pigmented, non-spore-forming and non-fermentative. Phylogenetic analysis using the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that the strain clustered with the genus Comamonas. Its closest neighbours were the type strains Comamonas terrigena (96.8%), Comamonas koreensis (93.4%), Comamonas composti (92.9%), and Comamonas kerstersii (91.1%). The ability of the strain EB172 to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) when supplied with organic acids made this bacterium unique among Comamonas species. The bacterial strain was clearly distinguished from all of the existing strains by phylogenetic analysis, fatty acid composition and a range of physiological and biochemical characteristics. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 59.1 mol%. The strain showed good growth in acetic, propionic and n-butyric acids. Comamonas sp. EB172 produced 9.8 g/l of cell dry weight and accumulated 59 (wt%) of PHAs when supplemented with mixed organic acids from anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent. It is evident from the genotypic, phenotypic data and ability to produce PHAs that strain EB172 represents a new strain in the genus Comamonas (GeneBank accession no. EU847238)

Exploring the effects of fermented chitin nanowhiskers on tensile and thermal properties of poly(ethylene glycol) modified polylactic acid nanocomposites

The incorporation of fermented chitin nanowhiskers (FCHW) into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) increased the tensile modulus and strength of PLA at the expense of ductility. The brittleness of PLA can be overcome with the use of plasticizer such as polyethylene glycols (PEG). The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of FCHW on the tensile and thermal properties PLA incorporated with PEG as plasticizer (PLA/PEG). PLA/PEG and FCHW reinforced PLA/PEG nanocomposites were prepared using solution mixing technique. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to determine the thermal properties while tensile properties were determined from the tensile test. The incorporation of PEG successfully increased the ductility and tensile strength of PLA at the expense of modulus. Based on the tensile properties, 5 phr PEG was chosen for further investigation on the effect of FCHW on PEG modified PLA. Incorporation of 1 phr FCHW PLA/PEG increased the tensile strength and Young's modulus. However, the tensile strength decreased with further addition of FCHW. The elongation at break of PLA/PEG decreased drastically with the incorporation of 1 phr FCHW and decreased gradually with further increase of FCHW. The thermal stability from TGA of FCHW reinforced PLA/PEG nanocomposites at 5 phr FCHW content was observed to be significantly higher compared to PLA/PEG, as indicated by T20 and Tmax

Mechanical Properties and Morphological Characterization of PLA/Chitosan/Epoxidized Natural Rubber Composites

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/chitosan (CS) natural polymer/epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) composites were successfully prepared through a solution casting method. The morphological characteristics of fabricated composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy. The microstructure of PLA/ENR was significantly altered with the addition of CS. SEM analysis of composites fractured surfaces revealed smooth and homogeneous texture and good dispersion of CS. However for 15 wt% CS composites, the phase segregation and poor adhesion between the polymers were observed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed some levels of attractive interaction between CS, PLA, and ENR in the composites. The mechanical properties of composites in terms of tensile strength and tensile modulus were significantly improved with the addition of CS into the matrix while the percent elongation at break decreased. The tensile strength increased up to 5 wt% CS loading for both PLA/CS and PLA/ENR/CS and thereafter decreased while Young’s modulus increased up to 10 wt%. However, when the CS content was increased to 15 wt%, the tensile strength and tensile modulus were slightly decreased. These improvements were attributed to good dispersion of CS at the optimum filler levels and attractive interaction between the composites components.</jats:p