Exploring the Training Factors that Influence the Role of Teaching Assistants to Teach to Students With SEND in a Mainstream Classroom in England

With the implementation of inclusive education having become increasingly valued over the years, the training of Teaching Assistants (TAs) is now more important than ever, given that they work alongside pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (hereinafter SEND) in mainstream education classrooms. The current study explored the training factors that influence the role of TAs when it comes to teaching SEND students in mainstream classrooms in England during their one-year training period. This work aimed to increase understanding of how the training of TAs is seen to influence the development of their personal knowledge and professional skills. The study has significance for our comprehension of the connection between the TAs’ training and the quality of education in the classroom. In addition, this work investigated whether there existed a correlation between the teaching experience of TAs and their background information, such as their gender, age, grade level taught, years of teaching experience, and qualification level. A critical realist theoretical approach was adopted for this two-phased study, which involved the mixing of adaptive and grounded theories respectively. The multi-method project featured 13 case studies, each of which involved a trainee TA, his/her college tutor, and the classroom teacher who was supervising the trainee TA. The analysis was based on using semi-structured interviews, various questionnaires, and non-participant observation methods for each of these case studies during the TA’s one-year training period. The primary analysis of the research was completed by comparing the various kinds of data collected from the participants in the first and second data collection stages of each case. Further analysis involved cross-case analysis using a grounded theory approach, which made it possible to draw conclusions and put forth several core propositions. Compared with previous research, the findings of the current study reveal many implications for the training and deployment conditions of TAs, while they also challenge the prevailing approaches in many aspects, in addition to offering more diversified, enriched, and comprehensive explanations of the critical pedagogical issues

The Problematic of Savings: the Case of Turkey as an Emerging Market Economy

This study provides an analysis on the course of private savings in Turkish economy, which are consideredto be the primary source of sustainable growth and development. It also discusses the way how growthmodel adopted by Turkey regulates the relationship between Public Expenditure, Taxes and Private Sav-ings. Based on the results obtained from this analysis, it has been concluded that ever expanding publicsector has a negative impact on private savings. As a long term solution, modifying or replacing the cur-rent growth model has been offered. As a short term offer, there is need to regulate the revenues andexpenditures of all public institutions including the Central Government Budget with the support of thelegislative authorities to eliminate the negative impact in question

Boron content of Lake Ulubat sediment: A key to interpret the morphological history of NW Anatolia, Turkey

Freshwater Lake Ulubat (c. 1.5 m deep and c. 138 km2) receives sediment from a 10.414 km2 area in the seismically active Susurluk Drainage Basin (SDB) of NW Turkey. The B and trace element contents of the lake infill seem to be a link between the fresh landforms of the SDB and the lacustrine sediment. Deposition in Lake Ulubat has been 1.60 cm.a-1 for the last 50 a according to radionucleides; however the sedimentation rate over the last millennium was 0.37 cm.a-1 based on 14C dating. The B content of the lacustrine infill displays a slight increase at 0.50 m and a drastic increase at 4 m depth occurring c. 31 a and c. 1070 a ago respectively. Probably the topmost change corresponds to the start of open mining in the SDB and the second one to the natural trenching of borate ore-deposits. These dates also show indirectly a 1.4 cm.a-1 erosion rate during the last millennium as the borate beds were trenched up to 15 m. By extrapolation, it is possible to establish that the formation of some of the present morphological features of the southern Marmara region, especially river incision, began in the late Pleistocene, and developed especially over the last 75 ka

Deep levels in a-plane, high Mg-content MgxZn1-xO epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Deep level defects in n-type unintentionally doped a-plane MgxZn1−xO, grown by molecular beam epitaxy on r-plane sapphire were fully characterized using deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) and related methods. Four compositions of MgxZn1−xO were examined with x = 0.31, 0.44, 0.52, and 0.56 together with a control ZnO sample. DLOS measurements revealed the presence of five deep levels in each Mg-containing sample, having energy levels of Ec − 1.4 eV, 2.1 eV, 2.6 V, and Ev + 0.3 eV and 0.6 eV. For all Mg compositions, the activation energies of the first three states were constant with respect to the conduction band edge, whereas the latter two revealed constant activation energies with respect to the valence band edge. In contrast to the ternary materials, only three levels, at Ec − 2.1 eV, Ev + 0.3 eV, and 0.6 eV, were observed for the ZnO control sample in this systematically grown series of samples. Substantially higher concentrations of the deep levels at Ev + 0.3 eV and Ec − 2.1 eV were observed in ZnO compared to the Mg alloyed samples. Moreover, there is a general invariance of trap concentration of the Ev + 0.3 eV and 0.6 eV levels on Mg content, while at least and order of magnitude dependency of the Ec − 1.4 eV and Ec − 2.6 eV levels in Mg alloyed samples

Height of Nations: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Cohort Differences and Patterns among Women in 54 Low- to Middle-Income Countries

Adult height is a useful biological measure of long term population health and well being. We examined the cohort differences and socioeconomic patterning in adult height in low- to middle-income countries.We analyzed cross-sectional, representative samples of 364538 women aged 25-49 years drawn from 54 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 1994 and 2008. Linear multilevel regression models included year of birth, household wealth, education, and area of residence, and accounted for clustering by primary sampling units and countries. Attained height was measured using an adjustable measuring board. A yearly change in birth cohorts starting with those born in 1945 was associated with a 0.0138 cm (95% CI 0.0107, 0.0169) increase in height. Increases in heights in more recent birth year cohorts were largely concentrated in women from the richer wealth quintiles. 35 of the 54 countries experienced a decline (14) or stagnation (21) in height. The decline in heights was largely concentrated among the poorest wealth quintiles. There was a strong positive association between height and household wealth; those in two richest quintiles of household wealth were 1.988 cm (95% CI 1.886, 2.090) and 1.018 cm (95% CI 0.916, 1.120) taller, compared to those in the poorest wealth quintile. The strength of the association between wealth and height was positive (0.05 to 1.16) in 96% (52/54) countries.Socioeconomic inequalities in height remain persistent. Height has stagnated or declined over the last decades in low- to middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, suggesting worsening nutritional and environmental circumstances during childhood

The Role of Leucoyte-Derived Free Oxygen Radicals in the Pathogenesis of Experimental Acute Pancreatitis

The role of free oxygen radicals in experimental acute pancreatitis induced by common bile duct ligation was investigated by measuring malondialdehyde levels in the rat pancreas. Also, the potential role of leucocytes as the source of free oxygen radicals was tested by inducing leukopenia with methotrexate. The malondialdehyde levels in the control, pancreatitis and pancreatitis + methotrexate groups were 9.6 ± 2.0, 44.8 ± 11.4, and 25.6 ± 5.0 nmol malondialdehyde/ g pancreas tissue respectively. The corresponding histopathological severity scores were 0.5 ± 0.7, 8.1 ± 1.2 and 3.7 ± 1.1. The results suggest that the leucocyte may be an important source of free oxygen radicals in this experimental model

Aggregation and Closed-Form Results for Nonhomothetic CES Preferences

We provide four novel results for nonhomothetic Constant Elasticity of Substitution preferences (Hanoch, 1975). First, we derive a closed-form representation of the expenditure function of nonhomothetic CES under relatively flexible distributional assumptions of demand and price distribution parameters. Second, we characterize aggregate demand from heterogeneous households in closed-form, assuming that household total expenditures follow an empirically plausible distribution. Third, we leverage these results to study the Euler equation arising from standard intertemporal consumption-saving problems featuring within-period nonhomothetic CES preferences. Finally, we show that nonhomothetic CES expenditure shares arise as the solution of a discrete-choice logit problem

OPINIONS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN ABOUT SELF CARE

Self-care skills are one of the independent life skills, the foundations of which are laid during the preschool period, and which should be acquired by children at an early age. It is important for children to use their self-care skills in order to get involved and gain acceptance into society. Today, the importance given to the constructivist approach, that children are active in the learning process and that new information is built into previous learning,  has also become apparent in preschool period. Thus, it has become important for children to express their opinions about their own life skills. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the opinions of preschool children about self-care skills, part of the independent life skills of children. A qualitative, phenomenological research design was used in the study. The universe of the study consisted of children aged 5-6 years old, who were in independent preschools in the city center of Malatya Province; the sample of the study consisted of 60 children who were selected from the universe using the random sampling method. The data were collected in two ways: visually and in written form. The data were analyzed by using the methods of descriptive analysis and content analysis; NVivo software was also used. As a result, more than half of the children were found to pay attention to not eating junk food; to realizing the importance of washing their hands; to showing concern about gathering their toys in terms of neatness; the children were also found to have difficulties tightening or loosening their shoelaces. Also, they were careful about selecting a safe seat on the school bus.     Article visualizations

Quantum Monte Carlo Study of Semiconductor Artificial Graphene Nanostructures

Semiconductor artificial graphene nanostructures where Hubbard model parameter $U/t$ can be of the order of 100, provide a highly controllable platform to study strongly correlated quantum many-particle phases. We use accurate variational and diffusion Monte Carlo methods to demonstrate a transition from antiferromagnetic to metallic phases for experimentally accessible lattice constant $a=50$ nm in terms of lattice site radius $\rho$, for finite sized artificial honeycomb structures nanopatterned on GaAs quantum wells containing up to 114 electrons. By analysing spin-spin correlation functions for hexagonal flakes with armchair edges and triangular flakes with zigzag edges, we show that edge type, geometry and charge nonuniformity affect the steepness and the crossover $\rho$ value of the phase transition. For triangular structures, the metal-insulator transition is accompanied with a smoother edge polarization transition.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; references added, several system sizes added, typos corrected; abstract update