Enjoying Science in a Singapore Neighbourhood Secondary School: An Oxymoron?

A sample of 238 Secondary 1 students at school-entry level and 274 Secondary 4 and 5 students at school-leaving level in Singapore responded to four questionnaires: Getting to Know You to assess attitudes to science and general views of school; WIHIC to assess perceptions of science classroom environment; and QTI to assess student-teacher relationships. Enjoying science in a Singapore neighbourhood Secondary school was not found to be an oxymoron

Characteristics of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in the pulmonology clinics of seven Asian cities

Background and objectives Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. We evaluated the characteristics of stable COPD patients in the pulmonology clinics of seven Asian cities and also evaluated whether the exposure to biomass fuels and dusty jobs were related to respiratory symptoms, airflow limitation, and quality of life in the COPD patients. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study recruited 922 COPD patients from seven cities of Asia. The patients underwent spirometry and were administered questionnaires about their exposure to cigarette smoking, biomass fuels, and dusty jobs in addition to respiratory symptoms and health related quality of life. Results: Of the patients, there appeared to be variations from city to city in the history of exposure to biomass fuels and dusty jobs and also in respiratory symptoms of cough, phlegm, wheeze, and dyspnea. These symptoms were more frequent in those COPD patients with a history of exposure to biomass fuels than without and those with a history of exposure to dusty jobs than without (P < 0.01 for all comparisons). Airflow limitation was more severe in those COPD patients with a history of exposure to biomass fuels than without (52.2% predicted versus 55.9% of post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], P = 0.009); quality of life was poorer in those with exposure to biomass fuels than without (40.4 versus 36.2 of the St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ] total score, P = 0.001). Airflow limitation was more severe in those COPD patients with a history of exposure to dusty jobs than without (51.2% predicted versus 57.3% of post-bronchodilator FEV1, P < 0.001); quality of life was poorer in those with dusty jobs than without (41.0 versus 34.6 of SGRQ score, P = 0.006). Conclusion: In Asian cities, the characteristics of COPD patients vary and the history of exposure to biomass fuels or dusty jobs was related to frequency of symptoms, severe airflow limitation, and poor quality of life

Women on boards of Malaysian firms: Impact on market and accounting performance

We seek to offer some reconciliation for the conflicting theoretical arguments and empirical findings regarding the impact of women’s participation in boards on firms’ performance.We suggest that this impact differs in relation to market- and accounting-performance, and it is firm-specific, and varies by firms’ ownership type and the composition of their boards.These arguments find theoretical underpinnings in agency and resource-dependency theories, combined with behavioral and discrimination theories that articulate women behavior in the workplace and market perception of gender equality.The empirical analysis is based on a dataset of 841 publicly-listed firms in Malaysia.The results show positive impact of women’s participation on accounting-performance and negative impact on market-performance, suggesting that women directors create economic value, which is undervalued by the market. We interpret the findings with reference to the perception of women’s role in society and business in Malaysia, and the nature of corporate governance and ownership types prevalent among Malaysian firms.We suggest that the relationships might be context-specific, and hence the desired level of women’s participation varies across countries.We discuss the normative implications of the findings for government authorities considering legislation of gender-quota on boards, and for firms

Enhancing creativity, achievement and attitude towards science through computers among primary four gifted pupils

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of computers could enhance creativity among Primary 4 gifted pupils in Science, encompassing both general creativity and creativity in science. This study also explores the relationship between the two and whether attitude towards Science and achievement in Science would be enhanced in the process of using computers.Master of Educatio

The invisible forces of knowledge sharing.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between knowledge sharing and organizational justice and trust in an organization. In addition, different social networks were mapped out for better understanding of knowledge sharing in an organization

A comparison of aesthetic outcome between tissue adhesive and subcuticular suture in thyroidectomy wound closure in a multiracial country: A randomized controlled trial

Summary: Objectives: Monofilament sutures, both absorbable and non-absorbable, have been used for wound closure. Tissue adhesive has been used in closure of clean, low tension wounds. However, there have been very few published studies on the aesthetic outcomes in neck surgeries. The aim of this study is to compare the patients' and doctors’ satisfaction scores in the aesthetic outcome between both methods of closure of thyroidectomy wounds using validated scoring systems. Methods: A double-blinded randomised controlled trial comparing the aesthetic outcome between tissue adhesive and conventional suture was conducted among patients undergoing thyroid and parathyroid surgeries. Ninety-six patients were randomised into two treatment groups. Patients' wounds were scored by an independent observer using the SBSES score at 6 weeks postoperatively and observer component of the POSAS score at 3 months. Results: Forty-nine patients were randomised to the tissue adhesive group while forty-seven patients received the conventional method. There was no statistical difference in the aesthetic outcome using the patient's scoring system between both arms, with a median score of 9 (p = 0.25, SD ± 6.5). The observer's satisfaction score using POSAS was also not statistically significant (median score of 14 (p = 0.77, SD ± 6.2)). No significance was found in the observer's median score using the SBSES scoring system either (score 3, p = 0.12, SD ± 1.3). However, there was significant reduction in the duration of closure using glue (4.42 mins vs 6.36 mins, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Tissue adhesive offers a comparable cosmetic result to the absorbable suture in thyroidectomy wound closure. Keywords: Tissue adhesive, Subcuticular suture, Thyroidectomy wound closure, Tissue adhesive, Multiracia

The difference in the intra- and inter-group connectivity among sub-networks in the upper alpha band between the WE-IL and the WE-IT conditions.

<p>*p1and p2 are corrected p-values after multiple comparisons permutation test for c1 and c2 between the IL and IT conditions, respectively</p><p>The sources of groups A, B, C, D are depicted in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0116522#pone.0116522.g005" target="_blank">Fig. 5</a>.</p><p>The difference in the intra- and inter-group connectivity among sub-networks in the upper alpha band between the WE-IL and the WE-IT conditions.</p

The four common sub-networks (functional clusters) for the NE-IL and the NE-IT conditions.

<p>(A)-(D) are hypothetical networks for executing higher-order function, comprehension/memory processing, and speech perception, respectively. The dotted circle indicates a medial surface source, while the solid circle indicates a lateral surface source. The label for each anatomical region includes the Brodmann area name and the laterality information.</p