Effect of Different Levels of Constructivist Scaffolding within E-Content on Undergraduate Students’ Mastery of Learning and their Attitudes towards it

This research investigates the effect of different levels of constructivist scaffolding within e-content on undergraduate students’ mastery of learning and their attitudes towards it. The research sample involves three experimental groups, each group having thirty (30) students. The first group (Group 1) studied e-content with simple constructivist scaffolding, the second group (Group 2) studied e-content with intermediate constructivist scaffolding, the third group (Group 3) studied e-content with intensive constructivist scaffolding. The results indicate that the third group of students, who studied design skills with intensive scaffolding, scored higher than the other two groups; they achieved 85% proficiency. Though the differences are not statistically significant, the students in the other two groups did not achieve the same proficiency percentage (85%). The results further reveal that the students in the first and third groups had more positive attitudes than the students in the second group

The MUSIC model of motivation: Its utilization in the e-learning context and graduate students’ perceptions of its effectiveness

The current study aimed to evaluate an online learning experience based on the music model of motivation in an educational technology post-graduate program in Oman. In order to understand the motivational perceptions of students regarding the instruction, a two-phase, sequential explanatory mixed method research design was conducted in this study. The quantitative data was collected from 40 students who enrolled in one class in which the instructional design was implemented for 2 weeks. After collecting the quantitative data, 10 students who voluntarily participated in the study's second phase were asked to respond to open-ended questions. The quantitative and qualitative data were interpreted and reported together by researchers. In conclusion, this research revealed that instructional design based on the music model of motivation is effective in increasing the motivation of students for each component of the model. Therefore, the researchers recommended expanding the use of the music model in the context of e-learning especially with part- time postgraduate students

On Finite and Artinian To-Alexandroff Spaces

In this thesis, we study Alexandroff spaces which are topological spaces in which arbitrary intersection of open sets is open. We study, among other things, the two papers titled "On finite To- topological spaces" by A. E. El-Atik et al. [4] and "On To- Alexandroff spaces" by H. B. Mahdi et al. [12]. We compare the study of the two papers and study the resultsm of [12] which are generalization of those of [4]. Then we determine the results in [12] which are not included in [4]. These results are still true in [4], since each finite space is Alexandroff. The heart of this study lies in the generalization of results of finite spaces in [4] to To- Alexandroff spaces. Certainly, we study other concepts such as generalized continuity, dimension and supratoplogies, and we get some new results on To- Alexandroff spaces

La inteligencia competitiva y el desarrollo de una ventaja competitiva sostenible

Privatization, partial tariff liberalization and entrance of foreign insurance companies in Iranian market pose serious challenges to domestic insurance companies. This paper discusses competitive intelligence as a means of gaining competitive advantage for insurance companies and seeks to study its effects on creation of sustainable competitive advantage. A sample of 123 middle and senior managers working in Iran Insurance Company in Tehran were surveyed. Data were collected via questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Model (SEM) in PLS software. Results showed that competitive intelligence had a positive effect on creation of competitive advantage based on two sets of process and contextual factors, with the former exerting greater effect in this regard. It was concluded that companies were required to gain competitive advantage by establishing a strategic unit to collect, analyze and share intelligent information derived from internal and external environmentLa privatización, la liberalización parcial de los aranceles y la entrada de empresas extranjeras de seguros en el mercado iraní plantea importantes desafíos para las empresas locales de seguros. Este artículo discute el caso de la inteligencia competitiva como un medio para ganar ventaja competitiva para las empresas de seguros y busca estudiar los efectos en la creación de ventaja competitiva sostenible. Se encuestó una muestra de 123 gerentes en posiciones medias y altas de la Iran Insurance Company en Teherán. La recolección de los datos se realizó a través de un cuestionario y fue analizada con el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM, por sus siglas en inglés) en el software PLS. Los resultados mostraron que la inteligencia competitiva tuvo un efecto positivo en la creación de ventaja competitiva basada en dos conjuntos de factores de procesos y contextuales, donde el primero tuvo en efecto mayor en este aspecto. Se concluyó que las compañías requirieron obtener ventaja competitiva al establecer una unidad estratégica para recolectar, analizar y compartir información inteligente derivada del ambiente interno y extern

Assessment of lacrimal glands in thyroid eye disease with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose: To assess the lacrimal glands in patients with thyroid eye disease with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Material and methods: This study was carried out on 44 consecutive patients (17 males, 27 females, with mean age 36 years) with thyroid eye disease and 20 age- and sex-matched volunteers. They underwent diffusion-weighted MR imaging of the orbit. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the lacrimal glands were calculated and correlated with the clinical activity score (CAS). Results: The mean ADC of lacrimal glands in thyroid eye disease (1.73 × 10-3 mm2/s) was significantly higher (p = 0.001) than that of volunteers (1.52 × 10-3 mm2/s). The cutoff ADC value of lacrimal gland used for differentiation of thyroid eye disease from volunteers was 1.62 × 10–3 mm2/s with an area under the curve value of 0.95 and an accuracy of 96%. There was significant difference (p = 0.03) in the ADC of the lacrimal glands in patients with active (n = 24) and inactive (n = 20) disease. The cutoff ADC value of the lacrimal gland used to suspect active disease was 1.76 × 10-3 mm2/s with an area under the curve value of 0.80 and an accuracy of 82%. There was positive correlation between the ADC value of the lacrimal glands and CAS (r = 0.73, p = 0.001). Conclusions: The ADC of the lacrimal glands is a non-invasive imaging parameter that can be used for diagnosis of thyroid eye disease and to predict the active form of the disease