Unpacking the inequality among Turkish schools: Findings from PISA 2006

The study investigates the effects of certain school characteristics on students’ mathematics performances in Turkey in the PISA 2006 while controlling for family background and demographic characteristics. Three models of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) are constructed. The results reveal that 55% of the variance is attributable to between-schools and the remaining 45% to individual student characteristics. About two-thirds of the 55% is explained by selectivity in admissions, time to study mathematics and students’ SES, gender and the geographical region. The findings are interpreted to explain why Turkish schools differed greatly in average student performance in PISA 2006 by using the conceptual efforts on school quality factors and family background characteristics.     

Current status of cadaver sources in Turkey and a wake‐up call for Turkish anatomists

Persisting difficulties in body procurement in Turkey led to the acquisition of donated, unclaimed, autopsied, and imported bodies regulated under current legislature. Yet, no study had investigated the extent of the on‐going cadaver problem. This study was aimed to outline cadaver sources in anatomy departments and their effectiveness by means of an online survey. Additionally, official websites of each department were investigated regarding any information on body donation. Unclaimed cadavers (84.8%) were the major source for anatomy departments, followed by donated (50%) and imported cadavers (39.1%). Foundation‐based medical faculties were more likely to import cadavers (P = 0.008). There was a moderate increase (r_s = 0.567; P = 0.018) in donation registrations to our department after 2000. The departments in cities with significantly higher City‐Based Gross Domestic Product measures (US$9,900 vs. US$16,772, P = 0.041), frequencies for mid‐ or high‐school graduates (30.4% vs. 31.3%, P = 0.041), and frequencies for under‐ or post‐graduates (13.1% vs. 15.8%, P = 0.24) had managed to use donated cadavers. Anatomy departments’ major reasons for using unclaimed cadavers were education (45.9%), unclaimed cadavers being the only source (24.3%), and receiving inadequate donations (21.6%). Nine out of seventy‐four departments (12.2%) provided information regarding body donation on their websites. Body procurement remains as a serious problem in Turkey and it is apparent that current legislature does not provide a sufficient cadaver inflow. Similarly, anatomy departments’ effectiveness in public awareness of body donation and support in the National Body Donation Campaign seems questionable. Anat Sci Educ 11: 155–165. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Optimal residual generation for fault detection in linear discrete time-varying systems with uncertain observations

This work deals with the problem of optimal residual generation for fault detection (FD) in linear discrete time-varying (LDTV) systems subject to uncertain observations. By introducing a generalized fault detection filter (FDF) with four parameter matrices as the residual generator, a novel FDF design scheme is formulated as two bi-objective optimization problems such that the sensitivity of residual to fault is enhanced and the robustness of residual to unknown input is simultaneously strengthened. A generalized operator based optimization approach is proposed to deduce solutions to the corresponding optimization problems in operator forms, where the related H_∞/H_∞ or $H_{?}/H_{\infty }$ FD performance index is maximized. With the aid of the addressed methods, the connections among the derived solutions are explicitly announced. The parameter matrices of the FDF are analytically derived via solving simple matrix equations recursively. It is revealed that our proposed results establish an operator-based framework of optimal residual generation for some kinds of linear discrete-time systems. Illustrative examples are given to show the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed methods.     

Inducing self-rotation of cells with natural and artificial melanin in a linearly polarized alternating current electric field

The phenomenon of self-rotation observed in naturally and artificially pigmented cells under an applied linearly polarized alternating current (non-rotating) electrical field has been investigated. The repeatable and controllable rotation speeds of the cells were quantified and their dependence on dielectrophoretic parameters such as frequency, voltage, and waveform was studied. Moreover, the rotation behavior of the pigmented cells with different melanin content was compared to quantify the correlation between self-rotation and the presence of melanin. Most importantly, macrophages, which did not originally rotate in the applied non-rotating electric field, began to exhibit self-rotation that was very similar to that of the pigmented cells, after ingesting foreign particles (e.g., synthetic melanin or latex beads). We envision the discovery presented in this paper will enable the development of a rapid, non-intrusive, and automated process to obtain the electrical conductivities and permittivities of cellular membrane and cytoplasm in the near future.     

Evaluation of small‐group teaching in human gross anatomy in a Caribbean medical school

Although there are a number of medical schools in the Caribbean islands, very few reports have come out so far in the literature regarding the efficacy of small‐group teaching in them. The introduction of small‐group teaching in the gross anatomy laboratory one and a half years ago at St. Matthew's University (SMU) on Grand Cayman appears to have had a significant positive impact on the academic achievement of students in anatomy. This study surveyed the responses of the students to the small‐group learning method in gross anatomy at SMU using a structured questionnaire. The results show that our students prefer this small‐group learning method over a completely self‐directed method in the gross anatomy lab because the study materials were carefully chosen and the study objectives were demonstrated by the resource person. However, teacher‐centered teaching was deliberately avoided by fostering problem‐solving skills in the anatomy lab sessions. Another aim of the small‐group teaching at SMU was to develop the interpersonal and communication skills of the students, which are important in their later education and career. Anat Sci Ed 1:19–22, 2008. © 2007 American Association of Anatomists.     

Voices of donors: Case reports of body donation in Hong Kong

Body donation is important for medical education and academic research. However, it is relatively rare in Hong Kong when compared with many Western countries. Comprehensive research has been performed on the motivation for body donation in Western countries; however, there is still insufficient research on body donation in Hong Kong to provide information on how to increase the body‐donation rate. To understand the factors involved in the decision to donate one's body, the authors interviewed a registered donor and the daughter of another donor in Hong Kong. The authors interpreted the information collected in light of the available published reports, which mostly focus on body donation in Western countries. Despite the consistency of some demographic factors and motivations between the participants in our study and those investigated in the published reports from Western countries, there are differences in education level and socioeconomic status between the donors in our study and those from Western studies. The authors also suggest that Confucianism and Buddhism in Chinese culture may motivate potential body donors in Hong Kong. Other important factors that influence the body‐donation decision may include family members' body donation, registration as organ donors, and good doctor–patient relationships. Although case report studies have their limitations, this study allows us to explore the complexity of events and establish the interconnectivity of factors involved in body donation, which could not be achieved in previous survey‐based studies. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

An investigation on value orientations,attitudes and concern towards the environment: the case of Turkish elementary school students

Environmental attitudes depend on the relative importance that individuals attach to themselves, other people, or all living things. These distinct bases have been found to predict environmental concern, and may act as statistically significant determinants of pro-environmental behaviours. We claim that examining the complex nature of value orientations and concern levels among elementary school students as well as the interrelationships between these attributes could guide researchers and educators in Turkey. This study aimed (1) to explore Turkish elementary students’ ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes, and environmental apathy; (2) to investigate their egoistic, altruistic and biospheric value orientations as well as their environmental concerns; (3) to examine relationships among environment-related attributes and (4) to determine the role of gender on these attributes. Participants seemed to be highly concerned and held favourable ecocentric attitudes. Furthermore, students with higher levels of anthropocentric attitudes tended to exhibit higher levels of environmental apathy, and those expressing biospheric concerns held lower levels of egoistic concerns. The findings suggest that girls were significantly more concerned about environmental problems and tended to value nature more for its own sake than boys.     

Cognitions of Expert Supervisors in Academe: A Concept Mapping Approach

Eighteen expert supervisors reported their thoughts while preparing for, conducting, and evaluating their supervision sessions. Concept mapping (Kane & Trochim, 2007 ) yielded 195 cognitions classified into 25 cognitive categories organized into 5 supervision areas: conceptualization of supervision, supervisee assessment, supervisory relationship, supervisor self‐assessment, and administration of supervision. Implications for future research and supervisor training programs are discussed.