High School Student Perceptions of the Utility of the Engineering Design Process: Creating Opportunities to Engage in Engineering Practices and Apply Math and Science Content

Research and policy documents increasingly advocate for incorporating engineering design into K-12 classrooms in order to accomplish two goals: (1) provide an opportunity to engage with science content in a motivating real-world context; and (2) introduce students to the field of engineering. The present study uses multiple qualitative data sources (i.e., interviews, artifact analysis) in order to examine the ways in which engaging in engineering design can support students in participating in engineering practices and applying math and science knowledge. This study suggests that students better understand and value those aspects of engineering design that are more qualitative (i.e., interviewing users, generating multiple possible solutions) than the more quantitative aspects of design which create opportunities for students to integrate traditional math and science content into their design work (i.e., modeling or systematically choosing between possible design solutions). Recommendations for curriculum design and implementation are discussed.     

Slovenian young researchers’ motivation for knowledge transfer

A programme for the promotion of science and doctoral studies called the Young Researchers Training Programme has been developed in Slovenia. Since it began, the programme has been substantially funded and over 6,000 young people have participated in it. However, no evaluation of the programme’s effectiveness has yet been conducted. In this study we identified young researchers’ motivation for entering the programme, their assessment of the training and links to knowledge transfer into practice as the principal idea behind the programme. Two training groups, university based young researchers and company based young researchers, are compared in order to assess whether the type of training affects knowledge transfer. The analyses show that young researchers in the economy are more involved in direct knowledge transfer and their motivation to do so is mainly intrinsic. On the other hand, university based young researchers need extrinsic incentives to cooperate in projects in economic sector, for their motivation is more oriented towards academic research. Implications for Slovenia, as well as for other countries’ higher education policies, are discussed.     

An index for evaluating journals in a small domestic citation index database whose citation rate is generally very low: A test based on the Korea Citation Index (KCI) database

This study describes the meaning of and the formula for S-index, which is a novel evaluation index based on the number of citations of each article in a particular journal and the rank of the article according to the number of citations. This study compares S-index with Impact Factor (IF), which is the most well-known evaluation index, using the Korea Citation Index data. It is shown that S-index is positively correlated with the number of articles published in a journal. Tapered h-index (h_T-index), which is based on all articles of a journal like S-index, is compared with S-index. It is shown that there is a very strong positive correlation between S-index and h_T-index. Although S-index is similar to h_T-index, S-index has a slightly better differentiating power and ranks the journal with evenly cited articles higher.     

Peer mediation: citizenship and social inclusion revisited

In sociometric research tradition, popularity is defined as the degree to which children are liked or accepted by their peers. However, research indicates that two definitions of popular students should be distinguished: (1) popular students as those students who are well liked by many and disliked by few peers, and (2) popular students as those students who are described as popular by their peers. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity in Slovenian students of different grades of elementary and secondary school. Additionally, the age differences in the relationship between sociometric and peer perceived popularity were examined. Another purpose of the study was to investigate the differential relationships between concepts of popularity and some students' characteristics. The participants were 321 boys and 329 girls who ranged from the 5th grade of elementary school (the mean age 11.04 years) to the 3rd grade of secondary school (the mean age 17.02 years). The results of this study confirm previous findings that peer perceived popularity is a construct that is distinct from sociometric popularity. There are some substantial differences in relations between indices of perceived popularity and sociometric indices between elementary school students and secondary school students—i.e. between early adolescents and middle to late adolescents. It seems that perceived popularity and sociometric popularity are rather similar constructs in elementary school students, whereas in secondary school students they become almost unrelated to each other. Based on these findings, the terminological issues are discussed and some conclusions are made.     

Factors influencing information security management in small- and medium-sized enterprises: A case study from Turkey

The aims of the study were to examine enterprise information security in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bursa, Turkey and to compare the results with similar data gathered from different countries. This study was conducted through questionnaires consisting of 49 questions grouped into 9 sections. The questionnaires were delivered to 97 SMEs in Bursa, Turkey. The companies have been operating for 15.93 ± 11.67 (2-54) years. The number of PCs in the companies and their years of use were in the ranges of 53.51 ± 64.88 (2-240) and 12.47 ± 6.32 (1-30) years, respectively. According to the findings of this study, it can be speculated that when Communications and Operations Management and security policy improve, other security parameters in the companies, such as Organizational, Personnel and Physical and Environmental Securities improve as well. In addition, the results have shown that Turkish companies do not attach as much importance to information technology security as their counterpart companies from different countries do.     

Hands on group work paper model for teaching DNA structure,central dogma and recombinant DNA

Understanding life on a molecular level is greatly enhanced when students are given the opportunity to visualize the molecules. Especially understanding DNA structure and function is essential for understanding key concepts of molecular biology such as DNA, central dogma and the manipulation of DNA. Researches have shown that undergraduate students typically lack a coherent view of concepts and their relationships when studying molecular biology within instruction-based lecture with no other pedagogical applications. In this study, we have designed an experimental to investigate the effect of a hands on paper models exercise within group work （Jigsaw Cooperative learning） on student biology teachers＇ academic achievement and attitudes to biotechnologies. Our goal was to develop a manipulative activity using inexpensive but graphic materials. The sample for this study consisted of 42 student teachers in the department of Biology Education during the 2005-2006 academic year. We have divided the students in two different classes. One of the classes was randomly assigned as the non-paper model （control, n=21） and the other as the paper model group （n=21）. In experimental group cut and paste paper models exercise within cooperative groups, in control group traditional instructional design has been applied in teaching DNA structure, Central Dogma and Recombinant DNA. The posttests of the groups in achievement and attitudes to biotechnologies show significant differences. The results indicated that the paper model group was more successful than the non-paper group.     

Facilitating Conceptual Change in Gases Concepts

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of conceptual change oriented instruction (CCOI) over traditionally designed chemistry instruction (TDCI) on overcoming 10th grade students’ misconceptions on gases concepts. In addition, the effect of gender difference on students’ understanding of gases concepts was investigated. The subjects of this study consisted of 74 10th grade students from two chemistry classes. One of the classes was assigned as experimental group and the other group was assigned as control group. The experimental group was instructed with CCOI and the control group was instructed by TDCI. Gases Concept Test (GCT) was administered to both groups as pre- and post-tests to measure the students’ conceptual understanding. The results showed that students in the experimental group got higher average scores from Gases Concept Test. Also, a significant difference was found between the performance of females and that of males in terms of understanding gases concepts in favor of males.     

A perspective on education for sustainable development: Historical development of environmental education in Indonesia

This article examines the historical development of environmental education (EE) in Indonesia with emphasis on the non-formal sector, and applies its findings to the discussion on education for sustainable development (ESD), which seldom draws on case studies from developing countries. Local socio-economic and political conditions have made EE in Indonesia similar to ‘ESD’ in terms of its topical scope involving various social issues, although whether it should be referred to as ESD remains unclear. In contrast to the existing concerns about ESD, it involves critical views on the prevailing models of (neo-liberal) economic development. This article also shows that EE, like ESD, is at risk of exploitation by vested interests.     

Influence of team identification,game outcome,and game process on sport consumers’ happiness

The purpose of the study is to examine the relative effects of game process (i.e., boring versus exciting) and outcome (i.e., losing versus winning) on sport consumers’ happiness depending on their level of team identification. The authors investigated how sport consumers’ levels of happiness are different after recalling (Study 1) and imagining (Study 2) a game when the positivity of the game process and the outcome contradict each other. Results indicate that sport consumers with high team identification exhibited greater degrees of happiness after recalling and imagining a boring win game compared to an exciting loss game. Meanwhile, sport consumers with low team identification exhibited similar degrees of happiness between a boring win game and an exciting loss game.     

Modeling of chemotactic steering of bacteria-based microrobot using a population-scale approach

The bacteria-based microrobot (Bacteriobot) is one of the most effective vehicles for drug delivery systems. The bacteriobot consists of a microbead containing therapeutic drugs and bacteria as a sensor and an actuator that can target and guide the bacteriobot to its destination. Many researchers are developing bacteria-based microrobots and establishing the model. In spite of these efforts, a motility model for bacteriobots steered by chemotaxis remains elusive. Because bacterial movement is random and should be described using a stochastic model, bacterial response to the chemo-attractant is difficult to anticipate. In this research, we used a population-scale approach to overcome the main obstacle to the stochastic motion of single bacterium. Also known as Keller-Segel''s equation in chemotaxis research, the population-scale approach is not new. It is a well-designed model derived from transport theory and adaptable to any chemotaxis experiment. In addition, we have considered the self-propelled Brownian motion of the bacteriobot in order to represent its stochastic properties. From this perspective, we have proposed a new numerical modelling method combining chemotaxis and Brownian motion to create a bacteriobot model steered by chemotaxis. To obtain modeling parameters, we executed motility analyses of microbeads and bacteriobots without chemotactic steering as well as chemotactic steering analysis of the bacteriobots. The resulting proposed model shows sound agreement with experimental data with a confidence level <0.01.