The importance of respect in teaching and learning: perspectives of final year pre-service teachers in a regional university in Ireland

This article aims to address the lack of attention given to respect as an important relational construct for pre-service teachers. It seeks to inform teacher educators on how to better understand its practice and the implications for teaching and learning. This study examined second level pre-service teachers’ perceptions and experiences of respect. A qualitative design was employed and 12 undergraduate pre-service teachers in their final year of study were interviewed twice (pre and post practicum) about their perceptions of respect and their experiences of respectful teaching and learning. The emerging data indicate that the relational component of respect was identified by the pre-service teacher participants as being important to feeling respected as a teacher. Recommendations are made, in light of these findings, to help teacher educators support pre-service teachers gain a greater understanding of the relational nature of respect.     

Teacher factors and perceived assessment practices needs of social studies teachers in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study evaluated perceived assessment practices needs among social studies teachers in Cross River State, Nigeria, in relation to some teacher factors (attitude towards social studies, sex, teaching experience and educational qualification). Subjects who participated in this study were 297 social studies teachers (144 males and 153 females) from 116 secondary schools in the state. Teacher Classroom Assessment Practices Needs Questionnaire (TCANQ) and Teacher Attitude towards social studies Inventory were used for data collection in the study. Cronbach coefficient alpha of .81 and .93 were obtained as estimate of construct validity and internal consistency reliability for the Teacher Classroom Assessment Practices Needs Questionnaire and the Teacher Attitude towards social studies Inventory respectively. Independent t-test, one way analysis of variance and Pearson Product Moment correlation were used to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that gender and teacher qualification significantly influence perceived assessment practices needs of social studies teachers. Significant positive relationship was observed between years of teaching experience and expressed assessment practices needs; and between attitude towards social studies and assessment needs. It was concluded that factors such as years of teaching experience, attitude towards social studies, gender and educational qualification significantly influence social studies teachers perceive priority needs in assessment practices.     

Estimation of Upper Limit of Normal for Serum Alanine Transaminase in Healthy South Indian Population

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is the most common and cost effective screening test for asymptomatic liver disease. There is paucity of data on normal ALT among healthy individuals in India. An observational cross sectional study was conducted from January to July 2013 to estimate the upper limit of normal for ALT in healthy south Indian population. Adults undergoing voluntary or pre-employment health screening were included. Those with current and past alcoholism or smoking, acute illness or hospitalization during preceding 12 months, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or over the counter medication use within a month, current or past intake of herbal medications, any chronic medical illness, abnormal body mass index (BMI), fatty liver in ultrasound, abnormality in haemoglobin, platelet count, blood sugar, creatinine, lipid profile and thyroid function test and positive serology (Hepatitis B, C or HIV) were excluded. A total of 2600 subjects were screened. 344 were included for analysis. Mean age was 35 years in men and 34.83 years in women, with a mean BMI of 22.2 kg/m² in men and 21.8 kg/m² in women. The mean ALT in men and women were 21.87 ± 2.9 (97.5th percentile 28 U/L) and 19.35 ± 3.3 (97.5th percentile 24 U/L) respectively. In conclusion, mean and upper limit of ALT (97.5th percentile) in south Indian men was 21.87 and 28 IU/L and women were 19.35 and 24 IU/L respectively. There is a need to re-consider ALT levels in our population for better detection of individuals at risk for liver disease.     

Business services as actors of knowledge transformation: the role of KIBS in regional and national innovation systems

Over the last years, there has been a significant increase in the attention paid to the activities of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). KIBS produce and diffuse knowledge, which is crucial for innovation processes. The paper gives an overview of the role and function of KIBS in innovation systems and their knowledge production, transformation and diffusion activities. Focusing on innovation interactions between manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and KIBS, the empirical analyses grasps KIBS position in five regional contexts. The analysis leads to the conclusion that innovation activities link SMEs and KIBS through the process of knowledge generation and diffusion.     

Stability of nonlinear teleoperators using PD controllers without velocity measurements

This paper presents two Proportional-Derivative (PD) like controllers for nonlinear bilateral teleoperation systems. Compared to previous controllers of this kind, these schemes do not make use of velocity measurements. Under the assumptions that the human operator and the environment define passive maps from velocity to force, both controllers can ensure boundedness of velocities and position error. Moreover, in the case that the human and environment forces are zero, the controllers ensure velocity and position synchronization. Furthermore, the paper also presents a generalization to the case of teleoperation of networks of multiple robots. Simulations and real experiments, comparing the performance on free motion and interacting with a stiff wall, support the performance of the reported schemes. The experiments have been performed using two 3-degree-of-freedom nonlinear manipulators.     

Using modelling to make culturally responsive pedagogy explicit in preservice teacher education in Finland

Despite multiculturalism being discussed in teacher education, teachers still often feel insecure in the classroom around developing meaningful practices. This might be due to several issues about how preservice teachers are taught. In this article, modelling culturally responsive pedagogy is demonstrated as a promising strategy in shaping preservice teachers’ learning experiences and facilitating the finding of pedagogical responses in their future work. The article examines preservice teachers’ awareness of modelling as a teaching strategy in a multicultural education course in Finland, and the ways in which they connected the modelled strategy to their own learning and intentions for future teaching. A total of 246 reflective learning journals were analysed qualitatively, using a constant comparison approach. The results indicate that preservice teachers recognised and reflected on modelling culturally responsive pedagogy. They highlighted several aspects of the culturally responsive activities, environment and teacher educator behaviours modelled for them. For some preservice teachers, this recognition stayed at the level of personal awareness of own learning on the course, but for others these revelations were springboards to start forming ideas about future teaching practice. Preservice teachers articulated their intentions about the kind of teachers they would like to become, their principles in teaching, as well as specific teaching/learning activities. We present how the modelling of culturally responsive pedagogy strategies allowed preservice teachers to self-reflect, critique and connect their own learning experiences to future practice. Therefore, modelling culturally responsive pedagogy is argued to be a fruitful strategy in teacher education.     

Squat Jump Performance During Growth in Both Sexes

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate leg muscle power and compare two activities (jumping and cycling) in 383 girls and 407 boys ages 9–19 years. Results in anthropometric characteristics and jumping performance were comparable until midadolescence, and sex differences were observed. Lean leg volume (LLV) was the reason for most of the variance (76% in girls and 88% in boys) in jumping performance. However, the LLV exponent was higher than expected in boys but not girls. Therefore, unidentified qualitative changes of muscle function during growth in boys must be considered. The squat jump index (SJI) was highly correlated to cycling peak power (CPP; N = 790, r = .94, p < .001). Although prediction error of CPP from SJI was less than 5% when considering each sex-and-age group, individual errors mounted to 40%. Due to its practicability, SJI is recommended in large-scale developmental prospective studies. However, cycling and jumping protocols are not interchangeable when measuring peak power values.     

What Type of Internet Development Programme in Cameroon?

Everyone is trying to reap the extraordinary benefits of international networks, but without bothering to find out whether it is safe to do so. This paper echoes some questions being raised by the Cameroonian, and indeed the African, community. What will become of countries or social groups which do not get on to the Internet in time? Would the majority of the world population thus be cut off from a small group? What is the position regarding equality of conditions of access, freedom to communicate and interactivity facilities, understood as a network of exchanges? The programme for the development of the Internet in Cameroon is intended as a pilot experiment in a developing country, that could be taken up in other countries of the region.