Possible factors influencing Asian students' degree of participation in peer-facilitated online discussion forums: a case study

This study investigated possible factors that might influence the degree of student participation in asynchronous online discussion forums. Degree of participation refers to the number of messages posted by the students. Data were collected from 41 forums, students' reflection logs, and students' interviews. Of these 41 forums, the top third forums (n = 14) in terms of the highest frequency of participant postings were identified. Fourteen less frequent forums were randomly chosen from the remaining forums. We also assessed the quality of the discussions found in both the more frequent and less frequent groups by examining the levels of knowledge construction exhibited in the online postings. We found that that the quality of contributions in the more frequent group was greater than those found in the less frequent group in terms of higher knowledge construction levels. Quantitative analyses showed that the duration of the discussion could not account for the difference between the two groups. Instead, the more and less frequent forums differed in terms of group size, as well as the frequency of two habits of mind displayed by the student facilitators: (a) is aware of own thinking, and (b) is accurate and seeks accuracy. Qualitative analyses of the reflection logs and interviews suggested several other important factors that could also influence students' decision to participate: (a) familiarity with the facilitator, (b) mutual obligation to help each other, (c) knowledge about the topic, and (d) availability of time. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Microfluidic fabrication of polymeric core-shell microspheres for controlled release applications

We report a facile and robust microfluidic method to fabricate polymeric core-shell microspheres as delivery vehicles for biomedical applications. The characteristics of core-shell microspheres can be precisely and easily tuned by manipulating the microfluidic double emulsion templates. The addition of a shell can significantly improve the versatility as well as functionality of these microspheres as delivery vehicles. We demonstrate that the nature of the shell material plays an important role in the properties of the core-shell delivery vehicles. The release kinetics is significantly influenced by the material of the shell and other characteristics such as the thickness. For example, by adding a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) shell to an alginate core, the encapsulation efficiency is enhanced and undesired leakage of hydrophilic actives is prevented. By contrast, adding an alginate shell to PLGA core can lead to a reduction of the initial release rate, thus extending the release period of hydrophobic actives. Microfluidic fabrication enables the generation of precisely controlled core-shell microspheres with a narrow size distribution, which enables the investigation of the relationship between the release kinetics of these microspheres and their characteristics. The approach of using core-shell particles as delivery vehicles creates new opportunities to customize the release kinetics of active ingredients.     

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.     

An examination of student- and across-level mediation mechanisms accounting for gender differences in reading performance: a multilevel analysis of reading engagement

Enjoyment of reading, diversity of reading and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies are cognitive and affective variables pertaining to three facets of reading engagement for students to read happily, widely and skilfully. These have been found to be related to effectiveness in reading instruction. They together form a focus for this study to examine the underlying student- and across-level mechanisms to explain gender differences in reading performance of Macao students. Drawing data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 Study, the mediation effects of gender and the school’s gender composition on reading performance are analysed. Two findings are of both theoretical and pedagogical interests. Firstly, the three facets of reading engagement from the nurture perspective explain substantially the within-school gender gap. Secondly, in coeducation context where students read happily and skilfully, there are gender-specific peer influences across-level onto student reading performance. Implications for gender-inclusive reading instruction programmes are discussed.     

Measuring Teachers' Meta-Orientations to Curriculum: Application of Hierarchical Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Although curriculum scholars generally agree that teachers' meta-orientations to curriculum are hidden forces guiding their selection of curriculum goals, curriculum content, teaching methods, and assessment strategies, the existence of such a meta-orientation construct has not been empirically confirmed. The author used McNeil's (1996) 4 curriculum orientations to demonstrate how hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis can be applied to measure the meta-orientation construct. A hierarchical model was hypothesized that consisted of 4 1st-order factors and 1 2nd-order factor. The 1st-order factors represented McNeil's 4 separate curriculum orientations: academic, social reconstructionist, humanistic, and technological. The 2nd-order factor denoted the meta-orientation construct. Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of teacher data collected by a curriculum orientation inventory provided clear support for the hypothesized model.     

An exploration of Biggs’ constructive alignment in course design and its impact on students’ learning approaches

This paper investigates whether instructors’ adoption of constructive alignment has any impact on university students’ learning approaches, which are highly correlated with students’ achievement of learning outcomes. A multi-method model with a combination of qualitative and quantitative design was adopted, using document analysis, interviews and survey. The analysis of covariance results suggested that regardless of individual differences, students would adjust their learning approaches and study behaviours in response to the classroom teaching and learning environment. Students in more ‘constructively aligned courses’ were more likely to adopt deep learning approaches and less likely to use surface learning approaches in their study of a particular course.     

The Value of Reading and the Effectiveness of Sustained Silent Reading

In this article, we explore the association between students’ value of reading and their behavior during a sustained silent reading (SSR) period, and their attitudes toward SSR and reading leisure books. 362 secondary students participated in this study and data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The results showed that more students in the high value of reading (HVR) group behaved better during SSR periods and had a more positive attitude toward SSR and leisure book reading than those in the lower value of reading (LVR) group. The value of reading was also found to be associated with the frequency of interaction with parents in reading activities, and we thus suggest that parents should be involved in the SSR program.     

A Structural Equation Modeling of the Factors Affecting an Age-friendly Workplace

There has been a growing trend recently to examine the various factors affecting an age-friendly workplace. Through structural equation modelling (SEM), this study purports to test a model that shows the interaction between and among declining memories, wisdom, age discrimination, and an age-friendly workplace in Filipino elderly in a government setting. Two hundred elderly from a large government bank in the Philippines participated in this study. Data were obtained through a self-completion questionnaire and a one-on-one interview. Surprisingly, results revealed that declining memory has no significant effect on wisdom. However, wisdom has a positive impact on age discrimination as does age-discrimination on an age-friendly workplace. The authors discuss the implications of these results and highlight directions for future research.