Programme Quality Assessment by the Implication of Variable Entry Qualifications on Students' Performance

Since its inception 30 years ago, the then Department of Engineering Science, Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM) was given the responsibility of preparing all the students in the first year engineering programmes by giving enough knowledge in basic science and mathematics. The nation's vision to become a fully‐industrialised economy by the year 2020 required all institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in Malaysia to increase their intake of students in the science and technology courses, especially in engineering. However, at the upper secondary education level, students have the freedom to choose between the science‐based or non‐science combination of subjects. This has led to a dearth of science‐based students enrolling in IHLs. Because ITM believes that it is possible to educate individuals from various backgrounds, the engineering courses are open to students with a variety of academic qualifications. Special bridging courses were designed and created for such students since late 1996. The success or failure of the new courses can be assessed after the students have gone through the proper first year engineering courses which consist of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. This paper reports on a pilot study on the pioneer groups of students with variable entry qualifications to assess the effectiveness of the courses. The study involved the analysis of the students’ examination results as a performance indicator, and it was found that the bridging programme for non‐science students needed to be redesigned. It is also proposed that to improve the quality of the programme, and hence students’ performance, a regular review be conducted, student support activities be continued and to expand the use of self‐study materials.     

“To be or not to be”: the double consciousness of the Tamil Muslims during the early 20th century

When the nation building process was gaining momentum during the early 20th century, all the communities in British India had to participate in the process and the Muslims were no exception. Although the Muslim community in British India was as diverse as any other community, there was an attempt to unite its members under the identity of “Muslims” during the first half of the 20th century. But the Tamil Muslims remained aloof from the idea of an “Indian Muslim Community.” They had a double consciousness of being a Tamil as well as a Muslim. They highlighted their “Tamilness” more than their “Muslimness.” More than the Muslim League, their involvement with the Dravidian Movement was substantial. They supported both the movement for Dravidasthan as well as Pakistan. This paper will look into the process of “nation making,” particularly a “Muslim nation” and the anxiety of the Tamil Muslims during these processes. It will analyse the reasons behind the Tamil Muslims being alienated from the other Muslims, the British colonialist denying the identity of “pure” Muslims to the Tamil Muslims and their involvement in the Dravidian Movement.     

A diagnostic dilemma in Jordan: two child abuse case studies

Child abuse was diagnosed in two Jordanian children. The first was a 15-month-old female infant admitted with a history of convulsions and loss of consciousness. The child had previous head and limb injuries resulting in bilateral subdural hematomas and fractures at different stages of healing of femur and pelvis. The second was a 3-year-old male admitted with history of head injury due to an alleged fall. Examination revealed fractured ribs, bruised eye and face, hemothorax, subperiosteal and subdural hematomas. Both children have sustained physical and mental handicaps. This is the first report of child abuse in Jordan. In Jordan, as in the rest of the world, a high index of suspicion is needed to diagnose child abuse early enough to save the affected child its serious sequelae.     

Review:Mycorrhizoremediation—an enhanced form of phytoremediation

INTRODUCTION Biosphere pollution by heavy metals and nu-cleotides was accelerated dramatically during the last few decades due to mining, smelting, manufacturing, treatment of agricultural soils with agro-chemicals and soil sludge, etc. Problems associated with the contamination of soil and water such as animal wel-fare, health, fatalities and disruptions of natural eco-systems are well documented (He et al., 2005). Heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, As, Cu, Cd, and Hg, being added to our so…     

Problems of drinking water treatment along Ismailia Canal Province, Egypt

The present drinking water purification system in Egypt Uses surface water as a raw water supply without a pre-liminary filtration process.On the other hand,chlorine gas iS added as a disinfectant agent in two steps,pre- and post.chlorination.Due to these reasons most of water treatment plants suffer low fltering effectiveness and produce the trihalomethane (THM) species as a chlorination by-product.The Ismailia Canal represents the most distal downstream of the main Nile Rivet.ThUS its water contains all the proceeded pollutants discharged into the Nile.In addition.the downstream reaches of the canal act as an agricultural drain during the closing period of the High Dam gates in January and February every year.Moreover,the wide in-dustrial zone along the upstream course of the carlal enriches the canal water with high concentrations of heavy metals.The obtained results indicate that the canal gains up to 24.06×106m3 of water from the surrounding shallow aquifer during the closing period ofthe High Dam gates,while during the rest ofthe year,the callal acts as an influent stream losing about 99.6×106m3 of its water budget.The reduction oftotaI organic carbon(TOC) and suspended particulate mattes(SPMs)should be one of the central goals of any treatment plan to avoid the disinfectants by-products.The combination of sedimentation basins.gravel pre-filtration and slow sand filtration,and underground passage with microbiological oxidation-reduction and adsorption criteria showed good removal of parasites and bacteria and complete elimination of TOC.SPM and heavy metals.Moreover,it reduces the use of disinfectants chemicals and lowers the treatment costs.However,this purification system under the arid climate prevailing in Egypt should be tested and modified prior to application.     

Paulo Freire’s critical and dialogic pedagogy and its implications for the Bahraini educational context

Abstract

This paper is a conceptual analysis in methodology. The purpose it fulfils is that of analysing the critical and dialogic pedagogy of Paulo Freire, to arrive at implications of Freire’s philosophy and approach for the current educational context of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahraini context is currently one of major economic, social, and educational reforms. Despite several reform initiatives, however, schools in Bahrain are still not advancing as they should be and deficiencies continue to exist in students’ development of higher-order thinking skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and analysis. Among the implications made by this study are ones related to: teaching and learning practices within a classroom, cultivation of 21st Century skills, curriculum development and planning, and the role played by the teacher. The paper ends with a number of significant recommendations for teachers and policy-makers, which can enhance education in Bahrain and help it progress faster. These recommendations can also prove to be useful to other parallel contexts regionally and internationally.     

Assessment of counselling needs: A comparative study of the perceptions of primary school teachers in Lesotho and Malaysia

In this paper the results of a study conducted to determine the perception of counselling needs by primary school teachers in Malaysia and Lesotho are reported. To this end, teachers were asked about the special needs of students they teach, how they cope with these students, what assistance they would like to have in teaching, and the best approach for dealing with student concerns. Teachers in Lesotho are dealing with larger numbers of special needs students and thus are having more difficulties than Malaysian teachers. Malaysian teachers appeared to be more interested in improving their teaching effectiveness. There was some variation in the perceptions of how to best deal with student concerns.     

A comparative study of conventional and supercritical fluid extraction methods for the recovery of secondary metabolites from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syzygium campanulatum</Emphasis> Korth

Syzygium campanulatum Korth is a plant, which is a rich source of secondary metabolites (especially flavanones, chalcone, and triterpenoids). In our present study, three conventional solvent extraction (CSE) techniques and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) techniques were performed to achieve a maximum recovery of two flavanones, chalcone, and two triterpenoids from S. campanulatum leaves. Furthermore, a Box-Behnken design was constructed for the SFE technique using pressure, temperature, and particle size as independent variables, and yields of crude extract, individual and total secondary metabolites as the dependent variables. In the CSE procedure, twenty extracts were produced using ten different solvents and three techniques (maceration, soxhletion, and reflux). An enriched extract of five secondary metabolites was collected using n-hexane:methanol (1:1) soxhletion. Using food-grade ethanol as a modifier, the SFE methods produced a higher recovery (25.5%?84.9%) of selected secondary metabolites as compared to the CSE techniques (0.92%?66.00%).     

Head Teachers' Perspectives on School Drop-Out in Secondary Schools in Rural Punjab,Pakistan

This study investigates head teachers' perspectives of the school dropout problem at public secondary schools in rural Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based on qualitative methods and included interviews to collect primary data. Sixteen districts of the Punjab where secondary school dropout rate is above 20% were purposively selected for the study. The findings indicate that—other than some socioeconomic and individual factors—different exam patterns at primary, elementary, and secondary levels; easy promotion policy in early classes; English medium syllabus; substandard educational background of students; high failure rate in class 9; and top-down pressures on teachers to perform nonacademic duties are major causes of children dropping out from school. The findings of the study suggest that only through implementation of a socio-culturally compatible syllabus—a corresponding examination system for all levels—allowing students to repeat class 9 in case they fail, setting teachers free from nonteaching duties and providing extra financial support to economically underprivileged students can significantly prevent school dropout at secondary level. The study further argues that easy promotion policy in early classes may retain more children at school but it causes high rates of dropout from secondary classes.     

Student attrition and academic and social integration: Application of Tinto’s model at the University of Papua New Guinea

This study explores the compensatory relationship between academic and social integration, and also assesses the differences of group specific academic and social integration in a small university in the Pacific as perceived by the students. In order to reduce attrition through developing a relevant retention policy, a comprehensive group specific assessment of academic and social integration was necessary. Using the Tinto model and research instruments, an institutional academic and social integration assessment instrument was developed for measuring perceived integration climate for specific subject and year of studies groups. An important outcome of this study was the existence of a compensatory relationship between academic and social integration. Differences were found between perceived ratings of student groups for both academic and social integration.