Exposing blindspots and the hidden curriculum within counselor supervision models

Anti-racist and anti-oppressive supervision remains a burgeoning area of scholarship and research within the counselor education nomenclature. In this paper, we explore how matters of race and racism are conspicuously underemphasized in counselor training, specifically, the supervision process. We explore the hidden curriculum in counselor education supervision models. Next, we consider how a supervision model grounded in critical race theory provides a more robust framework for addressing gaps in existing supervision models through anti-racist practices.     

The design and development of a dyscalculia checklist based on a focus group interview

This article aims to explore the symptoms and characteristics of dyscalculia. This is a qualitative study. Five experts in the field of special education took part in a focus group interview. Each expert had more than ten years of experience in their area of expertise. To determine the content validity of the protocol, three experts in special education, language and qualitative research evaluated each of the eight items. Cohen's kappa analysis was used to assess inter-rater reliability. The findings of this study indicate that 59 items have been developed, based on six constructs in the dyscalculia checklist. The six constructs were subitising, estimating, Arabic numerals, verbal numbers, arithmetic facts and calculating processes. Following the focus group interview, a new construct emerged: math anxiety. The study implies that teachers might utilise this checklist to carry out early detection of students with dyscalculia in primary schools. This will enable appropriate intervention, resulting in significant benefits for the Ministry of Education, for educators and teachers, and for the students themselves. Although this study was based in Malaysia, the results have wider implications because dyscalculia is present everywhere.     

Existence of solutions for nonlinear fractional q-difference integral equations with two fractional orders and nonlocal four-point boundary conditions

We investigate the existence of solutions for a nonlinear fractional q-difference integral equation (q-variant of the Langevin equation) with two different fractional orders and nonlocal four-point boundary conditions. Our results are based on some classical fixed point theorems. An illustrative example is also presented.     

Characterization of Human Serum Immunoglobulin G Modified with Singlet Oxygen

Reactive oxygen species, as singlet oxygen (¹O₂), is continuously being generated by aerobic organisms, and react actively with biomolecules. At excessive amounts, ¹O₂ induces oxidative stress and shows carcinogenic and toxic effects due to oxidation of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. In our study, immunoglobulin G (IgG) was modified by ¹O₂ generated by the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of methylene blue. The modified IgG was characterized by UV spectroscopy, carbonyl content determination, thermal denaturation and electrophoretic study. Oxidation induced by modification of IgG by ¹O₂ also analyzed by scavenging studies. It was found that ultraviolet absorption spectra of modified IgG shows marked hyperchromicity. The carbonyl content was found to be high in modified IgG as compared to native IgG which confirms its oxidation. Thermal denaturation of modified protein sample shows decrease in Tm value by 3 °C and less intensity banding pattern on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The quenching effect of sodium azide provides clue for modification of IgG by methylene blue, as it is known ¹O₂ scavenger. Hence, the IgG modified with ¹O₂ may be one of the etiological pathogenic factors for rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.     

Is e-government a way to e-democracy?: A longitudinal study of the Iranian situation

Some scholars have supported e-government as a path to e-democracy, whereas others have been more cautious about the subject. In this article, we review the similarities between the concepts of e-government and e-democracy as well as evaluate e-government initiatives and e-democracy requirements in the case of Iran. We used a longitudinal study at two points in time to evaluate the path from e-government to e-democracy using two different methods: a systematic evaluation based on a checklist and a questionnaire survey. The trend of change in e-government initiatives was positive but low from 2008 to 2009, whereas the trend of change in e-democracy requirements was negative and substantial during the same period. We conclude that an emphasis on e-government as a way to e-democracy is not recommended in countries such as Iran.     

Entrepreneurship education in Malaysian universities

Entrepreneurship education in the strongly emerging market of Malaysia was examined throughout the country’s 20 public universities. A broad based interview process amongst multiple stakeholders profiled educational policies as well as revealing shortcomings in practice. Observers noted that students showed a preference for salaried jobs after graduation rather than setting up their own businesses, despite participation in entrepreneurship classes and programmes. Policymakers indicated that curricula had deficiencies despite their hype. Passive lectures were far more common than more interactive methods. It is suggested that if Malaysian universities are to promote entrepreneurship education in an effective way, they must address these issues.

     

PF-BTS: A Privacy-Aware Fog-enhanced Blockchain-assisted task scheduling

In recent years, the deployment of Cloud Computing (CC) has become more popular both in research and industry applications, arising form various fields including e-health, manufacturing, logistics and social networking. This is due to the easiness of service deployment and data management, and the unlimited provision of virtual resources (VR). In simple scenarios, users/applications send computational or storage tasks to be executed in the cloud, by manually assigning those tasks to the available computational resources. In complex scenarios, such as a smart city applications, where there is a large number of tasks, VRs, or both, task scheduling is exposed as an NP-Hard problem. Consequently, it is preferred and more efficient in terms of time and effort, to use a task scheduling automation technique. As there are many automated scheduling solutions proposed, new possibilities arise with the advent of Fog Computing (FC) and Blockchain (BC) technologies. Accordingly, such automation techniques may help the quick, secure and efficient assignment of tasks to the available VRs. In this paper, we propose an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm in a Fog-enabled Blockchain-assisted scheduling model, namely PF-BTS. The protocol and algorithms of PF-BTS exploit BC miners for generating efficient assignment of tasks to be performed in the cloud’s VRs using ACO, and award miner nodes for their contribution in generating the best schedule. In our proposal, PF-BTS further allows the fog to process, manage, and perform the tasks to enhance latency measures. While this processing and managing is taking place, the fog is enforced to respect the privacy of system components, and assure that data, location, identity, and usage information are not exposed. We evaluate and compare PF-BTS performance, with a recently proposed Blockchain-based task scheduling protocol, in a simulated environment. Our evaluation and experiments show high privacy awareness of PF-BTS, along with noticeable enhancement in execution time and network load.     

A case analysis of knowledge sharing implementation and job searching in Malaysia

The aim of this research is to consider an analysis through case studies on how knowledge sharing may be successfully implemented. The study will clarify a conceptualisation that provides a new understanding of the relationship between unemployed graduates and the human capital concept. The cases adopted web documentation for the research technique, and an interpretive approach was used as the research paradigm. Two online recruitment agency sites were analysed through qualitative analysis. The connections show how knowledge sharing can be used as a medium to help unemployed graduates to get jobs through online recruitment agencies. High quality candidates must have good soft skills, problem-solving skills and employable value added skills to get the best jobs. The findings will be expressed as qualitative results from the two online recruitment agencies researched as the case studies for the paper. From these case studies, the findings will contribute to the ongoing study on how to implement knowledge sharing among undergraduates after they finished their studies.     

Piper sarmentosum as an antioxidant on oxidative stress in human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by hydrogen peroxide

Endothelial cell death due to increased reactive oxygen species(ROS) may contribute to the initial endothelial injury,which promotes atherosclerotic lesion formation.Piper sarmentosum(PS),a natural product,has been shown to have an antioxidant property,which is hypothesized to inhibit production of ROS and prevent cell injury.Thus,the present study was designed to determine the effects of PS on the hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)-induced oxidative cell damage in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs).In this experiment,HUVECs were obtained by collagenase perfusion of the large vein in the umbilical cord and cultured in medium M200 supplemented with low serum growth supplementation(LSGS).HUVECs were treated with various concentrations of H2O2(0-1000 μmol/L) and it was observed that 180 μmol/L H2O2 reduced cell viability by 50% as denoted by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay.Using the above concentration as the positive control,the H2O2-induced HUVECs were concomitantly treated with various concentrations(100,150,250 and 300 μg/ml) of three different extracts(aqueous,methanol and hexane) of PS.Malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT) and glutathione peroxidase(GPX) levels showed a significant increase(P0.05) in HUVECs compared to the negative control.However,PS extracts showed a protective effect on HUVECs from H2O2-induced cell apoptosis with a significant reduction in MDA,SOD,CAT and GPX levels(P0.05).Furthermore,PS had exhibited ferric reducing antioxidant power with its high phenolic content.Hence,it was concluded that PS plays a beneficial role in reducing oxidative stress in H2O2-induced HUVECs.