The new primary school curriculum project: Malaysia, 1982

The major goal of the Malaysian education system is that of promoting national unity among her constituent ethnic groups, namely, Malays and other indigenous groups, Chinese and Indians. This objective has been operationalised nationally in terms of a common school system, common curriculum content, common public examinations and the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction.In recent investigations, the traditional subject-based, content-loaded primary school curriculum has been reviewed and found to be wanting, in that significant numbers of school leavers have been assessed as almost illiterate. This signalled the need for a skills-based primary school curriculum, which the Curriculum Development Centre launched in January 1982. Its innovatory aspects are manifest, amongst other features, in a reduced dependency on textbooks, more flexible teaching and learning strategies based on ability groupings, and enrichment and compensatory components as well as a more conscious awareness of the all-round development of the individual child.Observations to date indicate that while schooling seems to have become more pleasurable and activity-oriented, the programme may have been launched too hastily, resulting in teachers who have not quite grasped the essentials of the new approach as well as a scarcity in appropriate teaching materials.

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Zusammenfassung Das Hauptziel des malaiischen Erziehungssystems ist es, nationale Einheit unter ethnischen Gruppen, d.h. den Malaien und anderen einheimischen Gruppen — Chinesen und Indianern — zu fördern. Dieses Ziel ist in Form eines gemeinsamen Schulsystems, gemeinsamen inhaltlichen Curriculums, gemeinsamer öffentlicher Examen und unter Anwendung von Malaiisch (Bahasa Malaysia) als das Hauptlehrmedium durchgeführt worden.Vor kurzem ist in Untersuchungen das traditionelle fachorientierte und stofflichüberladene Primarschulcurriculum kritisiert und — da eine nicht geringe Zahl von Schulabgängern als fast analphabetisch eingestuft worden sind — als unzureichend beurteilt worden. Dies signalisierte die Notwendigkeit für ein entwicklungsorientiertes Primarschulcurriculum, welches das Curriculum Development Centre dann im Januar 1982 auch erstellt hat. Seine innovativen Aspekte zeigen sich u.a. in der verminderten Abhängigkeit von Textbüchern, in flexibleren, auf Fähigkeitsgruppen basierten Lehr- und Lernstrategien, in den Komponenten der Bereicherung und Kompensation, sie zeigen sich aber auch darin, daß man sich der gesamtheitlichen Entwicklung des einzelnen Kindes stärker bewußt geworden ist.Bisherige Beobachtungen deuten an, daß während der Schulbesuch angenehmer und aktivitätsbezogener geworden ist, das Programm wohl zu schnell gestartet wurde. Das hatte zur Folge, daß Lehrer die wichtigsten Aspekte des neuen Versuchs nicht völlig verstanden und es am passenden Lehrmaterial mangelte.

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Résumé L'objectif principal du système d'éducation Malais est de promouvoir l'unité nationale au sein des groupes ethniques qui constituent la population, c'est-à-dire les Malais et autres groupes indigènes, les Chinois et les Indiens. Cette politique a été mise en opération à l'échelle nationale par un système scolaire commun, un contenu curriculaire commun, des examens publics communs et l'emploi de la langue malaise comme principal véhicule d'instruction.Dans les recherches récentes, on a procédé à un réexamen du curriculum traditionnel de l'école primaire, divisé en matières académiques et encombré sur le plan de contenu dans la mesure où ce curriculum s'est avéré défectueux, la plupart des élèves l'achevant étant jugés presque analphabètes. Cette situation témoignait de la nécessité, pour l'école primaire, d'un curriculum qui soit centré sur les connaissances fondamentales, et que le Centre de Développement du Curriculum a lancé en janvier 1982. Les aspects innovateurs de ce curriculum se manifestent, entre autres traits, par une dépendance réduite vis-à-vis des manuels scolaires, par un enseignement plus flexible ainsi que par des stratégies d'apprentissage élaborées autour de la répartition des élèves en fonction de leurs aptitudes, et autour du renforcement et des composantes de l'enseignement correctif. On y remarque aussi une prise de conscience plus nette du développement complet de chaque enfant en tant qu'individu.Les observations faites à ce jour montrent que si l'enseignement semble être devenu plus agréable et mieux orienté sur l'activité, le programme a toutefois été lancé peut-être trop hâtivement, ce qui a eu pour conséquence que les enseignants n'ont pas tout à fait bien compris l'essentiel de la nouvelle approache et qu'il y a pénurie de matériel didactique approprié.

     

Oxidative stress is the primary event: Effects of ethanol consumption in brain

Damaging effects of reactive oxygen species on living systems are well documented. They include oxidative attack on vital cell constituents. Chronic ethanol administration is able to induce an oxidative stress in the central nervous system. In the present study, 16–18 week-old male albino rats of Wistar strain were exposed to different concentration of ethanol for 4 weeks. This exposure showed profound effect on body weight. Ascorbic acid level; and activities of alkaline phosphatase and aspartate transaminase in the brain are dependent on the concentration of ethanol exposure. Chronic ethanol ingestion elicits statistically significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances level and decrease in gluatathione level in the brain. It reduces superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities in a dose dependent manner. However, histological examination could not reveal any pathophysiological changes. Therefore, we conclude that biochemical alterations and oxidative stress related parameters respond early in alcoholism than the histopathological changes in brain.     

Evolutionary stable strategy

Every behaviourally responsive animal (including us) make decisions. These can be simple behavioural decisions such as where to feed, what to feed, how long to feed, decisions related to finding, choosing and competing for mates, or simply maintaining ones territory. All these are conflict situations between competing individuals, hence can be best understood using a game theory approach. Using some examples of classical games, we show how evolutionary game theory can help understand behavioural decisions of animals. Game theory (along with its cousin, optimality theory) continues to provide a strong conceptual and theoretical framework to ecologists for understanding the mechanisms by which species coexist.     

Librarians’ perceptions of knowledge management in developing countries: A case with Indian academic libraries

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine librarians' perceptions of knowledge management, including its concept, potential applications, benefits and major challenges of its applications in Indian academic libraries. A structured questionnaire, containing both open and close-ended questions, was sent by postal mail to 30 librarians of academic libraries in India of which 15 questionnaires were returned. Respondents were asked to define knowledge management and answer questions on its potential applications, benefits and major challenges of implementation in academic libraries. Respondents were also allowed to specify their own views on the subject. The findings of the study show that the levels of understanding of KM concepts among librarians are varied and most of them view KM as the management of information resources, services and systems using technology or specific processes for the capture and use of explicit knowledge, rather sharing and using tacit knowledge. They have positive attitudes towards the applications of knowledge management into academic library practice, and not only because this can bring academic libraries closer to their parent organization, but also because it may help them to survive in an increasingly challenging environment. Although, librarians in the present study acknowledged that they are involved in the practices of knowledge management but these were perceived as basic information management activities. Lack of understanding of knowledge management concepts and its benefits, knowledge sharing culture, top management commitment, incentives and rewards, financial resources and information technology infrastructure are perceived as the major barriers for incorporating knowledge management into academic library practice.     

Stretching Every Dollar: The Impact of Personal Financial Stress on the Enrollment Behaviors of Working and Nonworking Community College Students

ABSTRACT

Using 1,400 survey responses collected from two large urban community college systems in Texas, this study examined how students’ financial habits, stress, and well-being influenced their enrollment behaviors. Working students, compared to their nonworking peers, reported significantly lower levels of overall financial well-being. After controlling for other relevant predictors of persistence, regression results showed that students with lower financial well-being and higher financial stress were more likely to doubt their ability to complete college. Results for the restricted sample of working students revealed a strong relationship between a student’s financial well-being and stress. These students also reported having to reduce their semester course load and/or stopping out for a semester in order to work more hours to pay for expenses. These findings suggest that initiatives aimed at helping students improve their financial literacy and money management skills may be an effective, yet underutilized, way to improve retention rates at community colleges.     

Effects of chronic ethanol exposure on renal function tests and oxidative stress in kidney

After administration, ethanol and its metabolites go through the kidneys and are excreted into urine. The kidney seems to be the only vital organ generally spared in chronic alcoholics. Therefore, we investigated the multiple effects of chronic ethanol exposure on renal function tests and on oxidative stress related parameters in the kidney. Chronic ethanol (1.6 g ethanol/ kg body weight/ day) exposure did not show any significant change in relative weight (g/ 100g body weight) of kidneys, serum calcium level or glutathione s-transferase activity. However, urea and creatinine concentration in serum, and TBARS level in kidney elevated significantly, while reduced glutathione content and activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase diminished significantly after 12 weeks of ethanol exposure. Catalase activity showed increased activity after 4 weeks of ethanol exposure and decreased activity after 12 weeks of ethanol exposure. Genesis of renal ultrastructural abnormalities after 12 weeks of ethanol exposure may be important for the development of functional disturbances. This study revealed that chronic ethanol exposure for longer duration is associated with deleterious effects in the kidney.     

Assessment of quality of higher education in hostile environment: an analysis on provincialised colleges under Assam University Silchar

Historically low average pass rate has been a perennial challenge for the universities and provincialised colleges in the North-Eastern states of India (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh). Pass rate refers to the proportion of students promoted from one semester to the next and also the proportion of students who pass the final examination to be a graduate. The paper attempts to trace the key parameters for quality improvement for higher education in the region and subsequently augment the pass rate. An inductive content analysis was conducted based on focus group interviews at various levels at Assam University, Silchar and its affiliated provincialised colleges. The four broad categories thus identified (academic, administrative, socio-economic and placement issues) were subjected to Pareto 80-20 principle to identify the issues that are to be given priority for evolving the system. The study would help the administrators to measure the quality of higher education system in a hostile environment characterised by adverse topography, political disturbances, skewed distribution of income, widespread poverty and lack of literacy.