UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THERMAL PHYSICS IN EVERYDAY CONTEXTS

Thermal physics is in the realm of everyday experience, underlies current environmental concerns, and underpins studies in sciences, health and engineering. In the state of NSW in Australia, the coverage of thermal topics in high school is minimal, and, hence, so is the conceptual understanding of students. This study takes a new approach at exploring conceptions of students with a qualitative analysis facilitated by NVivo complemented with reference to sociocultural ideas of learning. A 2-part pen and paper question was given to 598 first year university students of different educational backgrounds (and therefore physics expertise). ‘The Question’ was based on 2 familiar scenarios and required the selection of a concept first, followed by an explanation. The results showed that concepts were favoured based on a student’s everyday experience and their curriculum through high school, and some were more effective than others in making scientifically congruent responses. The reported thermal physics alternative conceptions were also examined in our sample, and students’ reasoning behind such conceptions indicate that some conceptions do not inhibit scientifically congruent responses whilst others do. The results implicate language and the everyday experiences of the student in the teaching and learning of thermal physics.     

Towards promotion and dissemination of indigenous knowledge: A case of NIRD

This paper describes what indigenous knowledge (IK) is and why IK is important. This paper highlights the concepts of rural technology and indigenous knowledge. It also explains the initiatives of the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) towards development, promotion and dissemination of IK to the rural community to improve their quality of life. Explained in brief are the practices of IK at NIRD like traditional mud houses, handmade paper, vermi compost, medicinal plants nursery, etc. Among the issues covered are collection, recording and documenting, storage, problems, intellectual property rights, documentation and dissemination of IK, and the role of ICTs in this regard. Finally, it also proposes a digital information resources base on IK.     

Student plagiarism and faculty responsibility in undergraduate engineering labs

In undergraduate engineering labs, lab reports are routinely copied. By ignoring this form of plagiarism, teaching assistants and lab technicians neglect their role responsibility. By designing courses that facilitate it, however inadvertently, professors neglect their causal responsibility. Using the case of one university, we show via interviews and observation that such routine copying and faculty negligence are rampant. We suggest the latter be explicitly recognized as a cause of student dishonesty, and argue that it must be rectified before faculty earn the right to reform students. We also suggest that these findings are representative of, and therefore generalizable to, many universities’ undergraduate engineering and science labs.     

The complexities in fostering critical thinking through school-based curriculum innovation: research evidence from Singapore

Abstract

Singapore’s strong performance in international benchmarking studies – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – poses a conundrum to researchers who view Singapore’s pedagogy as characterized by the teaching of facts and procedures, and lacking in constructivist learning principles. In this paper, we examine the impact of different curriculum innovations on critical thinking as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment – UK (WGCTA-UK). This includes two innovations that are subject-specific and short-term, one that strongly infuses the arts into the curriculum throughout the whole course of study, and the innovation of the Integrated Programme (IP) which allows academically stronger students to skip the GCE “O” Levels and enter directly into the next level of education, with the time previously allocated to exam preparation now spent on greater breadth in the academic and non-academic curriculum. This paper takes the sociocultural approach to investigate the contexts, process, and outcomes, reports the state of critical thinking, and sheds light on how critical thinking is being promoted. Through our analysis, we find support for the claim that only curriculum that is rigorously designed to foster critical thinking competencies will reap the intended student outcome.     

Identification of a high frequency of chromosomal rearrangements in the centromeric regions of prostate cancer patients

The aim of the present investigation was to study the major chromosomal aberrations （CA） like deletion, translocation, inversion and mosaic in prostate cancer patients of Tamilnadu, Southern India. Totally 45 blood samples were collected from various hospitals in Tamilnadu, Southern India. Equal numbers of normal healthy subjects were chosen after signing a consent form. Volunteers provided blood samples （5 ml） to establish leukocyte cultures. Cytogenetic studies were performed by using Giemsaanding technique and finally the results were ensured by spectral karyotyping （SKY） technique. In the present investigation, major CA like deletion, translocation, inversion and mosaic were identifed in experimental subjects. Results showed frequent CA in chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 16, 18 and X. In comparison with experimental subjects, the control subjects exhibited very low levels of major CA （P〈0.05）. In the present study, the high frequency of centromeric rearrangements indicates a potential role for mitotic irregularities associated with the centromere in prostate cancer tumorigenesis. Identification of chromosome alterations may be helpful in understanding the molecular basis of the disease in better manner.     

Effect of latent iron deficiency on GABA and glutamate neuroreceptors in rat brain

Eight weeks of latent iron deficiency in weaned female rats of Sprague Dawley strain maintained on experimental low-iron diet (18–20 mg/kg) did not significantly change the gross body, weight and tissue weights of brain and liver. Packed cell volume (PCV) and hemoglobin concentration remained unaltered. However, non-heme iron content in liver and brain decreased significantly (p<0.001). The activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) in brain decreased by 15%, 11.4% and 25.7% respectively. However, this decrease was not statistically significant. Binding of³H Muscimol at pH 7.5 and 1 mg protein/assay increased by 143% (p<0.001) in synaptic vesicular membranes from iron-deficient rats as compared to the controls.³H glutamate binding to the synaptic vesicles was also carried out under similar condition. However, the L-glutamate binding was reduced by 63% in the vesicular membranes of iron deficient animals. These studies indicate that iron plays important functional role in both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors.     

Antioxidant effect of methanolic extract of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum nigrum</Emphasis> berries on aspirin induced gastric mucosal injury

The antiulcerogenic effects of the methanolic extract ofSolanum nigrum berries (SBE) on aspirin induced ulceration in rats with respect to antioxidant status in the gastric mucosa have been investigated. Oxygen free radicals are considered to be important factors in the pathogenesis of gastric ulcer. The level of lipid peroxides, which were elevated highly in rats with acute gastric mucosal injury was taken as an index of oxidative stress. The activities of antioxidant defense enzymes were also decreased considerably by oral gastric administration of aspirin. The decreased levels of antioxidant enzymes and increased mucosal injury were altered to near normal status upon pretreatment with (SBE) when compared to the ulcer induced rats. The results indicate that (SBE) may exert its gastroprotective effect by a free radical scavenging action. Our observations suggest that (SBE) may have considerable therapeutic potential in the treatment of gastric diseases.     

Effect of latent iron deficiency on gaba and glutamate neuroreceptors in rat brain

Eight weeks of latent iron deficiency in weaned female rats of Sprague Dawley strain maintained on experimental low-iron diet (18–20 mg/Kg) did not significantly change the gross body weight and tissue weights of brain and liver. Packed cell volume (PCV) and hemoglobin concentration remained unaltered. However, non-heme iron content in liver and brain decreased significantly (P<0.001). The activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) in brain decreased by 15%, 11.4% and 25.7% respectively. However, this decrease was not statistically significant. Binding of³H Muscimol at pH 7.5 and 1 mg protein/assay increased by 143% (P<0.001) in synaptic vesicular membranes from iron-deficient rats as compared to the controls.³H glutamate binding to the synaptic vesicles was also carried out under similar condition. However, the L-glutamate binding was reduced by 63% in the vesicular membranes of iron deficient animals. These studies in dicate that iron plays an important functional role in both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors.     

Immunomodulation of excretory secretory materials from the filarial parasite<Emphasis Type="Italic">Setaria digitata</Emphasis>

ES materials released along with the release of mf showed immunosuppression as evidenced by a decrease in T lymphocyte levels in the immunised animals. Lipid fractions of the mf associated ES materials and protein fractions of the detergent soluble materials were found to cause suppression of immune response in the host. Further study revealed that the suppression associated with the lipid fractions is actually the end result and that mf associated ES materials is actually a mixture of immunosuppressive and immunopotentiating components and the release of the components is most likely regulated.