Improving Design Understandings and Skills through Enhanced Metacognition: Reflective Design Journals

The main aim of this study was to investigate and discover whether going through the process of reflection by keeping reflective design journals (RDJ) enhances architecture students’ metacognition and whether this enhanced metacognition improves their design understandings and skills. The study was a mixed‐methods design and utilised content analysis method to identify the metacognitive actions of the participants. The study also investigated participants’ attitudes towards RDJs and their views regarding the effect of enhanced metacognition on their design understandings and skills. Twenty college students registered to an undergraduate course offered by the department of Architecture participated in the research. The findings of the study revealed that by writing in their RDJs, participants were able to progressively enhance their metacognitive skills and performed several metacognitive actions by using the four main metacognitive strategies: awareness, organisation and planning, monitoring, and evaluation. The results also disclosed that participants found RDJ keeping exceptionally effective and stated that their enhanced metacognition improved their design understanding and abilities.     

Children of the sug: a study of the daily lives of street children in Khartoum, Sudan, with intervention recommendations

OBJECTIVES: The study examines street children's daily lives in Khartoum, Sudan to recommend ways to improve their conditions and to successfully assist them off the streets. METHODS: In 2000-2001, eight researchers conducted participant observation for 7 weeks; 20 groups of children engaged in role-plays and drawing activities; over 500 children participated in qualitative group and individual interviews; and 872 current and former street children were surveyed. RESULTS: Approximately half of children were 14 years old or younger. Daily life focused on eating, sucking glue-soaked rags, obtaining money, and sometimes movies or games; many children valued their freedom and relatively abundant food on the streets. Boys engaged in odd jobs, and sometimes theft, begging, or sex work. Girls had fewer work opportunities and primarily obtained money through begging and sex work. Almost half of children saw their families weekly. Children belonged to same-sex groups of common geographic origin, which shared food, shelter, and care when sick; boys' group leaders could be both protectors and aggressors. Most girls had a boyfriend who financially assisted and protected her. Girls frequently were raped by street boys, police, or other men. Children feared routine capture, beating and incarceration by authorities. Former street children were housed in large camps where abuse was common, or costly small residencies. CONCLUSIONS: Street-based services to improve children's health and safety are urgently needed. Re-integration programs may help large numbers of children voluntarily and permanently leave the streets. Advocacy campaigns and collaborative efforts with the police, judiciary and legislature should be intensified. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The paper highlights important challenges facing street children in Khartoum, and provides specific recommendations for how they might be better assisted while on the streets and successfully helped off of the streets through community re-integration, rather than current (1) large-scale beating and incarceration by government authorities, or (2) small-scale and costly residential housing by NGOs. The findings have already been used in a sustained advocacy campaign that has resulted in a number of positive legislative changes for street children, such as parliamentary endorsement of a new bill that improves street children's legal status.     

The analytic hierarchy process of the decision-making factors of African students in obtaining higher education in the United Arab Emirates

The mobility of African students beyond national territories has become common worldwide. However, the underlying reasons motivating students to leave their countries of origin in pursuit of higher education in other developing nations and why these factors are important have not been fully explored. This study attempts to explore why and how African students travel to the United Arab Emirates for higher education. A push-pull factor theory of the international student’s choice of destination is developed to identify factors influencing the choices made by these students. The analytic hierarchy process is used to examine the relative importance of these factors. The findings of this quantitative study indicate that learning environment and geographic proximity are the two most important factors for African students, while other factors have a moderate impact. The findings contribute to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the needs and choices of existing and potential students from this continent, with a view to applying a segmentation approach to attract these students.     

Golden ratio

Our attraction to another body increases if the body is symmetrical and in proportion. If a face or a structure is in proportion, we are more likely to notice it and find it beautiful. The universal ratio of beauty is the ‘Golden Ratio’, found in many structures. This ratio comes from Fibonacci numbers. In this article, we explore this concept along with its applications.     

Scandix pecten-veneris L.的植物素、生物学潜力及酶抑制活性研究（英文）

目的:本研究旨在测定Scandix pecten-veneris L.的植物素和评价其生物学潜力。方法:测定S.pecten-veneris提取物中植物素的含量,包括生物碱、黄酮、多酚和单宁。使用2,2-二苯基-1-苦肼基(DPPH)测定抗氧化活性;同时通过铁还原/抗氧化能力(FRAP)测定还原能力;使用琼脂扩散测定法评价对七种细菌和四种真菌菌株的抗微生物活性。同时,对脲酶、磷酸二酯酶-Ⅰ和过氧化氢酶-Ⅱ进行酶抑制研究。结论:沙门氏菌显示出适度的抗自由基活性;羟基自由基的潜能降至初始值的20%左右。S.pectenveneris多种提取物的抗氧化活性与总酚含量呈线性相关。S.pecten-veneris叶对金黄色葡萄球菌表现出最高的抑制活性;对白色念珠菌表现出到最高的抗真菌活性。植物提取物对脲酶的活性最有效;对磷酸二酯酶-Ⅰ和碳酸酐酶-Ⅱ显示出中等活性。结果表明,S.pecten-veneris具有良好的药用潜力,可用于治疗一些特定的疾病。     

Exploring the Relationship Between High School Students’ Physics-Related Personal Epistemologies and Self-regulated Learning in Turkey

This article reports on an empirical exploration of the relations and strengths among Turkish grades 9–11 students’ (n = 209) personal epistemologies (justification of knowledge, certainty of knowledge, source of knowledge, development of knowledge), self-regulated learning (extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, rehearsal, elaboration, organization, critical thinking, metacognitive self-regulation), and achievement in physics (course grades). Established instruments were used to collect data on these students’ beliefs about knowledge and components of self-regulated learning (SRL) such as goal orientations (extrinsic and intrinsic motivation) and learning strategies, critical thinking, and metacognitive regulation. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that students’ personal epistemologies directly influenced their motivation (extrinsic and intrinsic goal orientations), rehearsal and organization strategies, and metacognitive self-regulation to learn physics. Furthermore, students’ personal epistemologies indirectly (mediated through motivation beliefs) influenced rehearsal, elaboration and organization strategies, critical thinking, and metacognitive self-regulation to learn physics. Students’ ideas about knowledge and knowing about the source and development of knowledge significantly contributed to students’ self-regulatory skills and physics course grade. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Effect of (-)epicatechin in modulating calicum-atpase activity in normal and diabetic human erythrocytes

Aqueous extract of the wood ofPterocarpus marsupium, commonly known as ‘bijasar’, is used in Indian Ayurveda system of medicine for treatment of diabetes. The active anti-diabetic principle in its aqueous extract has been found to be (-)epicatechin, a flavonoid. The present work was undertaken to study the effect of (-)epicatechin on erythrocyte membrane Ca⁺⁺-ATPase from type 2 diabetic patients. The activity of erythrocyte Ca⁺⁺-ATPase was significantly lower in type 2 diabetics.In vitro insulin treatment of erythrocyte ghosts, resulted in the increase of Ca⁺⁺-ATPase activity in diabetic patients. Treatment with (-)epicatechin (1mM) resulted in an increase in the activity of erythrocyte Ca⁺⁺-ATPase in both normal individuals and type 2 diabetic patients. The insulin like effect of (-)epicatechin on erythrocyte membrane Ca⁺⁺-ATPase in type 2 diabetics is an interesting finding. Further work is needed to elucidate the mechanism of action of (-)epicatechin on modulation of erythrocyte membrane bound enzymes.     

A case study of beginning science teachers’ subject matter (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teaching chemical reaction in Turkey

This paper describes a case study focusing on the subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and beliefs about science teaching of student teachers in Turkey at the start of their university education. The topic of interest was that of teaching chemical reactions in secondary chemistry education. A written test was developed which used the research literature on potential student misconceptions with regard to different aspects of chemical reactions. Thirty beginning science student teachers were tested, with an additional eight interviews from the student teachers in the same sample. The interviews focused on student teachers’ views about how to best teach chemical reactions in lower secondary chemistry classes. The results revealed deficits in the subject matter knowledge of the student teachers. It also became obvious that the teachers in this sample held very traditional and teacher-centred beliefs when it came to chemistry teaching at the secondary level. Their teaching attitudes were geared mainly towards the acquisition of facts by pupils, and often ignored the development of process-oriented skills. Implications for science teacher education are discussed.