Estimation of Maximum Oxygen Uptake in Adults from AAHPER Youth Fitness Test Items

Abstract

The validity of estimating maximum oxygen uptake from AAHPER Youth Fitness Test items was determined utilizing 87 adult subjects. Multiple correlations were obtained utilizing the motor fitness items as independent variables. Three dependent variables were investigated for relationship to the independent variables (gross O₂ uptake, O₂ uptake/kg body wt., O₂ uptake/kg lean body wt.). The multiple correlation of the AAHPER items with O₂ uptake/kg body wt. (0.760) was higher than with the other two variables. It was determined by multiple regression techniques that a subset of four of the independent variables could be used to get an estimate of O₂ uptake/kg body wt. with an associated standard error of ± 12 percent of the estimated values. This was compared with the standard errors of more complicated estimation methods.     

Teaching habitat and animal classification to fourth graders using an engineering-design model

The paper reports findings on variable‐handling aspects of pupil performance in investigatory tasks, using data from the British APU national survey programme. It is based on tasks of similar logical structure, undertaken in various formats and response modes and including practical and pencil and paper versions. The tasks are shown to elicit diverse collective and individual responses in terms of variable handling performance, despite their logical similarity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of these findings for assessment methodology and for understanding of 15‐year‐old pupils’ approaches to the variable‐based logic of investigation.     

Improving educational web search for question-like queries through subject classification

Students use general web search engines as their primary source of research while trying to find answers to school-related questions. Although search engines are highly relevant for the general population, they may return results that are out of educational context. Another rising trend; social community question answering websites are the second choice for students who try to get answers from other peers online. We attempt discovering possible improvements in educational search by leveraging both of these information sources. For this purpose, we first implement a classifier for educational questions. This classifier is built by an ensemble method that employs several regular learning algorithms and retrieval based approaches that utilize external resources. We also build a query expander to facilitate classification. We further improve the classification using search engine results and obtain 83.5% accuracy. Although our work is entirely based on the Turkish language, the features could easily be mapped to other languages as well. In order to find out whether search engine ranking can be improved in the education domain using the classification model, we collect and label a set of query results retrieved from a general web search engine. We propose five ad-hoc methods to improve search ranking based on the idea that the query-document category relation is an indicator of relevance. We evaluate these methods for overall performance, varying query length and based on factoid and non-factoid queries. We show that some of the methods significantly improve the rankings in the education domain.     

ASSESSING CHEMISTRY-LEARNING COMPETENCIES OF STUDENTS IN ISOLATED RURAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS BY USING THE NATIONAL EXAMINATION: A CASE STUDY OF SIMEULUE ISLAND,INDONESIA

This study explored learning competency based on the Indonesian National Examination focusing especially on chemistry performance and the circumstances of senior high school students and teachers in rural areas of Simeulue Island, Indonesia. The National Examination total score and chemistry score for students in rural areas were consistently lower than students in urban areas during 2008–2010. The majority of rural students were failing to master key chemistry concepts. Their low performance on laboratory-based questions appeared to indicate that the associated practical work was not done as part of the chemistry courses. Some chemistry topics were not taught due to insufficient time, student weaknesses, insufficient textbooks, and other reasons. The issues of low competency of teachers, poverty for the majority of students, low enrollment in schools, and low competition among students in these rural senior high schools appeared to be common problems across rural settings. The local government has recommended providing a consolidated rural high school with qualified chemistry teachers, laboratories, and transportation to address factors negatively influencing student achievement. Furthermore, local rural school officials need to recruit and retain qualified teachers in these isolated areas, provide effective textbooks and instructional resources, and facilitate the professional development of chemistry teachers.     

Getting Personal: Reaching Out to Adult Learners through a Course Management System

Adult learners are returning to college in increasing numbers. The Marywood University Library has seen an influx, particularly in the university's Master of Social Work program, where many adult learners are reentering school after years of absence. Reaching out to this user group, the library initiated a personal librarian service through a Course Management System, a familiar online environment for these students. A survey was conducted to determine whether library help delivered in this way is favored among adult learners.     

How to repair the Hill cipher

INTRODUCTION Owing to the advance in network technology, information security is an increasingly important problem. Popular application of multimedia tech- nology and increasingly transmission ability of net- work gradually leads us to acquire information di- rectly and clearly through images. Hence, data secu- rity has become a critical and imperative issue. Hill cipher is a block cipher that has several advantages such as disguising letter frequencies of the plaintext, its simplicity be…     

Opening Up Alternatives to Dominant Ideological Constructions of English Language Teaching in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the impact of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) on the way English language teaching (ELT) is currently understood and practised in Malaysia. It presents a critical discourse analysis of newspaper texts in order to show how CEFR represents a form of Western-imposed globalisation that conflicts with local cultures and values. We argue that the newspapers construct a dominant discourse that promotes a vision of society that accords with CEFR–ELT implementation. Our aim is to contribute to the development of a counter-discourse that challenges the broader world-view underpinning ELT.     

Middle leaders and middle leadership in schools: exploring the knowledge base (2003–2017)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to explore the development of the knowledge base on middle leadership in schools. Since the seminal reviews conducted by Bennett a contemporary scan only of the scholarly literature on middle leaders/leadership in schools has not been undertaken. Consequently, this article looks at outputs relating to this topic by examining research papers indexed in the Web of Science and in SCOPUS between 2003 and 2017. The prime purpose of this review is to offer some reflections on the development of the empirical base on middle leadership in schools since 2003 and to highlight some of the implications for future research. The article concludes that middle leadership in schools remains an ongoing focus of research inquiry in a growing number of countries but suggests that the knowledge base would benefit from more sophisticated empirical studies and greater theoretical analysis.     

Factors that Affect Student Motivation in a Dairy Products Elective Course

ABSTRACT: Student motivation is influenced by instructional approach. Motivation is a function of initiating and sustaining goal-directed behavior. The objective of this study was to identify factors (positive and negative) that affect motivation in a junior-level dairy products elective course. Student attitudes were surveyed each year half-way through the semester over the past 4 y using an open-ended instrument. Data obtained showed that environmental factors such as instructor enthusiasm, use of humor, and positive attitude all significantly ( P = 0.068) and positively influenced goal-directed behavior. Significant negative influential factors mainly included course topic choices. Overall, these findings were consistent with motivational theory and highlighted the significance of environmental influences in the classroom and potential connection to self-efficacy and ultimately motivation.     

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%).