The case of educational gerontology in Lebanon: a harbinger of empowerment,emancipation and social change?

Context: In Lebanon, older adults face socioeconomic challenges that are expected to worsen due to an increase in older adult population, chronic governmental neglect, institutionalised ageism and a lack of educational and social gerontologists. Consequently, local older adults are in dire need for social change, which can be initiated through later life learning. The University for Seniors (UfS) is a University for the Third Age providing learning opportunities for older people in Lebanon. While most older adult learning programmes are occupied with their learners’ self-fulfilment, Critical Educational Gerontology promotes emancipatory learning and social change. Study Objective and Design: A case discussion based on a variety of data sources is used to showcase and then challenge the practices of UfS from a critical educational gerontology perspective. To do that, we consider the semantic difference between emancipation and empowerment in their relation to power. Recommendations: We recommend programme-specific measures starting by revisiting the current philosophy of learning, targeting social change as an additional goal to later life learning, and advocacy for the establishment of educational degrees to prepare professionals and academicians in the field of social gerontology. We also recommend a more critical use of empowerment and emancipation within critical educational gerontology.     

Effect of terminal locations of pods on biomass production and 13C partitioning in a fasciated stem soybean Shakujo

This study addresses the hypothesis that stagnation of soybean yield on the farm can be improved by selection of a physiological trait favoring carbon assimilate partitioning to terminally placed pods versus genotypes having axillary pods at close plant spacing. ¹³C was fed to source-sink units comprising a leaf, axillary/terminal pods, and petioles at upper and lower positions of the stem axis in two soybean cultivars, namely Shakujo and Enrei, at different densities of populations. The cultivars differ significantly in architecture, Shakujo bearing a few hundreds of pods in close succession to one another in a terminally placed raceme, in contrast to Enrei having axillary racemes. Pod yield per plant was higher in Enrei than in Shakujo at low density, but Shakujo out-yielded Enrei at close spacing. Population density decreased yield per plant and altered the pattern of assimilate partitioning significantly within the plants for both varieties. At high density more assimilates moved to the upper parts at the cost of the lower parts. The terminally placed pods of Shakujo were advantaged to receive assimilates under density stress. No benefit was accrued to pod filling of Enrei, however, under this condition.     

Teacher training intervention for early identification of common child mental health problems in Pakistan

School-based interventions involving teacher training programmes have been shown to benefit teachers’ ability to identify and manage child mental health problems in developed countries. However, very few studies have been conducted in low-income countries with limited specialist services. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the training programme on teachers’ knowledge and awareness. A total of 114 primary school teachers from five schools in Karachi participated in a two-day (10–12 hours) workshop to provide them with an understanding of common child mental health problems and train them in basic skills. Their pre- and post-training knowledge was evaluated through a rating scale and open-ended questions. Single tailed t-test, involving paired differences, was applied for participants’ scores. Pre-/post-training differences were statistically significant. The training sessions were associated with an improvement in teachers’ knowledge and awareness of various signs and symptoms of common child mental health problems. The greatest improvement was noted in response to strategies of managing difficult behaviours, as 61% of respondents were able to formulate appropriate behavioural management techniques after the training. In low-income developing countries like Pakistan, teachers should be trained in early-intervention programmes for the identification and school-based management of less complex emotional and behavioural problems. Such interventions can maximise the use of sparse mental health resources.     

Farmers’ Attitudes and Skills of Farm Business Management in Jordan

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate farmers’ attitudes and skills of farm management. Two scales were constructed as an instrument for data collection, based on a sample of 100 farm units. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were .84 or higher, which indicated that the instrument scales were internally consistent. Non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. Operators appeared to be largely commercial, but they did not highly rate the significance of farming as a business, or their level of management skills. Two-thirds of respondents perceived technical skills as the key to success. Poor management skills limit the operators’ ability in making informed decisions, planning and analyzing the financial performance of their operations. Farm management extension enhances farmers’ willingness and ability to make successful changes to their management practice. Improvement programs have to be targeted to the groups of operators who are more favorable to management extension, that is, full-time farmers, renters, the more experienced, the educated and the more dependent on farm income.     

Practices of Locating Health Information in an Electronic Environment: Reflections on Conducted Health Information Skills Training

ABSTRACT

Health information skills in an electronic environment are essential to health science librarians, who serve as educators both within and outside of their health training institutions. This reflective study was conducted to examine the application of online health information skills obtained from the training provided for librarians who are working in health settings. Health sciences librarians, as future information skills educators, therefore need to possess their own health information skill sets. Capacity building is vital in order to promote the development of health information skills for health sciences librarians who can then teach and advocate the concept of health information skills on the Internet within and outside of their places of work.     

The Role of Preventive Conservation in Designing King Tutankhamun Galleries in the Grand Egyptian Museum

ABSTRACT

It was decided to display the whole collection of King Tutankhamun in the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). The collection comprises approx. 5640 objects different in material and state of conservation. The conservation centre in the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM-CC) bears the responsibility of conserving GEM collection, and contributing to the exhibition production processes to ensure the optimal preservation for the collection on display. In this paper, a survey of the collection's materials and condition was undertaken to evaluate the risks and corresponding deterioration occurred in the former location which should be mitigated in the new one. It also reports on the parameters which were fulfilled in the designs of King Tutankhamun galleries to guarantee implementing preventive conservation programmes in order to preserve the collection for future generations.     

SUBJECTIVE MISCONCEPTIONS IN PHYSICS IN RELATION TO INTELLIGENCE,SEX AND INSTRUCTION

Research on subjective misconceptions in physics has not systematically investigated interindividual differences or the impact of formal physics instruction. In this empirical study, two sets of more abstract and of more familiar kinematics tasks were given to a sample (N=201) consisting of two cohorts of German secondary school students (one having received 18 months of physics instruction and the other none), balanced according to level of intelligence (high versus average) and sex. The answers obtained in diagram form were analysed for correct versus incorrect solutions and for subjective misconceptions in physics. Quantitative and qualitative differences in the answers were found between male and female students as well as between students of high versus average intelligence, particularly for the abstract tasks. From the cross‐sectional analysis, it was concluded that only boys profited from physics instruction in school Considering these important subgroup differences, consequences for special schooling for gifted and for female students are discussed

     

A critique of water scarcity discourses in educational policy and textbooks in Jordan

This article investigates the representation of water scarcity in Jordanian textbooks to understand its role on improving education on environmental sustainability. People's understanding of an issue guides their actions toward finding and implementing appropriate solutions to what they perceive as a problem. Discourses are key in constructing people's understanding of issues, in this case, water scarcity. This article shows the role of textbooks and of the educational system in constructing a discourse of water scarcity that frames the issue as due to nature, to neighboring countries, and to refugees. It then demonstrates how this framing opens and drives toward supply-side solutions and discusses to what extent the representations of water scarcity strive to achieve a better education on environmental sustainability.     

E-textbooks and Connectivity: Proposing an Analytical Framework

This paper is concerned with the development of e-textbooks. We claim that analysis (and design) of e-textbooks requires the development of a specific frame. Digital affordances provide particular opportunities (e.g. in terms of interactions between users) that require specific considerations for their analysis, as teachers and students use them for their individual and collective purposes. In this study, we develop a framework for mathematics e-textbook analysis, based on the notion of “connectivity.” We introduce criteria to assess the different aspects of connectivity and build an analysis grid for e-textbooks. We illustrate the framework proposed by analyzing 2 commonly used French grade 10 mathematics e-textbooks. The results of the analyses show that there are major differences between the 2 e-textbooks in terms of connectivity, which can be related to differences in their design. Beyond these 2 examples, we claim that focusing on connectivity is a useful and relevant way of analyzing e-textbooks, as it can provide a window into issues of interactivity, both practically and cognitively.