N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase,alanine aminopeptidase and protein: Creatinine ratio as early indicators of diabetic microangiopathy

The urinary excretion patterns of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) and protein/creatinine ratio (UP/UCR) were studied in 133 diabetic subjects under treatment, 7 patients with established diabetic nephropathy (DN) and 79 carefully selected (age-matched) healthy subjects. NAG, AAP and UP/UCR were highly elevated in DN, while in diabetics urinary NAG levels correlated well with the degree of long-term metabolic control indicated by glycosylated hemoglobin (GHB or Hba1). Both AAP and UP/UCR were found to be more sensitive than NAG, but less specific. Urinary NAG and AAP assays thus offer simple, sensitive and non-invasive techniques for prognostic indication of the onset of microangiopathic changes in long-term diabetic subjects.     

Feasibility of the MTAI as a Selection Instrument for Pre-Service Teacher Education — A Pilot Project

The Institute of Education is the only institution in Singapore that trains and prepares individuals for the task of teaching. In order to ensure that its products, the teachers, are of a respectable calibre, not only should the training programme be reviewed regularly, but also the method of selecting trainees.     

Effects of Diagrams on Mathematics Performance

Research on the facilitative effect of diagrams on solving mathematics problems is both inconsistent and inconclusive. This study investigates the effects of diagrams on 124 Singaporean pupils in three classes: Primary One and three, and Secondary One. Pupils' performance was measured with the use of teacher-written mathematics problems in the form of worksheets. Number of errors made on problems accompanied with and without diagrams were compared. Whether or not pupils benefit from diagrams was estimated by their patterns of errors made in the presence or absence of diagrams. Results both confirm and disconfirm previous findings and shed further light on the use of diagrams in mathematics.     

Pedagogy and possibility thinking in the early years

Connecting to current work in the area of creative pedagogies, this paper reports findings of an exploratory study that sought to identify what characterises possibility thinking in young children's learning experiences and how teachers’ pedagogical practice fosters this critical aspect of creativity. It focuses in particular on pedagogy, seeking to demonstrate how approaches adopted facilitated children's possibility thinking. Possibility thinking has been conceptualised as being central to creative learning although its role, as manifest in the learning engagement of children and the pedagogical strategies of practitioners has not been fully illuminated. The co-participative research team involved in this study comprised staff in an early childhood centre, in an infant and a primary school, working collaboratively with three university-based researchers. The 12-month long segment of a longer study employed various data collection methods including video-stimulated review (VSR) to facilitate reflection, critical conversations, classroom observation, interviews and examination of planning documents. The paper illuminates the perspectives and embedded values that the teachers expressed whilst reflecting upon their practice, and highlights common pedagogical themes, including the practice of ‘standing back’, profiling learner agency and creating time and space. Particular strategies were employed by each of the teachers. These approaches appeared to foster possibility thinking in young learners. In addition, the paper considers the development of the teachers’ thinking through the phases of the research process and presents a model for conceptualising a pedagogy of possibility thinking.     

“阶段式教学法”在五笔字型汉字输入法教学中的应用

在当前中等职业学校突出“技能”的形式下，“五笔字型”汉字输入法是当前各中等职业学校每个学生必须掌握的一种技能，怎样使学生快速掌握“五笔字型”是每个职业学校计算机教师所面临的首要任务。笔者在课堂中主要应用了“阶段式教学法”，并应用了多种教学方法，比较行之有效。     

The Strong African American Families Program: translating research into prevention programming

A randomized prevention trial contrasted families who took part in the Strong African American Families Program (SAAF), a preventive intervention for rural African American mothers and their 11-year-olds, with control families. SAAF is based on a contextual model positing that regulated, communicative parenting causes changes in factors protecting youths from early alcohol use and sexual activity. Parenting variables included involvement-vigilance, racial socialization, communication about sex, and clear expectations for alcohol use. Youth protective factors included negative attitudes about early alcohol use and sexual activity, negative images of drinking youths, resistance efficacy, a goal-directed future orientation, and acceptance of parental influence. Intervention-induced changes in parenting mediated the effect of intervention group influences on changes in protective factors over a 7-month period.     

Analyzing e-government research: Perspectives,philosophies, theories,methods, and practice

In recent years, there has been rapid growth in the volume of research output on the topic of e-government. To understand this research better, we used content analysis of eighty-four papers in e-government-specific research outlets (two journals and one conference series). Our analytical focus took in five main aspects: perspectives on the impacts of e-government, research philosophy, use of theory, methodology and method, and practical recommendations. Normative evaluation identified some positive features, such as recognition of contextual factors beyond technology, and a diversity of referent domains and ideas. Alongside this, though, research draws mainly from a weak or confused positivism and is dominated by over-optimistic, a-theoretical work that has done little to accumulate either knowledge or practical guidance for e-government. Worse, there is a lack of clarity and lack of rigor about research methods alongside poor treatment of generalization. We suggest ways of strengthening e-government research but also draw out some deeper issues, such as the role of research philosophy and theory, and the institutional factors – particularly pressures of competition and time – that may constrain development of e-government as a research field.     

Museums and the shaping of contemporary artworks

In the museum context, curators and conservators often play a role in shaping the nature of contemporary artworks. Before, during and after the acquisition of an art object, curators and conservators engage in dialogue with the artist about how the object should be exhibited and conserved. As a part of this dialogue, the artist may express specifications for the display and conservation of the object, thereby fixing characteristics of the artwork that were previously left open. This process can make a significant difference to the visual appearance of the work, the nature of the audience's experience, and how the work should be interpreted. I present several case studies in which the nature of the artwork has been shaped by such dialogues, and discuss principles for resolving cases in which there is a conflict between instructions specified by the artist and those adopted by the museum.