Language planning in Malaysia： The first hundred years

The past,present and prospects of a linguistic range that includes Malay,Mandarin,Tamil,and English [A version,adapted for ET,of the opening address to the conference‘Congress of the world's major languages,’held under the auspices of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka(‘Lan- guage and Literacy Agency’),in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia,5- 8 October 2004]     

Local Farmers' Organisations: A Space for Peer-to-Peer Learning? The Case of Milk Collection Cooperatives in Morocco

Abstract

Purpose: The study investigated to what extent local farmers' organisations are spaces where farmers discuss, learn and innovate.

Design/methodology/approach: Two milk collection cooperatives in Morocco were studied. The study analysed the discussion networks, their impacts on farmers' knowledge and innovation, and the performance of collective action at cooperative level.

Findings: In both cooperatives, only two-thirds of the farmers regularly discussed dairy practices with other farmers. Most leaders of one cooperative were acknowledged to be experienced farmers and played key roles as advisors on dairy farming. Farmers' involvement in dialogue networks in this cooperative improved their capacity to innovate in dairy farming, even though their knowledge on some issues related to cattle, health and nutrition was not improved. In the other cooperative, experienced farmers did not share their knowledge and farmers' involvement in dialogue networks at cooperative level had no impact on their knowledge and practices. Dialogue networks and collective action were found to influence each other, since in the first cooperative, collective action was considered by members to be efficient, whereas in the second collective action was limited to milk collection.

Practical implications: The study enabled identification of stumbling blocks which need to be addressed to get local farmers’ organisations involved in farmer capacity-building.

Originality/value: While the importance of local discussion networks for knowledge creation and diffusion is widely acknowledged, taking such networks into account in farmers' capacity-building programmes in developing countries has been hindered by their informality. Combining the analysis of dialogue networks and collective action proved to be a productive way to assess the potentialities of working with farmers' organisations with the aim of establishing a connection with local discussion networks.     

Efficiency of antibiotics and gamma irradiation in eliminating Streptomyces strains isolated from paintings of ancient Egyptian tombs

Forty-six Streptomyces strains were isolated from paintings and stone surfaces from Tell Basta and Tanis tombs (80 km south-east Cairo, Egypt). Eight of these strains were selected to determine their sensitivity against 13 antibiotics. In general, high levels of resistance could be observed. Gentamycin, spiramycin and doxycycline were the most effective antibiotics against the majority of strains under study. Due to the observed antibiotic resistances, gamma irradiation was studied as a possible alternative to inhibit microbial growth. Isolated bacteria were exposed to different doses of gamma irradiation (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 kGy). The growth of all Streptomyces isolates except S. canarius was completely inhibited at 25 kGy. The applied doses of gamma irradiation did not cause any observable alterations or colour changes to pigments and binding media (arabic gum, animal glue and egg-yolk) used in the paintings.     

Campus partnerships for promoting equity,diversity and inclusion: A case study of the NCBI Model for reducing prejudice and intergroup conflict at Florida State University Libraries

This article will explore collaborations between the University Libraries and the campus community in implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus through participation in the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI). The article will take an in-depth look at the prejudice reduction and discrimination trainings conducted in the FSU Libraries, and how the trainings contributed to implementing the Libraries' strategic initiative for diversity and inclusion. These partnerships between the Libraries and the campus community exemplify successful collaborations needed to achieve preeminent institutional goals like diversity and inclusion. FSU has been recognized for Higher Education Excellence in Diversity, and is a national Diversity Champion since 2014 (Insight into Diversity: online).     

Temperamental Shyness,Frontal EEG Theta/Beta Ratio,and Social Anxiety in Children

The authors examined how children’s frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) theta/beta ratio—an index of neurocognitive control—changed from baseline to a social stressor, and whether these EEG changes moderated the relation between temperament and anxiety. Children (N = 152; M_age = 7.82 years, 52% male, 81% White) had their EEG recorded during a baseline and speech anticipation condition. Children’s frontal theta/beta ratio decreased from baseline to speech anticipation, and this baseline-to-task change moderated the relation between temperamental shyness and social anxiety. Temperamental shyness was related to higher state and trait social anxiety only among children with large baseline-to-task decreases in theta/beta ratio. Findings are consistent with theoretical models hypothesizing that temperamentally shy children with heightened neurocognitive control may be at greater risk for anxiety.     

Physicochemical characteristics of various milk samples available in Pakistan

We report physicochemical characteristics of various kinds of liquid milk commercially available in Pakistan in comparison with those of fresh natural milk from animals. Milk samples were collected from local markets at Peshawar, Pakistan,and analyzed for their physical features, including moisture, total solids, specific gravity, conductivity, viscosity and titratable acidity (lactic acid equivalent), and chemical components and macro-minerals, including total protein, casein, lactose, ash and minerals (Na, K and Mg). These items were compared with the physicochemical characteristics of the fresh natural milk samples from buffalo, cow and goat. The results were also compared with reported nutritional quality of milk from various countries and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. We found that all the physical features and chemical components of commercially available milk in Pakistan markets meet WHO's requirements, except for Na, K, Ca and Mg, which are below the standards.     

DESCRIPTIVE MODELS OF STUDENT DECISION BEHAVIOUR IN EVALUATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Sound assessment and evaluation of higher education necessitates deep understanding of the detailed processes underlying student overall evaluation of course and Instructor. The present study employs both correlational analysis and step‐wise multiple regression in an effort to help us understand student decision behaviour and to build mathematical models representing the dynamics of student evaluative Judgement of course and instructor. The resulting models were very strong and were ctually used to improve the performance of the academic programmes in the Institute of Banking Studies In Kuwait.     

What about the tertiary climate? Reflecting on five decades of class climate research

Learning Environments Research - Although studies on, and reviews of, class climate have flourished in the past decade, little is known about how student perceptions of the learning environment are...