Student‐centered integrated anatomy resource sessions at Alfaisal University

Alfaisal University is a new medical school in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that matriculates eligible students directly from high school and requires them to participate in a hybrid problem‐based learning (PBL) curriculum. PBL is a well‐established student‐centered approach, and the authors have sought to examine if a student‐centered, integrated approach to learn human structures leads to positive perceptions of learning outcomes. Ten students were divided into four groups to rotate through wet and dry laboratory stations (integrated resource sessions, IRSs) that engaged them in imaging techniques, embryology, histology, gross anatomy (dissections and prosections), surface anatomy, and self‐directed learning questions. All IRSs were primarily directed by students. During two second‐semester organ system blocks, forty students responded to a structured questionnaire designed to poll students' perceptions of changes in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes as a result of IRS. The majority (60%) of students felt that the student‐centered approach to learning enhanced their medical knowledge. Most students also felt that the IRS approach was advantageous for formulating clear learning objectives (55%) and in preparing for examinations (65%). Despite their positive feelings toward IRS, students did not view this learning approach as an adequate replacement for the knowledge gained from lectures and textbooks. Students' performance on objective structured practical examinations improved significantly for the two curricular blocks that included IRS compared with earlier non‐IRS blocks. A student‐centered approach to teach human structure in a hybrid PBL curriculum may enhance understanding of the basic sciences in first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 3:272–275, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Child maltreatment among school children in the Kurdistan Province, Iran

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the determinants of three types of child maltreatment: physical maltreatment, mental maltreatment, and child neglect among school children in the Kurdistan Province of Iran. The analysis examines the impact of socioeconomic, familial, demographic, and household dynamic factors on the three child maltreatment outcomes, and compares the differential impact of these factors across the three types of child maltreatment. A greater understanding of the factors associated with child maltreatment has the potential to inform public health interventions aimed at reducing specific forms of maltreatment and at identifying at risk populations. METHODS: Data were collected from 1,370 school students, age 11-18. Separate logistic models are fitted for six binary outcomes examining self-reported experiences of physical maltreatment in the home or school, mental maltreatment in the home or school, and child neglect in the home or school. RESULTS: Male children were more likely to report experiencing any kind of child maltreatment than girls. Residency in a rural area, poor parental relationships and the use of addictive substances by household members were associated with increased odds of reporting child maltreatment. Poor school performance was associated with the reporting of experiencing maltreatment at school. CONCLUSION: Each of the forms of child maltreatment is highly correlated with socioeconomic, demographic, and living condition factors. The results point to the strong influence that familial factors have in shaping a child's likelihood of reporting maltreatment. Characteristics of the mother were associated with maltreatment, but not characteristics of the father. The results highlight a number of mechanisms through which public health interventions may seek to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment in Kurdistan; different approaches are needed to reduce child maltreatment in the home and school environments.     

An Application of Multiple Intelligences in a Lebanese Kindergarten

This study is an application of a Multiple Intelligences-based approach to assessment and educational practice in early childhood years, the Spectrum Project, in a Lebanese kindergarten. A control group design was used. The Spectrum activities were manipulated for the whole academic year by 150 kindergarten students (75 girls, 75 boys), enrolled in one branch of a private school, while the other branch of the same school worked with the regular curriculum. The purpose of the study was to determine if, through assessment of those activities, a profile of children's abilities, strengths, and weaknesses could be identified. Means and standard deviations for every activity were reported. A second purpose was to investigate the relationship between the different domains or intelligences. Pearson product-moment coefficients were computed. Finally, the difference in the end-of-year achievement between the experimental and the control group was investigated. The data are discussed in terms of cross-cultural interpretations. Implications and recommendations for future research are presented.     

A nonsmooth Newton method for the design of state feedback stabilizers under structure constraints

The paper proposes a method for structured state-feedback controllers design for linear time-invariant systems. A necessary and sufficient condition for structured state-feedback stabilizability of linear systems, making an appeal to the linear-quadratic (LQ) regulator theory, is first proposed. The latter is presented in the form of a nonlinear matrix equation. Then, it is recast as a nonsmooth unconstrained equation using projection onto the positive semi-definite matrices cone. Thereby, a nonsmooth Newton’s iterative algorithm, based on the Clarke generalized Jacobian of said projection, is proposed. This method has a guaranteed local convergence. Finally, numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Convergent under-approximations of reachable sets and tubes: A piecewise constant approach

In this paper, a method to under-approximate finite-time reachable sets and tubes for a class of continuous-time linear uncertain systems is proposed. The class under consideration is the linear time-varying (LTV) class with time-varying integrable system matrices and uncertain initial and input values belonging to known convex compact sets. The proposed method depends upon the iterative use of constant-input reachable sets, which results in convergent under-approximations in the sense of the Hausdorff distance. As a consequence of the convergence, it is shown that interior points of reachable sets are attainable using piecewise constant inputs. The computational complexity of a zonotopic implementation of the proposed method is discussed and comparisons with existing under-approximation methods are established. Finally, the proposed approach is illustrated through two numerical examples.     

Data and infrastructure security auditing in cloud computing environments

For many companies the remaining barriers to adopting cloud computing services are related to security. One of these significant security issues is the lack of auditability for various aspects of security in the cloud computing environment. In this paper we look at the issue of cloud computing security auditing from three perspectives: user auditing requirements, technical approaches for (data) security auditing and current cloud service provider capabilities for meeting audit requirements. We also divide specific auditing issues into two categories: infrastructure security auditing and data security auditing. We find ultimately that despite a number of techniques available to address user auditing concerns in the data auditing area, cloud providers have thus far only focused on infrastructure security auditing concerns.     

Exact solutions for the generalized KdV equation by using Backlund transformations

In this paper, the Backlund transformations for the generalized KdV equation are constructed through Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur (AKNS) system in using Ricatti's form of the inverse method. The derived Backlund transformations are used to generate new classes of exact solutions. The technique developed here is based on the construction of wave functions which are the solutions of the associated AKNS. From known simple solutions we shall construct other solitons and wave solutions as well.     

School Leaders’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Learning Disabilities: Implications for Support in Inclusive Schools in the Sultanate of Oman

The study examined school leaders’ and teachers’ perceptions of Learning Disabilities (LDs) in Key Stage1 Schools in a sample drawn from schools in Muscat, the capital city of Oman. A sample of 175 school leaders and 175 teachers completed The Survey on Learning Disabilities (SLD), an instrument developed to explore beliefs and perceptions of the causes of LDs. A principal component analysis indicated that six factors underlie perceptions of LDs: The governmental formal educational system, repertoire of teachers’ skills and school support, familial and cultural background, students, academic curriculum, and social change. Multivariate analyses showed that school leaders perceive more strongly than teachers that the governmental formal educational system and academic curriculum as main causal factors for LDs. Implications for support of students with LDs in inclusive settings in Oman are discussed.     

What Knapsack of Invisible Privileges Do Muslim ESL* University Students Wish to Possess?

Stephanie Vandrick published a piece in the Journal of Language, Identity and Education titled “No ‘Knapsack of Invisible Privilege’ for ESL University Students,” in which she reflected her thoughts on Peggy McIntosh’s groundbreaking list of the invisibly acquired privileges of Whites. Both pieces inspired this article, which brings up an unheard voice: Muslim ESL students who undergo situations that can indicate that public space of some cities in the United States are exclusive to the dominant culture and that any deviations are not welcome.

These days, with terrorist incidents happening in different places around the world and with the presidential executive order of banning Muslims, the situation has worsened. Here, based on my experience, I develop a list of privileges that Muslim ESL university students wish to possess. This article concludes with recommendations that can raise the awareness of educators and instructors who teach or supervise Muslim ESL students to take this issue into consideration.     

Emotional and behavioural difficulties among middle school students in Oman: an examination of prevalence rate and gender differences

Children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) began to receive considerable attention in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region including Oman. In the Omani context, there is lack of valid assessment instruments which can be used to obtain information on EBDs in schools. The current study used the Arabic self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (A-SDQ) to examine EBDs in a sample of middle school students. 816 middle school students from both genders, who were randomly selected from different schools in two big cities in Oman, filled out the A-SDQ. Results provided initial evidence of good psychometric properties of the A-SDQ reflecting that it can be a valid tool for use in schools in Oman. Further, the participants reported moderate to high rates of EBDs as measured by the different subscales of the A-SDQ. Significant gender differences were found in students self-report of EBDs. Compared to boys, girls reported more emotional symptoms, less conduct and peer problems. Implications of the study findings for the identification of students with EBDs in schools in Oman are presented.