Educators’ experiences in special education institutions during the COVID-19 outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound impact on education worldwide. As a result of the educational institutions closures, it is likely that the impact on special education would be more detrimental since special education population becomes more vulnerable in the aftermath of an outbreak. In the scope of this study, a researcher created survey was used to examine educators’ teaching experiences and their perceptions about the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on special education students. The sample included 215 educators working in the Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers (SERCs) in Turkey. Results indicated that a large majority of the SERCs were not able to continue their education during the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, there was a difference in educators’ experiences by their educational practices (normal weekly schedule, reduced schedule, most of the educational activities are suspended, and all of the educational activities are suspended). Perceived level of COVID-19 outbreak impact on special education students were found to be significantly higher for autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, visual impairments, hearing impairments, specific learning disabilities and gifted students, respectively. The conclusion highlights the need of global collaboration, disaster preparation and management for students with special needs.     

Individualism-collectivism among Americans, Turks and Turkish immigrants to the U.S.

Whether immigrants to the U.S. from collectivist cultures will adopt American individualist values is an important question at the intersection of theories on acculturation and individualism/collectivism. According to the assimilation hypothesis, Turkish immigrants to the U.S. should become more individualistic with increasing length of stay. Alternatively, the immigrant interdependence hypothesis proposes that the exigencies of immigration require retaining or increasing collectivist values and behaviors, especially the willingness to rely on others. Measures of individualism and collectivism were obtained from Turkish immigrants to the U.S., Turks residing in Istanbul, and residents of Boston. Bostonians and Istanbul residents differed primarily on vertical collectivism, which is the tendency to subordinate ones own goals to those of in-group authority figures. Immigrants’ values did not change with increasing length of stay in the U.S., refuting the assimilation hypothesis. When immigrants were compared to non-immigrants, immigrants endorsed stronger horizontal and vertical collectivism and more desire to both give and receive, consistent with the immigrant interdependence hypothesis. However, this hypothesis was not uniformly supported. Compared to non-immigrants, immigrants reported more self-reliance with competition, and more internal locus of control, indicating a sense of agency and responsibility. Findings are consistent with the view that immigrants adjust in complex ways to their new society, and may have different temperaments than non-immigrants.     

Stability studies of common biochemical analytes in serum separator tubes with or without gel barrier subjected to various storage conditions

Introduction

The collected and shipped blood samples are exposed to a various extra-analytical factors prior to analysis. The aim of the study was to determine the stability of analytes in serum gel tubes and plain tubes exposed to a range of storage temperatures and times after centrifugation.

Materials and methods:

Fifteen healthy volunteers were recruited and venous blood was collected into four tubes, two with and two without gel separator. Analyzing the baseline samples in 30 min, all were stored at 4ºC or 24ºC for 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48 and 72 hours and 1 week. Sixteen biochemical anaytes were measured on each sample. Variations remained under the desirable bias considered as clinically insignificant.

Results:

On day three, most analytes remained stable including albumin, protein, creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LD) regardless of tube types. Glucose concentration decreased markedly (P = 0.001) beginning from the first hours of storage in plain serum. The stability maximized for the analytes including glucose, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid stored at 4 ºC in gel tubes. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity increased significantly (P = 0.002) up to 48-h, however bias was not significant clinically. High density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration was stable in gel tubes at 24 ºC, in plain tubes at 4 ºC stored up to 36-h.

Conclusion:

Serum gel or non-gel tubes might be used interchangeably for 11 analytes chilled or at 24 ºC, whereas some restrictions must be applied for glucose, AST, BUN, HDL, and uric acid.     

Chebyshev polynomial solutions of systems of higher-order linear Fredholm-Volterra integro-differential equations

A Chebyshev collocation method, an expansion method, has been proposed in order to solve the systems of higher-order linear integro-differential equations. This method transforms the IDE system and the given conditions into the matrix equations via Chebyshev collocation points. By merging these results, a new system which corresponds to a system of linear algebraic equations is obtained. The solution of this system yields the Chebyshev coefficients of the solution function. Some numerical results are also given to illustrate the efficiency of the method. Moreover, this method is valid for the systems of differential and integral equations.     

Autonomous and controlling reasons underlying achievement goals during task engagement: their relation to intrinsic motivation and cheating

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of autonomous and controlling reasons underlying an endorsed achievement goal to intrinsic motivation and cheating. The endorsement of the achievement goal was ensured by involving 212 (M_age = 19.24, SD = .97) freshman students in a spatial task and asking them to report their most important achievement goal, as well as the reasons for adopting the goal, during the task. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis revealed that independent of the achievement goal the students adopted, the autonomous reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to the indices of intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, the autonomous reasons underlying either performance or mastery-avoidance goals were negatively related to cheating. Alternatively, the controlling reasons for the endorsed goal were positively related to pressure and tension. The importance of considering both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ aspect of achievement motivation are discussed.     

Mobile marketing research: The-state-of-the-art

Rapid proliferation in the business potential of mobile marketing attracts researchers from various fields to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the phenomena. Although the literature on mobile marketing is accumulating, the stream of research is still in the development stage, hence is highly inconsistent and fragmented. This paper aims to organize and classify the literature on mobile marketing and assess the-state-of-the-art in order to facilitate future research. The review covers 255 peer-reviewed journal articles from 82 journals published between 2000 and 2008. The resulting framework summarizes the progress in mobile marketing research and provides future research directions.     

Employing the five‐factor mentoring instrument: analysing mentoring practices for teaching primary science

Primary science education is a concern around the world and quality mentoring within schools can develop pre‐service teachers' practices. A five‐factor model for mentoring has been identified, namely, personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling, and feedback. Final‐year pre‐service teachers (mentees, n = 211) from three Turkish universities were administered a previously validated instrument to gather perceptions of their mentoring in primary science teaching. ANOVA indicated that each of these five factors was statistically significant (p<.001) with mean scale scores ranging from 3.36 to 4.12. Although mentees perceived their mentors to provide evaluation feedback (95%), model classroom management (88%), guide their preparation (96%), and outline the science curriculum (92%), the majority of mentors were perceived not to assist their mentees in 10 of the 34 survey items. Professional development programmes that target the specific needs of these mentors may further enhance mentoring practices for advancing primary science teaching.