NIE Data Repository (National Institute of Education)
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Related Data for: What do children want to read? A case study of how one primary school library supported reading for pleasure
No full textIn a landscape where children report that they enjoy reading less, parents, educators and policymakers are increasingly concerned about how to engage children in reading for pleasure. School libraries are core spaces for encouraging reading for pleasure. This mixed-methods case study examines the reading choices and preferences of students in one primary school to understand what children read, how their reading tastes change across the primary years, and how the school library supports their reading for pleasure. Findings showed a shift in children’s reading tastes across the years as they mature in their reading and interests. Children engage in repeated reading and the multiple reading of many books, series books, and comics remain popular, and recommendations are a key strategy for children to discover new reads. Two key priorities for school libraries keen to promote reading for pleasure emerge: building a contemporary book collection in school libraries that is interesting to children’s similar and diverse tastes and creating opportunities for children to find new materials to pique their interest in reading
Related Data for: Plasma focus neutron energy and anisotropy measurements using zirconium-beryllium pair activation detectors
No full textZirconium and beryllium fast-neutron activation detectors are used to investigate the fusion neutron emission from the NX3 Plasma Focus (PF) device operated in deuterium gas, with 7.2 kJ bank energy. Both Zr and Be activation cross-sections increase with energy, but with different trends, enabling an effective neutron
energy eff n to be inferred from the Zr/Be count ratio. The relationship between eff
n and Zr/Be count ratio is established by MCNP5 simulation. Compact Zr/Be detector pairs were positioned at 0◦ and 90◦ to the PF axis, permitting measurements of neutron yield, energy- and fluence-anisotropy to be made for each shot. Series of NX3 shots were performed for D2 gas pressures ranging from 1.5 to 10 mbar. Typical effective neutron energies eff n for the 0◦ and 90◦ directions are found to be ∼2.8 MeV and ∼2.5 MeV, respectively. The highest neutron yields of ∼109 neutron/shot were observed for 5 mbar D2 gas pressure. Neutron fluence-anisotropy nBe for individual shots ranged from ∼2.5 to ∼4.5. The mean value ⟨nBe⟩ exhibits a steady decline with increasing D2 gas pressure. By contrast, neutron energy-anisotropy n remains almost constant as the D2 gas pressure is varied. The effect of blocking the forward D+ ion beam with an obstacle plate positioned 6 cm in front of the anode tip is also studied. Marked reductions in both neutron yield and fluence-anisotropy are observed, whilst the effective neutron energy eff n increases slightly at both 0◦ and 90◦ directions. Fusion contributions from thermonuclear or gyrating-particle processes are found to be negligible. All results are completely consistent with a straightforward beam–target model of PF fusion
Related Data for: Reading identities, mobilities, and reading futures: Critical spatial perspectives on adolescent access to literacy resources
No full textIn this article, Chin Ee Loh, Baoqi Sun, and Chan-Hoong Leong utilize a critical spatial perspective to examine how students from different socioeconomic statuses
access reading resources at home, in school, and in the community. Using Geographic
Information System (GIS) data, they evaluate the distribution of reading resources
in Singapore by mapping out students’ physical distances to libraries and bookstores.
They juxtapose the data against case studies of students and survey data from more
than six thousand participants from six secondary schools in Singapore to understand their use of resources for reading. Findings show that while students may have
equal access to reading resources in terms of access to public resources for books,
home backgrounds significantly affect students’ actual access. The critical spatial
approach of this study provides a new way to evaluate the efficacy and equity of
resource distribution and access for twenty-first-century learning.
Keywords: independent reading, reading habits, adolescent, access to education,
critical spatial perspectives, geographic information systems, twenty-first-century
literacie
Related Data for: E-leadership: Reconceptualising teacher leadership in the Singapore digitised educational landscape
No full textThere is an increase in demand for teacher leaders to take on and lead the digitised change in the classrooms. However, there is still limited research on how ready teachers are to lead and manage online teaching during and post-COVID times, and hence this exploratory study investigates the challenges that teachers face in enacting e-leadership. To answer the question on “how do the process and development of the introduction of Home-Based Learning (HBL) influence teacher leadership in Singapore?”, through convenience sampling, this study used questionnaires to understand in-service teachers’ readiness to be e-leaders and the drawbacks in the development and introduction of the hybrid or e-curriculum. The study concluded that when building teacher leadership capacity, it is important for school leaders to set the direction, establish a culture of online learning, and develop e-champions to support e-pedagogies. E-teacher leadership can be described as hybrid leadership that consists of a blend of face-to-face and virtual leadership skills
Related Data for: Designing and evaluating a mobile peer tutoring application: A cultural historical activity theory approach
No full textThis study focuses on university students’ experience of peer tutoring supported by a mobile application called MENTOR (Mobile Education Networked Tutoring On Request) that was developed by the research team. The development of the mobile application was underpinned by theories related to self-directed learning, self-regulated learning, students’ help-seeking behaviors, as well as Vygotsky’s social-cultural learning theory. Using cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) as the framework, this study examines the affordances of the mobile application, the student’s perception of the application, the uptake of affordances, and the contradictions identified through CHAT. The participants identified tutor’s factors (e.g. tutoring skills) and technological factors (e.g. annotatable canvas) that facilitated the process, and appreciated the affordances of convenience, flexibility, physical safety, and psychological safety of the mobile peer tutoring, especially during the COVID 19 situation. A few contradictions were identified through CHAT, which served as the impetus for improvement. Among these are the novelty of mobile peer tutoring and the lack of cues about turn-taking. Some participants did not understand the requirement to indicate the level of cognitive processing. This study contributes to the design and implementation of mobile technology in supporting peer tutoring, an under-researched topic
Related Data for: The non-ureogenic stinging catfish, heteropneustes fossilis, actively excretes ammonia with the help of Na+/K+-ATPase when exposed to environmental ammonia
No full textThe stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, can tolerate high concentrations of environmental ammonia. Previously, it was regarded as ureogenic, having a functional ornithine-urea cycle that could be up-regulated during ammonia-loading. However, contradictory results indicated that increased urea synthesis and switching to ureotelism could not explain its high ammonia tolerance. Hence, we re-examined the effects of exposure to 30 mmol l-1 NH4Cl on its ammonia and urea excretion rates, and its tissue ammonia and urea concentrations. Our results confirm that H. fossilis did not increase urea excretion or accumulation during 6 days of ammonia exposure, and lacked detectable carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I or III activity in its liver. However, we discovered that it could actively excrete ammonia during exposure to 8 mmol l-1 NH4Cl. As active ammonia excretion is known to involve Na+/K+-ATPase (Nka) indirectly in several ammonia-tolerant fishes, we also cloned various nkaα-subunit isoforms from the gills ofH. fossilis, and determined the effects of ammonia exposure on their branchial transcripts levels and protein abundances. Results obtained revealed the presence of five nkaα-subunit isoforms, with nkaα1b having the highest transcript level. Exposure to 30 mmol l-1 NH4Cl led to significant increases in the transcript levels of nkaα1b (on day 6) and nkaα1c1 (on day 1 and 3) as compared with the control. In addition, the protein abundances of Nkaα1c1, Nkaα1c2 and total NKAα increased significantly on day 6. Therefore, the high environmental ammonia tolerance of H. fossilis is attributable partly to its ability to actively excrete ammonia with the aid of Nka
Related Data for: Integrating distributed with ecological leadership: Through the lens of activity theory
No full textPurpose: Leadership for the implementation of an educational innovation in Singapore was examined by integrating distributed leadership with an ecological perspective of leadership and analysed using the third generation of cultural–historical activity theory.
Research Method: The study adopted the naturalistic inquiry approach of a case study of a cluster of six elementary schools in the process of diffusing an educational innovation over one academic year. The research team observed six open classroom sessions and two review sessions at the cluster level. A total of two Ministry officers, one Master Teacher, 10 school leaders, 12 key personnel and 21 teachers were interviewed.
Findings: The use of cultural–historical activity theory as an analytical lens provided insights into how different activity systems at the ministry, cluster, and school levels interact in providing leadership for the implementation of the innovation, the tools utilised, the rules/norms which enabled or constrained the innovation's implementation, and the evolving nature of the leadership provided. The study affirms the value of incorporating an integrative perspective in the analysis of leadership and the value of cultural–historical activity theory in unpacking the distribution of leadership across interrelated activity systems, and in highlighting the temporal evolutionary nature of leadership.</p
Related Data for: The role of vision in maintaining stroke synchronization in K2 crew-boat kayaking
No full textThis study investigated the role of vision in maintaining stroke synchronization in crew-boat sprint kayaking. Sixteen sprint kayakers from a national team were paired into eight two-seater (K2) crews. Each crew paddled at high intensity with the back paddler's eyes open or closed in a randomized order. Using video analysis, stroke synchronization was quantified by the timing offsets between the front and back paddlers at four key positions of the stroke. All crews could paddle continuously without capsize or stopping under both visual conditions. In the absence of vision, neither 200-m performance time (p = 0.23, d = 0.47, small effect size) nor stroke rate (p = 0.41, d = 0.31, small effect size) was severely affected. There were no significant effects of vision on stroke synchronization offsets between the front and back paddlers across all key positions (all p > 0.05). Highly skilled paddlers likely relied on the kinesthetic perception to maintain the boat synchronization when visual information was not available
Related Data for: Salinity and salt-priming impact on growth, photosynthetic performance, and nutritional quality of edible Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L
No full textMesembryanthemum crystallinum L. is a nutritious edible facultative halophyte. This study aimed to investigate the physiology and quality of M. crystallinum L. grown under different salinities and salt-priming conditions. All plants were first grown in 10% artificial seawater (ASW) for 10 days. After that, some plants remained in 10% ASW while the others were transferred to 20%, 30%, 40%, or 50% ASW for another 10 days. Some plants also underwent a salt priming by transferring them gradually from 10% to 100% ASW over a span of 10 days (defined as salt primed). All plants were green and healthy. However, there were reductions in shoot and root productivity, leaf growth, and water content, but also an increase in leaf succulence after transferring plants to higher salinities. The salt-primed plants showed higher photosynthetic light use efficiency with higher chlorophyll concentration compared to other plants. The concentrations of proline, ascorbic acid (ASC), and total phenolic compounds (TPC) increased as percentages of ASW increased. The salt-primed plants switched from C3 to crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthesis and accumulated the greatest amounts of proline, ASC, and TPC. In conclusion, higher salinities and salt priming enhance the nutritional quality of M. crystallinum L. but compromises productivity
Related Data for Thesis/Dissertation: A comparative multimodal analysis of environmental ideologies in two contemporary picturebooks
No full textAgainst the backdrop of the existential global environmental crisis and the ambitious targets outlined by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study investigates the critical significance of picturebooks in shaping childhood understandings of human-nature relationships. In this study, I analyse how words and images portray the interaction of characters and nature in the narrative and their embedded environmental ideologies. In this study, I chose a qualitative case study approach to enhance my in-depth understanding of the context. I selected two case studies using a purposeful sampling strategy. In this study, a mul*modal content analysis is used to offer new perspectives derived from the use of traditional content analysis. This multimodal content analysis, henceforth referred to as MMCA, combines social semiotic and content-based analysis. In the semiotic analysis, I examine communication across semiotic modes, including linguistic and non-linguistic elements. Meanwhile, in the content-based analysis, I examine environmental ideologies based on themes that emerged from semiotic findings. This multimodal analytical approach aims to explore all potential meaning-making modes in text, visuals, and their inter-semiosis with each other. The themes that emerged from the multimodal findings provide valuable insights into gender roles, religious perspectives, and sustainable behaviours, which are essential considerations for discovering transformative environmental ideologies. The findings reveal a tendency within these narratives to prioritize individual actions over fostering awareness of systemic thinking, including social collaboration and cooperation. The findings highlight discernible disparities and notable oversights in portraying environmental ideologies of deep ecology, ecofeminism, value ethics, and sustainability. As climate change continues to threaten global human health and well-being, Education for Sustainable Development Goals also referred to as ESD aims to empower populations, including children, with the knowledge, skills, values, and behaviours required for sustainable development. It is imperative that literature wri0en for children evolves and socializes children towards a comprehensive understanding of human nature relationships and sustainable development