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Related Data for Thesis/Dissertation: Correlated photon-pair source for quantum infrared metorology
No full textFourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is one of the most important analytical techniques available today and it can be claimed as the golden tool for material analysis. The application of this technique is broad and not limited just to chemistry, forensic, manufacturing and quality control; in recent years, it has found applications in biological and life sciences. The FTIR reveals the chemical composition of samples with high spatial resolution. Today’s instruments rely upon and exploit the powerful and well established mathematical strength of Fourier-transformation and computing which improves the quality of infrared spectra and minimising the time required to obtain the data. However, despite the advances in the algorithm and computing power, challenges remain on the low efficiency and high cost of the IR source, detection and optical components. In this thesis, we explorer to use of quantum optics as an alternative technique to overcome the challenges mentioned earlier. We demonstrate the use of a single- photon source as an alternative source for spectroscopy and imaging in the IR regime. Using nonlinear optics creating correlated photon-pairs generated via parametric down-conversion, we demonstrated proof- of principal of constructing a chemical map of a sample with two chemical states and creating a wide-field image of the sample at the same time. The IR spectral map and imaging is obtained by detection in the visible light. This novel technique enables to circumvent the need to use IR components completely and utilise advance and well established visible optic components and technology. With negligible heating and fast readout time, this quantum metrology certainly has great potential for material science, and a place in biological and life science applications, which is our aim
Related Data for: Effects of foot orthosis on ground reaction forces and perception during short sprints in flat-footed athletes
No full textPrefabricated foot orthosis (FO) is commonly worn for flat foot management. This study aimed to investigate the kinetic and perceptual effects of wearing prefabricated FO among flat-footed athletes during bouts of sprints. Twenty male sprint-based sports athletes who had flat foot bilaterally ran at three test speeds (5, 6, 7 m/s) under two conditions: prefabricated FO and sham FO. Ground reaction force (GRF) variables and subjective perceptions were recorded. Kinetic variability of GRF variables were computed to indicate step-to-step variance. Biomechanically, wearing prefabricated FOs increased vertical impact force (p =.005), loading rate (p =.001), and kinetic variability of peak propulsive force (p =.038) and loading rate (p =.019) during sprinting speeds across 5 to 7 m/s. Subjectively, prefabricated FO provided better arch support (p =.001) but resulted in reduced forefoot cushioning (p =.001), heel cushioning (p =.002), and overall comfort (p =.008)
Related Data for: Adherence to the Singapore integrated 24h activity guidelines for pre-primary school children before, during and after the COVID-19 lockdown in Singapore
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the lives of pre-primary school children in Singapore where increased infection rates prompted lockdown measures that altered children’s daily routines. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the lifestyle behaviours and health quality of 3134 children aged 5 to 6 years across three periods: pre-COVID, COVID-19 lockdown, and COVID-19 endemicity. Data were collected using the Surveillance of Digital Media Habits in Early Childhood Questionnaire (SMALLQ®) to measure on- and off-screen media habits of children and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PaedQL) to assess children’s health quality. Adherence to physical activity (PA) guidelines dropped from 32.7% pre-COVID to 27.4% during lockdown but improved to 34.4% in endemicity (p < 0.05). Sleep (SL) adherence followed a similar pattern, decreasing from 33.4% to 27.9% before rising to 40.6% (p < 0.05). Screen time (ST) adherence significantly declined during lockdown (16.7% to 10.8%, p < 0.001). Weak positive correlations with all PaedQL metrics were observed across periods, except during endemicity (p < 0.05). Concerted efforts involving key stakeholders must be made to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on children’s lifestyle behaviours and QoL, ensuring they are better prepared for the transition to primary school
Related Data for: Do labels matter? The effect of specific and generic labels on university students' openness towards autistic peers
No full textBackground
The number of autistic students enroling into universities and completing a higher education qualification is increasing. They would have to decide whether to disclose their diagnosis in order to receive appropriate and adequate support or not to share their diagnosis due to possible stigmatisation faced by them. This study examined the effect of labels (‘Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)’ or ‘Special Needs’ [SN]) used on university students’ openness towards autistic peers.
Method
121 university students (43 males, 78 females; age range = 18–26) were randomly assigned to read one of three conditions with student characters identified as (1) having ASD or (2) SN; or (3) not identified with any label. They rated their openness towards the featured student and completed an ASD knowledge survey.
Result
Participants reported a greater level of openness toward vignettes characters with the ASD label and SN label as compared to vignettes characters with no label (with a large effect size). However, openness towards ASD and SN labels were not different. Knowledge of ASD accounted for a small but significant variance (3.3 %) of how university students rated the behaviours in the vignettes.
Conclusion
We proposed that the present findings may serve as an encouragement to autistic individuals in local universities to consider disclosing their ASD diagnosis to the people around them and at the same time, underscore the importance of greater public education on ASD, to create a more supportive environment for autistic individuals to thrive in.</p
Related Data for: The effects of individual preparation on students’ collaborative argumentation-based learning: An exploratory study in a secondary school classroom
No full textComputer-supported collaboration is considered to be one effective strategy to improve
students’ argumentation skills. The integration of an individual preparation (IP) activity before collaboration activity has been applied in collaboration script studies. Few studies examined the role of IP activity in argumentation skill improvement via online collaboration in face-to-face classrooms. In the context of computer-supported collaborative argumentation (CSCA) activities with a graph-based argumentation platform, this study explored the effects of IP on students’ collaborative argumentation-based learning in three conditions: 10-minute IP before collaboration condition (condition 1), 5-minute IP before collaboration condition (condition 2), and immediate collaboration condition without IP (control condition). Students (N= 39) from one class in one Singapore secondary school participated in three face-to-face computer-supported collaborative learning lessons. The results showed a higher quality of collaborative argumentation in the immediate collaboration condition than in the conditions with IP, which means that more time should be allocated to collaborative activities instead of IP in similar CSCA contexts. These findings contribute to the current understanding of the role of IP activity before collaboration on students’ collaboration process as well as outcomes
Related Data for: Thinking and talking like a geographer: Teachers’ use of dialogic talk for engaging students with multimodal data in the geography classroom
No full textGeographical inquiry is an approach to learning that acknowledges the constructivist view of knowledge and prioritises the need for students to make sense of what they are learning for themselves. Alexander (2003; 2008) advanced dialogic teaching as a strategy for eliciting students’ understanding and engaging students in using language as a tool for constructing knowledge. This suggests that the successful use of geographical inquiry as a pedagogy entails learning how to think and talk like a geographer. Geography teachers in Singapore are encouraged to use inquiry-based pedagogies in order to help students understand the nature of disciplinary work in geography and as the main route to knowledge construction (CPDD, 2013; 2014). This chapter draws on a study that examines geography teachers’ language knowledge for content teaching (Morton, 2018) through the use of dialogic talk to guide multimodal data analysis, interpretation, and knowledge construction in geography. Using examples of teachers’ enactment of knowledge in the classroom, we suggest how geography teachers can help students make sense of geographical data through greater attention to language use. We further argue that exploring the qualitative dimension of using dialogic talk as a pedagogic strategy addresses a gap in geography education and contributes to the growing body of work on disciplinary literacy
Related Data for Thesis/Dissertation: Factors affecting university students with SEN's disclosure of their diagnoses to their peers
No full textIn recent years, more students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have been enrolled in universities. These students may have a dilemma of whether to disclose their diagnosis to their peers. Current literature tends to focus on understanding these students’ experiences of disclosing to their peers or educational institutions in a qualitative manner. However, there has been limited quantitative research on understanding the factors influencing the students’ decision to disclose to their peers. Using a mixed-method design, this study aimed to explore the relationship between the seven independent factors (i.e., four demographic factors – age, gender, type of invisible SEN, and years since receiving the formal diagnosis, and three psychological factors – stigma, social desirability, and culture), and the quantity (i.e., number of peers they disclose their diagnosis to) and quality (i.e., how much detail is shared during their disclosure) of the disclosure of their SEN diagnosis to their peers.
Before conducting the main study, we conducted a pilot study with 30 students with SEN (mean age = 24.17 years, SD = 2.74) to seek feedback on the suitability and readability of specifically this newly developed scale: SEN Self-Disclosure Scale (SENDS). The newly developed SENDS was then edited and used for the main study. The main study was administered as an online survey where participants completed questionnaires related to the quality of disclosure, stigma, social desirability, and culture. Participants were also asked to provide their qualitative responses related to reasons for disclosure and non-disclosure. Sample consisted of 102 students (mean age = 23.02 years, SD = 2.58) who were formally diagnosed with Specific Learning Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder and were enrolled in local autonomous universities in Singapore.
Based on the quantitative responses, the seven predictors were not statistically significant in predicting the number of peers (quantity) to whom the participants disclosed their diagnosis. However, both the demographic predictors, and the psychological predictors (after accounting for the demographic predictors) were statistically significant in predicting the amount of details (quality) that the participants disclosed to their peers. We also found that the type of SEN that the participant was diagnosed with was also an individual predictor that could predict the quality of disclosure.
Based on qualitative responses, we found that themes related to reasons for disclosure of diagnosis included (1) When they trust their peer, (2) For practical reasons, and (3) Part of their identity. Another three themes related to reasons for non-disclosure were (1) Prejudice and Stigma, (2) Don’t see the need to disclose, and (3) Don’t trust their peers. These qualitative responses complemented our quantitative data by providing additional factors or further evidence to the factors we had previously identified.
From the results, several practical implications have been proposed to increase the students’ awareness of the positive outcomes of diagnosis disclosure in higher education setting. By promoting a more inclusive learning environment, students with SEN may feel more comfortable and trusting in their peers, and in turn, may disclose their diagnosis and share their experiences. Possible limitations and future directions for the study were further discussed in this dissertation
Related Data for: Supporting students’ uptake on peer feedback in collaborative argumentation: A design-based research
No full textStudents’ uptake of peer feedback is closely related to their learning improvement in peer feedback activity. However, the uptake of peer feedback remains challenging for students. To address this challenge, this study conducted design-based research to facilitate students’ peer feedback uptake practices. Three cycles of iterative designs were implemented to develop, implement, and evaluate a tool to scaffold the peer feedback uptake in classrooms. The findings indicate that the reflection tool effectively enhanced students’ uptake of peer feedback. The iterative design practice added value to the existing literature of peer feedback literacy and fine-tuned pedagogical scaffolds for peer feedback uptake
Related Data for: Playing basketball on wooden and asphalt courts – Does court surface affect foot loading?
No full textThis study aimed to examine the influence of court surface on foot loading when executing typical basketball tasks. Thirteen male basketball players performed three basketball-related tasks: Layup, jump shot, and maximal effort sprint on wooden and asphalt courts. In-shoe plantar loading was recorded during the basketball movements and peak force (normalised to body weight) was extracted from eight-foot regions. Perceptions of discomfort at the ankle, knee, and back were surveyed using a 10-cm visual analogue scale. Landing from a layup on the wooden court resulted in elevated peak forces at the hallux (p = 0.022) and lesser toes (p = 0.007) compared with asphalt court. During the sprint acceleration step, higher peak forces were observed at the hallux (p = 0.048) and medial forefoot (p = 0.010) on wooden court. No difference between court surfaces was found for perception ratings at the ankle, knee, or back. These results suggested that players can experience greater impact forces at the toes and medial forefoot when performing basketball tasks on the more compliant wooden court than asphalt courts
Related Data for: How is your mindfulness?: Data on qualitative interpretations of the meaning of mindfulness
No full textDespite the growing interest in mindfulness over the last two decades, what mindfulness means to people can be different due to diversity in personal experience, social, and cultural background. To gain some insights on what mindfulness means to different people in different countries/regions, a research project entitled “How is your mindfulness” was conducted in early 2019. 247 adults from 35 countries/regions provided valid responses to an online questionnaire. Primarily, the questionnaire solicited open-ended responses about participants’ interpretation of mindfulness and descriptions of their own their mindfulness skills. Participants also rated their mindfulness skill, self-esteem, and life satisfaction through single-item scales. Availability of the open-ended responses is valuable for researchers interested in further understanding mindfulness from a qualitative angle. The availability of data from single-item measures of mindfulness skills, self-esteem and life esteem also provides a quantitative dimension to this issue. Taken together, the current data set provides an initial record of how different people are interpreting mindfulness, and could be further developed to advance mindfulness research