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Contribution to the study of the impact between the phonological and the verbal memory deficits on reading comprehension of pupils with learning difficulties.
No full textSome pupils fail to obtain reading fluency and/or reading comprehension skills even if they are given access to specialized instruction of high quality. These pupils may have a learning difficulty. Particularly pupils with dyslexia are likely to face problems in one or more cognitive processes, including phonological processing, auditory processing, long-term retrieval, attention, short-term memory, and working memory (Masoura, 2006). In this study we tried to investigate and analyze the problems that pupils with learning difficulties encounter.Five pupils of 3rd to 4th grade of primary school, from 9 to 10 years of age, (given the names) Chamomile, Poppy, Rosebud, Geranium and Clover, volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were officially diagnosed with dyslexia by an approved centre. Data were collected though interviews which were conducted both with the parents and the educators of the participants in order to collect data regarding the participants' family and school history.The materials that helped the researcher to identify the reading skills (phonological processing) and reading comprehension level of the participants of this experiment were a text taken from the third and fourth-grade of a reading programme used in the mainstream.Additionally, there were questions that the researcher posed to the participants in order to check understanding. Last but not least, participants were asked whether they thought these facilitators helped them.Also we used four flashcards as facilitators in the retelling process. Flashcards utilize metacognitive faculties as well as allow for confidence-based repetition. Therefore, they improve memory performance. The results indicated that pupils with learning difficulties encounter problems in reading comprehension, retelling and working memory. Those problems are more severe in pupils coming from bilingual or socially disadvantaged environments. There are many Bilingual pupils in Greece, mainly refugees, and these pupils take a large part of Greek schools. Especially for these pupils the learning difficulties are more often and their parents faces many problems as they are not familiar with the Greek language but also in their new country's system of education.As the size of the sample is small, further research is needed in order to establish the impact between the phonological and the verbal memory deficits on reading comprehension of pupils with learning difficulties
The effects of ICT on output per worker : A study of the Chinese economy
No full textIn this paper,we explore the short-run and long-run contribution of five indicators of information and communication technology(ICT) on economic growth of China over the sample period 1980–2013. We use the augmented Solow(1956) framework, the ARDL bounds (Pesaran, Shin,& Smith, 2001) approach to cointegration and the Todaand Yamamoto (1995) Granger non-causality tests to examine the possible linkages. The results show evidence of long-run association among level variables for all the indicators of ICT. From the results, we also note that all the indicators of ICT have a positive and statistically significant elasticity coefficient ranging from 0.010 to 0.080. From the Granger causality results, we note bidirectional causality between mobile cellular, telecommunication and economic growth; and between mobile cellular, telecommunication and capital per worker, respectively. Other results indicate that fixed broadband cause capital accumulation; capital accumulation causes internet technology. We also note bidirectional causality between mobile cellular and telecommunication, and between fixed broadband and internet, respectively; and a unidirectional causality from internet and fixed broad-band to hi-tech exports; and from mobile cellular and telecommunication to fixed broadband, respectively. From the overall results, within caveats, we highlight that while all the indicators of ICT are imperative for long-run growth, besides capital per worker, the dominant technology drivers are mobile cellular and telecommunications technology
Early intervention, transition and engagement – interventions to improve the Bolton student journey
No full textThis poster will showcase details of an umbrella project at the University of Bolton, UK which involves designing and implementing a series of interventions to understand student transition and engagement, with a view to improving the student journey. The project is designed to improve student transition into Bolton by addressing issues around social integration, engagement, early intervention and assessment of needs and pinpointing the times of year when students experience difficulties. It is also concerned with improving the learner experience and the learning environment. Finally, the project will also seek to understand what factors cause students to withdraw from university. It aims to build upon existing research, both locally and nationally, on academic retention, to understand how we can apply transition pedagogy (Kift & Nelson, 2005) in our own context to build an early intervention model which ensures that students “at risk” of low attainment and attrition are able to access support at the earliest opportunity
Posttraumatic growth in students, crime survivors and trauma workers exposed to adversity
No full textGeneralised models of positive change following adversity do not fully account for differences in adjustment among populations who experience posttraumatic growth (PTG). The contributions of event intentionality, frequency of the adversity types, age at serious event, spirituality/religiousness, active coping, PTSD symptoms and social support were explored as predictors of PTG across three samples of university students (N = 101; Study 1), survivors of violent crime recruited from support services (N = 71; Study 2) and those working with survivors of adversity (N = 96; Study 3). The results of Study 1 revealed that age at serious event, active coping, PTSD symptoms and social support positively predicted PTG. Within Study 2, spirituality/religiousness, active coping and social support were the significant positive predictors of PTG. Finally in Study 3, spirituality/religiousness, active coping and social support were the significant positive predictors of PTG. Across all studies, event intentionality and frequency of adversity types did not determine PTG. These results indicate that while participants within each of the populations have the ability to experience PTG, different factors predicted whether PTG was observed. The findings offer greater insight into the multifarious nature of adjustment following adversity
University of Bolton Postgraduate Research Students' Society Conference 2016: Book of abstracts
No full textDesign and development of novel "off the shelf" small diameter helical electrospun graft
No full textThere is an acute clinical need for small-calibre (<6 mm) vascular grafts for surgery, but unlike their large counterparts they still fail in long-term clinical application. The failures of small diameter grafts are primarily due to the early formation of thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia. Dynamics of blood flow leading to wall shear rate and blood flow pattern and their effect on the endothelial cell proliferation along with other anomalies, have been identified as one of the major deciding factors for the efficiency of grafts. Research has showed that intimal hyperplasia and associated complications which leads to the failure of graft develop preferentially in regions where there is disturbed blood flow haemodynamics which leads to uneven shear stress and turbulence in the flow, followed by flow stagnancy in the periphery of the graft. On the basis of these findings and the established advantages of swirling physiological blood flow, a new graft design having a swirling flow inducer on the inner surface of the graft throughout the axis has been proposed. Initially, different swirling profiles have been analysed using final elemental analysis and compared with conventional or plain grafts. The numerical analysis has revealed that the proposed design could indeed produce the swirling blood flow with much better haemodynamics. These analyses have shown that compared to plain graft, in swirling graft, blood flow velocity near the vessel walls significantly enhanced with uniform distribution of shear stress and thus could theoretically enhance performance of the grafts by providing a "wash away" effect and prevent the plaque formation. Electrospinning has been used to fabricate the proposed design and prototype samples have been produced using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and gelatine. After cross linking, prototype grafts have been tested as per standard protocols and various tests such as; uniaxial tensile tests, bursting strength tests and suture retention test were carried out and results were evaluated and compared with the conventional grafts. Human coronary artery, endothelial cells (HCAEC) and human cardiac myocytes (HCM) were seeded on the helical and plain grafts using surface seeding technique. At various time intervals cell proliferation, viability and morphology were observed in the presence of static and circulating media and results were compared with their conventional counterpart kept under the same conditions. Results obtained showed considerable amount of difference in cell spreading and cell viability in the helical graft as compared to the conventional graft which provided the advantage edge. Also, in the case of helical graft more uniformly in arranged HCAEC were observed with elongated morphology. Pressure myography studies were performed on both grafts and after endothelization, the helical graft proved to be more reliable and capable of withstanding the pressure as compared to conventional counterparts. It is therefore suggested, that the electrospun helical graft designed and fabricated in this work may be an attractive candidate for use as a potential small diameter vascular graft for implantation. This is based on its ability to better regulate haemodynamics of blood flow and support endothelization, albeit in vivo studies are required to fully substantiate the in vitro results
Formation and fine-structures of nano-precipitates in ZIRLO
No full textTransmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy have been used for crystallographic and compositional characterization of nano-precipitates distributed within the α-Zr matrix of the ZIRLO alloy. Intermetallic nano-particles with the C14 Laves-phase structure were found to be the dominant precipitate phase typically larger than 60 nm in sizes, which is assigned to the Zr(Fe,Nb)2 formula with Fe and Nb being mixed on the second sublattice sites in the bracket. Stacking faults were also observed in the ternary Laves phase, together with dislocations presenting on prism planes of the matrix solid solution. Besides, some fine spherical β-Nb particles about 30 nm in size were also found to precipitate within the α-Zr grains, with the α/β interface being crystallographically coherent
An investigation into Risk Management Practices on road maintenance projects under roads jurisdiction in Malawi in the period 2009-2012
No full textThis report is on the investigation of risk management practices at RA of Malawi on maintenance projects whose successful delivery influences the road network condition. The condition of the designated public road network is rated poor (Roads Authority Five Year Strategic and Business Plan , 2011-2016, p. 4) .The research is a requirement for the award of a Master of Science Degree in Project Management.The structure of the report covers the introduction to the research topic, its aim, significance of the study, literature review, research plan and methods, data collection and analysis, discussion of findings; and conclusion and recommendations.The research was conducted from mixed philosophies of positivism and interpretivism, however, leaned largely toward positivism.The research found out that there had been no clearly written down Risk Management Policy although there were a number of properly laid down procedures in dealing with a number of activities which in a way mitigates against risk. The report also found out that there was laxity in the implementation and adherence to set procedures and that staff were not fully oriented on their appointment regarding conditions of service, risk management policy among others which affected the delivery of organization goals.The report has therefore recommended a quick process toward ratifying and adopting a Risk Management Policy, review some procedures, emphasize on the need to follow procedures and create an office dedicated to risk management
Culture and corporate governance convergence
No full textPurpose.This paper aims to analyse the link between culture and corporate governance. In particular, it demonstrates the impact of culture in inhibiting convergence of corporate governance. Overall, the paper provides an appraisal of corporate governance laws in stakeholder-oriented states that have endured market pressure for convergence.Design/methodology/approach.The paper utilises historical trend in analyzing changes in corporate governance regulation in six countries covering three continents with stakeholder-oriented corporate governance model to determine the effect of culture in the convergence or divergence of corporate governance.Findings.The view that corporate governance is converging towards the shareholder model largely ignores cultural differences in states. An appraisal of corporate governance rules and principles that have endured Anglo-American influence reveals a strong propensity for cultural norms to dictate areas where changes occur. This paper demonstrates nominal changes in corporate governance regulation and ideologies, as states still turn to design corporate governance rules around their cultural philosophy. The paper also reveals weak political authority for convergence vis-à-vis market forces.Practical implications.Laws are strongly embedded in the corporate philosophies of states. Thus, the market and managers need to incorporate national culture into corporate practices for effective implementation.Originality/value.Few studies have examined the effect of culture on the convergence of corporate governance regulation, especially across different countries. This study does not only analyze corporate governance in developed countries but also examines emerging nations in Africa where research on convergence is very scarce
Establishing effective working relationships.
No full textThis article, the second in a series of 11, provides support and offers advice to new and existing mentors and practice teachers to enable them to progress in their role and develop a portfolio of evidence. In particular, the article discusses how to establish effective working relationships and emphasises the importance of the student-mentor or student-practice teacher relationship. It examines the essential qualities, attributes and characteristics of an effective mentor or practice teacher. The article provides learning activities and suggests ways in which mentors and practice teachers can undertake various self-assessments, enabling them to gather relevant evidence to demonstrate how they can meet and maintain the requirements for these roles as stipulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council