Century Knowledge Research Articles

Intertwined Landscape

This article examines the ways in which Zionist intellectuals interacted with Arabo-Islamic culture in the Yishuv by looking into the cultivation of Islamicate knowledge pertinent to land and nature and its impact on the construction of the Jewish cultural landscape. I argue that in establishing a connection between Jews and the natural landscape of Palestine/ Israel, Jewish intellectuals relied on Arabo Islamic culture and its centuries of knowledge about the flora and the land itself. In their search to comprehend the flora and place names of the land of the Bible, Jewish individuals consulted Arabo-Islamic sources, finding them instrumental to their national enterprise. The culmination of these endeavors is that, in addition to Jewish and Western sources, Islamicate culture was one of the wellsprings from which Jewish intellectuals drew in shaping the emergent culture in the Yishuv and the early decades of the State of Israel.

Cephalopod Tissue Regeneration: Consolidating Over a Century of Knowledge.

Regeneration, a process consisting in regrowth of damaged structures and their functional recovery, is widespread in several phyla of the animal kingdom from lower invertebrates to mammals. Among the regeneration-competent species, the actual ability to restore the full form and function of the injured tissue varies greatly, from species being able to undergo whole-body and internal organ regeneration, to instances in which this ability is limited to a few tissues. Among invertebrates, cephalopod mollusks retain the ability to regenerate several structures (i.e., muscles, nerves, or entire appendages). Here we provide an overview of more than one-hundred studies carried out over the last 160 years of research. Despite the great effort, many aspects of tissue regeneration in cephalopods, including the associated molecular and cellular machinery, remain largely unexplored. Our approach is largely descriptive and aims to provide a reference to prior work thus to facilitate future research efforts. We believe such research may lead to important discoveries and approaches that can be applied to other animal taxa including higher vertebrates, as well as other research fields such as regenerative medicine.

Availability and utilization of information communication technology facilities in a private university library in Nigeria

The use of ICT in learning is critical in development of any society. Today’s learning has emphasized its importance as basis for 21st century knowledge acquisition. This study investigated the availability and utilization of ICT facilities in Madonna University, Nigeria with particular reference to the Okija campus. It employed the descriptive survey design with self structured questionnaire and observation checklist for data collection. Three hundred students made up the population of the study. The data was analysed using simple frequency, percentages and mean scores. A benchmark of 2.5 was used for acceptance or rejection of data collated. The findings showed that the ICT section has resources and facilities that are available which the students utilized to certain extent. It also showed the frequency of use by the users. Although there are issues as some ICT facilities are not available, thereby not utilized by the students. Other challenges are inadequate assistance from staff, epileptic power supply and irregular internet connectivity among others. Recommendations were given to include provision of more ICT facilities, regular updates and trainings on use of ICT, among others.Keyword: academic library, ICT, learning, students, utilization, private university

Attitude towards Computers among Primary School Teachers in Kenya: A Case of Siongiroi Divison, Bomet County

In the quest of equipping the pupils with the digital skills required to work in the 21st century knowledge economy, the government of Kenya plans to provide laptops to every primary school class one pupil. If this is to be successful, the question of teacher attitude towards computers is central. This paper presents the results of a survey to study and examine the attitudes of the primary school teachers towards computers. In addition, the study investigated the effects of age, gender, teaching experience, level of education, and computer experience on computer attitude. Data for this study was collected among 114 primary school teachers from Siongiroi Division, Bomet County, Kenya. Measurement tools used was the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) by Loyd and Gressard (1984). The data acquired was analyzed using descriptive statistics and an analysis of variance (ANOVA).The results indicated that although the teachers have positive attitudes towards computers, they have low confidence level in using the computers. The study also found that the primary school teachers, despite their differences in gender, age, teaching experience and level of education, did not differ significantly (in statistical sense) in their computer attitude. Since teachers portray positive attitudes toward computers, efforts should be geared towards reinforcing the existing positive attitudes. This study highlights the importance of uplifting teachers’ confidence level in using computers

Biodiversity, Bioprospecting, Traditional Knowledge, Sustainable Development and Value Added Products: A Review

Biodiversity is the biological capital of the planet Earth and forms the foundation upon which the human civilization is built. The success of a nation depends upon the capability of her people to convert the biodiversity and other natural resources into wealth in an ecologically sound and economically rewarding and sustainable manner with the intervention of science and technology. The intrinsic potential of biodiversity as a key resource for developing novel value added products for food, medicine, cosmetics and other natural products of commercial importance have now been increasingly realized. The unknown potential of genetic diversity found in the biological organisms represents a never-ending biological frontier of intrinsic value. Genetic diversity will enable breeders to tailor crops to meet the ever-changing demands or needs and aspirations of humans as well as enabling to adapt to the changing climatic or other environmental conditions. The genetic resources are primarily used as source of valuable genes, chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, natural dye, gum, resins, enzymes and proteins of great industrial value. Knowledge based, value added product development and its commercialization has become one of the fastest economic activities in the world. The liberalization of the global trade practice and other economic reforms evolving currently with the emergence of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN-CBD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires a deeper study and understanding, especially in the light of the latest path breaking achievements in science and technology particularly in areas like Information Technology (IT), Biotechnology (BT), Herbal technology (HT), and Nano-biotechnology (NBT). According to Mashellar) “twenty first century will be the century of knowledge” and “a nations ability to convert knowledge into wealth and social good through the process of innovation will determine its future”. A new thinking centered on the concept of ‘knowledge engineering’ for building future ‘knowledge industries’ is now getting greater attention and acceptance in the world over. Conversion of biodiversity and the associated traditional knowledge system (TKS) into value added globally competitive commercial products with appropriate safeguards for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection are some of the key strategies for achieving economic prosperity and well being for the people of nations like India.

ASSESSMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: CRITERIA AND EFFICIENCY INDICATORS

The ongoing implementation of the Bologna Process in Europe prompts comparisons with international competitors and efforts to match their quality assurance standards. Higher education institutions must be effective to succeed in research, to provide best academic practices and high quality of studies. Terminological system of pedagogical science and practice of higher education reflects the goals, values and problems, structure and system of scientific knowledge of the XXI century. The process for content analysis is designed to achieve the objective analysis possible by defining the process of the qualities and characteristics to be measured in HE. The article provides definitions of basic concepts that describe the features of tools for measuring and assessing in higher education. A comparative analysis of the practice of applying criteria & indicators is made on materials of English-language publications. Starting from a conceptual discussion around commonly used terms, such as, «criterion» and «indicator», the author has shown that these terms do not have a single universal meaning. The analysis shows that there is no common understanding of what criteria-based means or what it implies for practice. Instead, they belong to a wide conceptual field, which covers various overlapping or closely related topics. This paper addresses the nature of the concept of criteria in relation to higher education. This paper provides examples of use different sets of criteria for the accreditation and external evaluation of Higher education institutions and study programmes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognised by the EU as a «potential candidate country». In accordance with the constitutional structure of BiH, there are several regulations for external QA which are combined for each accreditation procedure. The project «Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Quality Assurance» (2013-2015) aims to support the full implementation of the ESG at all levels and to carry out accreditations of all HEIs in the country. In the process of analyzing the institutional practice of the country the problem of harmonizing national criteria with updated ESG2015 for licensing, conducting accreditation of higher education institutions and educational programs has been raised. The author analyses ways of thinking about the practice of applying the indicators for the sphere of higher education. It is stated, that the concepts of «effectiveness» and «efficiency» are often confused. The peculiarities of using the indicator panels (OECD, World Bank, European Union) are described for measuring the quality at the level of the education system.

The prehistory of York

Over the past half century knowledge of the archaeology of Roman, Viking and Medieval York has advanced significantly, yet information on preceding prehistoric periods remains scanty. To all intents and purposes the prehistory of the York area is as invisible in literature as it is on the ground. This paper will briefly review the background to the prehistory of York, attempt a characterisation of the archaeology, and propose an outline strategy to advance understanding of the prehistory of what is probably the least well known sub-region of Yorkshire. An initial version of this paper was presented at a conference on the archaeology of York, held in the city in November 2011.

Who Wants to Be an Intrapreneur? Relations between Employees' Entrepreneurial, Professional, and Leadership Career Motivations and Intrapreneurial Motivation in Organizations.

This paper reports an empirical study conducted to examine the relationship between employees’ Entrepreneurial, Professional, and Leadership (EPL) career motivations and their intrapreneurial motivation. Using data collected from 425 working adults in the research/innovation and healthcare settings, we develop a self-report measure of employee intrapreneurial motivation. We also adapt an existing self-report measure of E, P, and L career motivations (previously developed and used with university students) for use with working adult organizational employees. Confirmatory factor analysis indicate that E, P, and L motivations and intrapreneurial motivation can be measured independently and reliably, while regression analyses show that the employees’ E, P, and L motivations all contribute to explaining variance in their intrapreneurial motivation. Individuals with high E, P, and L motivational profiles are also found to have the highest intrapreneurial motivation scores, while those low on E, P, and L motivations have the least intrapreneurial motivation. Our findings suggest that the potential for intrapreneurship is not unique to only entrepreneurial employees. Instead, one can find intrapreneurs among employees with strong leadership and professional motivations as well. We discuss the findings in the context of generating more research to address the challenges of talent management in the 21st century knowledge economies where there is greater career mobility and boundarylessness in the workforce.

Broadening design-led education horizons: conceptual insights and future research directions

Design as an overarching pedagogical framework has been regarded by some as the avenue to re-envision general education to develop capabilities required for twenty-first century citizens. However, despite the adoption of design thinking within other domains, generic design-based education for lifelong learning remains largely unexplored. A comprehensive review of literature on educating a workforce for the knowledge economy, and the role of design in business and educational innovation, has been conducted to create a new approach to building a culture of practice for design-led education, based on the theory of the Innovation Matrix. This study proposes ‘design-led educational innovation’ as a new area of research which requires a deeper understanding of the knowledge, skills and mindsets students require to thrive in the twenty-first century and beyond as lifelong learners in informal and formal education contexts. The findings provide an opportunity to explore dynamic theories and methodologies borrowed from within the field of design-led innovation in business that will broaden the horizons of design-led education, challenging existing practices to transform educational institutions as knowledge creation organisations. This is the first paper to introduce the Design-led Education Innovation Matrix, providing a prototype design-led framework to assist educators in developing and assessing twenty-first century knowledge, skills and mindsets. In addition, it identifies related future research areas for academia, thereby extending the reach and scope of this emerging research area.

‘A judicious and industrious compiler’: Mapping Postlethwayt's Dictionary of Commerce

ABSTRACTThis paper takes as its guide the largest compilation of commercial knowledge of the mid-eighteenth century in the English language, Malachy Postlethwayt's Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce (1751–1755). Using network analysis, the many cross-references between entries in this work allow one to identify clusters of themes and literatures within the mass of materials. Pictures are presented that can be interpreted as ‘mind maps’ grouping the commercial literature by various topics and themes. The paper then focuses on one novel aspect of Postlethwayt's work, i.e., his inclusion besides entries on ‘practical’ topics of ‘political’ discussions, and identifies his sources.

The Modern Trends and Applications in the Development of Academic Staff in the University of Maryland & George Mason University

Several changes have occurred over the past century in the education system of Saudi Arabia. The changes have largely been associated with the fact that in the 21st century, information and communication technology is highly applied in the learning process, thereby leading to a major transformation of the process. The application of information and communication technology has also transformed interactions and rapidly changed the learning process, giving a new meaning to social interactions. Enterprises that operate in the information age enjoy information interchange, collaboration, and adoption and application of innovative tendencies and shared decision-making. Students’ demands have changed in that they no longer hope for middle-class success or application of routine skills, but they measure success in terms of ability to share, communicate and apply information to arrive at solutions to complex problems. The changing learning environment requires that the teaching staff learns new tendencies and skills that they can apply to cope with the ever-changing learner and general society expectations. Teachers’ competence at work is measured in terms of their ability to improve the power of technology in enhancing creation of new knowledge. Therefore, leaders of teacher education programs are responsible for developing sustainable programs that allow for teacher education. Training has become part of the ethics of the teaching profession, and members of the teaching staff must be ready for training throughout their profession. This paper will shed light on the training program of faculty members in two well-known universities in the United States: the University of Maryland & George Mason University, as an attempt to compare the above educational establishments with the conditions of training of faculty members of King Saud University in Saudi Arabia to suggest a training plan to develop training programs in KSU. It is time when leaders in educator preparation should critically reexamine their roles in the 21st century knowledge and skills whose landscape has largely changed.

Kheyr-on-Nessa Amoli, An Iranian Lady Physician in the Gurkani Court of India.

The popularity of the science of medicine in the Gurkani Court of India relied on the presence and scientific work of Iranian scholars. Iranian women, like men, enjoyed this area of science and were also actively involved in social issues. The remarkable participation of Iranian female physicians in some medical fields, such as issues and care in pregnancy, child-bearing, and baby care, is among their scientific contributions to the changes and growing trends in medicine. These affairs were monopolized by women who held this knowledge for centuries. One of the women who was considerably successful in this field was Zat-on-Nessa Amoli, titled Kheyr-on-Nessa, a seventeenth-century female Iranian physician. This research aimed to study the contributions and scientific life of this poet and Iranian physician based on historical documents and texts, considering the research on the science and knowledge of medicine.

Evaluating the liberal arts model in the context of the Dutch University College

The Liberal Arts model of undergraduate education within small, internationally-focused University Colleges is becoming increasingly popular in Europe. This trend is most notable in the Netherlands, where the liberal arts model is acclaimed as filling a gap in Dutch undergraduate education at conventional research universities. This paper explores the status of the Dutch University College as simultaneously continuing the liberal arts tradition of the US, with its civic and pedagogic values, and providing a truly modern education preparing students to find innovative and inter-disciplinary solutions to the complex problems which define contemporary society. It concludes that the traditional role of a liberal arts education in cultivating intellectual rather than vocation skills does not have to exclude its appeal as providing the skills necessary for professional success in global sectors of the 21 st century knowledge economy.

The Perceptions of Teachers and Students on a 21st Century Mathematics Instructional Model

Facilitating learning at all levels of the education stratum to create effective 21st Century knowledge creators, inventors and innovative workers is increasingly recognized today as a primary objective of education. Presently, the rapid expansion and availability of knowledge indicates the importance of curriculum and instructions that will empower learners to process knowledge using learner centered strategies rather than merely memorizing facts infused by facilitators. The study applied a qualitative research design. Interviews were completed on teachers and students to determine their perceptions on the effectiveness of the 2T2C model. Teachers’ perceptions indicated that they gained a better perspective from the teaching and learning classroom environment; high-order questioning and thinking were accomplished; the relationship between mathematics through real-world questions was realized by students; communication improved through planned cooperative and collaboration sessions; the use of technology as a resource both in and out of class provided a framework for communication and thinking; and students’ confidence and self-efficacy improved as they took responsibility for their learning. This paper presents how the 2T2C Model was conceptualized and reports on teachers’ and students’ perceptions on the model.

Isaak von Ninive und seine Kephalaia Gnostika: Die Pneumatologie und ihr Kontext. By Nestor Kavvadas

Isaac of Nineveh was a Syriac mystical writer from Qatar who at the beginning of the Islamic conquest (seventh century) lived as a solitary in south-western Iran (Beth Huzaye). His thought, as is now widely known, deeply influenced Christian spirituality far beyond the borders of Syriac culture. Isaac’s surviving works, divided into three ‘parts’, include his Centuries of Knowledge—the third chapter of his Second Part, discovered by Sebastian Brock in 1983 (ms. syr. e. 7, Bodleian Library, Oxford). Central for an understanding of the Centuries—and of the whole of Isaac’s corpus—is the concept of knowledge, in particular the knowledge imparted by the Holy Spirit. This new monograph of Nestor Kavvadas is most welcome, because it is a comprehensive, systematic study of Isaac’s conception of knowledge, and of ‘spiritual knowledge’ (Geisterkenntnis) in particular—a knowledge which, in Isaac’s thought and in the author’s analysis, is an unmerited gift of the Spirit which radically transforms the recipient. Kavvadas bases his study on Isaac’s unedited Centuries, providing the Syriac text and the translation of many passages; but he also roots his analysis in the totality of Isaac’s corpus, showing the inner coherence of thought of an author often considered unsystematic.

Guidelines to design engineering education in the twenty-first century for supporting innovative product development

ABSTRACTIn the twenty-first century, meeting our technological challenges demands educational excellence, a skilled populace that is ready for the critical challenges society faces. There is widespread consensus, however, that education systems are failing to adequately prepare all students with the essential twenty-first century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life, career, and citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to understand how twenty-first century knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in engineering education finalised to innovative product development by using additive manufacturing (AM). The study designs a learning model by which to achieve effective AM education to address the requirements of twenty-first century and to offer students the occasion to experiment with STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. The study is conducted using the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology.

New approaches to the content of philological higher education

The accelerated pace of political, socio-economic and technological development requires qualitative changes in the education sector. Today is an issue about the need to train highly qualified personnel that meet the requirements of the XXI century, integrates education and scientific knowledge. Therefore, the improvement of philological education will require an integrated system of study and practical issues of philology development, their consideration in the new aspects of the humanities, which imply an active search for specific mechanisms and methods for their compatibility in line with global trends in the development and preservation of national priorities. Development of scientific research in the context of world philology allows researchers to solve essential linguistic, literary, scientific and methodological problems. Developed in the field of philology education programs should be aimed at creating a scientific and educational environment of a new type to improve the quality of philological research and learning languages. Its main substantive areas are to promote the growth of scientific and educational potential of philological and associated sciences in a single information space, creation and modernization of modern quality management systems, new educational programs and learning technologies, integration of education, science and innovation. Further improvement of philology education is a major problem, the solution of which depends largely on the development of philology, the degree of relevance of society, finally, the optimal solution to the problems of higher philological education. Keywords: Multilingualism, language policy, identity, language situation, language modernization

EVALUACIÓN AUTOMÁTICA DE LA CREATIVIDAD FRENTE A LA RESOLUCIÓN DE PROBLEMAS HEURÍSTICOS BASADA EN LA DIVERSIDAD DE CONSULTAS

Creative problem-solving emerges as one of the most relevant skill of the 21st century knowledge society. Fortunately, there are many creativity training programmes that have proven effective. However, most of these programmes require a previous measurement of creativity, which involves time-consuming tasks conducted by experienced reviewers, i.e. far from primary school classroom dynamics. In this study, we propose a model to predict the creative quality of students’ solutions based on the analysis of query patterns and the use of Wikipedia. This model has been able to predict the creative quality of solutions produced by 226 school students, aged 10 to 12 years old, reaching a sensitivity of 78.43%. The agreement among reviewers regarding students’ creative characteristics has also been evaluated using two rubrics. We hope this model can be used to foster prompt detection of non-creative solutions in order to enable intervention and improve the final result in terms of creativity.

Personal Tacit Knowledge and Global Learning Professional Competencies—Multi-Dimensional Relationships

Global learning professional competencies (GLPCs) are essential for college students to be able to address the impact of globalization in the 21st century. Organizations and society-at-large look to higher education to prepare college students with GLPCs. In addition, there is a body of literature that suggest personal tacit knowledge enhance GLPCs. However, researchers have done little from an empirical perspective to determine the relationship between the use of P-T K and enhancement of GLPCs, hence the purpose of this study. The statistical results revealed significant correlations, p st century knowledge society through use of P-T K.

Is the classroom obsolete in the twenty-first century?

Lefebvre’s triadic conception of spatial practice, representations of space and representational spaces provides the theoretical framework of this article, which recognises a productive relationship between space and social relations. Its writing stems from a current and ongoing qualitative study of innovative teaching and learning practices in new technology-rich flexible learning spaces, characterised by large open spaces, permeable boundaries and diverse furnishings emphasising student comfort, health and flexibility. Schooling in the twenty-first century, certainly in the developed world, is required to ensure that children and school-leavers have appropriate life-long skills in preparation for participation in the twenty-first century knowledge economy. This world is characterised as complex and dynamic, deeply influenced by globalisation and the revolution in digital technology. Developing these skills calls into question ‘outmoded’ transmission models of teaching and requires teachers and school leaders to approach their work in radically new ways. Open school design encourages flexibility in learning and teaching, and allows collaborative, team teaching, with designers claiming significant educational benefits. This arrangement of multiple classes using innovatively designed, technology-enriched common space, facilitated by multiple teachers, working in collaborative teams, is far-reaching in its likely implications for community expectations and responses, relationship-building, assessment, student learning, teachers’ work and initial teacher education.