Review Of Previous Findings Research Articles

Factors influencing flood disaster preparedness initiatives among small and medium enterprises located at flood-prone area

This paper highlights the factors affecting SMEs flood disaster preparedness located in Segamat District of Malaysia. An interviewer-assisted survey using a set of flood disaster preparedness questionnaire (developed and validated by a team of disaster management experts from various background) were implemented among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) business owners and managers (n = 253). The analysis of regression provided insights into the various factors affecting the contribution of small and medium-sized businesses towards flood preparedness activities. Findings demonstrated that risk perception is the most consistent factors in influencing preparedness actions. Besides that, previous experiences on floods, retails sectors and male ownership also contributed to a high level of flood disaster preparedness engagement. This research gave insight at why small and medium-sized businesses are involved in disaster preparedness activities which includes discussion from a review of previous findings.

Translation as a Communication Strategy in Representing National Culture

The linguistic trinity policy, which has been implemented in Kazakhstan since its independence in the 1990s, is aimed at integrating translation into global processes. Kazakh-Russian bilingualism, caused by the historical and geopolitical proximity of the two countries, is now turning into trilingualism, joining up with English as the dominant language for international communication. Literary translation as a part of cross-cultural communication is also involved in social inclusion processes, contributing to the exchange of cultural values and a better understanding of modern multilingual Kazakhstani society. This article focuses on the issue of presenting Kazakh literature in translation through a mediating language and the research involves an analysis of culture-related lexemes as representations of a nomadic lifestyle in the mirror of intercultural communication. The authors highlight cultural and linguistic aspects of Kazakh transmitted from the mediatory Russian into the target English. Based on a review of previous findings on indirect literary translation, this article discusses whether a mediating language affects the inclusion of Kazakh culture in the globalization process.

Procedural democracy: Perceptions of the latest curriculum revision in British Columbia, Canada

In a historical review of curriculum revisions carried out in British Columbia, Canada, the author argued that these revisions were undemocratic in the sense that the revisions were carried out by a small selection of individuals associated with the Ministry/Department of Education. This article begins with a brief review of previous findings along with a discussion of how democracy, and in particular, procedural democracy, are understood. Procedural democracy is argued to relate to the public’s knowledge about government-initiated changes, ability to provide feedback, and how this feedback is attended to by those in government. This article then discusses the research methods and findings of a study carried out with British Columbian teachers and curriculum developers at a time when a major curriculum revision is occurring. The survey was designed based on the theoretical model of procedural model of democracy described. The findings focus on looking at the perceptions of teachers and curriculum developers regarding the process of curriculum reform carried out in British Columbia.

The social hippocampus.

The concept of cognitive map has been proposed as a way to organize our experiences and guide behavior across all domains of cognition. The hippocampus has been identified as the neural substrate supporting cognitive maps for navigating physical space. Recent evidence is broadening the role of the hippocampus into mapping other manner of spaces. Here we focus on the case of social space as a candidate for hippocampal representation because it combines multiple continuous dimensions and requires dynamic navigation through social contexts. We present evidence for the role of the hippocampus in (1) supporting social memory, (2) representing different dimensions of social space, (3) tracking dynamic social behavior, (4) maintaining a flexible map allowing adaptation to new social contexts, and (5) maladaptive social behavior across psychiatric disorders. To do so, we explore evidence across species including birds, rodents, nonhuman primates and humans, indicating hippocampal involvement in a range of social processes. Review of previous findings in a manner predicted by the cognitive map supports the existence of systematic mapping of social space by the hippocampus. Evidence for hippocampal social maps complements findings from other abstract domains, such as auditory, temporal and conceptual, allowing successful navigation through many domains of everyday life.

Exploring the Barriers Affecting Malaysian University Symbiosis Program in University-Industry Commercialization

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers that could affect the University Symbiosis Program. Methods/Statistical Analysis: Research synthesis technique and pearl growing technique are used to identify the barriers relevant to university-industry collaborative effort. Findings: Past studies indicated that there is a fuzzy relationship affecting university-industry collaborative effort and their commercialized outcome. Though there exist factors that could trigger university-industry commercialization, nevertheless the same factors have shown to produce different effect on the said collaborative result. Hence, there exist a suspected variable that could explain the observed fuzzy relationship between the university-industry collaborative effort and university-industry commercialization outcome. With this in mind, the University Symbiosis Program i.e., a type of university-industry collaborative effort that requires university researchers and technopreneurs to work hand-in-hand from the inception of an innovation to the final market was seen as the possible variable to the above exhortation. Based on the review of previous findings on barriers relevant to university-industry collaborative effort, this paper proposed a conceptual framework that describes the relationships between the barriers affecting university-industry collaborative effort, the University Symbiosis Program, and the final commercialized outcome. Barriers include competency, dedication, management of government funding, culture, and expectation were found to be relevant. Application/Improvements: This paper is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on university-industry collaborative effort via the University Symbiosis Program.

Cross-Age Peer Tutoring in Physics: Tutors, Tutees, and Achievement in Electricity

International comparisons reveal that lower-secondary-level students in Austria perform below the OECD mean in science. Guided by the search for remedies and improvements in science teaching, this study investigates whether cross-age peer tutoring is an appropriate method for teaching physics. A modern and concise definition of peer tutoring is available from the review of previous findings which focus on tutors as well as on tutees. This clarification leads to an experimental setup mostly in tutor–tutee dyads where a sample of n = 172 students from grades 5 to 8 underwent a cross-age peer tutoring process dealing with different topics within the context of electricity. The overall achievement in electricity for this age group was examined in a pretest–posttest design, using test items about electricity. Additionally, analyses were carried out in order to investigate whether or not there is a correlation between the possible roles within the process (active tutors–passive tutees) and the overall achievement. The results indicate that the active role is a crucial one for the achievement. Finally, a multiple linear regression model is presented which summarizes the research results and estimates the posttest scores based on the relevant parameters: the pretest score, the active role within the tutoring process, and the first language.

Hemispheric asymmetry in mid and long latency neuromagnetic responses to single clicks

We examine lateralization in the evoked magnetic field response to a click stimulus, observing that lateralization effects previously demonstrated for tones, noise, frequency modulated sweeps and certain syllables are also observed for (acoustically simpler) clicks. These effects include a difference in the peak latency of the M100 component of the evoked field waveform such that the peak consistently appears earlier in the right hemisphere, as well as rightward lateralization of field amplitude during the rise of the M100 component. Our review of previous findings on M100 lateralization, taken together with our data on the click-evoked response, leads to the hypothesis that these lateralization effects are elicited by stimuli containing a sharp sound energy onset or acoustic transition rather than specific types of stimuli. We argue that both the latency and the amplitude lateralization effects have a common origin, namely, hemispheric asymmetry in the amplitude of the magnetic field generated by one or more sources active during the M100 rise. While anatomical asymmetry cannot be excluded as the cause of the amplitude difference, we propose that the difference reflects a rightward asymmetry in the processing of sound energy onsets that potentially underlies the lateralization of several functions.

First record of Albunea carabus (Decapoda, Anomura, Hippidea) from the Algarve coast, South Portugal

During an annual bivalve dredge survey undertaken in April 2005 along the Portuguese coast, one specimen of the sand crab Albunea carabus was collected. This is the first record of this species on the Portuguese continental shelf. The individual found was a male with 11.31 mm carapace length and was collected off Faro at 3 m depth in a sandy area considerably hydrodynamic during winter. This occurrence is one of the few records outside the Mediterranean Sea. A short review of previous findings on this species is presented.

Influences on bicycle use

A stated preference experiment was performed in Edmonton in Canada to both examine the nature of various influences on bicycle use and obtain ratios among parameter values to be used in the development of a larger simulation of household travel behaviour. A total of 1128 questionnaires were completed and returned by current cyclists. Each questionnaire presented a pair of possible bicycle use alternatives and asked which was preferred for travel to a hypothetical all-day meeting or gathering (business or social). Alternatives were described by specifying the amounts of time spent on three different types of cycling facility and whether or not showers and/or secure bicycle parking were available at the destination. Indications of socio-economic character and levels of experience and comfort regarding cycling were also collected. The observations thus obtained were used to estimate the parameter values for a range of different utility functions in logit models representing this choice behaviour. The results indicate, among other things, that time spent cycling in mixed traffic is more onerous than time spent cycling on bike lanes or bike paths; that secure parking is more important than showers at the destination; and that cycling times on roadways tend to become less onerous as level of experience increases. Some of these results are novel and others are consistent with findings regarding bicycle use in work done by others, which is seen to add credence to this work. A review of previous findings concerning influences on cycling behaviour is also included.

‘Give Me a Name for What's Wrong With Him’: A Case Study of a Rare Chromosome Disorder

AbstractThe case is presented of a young boy with a rare chromosome disorder involving an interstitial deletion on chromosome 16 (16q11.2q13). Background information on chromosome disorders is presented along with a review of previous findings about the developmental consequences of chromosome 16q deletions. The case description illustrates the developmental and educational difficulties that may be associated with rare chromosome disorders and raises some important issues for guidance and counselling professionals.

Sense of Coherence and Physical Health. A Review of Previous Findings

The aim of this paper is to systematically review the available scientific publications published concerning the association between the sense of coherence (SOC), designed by Aaron Antonovsky (1923-1994), measured with the scales SOC-29 or SOC-13, and different aspects of health. The study is descriptive and integrates more than 50 scientific publications. The results are divided into the categories: Physical health; biological measures; psychological measures; health measures incorporating psychological aspects; stress; and behavioural aspects. The conclusion from this review is that SOC is highly associated with psychological aspects, including stress and behavioural aspects when SOC is operationalized with the prevailing scales. However, we were unable to show a strong association between SOC and physical health that Antonovsky had predicted. Therefore, we conclude that the SOC scale can only serve as a predictor for health that is measured by incorporating psychological aspects, while it is not capable of explaining physical health that is measured only by means of physical terms.

Cognitive functioning in schizophrenia: implications for psychiatric rehabilitation.

Research in psychopathology and the cognitive neurosciences suggests new applications in psychiatric rehabilitation. Analysis of performance deficits on laboratory tasks can contribute to treatment planning, individual and family counseling, and staff consultation, much like it does in cases of brain injury and other types of central nervous system neuropathology. Recognition of the nature of cognitive impairments in schizophrenia can inform design of psychosocial techniques such as social and living skills training. Cognitive impairments are increasingly seen as potential targets for pharmacological and psychosocial treatment and rehabilitation. In this article, three key issues for application of cognitive technology in psychiatric rehabilitation of schizophrenia and related disorders are formulated as straightforward, clinically relevant questions: (1) What is the prognostic significance of cognitive impairment in acute psychosis? (2) Can cognitive functioning improve in the chronic, residual course? (3) How does cognitive improvement benefit other aspects of recovery and rehabilitation? These questions are addressed through review of previous findings and new multivariate analyses of cognitive functioning in the acute, post-acute, and chronic residual phases of schizophrenia.

English as a medium of instruction in post-1997 Hong Kong: What students, teachers, and parents think

This paper reports on the results of a large-scale survey of the attitudes of students, teachers, and parents towards the use of English as a medium of instruction in Hong Kong secondary schools, where Chinese is the native language of the great majority of the students. The findings indicate that, while Hong Kong is to revert to Chinese rule in the middle of 1997, students and their parents consistently value English over Chinese as a teaching medium for pragmatic reasons, although they agree with the teachers that instruction in Chinese is educationally more effective. The findings of the study are interpreted in the light of an historical overview of the place of English in Hong Kong education since Britain's occupation of the territory in 1841, and a review of previous findings on the attitudes of students, teachers, and parents on this issue.

CytosafePLUS. A workstation for screening, supervision, reviewing, quality assurance and education in cytopathology.

In pathology, the subjective cytologic and histologic diagnosis suffers from large observer variability. Effective methods of reducing the effects of this observer variability in cytologic diagnosis are close supervision of the diagnostic process and multiple screening by different observers of cases that have a higher risk of abnormalities as well as closely supervised follow-up procedures for early lesions. Accurate supervision of screening completeness has become possible with the development of computer programs and microscope instrumentation to register the path of the objective over the slide and therefore the fields that have been inspected by the screener (Axio-Home, Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany; Navigator, Becton Dickinson Cellular Imaging Systems, Leiden, the Netherlands). Based on these technologies, all objects of interest on the microscope slide are marked electronically, and the X,Y coordinates of these marks are stored in the computer. With these coordinates, a motor-driven microscope stage can be redirected to the selected objects, enabling the observer to quickly review the objects. The reviewer can thus reinspect cells or groups of cells, previously identified, in a much more accurate way than is presently possible, by marking objects of interest with ink dots. To these marked objects, specific diagnoses can be attached, as can comments or questions, which are also stored in the computer and are made part of the cytology report. After analysis, all marked objects can be relocated automatically with the help of the computer-directed microscope stage. Using this concept, a subsequent observer or a supervisor can easily and effectively reply to the remarks attached to these objects. It is also possible to reedit the comments made or to attach answers to specific questions. In an interobserver study, encompassing 50 cases of columnar cell abnormalities screened by five observers using the Navigator microscope stage and software, it proved possible to reduce reviewing time significantly. On the basis of marked cytologic characteristics discriminating cellular features in the diagnosis, endocervical columnar abnormalities could be identified. The coordinates of the objects of interest are made part of the laboratory record of the cytology findings (Cytosafe, Omnisys, Hoevelaken, the Netherlands). This development largely facilitates the review of previous findings when evaluating follow-up specimens. With the use of a Navigator motor-driven stage and CCD camera, microscope images can be made of the specimen under study. These images can be stored in the computer in a digitized format, labeled with their X,Y coordinates on the specimen. The CytosafePLUS workstation, encompassing the Navigator automated cell positioning system and CCD attachment, is a highly effective tool in cytologic screening, reviewing and reporting, in surveillance of follow-up, in intralaboratory and interlaboratory consultation, in cytology training, in proficiency testing and in quality assurance.

Out-of-School Factors and Educational Achievement in Indonesia

Many studies have been undertaken in an effort to identify main determinants of academic achievement. Some have analyzed a variety of school-based factors, while others have examined balance between school-based and out-of-school factors. Common to a large number of studies of latter kind is consistent finding that home background is an important determinant of level of achievement. What is not clearly established is just how important home background factors are. Their degree of influence relative to influence of school factors appears to differ between developed and developing countries. Studies such as that by Coleman et al. have shown some background factors to be of much greater importance than school factors in developed countries.' Dougherty reviews a number of such studies, and, although he shows that attempts have been made recently to measure possibly more meaningful dimensions of school environment, basic relativity between home background and school factors remains.2 Studies conducted in developing countries show a different pattern.3 Although Simmons and Alexander adopt view that the determinants of school achievement appear to be basically same in both developed and developing countries,4 they note a number of studies conducted in developing countries that have results not according to expectations of this view. For these countries, home circumstances and student backgrounds are much less influentiar than might have been expected on basis of examining developed country influences. Heyneman, after his review of previous findings -including those of Simmons and Alexander-is much more positive in rejecting belief that strongest influence on achievement always comes from home background, not from school. He concludes, It is simply not true that determinants of school achievement are basically same in both developing and

Review of the current status of the mei-9a test for chromosome loss in Drosophila melanogaster: An assay with radically improved detection capacity for chromosome lesions induced by methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), dimenthylnitrosamine (DMN), and especially diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and procarbazine

A review of previous findings as well as new data are included in the present paper on recent invetigations by Zimmering and co-workers regarding a radical improvement in the detection capacity of the conventional test for chromosome loss to assay for induced chromosome lesions/breakage. The improvement has been achieved through the use of mei-9 a repair-deficient P1 females to which treated males are mated. 4 compounds have been tested including MMS, DMN, DEN and procarbazine. Not only the mei-9 a test yielded significantly higher frequencies of induced chromosome loss with MMS and DMN than the conventional test, preliminary data, in fact, providing evidence of a positive response in the mei-9 a test at a concentration one order of magnitude below that producing no effect in the conventional test, but, more critically, it has permitted detection of highly significant increases in induced chromosome loss with DEN and procarbazine, compounds proving negative in the conventional tests for chromosome loss and heritable traslocations at all concentrations employed including those producing substantial to high frequencies of recessive lethal.

Normality of distributions and homogeneity of variance of heart rate and heart period samples.

ABSTRACTOne consideration in choosing between the measures, heart period and heart rate, is how well they meet the assumptions of statistical models. A review of previous findings and new data suggests that, with adult subjects, there is little basis for preferring one measure to the other but, with infant subjects, rate has the advantage of being more nearly normally distributed and more homogeneous in variance. Other considerations, briefly discussed, are the nature of measurement error and whether a cardiac or real time base is to be used.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMTD), or peroneal muscular atrophy (PMA), is an uncommon inherited affection of peripheral nerve and probably root, spinal cord, and muscle of young people. Many aspects of the pathology, etiology, and genetics are unresolved and demand a review of previous findings as well as new approaches in future investigations. In this light, a family containing five male siblings with this illness has been studied. From a review of the literature, it appears this is the first time that: (1) a 45-year follow-up study of this progressive disorder has been attempted; (2) chromosomal analysis has been performed in this heredofamilial disease; and (3) adequate documentation of the associated mental deficiency has been obtained, whereas previous reports have only noted impressions of such. In addition, the development of concepts and controversies regarding certain genetic, pathological, and clinical aspects has been chronologically summarized. Report of Cases Present Illness and Family History