Sole Medium Research Articles

TRENDS OF TV NEWS COVERAGE IN BANGLADESH

The media booming especially the rise of satellite television channels is a significant phenomenon in the landscape of Bangladesh media which was initiated after the fall of autocratic regime in 1990. At present, twenty four satellite TV channels are in operation under the corporate ownership. These satellite channels are presenting hour-round news and views on different events and affairs. The state-owned BTV was the sole medium to cover and disseminate news, information and entertainment to the country-wide audience till 1999. Within a period of one and a half decade, ‘the media boom’ that Bangladesh is experiencing is not noticed in many other countries of the South-Asian region. In spite of this significant change in terms of quantity and ownership pattern, there still lacks a comprehensive broadcast policy to guide day-to-day operations of the channels. The article, in this backdrop, presents trend of the ever-growing satellite channels in covering news. The article also explores interests of the TV channels in terms of news selection, treatment and presentation

Factors in Students’ Errors in English Writing Proficiency

English is the sole medium of instruction in Namibian higher education institutions. The fact that more than 90% of Namibian students do not speak English as their home language has often been indicated as the cause of students’ poor performance in English. This study investigates the English proficiency of first-year education students at the University of Namibia's Khomasdal Campus with a focus on students’ written works. This study aims to identify and explain the factors that cause students’ poor writing proficiency in English. Based on qualitative research perspectives, the results show that Namibian students face a range of challenges regarding written communication.

Advocating for Mother Tongue as a Medium of Instruction in Moroccan Multilingual Public Schools

Since independence, Morocco has adopted Arabization, a monolingual policy that entails the use of Standard Arabic as the sole medium of instruction in public schools. But recent policies have advocated for a multilingual education that promotes mother tongues’ use in early instruction in public schools and foreign languages. In 2003, a National Education and Training Charter called for teaching the mother tongue Tamazight. As a result, Tamazight was recognized as an official language and was integrated into the school system. Although Moroccan Arabic or Darija is also the mother tongue that most Moroccans learn to speak since their birth, and the language of daily communication, it is overlooked in the education sector. Recent debates have advocated for its use in public schools and for its standardization to obtain an official standing with Standard Arabic and Tamazight. This paper aims to contribute to discussions about mother tongues education and attempts to shed light on the importance of both mother tongues, Moroccan Arabic and Tamazight in Morocco. First, I will provide a description of Moroccan linguistic landscape considering all languages spoken, their status and their use. Secondly, I will discuss different past and present linguistic and educational policies focusing on the current one advocating for mother tongue Moroccan Arabic. Thirdly, I will examine challenges and problems that could face the implementation of this mother tongue policy. Finally, I will end this paper with recommendations for using Moroccan Arabic along with Standard Arabic and Tamazight in public schools. Keywords: mother tongue policy, Moroccan educational policies, implementation assessment

Exploring millennials’ digital CSR communication expectations from Indonesian unicorn companies

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication is a conduit for companies to engage with the public. This research delves into millennials’ digital CSR communication expectations from Indonesian unicorn companies. Digital CSR initiatives aim to bridge the gap between corporate needs and public expectations. Public expectations encompass beliefs, attitudes, and anticipations. The study focuses on five Indonesian unicorn companies—Gojek, Tokopedia, OVO, Traveloka, and Bukalapak. Data collection involved interviews with millennials who follow the Instagram accounts of unicorn companies. Findings reveal diverse millennial expectations generated through CSR communication on Instagram, spanning visual message representation, media utilisation, and prospective CSR programs. Storytelling emerges as a pivotal method for conveying expectations via Instagram accounts. Moreover, Instagram is not the sole medium utilised for CSR communication. Follower interest underscores the necessity for sustained, long-term CSR programs. Positive engagement, such as likes, shares, and comments, represents a tangible manifestation of the millennials’ positive response to the content shared by these companies.

Coproduction of inulinase and invertase by Galactomyces geotrichum in whey-based medium and evaluation of additional nutrients

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the suitability of whey as an effective medium for the coproduction of inulinase and invertase by an oleaginous yeast Galactomyces geotrichum and to investigate the effects of some additional carbon and nitrogen sources. The nutritional factors and composition of the medium have a great impact on the production pathways of microbial enzymes. To deepen the research, a Taguchi design was employed to quickly scan the best conditions. First, the cheese whey was partly deproteinized and investigated as the sole medium for the yeast. The next step was performed to study the effects of inulin, sucrose and lactose as carbon sources and ammonium sulfate, yeast extract and casein as nitrogen sources. All analyses (Taguchi and ANOVA) were performed using Minitab software. Whey-based medium without any additional carbon and nitrogen sources gave inulinase and invertase activities as 54.6 U/mL and 47.4 U/mL, respectively. Maximum inulinase activity was obtained as 77.9 U/mL using inulin as the carbon source without any nitrogen source. The highest I/S ratio was found as 2.08. On the other hand, the highest invertase activity was carried out as 50.85 U/mL in whey-based medium using lactose as carbon source without any additional nitrogen source. This is the first report about partly deproteinized whey-based medium utilization for simultaneous inulinase and invertase production by G. geotrichum TS-61. Moreover, the effects of carbon and nitrogen sources were investigated in detail.

TRANSLATION AS A PEDAGOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE IN A RURAL UNIVERSITY

English proficiency among black South African learners and students has been found to be generally difficult to attain despite English being used as the sole medium of instruction in schools and at universities. To mitigate the issue, this paper explores the use of translation pedagogy as an approach in enabling bilingual students to utilise their linguistic repertoire as a tool not only to enhance their English Second Language development but to also give recognition to their first language. The contribution of the study is made significant by the fact that available related research has largely been conducted at kindergarten and school level leaving a gap in the higher education environment. An observational qualitative data collection methodology was conducted in which a university lecturer presented a lesson prepared by the researcher. The participants were bilingual in a predominantly African language speaking university community in a rural area of South Africa. The use of students’ African language (IsiZulu) was observed to enhance their English vocabulary which in the process saw them participating freely in both languages throughout the lesson. The main finding of the study is that English competency can be enhanced with the learners’ home language in a carefully prepared lesson that draws from translation pedagogy.

Morphometric traits of Black Soldier Fly larvae in slaughterhouse waste and rice bran growing medium

This study investigated the effects of utilizing a mixture of slaughterhouse waste and rice bran as a growing medium on the morphometric traits of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae. The research followed a completely randomized design with five treatment groups, namely T0: 100% slaughterhouse waste (control), T1: 75% slaughterhouse waste + 25% rice bran, T2: 50% slaughterhouse waste + 50% rice bran, T3: 25% slaughterhouse waste + 75% rice bran, and T4: 100% rice bran. The morphometric traits examined in this study included the larvae body length at 19 days (LBL19), larvae body width at 19 days (LBW19), larvae body length at 29 days (LBL29), and larvae body width at 29 days (LBW29). The results demonstrated that using slaughterhouse waste as the sole medium (T0) could support the growth of BSF larvae, but the morphometric traits of larvae in T0 were relatively modest. Interestingly, when RB was used to replace SW partially, it had a dose-dependent effect. T1 significantly improved (P < 0.05) LBL19, LBL29, and LBW29. Conversely, the morphometric traits of BSF larvae in T2 and T3 did not exhibit significant changes (P > 0.05) compared to the control. Moreover, the use of T4 significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) all morphometric traits of BSF larvae (LBL19, LBW19, LBL29, and LBW29). In conclusion, this study reveals the significant potential of BSF in managing slaughterhouse waste. Furthermore, employing a growing medium consisting of 75% slaughterhouse waste and 25% rice bran emerges as a practical approach to strike a harmonious balance between effective waste management and fostering the development of BSF larvae.

The Lack of Consciousness of the Presence of the Other in Contemporary Society in the Era of Mass Digitalization

This study discusses how the substantial development of technology, especially of social media platforms, in the past decades has altered the conditions that determine human relationships radically. It provides an overview of how emerging technologies have affected interpersonal human relationships by creating a new environment in which communication takes place, which could be exclusively virtual in the future. Then, it touches on the Levinasian theory regarding the self and its constant consciousness of the Other and aims to explore how Levinas’s theory relates to modern society. It highlights the process of how each person strives to find the Other during his/her existence but is often unable to do that and how, in this process, contact with the Other is essential. It is explained that Levinas stresses the importance of meeting with the Other but indicates that we often fail to do so and end up meeting with the Third, an unoriginal form of the Other. Lastly, it is hypothesized that the inability to find the Other in the modern world can be linked to the development of digitalization because new media are often responsible for creating distance in human relationships and, therefore, cannot be the sole medium of creating relationships with others as face-to-face communication and meeting the other are essential components of developing a meaningful relationship with them.

Effectiveness of Multilingual Broadcasting: A Case Study of Radio Nepal

Radio Nepal, as the pioneering radio broadcaster of the country, has played a crucial role in serving its listeners for over seven decades. In the earlier years, it was the sole medium of information, education, and entertainment, particularly for rural communities, before the advent of television and FM radios. As a national broadcaster, Radio Nepal has assumed significant national duties and responsibilities that set it apart from other media outlets. In response to the evolving socio-political landscape, Radio Nepal has bolstered its multilingual or inclusive broadcasting by incorporating more native languages into its programming. Currently, it broadcasts news and programs in 21 different languages, in addition to Nepali, aiming to address the linguistic diversity of the nation. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap and assess the impact of Radio Nepal's inclusive broadcasting from the listener's perspective. To measure the effectiveness, the research conducted a survey based on Radio Nepal's initiative to evaluate its inclusive broadcasting. The findings reveal that Radio Nepal's inclusive broadcasting has been highly effective. Listeners from diverse linguistic communities have shown a growing interest in news and programs broadcast in their native languages. Moreover, broadcasting has successfully transcended linguistic boundaries, reaching beyond specific communities, thereby contributing to the conservation and respect of different languages by the state and society.

Implementation of Storytelling Method with Folktales in Instilling Character Values in Children: A Study at ABA Warungboto Kindergarten

This study aims to see how the implementation of the storytelling method using folklore in instilling character values in children at TK ABA Warungboto. This study used a descriptive qualitative approach to analyze the data obtained through interviews, observations, and documentation involving 15 children from Class B as research subjects. The research results indicate that storytelling methods significantly enhance children's enthusiasm and learning motivation, with noticeable improvements in their attitudes, honesty, responsibility, and independence. Furthermore, this study found that supporting tools such as puppets and storybooks can reinforce the impact of this method in instilling these values. However, this research has limitations as it only focuses on one school and the use of folklore as the sole medium. Practical implications include increasing storytelling methods in character education, emphasizing diversifying stories, and employing interactive media. This study also recommends routine evaluations to measure the effectiveness of this approach. In conclusion, storytelling methods hold great potential in character education at the kindergarten level, and the findings of this research can serve as inspiration for character education in other schools.

Histone Methylation Is Required for Virulence, Conidiation, and Multi-Stress Resistance of Alternaria alternata

Histone methylation, which is critical for transcriptional regulation and various biological processes in eukaryotes, is a reversible dynamic process regulated by histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and histone demethylases (HDMs). This study determined the function of 5 HMTs (AaDot1, AaHMT1, AaHnrnp, AaSet1, and AaSet2) and 1 HDMs (AaGhd2) in the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata by analyzing targeted gene deletion mutants. The vegetative growth, conidiation, and pathogenicity of ∆AaSet1 and ∆AaSet2 were severely inhibited indicating that AaSet1 and AaSet2 play critical roles in cell development in A. alternata. Multiple stresses analysis revealed that both AaSet1 and AaSet2 were involved in the adaptation to cell wall interference agents and osmotic stress. Meanwhile, ∆AaSet1 and ∆AaSet2 displayed serious vegetative growth defects in sole carbon source medium, indicating that AaSet1 and AaSet2 play an important role in carbon source utilization. In addition, ∆AaSet2 colony displayed white in color, while the wild-type colony was dark brown, indicating AaSet2 is an essential gene for melanin biosynthesis in A. alternata. AaSet2 was required for the resistance to oxidative stress. On the other hand, all of ∆AaDot1, ∆AaHMT1, and ∆AaGhd2 mutants displayed wild-type phenotype in vegetative growth, multi-stress resistance, pathogenicity, carbon source utilization, and melanin biosynthesis. To explore the regulatory mechanism of AaSet1 and AaSet2, RNA-seq of these mutants and wild-type strain was performed. Phenotypes mentioned above correlated well with the differentially expressed genes in ∆AaSet1 and ∆AaSet2 according to the KEGG and GO enrichment results. Overall, our study provides genetic evidence that defines the central role of HMTs and HDMs in the pathological and biological functions of A. alternata.

High level production of γ-aminobutyric acid in engineered Escherichia coli by refactoring the glutamate decarboxylase

Gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), an important bioactive compound, is synthesized through the decarboxylation of L-glutamate (L-Glu) by glutamate decarboxylase (GAD). Particularly, most bacterial GADs are robust only under acidic conditions and sharply lose their activity when shifted to near-neutral pH. In this work, to broaden the pH dependence of GadB from Levilactobacillus brevis, five C-terminal truncated mutants were constructed based on the investigation of its C-terminal loop region, and their catalytic activities were compared at near-neutral pH. Subsequently, site-specific mutagenesis was performed to the selected GadBΔC11, and several mutants with substantially improved activity were thus obtained. Among these mutants, GadBΔC11K17T/D294G/E312S/Q346H exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km, 3.91 s−1mM−1), which was 4.95-fold and 17-fold higher than that of WT enzyme (0.79 s−1mM−1) and GadBΔC11 (0.23 s−1mM−1) at pH 4.8 and 37 °C. Furthermore, the GABA synthesis system using dormant E. coli cells expressing the best mutant GadBΔC11K17T/D294G/E312S/Q346H gene as the biocatalyst and pure water as a sole medium was constructed, and its GABA productivity was investigated. After 7.5 h of reaction, GABA production reached a concentration of 270.42 g/L with a 99.9% conversion ratio under the investigated conditions. Overall, refactoring the GAD system of E. coli through broadening the pH dependence of intracellular GadB is an effective approach for improving its GABA production.

Materialism, Matter and Materiality in the Work of Althusser

Over a decade ago, a number of philosophers declared that the time of what they called “the linguistic turn,” that is, a philosophical orientation to language as the sole medium through which reality could be apprehended, had come to an end, having foundered on its own contradictions. In its place, they proposed a turn to objects or things, that is, that to which we were previously told we could gain access only through language or consciousness, insofar as they reflected or represented reality from a position outside of it. Thus, they established the materiality of objects, but at the expense of a dematerialization of language. One of the principal targets of the new materialism was the concept of ideology, to them a realm of ideas, not things. In his famous essay, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” published in 1970, Althusser preempted the arguments of the new materialism by asserting that ideology does not consist of ideas but exists in the materiality of apparatuses, practices and rituals. Just as importantly, discourse too possessed a materiality and a reality which was the necessary condition of its functions, including the production of meaning.

Materialism, matter and materiality in the work of althusser

Over a decade ago, a number of philosophers declared that the time of what they called “the linguistic turn,” that is, a philosophical orientation to language as the sole medium through which reality could be apprehended, had come to an end, having foundered on its own contradictions. In its place, they proposed a turn to objects or things, that is, that to which we were previously told we could gain access only through language or consciousness, insofar as they reflected or represented reality from a position outside of it. Thus, they established the materiality of objects, but at the expense of a dematerialization of language. One of the principal targets of the new materialism was the concept of ideology, to them a realm of ideas, not things. In his famous essay, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses,” published in 1970, Althusser preempted the arguments of the new materialism by asserting that ideology does not consist of ideas but exists in the materiality of apparatuses, practices and rituals. Just as importantly, discourse too possessed a materiality and a reality which was the necessary condition of its functions, including the production of meaning.

Teaching and learning under COVID-19 public health edicts: the role of household lockdowns and prior technology usage.

Public health edicts necessitated by COVID-19 prompted a rapid pivot to remote online teaching and learning. Two major consequences followed: households became students’ main learning space, and technology became the sole medium of instructional delivery. We use the ideas of “digital disconnect” and “digital divide” to examine, for students and faculty, their prior experience with, and proficiency in using, learning technology. We also explore, for students, how household lockdowns and digital capacity impacted learning. Our findings are drawn from 3806 students and 283 faculty instructors from nine higher education institutions across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. For instructors, we find little evidence of a digital divide but some evidence of a digital disconnect. However, neither made a difference to self-reported success in transitioning courses. Faculty instructors were impacted in a myriad of diverse ways. For students, we show that closure and confinement measures which created difficult living situations were associated with lower levels of confidence in learning. The digital divide that did exist among students was less influential than were household lockdown measures in undermining student learning.

EFFECT OF MULTI-MEDIA APPROACHON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELECTED COMPETENCIES IN MATHEMATICS AMONG SLUM STUDENTS

Since Independence, UEE has been solitary imperative goal of educational progress in India. To achieve UEE, Government of India has initiated numerous programmes but it is sad that dropout rate is not declined. A foremost percentage of the dropouts comprises of socially underprivileged children. Most of the children have to effort very hard to earn their livelihood, and reside in slums. Recent approaches in the education technology like applications of multimedia by computer technology prove to cater to the various requirements of students in the educational system. Multimedia is a sole medium with structures of quality, audio-visual recording, and sound effects. Using Multimedia Approach, in teaching-learning process, is a perceptual knowledge, and as outcome students acquires the concepts and skills effectively. The present study was carried out with the objective to study the effect of the multi-media approach in relation to traditional approach in fostering selected Mathematics Competencies among Slum Students. The sample of the study was 40 slum students of standard six. The pre-posttest experimental design was followed for the present research study. The treatment for the Experimental group was given by the investigator for 40 sessions specically to foster Mathematics Competencies using a specially designed instructional material. Analysis of the results revealed, that Multi-Media Approach was signicantly more effective than of the traditional approach in fostering selected Mathematics Competencies among Slum students. Educational implications of the study were discussed in the study

Junk Filtering through Naive Bayesian Algorithm

As the world is seamlessly developing at a very high pace, we have been seeing enormous growth in various sectors of Technology. Networking has played a crucial part in the exchange of technological culture around the globe, and the Internet being the sole medium of Network enhancement has taken over every aspect of our society. Today, most of the professional communications are done through emailing. As far as email has proven to be an efficient, professional and easy way of communication, it also comes with the disadvantage of unwanted bulk bombarding of spam content. This has been a critical concern for email users. Consequently, it has become very difficult for spam filters to efficiently filter the unwanted emails, since nowadays emails are written in such a manner that any existing algorithm cannot give 100% accuracy in predicting spam. This paper deals with Naive Bayesian Classifier that is a Machine Learning algorithm for antispam filtering, which gives satisfactory results by automatically constructing anti-spam filters with extended conduct. The review over the researched performance of Naive Bayes algorithm is done by the investigations of Spam ham csv datasets. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated based on the accuracy, recall and precision it shows on the mentioned datasets. This technique gives 96-97% accuracy and 89% precision on the investigated dataset. The result also highlights that the content of the email and the number of instances of the dataset has an apparent effect on the performance of the algorithm.

Biosafety assessment of Fig (Ficus carica) leaves, an alternative preservative agent

Due to the global disturbance of chemical resurgence in food, Fig leaves (Ficus carica) had been made to be applied as preservatives to extend the shelf life of perishable foods and to address chemical toxicity concern, despite limited information regarding its biosafety. Hence, the need to affirm the safety of this plant in-vivo was studied. Extracts of Fig leaves were mixed with basal diet and used as feed for one group of Wistar albino rats (treated group) while the second group was fed with sole basal medium to serve as control. The blood samples of both groups were taken before the rats were subjected to cervical dislocation. Haematological and histological parameters were studied to know the effects of the extracts and in order to justify the usage of plant extracts as preservatives for perishable foods. The haematological parameters of the treated group were higher than the control except for the insignificant changes in lymphocytes, basophils and eosinophils. Furthermore, the histological study revealed no sign of lesions in the all organs examined from both groups. The adoption of Fig leaf as preservatives has no contra-indication on the organs or blood parameters. Hence the global adoption as alternative preservative agents is undoubtedly recommended.

Ultrasonic and enzymatic pretreatments of Monascus fermentation byproduct for a sustainable production of Bacillus subtilis.

Monascus fermentation byproduct (MFB) is a biowaste generated after food colorants are extracted. Using MFB to produce probiotics (Bacillus subtilis) is a sustainable way for the entire production to be used as food or animal feed additives. However, due to the rigidity of the Monascus mycelium cell wall, B. subtilis cannot sufficiently utilize the nutrients in MFB, leading to low biomass production efficiency. We studied the effects of ultrasonic treatment, papain, β-glucanase, and chitosanase, and their combinations on improving the levels of soluble components from MFB. The effects of these treatments on mycelium cell walls were visualized using scanning electron microscopy, and their influence on B. subtilis production was analyzed. Ultrasonic treatment increased the soluble components by 210 g kg-1 , including 50 g kg-1 protein and 120 g kg-1 carbohydrates. An enzyme mixture increased the soluble components by 160 g kg-1 , including 30 g kg-1 protein and 90 g kg-1 carbohydrates. The combination of the two methods achieved the highest increase of soluble components (up to 400 g kg-1 ) leading to a maximum B. subtilis production of 1 × 1011 colony-forming unit mL-1 . This yield was about 20 times greater than that using untreated MFB and about eight times greater than treatments using only ultrasonic or enzymatic methods. The productivity of B. subtilis production using MFB as the sole medium can be greatly improved by ultrasound or enzymes, which cause the release of intercellular components or cell wall components. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Impact of Media on Society: A Social Perspective on Demonetization

Our society is reflected through the media, which represents what society is like and how it functions. The sole medium that serves to keep people informed is media, whether it is written, electronic, or on the web. It also serves to amuse, educate, and inform the audience about current events. Our society's voice is now dominated by the media. A number of media platforms have brilliantly stirred the views of the younger generation and other segments of our society. The study's goal is to examine the media's involvement and efficacy throughout the demonetization process. The study's major goals are to look into the role of the media in informing people about the demonetization process and its consequences. The study will contribute to a better understanding of the role of the media in conveying information on significant problems and how individuals learn about current events. In Lucknow's South City and Eldeco neighborhood, a poll of 300 persons was held. The researchers devised a data gathering interview plan that took into account the function and type of media in raising public awareness. The convenience sampling method was used in the research investigation. The study focuses on media consumption patterns and behaviour throughout the demonetization period.