TMs Research Research Articles

Interdisciplinary studies on the evolution of senior high school English education in postwar Taiwan and the relevance to Japan's system

In recent years in Japan, there has been an urgent need to develop logical, critical thinking, and communication skills in Japanese English education. While there has long been considerable research on Japan’s English language education system and that of other East Asian nations, there has been less information available on the English education system in Taiwan. Despite similarities between the English education systems in Japan and Taiwan, there is less data on the Taiwanese system, which makes it difficult to draw comparisons between the two. This is the research focus of Professor Seiko Hirai, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kitasato University, Japan. Hirai is interested in English education, with a particular focus on Taiwan, and her research also explores cognitive perspectives of bilingualism. Hirai has been investigating the English education situation in Taiwan, with a focus on Taiwanese English textbooks. Hirai’s findings indicate that, as demonstrated by the Taiwanese English education situation, it is possible to develop communicative skills in tandem with critical thinking skills and that these are not mutually exclusive. Her studies also suggest that literature materials used in Taiwanese English textbooks are useful for developing these skills, and for deepening the level and type of intellectual exposure to English in its many forms. There is some consensus in the literature that acquiring reading and writing abilities in one language helps with the acquisition of reading and writing abilities in other languages and that this could possibly also improve higher thinking processes. Hiraiâ–™s research on the cognitive perspectives of bilingualism is ongoing but she is eager to promote the improvement of communicative-based language development learning in Japanese school environments. She intends to collaborate with other researchers to explore how to improve Japanese English textbooks by using knowledge gained from her research on the Taiwanese system as well as research on other East Asian nations.

Circular economy, turning decay into magic: heparin extraction from pig viscera

The transformation of industrial waste into valuable resources is an increasingly important concept. At Taiwanâ–™s National Cheng Kung University a multi-disciplinary team has been working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations member states in 2015 and has developed a method of extracting a valuable medical drug called heparin from agricultural waste. The researchers have combined the advantages of chemical engineering and biotechnology to effectively improve the extraction efficiency and purity of heparin and protected it with technology patents. This exciting innovation could solve the problem of waste disposal from pork production while creating a high-medical value resource from that waste and the residue of the production process could be transformed into fertiliser and animal feed. As such, the researchers believe the application of this technology will help improve the economic productivity of pig farmers and promote environmentally sustainable farming. The value of Chiangâ–™s research are the anticoagulant benefits heparin offers to patients, and also providing new techniques that offer a sustainable and stable supply of the drug. He and the team have taken an innovative approach to extracting heparin sodium, which is the heparin precursor, from pig viscera waste by using dual hydrogen peroxide oxidation methodology and microbial monitoring to enhance the purity of the extracted heparin sodium, creating a higher-quality product for medical applications.

Next-generation healthcare infrastructure based on cross-layer optimization of biosignal sensing and communication

The human body already uses electric signals to transmit information to and from the brain and the rest of the body but is there potential to harness the complex interactions between living organisms and electromagnetic waves to advance scientific disciplines? Associate Professor Dairoku Muramatsu is the head of the Muramatsu Laboratory. He leads the Bioelectromagnetics Research Group, Graduate School of Information Science and Engineering Mechanical and Intelligent Systems, University of Electro-Communications, Japan. He is a specialist in bioelectromagnetic engineering that spans engineering and medicine interested in the interactions between living organisms and electromagnetic waves and how improved understanding of these interactions could lead to practical, real-world impacts. A key principle behind Muramatsu's research is that by passing a weak electric current through the human body and using the body itself as a path for electric signals, it is possible to exchange information between people and objects that come into contact with them. He is working to create innovative and highly usable technology by making full use of simulation and manufacturing. As research on human body communication, which is wireless communication that uses the human body itself as a transmission path for high-frequency signals, findings will play a key role in the spread of wearable devices. Muramatsu has already proposed bioelectromagnetic models that serve as a tool for a wide range of bioelectronics and sensor designs, including non-invasive blood glucose monitoring using bioelectromagnetic response as an evaluation criterion.

Full elucidation of sorting mechanisms in and around the Golgi apparatus by super-resolution live imaging

The Golgi body or Golgi apparatus is a cell organelle that plays a key role in protein transport and sorting in the cell. Although basic models of ‘vesicular transport’ processes appear to be widely accepted, there are many researchers who question the status quo. Because of the difficulties of working with traffic processes in living cells, there are still many unanswered questions. Dr Akihiko Nakano is a researcher working to uncover the full truth about protein transport within the Golgi apparatus. Indeed, his work on the Golgi cisternal maturation is viewed as a monumental milestone in the field. Technological developments, particularly in live imaging microscopy, mean it is possible to look at specific objects in unprecedented detail and these advancements could enable Nakano to fully elucidate the sorting mechanisms in and around the Golgi apparatus. Nakano is based at the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics (RAP) in Japan and forms part of the Live Cell Super-Resolution Imaging Research Team. He and the team are harnessing the power and potential of live imaging to re-examine the processes of membrane traffic in living cells of different species, yeast, plant and animal cells. The goal is to propose a fundamental model of membrane trafficking that can explain seemingly different behaviours of membranes by common mechanisms. A key part of the teamâ–™s research has involved the development of a novel microscopic methodology called super-resolution confocal live imaging microscopy (SCLIM).

Research on novel HDL cholesterol excretion mechanism

Too much cholesterol can lead to health problems but cholesterol on high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) is sometimes referred to as â–˜goodâ–™ cholesterol because it is inversely related to cardiovascular disease risk. Junior Associate Professor Maki Tsujita, Department of Biochemistry, Nagoya City University, Japan, is leading a team of researchers conducting studies on the novel high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol excretion mechanism with a view to obtaining new insights on the link between lipid metabolism and diet. Cholesterol biosynthesis involves more than 30 biosynthetic steps and the body has an efficient absorption mechanism to acquire it from the diet via NPC1L1 in the small intestine. The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) acts as a key recycling mechanism for cholesterol that mediates the equilibrium of cholesteryl esters (CE), limiting cholesterol excretion. The focus of Tsujitaâ–™s research is on the movement of free-cholesterol molecules and examining its excretion from the body. Tsujitaâ–™ wants to clarify whether it is CE or free cholesterol that the SR-B1 receptor takes into the cell when it binds HDL, in order to better understand the details of the metabolism of cholesterol. In her current study, she is using a new approach to investigating the origin of free cholesterol in plasma and has found that radiolabelled FCs are increased in SR-BI deficient mice compared to wild-type mice, suggesting that the conversion of CE to FCs is occurring in the blood.

Development of educational programs for infection prevention techniques in basic nursing education and verification of learning effects

Bacteria, viruses, fungi and protozoa are everywhere and can lead to disease and infection if adequate hygiene practices and infection prevention techniques arenâ–™t followed as standard. Assistant Professor Mariko Tobiseâ–™s research project seeks to educate medical professionals in the ever-present need to utilise infection prevention techniques. The aim is to dramatically reduce incidence of infection by providing tangible, visible information that will improve behaviours across the medical sector. Tobise is a nursing practice and education researcher with 20 yearsâ–™ experience working in hospitals as a nurse who leads a team based within the Graduate School of Nursing at Chiba University in Japan. She and her team are developing a novel way to change behaviours. This involves enabling students to see the floating state and number of fine particle aerosols in various medical sites and university seminar rooms and incorporating analysis to allow them to identify the specific species of microorganism and get a real sense of the invisible things around us that can cause infection and disease. The researchers have conducted a comparative study of the learning effects of microparticle aerosol visualisation system intervention for the acquisition of aseptic manipulation techniques in basic nursing education courses and clarified the usefulness of the microparticle aerosol visualisation system. In the research, 81 second-year students were divided into two groups: a microparticle aerosol visualisation system intervention group and control group, and they practised aseptic techniques twice. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted for each group on the knowledge and skills needed to fully acquire the aseptic operation technique.

Sex-Specific Reliability of Lower-Limb Corticospinal Excitability and Silent Periods.

Pagan, JI, Harmon, KK, Girts, RM, MacLennan, RJ, Beausejour, JP, Hernandez-Sarabia, JA, Coker, NA, Carr, JC, Ye, X, DeFreitas, JM, and Stock, MS. Sex-specific reliability of lower-limb corticospinal excitability and silent periods. J Strength Cond Res 37(9): 1882-1887, 2023-Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a research tool that has potential to provide new insights into strength training-induced adaptations. However, using TMS to study the lower limbs is challenging, and sex-specific reliability has yet to be reported. We examined the reliability of corticospinal excitability and silent periods for the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and biceps femoris in both sexes. Thirteen males and 14 females reported to the laboratory twice. During both trials, a double cone coil was used to deliver 20 pulses to the rectus femoris hotspot with a stimulator output of 130% of active motor threshold. Motor-evoked potential peak-to-peak amplitude, which reflects corticospinal excitability, and silent period duration were quantified. Our results offer 4 novel findings. First, corticospinal excitability and silent period demonstrated higher reliability for the females. Second, regardless of sex and muscle, the silent period was more reliable than corticospinal excitability. Third, reliability was highest for our target muscle (rectus femoris), with lower reliability for the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris, suggesting that these methods cannot be used to study coactivation. Fourth, active motor threshold showed less variability than corticospinal excitability and silent period but increased at trial 2 in females. Many of the intraclass correlation coefficients were excellent (≥0.90), although we attribute this finding to variability between subjects. Reliability of lower-limb TMS measures may be sex, muscle, and variable dependent. Our findings suggest that both males and females should be included in lower-limb TMS research, although combining data between sexes should be approached cautiously.

Place and Time at Trypillia Mega-Sites: Towards a New Synthesis of Analyses and Social Theory

The Trypillia mega-sites (‘TMS’) form an exceptional aspect of the broader Cucuteni–Trypillia group in the Balkan and East European Neolithic and Chalcolithic. The TMS are currently the largest sites and the earliest urban complexes in Eurasia in the fourth millennium cal. bc. In this article, we chart the trajectories of theoretical and methodological development of TMS research. We build on the social implications of the Visibility Graph Analysis of Nebelivka and Bayesian modelling of three significant TMS. In the key section, we examine TMS in the light of three points made in Graeber and Wengrow’s book The Dawn of Everything: cultural schismogenesis, the three elementary forms of freedom, and those of domination. The integration of the latest analytical results and political theory provides a new platform for future investigations of TMS.

Steel Structures Research Update: Future Hot-Rolled Asymmetric Steel I-Beams

Ongoing research on future hot-rolled asymmetric steel I-beams is highlighted. This study is currently under way at Texas A&M University, led by Dr. Matthew Yarnold, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Dr. Yarnold’s research interests include building structural systems, bridge infrastructure, hybrid building energy-structure performance, and engineering education. Dr. Yarnold has been recognized for his teaching and research with the Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award, ASCE Nashville Branch Engineering Educator of the Year, an AISC Early Career Faculty Award, and AISC’s Milek Fellowship. The four-year Milek Fellowship is supporting this research on the behavior of hot-rolled asymmetric I-beams. The research team is part way through year three of the four-year study. Selected results from a manufacturing study, full-scale experiments, and an initial sizing study are highlighted, along with a preview of future work.

Developments in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Study Human Cognition.

Developments in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Study Human Cognition.

A Comparative Study of English and Javanese Sound Inventories

This essay aims at comparing and contrasting the English and Javanese with respect to the sound inventories completed. Based on Maddieson’s research (cited in Aronoff & Ress-Miller 2003, p. 183) there are between six and 95 consonants and between three and 46 vowels in a language. While English has 24 consonants and 12 vowels (Fromkin et al. 2008, p. 216) and Javanese has 23 consonants and 6 vowels (Ager 2009; Wedhawati & Arifin 2006, p. 65). In sum, the sound the English and Javanese inventories are both similar and different in several respects to how their consonants and vowels are produced and where in the mouth they are produced. Additionally, by comparing two languages, it can be seen that some sounds exist in one language but does not exist in another.Â

Measuring success factors and performance of institutional repositories

The Institutional Repositories (IR) is a new scholarly communications platform in providing and disseminating digital contents of a university and academic institution. This study aims to measure the perceptions on six success factors of IR (knowledge sharing, self-archiving, IR usage, IR policy, IR procedure and copyright awareness) and IR performance among academicians in a Malaysian university and to seek the relationship between success factors of IR and IR performance. A set of questionnaire was distributed to selected academicians in one large faculty of information management in a Malaysian university. The results found that self-archiving, IR policy and IR procedure are the most preferred response by the respondents while it was also revealed that IR policy was positively and strongly correlated with IR procedure. The existence of strong relationship between IR policy and IR procedure shows that positive perceptions will help to enhance the IR performance. The result is significant to the academic libraries in enhancing their repository services and measuring the performance of the university’s research activities.

Environmental health impact assessment of chrome composite leather-clad rollers used by Indian cotton roller ginning industries and design and development of Eco-friendly alternatives

This research article realises the hazards of chromium contamination and pollution caused by using chrome composite leather-clad (CCLC) rollers that are commonly used in the cotton roller ginning industries and attempts to eliminate the chromium contamination and pollution during the cotton ginning process. The chromium traces found contain hexavalent chromium being adsorbed from chromium-contaminated lint, yarn, fabrics, seeds, by-products and textile effluent. Chromium acts in three ways on humans, viz. (i) local action explained as dermatitis or absorption through skin, (ii) direct inhalation and (iii) ingestion or absorption into the stomach. Toxic effects are produced by prolonged contact with airborne or solid or liquid chromium compounds even in small quantities because of their properties, viz. carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and corrosiveness. Traces of Cr (VI) are found even in analar grade trivalent compounds, and complications do arise due to reduction in the nature of these traces that affect the organic tissues of the body. These regenerating effects occur rapidly and are dependent on the dose. This research article realises the hazards of chromium contamination and pollution caused by the use of dust-producing grinding of CCLC rollers that are commonly used in the cotton roller ginning industries and attempts to nullify this problem during cotton ginning. This research has been carried out with the following objectives: to identify and study the environmental health effects existing with the present CCLC rollers being used in the Indian cotton roller ginning industries; to conduct an environmental health impact assessment in Indian cotton roller ginning factories during the research years of 1998–2018; to design and develop an eco-friendly chrome-free roller and evaluate its performance with reference to environmental health effects and techno-commercial aspects in the ginning industries. With the author’s research background and practical experience in cotton ginning and textile industries, this study is attempted to eliminate the environmental health impacts to a great extent at the source itself, through a suitable design and development of an eco-friendly, pollution-free, chromeless roller for cotton roller gins. An eco-friendly roller ginning process has been designed and developed for replacing the conventional CCLC roller ginning process, to eliminate the chromium contamination and pollution from cotton roller ginning industries and to meet the requirements of World Health Organisation standards, while maintaining high-quality spun yarns and woven fabrics which meet the international standards.
 
 Keywords: Assessment, chromium, ginning, health, impact.

PENGARUH TINGKAT PENGETAHUAN TENTANG BERLALU LINTAS, TINGKAT PENDIDIKAN DAN USIA TERHADAP MOTIVASI KEPATUHAN DALAM BERLALU LINTAS PADA WARGA

Background: Based on a WHO’s research in 2011, traffic accidents are included among the top-10 of the death causes in Indonesia. The traffic accidents are influenced by the knowledge lacks of the accidents impact for health. The proper traffic knowledge, education and age level of someone influences in motivation keeping safer and healthier themself by doing the right way on traffic. Regarding above, it is necessary to conduct a research about the effect of the traffic knowledge, education and age level on the motivation to compliance the traffic properly to the citizen. Research Objective : to determine the influence of the traffic knowledge, education and age level on the motivation to compliance the traffic properly to the citizen. Research Subjects : the study sampling of 200 peoples residing in the are of The Surakarta Traffic Department office by using Saturated sampling techniques. Results : by the Bivariate test shows that there was an influence on the traffic knowledge level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic (p = 0.000, p < 0.005), there was no influence on the education level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic (p = 0.437, p > 0.005), and there was an influence on the age level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic  (p = 0.000, p < 0.005). Conclusion : that the age variable and the traffic knowledge level were together influence toward the obedience motivation in proper traffic by 53,3% and the 46.7% remaining was influenced by other variables that have not been studied.  Keywords: The obedience motivation in proper traffic, the traffic knowledge level, the education and age level.Background: Based on a WHO’s research in 2011, traffic accidents are included among the top-10 of the death causes in Indonesia.The traffic accidents are influenced by the knowledge lacks of the accidents impact for health. The proper traffic knowledge, education and age level of someone influences in motivation keeping safer and healthier themself by doing the right way on traffic. Regarding above, it is necessary to conduct a research about the effect of the traffic knowledge, education and age level on the motivation to compliance the traffic properly to the citizen.Research Objective : to determine the influence of the traffic knowledge, education and age level on the motivation to compliance the traffic properly to the citizen.Research Subjects : the study sampling of 200 peoples residing in the are of The Surakarta Traffic Department office by using Saturated sampling techniques.Results : by the Bivariate test shows that there was an influence on the traffic knowledge level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic (p = 0.000, p < 0.005), there was no influence on the education level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic (p = 0.437, p > 0.005), and there was an influence on the age level towards the obedience motivation in proper traffic  (p = 0.000, p < 0.005).Conclusion : that the age variable and the traffic knowledge level were together influence toward the obedience motivation in proper traffic by 53,3% and the 46.7% remaining was influenced by other variables that have not been studied. Keywords: The obedience motivation in proper traffic, the traffic knowledge level, the education and age level.

Advertising discipline in higher education

Advertising as an important discipline can indicate and explore new perspectives, sometimes renew old opinions, with the aim of both displaying, influencing and exploring contemporary society. Advertising can refract an audiences’ response to moral life, aesthetic, consumerism and social changes, and can reflect current patterns through its creative methods. The present author’s research proposal develops the concept of the higher education of creative advertising.
 Keywords: Advertising, teaching method, culture, creative teaching.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Accountability Against Corruption: A South African Case Study

CITATION: Mantzaris, E. A. & Pillay, P. 2019. Monitoring, evaluation and accountability against corruption : a South African case study. Journal of Reviews on Global Economics, 8:521-531, doi:10.6000/1929-7092.2019.08.45.

P27-F Point estimation and uninterrupted monitoring of resting motor threshold by threshold-tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation

Conventionally, RMT is defined as stimulus intensity eliciting a response in 50% of consecutive trials and probabilistic approaches are commonly used for its estimation. Alternatively, threshold can be defined as stimulation intensity required to maintain a response of a specific size and obtained by threshold-tracking. Here, we compare threshold-tracking to well-established RMT estimation methods. RMT with conventional cut-off value of 0.05 mV was measured in 24 healthy volunteers (11 men; median age 22 (range 18–55) years; all self-reported right-handed) from the dominant first dorsal interosseous muscle using three. Methods (i) Relative frequency (RF, 10/20 positive trial rule), (ii) adaptive maximum-likelihood procedure ‘best PEST’ (Parameter Estimation by Sequential Testing), and (iii) threshold-tracking (TT). Measurements were repeated twice by a single operator on the same day. Data is presented as mean ± standard deviation. No difference in mean group RMT estimates was observed between the methods (RF 50.6 ± 8.3, PEST 50.3 ± 8.2, TT 50.9 ± 9.1% maximum stimulator output (MSO); rmANOVA, p = 0.228), but the duration of procedure differed considerably (number of stimuli: RF 60 ± 26, PEST 19 ± 2, TT 12 ± 4; rmANOVA, p In conclusion, all methods provide the same value of RMT, but threshold-tracking offers an improved speed without fundamentally compromising reliability of repeated measurements. While probabilistic methods provide point estimates only, threshold-tracking allows uninterrupted monitoring of RMT and therefore opens new avenues in TMS research and its clinical application.

KAJIAN AKSESIBILITAS DAN ERGONOMI PADA MEBEL PAUD AL ABIDIN SURAKARTA

AbstractFurniture is an important tool used as a supporter for the smooth activities of teaching and learning in schools. Furniture that does not meet the rules of accessibility and ergonomics can cause the activities of its users to be disturbed. Research Beginner Lecturers aims to determine the accessibility and ergonomics of furniture in early childhood / kindergarten Al Abidin in Surakarta. Research is used to find out whether students have difficulty or ease when using the furniture. Ergonomic measurement is important to see if the object is suitable dimensinya with the needs required by the user, especially for students PAUD Al Abidin Surakarta. The object of research is the furniture contained in PAUD Al Abidin Surakarta. The method used in descriptive with qualitative approach supported by quantitative data (numeric), or can also be called double research strategy that is use of various method in solving a research problem. Quantitafif here uses numerical data which is the result of field measurement, then compared with referenced references, resource persons and analyzed based on researcher interpretation. The results of this novice lecturer’s research is accessibility data and implementation of ergonomics science that can be used as input to the manager PAUD Al Abidin IN Surakarta. The results of this novice lecturer’s study is also expected to provide the content of Egonomi, Interior Design and Furniture on Interior Design Study Program ISI Surakarta.Keywords: ergonomics, accessibility, PAUD Al Abidin

Publication trends in transcranial magnetic stimulation: a 30-year panorama

BackgroundTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique that has broad diagnostic and therapeutic potential across a range of neurological and psychiatric diseases. ObjectiveThis study utilises a bibliometric approach to systematically and comprehensively evaluate the literature on TMS from the last three decades. MethodsThe Scopus citation database was used to identify all peer-reviewed journal articles concerning TMS over the period 1988–2017. Frequency-distribution, cross-tabulation and keyword analyses were performed to determine the most prolific researchers, institutions, nations, journals and the foremost studied disease entities within the TMS field. Given recent heightened awareness of gender bias across many fields of biomedicine, female representation among the most prolific authors was determined. Open-access publication rates and types of study design utilised were also quantified. Results17,492 TMS-related articles were published during the study period 1988–2017. The annual TMS research output has increased dramatically over this time, despite a recent levelling-off of publications per year. The most prolific institutions were based in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The top disease entities studied were stroke, depression and Parkinson's disease. Only 4/52 of the most productive researchers during the study period were female. A minority (4.81%) of publications were published as gold open-access. ConclusionThis study implemented a systematic, bibliometric approach to quantitively assess the breadth of the TMS literature base and identify temporal publication and authorship trends. Drawing on these insights may aid understanding of historical progress in TMS over the last 30 years and help identify into unmet needs and opportunities to improve scientific and publishing practices to contribute to the future health of the field. These findings are likely to be relevant to researchers, clinicians, funders, industry collaborators and other stakeholders.

What do Students Think about PowerPoint? A Study of Attitudes

Research Highlights
 Results of the study indicated that the students showed positive attitudes towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on their learning in English classroom and also their English instructors’ performance in the classroom. Also, no significant difference found between male and female students in terms of their attitude towards both aspects.
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 Research Objectives
 The aim of this research is to find out the attitudes of Indonesian university students towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on their learning in English classroom and their instructors’ performance in English classroom. The difference between male and female students on that degree will also be observed.
 Methodology
 The method used to gather the data used in the research was the survey method. The questionnaire used was a modified version of the questionnaire used in Yilmazel-Sahin’s (2007) research. The participants of the research were students of Universitas Satya Negara Indonesia. After the data was gathered, it was then analysed using descriptive statistics (to find the students’ attitudes) and Mann-Whitney U test (to determine whether statistically significant differences existed between the two groups). This type of test was chosen due to its ability to determine differences between two groups (Nachar, 2008). To avoid the Type I error in the Mann-Whitney U test, Bonferroni correction was applied (Napierala, 2012).
 Results
 The results of the data analysis showed that the students showed positive attitudes towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on their learning in English. They moderately agreed that PowerPoint gives positive influence on their learning. The results were consistent with results from previous research (Yilmazel-Sahin, 2007), which showed that students generally had positive attitudes regarding PowerPoint’s influence on their learning. Another result showed was that students showed positive attitudes towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on moderately agreed that PowerPoint helped their English instructors become better prepared and more organised, while they mostly agreed that PowerPoint helped increase the variation in the material delivered by their instructors. The results match the results from Yilmazel-Sahin’s (2007) and Nouri and Shahid’s (2005) research.
 
 The results of Mann-Whitney U test showed that there was no significant difference between male and female students in terms of their attitudes towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on both their learning in English classroom and their instructors’ performance in English classroom. This matches the results of research conducted by Kahraman, Çevik and Kodan (2011) which showed no significant difference between male and female participants regarding their attitudes towards PowerPoint usage in classes.
 Findings
 Students showed positive attitudes towards Microsoft PowerPoint’s influence on both their learning in the English classroom and their instructors’ performance in English classroom. No significant difference observed between male and female in terms of their attitudes towards both aspects.