ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Proposing a Blended MOOC Framework for Iraqi Higher Education (Current Status, Needs, Challenges, and Opportunities)
Qusay Abboodi Ali, Norshuhada Shiratuddin
Page no 54-64 |
10.36348/jaep
There are many challenges and difficulties faced by the Iraqi learners in
their studies inside the traditional classroom. These are attributed to a number of
reasons such as the limitation of time, the difficulty of understanding the course
material, the limited interaction among the learners and between them and the
lecturers, and the delay in providing feedback, and so on. The emergence of Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) had an impact on the learning process for the past
few years. Yet, there are still a number of questions about how to meet the learners’
needs of through distance learning via MOOC particularly for the Iraqi learners, as
evidenced by the very high drop-out rates in the current MOOC courses. The
researchers also do not understand deeply the learners’ needs, the different learners’
cultures and experiences in MOOCs. To help build such a concept, the researchers of
this study conducted an in-depth investigation on the motivated learners and their
perceptions and experiences of learning by a qualitative survey (interviews) at
Baghdad & Tikrit Universities. The aim of this study is to examine whether Iraqi
Higher Education Institutions need blended MOOC to support the traditional
learning in Iraq. The results display that the majority of the participants need the
blended learning to reduce the obstacles and challenges in the traditional learning
and current MOOCs models. The findings also disclose that the students prefer
learning through blended learning based on their environment (language and culture)
rather than the current MOOCs courses.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Teacher Education in South Sudan: Mapping the Ideological and Theoretical Vacuum
Joseph Ladu Eluzai Mogga
Page no 66-79 |
10.36348/jaep
This article seeks to render problematic the ideological underpinnings and
theoretical conceptions, or lack thereof, of teacher education in the education system
of the Republic of South Sudan. It uses the emergent perspective to question the
construction of the country‟s Teacher Persona as envisioned in the legal and policy
frameworks such as the General Education Act 2012 and the National General
Education Policy (2017-2027). The Government sees these instruments as an
essential catalyst to professionalize teaching and attract candidates of high calibre to
the teaching profession using the political model as an offshoot of its paternalist and
utilitarian national ideology to control and guarantee the quality of the teacher
education enterprise. The political model, however, needs the generative practice of
the institutional model and the replicative feature of the professional model to
provide structure, stability and continuity to teacher education in South Sudan. This
is particularly so given the fact that the current theoretical approach to teacher
education at the curriculum level is informed by technical rationalist inclinations that
essentially favour a strong behaviourist payload, a split of theory and practice, and a
disconnect between training institutes and universities. In the same vein, the study
points out that the greatest disservice to teacher education in South Sudan in terms of
school outcomes has been the structural disconnect between the existing school
curriculum and teacher education curriculum, critically failing to capture and engage
the official standpoint of valid knowledge drawn upon to teach students in schools. A
proper way of developing a national framework for teacher education is to state what
good teachers effectively know, do and value. There is a need, therefore, for a new
transformative model of teacher education that offers an idealistic, ethical thrust
(character) and a specialist, exclusive power (competence) to future South Sudan‟s
Teacher Persona, equipped with enquiry as its signature feature and as an antidote to
a reductionist view. In that lies the promise to place premium in the country‟s
education system.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Contemporary Deforestation and the Vulnerability of Forest Peoples in the Southeast Forest of Cameroon
Enchaw Gabriel Bachange
Page no 409-424 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.10
Vulnerability of forest peoples (FPs) in the light of deforestation has
received very little attention in contemporary environmental discourses and actions
unlike forest and forest resources depletion within the framework of the
Convention on Biological Diversity and climate change. Influence of foreign
capital and the generalisation of the notion of agriculture being the fundamental
driver of deforestation in the tropics, set the pace for deemphasizing the
vulnerability of FPs to large-scale drivers of deforestation and forest degradation.
This paper examines the extent to which deforestation and forest degradation
perpetrated by exogenous stakeholders predispose FPs to socio-cultural, economic
and environmental vulnerability in the southeast forest (SEF) zone of Cameroon.
In-depth secondary data sourcing was carried out while primary data were
collected from representatives of State Ministries, workers in industrial plantations,
mining, dam construction, logging companies, FPs and a human rights activist
using questionnaires, interview and focus group discussion (FGD) guides and field
observation. Findings showed that paucity of Cameroon‟s environmental political
will, inadequate human, material and financial resources, emergence euphoria and
State acceptance of baiting gifts from foreign partners created plenty of room for
legal oversights on fundamental deforestation and forest degradation drivers to
which FPs, particularly indigenous Baka, are most vulnerable. Alleviating their
vulnerability, achieving economic emergence and environmental resilience in the
SEF zone require human resource development, an unprecedented political will,
effective policy implementation and monitoring of deforestation and forest
degradation drivers, as well as formalise tenure security, adjudicate
intercommunity dialogue, informed consent and equitable benefit sharing.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Prediction Model with Selection of Best Prediction Algorithm for Big Data
S. Banumathi, A. Aloysius
Page no 177-179 |
10.21276/sjeat.2018.3.3.9
Big data can be defined as high volume, high velocity and high variety of
data that require high performance processing. Predictive modelling is a process of
creating a model to predict the future behavior from the data. A predictive model is
made up of predictors which are factors that influence future results. A Proposed
prediction model is identifies best prediction algorithm by evaluating the performance
of an algorithm. The model contains preprocessing module and predicting module
which trailed by performance evaluation to find best prediction algorithm. The
preprocessing module emphasizes flow of preprocessing methods. The prediction
module combines various efficient algorithms to prediction, amid them the best
prediction algorithm can be identified by performance evaluation measurement.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
PCR and Culture Analysis of Enterococcus Faecalis from Retreatment Cases in Indian Population
Dr. Nithya Pushpanathan, MDS1, Dr. Kalpesh Revankar, Dr. Manish Kumar, Dr. Monika Sharma
Page no 51-56 |
10.21276/sjodr.2018.3.3.1
Enterococcus faecalis has long been mentioned in increased frequency
with regard to teeth with post-treatment disease (PTD). The prominence of E.
faecalis in root-filled teeth with apical periodontitis has made it a focus of attention
as an etiological factor of PTD. To evaluate and compare bacterial culture and
species-specific polymerase chain reaction for the detection of enterococcus faecalis
in retreatment cases with apical periodontitis in rural Indian population. A total of 80
samples were obtained from 40 patients, divided into 2 groups and analyzed by the
two methods. The samples were grown under anaerobic conditions during culture
and the determination of the microbial species was based on biochemical tests. DNA
was extracted and analyzed for PCR using species-specific primer. The association of
microbiological findings with clinical features was investigated. Enterococcus
faecalis was isolated from 46.5% of the selected teeth. Culture and PCR detected the
test species in 25% and 67.5% of the samples. PCR was significantly more effective
than culture in detecting this bacterial species. E.faecalis was clearly proven as the
causative factor of apical periodontitis. Therefore, combining molecular and culture
technique is probably the best approach available to provide comprehensive and a
panoptic information about the microflora associated with endodontic infections.
REVIEW ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Appraisal of the Implementation of the Penal Injunctions in SŪRATU-N-NŪR among the Muslims in Ilorin, Nigeria: QADHF AND LICĀN-As Study Cases
Abdus-Samici Imam Arikewuyo, Abdul Waheed Muhammad Jamiu
Page no 470-477 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.16
The Qur‟ān is a compendium of divine laws and instructions desired to
provide guidance to man, leading him to prosperity and salvation, in all his
undertakings. It touches on all aspects of the human endearvours. Among several
legal prescriptions contained in the Qur‟ān, the present study is focused on the
penal injunctions on Qadhf and Licān as reflected in Sūratu-n-Nūr with a view to
assessing implementation of the injunctions among the Muslims in Ilorin, Nigeria.
The paper seeks to determine the level of compliance with the Qur‟anic provisions
on the issues by the Muslim populace. Both Qadhf and Licān are two criminal acts,
the menace of which the research found to be prevalent in Ilorin due to
transgression, ignorance or vain desires in spite of the fact that it is a Muslim
dominated city which is expected to hold tenaciously to the Islamic law provisions.
The research method included interview, questionnaire, observation and literary
appraisal. The paper recommends the need for acquisition of adequate knowledge
of Islam by the Muslims, uncompromising attitude to the Islamic tenets, and
concerted efforts by the Muslim populace for the full implementation of the
sharīсah in Ilorin to preserve its age-long religious sanctity.
REVIEW ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
The Remedies for Enforcement of Fundamental Rights in Malaysia and India
Gan Chee Keong
Page no 335-340 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.3
This paper deals with a comparative study of remedies for enforcement
of fundamental rights in Malaysia and India. The provision of remedies for
enforcement of fundamental rights plays an important role in preserving and
defending the fundamental rights in the Constitution. Hence, the said provision is
better catered for under the Constitution than under an ordinary legislation to
ensure strength in upholding fundamental rights. In Malaysia, the provision of
remedies for enforcement of fundamental rights provided under an ordinary
legislation. Conversely, Indian Constitution has provided such remedies under
Article 32 and 226. The Indian Courts have given a wide construction to Article 32
and 226 of which the provisions give powers to the Supreme Court as well as High
Courts to issue any order, including any order in the nature of the common law
prerogative writs, for the purpose of enforcement of fundamental rights guaranteed
by the Constitution. In addition, the Indian High Court has jurisdiction to issue
writs not only for the purpose of enforcing fundamental rights, but also to enforce
any legal rights because of the words „for any other purposes‟ in Article 226. On
this paper the writer makes a comparative study on the remedies for enforcement of
fundamental rights between Malaysia and India to find out more information
regarding the position of the law given in both the countries. At the end of the
paper, the writer will make recommendations for the purpose of improving the law
concerns.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Cognitive Weighted Number of Children for Measuring Coupling in Aspect Oriented Software
Mr. K.R. Martin, Dr. E. Kirubakaran, Dr. E. George Dharma Prakash Raj
Page no 141-145 |
10.21276/sjeat.2018.3.3.4
Metrics are an important technique in quantifying desirable software and
software development characteristics of aspect oriented software development
(AOSD). Theoretical and empirical validation of metrics and of their relation to
software attributes is a cumbersome and long process. It is of paramount importance
that we validate the utility of metrics we use in order to enable others to use them,
too. Aspect oriented programming is an efficient approach to improve the software
program at the time of software maintenance for modularizing crosscutting concerns.
However, in order to take the advantages of AOP, there is a need for supporting the
systematic refactoring of crosscutting concerns to aspects. This paper presents a new
cognitive complexity metric namely Cognitive Weighted Number of Children for
measuring coupling in Aspect Oriented Software.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Stronger Integration Ties between Cameroon and Nigeria than Cameroon and CEMAC Countries: Influence of Nigeria’s Hegemonic Tentacles?
Eleno Manka’a FUBE
Page no 496-505 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.19
This study is set on the premise that Nigeria‟s hegemonic influence in
the ECOWAS spills over creating stronger socioeconomic ties with neighbouring
Cameroon than there is integration between the latter and other CEMAC member
countries. The much talked of regional integration among CEMAC member
countries has not been matched with concrete adequate steps towards establishing a
strong regional bloc to address common political, security, economic and
environmental stakes within the Central African sub-region. This paper seeks to
assess the reasons and challenges for the weak regional integration amongst
CEMAC member countries, how to surmount the challenges and build efficient
integration. In the same vein, it probes into the reasons for stronger socioeconomic
ties between Cameroon and Nigeria (non-member bloc countries) in order to
evaluate the basis for this potency and draw lessons for efficacious integration
within the CEMAC. To achieve this, the paper uses mainly secondary sources and
interviews with key resource persons. The study posits that the absence of a
regional hegemon (core state) within the CEMAC region impedes initiatives
towards effective integration while fostering ties between Cameroon and Nigeria;
thus the emergence of a regional hegemon with strong political will and economic
base will propel the CEMAC integration.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Immigration Discourse in Contemporary Russian Internet Media from a Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis Perspective
Michał Kozdra
Page no 506-514 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.20
This paper examines the immigration discourse in contemporary
Russian internet media. This study aims at illuminating how contemporary Russian
internet immigration discourse conceptualises immigrants, using different semiotic
modes (not only texts but also visuals). In order to achieve the main goal, textual
and visual materials published in the Russian internet media are analysed. The
methodology used to conduct research was based on critical discourse analysis,
multimodal discourse analysis and cognitive linguistics. The image of immigrants
in the analysed material consists of five facets: biological, national, legal, economic
and martial ones. In the biological aspect, immigrants are portrayed as people who
look different to the indigenous population, have a different skin colour, Asian
facial features. The national facet stresses the difference in nationality, even
otherness, of immigrants. The legal facet emphasizes immigrants‟ involvement in
murders, rapes and robberies. As for the economic facet, immigrants are portrayed
as a threat to the country‟s economic development. In the martial aspect, migrants
are depicted as occupants and invaders. Authors of the analysed texts use visual
discrimination strategies: representation of immigrants as agents of negatively
valued actions, discriminatory stereotyping, collectivisation, and aggregation. The
analysed Russian internet mass media paints a negative picture of immigrants,
especially those from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
CASE REPORT | March 30, 2018
Managing a Case of Non Syndromic Multiple Impacted Teeth
Narula Khyati, MV Ashith
Page no 73-75 |
10.21276/sjodr.2018.3.3.5
Dental impactions add complications to a prescribed treatment plan and
thus, are challenging for the treating practitioner. Etiology can be multifactorial and
its timely treatment is important for functional, esthetic and psychological demands.
Here we are presenting a case of report of a 14-year-old male patient with unknown
etiology of multiple impacted teeth.
CASE REPORT | March 30, 2018
Rehabilitation of Anterior Missing Teeth with a Fibre-Reinforced Adhesive Bridge in Paediatric Patients: Case Series
Ayşe Günay, Sema Çelenk, Abdullah Emre Karaali, Buket Ayna, Ezgi Eroğlu,
Page no 68-72 |
10.21276/sjodr.2018.3.3.4
In the early period, tooth loss may occur for congenital reasons or because
of trauma or decay. Different treatment alternatives for aesthetic rehabilitaton of
tooth loss include removable partial prosthesis, fixed prosthesis, dental implant and
partial prosthesis fixed with resin (Maryland bridge). As fibre-reinforced composites
(FRC) are materials which do not include any metal, the mechanical and aesthetic
properties are extremely good. Our aim in this study is to rehabilitate with FRC tooth
loss in the paediatric patients who are still developing and growing. In this 5 case
series of paediatric patients, it was provided to aesthetic and functional rehabilitation
of anterior tooth loss with a fibre-reinforced adhesive bridge applied with a
minimally invasive technique which did not require any extra sessions. And it was
presented a 1-year-follow up. Fibre-reinforced adhesive bridge can be considered an
inexpensive, conservative, aeesthetic treatment alternative which can be applied in a
single session for single or multiple missing teeth in the anterior region of young
patients who have not yet completed skeletal and dentoalveolar growth and
development.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Knowledge and Attitude of Undergraduate Dental Students and Interns in College Of Dentistry, Taibah University toward BLS and Medical Emergencies
Al Sharif Dhuha, Zahran Dalia H
Page no 60-67 |
10.21276/sjodr.2018.3.3.3
To evaluate and compare the knowledge and attitude about Basic Life
Support (BLS) and medical emergencies among undergraduate dental students and
interns at the College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al Madinah , Saudi Arabia. A
previously validated, self-administered, anonymous, closed structured online
questionnaire was distributed by email to the clinical year's students and interns. The
questionnaires consisted of demographic data, knowledge and attitude of the
participants toward BLS and Medical emergencies. 112 questionnaires were filled,
with a response rate of (55.4%). Most of participants knew the abbreviation of BLS
and half of them answered the questions of knowledge correctly. Most of participants
thought that all dental students and staff need to know more about BLS. The
knowledge of undergraduate students and interns about BLS is inadequate and need
to be improved but they have a positive attitude toward it.
REVIEW ARTICLE | March 30, 2018
Images of HIV and AIDS in the School Environment in Kisumu City, Kenya
Kodak Benard Otieno
Page no 318-323 |
10.21276/sjhss.2018.3.3.1
The fight against HIV and AIDS in Kenya has been achieved through
the concerted efforts of government, the media, medical practitioners, religious
groups and the general public. Efforts to combat and manage the impacts of HIV
and AIDS include the development of Information, Education and Communication
materials targeted at adolescents in school. The Kenya government developed
media campaign materials that appeared as advertisements in the local daily
newspapers. This paper describes the images of HIV and AIDS in advertisements
in the print media as seen through the eyes of school-going adolescents. It explains
the multimodal nature of the newspaper advertisements. It entails a Critical
Discourse Analysis of the images of HIV and AIDS in the print media. This paper
provides an interactive sociolinguistic model through which the contradictory
discourses of HIV and AIDS might be understood, drawing from Goffman‟s
insights on stigma management and the presentation of the self in social
interactions. Findings reveal that ambience, body language, colour, gaze, gesture,
graphics and imagery work in complementarity to craft the overall images of HIV
and AIDS. There is general awareness of HIV and AIDS among the youth and
there is need to escalate the fight by highlighting the effects of HIV infection. This
paper is significant to educationists and public health practitioners who will be able
to assess the impact of their efforts in the war against HIV and AIDS.
CASE REPORT | March 30, 2018
Zygomaticomaxillary Injury Re-Traversed: An Intricate Case Report
Dr. Anand Amirthraj, Dr. Subhagata Chakraborty, Dr. Surya Mithra Majety
Page no 92-94 |
10.21276/sjodr.2018.3.3.9
Zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures are second commonest
fractures in facial skeleton, with nasal fractures being the first. Common causes
include altercations, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) and sport injuries. This report
highlights a case that presented with secondary blow to the malar region following
MVA but without any fracture. The patient had suffered a similar injury with ZMC
fracture, four years ago and was treated with open reduction and miniplate fixation.
Hence the question arises, if the malar bone strengthened by the miniplate resisted
the fracture or the force was insufficient to cause an impact. Considering the
literature to be limited, further studies with this thought can open up a new plethora
in the history of miniplates.