<p>The increasing number of patients undergoing treatment with assisted reproductive techniques (ART) during the past years have led to the need of developing different methods for separation of spermatozoa that can be used for different fertilisation procedures and for freezing. Cryopreservation of spermatozoa includes preparation, freezing, storage and thawing.</p><p>In this study two different cryomedia (Cryo Protec I and Cryo Protec II) for human spermatozoa were compared. The main outcome was spermsurvival rate for spermatozoa after freezing. Sperm viability was assessed using the Hypo-osmotic swelling test which is based on osmolality.</p><p>A total of 86 samples of semen were used in this study (Cryo Protec I=38, Cryo Protec II=48). The survival rate between the two cryomedia did not differ much but Cryo Protectant I showed a small increase in survival for the spermatozoa after freezing. The Hypo-osmotic swelling test also showed similar values of viable spermatozoa for the two cryomedia both before and after freezing.</p>

This qualitative research focuses on the knowledge of the practica docente associated with the use of the Mexican educational software program known as Enciclomedia and the pre-service preparation that Mexican elementary school teachers gain in order to use this pedagogical tool in their classrooms. Under this type of teacher preparation, the concept of practica docente (translated in English as teaching practice) is primarily used (Fierro, et al. 2005, p.21) to prepare educators in Mexico. While the primary theoretical framework that this study discusses is practica docente, previous studies about the use of technology in schools, education and teacher preparation programs are also included.Beginning in 2001, educational reform in Mexico introduced the use of Enciclomedia in the fifth and sixth grades. The implementation and purpose of Enciclomedia seeks to guarantee access and quality in elementary education but teaching practices (practica docente) were superficially examined to determine how educators can be better prepared in the use of Enciclomedia. The incorporation of Enciclomedia into Mexican elementary classrooms suggests the need for better teacher preparation programs in the use of technology for educational purposes.The primary purpose of this research is to inform how teachers include the use of technology in their teaching practices and how these practices influence the use of technology in the classroom. The qualitative research design involved a study of two teachers, one female and one male, who were teaching in public schools situated in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, a city located in Northern Mexico. The personal story, teacher preparation, and the observations of these two teachers using Enciclomedia served as a context for the portrait that was developed through this study.This study reveals a strong relationship between the use of technology and teaching, teachers' ideology about teaching, daily teaching practices using technology versus the previous preparation teachers received, and the role of the education system in the use of technology. The findings of this study are used to formulate recommendations for staff development to prepare teachers in connect the use of Enciclomedia with their practica docente and better understand the use of technology in the classroom.

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The mining of coal in arid regions has led to calls for research in to the field of dry beneficiation, / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Because of the highly complex expectations of new nursing graduates "nursing education needs teachers with a deep nursing knowledge who also know how to teach and conduct research...in order to address the specific educational demands of teaching the complex practice of nursing" (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010, p. 6). Currently, the educational requirement for a nurse educator in a university setting is a doctoral degree, preferably a PhD. However, Cronon(2006) emphasized that "many PhD recipients are ill prepared to function effectively in the settings in which they work...particularly those related to teaching" (p. 5). The purpose of this study was to document the perceptions of experienced nurse educators both prepared, and currently preparing at the doctoral (PhD) level, to understand to what extent PhD work prepared them for their role in the delivery of nursing education. A case study approach was selected, using a constructivist paradigm. Data were collected from ten participants at three sites of a university school of nursing using three semi-structured interviews. Primary data were supplemented by institutional foundation documents and a field journal. Four themes emerged from the data as follows: the ambiguities associated with the interpretation of the term nurse educator influenced how a nurse educator described their role; doctoral (PhD) education enhanced approaches to thinking in relation to increased breadth and depth of knowledge base, in addition to research capabilities; the PhD credential was found to be indicative of research credibility both within and across the disciplines and enhanced the potential for funding opportunities; and doctoral (PhD) education did not support the pedagogical aspects, specifically formal teaching preparation, of the nurse educator's role. While this study provided insight in understanding how doctoral (PhD) education supported experienced nurse educators in their roles, it identified issues that impacted on how these nurse educators enacted their roles. These issues included both a disconnection and a perceived inequality between research and teaching, in addition to a marked variation in the interpretation of the scholarship of teaching. Among the implications of this study on theory are its contributions to understanding the experiences of nurse educators in relation to their doctoral (PhD) education as supporting their roles in the delivery of nursing education. Among the implications of this study for research is the need to investigate how doctoral (PhD) education could better support the pedagogical aspect of nurse educators' roles, or whether other doctoral (EdD) education might be more effective in providing this pedagogical foundational knowledge. Additional implications of this study for research are to identify ways in which thinking, research, and practice could function collectively, rather than as separate entities. Among the implications for practice are a greater understanding of the teacher-scholar model in relation to the components of discovery, integration, application, and teaching (Boyer, 1990), and how learning organizations and communities of knowledge could facilitate this deeper understanding.

This qualitative study seeks to assess the effectiveness of homeschool collegiate preparation through the eyes of homeschool alumni. Four alumni who are current college students participated in the study. A triangulation of methods, which included surveys, open-ended questionnaires, and interviews, ensured reliability and validity. Although the students represented a wide range of varied homeschool experiences, the perceptions of all the students were that their environments prepared them for collegiate-level work at levels that are above average.

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This study focused on the perceptions of six superintendents regarding the state of the profession as of 2012, and it reports their thoughts and suggestions as to what preparation is needed by superintendents for the 21st century. The participating superintendents, who were all members of the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, were employed in six school districts in five states. Data were collected through surveys and telephone interviews. The findings of this study clearly indicate a lack of cohesion between what superintendents learned in their university professional preparation programs and what they practice in their day to day activities. The superintendents involved in this study tended to favor a hybrid approach – rigorous theoretical insight grounded in real world practice. Since superintendents typically spend a good deal of their time solving challenging problems including funding shortfalls, competition from other educational institutions, and the constant scrutiny of the media; their preparation needs to provide opportunities to develop their leadership skills and solve real world problems in an environment where they can take risks. Mentoring and participation in professional consortiums were recommended as key elements for the preparation of the twenty-first century superintendent. This study contributes to the discussion of how to best prepare school leaders for the current and future demands of superintendency.

Although studies of teacher preparation programs have documented positive changes in mathematical knowledge for teaching with preservice teachers in mathematics content courses, this study focused on the impact of a mathematics methods course and follow-up student teaching assignment. The presumption was that preservice teachers would show growth in their mathematical knowledge during methods since the course was structured around active participation in mathematics, research-based pedagogy, and was concurrent with a two-day-per-week field experience in a local elementary school. Survey instruments utilized the computer adaptive test version of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) measures from the Learning Mathematics for Teaching Project, and the Attitudes and Beliefs (towards mathematics) survey from the Mathematical Education of Elementary Teachers Project. A piecewise growth model analysis was conducted on data collected from 176 participants at 5 time-points (methods, 3 time-points; student teaching, 2 time-points) over a 9 month period. Although the participants' demographics were typical of U.S. undergraduate preservice teachers, findings suggest that initial low-level of mathematical knowledge, and a deep-rooted belief that there is only one way to solve mathematics problems, limited the impact of the methods and student teaching courses. The results from this study indicate that in (a) number sense, there was no significant change during methods (p = .392), but a significant decrease during student teaching (p < .001), and in (b) algebraic thinking, there was a significant decrease during methods (p < .001), but no significant change during student teaching (p = .653). Recommendations include that the minimum teacher preparation program entry requirements for mathematical knowledge be raised and that new teachers participate in continued professional development emphasizing both mathematical content knowledge and reform-based pedagogy to continue to peel away deep-rooted beliefs towards mathematics.