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University of Macau / Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of using a “mental abacus” by adults whose mathematics education in Korea included extensive use of the actual abacus as both a teaching and computational aid. One hundred and sixty-nine Korean adults between the ages of 25 to 65 who had abacus training and its uses for a minimum of one year participated in the study. The study had two phases: a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase. The quantitative phase focused on the participants’ perceptions of their training and use of the abacus as well as an assessment of their basic arithmetic competencies. This served as a context for a more in-depth analysis of their perceptions of, and thinking about, the use of the abacus in arithmetic operations obtained in the qualitative phase. All participants were asked and then answered a total of 6 questions regarding basic background information about their abacus training as well as their current use of the abacus for arithmetic computations in order to examine the extent of Korean abacus uses. The questionnaires included an assessment of participants’ arithmetic computation skills. Among them, 59 adults were selected and interviewed to explore the extent of the “mental abacus” influence on their qualitative thoughts and tasks. From this research, it was expected that the study would provide information concerning the power of Stigler’s mental abacus in mathematics and how it relates to Korean adults’ daily life. Apparently, although computation tools such as calculators and computers are widely available and convenient to use, the abacus is still used as one of the arithmetic tools by Korean adults. Considering the fact that the Korean national standard mathematics education curriculum has not included abacus training, although some commercial educational institutions included it, the rate of learning the abacus and the period and frequency of its use tell us that abacus skill could affect the basic mathematics competency of Koreans. The data show that Korean adults who have been educated in abacus use provide self-reported evidence that they have the competency of mental computation and the ability to develop a mental abacus image depending on their period of frequency of abacus use. Further evidence indicates that most Korean abacus users who participated in the study report self-confident and accurate perceptions of their ability and arithmetic accuracy in doing basic arithmetic computations. Moreover, they are more confident and accurate in addition test problems than subtraction, multiplication, and division from the assessment results. It is concluded that mental abacus image occurrence may be associated with mental computation among some Korean adults who had learned to use the abacus in the past. Many of the Korean adult participants in this study who trained on the abacus can automatically conjure the mental abacus image and employ the skill during mental computation. The ease with which the abacus mental representation is activated during mental calculation is related to how frequently or intensively the adults practiced or exercised its use. Among further findings, about the positive aspects of “mental abacus” use, most of the Korean adults in the study expressed opinions that there were positive influences of having learned the abacus, not only increased mathematics competency but also an additional “reward” in greater competency in other academic subjects and activities. This study reveals that intensive training with an abacus and the continuous use of an abacus can promote mental visualization and manipulation of the abacus during arithmetic computations, and result in a sense of positive effects from “mental abacus” use among those who have had sufficient opportunities to use the abacus.

This study was designed to describe the attitudes of staff nurses toward patients who have Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and to determine if the 1989 Washington State licensing requirement for seven hours of AIDS education was effective in changing the attitudes of these nurses toward AIDS patients. Health care providers' attitudes toward patients with AIDS have been documented as differing from their attitudes toward patients with other debilitating conditions (cancer, diabetes, heart disease) in that they place more blame for getting the disease on those with AIDS, they tend to have some degree of homophobia, and they are sometimes overly cautions in using protective procedures around these patients. The consequence of these attitudes can be seen in the nursing care received by some of these patients: insensitive comments and avoidance behavior by staff.

The primary aim of this study was to validate interactive computer-assisted learning packages (ICALP) in a self operated computer controlled educational resource (SOCCER) to undergraduate (UG) physiotherapy students of anatomy. The development of ICALP, Test and FeedBack items for SOCCER are described, as well as the mechanism of delivery with continuous positive reinforcement to randomly selected students. To meet this requirement, a computer managed learning environment (CMLE) was established to affirm the value of ICALP and SOCCER materials to replace traditional lectures in anatomy. Quantitative data is given to verify this hypothesis during the education of UG physiotherapy students of anatomy. Throughout 1992, the UG population was randomly divided into Lecture and ICALP groups, with mutual exclusion of each to the other, for ten areas of study. These results were validated by re-application to the succeeding UG population in 1993. The secondary aim of this study was in two-parts. Firstly, to verify that ICALP materials can be applied to transfer 2-D cognitive anatomical information in a self-paced format of autonomous learning. Secondly, to investigate a premise that previously acquired 2-D anatomical information may be transferred into a 3-D psycho-motor skill. Ample data is given to verify the first hypothesis, with sufficient evidence to support the second. The subsidiary aim of this study compared the educational and administrative cost-effectiveness of ICALP and SOCCER with traditional lectures used in anatomy. Evidence is given to demonstrate that the time saved in lectures can be replaced by a lecture-seminar approach to problem-based learning to empower UG2 students to achieve at a level beyond that which would normally be expected. Sufficient data is provided to affirm the cost-benefits of ICALP and SOCCER to academic staff, individual students, and ++ / administrators. The untested belief held by schools of anatomy that high ranking pre-entrants in English, English Literature, and Human Biology, are more likely to transpose 2-D anatomical information into a 3-D skill than high ranking pre-entrants in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics was also investigated. Scrutiny of these data could not determine any discriminatory differences of ability to succeed in UG anatomy by either of these two categories.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--North Carolina State University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-127).

Globalization and global education implies changes to practices at the classroom level to adapt to new imperatives associated with technology use and awareness, and environmental sustainability. It also implies much more. It implies that teachers apply their classroom pedagogy to take account of students’ new found global understandings of which they, and the school community, is largely unaware. This article addresses and discuses three key consequences of globalization for classrooms worldwide; an increased diversity of experience of the students within the classroom, an increased competitiveness of educational outcomes between national states and subsequently some standardisation of curriculum across nations to enable this, and an increased emphasis on teaching skills and values associated with intercultural understanding. Young children’s map knowledge and their resultant, and associated, interpretations of the world from a comparative study a from Swedish and Australian primary classrooms is used as examples of some of these implications of the impact of ‘global culture’ and ‘global issues’ on current and future classroom practice.

This study explores the relationships among technology, language literacy and instruction in University Continuing Education Institutions. Adult second language education strives to update media resources in an information era in which literacy encompasses the abilities to communicate both in different languages and in a variety of media across disciplines. / The main assumption underlying this study is that teaching adults to use language in an era in which networks and multimedia are major components, is a challenging task and responsibility. Instructional implications of literature regarding the implementation of new technologies in language learning suggest a persistent disagreement on the merits of new technologies as learning tools and a mismatch between expectations and applications of new media. I interview four teachers of second or foreign languages to adults to explore the challenges embedded in mediating adults' literacy in using multiple representations of second language knowledge within technology enhanced classroom environments. / Teachers are shown to integrate digital technologies into traditional print and audiovisual tools to advance three main literacies: Cultural literacy relates to the ability to make socioculturally appropriate links of language and media. Disciplinary literacy denotes the ability to effectively identify, analyze, evaluate and apply language resources in various contexts. Media literacy denotes the ability to make informed choices among the various language representations. Integrated media applications are challenging for teachers who need to be aware of media benefits and constraints. The ongoing development of teachers' media literacy is a prerequisite for meaningful and constructive uses of the instructional resources available that will enable adults to apply second language knowledge within and beyond linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary contexts.

McGill management certificates are credit continuing education programs. Perceptions of the benefits achieved through participation were investigated, surveying 1424 students in four cohorts: entrants, graduates, alumni and withdrawn. / Goals of entrants factored into six categories: career development, gaining knowledge, fulfiling external requirements, personal development, personal fulfilment and networking. In almost all areas achievements matched expectations. Graduates reported significant improvement in career status, although somewhat less than desired. Irrespective of prior education, they were particularly appreciative of knowledge gained. In other areas, graduates without prior university education perceived more benefit than those with degrees. Women, though equally satisfied with the program's contribution to career development, reported slower progress in their careers than men. They experienced more personal development than men. Work experience and certainty of goals affected outcomes. Many withdrawn students attained their objectives without completing. Academic achievement did not correlate with career development or with graduates' perception of knowledge gained.

This qualitative research focused on the political knowledge holdings of adults. The research was conducted from the perspective and for the field of adult education. A purpose of this dissertation research was to provide a new and expanded footing for future inquiry and to enhance the further development of both theory and practice. The methodology was selected with that in mind.This study involved two distinct components. Part one involved a systematic random sample of 30 adults from a small midwestern city. A 16 question telephone survey was administered to each of the 30 adults. The survey consisted of the type questions used by previous researchers to measure political knowledge. The questions required respondents to identify political figures and election issues. Respondents were also asked to answer political parties questions and civics questions.The qualitative component, part two, was the primary thrust of this research. Seven informants were identified from different life circumstances. The informants and the 30 randomly selected adults resided in the same community. A minister, a law enforcement officer, a small business person, a retired person, a minimum wage worker, a factory worker, and an adult college student were individually interviewed on twoseparate occasions. Each interview was transcribed and analyzed by the researcher. At the conclusion of each informant's final interview, the 16 question survey, previously given to the 30 telephone respondents, was administered to each informant.Conclusions of this study were not generalized beyond the study's research participants. The informants were found to have varying areas of political knowledge. These varying areas of political knowledge arose from the informants varying personal experiences and life circumstances. Informants were not well informed, nor were they equally informed, across multiple areas of political knowledge. The seven informants performed virtually the same as did the thirty telephone respondents on the sixteen question survey.This study demonstrated that qualitative research methodology can illuminate and make meaningful that which is undetected through the use of questionnaires. Where the results of the questionnaires reflected a sameness between and among the informants and telephone respondents, the seven case studies uncovered distinct differences. / Department of Educational Leadership