Abstract

Reference ranges and control limits are used in many settings – for example, to assess a person’s health or to monitor the stability of a manufacturing process. Such ranges are established based on a baseline sample of what is considered normal data, but it is not possible to always avoid a few outliers being present even in this sample. If, as is common, the range is calculated using statistics, such as the mean and standard deviation, which could be influenced by outliers, then the use of such a range could adversely affect the decisions made. This can be avoided by constructing the reference range using statistics that are resistant to outliers. In this paper, we studied possible approaches and found two methods that had superior performance overall: one based on MM-estimation and one based on a form of Winsorization.

Keywords: M-estimationOutliersQuality controlReference rangeRobust statistics

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Abstract

Teacher recruitment procedures are one of the significant factors in providing effective and quality teacheing in schools. However, limited research has delved into how teachers are recruited in international schools. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the factors considered in teacher recruitment procedures and how teachers can be retained in the secondary section of international schools. A sample of 72 teachers from six leading international schools in Colombo was used to obtain relevant information. The study revealed that besides academic and professional qualifications, the six main traits that are considered during teacher recruitment are subject knowledge (80%), language skills (80%), firm personality (70%), voice projection (66%), teaching experience (45%) and teacher-student interaction (35%).There is a shortage of qualified teachers in all streams, especially in the Arts and Technology streams. Nevertheless, teacher turnover rates are also high in these two streams, 44% and 28% respectively. The four main reasons that were identified for teacher turnover are management interference (76%), strict rules and regulations (69%), lack of job security (56%) and overload of work (56%). The four main teacher retention strategies are financial incentives (30%), reducing workload (20%), flexibility and supportive (15%) and improving working conditions (15%). , It is recommended that management should rethink about the teacher recruitment and retention protocols by managing human resources more effectively.

Keywords: International schoolsTeacher recruitmentTeacher retentionTurnover

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Abstract

Non-adherence to health regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic has been associated with health beliefs. The present study investigates the impact of these health beliefs on preventative health behaviours and coping behaviours. The research followed an ex-post facto survey design and convenience sampling was used to recruit a sample of 100 Sri Lankans with chronic illnesses. Data collection was carried out online using the Health Beliefs and Preventative Behaviour questionnaire and the Brief Cope Inventory. The multiple regression analyses reveals that the regression model with health beliefs of perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and cues to action was a significantly useful predictor explaining 50% of the variance in preventative health behaviours. The findings revealed no significant associations between perceived severity, susceptibility, and benefits with preventative health behaviours. Educational level and marital status moderate the relationship between self-efficacy, cues to action and preventative health behaviours. In fact, self-efficacy is positively and significantly correlated with adaptive coping but not significantly correlated with maladaptive coping behaviour. Overall, the findings highlight the utility of reducing barriers, enhancing self-efficacy, and promoting health literacy through education and provision of social support, especially spousal support, to foster adherence to preventative health behaviours.

Keywords: Coping behaviour, Covid-19, Health beliefs, Preventative health behaviour

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Abstract

Caring for a child with invisible disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, speech impairments, and learning difficulties can be fulfilling whilst challenging the caregiver’s psychological well-being. As these children require special support and a diligent caregiving environment to thrive, primary caregivers have to take on additional roles to provide extra support for children with invisible disabilities while accommodating their professional and personal lives through the process. This research therefore analyzed psychological well-being related depression, anxiety, and stress between primary caregivers of children with invisible disabilities and primary caregivers of typically developing children in Sri Lanka. Data was gathered through an online survey of a sample of 75 primary caregivers between the ages of 23 – 56 years, which included 38 primary caregivers of children with invisible disabilities and 37 primary caregivers of typically developing children. The DASS-21 was administered to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. The independent sample t-test was used to compare the mean between the two groups of caregivers. The results confirmed that there is no significant difference in the levels of depression, anxiety and stress between primary caregivers of children with invisible disabilities and primary caregivers of typically developing children. The implications of this study suggest, with the right support and experience, anxiety may reduce in primary caregivers. The necessity to pay attention and provide more social and family support to enhance the psychological well-being of caregivers can improve their efficiency in caregiving.

Keywords: Caregivers, Children, DASS-21 disabilities, Psychological well-being

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Abstract

Proteomic studies are studies of protein expression levels. They are growing swiftly with the steady improvement in technology and knowledge of cell biology. Since differentially expressed proteins have an influence on overall cell functionality, this improves discrimination between healthy and diseased states. Identifying prime proteins offers prospective insights for developing optimized and targeted treatments. This research involves analyzing data from an early-stage study of which the main purpose was to identify differentially expressed proteins. There are three progressively serious disease states (healthy to mild to severe) in this study. The analysis can be categorized into 2 stages as univariate and multi-protein analysis. The approach of the univariate analysis was to implement continuation ratio modeling considering one protein at a time to pick those that exhibit potential ordinality. Penalized continuation ratio modeling using lasso regularization incorporated with bootstrapping proteins was performed as the next stage to identify protein combinations that perform well together. Combining results of the univariate and multi-protein analyses identified 20 proteins that join forces to discriminate disease severity with an ordinal setting and 21 proteins that are effective each on its own.

Keywords: Bootstrapping, Lasso regularization, Ordinal nature, Proteomic studies, Trend tests

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Abstract

Bacterial blight in Anthurium andraeanum Lind. which is caused by Xanthomonas sp. is regarded as the most threatening disease in the anthurium industry worldwide. Therefore, the current study was carried out to determine whether the application of copper nano particles (CuNPs) and sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) is a possible solution to control the bacterial blight in anthurium. The bacterium Xanthomonas sp. was isolated using standard methods and a single bacterial colony was grown in nutrient agar (NA). The colonies produced in cultures were identified as Xanthomonas sp. as they were Gram-negative, motile rods with yellow colour due to production of xanthin. The symptoms appeared in the pathogenicity test which was carried out by injecting purified Xanthomonas sp. into disease free anthurium plants confirmed the identification of the bacterial strain. Concentrations of 5, 15 and 25mg/100ml CuNPs and 50, 75 and 1000 mg in 100ml SNPs were mixed separately with isolated Xanthomonas sp. to investigate the behavior of two types of nano particles in destroying the bacterium. All three concentrations (5, 15 and 25 mg/100ml) of copper nanoparticles used in suspensions of the bacterium Xanthomonas sp. did not support any bacterial growth. In contrast, all three concentrations of SNPs in Xanthomonas sp. showed bacterial growth though it was less in 1000 mg /in 100ml compared to the control treatment. Hence it can be concluded that 5 mg/100 ml CuNPs is capable of destroying in vitro growth of Xanthomonas sp. bacterium which causes bacterial blight in Anthurium andraeanum.

Keywords: ////

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Abstract

The advancement of the mobile devices has created several benefits to the humankind, extending them in the field of education as well. Since these devices are generally used by the young generation, it becomes hard to be neglected using in the language learning process. The use of mobile applications for various purposes is commonly experienced in the Sri Lankan context as well. Although frequently used in written and oral discourses, phrasal verbs (PVs) are subject to be excluded if the correct use of them is challenging for the English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. Therefore, this research intends to inspect the efficacy of teaching PVs via one of the commonly used mobile applications, since it is prevalent in the society and is a novel method which is different from the traditional teaching done in the ESL classrooms. Thirty undergraduates were selected and divided into two groups of 15 each. Pre-test was given for both groups first and they were not given prior instructions in the subject. They had to use their prevailing knowledge on PVs to complete the test. For the post-tests, traditional classroom instructions were given to the controlled group within one hour and the experimental group was guided via a selected mobile application. Forty popular PVs were used here. The 1-way ANOVA found that the mean marks of the students of the post-test in the experimental group is significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the students in the controlled group. A significant correlation (p< 0.05) was found between the pre-test marks and the post-test marks irrespective of the two methods. Thus, 1-way ANCOVA was also carried out taking pre-test marks as a covariate and found that the adjusted mean marks of the students in the experimental group is significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the students in the controlled group., Thus, it is recommended that the use of mobile assisted language learning (MALL) in the English Language Teaching (ELT) for ESL setting is an effective, innovative and a novel resource to use as a method of instruction.

Keywords: English language teaching (ELT), Mobile assisted language learning (MALL), Mobile learning, Phrasal verbs, 1-Way ANOVA, 1-Way ANCOVA, WhatsApp

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a progressive stirring disease marked by the appearance of endometrial glands and stroma exterior of the uterus. It affects 8%–10% of reproductive-age women and is linked to developing primary or secondary infertility in 30% of these women. The main objective of this systematic review was to critically analyse the current related literature to explore the maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes of pregnancies diagnosed with endometriosis. Pregnant women with endometriosis are more likely to develop negative pregnancy outcomes and complicated neonatal outcomes, and therefore they may benefit from extra screening and early detection. Therefore, eight studies are critically analysed in terms of study design, sample size, sample type, exclusive criteria, comprehensive criteria, data analysis, and key findings based on data availability to identify common adverse outcomes of pregnancies with endometriosis. After critically analysing the eight studies, authors explored that pregnant women diagnosed with endometriosis are at elevated risk to develop Placenta previa, hypertensive disorders, postpartum hemorrhage, emergency caesareans and preeclampsia as common maternal outcomes and premature birth, Low birth weight and stillbirth as common neonatal outcomes. In conclusion, women with endometriosis are at elevated risk of developing adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in their pregnancies.

Keywords: Adverse effects, Endometriosis, Maternal outcomes, Neonatal outcomes

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Abstract

Learning vocabulary is an integral part in language acquisition and acquisition of academic vocabulary is a determinant for the success in an academic context. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to formulate academic vocabulary lists and identifying vocabulary learning strategies. This study seeks to explore the vocabulary learning strategies employed by IT undergraduates when studying academic vocabulary and to examine their performance on academic vocabulary related questions at the mid-term examination which is one of their formative assessments. The sample of the study includes 276 first year IT undergraduates who follow the module English for Academic Purposes in a Sri Lankan non-state university. A questionnaire is used as the research tool to obtain data from the sample and the result of the formative exam is used to examine the performance related to academic vocabulary. According to the data analysis, most of the students often use either monolingual or bilingual dictionary as a strategy for the discovery of a new word meaning. This is more emphasized as they have mentioned that they prefer using dictionary apps as a vocabulary strategy using online. A significant number of students study the spelling, meaning and form of a word and ask for help from their friends as strategies for consolidating a word once it has been encountered. When comparing the marks obtained for the vocabulary related questions at the exam, it is noted that the students have obtained less marks to the question in which they had to replace the underlined word/phrases with a more academic alternative. Thus, students need to adopt more effective strategies to acquire mastery of academic vocabulary. Moreover, they should reflect on the current strategies used by them.

Keywords: Academic vocabulary, Formative assessment, IT undergraduates, Vocabulary learning strategies

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Abstract

Computer programming is viewed and experienced as a subject cognitively challenging to students as well as teachers. The aim of this study was to determine the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) teachers’ perspective towards teaching computer programming in order to comprehend how ICT teachers perceive teaching computer programming and factors that influence their work. Forty-seven ICT teachers participated in this qualitative study. The research method used was an analytical framework known as Interactive Qualitative Analysis to model the ICT teachers’ perspective. The perspective was modelled in terms of affinities (factors) such as the programming curriculum, ICT resources, time, programming language, evaluation, students’ performance, teachers’ programming skills, teachers’ pedagogical programming knowledge, student and professional development programs. Further, the interaction among these affinities was also modelled. Programming curriculum was found to be the most influential affinity which should be revised to decrease the cognitive load on students. Teacher’s ICT knowledge was the most influenced(or influential???) affinity which can be improved by ICT resources, professional development programs and evaluation policy on students. Increase in computer: student ratio is also a contributing factor to students’ achievement.

Keywords: Interactive qualitative analysis, Programming curriculum, Teachers’ perspective of computer programming

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