Articles and studies
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between curriculum instruction time and student' school attitude. A mixed research approach was used in the study. The random-cluster samples of students, teachers, principals, and curriculum specialists were selected to be used in the research. The qualitative approach, including a review of official documentation as well as interviewing, was used to support a quantitative approach in the study. The descriptive analysis and a bivariate correlation statistic were used for the processing of data, and the inductive open coding and the typology techniques were used to analyse the qualitative data. It is found that there are differences in instruction time between European countries and Albania. At the same time, the results showed that there is a relatively non-adequate student's school attitude in lower secondary education. The study demonstrated that there is a positive correlation between curriculum instruction time and the students' school attitude. It is one of a very small number of studies in curriculum instruction time to provide such results.
Keywords: curriculum instruction time; student’s school attitude; curriculum area; key stage
Abstract: The love of reading is an indispensable condition for the cultural development of nations. Children’s habits when gaining information have changed, which has affected their relationship to reading, thus it is important to search for such solutions and supporting systems which enhance the popularisation of reading, and which support the interpretation of the content read. The paper presents such digital applications suitable for sharing the reading experience that can be used not only within the frames of formal classes, but in non-formal education as well. Libraries can motivate students with the applications, and by utilising the new possibilities, students will be more open to acquire knowledge and they will be more ambitious to experience reading. The article analyse which is the most innovative option: a share interface created with the intention of self-study, or the institutional initiatives to analyse a particular work of literature? Shall we encourage students to write blogs, or should they capture a particular moment of the work in a computerised graphic format? Will an analysis in a tag cloud shed light onto the most important elements, or should the experience be conveyed through moving pictures? The paper presents concrete feasibility options and analyse them based on their practical benefits.
Keywords: ICT innovation; ICT innovation in libraries; non-formal learning; popularising reading; reading experience; methodology
Abstract: The analysis of the study success at the Subotica Tech - College of Applied Sciences (Serbia) was done with the aim of determining the passing of exams success and the completion of the studies in order to determine the dynamics of the study and to detect the critical points of the teaching process which lead to problems and finding the best way to eliminate them. Indicators, which were used, are the passing of students at the end of the fall semester, as well as the correlation of success from high school achieved by the enrolled students, with success in the entrance exam and success after the first year of studying.
Keywords: dropout rates; higher education; engineering studies
Abstract: The globalizing world of international business, the mobility of workplaces and the accelerated technological development have made the educational sphere competitive as well. Consequently, educational institutions and the educational process itself have to come up with new methods to meet the respective challenges. Digitalization of education provides such an option as the education process serves as one of the foundations of the economic prosperity of any country. Our article focuses on the tendencies and phenomena generated by digitalization and introduce its immediate, practical impact on the teaching and learning process. We will emphasize such key competences, which are relevant and crucial for the support of digitalization in the 21st century.
Keywords: digital education, ICT-based environments, digital competences, teaching methods
Abstract: The understanding of how written social information is processed by individuals with autism spectrum traits is important for the development and implementation of suitable educational interventions. The use of eye-tracking methodology offers us the possibility to analyze how information is being selected and has a great potential to inform our understanding of cognitive processing in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Our main goal is to develop an assessment protocol, which could identify if there are differences in the way individuals with low autism spectrum traits and high autism spectrum traits process written social information. This information helps to specify the development of educational techniques for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study provides the necessary steps for the protocol implementation. We propose an experimental design that can clarify if there are some specific visual patterns when processing social information in the context of autism traits. The findings of our work could document future intervention techniques for social skills.
Keywords: social information; eye-tracking; autism spectrum traits; special education
Abstract: Converter sludge is a by-product of the “steel industry”, at the wet cleaning process of the converter gas. The sludge might contain heavy metal oxides, more particularly of lead- (Pb) and zinc (Zn) oxides. Our aim is to investigate the accumulation ratio of these components within the different parts of some selected plants during the potential phytoremediation, phytoextraction processes. The investigation was implemented with the collaboration of students, who gained practical knowledge in sample preparation, analysis and data evaluation. The gained knowledge is a good complement to what the students have been learned in higher education and provides useful practical insights into environmental analysis. For the preparation of the laboratory experiment of this research, we made seedling growth tests with white mustard (Sinapis alba) seeds on the 20-40-60-80% mixtures of converter sludge and different kinds of soils. According to the germination results we determined that the most capable mixtures were the converter sludge and the loess mixtures. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) was chosen as a test plant for the experiments. The mixing ratio of the converter sludge was 5-10-15-20-25%. The metal content of the sludge-soil mixtures and the different parts of the wheat plants (shoot, root) were analyzed by XRF instrument. The results showed that the most effective and tolerable ratio of converter sludge can be the 10 and 15% in loamy soil mixtures. Wheat plants seem to be applicable on decreasing of the metal content from the sludge-soil mixtures. The decreasing average ratio was 50 % for Pb, 53 % for Zn, at using the lowest applied ratio into the soils. Further aim is to find other potential industrial plants for decreasing of the ratio toxic elements from the converter sludge.
Keywords: converter sludge; industrial plants; bioremediation-phytoextraction
Abstract: JPEG is the most often used image compression standard that is used since 1992. It is a lossy compression method, and is widely used in digital cameras and mobile phones. Depending on the parameters and user needs, it can achieve a compression ratio between 10 and 50. Memory for digital image storage is saved on the expense of decompressed image quality. The method is based on the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) that separates the image into different frequency components. This paper shows how different parameters of the algorithm influence the performance of the compression. In the end, ideas are given how to either increase the compression ratio keeping the same decompressed image quality, or to improve the quality without decreasing the compression ratio. The quality between the original and the decompressed images is measured using two objective criteria: the Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and the structural similarity index (SSIM). Different types of 8x8 image blocks (flat, impulse, ramp, ...) and their DCT transforms are analysed so the reader can anticipate the frequency content of the blocks. Understanding of the frequency content helps in creating customized algorithms for improving the basic JPEG.
Keywords: digital image compression, JPEG, quantization
Abstract: Nowadays, electromagnetic compatibility plays an increasingly important role in the development of a new equipment. When developing, attention should not only be paid to how noisy the equipment itself is, but also to how immune it is to the noise coming from the surroundings. The purpose of this article is to present an instrument used in EMC measurement on a training model and evaluate the measured results according to the given standards. In the measurements a low noise power supply panel TPS54560EVM-515 by Texas Instruments was used to power a RF absorber and a GTEM cell. The obtained results clearly showed the advantages and disadvantages of the cell construction compared with other EMC measurement procedures.
Keywords: EMC; Electromagnetic compatibility; GTEM cell
Reviews, application notes, case studies, reports
Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of ethical hacking and security of computer systems. When we talk about security of an information system, we actually mean the primary three attributes of the system: confidentiality, integrity and availability. There are various approaches with aim to identify existing security weaknesses and security assessment. One of them is using Kali Linux operating system with its integrated effective tools specially adapted to the realization of various types of attacks. The paper gives a general overview of some Kali attacking possibilities on client and server side and highlights their specificities. The undoubted benefit of this operating system is a large collection of different hacking tools in one place which significantly facilitates vulnerability assessment and security testing.
Keywords: Kali Linux; tools; attack; security; ethical hacking