International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR)

Bystander Intervention and Campus Culture: College Counselors’ Perceptions and Roles in Addressing Sexual Assault on Campus

2024-08-10T21:53:18+00:00

Sexual assault remains a critical issue on university campuses, necessitating effective intervention strategies to ensure a safer environment for students. This study investigates college counselors' perceptions of bystander intervention and their roles in mitigating sexual assault incidents within campus communities. Through semi-structured interviews with experienced college counselors, the research explores the challenges and opportunities in bystander intervention initiatives and the potential support and empowerment of students by counselors. The findings indicate that while counselors acknowledge the importance of bystander intervention, they face challenges including cultural barriers, inadequate training, and institutional constraints. The study recommends enhancing counselor training and integrating bystander intervention strategies into counseling services to significantly improve the prevention of sexual assault on campuses. This research enriches the understanding of college counselors' perspectives on combating sexual violence and offers suggestions for improving bystander intervention programs in higher education.

Transfer of Heat of a Jeffrey Fluid over a Linearly Stretching Sheet with Chemical Reaction: Numerical Study

2024-08-06T18:56:22+00:00

This paper numerically explores the effect of heat transfer on Jeffrey fluid flow over a horizontal stretching sheet in the absence of magnetic field and under chemical reaction. The governing coupled nonlinear momentum, thermal, concentration boundary layer equations are rendered into a system of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations through similarity transformation with suitable boundary conditions. The obtained fourth order and second order differential equations are reduced to first order ordinary differential equations using shooting method then it is numerically solved using bvp4c in MATLAB. This present investigation is of great interest relevant to colling of metallic plates, polishing of artificial heart valves and separation processes in chemical industries.

Mechanical and Antibacterial Properties of Polyester/Chitosan/Ag Nanocomposite

2024-08-04T05:31:08+00:00

This projects development of a new type of lightweight polymer-based nanocomposite material, utilizing polyester resin as the matrix and incorporating Ag nanoparticles and chitosan as filler materials. Polyester based composites products sometimes suffers from mechanical failure, weather adaption and microbial attack. Our findings demonstrate significant advancements in both mechanical and antibacterial properties of these nanocomposites. Chitosan and Silver (Ag) nanoparticles reinforced polyester based nanocomposites were prepared where chitosan were synthesized from shrimp shell and Ag nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction method. Different percentage of (wt%) chitosan were loaded in polyester matrix and 2.5wt% chitosan loading was found to be optimized. In the optimized polyester-chitosan system different percentage (2.5, 5, 7.5) wt% of Ag nanoparticles were dispersed as reinforcement to fabricate polyester/chitosan/Ag nanocomposites. The resultant polyester based nanocomposites were (i) polyester/chitosan/2.5wt% Ag, (ii) polyester/chitosan/5wt% Ag, (iii) polyester/chitosan/7.5wt% Ag which were compared with the blank polyester resin sheet and optimized polyester/chitosan composite for the investigation of mechanical ( tensile strength, young’s modulus, flexural strength, flexural strain and hardness), water absorption and antimicrobial activities. Among the entire composite and nanocomposites the polyester/chitosan/2.5wt%Ag showed the best results in an average with respect to mechanical, water absorption and antimicrobial activities.

How are Teachers and Students' Perceptions of Problems with Practicum-Based Learning Methods and Media to Improve Students Critical Thinking Skills

2024-07-31T07:45:39+00:00

The purpose of this study is to find out the perception of teachers and students towards the problems of practicum-based learning methods and media to improve the critical thinking skills of students in grade XI. The research was carried out from December 9, 2021 to January 27, 2022 with a sample of all grade XI teachers and ten students in each grade XI at State High School 5, 11, 13, 17 and Wahidiyah Samarinda Senior High School. Qualitative descriptive is used as a research method by interviewing teachers and students. The results of the perception of teachers and students from the results of the interviews are that not all biology materials in class XI carry out practicum activities and the students' low thinking ability. Practicum activities cannot be carried out due to constraints due to the availability of facilities and infrastructure, difficult maintenance of tools and materials, and limited teaching and learning time in the classroom. In addition, the lack of skills of students in using tools and materials that can endanger students and the damage of practicum tools also affects practicum activities. The low ability to think critically is due to the cognitive score of students not always reaching the Minimum Completeness Criteria score and low interest in asking questions in the learning process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop practicum-based media (virtual lab) in collaboration with a guided inquiry model to support the learning process and improve students' critical thinking skills.

Impact of Job-Related Stress on Educators in Tema West Municipality, Ghana

2024-07-29T09:18:37+00:00

Job-related stress is a significant issue that affects professionals in various fields, including education. Educators, in particular, often experience high levels of stress due to the demands of their profession. The study investigated the impact of job-related stress on teachers in Adjei Kojo TWMA “2” JHS in Tema West Municipality, Ghana. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A total of 20 educators were selected using census sampling technique. Questionnaire was used in the collection of data. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of the Statistical Package for Service Solution (SPSS) software version 22. The study revealed that the respondents often experienced stress in their work. The study also revealed that the top four sources of job-related stress among the respondents were too much workload, lack of resources and materials needed to work effectively and efficiently, too much pressure at work and lack of encouragement from management. The study revealed a statistically insignificant negative correlation between job-related stress and work engagement. It was recommended that school authorities make the work of teachers more flexible by reducing their workload. This would help reduce the level of job-related stress experienced by teachers. School authorities need to foster a positive school culture by promoting open communication, teamwork, and mutual support among staff members. It is further recommended that teachers are encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance by setting boundaries between work and personal time.