Background: Scientific education aims to be inclusive and to improve students learning achievements, through appropriate teaching and learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) system, a student centered method, started in the second half of the previous century and is expanding progressively, organizes learning around problems and students learn about a subject through the experience of solving these problems.Objectives:To assess the opinions of undergraduate medical students regarding learning outcomes of PBL in small group teaching and to explore their views about the role of tutors and methods of evaluation. Type of the study: A cross-sectional study.Methods: This study was conducted in Kerbala Medical Colleges among second year students. A self-administered questionnaire was prepared to evaluate the newly applied teaching system. The study analysis included simple descriptive analysis and determining association through t-test, chi square test and regression analysis and using structural equation models to determine simultaneous association between different students’ demographic characteristics and potential predictors using SPSS-20 and Amos software at a significance level of < 0.05.Results:A total of 131 undergraduate medical students participated in the study with a response rate of 94%. The majority (93%) have indicated that PBL strategy contributed effectively to their knowledge development with a similar majority (92%) considering PBL successful new teaching method. About 86% reported that would choose PBL rather than conventional method and also 86% would advise PBL for others. Similarly, high majority indicated that various PBL activities are essential. Regarding the tutors’ role in PBL, the majority (92%) indicated that this role was positive and fundamental. According to two thirds (68%) of participants PBL application in Kerbala Medical college was very good application while a higher majority described various PBL sessions as successful and positive and fundamental role of tutors was stressed by most students.Conclusions: This study highlighted the benefits of soliciting student impressions of effective small group teaching. The students’ emphasized group atmosphere and facilitation skills of tutor in learning.Key words: Problem Based Learning, Medical Education, Small Group Teaching, Team Based Learning, Kerbala Medical College
This paper analysed the effect of electronic internal auditing (EIA) based on the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) framework. Organisations must implement an up-to-date accounting information system (AIS) capable of meeting their auditing requirements. Electronic audit risk (compliance assessment, control assurance, and risk assessment) is a development by Weidenmier and Ramamoorti (2006) to improve AIS. In order to fulfil the study’s objectives, a questionnaire was prepared and distributed to a sample comprising 120 employees. The employees were financial managers, internal auditors, and workers involved in the company’s information security departments in the General Company for Electricity D
... Show MoreWithin this work, to promote the efficiency of organic-based solar cells, a series of novel A-π-D type small molecules were scrutinised. The acceptors which we designed had a moiety of N, N-dimethylaniline as the donor and catechol moiety as the acceptor linked through various conjugated π-linkers. We performed DFT (B3LYP) as well as TD-DFT (CAM-B3LYP) computations using 6-31G (d,p) for scrutinising the impact of various π-linkers upon optoelectronic characteristics, stability, and rate of charge transport. In comparison with the reference molecule, various π-linkers led to a smaller HOMO–LUMO energy gap. Compared to the reference molecule, there was a considerable red shift in the molecules under study (A1–A4). Therefore, based on
... Show MoreA robust video-bitrate adaptive scheme at client-aspect plays a significant role in keeping a good quality of video streaming technology experience. Video quality affects the amount of time the video has turned off playing due to the unfilled buffer state. Therefore to maintain a video streaming continuously with smooth bandwidth fluctuation, a video buffer structure based on adapting the video bitrate is considered in this work. Initially, the video buffer structure is formulated as an optimal control-theoretic problem that combines both video bitrate and video buffer feedback signals. While protecting the video buffer occupancy from exceeding the limited operating level can provide continuous video str
... Show MoreAbstract
Zigbee is considered to be one of the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) designed for short-range communications applications. It follows IEEE 802.15.4 specifications that aim to design networks with lowest cost and power consuming in addition to the minimum possible data rate. In this paper, a transmitter Zigbee system is designed based on PHY layer specifications of this standard. The modulation technique applied in this design is the offset quadrature phase shift keying (OQPSK) with half sine pulse-shaping for achieving a minimum possible amount of phase transitions. In addition, the applied spreading technique is direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) technique, which has
... Show MoreA novel series of chitosan derivatives were synthesized via reaction of chitosan with carbonyl compounds and grafted it’s by with different amine compounds substituted hydrogen. The produced polymers were characterized by different analyses FTIR, 1HCNMR, XRD, DSC and TGA. Solubility in water as well as many solvent was investigated, antibacterial activity of chitosan and its derivatives against two types of bacteria E. coli and S. aureus was also investigated. The results showed that derivatives sort of have antibacterial activities against Esherichia coli (Gram negative) better than chitosan whilst compound IX has better antibacterial against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram positive). SEM analysis showed that increase of surface roughness wi
... Show MoreIn this paper, an algorithm for binary codebook design has been used in vector quantization technique, which is used to improve the acceptability of the absolute moment block truncation coding (AMBTC) method. Vector quantization (VQ) method is used to compress the bitmap (the output proposed from the first method (AMBTC)). In this paper, the binary codebook can be engender for many images depending on randomly chosen to the code vectors from a set of binary images vectors, and this codebook is then used to compress all bitmaps of these images. The chosen of the bitmap of image in order to compress it by using this codebook based on the criterion of the average bitmap replacement error (ABPRE). This paper is suitable to reduce bit rates
... Show MoreProtecting information sent through insecure internet channels is a significant challenge facing researchers. In this paper, we present a novel method for image data encryption that combines chaotic maps with linear feedback shift registers in two stages. In the first stage, the image is divided into two parts. Then, the locations of the pixels of each part are redistributed through the random numbers key, which is generated using linear feedback shift registers. The second stage includes segmenting the image into the three primary colors red, green, and blue (RGB); then, the data for each color is encrypted through one of three keys that are generated using three-dimensional chaotic maps. Many statistical tests (entropy, peak signa
... Show MoreA remarkable correlation between chaotic systems and cryptography has been established with sensitivity to initial states, unpredictability, and complex behaviors. In one development, stages of a chaotic stream cipher are applied to a discrete chaotic dynamic system for the generation of pseudorandom bits. Some of these generators are based on 1D chaotic map and others on 2D ones. In the current study, a pseudorandom bit generator (PRBG) based on a new 2D chaotic logistic map is proposed that runs side-by-side and commences from random independent initial states. The structure of the proposed model consists of the three components of a mouse input device, the proposed 2D chaotic system, and an initial permutation (IP) table. Statist
... Show MorePhotodetector based on Rutile and Anatase TiO2 nanostructures/n-Si Heterojunction