Determination of 5th Grade Students Strategies in Comparing Fractions

The aim of this study is revealing the strategies used by 5th -grade students in comparing fractions. In line with this purpose the study is based on qualitative research. Participants of the study conducted with convenient sampling method are seventy 5th -grade students. The students have been asked six questions which necessitate comparison of fraction pairs, considering the sample questions included in mathematics textbook within the limitations of 5th -grade gains on fractions. In addition, for the purpose of revealing the strategies of students in comparing fractions in more detail, face-to-face interviews are held with ten students. The students interviewed have been selected from among those who use different strategies, apply the rules and make faulty reasoning. In order to ensure the validity and reliability of the research, research data are checked by another researcher and similar themes and categories to the ones found by the researcher are reached. Collected data are analyzed by using content analysis and the strategies that the students use in comparing fractions are tried to be determined. As a result of the analyses, it is seen that students mostly prefer "Applying the Rules" where they use procedural information. It is determined that the number of students who prefer "Strategy Development and Discovery" which require conceptual comprehension is less than others. The findings show that consideration of conceptual and procedural comprehension in comparing fractions and not imposing rules on students and ensuring the students reach the rule is important

Tidal Swamps Development in West Kalimantan: Farmers Prefer A Rational-Moderately Strategy

The Indonesian government has spent lots of budgets and built more infrastructures to escalate the intensive rice farming in the tidal swamps since 1970s. However, the success story is very limited. This study aims to describe some obstacles in the practice of rice intensification, and also to explain some factors leading to their failure. In explaining this context, we refer them to our-own-experiences in tidal lowlands development project from 2008 to 2009, literatures study, and then it is deepened by doing collectives case study –that is consisting of three studies in the type of-B, C, and D overflows. The local farmers used to reject the intensive rice farming practices. The use of local paddy varieties is a prefer strategy option. It is closely related to minimize the farming cost and also as a strategy so that they have more time to manage another farm activities. Rationally the farmers prefer growing a variety of perrenial crop species that suits their personal needs and strategies. In conclusion, this study showed that agro-ecological based farm could be the most adaptive way in optimizing the indigenous rice farming.

Impacts of person-centred integrated chronic heart failure and palliative home care on pharmacological heart failure treatment: a substudy of a randomised trial

ObjectivePatients with chronic heart failure (CHF) may be insufficiently treated pharmacologically. Recently, we presented a person-centred integrated Palliative advanced homecaRE and heart FailurE caRe (PREFER) strategy and compared it with usual care (control). Patients managed according to PREFER had improved health-related quality of life and markedly reduced hospitalisations compared with the control group. We hypothesised that these improvements may have been partly due to better drug treatments within the PREFER strategy. Thus, our aim in this study was to explore the management of drug treatments in the PREFER group compared with the control group.MethodsDoses and numbers of drugs and the number of patients receiving the target doses based on current guidelines were measured and compared between the groups at the start and finish of the study.ResultsThe percentages of ACE inhibitors (ACEIs) or mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) increased, while loop diuretics decreased in the PREFER arm during the study, although the differences were not significant. Beta-receptor blockers (BBs) decreased somewhat in both groups. The number of patients treated with MRAs differed the most between groups, and increased from 10 (28%) to 15 (48%) in the PREFER arm compared with 13 (35%) vs 13 (39%) in the control group. The change in patients receiving full target doses (+8 vs. +1) of the ACEIs/angiotensin receptor blockers, BBs and MRAs were significantly higher (p=0009) in the PREFER arm than in the control arm.ConclusionsPerson-centred integrated care of patients with severe CHF was associated with increased evidence-based drug treatments, especially MRAs.Clinical trial numberNCT01304381.