Education

INECE is pleased to announce that it will hold its 8th International Conference on 5-11 April 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa. INECE’s triennial international conferences bring together environmental compliance and enforcement practitioners from more than 80 countries and organizations to build partnerships for enforcement cooperation and to share a wide range of skills and experiences that improve compliance with international and domestic environmental laws. The 7th Conference (2005) provided training on INECE's principles of compliance and enforcement course and fostered the development of a new compliance and enforcement network for the Maghreb region. The Conference resulted in the Marrakech Statement and Call to Action on making law work for people, environment, and sustainable development. The 8th Conference will open with two days dedicated to local capacity building and networking events. The subsequent five days will feature action-oriented thematic workshops, distinguished keynote speakers, and networking opportunities for over 150 invited participants, and will include a day for field visits to sites of innovative environmental enforcement initiatives in South Africa. Central themes of the Conference will include "Strategic Management of Environmental Compliance & Enforcement Programs," "Detecting Noncompliance," "Transboundary Compliance," "Biodiversity and Compliance," "Climate Change and Compliance," and "Compliance Promotion and Social Aspects." INECE will be releasing a Call for Papers on these and other environmental compliance and enforcement topics in advance of the Conference. South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, which is supporting the Conference, noted that "[e]nvironmental compliance and enforcement are becoming high profile issues in South Africa in the context of high economic growth and development, ...the ongoing protection of our biodiversity and protected areas, and the required adaptation for climate change. We therefore welcome the attention that the INECE Conference will bring to environmental compliance and enforcement in South and Southern Africa." Additional information on the 8th Conference, including the Call for Papers, will be made available in the coming months. Conference participation is by invitation only; nominations will be made through the regional compliance and enforcement networks.

ROLE OF DIRECT TEACHING METHOD IN THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN ENGLISH Dr Ishtiaq Hussain , Kohat University (KUST) Dr Hafiz Inamullah , Kohat University (KUST Dr Muhammad Naseer-ud-Din , Kohat University (KUST) ABSTRACT Quality education depends upon the quality of teaching and quality of teaching depends upon the quality of teachers, curriculum and effective teaching method. Method plays a vital role in the quality teaching of language. It is a planned and systematic effort of the teacher for establishing sequence in the various parts of the teaching. The direct method, as its name suggests, is teaching the foreign language without the interference of mother tongue. It is also called “natural method” because the students learn the foreign language in the same way as they learn their mother tongue. In this method, not the word but the sentence is the unit of the grammar, while the traditional method aims at teaching English by word-to-word translation in mother tongue. The major objective of the study was to determine the role of direct teaching method in the academic achievement of students in English at secondary level. To achieve the said objective the Solomon Four-Design pre-test post-test equivalent group design” was considered to be the most useful design for this study. Following is the symbolic representation of the design: RRRRRRR R E O T O2 R C O3 - O4 R E - T O5 R C - - O6 Where R = Randomly Selected E = Experimental Groups C = Control Groups O = Observation or Measurement T = Treatment The experimental treatment to which a group is exposed i.e. independent variable. This is the strong and true experimental design. The pretest was used to measure the achievement. Pretest was used only to equate the control and experimental groups. Thus the Solomon four-group design was applied for the treatment of the data. The students of Federal Government boy’s secondary schools of Islamabad comprised the population of the study. Two sections A and B of 9th class of F G School (Urdu medium) and two sections A and B of 9th class of F.G. school (English medium) were selected as sample of the study. In this design: i. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups. ii. Two groups received the experimental treatment (T) iii. One experimental group received a pretest (O1). iv. Two groups (control) received treatment (C). v. One control group received a pretest (O3). vi. All four groups received posttests (O2 O4O5O6) Pre- test was administered to determine the level of each student before treatment and to equalize the students of two groups. Experimental group was taught by direct method while the Control group was taught by traditional method for a period of six weeks. At the end of the treatment, a posttest was administered and scores of pre-test, posttest were served as data of the study. Applying t-test and analysis of variance tested to know the significance of difference between the scores of groups at 0.05 levels. After analyzing the secured date it was concluded that direct teaching method was more effective as a teaching-learning technique for English as compared to traditional teaching method. Students in the direct teaching method outscored than students working in traditional learning situation. Low achievers in direct teaching showed significant superiority over low achievers learning English by the traditional method. Thus direct teaching was found to be more effective method for quality teaching of English to the low achievers as compared to traditional method of teaching. High achievers, whether they were taught English by direct method or traditional method, retained learnt material at the same rate. Low achievers taught English by direct method retained more material as compared to low achievers taught by traditional method of teaching. INTRODUCTION Progress and advancement of the countries of the world are always related with the kind of education they offer to their people. Education is essential for human development. A man without knowledge is really a blind even he has eyes. Educated man is as much superior to uneducated person. It nourishes us like mother, guides us like father and delights us to like wife” (Ahmad, 1969). Language comes next to food. We are so intimately familiar with it that we take it for granted as we do breathing or walking. According to Agramal (1995) language is vehicle of thoughts and lack of command over it is bound to make the thoughts inexpressible. Jesperson (1983) defines language as a “set of human habits” the purpose, which is to give expression to thoughts and feelings, and especially to impart them others. Sweet (1992) says, “Language is expression of ideas by means of which speech sounds are combined into words, words are combined into sentences and combination of sentences gives answers to ideas and thoughts”. English has always been rated high in Pakistan. In past, it was treated as compulsory subject from class 6th to onwards in public school system. It is being offered as a compulsory subject in English medium schools and is increasingly used as a medium of instruction. The private schools offer English as a subject from nursery classes. It means that students of public schools start studying English at the age of 11 years whereas the students of English medium schools start studying English at the age of 4 years. Teaching of English is important for the following reasons:- a. English is a mean for understanding the foreign education; b. English is the language of higher education; c. English is the source of scientific and technological advancement; d. It is the medium for international commerce, trade and communication (Richards, 1991). Keeping in view the status of English, the Government of Pakistan has made a decision for introducing English as a compulsory subject from first level. The main objective of the study was to determine the role of direct teaching in the academic achievement of students English at Secondary level. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Every country has a national language, which is the means of expression of its thoughts, culture and covers the whole range of its social, cultural and official activities. In the present age of fast development in science and technology, there also arises the need of a foreign language to have an access to modern scientific knowledge and for international communication. English is a means of international communication since it has assumed the role of world language. The only language other than Urdu that understood to some extent in all part of Pakistan is English. It is reality that English has thrust its way in our life and thoughts. It is the language of legislative, law courts, commercial, markets, social circles, technology and economics because most of the information’s are largely available in English. (Tanveer, 1998). Learning a foreign language/second language is a complex process, as language is not just an act of putting meaningful words together. It needs a physical, intellectual and emotional response if we have to send or receive messages in it. Learning of a foreign language involves a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling and acting. The learner has to be fluent, accurate and meaningful (Graff, 1985). Abid (1979) selected two groups of the students of 10th class. Their teacher’s supplementary reading approach taught the experimental group. For the five teaching periods per week containing thirty lessons. After teaching of six weeks, the experimental group showed better results significant at 0.05 levels in reading comprehension than the control group. The increase in reading speed of experimental group was significantly better at0.05 level in average students and development of interest in English language was also significantly better than that control group. It was concluded that overall performance of experimental group in all the reading aspects was significantly better than that of the control group; hence the supplementary reading method was suggested. It was better method for teaching of English reading comprehension; speed and interest .So the researcher recommended supplementary reading beside textbooks for effective reading of English. Krashen and Terrel (1983) reported that language proficiency tests can be classified as tests of linguistic competence or communicative competence that is ability to control pronunciation, morphology and syntax; communication and the ability to use language for specific purposes or some particular purpose. Lionel (1985) reported that most textbooks used in reading were judged as inadequate. The main cause identified was that textbooks take a long time to produce; therefore, the selections they contain are often out of date by the time they reach the students. As a partial solution to the problem, the researcher suggested that the students should choose short readings for the class as their assignments. PROCEDURE In order to test the relative effectiveness of independent variable, i.e. an instructional paradigm (direct teaching), the choice of most suitable design for this experiment was the basic step. A number of factors, which affect the internal and external validity of experimental designs. Relevant to internal validity, there are eight different factors (these include history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression, differential selection, experimental mortality, and selection maturation interaction). If these factors are not controlled in the design, they may produce adverse effects, which confound the effects of the independent variables as shown by the final test scores. Whereas factors affecting internal validity operate on the scores derived from the dependent variables and, therefore, make the experiment poor as an experiment, factors affecting external validity operate upon the experimental treatments. Campbell and Stanley (1963) postulated four factors, which jeopardize external validity. “The Solomon Four-Design pre-test post-test equivalent group design” was considered to be the most useful design for this study. Following is the symbolic representation of the design: RRRRRRR R E O T O2 R C O3 - O4 R E - T O5 R C - - O6 Where R = Randomly Selected E = Experimental Groups C = Control Groups O = Observation or Measurement T = Treatment The experimental treatment to which a group is exposed i.e. independent variable. This is the strong and true experimental design, but there may be the possibility of the influence of the effect of testing and the interaction with the experimental variable (Farooq, 2001). However, in order to eliminate the influence of the effect of testing and the interaction with the experimental variable, a posttest parallel to the pretest was used to measure the achievement. Pretest was used only to equate the control and experimental groups. POPULATION The aim of this study was to investigate the relative effectiveness of direct teaching method in teaching English at secondary level. Therefore, students studying at secondary level were constituted the population of the study. DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY The study was delimited to: English medium students of 9th class. SAMPLE Two sections A and B of 9th class of Federal Government boys secondary school Tarnol, Islamabad (Urdu medium) and two sections A and B of 9th class of F.G. Model school for Boys I-9/4 Islamabad (English medium) were taken as sample of the study. Sample students of Federal Government boy’s secondary school Naugazi Islamabad were further divided into two groups, i.e. the experimental and the control groups. Both the groups were equated on the basis of pre-test scores. Each group comprised 30 students. RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS In order to equate the control and the experimental groups, a teacher made pretest was administered before the allocation of students to the experimental and the control groups. Immediately after the treatment was over, a teacher made posttest was administered to subjects of both the experimental and the control groups. The purpose of this test was to measure the achievement of the students constituting the sample. The researcher constructed these both tests after a through review of the techniques of test construction and related units of English Both the pretest and posttest were almost parallel with same difficulty level. The two chapters were taught before the start of experiment; also give a weight age of 25 percent in the both tests. Each test was composed of multiple choice test items, matching items pertaining to a combination of learning domains. These test items were based on the selected units of 9th class English five units. These five units were taught during the experiment to both the experimental and the control groups, and were intended to measure the learning out comes.. Reliability of Test The Solomon Four Design pretest posttest equivalent group design was used for the treatment to test the reliability of the posttest scores obtained by the students who formed the sample of the study. The coefficient of reliability was determined using Spearman-Brown Prophecy formula, estimating reliability form the comparable halves of the posttest and found the coefficient of correlation, which found to be 0.75. SELECTION AND TRAINING OF TEACHERS FOR EXPERIMENT One teacher from each Federal Government Boys secondary School Tarnol ,Islamabad (Urdu medium) and one teacher from F G Model school for Boys I-9/4, Islamabad (English medium) having equal qualification, equal teaching experience and considerably equal teaching potential were selected for teaching English to the control and the experimental groups. The teacher volunteered for teaching the experimental groups was provided two weeks training in Direct teaching i.e. one week for reading and one week for speech DATA COLLECTION During the experiment two different treatment patterns were applied. The control groups were provided with traditional routine situation in the classroom while experimental groups provided with direct teaching method as treatment. The experiment continued for six weeks. Soon after the treatment was over, posttest was administrated to measure the achievement of the sample subjects. ANALYSIS OF DATA Raw scores obtained from pretest and posttests were presented in tabular form for the purpose of interpretation. For the manipulation of data, the means, standard deviations, and differences of means were computed for each group. Significance of difference between the mean scores of both the experimental and control groups on the variable of pretest and post test scores was tested at 0.05 levels by applying t-test. To examine the treatment affects for high and low levels of achievement of the two groups, The Solomon four group design (2x2 analysis of variance) was applied. For this purpose, the students of two groups were divided into two halves, i.e. high achievers (above the mean score) and low achievers (below the mean score). This division was made on the basis of pretest scores. The Solomon four group designs is symbolized as below: English medium groups Experimental Control High achievers CELL 1 CELL 2 Low achievers CELL 3 CELL 4 Urdu medium groups Experimental Control High achievers CELL 1 CELL 2 Low achievers CELL 3 CELL 4 For statistical analysis the formulae followed by Garrett (1997) and Gay (2000) were applied. The following formulae were used in doing statistical analysis: I. Standard error of the difference between two means II. Computation of t-value III. Analysis of variance Step 1 = Correction term (C) = Step 2 = SS Term = Step 3 = SS Between means = Step 4 = SS Within groups = SS Total – SS Means Step 5 = ANOVA table Source of variation Degree of freedom Sum of squares Mean square F t-value Between group means Within groups M.S Within groups = SS within groups Degree of freedom within groups F-value = M.S Between group means M.S Within groups t-value = IV. Factorial design (2x2 analysis of variance) Step 1 = Correction term (C) = (X….)2 Step 2 = SS Total = X2….. –C Step 3 = SS Cell = N (D112 + d122 + d212 + S222) Step 4 = SS Within Cell – SS Total – SS Cells Step 5 = SS Treatment = N1 (d1.2 + d2.2) Step 6 = SS Achievement level = N1. (d1.2 + d2.2) Step 7 = SS Interactions + SSCells–SSTreatment – SSAchievement level Step 8 = ANOVA (2x2) table Source of variation Degree of freedom Sum of squares Mean square F P Treatment Achievement level Interaction Within cells RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This chapter is confined to the analysis and interpretation of data obtained from the pre-test and posttest. Significance of difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups of English medium and Urdu medium on pretest and posttest were found out by applying t-test, analysis of variance and the Solomon four group design (analysis of variance). Obtained results along with analysis and interpretation are presented in the following pages. Table 1: Significance of difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups on pre-test.(English Medium) Group N df M SD SED t-value Experimental 30 29 55.67 12.67 3.38 0.64* Control 30 29 53.50 11.08 *Not Significant df=58 t-value at 0.05 level =2.04 Table 1 indicates that the mean scores of the pretest in English of the experimental group (English medium) was 55.67 and that of the control group was 53.5. The difference between two means was not statistically significant at 0.05 levels. These findings support the views of Arnold (1942) who found that learning occurs in conducive environment and suitable surroundings. Table 2: Significance of difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on pretest. (English Medium) Group N df Mean SD SED t-value High achievers of the experimental group 15 14 65.67 8.43 3.44 0.58* High achievers of the control group 15 14 63.67 8.65 *Not Significant df = 28 t value at 0.05 = 2.04 Table 2 reflects that there was no significance of difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on pretest. To obtained t value through calculation is 0.58 at 0.05 level, which is less than the, table value.. Table 3: Significance of difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups on pretest. (English Medium) Group N Df Mean SD SED t- value Low achievers of the experimental group 15 14 42.33 7.84 2.98 0.11* Low achievers of the control group 15 14 42.67 4.21 *Not Significant df=2 t value at 0.05 = 2.14 Table 3 reflects that there was no significance of difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control group on pretest. The calculated t- value is 0.11, which is less than the table value and is insignificant at 0.05 level. Hence, the both groups could be treated as equal. Table 4: Significance of difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups on post-test. (English Medium) Group N Df Mean SD SED t-value Experimental 30 29 79 3.29 3.25 7.48* Control 30 29 54.67 3.32 *Significant df=58 t value at 0.05 =2.04 It appears from Table 4 that difference between the mean scores on the post-test of the experimental group was 79 and the same of the control group was 54.67.The difference between the two means was found significant at 0.05 level in favor of the experimental group. These findings support the results reported by Petty (1996) that students learn effectively by direct method if they are taught immediate requirements of it. Group N Df Mean SD SED t-value High achievers of the experimental group 30 29 82.33 5.32 3.40 4.11* High achievers of the control group 30 29 68.33 9.92 Table 5: Significance of difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on posttest. (English Medium) *Significant df =58 t value at 0.05 = 2.14 Table 5 shows that the difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on post-test was statistically significant at 0.05 levels in favor of the experimental group. The calculated value is 4.11 which is less than table value at 0.05 levels. It supports the concept of Curran (1982) that word-to-word language learning hinders in fluency. So, the learners should avail a chance where they gallop hundreds of words accordingly. Table 6: Significance of difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups on post-test. (English Medium) Group N Df Mean SD SED t-value Low achievers of the experimental group 30 29 65 4.47 0.74 7.02* Low achievers of the control group 30 29 45 3.05 * Significant df =58 t value at 0.05 =2.04 Table 6 indicates that the difference between 7.02 the mean scores of low achievers of experimental group and control group on post-test was not statistically significant at 0.05 level. The calculated t- value at 0.05 level is 7.02, which is higher than table value at same level. These results support the concept of Collitzs (1926) that found students with low scores had low interest in learning a foreign language. Table 7: Significance of difference between the mean scores of experimental and control groups on pre-test. (Urdu Medium) Group N df Mean SD SED t-value Experimental 30 29 53.47 14.42 3.79 0.12* Control 30 29 53 13.92 *Not Significant df = 58 t value at 0.05= 2.04 Table 7 reflects that the mean score of the previous achievement test in English of the experimental group (Urdu medium) was 53.47 and that of the control group was 53 The obtained t-value is 0.12, which is less than the table value It supports the concepts Rivers (1981) that every child has specific potential by birth. It is the responsibility of the parents, society and teachers, how they channalize that potential in proper way. Table 8: Significance of difference between mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups on pre-test. (Urdu Medium) Group N df Mean SD SED t-value Low achievers of the experimental group 15 14 81.93 7.45 1.76 0.90* Low achievers of the control group 15 14 64.67 9.95 * Not Significant df =28 t value at 0.05 = 2.14 Table 8 reflects that there was no significant difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups on pre-test. The calculated t-value is 0.90, which is less than the table value and is insignificant at 0.05 level. So, both groups could be treated as equal. These findings support the concepts of Morris (1988) that students with low scores had also low interest in English. Group N df Mean SD SED t-value Experimental group 30 29 56.83 13.93 3.73 4.57* Control group 30 29 54.67 12.48 Table 9 Significance of difference between the mean scores of experimental group and control groups on post-test. * Significant df=58 t value at 0.05 = 2.14 Table 9 indicates that the mean scores of the experimental group (Urdu medium) was 56.83 and that of the control group was 54.67 on post-test. At posttest performance of experimental group was better than control group. These results support the concept of Rivers (1981) that students show good results if they are taught with direct method accordingly. Table 10 Significance of difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on posttest. (Urdu Medium) Group N df Mean SD SED t-value High achievers of the experimental group 30 29 88.33 2.95 3.05 0.42* High achievers of the control group 30 29 66 5.56 * Significant df = 58 t- value at 0.05 =2.14 Table 10 shows that the difference between the mean scores of high achievers of experimental and control groups on post-test was statistically at 0.05 levels in favor of experimental group. The calculated value is 0.42, which is less than table value at 0.05 level It supports the concept of Petty (1996), that directs teaching has equal benefits for high, average and low achievers. Table 11: Significance of difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental group and control group on post-test. (Urdu Medium) Group N Df Mean SD SED t-value Low achievers of the experimental group 15 14 65 4.76 0.88 6.31* Low achievers of the control group 15 14 45 3.05 *Significant df = 28 t -value at 0.05 = 2.14 It appears from Table 11 that the difference between the mean scores of low achievers of experimental and control groups on post-test was not significant at 0.05 level. The calculated t-value at 0.05 level is 6.31 which is higher than table value at same level. The finding contradicts the views of Huchan (1985) that direct teaching is most suitable and effective for low achievers. CONCLUSIONS In the light of statistical analysis and the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. 1 On the whole, direct teaching method is more effective as a teaching-learning technique for English as compared to traditional teaching method. Students in the direct teaching method outscored than students working in traditional learning situation. 2 Low achievers in direct teaching showed significant superiority over low achievers learning English by the traditional method. Thus direct teaching was found to be more effective method for teaching English to the low achievers as compared to traditional method of teaching 3 High achievers, whether they were taught English by direct method or traditional method, retained learnt material at the same rate. 4 Low achievers taught English by direct method retained more material as compared to low achievers taught by traditional method of teaching. Therefore direct teaching seemed to be more effective teaching learning technique for low achievers. 5 English textbooks mostly written for direct teaching were taught through traditional method. These showed not good results; because teachers were not conversant with the direct method. LITERATURE CITED Abid, A. K. (1979). A Study of the Effectiveness of Supplementary Reading Approach of Teaching English on Comprehension, Reading Periods and Interests of 10th grade Level (unpublished) Ph. D. thesis, Institute of Education and Research, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. (pp. 190-205). Agrammal, L. (1995). General Language Practices. Merrill Publishing, Company New York, USA. (pp. 32-34). Ahmed, N. S. (1969). Teaching of English as a Foreign Language, 1st edition, Carawan Book Deptu Urdu Bazar Lahore. (pp.34, 56). Arnold. L. (1942). Culture and Anarchy, Preface. London: Macmillan Co; Ltd, UK. (p. 98). Jesperson, O. (1983). Language, Its Natures Development and Origion.4th edition New York, USA. (p. 143). Campbell, D. & K. Stanley. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research on Teaching, in Handbook of Research on Teaching. Rand Mc Nelly and Company, Chicago, USA. (p. 175). Collitzs, G. (1926). Approaches to English as Second Language and its Implementations Mc Graw-Hill New York, USA. (pp. 113-120). Curran, C. (1982). Counseling-Learning: a Whole Person Model for Education. Mc Graw-Hill New York, USA. (pp. 213-224). Farooq, R. A. (2001). Understanding Research in Education. University Institute of Education and Research University of Arid and Agriculture Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Garret, H. E. (1997). Statistic in Psychology and Education. National Book Foundations, Islamabad, Pakistan. (pp. 191-192, 279-291). .Gay, L.R (2000). Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Application. National Book Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan. (pp.477-478,480-496). Graff, W. (1985). Language and Learning Principles. . Longmans Green and Co LTD. London, UK. (pp. 60-67). Huchan, D. (1985). A Practical Guide to the Teaching of English. The University of Chicago, Press, Ltd, USA. (pp. 13-14). Krashen, L. & Terrell, J. (1983). Second Language Acquisition Learning Skills Paragons. New York, USA. (p. 23). Lionel, M. (1985). Students Choice: Short Reading for the ESL, Classroom English Teaching Forum DC. Vol No-1 Washington, USA. (pp. 87-90). Morris, K. (1988). Developing Second Language Skills, Second edition, Chapter-5 Chicago; and Mc Nelly College Publishing Company, USA. (pp. 44-50). Petty, W. (1996). Second Report about the State of Knowledge about the Teaching of Vocabulary. National Council of Teachers Education, New York, USA. (pp. 54-56). Richards, J. (1991). The Context of Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, London, UK. (pp. 49, 520). Rivers, W. (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Teaching. The University of Chicago, Press. Ltd, USA. (pp. 46-56). Sweet, S. (1992). Language and the Study of Language, 4th edition. Merrill Publishing Company New York, USA. (p. 45). Tanveer, M. (1998). Education and the Development of Muslim Nationalism in Pre-Partition India. University of California. (pp. 45-49).

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The ICAEM conferences serve as good platforms for our members and the entire engineering community to meet with each other and to exchange ideas. The last IAENG conference has attracted more than one thousand participants from over 30 countries. Our congress committees have been formed with over three hundred committees members who are mainly research center heads, faculty deans, department heads, professors, and research scientists from over 20 countries. All submitted papers will be under peer review and accepted papers will be published in the conference proceeding (ISBN: 978-988-98671-9-5). The abstracts will be indexed and available at major academic databases. The accepted papers will also be considered for publication in the special issues of the Engineering Letters and IAENG journals and in edited books. Additional Information The WCE 2008 is composed of the following 15 conferences (all will be held at the same location and date): ICAEM'08 The 2008 International Conference of Applied and Engineering Mathematics London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICCIIS'08 The 2008 International Conference of Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Systems London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICCSDE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Computational Statistics and Data Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICCSE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Computer Science and Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICDMKE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Data Mining and Knowledge Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICEEE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Electrical and Electronics Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICFE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Financial Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICIE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Information Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICISIE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Information Security and Internet Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICME'08 The 2008 International Conference of Mechanical Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICMEEM'08 The 2008 International Conference of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICPDC'08 The 2008 International Conference of Parallel and Distributed Computing London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICSBB'08 The 2008 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICSIE'08 The 2008 International Conference of Signal and Image Engineering London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 ICWN'08 The 2008 International Conference of Wireless Networks London, U.K., 2-4 July 2008 Important Dates: Draft Paper Submission Deadline: 6 March, 2008 Camera-Ready Papers Due & Registration Deadline: 31 March, 2008 WCE 2008: 2-4 July, 2008

The ENGINEERING EDUCATION is part of the CSCC Multiconference. In 2006, the CSCC Multiconference received 1302 papers and approved 623 papers which was the maximum number of papers in its brilliant history. In 2008, the organizers did not give extension in the deadline and the accepted papers were approximately 550. Sponsored by WSEAS, WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, WSEAS Transactions on Computers, WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications, In Collaboration with the WSEAS IWG on Education and Educational Technologies, the WSEAS IWG on E-Commerce, E-Goverment, E-Health and E-Activities, the WSEAS IWG on Computers, the WSEAS IWG on Systems and Control, the WSEAS IWG on Circuits and Systems and the IWG on Electronics. The organizing committee calls you to submit your papers, special sessions and tutorials. INDICES: The Proceedings related to these meetings are covered by: 1. ISI (ISINET) 2. INSPEC (IET, former IEE) 3. CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) 4. ELSEVIER and Elsevier Bibliographic Database 5. ZENTRALBLATT 6. ULRICH 7. MATHSCINET of AMS (American Mathematical Society) 8. MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS of AMS (American Mathematical Society) 9. Directory of Published Proceedings 10. Computer Science Bibliography Administrator 11. American Chemical Society and its Index: Chemical Abstracts Service 12. European Library in Paris (France) 13. DEST Database (Australia) 14. Engineering Information 15. SCOPUS 16. EBSCO 17. EMBASE 18. Compendex (CPX) 19. GEOBASE 20. BIOBASE. 21. BIOTECHNOBASE 22. FLUIDEX 23. OceanBase 24. BEILSTEIN Abstracts 25. World Textiles 26. MEDLINE 27. British Library 28. National Library of Greece 29. German National Library of Science and Technology 30. IARAS Index JOURNALS: BEST PAPERS: The authors of the Best Papers will be invited to send extended versions of their papers after the conference to the Editor-in-Chiefs of WSEAS Journals. These extended versions might be published in the WSEAS Journals after the conference with additional review. This very limited number of high-quality papers will be announced in the Post-Conference report of the Conference. No-show authors will be excluded from any further publication in WSEAS Journals, regardless of the quality of their papers. Additionally, they will be required to pay extra shipping and handling fees in order for the organizing committee to mail out their registration receipt, CD-ROM proceedings, and one volume of the hard-copy proceedings. These journals are covered by: 1. ISI through the INSPEC (IEE) 2. INSPEC (IET, former IEE) 3. CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) 4. ELSEVIER and Elsevier Bibliographic Database 5. ZENTRALBLATT 6. MATHSCINET of AMS (American Mathematical Society) 7. ULRICH 8. MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS of AMS (American Mathematical Society) 9. Computer Science Bibliography Administrator 10. British Library 11. American Chemical Society and its Index: Chemical Abstracts Service 12. European Library in Paris (France) 13. DEST Database (Australia) 14. Swets Information Services 15. Engineering Information 16. SCOPUS 17. EBSCO 18. EMBASE 19. Compendex (CPX) 20. Geobase 21. BIOBASE 22. BIOTECHNOBASE 23. FLUIDEX 24. OceanBase 25. BEILSTEIN Abstracts 26. World Textiles 27. MEDLINE 28. Mayersche 29. Index of Information Systems Journals 30. National Library of Greece: See the link: NLG-Journals 31. IARAS Index STUDENTS COMPETITION: WSEAS will give out prizes for the winners of the students competition. The evaluation will be based on the recommendation of the Chairmen of each Session. The results will be announced at: www.wseas.org/reports MEMBERS of the COMMITTEE: See: http://www.wseas.org/conferences/2008/greece/education/committee.htm TOPICS: Basic Science in Engineering Education. Continuing Education & Its Delivery. Engineering Education Reforms. International Recognition of Qualifications. Studies in Engineering and the needs of the Production and Market. New Technologies in Education. Industry and Education: A Continuous Collaboration. Research and Education. Globalisation in engineering education. Challenges and problems. Management of engineering education. Know-how in engineering education. Environment and engineering education. World Integration and Engineering Education. Women in Engineering Education Computers, Internet, Multimedia in Engineering Education. Changes and Challenges in Engineering Education. Organization of Laboratories. Management of Educational Institutes. Relations between lecturers and students. Methodologies in examinations and relevant problems. Examinations and Tests via Internet. Awards and Education. Linking Academic Knowledge with the Industrial Needs. The Role of Public and Private Sector in the Higher Education. Education Military Universities and Military Academies. Research and development in Engineering Education. Resources and Funds in Engineering Education. Quality Assurance in Engineering Education Cultural Heritage and Engineering Education Athletics and Social Activities in Higher Education Agricultural Bio systems Engineering Education Environmental and Geosystems Engineering Education Mechanical Engineering Education Electric & Electronic Engineering Education Civil Engineering and Architectural Engineering Education Psychological Aspects REGISTRATION FEES: Details: http://www.wseas.org/conferences/2008/greece/education/fees.htm Qualified Colleagues that might help the committee should contact us

Building human resources is essential to economic and social development. Whatever the stage of their development, each Southeast Asian country has tried to address this fundamental issue by improving their higher education system. Holding on to skilled human resources is yet another challenge in the context of global competition for highly qualified human resources. This conference aims at providing a platform for experts from Southeast Asian institutions of higher education to explore three major themes. The first covers faculty development, which is the key human resource for any educational institution that wishes to provide students with the best learning experience. The second theme includes the analysis and evaluation of the role of information technology in the enhancement of teaching and learning. Finally, the issue of transnational higher education will be addressed in order to explore how a foreign educational model can enhance existing higher education institutions in Southeast Asia. Discussion around these three themes, in a comparative context, may shed light on challenges posed by the intensification of the global economy and the fast pace of science and technology development that are both opportunity and threats to the current model of higher education in Southeast Asia.

Having received Royal Assent on the 17th of July, Mental Health Practitioners across the country are now faced with the task of implementing the Mental Health Act 2007. Health Service Journal is delighted to present this timely and essential conference which will provide you with practical guidance on how to turn the policy into practice. Insightful presentations delivered by national authorities and pioneering implementers will enable you to: Implement Supervised Community Treatment (SCT) Utilise new workforce roles Apply the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards Assess the impact of amendments on Black and Ethnic Minority Groups Gain clarification on the changing face of Mental Health Tribunals Establish and commission appropriate advocacy services Develop age appropriate services Who should attend? This conference is essential for all practitioners who need to understand, and abide by, the Mental Health Act 2007. Whether you work at a Mental Health Trust, PCT or Local Authority, attend this conference to gain the tools and knowledge you need to prepare for national roll-out of the new Act. Debate, share and exchange ideas Our panel discussion and Q&A sessions will provide an excellent opportunity for delegates to trade ideas and closely question experts on specific issues. With plenty of time for networking, this is your chance to exchange concerns and benchmark with national authorities and pioneers.

Small animal continuing education: this new veterinary conference brings european specialists to asia to present current therapeutics and diagnostics. The conference will be in Bangkok, Thailand. Congress langauges are english and german

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES - DAY 1 - THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF PERFORMING A NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION – Obtain a more precise history of weakness or numbness. Perform a more complete screening neurological examination. When to use supplementary portions of the exam in selected clinical situations. Common pitfalls and errors in performing the neurological examination. INTERPRETING THE NEUROLOGICAL EXAMINATION: A CASE-BASED APPROACH – Common abnormalities on the neurological examination. Determine whether a lesion is in the central or peripheral nervous system. Categorize weakness and numbness by their patterns of distribution and recognize these patterns as aids to localization. Selected cases which will serve as examples of how to recognize and localize classic problems noted on the neurological examination. CRANIAL NEUROPATHIES: VERTIGO, BELL'S PALSY AND TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA – Clinical features of cranial neuropathies. Techniques available to confirm a diagnosis of cranial neuropathy. Therapeutic modalities available to treat vertigo, Bell’s palsy, and trigeminal neuralgia. VISUAL LOSS AND DOUBLE VISION: NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY FOR THE PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN – Differential diagnosis for patients presenting with acute and chronic monocular loss of vision. Differential diagnosis for patients presenting with horizontal and vertical diplopia. Components of the bedside neurologic exam which will distinguish between the various etiologies of visual loss and diplopia. Therapeutic and prognostic aspects of the specific causes of visual loss and diplopia. DAY 2 - NEURODIAGNOSTICS TESTS: HOW CAN THEY HELP YOU MAKE THE DIAGNOSIS? – Indications for neurodiagnostic studies and answer the questions: Should every seizure patient have an EEG? Should every numb hand have an EMG? False positives and incidental findings obtained from neurodiagnostic testing. Limitations of EMG, EEG and lumbar puncture. Obtaining useful information from neurodiagnostic tests. Advising patients as to what is involved in the performance of these selective neurodiagnostic tests. NEURORADIOLOGY: INTERPRETING THE INTERPRETATIONS OF CAT SCAN AND MRI – Clinical relevance of the findings reviewed in CAT scan and MRI reports. The rationale for ordering neuroradiologic testing. Common neuroradiologic abnormalities. AN EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO GAIT ABNORMALITIES – Common gait abnormalities, both persistent and episodic. Evaluate patients with gait dysfunction using a directed neurological exam and appropriate lab and imaging studies. Categorize persistent gait abnormalities into dysfunction of sensation, power, balance, coordination/posture, and tone. Hysterical gait abnormalities. THE CLINICIAN’S APPROACH TO PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY – The multiple presentations of the neuropathy of diabetes. Differential diagnosis of patients who present with peripheral neuropathy. Diagnostic work-up of patients with peripheral neuropathy. Therapeutic options available for peripheral neuropathy. DAY 3 - ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND OTHER DEMENTIAS – Evaluate patients with dementia and answer the question: What testing should be done in a patient with suspected Alzheimer’s disease? Answer the question: What are the red flags suggesting that special testing for other causes of dementia is appropriate? When to initiate a Cholinesterase inhibitor or NMDA antagonist in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. What interventions for depression and agitation can be most helpful in their patients with Alzheimer’s disease. ESSENTIAL TREMOR AND PARKINSON’S DISEASE – Mild Parkinson’s disease and other disorders that produce parkinsonism. What medications to begin in their patients with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. The intractable patient with Parkinson’s disease or essential tremor and advanced strategies for treatment of these movement disorders including deep brain stimulation. Other types of tremor in addition to those seen in Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IN THE 21ST CENTURY – Clinical features of patients with multiple sclerosis. Diagnostic testing strategy to confirm a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Etiologic questions in multiple sclerosis. Newest therapeutic advances in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. MIGRAINE AND OTHER HEADACHES: A DIAGNOSTIC APPROACH LEADING TO RATIONAL THERAPY – Clinical spectrum of symptoms in patients with migraine headache. Types of headache which can mimic migraine. Newest therapeutic advances in the treatment of migraine headache. DAY 4 - BRAIN ATTACK! ACUTE TREATMENT OF STROKE AND TIA – Imaging studies of the brain and cerebral vessels in the setting of acute cerebrovascular disease. How management of blood pressure, fever, blood sugar and airway can improve the prognosis of stroke patients. Time is brain and what immediate interventions, including thrombolytics, are necessary in stroke patients. Manage and triage patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. HOW TO MINIMIZE YOUR PATIENT’S RISK OF STROKE – Most recent developments in the use of statins and antihypertensive medications in patients with a risk for stroke. Risk factors for stroke. Selecting an antiplatelet or anticoagulant medication after a stroke or TIA. Indications and potential benefits of vascular procedures such as carotid endarterectomy and stenting. THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN, PARTS 1 AND 2 – Current thinking about the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. Clinical features of a patient with neuropathic pain. Pharmacologic options available to treat patients with neuropathic pain. Clinical features which distinguish lumbosacral radiculopathy from other causes of low back pain. Clinical spectrum of lumbosacral radiculopathy. DAY 5 - DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY – Differentiate seizures from syncope, pseudoseizures and other masqueraders. Approach to initiating treatment with anticonvulsants. Use of anticonvulsants in pregnancy and in the elderly. When to stop anticonvulsants. In status epilepticus, time is brain - an approach to treatment to stop status epilepticus in 1 ½ hours or less. SYNCOPE: A REVIEW OF FITS, FAINTS, AND FUNNY SPELLS – Neurologic and non-neurologic causes of syncope. Clinical features of dysautonomia, POTS and neurocardiogenic syncope. Role of diagnostic testing in patients presenting with syncope. Therapeutic options available for patients with dysautonomia and neurocardiogenic syncope. TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM: COMMON SLEEP DISORDERS – Obtaining a sleep history. The utility of these studies and answer the question: Should your sleepy patient get a polysomnogram or multiple sleep latency study? Common sleep disorders such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome. MYASTHENIA GRAVIS AND MYOPATHY – Clinical features of myasthenia gravis and other disorders of the neuromuscular junction. Clinical features and differential diagnosis for patients with myopathy. Diagnostic testing available for patients presenting with symptoms of either myasthenia gravis or myopathy. Therapeutic options available for patients with myasthenia gravis and myopathy.

RecShow '08 to be held at Ishtar-Kempinski Hotel on the Eastern Dead Sea Shores on February 17th through 20th 2008, the conference will preceded with a training day, full details available on the event website.