There is good reason to combine education with microcredit for poverty alleviation in the poor communities of the developing world, including in Indonesia. Poverty is dangerous, it deprives people of their right to education, their right to good health, their right to freedom of speech, their right to democracy, their right to financial services and of course their right to knowledge enhancement, which are all crucial to living a better life. We must therefore, provide services beyond, credits for the poor. In this case, education should be included to each and every development agenda for the poor since it is key to any positive change and sustainable development of people. If well planned and well integrated within the microcredit services, education can serve a good purpose in poverty alleviation. This paper describes how education and microfinance have been used in combination to alleviate poverty in Indonesia, especially in the areas studied. The study uses a multi-cases approach to examine the purposively selected baitul maal tamwil (BMTs) organisations, which are sharia based semiformal microfinance institutions regarded to be among those few integrating education with their financial services.

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Background The role of screen time in promoting obesity among children has been reported in previous studies. However, the effects of different screen types and the dose–response association between screen time and obesity among children is not summarized yet. In the current meta-analysis we systematically summarized the association between obesity and screen time of different screen types in a dose–response analysis. Methods A systematic search from Scopus, PubMed and Embase electronic databases was performed. Studies that evaluated the association between screen time and obesity up to September 2021 were retrieved. We included 45 individual studies that were drawn from nine qualified studies into meta-analysis. Results The results of the two-class meta-analysis showed that those at the highest category of screen time were 1.2 times more likely to develop obesity [odds ratio (OR) = 1.21; confidence interval (CI) = 1.113, 1.317; I2 = 60.4%; P < 0.001). The results of subgrouping identified that setting, obesity status and age group were possible heterogeneity sources. No evidence of non-linear association between increased screen time and obesity risk among children was observed (P-nonlinearity = 0.310). Conclusion In the current systematic review and meta-analysis we revealed a positive association between screen time and obesity among children without any evidence of non-linear association. Due to the cross-sectional design of included studies, we suggest further studies with longitudinal or interventional design to better elucidate the observed associations.

This study aimed to assess the factors that influence the effective implementation of inclusive education, taking into consideration learners with disabilities and other special needs. The study objectives focused on the following key aspects that directly influence the implementation of inclusive education: inclusive policies, attitudes, perceptions, curriculum issues, and learning environment. The study adopted a case study design and employed qualitative approaches in sampling. Participants of the study (N=103) included special needs teachers (N=73) and learners with disabilities (N=30). Data collection was carried out through interviews. Some of the findings were positive, namely the policies on inclusive education were reported to be clear and well-suited to guiding the implementation practice, although some stakeholders were reported to be less committed. Attitudes towards learners with disabilities and other special needs were reported to be increasingly positive in the last decade. The findings on the perceptions of the ability and capability of learners with disabilities and other special needs to benefit from inclusive education drew a mixed reaction-some respondents reported that there were learners who were able to benefit from inclusive settings, while others were not. On the subject of the curriculum, the results revealed that some learners with disabilities and other special needs were capable of benefiting from the regular curriculum, while others would benefit from a special curriculum. Lastly, with regards to environmental factors, the study revealed that adequate preparations were always made to provide a conducive environment for learning in inclusive education settings. A major recommendation was made to draw the attention of policy makers to support inclusive education, which ought to be treated as a right and not a privilege for learners with disabilities and other special needs.

Information processing is difficult to observe by most people because it involves self monitoring of one's thinking. The process under which the cognitive functions is influenced by the rate at which different people analyze and synthesise information. However, though this is true, a measure of the speed in which information is processed is still new within the Indonesian perspective. Currently, there is little or no research on this aspect. In this regard, the present research note briefly explains a research on speed with which students process instructional or classroom information; in both sciences and social science disciplines of senior high school and or universities. The behavioral and performance tendencies displayed by students have not been verified in a concrete and measurable manner. It is therefore, upon this background that we picked interest to scientifically study the rate at which information is processed among students within the Indonesian perspective in an effort to discover the rate at which analysis and synthesization of instructional information in social and science disciplines is conducted. This study was multidiscipline one and new in nature regarding speed of information processing within senior high school and or university students in Indonesia. It integrates neural aspects, information and communication technologies, combined with instructional technology together with biological components to establish how students learn and interpret concepts in their day today classroom sessions, hence lying within the range bio-communication, health communication and of course instructional communication in education. The methodology and tools used in the present study were the Laboratory Experiment method and Electroencephalography-a method that involves monitoring of the electrical functions of the brain, including information processing among learners.