Search results for: interactive reading program

Authors: Juliani Rianto, Emma Lumby, Tracey Smith

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Cancer patients’ survival are growing with the new approach and therapy in oncology medicine. Cancer is now a new chronic disease, and rehabilitation program has become an ongoing program as part of cancer care. The focus of Cancer rehabilitation is maximising person’s physical and emotional function, stabilising general health and reducing unnecessary hospital admission. In Australia there are 150000 newly diagnosed cancer every year, and the most common Cancer are prostate, Breast, Colorectal, Melanoma and Lung Cancer. Through referral from the oncology team, we recruited cancer patient into our cancer rehabilitation program. Patients are assessed by our multi-disciplinary team including rehabilitation specialist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, dietician, exercise physiologist, and psychologist. Specific issues are identified, including pain, side effect of chemo and radiation therapy and mental well-being. The goals were identified and reassessed every fortnight. Common goals including nutritional status, improve endurance and exercise performance, working on balance and mobility, improving emotional and vocational state, educational program for insomnia and tiredness, and reducing hospitalisation are identified and assessed. Patients are given 2 hours exercise program twice a week for 6 weeks with focus on aerobic and weight exercises and education sessions. Patients are generally benefited from the program. The quality of life is improved, support and interaction from the therapist has played an important factor in directing patient for their goals.

Keywords: cancer, exercises, benefit, mental health

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Authors: Wirat Sonchan, Pratoom Moungmee, Anek Sootmongkol

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This study aimed to examine the effects of a circuit training program on muscle strength, agility, anaerobic performance and cardiovascular endurance. The study involved 24 freshmen (age 18.87+0.68 yr.) male students of the Faculty of Sport Science, Burapha University. They sample study were randomly divided into two groups: Circuit Training group (CT; n=12) and a Control group (C; n=12). Baseline data on height, weight, muscle strength (hand grip dynamometer and leg strength dynamometer), agility (agility T-Test), and anaerobic performance (Running-based Anaerobic Sprint Test) and cardiovascular endurance (20 m Endurance Shuttle Run Test) were collected. The circuit training program included one circuit of eight stations of 30/60 seconds of work/rest interval with two cycles in Week 1-4, and 60/90 seconds of work/rest interval with three cycles in Week 5-8, performed three times per week. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and independent sample t-test. Statistically significance level was set at 0.05. The results show that after 8 weeks of a training program, muscle strength, agility, anaerobic capacity and cardiovascular endurance increased significantly in the CT Group (p < 0.05), while significant increase was not observed in the C Group (p < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that the circuit training program improved muscle strength, agility, anaerobic capacity and cardiovascular endurance of the study subjects. This program may be used as a guideline for selecting a set of exercise to improve physical fitness.

Keywords: circuit training, physical fitness, cardiovascular endurance, anaerobic performance

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Authors: Mona Yacoub, Ahmed Amin Mousa

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The current work presents a program for children in Egypt. This program involved a collection of artistic activities that purposes to improve some language, artistic skills of kindergarten children. The researchers have prepared a questionnaire for the link between the target group and the content. The questionnaire has been presented to experts for adjudicating. The program was applied to a group of 30 children. Another questionnaire has been prepared by the researchers for measuring the activities’ effect on the children. The second questionnaire was considered as the pre-test and post-test. Finally, after applying the activities and the questionnaire, the researchers detected a significant difference in favor of the post-test results.

Keywords: Developing, concepts, kindergarten, children, graphic activities

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Authors: Ruth Estrada Javier - Reyes

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The study assessed the status of HTM program of selected private higher education institutions for internationalization across the eleven regions of the country. The descriptive survey method of research was used in this study. A devised survey questionnaire was utilized to gather information about the status of Philippine Higher Education Institutions’ internationalization of hospitality and tourism management education programs. The respondents were 12 administrators, 17 deans and program heads, 104 faculty members and 860 HTM students. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and F-test were used to treat the data. The results of the study are as follows: HEIs’ HTM education had complied with the policies/standards of CHED as per CMO No. 30 S. 2006. The respondents of the HTM education program were qualified for internationalization as assessed both by administrators and faculty. The private HEIs are ready to apply for international certification of their HTM education programs. The curriculum of HTM education programs in private HEIs are enriched by internationalization requirements. The administrators and faculty of HTM education programs are qualified educators but have limited participation in collaborative international research and linkages. The HEIs are qualified to apply for the internationalization of the Hospitality and Tourism Management education program in preparation to the ASEAN 2015.

Keywords: status, Hospitality and Tourism Management Program, internationalization, Private Higher Education Institutions

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Authors: C. Suphioglu , V. Simbag, J. Markham, C. Coady, S. Belward, G. Di Trapani, P. Chunduri, J. Chuck, Y. Hodgson, L. Lluka, L. Poladian, D. Watters

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Advances in science have made quantitative skills (QS) an essential graduate outcome for undergraduate science programs in Australia and other parts of the world. However, many students entering into degrees in Australian universities either lack these skills or have little confidence in their ability to apply them in their biological science units. It has been previously reported that integration of quantitative skills into life science programs appears to have a positive effect on student attitudes towards the importance of mathematics and statistics in biological sciences. It has also been noted that there is deficiency in QS resources available and applicable to undergraduate science students in Australia. MathBench (http://mathbench.umd.edu) is a series of online modules involving quantitative biology scenarios developed by the University of Maryland. Through collaboration with Australian universities, a project was funded by the Australian government through its Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) to develop customized MathBench biology modules to promote the quantitative skills of undergraduate biology students in Australia. This presentation will focus on the assessment of changes in performance, perception and attitude of students in a third year Cellular Physiology unit after use of interactive online cellular diffusion modules modified for the Australian context. The modules have been designed to integrate QS into the biological science curriculum using familiar scenarios and informal language and providing students with the opportunity to review solutions to diffusion QS-related problems with interactive graphics. This paper will discuss results of pre and post MathBench quizzes composed of general and module specific questions that assessed change in student QS after MathBench; and pre and post surveys, administered before and after using MathBench modules to evaluate the students’ change in perception towards the influence of the modules, their attitude towards QS and on the development of their confidence in completing the inquiry-based activity as well as changes to their appreciation of the relevance of mathematics to cellular processes. Results will be compared to changes reported by Thompson et al., (2010) at the University of Maryland and implications for further integration of interactive online activities in the curriculum will be explored and discussed.

Keywords: quantitative skills, MathBench, maths in biology

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Authors: Julio Lavarello-Salinas, Verónica Kramm-Vergara, Pedro Gil-La Orden

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health became a relevant factor in people’s performance within organizations. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of an organizational intervention program on the psychosocial factors of demands, resources, and the consequences of psychosocial risks in a technology services company during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quasi-experimental study was carried out with 105 employees who took part in an eight-week intervention program divided into two large stages. Pre- and post- measurements were collected using the UNIPSICO Questionnaire, considering its factors of demands, resources, and consequences of psychosocial risks. The Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) was also included. The results showed significant improvements in the perception of some psychosocial demand factors, all the resource factors, and all the consequences of psychosocial risks, except the guilt dimension of the SBI. Thus, we can conclude that the program was effective and that the study limitations should be improved in future studies.

Keywords: UNIPSICO questionnaire, occupational health, work stress, work psychosocial risk

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Authors: Taher Eid Shaaban Ahmed Mousa

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Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major cause of multiple liver disorders, which strongly linked to a poor lifestyle. This study aiming to elucidate the exercise program’s effectiveness on hepatic fat mobilization among nonalcoholic fatty liver patients. Subjects: A purposive sample of 150 adult male & female patients. Setting: National institute of liver out patient's clinics of Menoufia University. Tools: three tools I: An interviewing structured questionnaire, II: International Physical Activity Questionnaire, III: compliance assessment sheet. Results: There was statistically significant difference pre and post exercise program regarding total body weight, physical activity level and compliance that prevent new fat development with resolution of existing one. Conclusion: regular exercise is the best implemented approach as an initial step for the prevention, treatment and management of NAFLD. Recommendation: It is highly important to unravel the mechanism and dose by which each exercise specifically resolve various stages of liver diseases.

Keywords: exercise program, hebatic fat mobilization, nonalcoholic fatty liver patients, sport science

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Authors: Chorom Baek, Sungwon Choi

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The purpose of this study is to analyze the supervision system, and the training and continuing education of mental health professionals in USA, UK, Australia (New Zealand), Japan, and so on, and to deduce the implications of Korean mental health service system. In order to accomplish the purpose of this study, following methodologies were adopted: review on the related literatures, statistical data, the related manuals, online materials, and previous studies concerning issues in those countries for the past five years. The training program in Korea was compared with the others’ through this literature analysis. The induced matters were divided with some parts such as training program, continuing education, educational procedure, and curriculum. Based on the analysis, discussion and implications, the conclusion and further suggestion of this study are as follows: First, Korean Clinical Psychology of Association (KCPA) should become more powerful health main training agency for quality control. Second, actual authority of health main training agency should be a grant to training centers. Third, quality control of mental health professionals should be through standardization and systemization of promotion and qualification management. Fourth, education and training about work of supervisors and unification of criteria for supervision should be held. Fifth, the training program for mental health license should be offered by graduate schools. Sixth, legitimated system to protect the right of mental health trainees is needed. Seventh, regularly continuing education after licensed should be compulsory to keep the certification. Eighth, the training program in training centers should meet KCPA requirement. If not, KCPA can cancel the certification of the centers.

Keywords: clinical psychology, Korea, mental health system, training program

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Authors: Kunthida Kulprateepunya, Napat Boontiam, Bunthita Phuasa, Chatsuda Kankayant, Bantoeng Polsawat, Sumran Poontong

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Frailty is the thin line between good health and illness. The syndrome is more common in the elderly who transition from strong to weak. (Vulnerability). Fragility can prevent and promote healthy recovery before it goes into disability. This research and development aim to analyze the situation analysis of frailty of the elderly, develop a program, and evaluate the effect of a health promotion program to prevent and solve the problem of frailty among the elderly. The research consisted of 3 phases: 1) analysis of the frailty situation, 2) development of a model, 3) evaluation of the effectiveness of the model. Samples were 328, 122 elderlies using the multi-stage random sampling method. The research instrument was a frailty questionnaire use of the five symptoms, the main characteristics were muscle weakness, slow walking, low physical activity. Fatigue and unintentional weight loss, criteria frailty use more than or equal to three or more symptoms are frailty. Data were analyzed by descriptive and t-test dependent test statistics. The findings showed three parts. First, frailty in the elderly was 23.05 percentage and 56.70% pre-frailty. Second, it was development of a health promotion program to prevent and solve the problem of frailty the elderly with a combination of Nine-Square Exercise, Elastic Band Exercise, Elastic Coconut Shell. Third, evaluation of the effectiveness of the model by comparison of the elderly's get up and go test, the average time before using the program was 14.42 and after using the program was 8.57. It was statistically significant at the .05 level. In conclusion, the findings can used to develop guidelines to promote the health of the frailty elderly.

Keywords: elderly, fragile, nine-square exercise, elastic coconut shell

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Authors: Claudio Burguez, María Castelló, Mikaela Pisani, Marcos Umpiérrez

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BIOFEEDBACK exhibition offers a unique experience for each visitor, combining art, neuroscience, and technology in an interactive way. Using a headband that captures the bioelectric activity of the brain, the visitors are able to generate sound and images in a sequence loop, making them an integral part of the artwork. Through this interactive exhibit, visitors gain a deeper appreciation of the beauty and complexity of the brain. As a special takeaway, visitors will receive an NFT as a present, allowing them to continue their engagement with the exhibition beyond the physical space. We used the EEG Biofeedback technique following a closed-loop neuroscience approach, transforming EEG data captured by a Muse S headband in real-time into audiovisual stimulation. PureData is used for sound generation and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for image generation. Thirty participants have experienced the exhibition. For some individuals, it was easier to focus than others. Participants who said they could focus during the exhibit stated that at one point, they felt that they could control the sound, while images were more abstract, and they did not feel that they were able to control them.

Keywords: art, audiovisual, biofeedback, EEG, NFT, neuroscience, technology

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Authors: Ioanna Taouki, Marie Lallier, David Soto

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Metacognition refers to the capacity to reflect upon our own cognitive processes. Although there is an ongoing discussion in the literature on the role of metacognition in learning and academic achievement, little is known about its neurodevelopmental trajectories in early childhood, when children begin to receive formal education in reading. Here, we evaluate the metacognitive ability, estimated under a recently developed Signal Detection Theory model, of a cohort of children aged between 6 and 7 (N=60), who performed three two-alternative-forced-choice tasks (two linguistic: lexical decision task, visual attention span task, and one non-linguistic: emotion recognition task) including trial-by-trial confidence judgements. Our study has three aims. First, we investigated how metacognitive ability (i.e., how confidence ratings track accuracy in the task) relates to performance in general standardized tasks related to students' reading and general cognitive abilities using Spearman's and Bayesian correlation analysis. Second, we assessed whether or not young children recruit common mechanisms supporting metacognition across the different task domains or whether there is evidence for domain-specific metacognition at this early stage of development. This was done by examining correlations in metacognitive measures across different task domains and evaluating cross-task covariance by applying a hierarchical Bayesian model. Third, using robust linear regression and Bayesian regression models, we assessed whether metacognitive ability in this early stage is related to the longitudinal learning of children in a linguistic and a non-linguistic task. Notably, we did not observe any association between students’ reading skills and metacognitive processing in this early stage of reading acquisition. Some evidence consistent with domain-general metacognition was found, with significant positive correlations between metacognitive efficiency between lexical and emotion recognition tasks and substantial covariance indicated by the Bayesian model. However, no reliable correlations were found between metacognitive performance in the visual attention span and the remaining tasks. Remarkably, metacognitive ability significantly predicted children's learning in linguistic and non-linguistic domains a year later. These results suggest that metacognitive skill may be dissociated to some extent from general (i.e., language and attention) abilities and further stress the importance of creating educational programs that foster students’ metacognitive ability as a tool for long term learning. More research is crucial to understand whether these programs can enhance metacognitive ability as a transferable skill across distinct domains or whether unique domains should be targeted separately.

Keywords: confidence ratings, development, metacognitive efficiency, reading acquisition

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Authors: Y. Salfati, D. Sharef Bussel, J. Zamir

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In this paper, we present an Evaluation Case Study implementing the eight principles of Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation (CAE) as designed by Brad Cousins in the past decade. The focus of this paper is sharing a rich experience in which we achieved two main goals. The first was the development of a valuable and meaningful new teacher training program, and the second was a successful implementation of the CAE principles. The innovative teacher training program is based on the idea of including physical movement during the process of teaching and learning academic themes. The program is called Learning through Movement. This program is a response to a call from the Ministry of Education, claiming that today children sit in front of screens and do not exercise any physical activity. In order to contribute to children’s health, physical, and cognitive development, the Ministry of Education promotes learning through physical activities. Research supports the idea that sports and physical exercise improve academic achievements. The Learning through Movement program is operated by Kaye Academic College. Students in the Elementary School Training Program, together with students in the Physical Education Training Program, implement the program in collaboration with two mentors from the College. The program combines academic learning with physical activity. The evaluation began at the beginning of the program. During the evaluation process, data was collected by means of qualitative tools, including interviews with mentors, observations during the students’ collaborative planning, class observations at school and focus groups with students, as well as the collection of documentation related to the teamwork and to the program itself. The data was analyzed using content analysis and triangulation. The preliminary results show outcomes relating to the Teacher Training Programs, the student teachers, the pupils in class, the role of Physical Education teachers, and the evaluation. The Teacher Training Programs developed a collaborative approach to lesson planning. The students' teachers demonstrated a change in their basic attitudes towards the idea of integrating physical activities during the lessons. The pupils indicated higher motivation through full participation in classes. These three outcomes are indicators of the success of the program. An additional significant outcome of the program relates to the status and role of the physical education teachers, changing their role from marginal to central in the school. Concerning evaluation, a deep sense of trust and confidence was achieved, between the evaluator and the whole team. The paper includes the perspectives and challenges of the heads and mentors of the two programs as well as the evaluator’s conclusions. The evaluation unveils challenges in conducting a CAE evaluation in such a complex setting.

Keywords: collaborative evaluation, training teachers, learning through movement

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Authors: Yousif Mohamed Y. Abdallah, Mommen A. Alkhir, Amel S. Algaddal

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This was experimental study conducted to study segmentation of brain in MRI images using edge detection and morphology filters. For brain MRI images each film scanned using digitizer scanner then treated by using image processing program (MatLab), where the segmentation was studied. The scanned image was saved in a TIFF file format to preserve the quality of the image. Brain tissue can be easily detected in MRI image if the object has sufficient contrast from the background. We use edge detection and basic morphology tools to detect a brain. The segmentation of MRI images steps using detection and morphology filters were image reading, detection entire brain, dilation of the image, filling interior gaps inside the image, removal connected objects on borders and smoothen the object (brain). The results of this study were that it showed an alternate method for displaying the segmented object would be to place an outline around the segmented brain. Those filters approaches can help in removal of unwanted background information and increase diagnostic information of Brain MRI.

Keywords: improvement, brain, matlab, markers, boundaries

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Authors: Kumar Dron Shrivastav, Ankan Mukherjee Das, Arti Taneja, Harpreet Singh, Priya Ranjan, Rajiv Janardhanan

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Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancer among women worldwide which can be cured if detected early. Manual pathology which is typically utilized at present has many limitations. The current gold standard for cervical cancer diagnosis is exhaustive and time-consuming because it relies heavily on the subjective knowledge of the oncopathologists which leads to mis-diagnosis and missed diagnosis resulting false negative and false positive. To reduce time and complexities associated with early diagnosis, we require an interactive diagnostic tool for early detection particularly in developing countries where cervical cancer incidence and related mortality is high. Incorporation of digital pathology in place of manual pathology for cervical cancer screening and diagnosis can increase the precision and strongly reduce the chances of error in a time-specific manner. Thus, we propose a robust and interactive cervical cancer image analysis and diagnostic tool, which can categorically process both histopatholgical and cytopathological images to identify abnormal cells in the least amount of time and settings with minimum resources. Furthermore, incorporation of a set of specific parameters that are typically referred to for identification of abnormal cells with the help of open source software -’R’ is one of the major highlights of the tool. The software has the ability to automatically identify and quantify the morphological features, color intensity, sensitivity and other parameters digitally to differentiate abnormal from normal cells, which may improve and accelerate screening and early diagnosis, ultimately leading to timely treatment of cervical cancer.

Keywords: cervical cancer, early detection, digital Pathology, screening

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Authors: Roongtiwa Chobchuen, Angkana Srikhan, Pattra Wattanapan

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Background: Neurogenic bowel is common condition after spinal cord injury. Most of spinal cord injured patients have motor weakness, mobility impairment which leads to constipation. Moreover, the neural pathway involving bowel function is interrupted. Therefore, the bowel management program should be implemented in nursing care in the earliest time after the onset of the disease to prevent the morbidity and mortality. Objective: To study the outcome of bowel management program of the patients with spinal cord injury who admitted for rehabilitation program. Study design: Descriptive study. Setting: Rehabilitation ward in Srinagarind Hospital. Populations: patients with subacute to chronic spinal cord injury who admitted at rehabilitation ward, Srinagarind hospital, aged over 18 years old. Instrument: The neurogenic bowel dysfunction score (NBDS) was used to determine the severity of neurogenic bowel. Procedure and statistical analysis: All participants were asked to complete the demographic data; age gender, duration of disease, diagnosis. The individual bowel function was assessed using NBDS at admission. The patients and caregivers were trained by nurses about the bowel management program which consisted of diet modification, abdominal massage, digital stimulation, stool evacuation including medication and physical activity. The outcome of the bowel management program was assessed by NBDS at discharge. The chi-square test was used to detect the difference in severity of neurogenic bowel at admission and discharge. Results: Sixteen spinal cord injured patients were enrolled in the study (age 45 ± 17 years old, 69% were male). Most of them (50%) were tetraplegia. On the admission, 12.5%, 12.5%, 43.75% and 31.25% were categorized as very minor (NBDS 0-6), minor (NBDS 7-9), moderate (NBDS 10-13) and severe (NBDS 14+) respectively. The severity of neurogenic bowel was decreased significantly at discharge (56.25%, 18.755%, 18.75% and 6.25% for very minor, minor, moderate and severe group respectively; p < 0.001) compared with NBDS at admission. Conclusions: Implementation of the effective bowel program decrease the severity of the neurogenic bowel in patient with spinal cord injury.

Keywords: neurogenic bowel, NBDS, spinal cord injury, bowel program

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Authors: Pei-Fan Mu

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Background: Lung cancer is the most common cancer with the highest mortality rate. Patients with lung cancer under chemotherapy treatment experience life-threatening uncertainty. This study was based on the broaden-and-build theory using intentionality reflection of the body and internalization of positive prioritization strategies to enhance positive emotions of patients with lung cancer. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use a quasi-experimental research design to examine the effectiveness of the enhancing positive emotion program. Method: Data were collected from a medical center in Taiwan. Fifty-four participants with lung cancer were recruited. Thirty participants were in the experiential group receiving the two weeks program. The content of the program includes awareness and understanding of the symptom experience, co-existing with illness and establishing self-identity, cognitive-emotion adjustment and establishing a new body schema, and symptom management to reach spiritual well-being. Twenty-four participants were in the control group receiving regular nursing care. Baseline, one month later and two months later, programmed measurements of symptoms of distress, positive emotion, and psychological well-being. Results: These two weeks of enhancing the positive emotion program resulted in a significantly improved positive emotion score for the experimental group compared to the control group. The findings of this study indicated that the positive emotion had significant differences between the two groups. There were no differences in symptom distress between the two groups. Discussion: The findings indicated that the enhancing positive emotion program could help patients enhance their life-threatening facing conditions.

Keywords: positive emotion, lung cancer, experimental design, symptom distress

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Authors: A. Wolfe

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Dayo Forster’s impressively crafted Reading the Ceiling (2007) enjoys a relatively high profile among Western readers. It is one of only a handful of Gambian novels to be published by an international publisher, Simon and Schuster of London, and was subsequently shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Best First Book Prize in 2008. It is currently available to US readers in print and as an e-book and has 167 ratings on Goodreads. This paper addresses the possible influence of the book on Western readers’ perception of The Gambia, or Africa in general, through its depiction of the conditions of Gambian women’s lives. Through a close reading of passages and analysis of imagery, intertextuality, and characterization in the book, the paper demonstrates that Forster portrays the culture of The Gambia as oppressively patriarchal and the prospects for young girls who stay in the country as extremely limited. Reading the Ceiling starts on Ayodele’s 18th birthday, the day she has planned to have sex for the first time. Most of the rest of the book is divided into three parts, each following the chain of events that occur after sex with a potential partner. Although Ayodele goes abroad for her education in each of the three scenarios, she ultimately capitulates to the patriarchal politics and demands of marriage and childrearing in The Gambia, settling for relationships with men she does not love, cooking and cleaning for husbands and children, and silencing her own opinions and desires in exchange for the familiar traditions of patriarchal—and, in one case, polygamous—marriage. Each scenario ends with resignation to death, as, after her mother’s funeral, Ayodele admits to herself that she will be next. Forster uses dust and mud imagery throughout the novel to indicate the dinginess of Ayodele’s life as a young woman, and then wife and mother, in The Gambia as well as the inescapability of this life. This depiction of earthen material is also present in the novel’s recounting of an oral tale about a mermaid captured by fishermen, a story that mirrors Ayodele’s ensnarement by traditional marriage customs and gender norms. A review of the fate of other characters in the novel reveals that Ayodele is not the only woman who becomes trapped by the expectations for women in The Gambia, as those who stay in the country end up subservient to their husbands and/or victims of men’s habitual infidelity. It is important to note that Reading the Ceiling is focused on the experiences of a minority—The Gambia’s middle class, Christian urban dwellers with money for education. Regardless of its limited scope, the novel clearly depicts The Gambia as a place where women are simply unable to successfully contend against traditional patriarchal norms. Although this novel evokes vivid imagery of The Gambia through original and compelling descriptions of food preparation, clothing, and scenery, it perhaps does little to challenge stereotypical perceptions of the lives of African women among a Western readership.

Keywords: African literature, commonwealth literature, marriage, stereotypes, women

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Authors: Saeedeh Eshkil, Seyedeh Farnaz Mousavi, Hamid Reza Kianifar, Seyed Java Sayyedi, Mehdi Sohrabi, Elham Bakhtiari, Morteza Mashoughi, Ezzat Khodashenas

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Background: The effect of the SPARK physical education program on lung function in cystic fibrosis patients is not yet determined.).SPARK is Sports, play and active recreation for kids, including moving skills, aerobic games, jogging or walking, aerobic dance and jump rope. Regarding the high prevalence of cystic fibrosis and its destructive effects on the lungs, the aim of this study is to evaluate lung function and quality of life before and after undergoing the SPARK physical education program in children with cystic fibrosis. Method: In this quasi-experimental study, all patients with cystic fibrosis aged 6-18 years referred to the cystic fibrosis clinic of Dr. Sheikh Hospital were enrolled. The patients went under 12 weeks of SPARK training program (3 sessions per week, each session 45 minutes). The quality of life questionnaire ( Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire includes self-examination, parental ) for patients with cystic fibrosis and spirometry indices (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75) was filled out before and after intervention for all patients. Results The mean and standard deviation of patients' age were 9.85±2.67 years, and 65% of patients were female. The FEV1 was significantly different before and after the SPARK physical education program (P=0.03), and the respiratory component of quality of life significantly increased after intervention (P=0.002). The overall score of quality of life from parents’ point of view was 2.87 ± 0.38, which increased to 2.99 ± 0.38 after the intervention. Conclusion: The SPARK training program may improve the spirometric parameters in children with cystic fibrosis. It also had a significant effect on improving the quality of life of patients, especially in the respiratory component.

Keywords: cystic fibrosis, pediatrics, SPARK motor program, spirometry

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Authors: Riccardo Bonazzi, Michaël Poli, Abeba Nigussie Turi

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This paper presents an applied research of a new module for the financial administration and management industry, Personalizable and Automated Checklists Integrator, Overseeing Legal Investigations (PACIOLI). It aims at designing the business model of the trust company of the future. By identifying the key stakeholders, we draw a general business process design of the industry. The business model focuses on disintermediating the traditional form of business through the new technological solutions of a software company based in Switzerland and hence creating a new interactive platform. The key stakeholders of this interactive platform are identified as IT experts, legal experts, and the New Edge Trust Company (NATC). The mechanism we design and propose has a great importance in improving the efficiency of the financial business administration and management industry, and it also helps to foster the provision of high value added services in the sector.

Keywords: new edge trust company, business model design, automated checklists, financial technology

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Authors: Ming Wen, Nasim Nezamoddini

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Sophisticated numerical simulations like finite element analysis (FEA) involve a complicated process from model setup to post-processing tasks that require replication of time-consuming steps. Utilizing FEA automation program simplifies the complexity of the involved steps while minimizing human errors in analysis set up, calculations, and results processing. One of the main challenges in designing FEA automation programs is to identify user requirements and link them to possible design alternatives. This paper presents a decision-making framework to design a Python based FEA automation program for modal analysis, frequency response analysis, and random vibration fatigue (RVF) analysis procedures. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) are applied to evaluate design alternatives considering the feedback received from experts and program users.

Keywords: finite element analysis, FEA, random vibration fatigue, process automation, analytical hierarchy process, AHP, TOPSIS, multiple-criteria decision-making, MCDM

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Authors: Yang Cao

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Analyzing the oral production of Chinese-speaking learners of English as a second language (L2), we can find a large variety of verb inflections – Why does it seem so hard for them to use consistent correct past morphologies in obligatory past contexts? Failed Functional Features Hypothesis (FFFH) attributes the rather non-target-like performance to the absence of [±past] feature in their L1 Chinese, arguing that for post puberty learners, new features in L2 are no more accessible. By contrast, Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis (MSIH) tends to believe that all features are actually acquirable for late L2 learners, while due to the mapping difficulties from features to forms, it is hard for them to realize the consistent past morphologies on the surface. However, most of the studies are limited to the verb morphologies in finite clauses and few studies have ever attempted to figure out these learners’ performance in non-finite clauses. Additionally, it has been discussed that Chinese learners may be able to tell the finite/infinite distinction (i.e. the [±finite] feature might be selected in Chinese, even though the existence of [±past] is denied). Therefore, adopting a self-paced reading task (SPR), the current study aims to analyze the processing patterns of Chinese-speaking learners of L2 Russian, in order to find out if they are sensitive to misuse of tense morphologies in both finite and non-finite clauses and whether they are sensitive to the finite/infinite distinction presented in Russian. The study targets L2 Russian due to its systematic morphologies in both present and past tenses. A native Russian group, as well as a group of English-speaking learners of Russian, whose L1 has definitely selected both [±finite] and [±past] features, will also be involved. By comparing and contrasting performance of the three language groups, the study is going to further examine and discuss the two theories, FFFH and MSIH. Preliminary hypotheses are: a) Russian native speakers are expected to spend longer time reading the verb forms which violate the grammar; b) it is expected that Chinese participants are, at least, sensitive to the misuse of inflected verbs in non-finite clauses, although no sensitivity to the misuse of infinitives in finite clauses might be found. Therefore, an interaction of finite and grammaticality is expected to be found, which indicate that these learners are able to tell the finite/infinite distinction; and c) having selected [±finite] and [±past], English-speaking learners of Russian are expected to behave target-likely, supporting L1 transfer.

Keywords: features, finite clauses, morphosyntax, non-finite clauses, past morphologies, present morphologies, Second Language Acquisition, self-paced reading task, verb inflections

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Authors: Xi Vivien Wu, Emily Neo Kim Ang, Yi Jung Tung, Wenru Wang

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Background and Objective: The increase in life expectancy and emphasis on self-reliance for the older adults are global phenomena. As such, lifelong learning in the community is considered a viable means of promoting successful and active aging. This systematic review aims to examine various lifelong learning programs for community-dwelling older adults and to synthesize the contents and outcomes of these lifelong learning programs. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in July to December 2016. Two reviewers were engaged in the process to ensure creditability of the selection process. Narrative description and analysis were applied with the support of a tabulation of key data including study design, interventions, and outcomes. Results: Eleven articles, which consisted of five randomized controlled trials and six quasi-experimental studies, were included in this review. Interventions included e-health literacy programs with the aid of computers and the Internet (n=4), computer and Internet training (n=3), physical fitness programs (n=2), music program (n=1), and intergenerational program (n=1). All studies used objective measurement tools to evaluate the outcomes of the study. Conclusion: The systematic review indicated lifelong learning programs resulted in positive outcomes in terms of physical health, mental health, social behavior, social support, self-efficacy and confidence in computer usage, and increased e-health literacy efficacy. However, the lifelong learning programs face challenges such as funding shortages, program cuts, and increasing costs. A comprehensive lifelong learning program could be developed to enhance the well-being of the older adults at a more holistic level. Empirical research can be done to explore the effectiveness of this comprehensive lifelong learning program.

Keywords: community-dwelling older adults, e-health literacy program, lifelong learning program, the wellbeing of the older adults

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Authors: Samar Swaid

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Today, corporates are moving toward the adoption of Design-Thinking techniques to develop products and services, putting their consumer as the heart of the development process. One of the leading companies in Design-Thinking, IDEO (Innovation, Design, Engineering Organization), defines Design-Thinking as an approach to problem-solving that relies on a set of multi-layered skills, processes, and mindsets that help people generate novel solutions to problems. Design thinking may result in new ideas, narratives, objects or systems. It is about redesigning systems, organizations, infrastructures, processes, and solutions in an innovative fashion based on the users' feedback. Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO, sees design thinking as a human-centered approach that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate people's needs, innovative technologies, and business requirements. The application of design thinking has been witnessed to be the road to developing innovative applications, interactive systems, scientific software, healthcare application, and even to utilizing Design-Thinking to re-think business operations, as in the case of Airbnb. Recently, there has been a movement to apply design thinking to machine learning and artificial intelligence to ensure creating the "wow" effect on consumers. The Association of Computing Machinery task force on Data Science program states that" Data scientists should be able to implement and understand algorithms for data collection and analysis. They should understand the time and space considerations of algorithms. They should follow good design principles developing software, understanding the importance of those principles for testability and maintainability" However, this definition hides the user behind the machine who works on data preparation, algorithm selection and model interpretation. Thus, the Data Science program includes design thinking to ensure meeting the user demands, generating more usable machine learning tools, and developing ways of framing computational thinking. Here, describe the fundamentals of Design-Thinking and teaching modules for data science programs.

Keywords: data science, design thinking, AI, currculum, transformation

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Authors: Rima Abu Jaber-Bransi, Rawya Jarjoura Burbara

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This study reveals the extension and continuity between the classical Arabic poetry and modern Arabic poetry through investigation of its ambiguity, symbolism, and antithetical relationships. The significance of this study lies in its exploration and discovering of a new method of reading classical and modern Arabic poetry. The study deals with the Fatimid poetry and discovers a new method to read it. It also deals with the relationship between the apparent and the hidden meanings of words through focusing on how the paradoxical antithetical relationships change the meaning of the whole poem and give it a different dimension through the use of Oxymorons. In our unprecedented research on Oxymoron, we found out that the words in modern Arabic poetry are used in unusual combinations that convey apparent and hidden meanings. In some cases, the poet introduces an image with a symbol of a certain thing, but the reader soon discovers that the symbol includes its opposite, too. The question is: How does the reader find that hidden harmony in that apparent disharmony? The first and most important conclusion of this study is that the Fatimid poetry was written for two types of readers: religious readers who know the religious symbols and the hidden secret meanings behind the words, and ordinary readers who understand the apparent literal meaning of the words. Consequently, the interpretation of the poem is subject to the type of reading. In Fatimid poetry we found out that the hunting-journey is a journey of hidden esoteric knowledge; the Horse is al-Naqib, a religious rank of the investigator and missionary; the Lion is Ali Ibn Abi Talib. The words black and white, day and night, bird, death and murder have different meanings and indications. Our study points out the importance of reading certain poems in certain periods in two different ways: the first depends on a doctrinal interpretation that transforms the external apparent (ẓāher) meanings into internal inner hidden esoteric (bāṭen) ones; the second depends on the interpretation of antithetical relationships between the words in order to reveal meanings that the poet hid for a reader who participates in the processes of creativity. The second conclusion is that the classical poem employed symbols, oxymora and antonymous and antithetical forms to create two poetic texts in one mold and form. We can conclude that this study is pioneering in showing the constant paradoxical relationship between the apparent and the hidden meanings in classical and modern Arabic poetry.

Keywords: apparent, symbol, hidden, antithetical, oxymoron, Sophism, Fatimid poetry

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Authors: Steffany Anne Poblador, Ruben Jr. Tagare

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The Philippine Education System is now undergoing transition as a result of the implementation of Republic Act 10533, commonly referred to as the Enhanced Basic Education Act. Since its implementation in 2013, researchers have been examining the initial impact of this transition; however, investigations into the gains and drawbacks of the Philippine Senior High School Sports Track Program based on teachers’ assessment were scarcely adequate. As a result, this research used a Qualitative Phenomenology Research Design to elicit information on the gains and drawbacks faced by these instructors. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and extensive field observation were conducted with participants from selected schools in Cotabato Province. During the triangulation of the data, five (5) significant themes for gains and six (6) concerns from the research participants emerged. The findings were then used to provide recommendations for a more effective implementation of the Sports Track Program in the Philippine Senior High School program.

Keywords: teachers’ gains and drawbacks, Philippine K to 12 problems, K to 12 transition years, favorable experiences, phenomenology

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Authors: Silvia Gagliardi, Orlaith Rice

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This article provides a qualitative evaluation of 'Gaisce - The President's Award' for youth in Irish prisons. Building on previous research on Gaisce, this article makes space for marginalized voices to provide their own feedback on the program they participate in while in custody. Both strengths and limitations in undertaking a positive youth development program in prison are identified and examined. More research with vulnerable and marginalized participants, such as youth in prison, is recommended as a way to further improve youth development programs and thus enhance the opportunities for self-development and psychological wellbeing for youth, including in custodial settings.

Keywords: Gaisce, president's award, youth development program, youth in custody, hope, psychological wellbeing, Ireland, qualitative research, covid-19

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Authors: Diego Roberto Goncalves De Pontes, Sergio Donizetti Zorzo

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Studies show that most users do not read privacy policies from the online services they use. Some authors claim that one of the main causes of this is that policies are long and usually hard to understand, which make users lose interest in reading them. In this scenario, users may agree with terms without knowing what kind of data is being collected and why. Given that, we aimed to develop a model that would present the privacy policies contents in an easy and graphical way for the user to understand. We call it the Privacy Label. Using information recovery techniques, we propose an architecture that is able to extract information about what kind of data is being collected and to what end in the policies and show it to the user in an automated way. To assess our model, we calculated the precision, recall and f-measure metrics on the information extracted by our technique. The results for each metric were 68.53%, 85.61% e 76,13%, respectively, making it possible for the final user to understand which data was being collected without reading the whole policy. Also, our proposal can facilitate the notice-and-choice by presenting privacy policy information in an alternative way for online users.

Keywords: privacy, policies, user behavior, computer human interaction

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Authors: Rose Mini Agoes Salim, Shahnaz Safitri

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The aim of this study is to test the effectiveness of teaching kindness in preschool children by using several techniques. Kindness is a physical act or emotional support aimed to build or maintain relationships with others. Kindness is known to be essential in the development of moral reasoning to distinguish between the good and bad things. In this study, kindness is operationalized as several acts including helping friends, comforting sad friends, inviting friends to play, protecting others, sharing, saying hello, saying thank you, encouraging others, and apologizing. It is mentioned that kindness is crucial to be developed in preschool children because this is the time the children begin to interact with their social environment through play. Furthermore, preschool children's cognitive development makes them begin to represent the world with words, which then allows them to interact with others. On the other hand, preschool children egocentric thinking makes them still need to learn to consider another person's perspective. In relation to social interaction, preschool children need to be stimulated and assisted by adult to be able to pay attention to other and act with kindness toward them. On teaching kindness to children, the quality of interaction between children and their significant others is the key factor. It is known that preschool children learn about kindness by imitating adults on their two way interaction. Specifically, this study examines two types of teaching techniques that can be done by parents as a way to teach kindness, namely the picture-storybook reading and hand-puppet storytelling. These techniques were examined because both activities are easy to do and both also provide a model of behavior for the child based on the character in the story. To specifically examine those techniques effectiveness in teaching kindness, two studies were conducted. Study I involves 31 children aged 5-6 years old with picture-storybook reading technique, where the intervention is done by reading 8 picture books for 8 days. In study II, hand-puppet storytelling technique is examined to 32 children aged 3-5 years old. The treatments effectiveness are measured using an instrument in the form of nine colored cards that describe the behavior of kindness. Data analysis using Wilcoxon Signed-rank test shows a significant difference on the average score of kindness (p < 0.05) before and after the intervention has been held. For daily observation, a ‘kindness tree’ and observation sheets are used which are filled out by the teacher. Two weeks after interventions, an improvement on all kindness behaviors measured is intact. The same result is also gained from both ‘kindness tree’ and observational sheets.

Keywords: kindness, moral teaching, storytelling, hand puppet

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Authors: Siziwe Monica Zuma

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The Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) is an instrument that the South African Government uses to reduce unemployment and poverty and also stimulate economic growth. However, due to the limited budget and programs in the EPWP, the program has had challenges in reducing unemployment, poverty and stimulating economic growth. The EPWP Vuk’uphile program had positive outcomes in developing Black emerging contractors, in order for them to participate in the main stream economy far better than when the EPWP program was not introduced. The Skills component of the program particularly the EPWP Infrastructure, which is the most funded program under EPWP has had limited success in transferring appropriate skills to ensure labour participants can penetrate the labour market after participating in the EPWP. Education and skills are important attributes that can contribute to labour absorption, however, the EPWP particularly the infrastructure program needs to strengthen skills development over a longer period of time suggested a year with multi skills relevant to the labour market. Longer and more sustained employment provides a safety net and reduces poverty better that short term employment. The EPWP program can be expanded in the infrastructure sector, focusing on rural infrastructure, agricultural infrastructure, infrastructure related components like property, ownership, management, and other services. These can stimulate the Economic sector Infrastructure of EPWP, offer longer term and more sustained employment and rural enterprise development and further employment. The Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) is an instrument that the South African Government uses to reduce unemployment and poverty and also stimulate economic growth. However, due to the limited budget and programs in the EPWP, the program has had challenges in reducing unemployment, poverty and stimulating economic growth. The EPWP Vuk’uphile program has had positive outcomes in developing Black emerging contractors, in order for them to participate in the main stream economy far better than when the EPWP program was not introduced. The Skills component of the program particularly the EPWP Infrastructure, which is the most funded program under EPWP has had limited success in transferring appropriate skills to ensure labour participants are able to penetrate the labour market after participating in the EPWP. Education and skills are important attributes that can contribute to labour absorption, however, the EPWP particularly the infrastructure program needs to strengthen skills development over a longer period of time suggested a year with multi skills relevant to the labour market. Longer and more sustained employment provides a safety net and reduces poverty better that short term employment. The EPWP program can be expanded in the infrastructure sector, focusing on rural infrastructure, agricultural infrastructure, infrastructure related components like property, ownership, management, and other services. These can stimulate the Economic sector Infrastructure of EPWP, offer longer term and more sustained employment and rural enterprise development and further employment.

Keywords: Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP), VUKÚPHILE, youth, Public Works Programs (PWP), Infrastructure Sector of EPWP (EPWP Infrastructure)

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Authors: Happy Kumar Das, Md. Shahriar Shafiq

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This paper portrays an assumed change in the primary teacher education program in Bangladesh. An initiative has been taken with a vision to ensure an integrated approach to developing trainee teachers’ knowledge and understanding about learning at a deeper level, and with that aim, the Diploma in Primary Education (DPEd) program replaces the Certificate-in-Education (C-in-Ed) program in Bangladeshi context for primary teachers. The stated professional values of the existing program such as ‘learner-centered’, ‘reflective’ approach to pedagogy tend to contradict the practice exemplified through the delivery mechanism. To address the challenges, through the main two components (i) Training Institute-based learning and (ii) School-based learning, the new program tends to cover knowledge and value that underpin the actual practice of teaching. These two components are given approximately equal weighting within the program in terms of both time, content and assessment as the integration seeks to combine theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge and vice versa. The curriculum emphasizes a balance between the taught modules and the components of the practicum. For example, the theories of formative and summative assessment techniques are elaborated through focused reflection on case studies as well as observation and teaching practice in the classroom. The key ideology that is reflected through this newly developed program is teacher’s belief in ‘holistic education’ that can lead to creating opportunities for skills development in all three (Cognitive, Social and Affective) domains simultaneously. The proposed teacher education program aims to address these areas of generic skill development alongside subject-specific learning outcomes. An exploratory study has been designed in this regard where 7 Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes (PTIs) in 7 divisions of Bangladesh was used for experimenting DPEd program. The analysis was done based on document analysis, periodical monitoring report and empirical data gathered from the experimental PTIs. The findings of the study revealed that the intervention brought positive change in teachers’ professional beliefs, attitude and skills along with improvement of school environment. Teachers in training schools work together for collective professional development where they support each other through lesson study, action research, reflective journals, group sharing and so on. Although the DPEd program addresses the above mentioned factors, one of the challenges of the proposed program is the issue of existing capacity and capabilities of the PTIs towards its effective implementation.

Keywords: Bangladesh, effective implementation, primary teacher education, reflective approach

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