Search results for: linguistic skills

Authors: Xing Yan Fan, Xing Lin Xu, Man Yuan Chen, Pei Tzu Lee, Yu Ting Wang, Yi Xiao Cao, Rui Yao

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Pyramid sales have been a widespread issue in China. Victims who are defrauded not only lose money but damage interpersonal relationship. A deeper understanding of pyramid-sale models can be beneficial to prevent potential victims from fraud and improve the property security. The goals of this study were to detect psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers, and analyse persuasive skills in pyramid organizations. A qualitative study was conducted in this study. Participants (n=6) recruited by 'snowball' sampling from present pyramid-sale sellers (n=3) and imprisoned pyramid-sale sellers (n=3). All participants accepted semi-structured interview for collecting data. Content analysis was adopted for data coding and analysis. The results indicate that pyramid organizations are used to utilize their appearance packaging and celebrity effect to strengthen the positions in participants’ mind. The status gap between pyramid-sale sellers in same organization, as well as rewards to increase reputation, are used to motivate participants in pyramid. The most significant common characteristics among all participants are that they tend to possess a high sense of belongingness within the firm. Moreover, the expression of pyramid-sale sellers on gambling mentality is expected to growth as constantly losing money. Findings suggest that the psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, persuasive skills of pyramid organization confront to 'attitude-behaviour change model'. These findings have implication on 'immune education' that providing guidance for victims out of stuck and protecting ordinary people from the jeopardizing of pyramid sales.

Keywords: pyramid sales, characteristics, persuasive skills, qualitative study

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Authors: Karoliina Nisula, Samuli Pekkola

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Business education has been criticized for being too theoretical and distant from business life. Different types of experiential learning environments ranging from manual role-play to computer simulations and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been used to introduce the realistic and practical experience into business learning. Each of these learning environments approaches business learning from a different perspective. The implementations tend to be individual exercises supplementing the traditional courses. We suggest combining them into a business skills laboratory resembling an actual workplace. In this paper, we present a concrete implementation of an ERP-supported business learning environment that is used throughout the first year undergraduate business curriculum. We validate the implementation by evaluating the learning outcomes through the different domains of Bloom’s taxonomy. We use the role-play oriented practice enterprise model as a comparison group. Our findings indicate that using the ERP simulation improves the poor and average students’ lower-level cognitive learning. On the affective domain, the ERP-simulation appears to enhance motivation to learn as well as perceived acquisition of practical hands-on skills.

Keywords: business simulations, experiential learning, ERP systems, learning environments

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Authors: Saleit Ron

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The Mitar program was established to drive a shift in middle school mathematics education, emphasizing the connection of math to real-life situations, exploring mathematical modeling and literacy, and integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) components for enhanced excellence. The program envisions math coordinators as catalysts for change, equipping them to create educational materials, strengthen leadership skills, and develop SEL competencies within coordinator communities. These skills are then employed to lead transformative efforts within their respective schools. The program engaged 90 participants across six math coordinator communities during 2022-2023, involving 30-60 hours of annual learning. The process includes formative and summative evaluations through questionnaires and interviews, revealing participants' high contentment and successful integration of acquired skills into their schools. Reflections from participants highlighted the need for enhanced change leadership processes, often seeking more personalized mentoring to navigate challenges effectively.

Keywords: math coordinators, mathematical literacy, mathematical modeling, SEL competencies

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Authors: Stefana Francisca Lupu, Jasmin Chantah, Mara Krone, Ingo Roden, Stephan Bongard, Gunter Kreutz

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Long-term music interventions could enhance both musical and nonmusical skills. The present study was designed to explore cognitive, socio-emotional, and musical development in a longitudinal setting. Third-graders (N = 184: 87 male, 97 female; mean age = 8.61 years; 115 native German and 69 migrant children) were randomly assigned to two intervention groups (music and maths) and a control group over a period of one school-year. At baseline, children in these groups were similar in basic cognitive skills, with a trend of advantage in the control group. Dependent measures included the culture fair intelligence test CFT 20-R; the questionnaire of emotional and social school experience for grade 3 and 4 (FEESS 3-4), the test of resources in childhood and adolescence (FRKJ 8-16), the test of language proficiency for German native and non-native primary school children (SFD 3), the reading comprehension test (ELFE 1-6), the German math test (DEMAT 3+) and the intermediate measures of music audiation (IMMA). Data were collected two times at the beginning (T1) and at the end of the school year (T2). A third measurement (T3) followed after a six months retention period. Data from baseline and post-intervention measurements are currently being analyzed. Preliminary results of all three measurements will be presented at the conference.

Keywords: musical training, primary-school German and migrant children, socio-emotional skills, transfer

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Authors: Kevin Klein-Cardeña

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For Julia Kristeva, contra Lacan, the instinctive body refuses to go away within discourse. Neither is the pre-Oedipal stage of maternal fusion vanquished by the emergence of language and with it, the law of the father. On the contrary, Kristeva argues, the pre-symbolic ambivalently haunts the society of speech, simultaneously animating and threatening the very foundations of signification. Kristeva invents the term “the semiotic” to refer to this continual breaking-through of the material unconscious onto the scene of meaning. This presentation examines Kristeva’s semiotic as a theoretical gesture that itself is a disruption of discourse, re-presenting the ‘return of the repressed’ body in theory—-the breaking-through of the unconscious onto the science of meaning. Faced with linguistic theories concerned with abstract sign-systems as well as Lacanian doctrine privileging the linguistic sign unequivocally over the bodily drive, Kristeva’s theoretical corpus issues the message of a psychic remainder that disrupts with a view toward replenishing theoretical accounts of language and sense. Reviewing Semiotic challenge across these two levels (the sense and science of language), the presentation suggests that Kristeva’s offerings constitute a coherent gestalt, providing an account of the feminist nature of her dual intervention. In contrast to other feminist critiques, Kristeva’s gesture hinges on its restoration of the maternal contribution to subjectivity. Against the backdrop of ‘phallogocentric’ and ‘necrophilic’ theories that strip language of a subject and strip the subject of a body, Kristeva recasts linguistic study through a metaphor of life and birthing. Yet the semiotic fragments the subject it produces, dialoguing with an unconscious curtailed by but also exceeding the symbolic order of signification. Linguistics, too, becomes fragmented in the same measure as it is more meaningfully renewed by its confrontation with the semiotic body. It is Kristeva’s own body that issues this challenge, on both sides of the boundary between the theory and the theorized. The Semiotic becomes comprehensible as a project unified by its concern to disrupt and rehabilitate language, the subject, and the scholarly discourses that treat them.

Keywords: Julia kristeva, the Semiotic, french feminism, psychoanalysic theory, linguistics

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Authors: Guillaume P. Fernandez

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Individual language use is a matter of choice in particular interactions. The paper proposes a conceptual and theoretical framework with methodological consideration to develop how language produced in dyadic relations is to be considered and situated in the larger social configuration the interaction is embedded within. An integrated and comprehensive view is taken: social interactions are expected to be ruled by a normative context, defined by the chain of interdependences that structures the personal network. In this approach, the determinants of discursive practices are not only constrained by the moment of production and isolated from broader influences. Instead, the position the individual and the dyad have in the personal network influences the discursive practices in a twofold manner: on the one hand, the network limits the access to linguistic resources available within it, and, on the other hand, the structure of the network influences the agency of the individual, by the social control inherent to particular network characteristics. Concretely, we investigate how and to what extent consistent ego is from one interaction to another in his or her use of adverbs. To do so, social network analysis (SNA) methods are mobilized. Participants (N=130) are college students recruited in the french speaking part of Switzerland. The personal network of significant ones of each individual is created using name generators and edge interpreters, with a focus on social support and conflict. For the linguistic parts, respondents were asked to record themselves with five of their close relations. From the recordings, we computed an average similarity score based on the adverb used across interactions. In terms of analyses, two are envisaged: First, OLS regressions including network-level measures, such as density and reciprocity, and individual-level measures, such as centralities, are performed to understand the tenets of linguistic similarity from one interaction to another. The second analysis considers each social tie as nested within ego networks. Multilevel models are performed to investigate how the different types of ties may influence the likelihood to use adverbs, by controlling structural properties of the personal network. Primary results suggest that the more cohesive the network, the less likely is the individual to change his or her manner of speaking, and social support increases the use of adverbs in interactions. While promising results emerge, further research should consider a longitudinal approach to able the claim of causality.

Keywords: personal network, adverbs, interactions, social influence

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Authors: Chris Adetuyi, Adeola Adeniran

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The concept of meaning is a complex one in language study when cultural features are added. This is mandatory because language cannot be completely separated from the culture in which case language and culture complement each other. When there are two varieties of a language in a society, i.e. two varieties functioning side by side in a speech community, there is a tendency to view one of the varieties with each other. There is, therefore, the need to make a linguistic comparative study of varieties of such languages. In this paper, a semantic contrastive study is made between Standard British English (SBE) and Nigerian English (NB). The semantic study is limited to aspects of semantics: semantic extension (Kinship terms, metaphors), semantic shift (lexical items considered are ‘drop’ ‘befriend’ ‘dowry’ and escort) acronyms (NEPA, JAMB, NTA) linguistic borrowing or loan words (Seriki, Agbada, Eba, Dodo, Iroko) coinages (long leg, bush meat; bottom power and juju). In the study of these aspects of semantics of SBE and NE lexical terms, conservative statements are made, problems areas and hierarchy of difficulties are highlighted with a view to bringing out areas of differences are highlighted in this paper are concerned. The study will also serve as a guide in further contrastive studies in some other area of languages.

Keywords: aspect, British, English, Nigeria, semantics

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Authors: A. Afrashi

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Introduction: Synaesthesia is a term denoting the perception or description of the perception of one sense modality in terms of another. In literature, synaesthesia refers to a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one sense like hearing, seeing, smell etc. at a given time. In everyday language too we find many examples of synaesthesia. We commonly hear phrases like ‘loud colors’, ‘frozen silence’ and ‘warm colors’, ‘bitter cold’ etc. Empirical cognitive studies have proved that synaesthetic representations both in literature and everyday languages are constrained ie. they do not map randomly among sensory domains. From the beginning of the 20th century Synaesthesia has been a research domain both in literature and structural linguistics. However the exploration of cognitive mechanisms motivating synaesthesia, have made it an important topic in 21st century cognitive linguistics and literary studies. Synaesthetic metaphors are linguistic representations of those mental mechanisms, the study of which reveals invaluable facts about perception, cognition and conceptualization. According to the main tenets of cognitive approach to language and literature, unified and similar cognitive mechanisms are active both in everyday language and literature, and synaesthesia is one of those cognitive mechanisms. Main objective of the present research is to answer the following questions: What types of sense transfers are accessible in Persian synaesthetic metaphors. How are these types of sense transfers cognitively explained. What are the results of cross-linguistic comparative study of synaestetic metaphors based on the existing observations? Methodology: The present research employs a cognitive - corpus based method, and the theoretical framework adopted to analyze linguistic synaesthesia is the contemporary theory of metaphor, where conceptual metaphor is the result of systemic mappings across cognitive domains. Persian Language Data- base (PLDB) in the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies which consists mainly of Persian modern prose, is searched for synaesthetic metaphors. Then for each metaphorical structure, the source and target domains are determined. Then sense transfers are identified and the types of synaesthetic metaphors recognized. Findings: Persian synaesthetic metaphors conform to the hierarchical distribution principle, according to which transfers tend to go from touch to taste to smell to sound and to sight, not vice versa. In other words mapping from more accessible or basic concepts onto less accessible or less basic ones seems more natural. Furthermore the most frequent target domain in Persian synaesthetic metaphors is sound. Certain characteristics of Persian synaesthetic metaphors are comparable with existing related researches carried on English, French, Hungarian and Chinese synaesthetic metaphors. Conclusion: Cognitive corpus based approaches to linguistic synaesthesia, are applicable to stylistics and literary criticism and this recent research domain is an efficient approach to study cross linguistic variations to find out which of the five senses is dominant cross linguistically and cross culturally as the target domain in metaphorical mappings , and so forth receiving dominance in conceptualizations.

Keywords: cognitive semantics, conceptual metaphor, synaesthesia, corpus based approach

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Authors: Adrian-Gabriel Chifu, Sebastien Fournier

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One of the challenges of natural language understanding is to deal with the subjectivity of sentences, which may express opinions and emotions that add layers of complexity and nuance. Sentiment analysis is a field that aims to extract and analyze these subjective elements from text, and it can be applied at different levels of granularity, such as document, paragraph, sentence, or aspect. Aspect-based sentiment analysis is a well-studied topic with many available data sets and models. However, there is no clear definition of what makes a sentence difficult for aspect-based sentiment analysis. In this paper, we explore this question by conducting an experiment with three data sets: ”Laptops”, ”Restaurants”, and ”MTSC” (Multi-Target-dependent Sentiment Classification), and a merged version of these three datasets. We study the impact of domain diversity and syntactic diversity on difficulty. We use a combination of classifiers to identify the most difficult sentences and analyze their characteristics. We employ two ways of defining sentence difficulty. The first one is binary and labels a sentence as difficult if the classifiers fail to correctly predict the sentiment polarity. The second one is a six-level scale based on how many of the top five best-performing classifiers can correctly predict the sentiment polarity. We also define 9 linguistic features that, combined, aim at estimating the difficulty at sentence level.

Keywords: sentiment analysis, difficulty, classification, machine learning

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Authors: Sadık Ata, Kevser Dincer

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In this study, performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell was experimentally investigated and modelled with Rule-Based Mamdani-Type Fuzzy (RBMTF) modelling technique. Coating on the anode side of the PEM fuel cell was accomplished with the spin method by using Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Input parameters voltage density (V/cm2), and current density (A/cm2), temperature (°C), time (s); output parameter power density (W/cm2) were described by RBMTF if-then rules. Numerical parameters of input and output variables were fuzzificated as linguistic variables: Very Very Low (L1), Very Low (L2), Low (L3), Negative Medium (L4), Medium (L5), Positive Medium (L6), High (L7), Very High (L8) and Very Very High (L9) linguistic classes. The comparison between experimental data and RBMTF is done by using statistical methods like absolute fraction of variance (R2). The actual values and RBMTF results indicated that RBMTF can be successfully used for the analysis of performance of PEM fuel cell.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane (PEM), fuel cell, rule-based Mamdani-type fuzzy (RMBTF) modeling, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)

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Authors: Thelma Mort

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Currently, in South African schools, under the fast-paced and content-heavy CAPS curriculum, the notion of play is being lost in the foundation phase. Even in Grade R, aimed at improving the quality of education, there is a focus on mathematical literacy, language, and life skills (DoE, 2001). This is largely due to the dichotomizing of play and learning. And although the play is meant to be the primary means of achieving these skills, it somehow loses its playfulness in the face of early academic pressure. Student teachers similarly have not been trained to use play in the early years of schooling. This action research study shares findings from the “Learn to Play” intervention in teacher training at one university in which student teachers were given substantial training in types of play, the ways they could use and promote play, and the changing roles of teachers in play-based learning. Using observation focus group interviews, reflections, student teacher engagement in learning communities, and Theories of Change, the study measures the changes made by the intervention in student teachers’ approaches and attitudes to play in the classroom. Key findings were that the student teachers learned new skills, had better relationships with pupils, and became more confident in their foundation phase settings.

Keywords: action research, foundation phase, South Africa, student teacher training

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Authors: Pushpavathi M., Kavya V., Akshatha V.

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Introduction: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is a congenital condition which hinders effectual communication due to associated speech and language difficulties. Expressive language delay (ELD) is a feature seen in this population which is influenced by factors such as type and severity of CLP, age at surgical and linguistic intervention and also the type and intensity of speech and language therapy (SLT). Since CLP is the most common congenital abnormality seen in Indian children, early intervention is a necessity which plays a critical role in enhancing their speech and language skills. The interaction between the timing of intervention and factors which contribute to effective intervention by caregivers is an area which needs to be explored. Objectives: The present study attempts to determine the effect of timing of intervention on the contributing maternal factors for effective linguistic intervention in toddlers with repaired CLP with respect to the awareness, home training patterns, speech and non-speech behaviors of the mothers. Participants: Thirty six toddlers in the age range of 1 to 4 years diagnosed as ELD secondary to repaired CLP, along with their mothers served as participants. Group I (Early Intervention Group, EIG) included 19 mother-child pairs who came to seek SLT soon after corrective surgery and group II (Delayed Intervention Group, DIG) included 16 mother-child pairs who received SLT after the age of 3 years. Further, the groups were divided into group A, and group B. Group ‘A’ received SLT for 60 sessions by Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), while Group B received SLT for 30 sessions by SLP and 30 sessions only by mother without supervision of SLP. Method: The mothers were enrolled for the Early Language Intervention Program and following this, their awareness about CLP was assessed through the Parental awareness questionnaire. The quality of home training was assessed through Mohite’s Inventory. Subsequently, the speech and non-speech behaviors of the mothers were assessed using a Mother’s behavioral checklist. Detailed counseling and orientation was done to the mothers, and SLT was initiated for toddlers. After 60 sessions of intensive SLT, the questionnaire and checklists were re-administered to find out the changes in scores between the pre- and posttest measurements. Results: The scores obtained under different domains in the awareness questionnaire, Mohite’s inventory and Mothers behavior checklist were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis. Since the data did not follow normal distribution (i.e. p > 0.05), Mann-Whitney U test was conducted which revealed that there was no significant difference between groups I and II as well as groups A and B. Further, Wilcoxon Signed Rank test revealed that mothers had better awareness regarding issues related to CLP and improved home-training abilities post-orientation (p ≤ 0.05). A statistically significant difference was also noted for speech and non-speech behaviors of the mothers (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Extensive orientation and counseling helped mothers of both EI and DI groups to improve their knowledge about CLP. Intensive SLT using focused stimulation and a parent-implemented approach enabled them to carry out the intervention in an effectual manner.

Keywords: awareness, cleft lip and palate, early language intervention program, home training, orientation, timing of intervention

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Authors: Tryfon Mavropalias, Anastasia Alevriadou

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Co-teaching is a relatively recent model of providing teaching services to students with disabilities in Greece. According to recent studies, it seems that the largest number of students who take part in the Greek co-teaching programme are children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The aim of the suggested study is to investigate the effectiveness and usefulness of co-teaching to students with ASD as well as skills students with ASD develop during co-teaching in primary education classes. To conduct the research, quantitative method of research was used, with the means of research being a questionnaire including open and close type questions. The sample of this research consists of 142 primary school co-teachers from all over Northern Greece (71 general education teachers and 71 special education teachers). Given the results, it was concluded that co-teachers believe that including and educating children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in the general class benefits those who autism is measured from the middle to the upper end of the spectrum. Additionally, children develop social skills first, followed by emotional and cognitive skills. Ultimately, educators declared that they are prepared only to a limited degree to effectively support students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders in general classes.

Keywords: Autistic spectrum disorders, co-teaching, co-teachers, co-taught class

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Authors: M. Saard, A. Kolk, K. Sepp, L. Pertens, L. Reinart, C. Kööp

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Introduction: Social competence is often impaired in children with acquired brain injury (ABI), but evidence-based rehabilitation for social skills has remained undeveloped. Modern technology-based methods create effective and safe learning environments for pediatric social skills remediation. The aim of the study was to implement our structured model of neuro rehab for socio-cognitive deficit using multitouch-multiuser tabletop (MMT) computer-based platforms and virtual reality (VR) technology. Methods: 40 children aged 8-13 years (yrs) have participated in the pilot study: 30 with ABI -epilepsy, traumatic brain injury and/or tic disorder- and 10 healthy age-matched controls. From the patients, 12 have completed the training (M = 11.10 yrs, SD = 1.543) and 20 are still in training or in the waiting-list group (M = 10.69 yrs, SD = 1.704). All children performed the first individual and paired assessments. For patients, second evaluations were performed after the intervention period. Two interactive applications were implemented into rehabilitation design: Snowflake software on MMT tabletop and NoProblem on DiamondTouch Table (DTT), which allowed paired training (2 children at once). Also, in individual training sessions, HTC Vive VR device was used with VR metaphors of difficult social situations to treat social anxiety and train social skills. Results: At baseline (B) evaluations, patients had higher deficits in executive functions on the BRIEF parents’ questionnaire (M = 117, SD = 23.594) compared to healthy controls (M = 22, SD = 18.385). The most impaired components of social competence were emotion recognition, Theory of Mind skills (ToM), cooperation, verbal/non-verbal communication, and pragmatics (Friendship Observation Scale scores only 25-50% out of 100% for patients). In Sentence Completion Task and Spence Anxiety Scale, the patients reported a lack of friends, behavioral problems, bullying in school, and social anxiety. Outcome evaluations: Snowflake on MMT improved executive and cooperation skills and DTT developed communication skills, metacognitive skills, and coping. VR, video modelling and role-plays improved social attention, emotional attitude, gestural behaviors, and decreased social anxiety. NEPSY-II showed improvement in Affect Recognition [B = 7, SD = 5.01 vs outcome (O) = 10, SD = 5.85], Verbal ToM (B = 8, SD = 3.06 vs O = 10, SD = 4.08), Contextual ToM (B = 8, SD = 3.15 vs O = 11, SD = 2.87). ToM Stories test showed an improved understanding of Intentional Lying (B = 7, SD = 2.20 vs O = 10, SD = 0.50), and Sarcasm (B=6, SD = 2.20 vs O = 7, SD = 2.50). Conclusion: Neurorehabilitation based on the Structured Model of Neurorehab for Socio-Cognitive Deficit in children with ABI were effective in social skills remediation. The model helps to understand theoretical connections between components of social competence and modern interactive computerized platforms. We encourage therapists to implement these next-generation devices into the rehabilitation process as MMT and VR interfaces are motivating for children, thus ensuring good compliance. Improving children’s social skills is important for their and their families’ quality of life and social capital.

Keywords: acquired brain injury, children, social skills deficit, technology-based neurorehabilitation

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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: Jane E. Hill

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Quality of life is an important component for many. With that in mind, everyone will experience some type of loss within his or her lifetime. A person can experience loss due to break up, separation, divorce, estrangement, or death. An individual may experience loss of a job, loss of capacity, or loss caused by human or natural-caused disasters. An individual’s response to such a loss is unique to them, and not everyone will seek services to assist them with their grief due to loss. Counseling can promote positive outcomes for clients that are grieving by addressing the client’s personal loss and helping the client process their grief. However, a lack of understanding on the part of counselors of how people grieve may result in negative client outcomes such as poor health, psychological distress, or an increased risk of depression. Education and training in grief counseling can improve counselors’ problem recognition and skills in treatment planning. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) master’s degree counseling students view themselves as having been adequately trained in grief theories and skills. Many people deal with grief issues that prevent them from having joy or purpose in their lives and that leaves them unable to engage in positive opportunities or relationships. This study examined CACREP-accredited master’s counseling students’ self-reported competency, training, and education in providing grief counseling. The implications for positive social change arising from the research may be to incorporate and promote education and training in grief theories and skills in a majority of counseling programs and to provide motivation to incorporate professional standards for grief training and practice in the mental health counseling field. The theoretical foundation used was modern grief theory based on John Bowlby’s work on Attachment Theory. The overall research question was how competent do master’s-level counselors view themselves regarding the education or training they received in grief theories or counseling skills in their CACREP-accredited studies. The author used a non-experimental, one shot survey comparative quantitative research design. Cicchetti’s Grief Counseling Competency Scale (GCCS) was administered to CACREP master’s-level counseling students enrolled in their practicum or internship experience, which resulted in 153 participants. Using a MANCOVA, there was significance found for relationships between coursework taken and (a) perceived assessment skills (p = .029), (b) perceived treatment skills (p = .025), and (c) perceived conceptual skills and knowledge (p = .003). Results of this study provided insight for CACREP master’s-level counseling programs to explore and discuss curriculum coursework inclusion of education and training in grief theories and skills.

Keywords: counselor education and training, grief education and training, grief and loss, quality of life

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Authors: Kathrin F. Schneider, Luis Xavier Unda Galarza

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In our modern world, few are the areas that are not permeated by digitalization: we use digital tools for work, study, entertainment, and daily life. Since technology changes rapidly, skills must adapt to the new reality, which gives a dynamic dimension to the set of skills necessary for people's academic, professional, and personal success. The concept of 21st-century digital skills, which includes skills such as collaboration, communication, digital literacy, citizenship, problem-solving, critical thinking, interpersonal skills, creativity, and productivity, have been widely discussed in the literature. Digital transformation has opened many economic opportunities for entrepreneurs for the development of their products, financing possibilities, and product distribution. One of the biggest advantages is the reduction in cost for the entrepreneur, which has opened doors not only for the entrepreneur or the entrepreneurial team but also for corporations through intrapreneurship. The development of students' general literacy level and their digital competencies is crucial for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning process, as well as for students' adaptation to the constantly changing labor market. The digital economy allows a free substantial increase in the supply share of conditional and also innovative products; this is mainly achieved through 5 ways to reduce costs according to the conventional digital economy: search costs, replication, transport, tracking, and verification. Digital entrepreneurship worldwide benefits from such achievements. There is an expansion and democratization of entrepreneurship thanks to the use of digital technologies. The digital transformation that has been taking place in recent years is more challenging for developing countries, as they have fewer resources available to carry out this transformation while offering all the necessary support in terms of cybersecurity and educating their people. The degree of digitization (use of digital technology) in a country and the levels of digital literacy of its people often depend on the economic level and situation of the country. Telefónica's Digital Life Index (TIDL) scores are strongly correlated with country wealth, reflecting the greater resources that richer countries can contribute to promoting "Digital Life". According to the Digitization Index, Ecuador is in the group of "emerging countries", while Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay are in the group of "countries in transition". According to Herrera Espinoza et al. (2022), there are startups or digital ventures in Ecuador, especially in certain niches, but many of the ventures do not exceed six months of creation because they arise out of necessity and not out of the opportunity. However, there is a lack of relevant research, especially empirical research, to have a clearer vision. Through a self-report questionnaire, the digital skills of students will be measured in an Ecuadorian private university, according to the skills identified as the six 21st-century skills. The results will be put to the test against the variable of the intention to start a digital venture measured using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The main hypothesis is that high digital competence is positively correlated with the intention to start digital entrepreneurship.

Keywords: new literacies, digital transformation, 21st century skills, theory of planned behavior, digital entrepreneurship

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Authors: Okoh Chinasa, Asimuonye Augusta

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This study investigated the trends in language testing in Primary Schools in Rivers State. English language past question papers were collected from four (4) Primary Schools in Onelga Local Government Area and Ahoada East Local Government Area. Four research questions guided the study. The study is aimed at finding out the appropriateness of test formats used for language testing and the language skills tested. The past question papers collected which served as the instrument were analyzed based on given criteria developed by the researchers in line with documentary frequency studies, a type of survey study. The study revealed that some of the four language skills were not adequately assessed and that the termly question papers were developed by a central examination body. From the past questions, it was observed that an imbalance exists in the test format used. The paper recommended that all the language skills should be tested using correct test formats to ensure that pupils were given a fair chance to show what they know and can do in English language and for teachers to be able to use the test results for effective decision making.

Keywords: discrete test, integrative test, testing approach, test format

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Authors: Jessica Gladden

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Anxiety remains one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Many university students report having a high level of anxiety, with additional life stressors that might include being away from home for the first time, being around unfamiliar people, having new expectations placed on them, and often have financial struggles. Universities have the ability and opportunity to form programs that can involve students with activities that reduce stress and teach coping skills. This research includes one example of using a somatic based group format of yoga to teach these skills and assist students in applying these strategies to their daily lives. This study compared a group of 17 students participating in weekly yoga classes to 34 students who did not attend the program. The students who attended the program reported a larger reduction of anxiety on both the BAI and GAD-7 than the control group, and verbally reported additional benefits in relaxation and coping skills. This presentation will review the results of the program as well as detailing the steps taken in creating a yoga program for university students with stress and anxiety. This will include a discussion on the components of trauma-sensitive yoga and the concerns and strategies to consider when developing a program for students.

Keywords: yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga, anxiety, students

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Authors: Ali Ates, Sadık Ata, Kevser Dincer

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In this study, performance of the driver seat‘s localized cooling and heating in a standard car air conditioning system was experimentally investigated and modeled with Rule-Based Mamdani-Type Fuzzy (RBMTF) modeling technique. Climate function at automobile is an important variable for thermal comfort. In the experimental study localized heating and cooling performances have been examined with the aid of a mechanism established to a vehicle. The equipment’s used in the experimental setup/mechanism have been provided and assembled. During the measurement, the status of the performance level has been determined. Input parameters revolutions per minute and time; output parameters car seat cooling temperature, car back cooling temperature, car seat heating temperature, car back heating temperature were described by RBMTF if-the rules. Numerical parameters of input and output variables were fuzzificated as linguistic variables: Very Very Low (L1), Very Low (L2), Low (L3), Negative Medium (L4), Medium (L5), High (L7), Very High (L8) and Very Very High (L9) linguistic classes. The comparison between experimental data and RBMTF is done by using statistical methods like absolute fraction of variance (R2). The actual values and RBMTF results indicated that RBMTF could be successfully used in standard car air conditioning system.

Keywords: air conditioning system, cooling-heating, RMBTF modelling, car seat

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Authors: Dalia Elleuch

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Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) manifests as a personality disorder marked by inflated self-importance, heightened sensitivity to criticism, a lack of empathy, a preoccupation with appearance over substance, and features such as arrogance, grandiosity, a constant need for admiration, a tendency to exploit others, and an inclination towards demanding special treatment due to a sense of excessive entitlement (APA, 2013). This interdisciplinary study delves into NPD through the systematic synthesis of psycholinguistic analysis and neuroscientific correlates. The cognitive and emotional dimensions of NPD reveal linguistic patterns, including grandiosity, entitlement, and manipulative communication. Neuroscientific investigations reveal structural brain differences and alterations in functional connectivity, further explaining the neural underpinnings of social cognition deficits observed in individuals with NPD. Genetic predispositions and neurotransmitter imbalances add a layer of complexity to the understanding of NPD. The necessity for linguistic intervention in diagnosing and treating Narcissistic Personality Disorder is underscored by an interdisciplinary study that intricately synthesizes psycholinguistic analysis and neuroscientific correlates, offering a comprehensive understanding of NPD’s cognitive, emotional, and neural dimensions and paving the way for future practical, theoretical, and pedagogical approaches to address the complexities of this personality disorder.

Keywords: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), psycholinguistic analysis, neuroscientific correlates, interpersonal dysfunction, cognitive empathy

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Authors: Abdelghani Boudiaf

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The profusion of studies relating to the concept of organizational learning shows the importance that has been given to this concept in the management sciences. A few years ago, companies leaned towards ISO 9001 certification; this requires the implementation of the quality management system (QMS). In order for this objective to be achieved, companies must have a set of skills, which pushes them to develop learning through continuous training. The results of empirical research have shown that implementation of the QMS in the company promotes the development of learning. It should also be noted that several types of learning are developed in this sense. Given the nature of skills development is normative in the context of the quality demarche, companies are obliged to qualify and improve the skills of their human resources. Continuous training is the keystone to develop the necessary learning. To carry out continuous training, companies need to be able to identify their real needs by developing training plans based on well-defined engineering. The training process goes obviously through several stages. Initially, training has a general aspect, that is to say, it focuses on topics and actions of a general nature. Subsequently, this is done in a more targeted and more precise way to accompany the evolution of the QMS and also to make the changes decided each time (change of working method, change of practices, change of objectives, change of mentality, etc.). To answer our problematic we opted for the method of qualitative research. It should be noted that the case study method crosses several data collection techniques to explain and understand a phenomenon. Three cases of companies were studied as part of this research work using different data collection techniques related to this method.

Keywords: changing mentalities, continuing training, organizational learning, quality management system, skills development

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Authors: Nami Matsumoto

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This study explores the experiences of cross-linguistic medical encounters by patients, and their views of receiving language support therein, with a particular focus on Japanese-English cases. The aim of this study is to investigate the reason for the frequent use of a spouse as a communication mediator from a Japanese perspective, through a comparison with that of English speakers. This study conducts an empirical qualitative analysis of the accounts of informants. A total of 31 informants who have experienced Japanese-English cross-linguistic medical encounters were recruited in Australia and Japan for semi-structured in-depth interviews. A breakdown of informants is 15 English speakers and 16 Japanese speakers. In order to obtain a further insight into collected data, additional interviews were held with 4 Australian doctors who are familiar with using interpreters. This study was approved by the Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee, and written consent to participate in this study was obtained from all participants. The interviews lasted up to over one hour. They were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed by the author. Japanese transcriptions were translated into English by the author. An analysis of interview data found that patients value relationship in communication. Particularly, Japanese informants, who have an English-speaking spouse, value trust-based communication interventions by their spouse, regardless of the language proficiency of the spouse. In Australia, health care interpreters are required to abide by the national code of ethics for interpreters. The Code defines the role of an interpreter exclusively to be language rendition and enshrines the tenets of accuracy, confidentiality and professional role boundaries. However, the analysis found that an interpreter who strictly complies with the Code sometimes fails to render the real intentions of the patient and their doctor. Findings from the study suggest that an interpreter should not be detached from the context and should be more engaged in the needs of patients. Their needs are not always communicated by an interpreter when they simply follow a professional code of ethics. The concept of relationship-centred care should be incorporated in the professional practice of health care interpreters.

Keywords: health care, Japanese-English medical encounters, language barriers, trust

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Authors: Dina Tareq Ismail, Alexandria A. Proff

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a nation seeking to advance in all fields, particularly education. One area of focus for UAE 2021 agenda is to restructure UAE schools and universities by equipping them with highly developed technology. The agenda also advises educational institutions to prepare students with applicable and transferrable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills. Despite the emphasis on ICT and computer literacy skills, there exists limited empirical data on the use of M-Learning in the literature. This qualitative study explores the motivation of higher primary Arabic teachers in private schools toward implementing and integrating M-Learning apps in their classrooms. This research employs a phenomenological approach through the use of semistructured interviews with nine purposefully selected Arabic teachers. The data were analyzed using a content analysis via multiple stages of coding: open, axial, and thematic. Findings reveal three primary themes: (1) Arabic teachers with high levels of procedural knowledge in ICT are more motivated to implement M-Learning; (2) Arabic teachers' perceptions of self-efficacy influence their motivation toward implementation of M-Learning; (3) Arabic teachers implement M-Learning when they possess high utility and/or intrinsic value in these applications. These findings indicate a strong need for further training, equipping, and creating buy-in among Arabic teachers to enhance their ICT skills in implementing M-Learning. Further, given the limited availability of M-Learning apps designed for use in the Arabic language on the market, it is imperative that developers consider designing M-Learning tools that Arabic teachers, and Arabic-speaking students, can use and access more readily. This study contributes to closing the knowledge gap on teacher-motivation for implementing M-Learning in their classrooms in the UAE.

Keywords: ICT skills, m-learning, self-efficacy, teacher-motivation

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Authors: Ivan N. Gallegos, Merle Dawn Comidoy, Mira Sol Cabal, Paul Martin Acol, Arnie Polistico

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Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) are the lead health advocates who provide basic health care services at the grass-roots level. Hence, adequate skills and training are needed to deliver these services effectively. The study aimed at identifying the communication needs of Barangay health workers situated at the dumpsite of Davao City, Philippines, gravitating towards designing a communication plan tailor-fitted to their needs. It employed a qualitative research design, particularly an in-depth interview of the health workers. Several communication problems were identified, including the lack of participation of BHWs in the Barangay development plan, the lack of a continuous skills enhancement program, ineffective communication strategies resulting in insufficient knowledge of proper personal hygiene, and the inactive participation of community members in health services. Based on these communication problems, the following activities and training were suggested: capacitating BHWs on writing proposals and plans; basic communication skills training; educational seminars for parents; and a sanitation campaign.

Keywords: communication planning, health care services, Barangay health workers, communication strategies

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Authors: Janice Cheong, Tan Seying

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The growing years in adolescence are often a tumultuous time for both the individual and family; this is especially so for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Social Communication Disorder (SCD). Tea Club, which is adapted from the PEERS® for Young Adults, seeks to address some of the social challenges faced by Singaporean adolescents with ASD/SCD while navigating social situations. Tea club (hybrid) consists of face-to-face sessions and virtual sessions. These sessions work with both the adolescent and their parents to tackle the individual's difficulties with social skills, empathy, and loneliness. Prior to the group intervention, both participants and their parents scored on the Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge (TASSK) and Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), respectively. The session was spread across four months. At the end of the group based intervention, participants’ and parents’ scores were collected again and compared. Inputs on the programme and participant’s confidence in socialization were also gathered from both participants and their parents and looked at thematically. The findings highlight some of the challenges faced by teens with ASD in Singapore and the benefits of the intervention. Parental sentiments are also examined and discussed.

Keywords: adolescence autism, group intervention, social communication disorder, social skills

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Authors: Fuling Deng

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Today’s children are frequently exposed to multimodal texts that adopt diverse modes to communicate myriad meanings within different cultural contexts. To respond to the new textual landscape, scholars have considered new literacy theories which propose picturebooks as important educational resources. Picturebooks are multimodal, with their meaning conveyed through the synchronisation of multiple modes, including linguistic, visual, spatial, and gestural acting as access to multimodal literacy. Picturebooks have been popular reading materials in primary educational settings in China. However, often viewed as “easy” texts directed at the youngest readers, picturebooks remain on the margins of Chinese upper primary classrooms, where they are predominantly used for linguistic tasks, with little value placed on their multimodal affordances. Practices with picturebooks in the upper grades in Chinese primary schools also encounter many challenges associated with the curation of texts for use, designing curriculum, and assessment. To respond to these issues, a qualitative study was conducted with a community of Chinese primary teachers using multi-methods such as interviews, focus groups, and documents. The findings showed the impact of the teachers’ increased awareness of picturebooks' multimodal affordances on their pedagogical decisions in using picturebooks as educational resources in upper primary classrooms.

Keywords: picturebook education, multimodal literacy, teachers' response to contemporary picturebooks, community of practice

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Authors: Suhail Shersad

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Introduction In developing countries, the access to higher education for the lower socioeconomic strata is very poor at less than 0.05%. The challenges faced by prospective students in these circumstances to pursue higher education have been explored through direct interaction with them and their families in urban slums of New Delhi. This study included evaluation of the demographics, social indices, expectations and perceptions of selected communities. Results The results show that the poor life expectancy, low exposure to technology, lack of social infrastructure and poor sanitary conditions have reduced their drive for academic achievements. This is despite a good level of intelligence and critical thinking skills among these students. The perception of the community including parents shows that despite their desire to excel, there are too may roadblocks to achieving a fruitful professional life for the next generation. Discussion The prerequisites of higher education may have to be revisited to be more inclusive of socially handicapped students. The knowledge, skills and attributes required for higher education system should form the baseline for creating a roadmap for higher secondary education suited for local needs. Conventional parameters like marks and grading have to be re-looked so that life skills and vocational training form part of the core curriculum. Essential skills should be incorporated at an earlier age, providing an alternative pathway for such students to join higher education. Conclusion: There is a need to bridge the disconnect that exists between higher education planning, the needs of the concerned cohorts and the existing higher secondary education. The variables that contribute to making such a decision have to be examined further. Keywords: prerequisites of higher education, social mobility, society expectations, access to higher education

Keywords: access to higher education, prerequisites of higher education, society expectations, social mobility

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Authors: Ganga Brahma

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Boro employs verbs hooked up with morphemes which lead verbs to adjust with their arguments and hence, affecting the whole of sentence structures. This paper is based on few such syntactic parameters which are usually considered as argument decreasing parameters in linguistic works. Passivizing of few transitive clauses which are usually construed from the verbs occurring with certain morphemes and representation in middle constructions are few of such strategies which lead to conceptualizing of decreasing of syntactic arguments from a sentence. This paper focuses on the mentioned linguistic strategies and attempts to describe the linguistic processes as for how these parameters work in languages especially by concentrating on a particular Tibeto-Burman language i.e. Boro. Boro is a Tibeto-Burman language widely spoken in parts of the north-eastern regions of India. It has an agglutinative nature in forming words as well as clauses. There is a morpheme ‘za’ which means ‘to happen, become’ in Boro whose appearances with verb roots denotes an idea of the subject being passivized. Passivization, usually has notions that it is a reversed representation of its active sentence forms in the terms of argument placements. (However, it is not accountably true as passives and actives have some distinct features of their own and independent of one and the other.) This particular work will concentrate on the semantics of passivization at the same time along with its syntactic reality. The verb khɑo meaning ‘to steal’ offers a sense of passivization with the appearance of the morpheme zɑ which means ‘to happen, become’ (e.g Zunu-ɑ lama-ɑo phɯisɑ khɑo-zɑ-bɑi; Junu-NOM road-LOC money steal-PASS-PRES: Junu got her money stolen on the road). The focus, here, is more on the argument placed at the subject position (i.e. Zunu) and the event taken place. The semantics of such construction asks for the agent because without an agent the event could not have taken place. However, the syntactic elements fill the slots of relegated or temporarily deleted agent which, infact, is the actual subject cum agent in its active representation. Due to the event marker ‘zɑ’ in this presentation it affords to reduce one participant from such a situation which in actual is made up of three participants. Hence, the structure of di-transitive construction here reduces to mono-transitive structure. Unlike passivization, middle construction does not allow relegation of the agents. It permanently deletes agents. However, it also focuses on the fore-grounded subject and highlighting on the changed states on the subjects which happens to be the underlying objects of their respective transitive structures (with agents). This work intends to describe how these two parameters which are different at their semantic realization can meet together at a syntactic level in order to create a linguistic parameter that decreases participants from their actual structures which are with more than one participant.

Keywords: argument-decrease, middle-construction, passivization, transitivity-intransitivity

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Authors: Stijn Horck

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Background: The value of lessons learned from failure increases when these insights can be put to use by those who did not experience the failure. While learning from others has mostly been researched between individuals or teams within the same environment, transferring knowledge from the person who experienced the failure to an outsider comes with extra challenges. As sense-making of failure is an individual process leading to different learning experiences, the potential of lessons learned from failure is highly variable depending on who is transferring the lessons learned. Using an integrated framework of linguistic aspects related to attributional egotism, this study aims to offer a complete explanation of the challenges in transferring lessons learned from failures that are experienced by others. Method: A case study of a failed foundation established to address the information needs for GPs in times of COVID-19 has been used. An overview of failure causes and lessons learned were made through a preliminary analysis of data collected in two phases with metaphoric examples of failure types. This was followed up by individual narrative interviews with the board members who have all experienced the same events to analyse the individual variance of lessons learned through discourse analysis. This research design uses the researcher-as-instrument approach since the recipient of these lessons learned is the author himself. Results: Thirteen causes were given why the foundation has failed, and nine lessons were formulated. Based on the individually emphasized events, the explanation of the failure events mentioned by all or three respondents consisted of more linguistic aspects related to attributional egotism than failure events mentioned by only one or two. Moreover, the learning events mentioned by all or three respondents involved lessons learned that are based on changed insight, while the lessons expressed by only one or two are more based on direct value. Retrospectively, the lessons expressed as a group in the first data collection phase seem to have captured some but not all of the direct value lessons. Conclusion: Individual variance in expressing lessons learned to outsiders can be reduced using metaphoric or analogical explanations from a third party. In line with the attributional egotism theory, individuals separated from a group that has experienced the same failure are more likely to refer to failure causes of which the chances to be contradicted are the smallest. Lastly, this study contributes to the academic literature by demonstrating that the use of linguistic analysis is suitable for investigating the knowledge transfer from lessons learned after failure.

Keywords: failure, discourse analysis, knowledge transfer, attributional egotism

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