Search results for: timing of intervention

Authors: Friday I. Joseph

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Background: Nigeria has an under-five mortality rate that is 128 per 1000 live birth which is higher than the rate for the African region. Optimal breastfeeding practice has the potential to reduce under-five mortality by 13% in developing countries. However, documented exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria from birth to six months is just 17%. Aim: To explore perceptions of the sociocultural factors that influence exclusive breastfeeding for six months among rural mothers in Bindawa and Baure Local Government Area (LGA), Katsina state, North West Nigeria, to inform policies, intervention or strategies to improve exclusive breastfeeding practice in Nigeria. Methods: The social constructionism-interpretivist epistemological approach informed the use of an exploratory study to understand mothers’ experiences and views. Twenty mothers, all from rural areas between 19-35 years old were conveniently sampled from two LGA in Katsina state, north –west Nigeria for semi-structured interviews. Sample size had representation of both Hausa and Fulani ethnic group. Thematic content analysis was utilized for analysis. Results: Three major themes emerged from the study: (1) Breastfeeding initiation - Immediate traditional newborn care practices, birth attendant, place of delivery, the perception of about colostrum determines how soon a mother initiate breastfeeding. (2) Exclusive breastfeeding and introduction of food-Motivation to sustain exclusive breastfeeding relies on the interplay between the obligation to perform traditional rites; mother’s awareness and family support. (3) Decision making about infant feeding – It is not independent of the influence of key social figures like the father, mother-in-law, traditional birth attendant and the health workers. Overall, in spite of awareness of exclusive breastfeeding benefits, mothers expressed concerns that they may not win their family support if they shared contrary views. Conclusions: Health promotion intervention should be tailored, taking cognizant and addressing the sociocultural barriers to the practice of optimal breastfeeding by a focused community and family-based participatory approach. Implementers of interventions should employ culture-sensitive approaches in community-based intervention.

Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, perception, qualitative, sociocultural determinants

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Authors: B. B. van Schalkwyk, C. B. Schoeman, E. J. Cilliers

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High levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid have caused South African municipalities to experience difficulties in planning for sustainability and, more specifically, sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved living environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this, sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched in this paper as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. A comparative assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. The result of the comparative sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. It is recommended that municipalities use the comparative assessment matrix method to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectorial plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. The comparative assessment matrix method is a valuable planning instrument with which to achieve sustainable community development.

Keywords: sustainable community development, sustainability indicators, comparative sustainability, urbanisation, development planning, urban management

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Authors: Christina Albertina Ludwinia Parung, I Gusti Ayu Maya Vratasti

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Sexual transmission of HIV among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) is believed to be one of the sources of the AIDS epidemic. Nowadays, government, communities, and NGOs are taking action to prevent its spread by assisting and educating groups of MSM in their countries. This assistance involves experts in many fields of study, including psychology. In the field of psychology, psychoeducation is believed to be one of the ways to assist the MSM groups. Just like in other countries, this psychoeducation assistance is also needed in Indonesia, where MSM groups are found in many cities within. Surabaya, as the second largest and densely populated city in Indonesia, is known to have a big number of MSM population. In September to December 2020, the author and a colleague conducted a mentoring effort to the MSM community at the MSM community gathering location called Gang Pattaya, in the city of Surabaya. The existence of this community is disguised by the general public, but is well known by NGOs. Community members do MSM out of their liking, although some do it in exchange for money. However, safety factors, such as using condoms for MSM, are not a priority for this community. They do MSM whether they receive a reward or not, just out of a boost of pleasure. There is no attempt to find out the health of the partner once they are attracted to each other. In general, they do not know whether they are infected with HIV. Most of them feel healthy and since they do not show any symptoms, they think it is not necessary to get tested. In the mentoring process, the researchers conduct psychoeducation, which begins with an approach to certain individuals so that they are comfortable with the researchers’ presence, then increasing awareness of safe sex behavior for HIV prevention for groups in the form of counseling using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) approach. Counseling is carried out in various forms including roleplay, games, and seminars. The number of participants was 11 people, varying from 19-47 years old. Pretest related to knowledge of safe sex was carried out before conducting the intervention and post-test after the intervention. The normality test used is the Shapiro-Wilk analysis. Different tests on the data obtained were carried out using the non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. None of the participants had lower post-test knowledge scores than the pre-test. Prestest and post test for safer sex behavior showed 2 participants with safer sex behavior did not change. Both belong to the senior group, while other participants have an improvement in their safer sex behavior. These findings suggest that intervention programs for MSM as an effort to reduce HIV transmission should pay attention to affective and cognitive coping strategies.

Keywords: HIV, men who have sex with men, psychoeducation, psychology health, safer sex behavior, theory of reasoned action

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Authors: Maryam Bordbar, Yaser Mokhayeri, Sajjad Roosta, Fatemeh Ghasemi, Saeed Choobkar, Hamidreza Nikbakht, Ebrahim Falahi

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Objective: Diabetes mellitus type 2 is the most common metabolic disorder that is growing exponentially worldwide. Satureja Khuzestanica Jamzad is a native plant of Iran that grows widely in the south of Iran. Its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects have been documented in animal studies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of consumption daily S. khuzestanica on inflammatory and antioxidant indicators in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods and Materials: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 67 patients with type 2 diabetes were included and divided into two groups. One group received S. khuzestanica (capsule containing 500 mg) and the other group received placebo (500 mg talcum powder) once a day for 12 weeks. After the intervention, the inflammatory and antioxidant indicators of the two groups were compared. Results: In comparison to placebo groups, there was a significant difference in levels of total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase; these antioxidant indicators were higher in the intervention group (P<0.05). Moreover, a considerable decrease in weight, CRP and IL-6 levels were observed in patients in the S.Khuzestanica group. Conclusion: Our findings may provide novel complementary treatments without adverse effects for diabetes complications.

Keywords: Satureja khuzestanica Jamzad, diabetes mellitus, antioxidant indicators, IL-6, C-reactive protein

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Authors: Selvia Arokiya Mary

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Introduction: Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 10.4% of all cancer incidence among women. In 2004, breast cancer caused 519,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths). Many women who undergo breast surgery suffer from ill-defined pain syndromes. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: A study to assess the effectiveness of twin therapeutic approaches on certain bio-physiological parameters in breast cancer patients after breast surgery at selected hospital, Chennai. Objectives: This study is to 1. assess the level of certain biophysiological parameters in women after mastectomy. 2. assess the effectiveness of twin therapeutic approaches on certain biophysiological parameters in women after mastectomy. 3. correlate the practice of twin therapeutic approaches with certain biophysiological parameters. 4. associate the selected demographic variables with certain biophysiological parameters in women after mastectomy Research Design and Method: Pre experimental research design was used. Fifty women were selected by using convenient sampling technique at government general hospital, Chennai. Results: The Level of pain shows, in the study group 49(98%) of them had moderate in the pre test and after the intervention all of them had mild pain in the post test. In relation to level of shoulder function before the intervention shows that in the study group 49(98%) of them had movement towards gravity and after intervention 24 (48%) of them had movement against gravity maximum resistance. There was a significant reduction in pain and shoulder stiffness level at a ‘P’ level of < 0.001. There was a negative correlation between the pranayama practice and the level of pain, there was a positive correlation between the arm exercise practice and the level of shoulder function. There was no significant association between demographic and clinical variables with the level of pain and shoulder function in the study. Hypothesis: There is a significant difference in level of pain and shoulder function among women following breast surgery who receive pranayama & arm exercise programme. The pranayama had effect in terms of reduction of pain, arm exercise programme had effect in prevention of arm stiffness among post operative women following breast surgery. Thus the stated hypothesis was accepted. Conclusion: On the basis of the findings of the present study there was Advancing age related to increasing risk of breast cancer, level of pain also the type of surgery was associated with level of pain and shoulder function, There fore it is to be concluded that the study participants may get benefited by practice of pranayama and arm exercise program.

Keywords: biophysiological parameters breast surgery, lumpectomy , mastectomy, radical mastectomy, twin therapeutic approach, pranayama, arm exercise

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

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The present experimental study examined the effects of music and math training on mathematical skills and visuospatial working memory capacity in kindergarten children. For this purpose, N = 54 children (mean age: 5.46 years; SD = .29) were randomly assigned to three groups. Children in the music group (n = 18) received weekly sessions of 60 min music training over a period of eight weeks, whereas children in the math group (n = 18) received the same amount of training focusing on mathematical basic skills, such as numeracy skills, quantity comparison, and counting objectives. The third group of children (n = 18) served as waiting controls. The groups were matched for sex, age, IQ and previous music experiences at baseline. Pre-Post intervention measurements revealed a significant interaction effect of group x time, showing that children in both music and math groups significantly improved their early numeracy skills, whereas children in the control group did not. No significant differences between groups were observed for the visuospatial working memory performances. These results confirm and extend previous findings on transfer effects of music training on mathematical abilities and visuospatial working memory capacity. They show that music and math interventions are similarly effective to enhance children’s mathematical skills. More research is necessary to establish, whether cognitive transfer effects arising from music interventions might facilitate children’s transition from kindergarten to first-grade.

Keywords: music training, mathematical skills, working memory, transfer

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Authors: Linda Frost, Lindsay Anderson, Jana Borras, Ariel Dysangco, Vimabayi Makwaira

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The academic environment in which nursing students are immersed in comes with many demands and expectations. Course load, clinical placements, and financial expenses are examples of the pressures facing students each semester. These pressures contribute to student stress and impact their overall well-being and mental fitness. Students' ability to cope with stress and bounce back from adversity is enhanced when we build their mental fitness. Building mental fitness has the benefit of improving physical health, relationships, self-esteem, resilience, work productivity, and overall contentment, happiness and life satisfaction. While self-care is encouraged to avoid burnout, there is a gap in literature on programs to help build nursing students’ mental health and ability to engage in self-care. There is an opportunity and a need to design programs and implement actions aimed at reducing stress and its adverse effects on nursing students. Nursing students require the support of people who understand the complexities of the nursing profession, multifaceted work environments in which they operate, and the impact these environments have on their mental fitness. Nursing academia is in the best position to ensure that tools are in place to support the next generation of nurses who face a career with significant emotional and physical demands. This is a mixed-method study using an embedded design. We utilized a pretest-posttest design to compare the difference in psychological capital (PsyCap) and burnout in students who have received the Mastering My Mental Fitness-Nurses™ (MMMF-N™) workshops (n=8) and the control group (n=9) who have not. Semi structured interviews were conducted with the eight nursing students in the intervention group, along with data from feedback forms to explore the impact of the workshops on student’s burnout and PsyCap and determine how to improve the workshops for future students. The quantitative and qualitative data will be merged using a side-by-side comparison. This will be in a discussion format that allows for the comparison of the results from both phases. The findings will be available January 2025. We anticipate that students in the control and intervention group will report similar levels of burnout. As well, students in the intervention group will indicate the benefits of the MMMF-N™ workshops through qualitative interviews and workshop feedback forms.

Keywords: burnout, mental fitness, nursing students, psychological capital

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Authors: Omar Mayyas

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Clinical decision-making (CDM) is essential to community health nursing (CHN) education. For this reason, nursing educators are responsible for developing these skills among nursing students because nursing students are exposed to highly critical conditions after graduation. However, due to limited exposure to real-world situations, many nursing students need help developing clinical decision-making skills in this area. Therefore, the impact of Virtual Simulation (VS) on community health nursing students' clinical decision-making in nursing education has to be investigated. This study aims to examine the difference in CDM ability among CHN students who received traditional education compared to those who received VS classes, to identify the factors that may influence CDM ability differences between CHN students who received a traditional education and VS classes, and to provide recommendations for educational programs that can enhance the CDM ability of CHN students and improve the quality of care provided in community settings. A mixed-method study will conduct. A randomized controlled trial will compare the CDM ability of CHN students who received 1hr traditional class with another group who received 1hr VS scenario about diabetic patient nursing care. Sixty-four students in each group will randomly select to be exposed to the intervention from undergraduate nursing students who completed the CHN course at York University. The participants will receive the same Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS) questionnaire. The study intervention will follow the Medical Research Council (MRC) approach. SPSS and content analysis will use for data analysis.

Keywords: clinical decision-making, virtual simulation, community health nursing students, community health nursing education

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Authors: Tsang K. L. V., Lewis L. A., Griffith S., Tucker P.

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Background:  Many children with high incidence disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), struggle to participate in the community in a socially acceptable manner. There are limitations for clinical settings to provide natural, real-life scenarios for them to practice the life skills needed to meet their real-life challenges. Virtual reality (VR) offers potential solutions to resolve the existing limitations faced by clinicians to create simulated natural environments for their clients to generalize the facilitated skills. Research design: The research aimed to develop a prototype of an interactive VR system to provide realistic and immersive environments for clients to practice skills. The descriptive qualitative methodology is employed to design and develop the Artificial Interactive Reality Unified System (AIRUS) prototype, which provided insights on how to use advanced VR technology to create simulated real-life social scenarios and enable users to interact with the objects and people inside the virtual environment using natural eye-gazes, hand and body movements. The eye tracking (e.g., selective or joint attention), hand- or body-tracking (e.g., repetitive stimming or fidgeting), and facial tracking (e.g., emotion recognition) functions allowed behavioral data to be captured and managed in the AIRUS architecture. Impact of project: Instead of using external controllers or sensors, hand tracking software enabled the users to interact naturally with the simulated environment using daily life behavior such as handshaking and waving to control and interact with the virtual objects and people. The AIRUS protocol offers opportunities for breakthroughs in future VR-based psychosocial assessment and intervention in occupational therapy. Implications for future projects: AI technology can allow more efficient data capturing and interpretation of object identification and human facial emotion recognition at any given moment. The data points captured can be used to pinpoint our users’ focus and where their interests lie. AI can further help advance the data interpretation system.

Keywords: occupational therapy, psychosocial assessment and intervention, simulated interactive environment, virtual reality

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Authors: Qian Mao, Xiaozan Wang, Jiarong Zhong, Xiaolin Zou

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Introduction: As a result of the decline of students' physical health level and the increase of study pressure, students’ academic performance is not so good. Objective: This study aims to verify whether the Brain-Break intervention in the fourth-grade classroom of primary school can improve students' physical health and academic performance. Methods: According to the principle of no difference in pre-test data, students from two classes of grade four in Fuhai Road Primary School, Fushan district, Yantai city, Shandong province, were selected as experimental subjects, including 50 students in the experimental class (25 males and 25 females) and 50 students in the control class (24 males and 26 females). The content of the experiment was that the students were asked to perform a 4-minute Brain-Berak program designed by the researcher in the second class in the morning and the afternoon, and the intervention lasted for 12 weeks. In addition, the lung capacity, 50-meter run, sitting body forward bend, one-minute jumping rope and one-minute sit-ups stipulated in the national standards for physical fitness of students (revised in 2014) were selected as the indicators of physical health. The scores of Chinese, Mathematics, and English in the unified academic test of the municipal education bureau were selected as the indicators of academic performance. The independent-sample t-test was used to compare and analyze the data of each index between the two classes. The paired-sample t-test was used to compare and analyze the data of each index in the two classes. This paper presents only results with significant differences. Results: in terms of physical health, lung capacity (P=0.002, T= -2.254), one-minute rope skipping (P=0.000, T=3.043), and one-minute sit-ups (P=0.045, T=6.153) were significantly different between the experimental class and the control class. In terms of academic performance, there is a significant difference between the Chinese performance of the experimental class and the control class (P=0.009, T=4.833). Conclusion: Adding Brain-Berak intervention in the classroom can effectively improve the cardiorespiratory endurance (lung capacity), coordination (jumping rope), and abdominal strength (sit-ups) of fourth-grade students. At the same time, it can also effectively improve their Chinese performance. Therefore, it is suggested to promote micro-sports in the classroom of primary schools throughout the country so as to help students improve their physical health and academic performance.

Keywords: academic performance, brain break, fourth grade, physical health

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Authors: Paulo Sérgio Ribeiro de Araújo Bogas

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Although several studies have assumed (at least implicitly) that learners' approaches to learning develop into deeper approaches to higher education, there appears to be no clear theoretical basis for this assumption and no empirical evidence. As a scientific contribution to this discussion, a pedagogical intervention of a quasi-experimental nature was developed, with a mixed methodology, evaluating the intervention within a single curricular unit of Marketing, using cases based on real challenges of brands, business simulation, and customer projects. Primary and secondary experiences were incorporated in the intervention: the primary experiences are the experiential activities themselves; the secondary experiences result from the primary experience, such as reflection and discussion in work teams. A diversified learning relationship was encouraged through the various connections between the different members of the learning community. The present study concludes that in the same context, the student's responses can be described as students who reinforce the initial deep approach, students who maintain the initial deep approach level, and others who change from an emphasis on the deep approach to one closer to superficial. This typology did not always confirm studies reported in the literature, namely, whether the initial level of deep processing would influence the superficial and the opposite. The result of this investigation points to the inclusion of pedagogical and didactic activities that integrate different motivations and initial strategies, leading to the possible adoption of deep approaches to learning since it revealed statistically significant differences in the difference in the scores of the deep/superficial approach and the experiential level. In the case of real challenges, the categories of “attribution of meaning and meaning of studied” and the possibility of “contact with an aspirational context” for their future professional stand out. In this category, the dimensions of autonomy that will be required of them were also revealed when comparing the classroom context of real cases and the future professional context and the impact they may have on the world. Regarding the simulated practice, two categories of response stand out: on the one hand, the motivation associated with the possibility of measuring the results of the decisions taken, an awareness of oneself, and, on the other hand, the additional effort that this practice required for some of the students.

Keywords: experiential learning, higher education, mixed methods, reflective learning, marketing

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Authors: Viktorya Sargsyan, Arax Hovhannesyan, Karine Abelyan

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Introduction: During the last decade, scientific studies have proven the importance of Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions. These interventions are shown to create strong foundations for children’s intellectual, emotional and physical well-being, as well as the impact they have on learning and economic outcomes for children as they mature into adulthood. Many children in rural Armenia fail to reach their full development potential due to lack of early brain stimulation (playing, singing, reading, etc.) from their parents, and lack of community tools and services to follow-up children’s neurocognitive development. This is exacerbated by high rates of stunting and anemia among children under 3(CU3). This research study tested the effectiveness of an integrated ECD and Maternal, Newborn and Childhood Health (MNCH) model, called “Go Baby, Go!” (GBG), against the traditional (MNCH) strategy which focuses solely on preventive health and nutrition interventions. The hypothesis of this quasi-experimental study was: Children exposed to GBG will have better neurocognitive and nutrition outcomes compared to those receiving only the MNCH intervention. The secondary objective was to assess the effect of GBG on parental child care and nutrition practices. Methodology: The 14 month long study, targeted all 1,300 children aged 0 to 23 months, living in 43 study communities the in Gavar and Vardenis regions (Gegharkunik province, Armenia). Twenty-three intervention communities, 680 children, received GBG, and 20 control communities, 630 children, received MCHN interventions only. Baseline and evaluation data on child development, nutrition status and parental child care and nutrition practices were collected (caregiver interview, direct child assessment). In the intervention sites, in addition to MNCH (maternity schools, supportive supervision for Health Care Providers (HCP), the trained GBG facilitators conducted six interactive group sessions for mothers (key messages, information, group discussions, role playing, video-watching, toys/books preparation, according to GBG curriculum), and two sessions (condensed GBG) for adult family members (husbands, grandmothers). The trained HCPs received quality supervision for ECD counseling and screening. Findings: The GBG model proved to be effective in improving ECD outcomes. Children in the intervention sites had 83% higher odd of total ECD composite score (cognitive, language, motor) compared to children in the control sites (aOR 1.83; 95 percent CI: 1.08-3.09; p=0.025). Caregivers also demonstrated better child care and nutrition practices (minimum dietary diversity in intervention site is 55 percent higher compared to control (aOR=1.55, 95 percent CI 1.10-2.19, p =0.013); support for learning and disciplining practices (aOR=2.22, 95 percent CI 1.19-4.16, p=0.012)). However, there was no evidence of stunting reduction in either study arm. he effect of the integrated model was more prominent in Vardenis, a community which is characterised by high food insecurity and limited knowledge of positive parenting skills. Conclusion: The GBG model is effective and could be applied in target areas with the greatest economic disadvantages and parenting challenges to improve ECD, care practices and developmental outcomes. Longitudinal studies are needed to view the long-term effects of GBG on learning and school readiness.

Keywords: early childhood development, integrated interventions, parental practices, quasi-experimental study

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Authors: A. S. Talaab, Safaa, A. Mahmoud, Hanan S. Siam

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A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2013/2014 in the barley production area of Dakhala – New Valley Governorate, Egypt to assess the effect of nitrogen rate and time of N fertilizer application on barley grain yield, yield components and N use efficiency of barley and their association with grain yield. The treatments consisted of three levels of nitrogen (0, 70 and 100 kg N/acre) and five application times. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design with three replication. Results revealed that barley grain yield and yield components increased significantly in response to N rate. Splitting N fertilizer amount at several times result in significant effect on grain yield, yield components, protein content and N uptake efficiency when compared with the entire N was applied at once. Application of N at rate of 100 kg N/acre resulted in accumulation of nitrate in the subsurface soil > 30cm. When N application timing considered, less NO3 was found in the soil profile with splitting N application compared with all preplans application.

Keywords: nitrogen use efficiency, splitting N fertilizer, barley, NO3

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Authors: Deepak Ganjiwale, Karthik Vishwanathan

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Objective: Splinting is a great domain of occupational therapy profession.Making a splint for the patient would depend upon the need or requirement of the problems and deformities. Swan neck deformity is not very common in finger it may occur after any disease. Conservative treatment of the swan neck deformity is available by using different static splints only. There are very few reports of surgical correction of swan-neck deformity in benign hypermobility syndrome. Method: This case report describes the result of surgical intervention and hand splint in a twenty year old lady with past history of cardiovascular stroke with no residual neurological deficit. She presented with correctable swan neck deformity and failed to improve with static ring splints to correct the deformity. She was noted to have hyperlaxity (EhlerDanlos type) as per modified Beighton’s score of 5/9. She underwent volar plate plication of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the left ring finger along with hemitenodesis of ulnar slip of flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) tendon whereby, the ulnar slip of FDS was passed through a small surgically created rent in A2 pulley and sutured back to itself. Result: Postoperatively, the patient was referred to occupational therapy for splinting with the instruction that the splint would work some time for as static and some time as dynamic for positional and correction of the finger. Conclusion: After occupational therapy intervention and splinting, the patient had a full correction of the swan-neck deformity with near full flexion of the operated finger and is able to work independently.

Keywords: swan neck, finger, deformity, splint, hypermobility

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Authors: Romeo A. Botes, Imelda Smit

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The demands of an ever changing and complex higher education environment, along with the profile of modern learners challenge current approaches to assessment and feedback. More learners enter the education system every year. The younger generation expects immediate feedback. At the same time, feedback should be meaningful. The assessment of practical activities in programming poses a particular problem, since both lecturers and learners in the information and computer science discipline acknowledge that paper-based assessment for programming subjects lacks meaningful real-life testing. At the same time, feedback lacks promptness, consistency, comprehensiveness and individualisation. Most of these aspects may be addressed by modern, technology-assisted assessment. The focus of this paper is the continuous development of an artefact that is used to assist the lecturer in the assessment and feedback of practical programming activities in a senior database programming class. The artefact was developed using three Design Science Research cycles. The first implementation allowed one programming activity submission per assessment intervention. This pilot provided valuable insight into the obstacles regarding the implementation of this type of assessment tool. A second implementation improved the initial version to allow multiple programming activity submissions per assessment. The focus of this version is on providing scaffold feedback to the learner – allowing improvement with each subsequent submission. It also has a built-in capability to provide the lecturer with information regarding the key problem areas of each assessment intervention.

Keywords: programming, computer-aided assessment, technology-assisted assessment, programming assessment software, design science research, mixed-method

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Authors: Jia Guo, Qinyuan Huang, Qinyi Zhong, Yanjing Zeng, Yimeng Li, James Wiley, Kin Cheung, Jyu-Lin Chen

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Context: Mothers with abdominal obesity, particularly in China, face challenges in managing their health due to family responsibilities. Existing diabetes prevention programs do not cater specifically to this demographic. Research Aim: To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an mHealth-based diabetes prevention program tailored for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity in reducing weight-related variables and diabetes risk. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Changsha, China, where the mHealth group received personalized modules and health messages, while the control group received general health education. Data were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Findings: The mHealth intervention significantly improved waist circumference, modifiable diabetes risk scores, daily steps, self-efficacy for physical activity, social support for physical activity, and physical health satisfaction compared to the control group. However, no differences were found in BMI and certain other variables. Theoretical Importance: The study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of a tailored mHealth intervention for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity, emphasizing the potential for such programs to improve health outcomes in this population. Data Collection: Data on various variables including weight-related measures, diabetes risk scores, behavioral and psychological factors were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months from participants in the mHealth and control groups. Analysis Procedures: Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data collected from the mHealth and control groups at different time points during the study period. Question Addressed: The study addressed the effectiveness of an mHealth-based diabetes prevention program tailored for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity in improving various health outcomes compared to traditional general health education approaches. Conclusion: The tailored mHealth intervention proved to be feasible and effective in improving weight-related variables, physical activity, and physical health satisfaction among Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity, highlighting its potential for delivering diabetes prevention programs to this population.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, mHealth, obesity, prevention, mothers

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Authors: T. Keiller, E. Hindman, P. Hassmen, K. Radford, L. Lavrencic

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Background: Psychosocial disadvantage is associated with impaired cognitive abilities, with executive functioning (EF) abilities particularly vulnerable. EF abilities strongly predict general daily functioning, educational and career prospects, and health choices. A reliable and valid assessment of EF is important to support appropriate care and intervention strategies. However, evidence-based EF assessment tools for use with Aboriginal Australians are limited. Aim and Method: This research aims to develop and validate a culturally appropriate EF tool for use with indigenous Australians. To this end, Study One aims to review current literature examining the benefits and disadvantages of current EF assessment tools for use with Indigenous Australians. Study Two aims to collate expert opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of various current EF assessment tools for use with Indigenous Australians using Delphi methodology with experienced psychologists (n = 10). The initial two studies will inform the development of a culturally appropriate assessment tool. Study Three aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the tool with an Indigenous sample living in the New South Wales Mid-North Coast. The study aims to quantify the predictive validity of this tool via comparison to functionality predictors and neuropsychological assessment scores. Study Four aims to collect qualitative data surrounding the feasibility and acceptability of the tool among indigenous Australians and health professionals. Expected Results: Findings from this research are likely to inform cognitive assessment practices and tool selection for health professionals conducting cognitive assessments with Indigenous Australians. Improved assessment of EF will inform appropriate care and intervention strategies for individuals with EF deficits.

Keywords: aboriginal Australians, assessment tool, cognition, executive functioning

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Authors: Jocelyn Floresca

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This paper aimed to present the by-product of the introduction of environmental ecology awareness on a formal education level utilizing the program course of Physical Education, particularly in the tertiary level. It is based on the premise that the radical need for environmental protection may not only necessarily be the work of people in the pure sciences but also deemed necessary to look into more avenues of the school setting particularly in the field of Physical Education. In the Philippines, most schools’ Physical Education focuses on the advancement of sports, fitness and wellness which are mostly done in the confines of a closed building. The paper dwells into the introduction of Physical Education as an outdoor recreation activity where in the participants of the study had the opportunity to indulge in activities undertaken outside the confines of buildings and going into large areas of the environment. It looked into the individual participant’s environmental social behaviour and effects on the participant’s perceptions in terms of the set objectives of Physical Education before and after the study’s intervention. The study utilized the formal course in Physical Education on nature walks, mountaineering and bird watching as interventions to gain perceptions and understanding. The introduction of the environmental ecology activities as a formal Physical Education course has resulted in deeper awareness that led to understanding the need to protect the environment, appreciation of the value of natural areas and acquiring behaviour for a sustainable use of the environment during the practice of Physical Education. Also, prior to the introduction of environmental ecology in Physical Education as a formal study; participants have no knowledge of what dwells in the identified sites of intervention. Whereas after the study, participants were able to identify various species of birds and plants found in the sites of the study that may lead to further conservation of the particular species.

Keywords: appreciation, conservation, environmental ecology, outdoor

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Authors: Lauren Kathryn Stretch

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A study was conducted in the underprivileged setting of Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa in order to monitor the progress of learners whose teachers receive training through the Early Inspiration Training Programme. Through tracking children’s growth & development, the effectiveness of the practitioner-training programme, which focuses on empowering women from underprivileged communities in South Africa, was analyzed. The aim was to identify impact & reach and to assess the effectiveness of this intervention programme through identifying impact on children’s growth and development. A Pre- and Post-Test was administered on about 850 young children in Pre-Grade R and Grade R classes in order to understand children’s ability level & the growth that would be evident as a result of effective teacher training. A pre-test evaluated the level of each child’s abilities, including physical-motor development, language, and speech development, cognitive development including visual perceptual skills, social-emotional development & play development. This was followed by a random selection of the classes of children into experimental and control groups. The experimental group’s teachers (practitioners) received 8-months of training & intervention, as well as mentorship & support. After the 8-month training programme, children from the experimental & control groups underwent post-assessment. The results indicate that the impact of effective practitioner training and enhancing a deep understanding of stimulation on young children, that this understanding is implemented in the classroom, highlighting the areas of growth & development in the children whose teachers received additional training & support, as compared to those who did not receive additional training. Monitoring & Evaluation systems not only track children’s ability levels, but also have a core focus on reporting systems, mentorship and providing ongoing support. As a result of the study, an Online Application (for Apple or Android Devices) was developed which is used to track children’s growth via age-appropriate assessments. The data is then statistically analysed to provide direction for relevant & impactful intervention. The App also focuses on effective reporting strategies, structures, and implementation to support organizations working with young children & maximize on outcomes.

Keywords: early childhood development, developmental child assessments, online application, monitoring and evaluating online

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Authors: Mojtaba Mahmoodian, Joshua Phelan, Mehdi Shahparvari

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With a large percentage of countries’ total infrastructure expenditure attributed to water network maintenance, it is essential to optimise maintenance strategies to rehabilitate or replace underground pipes before failure occurs. The aim of this paper is to provide water utility managers with a maintenance management approach for underground water pipes, subject to external loading and material corrosion, to give the lowest life cycle cost over a predetermined time period. This reliability-based maintenance management methodology details the optimal years for intervention, the ideal number of maintenance activities to perform before replacement and specifies feasible renewal options and intervention prioritisation to minimise the life cycle cost. The study was then extended to include feasible renewal methods by determining the structural condition index and potential for soil loss, then obtaining the failure impact rating to assist in prioritising pipe replacement. A case study on optimisation of maintenance plans for the Melbourne water pipe network is considered in this paper to evaluate the practicality of the proposed methodology. The results confirm that the suggested methodology can provide water utility managers with a reliable systematic approach to determining optimum maintenance plans for pipe networks.

Keywords: water pipe networks, maintenance management, reliability analysis, optimum maintenance plan

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Authors: Yavuz Yardım

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The most important criteria for structural engineering is the structure’s ability to carry intended loads safely. The key element of this ability is mathematical modeling of really loadings situation into a simple loads input to use in structure analysis and design. Amongst many different types of loads, the most challenging load is earthquake load. It is possible magnitude is unclear and timing is unknown. Therefore the concept of intended loads and safety have been built on experience of previous earthquake impact on the structures. Understanding and developing these concepts is achieved by investigating performance of the structures after real earthquakes. Damage after an earthquake provide results of thousands of full-scale structure test under a real seismic load. Thus, Earthquakes reveille all the weakness, mistakes and deficiencies of analysis, design rules and practice. This study deals with lesson learnt from earthquake recoded last two decades in Turkey. Results of investigation after several earthquakes exposes many deficiencies in structural detailing, inappropriate design, wrong architecture layout, and mainly mistake in construction practice.

Keywords: earthquake, seismic assessment, RC buildings, building performance

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Authors: Elaine Wong Yee-Sing

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Older adults are at high risk of chronic health conditions in Singapore. A closer examination at all facets of their aging process has revealed that they may not be necessary aging well. This demands for an increasing healthcare services brought to their home environment due to limited mobility and in the interest of time management. The home environment is an ideal setting to implement self-directed health promoting activities at their convenience and enable family’s support and motivation. This research protocol aims to explore their healthcare concerns, and creation of age appropriate interventions targeted to improve their chronic disease biomarkers. Convenience sampling of 130 families residing in private housing within five major districts in Singapore will be selected to participate in the health intervention. Statistical Package for Social Science 25 will be used to examine the pre and post screening results of their lipid, glycaemia and anthropometric outcomes. Using focus interviews, data results will be translated and transcribed to investigate on enablers, barriers and improvement on these services. Both qualitative and quantitative research outcomes are crucial to examine the impact of these services for these older adults living in private housing as they are not exposed to government subsidized community health programs. It is hypothesized that provision of relevant yet engaging health programs at their homes may mitigate the rising burden of chronic health conditions and result in successful aging outcomes among older Singaporeans.

Keywords: chronic diseases, health program, older adults, residential homes

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Authors: Kate Allman, Heather Maranges, Elise Dykhuis

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Moral Growth Mindset (MGM) is the belief that one has the capacity to become a more moral person, as opposed to a fixed conception of one’s moral ability and capacity (Han et al., 2018). Building from Dweck’s work in incremental implicit theories of intelligence (2008), Moral Growth Mindset (Han et al., 2020) extends growth mindsets into the moral dimension. The concept of MGM has the potential to help researchers understand how both mindsets and interventions can impact character development, and it has even been shown to have connections to voluntary service engagement (Han et al., 2018). Understanding the contexts in which MGM might be cultivated could help to promote the further cultivation of character, in addition to prosocial behaviors like service engagement, which may, in turn, promote larger scale engagement in social justice-oriented thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In particular, college may be a place to intentionally cultivate a growth mindset toward moral capacities, given the unique developmental and maturational components of the college experience, including contextual opportunity (Lapsley & Narvaez, 2006) and independence requiring the constant consideration, revision, and internalization of personal values (Lapsley & Woodbury, 2016). In a semester-long, quasi-experimental study, we examined the impact of a pedagogical approach designed to cultivate college student character development on participants’ MGM. With an intervention (n=69) and a control group (n=97; Pre-course: 27% Men; 66% Women; 68% White; 18% Asian; 2% Black; <1% Hispanic/Latino), we investigated whether college courses that intentionally incorporate character education pedagogy (Lamb, Brant, Brooks, 2021) affect a variety of psychosocial variables associated with moral thoughts, feelings, identity, and behavior (e.g. moral growth mindset, honesty, compassion, etc.). The intervention group consisted of 69 undergraduate students (Pre-course: 40% Men; 52% Women; 68% White; 10.5% Black; 7.4% Asian; 4.2% Hispanic/Latino) that voluntarily enrolled in five undergraduate courses that encouraged students to engage with key concepts and methods of character development through the application of research-based strategies and personal reflection on goals and experiences. Moral Growth Mindset was measured using the four-item Moral Growth Mindset scale (Han et al., 2020), with items such as You can improve your basic morals and character considerably on a six-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Higher scores of MGM indicate a stronger belief that one can become a more moral person with personal effort. Reliability at Time 1 was Cronbach’s ɑ= .833, and at Time 2 Cronbach’s ɑ= .772. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to explore whether post-course MGM scores were different between the intervention and control when controlling for pre-course MGM scores. The ANCOVA indicated significant differences in MGM between groups post-course, F(1,163) = 8.073, p = .005, R² = .11, where descriptive statistics indicate that intervention scores were higher than the control group at post-course. Results indicate that intentional character development pedagogy can be leveraged to support the development of Moral Growth Mindset and related capacities in undergraduate settings.

Keywords: moral personality, character education, incremental theories of personality, growth mindset

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Authors: Raman Kumar Singh

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Urbanization and economic growth are considered to be the most striking features of the past century. There is currently a radical demographic shift in progress worldwide, wherein people are moving from rural to urban areas at an increasing rate. The UN-Habitat report 2005 indicates that in 2025, 61 per cent of the 5 billion world population will reside in the urban areas with about 85 per cent of the development process taking place in the urban hinterlands widely referred to as ‘peri-urban’, ‘suburbs’, ‘urban fringe’, ‘city edge’, ‘metropolitan shadow’, or ‘urban sprawl’. In this context the study is broadly concerned with understanding the development of the industrial hub in the Gurgaon and its impact on the immediate neighbourhood. However studies have revealed that with the increase of industrial development the growth pattern changes rapidly, not only the growth of the urban area but the overall economy shifts from more agrarian to non-agrarian, with the change in the occupational pattern of the people. The process is mainly known as tertiarization, where a number of tertiary activities increase in comparison to primary or secondary. The change in the occupational pattern creates a pull factor on its immediate neighbourhood, which triggers the in- migrations from the rural areas as people come in the core urban area in search of the better job opportunities and increased standards of living. But this gives way to the unplanned growth of the urban fringe and the villages which tend to accommodate the migrants and in turn the pressure on the socio-economic infrastructure increases. Therefore, it becomes increasing necessary for the government institution and policy level intervention to provide an overall socio-economic growth along with rapid industrial growth.

Keywords: policy intervention, urban morphology, urban industrial hub, livelihood transformation

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Authors: Wallace Wong, Julia Toews, Kirsten Graham, Teija Yli-Renko, Dorcas Chau, Judith Lai, Momoka Nabatame

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Many transgender individuals report recognizing their non-cisgender identity in early childhood. However, numerous transgender adolescents choose to delay coming out to their family or friends until after puberty. This study explored factors influencing this decision by analyzing data from over 100 cases of transgender adolescents who disclosed their identity post-puberty. Using a qualitative thematic analysis approach, we identified key factors affecting this choice, including fear of rejection, lack of affirming resources, internalized transphobia, and safety concerns. The study also revealed the positive impact of increased transgender visibility and online support communities in facilitating later coming-out experiences. Our findings highlight the intersection of personal, social, and environmental factors contributing to disclosure timing for transgender adolescents. These insights can inform supportive interventions and policies to assist transgender youth throughout their coming out process, regardless of when it occurs. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by transgender adolescents and the support they need during this critical period.

Keywords: transgender, gender identity, coming out, adolescents

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Authors: Bill D. Geis

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Even with significantly increased spending, suicide rates continue to climb—with alarming increases among traditionally low-risk groups. This has caused clinicians and researchers to call for a complete rethinking of all assumptions about suicide prevention, assessment, and intervention. A form of therapy--Internal Family Systems Therapy--affords tremendous promise in sustained diminishment of lethal suicide risk. Though a form of therapy that is most familiar to trauma therapists, Internal Family Systems Therapy, involving direct work with suicidal parts, is a promising therapy for meaningful and sustained reduction in suicide deaths. Developed by Richard Schwartz, Internal Family Systems Therapy proposes that we are all influenced greatly by internal parts, frozen by development adversities, and these often-contradictory parts contribute invisibly to mood, distress, and behavior. In making research videos of patients from our database and discussing their suicide attempts, it is clear that many persons who attempt suicide are in altered states at the time of their attempt and influenced by factors other than conscious intent. Suicide intervention using this therapy involves direct work with suicidal parts and other interacting parts that generate distress and despair. Internal Family Systems theory posits that deep experiences of pain, fear, aloneness, and distress are defended by a range of different parts that attempt to contain these experiences of pain through various internal activities that unwittingly push forward inhibition, fear, self-doubt, hopelessness, desires to cut and engage in destructive behavior, addictive behavior, and even suicidal actions. These suicidal parts are often created (and “frozen”) at young ages, and these very young parts do not understand the consequences of this influence. Experience suggests that suicidal parts can create impulsive risk behind the scenes when pain is high and emotional support reduced—with significant crisis potential. This understanding of latent suicide risk is consistent with many of our video accounts of serious suicidal acts—compiled in a database of 1104 subjects. Since 2016, consent has been obtained and records kept of 23 highly suicidal patients, with initial Intention-to-Die ratings (0= no intent, 10 = conviction to die) between 5 and 10. In 67% of these cases using IFST parts-work intervention, these highly suicidal patients’ risk was reduced to 0-1, and 83% of cases were reduced to 4 or lower. There were no suicide deaths. Case illustrations will be offered.

Keywords: suicide, internal family systems therapy, crisis management, suicide prevention

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Authors: Rajib Husain, Mezbah Uddin, Mohammad Shamsal Islam, Rabeya Siddiquee

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Purpose: To determine the improvement of visual acuity in patients undergoing occlusion therapy. Methods: This was a prospective hospital-based study of newly diagnosed of amblyopia seen at the pediatric clinic of Chittagong Eye Infirmary & Training Complex. There were 32 refractive amblyopia subjects were examined & questionnaire was piloted. Included were all patients diagnosed with refractive amblyopia between 5 to 8 years, without previous amblyopia treatment, and whose parents were interested to participate in the study. Patients diagnosed with strabismic amblyopia were excluded. Patients were first corrected with the best correction for a month. When the VA in the amblyopic eye did not improve over a month, then occlusion treatment was started. Occlusion was done daily for 6-8 h together with vision therapy. The occlusion was carried out for three months. Results: Out of study 32 children, 31 of them have a good compliance of amblyopic treatment whereas one child has poor compliance. About 6% Children have amblyopia from Myopia, 7% Hyperopia, 32% from myopic astigmatism, 42% from hyperopic astigmatism and 13% have mixed astigmatism. The mean and Standard deviation of present average VA was 0.452±0.275 Log MAR and after an intervention of amblyopia therapy with vision therapy mean and Standard deviation VA was 0.155±0.157 Log MAR. Out of total respondent 21.85% have BCVA in range from (0-.2) log MAR, 37.5% have BCVA in range from (0.22-0.5) log MAR, 35.95% have in range from (0.52-0.8) log MAR, 4.7% have in range from (0.82-1) log MAR and after intervention of occlusion therapy with vision therapy 76.6% have VA in range from (0-.2) log MAR, 21.85% have VA in range from (0.22-0.5) log MAR, 1.5% have in range from (0.52-0.8) log MAR. Conclusion: Amblyopia is a most important factor in pediatric age group because it can lead to visual impairment. Thus, this study concludes that occlusion therapy with vision therapy is probably one of the best treatment methods for amblyopic patients (age 5-8 years), and compliance and age were the most critical factor predicting a successful outcome.

Keywords: amblyopia, occlusion therapy, vision therapy, eccentric fixation, visuoscopy

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Authors: Rupesh K. Chaudhary, Narinder P. Jain, Rajesh Mahajan, Rajat Manchanda

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Introduction: Delirium is a complex, multifactorial neuropsychiatric syndrome comprising a broad range of cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms. In critically ill patients, it may develop secondary to multiple predisposing factors. Although it can be transient and irreversible but if left untreated may lead to long term cognitive dysfunction. Early identification and assessment of risk factors usually help in appropriate management of delirium which in turn leads to decreased hospital stay, cost of therapy and mortality. Aim and Objective: Aim of the present study was to estimate the incidence of delirium using a validated scale in medical ICU patients and to determine the associated risk factors and outcomes. Material and Method: A prospective study in an 18-bed medical-intensive care unit (ICU) was undertaken. A total of 357 consecutive patients admitted to ICU for more than 24 hours were assessed. These patients were screened with the help of Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Unit -CAM-ICU, Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale, Screening Checklist for delirium and APACHE II. Appropiate statistical analysis was done to evaluate the risk factors influencing mortality in delirium. Results: Delirium occurred in 54.6% of 194 patients. Risk of delirium was independently associated with a history of hypertension, diabetes but not with severity of illness APACHE II score. Delirium was linked to longer ICU stay 13.08 ± 9.6 ver 7.07 ± 4.98 days, higher ICU mortality (35.8% % vs. 17.0%). Conclusion: Our study concluded that delirium poses a great risk factor in the outcome of the patient and carries high mortality, so a timely intervention helps in addressing these issues.

Keywords: delirium, risk factors, outcome, intervention

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Authors: Olusegun D. Omotoso

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The use of Moringa oleifera seed oil in the prevention and cure of many ailments particularly, neurodegenerative diseases have been on increasing trend in Nigeria. The study was aimed at investigating the ameliorative or reversal effects by the intervention of Moringa oleifera seed oil on the damage to frontal cortex of Wistar rats by cadmium. Twenty-eight Wistar rats of both sexes weighed between 73g-151g were used. The animals were acclimatized and were fed on rat chow and water ad libitum. The rats were randomly divided into four groups A, B, C and D of 7 rats each. Group A served as control which received 2.5mg/kgbw phosphate buffer intra-peritoneally, while group D served as Moringa-treated control and received oral administration of 2.0 mg/kgbw Moringa oleifera oil. Groups B and C were injected intra-peritoneally with 3.5mg/kgbw CdSO₄.8H₂O single dose. Group C received orally administration of 2.0mg/kgbw Moringa oleifera oil. The intervention lasted for four weeks after which the animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the tissues processed histologically. The immuno-histoarchitecture of the frontal cortex was characterized by pyknosis of nuclei as well as activation of astrocytes which was evidence in group B rats, while those animals in group C showed ameliorative effect that were evidence in reduction in the number of pyknotic nuclei and reduction of activated astrocytes as compared with control group A and Moringa-treated group D. It can be deduced that Moringa oleifera seed oil has natural antioxidant constituents that might have ameliorated the immuno-histoarchitectural damage caused by cadmium.

Keywords: cadmium, immuno-histoarchitecture, Moringa oleifera, pyknotic nuclei

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Authors: Aliya Kamilyevna Salahova

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This study examines the effectiveness of the Kids Science Labs intervention program, based on STEM, in fostering independent thinking among preschool and elementary school children and its influence on their academic achievement. Through a comprehensive methodology involving interviews, surveys, observations, case studies, and statistical tests, data were collected from various sources to accurately analyze the program's effects. The findings indicate a significant positive impact on children's independent thinking abilities, leading to improved academic performance in mathematics and science, enhanced learning motivation, and a propensity to critically evaluate problem-solving approaches. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of how STEM activities can foster independent thinking and academic success in young children, providing valuable insights for the development of educational programs. Introduction: The goal of this study is to investigate the influence of the Kids Science Labs intervention program, grounded in STEM, on the development of independent thinking skills among preschool and elementary school children. By addressing this objective, we aim to explore the program's potential to enhance academic performance in mathematics and science. The study's findings have theoretical significance as they shed light on the ways in which STEM activities can foster independent thinking in young children, thus enabling educators to design effective learning programs that promote academic success. Methodology: This study employs a robust methodology that includes interviews, surveys, observations, case studies, and statistical tests. These methods were carefully selected to collect comprehensive data from multiple sources, such as documents and records, ensuring a thorough analysis of the program's effects. The use of diverse data collection and analysis procedures facilitated an in-depth exploration of the research questions and yielded reliable results. Results: The results indicate that children participating in the Kids Science Labs program experienced a sustained positive impact on their independent thinking abilities. Moreover, these children demonstrated improved academic performance in mathematics and science, displaying higher learning motivation and the capacity to critically evaluate problem-solving methods and seek optimal solutions. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes significantly to the existing theoretical knowledge by elucidating how STEM activities can foster independent thinking and enhance academic success in preschool and elementary school children. The findings have practical implications for educators, empowering them to develop learning programs that stimulate independent thinking, leading to improved academic performance in young children. Discussion: The findings of this research affirm that the Kids Science Labs intervention program is highly effective in fostering independent thinking among preschool and elementary school children. The program's positive impact extends to improved academic performance in mathematics and science, highlighting its potential to enhance learning outcomes. Educators can leverage these findings to develop educational programs that promote independent thinking and elevate academic achievement in young children. Conclusion: In conclusion, the Kids Science Labs intervention program has been found to be highly effective in fostering independent thinking among preschool and elementary school children. Furthermore, participation in the program correlates with improved academic performance in mathematics and science. The study's outcomes underscore the importance of developing educational initiatives that stimulate independent thinking in young children, thereby enhancing their academic success.

Keywords: STEM in preschool, STEM in elementary school, kids science labs, independent thinking, STEM activities in early childhood education

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