Search results for: university administrative personnel

Authors: Amiraa Ali Mansor, Haslinda Abdullah, Angela Chan Nguk Fong, Norhaida Hanim Binti Ahmad Tajudin, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah

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Obesity has risen sharply over the past three decades, posing a grave public health concern globally. In Malaysia, it has also emerged as a significant health threat. While the second Sustainable Development Goal, "Zero Hunger", aims to ensure equitable access to nutritious food for all, a key challenge lies in addressing food insecurity. Food insecurity not only pertains to the quantity but also the quality of food, with both dimensions playing a pivotal role in health outcomes. To date, much of the research on food security has focused on household levels. There remains a research gap concerning university students, a population transitioning to independence from parental support and grappling with limited resources. This study seeks to bridge this gap by extending the Food Security Theory to incorporate the psychological dimension of self-esteem. Using a quantitative approach, data was collected from 452 public university students in Malaysia through a cross-sectional research design and a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The anticipated findings will provide novel insights by linking food security with self-esteem. Such insights have implications for healthcare policy and the framing of preventive strategies against obesity. It is hoped that this research will not only contribute to the academic discourse on Food Security Theory but also serve as a foundation for refining national health policies and programs aimed at fostering a healthier lifestyle.

Keywords: obesity, food security, body image, self-esteem

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Authors: Ghazala Kausar

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This study investigates Pakistani first year university students’ perception of the role of pragmatics in their general approach to learning English. The research is triggered by National Curriculum’s initiative to provide holistic opportunities to the students for language development and to equip them with competencies to use English language in academic and social contexts (New English National Curriculum for I-XII). The traditional grammar translation and examination oriented method is believed to reduce learners to silent listener (Zhang, 2008: Zhao 2009). This lead to the inability of the students to interpret discourse by relating utterances to their meaning, understanding the intentions of the users and how language is used in specific setting (Bachman & Palmer, 1996, 2010). Pragmatic competence is a neglected area as far as teaching and learning English in Pakistan is concerned. This study focuses on the different types of pragmatic knowledge, learners perception of such knowledge and learning strategies employed by different learners to process the learning in general and pragmatic in particular. This study employed three data collecting tools; a questionnaire, discourse completion task and interviews to elicit data from first year university students regarding their perception of pragmatic competence. Results showed that Pakistani first year university learners have limited pragmatic knowledge. Although they acknowledged the importance of linguistic knowledge for linguistic competence in the students but argued that insufficient English proficiency, limited knowledge of pragmatics, insufficient language material and tasks were major reasons of pragmatic failure.

Keywords: pragmatic competence, Pakistani college learners, linguistic competence

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Authors: Toan Vo

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Electronic attacks, illegal drones, interference, and jamming are no longer capabilities reserved for a state-sponsored, near-peer adversary. The proliferation of jammers on auction websites has lowered the price of entry for electronics hobbyists and nefarious actors. To enable local authorities and enforcement bodies to keep up with these challenges, this paper proposes a training as a service model to quickly and economically train and equip police departments and local law enforcement agencies. Using the U.S Department of Defense’s investment in Electronic Warfare as a guideline, a large number of personnel can be trained on effective spectrum monitoring techniques using commercial equipment readily available on the market. Finally, this paper will examine the economic benefits to the test and measurement industry if the TaaS model is applied.

Keywords: training, electronic warfare, economics, law enforcement

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Authors: Ismail Baniadam, Nafisa Tadayyon, Javid Fereidoni

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This study aimed to investigate medical students’ attitudes toward some teachers’ talking features regarding their gender in the Iranian context. To do so, 60 male and 60 female medical students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences (UMSU) participated in the research. A researcher made Likert-type questionnaire which was initially piloted and was used to gather the data. Comparing the four different factors regarding the features of teacher talk, it was revealed that visual and extra-linguistic information factor, Lexical and syntactic familiarity, Speed of speech, and the use of Persian language had the highest to the lowest mean score, respectively. It was also indicated that female students rather than male students were significantly more in favor of speed of speech and lexical and syntactic familiarity.

Keywords: attitude, gender, medical student, teacher talk

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Authors: Nadeem Hassan, Farooq Ahmad

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The quality of education has a direct impact on individual, family, society, economy in general and the mankind as a whole. Because of that thousands of research papers and articles are written on the quality of education, billions of dollars are spent and continuously being spent on research and enhancing the quality of education. Academic programs accredited agencies define the various criterion of quality of education; academic institutions obtain accreditation from these agencies to ensure degree programs offered at their institution are of international standards. This R&D aims to build a web based analytical tool (OptiBaha) that finds the gaps in AlBaha University education system by taking input from stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff and management. The input/online-data collected by this tool will be analyzed on core areas of education as proposed by accredited agencies, CAC of ABET and NCAAA of KSA, including student background, language, culture, motivation, curriculum, teaching methodology, assessment and evaluation, performance and progress, facilities, availability of teaching materials, faculty qualification, monitoring, policies and procedures, and more. Based on different analytical reports, gaps will be highlighted, and remedial actions will be proposed. If the tool is implemented and made available through a continuous process the quality of education at AlBaha University can be enhanced, it will also help in fulfilling criterion of accreditation agencies. The tool will be generic in nature and ultimately can be used by any academic institution.

Keywords: academic quality, accreditation agencies, higher education, policies and procedures

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Authors: Evridiki Zachopoulou, Vasilis Grammatikopoulos, Michail Vitoulis, Athanasios Gregoriadis

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In the last ten years, the recent economic crisis in Greece has decreased the financial ability and strength of several families when it comes to supporting their children’s studies. As a result, the number of students who are significantly delaying or even dropping out of their university studies is constantly increasing. The students who are at greater risk for academic failure are those who are facing various problems and social disadvantages, like health problems, special needs, family poverty or unemployment, single-parent students, immigrant students, etc. The ‘Umbrella’ project is a volunteer-based initiative to tackle this problem at International Hellenic University. The main purpose of the project is to provide support to disadvantaged students at a socio-emotional, academic, and practical level in order to help them complete their undergraduate studies. More specifically, the ‘Umbrella’ project has the following goals: (a) to develop a consulting-supporting network based on volunteering senior students, called ‘i-mentors’. (b) to train the volunteering i-mentors and create a systematic and consistent support procedure for students at-risk, (c), to develop a service that, parallel to the i-mentor network will be ensuring opportunities for at-risk students to find a job, (d) to support students who are coping with accessibility difficulties, (e) to secure the sustainability of the ‘Umbrella’ project after the completion of the funding of the project. The innovation of the Umbrella project is in its holistic-person-centered approach that will be providing individualized support -via the i-mentors network- to any disadvantaged student that will come ‘under the Umbrella.’

Keywords: peer mentoring, student support, socially disadvantaged students, volunteerism in higher education

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Authors: N. F. Jamaluddin, N. A. H. Aizam

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This paper explains the educational timetabling problem, a type of scheduling problem that is considered as one of the most challenging problem in optimization and operational research. The university examination timetabling problem (UETP), which involves assigning a set number of exams into a set number of timeslots whilst fulfilling all required conditions, has been widely investigated. The limitation of available timeslots and resources with the increasing number of examinations are the main reasons in the difficulty of solving this problem. Dynamical change in the examination scheduling system adds up the complication particularly in coping up with the demand and new requirements by the communities. Our objective is to investigate these demands and requirements with subjects taken from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), through questionnaires. Integer linear programming model which reflects the preferences obtained to produce an effective examination timetabling was formed.

Keywords: demands, educational timetabling, integer linear programming, scheduling, university examination timetabling problem (UETP)

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Authors: Sedat Simsek, Tugay Arat

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Today's communication concept, which has a great revolution with the printing press which has been found by Gutenberg, has no boundary thanks to advanced communication devices and the internet. It is possible to take advantage in many areas, such as from medicine to social sciences or from mathematics to education, from the computers that was first produced for the purpose of military services. The use of these developing technologies in the field of education has created a great vision changes in both training and having education. Materials, which can be considered as basic communication resources and used in traditional education has begun to lose its significance, and some technologies have begun to replace them such as internet, computers, smart boards, projection devices and mobile phone. On the other hand, the programs and applications used in these technologies have also been developed. University students use virtual books instead of the traditional printed book, use cell phones instead of note books, use the internet and virtual databases instead of the library to research. They even submit their homework with interactive methods rather than printed materials. The traditional education system, these technologies, which increase productivity, have brought a new dimension to education. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of technologies in the learning process of students and to find whether is there any similarities and differences that arise from the their faculty that they have been educated and and their learning process. In addition to this, it is aimed to determine the level of ICT usage of students studying at the university level. In this context, the advantages and conveniences of the technology used by students are also scrutinized. In this study, we used surveys to collect data. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 16 statistical program with the appropriate testing.

Keywords: education, communication technologies, role of technology, teaching

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Authors: Christopher E. A. Ramsey, Halia Valladares Montemayor

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This study examined whether the dissemination of information about the circular economy (CE) has any bearing on the likelihood of the implementation of its concepts on an individual basis. Specifically, the goal of this research study was to investigate the impact of consumer knowledge about the circular economy on their behavior in applying such concepts. Given that our current linear supply chains are unsustainable, it is of great importance that we understand what mechanisms are most effective in encouraging consumers to embrace CE. The theoretical framework employed was the theory of planned behavior (TPB). TPB, with its analysis of how attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control affect intention, provided an adequate model for testing the effects of increased information about the CE on the implementation of its recommendations. The empirical research consisted of a survey distributed among university students, faculty, and staff at a Canadian University in British Columbia.

Keywords: circular economy, consumer behavior, sustainability, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Shu Jiuan Chen, Shu Fen Wu, I. Ling Tsai, Chia Yu Chen, Yen Lin Liu, Chen-Fuh Lam

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Background: Increased emotional stress in workplace and depressed job satisfaction may significantly affect the turnover intention and career life of personnel. However, very limited studies have reported the factors influencing the turnover intention of the surgical team members in the operating rooms, where extraordinary stress is normally exit in this isolated medical care unit. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the environmental and personal characteristic factors that might be associated with job satisfaction and turnover intention in the non-physician staff who work in the operating rooms. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study performed in a metropolitan teaching hospital in southern Taiwan between May 2017 to July 2017. A structured self-administered questionnaire, modified from the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI), Occupational Stress Indicator-2 (OSI-2) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) manual was collected from the operating room nurses, nurse anesthetists, surgeon assistants, orderly and other non-physician staff. Numerical and categorical data were analyzed using unpaired t-test and Chi-square test, as appropriate (SPSS, version 20.0). Results: A total of 167 effective questionnaires were collected from 200 eligible, non-physician personnel who worked in the operating room (response rate 83.5%). The overall satisfaction of all responders was 45.64 ± 7.17. In comparison to those who had more than 4-year working experience in the operating rooms, the junior staff ( ≤ 4-year experience) reported to have significantly higher satisfaction in workplace environment and job contentment, as well as lower intention to quit (t = 6.325, P =0.000). Among the different specialties of surgical team members, nurse anesthetists were associated with significantly lower levels of job satisfaction (P=0.043) and intention to stay (x² = 8.127, P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrates job title, seniority, working shifts and job satisfaction are the significant independent predicting factors for quit jobs. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight that increased work seniorities ( > 4-year working experience) are associated with significantly lower job satisfaction, and they are also more likely to leave their current job. Increased workload in supervising the juniors without appropriate job compensation (such as promotions in job title and work shifts) may precipitate their intention to quit. Since the senior staffs are usually the leaders and core members in the operating rooms, the retention of this fundamental manpower is essential to ensure the safety and efficacy of surgical interventions in the operating rooms.

Keywords: surgical team, job satisfaction, resignation intention, operating room

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Authors: Lawal Kado

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This paper investigates the perceptions of academic staff at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University regarding the influences of librarians and working colleagues on the awareness and use of electronic databases. The study aims to provide insights into the effectiveness of these influences and suggest strategies to improve the usage of electronic databases. Research aim: The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of academic staff on the influence of librarians and working colleagues towards the awareness and use of electronic databases in Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina. Methodology: The study adopts a quantitative method and survey research design. The survey questionnaire is distributed to 110 respondents selected through simple random sampling from a population of 523 academic staff. The collected data is analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Findings: The study reveals a high level of general awareness of electronic databases in the university, largely influenced by librarians and colleagues. Librarians have played a crucial role in making academic staff aware of the available databases. The sources of information for awareness include colleagues, social media, e-mails from the library, and internet searching. Theoretical importance: This study contributes to the literature by examining the perceptions of academic staff, which can inform policymakers and stakeholders in developing strategies to maximize the use of electronic databases. Data collection and analysis procedures: The data is collected through a survey questionnaire that utilizes the Likert scaling technique. The closed-ended questions are analyzed using SPSS 23. Question addressed: The paper addresses the question of how librarians and working colleagues influence the awareness and use of electronic databases among academic staff. Conclusion: The study concludes that the influence of librarians and working colleagues significantly contributes to the awareness and use of electronic databases among academic staff. The paper recommends the establishment of dedicated departments or units for marketing library resources to further promote the usage of electronic databases.

Keywords: awareness, electronic databases, academic staff, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, social influence

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Authors: Kunihiro Kamataki

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In this study, active learning based on simple science experiments was developed in a university class of the freshman, in order to improve their scientific literacy. Through the active learning based on simple experiments of generation of cloud in a plastic bottle, students increased the interest in the global atmospheric problem and were able to discuss and find solutions about this problem positively from various viewpoints of the science technology, the politics, the economy, the diplomacy and the relations among nations. The results of their questionnaires and free descriptions of this class indicate that they improve the scientific literacy and motivations of other classroom lectures to acquire knowledge. It is thus suggested that the science experiment is strong tool to improve their intellectual curiosity rapidly and the connections that link the impression of science experiment and their interest of the social problem is very important to enhance their learning effect in this education.

Keywords: active learning, scientific literacy, simple scientific experiment, university education

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Authors: Yohtahe Woldegerima Berhe, Tadesse Belayneh Melkie, Girmay Fitiwi Lema, Marye Getnet, Wubie Birlie Chekol

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Introduction: Anxiety was repeatedly reported as the worst aspect of the perioperative time. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of preoperative anxiety among adult surgical patients at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UoGCSH), Northwest Ethiopia. Methodology: Hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among surgical patients at the university hospital. After obtaining ethical approval, 407 surgical patients were approached during the preoperative period. Preoperative anxiety was assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The association between variables was determined by using binary logistic regression analysis. The strength of association was described in adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and a p-value < 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval which was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 400 patients were included in this study, with a 98.3% response rate. Preoperative anxiety was observed among 237 (59.3%) patients, and the median (IQR) STAI score was 50 (40 – 56.7). age ≥ 60 years (AOR: 5.7, CI: 1.6 – 20.4, P: 0.007), emergency surgery (AOR: 2.5, CI: 1.3 – 4.7, P: 0.005), preoperative pain (AOR: 2.6, CI: 1.2 – 5.4, P: 0.005), and rural residency (AOR: 1.8, CI: 1.1 – 2.9, P: 0.031) were found significantly associated with preoperative anxiety. Conclusions: The prevalence of preoperative anxiety among surgical patients was high. Older age (≥ 60 years), emergency surgery, preoperative pain, and rural residency were found to be significantly associated with preoperative anxiety. Assessment for preoperative anxiety should be a routine component of preoperative assessment of both elective and emergency surgical patients. Preoperative pain should be appropriately managed as it can help to reduce preoperative anxiety. Optimal anxiety reduction methods should be investigated and implemented in the hospital.

Keywords: preoperative anxiety, anxiety, anxiety of anesthesia and surgery, state-trait anxiety inventory, preoperative care

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Authors: Hakim Benoumelghar

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The launch in 1999 of the open access Initiative (OAI) and the protocol for sharing metadata, OAI-PMH, in parallel with the provision of deposit platforms, open-source software, such as DSpace in 2002, which allow libraries to develop digital repositories and play a leading role in the open access movement, and by building institutional open archives alongside the theme. This study focuses on Algerian universities and their projects and platforms for digital repositories of theses and scientific papers and the possibilities of access to the university community to develop research and access to archives of scientific digital content offered by the scientific community. This contribution attempts to compare Algerian and foreign institutional deposits in developed countries in order to have development and perspectives to facilitate scientific research and give more possibilities to the scientific community in documentary matters.

Keywords: digital repository, repository software, university, algeria

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Authors: Awad Alhwiti

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The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes students in Tabuk University towards the study in the deanship of the preparation year according to the study stream (scientific, literature) and gender (male, female).The sample of the study consisted of (219) males, (120) of them are in the scientific stream and (99) from the literature stream. Moreover, (238) females, (172) of them are in the scientific stream and (66) from the literature stream. The researcher developed valid and reliable instrument to measure their attitudes towards the study in the deanship of the preparation year. The scale of the study consisted of a group of paragraphs which take positive numbers from (1) to (13) in the meter, and a group of paragraphs which take negative number from (14) to (34) in the scale. The findings of the study showed that (13) items of the scale had a high degree of evaluation, while two items had an average evaluation degree. Meanwhile, (19) items had a low evaluation degree, and the trends in general where it came from (19) paragraphs negative, and (14) paragraphs positive. As the total means of Tabuk students attitudes towards the study in the deanship of the preparation year was (1.92) with a standard deviation of (0.64) with an average evaluation degree. The findings showed that there were significant statistical difference at the level of (α = 0.05) in the samples’ attitudes towards the study in the preparation year attributed to study stream (scientific, literature) on the favor of the scientific stream. While, there were no significant statistical difference at the level of (α = 0.05) in the samples’ attitudes towards the study in the preparation year attributed to and gender (male, female).

Keywords: students attitudes, preparation year deanship, Tabuk University, education technology

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Authors: Lizhu Y. Davis, Gretchen Higginbottom, Vang Vang

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This presentation explores the adoption of library resources to engage students in a Visual Merchandising course during the 2016 spring semester. This study was a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Fashion Merchandising Program and the Madden Library at California State University, Fresno. The goal of the project was to explore and assess the students’ use of library resources as a part of the Affordable Learning Solutions Initiative, a California State University (CSU) Office of the Chancellor Program that enables faculty to choose and provide high-quality, free or low-cost educational materials for their students. Students were interviewed afterwards and the results were generally favorable and provided insight into how students perceive and use library resources to support their research needs. This study reveals an important step in examining how open educational resources impact student learning.

Keywords: collaboration, library resources, open educational resources, visual merchandising

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Authors: Ann Vibert, Heather Hemming

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This paper presentation summarizes the findings and implications of research on the plight and practices of women educational leaders in public school systems and in one university. The authors, both women university administrators, are also scholars and researchers of education. The research project on which this paper presentation is based proposed to examine how women educational leaders imagined, experienced, and carried out their leadership roles in the context of a growing local and global accountability-based performativity discourse which is reshaping educational work especially for women, we argue, in both public school and post-secondary sites. The research employed critical ethnographic interviews with 20 women educational leaders in P-12 school systems and three women university level educational leaders. Data were collected on women educational leaders’ perceptions of the effects of accountability and performativity discourses on the nature of their work. Specifically, leaders were asked to speak to whether they experienced a growth in managerial work as a consequence of increased accountability demands; how they experienced their work changing as a consequence of accountability and performativity demands; how these changes impacted the central values they enacted in their work as women educational leaders changes; and how they responded to/negotiated/accommodated changes in the nature of their work developing as a consequence of accountability and performativity frameworks. Findings from the research data and analyses confirm and extend recent scholarly work on the gendered nature of performativity and accountability discourses and frameworks, and their differential effects across differing genders. The oral presentation we propose here focusses on those findings in terms of similarities for women educational leaders across different educational contexts.

Keywords: women in educational leadership, gender and educational performativity, accountability and women leaders, gender and educational leadership

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Authors: Calassandra Nwokoro

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Introduction: The nursing profession requires a lot of commitment, effort, and time to efficiently manage patients and provide them quality healthcare services, this work load may eventually cause the nurses to become burned out and experience psychological distress. This study assessed the prevalence of burnout, risk factors, and the coping strategies among nurses working in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos state, Nigeria. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted among 308 nurses working in LUTH. Simple random sampling was used in selection of study respondents. The questionnaire comprised three parts; the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents, the extent of burnout syndrome using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the coping strategies used among the respondents using the BRIEF-COPE Inventory. Results: This study revealed relatively high levels of burnout among the nurses in LUTH with a prevalence of 16.9%, 31.2% and 20.1% for high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization and reduced professional accomplishment respectively. It also showed that burnout was significantly associated with long working hours. Religion was found to be the most commonly used coping strategy overall, while emotional support was the most frequently used coping strategy among nurses who had burnout. Conclusion: This study has revealed a relatively high prevalence of burnout among the nurses in Lagos University Teaching Hospital. In order to minimize the negative health impacts of burnout, the government should collaborate with psychologists and psychiatrists to implement regular stress management and stress inoculation programs for nurses and other health professionals in the country.

Keywords: burnout, nurses, coping strategies, healthcare

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Authors: Nkeiruka Queendarline Nwaizugbu

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The use of social media and mobile devices has become acceptable in virtually all areas of today’s world. Hence, this study is a survey that was carried out to find out if students and lecturers in public universities in Rivers State use social networking for educational purposes. The sample of the study comprised of 240 students and 99 lecturers from the University of Port Harcourt and the Rivers State University of science and Technology. The study had five research questions, two hypotheses and the instrument for data collection was a 4-point Likert-type rating scale questionnaire. The data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and z-test. The findings gotten from the analysed data shows that students participate in social networking using different types of web applications but they hardly use them for educational purposes. Some recommendations were also made.

Keywords: internet access, mobile learning, participation, social media, social networking, technology

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Authors: Robert Vanderburg, Nicholas Gibson

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Objectives: There has been an increased focus in education students’ mathematics skills in the last two years. Universities have, specifically, had problems teaching students struggling with mathematics. This paper focuses on the ability of a digital platform to significantly improve mathematics skills for struggling students. Methods: 32 students who demonstrated low scores on a mathematics test were selected to take part in a one-month tutorial program using a digital mathematics portal. Students were provided feedback for questions posted on the portal and a fortnightly tutorial session. Results: A pre-test post-test design was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analysis suggested that students improved skills in algebra, geometry, statistics, probability, ratios, fractions, and probability. Conclusion: Distance university students can improve their mathematics skills using a digital platform.

Keywords: digital education, distance education, higher education, mathematics education

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Authors: Asaolu Olugbenga Stephen, Afolabi Olusegun Temitope

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Lack of proper solid waste management is one of the main causes of environmental pollution and degradation in many cities, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to estimate the quantity of waste generated per capita per day, determine the composition and identify the potentials for recycling of waste generated. Characterization of wastes from selected households in the residential areas was done for over a 7 day period. The weight of each sorted category of waste was recorded in a structured database that calculated the proportion of each waste component. The results indicated that 85.4% of the sampled waste characterized was found to be recyclable; with an estimated average waste generated of 1.82kg/capita/day. The various solid waste fractions were organic (64.6%), plastics (15.6%), metals (9.2%), glass materials (1.6%) and unclassified (8.9%). It was concluded from this study that a large proportion of the waste generated from OAU campus residential area was recyclable and that there is a need to enact policy on waste recycling within the university campus.

Keywords: recycling, household wastes, residential, solid waste management

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Authors: Abiodun Musbau Lawal, Sunday Samson Babalola, Uzor Friday Ordu

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Issue of employees counterproductive work behavior in government owned organization in emerging economies has continued to be a major concern. This study investigated the factors of pay satisfaction, intent to leave and age as predictors of counterproductive work behavior among non-academic employee in a Nigerian federal government owned university. A sample of 200 non-academic employees completed questionnaires. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine the contribution of each of the predictor variables on the criterion variable on counterproductive work behavior. Results indicate that age of participants (β = -.18; p < .05) significantly independently predicted CWB by accounting for 3% of the explained variance. Addition of pay satisfaction (β = -.14; p < .05) significantly accounted for 5% of the explained variance, while intent to leave (β = -.17; p < .05) further resulted in 8% of the explained variance in counterproductive work behavior. The importance of these findings with regards to reduction in counterproductive work behavior is highlighted.

Keywords: counterproductive, work behaviour, pay satisfaction, intent to leave

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Authors: Peer M. Sathikh

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Creativity and innovation have become an important phenomenon today, whose potential is being realized through the success of Apple, Google/Android, Nike, Virgin, Dyson and other multinationals that are a household name today. Creativity and Innovation are, many times, used interchangeably, causing confusion as to what each represents and are capable of. Attempts to understand creativity and innovation clearly point to the difference, and at the same time, inter-dependency of one on the other. The assumption that having more creative personnel in a team will translate into innovation sooner or later seems generally counterproductive. What helps define the role of creativity and innovation in an organization and how can one build an innovative team? This paper points to the importance of understanding creative culture and innovation culture in order to bring about the desired innovation outcome and proposes a means to transform one to another as ideas move from mere ideas to useful innovation.

Keywords: creativity, innovation, creative culture, innovation culture, transformal operators

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Authors: Zuwaira Abubakar

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Islam is the Divine religion which guides Man ways of leading a prosperous life in this life and the hereafter. This study was conducted in order to investigate the possible relationship between adherence to Islamic principles of success and academic performance of university students. Accordingly, a questionnaire based on Islamized principles of success (referred to as 'Islamic character quotient inventory (ICQi)') was correlated with CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Averages) of 343 students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. The empirical testing indicates that the total score on ICQi correlated positively and significantly with academic performance of the respondent. Students with either high or medium adherence have a significantly (P<0.01) higher CGPA than their counterparts with the low-adherence level. However, the result did not show a significant relationship between the CGPA of highly adherent individuals and that of those with medium adherence level. This may suggests that Islam is not for spiritual life only but also relevant and useful for our practical life.

Keywords: academic, Islam, principles, success

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Authors: Behzad Moeini Sam, Sara Mohammadi Avandi

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One of the reasons for the success of the Achaemenids was the innovation and precise organization used in the administrative and military fields. Of course, these organizations had their roots in the previous governments that had changed in these borrowings. The units of the Achaemenid army are also among the cases that have their origins in the ancient East. In this article, the attempt is to find the sources of the Immortal Army based on the writings of old and current authors and archaeological documents, and the name mentioned by Herodotus and rejected by some authors. Of course, linguistic sources have also been used for better conclusions than the indicated sources. It emphasizes linguistic data to lead to a better deduction. Thus, it was included that ‘anauša’ is more probable than anušiya.

Keywords: army, immortal, ten thousand, Anauša, Anušiya

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Authors: Aagesson, Ekstrand, Persson, Sallander

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A description of how a team of librarians at Linnaeus University Library in Sweden utilizes a pedagogical approach to deliver engaging digital workshops on information retrieval. The team consists of four librarians supporting three different faculties. The paper discusses the challenges faced in engaging students who may perceive information retrieval as a boring and difficult subject. The paper emphasizes the importance of motivation, inclusivity, constructive feedback, and collaborative learning in enhancing student engagement. By employing a two-librarian teaching model, maintaining a lighthearted approach, and relating information retrieval to everyday experiences, the team aimed to create an enjoyable and meaningful learning experience. The authors describe their approach to increase student engagement and learning outcomes through a three-phase workshop structure: before, during, and after the workshops. The "flipped classroom" method was used, where students were provided with pre-workshop materials, including a short film on information search and encouraged to reflect on the topic using a digital collaboration tool. During the workshops, interactive elements such as quizzes, live demonstrations, and practical training were incorporated, along with opportunities for students to ask questions and provide feedback. The paper concludes by highlighting the benefits of the flipped classroom approach and the extended learning opportunities provided by the before and after workshop phases. The authors believe that their approach offers a sustainable alternative for enhancing information retrieval knowledge among students at Linnaeus University.

Keywords: digital workshop, flipped classroom, information retrieval, interactivity, LIS practitioner, student engagement

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Authors: Rana Alkattan

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Aim: This study aims to identify and analyze the factors predicting the professional clinical competency among newly recruited registered nurses. In addition, it aims to explore factors significantly correlated with high and low professional clinical competency score. Method: A descriptive analytical is applied in this study, cross-sectional which conducted between June 2012 and June 2013 at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, as one of the largest governmental university tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia. A survey questionnaire was designed to collect data. And then, data were analyzed using the SPSS. Results: A total of the 86 nurses provided valid responses. 69 were female and 17 were male. The majority of the participants in this study were married, from the Philippines, between 20-29 years old. The majority had certified university bachelor’s degree in nursing, as well as had prior experience in nursing between 1 to 5 years. There are two categories emerged from the data, which significantly correlated with nurses' professional competence and development. The first was the newly employed registered nurses demographic characteristic (correlation coefficients 0.154 to 0.470, P < 0.05), while the second was the list of studied environmental factors except 'job rotation factor' (correlation coefficients 0.122 to 0.540, P < 0.01). However, nurses' attitude including motivation and confidence were not associated with nurse's professional competency. Conclusion: that nurses' professional competence development is a process affected by certain personal demographic and environmental factors which will enable newly graduates nurses to provide safe effective patients' care and maintain their career responsibilities.

Keywords: clinical, competence, development nurses professional, registered

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: O. V. Jurieva, O. U. Jurieva, R. H. Yagudin, P. B. Chursin

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In the recent scientific researches on the problems of public service the idea of the use of innovative technologies of management of personnel processes is accurately formulated. Authors made an attempt to analyze the changes in the public service organizations and to understand how the studied situation is interpreted by the government employees themselves. For this purpose the strategy of sociological research was carried out on the basis of application of questionnaire developed by M. Rokich and focus group research. For the research purposes it was necessary to get to microlevel in order to include daily activities of employees of an organization, their life experience and values in the focus of the analysis. Based on P. Bourdieu's methodology, authors investigated the established patterns of consciousness and behavior of officials (doxa) and also analyzed the tendencies of re-thinking (change) of the settled content of values (heterodoxy) by them. The distinctive feature of the conducted research is that the public servants who have different length of service in the public service took part in the research procedure. The obtained data helped to answer the following question: what are the specifics of doxs of the public servants who work in the public civil service more than 7-10 years and what perception of values of civil service have junior experts whose work experience doesn't exceed 3 years. Respondents were presented by two groups: (1) public servants of the level of main positions in the public civil service of the Republic of Tatarstan. (2) Public servants of the level of lower positions in the ministries and departments of the Republic of Tatarstan. For the study of doxa or of the existing values of public servants, the research with use of the questionnaire based on M. Rokich's system is conducted. Two types of values are emphasised: terminal and instrumental, which are united by us in the collective concept doxa. Doxa: the instrument of research of the established patterns of consciousness and behavior which can either resist to changes in the organization or, on the contrary, support their implementation. In the following stage an attempt to deepen our understanding of the essence and specifics of doxa of officials by means of the applied sociological research which is carried out by focus group method is made. Information obtained by authors during the research convinces that for the success of policy of changes in the organizations of public service it is necessary to develop special technologies of informing employees about the essence and inevitability of the developed innovations, to involve them in the process of changes, to train and to develop the younger generation of civil servants, seriously to perceive additional training and retraining of officials.

Keywords: innovative technologies, public service organizations, public servants

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Analiza Acuña-Villacorte

Abstract:

The underlying principle behind the harmonization in international education does not solely aim for the comparability but also the compatibility of outputs produced. The international standard in the different professions particularly in engineering defines the required graduate attributes to attain suitable qualifications and recognitions. This study described the language practices of the Electronics Engineering students of Bulacan State University, Philippines who will be deployed for their internship program. The purpose of the study was achieved by determining the language proficiency of the students in terms of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, and checking the adherence of the University to the commitment of intensifying community building for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Vision 2020. The analysis of variance of the variables defined the significance between the causal variables and dependent variables. Thus, this study identified the mechanism that would regulate language practices in the Electronics Engineering program.

Keywords: communicative competence, language practices, mechanisms, outcomes-based education

Procedia PDF Downloads 296

Authors: Hussah M. AlShayea

Abstract:

This study aimed to identify the potential of cloud computing, "Google Drive" in overcoming the problems of collective learning from the viewpoint of Princess Noura University students. The study included (92) students from the College of Education. To achieve the goal of the study, several steps have been taken. First, the most important problems of collective learning were identified from the viewpoint of the students. After that, a survey identifying the potential of cloud computing "Google Drive" in overcoming the problems of collective learning was distributed among the students. The study results showed that the students believe that the use of Google Drive contributed to overcoming these problems. In the light of those results, the researcher presented a set of recommendations and proposals, including: encouraging teachers and learners to employ cloud computing to overcome the problems and constraints of collective learning.

Keywords: cloud computing, collective learning, Google drive, Princess Noura University

Procedia PDF Downloads 492