Search results for: administrative staff

Authors: Minnie Y. Teng, Kathy Xie, Jarus Tal

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Rationale: The traditional approach to community programs for children with mental and/or developmental challenges often involves segregation from typically-developing peers. However, studies show that inclusive education improves children’s quality of life, self-concept, and long term health outcomes. Investigating factors that influence inclusion can thus have important implications in the design and facilitation of community programs such that all children - across a spectrum of needs and abilities - may benefit. Objectives: This study explores barriers and facilitators to inclusive community programming for children aged 0 to 12 with developmental/mental challenges. Methods: Using a participatory-action research methodology, semi-structured focus groups and interviews will be used to explore perspectives of sighted students, instructors, and staff. Data will be transcribed and coded thematically. Practice Implications or Results: By having a deeper understanding of the barriers and facilitators to inclusive programming in the community, researchers can work with the broader community to facilitate inclusion in children’s community programs. Conclusions: Expanding inclusive practices may improve the health and wellbeing of the pediatric populations with disabilities, which consistently reports lower levels of participation. These findings may help to identify gaps in existing practices and ways to approach them.

Keywords: aquatic programs, children, disabilities, inclusion, community programs

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Authors: Layla Albdr

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Saudi Arabia instituted the policy of Sensitizing and Training Stakeholders for E-learning and witnessed wide adoption in many institutions. However, it is at the infancy stage and needs time to develop to mirror the US and UK. The majority of the higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia have adopted E-learning as an alternative to traditional methods to advance education. Conversely, effective implementation of the policy of sensitization and training of stakeholders for E-learning implementation has not been attained because of various challenges. The objectives included determining the challenges and opportunities of the E-learning policy of sensitization and training of stakeholders in Saudi Arabia's higher education and examining if sensitization and training of stakeholder's policy will help promote the implementation of E-learning in institutions. The study employed a descriptive research design based on qualitative analysis. The researcher recruited 295 students and 60 academic staff from four Saudi Arabian universities to participate in the study. An online questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was then analyzed and reported both quantitatively and qualitatively. The analysis provided an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and challenges of E-learning policy in Saudi Arabian universities. The main challenges identified as internal challenges were the lack of educators’ interest in adopting the policy, and external challenges entailed lack of ICT infrastructure and Internet connectivity. The study recommends encouraging, sensitizing, and training all stakeholders to address these challenges and adopt the policy.

Keywords: e-learning, educational policy, Saudi Arabia, policy of sensitization and training

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Authors: Ahmed Al Khamisi

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The Disaster Preparedness Standard (DPS) is one of the elements that is evaluated by the Accreditation Canada International (ACI). ACI emphasizes to train and educate all staff, including service providers and senior leaders, on emergency and disaster preparedness upon the orientation and annually thereafter. Lack of awareness and deficit of knowledge among the healthcare providers about DPS have been noticed in a tertiary hospital where ACI standards were implemented. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce a video-based e-learning (VB-EL) module that explains the hospital’s disaster plan in a simple language which will be easily accessible to all healthcare providers through the hospital’s website. The healthcare disaster preparedness coordinator in the targeted hospital will be responsible to ensure that VB-EL is ready by 25 April 2019. This module will be developed based on the Kirkpatrick evaluation method. In fact, VB-EL combines different data forms such as images, motion, sounds, text in a complementary fashion which will suit diverse learning styles and individual learning pace of healthcare providers. Moreover, the module can be adjusted easily than other tools to control the information that healthcare providers receive. It will enable healthcare providers to stop, rewind, fast-forward, and replay content as many times as needed. Some anticipated limitations in the development of this module include challenges of preparing VB-EL content and resistance from healthcare providers.

Keywords: Accreditation Canada International, Disaster Preparedness Standard, Kirkpatrick evaluation method, video-based e-learning

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Authors: Naomi Weiner-Levy

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The Mofet Institute of Research, established a School of Professional Development, the only one of its kind in Israel and throughout the world. It offers specialized programs for teacher educators, providing them with the professional knowledge and skills. The studies aim at updating teachers about rapidly changing knowledge and skills. Teacher educators are conceptualized as shifting from first order practitioners (school teachers) to second order practitioners. Those who train teachers are referred to as third order practitioners. The instructors in the School of Professional Development are third-order practitioners – teacher educators specializing in teaching their colleagues. Collegial guidance by teachers’ college staff members is no simple task: Tutors must be expert in their field of specialization, as well as in instruction. Moreover, although colleagues, they have to position themselves within the group as authoritative figures in terms of instruction and knowledge. To date, the role and professional identity of these third-order practitioners, has not been studied. To understand the nature and development of professional identity, a qualitative study was conducted in which 12 tutors of various subjects were interviewed. These were analyzed by categorical content analysis. The findings, assessed professional identity through a post-modern prism, while examining the interplay among events that tutors experienced, the knowledge they acquired and the structuring of their professional identity. The Tutors’ identity transformed through negotiating with ‘self’ and ‘other’ in the class, and constructed by their mutual experiences as tutors and learners. Understanding the function and identity of tutors facilitates comprehension of this unique training process for teacher educators.

Keywords: professional development, professional identity, teacher education, tutoring

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Authors: Ganesh Nivrutti Akhade

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This paper attempts to develop a reliable and valid instrument of measuring Healthcare service quality in India, and also analyses the impact of demographic factor of respondent on healthcare service quality. In this research paper , extant literature survey, discussion with stakeholder of healthcare system such as patients, patients relative, administrators of hospitals, clinics, professionals and expert interviews were used to develop a attributes of healthcare service quality dimensions. A pilot study was conducted with a sample of 31 healthcare patients of private sector, public sector ,trust hospital ,primary health care centers and clinics was surveyed in the Nagpur Metropolitan Area. At the end fifteen dimensions—reliability, assurance, responsiveness, tangibility, empathy, affordability, respect, and caring, Attitude of staff, Technical competence, Appropriateness, Safety, continuity, Effectiveness, Availability, Financial support. This fifteen-dimensional model was validated through a content validity and construct validity. The proposed research model shows acceptable fit indices. Impact of these dimensions on the Overall Healthcare Service Quality and customer satisfaction are analyzed using multiple regression technique. Findings indicate that all dimensions carry significant impact on the Overall Healthcare Service Quality perceptions and customer satisfaction. However, availability and effectiveness dimensions carry the maximum impact on the Overall healthcare Service Quality .

Keywords: healthcare, service quality, factor analysis (CFA), india, service quality dimensions

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Authors: E. K. Soyele

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This study is on capacity building and motivation as determinants of productivity among library personnel in colleges of education in South West, Nigeria. This study made use of a descriptive research design of survey type. A total enumeration sampling technique was used for the selected sample. The research sample consisted of 40 library personnel. The instrument used for the study was a structured questionnaire divided into four parts. Statistics data analysis used were descriptive statistics with frequencies, percentages, and regression statistics analysis. Findings from this study revealed that capacity building and motivation have positive impact on library personnel productivity with their percentages greater than 50% acceptance level. A test of null hypotheses at P < 0.05 significant level was tested to see the significance between capacity building and productivity, which was positive at P < 0.05 significant level. This implies that capacity building and motivation significantly determine productivity among library personnel in selected college libraries in Nigeria. The study concluded that there is need for institutions to equip their library personnel via training programmes, in-service, digital training, ICT training, seminars, and conferences, etc. Incentives should be provided to motivate personnel for high productivity. The study, therefore, recommends that government, institutions and library management should fund college libraries adequately so as to enhance capacity building, staff commitment and training for further education

Keywords: capacity building, library personnel, motivation, productivity

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Authors: Khedidja Benaicha Mati

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The present research tries to highlight a very crucial issue which exists at the level of the faculty of Economics and Management at Chlef university. This issue is represented by the challenges and difficulties which face the teaching / learning process in the faculty on the part of the language teachers, the learners, and the administration staff, including mainly the absence of an agreed syllabus, lack of teaching materials, teachers’ qualifications and training, timing, coefficient, and lack of motivation and interest amongst students. All these negative factors make teaching and learning EFL rather ambiguous, ineffective and unsatisfactory. The students at the faculty of Economics and Management are looking for acquiring not only GE but also technical English to respond efficiently to the ongoing changes at the various levels most notably economy, business, technology, and sciences. Therefore, there is a need of ESP programmes which would focus on developing the communicative competence of the learners in their specific field of study or work. The aim of the present research is to explore the ways of improving the actual situation of teaching English in the faculty of Economics and to make the English courses more purposive, fulfilling and satisfactory. The sample population focused on second and third-year students of Economics from different specialties mainly commercial sciences, insurance and banking, accountancy, and management. This is done through a questionnaire which inquires students about their learning weaknesses, difficulties and challenges they encounter, and their expectations of the subject matter.

Keywords: faculty of economics and management, challenges, teaching/ learning process, EFL, GE, ESP, English courses, communicative competence

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Authors: Nana Benma Osei

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Patient discharge can be a hectic process. Patients are sometimes sent to the wrong location or forgotten in lounges in the waiting room. This ends up compromising patient care because the delay in picking the patients can affect how they adhere to medication. Patients may fail to take their medication, and this will lead to negative outcomes. The situation highlights the demands of modern-day healthcare, and the use of technology can help in reducing such challenges and in enhancing the patient’s experience, leading to greater satisfaction with the care provided. The paper contains the proposed changes to a healthcare facility by introducing the clinical decision support system, which will be needed to improve coordination and communication during patient discharge. This will be done under Kurt Lewin’s Change Management Model, which recognizes the different phases in the change process. A pilot program is proposed initially before the program can be implemented in the entire organization. This allows for the identification of challenges and ways of managing them. The paper anticipates some of the possible challenges that may arise during implementation, and a multi-disciplinary approach is considered the most effective. Opposition to the change is likely to arise because staff members may lack information on how the changes will affect them and the skills they will need to learn to use the new system. Training will occur before the technology can be implemented. Every member will go for training, and adequate time is allocated for training purposes. A comparison of data will determine whether the project has succeeded.

Keywords: patient discharge, clinical decision support system, communication, collaboration

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Authors: Eleni Giouli

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Distance learning provides a flexible approach to education, enabling busy learners to complete their coursework at their own pace, on their own schedule, and from a convenient location. This flexibility combined with a series of other issues; make the benefits of lifelong distance learning numerous. The purpose of the paper is to investigate whether distance education can contribute to the improvement of adult skills in Greece, highlighting in this way the necessity of the lifelong distance learning. To investigate this goal, a questionnaire is constructed and analyzed based on responses from 3,016 attendees of lifelong distance learning programs in the e-learning of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. In order to do so, a series of relationships is examined including the effects of a) the gender, b) the previous educational level, c) the current employment status, and d) the method used in the distance learning program, on the development of new general, technical, administrative, social, cultural, entrepreneurial and green skills. The basic conclusions that emerge after using a binary logistic framework are that the following factors are critical in order to develop new skills: the gender, the education level and the educational method used in the lifelong distance learning program. The skills more significantly affected by those factors are the acquiring new skills in general, as well as acquiring general, language and cultural, entrepreneurial and green skills, while for technical and social skills only gender and educational method play a crucial role. Moreover, routine skills and social skills are not affected by the four factors included in the analysis.

Keywords: adult skills, distance learning, education, lifelong learning

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Authors: Carrollyne Aasen, Laverne Seales

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With increased Latinx communities within the United States, specifically in California, and more universities receiving designations of Hispanic-Serving institutions, Spanish programs have evolved to include more targeted and applicable practical skills. The Spanish program in the Languages and Cultures Department at California Lutheran University incorporated an interdisciplinary project with the Communication Department to create student-generated Spanish-language news inserts, which serve as a sister publication to the English-language student newspaper, The Echo. California Lutheran University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, meaning it is an accredited undergraduate institution with full-time Hispanic/Latinx students equivalent to at least 25 percent of the total students enrolled. As a Hispanic Serving Institution with growing numbers of bilingual students, faculty, staff, and community members, the need for more information aimed at Hispanic/Latinx communities increased, resulting in the opportunity to reflect topics of interest by community members. This project was developed to fulfill the Spanish program's goals for proficiency by using the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages guidelines and the university's need to support students and the community's voices. This article describes the stages from inception to production and the incorporation of journalism principles into the Spanish curriculum.

Keywords: interdisciplinary, media, foreign languages, HSI

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Authors: Shilpa Vasavada

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One of the 17 SustainableDevelopmentGoals focuses on gender equality. The paper is based on the learning derived from working with two Corporate Social Responsibility cases in India: one, CSR of an International Corporate and the other, CSR of a multi state national level corporate -on their efforts to integrate gender perspective in their agriculture and livestock based rural livelihood programs. The author tries to dissect how ‘gender equality’ is seen by these two CSRs, where the goals are different. The implications of a CSR’sunderstandingon ‘gender equality’ as a goal; versus CSR’s understanding of working 'with women for enhancing quantity or quality of production’ gets reflected in their orientation to staff, resource allocation, strategic level and in processes followed at the rural grassroots level. The paper comes up with examples of changes made at programmatic front when CSR understands and works with the focus on gender equality as a goal. On the other hand, the paper also explores the differential, at times, the negative impact on women and the programmes;- when the goals differ. The paper concludes with recommendations for CSRs to take up at their resource allocation and strategic level if gender equality is the goal- which has direct implication at their grassroots programmatic work. The author argues that if gender equality has to be implemented actually in spirit by a CSR, it requires change in mindset and thus an openness to changes in strategies and resource allocation pattern of the CSR and not simply adding on women in the way intervention has been going on.

Keywords: gender equality, approaches, differential impact, resource allocation

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Authors: Alam Zeb, Glen W. Armstrong, Muhammad Qasim

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Loss of forest cover is one of the most important land cover changes and has been of great concern to policy makers. This study quantified forest cover changes over pre logging ban (1973-1993) and post logging ban (1993-2015) to examine the role of geophysical factors and spatial attributes of land in the two periods. We show that despite a complete ban on green felling, forest cover decreased by 28% and mostly converted to rangeland. Nevertheless, the logging ban was completely effective in controlling agriculture expansion. The binary logistic regression revealed that the south facing aspects at low elevation witnessed more deforestation in the pre-ban period compared to post-ban. Opposite to deforestation, forest degradation was more prominent on the northern aspects at higher elevation during the policy period. Agriculture expansion was widespread in the low elevation flat areas with gentle slope, while during the policy period agriculture contraction in the form of regeneration was observed on the low elevation areas of north facing slopes. All proximity variables, except distance to administrative boundary, showed a similar trend across the two periods and were important explanatory variables in understanding forest and agriculture expansion. The changes in determinants of forest and agriculture expansion and contraction over the two periods might be attributed to the influence of policy and a general decrease in resource availability.

Keywords: forest conservation , wood harvesting ban, logistic regression, deforestation, forest degradation, agriculture expansion, Chitral, Pakistan

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Authors: Nnadi Ezekiel Ejiofor

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In Enugu, Nigeria, this study investigates the connection between strategic leadership and project management sustainability, with an emphasis on building projects in the State. The study set out to accomplish two specific goals: first, it sought to establish a link between creative project management and resource efficiency in construction projects in Enugu State, Nigeria; and second, it sought to establish a link between innovative thinking and waste minimization in those same projects. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 45 registered construction enterprises in the study area as part of the study's descriptive research approach. Due to the nonparametric nature of the data, Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to evaluate the acquired data. The findings demonstrate that creative project management had a significant positive impact on resource efficiency in construction projects carried out by architecture firms in Enugu State, Nigeria (r =.849; p.001), and that innovative thinking had a significant impact on waste reduction in those same projects (r =.849; p.001). It was determined that strategic leadership had a significant impact on the sustainability of project management, and it was thus advised that project managers should foresee, prepare for, and effectively communicate present and future developments to project staff in order to ensure that the objective of sustainable initiatives, such as recycling and reuse, is implemented in construction projects.

Keywords: construction, project management, strategic leadership, sustainability, waste reduction

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Fayza Alhammadi, Ayman Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari, Saleh Al Yami

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Background: A rapidly increasing number of studies that focus on the relationship between language and cortical (CD) and subcortical dementias (SCD) have recently shown that such correlation is existent. Mounting evidence suggests that cognitive impairments should be investigated against language disorders. Aims: This study aims at investigating how language is associated with dementia diseases namely CD &SCD in light of psychoneurolinguistic approach. Method: Data from multiple sources (e.g., theses, dissertations, articles, research, medical records, direct testing, staff reports, and client observations) have been integrated to provide a detailed analysis of the relationship between language and CD&SCD. The researchers identified over 20 most of dementia types, and described them. Having collected and described data, the researchers then analyzed these data independently to see to what extent CD&SCD are involved in matters concerning language. Results: Results of the present study demonstrate that language and CD&SCD are undoubtedly correlated with each other. The loss of the ability of some organs to perform certain functions (due to any of the dementia diseases) results in no way to the loss of some language aspects and /or speech skills. In clearer terms, it is rare to find a patient with dementia who is not suffering from partial or complete linguistic difficulties. Many deficits run through the current interpretation of linguistic disorders: language disorders, speech disorders, articulation disorders, or voice disorders.

Keywords: cortical dementia, subcortical dementia, diseases, psychoneurolinguistics, language, impairments, relationship

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Authors: Mostosi C., Stéphenne J., Kempeneers E.

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Introduction: Refuellers from Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) expressed concerns about the risks involved in handling JET-A1 fuel. The HSE Manager of BSCA, in collaboration with the occupational physician and the industrial hygiene unit of the External Service of Occupational Medicine, decided to assess the toxicological exposure of these workers. Materials and methods: Two measurement methods were used. The first was to assay three types of metabolites in urine to highlight the exposure to xylenes, toluene, and benzene in aircraft fuels. Out of 32 refuellers in the department, 26 participated in the sampling, and 23 samples were exploited. The second method targeted the assessment of environmental exposure to certain potentially hazardous substances that refuellers are likely to breathe in work areas at the airport. It was decided to carry out two ambient air measurement campaigns, using static systems on the one hand and, on the other hand, using individual sensors worn by the refuellers at the level of the respiratory tract. Volatile organic compounds and diesel particles were analyzed. Results: Despite the fears that motivated these analyzes, the overall results showed low levels of exposure, far below the existing limit values, both in air quality and in urinary measurements. Conclusion: These results are comparable to a study carried out in several French airports. The staff could be reassured, and then the medical surveillance was modified by the occupational physician. With the aviation development at BSCA, equipment and methods are evolving. Their exposure will have to be reassessed.

Keywords: refuelling, airport, exposure, fuel, occupational health, air quality

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Authors: Charmaine Devinee Pillay

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Employees in both public and private sectors are expected to contribute significantly to the growth and development of the organization that employs them. Good working conditions are directly linked to the optimum output emanating from the workforce’s excellent performance. Insecurity, instability and lack of benefits negatively impact on the employees’ commitment to their job. This is a qualitative case study that comprised 40 “Contract Employees” (Academic and Supporting staff) in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Questionnaire, as instrument of data collection, was used to obtain qualitative data. Data collected were categorized in themes and sub-themes for analyses and discussion. Findings showed that “contract Employees” are highly demoralized due to job insecurity and non-benefits, among other factors, which directly affect their overall output in discharging their duties. The case study at Walter Sisulu University typifies the generalized challenges faced by workers on contract basis in South Africa. It is therefore, recommended that employers hire their workforce on permanent basis or, where “Contract Employment “is inevitable, similar conditions that go with permanent employment should be incorporated in the contract terms of “Contract Employees”. This serves as impetus for optimum performance.

Keywords: contract employee, insecurity, instability, risk factors

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Authors: Sonja Gögele, Petra Kletzenbauer

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International strategies are ranked as one of the core activities in the development plans of Austrian universities. This has led to numerous promising activities in terms of internationalization (i.e. development of international degree programmes, increased staff and student mobility, and blended international projects). The latest innovative approach in terms of Erasmus+ are so called Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) which combine jointly delivered teaching and learning elements of at least three participating ERASMUS universities in a virtual and short-term mobility setup. Students who participate in BIP can maintain their study plans at their home institution and include BIP as a parallel activity. This paper presents the experiences of this programme on the topic of sustainable computing hosted by the University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM. By means of an online survey and face-to-face interviews with all stakeholders (20 students, 8 professors), the empirical study addresses the challenges of hosting an international blended learning programme (i.e. virtual phase and on-site intensive phase) and discusses the impact of such activities in terms of internationalization and Englishization. In this context, key roles are assigned to the development of future transnational and transdisciplinary curricula by considering innovative aspects for learning and teaching (i.e. virtual collaboration, research-based learning).

Keywords: internationalization, englishization, short-term mobility, international teaching and learning

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Authors: Ali S. Al-Aufi, Ibrahim S. Al-Harthi, Yousuf S. AlHinai, Ali H.S. Al-Badi, Zahran S. Al-Salti

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Social media tools have currently been leading a major change in the flow and use of information for different life aspects within people and between people and their governments. They represent powerful channels for direct exchanges of information, ideas, and suggestions for purposes of civic participation. The current study aims at investigating Omani citizens’ perceptions, expectations, and motivations of their uses of social media tools to interact with the government for civic participation. A quantitative methodology was used to collect data through self-administered questionnaires from a random sample of university students and staff drawn from Sultan Qaboos University, considering them as well-informed and typically active users of social media. The literature was comprehensively reviewed to retrieve relevant empirical studies that particularly investigated the use of social media for civic engagement which provided a basis for the construct of the questionnaire; taken into consideration the delineated dimensions of perceptions, expectations, and motivations. The findings of the study offer practical and useful recommendations for governmental units in Oman and similar contexts in the region to inform better and efficient use of social media tools to interact with citizens in issues related to civic engagement; particularly to make best use of these tools for improving services and developing existing and newer initiatives, and hence, encouraging and strengthening citizens’ involvement for civic engagement.

Keywords: social media, social networking sites, web 2.0, civic engagement, civic participation, oman

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Authors: Guldana Zhigerbayeva, Ming Yang

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Transportation of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) is inevitable in the process industries. The statistics show a significant number of accidents has occurred during the transportation of HAZMAT. This makes risk management of HAZMAT transportation an important topic. The tree-based methods including fault-trees, event-trees and cause-consequence analysis, and Bayesian network, have been applied to risk management of HAZMAT transportation. However, there is limited work on the development of a systematic approach. The existing approaches fail to build up the linkages between the regulatory requirements and the safety measures development. The analysis of historical data from the past accidents’ report databases would limit our focus on the specific incidents and their specific causes. Thus, we may overlook some essential elements in risk management, including regulatory compliance, field expert opinions, and suggestions. A systematic approach is needed to translate the regulatory requirements of HAZMAT transportation into specified safety measures (both technical and administrative) to support the risk management process. This study aims to first adapt the House of Quality (HoQ) to House of Safety (HoS) and proposes a new approach- Safety Function Deployment (SFD). The results of SFD will be used in a multi-criteria decision-support system to develop find an optimal route for HazMats transportation. The proposed approach will be demonstrated through a hypothetical transportation case in Kazakhstan.

Keywords: hazardous materials, risk assessment, risk management, quality function deployment

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Authors: Isaac Yeboah, Emmanuel Osei Sarpong

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Physical activity (PA) is considered the best preventative tool for maintaining physical health and extending lifespan because it offers a range of benefits. However, for people to benefit from physical activity, it must be done at a level that can enhance fitness, health, and overall well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the link between physical activity participation levels and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). The study employed the descriptive correlational design. The census sampling technique included all 190-teaching staff from the two senior high schools in the Dormaa East District. An adapted International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and standardized physical fitness tests were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentages were used to answer the research questions while inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the independent sample t-test were used to test hypotheses one and two respectively. A moderately negative (r = -.156) relationship existed between physical activity participation levels and CRF. Female teachers demonstrated a statistically significant value (p = .045) than males. The study concluded that the reported physical activity levels of the teachers did not reflect their CRF. The implication is that either the participants overestimated their physical activity participation levels, or the intensity of the activities was not high enough to affect physiological changes. For the teachers' CRF to improve, it was suggested, among other things, that regular physical activity sessions of the appropriate mixes of FITT be organized.

Keywords: physical activity, participation levels, cardiorespiratory fitness, sedentary lifestyle, teachers

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Authors: Hsin-Yi Lo, Huang-Ju Jiun, Yu-Chiao Chu

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Hemodynamic monitoring is an important in the intensive care unit. Advances in medical technology in recent years, more diversification of intensive care equipment, there are many kinds of instruments available for monitoring of hemodynamics, Edwards Lifesciences Hemodynamic Monitoring (FloTrac) is one of them. The recent medical safety incidents in parameters were changed, nurses have not to notify doctor in time, therefore, it is hoped to analyze the current problems and find effective improvement strategies. In August 2021, the survey found that only 74.0% of FloTrac correctness of operation, reasons include lack of education, the operation manual is difficulty read, lack of audit mechanism, nurse doesn't know those numerical changes need to notify doctor, work busy omission, unfamiliar with operation and have many nursing records then omissions. Improvement methods include planning professional nurse education, formulate the secret arts of FloTrac, enacting an audit mechanism, establish FloTrac action learning, make「follow the sun」care map, hold simulated training and establish monitoring data automatically upload nursing records. After improvement, FloTrac correctness of operation increased to 98.8%. The results are good, implement to the ICU of the hospital.

Keywords: hemodynamic monitoring, edwards lifesciences hemodynamic monitoring, multiple strategies, intensive care

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Authors: W. Kongnoo, J. Loysongkroa, S. Chotivichien, N. Viriyautsahakul, N. Saiwongse

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Obesity, stunting and wasting problems among Thai school-aged children are increasing due to inappropriate food consumption behavior and poor environments for desirable nutritional behavior. Because of a low school lunch budget of only 0.40 USD per person per day, food quality is not up to nutritional standards. Therefore, the Health Department with the Education Ministry and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation have developed a quality school lunch project during 2009–2013. The program objectives were development and management of public policy to increase school lunch budget. The methods used a healthy public policy motivation process and movement in 241 local administrative organizations and 538 schools. The problem and solution research was organized to study school food and nutrition management, create a best practice policy mobilization model and hold a public hearing to motivate an increase of school meal funding. The results showed that local public policy has been motivated during 2009-2011 to increase school meal budget using local budgets. School children with best food consumption behavior and exercise increased from 13.2% in 2009 to 51.6% in 2013 and stunting decreased from 6.0% in 2009 to 4.7% in 2013. As the result of national policy motivation (2012-2013), the cabinet meeting on October 22, 2013 has approved an increase of school lunch budget from 0.40 USD to 0.62 USD per person per day. Thus, 5,800,469 school children nationwide have benefited from the budget increase.

Keywords: public policy, quality school lunch, Thailand, obesity

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Authors: Argyro Maria Skourmalla

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Internationalization and management of linguistic diversity in Higher Education (HE) have gained much attention in research in the last few years. Internationalization policies in HE aims at promoting the dual role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), civilization and competitiveness. In the context of the European Union, the European Education Area initiative aims at “inclusive national education and training systems” through networking and exchange between HEIs. However, the use of English as a ‘lingua academica’ in the place of the official, national, and regional/minority languages raises questions regarding linguistic diversity, linguistic rights and concerns that have to do with the scientific weakening of these languages. In fact, the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism, in the Declaration for Multilingualism in Higher Education, draws attention to the use of English at the expense of other regional/national languages and the impact of English-only language policy on an epistemological level. The above issues were brought up during semi-structured interviews with lecturing staff coming from three multilingual Universities in Europe. Lecturers shared their experiences and the practices they use to manage linguistic diversity in these three Universities. Findings show that even though different languages are used in teaching across disciplines, English -or ‘Globish’ as mentioned during an interview- is widely used in research. Despite English being accepted as the “lingua academica,” issues regarding loss of identity come up

Keywords: higher education, internationalization, linguistic diversity, teaching, research, English

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Authors: Onyeke Paul Chuks

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Nigeria is ranked among the developing nations and a country with a low income per capita. The consequences of this economic situation have led to the low achievement records below UN benchmark especially in the area of basic education for her citizens. The country is, however, making relentless efforts at arresting the situation by making budgetary allocations to ensure the realization of Millennium Development Goal No. 2 which is achieving universal basic education, her distressed economy notwithstanding. Basic education which comprises primary and lower secondary education as well as pre-primary and/or adult literacy programs have suffered serious setbacks orchestrated by the dwindling of the nation’s economy. This category of education being the bedrock of all other levels of education is regarded as a priority by developing countries and also the focus of the Education for All Movement led by UNESCO. The introduction of child-friendly school model is one of the strategies designed by UNESCO to achieving this all important MDGs goal No. 2. Child-friendly education model is aimed at replacing the out-dated, mundane, regimented and officious school administrative model where the basic rights of school children are trampled upon with impunity and community participation in school activities is viewed as unnecessary interference by school managers. This paper ex-rayed the potential obstacles likely to impinge on the implementation of child-friendly school model in Nigeria especially from the angle of her distressed economy and the colossal effects of the corrupt practices bedeviling the nation. The paper as well outlines prospects for the successful implementation of the child-friendly school model in Nigeria.

Keywords: child-friendly school, distressed economy, model, Nigeria

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Authors: Kalsoom Sumra

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The increasing concern of public sector reforms brings new challenges to public service ethics in developing countries not only at central level but also at local level. This paper aims to identify perceptions on public service ethics of public officials and examines more generally the understanding of public servants in Pakistan towards public service ethics in local public organizations. The study uses an independently administered structured questionnaire to collect data to know the extent of the recognition of public service ethics in local organizations. A total of 150 completed questionnaires are analyzed received from public servants working at the local level in Pakistan. The analysis explores how traditional, social patterns and cultural ethics can provide us with a rounded picture of the main antecedents, moderators of public service ethics in Pakistan. Moreover, the findings of this study contribute in association of public service ethics which are crucial in ongoing political and administrative culture of Pakistan, the most crucial core for public organizational ethical climate. This study also has numerous implications for local public administration and it highlights the importance of expanding research agenda on public service ethics in developing settings with challenging institutional contexts with imperfect training and operating environments. This study may well be particularly important for practice of public service ethics in developing countries in public administration. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to provide an initial step in practical implications to emphasize relevant public service ethics in public administration in developing transparent and accountable organization.

Keywords: public service ethics, accountability and transparency, public service reforms, public administration, organizational ethical climate

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Authors: Drew Fockler

Abstract:

This research examines how to improve an employee’s experience when transferring between departments within an organization. This research includes a historical review of a Canadian retail organization. Based on this historical review, gaps are identified between current and future visions to show where problems with existing training and development practices need to be resolved to reduce front-line employee turnover within an organization. The strategies within this paper support leaders through the LEAD: Listen, Explore, Act and Develop, Change Management Model. The LEAD Change Management Model supports the change process. This research proposes three possible solutions to improve an employee who is transferring between departments. The best solution to resolve the problem of improving an employee moving between departments experience is creating a Training Manager position within the retail store. A Training Manager position could support both employees and leadership with training and development of staff who are moving between departments. Within this research, an implementation plan using the TransX Model was created. The TransX Model is a hybrid of Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Transformational Leadership Theory to facilitate this organizational change within an organization by creating a common vision. Finally, this research provides the next steps as well as future considerations to enhance the training manager role within an organization.

Keywords: employee transfers, employee engagement, human resources, employee induction, TransX model, lead change management model

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Authors: Esther Kelechi Soyele

Abstract:

Job satisfaction is the expression of an organisation's fulfillment of work output. In order to achieve effective job satisfaction, the motivation of employees is very essential in stimulating their obligation towards their work. The study examined the motivational strategies, job satisfaction as a correlation of library service delivery in some selected tertiary institutions in southwest Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A simple random sampling method was employed to select 200 library staff consisting of both library professionals and para-professionals. Two hundred (200) questionnaires were given out, but only one hundred and twenty-nine 129 (96% response rate) were used for the study. Both simple percentage and one and two way ANOVA was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that 60.4% of the respondents were males while 39.6% were female; most of the respondents’ relatively belong to the age group of 31-40 and 41-50, 93.3% were within the age range of 21-50 years, and 43.2 % were M.Sc degree holders. The result revealed a (p < 0.05) significant relationship between work motivational strategies and library service delivery. The results also revealed that motivational development program strategies and job satisfaction have (p < 0.05) a positive significant relationship with library service delivery. It was concluded that work motivation strategies are essential for job satisfaction which is very important in any organization in the attainment of its goals and objectives and helps in maintaining a high standard. The study recommended that more incentive plans that will enhance job satisfaction should be put in place to encourage employees to be more active in carrying out their job effectively.

Keywords: job satisfaction, library, library services, motivational strategies

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Authors: Farnoosh Faal

Abstract:

Institutional and organizational change in social housing organizations can have a significant impact on both the organizations themselves and their stakeholders. This paper provides an overview of the impact of institutional and organizational change on social housing organizations and their stakeholders, including tenants, employees, and other community members. The paper examines the different types of institutional and organizational change that can occur in social housing organizations, such as changes in management structure, funding models, and service delivery methods. It also explores the potential benefits and drawbacks of these changes, including changes in efficiency, service quality, and tenant satisfaction. The paper further discusses the impact of institutional and organizational change on social housing organization stakeholders, including the effects on employee morale, tenant engagement, and community relationships. The paper highlights the importance of effective stakeholder engagement and communication in ensuring a smooth transition to new organizational models and systems. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by institutional and organizational change in social housing organizations and provides recommendations for organizations looking to navigate these changes successfully. These recommendations include prioritizing stakeholder engagement, investing in staff training and development, and maintaining a focus on the needs and priorities of tenants and communities. Overall, this paper emphasizes the importance of considering the impact of institutional and organizational change on social housing organizations and their stakeholders and highlights strategies for managing these changes in a way that maximizes benefits and minimizes negative impacts.

Keywords: social housing organizations, stakeholder engagement, institutional change, challenges, opportunities

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Authors: A. Myrzabekova, D. Nurmukhamed, K. Nurumov, A. Zhulbarissova

Abstract:

It is widely believed that stress can affect teachers’ intention to change the workplace. While existing research primarily focuses on the intrinsic sources of stress stemming from the school climate, the current attempt analyzes educational policies as one of the determinants of teacher’s intention to leave schools. In this respect, Kazakhstan presents a unique case since the country endorsed several educational policies which directly impacted teaching and administrative practices within schools. Using Teaching and Learning International Survey 2018 (TALIS) data with the country specific questionnaire, we construct a statistical measure of stress caused by the implementation of educational policies and test its impact on teacher’s intention to leave through the logistic regression. In addition, we control for sociodemographic, professional, and students related covariates while considering the intrinsic dimension of stress stemming from the school climate. Overall, our results suggest that stress caused by the educational policies has a statistically significant positive effect on teachers’ intentions to transfer between schools. Both policy makers and educational scholars could find these results beneficial. For the former careful planning and addressing the negative effects of the educational policies is critical for the sustainability of the educational process. For the latter, accounting for exogenous sources of stress can lead to a more complete understanding of why teachers decide to change their schools.

Keywords: educational policies, Kazakhstani teachers, logistic regression factor analysis, sustainability education TALIS, teacher turnover intention, work stress

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Authors: Nancy Ayman Kamal Mohamed Mehrz

Abstract:

As the economies of other countries in the Mediterranean Basin, the tourism sector in our country has a high denominator in economics. Tourism businesses, which are building blocks of tourism, sector faces with a variety of problems during their activities. These problems faced make business efficiency and competition conditions of the businesses difficult. Most of the problems faced by the tourism businesses and the information of consumers about consumers’ rights were used in this study, which is conducted to determine the problems of tourism businesses in the Central Anatolia Region. It is aimed to contribute the awareness of staff and executives working at tourism sector and to attract attention of businesses active concurrently with tourism sector and legislators. E-tourism is among the issues that have recently been entered into the field of tourism. In order to achieve this type of tourism, Information and Communications Technology (or ICT) infrastructures as well as Co-governmental organizations and tourism resources are important. In this study, the opinions of managers and tourism officials about the e-tourism in Leman city were measured; it also surveyed the impact of level of digital literacy of managers and tourism officials on attracting tourists. This study was conducted. One of the environs of the Esfahan province. This study is a documentary – survey and the sources include library resources and also questionnaires. The results obtained indicate that if managers use ICT, it may help e-tourism to be developed in the region, and increasing managers’ beliefs on e-tourism and upgrading their level of digital literacy may affect e-tourism development.

Keywords: financial problems, the problems of tourism businesses, tourism businesses, internet, marketing, tourism, tourism management economic competitiveness, enhancing competitiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 64