Search results for: Japanese English learners

Authors: Mehmet Oren, Susan Pedersen, Sevket C. Cetin

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Despite the frequently criticized disadvantages of the traditional used paper and pencil assessment, it is the most frequently used method in our schools. Although assessments do an acceptable measurement, they are not capable of measuring all the aspects and the richness of learning and knowledge. Also, many assessments used in schools decontextualize the assessment from the learning, and they focus on learners’ standing on a particular topic but do not concentrate on how student learning changes over time. For these reasons, many scholars advocate that using simulations and games (S&G) as a tool for assessment has significant potentials to overcome the problems in traditionally used methods. S&G can benefit from the change in technology and provide a contextualized medium for assessment and teaching. Furthermore, S&G can serve as an instructional tool rather than a method to test students’ learning at a particular time point. To investigate the potentials of using educational games as an assessment and teaching tool, this study presents the implementation and the validation of an automated embedded assessment (AEA), which can constantly monitor student learning in the game and assess their performance without intervening their learning. The experiment was conducted on an undergraduate level engineering course (Digital Circuit Design) with 99 participant students over a period of five weeks in Spring 2016 school semester. The purpose of this research study is to examine if the proposed method of AEA is valid to assess student learning in a 3D Educational game and present the implementation steps. To address this question, this study inspects three aspects of the AEA for the validation. First, the evidence-centered design model was used to lay out the design and measurement steps of the assessment. Then, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test if the assessment can measure the targeted latent constructs. Finally, the scores of the assessment were compared with an external measure (a validated test measuring student learning on digital circuit design) to evaluate the convergent validity of the assessment. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fit of the model with three latent factors with one higher order factor was acceptable (RMSEA < 0.00, CFI =1, TLI=1.013, WRMR=0.390). All of the observed variables significantly loaded to the latent factors in the latent factor model. In the second analysis, a multiple regression analysis was used to test if the external measure significantly predicts students’ performance in the game. The results of the regression indicated the two predictors explained 36.3% of the variance (R2=.36, F(2,96)=27.42.56, p<.00). It was found that students’ posttest scores significantly predicted game performance (β = .60, p < .000). The statistical results of the analyses show that the AEA can distinctly measure three major components of the digital circuit design course. It was aimed that this study can help researchers understand how to design an AEA, and showcase an implementation by providing an example methodology to validate this type of assessment.

Keywords: educational video games, automated embedded assessment, assessment validation, game-based assessment, assessment design

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Authors: Dhruv Sharma, Lynne Blair, Stephen Clune

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Later life loneliness is a social issue that is increasing alongside an upward global population trend. As a society, one way that we have responded to this social challenge is through developing non-pharmacological interventions such as befriending services, activity clubs, meet-ups, etc. Through a systematic literature review, this paper suggests that currently there is an underrepresentation of radical innovation, and underutilization of digital technologies in developing loneliness interventions for older adults. This paper examines intervention studies that were published in English language, within peer reviewed journals between January 2005 and December 2014 across 4 electronic databases. In addition to academic databases, interventions found in grey literature in the form of websites, blogs, and Twitter were also included in the overall review. This approach yielded 129 interventions that were included in the study. A systematic approach allowed the minimization of any bias dictating the selection of interventions to study. A coding strategy based on a pattern analysis approach was devised to be able to compare and contrast the loneliness interventions. Firstly, interventions were categorized on the basis of their objective to identify whether they were preventative, supportive, or remedial in nature. Secondly, depending on their scope, they were categorized as one-to-one, community-based, or group based. It was also ascertained whether interventions represented an improvement, an incremental innovation, a major advance or a radical departure, in comparison to the most basic form of a loneliness intervention. Finally, interventions were also assessed on the basis of the extent to which they utilized digital technologies. Individual visualizations representing the four levels of coding were created for each intervention, followed by an aggregated visual to facilitate analysis. To keep the inquiry within scope and to present a coherent view of the findings, the analysis was primarily concerned the level of innovation, and the use of digital technologies. This analysis highlights a weak but positive correlation between the level of innovation and the use of digital technologies in designing and deploying loneliness interventions, and also emphasizes how certain existing interventions could be tweaked to enable their migration from representing incremental innovation to radical innovation for example. This analysis also points out the value of including grey literature, especially from Twitter, in systematic literature reviews to get a contemporary view of latest work in the area under investigation.

Keywords: ageing, loneliness, innovation, digital

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Authors: E. C. Swart, E. Kunneke

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Background: Disparities in food security exist between communities and households across the country, reflecting continuing social and economic inequalities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of food insecurity amongst UWC students. Method: Cross-sectional study recruited 200 students via email and cellphone from an ICS generated list of randomly selected students aged 18-25. Data collection took place during the first two weeks of term 3. Individual appointments were made with consenting participants and conducted in English by trained BSc Dietetics students. Data was analysed using SPSS. The hunger scale used by Stats SA (October 2010) was used. Dietary intake was assessed using a single 24hr recall. Results: Sixty-three percent of the students reported that they do experience some food insecurity whilst 14.5% reported to go hungry due to inadequate access to food. Coping mechanisms during periods of food insecurity include: Asking a friend, neighbour, family member (40%); Borrow (15%); Steal (none); Casual jobs (12%). Anthropometric status of students did not differ statistically significantly by food security status. A statistically significantly greater proportion of Xhosa speaking students reported inadequate money for food. Students residing in residences off campus appear to be least food secure in terms of money available and limiting food intake, whilst those residing at home are less food insecure. Similar proportions of students who receive bursaries or whose parents are paying reported going hungry whilst those who supports themselves never goes hungry. Mean nutrient intake during the previous 24 hours of students who reported inadequate resources to buy food, who eat less due to inadequate resources and who goes hungry only differed statistically significantly for Vitamin B (go hungry) and for fibre (money shortage). In general the nutrient intake is lower for those who reported to eat less and go hungry except for added sugar, vitamin A and folate (go hungry), and energy, fibre, iron, riboflavin and folate (eat less). For students who reported to have inadequate money to buy food, the mean nutrient intake was higher except for calcium and thiamin. The mean body mass index of this group of students was also higher even though the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Hunger is present on campus however a single 24hr recall did not confirm statistically significant lower nutrient intakes for students who reported different levels of food insecurity.

Keywords: anthropometry, dietary intake, nutritional status, students

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Authors: Mende Mensa Sorato, Majid Davari, Abbas Kebriaeezadeh, Nizal Sarrafzadegan, Tamiru Shibru, Behzad Fatemi

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Markov model, like cardiovascular disease (CVD) policy model based simulation, is being used for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment. Stroke, angina, myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac arrest, and all-cause mortality were included in this model. Hypertension is a risk factor for a number of vascular and cardiac complications and CVD outcomes. Objective: This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the comprehensiveness of this model across different regions globally. Methods: We searched articles written in the English language from PubMed/Medline, Ovid/Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google scholar with a systematic search query. Results: Thirteen cohort studies involving a total of 2,165,770 (1,666,554 hypertensive adult population and 499,226 adults with treatment-resistant hypertension) were included in this scoping review. Hypertension is clearly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality, unstable angina, stable angina, MI, heart failure (HF), sudden cardiac death, transient ischemic attack, ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA). Association between HF and hypertension is variable across regions. Treatment resistant hypertension is associated with a higher relative risk of developing major cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality when compared with non-resistant hypertension. However, it is not included in the previous CVD policy model. Conclusion: The CVD policy model used can be used in most regions for the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment. However, hypertension is highly associated with HF in Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, it is important to consider HF in the CVD policy model for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment in these regions. We do not suggest the inclusion of PAD and AAA in the CVD policy model for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Researchers should consider the effect of treatment-resistant hypertension either by including it in the basic model or during setting the model assumptions.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease policy model, cost-effectiveness analysis, hypertension, systematic review, twelve major cardiovascular events

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Authors: Cláudia Patrocínio, Beatriz Fernandes, Ana Filipa Pires

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Background: Mirror therapy (MT) is used to improve motor function after stroke. During MT, a mirror is placed between the two upper limbs (UL), thus reflecting movements of the non- affected side as if it were the affected side. Objectives: The aim of this review is to analyze the evidence on the effec.tiveness of MT in the recovery of UL function in population with post chronic stroke. Methods: The literature search was carried out in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and PEDro database. Inclusion criteria: a) studies that include individuals diagnosed with stroke for at least 6 months; b) intervention with MT in UL or comparing it with other interventions; c) articles published until 2023; d) articles published in English or Portuguese; e) randomized controlled studies. Exclusion criteria: a) animal studies; b) studies that do not provide a detailed description of the intervention; c) Studies using central electrical stimulation. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Studies with < 4 on PEDro scale were excluded. Eighteen studies met all the inclusion criteria. Main results and conclusions: The quality of the studies varies between 5 and 8. One article compared muscular strength training (MST) with MT vs without MT and four articles compared the use of MT vs conventional therapy (CT), one study compared extracorporeal shock therapy (EST) with and without MT and another study compared functional electrical stimulation (FES), MT and biofeedback, three studies compared MT with Mesh Glove (MG) or Sham Therapy, five articles compared performing bimanual exercises with and without MT and three studies compared MT with virtual reality (VR) or robot training (RT). The assessment of changes in function and structure (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health parameter) was carried out, in each article, mainly using the Fugl Meyer Assessment-Upper Limb scale, activity and participation (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health parameter) were evaluated using different scales, in each study. The positive results were seen in these parameters, globally. Results suggest that MT is more effective than other therapies in motor recovery and function of the affected UL, than these techniques alone, although the results have been modest in most of the included studies. There is also a more significant improvement in the distal movements of the affected hand than in the rest of the UL.

Keywords: physical therapy, mirror therapy, chronic stroke, upper limb, hemiplegia

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Authors: Rizalito B. Javier

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Research has shown that foreign students with higher levels of cultural awareness and intercultural communication competence tend to have better academic performance outcomes. This study aimed to find out the cultural awareness, intercultural communication competence, and academic performance of foreign students and its relationships among variables. Methods used were descriptive-comparative and correlational research design, quota purposive sampling technique while frequency counts and percentages, mean and standard deviation, T, and F-test and chi-square were utilized to analyze the data. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents were under the age bracket of 21-25 years old, mostly males, all single, and mostly citizens of Papua New Guinea, Angolan, Vanuatu, Tanzanian, Nigerian, Korean, Rwanda, and Myanmar. Most language spoken was English, many of them were born again Christians, the majority took BS business management degree program, their studies mainly supported by their parents, they had stayed in the Philippines for 3-4 years, and most of them attended five to six times of cultural awareness/competence workshop-seminars, majority of their parent’s occupations were family own business, and had been earning a family monthly income of P61,0000 and above. The respondents were highly aware of their culture in terms of clients’ issues. The intercultural communication competence of the respondents was slightly aware in terms of intercultural awareness, while the foreign students performed good remarks in their average academic performance. However, the profiles of the participants in terms of age, gender, civil status, nationality, course/degree program taken, support to the study, length of stay, workshop attended, and parents’ occupation have significant differences in the academic performance except for the type of family, language spoken, religion and family monthly income. Moreover, cultural awareness was significantly related to intercultural communication competence, and both were not related to academic performance. It is recommended that foreign students be provided with cultural orientation programs, offered language support services, promoted intercultural exchange activities, and implemented inclusive teaching practices to allow students to effectively navigate and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, fostering a more inclusive and collaborative learning environment.

Keywords: cultural competence, communication competence, intercultural competence, and culture-academic performance.

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Authors: Hazel P. Atilano

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In this age of AI-assisted teaching and learning, there seems to be a dearth of research literature on the linguistic analysis of English as a Second Language (ESL) student-generated paraphrased academic texts. This study sought to examine the lexico-semantic, morphosyntactic features of paraphrased academic texts generated by ESL students. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, specifically linguistic analysis, the study involved a total of 85 students from senior high school, college, and graduate school enrolled in research courses. Data collection consisted of a 60-minute real-time, on-site paraphrasing practice exercise using excerpts from discipline-specific literature reviews of 150 to 200 words. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted to probe into the challenges experienced by the participants. The writing exercise yielded a total of 516 paraphrase pairs. A total of 176 paraphrase units (PUs) and 340 non-paraphrase pairs (NPPs) were detected. Findings from the linguistic analysis of PUs reveal that the modifications made to the original texts are predominantly syntax-based (Diathesis Alterations and Coordination Changes) and a combination of Miscellaneous Changes (Change of Order, Change of Format, and Addition/Deletion). Results of the analysis of paraphrase extremes (PE) show that Identical Structures resulting from the use of synonymous substitutions, with no significant change in the structural features of the original, is the most frequently occurring instance of PE. The analysis of paraphrase errors reveals that synonymous substitutions resulting in identical structures are the most frequently occurring error that leads to PE. Another type of paraphrasing error involves semantic and content loss resulting from the deletion or addition of meaning-altering content. Three major themes emerged from the FGD: (1) The Challenge of Preserving Semantic Content and Fidelity; (2) The Best Words in the Best Order: Grappling with the Lexico-semantic and Morphosyntactic Demands of Paraphrasing; and (3) Contending with Limited Vocabulary, Poor Comprehension, and Lack of Practice. A pedagogical paradigm was designed based on the major findings of the study for a sustainable instructional intervention.

Keywords: academic text, lexico-semantic analysis, linguistic analysis, morphosyntactic analysis, paraphrasing

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Authors: Liu Si, Wang Chunmei, Liu Huangmei

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A prominent component of the semantic versus pragmatic debate, scalar implicature (SI) has been gaining great attention ever since it was proposed by Horn. The constant debate is between the structural and pragmatic approach. The former claims that generation of SI is costless, automatic, and dependent mostly on the structural properties of sentences, whereas the latter advocates both that such generation is largely dependent upon context, and that the process is costly. Many experiments, among which Katsos’s text comprehension experiments are influential, have been designed and conducted in order to verify their views, but the results are not conclusive. Besides, most of the experiments were conducted in English language materials. Katsos conducted one off-line and three on-line text comprehension experiments, in which the previous shortcomings were addressed on a certain extent and the conclusion was in favor of the pragmatic approach. We intend to test the results of Katsos’s experiment in Chinese scalar implicature. Four experiments in both off-line and on-line conditions to examine the generation and response time of SI in Chinese "yixie" (some) and "quanbu (dou)" (all) will be conducted in order to find out whether the structural or the pragmatic approach could be sustained. The study mainly aims to answer the following questions: (1) Can SI be generated in the upper- and lower-bound contexts as Katsos confirmed when Chinese language materials are used in the experiment? (2) Can SI be first generated, then cancelled as default view claimed or can it not be generated in a neutral context when Chinese language materials are used in the experiment? (3) Is SI generation costless or costly in terms of processing resources? (4) In line with the SI generation process, what conclusion can be made about the cognitive processing model of language meaning? Is it a parallel model or a linear model? Or is it a dynamic and hierarchical model? According to previous theoretical debates and experimental conflicts, presumptions could be made that SI, in Chinese language, might be generated in the upper-bound contexts. Besides, the response time might be faster in upper-bound than that found in lower-bound context. SI generation in neutral context might be the slowest. At last, a conclusion would be made that the processing model of SI could not be verified by either absolute structural or pragmatic approaches. It is, rather, a dynamic and complex processing mechanism, in which the interaction of language forms, ad hoc context, mental context, background knowledge, speakers’ interaction, etc. are involved.

Keywords: cognitive linguistics, pragmatics, scalar implicture, experimental study, Chinese language

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Authors: Mahul Bhattacharyya, Niladri Sekhar Dash

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The present research paper is an experimental attempt to investigate the nature of variation in the register in three major text domains, namely, social, cultural, and political texts collected from the corpus of Bangla printed mass media texts. This present study uses a corpus of a moderate amount of Bangla mass media text that contains nearly one million words collected from different media sources like newspapers, magazines, advertisements, periodicals, etc. The analysis of corpus data reveals that each text has certain lexical properties that not only control their identity but also mark their uniqueness across the domains. At first, the subject domains of the texts are classified into two parameters namely, ‘Genre' and 'Text Type'. Next, some empirical investigations are made to understand how the domains vary from each other in terms of lexical properties like both function and content words. Here the method of comparative-cum-contrastive matching of lexical load across domains is invoked through word frequency count to track how domain-specific words and terms may be marked as decisive indicators in the act of specifying the textual contexts and subject domains. The study shows that the common lexical stock that percolates across all text domains are quite dicey in nature as their lexicological identity does not have any bearing in the act of specifying subject domains. Therefore, it becomes necessary for language users to anchor upon certain domain-specific lexical items to recognize a text that belongs to a specific text domain. The eventual findings of this study confirm that texts belonging to different subject domains in Bangla news text corpus clearly differ on the parameters of lexical load, lexical choice, lexical clustering, lexical collocation. In fact, based on these parameters, along with some statistical calculations, it is possible to classify mass media texts into different types to mark their relation with regard to the domains they should actually belong. The advantage of this analysis lies in the proper identification of the linguistic factors which will give language users a better insight into the method they employ in text comprehension, as well as construct a systemic frame for designing text identification strategy for language learners. The availability of huge amount of Bangla media text data is useful for achieving accurate conclusions with a certain amount of reliability and authenticity. This kind of corpus-based analysis is quite relevant for a resource-poor language like Bangla, as no attempt has ever been made to understand how the structure and texture of Bangla mass media texts vary due to certain linguistic and extra-linguistic constraints that are actively operational to specific text domains. Since mass media language is assumed to be the most 'recent representation' of the actual use of the language, this study is expected to show how the Bangla news texts reflect the thoughts of the society and how they leave a strong impact on the thought process of the speech community.

Keywords: Bangla, corpus, discourse, domains, lexical choice, mass media, register, variation

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Authors: Ana Ferraz, Martim Santos, M. Graça Pereira

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Distress among parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is common during treatment and can persist several years post-diagnosis, impacting the adjustment of children and parents themselves. Current evidence is needed to examine the scope and nature of parental distress in childhood ALL. This review focused on associated variables, predictors, and outcomes of parental distress following their ALL diagnosis of their child. PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases were searched for English and Spanish papers published from 1983 to 2021. PRISMA statement was followed, and papers were evaluated through a standardized methodological quality assessment tool (NHLBI). Of the 28 papers included, 16 were evaluated as fair, eight as good, and four as poor. Regarding results, 11 papers reported subgroup differences, and 15 found potential predictors of parental distress, including sociodemographic, psychosocial, psychological, family, health, and ALL-specific variables. Significant correlations were found between parental distress, social support, illness cognitions, and resilience, as well as contradictory results regarding the impact of sociodemographic variables on parental distress. Family cohesion and caregiver burden were associated with distress, and the use of healthy coping strategies was associated with less anxiety. Caregiver strain contributed to distress, and the overall impact of illness positively predicted anxiety in mothers and somatization in fathers. Differences in parental distress were found regarding group risk, time since diagnosis, and treatment phases. Thirteen papers explored the outcomes of parental distress on psychological, family, health, and social/education outcomes. Parental distress was the most important predictor of family strain. Significant correlations were found between parental distress at diagnosis and further psychological adjustment of parents themselves and their children. Most papers reported correlations between parental distress on children’s adjustment and quality of life, although few studies reported no association. Correlations between maternal depression and child participation in education and social life were also found. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand parental distress and its consequences on health outcomes, in particular. Future interventions should focus mainly on parents on distress reduction and psychological adjustment, both in parents and children over time.

Keywords: childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, family, parental distress, psychological adjustment, quality of life

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Authors: Maria Lucia G. Lourenco, Keylla H. N. P. Pereira, Viviane Y. Hibaru, Fabiana F. Souza, Joao C. P. Ferreira, Simone B. Chiacchio, Luiz H. A. Machado

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Congenital malformations are organ defects due to genetic or teratogenic causes, which can lead to high mortality in dog litters. This study assessed and described the congenital malformations in newborn dogs. The study included litters attend in the São Paulo State University (UNESP) Veterinary Hospital, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil. One hundred seventy-eight litters and 803 newborns were evaluated. The occurrence of litters with malformations was 24.7%, and of newborns was 6.7%. Twenty-seven different malformations were registered: anasarca, anal atresia, cleft lip, cleft palate, duplicated right ribcage, equinovarus, exencephaly, gastroschisis, hydrocephaly, lissencephaly, macroglossia, microphthalmia, mitral valve dysplasia, omphalocele, eyelid agenesis, persistent urachus, polydactyly, pulmonary hypoplasia, pulmonary valve stenosis, rectovaginal fistula, agenesis of abdominal muscles, rib hypoplasia, scoliosis, segmental aplasia of the intestines, tricuspid valve dysplasia, unilateral kidney agenesis, and vaginal atresia. 68.7% of newborns died as a result of malformations. The pure breeds with the highest chances of manifesting malformations in contrast with mixed breeds were French Bulldog, Pug, English Bulldog, Rottweiler, German Spitz, Pinscher, Pitbull, Yorkshire Terrier, and Shih-Tzu. Significant values (P<0.05) occurred in races French Bulldogs and Pugs. The causes of congenital disabilities are possibly related to hereditary genetic factors considering that the highest incidence of malformations was observed among purebreds. There as one case of exposure to a teratogenic agent, but no other mothers were exposed to such agents during pregnancy. Two cases of consanguineal breeding between siblings were reported. The mortality rate was high. Genetic breeding programs for reproduction, avoiding consanguineous mating, care in choosing parents, and avoiding maternal exposure to teratogenic agents are of utmost importance in reducing dog malformations and consequent mortality.

Keywords: congenital defects, teratogenesis, canine neonatology, newborn puppy

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Authors: Jutharat Attawet, Alex Y. Wang, Cindy M. Farquhar, Elizabeth A. Sullivan

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Background: Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes of multiple pregnancies resulting from multiple embryo transfers (ET) has become significant concerns. This is particularly relevant for gestational carriers since they usually do not have infertility issues. Single embryo transfer (SET) therefore has been encouraged to assist reproductive technology (ART) practice in order to reduce multiple pregnancies. Objectives: This systematic review aims to investigate the pregnancy and birth outcomes of SET and multiple ET in surrogacy arrangements. Search methods: This study is a systematic review. Electronic databases were searched from CINAHL, Medline, Embase, Scopus and ProQuest for studies from 1980 to 2017. Cross-references and national ART reports were also manual searchings. Articles without restriction of English language and study types were accessed. Carrier cycles involving in SET and multiple ET were identified in database searching. The main outcome measures including clinical pregnancy, live delivery and multiple deliveries per gestational carrier cycle were compared between SET and multiple ET. Mantel-Haenzel risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), using the numbers of outcome events in SET and multiple ET of each study were calculated suing RevMan5.3. Outcomes: The search returned 97 articles of which 5 met the inclusion criteria. Approximately 50% of carrier cycles were transferred a single embryo and 50% were transferred more than one embryo. The clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) was 39% for SET and 53% for multiple ET, which was not significantly different with RR = 0.83 (95% CI: 0.67-1.03). The live delivery rate was 33% for SET and 57% for multiple ET which was not significantly different with RR = 0.78 (95% CI: 0.61-1.00). The multiple delivery rate per carrier was greater risks in the multiple ET carrier cycles (RR =0.4, 95% CI: 0.01-0.26). There were 104 sets of twins (including one set of twins selectively reduced from triplets to twins) and 1 set of triples in the multiple ET carrier cycle. In the SET carrier cycles, there were 2 sets of twins. Significance of the study: SET should be advocated among surrogate carriers to prevent multiple pregnancies and subsequent adverse outcomes for both carrier and baby. Surrogacy practice should be reviewed and surrogate carriers should be fully informed of the risk of adverse maternal and birth outcome of multiple pregnancies due to multiple embryo transfers.

Keywords: assisted reproduction, birth outcomes, carrier, gestational surrogacy, multiple embryo transfer, multiple pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, single embryo transfer, surrogate mother, systematic review

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Authors: Chrysoula Karathanasi, Senad Karavdic, Angela Odero, Michèle Baumann

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It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator.

Keywords: career attributes, father's education level, life satisfaction, mental health

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Authors: Christo Swart, Lidia Pottas, David Maree

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Background: It is a sine qua non that the South African educational system finds itself in a profound crisis and that traditional school leadership styles are outdated and hinder quality education. New thinking is mandatory to improve the status quo and school leadership has an immense role to play to improve the current situation. It is believed that the servant leadership paradigm, when practiced by school leadership, may have a significant influence on the school environment in totality. This study investigates the private school segment in search of constructive answers to assist with the educational crises in South Africa. It is assumed that where school leadership can augment a supportive and empowering environment for teachers to constructively engage in their teaching and learning activities - then many challenges facing by school system may be subjugated in a productive manner. Aim: The aim of this study is fourfold. To outline the constructs of servant leadership which are perceived by teachers of private schools as priorities to enhance a successful school environment. To describe the constructs of organizational climate which are observed by teachers of private schools as priorities to enhance a successful school environment. To investigate whether the participants perceived a link between the constructs of servant leadership and organizational climate. To consider the process to be followed to introduce the constructs of SL and OC the school system in general as perceived by participants. Method: This study utilized a qualitative approach to explore the mediation between school leadership and the organizational climate in private schools in the search for amicable answers. The participants were purposefully selected for the study. Focus group interviews were held with participants from primary and secondary schools and a focus group discussion was conducted with principals of both primary and secondary schools. The interview data were transcribed and analyzed and identical patterns of coded data were grouped together under emerging themes. Findings: It was found that the practice of servant leadership by school leadership indeed mediates a constructive and positive school climate. It was found that the constructs of empowerment, accountability, humility and courage – interlinking with one other - are prominent of servant leadership concepts that are perceived by teachers of private schools as priorities for school leadership to enhance a successful school environment. It was confirmed that the groupings of training and development, communication, trust and work environment are perceived by teachers of private schools as prominent features of organizational climate as practiced by school leadership to augment a successful school environment. It can be concluded that the participants perceived several links between the constructs of servant leadership and organizational climate that encourage a constructive school environment and that there is a definite positive consideration and motivation that the two concepts be introduced to the school system in general. It is recommended that school leadership mentors and guides teachers to take ownership of the constructs of servant leadership as well as organizational climate and that public schools be researched and consider to implement the two paradigms. The study suggests that aspirant teachers be exposed to leadership as well as organizational paradigms during their studies at university.

Keywords: empowering environment for teachers and learners, new thinking required, organizational climate, school leadership, servant leadership

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Authors: Young Ik Suh, Taewook Chung, Glaucio Scremin, Tywan Martin

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In May of 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that StubHub, the ticket resale company, will have advertising on the team’s jerseys beginning in the 2017-18 season. The 76ers and National Basketball Association (NBA) became the first team and league which embraced jersey sponsorships in the four major U.S. professional sports. Even though many professional teams and leagues in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America have adopted jersey sponsorship actively, this phenomenon is relatively new in America. While the jersey sponsorship provides economic gains for the professional leagues and franchises, sport fans can have different points of view for the phenomenon of jersey sponsorship. For instance, since many sport fans in U.S. are not familiar with ads on jerseys, this movement can possibly cause negative reaction such as the decrease in ticket and merchandise sales. They also concern the small size of ads on jersey become bigger ads, like in the English Premier League (EPL). However, some sport fans seem they do not mind too much about jersey sponsorship because the ads on jersey will not affect their loyalty and fanship. Therefore, the assumption of this study was that the sport fans’ reaction about jersey sponsorship can be possibly different, especially based on different levels of the sport fans’ team identification and various sizes of ads on jersey. Unlike general sponsorship in sport industry, jersey sponsorship has received little attention regarding its potential impact on sport fans attitudes and buying intentions. Thus, the current study sought to identify how the various levels of team identification influence brand attitude and buying intention in terms of jersey sponsorship. In particular, this study examined the effect of team identification on brand attitude and buying intention when there are no ads, small size ads, and large size ads on jersey. 3 (large, small, and no ads) X 3 (Team Identification: high, moderate, low) between subject factorial design was conducted on attitude toward the brand and buying intention of jersey sponsorship. The ads on Philadelphia 76ers jersey were used. The sample of this study was selected from message board users provided by different sports websites (i.e., forums.realgm.com and phillysportscentral.com). A total of 275 respondents participated in this study by responding to an online survey questionnaire. The results showed that there were significant differences between fans with high identification and fans with low identification. The findings of this study are expected to have many theoretical and practical contributions and implications by extending the research and literature pertaining to the relationship between team identification and brand strategy based upon different levels of team identification.

Keywords: brand attitude, buying intention, Jersey sponsorship, team identification

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Authors: Yaqing Hu

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This paper puts forward a syntactic analysis involving multidominance and rightward movement in Chinese bi-comparatives, as in 'Yuehan bi Mali gao (John is taller than Mary).' It is argued here that the predicate of comparison is a shared constituent in two small clauses, namely one for the target and one for the standard; and then it moves rightward to form a degree phrase with the comparative morpheme. This proposal comes from four aspects. First, the example above can also be expressed in this way, 'A: Yuehan he Mali, shui gao? (John and Mary, who is taller?) B: Yuehan gao./Yuehan geng gao. (John is taller).' This shows that the gradable adjective is predicated of the target. In addition, according to a constraint on Chinese bi-comparatives, namely the target and the standard must be arguments of the predicate simultaneously, it is not unreasonable to assume that the gradable adjective may also be predicated of the standard. Second, subcomparatives are totally disallowed in Chinese, as in '*zhe-zhang zhuozi bi zhe-zhang yizi kuan chang. (This table is longer than this chair is wide.)' In order to save it from ungrammaticality, the target and the standard should be compared along the same dimension denoted by the gradable adjective. It may follow that in Chinese comparatives, having equal roles in the same eventuality, the target and the standard bear the same thematic relationship with the predicate of comparison. Third, verb-copy can appear in Chinese bi-comparatives, as in 'Yuehan qi ma bi Mali qi ma qi de kuai. (John rides horses faster than Mary does.)' The predicate qi seems to form a small clause with both the target and the standard. This might be supporting evidence that both the target and the standard share the predicate of comparison. Fourth, Chinese comparatives do have comparative morphemes, as in 'Yuehan bi Mali geng gao. (John is taller than Mary)', which is semantically equivalent to the first example above. Thus, it follows that one feature of Chinese comparative morphemes is that they can remain overt or covert in the syntax, which will not affect semantics. This further shows that comparative morphemes in bi-comparatives may not be able to saturate the degree argument denoted by the predicate of comparison due to its optionality in the structure. These four aspects present a challenge to the Direct Analysis used in Chinese comparatives since this approach would presume that the target and the standard somehow show independency with the predicate in the syntax. Meanwhile, this study also rejects the previous analysis of multidomiance in bi-comparatives in which the degree phrase comprised of the comparative morpheme and the gradable adjective may be shared by the standard when the comparative morpheme is covert. This syntactic analysis proposed in this study will therefore offer a different perspective of how to treat degree phrase in Chinese comparatives and may offer evidence to argue whether there is degree phrase movement in bi-comparatives as in its English counterparts.

Keywords: Chinese comparatives, degree phrase, movement, multidominance, syntactic analysis

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Authors: Wafa Al Jabri

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Background: In Middle Eastern Islamic Countries (MEICs), there is a high prevalence of genetic blood disorders (GBDs), particularly sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The GBDs are considered a major public health concern, especially with the increase in affected populations along with the associated psychological, social, and financial cost of management. Despite the availability of premarital screening services (PSS) that aim to identify the asymptomatic carriers of GBDs and provide genetic counseling to couples in order toreduce the prevalence of these diseases; yet, the success rate of PSS is very low due to religious and socio-cultural concerns. Purpose: This paper aims to highlight the factors that affect the success of PSS in MEICs. Methods: A literature review of articles located in CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, and MedLinewas carried out using the following terms: “premarital screening,” “success,” “effectiveness,” and “ genetic blood disorders.” Second, a hand search of the reference lists and Google searches were conducted to find studies that did not exist in the primary database searches. Only studies which are conducted in MEICs countries and published in the last five years were included. Studies that were not published in English were excluded. Results: Fourteen articles were included in the review. The results showed that PSS in most of the MEICs was successful in achieving its objective of identifying high-risk marriages; however, the service failed to meetitsultimate goal of reducing the prevalence of GBDs. Various factors seem to hinder the success of PSS, including poor public awareness, late timing of the screening, culture and social stigma, religious beliefs, availability of prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic abortion, emotional factors, and availability of genetic counseling services. However, poor public awareness, late timing of the screening, and unavailability of adequate counseling services were the most common barriers identified. Conclusion: Overcoming the identified barriers by providing effective health education programs, offering the screening test to young adults at an earlier stage, and tailoring the genetic counseling would be crucial steps to provide a framework for an effective PSS in MEICs.

Keywords: premarital screening, success, effectiveness, and genetic blood disorders

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Authors: Asena Biber, Ates Gul Ergun, Seda Bulut

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Based on the literature, there are large numbers of studies investigating the relationship between culture and leadership effectiveness. Although giving effective speeches is vital characteristic for a leader to be perceived as effective, to our knowledge, there is no research study the determinants of perceived effective leader speech. The aim of this study is to find the effects of both culture and voice pitch on perceptions of leader's speech effectiveness. Our hypothesis is that people from high power distance countries will perceive leaders' speech effective when the leader's voice pitch is high, comparing with people from relatively low power distance countries. The participants of the study were 36 undergraduate students (12 Pakistanis, 12 Nigerians, and 12 Turks) who are studying in Turkey. National power distance scores of Nigerians ranked as first, Turks ranked as second and Pakistanis ranked as third. There are two independent variables in this study; three nationality groups that representing three levels of power distance and voice pitch of the leader which is manipulated as high and low levels. Researchers prepared an audio to manipulate high and low conditions of voice pitch. A professional whose native language is English read the predetermined speech in high and low voice pitch conditions. Voice pitch was measured using Hertz (Hz) and Decibel (dB). Each nationality group (Pakistan, Nigeria, and Turkey) were divided into groups of six students who listened to either the low or high pitch conditions in the cubicles of the laboratory. It was expected from participants to listen to the audio and fill in the questionnaire which was measuring the leadership effectiveness on a response scale ranging from 1 to 5. To determine the effects of nationality and voice pitch on perceived effectiveness of leader' voice pitch, 3 (Pakistani, Nigerian, and Turk) x 2 (low voice pitch and high voice pitch) two way between subjects analysis of variances was carried out. The results indicated that there was no significant main effect of voice pitch and interaction effect on perceived effectiveness of the leader’s voice pitch. However, there was a significant main effect of nationality on perceived effectiveness of the leader's voice pitch. Based on the results of Turkey’s HSD post-hoc test, only the perceived effectiveness of the leader's speech difference between Pakistanis and Nigerians was statistically significant. The results show that the hypothesis of this study was not supported. As limitations of the study, it is of importance to mention that the sample size should be bigger. Also, the language of the questionnaire and speech should be in the participant’s native language in further studies.

Keywords: culture, leadership effectiveness, power distance, voice pitch

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Authors: Alexander Huang

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Online learning sessions have become an indispensable complement to in-classroom-learning sessions in the past two years due to the emergence of Covid-19. Due to social distance requirements, many courses and interaction-intensive sessions, ranging from music classes to debate camps, are online. However, online learning imposes a significant challenge for engaging students effectively during the learning sessions. To resolve this problem, Project PWR, a non-profit organization formed by high school students, developed an online kid-teach-kid learning environment to boost students' learning interests and further improve students’ engagement during online learning. Fundamentally, the kid-teach-kid learning model creates an affinity space to form learning groups, where like-minded peers can learn and teach their interests. The role of the teacher can also help a kid identify the instructional task and set the rules and procedures for the activities. The approach also structures initial discussions to reveal a range of ideas, similar experiences, thinking processes, language use, and lower student-to-teacher ratio, which become enriched online learning experiences for upcoming lessons. In such a manner, a kid can practice both the teacher role and the student role to accumulate experiences on how to convey ideas and questions over the online session more efficiently and effectively. In this research work, we conducted two case studies involving a 3D-Design course and a Speech and Debate course taught by high-school kids. Through Project PWR, a kid first needs to design the course syllabus based on a provided template to become a student-teacher. Then, the Project PWR academic committee evaluates the syllabus and offers comments and suggestions for changes. Upon the approval of a syllabus, an experienced and voluntarily adult mentor is assigned to interview the student-teacher and monitor the lectures' progress. Student-teachers construct a comprehensive final evaluation for their students, which they grade at the end of the course. Moreover, each course requires conducting midterm and final evaluations through a set of surveyed replies provided by students to assess the student-teacher’s performance. The uniqueness of Project PWR lies in its established kid-teach-kids affinity space. Our research results showed that Project PWR could create a closed-loop system where a student can help a teacher improve and vice versa, thus improving the overall students’ engagement. As a result, Project PWR’s approach can train teachers and students to become better online learners and give them a solid understanding of what to prepare for and what to expect from future online classes. The kid-teach-kid learning model can significantly improve students' engagement in the online courses through the Project PWR to effectively supplement the traditional teacher-centric model that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted substantially. Project PWR enables kids to share their interests and bond with one another, making the online learning environment effective and promoting positive and effective personal online one-on-one interactions.

Keywords: kid-teach-kid, affinity space, online learning, engagement, student-teacher

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Authors: Elcin Timur Cakmak, Ayse Oguzlar

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This study presents the results of the tweets sent by Twitter users on social media about the Russia-Ukraine war by bigram and trigram methods. On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a military operation against Ukraine, and all eyes were turned to this war. Many people living in Russia and Ukraine reacted to this war and protested and also expressed their deep concern about this war as they felt the safety of their families and their futures were at stake. Most people, especially those living in Russia and Ukraine, express their views on the war in different ways. The most popular way to do this is through social media. Many people prefer to convey their feelings using Twitter, one of the most frequently used social media tools. Since the beginning of the war, it is seen that there have been thousands of tweets about the war from many countries of the world on Twitter. These tweets accumulated in data sources are extracted using various codes for analysis through Twitter API and analysed by Python programming language. The aim of the study is to find the word sequences in these tweets by the n-gram method, which is known for its widespread use in computational linguistics and natural language processing. The tweet language used in the study is English. The data set consists of the data obtained from Twitter between February 24, 2022, and April 24, 2022. The tweets obtained from Twitter using the #ukraine, #russia, #war, #putin, #zelensky hashtags together were captured as raw data, and the remaining tweets were included in the analysis stage after they were cleaned through the preprocessing stage. In the data analysis part, the sentiments are found to present what people send as a message about the war on Twitter. Regarding this, negative messages make up the majority of all the tweets as a ratio of %63,6. Furthermore, the most frequently used bigram and trigram word groups are found. Regarding the results, the most frequently used word groups are “he, is”, “I, do”, “I, am” for bigrams. Also, the most frequently used word groups are “I, do, not”, “I, am, not”, “I, can, not” for trigrams. In the machine learning phase, the accuracy of classifications is measured by Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and Naïve Bayes (NB) algorithms. The algorithms are used separately for bigrams and trigrams. We gained the highest accuracy and F-measure values by the NB algorithm and the highest precision and recall values by the CART algorithm for bigrams. On the other hand, the highest values for accuracy, precision, and F-measure values are achieved by the CART algorithm, and the highest value for the recall is gained by NB for trigrams.

Keywords: classification algorithms, machine learning, sentiment analysis, Twitter

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Authors: Sora Suh, Catherine Michener

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This paper examines the collaborative forms of advocacy that a group of four public school teachers took for their emergent bilingual students in one public school district. While teacher advocacy takes many forms in and out of the classroom, much advocacy work is done by individuals and less by collective action. As a result, individual teachers risk isolation or marginalization in their school contexts when they advocate for immigrant youth. This paper is intended to contribute to the documentation and understanding of teachers’ advocacy work as a collaborative act in teacher education research. The increase of ELs in US classrooms and a corresponding lack of teacher preparation to meet the needs of ELs has motivated the training of educators in linguistically responsive education (e.g., ESL, sheltered English instruction [SEI], bilingual education). Drawing from educational theories of linguistically responsive teaching for preparing educators, we trace the linguistically responsive advocacy work of the teachers. The paper is a multiple case study that tracks how teachers’ discussions on advocacy during a teacher preparation program leading to collaborative actions in their daily teaching lives in and out of school. Data collected includes online discussion forums on the topic of advocacy, course assignments on the topic of advocacy, video-audio recordings of classroom teaching observations, and video-audio recordings of individual and focus group interviews. The findings demonstrate that the teachers’ understanding of advocacy developed through collaborative partnerships formed in the teacher preparation program and grew into active forms of collaborative advocacy in their teaching practice in and out of school. The teachers formed multi-level and collaborative partnerships with teachers, families, community members, policymakers from the local government, and educational researchers to advocate for their emergent bilingual students by planning advocacy events such as new family orientations for emergent bilinguals, professional development for general education teachers on the topic of linguistically responsive instruction, and family nights hosted by the district. The paper’s findings present types of advocacy work in which teachers engage (pedagogical, curricular, out-of-school work) and provide evidence of collaborative advocacy work by a group of engaged educators. The paper highlights the increased agency and effective advocacy of teachers through teacher education and collaborative partnerships and suggests a need for more research on collaborative forms of teacher advocacy for emergent bilinguals.

Keywords: language education, teacher advocacy, language instruction, teacher education

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Authors: Fereshteh Ganjavi, Rachel Schaffer, Varsha Jorawar

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Elena’s Light is a non-profit organization focused on building brighter futures for refugees, especially women and children. Our mission is to empower refugee women and children by addressing social, legal, and public health issues that predominantly concern them. Elena’s Light offers a range of services that support refugees from structural disadvantages, cultural and social stress, marginalization, and other stressors related to migration. Using a three-pronged approach, our programs focus on legal advocacy, English language acquisition, and health and wellness. Following the Afghan humanitarian crisis, Elena’s Light has developed and intensified advocacy efforts in the legal realm to address the influx of refugees who desperately need assistance. We developed and hosted a Know Your Rights presentation with local immigration lawyers and professionals in February 2022 on the Afghan Humanitarian Parole, which was very successful with over 100 attendees. Elena’s Light is hosting the second Know Your Rights session in early August 2022 on immigration options for Afghans, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS), asylum, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and humanitarian parole. Lastly, EL is also leading the local initiative to develop a pro-bono committee to respond to the overwhelming need for lawyers to work on legal cases for Afghan during this crisis. Furthermore, through our other services, we provide free, in-home customizable ESL tutoring sessions to refugee women with a focus on driver’s education, facilitating acculturation, and improving employment opportunities. We also provide in-home maternal, pediatric, and mental health education and wellness services that are aimed at addressing the explicit and implicit barriers to healthcare for refugee populations. Elena’s Light’s diverse community aims to counter the structural disadvantages and anxiety-inducing emotions and experiences related to being a refugee. We would like to join this International Conference on Refugee Law since protecting refugee rights is our mission. We would like to share what we have learned from our legal initiatives for refugee rights. We would also like to listen, learn from, and discuss with experts and researchers how to better understand and advocate for refugee rights. We hope to improve our understanding of how to provide better legal aid for our clients through this conference.

Keywords: legal, advocacy, Afghan humanitarian crisis, policy, pro-bono

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Authors: Geetanjali Sachdev

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This paper explores the decorative uses of plant motifs and symbols in traditional Indian art and craft practices in order to assess their pedagogical significance within the context of plant study in higher education in art and design. It examines existing scholarship on decoration and plants in Indian art and craft practices. The impulse to elaborate upon an existing form or surface is an intrinsic part of many Indian traditional art and craft traditions where a deeply ingrained love for decoration exists. Indian craftsmen use an array of motifs and embellishments to adorn surfaces across a range of practices, and decoration is widely seen in textiles, jewellery, temple sculptures, vehicular art, architecture, and various other art, craft, and design traditions. Ornamentation in Indian cultural traditions has been attributed to religious and spiritual influences in the lives of India’s art and craft practitioners. Through adornment, surfaces and objects were ritually transformed to function both spiritually and physically. Decorative formations facilitate spiritual development and attune our minds to concepts that support contemplation. Within practices of ornamentation and adornment, there is extensive use of botanical motifs as Indian art and craft practitioners have historically been drawn towards nature as a source of inspiration. This is due to the centrality of agriculture in the lives of Indian people as well as in religion, where plants play a key role in religious rituals and festivals. Plant representations thus abound in two-dimensional and three-dimensional surface designs and patterns where the motifs range from being realistic, highly stylized, and curvilinear forms to geometric and abstract symbols. Existing scholarship reveals that these botanical embellishments reference a wide range of plants that include native and non-indigenous plants, as well as imaginary and mythical plants. Structural components of plant anatomy, such as leaves, stems, branches and buds, and flowers, are part of the repertoire of design motifs used, as are plant forms indicating different stages of growth, such as flowering buds and flowers in full bloom. Symmetry is a characteristic feature, and within the decorative register of various practices, plants are part of border zones and bands, connecting corners and all-over patterns, used as singular motifs and floral sprays on panels, and as elements within ornamental scenes. The results of the research indicate that decoration as a mode of inquiry into plants can serve as a platform to learn about local and global biodiversity and plant anatomy and develop artistic modes of thinking symbolically, metaphorically, imaginatively, and relationally about the plant world. The conclusion is drawn that engaging with ornamental modes of plant representation in traditional Indian art and craft practices is pedagogically significant for two reasons. Decoration as a mode of engagement cultivates both botanical and artistic understandings of plants. It also links learners with the indigenous art and craft traditions of their own culture.

Keywords: art and design pedagogy, decoration, plant motifs, traditional art and craft

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Authors: W. S. Barber, S. L. King

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This paper reports on a pilot project to develop a collaborative partnership between a community college in rural northern Ontario, Canada, and an urban university in the greater Toronto area in Oshawa, Canada. Partner institutions will collaborate to address learning needs of university applicants whose goals are to attain an undergraduate university BA in Educational Studies and Digital Technology degree, but who may not live in a geographical location that would facilitate this pathways process. The UOIT BA degree is attained through a 2+2 program, where students with a 2 year college diploma or equivalent can attain a four year undergraduate degree. The goals reported on the project are as: 1. Our aim is to expand the BA program to include an additional stream which includes serious educational games, simulations and virtual environments, 2. Develop fully (using both synchronous and asynchronous technologies) online learning modules for use by university applicants who otherwise are not geographically located close to a physical university site, 3. Assess the digital competencies of all students, including members of local, distance and Indigenous communities using a validated tool developed and tested by UOIT across numerous populations. This tool, the General Technical Competency Use and Scale (GTCU) will provide the collaborating institutions with data that will allow for analyzing how well students are prepared to succeed in fully online learning communities. Philosophically, the UOIT BA program is based on a fully online learning communities model (FOLC) that can be accessed from anywhere in the world through digital learning environments via audio video conferencing tools such as Adobe Connect. It also follows models of adult learning and mobile learning, and makes a university degree accessible to the increasing demographic of adult learners who may use mobile devices to learn anywhere anytime. The program is based on key principles of Problem Based Learning, allowing students to build their own understandings through the co-design of the learning environment in collaboration with the instructors and their peers. In this way, this degree allows students to personalize and individualize the learning based on their own culture, background and professional/personal experiences. Using modified flipped classroom strategies, students are able to interrogate video modules on their own time in preparation for one hour discussions occurring in video conferencing sessions. As a consequence of the program flexibility, students may continue to work full or part time. All of the partner institutions will co-develop four new modules, administer the GTCU and share data, while creating a new stream of the UOIT BA degree. This will increase accessibility for students to bridge from community colleges to university through a fully digital environment. We aim to work collaboratively with Indigenous elders, community members and distance education instructors to increase opportunities for more students to attain a university education.

Keywords: aboriginal, college, competencies, digital, universities

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Authors: Areti Angeliki Veroniki, Sofia Tsokani, Evangelos Paraskevaidis, Dimitris Mavridis

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The plethora of diagnostic test accuracy (DTA) studies has led to the increased use of systematic reviews and meta-analysis of DTA studies. Clinicians and healthcare professionals often consult DTA meta-analyses to make informed decisions regarding the optimum test to choose and use for a given setting. For example, the human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA, mRNA, and cytology can be used for the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2+ (CIN2+) diagnosis. But which test is the most accurate? Studies directly comparing test accuracy are not always available, and comparisons between multiple tests create a network of DTA studies that can be synthesized through a network meta-analysis of diagnostic tests (DTA-NMA). The aim is to summarize the DTA-NMA methods for at least three index tests presented in the methodological literature. We illustrate the application of the methods using a real data set for the comparative accuracy of HPV DNA, HPV mRNA, and cytology tests for cervical cancer. A search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception until the end of July 2019 to identify full-text research articles that describe a DTA-NMA method for three or more index tests. Since the joint classification of the results from one index against the results of another index test amongst those with the target condition and amongst those without the target condition are rarely reported in DTA studies, only methods requiring the 2x2 tables of the results of each index test against the reference standard were included. Studies of any design published in English were eligible for inclusion. Relevant unpublished material was also included. Ten relevant studies were finally included to evaluate their methodology. DTA-NMA methods that have been presented in the literature together with their advantages and disadvantages are described. In addition, using 37 studies for cervical cancer obtained from a published Cochrane review as a case study, an application of the identified DTA-NMA methods to determine the most promising test (in terms of sensitivity and specificity) for use as the best screening test to detect CIN2+ is presented. As a conclusion, different approaches for the comparative DTA meta-analysis of multiple tests may conclude to different results and hence may influence decision-making. Acknowledgment: This research is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund- ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2020» in the context of the project “Extension of Network Meta-Analysis for the Comparison of Diagnostic Tests ” (MIS 5047640).

Keywords: colposcopy, diagnostic test, HPV, network meta-analysis

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Authors: Sushil Pradhan

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Biotechnology contributes to sustainable development in several ways such as biofertilizer production, biopesticide production and management of environmental pollution, tissue culture and biodiversity conservation in vitro, in vivo and in situ, Insectivorous medicinal plant Drosera burmannii Vahl belongs to the Family-Droseraceae under Order-Caryophyllales, Dicotyledoneae, Angiospermeae which has 31 (thirty one) living genera and 194 species besides 7 (seven) extinct (fossil) genera. Locally it is known as “Patkanduri” in Odia. Its Hindi name is “Mukhajali” and its English name is “Sundew”. The earliest species of Drosera was first reported in 1753 by Carolous Linnaeus called Drosera indica L (Indian Sundew). The latest species of Drosera reported by Fleisch A, Robinson, AS, McPherson S, Heinrich V, Gironella E and Madulida D.A. (2011) is Drosera ultramafica from Malaysia. More than 50 % species of Drosera have been reported from Australia and next to Australia is South Africa. India harbours only 3 species such as D. indica L, Drosera burmannii Vahl and D. peltata L. From our Odisha only D. burmannii Vahl is being reported for the first time from the district of Subarnapur near Sonepur (Arjunpur Reserve Forest Area). Drosera plant is autotrophic but to supplement its Nitrogen (N2) requirement it adopts heterotrophic mode of nutrition (insectivorous/carnivorous) as well. The colour of plant in mostly red and about 20-30cm in height with beautiful pink or white pentamerous flowers. Plants grow luxuriantly during November to February in shady and moist places near small water bodies of running water stream. Medicinally it is a popular herb in the locality for the treatment of cold and cough in children in rainy season by the local Doctors (Kabiraj and Baidya). In the present field investigation an attempt has been made to understand the unique reproductive phase and life cycle of the plant thereby planning for its conservation and propagation through various techniques of tissue culture and biotechnology. More importantly besides morphological and anatomical studies, cytological investigation is being carried out to find out the number of chromosomes in the cell and its genomics as there is no such report as yet for Drosera burmannii Vahl. The ecological significance and biodiversity conservation of Drosera with special reference to energy, environmental and chemical engineering has been discussed in the research paper presentation.

Keywords: insectivorous, medicinal, drosera, biotechnology, chromosome, genome

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Authors: Angela Maria Fenu

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The aim of this study was to better characterize the nature of word association responses in people with aphasia. The participants selected for the experimental group were 4 individuals with mild Broca’s aphasia. The control group consisted of 51 cognitively intact age- and gender-matched individuals. The participants were asked to perform a word association task in which they had to say the first word they thought of when hearing each cue. The cue words (n= 16) were the translation in Italian of the set of English cue words of a published study. The participants from the experimental group were administered the word association test every two weeks for a period of two months when they received speech-language therapy A combination of analytical approaches to measure the data was used. To analyse different patterns of word association responses in both groups, the nature of the relationship between the cue and the response was examined: responses were divided into five categories of association. To investigate the similarity between aphasic and non-aphasic subjects, the stereotypy of responses was examined.While certain stimulus words (nouns, adjectives) elicited responses from Broca’s aphasics that tended to resemble those made by non-aphasic subjects; others (adverbs, verbs) showed the tendency to elicit responses different from the ones given by normal subjects. This suggests that some mechanisms underlying certain types of associations are degraded in aphasics individuals, while others display little evidence of disruption. The high number of paradigmatic associations given in response to a noun or an adjective might imply that the mechanisms, largely semantic, underlying paradigmatic associations are relatively preserved in Broca’s aphasia, but it might also mean that some words are more easily processed depending on their grammatical class (nouns, adjectives). The most significant variation was noticed when the grammatical class of the cue word was an adverb. Unlike the normal individuals, the experimental subjects gave the most idiosyncratic associations, which are often produced when the attempt to give a paradigmatic response fails. In turn, the failure to retrieve paradigmatic responses when the cue is an adverb might suggest that Broca’s aphasics are more sensitive to this grammatical class.The findings from this study suggest that, from research on word associations in people with aphasia, important data can arise concerning the specific lexical retrieval impairments that characterize the different types of aphasia and the various treatments that might positively influence the kinds of word association responses affected by language disruption.

Keywords: aphasia therapy, clinical linguistics, word-association behaviour, mental lexicon

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Authors: Miranda Lin

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This project examined the impact of a globally focused service-learning project implemented in a multicultural education course in a Midwestern university. This project facilitated critical self-reflection and build cross-cultural competence while nurturing a partnership with two schools that serve students with disabilities in Vietnam. Through a service-learning project, pre-service teachers connected via Skype with the principals/teachers at schools in Vietnam to identify and subsequently develop needed instructional materials for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. Qualitative data sources include students’ intercultural competence self-reflection survey (pre-test and post-test), reflections, discussions, service project, and lesson plans. Literature Review- Global service-learning is a teaching strategy that encompasses service experiences both in the local community and abroad. Drawing on elements of global learning and international service-learning, global service-learning experiences are guided by a framework that is designed to support global learning outcomes and involve direct engagement with difference. By engaging in real-world challenges, global service-learning experiences can support the achievement of learning outcomes such as civic. Knowledge and intercultural knowledge and competence. Intercultural competence development is considered essential for cooperative and reciprocal engagement with community partners.Method- Participants (n=27*) were mostly elementary and early childhood pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a multicultural education course. All but one was female. Among the pre-service teachers, one Asian American, two Latinas, and the rest were White. Two pre-service teachers identified themselves as from the low socioeconomic families and the rest were from the middle to upper middle class.The global service-learning project was implemented in the spring of 2018. Two Vietnamese schools that served students with disabilities agreed to be the global service-learning sites. Both schools were located in an urban city.Systematic collection of data coincided with the course schedule as follows: an initial intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week one, guided reflections submitted in week 1, 9, and 16, written lesson plans and supporting materials for the service project submitted in week 16, and a final intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week 16. Significance-This global service-learning project has helped participants meet Merryfield’s goals in various degrees. They 1) learned knowledge and skills in the basics of instructional planning, 2) used a variety of instructional methods that encourage active learning, meet the different learning styles of students, and are congruent with content and educational goals, 3) gained the awareness and support of their students as individuals and as learners, 4) developed questioning techniques that build higher-level thinking skills, and 5) made progress in critically reflecting on and improving their own teaching and learning as a professional educator as a result of this project.

Keywords: global service-learning, teacher education, intercultural competence, diversity

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Authors: Xu Feifei

Abstract:

The prevalence of COVID-19 currently is the biggest challenge to improving people's quality of life. Its impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is highly uncertain and has not been summarized so far. The aim of the present systematic review was to assess and provide an up-to-date analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the HRQoL of participants who have been infected, have not been infected but isolated, frontline, with different diseases, and the general population. Therefore, an electronic search of the literature in PubMed databases was performed from 2019 to July 2022 (without date restriction). PRISMA guideline methodology was employed, and data regarding the HRQoL were extracted from eligible studies. Articles were included if they met the following inclusion criteria: (a) reports on the data collection of the health state utility values (HSUVs) related to COVID-19 from 2019 to 2021; (b) English language and peer-reviewed journals; and (c) original HSUV data; (d) using EQ-5D tool to quantify the HRQoL. To identify studies that reported the effects on COVID-19, data on the proportion of overall HSUVs of participants who had the outcome were collected and analyzed using a one-group meta-analysis. As a result, thirty-two studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and, therefore, were included in the systematic review. A total of 45295 participants and provided 219 means of HSUVs during COVID-19 were included in this systematic review. The range of utility is from 0.224 to 1. The study included participants from Europe (n=16), North America (n=4), Asia (n=10), South America (n=1), and Africa (n=1). Twelve articles showed that the HRQoL of the participants who have been infected with COVID-19 (range of overall HSUVs from 0.6125 to 0.863). Two studies reported the population of frontline workers (the range of overall HSUVs from 0.82 to 0.93). Seven of the articles researched the participants who had not been infected with COVID-19 but suffered from morbidities during the pandemic (range of overall HSUVs from 0.5 to 0.96). Thirteen studies showed that the HRQoL of the respondents who have not been infected with COVID-19 and without any morbidities (range of overall HSUVs from 0.64 to 0.964). Moreover, eighteen articles reported the outcomes of overall HSUVs during the COVID-19 pandemic in different population groups. The estimate of overall HSUVs of direct COVID-19 experience population (n=1333) was 0.751 (95% CI 0.670 - 0.832, I2 = 98.64%); the estimate of frontline population (n=610) was 0.906 ((95% CI 0.854 – 0.957, I2 = 98.61%); participants with different disease (n=132) were 0.768 (95% CI 0.515 - 1.021, I2= 99.26%); general population without infection history (n=29,892) was 0.825 (95% CI 0.766 - 0.885, I2 =99.69%). Conclusively, taking into account these results, this systematic review might confirm that COVID-19 has a negative impact on the HRQoL of the infected population and illness population. It provides practical value for cost-effectiveness model analysis of health states related to COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, health-related quality of life, meta-analysis, systematic review, utility value

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: A. Tamimi, S. Greatrex-White, A. Narayanasamy

Abstract:

Background: Spirituality has been increasingly acknowledged in the nursing literature as an important element of holistic patient care. To date there have been numerous studies investigating the meaning of spirituality in Western cultures. Spirituality in Middle Eastern countries however remains under-researched. We will present a study which aimed to address this gap. Aim: The study aimed to explore how spirituality manifests in the lives of Jordanian End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF) patients. Methodology and Method: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted informed by the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Participants (n=27) were recruited from four different dialysis units: in a public hospital, a private hospital, an educational hospital and a refugee’s hospital in Jordan. Data was collected through in-depth unstructured interviews. Data Analysis: Analysis was guided by the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology namely: gaining immediate sense of what was said both during and after each interview, transcribing data verbatim, translating interviews into the English language, intensive reading and re-reading, seeking meaning units by line to line coding, developing situated structures (how spirituality was manifest in each text), developing a general structure from the individual situated structures (how the phenomenon ‘spirituality’ comes into being). Findings: Three major themes emerged from analysis: Religion, Relationships and Desperation. We will argue that a ‘secular’ concept of spirituality had no meaning for the participants in the study. Spirituality is fundamentally part of religion and vice versa. Discussion: The findings may have consequences for the use of spirituality in multi-cultural settings in Western countries. Additionally, findings highlighted an important emphasis on the practice of spirituality, often underestimated in previous literature for Arab-Muslim Jordanian patients. Conclusion: The study findings contribute to the existing gap in knowledge regarding how Arab-Muslim Jordanian ESRF patients experience spirituality during their illness. It provides valuable insights into the importance of spirituality for this patient group and suggests how nurses, educators and policy makers might help address ESRF patients’ spiritual needs and provide appropriate spiritual care. We suggest the findings may have relevance beyond the Jordanian context in educating nurses’ on the importance of appreciating the religious dimension of spirituality.

Keywords: spirituality, nursing, muslim, Jordan

Procedia PDF Downloads 446