Search results for: academic program planning
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 8816

Search results for: academic program planning

8576 The Ancient Oasis Architecture of Ghadames

Authors: Amer Rghei

Abstract:

The Sahara region potentially is one of the most attractive heritage areas in the world. Yet presently, the heritage of the Sahara is currently facing serious planning challenges of underdeveloped and neglected economic and physical potentials. Deterioration of heritage resources has been observed by the author during his several field tours for historic sites has discovered special heritage values such as in Ghadames which combines historic oasis, natural environment along with its exceptional urban fabric and architectural character. Despite the richness of Ghadames with historic significance, it is found that at the present time, Ghadames city, the UNESCO World Heritage site, is facing serious challenges including the abandonment by its tenants and inclusive negligence by its officials. The author believes that Ghadames can illustrate an excellent heritage example in North Africa with cultural pride and socio-economic opportunities that can contribute to overall economic development in the Sahara region. However, the paper deals with the case of Ghadames ‘The World Heritage Site’ in Libya and discusses the current challenges and possible planning for its heritage conservation strategy. The momentous resources in Ghadames with their historical, environmental, economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic values would benefit from a careful heritage planning and management program for its significant values. In this paper an attempt is made to investigate this issue seriously towards building a model of a strategy for heritage conservation planning for Ghadames is proposed.

Keywords: Ghadames, Oasis architecture, Sahara region, heritage environment

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8575 A Model for Academic Coaching for Success and Inclusive Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

Authors: Sylvanus N. Wosu

Abstract:

Research shows that factors, such as low motivation, preparation, resources, emotional and social integration, and fears of risk-taking, are the most common barriers to access, matriculation, and retention into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines for underrepresented (URM) students. These factors have been shown to impact students’ attraction and success in STEM fields. Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT often used as predictor of success, are not always true predictors of success for African and Hispanic American students. Without an adequate academic support environment, even a high SAT score does not guarantee academic success in science and engineering. This paper proposes a model for Academic Coaching for building success and inclusive excellence in STEM education. Academic coaching is framed as a process of motivating students to be independent learners through relational mentorship, facilitating learning supports inside and outside of the classroom or school environment, and developing problem-solving skills and success attitudes that lead to higher performance in the specific subjects. The model is formulated based on best strategies and practices for enriching Academic Performance Impact skills and motivating students’ interests in STEM. A scaled model for measuring the Academic Performance Impact (API) index and STEM is discussed. The study correlates API with state standardized test and shows that the average impact of those skills can be predicted by the Academic Performance Impact (API) index or Academic Preparedness Index.

Keywords: diversity, equity, graduate education, inclusion, inclusive excellence, model

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8574 "Good" Discretion Among Private Sector Street Level Bureaucrats

Authors: Anna K. Wood, Terri Friedline

Abstract:

In April and May 2020, the private banking industry approved over 1.7 million emergency small business loans, totaling over $650 billion in federal relief funds as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the program’s rollout, the extensive evidence of discriminatory lending and misuse of funds has been revealed by investigative journalism and academic studies. This study is based on 41 interviews with frontline banking industry professionals conducted during the days and weeks of the PPP rollout, presenting a real-time narrative of the program rollout through the eyes of those in the role of a street-level bureaucrat. We present two themes from this data about the conditions under which these frontline workers experienced the PPP: Exigent Timelines and Defaulting to Existing Workplace Norms and Practices. We analyze these themes using literature on street-level organizations, bureaucratic discretion, and the differences between public and private sector logic. The results of this study present new directions for theorizing sector-level differences in street-level bureaucratic discretion in the context of mixed-sector collaboration on public service delivery, particularly under conditions of crisis and urgency.

Keywords: street level bureaucracy, social policy, bureaucratic discretion, public private partnerships

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8573 Teachers’ Role and Principal’s Administrative Functions as Correlates of Effective Academic Performance of Public Secondary School Students in Imo State, Nigeria

Authors: Caroline Nnokwe, Iheanyi Eneremadu

Abstract:

Teachers and principals are vital and integral parts of the educational system. For educational objectives to be met, the role of teachers and the functions of the principals are not to be overlooked. However, the inability of teachers and principals to carry out their roles effectively has impacted the outcome of the students’ performance. The study, therefore, examined teachers’ roles and principal’s administrative functions as correlates of effective academic performance of public secondary school students in Imo state, Nigeria. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a correlation research design. The sample size was 5,438 respondents via the Yaro-Yamane technique, which consists of 175 teachers, 13 principals and 5,250 students using the proportional stratified random sampling technique. The instruments for data collection were a researcher-made questionnaire titled Teachers’ Role/Principals’ Administrative Functions Questionnaire (TRPAFQ) with a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of .82 and student's internal results obtained from the school authorities. Data collected were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and simple linear regression. Research questions were answered using Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistics, while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using regression analysis. The findings of the study showed that the educational qualification of teachers, organizing, and planning correlated student’s academic performance to a great extent, while availability and proper use of instructional materials by teachers correlated the academic performance of students to a very high extent. The findings also revealed that there is a significant relationship between teachers’ role, principals’ administrative functions and student’s academic performance of public secondary schools in Imo State, The study recommended among others that there is the need for government, through the ministry of education, and education authorities to adequately staff their supervisory department in order to carry out proper supervision of secondary school teachers, and also provide adequate instructional materials to ensure greater academic performance among secondary school students of Imo state, Nigeria.

Keywords: instructional materials, principals’ administrative functions, students’ academic performance, teacher role

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8572 A Sustainable Training and Feedback Model for Developing the Teaching Capabilities of Sessional Academic Staff

Authors: Nirmani Wijenayake, Louise Lutze-Mann, Lucy Jo, John Wilson, Vivian Yeung, Dean Lovett, Kim Snepvangers

Abstract:

Sessional academic staff at universities have the most influence and impact on student learning, engagement, and experience as they have the most direct contact with undergraduate students. A blended technology-enhanced program was created for the development and support of sessional staff to ensure adequate training is provided to deliver quality educational outcomes for the students. This program combines innovative mixed media educational modules, a peer-driven support forum, and face-to-face workshops to provide a comprehensive training and support package for staff. Additionally, the program encourages the development of learning communities and peer mentoring among the sessional staff to enhance their support system. In 2018, the program was piloted on 100 sessional staff in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences to evaluate the effectiveness of this model. As part of the program, rotoscope animations were developed to showcase ‘typical’ interactions between staff and students. These were designed around communication, confidence building, consistency in grading, feedback, diversity awareness, and mental health and wellbeing. When surveyed, 86% of sessional staff found these animations to be helpful in their teaching. An online platform (Moodle) was set up to disseminate educational resources and teaching tips, to host a discussion forum for peer-to-peer communication and to increase critical thinking and problem-solving skills through scenario-based lessons. The learning analytics from these lessons were essential in identifying difficulties faced by sessional staff to further develop supporting workshops to improve outcomes related to teaching. The face-to-face professional development workshops were run by expert guest speakers on topics such as cultural diversity, stress and anxiety, LGBTIQ and student engagement. All the attendees of the workshops found them to be useful and 88% said they felt these workshops increase interaction with their peers and built a sense of community. The final component of the program was to use an adaptive e-learning platform to gather feedback from the students on sessional staff teaching twice during the semester. The initial feedback provides sessional staff with enough time to reflect on their teaching and adjust their performance if necessary, to improve the student experience. The feedback from students and the sessional staff on this model has been extremely positive. The training equips the sessional staff with knowledge and insights which can provide students with an exceptional learning environment. This program is designed in a flexible and scalable manner so that other faculties or institutions could adapt components for their own training. It is anticipated that the training and support would help to build the next generation of educators who will directly impact the educational experience of students.

Keywords: designing effective instruction, enhancing student learning, implementing effective strategies, professional development

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8571 Effective Financial Planning: A Study of Comprehensive Retirement Planning for Financial Independence

Authors: Stanley Yap, Chong Wei Ying, Leow Hon Wei

Abstract:

Purpose: In Malaysia, an effective financial planning is vital to accumulate wealth and financial independence. However, retirees are required to resume working due to insufficient pension fund. This study examines how the financial decision in retirement planning is being made based on the net worth from the household. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses financial data from a married working couple with children to evaluate their composition of financial position. Numerous financial methods are made pertaining to net worth analysis, insurance needs analysis, investment portfolio rebalancing, estate planning, education planning and retirement planning to enhance the financial decision. Findings: Our results show, firstly, financial planning is essential to achieve financial independence; secondly, insurance needs, education and retirement funding are the most significant for household. Thirdly, current resources are critical to maintain family lifestyle after retirement, emergency funds for critical illness, and the long term children education funding. Practical implications: Refer to the findings, sufficient net worth is priority in financial planning. Different suggestions for household include reduction of unnecessary expenses, re-allocate of cash flow, adequate insurance coverage and re-balancing of investment portfolios to accumulate wealth. It is a challenge to obtain financial independence, hence, there is a need to increase the literature on financial planning. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the important paper that uses financial information from household to provide solutions to enhance the efficiency of financial planning industry.

Keywords: net worth, financial planning, wealth and financial independence, retirement planning

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8570 Development of a Serial Signal Monitoring Program for Educational Purposes

Authors: Jungho Moon, Lae-Jeong Park

Abstract:

This paper introduces a signal monitoring program developed with a view to helping electrical engineering students get familiar with sensors with digital output. Because the output of digital sensors cannot be simply monitored by a measuring instrument such as an oscilloscope, students tend to have a hard time dealing with digital sensors. The monitoring program runs on a PC and communicates with an MCU that reads the output of digital sensors via an asynchronous communication interface. Receiving the sensor data from the MCU, the monitoring program shows time and/or frequency domain plots of the data in real time. In addition, the monitoring program provides a serial terminal that enables the user to exchange text information with the MCU while the received data is plotted. The user can easily observe the output of digital sensors and configure the digital sensors in real time, which helps students who do not have enough experiences with digital sensors. Though the monitoring program was programmed in the Matlab programming language, it runs without the Matlab since it was compiled as a standalone executable.

Keywords: digital sensor, MATLAB, MCU, signal monitoring program

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8569 Motivational Factors on Non-Academic Staff of Higher Education

Authors: Atya Nur Aisha, Pamoedji Hardjomidjojo, Yassierli

Abstract:

Motivation is an important aspect which affects employee behavior to achieve performance. Working motivation tend to be unstable, it easily changing. This condition could be affected by individual factors, namely working ability, and organizational factors, such as working condition and incentives system. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of individual and organizational factors on non-academic staff motivation. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to 150 non-academic staff of a university in Indonesia. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationship. Results revealed that individual working ability and incentives system had a positive impact on non-academic staff motivation (sig 0.001). This study provides information about practical implication for university authorities and theoretical implications for researchers who interested in exploring motivational and employee performance in a higher education context. It was proposed to increase productivity and work motivation of non-academic staff, university authorities should maintain equality and feasibility of incentives system and design a human resource development to improve employee ability.

Keywords: motivation, incentives, working ability, non-academic staff

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8568 Interdisciplinary Integrated Physical Education Program Using a Philosophical Approach

Authors: Ellie Abdi, Susana Juniu

Abstract:

The purpose of this presentation is to describe an interdisciplinary teaching program that integrates physical education concepts using a philosophical approach. The presentation includes a review of: a) the philosophy of American education, b) the philosophy of sports and physical education, c) the interdisciplinary physical education program, d) professional development programs, (e) the Success of this physical education program, f) future of physical education. This unique interdisciplinary program has been implemented in an urban school physical education discipline in East Orange, New Jersey for over 10 years. During the program the students realize that the bodies go through different experiences. The body becomes a place where a child can recognize in an enjoyable way to express and perceive particular feelings or mental states. Children may distinguish themselves to have high abilities in the social or other domains but low abilities in the field of athletics. The goal of this program for the individuals is to discover new skills, develop and demonstrate age appropriate mastery level at different tasks, therefore the program consists of 9 to 12 sports, including many game. Each successful experience increases the awareness ability. Engaging in sports and physical activities are social movements involving groups of children in situations such as teams, friends, and recreational settings, which serve as a primary socializing agent for teaching interpersonal skills. As a result of this presentation the audience will reflect and explore how to structure a physical education program to integrate interdisciplinary subjects with philosophical concepts.

Keywords: interdisciplinary disciplines, philosophical concepts, physical education, interdisciplinary teaching program

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8567 The Interactions among Motivation, Persistence, and Learning Abilities as They Relate to Academic Outcomes in Children

Authors: Rachelle M. Johnson, Jenna E. Finch

Abstract:

Motivation, persistence, and learning disability status are all associated with academic performance, but to the author's knowledge, little research has been done on how these variables interact with one another and how that interaction looks different within children with and without learning disabilities. The present study's goal was to examine the role motivation and persistence play in the academic success of children with learning disabilities and how these variables interact. Measurements were made using surveys and direct cognitive assessments on each child. Analyses were run on student's scores in motivation, persistence, and ability to learn compared to other fifth grade students. In this study, learning ability was intended as a proxy for learning disabilities (LDs). This study included a nationally representative sample of over 8,000 fifth-grade children from across the United States. Multiple interactions were found among these variables of motivation, persistence, and motivation as they relate to academic achievement. The major finding of the study was the significant role motivation played in academic achievement. This study shows the importance of measuring the within-group. One key finding was that motivation was associated with academic success and was moderated by the other variables. The interaction results were different for math and reading outcomes, suggesting that reading and math success are different and should be addressed differently. This study shows the importance of measuring the within-group differences in levels of motivation to better understand the academic success of children with and without learning disabilities. This study's findings call for further investigation into motivation and the possible need for motivational intervention for students, especially those with learning disabilities

Keywords: academic achievement, learning disabilities, motivation, persistence

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8566 The Relation between Sports Practice and the Academic Performance

Authors: Albert Perez-Bellmunt, Eila Rivera, Aida Valls, Berta Estragues, Sara Ortiz, Roberto Seijas, Pedro Alvarez

Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: Physical and sports activity on a regular basis present numerous health benefits such as the prevention of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Also, there is a relation between sport and the psychological or the cognitive process of children and young people. The objective of the present study is to know if the sports practice has any positive influence on the university academic performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The level of the physical activity of 220 students of different degrees in health science was evaluated and compared with the academic results (grades). To assess the level of physical and sports activity, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (to calculate the sporting level in a general way) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (to estimate the physical activity carried out during the days leading up to the academic exams) were used. RESULTS: The students that realized an average level of sports activity the days before the exam obtained better grades than the rest of their classmate and the result was statistically significant. Controversially, if the sports level was analyzed in a general way, no relationship was observed between academic performance and the level of sport realized. CONCLUSION: A moderate physical activity, on the days leading up to an assessment, can be a positive factor for the university academic performance. Despite the fact that a regular sports activity improves many cognitive and physiological processes, the present study did not observe a direct relationship between sport/physical activity and academic performance.

Keywords: academic performance, academic results, global physical activity questionnaire, physical activity questionnaire, sport, sport practice

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8565 Study on the Effect of Sports Academic Journals in the Construction of Strong Sporting Nation in China

Authors: Qinghui Li, Lei Zhang

Abstract:

In China, sport will play a more important role in the future development of the national economy, are facing greater challenges. Sports industry development in this background,innovative technology and cultural forces which will play an important role. Therefore, as a guide of sports culture, the development of science and technology, display the sports scientific and technological achievements, culture showed important - Sports Academic Journals sports technology platform of talent, but also innovation and value-added will through its value function,play an important role in the development of China's sports development and sports industry. At the same time, in the Chinese academic journals of social environment has undergone great changes,one aspect is the national news publishing system reform, change, development group of scientific publishing market has become the mainstream trend of development; on the other hand, digitalization, internationalization development speed of academic journal soon, in such a social background, how sports academic journal of development? How to serve for the development of sports? This research will be based on the sports academic journals in the past, the development status and characteristics and now plays in the history and context of modern academic value and social value, to explore the new era background, especially the development of the reform of the cultural system, marketization and the digital innovation situation of sports academic periodical show in sports, sports industry development and play a more important role in study.

Keywords: sports academin journals, strong sporting nation, innovation, China

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8564 Psychodidactic Strategies to Facilitate Flow of Logical Thinking in Preparation of Academic Documents

Authors: Deni Stincer Gomez, Zuraya Monroy Nasr, Luis Pérez Alvarez

Abstract:

The preparation of academic documents such as thesis, articles and research projects is one of the requirements of the higher educational level. These documents demand the implementation of logical argumentative thinking which is experienced and executed with difficulty. To mitigate the effect of these difficulties this study designed a thesis seminar, with which the authors have seven years of experience. It is taught in a graduate program in Psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In this study the authors use the Toulmin model as a mental heuristic and for the application of a set of psychodidactic strategies that facilitate the elaboration of the plot and culmination of the thesis. The efficiency in obtaining the degree in the groups exposed to the seminar has increased by 94% compared to the 10% that existed in the generations that were not exposed to the seminar. In this article the authors will emphasize the psychodidactic strategies used. The Toulmin model alone does not guarantee the success achieved. A set of actions of a psychological nature (almost psychotherapeutic) and didactics of the teacher also seem to contribute. These are actions that derive from an understanding of the psychological, epistemological and ontogenetic obstacles and the most frequent errors in which thought tends to fall when it is demanded a logical course. The authors have grouped the strategies into three groups: 1) strategies to facilitate logical thinking, 2) strategies to strengthen the scientific self and 3) strategies to facilitate the act of writing the text. In this work the authors delve into each of them.

Keywords: psychodidactic strategies, logical thinking, academic documents, Toulmin model

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8563 Students’ Motivation, Self-Determination, Test Anxiety and Academic Engagement

Authors: Shakirat Abimbola Adesola, Shuaib Akintunde Asifat, Jelili Olalekan Amoo

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This paper presented the impact of students’ emotions on learning when receiving lectures and when taking tests. It was observed that students experience different types of emotions during the study, and this was found to have a significant effect on their academic performance. A total of one thousand six hundred and seventy-five (1675) students from the department of Computer Science in two Colleges of Education in South-West Nigeria took part in this study. The students were randomly selected for the research. Sample comprises of 968 males representing 58%, and 707 females representing 42%. A structured questionnaire, of Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was distributed to the participants to obtain their opinions. Data gathered were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 20 to obtain ANOVA, descriptive analysis, stepwise regression, and reliability tests. The results revealed that emotion moderately shape students’ motivation and engagement in learning; and that self-regulation and self-determination do have significant impact on academic performance. It was further revealed that test anxiety has a significant correlation with academic performance.

Keywords: motivation, self-determination, test anxiety, academic performance, and academic engagement

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8562 Ta(l)king Pictures: Development of an Educational Program (SELVEs) for Adolescents Combining Social-Emotional Learning and Photography Taking

Authors: Adi Gielgun-Katz, Alina S. Rusu

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In the last two decades, education systems worldwide have integrated new pedagogical methods and strategies in lesson plans, such as innovative technologies, social-emotional learning (SEL), gamification, mixed learning, multiple literacies, and many others. Visual language, such as photographs, is known to transcend cultures and languages, and it is commonly used by youth to express positions and affective states in social networks. Therefore, visual language needs more educational attention as a linguistic and communicative component that can create connectedness among the students and their teachers. Nowadays, when SEL is gaining more and more space and meaning in the area of academic improvement in relation to social well-being, and taking and sharing pictures is part of the everyday life of the majority of people, it becomes natural to add the visual language to SEL approach as a reinforcement strategy for connecting education to the contemporary culture and language of the youth. This article presents a program conducted in a high school class in Israel, which combines the five SEL with photography techniques, i.e., Social-Emotional Learning Visual Empowerments (SELVEs) program (experimental group). Another class of students from the same institution represents the control group, which is participating in the SEL program without the photography component. The SEL component of the programs addresses skills such as: troubleshooting, uncertainty, personal strengths and collaboration, accepting others, control of impulses, communication, self-perception, and conflict resolution. The aim of the study is to examine the effects of programs on the level of the five SEL aspects in the two groups of high school students: Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision Making, and Relationship Skills. The study presents a quantitative assessment of the SEL programs’ impact on the students. The main hypothesis is that the students’ questionnaires' analysis will reveal a better understanding and improvement of the five aspects of the SEL in the group of students involved in the photography-enhanced SEL program.

Keywords: social-emotional learning, photography, education program, adolescents

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8561 The Changing Trend of Collaboration Patterns in the Social Sciences: Institutional Influences on Academic Research in Korea, 2013-2016

Authors: Ho-Dae Chong, Jong-Kil Kim

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Collaborative research has become more prevalent and important across disciplines because it stimulates innovation and interaction between scholars. Seeing as existing studies relatively disregarded the institutional conditions triggering collaborative research, this work aims to analyze the changing trend in collaborative work patterns among Korean social scientists. The focus of this research is the performance of social scientists who received research grants through the government’s Social Science Korea (SSK) program. Using quantitative statistical methods, collaborative research patterns in a total of 2,354 papers published under the umbrella of the SSK program in peer-reviewed scholarly journals from 2013 to 2016 were examined to identify changing trends and triggering factors in collaborative research. A notable finding is that the share of collaborative research is overwhelmingly higher than that of individual research. In particular, levels of collaborative research surpassed 70%, increasing much quicker compared to other research done in the social sciences. Additionally, the most common composition of collaborative research was for two or three researchers to conduct joint research as coauthors, and this proportion has also increased steadily. Finally, a strong association between international journals and co-authorship patterns was found for the papers published by SSK program researchers from 2013 to 2016. The SSK program can be seen as the driving force behind collaboration between social scientists. Its emphasis on competition through a merit-based financial support system along with a rigorous evaluation process seems to have influenced researchers to cooperate with those who have similar research interests.

Keywords: coauthorship, collaboration, competition, cooperation, Social Science Korea, policy

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8560 To Gamify Learning English Academic Vocabulary Through Interactive Web-Based E-Books: International Students

Authors: Rabea Alfahad

Abstract:

Learning English academic vocabulary poses a challenge on learning English.In this study, we harnessed interactive web-based e-books, and usedgamification and collaborative responsive writingto teach English academic vocabulary. We recruited 50 international students to investigate the impact of gamification on the participants’ learning gains. In so doing, the participants were randomly assigned to two groups: one group learned English academic vocabulary with gamification, and the second group learnedthem with traditional instructional methods. We used a pre/posttest to gauge the students’ cognitive attainment. We then administered independent samples t-test to find out the impact of gamification on learning academic vocabulary. We also employed an IMMS to collect data regarding the motivational level of the students. We administered a MANOVA test to measure the motivational level of the students in both groups. The results of this study suggested that …

Keywords: english language learners, technologhy integration, teaching, gamification

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8559 Knowledge and Practice of Family Planning among Rural Women in Ogun State, South West Nigeria

Authors: Tope Olubodun

Abstract:

Background: Family planning practices help individuals and couples avoid unwanted pregnancies, regulate intervals between pregnancies, and determine the number of children in the family. Family planning is an effective intervention for promoting maternal health, but its acceptability and utilization are impeded by many factors in Southwest Nigeria. Aim: This study was conducted to assess women’s knowledge and practice of family planning in two rural communities in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria, and to determine factors associated with the utilization of family planning among these women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 561 women of reproductive age selected by multistage sampling. The data collection was done using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Frequencies were generated, and chi-square test was used to explore associations. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Result: The majority of the respondents were aware of family planning 410 (73.1%). The method most commonly known was male condom 348 (62.0%), then pills 276 (49.2%) and injectables 231(41.3%). The commonest sources of information on family planning were health workers 158 (26.8%), outreaches 162 (27.5%) and TV/radio 136 (23.1%). Respondents that had used family planning, however, only constituted forty–five percent. The methods commonly used were injectables 104 (39.2%) and pills 85 (32.1%). Reasons for choosing not to use family planning include the desire for more children 78 (26.3%), because spouse does not support family planning 56 (18.9%), fear of unbearable side effects 44 (14.9%), and poor knowledge of the methods of family planning as well as where the services can be obtained 39 (13.2%). There is a statistically significant association between age, ethnicity, education, occupation, average monthly income, and use of family planning. Conclusion: Campaigns that promote male involvement in family planning, use of family planning for child spacing, and dispelling of fears is recommended to improve the practice of family planning among such a group of women.

Keywords: family planning, rural, knowledge, practice

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8558 Accessible Sustainability Assessment Tools and Approach of the University level Academic Programs

Authors: S. K. Ashiquer Rahman

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The innovative knowledge threshold significantly shifted education from traditional to an online version which was an emergent state of arts for academic programs of any higher education institutions; the substantive situation thus raises the importance of deliberative integration of education, Knowledge, technology and sustainability as well as knowledge platforms, e.g., ePLANETe. In fact, the concept of 'ePLANETe' an innovative knowledge platform and its functionalities as an experimental digitized platform for contributing sustainable assessment of academic programs of higher education institution(HEI). Besides, this paper assessed and define the common sustainable development challenges of higher education(HE) and identified effective approach and tools of 'ePLANETe’ that is enable to practices sustainability assessment of academic programs through the deliberation methodologies. To investigate the effectiveness of knowledge tools and approach of 'ePLANETe’, I have studied sustainable challenges digitized pedagogical content as well as evaluation of academic programs of two public universities in France through the 'ePLANETe’ evaluation space. The investigation indicated that the effectiveness of 'ePLANETe’s tools and approach perfectly fit for the quality assessment of academic programs, implementation of sustainable challenges, and dynamic balance of ecosystem within the university communities and academic programs through 'ePLANETe’ evaluation process and space. The study suggests to the relevant higher educational institution’s authorities and policymakers could use this approach and tools for assessing sustainability and enhancing the sustainability competencies of academic programs for quality education

Keywords: ePLANETe, deliberation, evaluation, competencies

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8557 The Impact of Social Media on Urban E-planning: A Review of the Literature

Authors: Farnoosh Faal

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The rapid growth of social media has brought significant changes to the field of urban e-planning. This study aims to review the existing literature on the impact of social media on urban e-planning processes. The study begins with a discussion of the evolution of social media and its role in urban e-planning. The review covers research on the use of social media for public engagement, citizen participation, stakeholder communication, decision-making, and monitoring and evaluation of urban e-planning initiatives. The findings suggest that social media has the potential to enhance public participation and improve decision-making in urban e-planning processes. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can provide a platform for citizens to engage with planners and policymakers, express their opinions, and provide feedback on planning proposals. Social media can also facilitate the collection and analysis of data, including real-time data, to inform urban e-planning decision-making. However, the literature also highlights some challenges associated with the use of social media in urban e-planning. These challenges include issues related to the representativeness of social media users, the quality of information obtained from social media, the potential for bias and manipulation of social media content, and the need for effective data management and analysis. The study concludes with recommendations for future research on the use of social media in urban e-planning. The recommendations include the need for further research on the impact of social media on equity and social justice in planning processes, the need for more research on effective strategies for engaging underrepresented groups, and the development of guidelines for the use of social media in urban e-planning processes. Overall, the study suggests that social media has the potential to transform urban e-planning processes but that careful consideration of the opportunities and challenges associated with its use is essential for effective and ethical planning practice.

Keywords: social media, Urban e-planning, public participation, citizen engagement

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8556 Nontraditional Online Student Perceptions of Student Success Conditions

Authors: Carrie Prendergast, Lisa Bortman

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The focus of this presentation will be on non-traditional (adult) students as they seek their Bachelors’ degrees online. This presentation will specifically examine nontraditional online student perceptions of Tinto’s success conditions: expectations, support, assessment, and engagement. Expectations include those of the student, the faculty and the institution. Support includes academic, social, and financial support. Feedback and assessment encompasses feedback in the classroom, upon entry, and on an institutional level. The fourth success condition is involvement or engagement of students with their peers and faculty in both academic and social contexts. This program will review and discuss a rich, detailed description of the lived experience of the nontraditional online student to add to the paucity of research on this understudied population and guide higher education professionals in supporting this growing population of students.

Keywords: adult students, online education, student success, vincent tinto

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8555 Causal-Explanatory Model of Academic Performance in Social Anxious Adolescents

Authors: Beatriz Delgado

Abstract:

Although social anxiety is one of the most prevalent disorders in adolescents and causes considerable difficulties and social distress in those with the disorder, to date very few studies have explored the impact of social anxiety on academic adjustment in student populations. The aim of this study was analyze the effect of social anxiety on school functioning in Secondary Education. Specifically, we examined the relationship between social anxiety and self-concept, academic goals, causal attributions, intellectual aptitudes, and learning strategies, personality traits, and academic performance, with the purpose of creating a causal-explanatory model of academic performance. The sample consisted of 2,022 students in the seven to ten grades of Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain (M = 13.18; SD = 1.35; 51.1% boys). We found that: (a) social anxiety has a direct positive effect on internal attributional style, and a direct negative effect on self-concept. Social anxiety also has an indirect negative effect on internal causal attributions; (b) prior performance (first academic trimester) exerts a direct positive effect on intelligence, achievement goals, academic self-concept, and final academic performance (third academic trimester), and a direct negative effect on internal causal attributions. It also has an indirect positive effect on causal attributions (internal and external), learning goals, achievement goals, and study strategies; (c) intelligence has a direct positive effect on learning goals and academic performance (third academic trimester); (d) academic self-concept has a direct positive effect on internal and external attributional style. Also, has an indirect effect on learning goals, achievement goals, and learning strategies; (e) internal attributional style has a direct positive effect on learning strategies and learning goals. Has a positive but indirect effect on achievement goals and learning strategies; (f) external attributional style has a direct negative effect on learning strategies and learning goals and a direct positive effect on internal causal attributions; (g) learning goals have direct positive effect on learning strategies and achievement goals. The structural equation model fit the data well (CFI = .91; RMSEA = .04), explaining 93.8% of the variance in academic performance. Finally, we emphasize that the new causal-explanatory model proposed in the present study represents a significant contribution in that it includes social anxiety as an explanatory variable of cognitive-motivational constructs.

Keywords: academic performance, adolescence, cognitive-motivational variables, social anxiety

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8554 Attitudes of Academic Staff towards the Use of Information Communication Technology as a Pedagogical Tool for Effective Teaching in FCT College of Education, Zuba-Abuja, Nigeria

Authors: Salako Emmanuel Adekunle

Abstract:

With numerous advantages of ICT in teaching such as using images to improve the retentive memory of students, academic staff is yet to deliver instructions adequately and effectively due to no power supply, lack of technical supports and non-availability of functional ICT tools. This study was conducted to investigate the attitudes of academic staff towards the use of information communication technology as a pedagogical tool for effective teaching in FCT College of Education, Zuba-Abuja, Nigeria. A sample of 200 academic staff from five schools/faculties was involved in the study. The respondents were selected by using simple random sampling technique (SRST). A questionnaire was developed and validated by the experts in Measurement and Evaluation, and reliability co-efficient of 0.85 was obtained. It was used to gather relevant data from the respondents. This study revealed that the respondents had positive attitudes towards the use of ICT as a pedagogical tool for effective teaching. Also, the uses of ICT by the academic staff included: to encourage closer relationship for attainment of higher academic, and to deliver instructions effectively. The study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between the attitudes and the uses of ICT by the academic staff. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made which include: power supply should be provided to operate ICT facilities for effective teaching, and technical assistance on ICT usage for effective delivery of instructions should be provided among other recommendations.

Keywords: academic staff, attitudes, information communication technology, pedagogical tool, teaching, use

Procedia PDF Downloads 210
8553 Operations Research Applications in Audit Planning and Scheduling

Authors: Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

Abstract:

This paper presents a state-of-the-art survey of the operations research models developed for internal audit planning. Two alternative approaches have been followed in the literature for audit planning: (1) identifying the optimal audit frequency; and (2) determining the optimal audit resource allocation. The first approach identifies the elapsed time between two successive audits, which can be presented as the optimal number of audits in a given planning horizon, or the optimal number of transactions after which an audit should be performed. It also includes the optimal audit schedule. The second approach determines the optimal allocation of audit frequency among all auditable units in the firm. In our review, we discuss both the deterministic and probabilistic models developed for audit planning. In addition, game theory models are reviewed to find the optimal auditing strategy based on the interactions between the auditors and the clients.

Keywords: operations research applications, audit frequency, audit-staff scheduling, audit planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 788
8552 Rationalizing the Utilization of Interactive Engagement Strategies in Teaching Specialized Science Courses of STEM and GA Strands in the Academic Track of Philippine Senior High School Curriculum

Authors: Raul G. Angeles

Abstract:

The Philippine government instituted major reforms in its educational system. The Department of Education pushes the K to 12 program that makes kindergarten mandatory and adds two years of senior high school to the country's basic education. In essence, the students’ stay in basic education particularly those who are supposedly going to college is extended. The majority of the students expressed that they will be taking the Academic Track of the Senior High School curriculum specifically the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and General Academic (GA) strands. Almost certainly, instruction should match the students' styles and thus through this descriptive study a city survey was conducted to explore the teaching strategies preferences of junior high school students and teachers who will be promoted to senior high school during the Academic Year 2016-2017. This study was conducted in selected public and private secondary schools in Metro Manila. Questionnaires were distributed to students and teachers; and series of follow-up interviews were also carried out to generate additional information. Preferences of students are centered on employing innovations such as technology, cooperative and problem-based learning. While the students will still be covered by basic education their interests in science are sparking to a point where the usual teaching styles may no longer work to them and for that cause, altering the teaching methods is recommended to create a teacher-student style matching. Other effective strategies must likewise be implemented.

Keywords: curriculum development, effective teaching strategies, problem-based learning, senior high school, science education, technology

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8551 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, '4P’s': Breaking the Vicious Poverty Cycle

Authors: Bernadette F. De La Cruz, Susan Marie R. Dela Cruz, Georgia D. Demavibas

Abstract:

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P) is a conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines pay extremely poor household-beneficiaries in order to fulfill the country’s commitment to the number one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). 4P's send 10,235,256 school children aged 6-18 from a total of 4,353,597 registered households with an average of two to three children. We analyze this program in Iloilo, Philippines. We show that this program can be made efficient by selecting beneficiaries and calibrating transfer for a maximum breaking of intergenerational poverty cycle of hunger, health and achieve higher education.

Keywords: ESGP-PA, millennium development goals, house hold beneficiaries, cash transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 372
8550 Going the Distance – Building Peer Support during a Time of Crisis

Authors: Lisa Gray, Henry Kronner, Tameca Harris-Jackson, Mimi Sodhi, Ruth Gerritsen-McKane, Donette Considine

Abstract:

The MSW Peer Mentorship Program (PMP) was developed as one of several approaches to foster student success. The key purposes of the PMP are to help new graduate students transition to a graduate program, facilitate relationship building between students, grow and sustain student satisfaction, and build a strong connection to the MSW program. This pilot program also serves as an additional source of support for students during the era of the Covid-19 pandemic. Further, the long-term goals of the program are to assist in student retention. Preliminary findings suggest that both mentors and mentees enrolled in PMP find the peer mentoring relationship to have a positive impact on their graduate learning experience.

Keywords: covid-19, mentorship, peer support, student success

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8549 Martial Arts and Combative Program of the Philippine Military Academy Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines: An Assessment

Authors: Jayson Vicente

Abstract:

The young men and women of Philippine Military Academy Cadet Corps Armed Forces of the Philippines (PMA CCAFP) are bred to be front liners and last line of defense during war and times of peace; as such, they must be equipped with the most practical and most effective combat-ready Martial Arts and Combative skills to effectively fulfill their duty, as well as to protect and safeguard themselves to continue serving the people and their country. This study shall assess the current Martial Arts and Combative Program of the PMA CCAFP using descriptive methodology by interviews and floating questionnaires. The current Martial Arts and Combative Program of the PMA CCAFP with all of the subjects involved are more sports inclined rather than combat-equipped. Picking the best from each subject used in the program, this study seeks to recommend improvements or create a better Martial Arts and Combative Program that will satisfy the objective of producing Martial Arts combatant graduates. A good Martial Arts and Combative Program for PMA is essential to prepare them for what lies ahead, which is unforgiving and no rules to pacify threat.

Keywords: combative, martial arts, military, program

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8548 Creation of a Mentoring Program for Improving the Education of Industrial Engineers

Authors: Maria Da Glória Diniz De Almeida, Andreia M. P. Salgado

Abstract:

This paper aims to present the creation of a mentoring program to be applied in developing future junior industrial engineers acting professionally. Its objective is to contribute to a better professional performance as engineers. It is a case-study for the RIP region (including the cities of Resende, Itatiaia and Porto Real), which is located in an industrial area in Rio de Janeiro State, in Brazil. As a result, 87% of mentors and mentees approved the program as efficient, based on the initial targets.

Keywords: mentoring program, mentors and mentees, student professional development, young engineers education

Procedia PDF Downloads 438
8547 Public Participation as a Social Inclusion Tool in the Urban Planning Process: A Case Study of Abuja, Nigeria

Authors: Nwachi Prosper Louis, Cynthia Ogonna Ikesee

Abstract:

The urban planning system of cities varies by country, but in general, it is an instrument for establishing long-term sustainable frameworks and plans for social, institutional and economic development. There is limited knowledge, development, and implementation of effective and sustainable urban planning structures and plans that encourage social inclusion in most communities. This has led to social, economic and environmental deficiencies resulting in community isolation and segregation in class, ethnicity, and race. Encouraging public participation in the urban planning process is one of the instruments that cities can utilise to achieve better social inclusion outcomes. This paper explores how public participation can be used as a social inclusion tool in the urban planning process to achieve better outcomes in Abuja urban planning system. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of this approach. Also, a conceptual model was developed which evaluates the relationship between public participation and social inclusion outcomes in the urban planning process. It was seen that every community has its peculiar way of life and challenges, and an understanding of these social societal needs is paramount in the urban planning process. Therefore, the involvement of the public in identifying their needs, selecting priorities and identifying strategies offer better chances for developing solutions that are sustainable, feasible and implementable.

Keywords: public participation, social inclusion, urban planning, urban planning process

Procedia PDF Downloads 154