Search results for: internally consistant HRM practices

Authors: Manuela Nayantara Jeyaraj

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Green IT is a term that refers to the collective strategic and tactical practices that unswervingly condense the carbon footprint to a diminished proportion in an establishment’s computing procedures. This concept has been tightly knit with IT related organizations; hence it has been precluded to be applied within non-IT organizations in Sri Lanka. With the turn of the century, computing technologies have taken over commonplace activities in every nook and corner in Sri Lanka, which is still on the verge of moving forth in its march towards being a developed country. Hence, it needs to be recursively proven that non-IT industries are well-bound to adhere to ‘Green IT’ practices as well, in order to reduce their carbon footprint and move towards considering the practicality of implementing Green-IT practices within their work-arounds. There are several spheres that need to be taken into account in creating awareness of ‘Green IT’, such as the economic breach, technologies available, legislative bounds, community mind-set and many more. This paper tends to reconnoiter causes that currently restrain non-IT organizations from considering Green IT concepts. By doing so, it is expected to prove the beneficial providence gained by implementing this concept within the organization. The ultimate goal is to propose feasible ‘Green IT’ practices that could be implemented within the context of Sri Lankan non-IT sectors in order to ensure that organization’s sustainable growth towards a long term existence.

Keywords: computing practices, Green IT, non-IT industries, Sri Lanka, sustainability

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Authors: Eftah Bte Moh, Hj Abdullah Izazol Binti Idris, Abd. Aziz Bin Abd. Shukor

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This study aimed to identify the alignment of understanding and assessment practices among secondary school teachers. The study was carried out using quantitative descriptive study. The sample consisted of 164 teachers who taught Form 1 and 2 from 11 secondary schools in the district of North Kinta, Perak, Malaysia. Data were obtained from 164 respondents who answered Expectation Alignment Understanding and Practices of School Assessment (PEKDAPS) questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS 17.0 +. The Cronbach alpha value obtained through PEKDAPS questionnaire pilot study was 0.86. The results showed that teachers' performance in PEKDAPS based on the mean value was less than 3, which means that perfect alignment does not occur between the understanding and practices of school assessment. Two major PEKDAPS sub-constructs of articulation across grade and age and usability of the system were higher than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). The content was focused on PEKDAPs sub-constructs which showed lower than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). Another two PEKDAPS sub-constructs of transparency and fairness and the pedagogical implications showed moderate alignment (2.0). The implications of the study is that teachers need to fully understand the importance of alignment among components of assessment, learning and teaching and learning objectives as strategies to achieve quality assessment process.

Keywords: school based assessment, alignment, understanding, assessment practices

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Authors: A. Capodieci, G. Del Fiore, L. Mainetti

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Recently, the use of web 2.0 tools has increased in companies and public administration organizations. This phenomenon, known as "Enterprise 2.0", has, de facto, modified common organizational and operative practices. This has led “knowledge workers” to change their working practices through the use of Web 2.0 communication tools. Unfortunately, these tools have not been integrated with existing enterprise information systems, a situation that could potentially lead to a loss of information. This is an important problem in an organizational context, because knowledge of information exchanged within the organization is needed to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the organization. In this article we demonstrate that it is possible to capture this knowledge using collaboration processes, which are processes of abstraction created in accordance with design patterns and applied to new organizational operative practices.

Keywords: business practices, business process patterns, collaboration tools, enterprise 2.0, knowledge workers

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Authors: Rosaline Govender

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This research study is an exploration of the self-directed professional development of teachers who teach in public schools in an era of democracy and educational change in South Africa. Amidst an ever-changing educational system, the teachers in this study position themselves as self-directed teacher-learners where they adopt particular learning practices which enable change within the broader discourses of public schooling. Life-story interviews were used to enter into the private and public spaces of five teachers which offer glimpses of how particular systems shaped their identities, and how the meanings of self-directed teacher-learner shaped their learning practices. Through the Multidimensional framework of analysis and interpretation the teachers’ stories were analysed through three lenses: restorying the field texts - the self through story; the teacher-learner in relation to social contexts, and practices of self-directed learning.This study shows that as teacher-learners learn for change through self-directed learning practices, they develop their agency as transformative intellectuals, which is necessary for the reworking of South African public schools.

Keywords: professional development, professionality, professionalism, self-directed learning

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Authors: Danilsa Lorduy, Liliana Valle

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Assessment and evaluation are inextricable parts of the teaching learning process. Evaluation practices concerns are gaining popularity among curriculum developers an educational researchers, particularly in Colombian regions where English language is taught as a foreign language EFL. This study addressed one of those issues, which are the unbalanced in –services’ evaluation practices perceived in school classes. They present predominance on the written test among the procedures they use to evaluate; therefore, the purpose of this case study was to explore in-service teachers’ evaluation practices, their beliefs about evaluation and to establish an eventual connection between practices and beliefs. To this end, classroom observations, questionnaires, and a semi structured interview were applied to three in-service English teachers from different schools in a city in Colombia. The findings suggested that teachers’ beliefs indicate a formative inclination and they actually are using a variety of procedures different from test but they seem to have some issues regarding their appropriateness for application Moreover, it was found that teachers’ practices are being influenced by external factors such as school requirements and national policies. It could be concluded that the predominance in using tests is not only elicited by teachers’ beliefs but also by national test results 'Pruebas Saber' and law 115 demanding. It was also suggested that further quantitative research is needed to demonstrate connections between overuse of testing procedures and 'Pruebas Saber' national test.

Keywords: beliefs, evaluation, external factors, national test

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Authors: Harsha Kumar H. N., Anshu Kumar Jha, Khushboo Kamal Taneja, Krishan Kabra, Mohamed Hafeez Sadiq

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Introduction: The increasing use of preservatives and flavouring agents has the potential to cause health problem among the people. There are no published studies from India exploring the awareness, safety perception, & practices about Food Preservatives (FPs) and Flavouring Agents (FAs). So this study was conducted with the objectives of assessing the awareness, safety perceptions & practices about Food Preservatives (FPs), Flavouring Agents (FAs) in commonly bought / purchased packed food items. Materials & method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2012. Sample size of 126 was computed using the formula for infinite population. People who bought packed food items in malls were approached and requested to fill a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire explored awareness, safety perception & practices of FPs & FAs. Data was then analyzed using SPSS version 10.0. Chi-square test was used to know if the observed differences were statistically significant. ‘p’ value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Totally 123 people (males- 48.8% and females-51.2%) participated (response rate of 97.6%) in the study. Majority of the people were aware about presence of ‘FPs’ (91.7%) and ‘FAs’ (84.9%) though their knowledge was inadequate. Breakup of the study subjects according to level of awareness about FPs was as follows (%): Good (37.4), Satisfactory (40.6), Poor (22) & FAs (%): Good (49.6), Satisfactory (36) & Poor (14). Distribution according to type of practices for FPs was as follows (%): Favourable (14), Unfavourable (86) & FAs (%): Favourable (30.5), Unfavourable (69.5). There was a gap between knowledge and practices. Conclusion: Though there was awareness, the knowledge was inadequate. Unfavourable practices were observed. The gaps in the knowledge and unhealthy practices need to be addressed by public awareness campaign.

Keywords: food preservatives, flavouring agents, knowledge and practices, general population

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Authors: Joyce Joas Kahembe

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The implementation of education assessment reforms in developing countries has been claimed to be problematic and difficult. The socio-economic teaching and learning environment has pointed to constraints in the education reform process. Nevertheless, there are existing assessment practices that if enhanced, can have potential to foster formative assessment practices in those contexts. The present study used the sociocultural perspective to explore teachers’ assessment practices and factors influencing them in Tanzania. Specifically, the sociocultural perspective helped to trace social, economic and political histories imparted to teachers’ assessment practices. The ethnographic oriented methods like interviews, observations and document reviews was used in this exploration. Teachers used assessment practices, such as questioning and answering, tests, assignments and examinations, for evaluating, monitoring and diagnosing students’ understanding, achievement and performance and standards and quality of instruction practices. The obtained assessment information functioned as feedback for improving students’ understanding, performance, and the standard and quality of teaching instruction and materials. For example, teachers acknowledged, praised, approved, disapproved, denied, graded, or marked students’ responses to give students feedback and aid learning. Moreover, teachers clarified and corrected or repeated students’ responses with worded/added words to improve students’ mastery of the subject content. Teachers’ assessment practices were influenced by the high demands of passing marks in the high stakes examinations and the contexts of the social economic teaching environment. There is a need to ally education assessment reforms with existing socio-economic teaching environments and society and institutional demands of assessment to make assessment reforms meaningful and sustainable. This presentation ought to contribute on ongoing strategies for contextualizing assessment practices for formative uses.

Keywords: assessment, feedback, practices, formative assessment

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Authors: Atitallah Sofien, Bouyahia Olfa, Romdhani Meriam, Missaoui Nada, Ben Rabeh Rania, Yahyaoui Salem, Mazigh Sonia, Boukthir Samir

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Introduction: Traditional medicine refers to a diverse range of therapeutic practices and knowledge systems that have been employed by different cultures over an extended period to uphold and rejuvenate health. These practices can involve herbal remedies, acupuncture, massage, and alternative healing methods that deviate from conventional medical approaches. In Tunisia, we often use unidentified utensils to scratch the oral cavity internally in infants in order to widen the oral cavity for better breathing and swallowing. However, these practices can be risky and may jeopardize the patients' prognosis or even their lives. Aim: This is the case of a nine-month-old infant, admitted to the pediatric department and subsequently to the intensive care unit due to a peritonsillar abscess following the utilization of an unidentifiable tool to scrape the interior of the oral cavity. Case Report: This is a 9-month-old infant with no particular medical history, admitted for high respiratory distress and a fever persisting for 4 days. On clinical examination, he had a respiratory rate of 70 cycles per minute with an oxygen saturation of 97% and subcostal retractions, along with a heart rate of 175 beats per minute. His white blood cell count was 40,960/mm³, and his C-reactive protein was 250 mg/L. Given the severity of the clinical presentation, the infant was transferred to the intensive care unit, intubated, and mechanically ventilated. A cervical-thoracic CT scan was performed, revealing a ruptured 18 mm left peritonsillar abscess in the oropharynx associated with cellulitis of the retropharyngeal space. The oto-rhino-laryngoscopic examination revealed an asymmetry involving the left lateral wall of the oropharynx with the presence of a fistula behind the posterior pillar. Dissection of the collection cavity was performed, allowing the drainage of 2 ml of pus. The culture was negative. The patient received cefotaxime in combination with metronidazole and gentamicin for a duration of 10 days, followed by a switch to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid for 7 days. The patient was extubated after 4 days of treatment, and the clinical and radiological progress was favorable. Conclusions: Traditional medicine remains risky due to the lack of scientific evidence and the potential for injuries and transmission of infectious diseases, especially in children, who constitute a vulnerable population. Therefore, parents should consult healthcare professionals and rely on evidence-based care.

Keywords: children, peritonsillar abscess, traditional medicine, respiratory distress

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Authors: Asima Mehaboob Khan, Rizwan Taj

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Purpose: This study aims to estimate the knowledge, attitude and practices of medical ethics among young healthcare professionals. Method: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted among young healthcare professionals from both public and private sector medical institutions. Using the convenience sampling technique, 272 healthcare professionals participated in this study. A pre-structured modified questionnaire was used to collect the data. Descriptive analyses were executed for each variable. Result: About 76.47% of healthcare professional considers the importance of adequate knowledge of medical ethics, and 82.24% declared lecture, seminars and clinical discussion as the source of their medical knowledge of biomedical ethics. About 42.44% of healthcare professionals exhibited a negative attitude toward medical ethics, 57.72% showed a mildly positive attitude, whereas 1.10% and 0.74% indicated a moderately positive attitude and a highly positive attitude towards medical ethics. Similarly, the level of practice according to medical ethics is also very poor among young healthcare professionals. 34.56% of healthcare professionals deviated from medical ethics during their clinical practices, whereas 0.74% showed a good level of medical practice according to medical ethics. Conclusion: It is concluded in this research study that young healthcare professionals have adequate theoretical knowledge of medical ethics but are not properly trained to perform their clinical practices according to the guidelines of medical ethics. Furthermore, their professional attitude is poorly developed to maintain medical ethics during their clinical practices.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practices, medical ethics

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Authors: Atitallah Sofien, Missaoui Nada, Ben Rabeh Rania, Yahyaoui Salem, Mazigh Sonia, Bouyahia Olfa, Boukthir Samir

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Introduction: Acute bronchiolitis (AB) is a real public health problem on a global and national scale. Its treatment is most often outpatient. The use of audio-visual supports, such as educational videos, is an innovation in therapeutic education in outpatient treatment. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of an educational video on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of mothers of infants with AB. Methodology: This was a descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional study with prospective data collection, including mothers of infants with AB. We assessed mothers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding AB, and we created an educational video. We used a questionnaire written in Tunisian Arabic concerning sociodemographic data, mothers' knowledge and attitudes regarding AB, and their opinions on the video, as well as an observation grid to evaluate their practices on the nasopharyngeal unblocking technique. We compared the different parameters before and after watching the video. Results: We noted a statistically significant improvement in mothers' knowledge scores on AB (7.46 in the pre-test versus 14.08 in the post-test; p≤0.05), practices (12.42 in the pre-test versus 18 in the post-test; p≤0.05) and attitudes (5.86 in pre-test versus 9.02 in post-test; p≤0.05). Conclusion: The use of an educational video has a positive impact on the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of mothers towards AB.

Keywords: acute bronchiolitis, therapeutic education, mothers, educational video

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Authors: Keivan Amirbagheri, Ana Nuñez-Carballosa, Laura Guitart-Tarrés

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Over the last couple of decades, enterprises have begun to accept the need for environmental management and have started to implement environmental management programs to compete in the markets. The implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices can provide valuable opportunities to improve firm performance. Through the prior investigations, the ascending tendency of the numbers of published papers in the field of green supply chain management practices has been reported and it shows the high interest level of the authors to work in this area. Besides, there is still a gap to study more about the relationship of GSCM to the organizational performance (OP). So, the purpose of this research is to study the practices related to green supply chain management that influence the results of the company as an organizational performance. Based on our previous works, from one part we have collected these GSCM practices (planning, operational, and communication practices) and classified them through conducting some literature reviews to analyze their effects on the OP’s factors (balanced scorecard’s perspectives). To do so we design a case study methodology through semi-structured interviews and secondary data from some multinational well-known companies based in Spain. The cases have been selected with the criterion of trying to collect members of the entire supply chain to have a vision as global as possible. The results report the considerable influence of green supply chain management practices on the organizational performance of the companies of the study. In addition, they represent that the implementation of green supply chain management practices especially in a long-term perspective can be economically justified. From the point of view of the personal, they feel better about being a member of this type of company that has been structured on environmental issues. Also, for these companies, the image that has been created by the implementation of these practices helps them to facilitate their marketing program.

Keywords: green supply chain management, organizational performance, case study, Spain

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Authors: Davod Ahmadigheidari, Isabel Alvarez, Kate Sinclair, Marnie Davidson, Patrick Cortbaoui, Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez

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The burden of collecting water tends to disproportionately fall on women and girls in low-income countries. Specifically, women spend between one to eight hours per day fetching water for domestic use in Sub-Saharan Africa. While there has been research done on the global time burden for collecting water, it has been mainly focused on water quality parameters; leaving the relationship between water fetching and health outcomes understudied. There is little available evidence regarding the relationship between water fetching and maternal child care practices. The main objective of this study was to help fill the aforementioned gap in the literature. Data from two surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi conducted by CARE Canada in 2016-2017 were used. Descriptive statistics indicate that women were predominantly responsible for collecting water in both Ethiopia (87%) and Malawi (99%) respectively, with the majority spending more than 30 minutes per day on water collection. With regards to child care practices, in both countries, breastfeeding was relatively high (77% and 82%, respectively); and treatment for malnutrition was low (15% and 8%, respectively). However, the same consistency was not found for weighing; in Ethiopia only 16% took their children for weighting in contrast to 94% in Malawi. These three practices were summed to create one variable for regressions analyses. Unadjusted logistic regression findings showed that only in Ethiopia was time fetching water significantly associated with child care practices. Once adjusted for covariates, this relationship was no longer found to be significant. Adjusted logistic regressions also showed that the factors that did influence child care practices differed slightly between the two countries. In Ethiopia, a lack of access to community water supply (OR= 0.668; P=0.010), poor attitudes towards gender equality (OR= 0.608; P=0.001), no access to land and (OR=0.603; P=0.000), significantly decreased a women’s odd of using positive childcare practices. Notably, being young women between 15-24 years (OR=2.308; P=0.017), and 25-29 (OR=2.065; P=0.028) increased probability of using positive childcare practices. Whereas in Malawi, higher maternal age, low decision-making power, significantly decreased a women’s odd of using positive childcare practices. In conclusion, this study found that even though amount of time spent by women fetching water makes a difference for childcare practices, it is not significantly related to women’s child care practices when controlling the covariates. Importantly, women’s age contributes to child care practices in Ethiopia and Malawi.

Keywords: time fetching water, community water supply, women’s child care practices, Ethiopia, Malawi

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Authors: Eldah Ephraim Buba, Amina Bata Zoaka, Aishatu Ibrahim

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This study appraised maintenance practices in selected tourist attractions in Bauchi state, Nigeria. Four tourist attractions were used for the research. Checklists were used to assess operations and repairs maintenance practices in the different attractions. The study carried out personal assessment thrice in six months without prior knowledge of the staff in charge for operational maintenance. Records of repairs maintenance from the attractions maintenance unit for a period of ten years were assessed using the checklists. The findings of the study show that operations maintenance was not adequately carried out in the four tourists attractions. Repairs maintenance was carried out in Yankari game reserve and safari, but repairs maintenance was poor in the other three attractions. The study therefore, recommends that adequate maintenance should be practiced in tourist attractions to expand the lifespan of the facilities and also encourage tourist patronage.

Keywords: appraisal, maintenance, practices, tourist attraction

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Authors: Puwanenthiren Pratheepkanth

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The main aim of this paper is to analyse existing literature (1960 -2016) on management accounting revolution by firms in a comparative perspective to see whether any differences between developed and developing countries context. The significant role that management accounting practices play in corporate finance is well established by reams of research articles. The study reveals that there are clear limitations to the literature review, it suggests that a majority of management accounting practices’ studies are focused on developed markets and that there is a scarcity of serious analyses of the situation in emerging markets.

Keywords: developed countries, developing countries, literature review, management accounting practices

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Authors: Daniel Brian Thompson, Subarmaniam Kannan

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The huge weightage of knowledge in this world and within the repository of organizations has already reached immense capacity and is constantly increasing as time goes by. To accommodate these constraints, Big Data implementation and algorithms are utilized to obtain new or enhanced knowledge for decision-making. With the transition from data to knowledge provides the transformational changes which will provide tangible benefits to the individual implementing these practices. Today, various organization would derive knowledge from observations and intuitions where this information or data will be translated into best practices for knowledge acquisition, generation and sharing. Through the widespread usage of Big Data, the main intention is to provide information that has been cleaned and analyzed to nurture tangible insights for an organization to apply to their knowledge-creation practices based on facts and figures. The translation of data into knowledge will generate value for an organization to make decisive decisions to proceed with the transition of best practices. Without a strong foundation of knowledge and Big Data, businesses are not able to grow and be enhanced within the competitive environment.

Keywords: big data, knowledge management, data driven, knowledge creation

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Authors: Odinah Cuartero-Enteria, Aive Pecasales, Jhadly Philip Buniel, Christian Joy Vega, Shiela Estubo

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In the Philippines, Mindanao Island has the cheapest electricity because of the hydroelectric plants. Due to the rapid increase of the electricity consumption which the sources of electricity cannot support, it causes rotating brownout during summer season. This study investigated the household energy usage and practices in the rural areas of northern part of the Mindanao Island, Philippines. The questionnaire that includes the respondents’ profile and their common practices in energy consumptions was used as a tool in gathering the data. Several households were subjected to the survey. Results show energy consumption is not dependent on the profile of the respondents. It was observed that most of the families prefer to use energy saving methods of reducing electricity consumption. The main energy saving methods are unplugging unused home appliances, using of compact fluorescent bulb and energy-efficient gadgets, and using high electricity consumption appliances by schedule. Based on the results, the households in the rural areas know the practices of reducing electricity consumption. However, it is highly recommended that concern agencies should initiate information dissemination and strict implementation of well-formulated energy conservation practices all over the areas in Mindanao.

Keywords: Philippines, Mindanao island, rural areas, households, energy usages, practices

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Authors: Hamad Aldosari

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of sexism, or gender discrepancies, in current pedagogical and curricular practices in EFL learning higher education settings. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of both course contents and pedagogies in Saudi higher education institutions are to be discussed with reference to female/male topic presentation in dialogs and reading passages, sex-based activity types, stereotyped sex roles and the masculine generic conceptions of male superiority subliminally related in EFL curriculum and pedagogical practices, as well as the causes and effects of segregated language education practices in Saudi Arabia from a holistic vantage point of analysis. Analysis findings show that language educational practices including educational settings and segregation are gender-biased in attitude, but with regard to curriculum, sexism has not been traced. Findings also show that sexism is rampant due to socio-cultural aspects of language education rather than to religious reasons: a finding that seems to mirror the institutionalized unfair sex discrimination to the disadvantage of women in the Arabian societies at large.

Keywords: genderism, sex segregation, Saudi Arabia, EFL

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Authors: Dina Alnefaie

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This poster presents a study of a Discord private server with thirteen multilingual gamers, aiming to explore the elements that construct a multilingual online gaming community. The study focuses on the communication practices of four Saudi female and male gamers, using various data collection methods, including online observations through recorded videos and screenshots, interviews, and informal conversations for one year. The primary findings show that translanguaging was a prominent feature of their verbal and textual communication practices. Besides, these practices that mostly accompany cultural ones were used to facilitate communication and express their identities in an intercultural context.

Keywords: online community construction, perceptions, multilingualism, digital identity

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Authors: Oualid Kherbach, Marian Liviu Mocan, Amine Ghoumrassi, Cristian Dumitrache

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The Globalization system and the development of economy, e-business, and introduction of new technologies formation create new challenges to all organizations particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Many studies on supply chain management (SCM) focus on large companies with universal operations employing high-stage information technology. These make a gap in the knowing of how SMEs use and practice supply chain management. In this screenplay, successful practices of supply chain management (SCM) can give SMEs an edge over their competitors. However, SMEs in Romania and Balkan countries face problems in SCM implementation and practices due to lack of resources and direction. The objectives of this research highlight the supply chain management practices of the small and medium enterprise strip in Romania and understand how SMEs manage and use SCM. This study Checks the potential existence of systematic differences between small businesses and medium-sized businesses with regard to supply chain management practices and the application of supply management has contributed to the improvement performance and increase the profitability of companies such as increasing the market share and improving the level of clients.

Keywords: globalization, small and medium enterprises, supply chain management, practices

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Authors: Elizabeth Valenti

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Objective: To date, there remains an absence of literature examining perceptions of mindfulness and mindful practices among college students, particularly among Christian students. The purpose of this mixed-methods, exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of students’ perception of mindfulness and assess current mindful practices. Methods: The mixed-methods, exploratory study examined data from freshmen undergraduate college students (N=107) enrolled in an introductory psychology course at a private, non-profit Christian university. Students completed a researcher-developed questionnaire containing both Likert and opened ended questions to assess knowledge about and perceptions of mindfulness, as well as current mindful practices. Results: Results of the thematic analysis revealed approximately half of the students had a limited understanding of mindfulness, with several reporting disadvantages. Most students listed prayer as a consistent practice, with a much smaller percentage of students consistently engaging in other mindful activities. Discussion: Implications for mindfulness education and the promotion of evidence-based methods, particularly in Christian communities, are discussed.

Keywords: mindfulness, mindful practices, perception, Christian, university students, mental health

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Authors: Gul Selin Erben

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Precariousness can be evaluated as the new employment climate of the neo-liberal employment markets. As the word refers to a new mode of employment experience and working practices, it was felt as a necessity to reveal the basic characteristics of this kind of employment experience. Furthermore, according to the literature, precarious employment practices have some negative outcomes such as alienation, sense of anger, and anomy. Thus, it has quite significant to reveal the conditions' characteristics and practices of precarious employment. This study has the purpose to develop an instrument which measures the precarious employment practices. In order to develop a precariousness scale, the relevant literature was examined, and 30 statements were established as a result of the literature review. The development and validation of the scale were done by a sample of 123 individuals who work in different sectors in İstanbul as a white color employee. Convenience sampling was used as a sampling methodology. Reliability and factor analysis were conducted. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, 3 dimensions were gathered.

Keywords: employment, employment experience, precariousness, scale development

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Authors: Milagros S. Salibad, Levita B. Grana

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The presence and role of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) residing in key biodiversity, protected, and watershed areas within the ancestral domain in the Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines, hold immense significance. Recognizing their importance and rights, this study aimed to determine the level of biodiversity conservation practices and extent of environmental stewardship among the Mamanwas, Manobos, and Higaonons, assess potential differences in these practices, and identify factors that facilitate or hinder them. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-method research design, 421 respondents participated through a researcher-made questionnaire. Additional data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, researcher field notes, community immersions, and secondary sources. The results revealed a high level of biodiversity conservation practices across the three IP groups, with variations influenced by their cultural and traditional practices, awareness, and access to resources and information. Each group exhibited unique environmental practices shaped by their distinct cultures, traditions, and customary knowledge. They have a strong sense of ownership and responsibility towards their ancestral lands and territories and adopt traditional knowledge and practices that promote sustainable resource management and biodiversity conservation. These practices align with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), also known as Republic Act No. 8371. Various facilitating and hindering factors influenced their conservation efforts. To uphold the region's biodiversity resources, it is recommended that government agencies continue to evaluate and monitor the sustainability of IPs' local biodiversity conservation practices. Additionally, efforts should be made to involve IP communities as essential contributors and stakeholders in these conservation endeavors.

Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge, environmental stewardship

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Authors: Nicole Pyle, Daniel Pyle, Christa Haring, Marty Hougen

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Effective special education teachers utilize evidence-based practices for adolescent reading instruction and target the skills needed to improve the reading of older struggling readers. High-Leverage Practices (HLPs) are critical to helping students with disabilities learn important content. Therefore, special education teachers are encouraged to implement HLPs to maximize the learning of students with disabilities, including students with reading difficulties. Teachers’ implementation of HLPs in reading comprehension instruction should aim to develop adolescents’ understanding of grade-level narrative texts and informational texts, including content area texts. Instruction High-Leverage Practices (11-22) that ensure effective implementation of evidence-based practice in reading comprehension instruction for adolescents are presented. Effective reading comprehension activities within the 12 Instruction HLPs are illustrated.

Keywords: high-leverage practices, adolescent, instructional activities, students with disabilities

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Authors: Azmat Farooq Ahmad Khurram, Sadaf Aslam

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This meta-analysis systematically examines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in instructional methods across diverse educational settings through a thorough analysis of empirical research encompassing various disciplines, educational levels, and regions. This study aims to assess the effects of AI integration on teaching methodologies, classroom dynamics, teachers' roles, and student engagement. Various research methods were used to gather data, including literature reviews, surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. Findings indicate paradigm shifts in teaching and education, identify emerging trends, practices, and the application of artificial intelligence in learning, and provide educators, policymakers, and stakeholders with guidelines and recommendations for effectively integrating AI in educational contexts. The study concludes by suggesting future research directions and practical considerations for maximizing AI's positive influence on pedagogical practices.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, teaching practices, meta-analysis, teaching-learning

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Authors: Mamta Thakur, Dr. Shashi Mawar, Ms. Levis Murry, Dr. D.k.sharma

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Aim: The aim of this study is to develop nephrology nursing procedure protocol after clinical audit of current nephrology nursing practices. Materials and methods: This descriptive observational study was conducted on 40 nurses who were working in Nephrology Department of AIIMS, New Delhi to observe their current practices to assess the existing gaps in the practice. The nurses were enrolled through total enumerative sampling. Sociodemographic profile of nurses and clinical profile for site of procedure was collected. Observation checklist was formed on the basis of standard nursing practices, which included 7 dimensions for hemodialysis procedure and 3 dimensions for procedure of assisting renal biopsy. Based on the gaps identified, nephrology nursing procedure protocol will be developed. Nurses were observed during two shifts, and each nurse was observed once. Scoring of items were done in each dimension, and for acceptable practices, nurses have to score ≥80% in each dimension. Results: Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Majority of nurses (73.7%) in nephrology ward and (80.9%) in hemodialysis unit have not undergone any special training in nephrology. Most of nurses (80.9%) followed the acceptable nursing practices for procedure of connection for hemodialysis. None of nurses followed the acceptable level (≥80%) of nursing practices for the procedure of predialysis assessment, the procedure for site preparation, during dialysis assessment and post dialysis assessment. None (100%) showed the acceptable level of nursing practices for all the dimensions of assisting renal biopsy procedure. Nephrology nursing procedure protocol was developed by researcher following a rigorous process, and this will reduce the gaps in the nursing practice. Conclusion: Clinical audit found that there were gaps in the existing nursing practices compared to the standardised nursing practices for procedure of hemodialysis and assisting renal biopsy, and these gaps have been addressed by the development of the protocol.

Keywords: nursing practice, nephrology nursing procedure, nursing protocol, renal biopsy, hemodialysis

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Authors: Kemal Izci

Abstract:

Assessment forms an important part of instruction. Assessment that aims to support learning is known as formative assessment and it contributes student’s learning gain and motivation. However, teachers rarely use assessment formatively to aid their students’ learning. Thus, reviewing the factors that limit or support teachers’ practices of formative assessment will be crucial for guiding educators to support prospective teachers in using formative assessment and also eliminate limiting factors to let practicing teachers to engage in formative assessment practices during their instruction. The study, by using teacher’s change environment framework, reviews literature on formative assessment and presents a tentative model that illustrates the factors impacting teachers’ adoption of formative assessment in their teaching. The results showed that there are four main factors consisting personal, contextual, resource-related and external factors that influence teachers’ practices of formative assessment.

Keywords: assessment practices, formative assessment, teacher education, factors for use of formative assessment

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Authors: Ijaz Ahamad Tatlah

Abstract:

The justification of this study was to identify about physical facilities as encouragement to Quality Assurance Practices (QAP) in the Universities of Pakistan concerning the views of students, teachers and Directors of Quality Enhancement Cells’ (QEC’s) and to differentiate the views of students, teachers and Directors of QECs in relation to physical facilities about quality assurance practices in the universities of Pakistan. It was a quantitative and qualitative research study. This study was conducted on a sample of 28 universities (public and private sector) of Pakistan by using random and purposive sampling technique. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were planned to gather information from students, teachers and Directors of QECs in relation to physical facilities about quality assurance practices in the universities of Pakistan. The data was analyzed by using Descriptive, inferential statistics, and thematic coding. The study revealed that students, teachers and Directors of QEC’s faced a lot of problems and issues without physical facilities. Quality assurance Agency (QAA), Quality Assurance Department (QAD) and Higher Education commission (HEC) all are relevant Pakistani Agencies, which are working consistently of both sectors i.e. public and private to supervise, guide and facilitate the universities of Pakistan for developing quality assurance practices. Majority of the students teachers and Directors’ of QECs opined that books, research journals, manuals for use of science laboratories, equipment for experiments and update computers were available for teachers and students’ in the universities. It was suggested by the students teachers and Directors of QECs of universities that Quality Assurance Practices (QAP) can be accelerated by thinking the following steps: provision of sufficient resources, add the latest software for computers laboratories and new edition of books.

Keywords: physical facilities, quality assurance practices, library, laboratory

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Authors: Anjali Kanagali, Astha Sinha

Abstract:

Climate change is the greatest threat being faced by mankind in the 21st century. It no longer is merely an environmental, scientific or economic issue but is a humanitarian issue as well. Paris Agreement put great pressure on the businesses to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change. However, the already increased climate variability and extreme weather are aggravating emergency humanitarian needs. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if efficient policy changes are not made in time to combat the climate change issues, the situation will deteriorate with an estimated global temperature rise of 4 degrees. The existing international network of Humanitarian system is not adequately structured to handle the projected natural disasters and climate change crisis. The 2030 Agenda which embraces the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) discussed the relationship between the climate change and humanitarian assistance. The Humanitarian law aims to protect, amongst other things, ‘internally displaced persons’ which includes people displaced due to natural hazard related disasters engulfing the hazards of climate change. ‘Legal protection’ of displaced people to protect their rights is becoming a pressing need in such times. In this paper, attempts will be made to analyze the causes of the displacement, identify areas where the effect of the climate change is most likely to occur and to examine the character of forced displacement triggering population movement. We shall discuss the pressure on the Humanitarian system and assistance due to climate change issues and the need for vesting powers to the local communities or local government players to deal with the climate changes. We shall also discuss the possibility of setting up a new framework where non-state actors could be set up for climate change impact and its governance.

Keywords: humanitarian assistance to climate change, humanitarian crisis, internally displaced person, legal framework for climate migrants, non-state actors

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Authors: Mpaphi Major

Abstract:

Soil erosion is becoming an important aspect of land degradation. Therefore it is of great consideration to note any factor that may escalate the rate of soil erosion in our arable land. There exist 3 main driving forces in soil erosion which are rainfall, wind and land use of which in this project only rainfall and land use will be looked at. With the increase in world population at an alarming rate, the demand for food production is expected to increase which will in turn lead to more land being converted from forests to agricultural use of which very few of it are now fertile. In our country Botswana, the rate of crop production is decreasing due to the wearing away of the fertile top soil and poor arable land management. As a result, some studies on the rate of soil loss and farm management practices should be conducted so that best soil and water conservation practices should be employed and hence reduce the risk of soil loss and increase the rate of crop production and yield. The Soil loss estimation model for Southern Africa (SLEMSA) will be used to estimate the rate of soil loss in some selected arable farms within the Palapye watershed and some field observations will be made to determine the management practices used and their impact on the arable land. Upon observations it have been found that many arable fields have been exposed to soil erosion, of which the affected parts are no longer suitable for any crop production unless the land areas are modified. Improper land practices such as ploughing along the slope and land cultivation practices were observed. As a result farmers need to be educated on best conservation practices that can be used to manage their arable land hence reduced risk of soil erosion and improved crop production.

Keywords: soil and water conservation, soil erosion, SLEMSA, land degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Peter R. Reuter

Abstract:

Health professionals play important roles in helping patients use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices safely and accurately. Consequently, it is important for future health professionals to learn about CAM practices during their time in undergraduate and graduate programs. To satisfy this need for education, teaching CAM in nursing and medical schools and other health professions programs is becoming more prevalent. Our study was the first to look specifically at the knowledge of, and attitude toward CAM of undergraduate health professions students at a university in the U.S. Students were invited to participate in one of two anonymous online surveys depending on whether they were pre-health professions students or graduating health professions seniors. Of the 763 responses analyzed, 71.7% were from pre-health professions students, and 28.3% came from graduating seniors. The overall attitude of participants toward and interest in learning about CAM practices was generally fairly positive with graduating seniors being more positive than pre-health professions students. Yoga, meditation, massage therapy, aromatherapy, and chiropractic care were the practices most respondents had personal experience with. Massage therapy, yoga, chiropractic care, meditation, music therapy, and diet-based therapy received the highest ratings from respondents. Three-quarters of respondents planned on including aspects of holistic medicine in their future career as a health professional. The top five practices named were yoga, meditation, massage therapy, diet-based therapy, and music therapy. The study confirms the need to educate health professions students about CAM practices to give them the background information they need to select or recommend the best practices for their patients' needs.

Keywords: CAM education, health professions, health professions students, pre-health professions students

Procedia PDF Downloads 115