Comprehensive Ability Research Articles

Is it up to language? Pragmatic competence in Croatian preschool children with autism and typical development

Objectives The relationship between structural language ability and pragmatics is not fully understood, in either individuals with autism or those with typical development (TD). Despite the well-established understanding that core deficits in autism lie in pragmatics, specific pragmatic behaviours that distinguish autistic children (AC) from their TD peers are not sufficiently described. The aims of this study were as follows: to investigate the differences in language abilities and pragmatic competence between AC and those with TD; to examine the relationship between language comprehension/production and pragmatic competence in both groups; and to identify the items of pragmatic composite that are most discriminative in detecting AC. Methods The participants in this study were preschool-aged children with TD (N = 45; mean age 65.5 months) and AC with average nonverbal IQ scores (N = 32; mean age 72.9 months). Language production and comprehension abilities were assessed using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (4th edition), and pragmatic competence was measured using the Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC). Results For all language and pragmatic variables, AC performed worse than those with TD. Pragmatic competencies did not correlate with structural language skills in either group, except for a correlation between language production and coherence in the TD. Finally, certain pragmatic behaviours common to many AC and rarely found in children with TD were identified as potential distinguishing features between the two groups. Conclusions This study underscores the importance of incorporating pragmatic assessments alongside traditional language evaluations and suggests that interventions should target pragmatic competence specifically, especially in preschool AC.

Research on the Cultivation of Critical Thinking Ability in College English Teaching under the Background of New Liberal Arts

Under the background of new liberal arts, the traditional college English teaching model which is mainly based on knowledge input can no longer meet the goal of talent cultivation. In the new liberal arts pattern, taking the cultivation of students' critical thinking ability as the entry point and exploring a three-dimensional and comprehensive teaching system for college English critical thinking ability not only conforms to the teaching laws of language classes but also can cultivate students' comprehensive English application ability, effectively promote the construction of a new college English curriculum system, and improve students' comprehensive qualities and abilities.

Adaptation of the Nursing Activities Score in Latvia.

This study focuses on the adaptation and validation of the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) for use in Latvian intensive care units (ICUs) to measure nursing workload. The NAS, widely used internationally, was selected for its comprehensive ability to reflect 81% of ICU nursing activities, making it a suitable tool for assessing nursing workload in the Latvian healthcare context. The study followed a two-phase methodology: (1) expert validation using the Content Validity Index (CVI) and (2) a pilot study to assess the psychometric properties of the adapted tool. In the first phase, 10 ICU nursing experts assessed the translated NAS items, resulting in revisions to three specific paragraphs (4a, 14, and 20) based on low CVI scores. After refinement, CVIs improved from 0.6 to 0.8 for paragraphs 4a and 14, and from 0.5 to 0.9 for paragraph 20. The final CVI for all items reached 0.909. In the second phase, a pilot study was conducted in a Latvian ICU with 42 patients and 226 NAS assessments. The psychometric evaluation showed strong reliability and validity, confirming the NAS's suitability for measuring nursing workload in this context. Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.973. The adapted NAS provides a standardised method for workload assessment in Latvian ICUs, offering potential improvements in nurse resource management and patient care.

Quantitative Characterization of Zebrafish Caudal Fin Regeneration Based on Mueller Matrix OCT In Vivo.

Zebrafish serves as a valuable model for studying tissue regeneration due to their comprehensive regenerative abilities, particularly in bone tissue. In this study, a Mueller matrix optical coherence tomography (OCT) system was applied to monitor the regenerative processes of zebrafish caudal fins in vivo. The analysis focused on evaluating the thickness of the caudal fin tip and the distribution of internal bone tissue during the regenerative process. Subsequently, the effect of ectoine solution on the regeneration process was observed and discussed. Our findings revealed that the caudal fin blastema did not exhibit phase-induced polarization characteristics in the Mueller matrix OCT images. Statistical analyses indicated that the caudal fins did not fully regenerate to their original state within 21 days. Furthermore, the results suggested that ectoine solution could enhance tissue regeneration. This approach provides a method for quantifying zebrafish caudal fin regeneration and advances observation techniques for biomedical and clinical applications.

Research on the Training Mode of the Connection between Higher Vocational Colleges in Preschool Education Specialty

With the deepening of education reform, preschool education has gradually entered the field of public concern. The pre-school education major in the middle and higher vocational schools not only has significant social function, but also has strong application and professionalism, and has higher requirements for comprehensive ability. This paper analyzes the construction of practical training mode in the connection of middle and higher vocational schools, in order to guide the future practical training work.

An Investigation of Cooperative Learning Strategies in Improving Students' Comprehension Skills in the Context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

The objective of this study was to enhance the reading comprehension abilities of EFL students by implementing cooperative learning strategies. The study aimed to address the following primary research question: What is the influence of cooperative learning on enhancing the reading comprehension skills of EFL students? The study included a total of 70 students from the first and second levels of the Department of English and Literature at the Ar Rass campus of Qassim University in Saudi Arabia. We conducted the study over a three-week period in two classes: the control group consisted of 35 female students (N = 35), while the experimental group also included 35 female students (N = 35). The experimental group received instruction through cooperative learning strategies, whereas the control group received instruction through a standard teacher-centered strategy. To address the fact-finding investigation of the study, we employed a pre- and post-test tool to assess reading comprehension skills. This test specifically aimed to identify the levels of literal and inferential comprehension. We employed the t-test to determine the statistical divergence between the average scores of the two groups. This study demonstrated the beneficial influence of cooperative learning approaches on the enhancement of reading comprehension skills among first- and second-level students in the Department of English and Literature. We strongly recommend cooperative learning practices to improve the reading skills of EFL learners.

Research on Technological Innovation Capability of Yancheng Prefabricated Construction Industry Based on Patent Information Analysis

In order to improve the innovation capabilities of Yancheng’s prefabricated construction industry, the Dawei Innojoy patent database was used to search the prefabricated construction technology patent literature data of Yancheng and other major cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2012 to 2022, and the prefabricated construction patents in Yancheng were analyzed from the number of patent applications. Analysis and research were conducted on trends, application type composition, applicants, technical fields, patent legal status, etc. At the same time, the prefabricated building technology innovation capability evaluation system was constructed, and the factor analysis method was used to compare and analyze the prefabricated building technology patent indicators of Yancheng and major cities in the Yangtze River Delta region. The results show that Yancheng has a small number of patent applications, a small proportion of invention patents, a low patent authorization rate, and a low patent conversion rate, and the industry-university-research chain needs to be opened up. Among the cities in the Yangtze River Delta, Yancheng’s comprehensive innovation ability in prefabricated building technology is medium to low, where it lags behind in terms of the scale and quality of technological innovation and ranks at the forefront of technological innovation operations. Based on this, the article puts forward countermeasures and suggestions for Yancheng’s prefabricated building technology patent applications from three levels, macro, meso, and micro, in order to achieve efficient innovation and promote the high-quality development of Yancheng’s new building industrialization.

Reform and Practice of Blended Teaching for “Preventive Medicine” Course Based on the “SPOC+BOPPPS” Model under the OBE Concept

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of blended teaching for the “preventive medicine” course based on the “SPOC+BOPPPS” model under the OBE concept. Methods: A questionnaire survey was used to evaluate students' satisfaction with blended teaching, scores of various examinations and comprehensive ability. The two-sample independent rank sum test was used to evaluate whether there were differences in scores of various tasks and various abilities among students of different majors. Results: More than 90% of students are satisfied with this teaching reform, with a median overall rating of 10 points for the course. Students have high scores in formative and summative assessments, with median scores exceeding 80 points. Students' comprehensive abilities are generally excellent, with a median score of 4 for all abilities. Conclusion: Under the concept of OBE, the student's satisfaction with the “SPOC+BOPPPS” model applied to the blended teaching of preventive medicine is higher, and the overall teaching effect is good.

Enhanced Cross-Entropy Exponential TODIM Framework for Interval-Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Information and Applications to Art Teaching Quality Evaluation

Art teachers in preschool education need to possess not only high professional competence but also a commitment to continuous learning to enhance their comprehensive teaching abilities. The art teaching quality evaluation in preschool education programs at vocational colleges is multiple-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM). Currently, the Exponential TODIM and cross-entropy approach was employed to address MAGDM. Interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy sets (IVPFSs) serve as a strategy for characterizing uncertain data during the art teaching quality evaluation in preschool education programs at vocational colleges. In this study, the interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy number cross-entropy Exponential TODIM (IVPFN-CE-ExpTODIM) approach is developed to bring up MAGDM problems under IVPFSs. To validate the proposed method, a numerical study is conducted on the art teaching quality evaluation in preschool education programs at vocational colleges.

Pengaruh Media Scrapbook Terhadap Kemampuan Membaca Pemahaman Siswa Kelas IV UPT SDN 060816 Medan

This research aims to determine the effect of scrapbook media on the reading comprehension ability of class IV students at UPT SDN 060816 Medan. This research has several problems, namely when students read they do not understand the content of the reading they read. This research is quantitative research with a quasi-experimental type of research. The sample in this study used a saturated sampling technique consisting of two classes, namely class IV A with 32 students as the experimental class using scrapbook media and class IV B with 31 students as the control class without using media. The data collection technique used in this research is a multiple choice test. The research results from both classes, namely the experimental class, had an average score of 45.81 (pretest) and 82.47 (posttest). And the control class has an average of 39.81 (pretest) and 67.90 (posttest). The results of the hypothesis test are the Paired Sample t-Test with a significance level of α = 0.05. The results found a sig (2-tailed) value of 0.000 < 0.05. So it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted, so there is an influence of scrapbook media on the reading comprehension ability of class IV students at UPT SDN 060816 Medan.

Current Status and Insights of Undergraduate Teaching Reform in Urban and Rural Planning under the Context of “Emerging Engineering Education”

Under the background of “Emerging Engineering Education,” the Urban and Rural Planning major faces significant challenges in teaching reform. This study thoroughly analyzes the current status of undergraduate teaching reform in Urban and Rural Planning in China, revealing that the reform has achieved notable results in promoting teaching quality and enhancing students' comprehensive abilities. The reform has updated teaching concepts, emphasized interdisciplinary integration and practical ability cultivation, and reinforced practical teaching by updating course content and teaching methods, effectively improving students' practical skills and innovation abilities. However, challenges such as insufficient practical teaching resources and incomplete innovation ability cultivation mechanisms remain. Drawing on successful domestic and international teaching experiences in Urban and Rural Planning, this study proposes recommendations such as strengthening interdisciplinary integration, deepening industry-university cooperation, innovating teaching methods, and improving the practical teaching system. In the future, undergraduate teaching reform in Urban and Rural Planning should further focus on interdisciplinary integration, industry-university-research collaboration, teaching method innovation, and the construction of a practical teaching system to meet the development needs of the Urban and Rural Planning field in the new era, contributing more wisdom and strength to China's sustainable urban and rural development.

A Empirical Study on Critical Thinking Ability in College English Reading Teaching under CBI

In the context of the new liberal arts, the ordinary English teaching model is difficult to adapt to the development of college English teaching, and English reading, as a necessary part of cultivating students’ comprehensive language ability and critical thinking ability, has played an important role in college English teaching. As a text-based teaching method, Content-Based Instruction (CBI) is more in line with the learning of English reading. Based on Krashen’s input hypothesis and Swain’s output hypothesis theory, it selected 66 English major seniors from Y University as the research subjects, who subsequently are divided into control classes and experimental classes. Data was collected by survey questionnaires and reading tests. Based on the analysis and discussion of relevant data, it concludes that: firstly, the critical thinking ability of college students is at a moderate level. Secondly, the CBI teaching method is significantly positively correlated with students’ critical thinking ability. Thirdly, the CBI teaching method has a positive impact on students’ critical English reading skills.

An augmented reality‐facilitated question‐prompt‐interaction‐evaluation approach to fostering students' case‐handling competence in technical and vocational education

AbstractBackgroundCultivating students' problem‐solving knowledge and skills in the workspace has been regarded as a primary goal in technical and vocational education. To this end, students are usually guided to complete the learning of workspace knowledge and skills by following the question, prompt, interaction and evaluation (QPIE) procedure.ObjectiveIn conventional instruction, when teachers present questions of real cases to students, most of the class time is spent on the demonstration of relevant techniques and prompts. Meanwhile, trainers in conventional classrooms often have to guide multiple students simultaneously, making it challenging to provide individual guidance. Therefore, the present study proposed an AR (Augmented Reality)‐based QPIE training mode.MethodTo show the effectiveness of the proposed mode, this study recruited two classes of students from a technological university as the participants, and conducted an experiment using a unit of a professional training course. One class of 22 learners adopted the AR‐QPIE training mode, while the other class of 22 learners used the conventional QPIE (C‐QPIE) training mode.Results and ConclusionsThe results revealed that the AR‐QPIE training mode enhanced learners' learning achievement, self‐confidence, and several dimensions of learning perceptions more than the C‐QPIE training mode. Besides, in terms of the evaluation of case‐handling performance, the AR‐QPIE training mode could also significantly enhance learners' memory, comprehension, judgement, and calculation abilities in comparison with the C‐QPIE training mode. Yet, no significant differences in the application abilities could be found between the two groups. The proposed training mode of this study could train learners' case‐handling performance, and improve their self‐confidence in the workspace.

The Effect of Using Gamification to Improve EFL Students' Academic Performance

This paper aims to determine whether there is evidence that gamified instruction can be effective in improving EFL students' academic achievement. The aim of the research is to establish how effective gamification is as a method against more traditional types of education and what areas of the English language—for example, reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary—are most effectively promoted via the integration of gamification into the classroom environment. The sample included 120 fourth graders from public schools in Jordan, where 60 children were to form the gamified instruction group and another 60 to form the standard instruction group. Pretests and posttests of English language skills using standardized tools measured students at two different times: before and after the instructional interventions. These tests are the main instruments utilized for data collection and analysis. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and one-way MANOVA tests were performed to test the variation and holistic impact of the instructional methods on different components of language learning. The experimental findings support that the gamified instruction group scored significantly higher than the regular instruction group at post-intervention. More specifically, the students of the game-based group scored an average of 74.44 (SD= 7.93) on the posttest, compared to 69.31 (SD = 6.14) for those of the control group.The result for the T-test yields t = 4.05 and p < 0.001, hence showing that the gamified group had significantly better results. The classroom gamification usage made noteworthy gains in students' vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension abilities. One-way ANOVA results were vocabulary, F = 22.65, p < 0.001; grammar, F = 15.78, p < 0.001; and reading comprehension, F = 18.93, p < 0.001. MANOVA supported this finding that the Wilks' Lambda value was 0.62, with an F-value of 20.45 and a p-value less than 0.001, indicating that gamified training was of benefit overall in enhancing English language competence. The results of this research come with a very exciting revelation, such as gamified instruction being an excellent means of teaching English as a foreign language since it enhances students' interest and performance in class.

The Effect of Using Gamification to Improve EFL Students' Academic Performance

This paper aims to determine whether there is evidence that gamified instruction can be effective in improving EFL students' academic achievement. The aim of the research is to establish how effective gamification is as a method against more traditional types of education and what areas of the English language—for example, reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary—are most effectively promoted via the integration of gamification into the classroom environment. The sample included 120 fourth graders from public schools in Jordan, where 60 children were to form the gamified instruction group and another 60 to form the standard instruction group. Pretests and posttests of English language skills using standardized tools measured students at two different times: before and after the instructional interventions. These tests are the main instruments utilized for data collection and analysis. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and one-way MANOVA tests were performed to test the variation and holistic impact of the instructional methods on different components of language learning. The experimental findings support that the gamified instruction group scored significantly higher than the regular instruction group at post-intervention. More specifically, the students of the game-based group scored an average of 74.44 (SD= 7.93) on the posttest, compared to 69.31 (SD = 6.14) for those of the control group.The result for the T-test yields t = 4.05 and p < 0.001, hence showing that the gamified group had significantly better results. The classroom gamification usage made noteworthy gains in students' vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension abilities. One-way ANOVA results were vocabulary, F = 22.65, p < 0.001; grammar, F = 15.78, p < 0.001; and reading comprehension, F = 18.93, p < 0.001. MANOVA supported this finding that the Wilks' Lambda value was 0.62, with an F-value of 20.45 and a p-value less than 0.001, indicating that gamified training was of benefit overall in enhancing English language competence. The results of this research come with a very exciting revelation, such as gamified instruction being an excellent means of teaching English as a foreign language since it enhances students' interest and performance in class.

Chaining Strategy and Word Recognition Development among Deaf Pupils in Tanzania

Despite chaining strategy being used in teaching deaf pupils in Tanzania, still deaf graduate with poor reading skills. Thus, there was the need of finding out the reasons for this stressing situation in the country. Basing on the theory of simple view of reading which highlights that reading comprehension is determined by word recognition ability and language comprehension ability, this study explored the contribution of chaining strategy in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in selected special primary schools in Tanzania. The study employed mixed research approach with a convergent research design, whereby, in-depth interview, observation, questionnaire and test were employed to collect data from teachers and deaf pupils respectively. A sample of 182 respondents that included 20 teachers and 162 deaf pupils was used. Data obtained were analysed through descriptive, simple linear regression and content analysis. The study revealed that the use of chaining strategy has significant contribution in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in Tanzania. This is because the strategy contributed much in building up major word recognition sub-skills among deaf such as, fingerspelling ability, ability to select specific word from the group of written words, abilities to match words with their corresponding signs, and ability to identify misspelled words. In-turn the subskills contributed to word recognition ability among deaf pupils. The study recommends the government to strengthen on in-service training among teachers for deaf as it will keep teachers updated as far as sign language is concern and on how to effectively apply chaining strategy

FBENet: Feature-Level Boosting Ensemble Network for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Ultrasound Image Classification.

Distinguishing Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) lesions from ordinary thyroid tissues is difficult with ultrasound images. Challenges in achieving high performance of HT ultrasound image classification include the low resolution, blurred features and large area of irrelevant noise. To address these problems, we propose a Feature-level Boosting Ensemble Network (FBENet) for HT ultrasound image classification. Specifically, to capture the features of suspicious HT lesions efficiently, an Ensemble Feature Boosting Module (EFBM) is introduced into the feature-level ensemble to boost the blurred features. Then, the spatial attention mechanism is adopted in backbone models to improve the feature focusing performance and representation ability. Furthermore, feature-level ensemble technique is employed in the training process to achieve more comprehensive feature representation ability. Experimentally, FBENet was trained on 6,503 HT ultrasound images, and tested on 1,626 HT ultrasound images with 82.92% accuracy and 89.24% AUC on average.

To What Extend Does Jewish Business Thinking Model and Practise Affect Modern Enterprise Management in Chinese Fashion Industry

Jewish is famous for its business tradition, wisdom and creativity. According to Forbes' Rich list published in 2022, the total number of people on the list in 2022 is 2,668, of which 267 are Jewish. It is reported that 11.6 percent of the world's billionaires have Jewish backgrounds and they take up about 13 percent of the wealth in the world. Advantages such as focus on education and learning, concentrating on budget conscious and stimulate innovation, and focusing on corporate social responsibility are worth learning for Chinese fashion industry practitioners. This is because the lack of fashion design innovation, workers comprehensive ability, education and training system, and corporate social responsibility are the most important weaknesses for Chinese fashion companies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the Jewish business tradition and characteristics, deeply understand their business concepts and behavior, and use their essence to provide insights for Chinese fashion business practitioners to improve the above weaknesses.

The Use of Short Clip Movie on Reading Comprehension at Higher Education

Reading is a fundamental skill that requires deliberate study and mastery in order to acquire knowledge and collect information. Conversely, videos provide an enjoyable method for both language acquisition and entertainment. The goal of this study is to investigate if watching short clip movies can enhance the reading comprehension of higher education students, who often have challenges in learning to read. The research approach employed in this study is correlation. The researcher collects data from second semester students at the English Language Education Study Program, Teacher Training and Education Faculty Universitas Muhammadiyah Kalimantan Timur. The study used a convenience sample approach to gather data. The allocation of this research is done in a convenience sampling among students belonging to a specific class. The researcher will employ a questionnaire and a test to gather data regarding the experience of watching a brief movie clip with English subtitles. The test will specifically focus on measuring reading comprehension abilities. The study findings indicate a very low correlation and a positive correlation between students' reading comprehension and using of short clip movie.

Quantitative Study on the Anticollapse Ability of Casing in Shale Gas Wells under Complex Load Conditions.

Implementing novel technologies, including the "well factory" model and zipper fracturing techniques, has become prevalent in shale gas development. During completion operations such as lowering casing and multistage fracturing, the casing is subjected to many complex loads, reducing its strength and increasing the risk of casing deformation. By establishing a casing wear model and conducting multistage cyclic loading experiments and numerical simulations, we analyzed the change rule of casing anticollapse strength under complex loads, developed a calculation method for casing comprehensive anticollapse ability under complex loads, and applied the method to an illustrative calculation. The study shows that the wear effect during completion has a negligible impact on the strength of the casing. The casing anticollapse strength exhibits a linear decline in correlation with the number of cycles. The zipper fracturing operation resulted in a nonuniform distribution of geo-stress around the well, and the casing anticollapse strength demonstrated a nearly linear decline in correlation with the nonuniformity of geo-stress. In the presence of both internal and external effects, the casing anticollapse strength exhibited a decline exceeding 15%, thereby increasing the risk of casing deformation. This research method can provide computational guidance for preventing casing deformation in field fracturing construction.