Confidence In Content Research Articles

Elementary General Music: Perceptions and Aspirations of Preservice Music Teachers

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of preservice music educators’ perceptions of elementary general music (EGM), pedagogical competencies, and specialization preference. Preservice music teachers responded to a survey about perceptions of personal experiences with EGM, preparation and comfort related to EGM, and confidence in the ability to teach content and skills common in EGM curricula. Participants ( n = 203) also answered questions about their preferred specialization and about factors that would influence their choice of job in the future. Most participants remembered having positive personal experiences with general music in elementary school and believe it is important for future musical success. Confidence in content and skills common in teaching EGM increases as they progress through their degree program. Most identify ensemble teaching and middle and high school grades as their future aspirations. Significant predictors of future career choice included undergraduate major and comfort teaching.

Exploring the perspectives of dermatology undergraduates with an escape room game.

A UK dermatology curricula review has suggested that undergraduate delivery relies on lectures and is subject to clinical and staffing pressures. Many UK undergraduate students feel less than adequately prepared to manage dermatological conditions, and misconceptions about dermatology are common. Educators have called for innovative solutions, including small group teaching. Escape rooms are games requiring teams to solve puzzles to escape from a room. To assess the impact of an escape room game on perceptions of dermatology among undergraduate medical students. Students were invited to an escape room to consolidate lessons taught in a previous lecture. Students were first asked to complete a questionnaire about their preferred learning environments, perceptions of dermatology and confidence in content. Following the escape room event, these questions were revisited. Focus groups were then held to explore themes raised. In total, 16 students took part in the escape room sessions and in 3 focus groups. Feedback was strongly positive, with 100% of students expressing 'strongly agree' on whether they enjoyed the session. Qualitative data were coded for themes of accessibility, variety of taught content and awareness. The majority (94%) of students stated the escape room made them want to experience more dermatology. Prejudices about dermatology exist among medical students, and may act as a barrier to perceived accessibility to the specialty. Escape rooms can provide a shift to a more learner-centred approach, which may aid in combating these negative perceptions. They may act as an enjoyable means of consolidating lecture-based and clinical teaching, and require minimal resources.

USE OF ONTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS FOR CREATION OF ENCYCLOPEDIC PORTALS

We analyze the expediency of the development of the intelligent, semantically structured information Web resources that are oriented both on their use by humans and their suitability for automated analysis. The advantages and disadvantages of the Wiki technology and the perspectives of its semantic expansion with the use of ontological analysis are considered. Formal ontological model of the Wiki-resource that underlies the development of the user task ontology oriented for utilization by external intelligent applications (for example, for semantic search) is proposed. The main stages of construction of this ontology are described. The implementation of the proposed ontology-based approach is demonstrated on example of the development of on-line encyclopaedias combining free access to materials through the Web with a high level confidence in content developed by experts, is considered. We analyze the basic requirements for software that provides such projects. The necessity of semantization of such resources is substantiated and the main directions of development of the functional of semantic electronic encyclopedias are formulated. The article presents an analysis of the expressive power of the Wiki means for knowledge representation and processing. The need to expand them with artificial intelligence methods and Semantic Web technologies is stated. An ontological model of the encyclopedia serving for development of the portal version of the Great Ukrainian Encyclopedia is built. The main categories and semantic properties of typical information objects that are used in this Encyclopedia that can be applied for retrieval and integration of information are described.

Evaluation of the quality of the media content of reports and financial statements published electronically in the Khartoum Stock Exchange from the perspective of investors: تقييم جودة المحتوى الإعلامي للتقارير و القوائم المالية المنشورة الكترونياً في سوق الخرطوم للأوراق المالية من وجهة نظر المستثمرين

The study dealt with the electronic dissemination of information accounting in capital markets in developing countries, where the study aimed to assess the quality of the content of accounting information contained in the reports and the financial statements published electronically in Khartoum Securities Market from the point of view of investors through the statement of the availability of qualitative characteristics of accounting information, the degree of confidence of investors in the accounting information contained in the reports and the financial statements published electronically. To achieve those purposes a questionnaire has been prepared to collect data from investors in Khartoum Securities Market. The study sample consists of (90) investors. The main findings of the study are that: high availability of qualitative characteristics of accounting information in the reports and financial statement published electronically, and investors in Khartoum Securities Market have high confidence in content of accounting information disseminated electronically.

Effectiveness of self-training using the mobile-based virtual reality program in patients with social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety is one of the common mental problems with relatively low treatment-seeking rate. Virtual reality exposure therapy is a promising treatment option for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Our objective was to investigate the efficacy of self-training using the newly developed mobile-based virtual reality program for the cost-effective treatment of SAD. Twenty-two patients with SAD and 30 sex- and age-matched normal controls engaged in the program, which consisted of eight self-training sessions during two weeks. Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was assessed before and after the training. Additionally, the embedded in-app performance variables were analyzed for objective performance improvements. Although the LSAS scores decreased after the training in both groups, patients showed greater degree of decrease at the marginal significance level than controls (p = 0.053). Overall, there were significant improvements in the total speech length (p < 0.001), voiced-time ratio (p < 0.001), and subjective self-ratings on the performance measured within the program for subjective nervousness (p < 0.001) and for the subjective confidence in content (p = 0.039). The findings provide compelling evidence that the self-training could be beneficial for reducing anxiety and improving skills. The mobile-based virtual reality program for the treatment of SAD may be the first mobile application treatment option that could be operated by the patient alone, at home.

Development of a subspecialty cardiology curriculum for paediatric registrars in Malawi: Implementation of a long-distance hybrid model.

Malawi has a high burden of paediatric cardiac disease but a limited number of health providers familiar with these chronic diseases. Given the rising number of Malawian postgraduate paediatric trainees at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, we sought to remedy this lack of basic cardiology training with a long-distance, module-based curriculum that could be utilised independently, as needed, with on-site teaching. We also wished to evaluate the initial modules for utility and improvement in knowledge and confidence in each topic. After an initial site visit to determine curriculum needs, online modules with interactive evaluations and quizzes were developed by a paediatric cardiologist in the United States, in collaboration with paediatric registrar training directors in Malawi. This online interactive curriculum was followed by several site visits to Malawi, by the United States-based paediatric cardiologist, to provide bedside teaching, case-based discussions and hands-on skill training in cardiac ultrasound and electrocardiogram interpretation. Evaluation of the curriculum model included post-module quizzes on cardiac topics as well as registrar self-assessments regarding confidence in content areas. The average post-module quiz score was 93.6%. Repeat testing with the same questions four months later yielded an average score of 78%, with a range from 60 to 100%. Pre- and post-module registrar self-assessment regarding confidence in content areas showed a substantial gain in knowledge and confidence mean. In their qualitative feedback, registrars noted that the modules were helpful in studying for their certifying examinations, and all four of the registrars sitting Part I of their Malawian and South African paediatric certifying examinations passed. Our innovative hybrid approach, combining online educational modules with in-person teaching visits, is a useful approach in expanding paediatric cardiology subspecialty education in Malawi.