Current Position Research Articles

유아교육현장에서 교육과정평가 실행 지원방안 탐색: 함께 응답하며 나아가기

This study aims to explore support strategies for implementing curriculum assessment in the field of early childhood education. Whereas curriculum focus has continuously shifted towards learner-centered, learning-centered, and competency-based approaches, evaluation practices remain rooted in approaches that emphasize educational content and subject knowledge, relying on empirical evidence and objective facts. To this end, this study conducted multiple mini-interviews (MMI) with teachers, administrators, and supervisors to identify challenges in implementing curriculum assessments and to collaboratively find solutions. The collected data were analyzed in six phases following the thematic analysis method proposed by Braun and Clarke(2006). The findings were categorized into three themes: ‘knotting early childhood curriculum and assessment,’ ‘opening the possibilities for practicing curriculum assessment,’ and ‘going along with children and parents in curriculum assessment.’ First, several years after the implementation of the 2019 revised Nuri Curriculum, the questions emerging in the field of early childhood education concern the connections of the essence of early childhood education, curriculum literacy, and curriculum assessment and implementation, which are the complex and entangled ‘knots’. Second, for assessment to be integrated into curriculum implementation, it is essential to go beyond individual teacher practices and explore the possibilities within the relational context, including the cultural and structural atmosphere of the school. Third, if implementing the curriculum in educational settings is a long process of ‘correspondence’ with all beings, it is crucial to seek ways for children and parents as the subjects of curriculum assessment to move forward together in harmony. Based on the diverse educational experiences, current positions, and educational philosophies of the participants, this study offers academic and practical implications for implementing curriculum assessment that lightens the burden of evaluation and refocuses on ‘our classrooms, children, teachers, and communities.’

Difference in long COVID prevalence due to different definitions and long COVID related risk factors

Abstract Several definitions of long COVID are used in research and practice what challenges epidemiological investigations. Here we present differences in long COVID prevalence accounting for several definitions and concordance between the definitions, as well as the risk factors associated with long COVID. Definitions considered were WHO post-COVID19 condition (PCC) definition with several thresholds (at least low - standard definition, moderate or strong impact on daily activities), NICE1 and NICE2 definitions (reported at least one or at least two symptoms), United States National Centre for Health Statistics, and United Kingdom Office for National Statistics definitions and perceived long COVID. Prevalence of long COVID among French adult population (N = 10 615) in autumn 2022 ranged from 1.2% to 13.4%, conditional of the definition. The concordance between the definitions was at best moderate. Next, on a smaller representative sample of a French adult population (N = 1 813) eight potential risk factors groups for long COVID were assessed in a systematic epidemiological investigation, following a conceptual model. Fifteen factors from seven groups were associated with long COVID including early-defined sociodemographic characteristics, pre-existing chronic conditions, short-term work-related factors, current socioeconomic position, health behaviours, infection-related factors, and perception of COVID-19 severity and long COVID. The likelihood of long COVID was higher for individuals with higher number of diseases and for nineteen out of twenty-six most prevalent dyads and a triad. A more standardized definition would facilitate research and surveillance of long COVID. Furthermore, long COVID should be observed as an interplay of social, medical and contextual factors rather than a mere complication of SARS-COV-2 infection, while patients with multimorbidity may present some of the particularly vulnerable population groups.

Relative pose estimation from panoramic images using a hybrid neural network architecture

Camera-based relative pose estimation (RPE) localizes a mobile robot given a view at the current position and an image at a reference location. Matching the landmarks between views is critical to localization quality. Common challenges are appearance changes, for example due to differing illumination. Indirect RPE methods extract high-level features that provide invariance against appearance changes but neglect the remaining image data. This can lead to poor pose estimates in scenes with little detail. Direct RPE methods mitigate this issue by operating on the pixel level with only moderate preprocessing, but invariances have to be achieved by different means. We propose to attain illumination invariance for the direct RPE algorithm MinWarping by integrating it with a convolutional neural network for image preprocessing, creating a hybrid architecture. We optimize network parameters using a metric on RPE quality, backpropagating through MinWarping and the network. We focus on planar movement, panoramic images, and indoor scenes with varying illumination conditions; a novel dataset for this setup is recorded and used for analysis. Our method compares favourably against the previous best preprocessing method for MinWarping, edge filtering, and against a modern deep-learning-based indirect RPE pipeline. Analysis of the trained hybrid architecture indicates that neglecting landmarks in a direct RPE framework can improve estimation quality in scenes with occlusion and few details.

Latin Challenges: Perceptions, Policy and Curriculum for Excellence. Barriers to Teaching Latin in Scottish Schools

Over the last decade, the number of Scottish learners presented for National Qualification exams in Latin has declined. There are a number of factors contributing to this decline. Some of these relate to the study of Classics generally, such as perceptions around the subject being socially and academically elitist, while others are specific to the study of Latin and the challenges arising from it being a language. Some factors are relevant to the situation of Latin internationally, for example the desire for education which is more explicitly relevant to the demands of modern societies, while others relate to specific features of the Scottish education system. Examination of the impact of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and of the Scottish Language Learning policy on education will give context to the current position of Latin within primary and secondary schools. Significant institutional support for the learning of Gaelic and Mandarin and the challenges currently facing all language learning in Scotland in the senior phase of formal schooling must also be considered in any discussion of the barriers to the provision of Latin. The decision of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the body responsible for the accreditation of educational awards in Scotland, to cease offering a National Qualification in Ancient Greek in 2015 was based on low uptake of the subject, making the provision of external assessment no longer viable. It is, therefore, crucial to examine the current status of Latin within Scottish education and to determine the reasons for its decline in order to better understand how to address those issues, where possible, so as to secure the sustainability of the subject in the curriculum as well as its accreditation through National Qualifications.

The Policy Potential of Monitoring Market Proximal Maritime Connectivity Over Time: The Case of Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractA country’s maritime connectivity is integral to its international trade and regional economic growth. Advancements in technology and complex network theory have elevated maritime connectivity in regional transport policy agendas. This study introduces a novel conceptualisation of the maritime network called the market proximal network which better highlights connectivity concerns and opportunities that leverage a country’s current market position. By implementing a temporal view (using Time-Granularity Graphs) of the market proximal network, connectivity trends can be appreciated. The policy value of this approach is illustrated by the case of Aotearoa New Zealand, a maritime connectivity taker, between January 2018 and June 2021. Five maritime connectivity priorities are identified regarding the country’s gateways onto the major maritime highways. The potential policy value of the temporal view of the market proximal network is illustrated by identifying priorities that are actionable because they are based on the existing business cases that draw shipping companies to call in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Perceptions of Annual Research Evaluations as Preparation for Future and Early Career Faculty

Thousands of university faculty complete annual evaluations to determine their yearly productivity. These assessments often determine the ability of a faculty member to continue in their current position (Zahneis, 2024). Evaluations play a crucial role in shaping the careers of early career tenure track professors. Given the importance of annual reviews, this poster presents the preliminary results of a study designed to examine how departments assess faculty research productivity and to understand their perceptions of the processes used to evaluate them. Providing these results to doctoral students and new faculty can help prepare them for the annual review process. Concerns emerged among the participants regarding the evaluation process. For instance, some participants noted that the quantity of publications was valued more than the quality, and there were no clear research quality standards. Another stated that some colleagues do little research and still receive positive evaluations. Faculty members were more satisfied with reviews when policies clearly outlined expectations. They liked it when alternative publication methods were valued. Participants believed research with students should be equally important to solo or collaborative projects with other faculty. Additionally, the participants appreciated it when their deans and chairs understood and celebrated their research. Participants shared factors that affect their research productivity. Time to complete research was a frequent response. Answers further indicated that support from research and teaching assistants saved them time. Funding to complete studies and research space was instrumental in their success.

Organizational learning programs to fulfilling basic needs at work: significance for work attractiveness and turnover in strained sectors

Purpose This study aims to explore whether participation in employer-provided skills and learning programs can strengthen older workers’ abilities to carry out their work in a meaningful way so that it increases work attractiveness and a willingness to remain in the current job position. Design/methodology/approach A survey was distributed to assistance nurses, nurses and teachers, aged 55 years and older in a Swedish City (n = 1,342), analyzed descriptively and with structural equation modeling. Findings This paper showed positive relationships between active participation in organizational learning programs (OLPs) and autonomy, relatedness, competence and also attractive work. Associations are observed between participation in learning programs, e.g. mentorship, through the strengthened basic needs at work with work attractiveness and lower intention to leave, but not prolonged retirement preference. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional quantitative design restricts drawing causal conclusions about associations. Practical implications OLPs at work may be seen as potential measures to strengthen work conditions, fulfilling basic psychological needs at work and increase work attractiveness in strained welfare sectors. Social implications There are some welfare sectors that – more than others – are strained by challenges to maintain, sustain and develop quality, knowledge and staff due to poor economic and social resources with regard to sustainability, e.g. in the educational and caring sectors. Strengthening organizational measures is needed to support sustainable development. Originality/value This study applies advanced statistical methods, in a large empirical sample, and shows the importance of skills and learning programs for job attractiveness among older workers in female-dominated, strained welfare sectors.

Investigating the Relationship Between Psychological Contract, Apprenticeship Participation, and Ethnic Papuan Turnover Intention

The study’s overarching goal was to look at how ethnic Papuans’ intentions to leave their current positions relate to their involvement in apprenticeship programs, the psychological contract, and other similar concepts, at the Nemangkawi Mining Institute IPN. Methods from the relational and transactional psychological contracts were used in this study. Through the privatized institution in the Mimika area and other contracting organizations, 110 persons took part in the apprenticeship program. We used the following tools for our measurements: the apprenticeship participation rate, the turnover intention scale, and psychological contracts. The multiple regression analysis yielded an F-value of 25.273, indicating statistical significance at the p<0.01 level. This data lends credence to the study premise that apprenticeship involvement and psychological contracts significantly impacts turnover intention. In forecasting desire to leave, psychological contracts and apprenticeship participation account for 39.9% of the total contribution value. Keywords: Papua ethnicity, intention turnover, apprenticeship participation, psychological contract, contractor workers

Therapeutic Options forRecurrence ofWeight and Obesity Related Complications After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: An IFSOPosition Statement.

Obesity is a chronic disease that may require multiple interventions and escalation of therapy throughout the years. Until recently, no universal definition existed for recurrent weight gain and insufficient weight loss. Standardization of reporting is key so outcomes can be compared and data can be pooled. The recent IFSO consensus provided standard terminology and definitions that will likely resolve this in the future, and publishers will need to enforce for authors to use these definitions. This current IFSO position statement provides guidance for the management of recurrent weight gain after bariatric surgery.

An alternative finite element formulation to predict ductile fracture in highly deformable materials

Abstract An alternative finite element formulation to predict ductile damage and fracture in highly deformable materials is presented. For this purpose, a finite-strain elastoplastic model based on the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) formulation is employed, in which the level of damage is described by the void volume fraction (or porosity). The model accounts for large strains, associative plasticity and isotropic hardening, as well as void nucleation, coalescence and material failure. To avoid severe damage localization, a nonlocal enrichment is adopted, resulting in a mixed finite element whose degrees of freedom are the current positions and nonlocal porosity at the nodes. In this work, 2D triangular elements of linear-order and plane-stress conditions are used. Two systems of equations have to be solved: the global variables system, involving the degrees of freedom; and the internal variables system, including the damage and plastic variables. To this end, a new numerical strategy has been developed, in which the change in material stiffness due to the evolution of internal variables is embedded in the consistent tangent operator regarding the global system. The performance of the proposed formulation is assessed by three numerical examples involving large elastoplastic strains and ductile fracture. Results confirm that the present formulation is capable of reproducing fracture initiation and evolution, as well as necking instability. Convergence analysis is also performed in order to evaluate the effect of mesh refinement on the mechanical response. In addition, it is demonstrated that the nonlocal parameter alleviates damage localization, providing smoother porosity fields.

Real-Time Video Processing for Measuring Zigzag Length of Pantograph–Catenary Systems Based on GPS Correlation

Recent years have seen outstanding developments in research and technology, highlighting the importance of railway transportation, especially the implementation of high-speed trains, which is becoming more and more challenging. This facilitates extensive research into the science and technology of the electrical interaction between the components of pantograph–catenary systems (PCSs). Problems regarding the PCS can result in infrastructure incidents, potentially stopping train operations. A common cause of failure in electrified railway PCS is a contact wire’s zigzag length that exceeds the prescribed technical limit, which can be caused by missing droppers or faults in the mounting mechanism. This work proposes a video camera-based monitoring technique for zigzag geometry measurement that additionally employs a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor to detect the current geographical position of the point of zigzag length measurement. There are two proposed techniques for measuring the length of the zigzag based on image processing. In the first technique, using previously recorded data, the images are analyzed in the laboratory, and in the second, the images are analyzed in real time. Based on the results, we suggest a model and prediction of zigzag length employing hybrid deep neural networks.

Understanding the professional factors that impact the retention of pathology workers in regional, rural and remote Australia.

The objective of this study was to determine what professional factors impact the retention of pathology workers in regional, rural and remote Australia. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data regarding the professional factors that impact the retention of regional, rural and remote pathology workers in Australia (n = 95). The survey focused on pathology workers' satisfaction with specific professional factors and how long they intended to stay in their current position. Regional, rural and remote (MM2-7) pathology laboratories in Australia. There were a total of 95 participants, including 24 phlebotomists/laboratory assistants, 34 medical laboratory scientists and 29 supervisors/managers, with the majority of participants being from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. Significant positive associations were found between satisfaction with career advancement opportunities, workplace culture and maintaining professional skills with the retention of regional, rural and remote pathology workers. Open-ended responses indicated that personal factors also played an important role in pathology worker retention in regional, rural and remote communities. This study provides important insights into the professional factors that impact the retention of pathology workers in regional, rural and remote Australia. Personal factors were also found to play an important role in retention. These findings have highlighted the need for further research to be conducted to explore the relationship between professional and personal factors and how this impacts the retention of pathology workers in regional, rural and remote Australia.

WORKERS JOB SATISFACTION IN TEXTILE FACTORY: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Textile industry represents one of the most competitive industries. Consequently, the management tend to create pressures to their workers to pace with the high productivity level. This constant pressure given to the workers may possibly affect their job satisfaction. Hence, this study focuses on the bibliometric analysis in mapping the trend, conceptual structure, and characteristic of job satisfaction of textile factory workers. The data collection process results in 147 papers out of the total of 241 extracted papers. According to the bibliometric analysis, research in this field is mainly led by the USA and France. The co-occurrence analysis shows Four major theme: Study on job satisfaction, worker’s health assessment, cultural influence on textile factory workers, and review on absenteeism. The results indicate that workers were more concerned about the security of their current position rather than overall employment security, and this factor affected their job satisfaction and well-being.

Spatial and historical patterns of sedimentary organic matter sources and environmental changes in the Ross Sea, Antarctic: implication from bulk and n-alkane proxies

Organic carbon (OC) burial in the Antarctic marginal seas is essential for regulating global climate, particularly due to its association with ice shelf retreat. Here, we analyzed total OC (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), radiocarbon isotope, n-alkanes and relative indicators in surface and core sediments from the Ross Sea, West Antarctica. Our aim was to investigate spatial and historical changes in OC sources, and to explore the influencing factors and implications for ice shelf retreat since the last glacial maximum (LGM). Our results revealed distinct spatial patterns of OC sources as indicated by n-alkane indicators in surface sediments. In the Western Ross Sea, n-alkanes predominantly originated from phytoplankton and bacteria, as evidenced by their unimodal distribution, low carbon preference index (CPI) of short-chain n-alkanes (CPIL = 1.41 ± 0.30), and low terrestrial/aquatic ratio (TAR = 0.22 ± 0.14). In the Southwest Ross Sea, n-alkanes were derived from marine algae and terrestrial bryophytes, indicated by bimodal distribution, low ratio of low/high molecular-weight n-alkanes (L/H = 0.62 ± 0.21), low CPI of long-chain n-alkanes (CPIH = 1.18 ± 0.16), and high TAR (1.26 ± 0.66). In contrast, the Eastern Ross Sea exhibited n-alkanes that were a combination of phytoplankton and dust from Antarctic soils and/or leaf waxes from mid-latitude higher plant, as suggested by both unimodal and bimodal distributions, high L/H (1.60 ± 0.58) and CPIH (2.04 ± 0.28), and medium TAR (0.61 ± 0.30). Geologically, during the LGM (27.3 – 21.0 ka before present (BP)), there was an increased supply of terrestrial OC (TOC/TN = 13.63 ± 1.29, bimodal distribution of n-alkanes with main carbon peaks at nC17/nC19 and nC27). From 21.0 to 8.2 ka BP, as glaciers retreated and temperatures rose, the proportion of marine n-alkanes significantly increased (TOC/TN = 9.09 ± 1.82, bimodal distribution of n-alkanes with main carbon peaks at nC18/nC19 and nC25). From 8.2 ka BP to the present, as the ice shelf continued to retreat to its current position, the marine contribution became dominant (TOC/TN = 8.18 ± 0.51, unimodal distribution of n-alkanes with main carbon peak at nC17/nC18/nC19, and low TAR (0.41 ± 0.32)). This research has significant implications for understanding the variations in Antarctic OC sources and their climatic impacts in the context of accelerated glacier melting.

Evolution of the Tn4371 ICE family: traR-mediated coordination of cargo gene upregulation and horizontal transfer.

ICEKKS102Tn4677 carries a bph operon for the mineralization of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)/biphenyl and belongs to the Tn4371 ICE (integrative and conjugative element) family. In this study, we investigated the role of the traR gene in ICE transfer. The traR gene encodes a LysR-type transcriptional regulator, which is conserved in sequence, positioning, and directional orientation among Tn4371 family ICEs. The traR belongs to the bph operon, and its overexpression on solid medium resulted in modest upregulation of traG (threefold), marked upregulation of xis (80-fold), enhanced ICE excision and, most notably, ICE transfer frequency. We propose the evolutional roles of traR, which upon insertion to its current position, might have connected the cargo gene activation and ICE transfer. This property of ICE, i.e., undergoing transfer under environmental conditions that lead to cargo gene activation, would instantly confer fitness advantages to bacteria newly acquiring this ICE, thereby resulting in efficient dissemination of the Tn4371 family ICEs.IMPORTANCEOnly ICEKKS102Tn4677 is proven to transfer among the widely disseminating Tn4371 family integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) from β and γ-proteobacteria. We showed that the traR gene in ICEKKS102Tn4677, which is conserved in the ICE family with fixed location and direction, is co-transcribed with the cargo gene and activates ICE transfer. We propose that capturing of traR by an ancestral ICE to the current position established the Tn4371 family of ICEs. Our findings provide insights into the evolutionary processes that led to the widespread distribution of the Tn4371 family of ICEs across bacterial species.

The JCCP's current position on future education and training standards/competencies and routes to qualification

The JCCP remains committed to the key principles contained within the JCCP/CPSA's current competency standards framework

An enhanced seagull algorithm for multi-threshold image segmentation based on Kapur entropy

Abstract To address the shortcomings of the Seagull Optimization Algorithm (SOA), such as poor distribution of individuals’ positions and low population diversity leading to susceptibility to local optima after the collision avoidance phase, an Enhanced Seagull Algorithm (ESOA) is proposed. Firstly, a chaos-guided mechanism is utilized to replace the original individual positions after collision avoidance with the mean of individual optima and current positions, effectively improving the distribution of the population. Secondly, a circular-topology neighborhood structure with random weights is introduced, allowing interaction between the current individual’s position and the information from its two adjacent optimal positions, thereby improving population clustering and enhancing diversity. Thirdly, a dynamic lens mapping strategy is employed to direct the optimal seagull individuals toward their newly generated mapped points, enhancing their ability to avoid local optima. ESOA is applied to the problem of multi-threshold image segmentation based on Kapur entropy, and experimental results demonstrate its effectiveness in improving segmentation performance.

Trade-offs between optimal and robust scheduling in one-stage production

Given stochastic disturbances, such as variation in processing times, robust scheduling is recommended over optimal scheduling for production. Different from optimal scheduling that seeks an optimal solution to a key performance indicator (KPI), which relates to the average of a KPI, robust scheduling is to minimize the largest deviation from the optimum for the worst-case scenarios, which relates to the variance of a KPI. However, minimizing the variance does not necessarily optimize the average of a KPI. As one of the fundamental KPIs in production scheduling, total completion time (TCT) drives many other KPIs, such as average flow time, waiting time, due dates, and length of stay. Stochastic processing times and NP-hardness to minimize the variance of TCT, i.e., min(VTCT), are two challenges in production scheduling. To investigate the trade-offs between optimal and robust scheduling, we apply the differentiation method to analyze the first and second moments of TCT. In our approach, we use three statistical measures for processing times, which are the lower bound, the expected value, and the upper bound. We also use three terms for sequencing, which are x(1) the processing time of the initial job, x(i) the processing time of a job in the current position i of a sequence, and x′(i) the difference of processing times between two adjacent jobs. Applying the three measures for processing times to each of the three independent terms for sequencing, we generate 27=3·3·3 sequences to analyze the dynamics of VTCT. Through numerical analysis in our case studies, we show that our sequencing scheme can generate optimal solutions to min(TCT), and solid variation ranges of VTCT. Consequently, we can not only balance the trade-offs between min(TCT) and min(VTCT), but also analyze the trade-offs between optimal scheduling focusing on the first-moment of a KPI and robust scheduling focusing on the second moment. Moreover, our analysis approach using the differentiation method is unique for production scheduling, which enables us to develop analytical methods and heuristics for balancing trade-offs between optimal and robust scheduling.

A Dynamic Path Planning Method for UAVs Based on Improved Informed-RRT* Fused Dynamic Windows

In recent years, navigating rotor drones in complex and dynamic environments has been a significant challenge. This paper proposes an improved path planning method by integrating the enhanced Informed-RRT* algorithm with the Dynamic Window Approach (DWA) algorithm. Firstly, the probability weight function for sampling direction is dynamically adjusted based on the Euclidean distance between the start and goal points to obtain higher-quality sampling points. Secondly, the Artificial Potential Field (APF) concept is introduced during the generation of new nodes, applying the improved APF method to the elliptical sampling area to guide the direction of new node generation. This significantly reduces the number of redundant nodes, enhances the convergence speed, and improves the obstacle avoidance efficiency. Then, a polynomial fitting method is employed to optimize the path, yielding a smoother trajectory. Finally, the improved DWA algorithm is integrated. Initially, the Informed-RRT* algorithm generates an optimal path from the starting point to the goal point in the global space, which is then provided as an initial reference path to the DWA algorithm. During actual operation, the DWA algorithm dynamically adjusts control inputs based on the current position, speed, and reference path of the drone, ensuring that the drone can avoid dynamic obstacles and unknown static obstacles in real time while staying as close to the reference path as possible.

Tropospheric delay estimation and influencing factors analysis of GNSS multi-system

Abstract In this paper, the tropospheric delay parameters are estimated by GNSS regional network solution, and the different factors affecting the estimation of tropospheric delay parameters are analyzed experimentally. The high-precision tropospheric delay correction file (.ztd) provided by IGS and the traditional model estimation of the GNSS regional network are compared to verify the final positioning accuracy. The main factors affecting the estimation of tropospheric delay parameters and the conditions conducive to the estimation of tropospheric delay parameters in the data solution process are obtained. The experimental results show that: (1) GPS has the highest tropospheric delay estimation accuracy in the European region, Galileo is slightly worse than GPS, and BDS has the lowest tropospheric delay estimation accuracy; (2) The tropospheric delay estimation accuracy of post-product in different satellite precision products is better than that of real-time products, and CLKM2 is better than CLK93 in real-time products. With the increase of satellite systems, the accuracy of tropospheric delay estimation is gradually improved. Compared with the GPS single system, the accuracy of the GPS+ Galileo+BDS triple system is improved by about 7.2%, 7.2%, and 7.5%; (3) The tropospheric delay estimation accuracy of the European region is better than that of the Australian region; (4) Based on the BDS whole system data solution, the high-precision tropospheric delay correction file (.ztd ) has better positioning accuracy, and the tropospheric delay estimated by the GNSS observation data through the traditional Saastamoninen model of the regional network can also meet the current high-precision positioning requirements in terms of positioning accuracy. The horizontal direction is better than 2 cm, and the elevation direction is better than 4 cm.