Empirical Background Research Articles

The problem-based learning (PBL) of biology for promoting health literacy in secondary school students

ABSTRACT Schools provide conducive environments for disseminating messages on health by implementing appropriate learning approaches and subjects such as biology in the curriculum. For instance, problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred approach commonly applied in the field of education. However, its implementation to improve the health literacy of secondary school students is a challenge. This study analyzes the perceptions of problem-based learning and its influence on health literacy in secondary school students. Lessons in biology are chosen as a platform for health literacy development since they cover topics related to disease and health. Quasi-experimental studies show that problem-based learning improves biological knowledge and health literacy. This study shows that students’ perceptions of the problem-based approach were empirically related to increased health literacy. These results provided the empirical and theoretical background for the application of problem-based learning in biology classes.

Mental health planning at a very early stage of the COVID-19 crisis: a systematic review of online international strategies and recommendations

BackgroundMental health care systems have been dramatically affected by COVID-19. Containment measures have been imposed, with negative consequences on population mental health. Therefore, an increase in both symptomatology and mental disorder incidence is expected. This research aims to identify, describe and assess the empirical background on online strategies and recommendations developed by international organizations and governments to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19 at a very early stage of the pandemic.MethodsThe PRISMA guidelines were adapted to review online documents. A new questionnaire was developed to identify the existence of common patterns in the selected documents. Questions were classified into three domains: COVID-19 information, mental health strategies and mental health recommendations. A two-step cluster analysis was carried out to highlight underlying behaviours in the data (patterns). The results are shown as spider graphs (pattern profiles) and conceptual maps (multidimensional links between questions).ResultsTwenty-six documents were included in the review. The questionnaire analysed document complexity and identified their common key mental health characteristics (i.e., does the respondent have the tools for dealing with stress, depression and anxiety?). Cluster analysis highlighted patterns from the questionnaire domains. Strong relationships between questions were identified, such as psychological tips for maintaining good mental health and coping with COVID-19 (question n° 4), describing some psychological skills to help people cope with anxiety and worry about COVID-19 (question n° 6) and promoting social connection at home (question n° 8).ConclusionsWhen fast results are needed to develop health strategies and policies, rapid reviews associated with statistical and graphical methods are essential. The results obtained from the proposed analytical procedure can be relevant to a) classify documents according to their complexity in structuring the information provided on how to cope with the psychological impact of COVID-19, b) develop new documents according to specific objectives matching population needs, c) improve document design to face unforeseen events, and d) adapt new documents to local situations. In this framework, the relevance of adapting e-mental health procedures to community mental health care model principles was highlighted, although some problems related to the digital gap must be considered.

The rights of the defendant and public interest in proving insanity under the law of New York

Allocation of the burden of proof is a key issue of criminal procedure that is affected by multiple legal and social factors. Under due process principles, the defendant’s right to a fair and impartial trial is deemed to be the epicenter of the whole structure. However, efficient law enforcement is a prominent public interest that must be considered. This article explores the correlation between public and private interest in proving insanity under the law of New York, which provides great empirical background due to its long history of legal disputes and legislative changes. Considering the nature and structure of the burden of proof, the author concludes that there are several principles for its fair allocation: the due party that bears both the burden and the risk of its nonperformance; the feasibility of the burden; the adequate opportunity for the other party to rebut; the concentration of resources upon needs that are not presumed but in fact exist. All the mentioned principles lay the ground for the harmonization of constitutional guaranties for the defendant as well as the successful enforcement of criminal law. The current New York approach to insanity defense as an affirmative one along with the history of its implementation tends to prove its compliance with such requirements. This finding suggests that bearing the burden shall not be treated as impairment by default, but can protect both the interest of this party and the integrity of the whole process.

Creation of the Purposes of Online Memory Sharing Scale

I describe in this article the creation of the Purposes of Online Memory Sharing Scale (POMSS). I provide an overview of the theoretical and empirical backgrounds against which the scale was developed. I then present data from a pilot sample that indicate that the scale as a whole is a reliable measure of the reasons for which people share their experiences online. In addition, three of the subscales - Self, Social, and Therapeutic ГўВҖВ“ showed acceptable to excellent internal consistency reliability in the pilot sample, whereas the Directive subscale had poor internal consistency and should be used with caution. The various purposes of online memory sharing positively predicted the frequency of memory-sharing activities, which lends support for the validity of the scale. The Purposes of Online Memory Sharing Scale (POMSS) provides a useful tool for researchers to examine memory expression and communication in the digital age.

INFORMATION PROCESSING – HEURISTIC VS SYSTEMATIC AND SUSCEPTIBILITY OF SHARING COVID 19-RELATED FAKE NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has turned into a fertile ground for COVID-19 fake news. The present study aims to provide a hypothetical and empirical background to elucidate the psychological and behavioral aspects of information processing and susceptibility of sharing the fake news, with especial reference to COVID-19 news on social media. The study explores the relation between the select variables and heuristic and systematic information processing. Grounded on prior studies, this paper presents a research model to address susceptibility of sharing the fake news on social media, and identifies characteristics that may be more susceptible than others for sharing fake news on social media including Sharing Motivation (SM), Social Media Fatigue (SMF), Feel Good Factor (FGF), Fear of Missing out (FoMO), News Characteristics (NC) and five Big Personality Traits. The data collected from 244 respondents was analyzed with the help of IBM SPSS 23, using descriptive and statistical test, including means, standard deviations, and correlation analysis conducted. Correlation exploration was utilized to study the association between the select variables and systematic and heuristic information processing and susceptibility of sharing the fake news on social media. The findings show several factors contribute to information processing in both modes. The study confirms that heuristic processing is significantly associated with susceptibility of sharing fake news. The research adds to the media studies, behavioral and psychological disciplines, as it examines the relationships between the select variables and the systematic and heuristic information processing and COVID-19 fake news on social media. The present investigation makes an innovative and original contribution to media studies by exploring the relationship between select variables and susceptibility for sharing fake news on social media. The study presents a research model to identify the influence of select variables on information processing and the susceptibility to falling prey to fake news on social media and contributes to the domain to media studies.

Green transition pathways for cement industry in China

Cement industry is regarded as one of the most energy-intensive sectors, which generates large amount of greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. Therefore, the realization of green development of cement industry is of great significance. A bottom-up National Energy Technology-Cement (NET-Cement) Model is developed for optimizing the green transition pathway of the cement industry. Based on China's empirical background, this study comprehensively evaluates the potentials of energy saving and emission reduction of four types of green transition measures, including improving energy efficiency, switching to alternative fuels, using alternative raw materials and implementing Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) on the basis of meeting the demand of future cement products. The results show that simultaneous implementation of the above four measures would reach approximately 30.69% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 compared with the situation following the existing policies. The corresponding average emission abatement cost will be 183.12 CNY/tCO2. Regarding the energy saving and emission reduction effect of a single measure, improving energy efficiency (AT scenario) contributes the most energy saving (9 Mtce) and has a 3.04% emission reduction rate in 2050. Using calcium carbide as alternative raw materials has the lowest average abatement cost being 63.03 CNY/tCO2 in 2050. Pollutants such as SO2, NOX, PM2.5, smoke dust and fine dust can be largely reduced as well.

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF AIRPORT SERVICE QUALITY ON PASSENGERS’ REVISIT INTENTIONS AMIDST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

With the increased competitive scenario destination authorities are looking at every possible aspect for attracting the tourists by serving quality services. Airports around the world are looking for enhancing airport service quality thereby working towards overall travel satisfaction. Quality of service and consumer satisfaction is considered as critical determinant of strategic framework for determining any business performance. The current study aims to examine the impact of airport service quality on passengers’ revisit intentions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and further its association with destination selection or choice. Crisis situations like COVID-19 immediately hit airports and therefore, it becomes absolutely essential for them to revive and adapt their services quickly according to the changing conditions. The SEM analysis was applied where satisfaction was observed as a mediator between airport service quality and travelers’ intent to revisit the airport, willingness to spend at the airport as well as their intent to come and visit again the destination. To this, positive and in fact significant relation has been observed between Airport Service Quality and willingness to spend at the airport and revisit the airport as well the destination. Since airports are amongst the service providers tourism destinations, this study gives the authorities with theoretical and empirical background to consider numerous factors that the passengers are actually looking in a service or might seek in future which currently is unclear and ambiguous due to COVID-19.

Source backtracking for dust storm emission inversion using an adjoint method: case study of Northeast China

Abstract. Emission inversion using data assimilation fundamentally relies on having the correct assumptions about the emission background error covariance. A perfect covariance accounts for the uncertainty based on prior knowledge and is able to explain differences between model simulations and observations. In practice, emission uncertainties are constructed empirically; hence, a partially unrepresentative covariance is unavoidable. Concerning its complex parameterization, dust emissions are a typical example where the uncertainty could be induced from many underlying inputs, e.g., information on soil composition and moisture, land cover and erosive wind velocity, and these can hardly be taken into account together. This paper describes how an adjoint model can be used to detect errors in the emission uncertainty assumptions. This adjoint-based sensitivity method could serve as a supplement of a data assimilation inverse modeling system to trace back the error sources in case large observation-minus-simulation residues remain after assimilation based on empirical background covariance. The method follows an application of a data assimilation emission inversion for an extreme severe dust storm over East Asia (Jin et al., 2019b). The assimilation system successfully resolved observation-minus-simulation errors using satellite AOD observations in most of the dust-affected regions. However, a large underestimation of dust in Northeast China remained despite the fact that the assimilated measurements indicated severe dust plumes there. An adjoint implementation of our dust simulation model is then used to detect the most likely source region for these unresolved dust loads. The backward modeling points to the Horqin desert as the source region, which was indicated as a non-source region by the existing emission scheme. The reference emission and uncertainty are then reconstructed over the Horqin desert by assuming higher surface erodibility. After the emission reconstruction, the emission inversion is performed again, and the posterior dust simulations and reality are now in much closer harmony. Based on our results, it is advised that emission sources in dust transport models include the Horqin desert as a more active source region.

Digitaliserede læringsfællesskaber – netstuderende og deres studiestrategier

Denne artikel baseres på etnografisk feltforskning og undersøgelser i en netbaseret sygeplejerskeuddannelse. Artiklen fokuserer på, hvordan netstuderende udvikler strategier til at håndtere den nye online læringskontekst. Empirisk baseres artiklen på data fra observationer og interviews fortaget hjemme hos de studerende. De studerende er fulgt i et toårigt forløb.Feltforskningens kortlægning og analyser viser, hvordan Netuddannelsens e-pædagogiske design fremmer studerendes udvikling af strategier til aktiv og selvstændig håndtering af sygeplejestudiets digitale undervisningsforløb. Det e-pædagogiske design sikrer imidlertid ikke i sig selv den studiemæssige succes. Succesen synes i stedet at blive sikret gennem de netstuderendes selvforvaltende udvikling af studiegrupperne til digitaliserede læringsfællesskaber. De digitaliserede læringsfællesskaber fordrer selvforvaltning af teknologibrugen, samt at de studerende formår at komme de faglige udfordringer i møde i online læringskonteksten. På denne baggrund diskuteres, hvilken betydning indførelse af digitale undervisningsforløb i ellers campusbaserede uddannelser, kan have for studerendes læringsudbytte i henholdsvis højt og lavt præsterende studiegrupper.

The Global Analysis of the Ionospheric Correlation Time and Its Implications for Ionospheric Data Assimilation

AbstractIonospheric correlation time is an important parameter that contains information about the temporal variability, structures, and dynamics of the ionosphere. This parameter is also important in forecasting of the ionospheric state. Ionospheric data assimilation algorithms employing empirical background models, such as Ionospheric Data Assimilation Four‐Dimensional (IDA4D), apply Gauss‐Markov approximation for the propagation of temporal updates from one time stamp to the next. In this process, the relaxation parameter, or the correlation time, determines to what degree the projected state depends on the background model and analysis density. An ad hoc approach is usually applied to choose this user‐defined parameter. This paper focuses on the estimation of the ionospheric correlation time using high temporal resolution global ionospheric maps (GIMs). It is found that the correlation time changes significantly with latitude. The longest correlation time is observed in the equatorial region, whereas the shortest correlation time is observed at high latitudes and in the polar cap regions. The global distribution of the correlation time exhibits seasonal variation and depends on the solar flux conditions. The correlation time at the equatorial and mid‐latitude regions increases with increasing solar and geomagnetic activity, whereas the correlation time at high‐latitude regions decreases. The results of this study can be directly applied to improve ionospheric data assimilation models.

Investigating the affordances of a flipped mathematics classroom from an activity theoretical perspective

Abstract Flipped Classroom as a pedagogical framework has gained popularity at secondary and tertiary levels of mathematics education, but there is a lack of research based on a solid theoretical foundation. This article considers the flipped mathematics classroom from the perspective of affordances and cultural–historical activity theory. The empirical background is based on semi-structured interview data from eight first-year computer-engineering students following 1 year of flipped classroom teaching. The thematic analysis of the data indicates that the flipped format offers a range of affordances at various levels of the activity system. This article advances research on affordances for mathematical learning in a flipped classroom pedagogical frame, presenting operational affordances out-of-class, action affordances at the mathematical task level and finally activity affordances at the collective level.

Development of a Multimedia Program to Promote Environmental Education of Zoology

The purpose of this study was to improve the approach of environmental education in a secondary school in Pinar del Río, Cuba. This material was created using a) literature on the theoretical−empirical background of environmental education focused on Zoology and b) a study of student perceptions of the environment using surveys and interviews. Deficiencies noted in the literature and student knowledge guided the design of a multimedia program to teach Zoology to high school students with a focus on an integrated environmental approach. The proposed program includes specialized videos and texts about both global and local fauna. The videos and activities were designed to familiarize students with the fauna and the measures that they should take to protect and help preserve the life of animals and their environments.

Social Innovation, Societal Change, and the Role of Policies

Political frameworks and policies have a strong influence on the institutional ecosystem and on governance patterns, which in turn shape the operational space of civil society initiatives. This article aims to explore the social and institutional conditions and policy initiatives that foster or hinder social innovation and the pathways leading from social innovation to institutional change through to actual impacts on policies and political frameworks, in order to understand how policymakers can encourage and enable social innovation. The article builds on an extensive empirical background to develop a heuristic model to facilitate decision making for a policy environment propitious for the emergence of social innovation. The resulting model sets up a triadic configuration of (i) a committed core of key actors, (ii) the benevolent shadow of hierarchy represented by public actors, and (iii) multifunctional and malleable intermediary support structures for a successful development of social innovation initiatives. The model is discussed and validated by reference to three in-depth case studies from differing institutional settings. We conclude that policy should recognize that social innovation will achieve most when the triadic relationships between the state, intermediary organizations, and local actors are working together synergistically.

Educational Program and Curriculum Evaluation Models: A Mini Systematic Review of the Recent Trends

The present study aimed at reviewing some of the most reputable models of curriculum and program evaluation. In so doing, 63 related research papers were selected based on the pre-defined criteria. These included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, case studies, book reviews, and experiments. A curriculum is an important element which can affect the effectiveness of an educational or a pedagogical program. The main merit of a curriculum is providing the stakeholders with a transparent idea as to what must be achieved during the program conduction and whether the objectives of the program have been met. The term program evaluation was first used in the United States during the 1960s. Since then, various program and curriculum evaluation models and frameworks have been conceptualized around the world. Nearly all these models eventually have the same focus, i.e., to see whether a program meets its defined objectives or not. Some of these models have already been subject to evaluation within various educational contexts, while some have been less investigated. In the present systematic review, some reputable models of program and curriculum evaluation were discussed, while some other models were touched upon. The review was mainly divided into theoretical considerations and empirical background. The pros and cons of each model were briefly discussed. In addition, it was shown how some models have evolved or been challenged by others. It was concluded that choosing an appropriate model of evaluation would depend on several criteria such as the context, the purpose, and the expected outcome of the evaluation.

Importance of Regional‐Scale Auroral Precipitation and Electrical Field Variability to the Storm‐Time Thermospheric Temperature Enhancement and Inversion Layer (TTEIL) in the Antarctic E Region

AbstractA dramatic thermospheric temperature enhancement and inversion layer (TTEIL) was observed by the Fe Boltzmann lidar at McMurdo, Antarctica during a geomagnetic storm (Chu et al. 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL050016). The Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) driven by empirical auroral precipitation and background electric fields cannot adequately reproduce the TTEIL. We incorporate the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI) auroral precipitation maps, which capture the regional‐scale features into TIEGCM and add subgrid electric field variability in the regions with strong auroral activity. These modifications enable the simulation of neutral temperatures closer to lidar observations and neutral densities closer to GRACE satellite observations (~475 km). The regional scale auroral precipitation and electric field variabilities are both needed to generate strong Joule heating that peaks around 120 km. The resulting temperature increase leads to the change of pressure gradients, thus inducing a horizontal divergence of air flow and large upward winds that increase with altitude. Associated with the upwelling wind is the adiabatic cooling gradually increasing with altitude and peaking at ~200 km. The intense Joule heating around 120 km and strong cooling above result in differential heating that produces a sharp TTEIL. However, vertical heat advection broadens the TTEIL and raises the temperature peak from ~120 to ~150 km, causing simulations deviating from observations. Strong local Joule heating also excites traveling atmospheric disturbances that carry the TTEIL signatures to other regions. Our study suggests the importance of including fine‐structure auroral precipitation and subgrid electric field variability in the modeling of storm‐time ionosphere‐thermosphere responses.

Cuestionario Honey-Alonso de Estilos de Aprendizaje: Nuevas evidencias psicométricas en población argentina

En el presente trabajo se examinan las propiedades psicométricas de la versión argentina del Cuestionario Honey-Alonso de Estilos de Aprendizaje (CHAEA). Primero se analiza la estructura interna de la escala mediante un análisis factorial confirmatorio y de invarianza factorial, segmentando la muestra según facultad; luego se estudia la consistencia interna de las dimensiones confirmadas y se comparan los resultados con los obtenidos en estudios previos; posteriormente se examina la estabilidad temporal de las puntuaciones de cada dimensión; y, por último, se estudian las evidencias de validez concurrente con otra escala que evalúa enfoques de aprendizaje. Los resultados del análisis factorial confirmatorio muestran un adecuado ajuste del modelo testeado a partir de distintos métodos de estimación, mientras que con el análisis de invarianza factorial se comprueba la equivalencia métrica del modelo. Asimismo, los índices de consistencia interna son aceptables, aunque el análisis de estabilidad temporal de las dimensiones no comprueba diferencias significativas entre la primera y segunda administración del instrumento. Finalmente, en consonancia con hallazgos previos, las evidencias de validez concurrente exhiben asociaciones positivas entre los estilos de aprendizaje y el enfoque profundo, así como asociaciones negativas entre los estilos y el enfoque superficial. Al final se discuten los resultados a partir de antecedentes teóricos y empíricos.

Social health and human capital quality of the male population of a Sub-arctic region

The article deals with issues related to the human capital of the male population of a depressed sub-Arctic region. The empirical background for the study is data from a sociological survey of 777 men aged 18 to 49. The aim was to evaluate the social wellbeing and health of the male population of the Republic of Karelia, to which end the statistical methods of multivariate data analysis were employed. To quantify the respondents’ social wellbeing and health we designed an integral index based on characteristics of the demographic structure, marital status, family accord, health status, parent-child relationships, deviations, employment. Four levels of men’s social wellbeing and health were distinguished: poor; unsteady; good; steadily good. The conclusion is made that the social wellbeing and health of men correlate with their marital status – divorced men experience poor social wellbeing and health issues far more often than married men, with a consequence being a reduced working capacity as a result of human capital degradation.

A two-sided lateral gap continuum model and its numerical simulation for non-lane based heterogeneous traffic environment

The objective of this study is to model the complex behavior of non-lane based heterogeneous traffic which is predominantly occupied by vehicles with varying physical and dynamical characteristics and their staggered car following behavior. This study proposes a new continuum model by considering the properties of two-sided lateral gap in a non-lane based heterogeneous traffic stream. The model is built on a strong empirical background and modified car following theory. In particular, the model consists of density dependent disturbance propagation speed, viscosity term and a frictional clearance term to describe the complex vehicular interactions in a traffic stream. Viscosity term in the model represents the driver’s reaction to a sudden change in density and further, it helps in smoothening out the shock fronts. Frictional clearance term in the model considers the effect of slow moving vehicles on the dynamics of fast moving vehicles. The results of mathematical and numerical analysis show that the proposed model satisfies all the qualitative and physical properties of the real world system. Moreover, two sided lateral gap in the model improves the stability region of traffic flow and increases the capacity and density of traffic stream. In addition, it is able to dissipate the traffic perturbation rapidly when compared to one-sided lateral gap model. It is anticipated that the new model provides the basis for evaluating alternative transport policy measures and helps in analyzing the system performance in the future.

The Colors of the Ocean Plastics.

Characterization of the color of the plastic is often included in studies on plastic pollution. However, the comparability and relevance of this information is limited by methodology or observer subjectivity. Based on the analysis of thousands of floating plastic fragments from a global collection, here we propose a systematic semiautomatic method to analyze colors by using a reference palette of 120 Pantone colors. The most abundant colors were white and transparent/translucent (47%), yellow and brown (26%), and blue-like (9%). The white color increased in the smallest pieces (<5 mm) and far from coastal sources (>500 km). Both fragmentation and discolouration of ocean plastics may occur because of longer exposure time to sunlight in nature. In addition, yellow items peaked at around 1 cm and brown colors at around 1 mm, supporting the notion that yellowing precedes tanning in the aging process, which is paralleled by fragmentation. Apart from the effects of the weathering, our results suggest a second-order modulation of the color distributions of marine microplastics by the selective action of visual predators. The present work provides methodological tools and a wide empirical background to further the interpretation and applicability of the color information on ocean plastics.

Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire short forms: A comparison.

The Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is a widely used self-report measure of eating-disordered behaviors and attitudes. Recent studies utilizing confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) have proposed alternative and shorter forms. The aim of this study was to compare the full-length version of the EDE-Q and several proposed short forms (7-item, 8-item, and 18-item) in terms of their psychometric properties, including concurrent, convergent and discriminant validity, factor structure, and sensitivity to change. Participants from two eating-disorder clinical samples (N = 175 and 38) and from a nonclinical sample (N = 3,413) completed a battery of measures, including the Portuguese version of the EDE-Q. Analyses compared psychometric properties of the available short forms of the EDE-Q among each other. All forms of the EDE-Q showed good internal consistency values, correlated highly among each other (r > .90) and with different measures of eating psychopathology (r > .80). All EDE-Q forms were able to distinguish between cases and controls with moderate-to-high accuracy and were sensitive to change. CFA failed to support the proposed factor structure for all the EDE-Q forms, except for the 7-item form. The present study provides empirical background for choosing between different forms of the EDE-Q. Findings indicate that for nonclinical and for clinical research, including studies of treatment change and outcome, the short forms of the EDE-Q can be used. A shorter version is a viable alternative when less time-consuming alternatives are needed, such to quickly screen for eating-disorder psychopathology or to perform session-by-session treatment monitoring.