Physical Faculty Research Articles

The Problematic of Divination and Witchcraft Vis-à-vis Certitude and Skepticism in African Philosophy

Generally, trending deliberations on divination and witchcraft cut across several domains in African Philosophy. Conceptually, however, it remains a jigsaw puzzle and problematic vis-à-vis certitude and skepticism in relation to truth claims. The reality of these concepts in traditional African societies is perennial; with tendencies in certain quarters being to dismiss charges connected to them as disprovable allegations, neither improving nor changing common beliefs and adherence to them. Circumstantially, isolated instances apropos divination and witchcraft go beyond metaphysical realms, elucidating tangible and intangible effects of this craft and attacks; despite the fact that it is wrapped in mystery. Notwithstanding, some proof of its existence can be ascertained; yet, the overriding challenge of certitude and sceptical rudiments remain an epistemological problem. Obviously, in citing instances or dimensions of divination and witchcraft in African societies, with some real and pernicious traceable effects on the physical faculties of victims and observers, this paper explores the philosophical import; taxing possible amelioration of tenets of belief and truth warranting certainty while evading skepticism. As a supernatural source of knowledge, divination and witchcraft are inseparable epistemological apprehensions. Implicitly, African epistemology as founded on defined basic tenets, endorsed concepts like knowledge; truth, validity, and rationality are inevitable. Hence, the problematic of divination and witchcraft is pertinent vis-a-vis certitude and Skepticism; it is challenging by embracing varied forms of knowledge: perceptual knowledge, common sense knowledge, advanced age knowledge, inferential knowledge, mystical knowledge, oral tradition, and holistic knowledge. This paper consents to an extent with some truth and belief claims of these practices; but raise objections apropos certitude and scepticism in epistemological spheres of influence, engaging some systematic scientific fine-tuning.

Dmitry Nikolaevich Anuchin (1843-1923): becoming a scientist

Introduction. In 2023, Russian science celebrated the 140th anniversary of the birth of D.N. Anuchin, a scientist-encyclopedist and prominent specialist in the fields of anthropology, ethnology, geography, archaeology, and a promoter and popularizer of science. Materials and methods. Literary sources were used. Analytical and chronological research methods were applied in the study. Results and discussion. The section "Childhood and Youth" provides information about the scientist's life, his parents, wife, and children. D.N. received a good home education and entered the second grade of a gymnasium. In 1860, he enrolled in the Faculty of History and Philology at St. Petersburg University. Due to illness in 1861, he had to interrupt his studies and travel abroad for treatment. In 1863, Anuchin entered the Natural Sciences Department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University, specializing in zoology. The section "Young Specialist" is dedicated to Anuchin's life in the first years after graduating from university. It was only in 1871 that Anuchin was elected to the position of scientific secretary of the Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants. This period marks the first scientific publications by Anuchin in the collections "Nature." In 1876, his first major anthropological monograph on the Ainu people was published. In late 1876, D.N. was sent abroad by the university to prepare for the establishment of a new chair in anthropology. The section "Formation of Scientific Interests" shows how Anuchin's scientific interests were shaped, as the author of about 600 works on ethnic anthropology, anthropogenesis, paleontology, ethnography, primitive archaeology, physical geography, country studies, and the history of science. In the next article, the authors plan to examine D.N. Anuchin's scientific and organizational activities.

Generative Artificial Intelligence on Mobile Devices in the University Preparation of Future Teachers of Mathematics

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the field of education. The possibilities of AI in education range from providing intelligent tutoring to facilitating computational thinking, a key skill in an AI-based society. As education systems around the world adapt to technological advances, the need for teachers to develop AI skills becomes crucial. This paper explores the use of AI on mobile devices to improve the preparation of future mathematics teachers. We acknowledge the need for teachers to be skilled in the use of AI tools to foster collaborative, effective, and ethical learning environments. We also provide a case study of our implementation of the generative AI ChatGPT in the preparation of future mathematics teachers at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science at Comenius University in Bratislava. After this implementation, we analyzed students’ opinions on the application of AI in selected areas. We present the results of this analysis and the implications for the practical use of AI in the university education of future mathematics teachers. Finally, based on our study results, we highlight the possibilities of the successful use of AI in different aspects of teaching and its temporary limitations, which are likely to be reduced by further technological developments.

A systematic review of information literacy models in Yunnan province’s physical education faculty

This research aimed to explore the concerning characteristics of information literacy in the physical education faculty of higher education institutions in Yunnan Province. This study provides a systematic meta-analysis of 33 peer-reviewed papers from 2019 to 2023. It discusses that information literacy includes basic research skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving, which include their application in the learning process. The paper describes some approaches that can be used to implement information literacy into teaching and learning, including courses with learning objectives, learner-centered approaches, and institutional support. The study also explored technology and its relation to adopting competencies for the growing technologies’ evolution within the region’s education sector. In addition, the following factors could have enhanced the process: time constraints, differences in discipline, and variations in the usage of information technology. The results indicate the need for context-specific professional learning and policy intervention to facilitate the practice of physical education faculty in Yunnan. The information collected here serves as the framework for effective regional policies regarding education, curriculum, and teacher training, among other related aspects.

The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Students’ Sport Activity

The rapid spread of COVID-19 virus in Romania has had a substantial impact on higher education, where almost all institutions have been closed and on-site teaching activities have been replaced by online courses (at the peak of the pan-demic, 90% of the world’s students were affected by the closure of institutions). International research papers show that these prevention measures have in-creased stress and anxiety levels and the number of cases of depression. This fact had a considerable effect especially among the students of the physical education faculties, who could no longer support their sports activities. As shown in the pre-sent study, 80.5% of the students confirmed that they were affected physically and mental/emotional by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research aimed to identify the current physical condition, but also to compare the physical condition before and during the pandemic and to understand the emerging negative effects of the pan-demic on students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. Keywords: physical activity, health, pandemic, lifestyle, influence, benefits

Analyzing the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning and Information Literacy Instruction at a Liberal Arts College

Project-based learning engages students in the collaborative design of generating and seeking answers to questions. Students work independently and creatively, to plan, execute, and make necessary adjustments to produce high-quality work, while developing competent twenty-first-century skills. These skills include critical thinking, collaboration, creativity/innovation, and communication. This work presents a unique partnership between a physics faculty member, a librarian, and a physician in a project-based ultrasound course at a primarily undergraduate institution. Implementing project-based learning, students actively engaged with real-world and personally, meaningful problems. Information literacy skills, such as evaluating and synthesizing information, were also naturally incorporated throughout the completion of student projects. Students responded to general surveys, self-evaluations, peer evaluations, metacognitive surveys, reflections, and attitude tests to help instructors improve, calibrate, and assess the teaching method. Key findings indicate a 9% growth in students’ information literacy skills and increased engagement. Additionally, results suggest that students prefer project-based learning compared to traditional teaching. This article highlights the course approach, assessment tools, and student engagement and perception.

IT Applications for the Tuvan Language: Regional Practices and Future Plans

In the era of digitalization and globalization, the likelihood of the disappearance of small languages, including the Tuvan language is very high. One of the reliable and promising solutions for preserving a language is its inclusion in the digital space as a language of accumulation, processing and transmission of information, a language of communication on the Internet. Currently, a number of tasks aimed at preserving and popularizing the Tuvan language are being car­ried out within the framework of the state program to support the development of the Tuvan language in the Republic of Tuva. Various government agencies of the Republic of Tuva and interested IT specialists are working on the digitalization of the Tuvan language. Tuvan State University (TuvSU) also makes a significant contribution to the development and popularization of the Tuvan language. Teachers of the Department of Informatics of TuvSU together with scientists from the Faculty of Philology and the "Turkology" scientific and educational centerwork in the following areas: development of software products for teaching the Tuvan language, creation of software tools for text processing in the Tuvan language, creation of linguistic information resources. Along with TuvSU teachers, students from the faculties of physics, mathematics and philology also take part in this research work. The topics of students' coursework and final qualification papers are related to IT developments. This article presents the experience of research and development of teachers of the Department of Computer Science in the field of preservation, study and development of the Tuvan language using information and communication technologies in these three areas. In the first direction, electronic textbooks, interactive simulators, and mobile applications for teaching the Tuvan language are being developed. The second direction is focused on the creation of software products for processing texts in the Tuvan language — a morphological analyzer of the Tuvan language, program for checking Tuvan texts for plagiarism. The last direction is related to the creation of electronic dictionaries and translators for the Tuvan language, which can be used in all spheres of life.

Scholarship, Teaching, Service, & Job Satisfaction: Academia’s Balancing Act

Abstract Date Presented 03/21/24 OT and physical therapy faculty transitioning from clinical practice to academia face a new set of tasks. The requirements to make service contributions, to meet teaching load requirements, and to participate in scholarly projects can lead to job dissatisfaction. Primary Author and Speaker: Cody Cox Additional Authors and Speakers: Sara L. Wyckoff Contributing Authors: James Lewis

EVALUASI KEBUGARAN JASMANI MELALUI HARVARD STEP TEST PADA MAHASISWA PENJASKESREK FKIP UNIVERSITAS ABULYATAMA

Physical fitness is the body's ability to perform an activity without feeling excessive fatigue. Students in following a series of lectures have not shown good physical fitness performance. The effort made is to evaluate physical fitness through the Harvad step test. So that students can improve their training and detect their own fitness level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate physical fitness through the Harvard step test on physical education students health and recreation Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Abulyatama. This type of research is evaluative with a quantitative descriptive approach. Collecting data for this study through the Harvard step test. The population and sample of this study were 30 students of Physical Education Health and Recreation class 2022. The results showed physical fitness through the Harvard step test with an average of 33.47 (very poor), with the following details: 1) Moderate category with a frequency of 1 student (3.33%), 2) Less category with a frequency of 2 students (6.67%), and 3) Very less category with a frequency of 27 students (90.00%). The research concluded that the evaluation of physical fitness through the Harvard step test on students of physical education health and recreation of the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education Abulyatama was in the category of very poor

Analysis of teaching skills in swimming and gymnastics in faculties of physical education

The present study aimed to assess the extent to which faculty members apply effective teaching skills in swimming and gymnastics courses from the perspective of students in physical education faculties. Utilizing a descriptive method, the study involved a randomly selected sample of 195 students from the University of Jordan, Hashemite University, and Yarmouk University during the 2021/2022 academic year. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate effective teaching skills, focusing on the teacher's management of teaching principles, the use of educational aids, and evaluation. Data analysis using SPSS (version 28) revealed that faculty members demonstrated a high level of application of effective teaching skills in both courses, with arithmetic means of 4.35 for swimming and 4.27 for gymnastics. No statistically significant differences were observed in the application of these skills based on gender, university, or course (p > 0.05). The researchers recommend providing faculty members with necessary resources and facilities to enhance the educational process and ensure it meets the highest standards.

Encouraging a Unified Framework for Understanding Socialization Into Higher Education

Over the past few decades, scholars have directed increasing attention toward the socialization of physical education faculty members’ recruitment, preparation, and ongoing socialization. Parallel research trajectories have, however, resulted in varied approaches to conceptualizing and labeling the phases or types of socialization experienced by this occupational group. With the view of academic journals as spaces for discourse surrounding divergent approaches to conceptualizing and conducting research, the purpose of this research note was to overview two contrasting conceptualizations of physical education teacher education faculty socialization and propose a unified approach for moving forward in future research. Differing perspectives are reviewed, and an updated conceptual framework for understanding socialization into and through academic roles is proposed. We argue that this model better captures the diversity in and provides flexibility for the backgrounds that draw individuals into careers in higher education and their experiences once serving among the faculty in academia.

Using expectancy-value theory to understand the teaching motivations of women physics lecturers

Being lectured by a woman physicist can benefit students’ performance, motivation, and engagement with physics. However, due to the severe underrepresentation of women physics faculty, these instances may be scarce. Through semistructured interviews with seven women physics lecturers, we used expectancy-value theory to understand the situative nature of gender regarding motivation to lecture. We sought to understand their choices and decisions when selecting their teaching roles, and if lecturing, what draws them toward certain courses. Our study was a staff-student partnership project carried out in a physics department at a UK university. We identified themes of confidence, enjoyment, the importance of lecturing, and the associated workload. The academic women could not relate to the “showperson” persona that they felt their men colleagues displayed. They navigated low levels of confidence by adopting a painstaking approach to lecture preparation, suggesting an inherent, higher workload associated with lecturing, compared with other forms of teaching. However, the women highly valued lecturing, enjoying the excitement and interactions with students, and were drawn toward developing students’ knowledge and skills. Being familiar with the content allowed them to feel confident in lecturing. We discuss these findings and recommend areas of support that physics departments should endeavor to offer. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Physical activity information-seeking behaviour and barriers in a sample of university undergraduate emerging adults: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundAccess to physical activity information provides opportunities for enduring and relevant messaging regarding physical activity. This may be a potential vehicle to optimise physical activity participation among emerging adults. This study aimed to characterise the physical activity information-seeking behaviour in a sample of university undergraduate emerging adults.MethodsFive hundred and seventy-five undergraduate students (age = 21.7 ± 1.9 years) participated in the study. Respondents’ physical activity information-seeking behaviour was obtained using an adapted instrument, while physical activity and barriers were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Exercise Benefits and Barrier Scale.ResultsThree hundred and fifty-one respondents (61%) of respondents sought physical activity information. The majority of these individuals (73.8%) sought physical activity information using social media. After identifying and controlling for confounders including engaging in physical activity programmes and faculty of study, having low physical activity levels was associated with a < 1 likelihood of seeking physical activity information compared to having high physical activity levels (odds ratio = 0.5, 95% confidence interval 0.27–0.87; p = 0.015). However, there was no association between barriers to physical activity and physical activity information-seeking behaviour (odds ratio = 1.17, 95% confidence interval 0.81–1.69; p = 0.40).ConclusionUndergraduate emerging adults seek physical activity information using social media to enhance their physical appearance and health.

Special issue of J. Magn. Magn. Mater., “Physics of Magnetism 2023 – Special issue in memory of professor Roman Micnas”, consisting of articles presented at The European conference Physics of Magnetism 2023: In memory of Professor Roman Micnas

The European Conference PHYSICS OF MAGNETISM 2023 (PM’23) was held on June 26–30, 2023 in Poznań, Poland. It was the 17th in a series of conferences organized by the Faculty of Physics of the Adam Mickiewicz University and the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The PM’23 conference was dedicated to the memory of Professor Roman Micnas, a long–time co-organizer of the conference, and its co-chairman since 1993. The preface presents basic information about the topics and events related to the PM’23 conference.

Sentiment and thematic analysis of faculty responses: Transition to online learning

This project aims to understand physics faculty responses to transitioning to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed 662 physics faculty from the United States following the Spring 2020 term; of these, 258 completed a follow-up survey after the Fall 2020 term. We used natural language processing to measure the sentiment scores of 364 Spring 2020 responses and another 134 Fall 2020 responses of physics faculty who completed an optional written prompt. Additionally, we determined the change in sentiment scores of the 100 individuals who responded to both surveys. These sentiment scores measured between −1 and 1 for completely negative and completely positive, respectively. Sentiment scores after Spring 2020 were slightly positive with a median value of 0.2347. The distribution of sentiment changes was approximately normally distributed with a mean centered near zero. Analysis suggests the average sentiment did not change from the initial to follow-up surveys. To identify major topics within the responses for both surveys, latent Dirichlet allocation analysis was applied to the data. The topic distribution for the initial survey is given as course modifications and technology, negative aspects of the transition—primarily with labs and cheating, exam and evaluation difficulties, and difficulties with student understanding. The topics were noticeably different in the follow-up survey with differences between Fall and Spring, cooperative learning strategies, strategies that worked in the remote space, and benefits of in-person labs. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A Conversation With Marc Hallin

SummaryMarc Hallin was born in Ghent, Belgium, on 23 April 1949. He holds a Licence en Sciences mathématiques (1971), a Licence en Sciences actuarielles (1972), and a Doctorat en Sciences (1976) from the Université libre de Bruxelles. He then rose through the professorial ranks at the same institution, being successively Premier Assistant (1977–1978), Chargé de Cours associé (1978–1984), Chargé de Cours (1984–1988), Professeur ordinaire (1988–2009), and Professeur ordinaire émérite upon retirement in 2009. Throughout his career, he supervised 25 PhD students and held invited positions at many institutions of high standing in Austria, Belgium, England, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA (most notably Princeton). A renown expert in time series analysis, econometrics, and non‐parametric inference, Marc is the author or coauthor of over 250 research papers, for which he received numerous awards, including the Medal of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague (2006), a Humboldt Forschungspreis from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2012), the Pierre‐Simon de Laplace Award of the Société française de Statistique (2022), and the Gottfried E. Noether Distinguished Scholar Award of the American Statistical Association (2022). He gave several distinguished lecture series, including the 2017 Hermann Otto Hirschfeld Lecture Series at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and the 2018 Mahalanobis Memorial Lecture at the Indian Statistical Institute. Over the years, he co‐edited a dozen books and proceedings, and served on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Time Series Analysis (1994–2009), the Journal of Econometrics (2013–2019), the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics (2018–), and the Theory and Methods Section of the Journal of the American Statistical Association (2005–). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (1990) and the American Statistical Association (1997), as well as a member of the Classe des Sciences of the Royal Academy of Belgium (1999). Marc has been a member of the International Statistical Institute since 1985 and was (co‐) Editor‐in‐Chief of the International Statistical Review from 2010 to 2015.

Importance of undergraduate institution prestige in physics faculty hiring networks

Reforming the professionalization experiences of future faculty members, including their undergraduate experience, provides a possible means to create scalable change in higher education. However, this requires an understanding of where faculty undergraduate training occurs. We analyze data from 7748 tenure-line faculty members across 611 U.S. physics departments, including their undergraduate alma mater and their employer university. The resulting undergraduate professionalization network reveals a prestige hierarchy similar in strength to those previously found in hiring networks at the Ph.D. level, indicating that the road to faculty jobs begins during undergraduate admissions. Furthermore, 42% of physics faculty members earned their undergraduate degrees from institutions outside of the United States. These results reinforce the importance of institutional prestige in academia and offer a potential strategy for driving systemic change. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Recognizing dominant cultures around assessment and educational change in physics programs

Leaders, policymakers, and researchers have called attention to the need to improve critical aspects of physics programs, from teaching and pedagogy to making physics more diverse and equitable. As such programmatic changes are challenging and require a second-order change to be effective, many physics faculty responsible for carrying them out are not equipped with the necessary experience and support to do so. This can result in a significant waste of resources and time. Moreover, while there is a robust body of literature in higher education focusing on institutional and cultural change, there is a limited understanding of the baseline of the culture of physics programs (where physics programs are starting from), a critical aspect that shapes the change effort. Dr. David Craig and Dr. Joel Corbo with the support of the American Physical Society and the American Association of Physics Teachers developed the Departmental Action Leadership Institutes (DALIs) to meet the needs of the physics community by supporting physics faculty to effectively design and implement departmental change focusing on areas needing improvement. In this research project, we developed case studies of five DALI-active physics programs from two DALI cohorts. We use a cultural dynamics lens to document facets of the dominant culture around how physics faculty approach and pursue change work. We see evidence of DALI participants’ growing awareness of taken-for-granted assumptions about educational change processes and assessment practices within their departmental cultures and coming to recognize and value alternative ways of collaborating and enacting change in their local contexts. We found that physics faculty typically approach change work in a rushed and way ignoring the use of formal evidence. In particular, we found that any data collection efforts are the primary responsibility of a single person, rarely becoming the focus of joint attention. Whenever data did receive joint attention, it was approached in a cursory way without meaningfully informing collective change efforts. This study lays the foundation to explore critical aspects of the dominant physics culture that may constrain enacting particular forms of programmatic change. In future work, we document the cultural shifts made by these DALI-active departments around change work. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Teacher Socialization Research: Leveraging Lessons Learned Toward a Favorable Future for Physical Education

Occupational socialization theory has been used to guide research related to the lives and careers of teachers and, more recently, teacher educators for around 50 years. Across this time, much has been learned about the factors that attract or deter prospective recruits from seeking occupations in the field, the effectiveness of professional development programming, and individuals’ experiences working in educational systems or scholarly contributions toward larger institutional missions. In this paper, we provide an overview of research stemming from occupational socialization theory before presenting and discussing vignettes that provide illustrative examples of the socialization of physical education teachers and faculty members in action. Building from the discussion across these vignettes, we describe lessons learned related to applying the findings of socialization research in practice before closing with research recommendations. We emphasize topical and methodological diversity in socialization research and provide example studies linked to the current literature.

Investigating changes in prevailing mental states among students with different levels of academic performance

Introduction. The difficulties of the adaptation period increase the level of anxiety and psychological stress in students and negatively affect academic performance of first-year students. Despite the fact that recent studies have identified a wide range of conceptually different correlates of academic success, the problem of mental states of first-year students in the context of assessing their learning outcomes remains insufficiently studied in theoretical and empirical terms. Therefore, the problem of identifying a risk group for academic underachievement and maintaining the student population does not lose its relevance. The purpose of the study is to identify students’ mental states determining levels of academic performance. Materials and Methods. In order to identify the characteristics of students’ mental states, mental states were assessed at psychophysiological, psychological and socio-psychological levels. The authors used the following methods: Lemur-Tessier-Fillion ‘Psychological Stress Scale PSM-25’ adapted by N.E. Vodopyanova (2009), PSM-25 scale, method for determining neuropsychic stability, risk of maladaptation in stress ‘Forecast-2’ (V. Yu. Rybnikov), reactive (situational) and personal anxiety scale (Ch. D. Spielberger, 1973), adapted by Yu.L. Khanin, (1978), L.V. Kulikova’s methods for identifying the dominant and current states, methods for evaluating socio-psychological adaptation by K. Rogers, R. Diamond, (1954), adapted by T. V. Snegireva (1987) and by A. K. Osnitsky. The study involved 56 1st year full-time students of the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics, Physics and Technology at Omsk State Pedagogical University. Results. The authors identified scales of methods for mental states assessment: ‘tone’, ‘activation-deactivation’, ‘situational anxiety’, ‘psychological stress’, which revealed statistically significant changes in students demonstrating different levels of academic performance. The authors revealed differences in prevailing mental states in students with different academic performance. Conclusions. The mental states of students identified in this study can be used in designing a programme of socio-psychological support for first-year students aimed at identifying the risks of maladjustment and a decrease in academic performance. Limitations. Limitations of the study include a small sample of students of one faculty and one-time use. It is necessary to check the possibility of extending the hypothesis to students of other faculties.