Global Skills Research Articles

Evaluation of child development of children with suspected autistic spectrum disorder

Introduction: Child development is a continuous process of acquisition and improvement of global skills that has its main milestones in the first three years of an individual's life. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized as an alteration in neurodevelopment that involves persistent deficits in communication and social interaction, in addition to stereotyped movements that can be noticed in the child's early years even before the diagnosis is defined. Objective: Analyze the overall development of children at risk for ASD in its 5 domains: cognition, communication (expressive and receptive), motor skills (fine and gross), adaptive and socio-emotional behavior, and to correlate with the indicative of ASD signs. Methods: Nine male children aged between 24 and 41 months with suspected ASD were evaluated by Protea-R (Bosa &Salles, 2018) using the Bayley child development scales (Bayley, 2018). Results: Overall, there was impairment in the 5 behaviors measured with greater intensity in children at Risk for ASD than those at Relative Risk for ASD. Cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional skills were more impaired in these. Conclusions: This study allowed reflections on the integral development of children with suspected ASD even though it was not possible to determine a pattern of global development in these individuals.

Exploring personality traits as predictors of English achievement and global competence among Chinese university students: English learning motivation as the moderator

This study aimed to delve deeper into the relationship between personality traits and academic performance by focusing on two specific aspects that can be critically important in the globalized world: global competence and achievement in learning English as a second language. We recruited 555 Chinese university students who completed a web-based survey. Results revealed that the Big Five Personality (conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness) functioned differently in predicting the outcome variables. Conscientiousness and extraversion positively predicted English achievement. Extraversion and openness positively predicted all three dimensions of global competence (global attitudes, skills, and knowledge). Agreeableness positively predicted global attitudes. Conscientiousness positively predicted global knowledge but negatively predicted global attitudes, while neuroticism negatively predicted global skills and attitudes. Furthermore, English learning motivation was found to moderate the relationships of extraversion to English achievement and global knowledge. Specifically, the two positive relationships were stronger at high than at low levels of motivation.

Validity assessment of the laparoscopic radical nephrectomy module of the LapVision virtual reality simulator

BackgroundVirtual reality simulators allow trainees to perform repeated practice and provide objective dexterity metrics regarding their performance, which means that virtual reality–based surgical training is becoming a vital part of initial learning of basic laparoscopic surgical skills. However, its educational role in learning advanced procedures remains undetermined. We evaluated the validity of the laparoscopic radical nephrectomy module of the LapVision virtual reality simulator. MethodsUrologists, medical students, and a junior resident voluntarily participated in the present study, and they performed training with a laparoscopic left radical nephrectomy module. For construct validation, dexterity metrics calculated in the simulator and the mean score of Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills evaluated by 2 experts' video review were compared according to the certification of Japanese Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification or previous surgical experience. ResultsTen experts (≥50 laparoscopic surgeries), 9 intermediates (11-49), and 14 novices (0-10) voluntarily participated in the present study. Regarding the construct validity, there was a significant difference in the total number of errors, blood loss, and Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills score among the groups for both the Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification status and previous surgical experience. ConclusionThe present study demonstrated good construct validity for the LapVision nephrectomy module. Furthermore, global skill assessment was possible by experts' reviews, which indicates the usefulness of the virtual reality procedural module as a skill assessment tool. Virtual reality–based procedural simulation has marked potential to become a vital part of integrated laparoscopic training programs.

Digital Learning: New Age Tools and the Changing Education Scenario, Trends and Challenges in India

"Digital learning is just making sure that if I need a piece of learning while I'm on the job … I can quickly find that information such as from a podcast or video and integrate it right into the task I'm doing." Don Dequette, executive vice president at New York City-based General Physics Learning Solutions Group. Earlier, the internet revolution had brought radical changes practically in all spheres of our lives, across various products and service sectors from ordering consumer goods, medicines, food to hiring a cab. Presently this revolution is being witnessed in education system through modern digital learning methods which are disrupting traditional higher education that has altered its pace from a gradually evolving process to strategical to tactical implementation of newer kinds of technologies. However, the degree of implementation in educational institutions depends on government policy that may not match the ever-accelerating speed of technological innovation and this varies from nation to nation. This conceptual study is intended to find the present status of digital learning methods in education, the important factors that are leading to the growth of digital market, and digital training trends in India. The study identifies that growth of digital education in India is due to improved internet connectivity along with adoption of digital payment options and is opening up more opportunities for teachers as well as students. Advanced digital tools are being incorporated by organisations as the most innovative ways for training, assessment and certification programs. It is implicit that digital learning is enhancing current ways of learning by offering more personalized and swift learning solutions through blended or completely online leaning methods using real-time education. While developed countries are well ahead in formulating policies for development in the field of education, India, could capture only a minute percent in private education and hardly has its presence in rural areas and should exploit the enabling capabilities of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for holistic growth of students to meet the global skills. As digital education is impetus in the present times, traditional learning should leverage the digital technology to enhance the experience of learning and to impart better knowledge in students. Keywords: Information and Computer Technology (ICT), digital education, online learning, internet, smart learning DOI : 10.7176/IKM/9-10-01 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

Vocabulary comprehension in adults with fragile X syndrome (FXS)

BackgroundReceptive and expressive vocabulary in adult and adolescent males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) have been shown as significantly lower than their chronological age; however, receptive vocabulary has been considered a strength relative to mental age. This has not been formally examined, however, and data are needed to compare receptive vocabulary with other language skills and with mental age in individuals with FXS. This is especially important as vocabulary measures are sometimes used as a proxy to estimate language ability.MethodsThis preliminary study examined receptive vocabulary, global language, and cognitive skills in 42 adults (33 males and 9 females) with FXS as a portion of the baseline evaluation prior to randomization in a clinical trial of ampakine CX516. The battery of standardized tests addressed receptive vocabulary with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition (PPVT-III), receptive and expressive language (termed henceforth as global language) via the Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition or the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Third Edition, and non-verbal cognition via the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fourth Edition (SB-IV).ResultsResults showed (1) significantly higher receptive vocabulary than global language, (2) significantly better receptive vocabulary than non-verbal cognition, (3) equivalent non-verbal cognition and global language, and (4) severity of autism symptomatology was not correlated to receptive vocabulary or global language once non-verbal cognition was removed as factor. The scores from the PPVT-III did not represent the global language skills in our sample of adults with FXS.ConclusionsFindings from this investigation strongly suggest that the PPVT-III should not be used as a screening tool for language levels or cognitive function in clinical studies since the scores from the PPVT-III were not representative of global language or non-verbal cognitive skills in adults with intellectual disabilities. This finding is critical in order to understand how to evaluate, as well as to treat, language in individuals with FXS. Development of efficient and appropriate tools to measure language, cognition, and behavior in individuals with FXS is essential.

Developing Intercultural Awareness and Skills in English Majors: A Constructivist Approach

In the fast-changing modern world of today, learners need global skills for life-long learning and effective communication. Among these skills are intercultural competence and critical thinking. Although teachers have acknowledged the importance of the inclusion of global skills in their actual teaching procedures, they still need more concrete methodology and tangible pedagogical frameworks to incorporate these skills into their teachings. This study has been an attempt to propose a framework based on the constructivist approach to activate critical thinking and, in turn, develop critical cultural awareness and intercultural skills in EFL learners. To achieve this aim, a qualitative study was designed; an intercultural syllabus was developed and implemented through the constructivist approach in an academic semester. The related data were then collected through the participants’ reflective worksheets and interviews. The content analysis of the data indicated that the constructivist approach and the intercultural syllabus were effective in assisting the participants in applying critical thinking strategies and developing critical cultural awareness and intercultural skills of discovery and interaction, interpreting and relating, and evaluation. Meanwhile, the results of the self-report evaluation survey indicated that the participants evaluated most of the aspects of the intercultural experience positively. The findings of the current study have implications for instructors, materials developers, and educational stakeholders who support developing intercultural awareness and skills in learners.

Assessment and development of global competence in the structure of the functional literacy of schoolboys

Analyzes the organizational, substantive and methodological, evaluation and measurement approaches to assessing the functional literacy of schoolchildren in the context of assessing the global competence index of the international standard for comparing world education systems OECD - PISA and the implementation of the benchmark for Russia's entry into the top 10 countries in the world. education as a result of the PISA study. The goal is to characterize the organizational, substantive, methodical, assessment and measurement tools for assessing the functional literacy of schoolchildren and the possibility of its institutionalization in the educational system on the example of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The results of the study present educational project objectives for the development of global competences of schoolchildren, integrated into the content of the educational program of basic general education, as well as the results of the assessment of global competences of schoolchildren using the PISA global skills indicators.

The influence of corporate global mindset on international franchising

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the influence of a corporate global mindset and international experience on the internationalization process of Brazilian franchisors. The purpose is to study the role played by global mindset in the internationalization process of franchisors from an emerging country by answering the question: What is the impact of a global mindset on the level of internationalization? Design/methodology/approach A survey of 104 companies was conducted with franchise managers to compare Brazilian (domestic-only and internationalized) franchisors to foreign franchisors with operations in Brazil. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings Results showed that the firm’s experience in international markets (measured as the number of years in foreign countries) has a positive relation to corporate global mindset. Developing a corporate global mindset should help Brazilian franchises to grow internationally. The findings indicate that Brazilian franchisors fall behind their foreign counterparts in international experience, which affect the skills, knowledge, disposition and organizational structure needed to be successful outside their home market. Practical implications Franchisors who decide to internationalize should carefully consider the need for developing a global mindset, especially in terms of investing in communication technologies, adequate human resources and an organizational structure to support international operations. Originality/value This research contributes to the international franchising literature by exploring the role of a global mindset in the context of franchises from an emerging market. Using a multidimensional concept of corporate global mindset, comprised of global orientation, global knowledge and global skills, this study adds an aspect of international franchising beyond institutional and economic explanations.

Reflecting on Global Learning Goals: The Study Abroad Portfolio

Students' learning progress in areas such as language proficiency or cultural awareness is considerable while studying abroad, but specific preparation, engagement with, and reflection of their experiences can increase these benefits and particularly students' awareness of them. This article offers an overview of a study abroad portfolio that was developed to help students approach their semester abroad more intentionally by setting different learning goals for their time abroad, observing and reflecting on cultural experiences, and tracking their progress in areas such as their ability to adapt to unfamiliar cultural settings. Such a portfolio project further helps students understand and articulate the outcomes of their study abroad experience, which can serve as basis from which to document their global skills, intercultural competencies, and ability to adapt to new cultural settings in different locations when needed, for instance, on the job market.

Fostering Global Citizenship Skills among Students through an International and Intercultural Exchange Program

Fostering Global Citizenship Skills among Students through an International and Intercultural Exchange Program

Managing knowledge leakage during knowledge sharing in software development organisations

Background: Knowledge refers to the skills and facts that individuals acquire while performing some tasks. Knowledge leakage is the loss of knowledge, resulting in loss of the organisation’s position in the marketplace. Internal and external knowledge leakage in software development organisations lowers the organisations’ competitive advantage. Knowledge sharing is a process of innovation and value creation that leads to competitive advantage. Innovation is a result of an effective knowledge sharing process. Knowledge can be shared internally and externally; however, not all knowledge can be shared externally because of some confidentiality issues. Some organisations do not promote knowledge sharing to avoid knowledge leakage. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate how knowledge sharing leads to knowledge leakages in software development organisations. Method: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from IT professionals to explore knowledge sharing and knowledge leakages. A response rate of 53.6% was received. Results: The results indicated that people always move from one organisation to another, resulting in an increased knowledge leakage. People will always share whatever they have learnt in the new organisation. Five key critical findings that cause staff turnover are management and citizenship, industrial psychology, industrial relations, employee morale and organisational culture. Conclusions: Because knowledge resides in the brains of individuals, it is recommended that organisations should motivate their staff not to leave. Organisations need to implement global skills resource management, mentoring programmes and documentation of lessons learnt to retain knowledge. Good management strategies should be applied to create a good working environment and organisational culture to retain employees.

Book Review: Understanding Global Skills for 21st Century Professions

Book Review: Understanding Global Skills for 21^st Century Professions

Scaling Up Data Literacy and Computing Skills Training in Biodiversity Science, Lessons Learned from The Carpentries

The expanding availability of access to data about museum specimens, species occurrences, trait data, genetics, and landscapes is revolutionizing biodiversity research. But mobilizing, evaluating, and synthesizing these data to address research questions requires domain-specific computing skills and knowledge. The Carpentries is a global non-profit organization teaching researchers computational and data science skills for data management and analysis in all domains of research. The Carpentries' teaching practices are based on evidence from the science of learning. Current domain-specific lessons include life, physical, and social sciences. Hands-on exercises build on the existing knowledge of learners, quickly enabling them to apply skills learned to their research. The Carpentries' train-the-trainer model, its globally established community of ~2,000 instructors and its network of regional coordinators have allowed the organization to scale up rapidly, and over 40,000 learners have participated in Carpentries workshops since 2012. The Carpentries assessment program evaluates the impact of attending a workshop on the participants' perception of their skills and confidence. After attending a Carpentries workshop, participants feel more confident in their ability to program and to overcome issues with their analysis. The Carpentries' mentoring program ensures that newly certified instructors receive support and guidance to successfully engage in leading and teaching workshops. Pairing new and experienced instructors, in combination with the development of local communities of instructors, have contributed to the success of The Carpentries workshops. The Carpentries collaboratively seeks to develop new curricula to address the training needs of the biodiversity data community. Establishing training partnerships between The Carpentries and the various organizations involved in building biodiversity data science skills capacity would increase reach and efficacy. We seek to foster institutional and organizational collaborations that can support the establishment and growth of the infrastructure needed to provide the computational and data literacy skills needed to empower our stakeholders. These include those creating and mobilizing data (e.g., collectors, ecologists, conservationists, curators, collection/data managers), for all scientists, policy-makers, educators, and students who want to use biodiversity data.

What visualising strategic reading means for young adolescents

Since middle school is a critical time for literacy learning in general and comprehension in particular, educators are left to ponder how best to teach these students. In addition, what role might student perception of reading strategies through visual depictions have in order to help teachers decide how best to guide their students with challenging reading. In this conceptual piece, questions that guided our research were, What can we learn from students about the strategies they use to read challenging texts? and How do these strategies challenge adult norms of what constitutes strategic reading for young adolescents? We collected and analysed 332 seventh grade student drawings that depicted how students approached difficult text, identifying types of reading strategies. We used Mokhtari and Reichard’s framework of Support, Problem-Solving and Global reading strategies as a holistic and analytic lens to group the codes where appropriate. Findings revealed students’ heavy reliance on support and problem-solving strategies, in contrast to relatively few global strategies, suggesting a need for educators to teach global strategies skills more often and directly. Unexpected findings further revealed a visually powerful alternative response, which suggest that educators should consider how to manage more affective reactions to challenging text.

Validity Assessment of the Laparoscopic Radical Nephrectomy Module of the LapVision® Virtual Reality Simulator

Background: Virtual reality (VR) simulators allow trainees to perform repeated practice, and provide objective dexterity metrics regarding their performance, which means that VR-based surgical training is becoming a vital part in initial learning of basic laparoscopic surgical skills. However, its educational role of learning advanced procedures remains undetermined. We evaluated the validity of the laparoscopic radicalnephrectomy module of the LapVision® virtual reality simulator. Methods: Urologists, medical students, and junior resident voluntarily participated in the present study and they performed a laparoscopic left radical nephrectomy module. For construct validation, dexterity metrics calculated in the simulator, and mean score of Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) evaluated by two experts’ video review were compared according to the certification of Japanese Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification (ESSQ) or previous surgical experience. Results: Ten experts (>50 laparoscopic surgeries), 9 intermediates (11-49), and 14 novices (0-10) voluntarily joined the present study. Regarding the construct validity, there was a significant difference in the total number of errors, blood loss, and GOALS score among the groups for both the ESSQ status and previous surgical experience. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated good construct validity for the LapVision® nephrectomy module. Furthermore, global skill assessment could be possible by experts’ reviews, which means the usefulness of VR procedural module for skill assessment tool. VR-based procedural simulation has marked potential to become a vital part of integrated laparoscopic training programs.

Global skills deficiency: perspectives of skill mobility in Southeast Asian countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it intends to engage in skill gain–lose debate in the contemporary global skill mobility context; and second, it looks into whether Southeast Asia (SEA) is losing by experiencing skill deficiency due to over outflow of talents.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected through interviews with policy makers, stakeholder and migrant professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.FindingsThe paper comes up with the brain drain dynamics to better understand the trajectory of skill mobility in and from SEA. Within the skill mobility discourse, it is undoubtedly difficult to conclude who are the losers and the gainers in the long run.Originality/valueThis research is based on relatively small sample. However, this offers a fresh insight into the skill deficiency dynamics in Southeast Asia.

A Integração e a Inclusão Escolar no panorama histórico patrimonial-burocrático brasileiro

O presente estudo analisa a inserção dos alunos com necessidades educacionais específicas nas instituições de ensino regular, tendo em vista as características da sociedade brasileira marcadamente patrimonial-burocrática. As metodologias utilizadas foram a pesquisa documental, relativa à legislação vigente que preconiza o atendimento aos discentes com deficiência, transtornos globais do desenvolvimento e altas habilidades – Lei nº 9.394, de 20 de dezembro de 1996; Resolução CNE/CEB nº 2, de 11 de setembro de 2001; Política Nacional de Educação Especial na Perspectiva da Educação Inclusiva de 2008; Lei nº 13.146, de 6 de julho de 2015 – e a pesquisa bibliográfica de produções científicas atinentes ao assunto abordado. Como resultado, considera-se que as normativas legais possibilitam a inclusão desses estudantes no sistema de ensino regular. Entretanto, esse modelo híbrido de patrimonialismo e burocracia, obstaculiza mudanças substanciais, pois à tentativa de implantação da inclusão nas instituições educacionais, opõem-se as práticas tradicionais dos docentes, mantendo os pressupostos da integração escolar. Conclui-se que a formação continuada dos professores, recomendada pelas normativas legais pesquisadas, cria a possibilidade de enfraquecer aspectos do fazer pedagógico arraigados em valores patrimoniais, garantindo a eficácia da inclusão escolar.

Determinants of Building 21st Century Skills in Palestinian Elementary Schools

To fully engage in modern society, learners need to acquire not only individual skills– such as critical thinking, innovation and self-direction, but also participatory competences– such as collaboration, local connections, global connections, technology utilization and communication. The present study measures the factors influencing the development of such skills in the elementary stage science students in Palestine. The population comprised the science teachers for third through ninth grades at West Bank schools, while the sample consisted of 560 teacher respondents who provided self-assessment of their role in developing the 21st skills in their students. A scale developed by Ravitz et al (2012) was used to test 48 practices across 8 major skill categories: Critical Thinking Skill, Collaboration Skills, Communication Skills, Innovation Skills, Self -Direction Skills, Global Connections Skills, Local Connections Skills and Technology Utilization. Our focus was on measuring results in relation to five teacher-related variables: sex, academic degree, years of experience, teacher major and active learning training. The findings suggest that these variables are crucial in skill-building.

Multicultural Education in Higher Education in Vietnam

Multicultural education is undoubtedly essential in giving equal educational opportunities to all students and in helping them prepare for the workplace in a globalized and multicultural world today. This article reports major findings from a study conducted with 1850 respondents (23 educational managers, 169 lecturers, 1658 students) who have been working and studying at different universties in major cities in Vietnam. It found that multicultural education objectives and issues were not clearly enunciated by all the investigated universities. Despite acknowledging the values of multicultural education, not all administrators, lecturers, and students were fully aware of the objectives, multicultural topics and approaches in conducting multicultural education. There exists great disparity between current practices and innovative requirements in Vietnamese educational policies. This conundrum demands more input from Vietnamese universities, especially in providing administrators and lecturers with global knowledge and skills regarding multicultural education.

‘His visa is made of rubber’: tactics, risk and temporary moorings under conditions of multi-stage migration to Australia

ABSTRACT This article examines the narratives of two Venezuelan migrants who have engaged in multi-stage migration practices in order to optimise their long-term living options in Australia. I show how they deploy a range of tactics to negotiate risk and uncertainty under the spatial, temporal and institutional conditions of temporary migration programs by moving to regional areas, drawing on friendship networks and continuously responding to shifting immigration policy. I argue that time spent on temporary visas is actively and intentionally used by migrants in order to create future migration possibilities and security for themselves in contexts where migration outcomes can be unpredictable. As temporary migrants they are subject to policies designed to meet the needs of global capital and skills shortages but they are also reasoning individuals who tactically pursue opportunities, put down roots and continually evaluate and readjust their plans and fall back positions, even within a relatively limited range of choices.