Construct Knowledge Research Articles

Health Belief Model Predicts Likelihood of Eating Nutrient-Rich Foods among U.S. Adults.

Despite decades of messaging, most Americans still consume excess fats and sugars, but inadequate fiber, potassium, and calcium. Nutrient-rich foods (NRFs) have a high density of favorable nutrients related to calories. Choosing NRFs could lower risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases and aid in their control. We hypothesized that having greater knowledge of NRFs, the presence of a nutrition-related chronic disease or risk factor, and positive Health Belief Model (HBM) views would be predictive of the likelihood of eating NRFs. Through a national online survey panel, 976 adults aged 18-80 completed demographic, health, NRF knowledge, attitudes, and HBM construct questions. Participants were 77% White, 52% women, and 55% had a nutrition-related disease or risk factor. Multivariable HBM scales were generated by theory, principal components, and reliability analysis. NRF knowledge was significantly higher for women, Whites, households without children, and persons without a nutrition-related disease (all p ≤ 0.015). 'Likelihood of eating NRFs' was significantly higher for persons with a nutrition-related disease, Whites, married participants, main food shoppers, and households with children (all p ≤ 0.022). Regressing demographic and HBM constructs on the 'likelihood of eating NRFs' resulted in R2 of 0.435. Nutrition-related disease and HBM constructs of self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and cues to action were predictive of the likelihood of eating NRFs, but higher NRF knowledge was negatively associated.

Tourist Guide Writing Project: Assisting 4C Skills through Project-Based Learning in English for Tourism

One of the recommended teaching methods in the Indonesia’s Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn) Curriculum is Project-based Learning (PjBL). This research aims to explore the implementation of PjBL in assisting the students’ 4C skills through a writing project in English for Tourism Class in Indonesia. This research employed a qualitative design to investigate the PjBL implementation by the teacher to the fifth semester students at a Tour Guiding Program. An open-ended questionnaire, interview, and teacher reflective notes were conducted to collect the data. The data analysis included data reading and categorization, data matching, data reduction, data display and interpretation, and drawing conclusions. The results showed that PjBL gave the opportunities to train the students’ 4C skills through group tasks, data collection, presentation, and the tourist spot visit. They also learned to develop an English writing text more meaningfully, and to construct knowledge about tourism from the real-world context. The challenges found were time limitation, student different characteristics, and teacher’s limited experiences. Teachers who are eager to apply PjBL may use this teaching procedure in this research with the considerations of these challenges and classroom needs. Besides, supplementing an observation method and expanding the research scope are recommended for future research

Causal Relations and Cohesive Strategies in the Narratives of Heritage Speakers of Russian in Their Two Languages

Causal relations allow a very detailed insight into the narrative skills of children from various backgrounds; however, their contribution has not been sufficiently studied in bilingual populations. The present study examines the expression of causal relations and the linguistic forms used to encode them in narratives of bilingual children speaking Russian as the Heritage Language (HL) and Hebrew as the Societal Language (SL). Narratives were collected from 21 typically developing Russian–Hebrew bilingual children using the Frog story picture book and were coded for frequency and type of episodic components, and for causal relations focusing on enabling and motivational relations. Results showed that the number of episodic components was higher in Hebrew than in Russian. An in-depth analysis showed that more components were mentioned in the first five episodes, particularly at the onset of the story. Causal relations were similar in both languages but were differently distributed across the languages—more enabling relations in Russian stories and more motivational relations in Hebrew stories. Production of episodic components and causal relations was affected by language proficiency but not by age of onset of bilingualism (AoB). In terms of language forms, lexical chains (e.g., search~find) were the most frequent means for inferring relations. Syntactic and referential cohesion were used in dedicated episodes to convey relations in both languages. Finally, a higher number of significant correlations between narrative productivity measures, episodic components, and causal relations were found in SL/Hebrew than in HL/Russian. The study results underscore the need to understand how language-specific abilities interact with knowledge of narrative discourse construction.

Connotation and Analysis of English Self-Study Ability in High School Students Under Deep Learning Theory

It advocates deepening the teaching classroom s engagement, encouraging students to transition from a passive to an active learning mindset, enhancing their participation, and enabling them to understand and actively construct knowledge, thereby achieving a unified learning experience.[1].Current high school students English learning ability in classroom inside and outside, classroom teaching fragmentation and surface problems and classroom independent learning consciousness weak problems still exist, how to cultivate high school students critical thinking, problem solving ability and help high school students improve autonomous learning ability, become the current in the process of deepening the reform of high school English curriculum need to focus on areas[2].Under the guidance of deep learning theory, it is particularly necessary to explore the connotation and causes of the English self-study ability of senior high school students.

Unveiling the underlying constructs of mobile assisted language learning technological pedagogical content knowledge (MALL TPACK): development and validation of a MALL TPACK scale for EFL teachers

ABSTRACT In the present study, a MALL TPACK questionnaire was developed and validated based on a TPACK framework. Data were collected from 414 EFL teachers. The development of the questionnaire involved a comprehensive review of existing literature, examination of existing questionnaires, and interviews with experts. This process resulted in an initial item pool of 50 questions. The questionnaire was subsequently administered to participants, and its construct validity and reliability were assessed employing various statistical methods. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted with a subset of 200 participants, while Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed with the remaining 214 participants. Additionally, the Cronbach’s alpha method was employed to evaluate the reliability of the instrument. The results indicated that participants were able to identify four constructs from the original TPACK framework: Pedagogical, content, and pedagogical content knowledge, as well as TPACK. However, knowledge of technology was divided into two separate constructs: Knowing technology and using technology. As a result, a six-factor solution with 37 items was developed and confirmed as a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating MALL TPACK levels among Iranian EFL instructors. These findings have important implications for future research and in the design of teacher professional development courses in Iranian EFL contexts.

Women’s Agency and HIV/AIDS Knowledge Deprivation: An Analysis of Married Women in Bangladesh

HIV/AIDS knowledge deprivation fosters fear, discrimination, and stigma and, thus, reduces the impact of prevention efforts. This article investigates the socioeconomic determinants of HIV/AIDS knowledge deprivation in Bangladesh, a country largely affected by HIV incidence, using the 2011 and 2014 waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. To analyze the factors impacting the unequal distribution of HIV/AIDS knowledge deprivation among socioeconomic groups, the study proposes a multidimensional knowledge deprivation index and constructs a knowledge deprivation concentration index. Results show that the concentration of knowledge deprivation among the most disadvantaged groups (those with low household wealth) significantly correlates with the concentration of women’s empowerment among the least economically disadvantaged. These findings highlight the role of institutional support for programs improving women’s agency as an important complement to programs that focus on traditional forms of deprivation and disadvantage. HIGHLIGHTS In Bangladesh, women are disproportionally exposed to the risk of HIV/AIDS. Multidimensional HIV/AIDS knowledge deprivation is concentrated among disadvantaged women. Key prevention strategies are those focused on knowledge deprivation. Policies targeting women’s education and employment will reduce the risk of infection. Women’s empowerment and agency improve HIV/AIDS knowledge deprivation.

Human Capital Research Program: Contemporary Bulgarian Projections

The research question discussed in the present article can be summarised as the recognition of theoretical and methodological solutions in the scientific service of the functioning of the modern Bulgarian labour market through the operating human capital research program. The analysis is close to its contemporary national projections, presented in terms of a positive result, negative scenarios and opportunities for socio-characteristic evaluation. This presupposes the need for a brief overview of the main aspects of capital formation, of basic concepts of human capital and of the foundation of related competence. Sustaining the function of human capital as a moderator (the ongoing creation and application of knowledge and skills-based behavioral construct) in the Republic of Bulgaria is presented with a view of the Lakatoska idea about the organisation the cognitive process through the creation and functioning of scientific research programs. Thus, the constructive power of the analysed capital is expressed not only in the created and productively realised competence resource, but also in the future benefit hidden behind the problematic areas of this process. These research expectations based on the Bulgarian environment define the guidelines for searching for the advancement of human capital studies as a modern paradigm of human resource management. The study is organised on the basis of the theoretical understanding of the main highlights of the Bulgarian research panorama of human capital in order to outline the results achieved and summarise existing challenges that science and practice face. An attempt is made to summarise the defining moments for the assessment of the sociofunctional nature (progression or degeneration) of the interpreted research programme.

Impact of Demographic Factors, Economic Factors, and Social Media Usage on Political Preferences

The current study exploredthe impact of demographicfactors, economic factors, and social media usage on political preferences. The study incorporated demographic variables including age, gender, and education level.Regression analysis was used to conduct the current study. Race/ethnicity, income level/employment status, and social media activity were examined as independent variables. Data was collected from150 respondents,which wasinterpreted using SPSS. Thus, analyzing the data collected from a diverse sample, significant effortwas madeto extend the knowledge of constructs used in the current study. Vivid correlation with demographic and/or economical characteristics, frequency of social media platforms usage,and political affiliations would be used to gain important information.

Determinants of preventive behavior against Covid-19 in secondary school students based on Health Belief Model (HBM): a structural equations modeling (SEM)

Measures such as education, improving knowledge, attitude and taking preventive action to protect against COVID-19 are vital strategies for prevention. The aim of this study was to determine the predictability of Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs in performing preventive behaviors against COVID-19 among secondary school students in Chabahar, Iran. In this cross-sectional-analytical study, 400 secondary school students of Chabahar city were investigated by simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic characteristics, knowledge, behavior, and Health Belief Model constructs’ questions. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to evaluate the validity of HBM constructs, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) method was used to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of the relationship between knowledge, HBM constructs, and preventive behavior against COVID-19 based on the conceptual model. Based on the results of the structural modeling, the direct effect of knowledge on the constructs of the health belief model was positive and significant (β = 0.34, P-value < 0.001), and on the preventive behavior of students was insignificant (β = 0.12, P-value = 0.07) while the indirect effect of knowledge through increasing the constructs of the HBM on student behavior was positive and significant (β = 0.30, P < 0.001). The relationship between the constructs of the HBM constructs and student behavior was also positive and significant (β = 0.89, P-value < 0.001).Due to the fact that knowledge and HBM structures played a role in predicting the adoption of preventive behavior from COVID-19, it is possible to design appropriate interventions to increase knowledge, sensitivity, perceived severity, and self-efficacy, in order to recover from COVID-19 by adopting preventive behaviors.

How Does Osteoarthritis Education Influence Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behavior in People With Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis? A Systematic Review.

Our goal was to inform the design and implementation of osteoarthritis (OA) education for people with knee and hip OA. This review investigated the impact of OA education on knowledge, beliefs, and behavior and how and why these changes occur. Five databases-MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (Embase), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro)-were searched in August 2023. Eligible studies were quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods, involving OA education interventions and assessing knowledge, beliefs, and/or behavioral outcomes. An interpretivist analytic process guided data evaluation, synthesis, and description of meta-themes. Ninety-eight studies were included (80 quantitative, 12 qualitative, 6 mixed-methods). OA education was heterogeneous in content and delivery. Outcome measures varied, with poor distinction among knowledge, beliefs, and behavior constructs. Trends toward short-term knowledge improvement were observed, but there were no clear trends in beliefs or behavior change. Intrinsic factors (eg, pre-existing beliefs) and extrinsic factors (eg, socioeconomic factors) appeared to influence change. Three meta-themes described how and why changes may occur: (i) engagement: how individuals relate with education content and delivery; (ii) embodiment: the role of experiential factors in learning, and (iii) empowerment: the level of agency education generates. Beyond the provision of information and instruction, OA education is a complex, relational process influenced by multidimensional factors. This review identifies potentially important strategies at individual, interpersonal, and community levels to support the design and delivery of engaging education that promotes holistic, embodied learning and facilitates meaningful, empowering change.

Development and evaluation of an intensive short course: the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Interdisciplinary Instructional Institute (QMRA III).

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is a growing interdisciplinary field addressing exposures to microbial pathogens and infectious disease processes. Risk science is inherently interdisciplinary, but few of the contributing disciplinary programs offer courses and training specifically in QMRA. To develop multidisciplinary training in QMRA, an annual 10-day long intensive workshop was conducted from 2015 to 2019-the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Interdisciplinary Instructional Institute (QMRA III). National leaders in the fields of public health, engineering, microbiology, epidemiology, communications, public policy, and QMRA served as instructors and mentors over the course of the program. To provide cross-training, multidisciplinary teams of 5-6 trainees were created from the approximately 30 trainees each year. A formal assessment of the program was performed based on observations and surveys containing Likert-type scales and open-ended prompts. In addition, a longitudinal alumni survey was also disseminated to facilitate the future redevelopment of QMRA institutes and determine the impact of the program. Across all years, trainees experienced statistically significant increases (P < 0.05) in their perceptions of their QMRA abilities (e.g., use of specific computer programs) and knowledge of QMRA constructs (e.g., risk management). In addition, 12 publications, three conference presentations, and two research grants were derived from the QMRA III institute projects or tangential research. The success of QMRA III indicates that a short course format can effectively address many multidisciplinary training needs. Key features of QMRA III, including the inter-disciplinary training approach, hands-on exercises, real-world institute projects, and interaction through a mentoring process, were vital for training multidisciplinary teams housing multiple forms of expertise. Future QMRA institutes are being redeveloped to leverage hybrid learning formats that can further the multidisciplinary training and mentoring objectives.

The effect of educational intervention based on health belief model on colorectal cancer screening behaviors

BackgroundColorectal cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death from malignancies globally. The present study was conducted targeting the influence of an educational intervention based on the health belief model (HBM) on colorectal cancer screening behaviors in people 50 years old and older.MethodsAll 134 samples were included in this quasi-experimental study from Fasa City Health Service Center, equal halves were random into experimental group and control group. The data collection tool was a questionnaire that contained questions on demographic variables, knowledge, and HBM constructs (perceived sensitivity, perceived intensity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and screening behaviors). Both groups answered the questionnaire before and two months following the intervention. There were six 90-minute instruction sessions for the intervention group. SPSS 22 and descriptive and analytical tests (independent t-test, paired t-test, and Chi-square test) were used for data analysis (P < 0.05).Results59 women and 75 men took part in this study. A majority of participants were married and had at least high school diploma. The findings indicated that the mean scores for knowledge, each of the HBM’s constructs, and cancer screening behaviors did not differ significantly from one another before the intervention between the test group and the control group. However, post the intervention, the intervention group exhibited a significant rise in all mentioned dimensions.ConclusionIn light of the outcomes, the application of the HBM on colorectal cancer screening behaviors in people 50 years and older was successful. This approach might serve as a helpful foundation for planning, carrying out, and overseeing colorectal cancer screening programs.

Strengthening health visitors’ breastfeeding support: Results from a cluster randomised study

AimsTo assess the effect of the education programme on three constructs of health visitors’ breastfeeding support: knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence. Furthermore, the study aimed to confirm the factor structure of these three constructs. BackgroundHealth professionals are key in supporting breastfeeding women but studies report gaps in health professionals’ breastfeeding support knowledge and competences. The present intervention study aimed to strengthen the breastfeeding support of families to improve breastfeeding rates. Health visitors received an interactive education programme to enhance their breastfeeding support knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence, including e-learning and a two-day course of lectures, role plays and discussions. DesignA pre- and post-test study was applied in a cluster randomised trial MethodsCluster units were Danish municipal health visiting programmes, randomised by stratifying for region and annual births per cluster. Health visitors from 21 clusters (11 intervention, 10 control) participated. The knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence were assessed in self-reported questionnaires before and after education (n=368; intervention n=176, control n=196). To analyse the effects, the intention-to-treat principle and linear mixed models were applied. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to confirm the factor structures of the hypothesised knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence constructs. Results158 health visitors in the control arm and 157 in the intervention arm completed the baseline questionnaire and were analysed in intention-to-treat analyses. 125 and 116, respectively, completed the follow-up questionnaire and were analysed in sensitivity analyses. Health visitors in both trial arms had high levels of self-efficacy and action competence at baseline. Mean treatment effect of the education programme was 0.5 points (CI95 % 0.1–0.8) for knowledge, 2.4 points (CI95 % 1.6–3.3) for self-efficacy and 1.4 points (CI95 % 0.7–2.0) for action competence. The factor structure of the items used to measure knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence were confirmed. ConclusionsThe education programme improved the self-reported breastfeeding support knowledge, self-efficacy and action competence of health visitors. The factor structures of the instruments used to measure effects were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Trial registrationClinical Trials: NCT05311631. First posted April 5, 2022.

The role of perceived knowledge on key brand community constructs of trust, involvement and engagement

PurposeAgainst social cognitive and social exchange theories, this research paper aims to investigate the significance and interaction between perceived knowledge, involvement, trust and brand community engagement in brand communities (BC).Design/methodology/approachBC participants (n = 503) completed a cross-sectional survey for this research. Analysis was performed using PLS-SEM via SmartPLS (v. 4.1.0.2) and the novel Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA).FindingsAn integrative KITE model with positive and significant relationships of key BC constructs was established. The perceived BC knowledge influenced involvement and engagement. Furthermore, the constructs of involvement and trust were discovered to have a positive and significant impact on engagement, with trust having a substantial effect on BC engagement. The indirect effects of the trust construct via the BC knowledge and BC involvement constructs were also significant.Originality/valueThis research advances the existing conceptual approaches by introducing knowledge as the key BC constructs. The study illustrates that members’ knowledge about a BC facilitates their involvement in the BCs. The vital role of trust is revealed in the KITE model, as it is significantly related to BC knowledge, BC involvement and BC engagement with at least medium to large effect sizes. Notably, the role of trust is enhanced as it is the only necessary must-have (instead of “should-have”) condition to achieve high levels of BC engagement. Furthermore, the KITE model provides insights for marketers to develop a valuable BC.

Studying the Influence of School Culture on Health-related Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine

With the development of the mobile internet and the intensification of the differentiated behaviour of communication audiences, there are many challenges and difficulties in content dissemination to younger generations about promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and improving health-related behaviour. Current literature lacks information on the association between knowledge, attitude, practice, and campus culture construction. This article investigates the relationship between traditiona Chinese medicine (TCM) campus culture construction and health-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among primary campus students in China. It employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyze the data. For this study, the data was collected through an online questionnaire from a group of students. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory FactorAnalysis (CFA) was conducted on data for validation and reliability. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the influence of TCM campus culture construction on health-related KAP among primary campus students.

Analysis of verb argument constructions (VACs) in L2 learners across proficiency levels: A corpus-based study in L1 Indonesian

This study investigated the constructional knowledge development of L1 Indonesian by examining nineteen Verb-Argument Constructions (VACs). The VACs examined in the present study are a verb pattern, followed by a preposition and a noun phrase, for example, “V about N” as in “He talkedaboutthe progress”. This study used the Indonesian subset of the Education First Cambridge Open Language Database (EFCAMDAT) corpus from beginner to advanced levels (CEFR A1 to C1; Council of Europe, 2001). This dataset comprises 2943 writing texts (224,763 words) from 623 learners. Frequency analysis of types and tokens was conducted to examine the distribution of the 19 VACs in learner writings across levels. Growth analyses were conducted to investigate the verbs that learners most frequently associated with the most productive VACs. Correlational analyses were conducted to explore how closely related the verb-VAC associations between proficiency levels and the verb occupants in the associations. The results indicate that learners’ constructional knowledge development was implied by: (1) the frequency increase in types and tokens of VACs from lower to higher proficiency levels, (2) the variety of verbs associated with VACs, and (3) the construction schematicity increase indicated by the use of general to more specific verb productions distinct to proficiency levels. The results suggest that English language learners need more exposure to lexicogrammatical features to facilitate VACs acquisition and usage.

PENERAPAN METODE MENGAJAR KOLABORASI UNTUK PENINGKATAN KETERAMPILAN MEMBACA BAHASA MANDARIN SISWA PENDIDIKAN DASAR

Collaborative learning is a process whereby learners with varying abilities work together in small groups to achieve a common goal. This approach emphasizes the importance of students working together to construct knowledge and develop concepts to solve problems or tasks assigned by the teacher. This study employed a classroom action research methodology to improve Mandarin reading ability of second-grade students in an elementary school in Banyuwangi Regency. The participants were twenty-three students aged eight years old. The increase in student performance was attributed to the higher intensity of exercises in the second cycle. Collaborative learning facilitated the achievement of learning outcomes by allowing students to work together and construct knowledge.

An Investigation into Project-Based Learning in Higher Education: The Case of EFL in Moroccan Universities

Project-based learning has gained immense popularity as an innovative method that reinforces learners’ critical thinking, autonomous learning and collaboration. It is basically founded on constructivism and experiential theories wherein students learn by doing. The objective of using this method is to enable learners to construct knowledge through meaningful learning experiences using real-life themes. It is an expedition of discovery where learners are often required to choose, prepare and present a project about a given course-related topic. This study aimed to reveal Moroccan English majoring students’ perceptions towards the implementation of the Project-Based Method in learning English as a Foreign Language. 1857 B.A. students from various colleges of Arts and humanities were involved in responding to a questionnaire to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The descriptive statistics, after analysis, showed that project work develops several language and life skills, especially oral communication, vocabulary and creative-critical thinking. It also found out that using projects plays a focal role in enhancing learners’ sense of responsibility and confidence, motivation, and autonomous learning and provides a positive learning environment. However, the participants mentioned a variety of challenges to implementing projects at the university level, namely stage anxiety, scarcity of relevant information, and time constraints. Overall, the findings of the study suggest several pedagogical implications to better integrate project work at the university level taking advantage of the positive attitudes learners hold towards this learning approach.

Creating Spaces of Engagement: Exploring High School Youth’s Voices in Reshaping the Social Justice Curriculum

The current structure of formal education makes it difficult for teachers and students to hold meaningful conversations to support high-school youth’s meaning-making of critical social-justice issues. This paper presents data on three high-school youth’s knowledge and experiences with social justice issues during the pandemic. Specifically, the paper aims to explore how youth construct knowledge and counter dominant discourses through utilizing informal learning spaces, such as social media platforms, peer and family conversations, as well as personal encounters. In addition, and more importantly, an exploration of how formal education can incorporate social-justice issues into the curriculum is considered. The analysis of these high school youth’s interview conversations presents their diverging needs to learn about social-justice topics in both formal and informal learning contexts. The data also illustrates the power of their voices in a way that could inform future curriculum development. Discussions and implications highlight the possibility of creating such ethical spaces in formal education to engage in social-justice topics.

The Passive Voice in Urdu: A Syntactic Investigation and Transformational Analysis

This paper explores passive structures in the Urdu language. It aims to understand their syntactic configuration and how to convert active sentences into passive ones. Limited research exists on Urdu's passivization compared to English. The research questions focus on the structure of passive sentences in Urdu and the necessary modifications for passivization. A qualitative research methodology is used, analyzing written texts and daily conversations of native Urdu speakers. The literature review compares Urdu's passive structures with English, including the standard "be" passive and less common "get passive" and "have passive." Findings show that Urdu passives use the auxiliary “Gaya” and the agent can be explicitly mentioned using "from-PP" rather than "by-PP." The paper also covers passivization in imperative sentences, using “ja:” and “cha:hi:e” morphemes. Moreover, voice neutrality is examined, showing that passive and active sentences in Urdu often convey the same event with similar agent-patient relationships. The study’s conclusive remarks on passive construction in Urdu have the potential to ignite future research in this domain. The paper contributes to the knowledge of passive constructions in Urdu which can significantly impact translation accuracy and interpretation between Urdu and English. This research also adds to the big picture of how languages work.