Last-year Students Research Articles

Art and Geometry of Plants: Experience in Mathematical Modelling through Projects

This article presents some results of a qualitative-case study carried out with students in last year of secondary education (15 - 17 years) into an official educational institution. The research looked at learning outcomes through the development of mathematical modelling projects related to studying the distribution of the leaves and the growth of some plants. According to the results, when modelling projects grounded in studying the form and geometric magnitudes are carried out, students are able to find out the meaning of certain mathematical concepts and participate in activities to reach other processes such as exploration, representation, formal construction, and validation of mathematical results. Some implications for teaching and learning in classroom derive from this study, particularly, the need for students to face the project development articulating research and mathematical modelling.

Frequency of depression in last-year medical students and affecting factors

Frequency of depression in last-year medical students and affecting factors

Internet addiction prevalence in last-year medical students and related factors

Internet addiction prevalence in last-year medical students and related factors

A Síndrome de Burnout em Estudantes de Ciências Contábeis de IES Privadas: Pesquisa na Cidade de São Paulo

The aim of the study is to identify the prevalence and the sociodemographic, labor and academic factors associated with the Burnout Syndrome in last-year students in accountancy. Burnout is the result of chronic stress and is constituted by changes in the dimensions (a) Emotional Exhaustion, (b) Disbelief and (c) Professional Efficacy. It is an empiricalanalytical research with a non-probabilistic sample of 419 students from the evening period at seven private HEIs in the city of Sao Paulo. The MBI-SS and a questionnaire for sociodemographic, labor and academic variables were used as research instruments. The three dimensions showed significant differences among the students, grouped into five work categories. The verification in three dimensions indicated 46.3% of students with alterations in Emotional Exhaustion, 11.2% in Disbelief and 31.3% in Professional Effectiveness. We found three groups of students with alterations, related to the dimensions they are exposed to. The results obtained are described in two groups, exposed to two or more dimensions that cause Burnout, are described. Group 2 revealed changes in Emotional Exhaustion and in some other dimension, group 3 in the three dimensions. The students at one HEI revealed greater chances of exposure to Burnout in all three groups. The same occurred for the subjects of group 3 at other HEI. Some of the subjects expressed the feeling that not being skilled increases the chances of exposure to Burnout.

Ant versus lion how students on different levels perceive employee-employer relationship

One of the several roles of management education is knowledge transfer and shaping students perception of their future workplace (2001). To fulfill this goal universities/business schools has to prepare graduates to act as employee and manager so they could effectively implement the objectives of the organization they work for. In this respect graduates must get acquainted with the employee-supervisor relationship. If the individuals’ ideas of these relations are in line with reality they act efficiently, if not they are counterproductive. From this perspective it can be concluded that good education prepares new managers to the labor market. The aim of this paper is to analyze a perception of employers’ and employees’ social role (Goffman, 1959) by diverse social groups (Kostera, 2012) and its consequences for the psychological contract which is a significant relationships factor in working environment (Makin, Cooper, Cox, 2000). Metaphors – ”basic structural form of experience, through which human beings engage, organize, and understand their world” (Morgan, 1997: 231) were used as a main method. First- year and last-year (five) students from Polish universities/business schools took part in this research. In order to recognize ideas of respondents projection techniques with metaphors where used. Than interpretation of metaphors followed. For implementing the purposes of the research I assumed that the nature of the relationship between employer and employee derives from the psychological contract. For the first time this term was used by Chris Argyris (1960) and in the field of the theory of organization by Edgar Schein (1965). For the purpose of this study definition of Denise Rousseau and Martin Greller (Wellin, 2007) was accepted. According to the authors the psychological contract “refers to the mutual expectations people have of one another in a relationship, and how these expectations change and impact our behaviour over time” (ibidem, p.17). Basically, psychological contract describes the expectations an employee has of the organization and the expectations and the expectation the organization has of the employee. The idea could be apply in the wider perspective - to any other relationship. Students used animal metaphors of their own choice for describing workers and employers and explained them shortly in written form. Answers varied from ant, mouse, fox or dog describing workers in students perspective up to lion, shark, elephant or spider for employers. Results of this research indicated contemporary attitude of students to the employee-employer relationship and the imagination of the market as a whole. I analyzed students’ ideas and expectations and related the result to the process of management education. It led to reveal how the management education affects the elements of the psychological contract? And does it help students to find their roles in their workplace?

Assessment of knowledge about oral cancer: study with students of public education

Introduction and Objective: To evaluate the level of knowledge about oral cancer of students attending public school in one city of Santa Catarina (Brasil). Material and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study, using primary data collection. Students of last year of elementary school and first year of high school, enrolled in public schools in the city of Itajaí (SC), in 2012, were the target population. The non-probability sample was obtained by convenience. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire structured with 13 questions divided into three fields. The level of knowledge was made based on pre-established scores. Results: 1149 instruments were analyzed (80.8% of the target population). The average age of the group was 15.5 years and 54.5% were female. The majority (78%) never had received information about oral cancer. Only 27.9% had cognizance about self-examination of the oral cavity. With regard to knowledge, 87.5% classified as unsatisfactory. For most issues the cognitive field did not identify a significant correlation between knowledge and the variables gender and education. When asked if they would like to participate in educational and preventive activitiesabout oral cancer and other issues related to health, 72.6% expressed interest. Conclusion: The group did not have adequate knowledge on the subject of oral cancer. Facing this reality, and the positive attitude of respondents, the researchers designed and offered an educational program to the research subjects.

Elección de titulación universitaria y expectativas de resultados de los adolescents de Granada / Election of degree and expectations of results of teenagers from Granada

The choice of university degree is an issue of vital importance to the educational institutions and students, one of the factors that determine this decision are the expectations of result, The aim of this study is to dictate the choice of degree of preferential interest of students in university and training courses in the province of Granada, as well as describing the results which areexpected and the characteristics of their choice, age and gender. This descriptive study and cross-section had a sample of 1,164 male / female students in last year of university stage and training courses in the province of Granada, measuring variables such as gender, age, qualifications and expectations election results. The main results shown that the university degrees more demanded by students without limitation economic, family or note type are: Teaching, Medicine and Engineering, in the case of finding some conditioning are: Teaching, Engineering and Nursing. Most students are postulated as altruistic, followed by security, hedonism and prestige-power. The women are opting for Medicine, Teaching, Nursing and Psychology, and men for Computers, INEF or Engineering, being girls more altruistic and boys who are seeking security in their future careers. It is concluded that students choose the same degree with or without limitation, replacing medicine for nursing in the case of not finding any limitation. The girls are choosing them more humanist more degrees and technical qualifications.

Knowledge and Attitude of General Dentists and Last-year Students Regarding the Management of Medically Compromised Patients in Shiraz, Iran

Background : An increase in the number of medically compromised patients in dental clinics may cause serious problems for practicing dentists all over the world. When a dentist does not understand well the relationship between oral and systemic diseases, dental care may become a quite complicated issue. The present study was conducted to analyse the level of general dentists’ knowledge about systemic disease management in Shiraz, Iran. Materials and Methods: As a cross-sectional descriptive survey of private dental practitioners, the current study was conducted in Shiraz, Iran, from September through November 2010. In order to Original Research Article

La elección de estudio superiores universitarios en estudiantes de último curso de bachillerato y ciclos formativos

Choosing a university degree for next year is a topic of interest for educational levels of higher education, since they allow to decide what kind of students access the different university degrees; also among the factors that affect concisely are qualifications or personal profile, therefore we propose the following study with the objective to determine the most popular degrees with limitation, as without it, of senior high school and upper education students of Granada, as well as describe the academic and socio-demographic characteristics, and evaluate the influence academic qualifications, branch of studies and gender have in choosing college degree. A total of 1,164 students in last year of high school and upper education students participated, which allowed the recording and evaluation of the variables mentioned above. Results showed that medicine, teaching and engineering degrees are the most in demand without any kind of limitation, while with limitation it changes medicine for nursing, also senior students from Granada had a remarkable average note, males opt more for upper education training and show worse grades and women choose bachelor with slightly higher average grades, verifying the influence academic qualifications, branch of studies and gender have in choosing a degree with or without limitation. Thus, due to its more altruistic nature, female students postulate in health science and social degrees, with higher grades, while male students prefer more technical qualifications with worse grades.

Study of Innovation in Learning Styles of Students in Different Secondary School Branches

Learning, creativity, and innovation are considered as the axis of the activities of all educational and entrepreneurbased institutions. Learning style of students as one of the factors effective in learning and academic progress has always been taken into consideration. By identifying the learning style and rate of creativity of individuals, each style can be a more appropriate teaching method adopted by teachers and also a more correct method of learning by learners. Accordingly, the main goal of the present article is to identify the differences of learning styles of individuals in different academic majors and the rate of the creativity of individuals in each learning style. The present methodology employed in this research is of descriptive-correlational research design. The statistical population consists of all the last-year students at the high school level in the city of Ghaen. The statistical sample consisted of 115 girls and 117 boys selected by classified sampling. Kolb’s learning style inventory and Abedi creativity were used to collect the required data. These two tools are standardized, therefore their validity is verified. On the other hand, the reliability of the Kolb’s inventory and that of Abedi’s creativity were 0.74 and 79.5, respectively. To analyze the data obtained by Chi-square tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pierson covariance and stepwise regression were employed. The results show that there is a meaningful difference between the creativity of the students with diverging and assimilator learning styles. Learning styles of students of different branches are also different. Creativity of the students of Mathematics is more than that of the Humanities and there is also a meaningful negative relation between concrete experiential learning methods and creativity (r=0.702 and p<0.01).

Estilos de aprendizagem dos formandos dos cursos técnicos de informática do Cefet-MG

Utilizando o instrumento N-ILS, desenvolvido e validado por Vieira Jr (2012), este artigo apresenta um mapeamento dos estilos de aprendizagem de 44 alunos do último ano do curso técnico de informática do Cefet-MG em 2014, levantando um estilo dominante e propondo a formação de oito grupos de trabalhos com 5 alunos de perfis opostos e um grupo com 4 alunos. O perfil dominante apurado é levemente reflexivo, moderadamente visual, leve a moderadamente sequencial e fortemente sensorial. Constatou-se que este perfil se encaixa ao curso estudado. Isto traz benefícios para os alunos, professores, escola e empresas, que receberão profissionais que gostam de fazer o que aprenderam.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE PERCEPTION OF PRESENCE OF, AND SEARCH FOR, CALLING DURING MEDICAL SCHOOL

This study focused on the manner in which a sense of calling - presence and search - is perceived by first- and final-year male and female medical students. Differences in level of calling between first-year students and last-year students were predicted, more so for women than for men due to gender bias and family-work integration challenges. A total of 192 medical first and sixth (last) year students at the five Israeli medical schools filled-out a short self-report measure of calling and recorded demographic factors. Discriminate function analysis resulted in one significant discriminate function weighted positively on presence of calling and negatively on search for calling. Group centroids indicate that male medical students perceived presence of calling and search for calling as two poles of a bipolar continuum, whereas first-year students had a distinct feeling of the presence of calling coupled with a low need to search for calling and final-year students had a low feeling of presence of calling coupled with a distinct need to search for calling. In contrast, female medical students - both first-year and final-year - perceived presence and search as two independent dimensions that can coexist. Understanding these differences may be important in helping medical educators find gender-specific ways to maintain and enhance feelings of calling among tomorrow’s male and female physicians. Key words: gender, medical students, presence of calling, search for calling.

Quality of life, stages of behavioral changes and physical activity level of Physical Education students

The aim of this study was to identify the stages of behavioral change (SBC) and compare quality of life (QOL) and physical activity level between first-year and last-year undergraduate Physical Education students at a public university in Pernambuco state, Northeastern Brazil. This is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional design. The sample consisted of 199 undergraduate Physical Education students, enrolled in the first, second, seventh and eighth semesters of their course, with a mean age of 21.32 ± 4.00 years, of which 61.80% were first-year students (enrolled in the first and second semesters). Behavioral change was verified with the SBC questionnaire, QOL with the WHOQOL-Bref and physical activity level with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Student’s t-test and Chi-square test were used for data analysis, with a 5% significance level. The most prevalent SBC was in the Action stage (first-year students: 53.3% and last-year students: 43.9%). There were significant differences in the social (p &lt;0.01) and environmental (p&lt;0.01) domains. Regarding the physical activity level, 82.93% of first-year students and 86.84% of last-year students were physically active. Both groups of students showed relatively positive QOL, SBC and physical activity level, although QOL differed in terms of sociability and environmental adaptation.

Moderators of the association between discrimination and alcohol consumption: findings from a representative sample of Brazilian university students.

Few studies about discrimination and patterns of alcohol consumption among youth populations have been conducted outside the United States addressing different types of discriminatory experiences, in addition to racially motivated events. This study investigated moderators of the association between discrimination attributed to single and multiple reasons and patterns of alcohol consumption. This cross-sectional study enrolled a representative sample (n = 1,264) of undergraduate students from Florianópolis, southern Brazil, in 2013. Analyses included adjustment of associations for covariates in ordinal logistic regression models and the examination of effect modification by common mental disorders, year of study and age. Discrimination was reported by 65.8% of the students, and alcohol consumption, by 80.0%. Over half of the students reported being discriminated against for two or more reasons. The odds of alcohol-related problems were higher among lastyear students that reported discrimination (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.0-3.4) or multiple reasons for being discriminated against (OR = 2.3, 95%CI 1.3- 4.3), when compared to first-year students that did not report discrimination. For the whole sample, there were no associations between discrimination, discrimination attributed to multiple reasons and patterns of alcohol consumption (OR = 1.0, 95%CI 0.8-1.4; and OR = 0.9, 95%CI 0.5-1.6). The effects of discrimination on the patterns of alcohol consumption are seen at a critical period in university life, specifically during the completion of undergraduate studies.

The Relationship Between Dogmatism And Emotional Intelligence With Psychological Well-Being

In various studies a correlation relationship has been seen between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being. However, no relationship has been seen between dogmatism and psychological well-being as per the studies of researcher in past works and due to the importance of the effect of this variable on psychological well-being of students the study of it has attracted the attention of the researcher and hence, the aim of the present study is to explore the relationship between 347 of the female students in last years of secondary school have been selected with the help of multistage sampling method and have completed Rey's dogmatism scale (1970), Goleman's emotional intelligence scale (1995) Ryff's psychological wellbeing scale (1989). The results indicate that there is a negative and significant relationship between dogmatism and psychological well-being of students and also there is a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being of students .

Analysis of School Attachment among Students of a Boarding High School in Albania

When students feel connected to school and have strong relations with their teachers and peers, they are more likely to be successful and prevent misconducts as they have more tendency in staying longer at school, spending more time with their peers and teachers which (in)directly have effects on their academic achievements. Research conducted in this study is oriented on a data of both qualitative and quantitative results obtained from 95 samples at Hafiz Ali Korca Boarding High School in Kavaje, Albania. The results of the collected data indicate that school belonging is a gradually evolving sense through students of first year to the students of last year at this specific boarding school. The study also shows that there is a strong correlation between school attachment and family, teachers, peers and facilities of the school. Data is collected through questionnaires, and two case studies which are implemented through quasi-experiment. The students chosen for case studies are of two specific problems; a) a student that had difficulties in overcoming with language barriers due to his regional background as he had to get used to a new school setting far from his family, b) a student that has to stay at school dormitory while he had his home within city, thus suffered from loneliness, and find it difficult to relate himself with school at the very beginning. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n2p287

Academic Performance of Virtual Students based on their Personality Traits, Learning Styles and Psychological Well Being: A Prediction

The aim of this study was to distinguish the relations between the so-called variables and the education of virtual students. We also are to identify which of the variables could act as predictors suitable to interpret virtual education. The sample of the study consisted of the last-year students of the virtual education career of Shiraz University 200 students out of who were randomly selected to complete the questionnaire. The tools were: a short questionnaire comprising of 5 personality factors (NEO-FFI, Kolb's list of learning styles, the Ryff's model of psychological well being. The semester average mark of students was measured as the indicator of the educational progress of students.The results of this study reveal the correlation between personality traits and learning styles which could lead learners to a higher level of learning and, in turn, to the sense of self-satisfaction and enjoyment of the learning process.

Few gender differences in specialty preferences and motivational factors: a cross-sectional Swedish study on last-year medical students

BackgroundToday, women constitute about half of medical students in several Western societies, yet women physicians are still underrepresented in surgical specialties and clustered in other branches of medicine. Gender segregation in specialty preference has been found already in medical school. It is important to study the career preferences of our future physicians, as they will influence the maintenance of an adequate supply of physicians in all specialties and the future provision of health care. American and British studies dominate the area of gender and medical careers whereas Swedish studies on medical students’ reasons for specialty preference are scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate and compare Swedish male and female medical students’ specialty preferences and the motives behind them.MethodsBetween 2006 and 2009, all last-year medical students at Umea University, Sweden (N = 421), were invited to answer a questionnaire about their future career and family plans. They were asked about their specialty preference and how they rated the impact that the motivational factors had for their choice. The response rate was 89% (N = 372); 58% were women (N = 215) and 42% were men (N = 157). Logistic regression was used to evaluate the independent impact of each motivational factor for specialty preference.ResultsOn the whole, male and female last-year students opted for similar specialties. Men and women had an almost identical ranking order of the motivational factors. When analyzed separately, male and female students showed both similarities and differences in the motivational factors that were associated with their specialty preference. A majority of the women and a good third of the men intended to work part-time. The motivational factor combining work with family correlated with number of working hours for women, but not for men.ConclusionsThe gender similarities in the medical students’ specialty preferences are striking and contrast with research from other Western countries where male and female students show more differences in career aspirations. These similarities should be seized by the health care system in order to counteract the horizontal gender segregation in the physician workforce of today.

Work values and college major choice

Our study sought to clarify the nature of the known individual differences in work values associated with academic college major choice, specifically the question whether these precede or follow the choice of an academic major. To rule out environmental influences during academic study, group differences in five value orientations were evaluated in prospective college students, thus before being admitted to any specific academic major. The Work Importance Study and a questionnaire assessing the behavioral intention to enroll in different faculties were administered to 886 last-year students from different senior high schools. Among the value orientations, Challenge and Self-Orientation have been found as explanatory variables predicting high-school students' expressed choice for their academic career. These findings give an empirical support to the hypothesis of the pre-existence of group differences in work values at the moment of their choice for a specific academic career. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Investigaciones cooperativas iberoamericanas sobre ciencia-tecnología-sociedad. Dos proyectos ejemplares sobre evaluación y enseñanza de temas concretos

El artículo presenta dos proyectos de investigación cooperativa desarrollados por diversas instituciones en un conjunto de países (europeos y americanos) de lenguas ibéricas entre 2005 y 2013, período que incluye los procesos de preparación para solicitarlos y la fecha de finalización del segundo de ellos, actualmente en desarrollo. Aunque ambos fueron planificados antes de la publicación del documento sobre las Metas Educativas 2021, los objetivos e indicadores aplicados a la investigación educativa y a la educación en ciencia y tecnología (cyt) de dichas Metas coinciden con los objetivos de las dos iniciativas ejemplares, que tienen como marco la orientación ciencia-tecnología-sociedad (cts), ahora también denominada naturaleza de ciencia y tecnología (ndcyt).En el primero «Proyecto iberoamericano de evaluación de actitudes relacionadas con la ciencia, la tecnología y la sociedad» (piearcts), se realizó una evaluación transnacional de las actitudes y creencias que, respecto de esas cuestiones, tienen los estudiantes y profesores de los países participantes. La muestra final evaluada superó las 16.000 personas, y los resultados señalan que ni los docentes ni los alumnos poseen una adecuada comprensión de muchos de los temas de cts-ndcyt y que esas creencias varían entre grupos (entre países, ciencias y humanidades, hombres y mujeres, estudiantes universitarios de primer y último año, profesores en formación y profesores con experiencia).En el segundo proyecto, «Enseñar y aprender acerca de la naturaleza de ciencia y tecnología (eancyt): una propuesta innovadora para la educación», se diseñan secuencias didácticas para enseñar contenidos específicos de cts-ndcyt a estudiantes en sus aulas a fin de evaluar empíricamente su eficacia y calidad educativas. Se han ideado y elaborado secuencias sobre cuatro decenas de temas que, en la actualidad, se aplican en los salones de clase de los países participantes. Para terminar, se comentan aspectos concretos e impacto de la puesta en práctica de ambas iniciativas de cooperación y se mencionan los beneficios que para la práctica educativa tienen los materiales creados y los resultados de eficacia obtenidos en su aplicación experimental, disponibles para los docentes