Low Readiness Level Research Articles

Деякі аспекти професійної підготовки майбутніх стоматологів методами ситуативного моделювання

Resume. In the modern market of labor, a young dentist finds himself in unequal conditions with experienced specialists, because he has insufficient professional experience and a low level of readiness for the real conditions of practical activity. This situation requires the use in the process of professional training of future dentists in medical universities of such pedagogical technologies, methods of education that will bring the training process as close as possible to the real conditions of practical work. The study was conducted at the Department of Orthopedic Dentistry of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University with the participation of students of 2–3 courses of the specialty 221 Dentistry and teachers of specialized disciplines. The methods of situational modelling (imitation and business games, «case study», situational tasks) in the professional training of future dentists are analyzed, their advantages and disadvantages are identified, the possibilities, and feasibility of their use in the teaching of orthopedic dentistry are reviewed. The results indicate that situational modelling methods are effective in the process of professional training of future dentists, since they ensure the formation of professional competence and readiness for future professional activity. The introduction of situational modelling methods in the process of professional training of future dentists requires an understanding of their specifics and features of use in the medical university.Key words: professional training, future dentists, metods of situational modelling.

Psychological readiness for innovative activity and the ability to self-management of the police chiefs

It has been substantiated that modern realities dictate new requirements to the personality of a chief within law enforcement agencies, especially when his management activity is carried out in conditions that are characterized by their uncertainty, tension and responsibility. The effectiveness and success of the entire law enforcement system, as well as the quality of performing police professional tasks depend on the capabilities and personal qualities and competencies of a police chief. And the ability to act quickly in a changing environment and psychological readiness for innovative activity should provide a chief with the opportunity to improve the police work.
 Therefore, the objective of the article was empirical grounding of peculiarities of psychological readiness for innovative activity and the ability to self-management of the police chiefs with different level of readiness for innovative activity.
 The author of the research has used “Psychological Readiness for Innovation” (V. E. Klochko, O. M. Krasnoryadtseva) and “Ability to Self-Management” (N. M. Peisakhov) methods. The sample consisted of 316 heads of police departments.
 The author has theoretically grounded that psychological readiness for innovative activity and ability to self-management are considered as important personal traits of a police chief within professional activity. Empirical results have demonstrated that a group with an average level of readiness for innovative activity reveals the largest number of meaningful interactions, which include criteria for assessing quality, the ability to adjust their own goals while performing their professional tasks, and the tendency to increase the entire system of interpersonal relations. There were no relationships among law enforcement officers with a high degree of readiness, which led to the conclusion that such law enforcement officers with a higher level of readiness for innovative activity, are characterized by higher estimates of self-management indicators. It has been also established that law enforcement officers with a low level of readiness for innovative activity have an increase in the ability to correct the actual actions, characteristics of communication and behavioral patterns, as well as the system of self-management in general.
 It has been stressed that a well-developed indicator of self-management will help the police chief in planning new goals, finding new solutions in difficult situations.

Google Classroom as a Tool of Support of Blended Learning for Geography Students

Bondarenko O.V., Mantulenko S.V. and Pikilnyak A.V. Google Classroom as a Tool of Support of Blended Learning for Geography Students. The article reveals the experience of organizing blended learning for geography students using Google Classroom, and discloses its potential uses in the study of geography. For the last three years, the authors have tested such in-class and distance courses as “Cartography and Basics of Topography”, “Population Geography”, “Information Systems and Technologies in Tourism Industry”, “Regional Economic and Social World Geography (Europe and the CIS)”, “Regional Economic and Social World Geography (Africa, Latin America, Asia, Anglo-America, Australia and Oceania)”, “Socio-Economic Cartography”. The advantages of using the specified interactive tool during the study of geographical disciplines are highlighted out in the article. As it has been established, the organization of the learning process using Google Classroom ensures the unity of in-class and out-of-class learning; it is designed to realize effective interaction of the subjects learning in real time; to monitor the quality of training and control the students’ learning achievements in class as well as out of it, etc. The article outlines the disadvantages that should be taken into account when organizing blended learning using Google Classroom, including the occasional predominance of students’ external motivation in education and their low level of readiness for work in the classroom; insufficient level of material and technical support in some classrooms; need for out-of-class pedagogical support; lack of guidance on the content aspect of Google Classroom pages, etc. Through the test series conducted during 2016–2017, an increase in the number of geography students with a sufficient level of academic achievements and a decrease of those with a low level of it was revealed.

Psychological readiness for innovation and individual-style self-regulation of police officers

It has been stressed that very demanding requirements for the effective management activity put forward for the heads of police departments. This activity should ensure the proper performance of professional duties by subordinate employees. The psychological readiness for innovation will allow the representatives of the police leadership to carry out an effective implementation of the strategy of ensuring the protection of individuals and society. The lack of self-regulation makes them vulnerable while taking important professional decisions.
 The objective of the article was the empirical study of the features of psychological readiness and individual-style self-regulation of the heads of police departments at different levels of readiness for innovation.
 The author of the research has used “Psychological Readiness for Innovation” (V. E. Klochko, O. M. Krasnoryadtseva) and “Style of Self-Regulation of Behavior” (V. I. Morosanova) methods. The sample consisted of 316 heads of police departments.
 It has been theoretically grounded that psychological readiness for innovation is an important professional feature of a police leader able to form his personal resource in terms of constant changes. Empirically, the highest number of correlation relationships was found within a group of leaders with an average readiness level, namely, it was recorded: a tendency to increase flexibility with a more active manifestation of initiative; the ability to set criteria for quality assessment is reduced while increasing the frequency of providing the benefits of activities that require innovation; increasing readiness for change leads to an increase in the ability to assess the results. It has been noted that leaders with a high level of readiness for innovation have increased flexibility with the growth of readiness for changes. With regard to law enforcement officers with a low level of readiness for innovation, it has been concluded that their programming capacity has increased as a result of an increase in the frequency of giving priority to activities that require innovation. It has been determined that such skills as flexibility, programming, correction and self-regulation can improve managerial activity of the leaders in the whole.

Students' perception, attitudes, and readiness toward online learning in dental education in Saudi Arabia: a cohort study.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess students’ perception, attitudes, and readiness toward online dental education in Saudi Arabia.Materials and methodsThis is a longitudinal study using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire distributed to a cohort group of undergraduate dental students at King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during their fourth year (T1) and internship year (T2). It assessed technological access, computer skills, online skills, and motivation level in using e-learning for personal and learning purposes; and overall readiness for e-learning adoption in dental education. The response scale for each domain was categorized as follows: low readiness level (mean value=1–<3), acceptable/moderate readiness level (mean value=3–<4), and high readiness level (mean value=4–5). Descriptive and group comparisons were conducted using the chi-squared test, Fisher’s exact test, and paired and independent samples t-test. The significance level was set at P<0.05.ResultsThe respondents were as follows: T1 group (n=72; 36 males [M], 36 females [F]) and T2 group (n=50; 20 M, 30 F). The results indicated high levels of computer skills, technology access, and perceived importance of online technology with no significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). They also showed acceptable levels of e-learning experience and social influence on e-learning adoption with no significant difference between the groups (P>0.05). A significant difference was reported in using e-learning for personal compared to learning purposes (P<0.05). The T2 group reported significantly lower levels of online English literacy (P<0.01), perceived impact of e-learning on dental education, and readiness for e-learning (P<0.001). Multiple technical and content development supports were reported.ConclusionThis study showed acceptable levels of individual characteristics and system competency levels as well as the perceived importance of using technology in dental education among the participants. However, the perceived impact of and readiness for e-learning were found to be less acceptable as students matured. The need for much support in some skills was also reported.

СПЕЦИФІКА ПСИХОЛОГІЧНОЇ ГОТОВНОСТІ ДО ЗМІН ТА ОСОБИСТІСНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ У ПРАЦІВНИКІВ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ КРИМІНАЛЬНО-ВИКОНАВЧОЇ СЛУЖБИ УКРАЇНИ

The article presents the results of a study of the specifics of psychological readiness to change and personal competence, as well as the relationships between them, among employees of the State Criminal - Executive Service of Ukraine. The relevance of studying this phenomenon in the context of professional activities of employees of the penitentiary service in the context of its reform is substantiated. The content of the concept of “psychological readiness for change” is disclosed and its significance within the framework of the formation of competence is indicated. The PCRS (Change Personal Readiness Survey) method created by A. Rolnic, S. Heather, M. Gold, C. Hull (translation and adaptation by N. A. Bazhanova and G. L. Bardier) and the general questionnaire of the general competence (O.S. Shtepa). were applied to solve empirical problems. The subjects were employees of the State Criminal - Executive Service of Ukraine, who were divided into groups according to the level of psychological readiness for change. The first group consisted of subjects with a high level of readiness for change, the second - with a low level. Based on a correlation analysis, it is proved that groups of employees of the Criminal - Executive Service with different levels of psychological readiness for change demonstrate differences in the structure of the relationship between the components of psychological readiness for change and the components of personal competence. It was established that the representatives of these groups differ both in the content of the identified significant interrelations, and in the number of significant interrelations of different modalities. In the group of employees of the Criminal - Executive Service with a high level of readiness for change, there are twenty-two significant relationships, all are positive, whereas in the group of employees of the Criminal - Executive Service with a low level of readiness for change, only eleven significant correlations are found, six of which have a positive and five is negative. This indicates that, in general, in the first group, along with the improvement of personal competence, there is an increase in psychological readiness for change, while these phenomena are actively interacting with each other. In the second group, this interaction has a limited and contradictory nature, which can act as a destructive factor in the functioning of both psychological readiness for changes and personal competence. The prospect of further work is to continue research in the chosen direction and to study the relationship of psychological readiness to change with a wider range of personality variables, in particular, such as psychological resource and personal maturity. This will allow not only to improve the scientific understanding of the psychological content of the phenomenon of psychological readiness for change, but also to obtain empirical results that will become the basis for developing programs of psychological support for the professional activities of the staff of the Criminal - Executive Service at the stage of its reform.

THE STUDY OF IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF CERTAIN PRO- AND ANTIAPOPTOTHIC FACTORS IN ENDOMETRY OF PATIENTS WITH ADENOMIOSIS

Objective: to study the immunohistochemical expression of proand anti-apoptotic factors — FasL(CD95), TNF-a, p65 NFkB, and granzyme B in the endometrium of patients with adenomyosis. Material and Methods. The endometrial samples, taken during the proliferative phase of the cycle, while carrying out paypel biopsy and hysteroscopy in 41 women aged 37 to 48 years with adenomyosis. The comparison group consisted of 25 women with infertility. The study of TNF-a, Granzym B, NFkB immunohistochemical expression in the development and progression of adenomyosis was performed using monoclonal antibodies. The results of reaction were evaluated by semiquantitative method. Statistical analysis was performed using the software package Biostat Apps MicrosoftR Excel full-featured office Microsoft Office 2010 package. Results. In the comparison group, the expression of TNF-a and NFkB in endometrium was not evident. In the group of patients with adenomyosis, a marked expression of these markers in epithelial and stromal cells was observed. Granzym B expression was detected in the cytoplasm of leucocytes of the stroma of the endometrial functional layer with no statistically significant differences between the groups. Conclusion. Presumably, given the expression peaks of both TNF-a, p65 NFkB, the observed in adenomyosis increase (compared to normal) in expression of these molecules does not mean readiness of epithelial cells of the endometrial functional layer to apoptosis, as is the norm, upon the occurrence of menstruation, but it means readiness of these cells to proliferate. The absence of statistically significant differences in the number of CD56-positive endometrial stromal granulocytes and endometrial NK-cells, determined by Granzym B expression in these cells, is also an indirect evidence of a low level of readiness to apoptosis. And statistically significantly less expression of FasL(CD95) in women with adenomyosis. That is, TNF-a and NFkB at adenomyosis, probably, play the role of cell survival factors.

LiSET: A Framework for Early‐Stage Life Cycle Screening of Emerging Technologies

SummaryWhile life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool often used to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and technologies, the amount of data required to perform such studies make the evaluation of emerging technologies using the conventional LCA approach challenging. The development paradox is such that the inputs from a comprehensive environmental assessment has the greatest effect early in the development phase, and yet the data required to perform such an assessment are generally lacking until it is too late. Previous attempts to formalize strategies for performing streamlined or screening LCAs were made in the late 1990s and early 2000s, mostly to rapidly compare the environmental performance of product design candidates. These strategies lack the transparency and consistency required for the environmental screening of large numbers of early‐development candidates, for which data are even sparser. We propose the Lifecycle Screening of Emerging Technologies method (LiSET). LiSET is an adaptable screening‐to‐LCA method that uses the available data to systematically and transparently evaluate the environmental performance of technologies at low readiness levels. Iterations follow technological development and allow a progression to a full LCA if desired. In early iterations, LiSET presents results in a matrix structure combined with a “traffic light” color grading system. This format inherently communicates the high uncertainty of analysis at this stage and presents numerous environmental aspects assessed. LiSET takes advantage of a decomposition analysis and data not traditionally used in LCAs to gain insight to the life cycle impacts and ensure that the most environmentally sustainable technologies are adopted.

Hearing aids: indications, technology, adaptation, and quality control.

Hearing loss can be caused by a number of different pathological conditions. Some of them can be successfully treated, mainly by surgery, depending on the individual’s disease process. However, the treatment of chronic sensorineural hearing loss with damaged cochlear structures usually needs hearing rehabilitation by means of technical amplification. During the last two decades tremendous improvements in hearing aid technology led to a higher quality of the hearing rehabilitation process. For example, due to sophisticated signal processing acoustic feedback could be reduced and hence open fitting options are available even for more subjects with higher degrees of hearing loss. In particular for high-frequency hearing loss, the use of open fitting is an option. Both the users’ acceptance and the perceived sound quality were significantly increased by open fittings. However, we are still faced with a low level of readiness in many hearing impaired subjects to accept acoustic amplification. Since ENT specialists play a key-role in hearing aid provision, they should promote early hearing aid rehabilitation and include this in the counselling even in subjects with mild and moderate hearing loss. Recent investigations demonstrated the benefit of early hearing aid use in this group of patients since this may help to reduce subsequent damages as auditory deprivation, social isolation, development of dementia, and cognitive decline. For subjects with tinnitus, hearing aids may also support masking by environmental sounds and enhance cortical inhibition. The present paper describes the latest developments of hearing aid technology and the current state of the art for amplification modalities. Implications for both hearing aid indication and provision are discussed.

Readiness for self-directed learning: How bridging and traditional nursing students differs?

BackgroundThe dean of the nursing college has an initiative to reform the BSN program in the college to minimize the use of lecturing and maximize interactive and lifelong learning. Appropriate assessment of how our students are prepared to be self-directed learners is crucial. ObjectiveTo compare traditional and bridging students in regard to their SDLR scores in the nursing college in Saudi Arabia. DesignThis was a comparative study to compare traditional and bridging students in regard to their self-directed learning readiness scores (SDLR). SettingsThe data was collected at the Nursing College, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ParticipantsA convenient sample of undergraduate nursing students at the sixth and eighth levels in both regular and bridging programs were recruited in this study to indicate their SDLR scores. MethodsThe study used Fisher et al.'s (2001) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale to measure the self-directed learning readiness among undergraduate nursing students. ResultsThe total mean score of SDLR was 144 out of 200, which indicated a low level of readiness for SDL. There were significant variations between the included academic levels among participants. Students in the sixth academic level scored higher in the total SDLR scores compared to eighth-level students. There were no significant variations with gender and program types in the total SDLR scores. ConclusionsA comprehensive plan is needed to prepare both faculty members and students to improve the SDL skills.

Hörgeräte: Indikationen, Technologie, Anpassung und Qualitätskontrolle

Hearing loss can be caused by a number of different pathological conditions. Some of them can be successfully treated, mainly by surgery, depending on the individual's disease process. However, the treatment of chronic sensorineural hearing loss with damaged cochlear structures usually needs hearing rehabilitation by means of technical amplification. During the last 2 decades tremendous improvements in hearing aid technology led to a higher quality in the hearing rehabilitation process. For example, due to sophisticated signal processing the acoustic feedback path could be reduced and hence open fitting options are available for even more subjects. In particular for high-frequency hearing loss the use of open fitting is an option. Both the users' acceptance and the perceived sound quality were significantly increased by open fittings.However, we are still faced with a low level of readiness in many hearing impaired subjects to accept acoustic amplification. Since ENT specialists play a key-role in hearing aid provision, they should promote early hearing aid rehabilitation and include this in the counselling even in subjects with mild and moderate hearing loss. Recent investigations demonstrated the benefit of early hearing aid use in this group of patients since this may help to reduce subsequent damages as auditory deprivation, social isolation, development of dementia, and cognitive decline. For subjects with tinnitus, hearing aids may also support masking by environmental sounds and enhance cortical inhibition.The present paper describes the latest development of hearing aid technology and the current state of the art for amplification modalities. Implications for both hearing aid indication and provision are discussed.

Volunteer Work for Developing Skills in Prospective Specialists in Physical Culture and Sports

Professional training assumes the formation of the young generation of spiritual values and ideals, behavioral stereotypes and concrete actions. The purpose of the research was to analyze the directions of using volunteer activity in the formation of professional and social competencies of students of the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. The realities of the training of specialists allowed us to single out professional and social competencies as a separate species. The graduate should have an understanding and perception of ethical norms of behavior, understand the need to observe the norms of a healthy lifestyle, be creative, sociable, tolerant. In his professional work should provide for the prospects of working with the formation of a system of goals, to design the content of educational and upbringing activities with self–monitoring and self–evaluation of the work performed. It is determined that the pedagogical functions of volunteer activity are the orientation of the individual in social relations; The creation of an educational space; Ensuring the possibility of acquiring the experience of social and communicative interaction. The experience of using volunteer activity testifies to the need to ensure the unity of theoretical knowledge and practical activity, which is represented by the «model of formation» using different forms of organization in the following areas: educational, sports and social component within the framework of the students' practical training of the faculty of physical education and sport. To assess the effectiveness of experimental work on the impact of volunteer work on the formation of professional and social competence, we used quantitative and qualitative assessments, which express the changes in the characteristics of individual students. In terms of readiness of the future teacher to education of students was recorded positive trend: students with low level of readiness was 36,4 % less; middle and high readiness – more by 26,4 and 11,1 % respectively, confirming the effectiveness of educational practice using components of volunteering and its impact on the formation of professional and social competencies. Analyzing the experience of using volunteering at the Faculty of Physical Education and SportsKherson state university note that it promotes the professional experience of moral consciousness; encourages the development of motivational sphere student, his personal qualities, aspiration to self development, to expand professional competence.

ТHE CONTENTS OF ETHNOPEDAGOGICAL PROCESSES IN THE SYSTEM OF TEACHER-TRAINING

The relevance of the topic of this article is determined by the fact that a multicultural educational environment helps the students in their national and cultural identity, contributes to a more successful professional preparation for teaching. Knowledge of the culture of neighbouring peoples is the basis of mutual understanding and goodwill, the guarantor of the rights and interests of all Nations without any prejudice and limitations. The relevance of this topic is enhanced by the contradictions of midpotency society in professionals able and ready to work politicheskoi educational environment and a low level of readiness of graduates of pedagogical universities to perform this activity. Thus, at the present stage of development of society, in connection with the changed requirements of the teacher, there is a need for specialists and there is a need to train staff to work in a multicultural environment, i.e. in other words, ethnopedagogical the preparation of future professionals. On e of the important tasks of the modern education system is the training specialist for the effective teaching and communication in multicultural environment, which is associated with awareness of cultural diversity, and tolerant attitude and the ability to culture behavior. In this article the author reveals the content of ethnopedagogical education, which is understood as the formation of students new concepts in the field of pedagogy, introduction to new theoretical knowledge, cultural values in the teaching of ethnopedagogical and Humanities, the formation of practical, methodological and research skills for the use of national pedagogics, ethno pedagogical fostering a culture of reflection, of national identity in learning and education.

Client’s Readiness Assessment Success Factors for Outsourcing Software Projects

IT services such as software development, application maintenance, disaster recovery, help desk, network and operations are critical and highly demanded to better support the operations and management of organizations, especially in the government sector. The government sector faces various problems in providing IT services due to constraints or lack of knowledge, skills and expertise, human resource and technology. Thus, IT services need to be outsourced to overcome these problems. While the need for outsourcing has increased, reported weaknesses of the outsourcing activities are attributed to issues such as project rationale and the unclear role of the project team, lack of involvement of subject matter experts and users in the early stages, lack of control and lack of emphasis on quality. These issues indicate the low readiness level of the client’s organization to take up outsourcing activities. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the contributing readiness factors that clients should comply with in order to ensure the success of outsourcing software projects. Systematic reviews and content analysis were employed in order to propose a conceptual model. There are 27 factors identified and classified into 9 dimensions. There are six internal dimensions were identified as contributing to the client’s readiness such as strategy, people, organization culture, process, technology and management whilst three other external dimensions include the government, market and people. The outcome of this study is a software outsourcing readiness model that will assist software practitioners in designing effective outsourcing software project strategies. The model is important since the agencies have difficulty in addressing their readiness level as part of the implementation plan and to avoid project failure.

Readiness of communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives in disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia.

Objective Disadvantaged communities bear a disproportionate burden of childhood obesity and show low participation in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. This study aims to examine the level of readiness of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Methods Using the community readiness model, 95 semi-structured interviews were conducted among communities in four disadvantaged areas of Victoria, Australia. Community readiness analysis and paired t-tests were performed to assess the readiness levels of disadvantaged communities to engage with childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Results The results showed that disadvantaged communities demonstrated low levels of readiness (readiness score=4/9, 44%) to engage with the existing childhood obesity prevention initiatives, lacked knowledge of childhood obesity and its prevention, and reported facing challenges in initiating and sustaining participation in obesity prevention initiatives. Conclusion This study highlights the need to improve community readiness by addressing low obesity-related literacy levels among disadvantaged communities and by facilitating the capacity-building of bicultural workers to deliver obesity prevention messages to these communities. Integrating these needs into existing Australian health policy and practice is of paramount importance for reducing obesity-related disparities currently prevailing in Australia. What is known about the topic? Childhood obesity prevalence is plateauing in developed countries including Australia; however, obesity-related inequalities continue to exist in Australia especially among communities living in disadvantaged areas, which experience poor engagement in childhood obesity prevention initiatives. Studies in the USA have found that assessing disadvantaged communities' readiness to participate in health programs is a critical initial step in reducing the disproportionate obesity burden among these communities. However, no studies in Australia have assessed disadvantaged communities' readiness to engage in obesity prevention initiatives. What does this paper add? This paper addresses the current gap in the knowledge of disadvantaged communities' level of readiness to engage in childhood obesity prevention initiatives in Australia. The study also identified the key factors responsible for low readiness of disadvantaged communities to participate in current childhood obesity prevention services. By using the Community Readiness model this study shows the readiness levels specific to the various dimensions of the model; Understanding dimension-specific readiness allows us to identify strategies that are tailored to each dimension, as guided by the model. What are the implications for practitioners? With the increasing burden of childhood obesity on disadvantaged communities, policymakers and health practitioners are facing a crisis in obesity prevention and management. Almost every year, new interventions are being planned and implemented. However if the target communities are not ready to participate in the available interventions these efforts are futile. This study exposes the key factors responsible for low readiness to participate in current obesity prevention services by disadvantaged communities. Addressing these key factors and improving readiness before designing new interventions will improve the participation of disadvantaged communities in those interventions. The study findings ultimately have the potential of reducing obesity-related disparities in Australia.

Implementation of a participatory organisational-level occupational health intervention - focusing on the primary task

This paper shows that a focus on the primary task, as the key component in an organisational-level occupational health intervention, supported the implementation independent of differences in workplaces' perception of the value of the intervention. This conclusion relies on a qualitative analysis of four comparable municipal pre-schools that participated in the same overall intervention. In addition, the primary task focus, as the key component, together with employee participation and management support, seems to have the potential to compensate for low levels of readiness for change and for the organisational fit of the intervention. It also has significance for overcoming hindrances associated with side-lining because it improves the alignment of the intervention activities with the purposes and strategies of the workplace.

Executive functions in early learning: Extending the relationship between executive functions and school readiness to science

Executive functions (EF) are a set of domain-general cognitive skills that play a key role in regulating learning and behavior. Previous research has shown that executive functioning capacity in early childhood predicts academic achievement in math and literacy. Troublingly, research has also shown that low-income preschoolers tend to lag behind their higher-income peers, not only in academic skills, but also in EF that may support their development of these skills. Preschool science has recently gained attention as another key learning domain where low-income preschoolers also enter kindergarten with low levels of readiness. No existing research has empirically examined the relationship between EF and science outcomes in preschoolers. The current study addresses this gap by testing the ability of EF to predict gains in science as well as math and literacy outcomes in a low-income sample. To assess the extent to which EF are linked to these school readiness outcomes, magnitudes of all predictions were compared. Results indicated that EF significantly predict gains in all domains, including science. Further, EF predicted gains in science to a significantly greater degree than math, and literacy. Implications and future directions including research designs that allow for stronger causal inferences about the potential bidirectional influence of EF and science are discussed.

Differences and commonalities in difficulties faced by clinical nursing educators and faculty in Japan: a qualitative cross-sectional study

BackgroundTo clarify the current state of communication between clinical nursing educators and nursing faculty members and the perceived difficulties encountered while teaching nursing students in clinical training in Japan.MethodsWe collected data via focus group interviews with 14 clinical nursing educators, two nursing technical college teachers, and five university nursing faculty members. Interview transcripts were coded to express interview content as conclusions for each unit of meaning. Similar compiled content was categorized.ResultsDifficulties in providing clinical training mentioned by both clinical educators and faculty members were classified into four categories: “difficulties with directly exchanging opinions,” “mismatch between school-required teaching content and clinical teaching content,” “difficulties with handling students who demonstrate a low level of readiness for training,” and “human and time limitations in teaching.” In some categories, the opinions of educators matched those of the faculty members, whereas in others, the problems differed according to position.ConclusionsThe Japanese culture and working conditions may affect communication between clinical educators and faculty members; however, a direct “opinion exchange” between them is crucial for improving the clinical teaching environment in Japan.

Incorporating Diversity in Preparing Children for School: An Australian Perspective

As part of the social justice emphasis on equity of state governments and education departments in Australia, an interest in cultural diversity emerged during the 1990s in Queensland state schools. Current educational policy in Queensland has attempted to cater for children from all social groups, valuing all children's cultural and linguistic resources. A 'difference theory' has attempted to move explanations for some children's low levels of readiness for school, and their consequent lack of success at school, away from the child and the child’s family to an increasing emphasis on schools and the wider community to prepare children for school. Assessment of school readiness at a community level focuses on monitoring children's progress so that community resources, both human and material, might be mobilised and directed to where they are most needed. Although children are evaluated, the focus for evaluation is not on individual children or their parents. The focus for evaluation shifts to community and government policies and programs to ensure that they are doing their best to support young children's development and readiness for school. In Australia, the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) which is based on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) devised in Canada, is being developed as a community measure of young children's development. During children's first year of formal school, teachers use the AEDI checklist which measures five areas of development which include physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills and communication skills and general knowledge. The aim of the AEDI is to provide communities with a holistic picture of children's well-being without labelling individual children or their families and to use it as a tool from which community programs and resources can be developed and monitored to achieve better outcomes for children.

Social Acceptance and Readiness for the Knowledge‑based Economy in Malaysia

This paper examines Malaysians’ readiness in meeting challenges in the new economy. The model is built based on the hierarchical model of awareness, involvement and contribution. The findings indicate that on average, Malaysians are still at the low level of readiness to assume the knowledge-based economy, despite government efforts to promote the new economy nationwide. Currently Malaysians are at the level of knowing what is going on, but not taking enough effort to participate and contribute to the development of the new economy. The findings support the hierarchical model, in which economic transformation towards the new economy undergoes phases of awareness, involvement and contribution.