Personal Viewpoint Research Articles

LIFELONG LEARNING STRATEGIES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

A traditional definition of lifelong learning is “all learning activity conducted throughout life with the goal of enhancing knowledge, skills, and competences within a personal, civic, societal, or employment-related viewpoint” (European Commission, 2001). Over the years, the European Union has placed a strong emphasis on the development of the knowledge triangle "education, innovation, and research," as well as the development of skills. Lifelong learning has been deemed a high political priority by numerous EU organizations with a series of decisions and resolutions (European Commission, 2021). It has been acknowledged that to ensure an individual's life development and self-fulfillment, it is vital to regularly update knowledge and competences as a result of increasing skill differentiation and globalization.

The Origin and Formal Characteristics of Fu Prefaces

Abstract Prefaces to fu compositions originated and developed during the Han Dynasty. Their beginnings can be traced to the Western Han when Sima Qian added brief introductions to Jia Yi’s fu in the Shiji. This marked the creation of the commentator’s preface. During the late Western and early Eastern Han, a transitional form of preface – in-between a commentator’s and an author’s preface – began to appear. Important examples can be found in Yang Xiong’s “Autobiography” and Huan Tan’s New Treatise where the authors commented on fu pieces they themselves had composed earlier in life. The use of author’s prefaces eventually became popular during the Eastern Han. In addition to instructing the reader on the background of a composition, Han fu prefaces possessed a variety of additional functions. They served to clarify the central themes and outline the main contents of a fu, display the author’s personal viewpoints, emotions, and literary talent and help attract potential readers. This shows an awareness of the reading experience of the recipients on the part of the authors. The basic characteristics of fu prefaces as a literary form can be described as richness of content, the use of diverse writing techniques as well as a versatility in literary style. Han fu prefaces additionally played a distinct role in the development of the literary genre of xiaopin wen.

“A Personal Point of View”: The Dissidents, Peter Lawler, and Us

During the Cold War, Peter Augustine Lawler was a close student of the great anti-Communist dissidents, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Váçlav Havel. They taught him not only about the nature of Soviet Communism, but about modernity tout court. From both, he learned a positive lesson as well, the reality of the human person. Falsified by modern thought and directly assaulted by communist ideocracy, the truth of the person was the chief positive lesson of the Cold War, and one that Peter applied to the postwar situation as well. In our day, there are comparable reasons for cultivating “a personal point of view.”

Survey on Online Learning at Universities of Slovakia, Czech Republic and Kazakhstan during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article points out some of the challenges faced by students at the University of Ostrava, Comenius University in Bratislava and Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, who had almost no previous practice in online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The students from the mentioned universities were interviewed to share their experiences with online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this paper, qualitative pedagogical research in the local conditions of the three mentioned universities is used, with the processing of answers of selected students who were interviewed as an available sample. The students were also asked to describe their impressions of this situation from their social and personal points of view. The focus is on the positive and negative aspects, boundaries, and problems of online university teaching during the pandemic situation, as well as changes in the personal life of the students. The aim of this introductory small-scale study is to provide a basis for future research on the impact that the COVID-19 situation has had on the educational process at the above-mentioned universities, as well as to assist educational providers in foreseeing and eliminating the possible problems of lecturers when establishing an online educational environment. Some conclusions are drawn from the interviews that offer potential for further research in educational science, because many difficulties from the students’ point of view are related to their social status, lack of social contact, technical problems with Internet connections, the carrying out of lectures and the exams of students. The students’ answers are categorized, and each category is described.

Wanted: An endothelial cell targeting atlas for nanotherapeutic delivery in allograft organs

Despite the profound shortage of organs available for transplant in the U.S., over 5,000 donated organs were declined for use in 2020. Many of these organs were declined due to donor comorbidities or preservation injuries that predispose grafts to rejection and loss. The risks of these poor outcomes can potentially be reduced by pre-transplant application of normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). To date, the clinical use of NMP has focused on extending preservation and improving organ assessment, but the opportunity for ex situ therapeutic delivery may be the most transformative aspect of this technology. In this Personal Viewpoint, we argue that the endothelial cells (ECs) that line the graft vasculature are an accessible, under-exploited, and attractive target for transplant therapeutics delivered during NMP. We further contend that molecularly targeted nanoparticles (NPs) represent a promising therapeutic vehicle particularly well-suited to NMP. However, to achieve this potential, we need to answer the following three key questions: (1) What EC sub-populations exist within an organ? (2) How can these cells be accessed? (3) And most important, how can preferential retention of NPs by the cells of interest be maximized? Here we argue for creating an EC-targeting atlas as a body of knowledge that answers these questions.

Does Political Ideology of Brands Impact Consumer Buying Behavior?

Politics is the process of the public coming up with decisions and conclusions, these decisions may sometimes seem favorable and unfavorable for people that are part of a society therefore different stands will now be formed resulting from their personal insights. This study was aimed at obtaining insights and the personal point of view of electorates whether they are in favor of brands formulating relationships with politics and if they would support or boycott that specific brand without hesitation. The results showed that consumers are more inclined to brands that are used to expressing their political beliefs and if a brand performs political activities, it would most likely affect their images whether the outcome would be positive or negative. The majority of them voiced out positive comments about the relationship between politics and brands but unfortunately, some of them were still unwilling to support this scenario transpiring in the country.

Time To Re-Think and Rebuild: Need to Minimize the Pill and Re-Emphasize the Role of Risk Factors Modification in Life Style Disorders

An increase of lifestyle diseases (LSDs) has been driven by predominantly four important risk factors viz. unhealthy diet, hazardous alcohol use, tobacco use and physical inactivity. The present paper is envisioned to emphasize personal viewpoints and elucidations about vital role of behavioral risk factors in the management of lifestyle diseases particularly regarding Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and Hypertension as well as an associated risk of pharmacological measures in treating such illnesses. Type 2 Diabetes is considered as irreversible and incurable chronic disease based on traditional means of management. Though, the current research promotes complete reversal of diabetes with the help of simple lifestyle measures. Health care professionals are encouraged to converse with their patients regarding health benefits of exercise, healthy diet and other lifestyle measures. Patient centered behaviour involving reducing tobacco use, controlling alcohol consumption, improving sleep patterns, balanced diet and mental wellbeing should be targeted by health care professional. Early diagnosis, prompt initiation of healthy lifestyle measures and delayed drug treatment could be an effective strategy not only to combat LSDs but also to develop positive attitudes towards life.

FUNCTIONAL INDEXES OF SUCCESS IN CSS/PMS ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY WRITING

This study aims to explore different linguistics patterns of Argumentative essays written for Central Superior Services/ Provincial Management Service (CSS/PMS) in Pakistan by using Biber’s Multidimensional approach (MDA). This is a corpus based study which is experimental in nature. The function of this approach is to explain the functional association of linguistic patterns systematically. This study has been performed by using second level of MD (New MD). The researchers have collected the corpus of 30 essays which are argumentative in nature. These essays are downloaded from the popular online forums which are used for the preparation of competitive exams/ current affairs issues in Pakistan. The researchers claim that Pakistan CSS/PMS aspirants focus more on sharing information rather than building arguments in their essay writing papers at CSS/PMS level. Doing so, they do not fulfill the linguistic requirement of the said papers. The ideas presented by them are without logical reasoning or research based facts. The results of these essays show that these aspirants share information in these essays rather than building arguments through cohesion and coherence. Most of the Pakistani leaners of English Language do not have the basic knowledge of grammar. So, they don’t know how to develop personal viewpoints while attempting essay paper. The researchers have analyzed these linguistic gaps through multidimensional analysis of selected essays that may help the CSS/PMS aspirants to fix these linguistic gaps.

Influence of membership in outgroups varying in competence and warmth on observers' Level-2 visual perspective taking.

Visual perspective taking (VPT), the ability to adopt another person's viewpoint, entails two distinct processes, Level-1 (L1)-VPT and Level-2 (L2-VPT), referring to the ability to perceive whether and how a target sees an object, respectively. Whereas previous efforts investigated the impact of targets' social characteristics on L1-VPT, the present work is the first to do so regarding L2-VPT. Specifically, we investigate the impact of targets' membership in outgroups varying in perceived competence and warmth, the two fundamental dimensions of social perception. Participants in four experiments engaged in a L2-VPT task. Avatars belonged to a low competence low warmth group (LCLW; e.g. the homeless) or to a high competence low warmth group (HCLW; e.g. bankers) in Experiments 1-3, and to a LCLW or high competence high warmth group (HCHW; e.g. female students) in Experiment 4. Participants answered as quickly as possible whether a cued number matched a number present in a scene from either their own or the avatar's perspective. We consistently found support for the presence of both egocentric and altercentric interference, but this was not modulated by group competence and warmth, suggesting that membership in outgroups varying in competence and warmth does not influence L2-VPT. We discuss the findings' implications in the light of recent views on VPT.

DIKEDOC: a multicriteria methodology to organise and communicate knowledge

DIKEDOC is a knowledge-based multicriteria methodology that is here proposed to organise dispersed knowledge about a complex problem when a decision process has not yet been activated, or is latent, and to generate an interaction space that produces new knowledge. An integrated use of logical and analytical tools is proposed, first for use at a technical level to organise any dispersed knowledge in a way that generates insights that can be communicated, and then in a participative context, to create an opportunity to interact, share personal points of view and experiences and to explore spaces of action, where such tools facilitate understanding, criticism and proposals. A pilot study was developed, by an interdisciplinary research team, in relation to the enhancement process of the “Ivrea, industrial city of the twentieth century” UNESCO site, which still needs to be activated after a long and complex decision process that led to the inclusion of the site in the World Heritage List. Several research activities and enhancement projects have been developed in the last few years, but a series of critical conditions have limited their implementation. A new perspective is now necessary to identify and control the uncertainties that have emerged, guide the incremental development of knowledge and foster relationships, decisions and policies. The paper presents DIKEDOC, a new knowledge organisation and problem description methodology, and the conducted pilot study, which led to the proposal of a constructive vision of decision aiding that logically and analytically “described” the space of action and its uncertainties.

Leadership and Multicultural Environment; Kyai's Power and Authority Contest at Pondok Pesantren

This paper aims to understand spiritual leadership from the personal point of view, power, and authority. The central concept of leadership in this landscape is how a leader can impact people who have different attitudes, motivations, origins, personality values, beliefs, and of course, culture from a sociological-anthropological perspective. In addition to looking at aspects of multicultural leadership, the author will also enrich this study by studying a character, namely KH Muwafiq Amir. A Kyai who has power and authority in the Pondok Pesantren Bustanul Makmur, Genteng, Banyuwangi. An influence that will be read through the paradigm of power and authority. This study uses a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. The results showed that KH Muwafiq Amir was 'appointed' as chairman of the Board of Caregivers in this pesantren environment outside the customs or traditions different from pesantren in general; where the succession of leadership is determined by lineage. Meanwhile, KH Muwafiq Amir is not a direct descendant (read; biological) from the Big Family of the Pondok Pesantren Bustanul Makmur.

The Representation of Multicultural Values in Pearson Big English 6 ELT Textbook: A Discourse Analysis

This research aims to examine the visual components of a Pearson primary school English textbook. By applying visual semiotic theory to the visual aspects (Barthes, 1977). This research demonstrates that the EFL textbook has three kinds of multicultural values: respect for other people's traditions, appreciation for women's equal rights, and appreciation for other people's viewpoints. Three photos exemplified respect for other people's traditions, one exemplified gratitude for women's equal rights, and two exemplified appreciation for another person's viewpoint. Additionally, two visual components identified in this research are classified as source culture (SC), four visual elements are classified as universality culture (UC), and there are no visual elements that reflect target culture (TC). The current investigation discovered that the EFL Pearson textbook for Indonesian primary school continues to have an asymmetric depiction of multicultural values.

No fuss please! I’m deafblind: a personal point of view and some friendly suggestions

PurposeThis paper aims to offer practical suggestions as to factors needing consideration when meeting, interacting with or assessing the needs of an older person living with acquired deafblindness.Design/methodology/approachThe paper’s author draws on his personal experience of living with acquired deafblindness to offer practical suggestions.FindingsThis paper offers an experiential definition of acquired deafblindness, before providing practical suggestions related to engaging with deafblind people, distinguishing between acquired deafblindness and cognitive decline, and assessing hearing and sight levels.Originality/valueThere is a paucity of literature on the lived experience of older people living with acquired deafblindness. This paper offers both a unique insight into this experience combined with practical suggestions for those in contact with older deafblind people.

Personal Viewpoint Ethnography Utilizing GoPro™ Cameras to Capture Student Information Seeking in School Libraries

This exploratory study investigated supports and services academic libraries currently provide that assist in the fulfillment of information needs. Utilizing wayfinding, think-aloud protocol (TAP), retrospective think-aloud protocol (RTAP), and a GoProTM camera, the actions, thoughts, and feelings of an autistic college freshman and a neurotypical peer were recorded as they navigated their campus library in search of materials. The library website, virtual maps to resource locations, and library workers served equally as enablers and barriers to both students in their information seeking. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that participant viewpoint ethnography is a viable methodology that can be applied in school library research, with specific adaptations and examples provided.

Hate speech in social media: personal experiences and perceptions of university students in Bangladesh

Purpose Social media (SM) is a new communication tool that substantially contribute to facilitating online hate speech (OHS). In emphasis of the question “what role can SM play in an individual’s life?”, this study aims to understand Bangladeshi university students’ personal experiences and opinions of OHSs related to SM. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an online survey method to collect data and retrieved responses from 410 students. Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test and Spearman’s rank correlation analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Findings This study found that hate speech is a familiar term among students. Students’ political views or opinions, religion and gender have become the most targeted instruments for OHSs. Comparing students’ use of SM, the authors found that Facebook was the most used SM site to spread hate speech in Bangladesh. In terms of personal experiences, the findings indicated that 45.6% of students became victims of OHSs at least once or more times, and the majority of students tended to simply avoid OHSs. Another significant finding was that OHS has real-life effects on the students, resulting in various personal and psychological distress. Originality/value Although some research has been conducted on hate speech at the local level, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study has focused on the student community. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt in Bangladesh to focus on OHSs from a student’s personal viewpoint.

A Study on the Retention Factors of In-Home Caregivers

<p>為了「在地老化」的觀點能得以實踐，長期照顧服務體系中的第一線居家照顧服務員的留任已成為當前要務。本研究從環境、組織、家庭、個人四個層面出發，探討吸引照顧服務員留任居家長照產業的相關因素。本研究以彰化縣現職居家照顧服務員為研究母體，總計發放350份問卷，有效樣本為220份，有效問卷回收率為62.86%，進行階層廻歸分析。研究結果顯示：（一）工作環境風險性會負向影響留任傾向；（二）內外在激勵會正向影響留任傾向；（三）工作家庭衝突會負向影響留任傾向；（四）利社會行為會正向影響留任傾向。最後，依據本研究之研究結果而提出管理意涵如下：降低工作環境風險性及工作家庭衝突；提升內外在激勵；招募或培養有利社會行為的員工。</p> <p> </p><p>Retention of in-home caregivers to resolve insufficient labor issues has become the primary obstacle in realizing the home care model of “Aging in Place.” This study seeks to determine the factors affecting retention of in-home caregivers by examining their working environment, organization culture, family life, and personal viewpoint. The data were collected in 2018 from home care assistants working in the long-term home care service units in Changhua County. A total of 220 valid responses were obtained from the sample of 350 participants. To test the research hypotheses, hierarchical regression analysis was adopted. The results showed that: (a) the working environment has a negative impact on the tendency to stay; (b) internal and external factors have a positive impact on the tendency to stay; (c) work-family conflict has a negative impact on the tendency to stay; and (d) prosocial behavior has a positive impact on the tendency to stay. The findings of the study provide several management implications: 1. reduce the uncertainty of the environment factor in the work area; 2. enhance the internal and external incentive satisfaction; 3. reduce work-family conflict; 4. prosocial behavior should be cultivated and encouraged during the recruitment process.</p> <p> </p>

The digital transformation and novel calibration approaches

Abstract In this paper we describe how the digital transformation (i. e., the adoption of digital technology) of society affects National Metrology Institutes like VSL. The presented ideas represent the personal viewpoint of the author, who works at the Dutch national metrology institute VSL. They don’t necessarily correspond to the vision of VSL as institute. This digital transformation has many different aspects of social, economic and technical nature. In this paper we will mainly focus on some mathematical and statistical aspects which are important for modelling measurement instruments and analyzing measurement data. We will discuss how modern techniques like artificial intelligence, digital twins, digital calibration certificates and the introduction of the new definition of the SI system of units affect national metrology institutes. Important changes are the usage of complex algorithms and models in measurement instruments, as well as the introduction of novel calibration approaches and the digitalization of the services provided by NMIs.

The Using Communicative Language Teaching in the Online Class through Soundcloud, Zoom, and Google Classroom Applications

The schools have been implementing online learning during the pandemic. Teachers are required to be able to do online learning where these activities require the role of information and communication technology (ICT). Teachers cannot ensure that every student will understand the material taught during online learning. Therefore, the teacher must make several effective learning methods and approaches which can make students enthusiastic in learning and understanding the material presented. One approach that can be used by teachers is CLT (Communicative Language Teaching). Social interactions used in communicative language teaching can be done through dialogue, discussion, role-playing, etc. Nowadays, teachers implement many applications to support the online learning process, such as SoundCloud, Zoom, and Google Classroom. The use of those applications is to assist students in improving their skills. CLT can be used to teach many things such as vocabulary development, communication among instructors and learners, use of specialist language to a minimum, use of language (in the context of communication in general), use of Information Technology, information search skills, personal viewpoint argumentation abilities, nonverbal skills, and group networking skills.

The Effects of the Pandemics on Ethnic Roma

This article shows aspects captured in the research conducted at the beginning of 2021 with Roma ethnics from Iasi County and refers to the effects of the pandemic on Roma ethnics. For a start, the paper presents a short history of the Roma, their origins, their migrations around the world, the way they arrived on Romanian territory. The period of slavery of the Roma, their liberation, carried out by the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza around 1860, the period of the Holocaust in the Second World War, when due to a racist doctrine adopted by the Romanian State, the Roma were deported and subjected an extermination program, overcoming these unfortunate periods. The article also includes a brief description of the Roma from Iasi County and from the city of Iasi, continuing with the representation of the disease in the Roma; what does the disease mean for the Roma, how can they avoid it, what measures do they take to defend themselves against the disease, what kind of practical medicine. The article presents the research method used, the most suitable for the research group, this being the focus group. The subjects that were chosen for research are described and then the effects of the pandemic on Roma ethnics are presented, on a social, personal and psychological level. What they experienced from a social point of view during the pandemic, how social events unfolded for them, how they related socially; personally, how they managed this challenge from a personal point of view, what changes or improvements caused the pandemic; psychologically the feelings they had, the feelings they tried, the psychological struggle that took place inside them. The conclusions conclude this article by showing what the pandemic meant for the Roma ethnics and how they overcame it.

Great Gatsby and the unwelcome entrance of the New Woman

This paper examines the presentation of the “New Woman,” the western woman after World War I, in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. New roles for women were not quickly accepted by the male-dominated society of the 1920s. The Great Gatsby, as a literary work originating from this time, reflects the ideological conflicts of Fitzgerald's culture, and it shows examples of the “New Woman” in multiple situations, presenting a largely negative viewpoint of social changes associated with gender. Regardless of Fitzgerald’s personal point of view, this novel clearly shows his culture’s discomfort with the image of the “New Woman” as it emerged after World War I and her new roles in society. The papers finds that Fitzgerald’s narrative choice to focus his storytelling through a male perspective sets the tone for the cultural bias he illustrates, as he filters the female characters through a male point of view, normalizing this perspective as the default, valuable one. Examples of the “New Woman” in the three major female characters Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle are all demonstrated as troubled beings who, despite the relative freedom that they enjoy, remain dependent on men.