Professional Exams Research Articles

Records Managers – Obligation to Pass the Professional Exam

Records managers at the creators of archives are defined by the archival legislation of the Republic of Srpska, The Law on Archives and the Regulations on record management for administrative bodies. Records managers are officials of different degrees and fields of education. Given that there are no high schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina that deal with the training of archival technicians, the education of officials is carried out through the preparation for passing professional exams in the Archives of the Republic of Srpska according to the planned program, and constant professional development through seminars/trainings provided for records managers. It is very important to employ an expert person, qualified to manage records and monitor information and technological development. Professional training and improvement are of the greatest importance for the protection of public records, especially at a time when it is necessary to follow technological and informational development. Since 2002, the Archives of the Republic of Srpska and the Association of Archivists of the Republic of Srpska have launched a program of taking professional exams for records managers. In the period from March 2002 to January 2024, a total of 300 candidates passed the professional exam for working on the protection of public records and archival materials. The plan and program of taking professional exams for records managers is regulated by the "Regulations on conditions, deadlines and methods of taking professional archival exams, recognition of professional archival titles and conditions for acquiring professional archival titles".

Legal regulation of education in Ukraine. Part 6: Features of admission to higher education in Ukraine

This article examines the legal issues of regulating the access of citizens of Ukraine to higher education of the third educational and scientific degree (doctor of philosophy) in the paradigm of international acts, the Constitution of Ukraine, the Laws of Ukraine, and Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in the field of education. This is related to the existence of certain legal conflicts in the education sector, which arose as a result of the ambiguity and imperfection of the legislation of Ukraine on education, which the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine uses to illegally restrict the access of citizens of Ukraine to higher education of the third educational and scientific degree. Taking into account the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the article presents the results of a study of the peculiarities of the application of the provisions of the relevant legislative acts in the field of education (with all changes and additions introduced as of September 1, 2024), namely the Law of Ukraine “On Education” (dated September 5, 2017, under No. 2145-VIII), the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” (dated July 1, 2014, under No. 1556- VII) and the “Procedure for Training Candidates for Higher Education Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Sciences in institutions of higher education (scientific institutions)”, approved by Resolution No. 261 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (dated March 23, 2016). At the same time, the research is mainly focused on the peculiarities of applying the above­mentioned legislative acts to determine the differences in the conditions of access to free and paid education and the established legitimacy and feasibility of certain elements of such conditions. Principally this concerns the introduction by the State of Ukraine of unified professional exams and other tests (with the use of external independent evaluation) as a condition for access to the next stage of tests, namely, entrance exams and other tests for admission to study introduced by higher education institutions of Ukraine. That is, the legality of establishing a two-level system of competitions and entrance tests for those who wish to obtain a higher education of the third educational and scientific degree (doctor of philosophy) on a paid basis (i.e., at their own expense or the expense of non-state grants and scholarships) is being considered. The article is the sixth one within the cycle of studies in which the peculiarities of access of Ukrainian citizens to higher education in martial law conditions are addressed.

Апробация методики определения готовности университета к проведению профессионального (демонстрационного) экзамена для выпускников программ подготовки педагогов-психологов

<p>The article describes a methodology for determining the readiness of a university to conduct a professional (demonstration) exam for graduates of training programs for educational psychologists. The methodology includes collecting the opinions of different subjects of the site for conducting a professional (demonstration) exam at pedagogical universities: the head of the site, heads of departments, undergraduate students (future educational psychologists). The questionnaires contain two sets of questions: the conditions for practical training of educational psychologists, the readiness of pedagogical universities to introduce a professional (demonstration) exam for graduates of educational psychologists. The results of testing the methodology at MSUPE were presented, in which the following participants took part: the head of the site, three heads of departments, 61 fourth-year undergraduate students of full-time study in the direction of 44.03.02 Psychological and Pedagogical Education. The results obtained allow us to say that the university has created organizational, methodological, personnel and material and technical conditions for organizing and conducting a professional (demonstration) exam for undergraduate students. Students mastered each studied area of ​​activity (labor function) of an educational psychologist, both separately in the elements of a professionally oriented module (disciplines, practice) and in the module as a whole. Students have experience passing such an exam in the form of an intermediate certification before the state exam.</p>

Technology of organization and performance of professional (demonstration) exam (on the example of special (defectological) education and subject areas «Russian language and literature», «Art»)

Introduction. The article presents the experience of conducting professional (demonstration) examination in Master's degree program as a tool for assessing the readiness of future teachers for professional activity. The article considers the mechanisms of assessing the readiness of master's degree graduates to work in the educational system through the prism of professional, subject, methodological, communicative and managerial competencies. Materials and Methods. The presented characteristic of the organization and conduct of professional (demonstration) examination is based on theoretical research methods: logical analysis, structural-functional method, discourse analysis. The basis is the interdisciplinary methodology that allows synthesizing approaches inherent in the organization of the educational process. The method of systematization and analysis of the existing experience in conducting professional demonstration examination was used in describing the methodology of technology. Results. The purpose of these materials is to summarize and systematize the experience of conducting professional examination of master's students at the Ural State Pedagogical University. The principles and stages of the professional (demonstration) examination developed by the Educational and Methodological Council of the Urals State Pedagogical University are presented as organizational bases of the activity of organizing and conducting the professional (demonstration) examination. The principles implemented in the professional (demonstration) examination, such as continuity and continuity of teacher training, inclusiveness of the educational environment, orientation to professional communication and group decision-making, the principle of openness, combination of fundamentality and practice-oriented are outlined. Discussion and Conclusions. The optimal form of conducting the teachers' demonstration exam is determined as an activity-type technology corresponding to its tasks, based on an active way of interaction between participants – a business game. In the course of the business game, master's students simulate the situation of a meeting of a methodological association or pedagogical council, where they realize the solution of a professional problem. Content aspects of the professional (demonstration) examination are revealed in the article on the material of specific illustrations of variants of examination tasks for Master's degree students in the areas of training «Pedagogical Education» (on the example of subject areas «Russian language and literature» and «Art») and «Special (defectological) education».

A Mixed Methods Study on Character Traits of Nursing Students and Faculty Influencing a 100% Passing Rate in the Nursing Licensure Exam in the Philippines.

This study explores the character traits contributing to the 100% passing rate of nursing graduates in the Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE) in the Philippines over the past decade. Understanding these traits provides insights into the factors driving academic and professional success in nursing. Employing a convergent parallel mixed methods design, this study combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were collected through electronic surveys from 222 nursing alumni and 39 faculty members, focusing on character traits and behaviors linked to NLE success. The quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 29; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY) for descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Additionally, in-depth interviews with 21 alumni and 15 faculty members provided qualitative insights. Data saturation was reached with 11 faculty and 13 alumni, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the participants' experiences. Quantitative results from factor analysis showed that spirituality, love of learning, honesty, and kindness are among the qualities that are necessary for success in NLE. These character traits have a significant impact on both career readiness and academic performance. Qualitative results revealed the importance of resilience, faculty support, and peer relationships in fostering these attributes. It became evident that building a healthy learning environment required the support of peers and professors and that resilience was necessary to manage the stress of tests. Both datasets emphasized the need for a strong character and academic achievement in conjunction with long-term success. The study highlights that obtaining a high NLE passing rate is mostly dependent on academic knowledge in addition to character attributes. Character education techniques such as role-playing, reflective writing, and service-learning can be incorporated into nursing curricula to improve attributes such as empathy and resilience. Continuous faculty development and structured mentorship are also crucial. Character development must be incorporated into academic learning in nursing education. Focusing on qualities such as empathy, resilience, and ethical judgment, along with implementing character education tactics such as service-learning and reflective writing, are crucial to prepare graduates to succeed in professional practice and board exams. A comprehensive approach that blends character development with academic achievement produces skilled and compassionate healthcare professionals.

The Two Word Test as a semantic benchmark for large language models

Large language models (LLMs) have shown remarkable abilities recently, including passing advanced professional exams and demanding benchmark tests. This performance has led many to suggest that they are close to achieving humanlike or “true” understanding of language, and even artificial general intelligence (AGI). Here, we provide a new open-source benchmark, the Two Word Test (TWT), that can assess semantic abilities of LLMs using two-word phrases in a task that can be performed relatively easily by humans without advanced training. Combining multiple words into a single concept is a fundamental linguistic and conceptual operation routinely performed by people. The test requires meaningfulness judgments of 1768 noun-noun combinations that have been rated as meaningful (e.g., baby boy) or as having low meaningfulness (e.g., goat sky) by human raters. This novel test differs from existing benchmarks that rely on logical reasoning, inference, puzzle-solving, or domain expertise. We provide versions of the task that probe meaningfulness ratings on a 0–4 scale as well as binary judgments. With both versions, we conducted a series of experiments using the TWT on GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude-3-Optus, and Gemini-1-Pro-001. Results demonstrated that, compared to humans, all models performed relatively poorly at rating meaningfulness of these phrases. GPT-3.5-turbo, Gemini-1.0-Pro-001 and GPT-4-turbo were also unable to make binary discriminations between sensible and nonsense phrases, with these models consistently judging nonsensical phrases as making sense. Claude-3-Opus made a substantial improvement in binary discrimination of combinatorial phrases but was still significantly worse than human performance. The TWT can be used to understand and assess the limitations of current LLMs, and potentially improve them. The test also reminds us that caution is warranted in attributing “true” or human-level understanding to LLMs based only on tests that are challenging for humans.

Barriers to pass English teaching professional licensure as perceived by newly graduated Saudi teachers

Academicians worldwide constantly question how they can enhance teaching efficiency. Teacher licensure examination has been suggested as a way to achieve this goal. In the same respect, Saudi ministry of education requires prospective teachers to pass Professional licensure exam (PLE) in order to officially enter the teaching job. The present work aimed to give a closer look on this kind of examination as perceived by 23 Saudi candidates holding BA in English and expect to become English teachers. These subjects had a failure experience with taking this exam. Additionally, the use of a semi structured interview, the informants voiced the different kinds of challenges that prevent them from effectively passing this exam. The use of the NVivo software gave results that show the negative attitude these participants hold towards PLE as well as the two categories of obstacles they confronted namely; academic and non- academic.

Can ChatGPT Be a Certified Accountant? Assessing the Responses of ChatGPT for the Professional Access Exam in Portugal

Purpose: From an exploratory perspective, this paper aims to assess how well ChatGPT scores in an accounting proficiency exam in Portugal, as well as its overall understanding of the issues, purpose and context underlying the questions under assessment. Design/methodology/approach: A quasi-experimental method is used in this study. The questions from an exam by the Portuguese Order of Chartered Accountants (OCC, in the Portuguese acronym) served as input queries, while the responses (outputs) from ChatGPT were compared with those from the OCC. Findings: The findings indicate that ChatGPT’s responses were able to deduce the primary issue underlying the matters assessed, although some responses were inaccurate or imprecise. Also, the tool did not have the same score in all matters, being less accurate in those requiring more professional judgment. The findings also show that the ChatGPT did not pass the exam, although it was close to doing so. Originality: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is little research on ChatGPT accuracy in accounting proficiency exams, this being the first such study in Portugal. Practical implications: The findings from this research can be useful to accounting professionals to understand how ChatGPT may be used for practitioners, stressing that it could assist them and improve efficiency, but cannot, at least for now, replace the human professional. It also highlights the potential use of ChatGPT as an additional resource in the classroom, encouraging students to engage in critical thinking and facilitating open discussion with the guidance of teachers. Consequently, it can also prove beneficial for academic purposes, aiding in the learning process.

The exaggerated benefits of failure.

Commencement speakers, business leaders, and the popular press tell us that failure has at least one benefit: It fuels success. Does it? Across 11 studies, including a field study of medical professionals, predictors overestimated the rate at which people course correct following failure (Studies 1-4). Predictors overestimated the likelihood that professionals who fail a professional exam (e.g., the bar exam, the medical boards) pass a retest (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2a), the likelihood that patients improve their health after a crisis (e.g., heart attack, drug overdose; Studies 2b and 6), and the probability, more generally, of learning from one's mistakes (Studies 3-5). This effect was specific to overestimating success following failure (Study 4) and erasing mention of an initial failure that had actually occurred corrected the problem (Studies 2a and 2b). The success overestimate was due, at least in part, to the belief that people attend to failure more than they do (Studies 5 and 6). Correcting this overestimate had policy implications. Citizens apprised of the sobering true rate of postfailure success increased their support for rehabilitative initiatives aimed at helping struggling populations (e.g., people with addiction, ex-convicts) learn from past mistakes (Studies 7a-7c). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Acquisition of Slavic as a Foreign Language as a Condition for Successful Integration of Refugees (On the Situation of Ukrainian Medics in the Czech Republic

The aim of this paper is to present the problems of second language acquisition (Slavic by Slavs) in a specific socio-political context. The text deals with the situation of Ukrainian refugees, medics who need to master Czech in order to take a professional qualification exam, and are placed in a specific psycholinguistic situation - they need to quickly acquire both the basics of the second language from the elementary level of training, and specialized medical terminology, usually in a very limited timeframe. In this study, we point out some types of typical mistakes made by Ukrainian medics learning mainly specialized (medical) Czech. The results of such an analysis provide an opportunity to classify the errors, highlight the typical characteristics of Czech in the Slavic comparative context through the prism of language learning, and from a methodological point of view, which can indicate some of the most common places requiring additional and detailed attention in the learning process, especially for a specific group of students with specific goals within their studies.

Medical Student’s Attitudes towards Implementation of National Licensing Exam (NLE) – A Qualitative Exploratory Study

The introduction of the post-qualification National Licensing Examination (NLE) in Pakistan has been met with resistance from the medical students. They are the main stakeholders of medical colleges. Objective: To explore the opinions of medical students regarding the feasibility of NLE. Methods: An exploratory, qualitative study was conducted at Riphah International University, Islamic international medical college, Rawalpindi and Gomal Medical College, D.I. Khan, KP using in-depth interviews. A sample of 12 medical students from different medical colleges in Pakistan was included. The recorded interviews transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was then conducted using NVivo V2 and coded into nodes and daughter nodes, of which 5 themes and 17 subthemes emerged. Results: A total of five themes and 17 themes were created. NLE was deemed as a good standardization tool for assessing the competence of medical graduates. Students believed that current MBBS assessment lacks in clinical skills assessment and did not prepare to treat patients upon graduation. However, they did not want to take another exam after the professional exams especially when no incentives are offered to graduates upon clearing. They suggested NLE should be used as a means of constructive feedback for institutions and students to allow them to work on weak areas. Conclusions: There were mixed opinions regarding the acceptance of the exam. If medical institutions across the country focus their curricula on developing clinical skills and incentives are provided to the doctors upon clearing, the students would readily accept the exam

Meanings of School Success for the Teenager Students in Vocational Schools, Sports Profile

Success represents a general human value attribute that acquires meanings and forms depending on the field of knowledge to which we refer. In formative-educational activities, it takes the form of school success. The complexity of this concept is widely described in specialized literature, but our current interests are centered on the segment of vocational schools, sports profile, following the period of adolescence. "What meanings does school success have for student-athletes, teenagers?", is the question by which we try to outline the nuances of school success, particularly for this category of students. We start from the premise that the level of students' commitment, and their involvement in school activities largely determines success. Based on this commitment, the targeted students, from the vocational schools with a sports profile, enroll on the path of achieving school success in terms of completing their high school studies, obtaining the final exam diploma, and passing the professional skills certification exam.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOTARY AS FREE LEGAL PROFESSION IN KOSOVO

Background: This paper analyses the role of notaries in Kosovo, individuals authorised by the state to draft, solemnise, and legalise legal civil documents. Today, notary services are performed by qualified lawyers who meet state-set criteria and pass a professional exam to practice as independent professionals. The experiences in the world show that notaries contribute to the relieving and efficiency of courts and administrative bodies, thereby expediting legal processes and safeguarding the rights and interests of natural and legal persons. The notary is a public service exercised by authorised persons licensed by the state to fulfil the requests of legal and natural persons through the preparation of notarial acts. In the Republic of Kosovo, notaries are also registered as individual businesses with the Business Registration Agency. During the preparation of these acts, notaries are expected to have high personal and professional integrity, directly impacting the fulfilment of the citizens’ requests with high efficiency and professionalism. In terms of how it is organised and operated, the notary service is very complex in the eyes of the citizens and within the justice system itself. To increase confidence, the Kosovo Chamber of Notaries has identified the development of the notary as a permanent process of modernisation and harmonisation of notary services with the evolving needs of legal and natural persons receiving such services. This strategic focus ensures the effective protection of legal interests and promotes legal certainty. Methods: In the present research, we employed the qualitative method, commonly utilised in the social sciences. Our study uses a combination of literature review and analysis approaches in conjunction with normative, comparative, and historical methods. We analyse the legal treatment that the Kosovo notary system has received from the legislative and academic literature and examine the system's benefits and drawbacks. This approach, which compares the notary system to the one used by the Kosovo courts before 2011, assists in defining the purpose, significance, and status of the notary system in Kosovo. Using the comparison method, we identify the common and distinctive elements of the notarial system in Kosovo as well as the directions for its development under international standards, giving a clear overview of its place, role, and importance of the notarial system in Kosovo. Based on the legal analysis, we highlight the changes in the interior of legal relations, which were previously the responsibility of administrative bodies and courts but are now the responsibility of notaries. Results and Conclusions: The existing normative framework provides a good basis for information on the work of notaries and the Chamber of Notaries. However, an even greater contribution should be made to better inform citizens about the functioning of the notary system, which is crucial for strengthening public confidence in the Notary.

ChatGPT versus Bard: A comparative study

AbstractThe rapid progress in conversational AI has given rise to advanced language models capable of generating human‐like texts. Among these models, ChatGPT and Bard, developed by OpenAI and Google AI respectively, have gained significant attention. With their wide range of functionalities, such as human‐like response generation, proficiency in professional exams, complex problem solving, and more, these models have captured interest. This study presents a comprehensive survey exploring and comparing the capabilities and features of ChatGPT and Bard. We delve into their architectures, training methodologies, performance evaluations, and limitations across various domains. Ethical considerations such as biases and potential misconduct are also examined. Our findings highlight ChatGPT's exceptional performance, positioning it as a leading model. This survey is a vital resource for scholars, innovators, and interested parties operating within the domain of conversational artificial intelligence, offering valuable insights for the advancement of cutting‐edge language models.

Assessing the predictive validity of Provincial Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT).

To assess the predictive validity of Punjab Provincial Medical & Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT). A retrospective correlational study was conducted at the Fatima Memorial Hospital College of Medicine & Dentistry in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were analysed from 415 medical students who had completed the MBBS program from 2018-2020. Bivariate and multivariable regression models were used to adjust for confounders such as age, gender, city of origin, and pre-medical performance. A novel performance-trajectory analysis was used to evaluate whether students with different preadmission MDCAT scores had different performance trajectories in medical school. On simple bivariate analysis, there was a weak but significant (correlational coefficient 0.22-0.33, p<0.001) correlation between MDCAT scores and professional exam scores for all years of medical college. However, multivariable analysis of Matric/Fsc track showed no significant correlation (p > 0.05) between MDCAT and professional exam scores after the first two years. For O/A level students, there was no correlation between MDCAT and professional exam scores for any year of medical college (p>0.05). Trajectory analysis showed that students with exceptionally high MDCAT scores had a superior performance trajectory compared to those with the lowest quartile of MDCAT scores while students with average MDCAT scores had overlapping performance trajectories. For students from the Matric/FSc track only, there is a weak but significant correlation between MDCAT scores and professional exam scores for the first two years. No such correlation exists for O/A level students. Exceptionally high MDCAT scores are predictive of higher achievement in professional exam scores.

ChatGPT sits the DFPH exam: large language model performance and potential to support public health learning

BackgroundArtificial intelligence-based large language models, like ChatGPT, have been rapidly assessed for both risks and potential in health-related assessment and learning. However, their applications in public health professional exams have not yet been studied. We evaluated the performance of ChatGPT in part of the Faculty of Public Health’s Diplomat exam (DFPH).MethodsChatGPT was provided with a bank of 119 publicly available DFPH question parts from past papers. Its performance was assessed by two active DFPH examiners. The degree of insight and level of understanding apparently displayed by ChatGPT was also assessed.ResultsChatGPT passed 3 of 4 papers, surpassing the current pass rate. It performed best on questions relating to research methods. Its answers had a high floor. Examiners identified ChatGPT answers with 73.6% accuracy and human answers with 28.6% accuracy. ChatGPT provided a mean of 3.6 unique insights per question and appeared to demonstrate a required level of learning on 71.4% of occasions.ConclusionsLarge language models have rapidly increasing potential as a learning tool in public health education. However, their factual fallibility and the difficulty of distinguishing their responses from that of humans pose potential threats to teaching and learning.

Applying an Analytical Hierarchy Process for Decision Making Business Strategy in CV. Optik President

Vision is one of the vital organs of the human body which has a very fundamental role for life. With good eyesight, this can help people improve their quality of life. The eyeglass market is anticipated to develop over the next several years as a result of a variety of factors, including expanding populations, a demographic shift toward older age groups, and changing lifestyles characterized by a higher reliance on digital gadgets. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is also one of the factors that increases eye disease because most people use gadgets in their lives, causing symptoms of digital eye strain. In this way, this is a supporting factor in the development of the optical market. The market is expanding the fastest in the Asia Pacific region, with a growth rate of 13.5%. Offline optical retail stores provide significant promise and value. These physical businesses provide customers with an immersive and tangible shopping experience that is unmatched by internet shopping. To guarantee that customers receive accurate prescriptions and distinctive eyewear options, optometrists and store staff offer customized services like frame fittings, professional eye exams, and expert lens consultations. In actual storefronts, customers may physically try on frames to assess fit, comfort, and style. Trained staff members are available to provide timely assistance. Furthermore, a wide range of eyewear options, including designer brands and niche goods, are usually available in these stores, giving customers the opportunity to peruse and select from a diverse inventory. Furthermore, optical retail stores foster confidence and trust, particularly among those who appreciate in-person interactions or have certain vision needs that necessitate expert guidance. By looking at this market development, the company wants to expand, targeting West Karawang, East Karawang and Cikarang as targets for opening their branches. using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method will be able to improve the quality of decision making that will be produced by the company starting from developing criteria and sub-criteria which can ultimately determine the best alternative. The results of this research provide recommendations for new criteria and sub-criteria for the company and also determine which location of the three alternatives the company will provide.

Approaches to Independent Assessment of Qualifications at the University

In recent years, research has become relevant related to the introduction into practice of a new tool for legitimizing professional qualifications for Russia and increasing the effectiveness of processes for ensuring the country’s economy with qualified personnel. To solve this issue, organizations have been created designed to form an objective and transparent procedure for voluntary assessment of qualifications, which is guaranteed to confirm the qualification of a specialist with established requirements and standards – these are centers for assessing qualifications. Meanwhile, the prospects for the development of the integration of tools for independent assessment of qualifications into the educational process of Universities with the strengthening of the role of interaction The employer university is currently obvious. First, the successful completion of an independent qualification assessment increases the competitiveness of graduates in the labor market. Secondly, employers get the opportunity to form an order for training specialists and save on the costs associated with additional training of staff. Thirdly, for the University, an independent assessment of the qualification of a graduate is a source of revers communication necessary to improve the quality of educational programs and develop interaction with employers. The relevance of the research topic is caused by the choice of the optimal option for applying an independent assessment of qualifications in the education system ‒ combining the procedure for the final certification of students and a professional exam. The purpose of the study is to reveal the experience of implementing an independent assessment of qualifications at the University, to identify key problems and ways of further development. The authors believe that the introduction of the GIA-NOC procedure in educational activities will lead to the quality of educational results for students and graduates.

NLP-Based Management of Large Multiple-Choice Test Item Repositories

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are widely used in educational assessments and professional certification exams. Managing large repositories of MCQs, however, poses several challenges due to the high volume of questions and the need to maintain their quality and relevance over time. One of these challenges is the presence of questions that duplicate concepts but are formulated differently. Such questions can indeed elude syntactic controls but provide no added value to the repository. In this paper, we focus on this specific challenge and propose a workflow for the discovery and management of potential duplicate questions in large MCQ repositories. Overall, the workflow comprises three main steps: MCQ preprocessing, similarity computation, and finally a graph-based exploration and analysis of the obtained similarity values. For the preprocessing phase, we consider three main strategies: (i) removing the list of candidate answers from each question, (ii) augmenting each question with the correct answer, or (iii) augmenting each question with all candidate answers. Then, we use deep learning–based natural language processing (NLP) techniques, based on the Transformers architecture, to compute similarities between MCQs based on semantics. Finally, we propose a new approach to graph exploration based on graph communities to analyze the similarities and relationships between MCQs in the graph. We illustrate the approach with a case study of the Competenze Digitali program, a large-scale assessment project by the Italian government.

UNDERGRADUATE ACCOUNTING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING CAREER: A BASIS FOR INTERVENTION PLAN

The paper looks into the factors that impact undergraduate accounting students decision to pursue a professional accounting career and how that decision is influenced by their study habits, attitudes toward professional exams like the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, and future plans to become accounting professionals. Questionnaires are a key component of the studys data collection strategy because it employs a survey methodology. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis techniques were applied to a total of 107 undergraduate accounting students from Laguna State Polytechnic University - Santa Cruz Campus in order to analyze the study objectives. Findings demonstrated that holding a professional license and passing the professional examination in one sitting motivate students to seek careers in professional accounting. The students perspective on a career in professional accounting was similarly collaborative and communication-based, and it demonstrated how important it is to develop qualities like responsibility and accountability in order to succeed as a professional accountant. Results also demonstrated a strong positive link between social factors and students intentions to take the professional examination and pursue careers in accounting. In order to encourage, assist, and motivate accounting students to strive for professionalism, this research suggests that educational institutions, accounting professional bodies, and career counselors all play important roles. KEYWORDS: accounting, professional accounting career, professional examination, social factors