Public State University Research Articles

Validity study of the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory among higher education nursing faculty.

to adapt and validate the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory (3D-WFI) for Brazil's cultural reality and assess the psychometric properties. a methodological study developed in six stages: initial translation; synthesis of translations; back translation; review by expert committee; pretest; and review of the adaptation process by the researchers. For validity, the instrument was applied to a sample of 318 nursing professors from Brazilian federal and state public universities. Data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability and instrument reliability (Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega). the 3D-WFI instrument showed excellent internal consistency (α=0.95 and ω=0.97), three dimensions and explained variance of 62.77%. the Brazilian version of the instrument showed excellent psychometric properties for assessing fatigue among Brazilian workers.

University setting and infrastructure for the people’s well-being: Universidad de Guadalajara in the face of the pandemic

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) placed its infrastructure, —particularly schools, laboratories, research centers and institutes, and departments related to the areas of health and human resources— at the service of civil authorities and the population in general. Before any other public university in Mexico, UdeG implemented and published measures to prevent COVID-19 infections, which began with the suspension of public meetings and face-to-face activities, and the installation of a Health Situation Room, and which continued with the Enabling of the Active COVID-19 Detection System, the reconversion of the Civil Hospitals of Guadalajara, until reaching the Design of the Vaccination Plan, to name a few. The objective of this article is to describe how actions related to the management of the university environment and infrastructure not only put the largest state public university in the country at people’s service as never before, but also about how we have been forced to reconceptualize the mission and vision of higher education based on the needs identified during the pandemic, from a humanistic, integrative, unitary, global and interdisciplinary perspective.Keyword: COVID-19, universities, setting and infrastructure, health sciences, innovation

Didactic aspects involving the production of digital videos by pre-service Mathematics teachers

The research reported in this article aimed to investigate didactic aspects involved in the production of digital videos by mathematics pre-service teachers for the participation in the Festival of Digital Videos and Mathematics Education. The data were produced in the course named "Didactics of Mathematics" with two classes of an undergraduate course in Mathematics at a public state university. The video production process was based on the notion of “digital mathematical performance”. Based on the instructor's supervision, the groups produced six videos, four of which were submitted to the Festival, exploring different elementary and high school mathematical contents and using different artistic-narrative languages. The didactic proposal is innovative considering the interface involving the use of digital technologies and the arts in Mathematics Education, with emphasis on multimodality. Participation in the Festival offered the means to build alternative images of mathematics and aesthetic mathematical experiences for future teachers.

Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Working Students Amidst Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought drastic changes in various institutions worldwide. It catalyzed the implementation of new-normal learning through alternative learning modalities. This descriptive phenomenological study aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities encountered by working students during the pandemic. Using criteria, the researchers have purposively chosen nine (9) working students from a public state university. A written interview questionnaire was utilized to gather data, which the researchers sent to the informants through the Messenger application. The informants were instructed to answer the question using Gibbs’ Reflective Model as a guide, where they needed to elaborate the description of their experience, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. The gathered data were analyzed using thematic data analysis. The results included themes such as themes (1) challenges perceived and (2) opportunities gained while working and studying. Further, the researchers generated six (6) categories from the analyzed data. It revealed that working students during the pandemic encounter challenges since they (1) recognize emotional and physical-self limitations and (2) experience lesser in-person connection and mobilization. Regardless, they gained opportunities (3) to develop character and skills, (4) in their finances, (5) to establish a positive outlook, and (6) to develop coping mechanisms. Thus, working students encounter obstacles in this new normal yet obtain benefits integral to their education and personal development.

Prevenção e manejo do suicídio: a perspectiva de futuros médicos

Abstract Suicide has acquired progressive importance in bioethical reflections, constituting a multifactorial theme that raises important debates for medical teaching and practice, especially regarding autonomy and vulnerability. To investigate the topic in the field of medical education, this study sought to understand the opinion of medical students on the subject. Data were collected by a semi-structured questionnaire applied to 188 students (all genders) enrolled in a public state university. The findings reinforce the importance of personal and academic preparation through interventions with people at risk of suicide. However, the topic of suicide is still little discussed during the training of future physicians, particularly considering the importance of educational and preventive actions in this scenario.

What do young people know about HIV? Results of a cross sectional study on 18-24-year-old students.

Increasing people's knowledge of transmission, prevention, early diagnosis, and available treatments is a key step toward HIV control; it means setting the conditions for empowerment and enabling individuals to make aware choices about the prevention strategy best suited to their needs. This study aims to identify unmet needs on HIV knowledge among freshman students. A cross sectional study was carried out at the University of Cagliari, which is an Italian public state university. Data were collected by means of an anonymous questionnaire; the final sample included 801 students. Results offer a detailed picture of students' knowledge and perceptions of HIV. Several topics deserve to be better understood by students, but the main gaps relate to the pre-exposure prophylaxis and the decreased likelihood of sexually transmitting HIV due to early treatments. Students' vision of the quality of life of people living with HIV was negatively affected by perceiving as relevant the effects of HIV on physical health or on sexual/affective domains, while conversely, it seemed positively affected by knowing that current treatments are useful for counteracting physical symptoms and decreasing the possibility of transmitting HIV. Being aware of the potential benefits of current therapies could favour a less negative view, in line with the current state of the beneficial effects of HIV treatment. Universities are a valuable setting to bridge the HIV knowledge gap and thus also contribute to tackling stigma and actively promoting HIV testing.

Experiences of social work students in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a growing body of research on the impacts of pandemics on students globally. This holds true for the social work discipline: pandemic-related research on the overall social work education and practice has been on the ascendancy. That said, there is still the need for research studies that specifically focus on the impacts of pandemics and crises on social work students. This exploratory, IRB-approved mixed-methods study collected quantitative and qualitative data from 66 undergraduate and graduate social work students at a large public state university on the United States east coast. Participants responded to survey questions about their experiences and stress responses and areas of support during the early part of the ongoing pandemic. Utilizing the researchers’ own public university in the U.S. east coast as a case study, this article highlights examples and explores the level of institutional, faculty, and staff support from both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This paper contributes to the social work field by examining student stress responses through quantitative and qualitative data from students’ self-reported responses. It also highlights certain protective factors—including support systems and coping mechanisms—for students during the early stages of the pandemic.

Factors that interfere with the behavioral intention of using remote classes by Accounting Sciences Course Students of Paraná State Public institutions

The objective of this study is to verify the factors that interfere with the behavioral intention of using the classes in the remote modality by the Accounting Sciences Course Students of Paraná State Public Universities. The research was carried out through the quantitative approach and the structural equation modeling technique was used for data analysis (SEM). Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the basis, and the sample consisted of 292 respondents. The results of the study point out that the students perceived the usefulness and importance of the classes in remote modality using digital technologies, and that previous knowledge of technologies contributed positively to the ease of use perception. It was also possible to verify that the students found no difficulty accessing the classes in the environment provided by the IHE. Finally, despite all the challenges of the pandemic period and the emergency adoption of the remote classes modality, the Paraná State IHEs managed to continue with the school activities, overcoming great difficulties at a time of great uncertainty, and that the students understand that such changes were necessary, even if they didn't happen exactly as they would like to. The findings of this research are expected to contribute positively to the formulation of crisis coping strategies by the IHEs as well as to the planning of institutional virtual platforms.

More service or more advancement: Institutional barriers to academic success for women and women of color faculty at a large public comprehensive minority-serving state university.

More service or more advancement: Institutional barriers to academic success for women and women of color faculty at a large public comprehensive minority-serving state university.

Research Note—Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Educational Experiences: Perspectives of Undergraduate Social Work Students

ABSTRACT Disruptions caused by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) during the spring 2020 semester has magnified the need to understand student experiences during pandemics, especially as research on social work students’ experiences during pandemics is limited. Forty-two undergraduate social work students at a large public state university in Pennsylvania participated in this quantitative research study. Academics, work/life balance, and financial burden emerged as top stressors. Friends, family, pets, professors and academic staff, and faith and spirituality were the main sources of support for students. With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, the findings of this study offer pertinent lessons for baccalaureate social work professors, students, and programs on pandemic-related stress, stress responses, and support systems that have not been explored in previous studies.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Perhaps not surprisingly, the biggest fans of allowing alcohol sales at college home games are college students, based on recent activity from student governments in South Dakota. Working together to convince the state public universities' Board of Regents to change the policy, student governments at Dakota State University, Northern State University, the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and South Dakota State University say allowing alcohol sales at home games would decrease binge drinking and improve attendance. However, the Board of Regents only allows alcohol sales at home games in box suite and lounge areas; those in general admission seats are not allowed to drink at the games. The Board of Regents said schools could make thousands of dollars in concession income and students say allowing drinking would “create a better atmosphere.” Thanks to the Argus Leader for this news.

Challenges of Information Technology Education Student’s Online Classes during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Selected Public Colleges and Universities in the Philippines

Purpose-Many educational systems across the world have shifted to online learning methodology as a measure against Covid-19 Pandemic to continue educating students. This phenomenon is causing a lot of complications to the educational system around the world in the context of developing countries, especially to the public state colleges and universities. This paper aims to identify and describe the challenges of online learning from the perspective of Information Technology Education (ITE) students in the public state colleges and universities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method-It used descriptive research for the conducted of the study wherein survey questionnaires were sent out via electronic survey in different state colleges and universities in the Philippines. The evaluations were calculated using descriptive statistics and Chi-square and responses were compared between their profilesusing a nonparametric test. Results-The findings obtained the demographic profile of the ITE students with the degree of BS Information Technology, BS Computer Science, and BS Information System such courses, year level, and place they live. Additionally, the study gained a significant relationship between student profile in the device used in class, internet connectivity, student type of data connection, capability to attend online class, and their commitment to participate and submit class requirements. The study identifies different interrelated challenges such as the majority of the student only using smartphones in onlinelearning and poor internet connection as they tried to adapt to online learning because they are committed to participating and submitting requirements. Conclusion-The study gives insights into the current condition experienced by the students in the school administrations and officials, and faculty as well to strengthen the appropriate online teaching mode and other practices applicable to the students. It can also useto emphasize to be more responsive to the learning needs of the IT students, especially beyond the conventional classrooms.Recommendations-It is suggested that educational institutions must create appropriate and effective content, and provide digital literacy training to current faculty to improve learning outcomes. Lastly, a strong Information Communication Technology Office that focuses on the development of a different website and mobile application that assist the need of the students and faculty may be established.

Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic Uncertainty in Negative Emotional States and Resilience as Mediators against Suicide Ideation, Drug Addiction and Alcoholism.

This research uses structural equation modeling to determine the influence of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic as an independent variable in the negative emotional states and resilience (as mediating variables) vs. drug addiction, alcoholism, and suicide ideation as dependent variables in 5557 students from a public state university in Northern Mexico. The five variables are related through eight hypotheses and tested using partial least squares. We used an adapted questionnaire sent by email in May 2020. Findings show that uncertainty facing the COVID-19 pandemic had a direct and significant influence on negative emotional states and a significant inverse effect on resilience; in the trajectory, drug addiction and alcoholism, and suicide ideation are explained.

Efficiency Analysis of Higher Education Institutions: Use of Categorical Variables

This paper focuses on the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) based efficiency evaluation to find the impact of two-step categorical impact on the enrollment efficiency of colleges in Bihar, one of the largest states of India. The objective of the study is to find the impact of factors, other than college-specific, on the efficiency of the colleges. The proposed research includes colleges funded and managed through seven state public universities. To follow the homogeneity condition of DEA, colleges providing courses of Arts (languages and humanities only), Science, and Commerce only, have been selected. The numbers of students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate courses are considered as two outputs. Numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff are considered as inputs. Colleges have been classified into two categories based on their presence in the rural or urban areas. The efficiency of a college due to any categorical value is calculated as the ratio of overall efficiency and efficiency calculated with similar categorical Decision-Making Units (DMUs) only. The impact of both the categorical variables, affiliation to university and geographical presence, has been analyzed through the hypothesis testing with the null hypothesis that there is no impact of category on the efficiency of DMUs due to a categorical variable.

State-Public University Contractual Relationship Impact on Student’s Accessibility Rights: The Agency Theory Perspective

The state-public university contractual relationship constrains public universities to be driven by the state expected level of quality output of graduates. The relationship reduces institutional substantive and procedural autonomy in specific key areas like student admission. In order to achieve good results consonant to the state support, universities are directed to ensure strict scrutiny of those they admit. This locks out many qualifying students from accessing studies at state-funded institutions. This study uses the perspective of agency theory to assess the impact of state – public university contractual relationship on student’s accessibility rights. The interpretive phenomenological analysis enabled to appreciate data collected through self-administered questions given to seven participants in four public and regional universities. The analysis bases on parameters of selection and admission. The study recommends capital grant, national ranking of academic units, and policy imperatives for special interest groups as the means by which sub-Saharan higher education institutions can maximise students’ access rights

A Qualitative Study on Speaking Anxiety among Pre-Service Teachers

Despite being competent in the English language, pre-service teachers struggle a lot when it comes to public speaking. Their ability to deliver and speak competently is hindered by speaking anxiety. The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of speaking anxiety among pre-service teachers and identify how pre-service teachers cope up with speaking anxiety. This study was administered to 7 pre-service teachers using a convenience sampling technique from a reputable public state university in Southern Philippines. The findings showed that speaking anxiety among pre-service teachers is caused by the fear of committing mistakes, having high expectations from the audience, nervousness, and lack of preparation. Additionally, the techniques used by pre-service teachers to cope up with speaking anxiety include preparing an outline, practicing before the actual speech, and boosting one’s self-confidence. Research revealed that speaking anxiety can be eased by employing techniques such as exposure to speaking engagements, preparation, and believing in oneself.

A aprendizagem da docência aportada no PIBID: apontamentos iniciais

The text discusses teaching learning in the initial training of Pedagogy students who participated in the Institutional Program for Teaching Initiation Scholarships - PIBID at a state public university, located in Northeastern Brazil, from 2014 to 2016. The analysis focuses on contributions from experience formative experienced in the scope of PIBID in the strengthening of teaching knowledge fostered during initial, training aimed at learning the teaching profession. The empirical data derives from a qualitative case study of the instrumental type, a path that involved the interview technique, carried out with two PIBID scholarship holders linked to the Pedagogy subproject. It became evident that the Program is identified as a unique context of densification of training, especially with regard to the consolidation of the learning of teaching knowledge constituted during initial training.

Antecedents of Employees Work Engagement: A Study on an Ethiopian Universities in Case of Amhara Regional State

This study aimed to investigate the antecedents influencing employees’ engagement at universities in Amhar Reginal state Ethiopia. The study used descriptive and explanatory research designs. A total of 320 academics staffs were taken from ten Amhara Reginal State public Universities as a sample and 282 valid questionnaires collected. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to select the employees from each University. Also, cross sectional survey method applied to collect data via Likert scale questionnaire. Correlation and multiple regression modeling were used to appraisal association and predict the relationships. Initially, a pilot test was a sampled of 30 instructors to check data scale reliability. The study found that all the independent variables (work environment, leadership, reward, organizational support, work motivation) variables had statistically significant correlation with employees’ engagement. Morover the study founded that all the studied variables were predictors of workers engagement(R2= 0.662); but the predictors that had foremost influence were working environment, leadership and work motivation. Remarkable emphasis and devotion is required particularly on variables such as working environment, leadership and work motivation as they have reveled significantly greater influence on employees engagement. Universities shall focus on creating better work environment, working on instructors motivating factors and more work is required to improve the leadership to boost work engagement.

INSIGHTS ON TEACHING CHESS TO UNDERGRADUATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to explore how undergraduate university students react to chess instruction. Certain patterns emerged from 10 offerings of a Freshman Seminar entitled “Beginners’ Chess and 21st Century Thinking Skills”. The course enrolled only first-year and second-year undergraduate students at a large public state university in the USA. The students tended to have little or no knowledge of chess prior to the course. The course made extensive use of chess-related websites available on the Internet such as chess.com, lichess.org, and chessgames.com. The instruction involved the projection of a chess-related website projected onto a large classroom screen with the use of an instructor’s computer connected to a projector that projected the computer-based image onto the screen. The course had 10-20 students in each annual offering of the course that lasted 15 weeks. The student evaluations of the course were very positive, indicating that the students enjoyed the course very much. The course involved instruction in chess on topics such as tactics and basic checkmates along with instruction on the cognitive psychological foundations of chess on topics such as problem solving and critical thinking. The primary task in the course was that each student had to prepare a critical evaluation of two of their own chess games that included correct usage of proper algebraic notation for the chess moves. The chess activity that the students enjoyed the most was group competition.

Sun Exposure, Tanning Behaviors, and Sunburn: Examining Activities Associated With Harmful Ultraviolet Radiation Exposures in College Students.

Understanding the behaviors that lead to sunburn is an important objective toward developing intervention strategies to reduce risk for skin cancers. Our cross-sectional study surveyed 400 college students aged 18 and older at a public state university in the northeastern US in 2018 to assess tanning behaviors, outdoor activities, sun protection, and sunburn over the past year. Sunburn was exceedingly common; over half reported one or more sunburns in the past 12months. Outdoor intentional and unintentional tanning were also common. Male sex, White race, sun sensitive skin type, and outdoor intentional and unintentional tanning were independently associated with increased odds of sunburn. Water and non-water sports, sunbathing, and vacations were also associated with sunburn. These results indicate that tanning and outdoor activities such as sports are important behaviors on which to focus for sunburn prevention among college students. Understanding the behaviors that are associated with sunburn provides useful opportunities to prevent skin cancer among young people.