Variety Of Skills Research Articles

When does cognitive crafting matter more in enhancing employee thriving at work? The moderating role of skill variety and job autonomy.

The job crafting literature has not devoted much attention to the effects of specific forms of job crafting, particularly cognitive crafting. The present study builds on Conservation of Resources theory to explain how cognitive crafting might influence work meaningfulness for employees, and in turn, increase their experienced thriving at work. Moreover, we hypothesise that the impact of cognitive crafting on these outcomes is influenced by two motivational job characteristics: skill variety and job autonomy. To test our hypotheses, we collected three-wave survey data from 223 employees employed in a variety of occupations and industries in China. Results indicate that engaging in cognitive crafting enhances employees' work meaningfulness, resulting in thriving at work. Furthermore, skill variety and job autonomy are crucial moderators of these relationships. Specifically, when employees perceived low levels of skill variety or job autonomy, engaging in cognitive crafting was more likely to lead to enhanced work meaningfulness, which in turn resulted in higher levels of thriving at work. Implications for research, theory and practice are discussed.

Tracking informal fraction knowledge and its correlates across first grade.

Young children have informal knowledge of fractions before learning about fraction symbols in school. In the current study, we followed 103 children in the Mid-Atlantic United States from the fall to the spring of first grade to characterize the development of individual differences in early informal fraction knowledge, as well as its relation to other mathematical and cognitive skills. Most children in our sample showed some early fraction knowledge at the beginning of first grade, especially with nonsymbolic fractions and halving, and this knowledge improved over the school year without explicit instruction in fractions. However, there were large individual differences in early fraction knowledge at the start of first grade, which explained significant variance in math achievement at the end of first grade, even when controlling for whole number knowledge and a variety of cognitive skills. Start-of-year whole number knowledge, but not spatial scaling or proportional reasoning, also predicted early end-of-year fraction knowledge. These data can inform activities for learning in the early years to foster both early fraction and integer knowledge in parallel, which may better prepare students for later formal instruction in fractions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

An Analytical Study of Assimilation in English Reading Texts

Abstract This study is concerned with analysing of assimilation as an English co-articulated phenomenon in a selected reading course assigned for Iraqi students in order to enhance the Iraqi ESL learners understanding of variety of English reading skills as well as phonology which is one of the bases of effective and successful reading. The aim of this paper is to help students overcome their problems through reading, listening and fluently pronouncing assimilated words in connected speech of English utterances for successful interaction and minimizing the Iraqi ESL students’ foreign accent. The collected data are the soundtracks of 14 reading passages taken from “Intermediate-Select Readings” /Second Edition by Linda Lee & Erik Gundersen as a second year reading textbook at the College of Languages / University of Kufa. The study analysed the data under scrutiny and found that the reciprocal assimilation is not as it is defined as adjacent sounds having mutual influence on each other to produce a third new fused sound, some features are copied just by one of them. It was also revealed that germination mostly occurs in complete assimilation when consonants in sequence are homorganic (the consonants have two features in common, manner of articulation and phonation). Since manner of articulation feature is existed in both sounds, the third place of articulation feature is copied automatically from the adjacent sound. Keywords: Assimilation, Germination, Voicing, Place, Manner, Regressive, Progressive

Association of stress on eating competence in mothers during pregnancy and six months postpartum

BackgroundPerceived stress is related to poor diet quality and unhealthy dietary patterns in women of reproductive age. Eating competence represents a variety of contextual skills reflecting a comfortable and flexible approach to eating and is associated with diet quality and health related behavior. In non-pregnant samples, perceived stress is negatively associated with eating competence. Given that pregnancy and the postpartum period can be periods of high stress, we hypothesized that higher stress in pregnancy would result in lower pregnancy eating competence.MethodsWomen (n = 296, mean BMIbaseline pregnancy = 26.3 ± SD 6.0) in the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study (PEAS) were recruited from the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area. Perceived stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale and eating competence using the ecSatter Inventory at their first trimester and 6-month postpartum visits. We used a mixed effect model to assess the effect of stress by time on eating competence, controlling for baseline pregnancy BMI, race and ethnicity, poverty to income ratio, and WIC status.ResultsPerceived stress was negatively associated with eating competence (b= -0.23, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001). The interaction of stress by time was negatively associated with eating competence (b = -0.15, SE = 0.08, p = 0.03), indicating that the association of stress with eating competence was stronger in postpartum than in pregnancy.ConclusionsPerceived stress may adversely impact eating competence during both pregnancy and postpartum. Future studies intervening upon stress or eating competence during pregnancy and postpartum may inform potential causal relations.

Recent Advances in Surgical Simulation For Resident Education.

Surgical simulation has become a cornerstone for the training of surgical residents, especially for urology residents. Urology as a specialty bolsters a diverse range of procedures requiring a variety of technical skills ranging from open and robotic surgery to endoscopic procedures. While hands-on supervised training on patients still remains the foundation of residency training and education, it may not be sufficient to achieve proficiency for graduation even if case minimums are achieved. It has been well-established that simulation-based education (SBE) can supplement residency training and achieve the required proficiency benchmarks. Low-fidelity modules, such as benchtop suture kits or laparoscopic boxes, can establish a strong basic skills foundation. Eventually, residents progress to high-fidelity models to refine application of technical skills and improve operative performance. Human cadavers and animal models remain the gold standard for procedural SBE. Recently, given the well-recognized financial and ethical costs associated with cadaveric and animal models, residency programs have shifted their investments toward virtual and more immersive simulations. Urology as a field has pushed the boundaries of SBE and has reached a level where unexplored modalities, e.g., 3D printing, augmented reality, and polymer casting, are widely utilized for surgical training as well as preparation for challenging cases at both the residents, attending and team training level.

Assessing Educators’ Soft Skills: Developing a Self-Assessment Instrument

Educators play multifaceted roles in supporting students’ academic growth, necessitating a diverse knowledge base and a variety of soft skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in the education environment, compelling educators to adapt to these new demands. Consequently, nurturing soft skills among educators has become crucial to effectively address evolving educational challenges. This paper presents the development and validation process of an online questionnaire aimed at measuring Te Pūkenga educators’ self-assessment of their soft skills before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The questionnaire comprises 28 Likert-type scale questions, encompassing 14 identified soft skills, alongside 6 additional questions on sociological and academic factors. A two-stage approach for questionnaire development and validation was used. In stage one, the questionnaire was created through a literature review and the identification of soft skills and independent variables. Stage two involved a content validity check by 10 educators and academic experts, leading to refinement based on their feedback. Subsequently, a pilot study was conducted with 50 random respondents to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument, and a preliminary data analysis was performed. The results of the validation process confirmed the questionnaire’s validity and reliability, as we hypothesised, indicating its potential as a useful research tool for a planned research project. Further research involving a broader range of tertiary institutions can enhance the scale’s validity and reliability, thereby strengthening its applicability to be utilised by diverse educational institutions and in diverse research settings to measure educators’ self-assessments of their acquired soft skills and self-evaluations of how challenging experiences and events in their professional environment influence the implementation of these skills. By embracing and fostering soft skills among educators, educational institutions can better equip their staff to meet the evolving demands and complexities of modern education.

University Extension Programs to Promote the Traditional Knowledge of Marginalised Rural Communities in the ASEAN Region

Many indigenous and marginalised communities, particularly those in tropical regions, traditionally use herbs and medicinal plants to treat various illnesses and disorders. This “traditional knowledge” requires protection. Unfortunately, the World Intellectual Property Organization members have been unable to agree on a definition. However, member states have acted in concert with other members or independently. Initially, the paper analyses the legal instruments utilised by each of the ten countries of ASEAN to protect and promote traditional knowledge. For instance, in 1999, Thailand legislated its Protection and Promotion of Traditional Thai Medicinal Intelligence Act and Plant Varieties Protection Act. The World Health Organization recognises the role of herbal medicines. Universities can play a pivotal role in working with the local communities for the common good and including the community in the rewards from any commercial production. Roles for universities require personnel with the ability to work with local communities and gain their confidence and trust. This knowledge obtained from the community will be held in high regard. Nevertheless, its pharmacology and efficacy must be tested. Universities can also play a role in every step of product development. Finally, examples of successful roles provided by universities and other research institutions are presented. Such projects require a comprehensive team of specialists with a variety of skills, such as scientists, agriculturalists, pharmacists, medical practitioners, intellectual property lawyers, and business development and marketing specialists. Finally, any research and development activities must acknowledge traditional knowledge holders.

Analysis of Bahrain GP Circuit for Use in MotoGP with Account for Gyroscopic Effect of Wheels on Speed and Lean Angle

Motorcycle racing is an exhilarating and demanding sport that requires riders to master a variety of skills and techniques. Among these, counter-steering and leaning the motorcycle are paramount for achieving efficient and safe cornering. Unfortunately, a significant number of major accidents in motorcycle racing occur during the cornering phase, particularly near sharp corners on racing tracks. To mitigate these risks and ensure rider safety, this research project focuses on the dynamic analysis of the gyroscopic couple effect on motorcycle wheels with the aim of determining the safe angle of heel for more efficient and secure cornering.

Multiple and Emotional Intelligence: Correlates of Freshmen Education Students' Academic Performance in English

Multiple and Emotional Intelligence refers to a broader range of human intelligence in children and adults. These are the variety of intellect and skills, including the ability to judge, comprehend, and deal effectively with people, objects, symbols, and the environment, act purposely, reason, and monitor one's emotions. This study aimed to determine whether the Multiple and Emotional Intelligence of Freshmen Education Students correlates with their academic performance in English. Thirty (30) participants from Freshmen Education in one of the Colleges in Cagayan de Oro City School Year 2022–2023 are part of this study. The research instrument used in this study is an adopted questionnaire from Walter McKenzie's Multiple Intelligence inventory and Mind Tools' How Emotionally Intelligent are you. The result shows that participants had varied intelligence. However, intelligence such as intrapersonal and self-awareness, substantially correlated to respondents' academic performance in English. Moreover, multiple and emotional intelligence correlate with respondents' Academic Performance in English, where teachers must be flexible in using instructions that recognize the students' intelligence, particularly intrapersonal and self-awareness, as it will help them perform better in English subjects.

Not “Just” an Undergrad: Undergraduate Journals as a Portal to Participating in Academic Discourse Communities

This essay examines a case study that investigated how students learned and how they applied their writing skills as they pursued publication in an undergraduate scientific journal at a Canadian university. As we conducted a genre analysis of student drafts submitted to the journal and interviewed students who published in the journal’s inaugural year, we noted the desire and eagerness that students had to publish at the undergraduate level. We also noticed certain barriers to students fully participating in research for their discourse communities, including challenges accessing publication opportunities and revising their work for new audiences and contexts. Undergraduate journals offer a tremendous space for them to hone a variety of skills in a supportive environment while also taking the first steps to fully participating in scholarly practice.

Design of Virtual Anchor Based on 3Dmax

With the rapid development of virtual reality and live streaming technologies, virtual anchors have become increasingly popular in recent years. In this paper, we propose a design method of virtual anchors based on 3DMAX. Through the use of modeling, rigging, and animation techniques, virtual anchors with realistic appearances and human-like movements can be created. We also explore the application of machine learning technologies in improving the interaction between virtual anchors and users. In addition, we provide a case study on the design and implementation of a virtual anchor for a popular live streaming platform. Our results show that the use of 3DMAX in virtual anchor design can greatly enhance user engagement and improve the overall user experience.Virtual anchor design technology based on 3DMAX is a highly complex design work, which requires designers to have a variety of skills and creative capabilities, and needs to fully consider the needs of the audience and the development trend of the industry. Designers should also have certain cultural accumulation and creative ability, and be able to design an attractive and valuable virtual anchor image from the perspective of the audience.This paper analyzes the production and design of the current virtual anchors, in order to provide some reference significance for the production, operation and commercial realization of the virtual anchors in the future.

Dynamics of Student Internship System in Faculty of Art of KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana: Exploring Perceptions, Values, Access and Development Outcomes

An internship programme is a great way to connect what is learnt in class with actual work experience. Existing research has underscored the positive contribution of internship to the educational process and career outcomes among students. The internship programme for students of Faculty of Art, KNUST is a requirement or considered as a compulsory 15 credit hour course for the award of undergraduate degree. As such it is a vital component of the curriculum. Nonetheless, empirical literature on the dynamics of the internship programme at the university is sparse. Without insight into these dynamics however, there will be lack of information that could inform policy and continuous improvement of the programme. To bridge this gap, this paper seeks to analyze the internship experiences of students to determine what factors seem to create the greatest perceived value. The study employed the descriptive exploratory study design approach. Data was obtained from a total of 376 students of the Faculty of Art through the use of questionnaire designed in open and close ended patterns and focus discussions. The statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) computer package was used for data analysis, while descriptive statistical tools such as frequency and percentage were used to analyze the facts sought from the questionnaire. The students described a variety of skills learned during the internship including mastering the use of some equipment, software, and report writing. About 80% of the participants indicated that the internship programme was important and linked the classroom work to real work environment. All the students regardless of their experiences indicated they had value for the internship which they believe will play a role in their future career objectives. On the other hand, some of the students had some unfavourable experiences including inadequate work space, provision of inadequate PPEs, boring and difficult tasks. Others were engaged in other duties that were not related to their field of studies, all of which could potentially influence the perception of students.

Related Variety and Regional Development: A Critique

Evolutionary approaches in economic geography have contributed substantially to the growing body of knowledge of regional development processes and their underlying mechanisms. One key concept in the literature on evolutionary economic geography is that of related variety. Herein, regional industry structure is represented through the level of related variety of technologies, skills, or outputs. The related variety concept proposes that regional economic development is favored when an economy diversifies into products or technologies that are closely related to the stock of existing activities. In this article, we raise substantive questions regarding the internal logic of the concept of related variety, its spatial expressions, measurement specifics, empirical regularities and biases, and its possible short- and long-term effects on regional development. Based on this investigation, we make suggestions for improvements to future research.

Organizational factors associated with primary care nurses' self-efficacy in pandemic response: a multilevel study in China.

Building primary care nurses' self-efficacy in the pandemic response has great potential to improve their well-being and work performance. We identified the organizational factors associated with their self-efficacy in pandemic response and propose potential management levers to guide primary care response for the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 175 nurses working in 38 community health centres varying in size and ownership in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Jinan. Guided by self-efficacy theory, 4 nurse-level factors and 2 organization-level factors were selected, and a linear regression model accounting for the cluster-robust standard errors was built to examine their association with primary care nurses' self-efficacy in the pandemic response. Primary care nurses exhibited a high level of self-efficacy in responding to the pandemic (mean = 4.34, range: 0-5). For nurse-level factors, with a 1-point increase in job skill variety, job autonomy, work stress and perceived organizational support, primary care nurses' pandemic response self-efficacy increased by 0.193 points, 0.127 points, 0.156 points, and 0.107 points, respectively. Concerning organization-level factors, each point of improvement in organizational structure, representing higher mechanical organizational structure, was associated with a 0.145-point increase in nurses' self-efficacy. Our study added the knowledge of organizational factors' impact on the pandemic response self-efficacy among primary care nurses and identified the potential management levers for frontline primary care managers to build primary care nurses' self-efficacy in the pandemic response.

Lessons learned from the ROLE 3rd International Hospital in Afghanistan. The necessity of training in expanded surgical skills

Introduction: Acquiring and maintaining a wide range of surgical skills is challenging both for military surgeons and all physicians providing surgical treatment in a wartime conflict. In the article we analyze the activities of the surgeons of the field surgical team of the Army of the Czech Republic operating in the multinational hospital ROLE 3 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) operation. Methods: All patients undergoing surgery between 21st June and 26th September 2012 were evaluated. ISAF soldiers, Afghan Army soldiers, Afghan National Police officers, Afghan civilians and non-Afghan civilians of various nationalities were operated on including children. Combat and noncombat injuries and illnesses requiring acute surgical treatment or elective surgery were monitored. Results: In a period of three months, a total of 442 procedures were performed on 263 patients, 23% of whom were pediatric patients with the mean age of 10 years. Thirty seven percent were operated on due to a combat injury, 29% were operated on due to a non-combat injury, and 34% of the patients were operated on due to a chronic or acute illness. In combat injuries, 57% were combined injuries requiring a solution based on the principle of damage control surgery, and 26% required life-saving procedures for injuries to the chest and large vessels. Conclusion: A military surgeon, as well as a surgeon treating wounds in a war conflict, must have extensive professional knowledge and must master a wide variety of surgical skills to quickly and effectively deal with especially life-threatening conditions, including thoracic and vascular trauma. In contrast to the direction of current surgery towards specializations and sub-specializations, it seems necessary to develop and implement in the Czech Republic a comprehensive surgical training program focusing on war injuries.

Polychronicity as Moderator in the Relationship between Skill Variety and Job Satisfaction

Polychronicity as Moderator in the Relationship between Skill Variety and Job Satisfaction

A meta-analytic investigation of the organizational identification – Job performance relationship in the frontlines

Organizational identification (OI) – which is defined as a sense of oneness with the organization – has consistently been found to increase frontline employee (FLE) job performance. However, whether these performance gains are uniform across different types of frontline jobs (e.g., retail clerks vs. financial advisors) and performance outcomes (e.g., behavioral vs. financial) has yet to be determined. Consequently, frontline managers lack the guidance necessary to decide whether or when they should prioritize investments in OI as a mechanism for achieving organizational performance goals. We begin to redress this knowledge gap through a meta-analytic investigation of the OI-FLE performance relationship, which reveals: (a) an overall positive effect of OI on FLE job performance, (b) job meaningfulness (i.e., job autonomy, skill variety and task significance) weakens the OI-FLE job performance relationship, and (c) this weakening is more pronounced in the case of behavioral and customer (but not financial) performance outcomes. Our study findings thus suggest retail managers should prioritize investments in OI when their goal is to promote desirable FLE behaviors and in situations where the work cannot be made meaningful due to job design constraints (e.g., when providing FLEs autonomy is not possible because the work must be performed in a prespecified manner at a predetermined time).

Investigating English-Majored Students’ Levels of Satisfaction with Their Internship Experiences: A Case Study at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance

This study aims to explore English-majored students’ perceptions of the value of internship and their levels of satisfaction with regard to three workplace dimensions including job characteristics, work environment characteristics, and contextual factors. Fifty interns from the Faculty of English at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance (UEF) participated in this project. Data were collected through questionnaires and then quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. The results indicated that the majority of the interns had positive perceptions of the internship experience and demonstrated their maturity and responsibility. The students also expressed high satisfaction with job characteristics, specifically skill variety, autonomy, feedback, and work-related factors such as co-workers and supervisor support. However, they were somehow dissatisfied with contextual elements such as the working hours and compensation. These findings can assist academic institutions, academic supervisors and host companies in providing students with effective internship experience and enhancing their workplace skills.&#x0D;

Project-based Learning to Promote Learner Autonomy in Training Hospitality Education at a Technical and Vocational Education and Training College

Project-based learning (PjBL) is a teaching and learning approach that involves students actively working on real-world projects, to develop knowledge and skills. This method has been shown to be effective in promoting learner autonomy (LA) and skills development in language learning studies. There is, however, a dearth of research on the use of PjBL in hospitality education, especially in a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) environment. Using a case study research strategy, this study aimed to investigate whether PjBL could be used to promote autonomy and develop employable skills in students in hospitality education. A convergent mixed methods approach was used to develop a framework for PjBL in promoting LA in a TVET environment. The study included a closed-structured questionnaire with responses from 144 (n=144) students from two hospitality programmes, as well as a semi-structured interview with 18 student participants. The findings indicate that PjBL is an effective teaching and learning approach in hospitality education that can promote LA, lead to a deeper understanding of the subject matter, while facilitating the development of a variety of important skills and competencies. Students can apply their knowledge and skills in meaningful ways through hands-on, real-world activities, which can foster a greater sense of autonomy and responsibility for their own learning. Moreover, this study emphasises the significance of incorporating PjBL into hospitality education programmes, to prepare students for success in a rapidly changing world.

Exploring the Determinants of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy: Digital Divide, Computational Thinking, Cognitive Absorption

To effectively utilize artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies such as ChatGPT and realize their novel ethical issues, individuals must have a variety of knowledge and skills about AI. Such knowledge and skills have led to the emergence of AI literacy. Despite the importance of AI literacy in everyday life, little is known about its determinants. To better understand the determinants of AI literacy, we attempted to build a research model relying on previous research and different theoretical frameworks. The model incorporated digital divide, cognitive absorption, and computational thinking. As a major finding from the current study, computational thinking was found to be a significant determinant of AI literacy, which facilitate using, recognizing, and evaluating AI-based technologies. Moreover, we found out that individuals with physical access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) are more expected to use and recognize AI. Also, motivation and skills in using ICTs enable individuals to better evaluate the outcomes of AI-based technologies. The findings also showed that convenient access to ICTs contributes to a deep involvement with AI-based technologies in the use. Further, individuals with higher motivation and skills to use AI technologies are likely to have a pleasant experience after using these technologies.