Source Of Difficulty Research Articles

A look at biochemistry learning difficulties in the undergraduate level

Learning biochemistry can be a challenge for most university students. They represent a lot of difficulty in studying this module. This is evidenced by numerous failures and a lack of interest in the subject. For them, biochemistry is a dry subject requiring extensive memorization and complex language. They also find it boring. However, biochemistry is a key element in the training of biology students and future teachers of life and earth sciences. It is the basis for understanding the mechanisms of life. It helps students to understand the chemical processes that take place in living beings. The aim of our study is to identify students' difficulties in learning biochemistry, in order to deduce the main causes and factors behind the low proficiency in this subject. For this purpose, we communicated with the undergraduate students at our school using NGT and a questionnaire. Students attribute their difficulties mainly to the complexity of the subject and the large amount of information that must be assimilated in a limited time. In addition, the problem of the language of instruction as well as the lack of tutorials and practical work can represent additional factors hindering the learning process. The lack of basic knowledge and the classical teaching methods can also be considered sources of difficulty. At the end of our study, we were able to elucidate the main factors and obstacles that hinder the learning of biochemistry. The students have suggested some solutions including the adoption of new teaching methods promoting active learning, as well as by diversifying the pedagogical supports used in class and the integration of new communication and information technologies (ICT).

Caring and striving: toward a new consumer identity in the process of consumption reduction

Adoption of sufficiency-oriented lifestyles is an important part of curbing overconsumption, yet many individuals who try to reduce their consumption volumes experience social difficulties. Combining the perspectives of care and sufficiency-oriented lifestyle changes, this article aims to contribute to the understanding of why such social obstacles occur, how they might be counteracted and in what ways social relations instead may facilitate consumption reduction. Starting from an interview study with 25 Swedish consumption reducers, this article builds on a processual theory of consumer identity and the perspective of care to explore how care and consumption are (re)negotiated in the different stages of reduction. The results highlight the different aspects of care involved in consumption reduction – from motivations for change to negotiations toward a more holistic understanding of care – and show that consumption reduction in many ways is an ongoing process of both caring and striving. By emphasizing how care is renegotiated in a gradual construction of a caring consumer identity, this article discusses the importance of maintaining a sensitivity to the multi-faceted nature of care, acknowledging it both as a source of difficulties and as a key driver for sufficiency-oriented lifestyle changes.

Modeling of the Complexity Propagation of Crack in a Ductile Material Under Complex Solicitation in Crack Tip: Introduction of a Matrix of Stress Intensity Factors of Bifurcation

In fracture and damage mechanics, modeling of crack propagation has always been a source of difficulties. Numerous works have been carried out on this case at the crack tip, introducing new parameters: the Stress Intensity Factor (K); which is the local Irwin parameter, and also the Rice integral (J), the Griffith's energizing method, in which J and G are the global parameters around the crack tip. The problem of the crack remains very complex and difficult problem to be solved. Several methods are used to investigate the crack problem, namely the method of gradient, the numerical methods by finite elements, as well as the thermodynamic approach and the classical methods of Irwin, Griffith or Rice, according to the Intensity Stress Factor. This study adds to the work already carried out. Using the analytical analysis method of equations, we manage to show that the Stress Intensity Factor has a matrix of rank 3 at the crack tip, which is a better form since it includes complex combination cases of crack mode and bifurcation. Furthermore, when the material is subjected to complex stress, after analysis we emerge from a new singularity in (r) which is different from the classical mode. Finally, we are shown the new form of singularity, which is frequency dependent. This work can explain many situations, for example, the case of certain structural disasters showing the presence of cracks for complex or uncontrollable stress.

A novel decoupled approach combining invertible cross-entropy method with Gaussian process modeling for reliability-based design and topology optimization

Design optimization considering the presence of uncertainties in parameters poses an extremely challenging problem. The source of difficulties comes with reliability-based formulations, where addressing the probabilistic problem exhausts the large computing efforts for failure estimations of the structure violating limit-state functions (LSFs). This paper proposes a novel decoupled approach for effectively solving reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) problems, namely an invertible cross-entropy (iCE) method advantageously combined with a Gaussian process regression (GPR) model, termed as iCE-GPR. The GPR model is applied to approximate the spectrum of LSFs under random parameters. Furthermore, to enhance the accurate prediction of the system failure probability, an active learning process is applied to systematically refine the GPR model by adding new learning points in the region with the largest uncertainty and high-reliability sensitivity through the maximization of an expected feasibility function (EFF). Based on the updated GPR model, the failure probability is estimated by a cost-effective cross-entropy (CE) method without any calls to the actual performance function. To perform the decoupling optimization process with the reliability analysis, the novel iCE, based on the CE method, is developed to update the most probable point (MPP) assigned for the next deterministic optimization process in determining the new optimal design. The method iteratively performs the deterministic optimization process based on the MPP underpinning LSFs sequentially updated by the active learning process. The proposed iCE-GPR method fast-converges the optimal design and significantly alleviates computational burdens associated with reliability analyses. The proposed method is also applied to solve a reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO) problem. Four numerical examples for both the RBDO and RBTO problems are provided to illustrate efficiency and robustness of the proposed iCE-GPR method.

Возможности опосредствования решения арифметических задач третьеклассниками: процедура «комплектования»

<p>The purpose of our study was to reveal students’ typical difficulties when performing trivial transformations of several quantities, which are to be coordinated. We have designed two tasks that required to build up the "sets", and to keep their ratio. 97 third-graders from three secondary Moscow schools were recruited for this study. The participants solved the first task individually in the written form, and afterwards there were 25 couples randomly selected to solve the similar task jointly in an oral interview with the experimenter. The analysis of the results revealed the weakness and confusion of most of the surveyed students in solving such problems. The in-depth consideration of the written works and interviews allowed us to characterize the model means, used by students, as formal or meaningful. Among them, only the “portion-by-portion” measurement of two independent quantities, performed through drawing or using the counting material, provided by the experimenter, turned out to be effective. The study showed that the source of difficulties in solving problems related to “assembling sets” is the lack of adequate model mediation, and confirmed the relevance of considering the "assembling sets problem" in the general line of development of the number concept in primary mathematics education within the framework of V.V. Davydov's theory of learning activity.</p>

FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESSES OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

This research aims to examine how students with specific learning difficulties learn a foreign language in a middle school in a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. In this qualitative research, the case study design was employed. The participants were selected through the purposive sampling method. 1 Five students with specific learning difficulties who are currently attending a middle school, three foreign language (English) teachers, five Turkish language teachers, a psychological counselor and two special education teachers who are the experts within the field of special education were included in the study. The data were collected through observation, interviews, and document analysis techniques. The raw data from these sources were analyzed through descriptive and content analysis. According to the findings, the students' foreign language learning process consists of categories such as affective characteristics, process, sources of difficulties, peer influence, media usage, advantages and disadvantages, strategies, and recommendations. The research concludes that when the affective domain objectives of language education are initiated, plans are made according to students' interests and needs, content is simplified, and appropriate strategies are determined, the learning process can take place. It is recommended that teachers be trained in this field to make these adjustments.

Building Resilience in Patients Undergoing ART

“The coffee shops I’ve cried in” Building resilience is part of an individual’s personal growth and development and has long term benefits for clients. In this presentation Helen will focus on the importance of clients building resilience in their fertility treatment journey. She introduces a social work perspective of the patient context and the sources of difficulty that they may encounter during ART, before discussing resilience. Helen locates resilience within a human development model; the social-ecological model adapted from the work of Urie Brofenbrenner. She explores how clinics can support clients to build resilience both through the fertility counsellor role and at the multi-disciplinary team/unit level.

Types and Sources of Difficulties in English Number-related Idioms

Types and Sources of Difficulties in English Number-related Idioms

Charlie Haden’s earplugs

ABSTRACT “Charlie Haden’s Earplugs” explores how tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia have shaped the musicality and sonic production of the jazz bassist and composer. While Haden maintained a negative attitude toward his hearing damage over the course of his long musical career, viewing it as a limitation and a source of difficulty, this paper brings together evidence to suggest that Haden’s condition also provided him a productive means to exert control over his sonic reality. In this way, these maligned conditions are part and parcel of Haden’s personal engagement with the world, and therefore, part of his creative process and distinct aesthetic. This analysis is accomplished by a forensic account of Haden’s listening particularities through his interviews, as well an analysis of his approach as an improvising partner. This paper also draws from extant models of disability studies to explore the concept of “deaf-gain” and how it may be transposed to the disorders from which Haden suffered. There are to-date many well-established accounts of the deaf experience in disability studies and in music scholarship. This paper offers insight to another cluster of hearing dysfunction, which not only suggests a new paradigm for imagining disability in music, but also revises the very concept of hearing as it is commonly understood.

Optimizing the surface of orthohedra with virtual reality in primary school

Despite its importance for mathematics, science and technology, the conceptualization and calculation of volumes and surfaces of geometric solids is a source of difficulties, both in primary and secondary school. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is a powerful resource to overcome these difficulties and promote learning with understanding that enables students to go beyond current curricular contents. This paper presents a design-research study in 6th grade of primary school, comprising three cycles, that allowed schoolchildren aged 11-12 to tackle a final challenge: the optimization of the surface area of orthohedra of a given volume. The design of the cycles, their implementation and the results obtained are described. Reflections are made on the benefits and drawbacks involved in using IVR in the classroom, and on the methodological strategies that enabled the students to successfully overcome the challenge posed.

Testing the whole number interference hypothesis: Contributions of inhibitory control and whole number knowledge to fraction understanding.

The present study tests two predictions stemming from the hypothesis that a source of difficulty with rational numbers is interference from whole number magnitude knowledge. First, inhibitory control should be an independent predictor of fraction understanding, even after controlling for working memory. Second, if the source of interference is whole number knowledge, then it should hinder fraction understanding. These predictions were tested in a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of U.S. children (N = 765; 337 female) in Grades 3 (ages 8-9), 5 (ages 10-11), and 7 (ages 12-13) who completed a battery of computerized tests. The fraction comparison task included problems with both shared components (e.g., 3/5 > 2/5) and distinct components (e.g., 2/3 > 5/9), and problems that were congruent (e.g., 5/6 > 3/4) and incongruent (e.g., 3/4 > 5/7) with whole number knowledge. Inhibitory control predicted fraction comparison performance over and above working memory across component and congruency types. Whole number knowledge did not hinder performance and instead positively predicted performance for fractions with shared components. These results highlight a role for inhibitory control in rational number understanding and suggest that its contribution may be distinct from inhibiting whole number magnitude knowledge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Teaching of STEM Subjects in Africa: Perspectives of Gender, Difficult Topics, School Ownership and Recommendation of CTCA

The new senior secondary computer studies curriculum for multilingual West African schools came into use in 2015. Since the beginning of its application, there have been few reported studies on the difficulty level of the content as perceived by students, gender equity, and school ownership. The study had two main purposes–to find out (a) the topics in the new computer studies curriculum that secondary school students perceive to be difficult; (b) if gender, and school ownership impact students’ perception of the difficulty of the computer studies topics. Participants were 1,501 computer studies students from nine public and 12 private senior secondary schools in Nigeria and Ghana. About 51% of the respondents were females. Three-quarters of the schools are in urban areas, the rest are in rural locations. Rich qualitative data on the sources of difficulty (unique for this study) are reported. Slight gender differences and marked rural/urban differences were found. Recommendations were made for improving the teaching and learning of computer studies in African schools with the use of Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA).

Is a Theological Synthesis Still Possible? The Paradigm of Objective Mariology

As a “doctrinal synthesis of the Christian faith” (St. John Paul II), the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God could serve as a focal point that brings together various theological concepts and approaches pertaining to salvation history. For that to happen, however, it is necessary to delve into and discover the richness of Mariology. Often regarded as a secondary discipline, as a context for other disciplines or even as a source of difficulties in ecumenical dialogue, Mariology nowadays needs a revival of its own. The call for constructing an “objective Mariology” presumes that the autonomy of theology as an academic discipline will be preserved and that theological reflection on the Virgin Mary will be objectivized in terms of both form and content. To meet these demands, one must strive to respect the supernatural purpose and sources of theology as such, and strengthen and develop biblical Mariology as well as the reflection of the Church Fathers. Furthermore, there is a need to draw from the rich legacy of the Franciscan school when reflecting on the unity of God’s plan of creation and Redemption in His eternal reasons. Finally, one must not accept a departure from the “hermeneutic of continuity” in the Catholic doctrine on the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Immaculate and Assumed. The article sets out to describe the essence of the above assumptions and proposes specific conditions that would foster the development of an “objective Mariology”. In that respect, it is important to establish the First Person of the Holy Trinity as the starting point for any reflection on the plan of salvation—of which the Immaculate Conception is the ultimate origin and ultimate goal.

EFL English Student’s Ability and Difficulties in Dealing with Academic Phrases

The high quality of academic writing is highly influenced by the sufficient use of academic phrases. This research examined the students with English major backgrounds in both English education and English literature and found their difficult recourses. This research developed an academic phrase test and adopted a questionnaire on students’ perception on the source of academic phrase difficulties. There were 58 respondents from English majors with 49 from English education and 9 from English literature. The result of the test indicated that the student’s ability in academic phrases needs to be improved. The students perceived those unfamiliar words usage, the absence of the syllabi, insufficient teaching, and less experience in using them are the source of difficulties. Therefore, it can be said that academic phraseology should be included in the English student’s curriculum to solve the student’s issues. By doing this students’ exposure to academic phrases can be also increased so they will have more experience dealing with the phrases and can resolve their unfamiliarity with the words used in academic phrases. The findings of this study suggest that students in the English background majors should be assisted with academic phrases lessons to improve their academic writing in general and academic phrase usage in particular.

Tuberculose primitive du cavum : un diagnostic peu commun

Primary tuberculosis of the cavum is a rare entity. It can occur at any age, especially between the second and ninth decade. We report the case of a 17-years-old patient with nasal obstruction and left laterocervical adenomegaly. A cervico-facial CT scan showed a suspicious looking tumor process of the nasopharynx. Histological analysis of the biopsies taken showed chronic granulomatous inflammation with necrosis and the absence of tuberculosis lesions in the usual sites, especially the lungs, led to the diagnosis of primary tuberculosis of the cavum. There was a good evolution on antituberculosis drugs. This unusual location can be a source of difficulties and delay in diagnosis, especially because of the clinical presentation, which suggests a nasopharyngeal tumour. In developing countries, where this disease remains relatively endemic, cross-sectional imaging techniques and histopathological analysis are of great interest for the management of patients.

Impact of financial constraints and financial distress on cash holdings

Abstract The aim of the study is to examine the impact of financial constraints and financial distress on cash holdings, both in normal and crisis times. We collected the 4,406 firm-year observations of companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Our research shows that companies maintain higher cash holdings during a crisis than in a normal period. However, in contrast to our expectations, companies with financial difficulties (constraints and distress) have lower cash holdings both in normal and crisis times. The originality of our research lies in realizing that different sources of difficulties might overlap at the same time (external with internal). We also analyze how cash holdings react to a combined impact of difficulties of different natures (external and internal). We believe that cash holdings have recently increased their meaning as we face the situation of constant and increasing uncertainty: still ongoing COVID-19 crisis prolonged with Russian aggression on Ukraine and outburst of inflation.

A Case Study of the Impact of Language Concordance on Patient Care, Satisfaction, and Comfort with Sharing Sensitive Information During Medical Care.

Linguistic barriers continue to be a source of difficulty and inappropriate treatment in our healthcare system. Several studies have shown the importance of language concordance, which leads to increased trust and higher patient satisfaction. The aim of this is study is to determine patients' satisfaction and comfort levels with sharing sensitive information in Spanish with either the health care provider or an interpreter, respectively, and to compare the results to find out if there is an option that patients prefer. There were two different groups of participants in the study. The experimental group was directly seen by Spanish-speaking student doctors while the control group was seen by English-speaking student doctors that had the aid of an interpreter. Several questions were asked to participants via survey in order to measure their comfort levels during the encounter. The results of this study demonstrate that having Spanish-speaking healthcare providers providing health care to Hispanic patients can raise patients' comfort levels and satisfaction in contrast to having the aid of an interpreter. Providing second language training to student doctors can potentially improve patient care and reduce health inequities facing LEP patients. Given the small sample size of our study, future projects should expand the study to include more participants.

Expertise overcomes impasse to yield far transfer and insight in problem-solving

Sources of difficulty in insight problem-solving have been identified, but current theories are less successful at explaining discovery of solution ideas. Here, we explore the role of expertise in promoting insight. In Experiment 1, experienced designers and financiers solved visual and verbal problems. Expertise did not influence solution rates for verbal problems, but designers solved more visual problems than financiers, despite similar incorrect initial attempts. In Experiment 2, experienced and novice designers attempted problems either unconstrained, prevented from drawing, or sitting on their hands to prevent drawing and gesture. Hand and drawing constraints removed the positive benefits of expertise. Experienced designers appear to solve visual problems by using strategies to explore the visuo-spatial environment in search of new representations. The results indicate that expert strategic knowledge can be a source of insight. They also show that strategic transfer of expertise to far domains can be achieved.

The sequence of algebraic problem-solving paths: Evidence from structure sense of Indonesian student

The algebraic structure is one of the axiomatic mathematical materials that consists of definitions and theorems. Learning algebraic structure will facilitate the development of logical reasoning, hence facilitating the study of other aspects of axiomatic mathematics. Even with this, several researchers say a lack of algebraic structure sense is a source of difficulty in acquiring algebraic structures. This study aims to examine a pattern of sequences of problem-solving paths in algebra, which is an illustration of learners' algebraic structure sense so that it can be utilized to enhance the ability to solve problems involving algebraic structure. This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach. Students who have received abstract algebra courses were chosen to serve as subjects. The instruments include tests based on algebraic structure sense, questionnaires, and interviews. This study reveals the sequence of paths used by students in the structure sense process for group materials, i.e., path of construction–analogy (constructing known mathematical properties or objects, then analogizing unknown mathematical properties or objects), path of analogy–abstraction (analogizing an unknown mathematical property or object with consideration of the initial knowledge, then abstracting a new definition), path of abstraction-construction (abstracting the definition of the extraction of a known mathematical structure or object, then constructing a new mathematical structure or object), and path of formal-construction (constructing the structure of known and unknown mathematical properties or objects through the logical deduction of a familiar definition). In general, the student's structure sense path for solving problems of group material begins with construction, followed by analogy, abstraction, and formal construction. Based on these findings, it is suggested that there is a way for lecturers to observe how students develop algebraic concepts, particularly group material, so that they can employ the appropriate strategy while teaching group concepts in the future.

Intervariant Linguistic Phenomena in Semantic “Baking” in National Variants of Spanish

The article deals with the issue of semantic discrepancies between the lexical units of the Spanish language national variants on the example of the semantic field “Bread and baking” lexemes. The relevance of the study is due to its focus on the needs of the current stage of development of comparative semantics, variantology and intervariant dialectology, which provide for the gradual coverage of all the supporting semantic fields of the language in the communicative-pragmatic aspect. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that through a comparative intervariant analysis of language units with the primary meaning of baking, the cultural specificity of the corresponding concepts in different Spanish-speaking countries and regions within the framework of a multinational language is revealed. Particular attention is paid to the semantic processes and linguistic phenomena underlying the intervariant discrepancies, their classification is proposed in relation to this area. The question is raised about the importance of extralinguistic factors in the formation of the alimentary thesaurus of a particular country and culture or sets of cultures in a certain territory. As a result of the study, it was proved that the vocabulary of the field “Baking” is a source of difficulties in intercultural communication, directly related to linguistic phenomena in the field of variantology and intervariant dialectology of the Spanish language.