Level Tools Research Articles

Book critique: A comparative analysis of social science and public health in three key works

This critique offers a comparative analysis of three seminal works that explore the intersection of social science and public health: “The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better” by Wilkinson and Pickett, “The Health Gap: The Challenge of an Unequal World” by Marmot, and “Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts” edited by Marmot and Wilkinson. Each book examines how social inequalities, particularly income disparity, education, and employment, shape health outcomes, advocating for systemic changes to address these disparities. The critique emphasizes their shared focus on the social determinants of health, but highlights distinct contributions: The first book focuses on income inequality, the second explores global health disparities, and the third offers a multidisciplinary perspective on the broader social factors influencing health. These works collectively form an interdisciplinary framework that links social science to public health, advocating for policies that address the root causes of health inequities.

دور القيادة الإدارية في رفع الروح المعنوية والإنتاجية لدى موظفي وزارة الإعلام بالرياض

This study aimed to identify the leadership patterns prevailing in the Ministry of media, and it is also aimed to know the level of morale spirit of employees in Ministry of media as well as to know the prevailing leadership patterns in level of morale spirit of employees in Ministry of media. The study used the descriptive methodology because it is suitable with the study issue through describing leadership patterns prevailing in Ministry of media. The study community represented in all those who are working in the Ministry of media from first rank up to the tenth rank that consisted of 322 employees where the questionnaire has been distributed to all study community individuals, about 242 questionnaires have been retrieved and (12) questionnaires have been removed due to its invalidity; therefore, the researcher has obtained (230) questionnaire valid for statistical analysis i.e. 71%. In order to fulfill the study objectives, the researcher has used the questionnaire as a tool for collecting study data that consisted of three parts (personal information, leadership patterns, the level of moral spirit). The study results revealed that the democratic pattern is prevailing in Ministry of media and following of corresponding and autocratic pattern by the officials in Ministry of media was not confirmed. It is clear from declination results that the independent variable (the democratic pattern) is the only independent variable that been inserted in declination equation for prediction by moral spirit position with employees of Ministry of media whereas the leadership pattern has been removed (Correspondence, autocratic) from the equation which stating that it doesn’t effect on morale spirit of employees in Ministry of media. In the light of these results the researcher recommended several recommendations the most important of which are: trying to do all that fostering the practice of Democratic leadership pattern in Ministry of media, awareness of leaders in Ministry of media not to be affected by workers’ desires, to encourage the leaders in Ministry of media to use justified evaluation among employees and to notify them by job justice and giving them money and morale incentives, guiding the leaders in Ministry of media to observe personnel’s capabilities when distributing the tasks among them, and directing leaders in Ministry of media to provide enough training opportunities to the workers.

Онтологические аспекты философии А.А. Козлова

The article examines the ontological views of Alexei Alexandrovich Kozlov, a prominent representative of Russian idealist philosophy. It emphasizes that the Russian philosopher transforms Gottfried Leibniz’s monadology in the spirit of a unique doctrine he refers to as “panpsychism”. A.A. Kozlov rejects the radical boundary between mind and matter, asserting that matter is merely a lower level of spirit. Moreover, the philosopher highlights that it is impossible to conceive of actions without an actor and delineates a concept of multiple “substantial doers”. Regarding time, A.A. Kozlov introduces the notion of a “prospective series”, i.e., an order that we perceive precisely as development. The philosopher refers to this position as the concept of a timeless development. As for space, A.A. Kozlov believes that we see a symbol that real substances exist not in isolation, but interrelated, in a single connection. The author of the article concludes that the direction of “panpsychism”, with A.A. Kozlov as one of its brightest representatives, remains relevant. In a world where digital technologies are becoming significant, panpsychism can help in finding new ways for humans to interact with artificial intelligence.

Entrepreneurship Culture in Administration and Law Students: A Transdisciplinary Exploration

The entrepreneurship culture in young individuals is characterized by a set of traits and qualities that foster and promote the entrepreneurial spirit and the pursuit of opportunities for creation and innovation. In the case of vocational students, these traits may be manifested as attitudes, knowledge, and skills exhibited within specific contexts. The conducted study aimed to analyze the entrepreneurship culture in young Administration and Law students, as well as to compare this culture based on their educational profiles, considering two variables. An instrument was administered to a population comprising 582 students. The findings lead to the conclusion that both Administration and Law students exhibit a promising level of entrepreneurial spirit, which can be further enhanced through their vocational education.

Benefit of classical leveling for geoid-based vertical reference frames

Classically, vertical reference frames were realized as national or continent-wide networks of geopotential differences derived from geodetic leveling, i.e., from the combination of spirit leveling and gravimetry. Those networks are affected by systematic errors in leveling, leading to tilts in the order of decimeter to meter in larger networks. Today, there opens the possibility to establish a worldwide unified vertical reference frame based on a conventional (quasi)geoid model. Such a frame would be accessible through GNSS measurements, i.e., physical heights would be derived by the method of GNSS-leveling. The question arises, whether existing geodetic leveling data are abolished completely for the realization of vertical reference frames, are used for validation purposes only, or whether existing or future geodetic leveling data can still be of use for the realization of vertical reference frames. The question is mainly driven by the high quality of leveled potential differences over short distances. In the following we investigate two approaches for the combination of geopotential numbers from GNSS-leveling and potential differences from geodetic leveling. In the first approach, both data sets are combined in a common network adjustment leading to potential values at the benchmarks of the leveling network. In the second approach, potential differences from geodetic leveling are used as observable for regional gravity field modeling. This leads to a grid of geoid heights based on classical observables like gravity anomalies and now also on leveled potential differences. Based on synthetic data and a realistic stochastic model, we show that incorporating leveled potential differences improves the quality of a continent-wide network of GNSS-heights (approach 1) by about 40% and that formal and empirical errors of a regional geoid model (approach 2) are reduced by about 20% at leveling benchmarks. While these numbers strongly depend on the chosen stochastic model, the results show the benefit of using leveled potential differences for the realization of a modern geoid-based reference frame. Independent of the specific numbers of the improvement, an additional benefit is the consistency (within the error bounds of each observation type) of leveling data with vertical coordinates from GNSS and a conventional geoid model. Even though we focus on geodetic leveling, the methods proposed are independent of the specific technique used to observe potential (or equivalently height) differences and can thus be applied also to other techniques like chronometric or hydrodynamic leveling.

Digital matching of palatal rugae patterns for forensic identification in edentulous denture wearers.

Identifying edentulous victims in forensic contexts poses a significant challenge. It has been reported that having a denture to reproduce and compare Palatal Rugae (PR) patterns is crucial for identifying edentulous individuals, yet there are no validated protocols for conducting this procedure. In this study, a new method was developed and validated for plaster molding of the internal surface of upper dentures, along with a protocol involving focus-stacked photographs and reference scales. Thirty-eight edentulous subjects participated in the study, obtaining plaster models of the patients (PM), and their dentures (AM) were standardized. The AM/PM model was highlighted and photographed with ten shots in different z-focuses for each model, using standard lighting and aligning the position of the PR perpendicular to the photographic axis using tubular spirit levels and modeling clay. The images were processed using the stacking technique and analyzed by three observers through the proposed protocol using Adobe® Photoshop®. The results were analyzed based on the intra-observer and inter-observer agreement levels, with a 95% confidence interval. This study demonstrated high-precision intra-observer and inter-observer agreement (k = 1) in the matching of Palatal Rugae (PR) and maxillary morphology obtained from participants and their dentures. The protocol is simple, cost-effective, and precise. It enables standardization of the technique for obtaining plaster models, and the exposure of PR and photographic protocol minimizes the presence of artifacts in the images, thereby reducing the likelihood of errors and promoting the reproducibility of both the recording technique and the comparison of the PR.

Inequality and social harm: Revisiting the Spirit Level debate by reproducing and updating it, as well as reanalysing the data with qualitative comparative analysis

This article explores the relationship between inequality and social harm, revisiting the original “Spirit Level” data from Wilkinson and Pickett, updating it for a later time period, and considering what difference it makes to their results by addressing criticisms made of their original research by using an alternative measure of inequality and expanding the range of possible causal factors. To achieve this, it makes use of both the original method used by Wilkinson and Pickett and that of a different approach, Qualitative Comparative Analysis. It finds that a measure of the kind of democracy (lower “integrative democracy”), along with higher inequality, are the key factors at the root of solutions for explaining higher social harm in both periods, which both follow up the suggestions by Wilkinson and Pickett about the role of democracy in explaining social problems, as well as making the extent and means of that relationship clearer.

Principals’ administrative skills in public senior secondary schools: A case of Ilorin Nigeria

Implementation of administrative skills by secondary school principals plays an inevitable role towards the attainment of educational goals and objectives. This study investigated principals' administrative skills implementation in public senior secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis of Kwara State on the indicators of principals’ financial and physical facilities maintenance and interpersonal relationship skills. The study adopted a descriptive survey. One hundred teachers were randomly selected from public senior secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis as a sample. The researcher instrument titled Assessment of Principals’ Administrative Skills Questionnaire (APASQ) was used for data collection. Two research questions were raised and answered to guide the conduct of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions raised. Findings showed that 28.8% constituted the majority of the respondents who agreed that principals had financial skills in Ilorin Metropolis. Results indicated that 45.6% constituted the majority of the respondents who strongly agreed that principals had physical facilities maintenance skills. It was shown that 42% constituted the majority of the respondents who strongly agreed that their principals had interpersonal relationship skills. Findings revealed that 68% constituted the majority who agreed that the level of principals’ administrative skills in public senior secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis was high. It was recommended among others that principals endeavour to keep a high level of professional spirit and good moral standards in the schools to adopt their administrative skills to sustain a good working environment for teachers and other staff in their schools.

Variety of femoral anteversion and its measurement in cementless total hip arthroplasty: Does robotic technology improve accuracy?

BackgroundHigh-performance total hip arthroplasty (THA) depends on the accurate position of components. However, femoral anteversion is variable, and current studies only used traditional instruments to evaluate it, such as protractor and spirit level with limited cases. This study aimed to identify the variability in the measured femoral native anteversion and intraoperative stem anteversion under different measurement methods, including intraoperative robotic method. We hypothesized that robotic technology was more accurate than traditional instruments for femoral anteversion evaluation.MethodsThis study included 117 hips of patients who underwent robotic-assisted THA between November 2019 and March 2021. Preoperative native femoral anteversion was measured using a robotic system. Intraoperative femoral stem anteversion was evaluated visually, and then measured with a goniometer and a robotic system, respectively. Variability in the measured femoral native anteversion and intraoperative femoral stem anteversion was calculated and compared. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Pearson correlation analysis were used to assess the consistency and correlation of anteversion of different measurements and postoperative CT-measured stem anteversion, respectively.ResultsThe result of measurement for preoperative native femoral anteversion was more variable than the intraoperative robotic-measured stem anteversion. Intraoperative robotic-measured stem version showed the highest correlation with postoperative CT measurement of stem version (r = 0.806, P < 0.001), while intraoperative surgeon estimation had the lowest correlation coefficient (r = 0.281, P = 0.025). As for the consistency with postoperative CT measurement of femoral stem anteversion, the intraoperative robotic-measured femoral stem version also had the highest value (ICC = 0.892, P < 0.001).ConclusionNative femoral anteversion was variable preoperatively. Using cementless stems, anteversion was also highly variable. Robotic assessment for stem anteversion during surgery was more consistent with the final position than the preoperative assessment and conventional intraoperative estimation.

MEDIATION MODEL OF SELF-EFFICACY ON STUDENT ENTREPRENEURIAL INTEREST

Unemployment in Indonesia presents a pressing social issue that demands attention and resolution. This research aims to enhance the entrepreneurial interest of Indonesian university graduates as a potential solution to the unemployment problem. The study primarily focuses on understanding the role of the family environment in shaping individual character and as a platform for instilling entrepreneurial values. Entrepreneurship education is considered a pivotal factor in developing entrepreneurial skills, which, in turn, stimulate the growth of entrepreneurial interest, spirit, and higher self-efficacy levels among students. The findings of this research provide compelling evidence that family background and entrepreneurship education significantly contribute to boosting students' entrepreneurial interest. This plays a vital role in addressing the unemployment challenge. By nurturing entrepreneurial aspirations among graduates, the study promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career choice in Indonesia. Consequently, it aids in curbing unemployment rates by empowering graduates with the skills and mindset needed for entrepreneurial success. This research underscores the potential for family influence and entrepreneurship education to serve as effective tools in encouraging entrepreneurial interest among students, contributing to a more sustainable solution to unemployment.

Digital competences in research: creativity and entrepreneurship as essential predictors for teacher training

The first purpose of this study was to analyse the digital research competences of higher education teaching staff, depending on whether the level of creativity of the teacher to initiate new research projects and their level of entrepreneurial spirit was low/good. Following, it was analysed whether the use of different emerging technologies significantly affect the digital skills of teachers in research work; and to know in what order the use of these emerging technologies or the combination of several of them affect the digital competences of teachers. A ex post facto design was used with a sample of 1740 Higher Education teachers. Digital skills were measured using the instrument of Guillén-Gámez et al. (Educ Inf Technol 10.1007/s10639-023-11895-2, 2023). The levels of creativity and entrepreneurship were analyzed with dichotomous variables from a 10-point Likert scale (less than 7 points-low level, greater than or equal to 7-good level). The results showed that, although teachers possessed an adequate level of digital research skills, this could vary depending on transversal skills such as creativity and entrepreneurship, with large differences when these skills were at a basic level. Furthermore, depending on whether teachers had research experience in XR technology, cryptocurrencies, facial authentication systems, wearables or robotics, amongst others, this significantly affected the level of digital competence in research. The added value of this study lies on the one hand, in the fact that there are hardly any studies that analyse this subject; and on the other hand, the implications that this could have for institutions to launch training initiatives for their teaching staff in emerging technologies, as well as in transversal competences in any disciplinary field.

THE AFTERMATHS OF UNMANAGED TEACHER-TEACHER PROFESSIONAL RELATIONS IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE TAMALE EDUCATION METROPOLIS, GHANA

The study adopted the qualitative research approach to understand the lived experiences of teachers with regard to the aftermaths of unmanaged teacher-teacher professional relations in senior high schools in the Tamale Education Metropolis. A purposive sampling technique was used to select fifteen (15) secondary school teachers. Face-to-face in-depth individual interviews were conducted. Data were collected through the use of the Pen-and-Paper Personal method. Thematic analytical method was used to analyse collected data. Findings were that the aftermaths of unmanaged teacher-teacher professional relations in schools include teacher stress and burnout, teacher inadequate belongingness and motivation, chaos and conflict, inadequate team spirit and collaboration among teachers, uncooperative teacher behaviours and inadequate knowledge and information sharing among teachers. Recommendations made were that school management in meetings should create rooms where there is open communication and adequate interactions among all teachers and where all teachers are encouraged to develop strong love, care and concern for the well-being and happiness of colleague teachers. The school management should work with the Ghana Education Service to train and equip all teachers on strategies to deal and cope with stress as a result of poor teacher-teacher relations. Team-building exercises should be organized by school management where experts in Team Building are invited to educate and instill in all teachers the need for them to have a high level of team spirit.

Pengembangan Jiwa Kewirausahaan Siswa-Siswi Melalui Inovasi di Bidang Entrepreneurship

Schools that have complete facilities with professional teaching staff should be able to produce good graduates and be able to achieve the expected goals, one of which is to form an entrepreneurial spirit in entrepreneurship subjects and foster creativity so that they can become great entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of entrepreneurial spirit possessed by students and the development of an entrepreneurial spirit through innovation in the field of entrepreneurship. The method in this research is this research using a quantitative approach. The research subjects were students of SMPIT Darojatul Ashfad with a total of 50 students. The results of the data analysis for each indicator show that all the indicators that represent are in the high category.

Analisis Jiwa Kewirausahaan terhadap Keberhasilan Usaha Peternak Plasma Ayam Ras Pedaging di Gianyar-Bali

The increase in the population of broiler chickens is in line with the increasing public demand for chicken and the improving economy of Bali in the new normal period of Covid-19. The entrepreneurial spirit plays an important role in the progress of the broiler business. This study aims to analyze: the level of entrepreneurial spirit of farmers; which indicators of the entrepreneurial spirit and characteristics of farmers have the most dominant influence on the success of broiler business; and the influence of entrepreneurial spirit and farmer's characteristics on the success of broiler business in Gianyar Regency, Bali Province. The study was conducted using a purposive sampling method, simple random sampling was conducted on 40 farmers using a structured questionnaire to obtain primary research data. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS). The results showed that most of the respondents had a fairly high entrepreneurial spirit. The entrepreneurial spirit of breeders is proven to be influenced by self-confidence, initiative, has a motive for achievement, has a leadership spirit, and likes, where liking challenges is the strongest indicator to reflect this variable. While the individual characteristics of breeders are influenced by age, education, skills, number of chicken ownership, and knowledge. The number of chicken ownership is the most dominant reflecting indicator.

A CREATIVE MODEL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEARNING TO IMPROVE SELF-EFFICACY, ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

This study aims to produce a valid, practical and effective model of entrepreneurial learning to achieve human resources with high level of knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit, and it uses Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is someone’s belief or confidence to implement a variety of activities based on the knowledge, experience and skills possessed. The study was conducted at State University of Medan, Indonesia and some small companies. The population was the whole 2016 classes studying entrepreneurship at State University of Medan and all the small businesses in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Four classes in the Faculty of Economics and four companies were selected by purposive random sampling. The development research method used: 1) initial investigation, 2) design, 3) realization (construction), and 4) testing, evaluation, revision. The sample was used for the application and experimentation of the learning model, and the companies were for students’ internship/observation. The quality of the models was assessed using the indicators of validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The validity was tested by experts of instructional model. The effectiveness was measured by comparing 1) self-efficacy, 2) entrepreneurial intention, and 3) the improvement of learning achievement by Student’s t-test. The research findings proved that the application of business-based entrepreneurial learning model can positively and significantly improve students’ entrepreneurial intention, but it cannot improve the academic achievement of students.

Spirit of Bureaucratic Change of Decision Makers in Banyumas District Facing Challenges in the VUCA Era

Decentralization requires the bureaucracy to be able to solve various problems faced by the community at the local level. Meanwhile, the context of social change in society is directly proportional to the complexity of opportunities. The greater the complexity of the opportunity, the greater the uncertainty. The VUCA Era created uncertainty in human civilization, including public administration. Public administration must ensure how far the uncertainties in the VUCA Era can be anticipated in efforts to organize public administration, particularly in the decision-making process. For this reason, this article aims to identify the spirit of change in decision-making bureaucrats in Banyumas Regency to face the VUCA Era. The method used is a descriptive quantitative approach. Data was collected using a survey method for decision-making bureaucrats within government agencies in Banyumas Regency. The results of the study show that the level of spirit of change in decision-maker bureaucrats in Banyumas Regency in facing challenges in the VUCA era is at a moderate level. This indicates that decision-making bureaucrats still need support and encouragement in facing challenges in the VUCA era, especially adaptability and sustainable positive change.

Cross-cultural Communication of Ancient Chinese Astronomical and Calendar from the Perspective of Multimodal Cognitive Discourse Analysis

Cultural soft power plays an increasingly crucial role in the international competition. Therefore, how to effectively spread 24 Solar Terms culture has become one of the main focuses for cultural scholars. The paper is based on the multimodal cognitive analysis, and it interprets the clip video Saying China Festival which enjoys a great popularity in overseas cultural communication. Various modalities including image, colour and sound reflect three levels of 24 Solar Terms culture: material, behavior and spirit levels, shaping the image of ancient Chinese culture through metaphor and metonymy. Relying on the results of the investigations, several practical suggestions of the cross-cultural communication are put forward: First, we ought to make use of the overlapped schemata to reduce the influence caused by the cultural differences, nonverbal modalities could be used frequently. Then, the stimulus of the overseas audience’s recognition of traditional Chinese cultural through emotional mechanisms is also a reasonable choice.

The Sociality of Madness: Hegel on Spirit's Pathology and the Sanity of Ethicality

Abstract Despite a profound concern for the epistemological, ontological and ethical conditions for being-at-home-in-the-world, G.W.F. Hegel published very little on a particularly serious threat to being-at-home: mental illness and disorder. The chief exception is found in Hegel's Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1830). In this work, Hegel briefly provides an ontology of madness (Verrücktheit), wherein madness consists in the inward collapsing of subjectivity and objectivity into the individual's unconscious and primordial feeling soul. While there has been an increasing number of studies on Hegel's conception of madness, I propose that there is another overlooked way to understand madness in Hegel's system: as social pathology. I argue in this article that Hegel offers a compelling social account of madness in the Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), which arises at the elevated, self-reflective and community level of spirit. This sociality of madness, as I call it, occurs when spirit is unable to reconcile two contradictory yet equally essential aspects of its reality, resulting in spirit's structural homelessness. I argue that by examining this overlooked sociality of madness, we may read Hegel's political-philosophical project in a new light: on the one hand, the ethical life (Sittlichkeit) presented in the Philosophy of Right (1821) becomes understood as a political therapeutic. On the other hand, if the ethical life fails to live up to the demand of being an adequate spiritual therapeutic, then the traditional reading of the Philosophy of Right as a reconciliatory hermeneutic becomes problematized, opening up new avenues for the proliferation of social pathology.

Statistical Assessment of the Difference between the Height Differences Obtained by Spirit and Trigonometric Leveling Techniques

Statistical Assessment of the Difference between the Height Differences Obtained by Spirit and Trigonometric Leveling Techniques

PARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION VARIATION, ITS IMPACT AND DEVELOPMENT THRESHOLD: Dealing with Geographical Disparities at Three Agricultural Technology Parks, Indonesia

Although participatory development communication (PDC) is still young, its variations in some countries have been emerging to a dynamic field nurtured by many disciplines. At the same time, PDC practices for sustaining the agricultural sector in different geographics require development thresholds as psychological and sociological necessity. Consequently, the implementation of agricultural innovations in Indonesia often leads to variations in the participation practice in several Agricultural Technology Parks (ATP) that need specific treatment. This study aims to analyse the comparison of variables in each location of ATP Bogor, Lamongan, and Garut. To determine relevant strategies to achieve optimal results or goal(s). This research design was a cross-sectional survey, the data collected through a questionnaire involving 218 relevant respondents. The method used in this research is the T-test method, Kruskal-Wallis Test then continued with the Dunn (Post Hoc) Test. This study results in a P-Value shows each variable &lt;0.05. This indicates there are distinction of each quantity. Hence, it can be stated that there is a significant difference in the concentration of the three ATPs: Bogor, Lamongan, and Garut. As a result, different communication strategies are needed in handling variations in participation. Thus, different locations (geographical side) affect the difference in the level of PDC as well as affect the level of social entrepreneurship spirit that has an impact on the level of welfare of ATP farmers.