Summer Semester Research Articles

Feasibility of clinical examination scenarios under pandemic conditions

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contact restrictions occurred worldwide, which affected medical schools as well. It was not possible to hold classroom lectures. Teaching contents had to be converted to adigital curriculum within avery short time. Conditions for assessments posed an even greater challenge. For example, solutions had to be found for objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE), which were explicitly forbidden in some German states. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of an OSCE under pandemic conditions. At the end of the 2020 summer semester, 170students completed acombined otolaryngology and ophthalmology OSCE. Examinations were held in small groups over the course of 5days and complied with strict hygiene regulations. The ophthalmology exam was conducted face to face, and the ENT OSCE virtually. Students were asked to rate the OSCE afterwards. Between 106 and 118 of the students answered the questions. Comparing the face-to-face OSCE with the virtual OSCE, about 49% preferred the face-to-face OSCE and 17% preferred the virtual OSCE; 34% found both variants equally good. Overall, the combination of an ENT and ophthalmology OSCE was rated as positive. It is possible to hold an OSCE even under pandemic conditions. For optimal preparation of the students, among other things, it is necessary to transform teaching contents to adigital curriculum. The combination of an ENT and ophthalmology OSCE was positively evaluated by the students, although the face-to-face OSCE was preferred. The overall high satisfaction of the students confirms the feasibility of avirtual examination with detailed and well-planned preparation.

Digital competencies in medical studies: results of an interdisciplinary course

Digital medicine has become increasingly important, especially with the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine. The COVID19 pandemic has accelerated this trend and emphasized the need for digital competencies in healthcare. However, digital competencies have been insufficiently taught in medical school to date. The introduction of an elective course in digital competencies in medicine fills acurricular gap at the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg. The elective course was developed by an interdisciplinary working group and includes seven modules on topics such as e‑health, telemedicine, AI, hospital information systems, and data literacy. Each module consists of apreparatory self-study unit, atheoretical part, and apractical part. An evaluation was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the elective. Six students participated in the elective course in the summer semester of 2022. The evaluation shows that the goals of the course were achieved. The participants were able to acquire theoretical knowledge and deepen it through practical exercises. The interdisciplinary design of the course promotes exchange between students and teachers and creates synergies. The modular format of the course also allows for current topics, such as generative AI, to be addressed. In order to promote digital competencies among all students of human medicine, it is necessary to integrate the topics into the mandatory curriculum.

Effects of the mental health promotion seminar ‘Coping with stress’ in the undergraduate medical curriculum of the Medical University of Vienna

BackgroundHigh prevalence rates of distress and burnout in medical students are well-documented in mental health literature. Different types of interventions have been developed in the past in order to reduce stress in medical undergraduate students and promote better coping skills. There is, however, a paucity of studies that have tested the effectiveness of these interventions. This study aimed to examine the effect of different versions of the seminar ‘Coping with stress’, which was implemented in the first year of the undergraduate curriculum of the Medical University of Vienna in the summer semester of 2018, on students’ mental health.MethodsInvitations to participate in the study were sent via email to six cohorts of students from the Medical University of Vienna. Two cohorts participated in the onsite version of the seminar ‘Coping with stress’, whereas two cohorts participated in the online version of the seminar, and two cohorts received no intervention (control group). Data on burnout risk, life satisfaction, stress, and knowledge about available help resources were collected via online questionnaires from n = 137 students before and after the curriculum module that contained the seminar.ResultsMedical students who participated in the onsite seminar reported a reduction of some aspects of burnout, a decrease in stress, and an increase in knowledge about available help resources. No such effect was seen in the control group. Participants of the online seminar experienced a similar increase in knowledge about available help resources, but no changes in other outcomes.ConclusionsThe findings support the notion that the onsite seminar of ‘Coping with stress’ had a positive impact on medical students’ mental health and is a useful addition to the medical curriculum by promoting mental health literacy.Trial registrationThis research has been registered in the German Clinical Trial Registry with the registration number DRKS00018981 and the registration date 14/11/2019.

Veterinary teaching in COVID-19 times: perspectives of university teaching staff.

The digitalization of university teaching has been taking place for many years and, in addition to traditional teaching formats such as practicals and face-to-face lectures, more and more e-learning courses have been used in veterinary education for several years. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across Germany had to switch to an ad-hoc, purely digital summer semester. This study evaluated the experiences and implementation of the digital summer semester 2020 at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) Foundation from the perspective of the teaching staff. In addition to the technical equipment used by lecturers, this survey also focused on the effects of the digital semester on teaching and the future practicality of digital teaching formats and strategies in veterinary education. Therefore, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among lecturers involved in the digital summer semester 2020. One hundred and three completed questionnaires were evaluated. The results of the evaluation show that teachers see huge potential in blended learning as a teaching method in veterinary education. In addition, teachers were able to digitize teaching well with the available hardware and software. The teaching staff saw difficulties above all in the loss of practical training and in the digitalization of practical exercises. Teachers also needed significantly more time to plan and implement digital teaching compared to pure face-to-face teaching. In summary blended learning offers many advantages, such as increased flexibility for students and teaching staff. In order to be able to use digital teaching methods and strategies profitably in veterinary education in the future, well thought-out didactic concepts and further technical expansion of the universities are required. In addition, the digital skills of teaching staff should be further trained and promoted.

The association between health behaviours and academic performance moderated by trait mindfulness amongst university students: an observational study.

To target health communication at less health-conscious groups, evidence on health behaviours' effects on non-health-related outcomes - such as academic performance - is necessary. Recent research has highlighted the associations of various health behaviours on academic performance of university students. However, there is a lack of research investigating the most predominant health behaviours simultaneously and their association with academic performance, as well as the factors that potentially influence the direction or strength of these associations. Therefore, this study investigated (I) which of the predominant health behaviours (physical activity, healthy diet, sleep, sedentary behaviour, alcohol consumption, smoking, drug use) are most associated with academic performance and (II) whether the personal resource of trait mindfulness moderates these associations. An online survey was conducted amongst university students during the 2021 summer semester. Group differences in academic performance regarding health behaviours were analysed using ANOVA (N = 1,049). A first linear regression model (N = 571), considering all selected health behaviours simultaneously, assessed their association with academic performance. A second model (N = 540) assessed interaction effects of health behaviours and trait mindfulness. Separate regressions assessed each interaction's association with academic performance. Sleep, fruit and vegetable consumption, and gender were significantly associated with academic performance. The second model showed no significant interaction effects. Targeting sleep and fruit and vegetable consumption might be the most promising strategies for elevating students' academic performance, thereby enabling health communication strategies to reach groups driven by performance improvements rather than health benefits.

Új dialógusok a filozófiai antropológia korai éveiből

The subject of this paper is the program and activities of the so-called “Cologne Constellation” (Scheler, Plessner and Hartmann), i.e. the emergence and critique of philosophical anthropology as a paradigm. Nicolai Hartmann’s new ontology played a significant role in the development of the paradigm and increased its resilience to criticism. In addition to the known writings and activities of the members of the Constellation, some new primary texts have recently been published from Hartmann’s legacy, which are a curiosity in the history of philosophy, and which are special in that they contain the transcripts of some of the meetings of the discussion group that Hartmann led for decades. The presentation of different approaches, the use of vivid examples have resulted in texts that are rich in content and ideas. Of these, the debates of the summer semester of 1942 are crucial for the interest of philosophical anthropology, the stakes of which are to clarify the boundary between the psychological and the spiritual, with particular reference to the relationship between animal-human and the personal and objective (and objectivized) spirit. The latter theme also includes examples relevant to social theory such as mass psychosis, herd mentality or concrete aesthetic experience.

The fate of ancestors living in the countryside in family accounts and in-home archives. The “My Family” Project implemented in 2022 by students of the Institute of History of the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce

The present article contains an introduction (describing problems in the study of microhistory and distinguishing groups interested in these types of considerations), the characteristics of interviews and written papers and the conclusions drawn from them. The basis for its creation was the “My Family” Project, consisting of three elements: students’ written papers, a recording of an interview with a family member (preferably a grandmother or grandfather) and a presentation at a conference. The project was carried out in the summer semester of 2022 with second-year B.A. students at the Institute of History of the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce as part of “The historian’s research methods” classes. Students involved in this initiative also took part in a conference entitled “My Family as an Archival Source” (as part of the “Meetings with an Archival Source” series), which took place on September 28, 2022. A report on this event was written by one of the students participating in the project. The first part of the project consisted of student interviews with family members. Parents and grandparents discussed topics such as the history of their ancestors, the years of German and Soviet occupation, and everyday life. The representatives of the older generation focused on telling about their experience of World War II in small towns of today’s Świętokrzyskie province, while the students’ parents discussed the dull reality of the Polish People’s Republic. The interviews concerning the occupation period were emotional; they show the savagery of the Germans murdering Polish ­civilians and indicate that historians have not yet worked through this issue. Students’ papers deal with the unique history of their ancestors. The topics discussed in them mainly concern the fate of the authors’ great-grandparents and grandparents. The texts describe the realities of Kielce villages during World War II, as well as the hardships of everyday life. The overwhelming majority of the ancestors of the students participating in the project lived in the countryside, having peasant or landowning origins. The article ends with conclusions presented by students during the discussion summarizing the project. Student papers can encourage readers to research their family’s past. Every history student should know the history of their family.

Czech Language Course for Foreigners at the Technical University of Liberec – Flipped Classroom Approach Revisited

Abstract This article gives brief feedback on the application of a flipped classroom approach to the Czech language course for foreigners within the summer semester 2022/2023 at the Technical University of Liberec. It is generally known that the flipped classroom approach is an instructional strategy that involves reversing the traditional roles of in-class lectures and homework. It can offer many potential benefits, such as an active way of learning, enhanced student engagement, and immediate feedback. However, not all subjects or topics may be suitable for the flipped approach, and it may not be the best fit for every teacher or student. Additionally, access to technology and resources outside the classroom can be a potential challenge for some students. In the article, the author first briefly describes the flipped classroom method and then shows its advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the example of the implementation of the flipped classroom method in the Czech language course for foreigners is given and analyzed together with a brief survey of opinions on the flipped classroom method.

Opinie studentów wobec możliwości i ograniczeń wykorzystania systemu ChatGPT

Artificial intelligence (AI), the result of the dynamic development of information technology, has been the subject of research for several decades. ChatGPT is an intelligent system that generates answers to arbitrary questions, and one of its fields of application is education. This article presents the results of a survey conducted as part of a teaching course in management among students at the Krakow University of Economics. The research was aimed at identifying students' opinions on the possibility of using ChatGPT in solving specific decision-making problems and was conducted during the didactic classes in the summer semester of the academic year 2022/23. The article describes the origin and development of ChatGPT, presents the research method and the results of the research. A discussion of the results obtained with conclusions presented in the scientific literature is also made. The analysis shows that the majority of the students surveyed were positive about the use of the ChatGPT system in their classes. The students' responses to the open-ended question revealed different opinions. On the one hand, the benefits of using ChatGPT as a learning support tool were pointed out, such as facilitating information retrieval, paraphrasing text or creating work plans. On the other hand, concerns were raised about laziness, plagiarism and the loss of the ability to search for information reliably and efficiently.

Emotional Intelligence and its Relationship to Psychological Burnout among Yarmouk University Employees

The study aimed to reveal the level of both the emotional intelligence and the psychological burnout and the relation between them among Yarmouk University employees. The study relied on the correlational descriptive approach. The sample of the study consisted of (340) employees (172 males and 168 females) who were selected by the convenience sampling method in the summer semester of the academic year (2020/2021). In order to achieve the objectives of the study, emotional intelligence scale (Schutte et al., 1998), and the psychological burnout scale (Maslach et al., 1996) were used. The results of the study showed that the level of emotional intelligence among Yarmouk University employees came to high level, while the level of psychological burnout came to low level, and there was a negative statistically significant correlation between them. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the level of emotional intelligence due to the variable of gender, but there were statistically significant differences due to the experience, in favor of more than 10 years, as well as to the educational level, in favor of graduate studies. The results of the study as well showed that there were statistically significant differences in the level of psychological burnout due to the variable of gender in favor of males, to the experience in favor of 10 years or less, and due to the educational level in favor of a bachelor's degree or less. The study recommended conducting more studies on the issue of psychological burnout with other variables.

Testing English for Medical Purposes: the effects of traditional and distance education on learning outcomes

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic brought about new cultural and social phenomena that changed social interaction and communication. In this new situation, teachers teaching English for Medical Purposes (EMP) at the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Martin (JFM) had to adapt the courses to the educational needs of the students. This study explores the effects of traditional and distance education on learning outcomes in advanced English learners during three academic years. The sample consisted of 346 students. Three groups (G1, G2, G3) of first-year students attended online as well as face-to-face English courses and took EMP exams at the end of each summer semester. The test results were compared and evaluated. The methods of EMP teaching and testing were different in each group. G1 attended asynchronous online classes, G2 participated in synchronous online classes conducted in real-time, and finally, G3 participated in traditional classes. G1, G2 took online tests, and G3 took a pen-and-paper test. The questionnaire revealed that students appreciated the self-organization of study during online classes, but most criticized the lack of face-to-face communication, the classroom atmosphere, and technical difficulties during online teaching. Students participating in traditional classes missed their own time management and appreciated discussion in the classroom as well as teachers’ feedback on EMP performance.

Identifying Barriers to Basic Needs, Academic Success, and the Vaccination Pattern among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

College students face significant challenges during large-scale disease outbreaks that potentially compromise their basic needs, vaccine confidence, and academic success. Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling, we examined the impact of COVID-19 among college students (N = 828). The survey was administered using the Qualtrics survey platform to collect data on multiple demographic and health behaviors of students in the summer semester (2021). Our study demonstrated that the most common financial shock experienced by the study participants was job loss, with less remarkable changes in food and housing insecurities. Academically, students had the most difficulty learning online compared to other modalities (face-to-face, Hyflex, etc.) and struggled with staying motivated. They also struggled with group work and finding appropriate learning spaces. However, many did not use university support systems such as career and tutoring services. Exploring the COVID-19 vaccination attitudes, we found that only age, ethnicity, classification, and health insurance status were associated with getting vaccinated (p < 0.05). When the learning environment was assessed for various modalities, only college attendance was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the accessible platforms (online, Hyflex, face-to-face, and others); however, nearly 40% of students reported difficulty learning on an online learning platform compared other categories that had much lower proportions. Our findings underscore an immediate need for universities to take measures to improve their preparedness and response strategies to mitigate the negative effects of future large-scale public health emergencies among students.

Student Preferences for Reference Services at a Remote Biological Station Library

abstract: During the 2020 and 2021 summer semesters, the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) transitioned to hybrid classes that were primarily distance learning with two-week inperson sections. The library offered both synchronous and asynchronous reference assistance over the summer term. An analysis showed that students favored using the UMBS LibGuide over synchronous virtual reference help via Zoom. Students further preferred face-to-face interactions over virtual formats, and their preference for LibGuide assistance may carry into the post- COVID-19 classroom. This finding suggests that students prioritize convenience and immediacy over personalized assistance in the Zoom platform. Thus, in providing reference assistance to student populations in the field sciences, balancing face-to-face interactions with convenience and immediacy should be a priority. Recommendations based on the success of the 2020 and 2021 field seasons were suggested for reference interactions in future field courses.

Where Is Utopia in a Time of Disaster and Catastrophe?

In search of new literary voices that might present an answer to Amitav Ghosh’s 2016 lament on the failure of contemporary literary fiction to find forms that adequately express the multiple challenges of the Anthropocene, I came across a review of Allegra Hyde’s debut novel in the Los Angeles Times. The novel’s title, Eleutheria, was suggestive enough to pique my interest: etymologically, it evokes the concepts of liberty and freedom; geographically, it calls to mind the small island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas that was colonized in the late 1640s by a group of English Puritans known as the Eleutheran Adventurers. Add to this that Willa Marks, the novel’s narrator-protagonist, is a twenty-two-year-old member of Generation Z, the same generation as the students we teach these days, and Eleutheria (2022) becomes a worthy candidate for an American Studies syllabus. What kind of narrative tapestry was the author able to weave out of the materials of history, climate change, and a young generation’s growing frustration with the ecological and political state of the world? I was ready to discuss these and similar questions with a group of students in a seminar on Anglophone Literature in the Anthropocene during the summer semester 2023. Serendipitously, the son of an American colleague and long-time friend studied with Allegra Hyde at Oberlin College, where she is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. He suggested that she might be willing to discuss her novel with a group of German students. When I issued the invitation to join us digitally for one session, she accepted. I interviewed Hyde, who is also the author of two short story collections – Of This New World (2016) and The Last Catastrophe (2023)– a few days later. The following text is the transcript of that conversation. It has been edited for readability.

An Assessment of Undergraduate Student Interest in Poultry Science

Poultry production is an important and vital animal agriculture enterprise. The significant economic footprint of the poultry industry coupled with ever-increasing technological and production volume requirements predicates the need for well-qualified, trained employees to help carry the American poultry industry forward. Through the preparation of university-level agricultural degree program graduates lies an opportunity to help address this need. Undergirded by human capital theory (HCT), the purpose of our study was to assess undergraduate agricultural students’ poultry science interest at a non-land-grant college of agriculture (NLGCA). We used a valid and reliable, paper-based survey instrument to collect data from 137 undergraduate agricultural students at [UNIVERSITY]. We found that the majority of respondents were not interested in either poultry science academic programming or a career in the poultry industry. However, we did find that the majority of respondents were interested in completing summer semester internships in the poultry industry and that prior experience working in the poultry industry was a statistically significant predictor of students’ interest in careers in the poultry industry. Based on our findings, we recommend that poultry industry stakeholders (e.g., university faculty, industry representatives) strategically engage undergraduate students to recruit them into the poultry science pipeline.

Evaluation of the eOSCE for testing clinical skills.

The OSCE is a proven instrument for testing practical skills of students, not only in the (veterinary) medical field. At the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation (TiHo), students must complete a 10-week rotation in one of the university’s own clinics during the practical year in the 9th and 10th semesters in addition to other practical training. Within this framework, the first training for acquiring clinical practical skills with a formative examination (OSCE; Objective Structured Clinical Examination) was developed in the Clinical Skills Lab (CSL) in 2014. Since 2018, the TiHo has been the first veterinary medical training institution in Germany to conduct electronic OSCEs (eOSCEs). In the future, eOSCEs will also be introduced as a summative examination at the TiHo. For this reason, students in the practical year of the winter semester 2021/2022 and summer semester 2022 as well as former and current examiners were surveyed regarding their satisfaction with the eOSCE examination format as part of this study. The 175 analyzed questionnaires from students and 27 analyzed questionnaires from examiners showed a high level of satisfaction with the eOSCE overall, but at the same time indicated problems that should be ironed out before it is introduced as a summative examination in the state examination. In addition to its standardization and objectivity, the examination format also convinced with its quality-assurance review procedure and the direct feedback possibility with regard to the students’ performance.

The impact of emotional scaffolding on online teaching and learning in Palestinian English language classrooms during COVID-19

ABSTRACT The sudden global shift to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic required teachers to place more emphasis on strategies that increased student engagement and supported their online learning. Emotional scaffolding is one such strategy that assisted learners by creating positive emotional experiences and representations during the learning process. Applying the lens of (Meyer, D. K., and J. C. Turner. 2007. “Scaffolding Emotions in Classrooms.” In Emotion in Education, edited by P. A. Schutz, and R. Pekrun, 243–258. Elsevier Academic Press) pedagogical goals for emotional scaffolding, this strategy was used in synchronous English language courses taught online at a Palestinian university. The aim was to mitigate pandemic and contextual stresses and overcome challenges associated with online learning by stimulating interactions that developed language skills. To understand students’ perceptions of how emotional scaffolding impacted their learning, data from 97 students enrolled in various English language courses were gathered over the fall, spring, and summer semesters of the academic year 2020/2021. The data included two case studies, field note observations, and an anonymized online questionnaire. Results indicated that students had positive attitudes towards the use of emotional scaffolding strategies to support their online learning. Recommendations for implementation are provided.

TEACHING AND LEARNING SLOVAK PROFESSIONAL TERMINOLOGY

The purpose of the paper is to point out the possibilities of teaching and learning Slovak as a foreign language. The course Slovak as a foreign language allowed foreign students to overcome problems while studying professional subjects in manufacturing technologies. The goal was the creation of suitable professional study material tailored for technical specialization students. Slovak language teachers used mixed methods and forms of study (face-to-face and online). They tried to improve the Slovak language communication skills of manufacturing technologies students. The results of e-exercises and the final e-test of 120 foreign students in the 1st year of bachelor's studies in the summer semester of 2022 were compared. Later the strengths and weaknesses of students were found. The level of professional Slovak terminology was improved by eliminating the most common mistakes. The Moodle platform was used for learning and teaching Slovak as a foreign language as well as Slovak professional terminology.

Reflections Towards the Future of Medical Informatics.

To provide guidance on the future development and role of medical informatics, or biomedical and health informatics, in form of reflections. To report on the author's previous activities as a medical informatician, which spans almost half a century. It began in 1973 when he started to study medical informatics. In 1978, more than four decades ago, his professional work started. He retired at the end of summer semester 2021. This was the occasion to prepare this farewell lecture. In twenty reflections, thoughts are presented on professional careers (R1 - 'places'), on medical informatics as discipline (R2 - 'interdisciplinarity', R3 - 'focuses', R4 - 'affiliations'), on research (R5 - 'duality', R6 - 'confluences', R7 - 'correlations', R8 - 'collaboration'), on education (R9 - 'community', R10 - 'competencies', R11 - 'approaches'), on academic self-governance (R12 - 'autonomy'), on engagement (R13 - 'Sisyphos', R14 - 'professional societies', R15 - 'respect', R16 - 'tightrope walk'), and on good scientific practice (R17 - 'time invariants', R18 - 'Zeitgeist', R19 - 'knowledge gain', R20 - 'exercising'). It has been a pleasure for me to participate in medical informatics activities for almost fifty years. During that time, there have been significant advances, including in medicine and in informatics, and also in medical informatics itself. And now it is the turn of others. While keeping in mind that tradition is not preserving the ashes, but passing on the fire, this report with its reflections may be of some help.

On the Perceptions of Russia as an Educational Destination by the Students at German University

Purpose. The purpose of the article was to explore how Russia is perceived as an educational destination among undergraduate (B. A.) and postgraduate (M. A.) students at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (Kleve, Germany) during the summer semester 2022.Methods. The research was conceived as a reflective study based on the case-oriented research design and with a single case examined: the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (Kleve, Germany) and its undergraduate (B. A.) and postgraduate (M. A.) students. To address the research question: “How is Russia being perceived as an educational destination by undergraduate (B.A) and postgraduate (M.A) students at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Germany?”, a mixed method was selected with archival and document-based research which was paired with a survey as a data collection technique; and a content analysis as a strategy for data analysis.results. Results of this survey have showed that 79% of respondents would like to visit Russia, but only 18% of respondents may consider Russia as a place to go studying (results are based on 33 replies out of 7390 students in total — the justification of small sampling is explained in the Methods part). Strikingly low interest to study in Russia was explained by 1) other educational destination preferences; 2) language barrier, and 3) lack of information on the Russian study programs and 4) insufficient financial support of studying in Russia. In addition, the survey results indicated that the negative perceptions of Russia as an educational destination could be related to the different values held by the students at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, and those held by general population in Russia (as perceived by the students), but this would require further investigation.Conclusions. There are three major findings resulting from this study. Firstly, there is an inadequate attention in International Relations’ literature on the influence of international student mobility and change in students’ worldview and values. Secondly, higher education and international student mobility are considered as one of the instruments for value promotion and factors contributing to the soft power of the states. Thirdly, the results of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences case seem to confirm Sylvie Lomer’s hypothesis that students are already positively predisposed to the country where they intend to go studying.