Abstract: Developing a responsible personal worldview is central to sustainable development, but achieving quality education to promote transformative learning for sustainability is thus far, poorly understood. Most programs involving education for sustainable development rely on changing behavior, rather than attitudes. The emphasis is on the scientific and utilitarian aspect of sustainability with negligible importance on the intrinsic value of nature. Campus sustainability projects include building sustainable gardens and implementing energy-efficient upgrades, instead of focusing on educating for sustainable development through exploration of students’ values and beliefs. Even though green technology adoption maybe the right thing to do, most schools are not targeting the root cause of the environmental crisis; they are just providing palliative measures. This study explores the under-examined factors that lead to pro-environmental behavior by investigating the environmental perceptions of both college business students and personnel of green organizations. A mixed research approach of qualitative, based on structured interviews, and quantitative instruments was developed including 30 college-level students’ interviews and 40 green organization staff members involved in sustainable activities. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Categorization of the responses to the open‐ended questions was conducted with the purpose of identifying the main types of factors influencing attitudes and correlating with behaviors. Overall the findings of this study indicated a lack of appreciation for nature, and inability to understand interconnectedness and apply critical thinking. The results of the survey conducted on undergraduate students indicated that the responses of business and liberal arts students by independent t-test were significantly different, with a p‐value of 0.03. While liberal arts students showed an understanding of human interdependence with nature and its delicate balance, business students seemed to believe that humans were meant to rule over the rest of nature. This result was quite intriguing from the perspective that business students will be defining markets, influencing society, controlling and managing businesses that supposedly, in the face of climate change, shall implement sustainable activities. These alarming results led to the focus on green businesses in order to better understand their motivation to engage in sustainable activities. Additionally, a probit model revealed that childhood exposure to nature has a significantly positive impact in pro-environmental attitudes to most of the New Ecological Paradigm scales. Based on these findings, this paper discusses educators including Socrates, John Dewey and Paulo Freire in the implementation of eco-pedagogy and transformative learning following a curriculum with emphasis on critical and systems thinking, which are deemed to be key ingredients in quality education for sustainable development.
Abstract: Pain management is a question of quality of life and
an indicator for nursing quality. Chronic pain which is predominant
in oncology and palliative nursing situations is perceived today as a
multifactorial, individual emotional experience with specific
characteristics including the sociocultural dimension when dealing
with migrant patients. This dimension of chronic pain is of major
importance in professional nursing of migrant patients in hospices or
palliative care units. Objectives of the study are: 1. To find out more
about the sociocultural views on pain and nursing care, on customs
and nursing practices connected with pain of both Turkish Muslim
and German Christian women, 2. To improve individual and family
oriented nursing practice with view to sociocultural needs of patients
in severe pain in palliative care. In a qualitative-explorative comparative study 4 groups of women,
Turkish Muslims immigrants (4 from the first generation, 5 from the
second generation) and German Christian women of two generations
(5 of each age group) of the same age groups as the Turkish women
and with similar educational backgrounds were interviewed (semistructured
ethnographic interviews using Spradley, 1979) on their
perceptions and experiences of pain and nursing care within their
families. For both target groups the presentation will demonstrate the
following results in detail: Utterance of pain as well as “private” and
“public” pain vary within different societies and cultures. Permitted
forms of pain utterance are learned in childhood and determine
attitudes and expectations in adulthood. Language, especially when
metaphors and symbols are used, plays a major role for
misunderstandings. The sociocultural context of illness may include
specific beliefs that are important to the patients and yet seem more
than far-fetched from a biomedical perspective. Pain can be an
influential factor in family relationships where respect or hierarchies
do not allow the direct utterance of individual needs. Specific
resources are often, although not exclusively, linked to religious
convictions and are significantly helpful in reducing pain. The discussion will evaluate the results of the study with view to
the relevant literature and present nursing interventions and
instruments beyond medication that are helpful when dealing with
patients from various socio-cultural backgrounds in painful end-oflife
situations.
Abstract: Background: Breast milk may impact early brain
development, with potentially important biological, medical and
social implications. There is an important discussion on which is the
adequate breastfeeding extension to the development consolidation
and how the children breastfeeding affects their psychomotor
development, in the first year of life, and in following periods as
well. Some special fats (LC PUFA) contained in breast milk play a
key role in the brain’s maturation and cognitive development or
social skills. These capacities created during breastfeeding time
would be unfolded throughout all lifespan. Aim of the study: In our research, we have studied the effect of
breastfeeding in preschooler's psychomotor assessment.
Method: This study was conducted in a sample of 158 preschool
children in Vlorë, Albania. We have measured the psychometric
parameters of preschoolers with ASQ-3 (Age&Stage Questionnaires-
3). The studied sample was divided in three groups according to their
breastfeeding duration (3, 6 and 12 months). Results: Children breastfed for only 3 months have definitely
lower psychometric scores compared to the ones with 6 or more
months of breastfeeding (respectively 217 to 239 ASQ-3 scores). Six
and twelvemonth breastfed children have progressively more odds to
have high levels of psychomotor development comparing to those
with only 3 months of breastfeeding. The most affected psychometric
domains by shortness of breastfeeding are Communication and
Global motor. Conclusion: This leads to conclusion that to ensure high
psychomotor parameters during childhood is necessary breastfeeding
for at least 6 months.
Abstract: This study aimed to 1) develop pre-service teachers’
leadership skills through camp-based learning, and 2) develop preservice
teachers’ teamwork skills through camp-based learning. An
applied research methodology was used. The target group was
derived from a purposive selection. It involved 32 fourth-year
students in Early Childhood Education Program enrolling a course
entitled Seminar in Early Childhood Education provided during
second semester of academic year 2013. The treatment was camp-based
learning activities which applied a PDCA process including
four stages: 1) plan, 2) do, 3) check, and 4) act. Research instruments
were a learning camp program, a camp-based learning management
plan, a 5-level assessment form for leadership skills and a 5-level
assessment form for assessing teamwork skills. Data were analyzed
using descriptive statistics. Results were: 1) pre-service teachers’
leadership skills yielded the before treatment average score at x= 3.4,
S.D.=0.6 2and the after-treatment average score at x 4.29 , S.D.=0.66
pre-service teachers’ teamwork skills yielded the before-treatment
average score at x=3.31, S.D.=0.60 and the after-treatment average
score at x=4.42, S.D.=0.66 Both differences were statistically
significant at the .05 level. Thus, the pre-service teachers’ leadership
and teamwork skills were significantly improved through the camp-based
learning approach.
Abstract: Paranoid ideation is a common thought process that
constitutes a defense against perceived social threats. The current
study aimed at the characterization of paranoid ideation in youths and
to explore the possible predictors involved in the development of
paranoid ideations. Paranoid ideation, shame, submission, early
childhood memories and current depressive, anxious and stress
symptomatology were assessed in a sample of 1516 Portuguese
youths. Higher frequencies of paranoid ideation were observed,
particularly in females and youths from lower socioeconomic status.
The main predictors identified relates to submissive behaviors and
adverse childhood experiences, and especially to shame feelings. The
current study emphasizes that the these predictors are similar to
findings in adults and clinical populations, and future implications to
research and clinical practice aiming at paranoid ideations are
discussed, as well as the pertinence of the study of mediating factors
that allow a wider understanding of this thought process in younger
populations and the prevention of psychopathology in adulthood.
Abstract: Auditory hallucinations among the most invalidating
and distressing experiences reported by patients diagnosed with
schizophrenia, leading to feelings of powerlessness and helplessness
towards their illness. In more severe cases, these auditory
hallucinations can take the form of commanding voices, which are
often related to high suicidality rates in these patients. Several
authors propose that the meanings attributed to the hallucinatory
experience, rather than characteristics like form and content, can be
determinant in patients’ reactions to hallucinatory activity,
particularly in the case of voice-hearing experiences. In this study, 48
patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia presenting auditory
hallucinations were studied. Multiple regression analyses were
computed to study the influence of several developmental aspects,
such as family and social dynamics, bullying, depression, and sociocognitive
variables on the auditory hallucinations, on patients’
attributions and relationships with their voices, and on the resulting
invalidation of hallucinatory experience. Overall, results showed how
relationships with voices can mirror several aspects of interpersonal
relationship with others, and how self-schemas, depression and actual
social relationships help shaping the voice-hearing experience. Early
experiences of victimization and submission help predict the
attributions of omnipotence of the voices, and increased hostility
from parents seems to increase the malevolence of the voices,
suggesting that socio-cognitive factors can significantly contribute to
the etiology and maintenance of auditory hallucinations. The
understanding of the characteristics of auditory hallucinations and the
relationships patients established with their voices can allow the
development of more promising therapeutic interventions that can be
more effective in decreasing invalidation caused by this devastating
mental illness.
Abstract: Family is a basic unit of the society and the main
source of human development. The initial aim of the family is
psychological and social support of its members and has special
developmental stages. Researches show the families who have less
cohesion, have more conflicts and maladjustments and the members
of such families are not able to communicate effectively. Family is a
system in which any inter communication is related to child rearing
patterns and can affect it. Even the child rearing styles in childhood
can determine the family communications in adulthood. Therefore,
the aim of the present research was to examine the relationship
between child-rearing styles including authoritative, authoritarian and
permissive with dimensions of family communication patterns
including the conversation and conformity. The research design was a
correlational and the population consisted of the psychology students
of Roudehen Islamic Azad University who were studying in
academic year 2013-2014. A sample of 324 students was selected
randomly from the population. The research tools were the Baumrind
Child-rearing Questionnaires and Family Communication
Patterns Inventory, The Revised Scale of Koerner and Fitzpatrick.
The result was as below: (a) there was a positive and significant
relationship between conversation orientation and authoritative style.
(b) There was no significant relationship between conversation
orientation and other child-rearing styles. (c) There was a negative
significant relationship between conformity orientation and
authoritative style. (d) There was a positive significant relationship
between conformity orientation with authoritarian and permissive
styles. (e) There was a significant relationship between 3 dimensions
of child-rearing and communication patterns.
Abstract: Increasing prevalence of childhood obesity has
increased the interest in early and late indicators of gaining weight.
Cell blood counts may be indicators of pro-inflammatory states. The
aim was to evaluate associations of hematological parameters,
including hematocrit (HTC), hemoglobin, blood cell counts and their
indices with the degree of obesity in pediatric population. A total of
249; -139 morbidly obese (MO), 82 healthy normal weight (NW) and
28 overweight (OW) children were included into the scope of the
study. WHO BMI-for age percentiles were used to form age- and sexmatched
groups. Informed consent forms and the Ethics Committee
approval were obtained. Anthropometric measurements were
performed. Hematological parameters were determined. Statistical
analyses were performed using SPSS. The degree for statistical
significance was p≤0.05. Significant differences (p=0.000) between
waist-to-hip ratios and head-to- neck ratios (hnrs) of MO and NW
children were detected. A significant difference between hnrs of OW
and MO children (p=0.000) was observed. Red cell distribution width
(RDW) was higher in OW children than NW group (p=0.030). Such
finding couldn’t be detected between MO and NW groups. Increased
RDW was prominent in OW children. The decrease in mean
corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values in MO
children was sharper than the values in OW children (p=0.006 vs
p=0.042) compared to those in NW group. Statistically higher HTC
levels were observed between MO-NW (p=0.014), but none between
OW-NW. Though the cause-effect relationship between obesity and
erythrocyte indices still needs further investigation, alterations in
RDW, HTC, MCHC during obesity may be of significance in the
early life.
Abstract: Neuroplasticity or the flexibility of the neural system
is the ability of the brain to adapt to the lack or deterioration of sense
and the capability of the neural system to modify itself through
changing shape and function. Not only have studies revealed that
neuroplasticity does not end in childhood, but also they have proven
that it continues till the end of life and is not limited to the neural
system and covers the cognitive system as well. In the field of
cognition, neuroplasticity is defined as the ability to change old
thoughts according to new conditions and the individuals' differences
in using various styles of cognitive regulation inducing several social,
emotional and cognitive outcomes. This paper attempts to discuss and
define major theories and principles of neuroplasticity and elaborate
on nature or nurture.
Abstract: This research focused on comparing the critical
thinking of the teacher students before and after using Miller’s Model
learning activities and investigating their opinions. The sampling
groups were (1) fourth year 33 student teachers majoring in Early
Childhood Education and enrolling in semester 1 of academic year
2013 (2) third year 28 student teachers majoring in English and
enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013 and (3) third year 22
student teachers majoring in Thai and enrolling in semester 2 of
academic year 2013. The research instruments were (1) lesson plans
where the learning activities were settled based on Miller’s Model (2)
critical thinking assessment criteria and (3) a questionnaire on
opinions towards Miller’s Model based learning activities. The
statistical treatment was mean, deviation, different scores and T-test.
The result unfolded that (1) the critical thinking of the students after
the assigned activities was better than before and (2) the students’
opinions towards the critical thinking improvement activities based
on Miller’s Model ranged from the level of high to highest.
Abstract: The handwriting is a physical demonstration of a
complex cognitive process learnt by man since his childhood. People
with disabilities or suffering from various neurological diseases are
facing so many difficulties resulting from problems located at the
muscle stimuli (EMG) or signals from the brain (EEG) and which
arise at the stage of writing. The handwriting velocity of the same
writer or different writers varies according to different criteria: age,
attitude, mood, writing surface, etc. Therefore, it is interesting to
reconstruct an experimental basis records taking, as primary
reference, the writing speed for different writers which would allow
studying the global system during handwriting process. This paper
deals with a new approach of the handwriting system modeling based
on the velocity criterion through the concepts of artificial neural
networks, precisely the Radial Basis Functions (RBF) neural
networks. The obtained simulation results show a satisfactory
agreement between responses of the developed neural model and the
experimental data for various letters and forms then the efficiency of
the proposed approaches.
Abstract: The research on the development of speaking using folk tales based on performance activities aimed to (1) study the development of speaking skill for early- childhood students, and (2) evaluate the development of speaking skill before and after speaking activities. Ten students of Kindergarten level 2, who have enrolled in the subject of the research for speaking development of semester 2 in 2013 were purposively selected as the research cohort. The research tools were lesson plans for speaking activities and pre-post test for speaking development that were approved as content validity and reliability (IOC=.66-1.00,α=0.967). The research found that the development of speaking skill of the research samples before using performance activities on folk tales in developing speaking skill was in the normal high level. Additionally, the results appeared that the preschoolers after applying speaking skill on performance activities also imaginatively created their speaking skill.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of history of obesity for the development of childhood overweight and/or obesity. Accordingly, a systematic literature review of English-language studies published from 1980 to 2012 using the following data bases: MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Dissertation Abstracts International was conducted. The following terms were used in the search: pregnancy, overweight, obesity, family history, parents, childhood, risk factors. Eleven studies of family history and obesity conducted in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of these studies indicated that family history of obesity is a significant risk factor of overweight and /or obesity in offspring; risk for offspring overweight and/or obesity associated with family history varies depending of the family members included in the analysis; and when family history of obesity is present, the offspring are at greater risk for developing obesity or overweight. In addition, the results from moderator analyses suggest that part of the heterogeneity discovered between the studies can be explained by the region of world that the study occurred in and the age of the child at the time of weight assessment.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the significance of maternal smoking for the development of childhood overweight and/or obesity. Accordingly, a systematic literature review of English-language studies published from 1980 to 2012 using the following data bases: MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Dissertation Abstracts International was conducted. The following terms were used in the search: pregnancy, overweight, obesity, smoking, parents, childhood, risk factors. Eighteen studies of maternal smoking during pregnancy and obesity conducted in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of these studies indicated that maternal smoking during pregnancy is a significant risk factor for overweight and obesity; mothers who smoke during pregnancy are at a greater risk for developing obesity or overweight; the quantity of cigarettes consumed by the mother during pregnancy influenced the odds of offspring overweight and/or obesity. In addition, the results from moderator analyses suggest that part of the heterogeneity discovered between the studies can be explained by the region of world that the study occurred in and the age of the child at the time of weight assessment.
Abstract: The use of Technological tools in the classroom setting has drawn the interest of researchers all over the world in the recent time. Technology has been identified in the recent time as potentials tools to aid learning especially during early childhood stage. The main objective of this is to assist the upcoming younger generations to acquire necessary skills for cognitive development which later enhances effective teaching learning process. The integration of Technology in early childhood requires a careful selection of devices that will both assist the children and the teachers or care givers. This paper therefore, examines some selected literature evidences and highlighted the efficacy of various technologies tools in enhancing the development and learning of children (0 – 5 years). Conclusion and recommendations were also drawn in this paper.
Abstract: Malay Folk Literature in early childhood education
served as an important agent in child development that involved
emotional, thinking and language aspects. Up to this moment not
much research has been carried out in Malaysia particularly in the
teaching and learning aspects nor has there been an effort to publish
“big books." Hence this article will discuss the stance taken by
university undergraduate students, teachers and parents in evaluating
Malay Folk Literature in early childhood education to be used as big
books. The data collated and analyzed were taken from 646
respondents comprising 347 undergraduates and 299 teachers. Results
of the study indicated that Malay Folk Literature can be absorbed into
teaching and learning for early childhood with a mean of 4.25 while it
can be in big books with a mean of 4.14. Meanwhile the highest mean
value required for placing Malay Folk Literature genre as big books in
early childhood education rests on exemplary stories for
undergraduates with mean of 4.47; animal fables for teachers with a
mean of 4.38. The lowest mean value of 3.57 is given to lipurlara
stories. The most popular Malay Folk Literature found suitable for
early children is Sang Kancil and the Crocodile, followed by Bawang
Putih Bawang Merah. Pak Padir, Legends of Mahsuri, Origin of
Malacca, and Origin of Rainbow are among the popular stories as
well. Overall the undergraduates show a positive attitude toward all
the items compared to teachers. The t-test analysis has revealed a non
significant relationship between the undergraduate students and
teachers with all the items for the teaching and learning of Malay Folk
Literature.
Abstract: Today-s children, who are born into a more colorful,
more creative, more abstract and more accessible communication
environment than their ancestors as a result of dizzying advances in
technology, have an interesting capacity to perceive and make sense
of the world. Millennium children, who live in an environment where
all kinds of efforts by marketing communication are more intensive
than ever are, from their early childhood on, subject to all kinds of
persuasive messages. As regards advertising communication, it
outperforms all the other marketing communication efforts in
creating little consumer individuals and, as a result of processing of
codes and signs, plays a significant part in building a world of seeing,
thinking and understanding for children. Children who are raised with
metaphorical expressions such as tales and riddles also meet that fast
and effective meaning communication in advertisements.
Children-s perception of metaphors, which help grasp the “product
and its promise" both verbally and visually and facilitate association
between them is the subject of this study. Stimulating and activating
imagination, metaphors have unique advantages in promoting the
product and its promise especially in regard to print advertisements,
which have certain limitations. This study deals comparatively with
both literal and metaphoric versions of print advertisements
belonging to various product groups and attempts to discover to what
extent advertisements are liked, recalled, perceived and are
persuasive. The sample group of the study, which was conducted in
two elementary schools situated in areas that had different socioeconomic
features, consisted of children aged 12.
Abstract: The genre of fantasy depicts a world of imagine that triggers popular interest from a created view of world, and a fantasy is defined as a story that illustrates a world of imagine where scientific or horror elements are stand in its center. This study is not focused on the narrative of the fantasy, i.e. not on the adventurous story, but is concentrated on the image of the fantasy to work on its relationship with intended themes and differences among cultures due to meanings of materials. As for films, we have selected some films in the 2000's that are internationally recognized as expressing unique images of fantasy containing the theme of love in them. The selected films are 5 pieces including two European films, Amelie from Montmartre (2001) and The Science of Sleep (2005) and three Asian films, Citizen Dog from Thailand (2004), Memories of Matsuko from Japan (2006), and I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK from Korea (2006). These films share some common characteristics to the effect that they give tiny lessons and feelings for life with expressions of fantasy images as if they were fairy tales for adults and that they lead the audience to reflect on their days and revive forgotten dreams of childhood. We analyze the images of fantasy in each of the films on the basis of the elements of Mise-en-Scène (setting and props, costume, hair and make-up, facial expressions and body language, lighting and color, positioning of characters, and objects within a frame).
Abstract: This study examines age and sex patterns of
children-s disability in the Parila union of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. For
this we assumed that (1) prevalence of disability patterns and its
severity in the middle childhood are higher than in the infancy or
latter childhood in the Parila union of Rajshahi, (2) prevalence of
disability patterns and its severity among the boys compared to girls
are higher in the study area of Bangladesh. In order to examine the
assumptions 102 samples, including their mothers were selected
based on snowball process and the respondents were individually
interviewed with semi-structured questionnaire method. The results
of the study suggest that disability patterns and its severity among the
male children were two-fold higher than the female children. In
addition, these patterns of children-s disability and its severity in the
middle childhood were also higher than in the infancy or latter
childhood. Further study should conduct how socio-structural factors
influence age and sex patterns of children-s disability patterns and its
severity in Bangladesh.
Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to investigate the
interdependency among ego-identity status, autobiographical memory
and cultural life story schema. The study shows considerable
differences between autobiographical memory characteristics and
“family script", which is typical for participants (adolescents, M age
years = 17.84, SD = 1.18, N = 58), with different ego-identity
statuses. Participants with diffused ego-identity status recalled fewer
autobiographical memories. Additionally, this group of participants
recalled fewer events from their parents- life. Participants with
moratorium ego-identity status dated their first recollections to a later
age than others, and recalled fewer memories relating to their
childhood. Participants with achieved identity status recalled more
self-defining memories and events from their parents- life. They used
more functions from the autobiographical memory. There weren-t
any significant differences between the foreclosed identity status
group and the others. These findings support the idea of a
bidirectional relation between culture, memory and self.