Effects of a school-based karate intervention on academic achievement,psychosocial functioning,and physical fitness:A multi-country cluster randomized controlled trial

Purpose:To examine the effects of a school-based karate intervention on academic achievement,psychosocial functioning,and physical fitness in children aged 7-8 years.Methods:Twenty schools in 5 different European countries(2 second-grade classrooms per school)participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial(Sport at School trial).Participants were assigned to either a control group,which continued with their habitual physical education lessons,or to an intervention group,which replaced these lessons with a 1-year karate intervention(Karate Mind and Movement program).A total of 721 children(344 girls and 377 boys,7.4±0.5 years old,mean±SD)completed the study,of which 333 and 388 were assigned to the control group and intervention group,respectively.Outcomes included academic performance(average grade),psychosocial functioning(Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents),and different markers of physical fitness(cardiorespiratory fitness,balance,and flexibility).Results:The intervention provided small but significant benefits compared to the control group for academic achievement(d=0.16;p=0.003),conduct problems(d=-0.28;p=0.003),cardiorespiratory fitness(d=0.36;p<0.001),and balance(d=0.24;p=0.015).There was a trend towards significant benefits for flexibility(d=0.24;p=0.056).No significant benefits were observed for other variables,including psychosocial difficulties,emotional symptoms,hyperactivity/inattention,peer problems,or prosocial behaviour(all p>0.05).Conclusion:A 1-year school-based karate intervention was effective in improving academic achievement,conduct problems,and physical fitness in primary school children.The results support the inclusion of karate during physical education lessons.

Thanks to our academic editors and peer reviewers

The Editorial Office of Water Science and Engineering would like to express their sincere appreciation to the academic editors including Prof.Carlo Gualtieri from University of Napoli Federico II,Italy,Prof.Guo-qing Wang and Prof.Zhong-zhi Fu from Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute,China,and Prof.Yan-hui Ao,Prof.Ching-sheng Huang,Prof.Guang-qiu Jin,Prof.Bin Xu,Prof.Sai-yu Yuan,Prof.Zeng Zhou,Prof.Bo Chen,and Prof Da-wei Guan from Hohai Uiversity,China,for their great effort and contribution to WSE in the year 2023.

Insights from an academic endeavor into central nervous system drug discovery

Historically,"big pharma"did most central nervous system drug discovery R&D in-house.Yet,in modern times their"management reductionism"resulted in disappointing pipelines and pharma resided to(late)development,regulatory approval,and marketing(Thong,2015).This had significant consequences for financing and executing research,resulting in a larger role for funding by governments and patient-organizations and a shift of research to academia(Mazzucato,2013).

Ranking academic institutions based on the productivity,impact,and quality of institutional scholars

Purpose:The quantitative rankings of over 55,000 institutions and their institutional programs are based on the individual rankings of approximately 30 million scholars determined by their productivity,impact,and quality.Design/methodology/approach:The institutional ranking process developed here considers all institutions in all countries and regions,thereby including those that are established,as well as those that are emerging in scholarly prowess.Rankings of individual scholars worldwide are first generated using the recently introduced,fully indexed ScholarGPS database.The rankings of individual scholars are extended here to determine the lifetime and last-five-year Top 20 rankings of academic institutions over all Fields of scholarly endeavor,in 14 individual Fields,in 177 Disciplines,and in approximately 350,000 unique Specialties.Rankings associated with five specific Fields(Medicine,Engineering&Computer Science,Life Sciences,Physical Sciences&Mathematics,and Social Sciences),and in two Disciplines(Chemistry,and Electrical&Computer Engineering)are presented as examples,and changes in the rankings over time are discussed.Findings:For the Fields considered here,the Top 20 institutional rankings in Medicine have undergone the least change(lifetime versus last five years),while the rankings in Engineering&Computer Science have exhibited significant change.The evolution of institutional rankings over time is largely attributed to the recent emergence of Chinese academic institutions,although this emergence is shown to be highly Field-and Discipline-dependent.Practical implementations:Existing rankings of academic institutions have:(i)often been restricted to pre-selected institutions,clouding the potential discovery of scholarly activity in emerging institutions and countries;(ii)considered only broad areas of research,limiting the ability of university leadership to act on the assessments in a concrete manner,or in contrast;(iii)have considered only a narrow area of research for comparison,diminishing the broader applicability and impact of the assessment.In general,existing institutional rankings depend on which institutions are included in the ranking process,which areas of research are considered,the breadth(or granularity)of the research areas of interest,and the methodologies used to define and quantify research performance.In contrast,the methods presented here can provide important data over a broad range of granularity to allow responsible individuals to gauge the performance of any institution from the Overall(all Fields)level,to the level of the Specialty.The methods may also assist identification of the root causes of shifts in institution rankings,and how these shifts vary across hundreds of thousands of Fields,Disciplines,and Specialties of scholarly endeavor.Originality/value:This study provides the first ranking of all academic institutions worldwide over Fields,Disciplines,and Specialties based on a unique methodology that quantifies the productivity,impact,and quality of individual scholars.

The Risk Role of Defeat on the Mental Health of College Students:A Moderated Mediation Effect of Academic Stress and Interpersonal Relationships

Background:College students face significant academic and physiological changes,making them more susceptible to psychological issues such as depression,self-injury,and suicidal ideation.Feelings of defeat can exacerbate these risks by increasing academic stress.However,interpersonal relationships can moderate the impact of academic stress on students’mental health.Utilizing the presage–process–product model,this study aims to empirically investigate how feelings of defeat influence depression,self-injury,and suicidal ideation among college students.Additionally,it explores the mediating role of academic stress and the moderating role of various types of interpersonal relationships.Methods:A total of 1612 college students(750 females,862 males,mean age=19.64±0.62 years)were recruited through cluster sampling.Data were collected via offline questionnaires administered by a trained psychology teacher and a postgraduate student,ensuring high reliability with two examiners per class.Latent profile analysis(LPA)was used to examine the impact of defeat on mental health outcomes,while mediation analysis was conducted to assess the roles of academic stress and interpersonal relationships.Results:1.Defeat is identified as a significant risk factor for mental health issues among college students;2.Four distinct patterns of interpersonal relationships were identified:the interpersonal-relationship risk group,the father–child-relationship high-risk group,the general interpersonal-relationship group,and the superior interpersonal-relationship group;3.Academic stress partially mediates the relationship between defeat and mental health issues such as depression,self-injury,and suicidal ideation;4.Different interpersonal relationship models moderate the impact of academic stress on depression and suicidal ideation.Conclusion:Defeat is a significant risk factor for mental health problems in college students.Academic stress partially mediates the negative impact of defeat on mental health,while patterns of interpersonal relationships moderate this impact.Effective early prevention and intervention should focus on monitoring students’stress levels and fostering warm,positive parent–child relationships.

Parental Educational Expectations,Academic Pressure,and Adolescent Mental Health:An Empirical Study Based on CEPS Survey Data

Background:This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental educational expectations and adolescent mental health problems,with academic pressure as a moderating variable.Methods:This study was based on the baseline data of the China Education Panel Survey,which was collected within one school year during 2013–2014.It included 19,958 samples from seventh and ninth graders,who ranged from 11 to 18 years old.After removing missing values and conducting relevant data processing,the effective sample size for analysis was 16344.The OLS(Ordinary Least Squares)multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between parental educational expectations,academic pressure,and adolescents’mental health problems.In addition,we established an interaction term between parents’educational expectations and academic pressure to investigate the moderating effect of academic stress.Results:The study found that adolescents whose parents had high educational expectations reported less mental health problems.(β=−0.195;p<0.001).Additionally,adolescents who had high academic pressure reported more mental health problems.(β=0.649;p<0.001).Furthermore,the study found that academic pressure had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between parental educational expectations and adolescents’mental health problems(β=0.082;p<0.001).Conclusion:Parental educational expectations had a close relationship with adolescents’mental health problems,and academic pressure moderated this relationship.For those adolescents with high levels of academic pressure,the association between high parental educational expectations and mental health problems became stronger.On the contrary,for those adolescents with low levels of academic pressure,the association between high parental educational expectations and mental health problems became weaker.These findings shed new light on how parental educational expectations affected adolescent mental health problems and had significant implications for their healthy development.

International academic symposium of ISO/TC 312 held in Beijing

The international academic symposium of ISO/TC 312, Excellence in ser vice, was held in Beijing on February 27, which was a part of the 11th plenary meeting of the committee. Directed by SAC, organized by China National Institute of Standardization(CNIS), and supported by China Association for Standardization(CAS) and China Civil Airports Association(CCAA), the symposium was attended by over 20,000 representatives in hybrid forms.

Forecasting the Academic Performance by Leveraging Educational Data Mining

The study aims to recognize how efficiently Educational DataMining(EDM)integrates into Artificial Intelligence(AI)to develop skills for predicting students’performance.The study used a survey questionnaire and collected data from 300 undergraduate students of Al Neelain University.The first step’s initial population placements were created using Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO).Then,using adaptive feature space search,Educational Grey Wolf Optimization(EGWO)was employed to choose the optimal attribute combination.The second stage uses the SVMclassifier to forecast classification accuracy.Different classifiers were utilized to evaluate the performance of students.According to the results,it was revealed that AI could forecast the final grades of students with an accuracy rate of 97%on the test dataset.Furthermore,the present study showed that successful students could be selected by the Decision Tree model with an efficiency rate of 87.50%and could be categorized as having equal information ratio gain after the semester.While the random forest provided an accuracy of 28%.These findings indicate the higher accuracy rate in the results when these models were implemented on the data set which provides significantly accurate results as compared to a linear regression model with accuracy(12%).The study concluded that the methodology used in this study can prove to be helpful for students and teachers in upgrading academic performance,reducing chances of failure,and taking appropriate steps at the right time to raise the standards of education.The study also motivates academics to assess and discover EDM at several other universities.

The Impact of Sleep Patterns on Academic Performance and Social Integration among Medical Students

Introduction: The impact of sleep on student life is crucial, particularly for those in demanding fields such as medicine. This study examines the relationships between sleep patterns, academic performance, and social integration among medical students, who often face irregular sleep cycles and sleep deprivation due to rigorous academic demands. Aim: This study aims to assess how sleep issues affect academic achievement and social relationships among medical students. Method: Data were collected from 215 medical students through surveys and academic records. Quantitative data provided insights into sleep quality and academic performance, while qualitative interviews explored the effects of sleep on social interactions. Results: The findings revealed a significant correlation between sleep quality and academic performance, with students reporting better sleep hygiene achieving higher grades. Qualitative data indicated that poor sleep negatively impacts social interactions, leading to feelings of isolation and reduced social participation. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of promoting good sleep practices in medical schools to enhance academic success and social well-being. Interventions aimed at improving sleep quality may help reduce burnout and improve overall well-being among medical students. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to better understand the long-term effects of sleep on academic and social outcomes in this population.

Academic advising system and its application exploring in nursing colleges of China

Review the definition,origin,development and application status of the foreign academic advising system and make a comparison with the Chinese counselor system.Start with the perspectives of the learning difficulties and attrition rate of nursing students to explore the importance and significance of its implementation in Chinese nursing colleges and universities.Meanwhile,present the prototype of the existing academic advising system in China,with the expectation of providing a theoretical basis for the introduction of this system in nursing colleges and universities and the cultivation of high-quality nursing talents.

Peer pressure and academic stress among junior high school students:a cross-sectional study

Objective:The objective of the study was to explore the connection between peer pressure and academic stress among junior high school students.Methods:This descriptive correlational study was conducted to investigate the link between perceived peer pressure and academic stress.The study involved a total of 525 adolescents,aged 14-19 years,drawn from 6 public junior high schools(PJHS)in Padang,Indonesia,using purposive sampling.Academic stress and perceived peer pressure were assessed using the Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents(ESSA)and the Perceived Peer Pressure Scale(PPPS).Results:The findings indicated significant variations in stress levels among students in different grade levels(7th,8th,and 9th grades)(P<0.05),while there were no noteworthy differences in peer pressure across these grade levels(P>0.05).Additionally,there was a positive correlation observed between perceived peer pressure and academic stress(r=0.14,P<0.05).Furthermore,multiple regression analyses,incorporating demographic variables and perceived peer pressure as independent factors,yielded statistically significant results(adjusted R^(2)=0.082,F=4.33,P<0.001).Notably,peer pressure had a direct impact on academic stress among adolescents,with class level and parents’educational background mediating the relationship between academic stress and adolescent behavioral problems.Conclusions:These findings underscore the importance of addressing both external and internal factors at the individual,family,school,and societal levels to enhance adolescents’psychological resilience and mitigate problem behaviors.

A Study on the Impact of Voice-to-Text Technology on Academic Achievement of the Hearing-Impaired

Hearing loss is a significant barrier to academic achievement,with hearing-impaired(HI)individuals often facing challenges in speech recognition,language development,and social interactions.Lip-reading,a crucial skill for HI individuals,is essential for effective communication and learning.However,the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by HI individuals,with the face masks hindering lip-reading.This literature review explores the relationship between hearing loss and academic achievement,highlighting the importance of lip-reading and the potential of artificial intelligence(AI)techniques in mitigating these challenges.The introduction of Voice-to-Text(VtT)technology,which provides real-time text captions,can significantly improve speech recognition and academic performance for HI students.AI models,such as Hidden Markov models and Transformer models,can enhance the accuracy and robustness of VtT technology in diverse educational settings.Furthermore,VtT technology can facilitate better teacher-student interactions,provide transcripts of lectures and classroom discussions,and bridge the gap in standardized testing performance between HI and hearing students.While challenges and limitations exist,the successful implementation of VtT technology can promote inclusive education and enhance academic achievement.Future research directions include popularizing VtT technology,addressing technological barriers,and customizing VtT systems to cater to individual needs.

Translation and psychometric validation of the Korean version of the academic nurse self-efficacy scale for Korean bachelor-level nursing students

Objective:This study aimed to translate the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale(ANSE),assess its appropriateness for use in Korean nursing students,and evaluate the Korean Version of the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy scale’s(K-ANSE)validity and reliability.Methods:The data of 444 nursing college students at 10 universities across the country were collected from November 1,2020 to June 8,2021.The K-ANSE was analyzed utilizing SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 programs.The K-ANSE’s content validity,construct validity,convergent/discriminant validity,criterion-related validity,and reliability were evaluated.Results:Internal emotion management,auto-regulatory behavior,external emotion management,and sociality were established.The Cronbach’sαfor the overall scale was 0.87,and that of the 4 subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.89.Conclusions:The Korean version of the ANSE seems to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure Korean bachelor-level nursing students.

Application of Academic Salons in Cultivating the Scientific Research Skills of First-Year Nursing Master’s Students

Objective:To explore the application effect of academic salons on developing the scientific research skills of first-year nursing master’s students.Methods:According to Wallas’four-stage model of the creative process,from November 2022 to February 2023,66 first-year nursing master’s students from the School of Nursing at Zhejiang Chinese Medical University were selected using a convenient sampling method to participate in a multidisciplinary academic salon consisting of a total of 8 sessions held once every two weeks.Before the first and after the last academic salon,postgraduate research skills evaluation questionnaires and perception of research skills acquisition questionnaires were used to assess first-year nursing master’s students.A semi-structured interview was conducted with nine students after the final academic salon.Results:The total scores for scientific research skills and sense of achievement among first-year nursing master’s students after the academic salon were higher than those before the salon,and the difference was statistically significant.The interview results showed that the“salon theme,”“tutor comments,”and“sharer output”are the focus of the first-year nursing master’s students in the academic salon.Conclusions:Academic salons can enhance postgraduate students’scientific research skills and foster a greater appreciation for scientific research.We can enhance academic salons by carefully choosing relevant themes,inviting knowledgeable presenters and expert tutors to provide feedback,and prioritizing equality and effective communication.

Academic Stress Assessment Using Virtual Reality as an Educational Tool in Spine Surgery

Introduction: The evaluation of academic stress in medical students and residents is a topic of significant interest, given the considerable challenges they face during their learning process with traditional teaching methods. The use of technologies like virtual reality presents an opportunity to enhance their skills through simulations and training. The main objective of this study is to qualitatively assess the stress levels experienced by medical students and residents by integrating virtual reality into their current learning methods, aiming to improve their ability to manage stressors in their practice. Material and Methods: A questionnaire was conducted with 12 medical students and 12 Traumatology and orthopedics residents. The purpose of the questionnaire was to evaluate the levels of academic stress using the SISCO inventory. The stress levels were calculated by transforming average values into percentages, and the following criteria were assigned: 0 to 33% for Mild Stress, 34 to 66% for Moderate Stress, and 67 to 100% for Deep Stress. Then, a virtual reality class focused on spine surgery was provided. Both medical students and residents were trained using the Non Nocere SharpSurgeon software platform and Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality glasses. At the end of the session, a second questionnaire related to the practice with virtual reality was conducted with the same evaluation criteria and a comparative analysis was carried out. Results: 12 undergraduate students from Hospital Angeles Mexico, CDMX and 12 traumatology and orthopedics residents at Hospital Santa Fe, Bogota were evaluated. The students in CDMX reported an average qualitative stress of 28.50% during habitual practices, which decreased to an average of 14.67% after virtual reality practice. Residents in Bogotá experienced an average qualitative stress of 30.50% with their current learning methods but this reduced to an average of 13.92% after using virtual reality. These findings indicate that the use of virtual reality has a positive impact on reducing stress levels qualitatively. Conclusions: The use of virtual reality as a learning method for medical students and residents qualitatively improves stress levels. Further studies are required to define the potential uses of Virtual Reality to improve learning methods and emotional state in medical students and residents and for a quantitative assessment to validate the training as certified learning methods.

Academic Conference on Vaccines Preventing Respiratory Infections Successfully Held in Beijing

The autumn season marks the peak incidence of respiratory diseases.In order to further enhance the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases in China and safeguard public health,the Academic Conference on Vaccines Preventing Respiratory Infections,organized by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association(CPMA).

Thank you to our academic editors and peer reviewers

The Editorial Office of Water Science and Engineering would like to express their sincere appreciation to the academic editors including Prof.Carlo Gualtieri from University of Napoli Federico II,Italy,Prof.Guo-qing Wang and Prof.Zhong-zhi Fu from Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute,China,and Prof.Yan-hui Ao,Prof.Ching-sheng Huang,Prof.Guang-qiu Jin,Prof.Bin Xu,Prof.Sai-yu Yuan,Prof.Zeng Zhou,Prof.Bo Chen,and Prof Da-wei Guan from Hohai Uiversity,China,for their great effort and contribution to WSE in the year 2022.

Relationship between Interaction Anxiousness,Academic Resilience,Cultural Intelligence and Ego-Identity among Chinese Vocational Pathway University Students:A Conditional Process Analysis Model

Background:University students’ego-identity,an essential component of their psychological development and mental health,has widely attracted the attention of policymakers,schools,and parents.Method:A total of 298 Chinese vocational pathway undergraduates were recruited,and a conditional process analysis model was adopted to explore the interaction mechanism of ego-identity.Results:The results suggest that the ego-identity of Chinese vocational pathway undergraduates is significantly affected by interaction anxiousness,academic resilience,and cultural intelligence.(1)Interaction anxiousness significantly and positively predicts ego-identity.(2)Academic resilience positively and partially mediates the effect of interaction anxiousness on ego-identity.(3)Cultural intelligence significantly and positively moderates the relationship between interaction anxiousness and ego-identity.However,a similar moderating effect was not found between interaction anxiousness and academic resilience.(4)As cultural intelligence increases,the negative influence of interaction anxiousness on ego-identity gradually diminishes,whatever the cultural intelligence level.Conclusions:Interaction anxiousness,academic resilience,and cultural intelligence are essential determinants of ego-identity among Chinese vocational pathway undergraduates.Strategic interventions should be utilized to enhance their abilities to alleviate interpersonal tensions,promote their resilience in facing academic difficulties,cope with diverse cultures,and boost their sense of self-confirmation.

Effective interventions to improve domain-specific social, emotional, or academic outcomes for twice-exceptional individuals who are gifted with ADHD as a disability

The demand for effective interventions to improve domain-specific academic outcomes for individuals with special needs at either end of the spectrum has existed for some time.Since the earlier contributions to the literature documenting gifted individuals who were simultaneously exhibiting disabilities,there has been some progress in our understanding.We now know that in individuals with both gifts and disabilities,potentially,either or both of the exceptionalities can obscure the effects of the other,which significantly delays the average time to receive a diagnosis.Such delays in diagnosis detrimentally impact the the form of effective interventions without a diagnosis.The purpose of this paper is t quality of life across various domains because there can be no opportunity to receive help in o determine whether effective interventions exist to improve domain-specific(i.e.,social,emotional,or academic)outcomes for people with both gifts and disabilities.A query was performed using evidence databases TRIP and PDQ for“twice-exceptional,”“Giftedness,”“Disability,”and“intervention.”The four most relevant,freely available studies in English were selected for critique.Despite identifying potential threats to validity among the studies,methodological similarities among them were strong enough to confidently conclude that not only do effective interventions exist for the population of gifted with ADHD,but the outcomes of these interventions may also carry over into other domains resulting in indirect effects.

Tik-Tok Usage During Third Wave of COVID-19 and Its Impacts on Personal,Academic,and Social Life of Teenagers and Youngsters in Turkey

Tik-Tok is a famous entertainment and art creation app that is used all around the world,which enables everyone to make short video clip ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute and which is published and shared with family,friends,and public.This app is downloaded about 1.5 billion times with 800 million users all around the world,Tik-Tok users from China,India,USA,Russia,and Turkey are at the top.This paper explores the usage of Tik-Tok under the pandemic COVID-19 and how does it impact on personal,academic,and social life of youngsters and teenagers in Turkey.We collected primary data by using questionnaires from four big provinces:Istanbul,Ankara,Izmir,and Antalya(mainly top tourist provinces),500 samples were collected by using convenience sampling method,data collected in between 1 April 2021 to 2 May 2021,data analyzed by Multiple ANOVA,three times simple regression was used to explore the impact of Tik-Tok on personal,academic,and social life separately,furthermore correlation test was also applied to show strength among variables.Results indicate statistical significance(p<0.01)which supports the hypotheses.