Socio-economic, Environmental and Health Aspects of Farm Workers Engaged in Mango Plantations

A cross-sectional survey of 489 male subjects in the age group 15 to 65 years engageddirectly or indirectly in mango cultivation along with 208 control subjects was carried out to find their socio-economic, environmental and health conditions. The conditions like high illiteracy rate (49.5%), poverty (PCI less than Rs 100 per month, 52.2%), poor housing (mud houses, 66.7%) unsafe water supply (78.6%) were prevailing in the surveyed population. The high respiratory morbidity may be attributed to high prevalence of smoking andprolonged inhalation of organic dusts during farming operation associated with illiteracyand poor socio-economic status. Gastrointestinal disorders were related to poor hygienic conditions, smoking and consumption of contaminated water. The symptoms pertaining to CNS, skin and eyes were found to be associated with exposure to pesticides

CAS Scientist Engaged as Chancellor of a U.K. University

Prof. Yang Fujia, a nuclearphysicist and educator, hasbeen elected as the Chancel-lor of the University of Nottingham,in the U.K. the first Chinese scholarto hold such a position in a Britishacademic institution, according tothe University’s public affairs office. "I feel privileged," said Prof.Yang. "And it is also an honor

Job characteristics and staying engaged in work of nurses: Empirical evidence from Malaysia

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between job characteristics (job autonomy,job feedback,skill variety,task identity,task significance) and work engagement of nurses in Malaysia.Methods: A survey using self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from a sample of 856 staff nurses working in eight public hospitals in Malaysia.A shortened nine-item version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(UWES-9) was used to measure work engagement.The UWES-9 comprises three dimensions,which was measured with three items each: vigor,dedication,and absorption.Job characteristics (job autonomy,job feedback,skill variety,task identity,task significance) were measured with the corresponding subscales of the Job Diagnostic Survey.Each subscale consisted of three items.Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis.Results: Findings indicated that all the five demographic variables (age,marital status,education,organizational tenure,job tenure) were unrelated to work engagement.The results further revealed that job autonomy (β=0.19,P < 0.01),job feedback (β=0.10,P < 0.01),task identity (β=0.13,P < 0.01),and task significance (β=0.08,P< 0.05) were positively related to work engagement.Skill variety (β=0.03,P> 0.05),however,did not affect work engagement.Conclusion: Job autonomy,job feedback,task identity,and task significance are important factors in predicting work engagement.The findings of this study highlighted the need to incorporate these core dimensions in nursing management to foster work engagement.

Experiences of Staying Healthy in Relationally Demanding Jobs: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of Work-Engaged Nurses in the Hospital

Background: Based on the experience of hospital nurses, the aim of this study is to explore the phenomenon of how work-engaged nurses stay healthy in relationally demanding jobs involving very sick and/or dying patients. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with ten work-engaged nurses employed at the main hospital in one region in Norway. The interviews were interpreted using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis method (IPA). Results: The results indicate the importance of using the personal resources: authenticity and a sense of humour for staying healthy. The nurses’ authenticity, in the sense of having a strong sense of ownership towards their personal life experiences, and a sense of having a meaningful life in line with their own values and interests, was an important element when they considered their own health to be good in spite of repetitive strain injuries and perceived stress. These personal resources seem to be positively related to their well-being and work engagement, which serves as an argument for including them among other personal resources, often conceptualized in terms of Psychological Capital (PsyCap). The results also showed that the nurses worked actively and intentionally with conditions that could contribute to safeguarding their own health. Conclusion: The results indicated the importance of stimulating the nurses’ area of knowledge about caring for themselves in order to enable them to maintain good physical and mental health. A focus on self-care should be part of the agenda as early as during nursing education.

The Engaged Spectator:Reading BL Novels in Contemporary China

Can a reader,upon reading literary fictions,be moved into social actions or engage in socially meaningful activities?If it is so,then will reading gay-themed,popular fictions mean anything for the LGBTQ issue in contemporary China?This article argues that a reader of gay-themed,“Boys Love”(or“BL”for short)novels may be moved into taking some social actions for greater tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in contemporary China,based on the concept of“engaged spectator”,which is a reconstruct of Adam Smith’s moral-psychological model of“impartial spectator”into an actively reading,socially engaged agent taking affirmative actions to bring about greater social justice.This“engaged spectator”shall have a few steps in its active reading of fictions and engaging in transformative social actions,namely“subjective identification”,“ambience appreciation”,and finally,“social engagement”-the three of which are in a lexical order.This tri-step model is based on a neuropsychological reading of Adam Smith into the reader empathy theory.Furthermore,this model is illustrated with Kirin,a popular BL novel,where the reader may engage in social actions to create a more tolerant environment for the LGBTQ community in contemporary China.The three steps outlined above shall offer us an account of explaining how an active reading experience may lead to a socially transformative result.

Effects of Perceived Teacher Support on Student Behavioral Engagement in the Blended Learning Environment:Learning Experience as a Mediator

Blended learning(BL)has been widely adopted to improve students’academic achievements in higher education.However,its success relies mainly on student engagement,which plays an essential role in active learning and provides a rich understanding of students’experiences.The study utilized three self-designed scales-the Teacher Support Scale,Student Engagement Scale,and Student Learning Experience Scale-to gauge and examine the impact and relationship between perceived teacher support,student behavioral engagement,and the intermediary role of learning experiences.A cohort of 899 college students undertaking the obligatory College English course through BL modes across five Chinese universities actively participated by completing a comprehensive questionnaire.The results showed significant correlations between perceived teacher support,learning experience,and behavioral engagement.Perceived teacher support significantly predicted students’behavioral engagement,with socio-affective support exerting the most substantial predictive effects.All predictive effects were partially mediated by learning experience(learning mode,online resources,overall LMS-based learning,interaction with their instructor and peers,and learning outcome).The influence of perceived teacher support on behavioral engagement differed between students who reported the most positive(vs.negative)learning experiences.Suggestions for further research are offered for consideration.

Critical Success Factors for Citizen Development

The purpose of the research was to assess the impact of Citizen Development activities on digital transformation. The research identified eight categories that contribute to the success of Low-code No-code (LCNC) projects: 1) Strategy;2) Infrastructure;3) Technology;4) Processes & Procedures;5) Governance;6) Culture;7) People;8) Goals & Metrics and selected six critical success factors from these categories: 1) Operational Efficiency;2) Time Savings;3) Timeframe to Realize Value;4) Employee Engagement;5) Participation;6) Number of Sponsored Ideas. End users of the digital transformation efforts through Citizen Development were asked to assess the six critical success measures in terms of performance and importance criteria. The research results identified that focus should be applied to improving “Timeframe to Realize Value”, on “Operational Efficiency”, and on “Time Savings” to deliver success.

People Engaged in the Course of Charity

THE action of the ShanghaiExpatriate Wives CharityAssociation (SEA) is touching. Themembers of the association cometogether to do works of charity.

Toward Data-Driven Digital Therapeutics Analytics:Literature Review and Research Directions

With the advent of digital therapeutics(DTx),the development of software as a medical device(SaMD)for mobile and wearable devices has gained significant attention in recent years.Existing DTx evaluations,such as randomized clinical trials,mostly focus on verifying the effectiveness of DTx products.To acquire a deeper understanding of DTx engagement and behavioral adherence,beyond efficacy,a large amount of contextual and interaction data from mobile and wearable devices during field deployment would be required for analysis.In this work,the overall flow of the data-driven DTx analytics is reviewed to help researchers and practitioners to explore DTx datasets,to investigate contextual patterns associated with DTx usage,and to establish the(causal)relationship between DTx engagement and behavioral adherence.This review of the key components of datadriven analytics provides novel research directions in the analysis of mobile sensor and interaction datasets,which helps to iteratively improve the receptivity of existing DTx.

MDNN:Predicting Student Engagement via Gaze Direction and Facial Expression in Collaborative Learning

Prediction of students’engagement in aCollaborative Learning setting is essential to improve the quality of learning.Collaborative learning is a strategy of learning through groups or teams.When cooperative learning behavior occurs,each student in the group should participate in teaching activities.Researchers showed that students who are actively involved in a class gain more.Gaze behavior and facial expression are important nonverbal indicators to reveal engagement in collaborative learning environments.Previous studies require the wearing of sensor devices or eye tracker devices,which have cost barriers and technical interference for daily teaching practice.In this paper,student engagement is automatically analyzed based on computer vision.We tackle the problem of engagement in collaborative learning using a multi-modal deep neural network(MDNN).We combined facial expression and gaze direction as two individual components of MDNN to predict engagement levels in collaborative learning environments.Our multi-modal solution was evaluated in a real collaborative environment.The results show that the model can accurately predict students’performance in the collaborative learning environment.

Who Benefits More from Physical Exercise?On the Relations between Personality,Physical Exercise,and Well-Being

Although employers believe that encouraging and supporting physical exercise activities by purchasing fitness equipment and building sports venues can improve employees’well-being,the utilization rate is rather low.Since most of the evidence of the well-being promotion in the workplace concentrated on the perspectives of organizational factors and psychosocial factors and focused on the reduction of the negative affect of well-being,it is still an open question whether physical exercise has benefits on both negative and positive affect of well-being and who benefits more from physical exercise.Thus,the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of physical exercise on occupational well-being(job burnout and work engagement)and examine whether effectiveness depends on personality traits.Online questionnaires were distributed.The sample included 671 participants from different enterprises in China.Results showed that the effectiveness of physical exercise was also applicable to well-being in the workplace.Physical exercise was negatively correlated with job burnout and positively correlated with work engagement.The effectiveness was different among employees with different personality traits.Contrary to our expectation,individuals with neuroticism were more likely to improve their work engagement through physical exercise.Extroversion and conscientiousness weakened the benefits of physical exercise.Therefore,differences of effectiveness among different personality traits emphasize the need for a more personalized strategy in physical exercise interventions.

Mastering the craft:Creating an insightful and widely-cited literature review

The art of constructing an insightful literature review manuscript has witnessed an exemplar in the work of Oz et al(2023),wherein concept progression harmoniously merges with figures and tables.Reflecting on retrospective data science,it is evident that well-cited articles can wield a transformative influence on the Journal Citation Reports Impact Factor score,as exemplified by Robert Weinberg’s landmark on cancer(Hanahan and Weinberg,2011).Here,we aim to spotlight a commendable contribution by Tuba Oz,Ajeet Kaushik,and Małgorzata Kujawska in this issue while pivoting towards identifying the hallmarks of a subpar literature review-elements that hinder rather than promote advancement.The hurdles and roadblocks encountered within subpar literature reviews are multifold.Anticipation of emerging trends,identification of challenges,and exploration of solutions remain conspicuously absent.Original Contributions fail to surface amidst the vast sea of pre-existing literature,with noticeable gaps amplified by the lack of illustrative figures and tables.The manuscript,at times,assumes a skeletal form,reflecting an attempt to accommodate an excess of references,leading to convoluted sentences laden with citations.In contrast,a potent solution lies in adopting a comprehensive approach.A nuanced and critical evaluation of sources can culminate in a robust discussion,surpassing the mere summarization of conclusions drawn by others.This approach,often dismissed,holds the potential to elevate clarity,coherence,and logical flow,ultimately inviting engaged readership and coveted citations.The critical necessity of integrating visionary insights is underscored and achieved through a rigorous analysis of pivotal concepts and innovative ideas.Examples can be harnessed to elucidate the application of these solutions.We advocate a paradigm shift,urging literature review writers to embrace the readers’perspective.A literature review’s purpose extends beyond providing a comprehensive panorama;it should illuminate avenues for concept development within a specific field of interest.By achieving this balance,literature reviews stand to captivate a devoted readership,paving the way for manuscripts that are both widely read and frequently cited.The pathway forward requires a fusion of astute analysis and visionary insights,shaping the future of literature review composition.

Work-related quality of life and performance appraisal among nurses at a tertiary hospital in Philippines

Objective:The objective of the study is to describe the work-related quality of life(WRQOL)among nurses and explore its association with performance evaluation ratings.Methods:A cross-sectional design was utilized measuring the WRQOL scale and the previous performance appraisal rating.Multistage sampling approach was utilized with nurses stratified based on their position and then systematically random sampled based on their unit assignment.Results:One hundred and eighty-two nurses were included.About half reported a high quality of work life(101;55.5%).Low scores were noted on the subscale working conditions(100;54.9%),low to average responses for home-work interface(109;59.9%),control at work(100;54.9%),and stress at work(90;49.5%).A higher proportion of nurses reported positive responses toward the areas of general well-being(113;62.1%)and job-career satisfaction(112;61.5%),than in the other subscales.There were notable differences between WRQOL ratings:(1)Head nurses had the highest perceived quality of work life,followed by nurse supervisors and charge nurses(F=6.1,P<0.01)and(2)Nurses in the pay-patient services reported lower quality of working life,while those in office and outpatient services had more positive scores(F=4.6,P<0.01).Conclusion:Only more than half of the nurses reported a high quality of work life,some of its dimensions,particularly job and career satisfaction and working conditions,appeared to vary in the perceived degree across years in service,work hours,and position.The assessment of the quality of work life may serve as an important tool to address staff burnout,absenteeism and other issues that affect job performance among health-care professionals.

A Study of Multimodal Intelligent Adaptive Learning System and Its Pattern of Promoting Learners’Online Learning Engagement

As the field of artificial intelligence continues to evolve,so too does the application of multimodal learning analysis and intelligent adaptive learning systems.This trend has the potential to promote the equalization of educational resources,the intellectualization of educational methods,and the modernization of educational reform,among other benefits.This study proposes a construction framework for an intelligent adaptive learning system that is supported by multimodal data.It provides a detailed explanation of the system’s working principles and patterns,which aim to enhance learners’online engagement in behavior,emotion,and cognition.The study seeks to address the issue of intelligent adaptive learning systems diagnosing learners’learning behavior based solely on learning achievement,to improve learners’online engagement,enable them to master more required knowledge,and ultimately achieve better learning outcomes.

Randomized intervention to assess the effectiveness of an educational video on organ donation intent among Hispanics in the New York metropolitan area

BACKGROUND The Hispanic community has a high demand for organ donation but a shortage of donors.Studies investigating factors that could promote or hinder organ donation have examined emotional video interventions.Factors acting as barriers to organ donation registration have been classified as:(1)Bodily integrity;(2)medical mistrust;(3)“ick”-feelings of disgust towards organ donation;and(4)“jinx”-fear that registration may result in one dying due to premeditated plans.We predict that by providing necessary information and education about the donation process via a short video,individuals will be more willing to register as organ donors.AIM To determine perceptions and attitudes regarding barriers and facilitators to organ donation intention among Hispanic residents in the New York metropolitan area.METHODS This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Northwell Health.The approval reference number is No.19-0009(as presented in Supplementary material).Eligible participants included Hispanic New York City(NYC)residents,18 years of age and above,who were recruited voluntarily through Cloud Research and participated in a larger randomized survey study of NYC residents.The survey an 85-item Redcap survey measured participant demographics,attitudes,and knowledge of organ donation as well as the intention to register as an organ donor.Attention checks were implemented throughout the survey,and responses were excluded for those who did fail.Participants were randomly assigned two-between subject conditions:To view a short video on organ donation and then proceed to complete the survey(i.e.,video first)and view the same video at the end of the survey(video last).No intra-group activities were conducted.This study utilized an evidenced-based emotive educational intervention(video)which was previously utilized and was shown to increase organ donation registration rates at the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles.Results were analyzed using Jamovi statistical software.Three hundred sixty-five Hispanic individuals were included in the analysis.Once consent was obtained and participants entered the survey(the survey sample is presented in Supplementary material),participants were asked to report on demographic variables and their general impression of organ donation after death.The video depicted stories regarding organ donation after death from various viewpoints,including from the loved ones of a deceased person who died waiting for a transplant;from the loved ones of a deceased person whose organs were donated upon death;and,from those who were currently waiting for a transplant.RESULTS Using a binomial logistic regression,the analysis provides information about the relationship between the effects of an emotive video and the intention to donate among Hispanic participants who were not already registered as donors.The willingness to go back and register was found to be significantly more probable for those who watched the emotive video before being asked about their organ donation opinions(odds ratio:2.05,95%confidence interval:1.06-3.97).Motivations for participation in organ donation were also captured with many stating the importance of messages coming from“people like me”and a message that highlights“the welfare of those in need”.Overall,the findings suggest that using an emotive video that addresses organ donation barriers to prompt organ donation intentions can be effective among the Hispanic populous.Future studies should explore using targeted messaging that resonates with specific cultural groups,highlighting the welfare of others.CONCLUSION This study suggests that an emotive educational intervention is likely to be effective in improving organ donation registration intent among the Hispanic population residing in NYC.

Rationale for Decision-Making Processes in Enhancement of Community Participation for Sustainable Mangrove Management in Lamu, Kenya

Decision-making is the process of deciding between two or more options in order to take the most appropriate and successful course of action in order to achieve sustainable mangrove management. However, the distinctiveness of mangrove as an ecosystem, and thus the attendant socio-economic and governance ramifications, causes the idea of decision making to become relatively distinct from other decision making process As a result, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact that community engagement plays in the decision-making process as it relates to the establishment of governance norms for sustainable mangrove management in Lamu County. In this study, a correlational research design was applied, and the researchers employed a mixed techniques approach. The target population was 296 respondents. The research used questionnaires and interviews to collect data. A descriptive statistical technique was utilized to perform an inspection and analysis on the data that was gathered. The findings indicated that having awareness about governance standards is beneficial during the process of making decisions. In addition, the findings demonstrated that respondents had the impression that the decision-making process was not done properly. On the other hand, the participants pointed out the positive aspects of the decision-making process and agreed that the participation of both gender was essential for the sustainable management of mangroves. Based on these data, it appeared that full community engagement in decision-making is necessary for sustainable management of mangrove forests.

A Study of the Effects of Employee Engagement on Job Satisfaction:Mediating Effect of Labor Relations Climate

With the rapid advancement of new technologies and the transformation of the economic model on a global scale,enterprises are facing unprecedented changes in the external environment and more diversified demands from employees.Therefore,it is essential for enterprises to bolster employee engagement by enhancing employees’job satisfaction,building a stable and harmonious internal climate,and adapting to the dynamic,complex external environment.This study analyzes the positive effects of employee engagement on job satisfaction,explores the mediating effect of labor relations climate in the relationship between the two,and proposes corresponding practical countermeasures and suggestions.

Barriers to Community Participation in Governance Standards Setting for Sustainable Mangrove Management in Lamu County

Mangrove management requires an all-inclusive community engagement for sustainability in protection and conservation of mangroves. Previously, community participation was not considered pivotal but the rapid degradation of mangroves has necessitated their participation. Despite much legislation enacted, there are still challenges hindering community participation in Lamu County and this paper seeks to highlight barriers perceived by the various stakeholders in mangrove management. The study used a mixed methods approach to answer both qualitative and quantitative research questions and a correlational research design to explore all variables. The study shows that only 60% of the respondents agreed that there is lack of enforcement in mangrove conservation through community participation. However, less than 50% agreed on the challenges of lack of good management in mangroves (46%), lack of implementation mechanisms on mangrove conservation (47%) and lack of consultation in decision-making processes for mangrove conservation (36%). This demonstrates that lack of enforcement is the greatest challenge to the implementation of standards for mangrove conservation.

Improved Behavioural Engagement of Students through Low-stakes Online Tests and Immediate Dialogic Feedback

The engagement of students is a recognised challenge for teachers.Technology offers some practical student engagement tools,and this paper examines the use of low-stakes online tests and immediate dialogic feedback to improve behavioural engagement.The academic exploration of low-stakes tests and dialogic feedback has been extensive,and they are credible teaching tools.In this study,we explore the learning benefit of their combination.Postgraduate engineering students’self-reported and learning analytics data shows conclusive evidence of improved behavioural engagement.We measured a 500%increase in the Learning Management System(LMS)page views on the days when we ran the low-stakes tests(each worth 2%of the marks for the subject)and engaged in immediate dialogic feedback.To interpret these results,we draw on theories of behavioural engagement,low-stakes tests,and feedback.We conclude that the combination of low-stakes tests and immediate feedback improves student behavioural engagement.

Analysis of Students’ Preferences and Engagement with Mobile Games: A Study of Game Assets and Colour Impact

Mobile games are gaining in popularity among students, although the factors driving engagement remain poorly understood. This study, conducted among 378 students studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Digital Sciences at the Université Virtuelle de Côte d’Ivoire, explores the influence of game assets and colours on player engagement. Using an online questionnaire, the study identified students’ gaming preferences and their perception of colours. The results show that the key elements most favoured by students are graphics, sound design, the game system, narrative, interactivity and accessibility. What’s more, colour plays a decisive role in their preferences and commitment to educational mobile games.