bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
280 Characters to Employment: Using Twitter to Quantify Job Vacancies
Authors: Sobol Boris , Tonneau Manuel , Fraiberger Samuel , Lee Do , Grinberg Nir
Published: May 2024

Accurate assessment of workforce needs is critical for designing well-informed economic policy and improving market efficiency.
While surveys are the gold standard for estimating when and where workers are needed, they also have important limitations, most notably their substantial costs, dependence on existing and extensive surveying infrastructure, and limited temporal, geographical, and sectorial resolution.
Here, we investigate the potential of social media to provide a complementary signal for estimating labor market demand.
We introduce a novel statistical approach for extracting information about the location and occupation advertised in job vacancies posted on Twitter. We then construct an aggregate index of labor market demand by occupational class in every major U.S. city from 2015 to 2022, which we evaluate against two sources of official statistics and an index from a large aggregator of online job postings.
We find that the newly constructed index is strongly correlated with official statistics and, in some cases, advantageous compared to statistics from job aggregators.
Moreover, we demonstrate that our index can robustly improve the prediction of official statistics across occupations and states.
Unraveling User Coordination on Telegram: A Comprehensive Analysis of Political Mobilization during the 2022 Brazilian Presidential Election
Authors: Venâncio Otavio R. , G. Ferreira Carlos H. , Almeida Jussara M. , C. da Silva Ana Paula
Published: May 2024

Social media has gained importance as a channel to influence people's behavior and decisions, affecting not only the online world but also real-life (offline) events. This is especially evident in Brazil, where platforms like Telegram have been instrumental in disseminating political content rapidly and widely. However, the potential coordinated use of Telegram for promoting specific political narratives at critical times, such as the 2022 Brazilian elections, remains an area that requires further investigation. This study aims to investigate this phenomenon, focusing on the first and second rounds of voting and the January 8th riots. To this end, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of 620,000 messages from 256 Telegram groups, focusing on the dynamics of message dissemination and user interactions. Using network backbone extraction and text analysis methods, we identified key users who may be orchestrating the distribution of content. Our findings suggest that these individuals play a central role in the network's topology, relaying messages to a broader audience on dominant topics of discussion that reflect Brazil's political landscape during this turbulent period. This study not only highlights the growing influence of messaging apps on political mobilization but also contributes to our understanding of digital communication strategies in modern electoral contexts, emphasizing the need for further research in this field.
Landscape of Large Language Models in Global English News: Topics, Sentiments, and Spatiotemporal Analysis
Authors: Xian Lu , Li Lingyao , Xu Yiwei , Zhang Ben Zefeng , Hemphill Libby
Published: May 2024

Generative AI has exhibited considerable potential to transform various industries and public life. The role of news media coverage of generative AI is pivotal in shaping public perceptions and judgments about this significant technological innovation. This paper provides in-depth analysis and rich insights into the temporal and spatial distribution of topics, sentiment, and substantive themes within global news coverage focusing on the latest emerging technology—generative AI. We collected a comprehensive dataset of English news articles (January 2018 to November 2023, N = 24,827) through ProQuest databases. For topic modeling, we employed the BERTopic technique and combined it with qualitative coding to identify semantic themes. Subsequently, sentiment analysis was conducted using the RoBERTa-base model. Analysis of temporal patterns in the data reveals notable variability in coverage across key topics—business, corporate technological development, regulation and security, and education—with spikes in articles coinciding with major AI developments and policy discussions. Sentiment analysis shows a predominantly neutral to positive media stance, with the business-related articles exhibiting more positive sentiment, while regulation and security articles receive a reserved, neutral to negative sentiment. Our study offers a valuable framework to investigate global news discourse and evaluate news attitudes and themes related to emerging technologies.
On the Role of Large Language Models in Crowdsourcing Misinformation Assessment
Authors: Xu Jiechen , Han Lei , Sadiq Shazia , Demartini Gianluca
Published: May 2024

The proliferation of online misinformation significantly undermines the credibility of web content. Recently, crowd workers have been successfully employed to assess misinformation to address the limited scalability of professional fact-checkers. An alternative approach to crowdsourcing is the use of large language models (LLMs). These models are however also not perfect. In this paper, we investigate the scenario of crowd workers working in collaboration with LLMs to assess misinformation. We perform a study where we ask crowd workers to judge the truthfulness of statements under different conditions: with and without LLMs labels and explanations. Our results show that crowd workers tend to overestimate truthfulness when exposed to LLM-generated information. Crowd workers are misled by wrong LLM labels, but, on the other hand, their self-reported confidence is lower when they make mistakes due to relying on the LLM. We also observe diverse behaviors among crowd workers when the LLM is presented, indicating that leveraging LLMs can be considered a distinct working strategy.
A Study of Partisan News Sharing in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Authors: Zhu Yiming , Haq Ehsan-Ul , Tyson Gareth , Lee Lik-Hang , Wang Yuyang , Hui Pan
Published: May 2024

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a large volume of biased and partisan news has been spread via social media platforms. As this may lead to wider societal issues, we argue that understanding how partisan news sharing impacts users' communication is crucial for better governance of online communities. In this paper, we perform a measurement study of partisan news sharing. We aim to characterize the role of such sharing in influencing users' communications. Our analysis covers an eight-month dataset across six Reddit communities related to the Russian invasion. We first perform an analysis of the temporal evolution of partisan news sharing. We confirm that the invasion stimulates discussion in the observed communities, accompanied by an increased volume of partisan news sharing. Next, we characterize users' response to such sharing. We observe that partisan bias plays a role in narrowing its propagation. More biased media is less likely to be spread across multiple subreddits. However, we find that partisan news sharing attracts more users to engage in the discussion, by generating more comments. We then built a predictive model to identify users likely to spread partisan news. The prediction is challenging though, with 61.57% accuracy on average. Our centrality analysis on the commenting network further indicates that the users who disseminate partisan news possess lower network influence in comparison to those who propagate neutral news.
The LGBTQ+ Minority Stress on Social Media (MiSSoM) Dataset: A Labeled Dataset for Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning
Authors: Cascalheira Cory J. , Chapagain Santosh , Flinn Ryan E. , Klooster Dannie , Laprade Danica , Zhao Yuxuan , Lund Emily M. , Gonzalez Alejandra , Corro Kelsey , Wheatley Rikki , Gutierrez Ana , Garcia Villanueva Oziel , Saha Koustuv , De Choudhury Munmun , Scheer Jillian R. , Hamdi Shah M.
Published: May 2024

Minority stress is the leading theoretical construct for understanding LGBTQ+ health disparities. As such, there is an urgent need to develop innovative policies and technologies to reduce minority stress. To spur technological innovation, we created the largest labeled datasets on minority stress using natural language from subreddits related to sexual and gender minority people. A team of mental health clinicians, LGBTQ+ health experts, and computer scientists developed two datasets: (1) the publicly available LGBTQ+ Minority Stress on Social Media (MiSSoM) dataset and (2) the advanced request-only version of the dataset, LGBTQ+ MiSSoM+. Both datasets have seven labels related to minority stress, including an overall composite label and six sublabels. LGBTQ+ MiSSoM (N = 27,709) includes both human- and machine-annotated la-bels and comes preprocessed with features (e.g., topic models, psycholinguistic attributes, sentiment, clinical keywords, word embeddings, n-grams, lexicons). LGBTQ+ MiSSoM+ includes all the characteristics of the open-access dataset, but also includes the original Reddit text and sentence-level labeling for a subset of posts (N = 5,772). Benchmark supervised machine learning analyses revealed that features of the LGBTQ+ MiSSoM datasets can predict overall minority stress quite well (F1 = 0.869). Benchmark performance metrics yielded in the prediction of the other labels, namely prejudiced events (F1 = 0.942), expected rejection (F1 = 0.964), internalized stigma (F1 = 0.952), identity concealment (F1 = 0.971), gender dysphoria (F1 = 0.947), and minority coping (F1 = 0.917), were excellent. Descriptive analyses, ethical considerations, limitations, and possible use cases are provided.
AiGen-FoodReview: A Multimodal Dataset of Machine-Generated Restaurant Reviews and Images on Social Media
Authors: Gambetti Alessandro , Han Qiwei
Published: May 2024

Online reviews in the form of user-generated content (UGC) significantly impact consumer decision-making. However, the pervasive issue of not only human fake content but also machine-generated content challenges UGC's reliability. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) may pave the way to fabricate indistinguishable fake generated content at a much lower cost. Leveraging OpenAI's GPT-4-Turbo and DALL-E-2 models, we craft AiGen-FoodReview, a multimodal dataset of 20,144 restaurant review-image pairs divided into authentic and machine-generated. We explore unimodal and multimodal detection models, achieving 99.80% multimodal accuracy with FLAVA. We use attributes from readability and photographic theories to score reviews and images, respectively, demonstrating their utility as handcrafted features in scalable and interpretable detection models with comparable performance. This paper contributes by open-sourcing the dataset and releasing fake review detectors, recommending its use in unimodal and multimodal fake review detection tasks, and evaluating linguistic and visual features in synthetic versus authentic data.
Online News Coverage of Critical Race Theory Controversies: A Dataset of Annotated Headlines
Authors: Lieb Anna , Arora Maneesh , Mustafaraj Eni
Published: May 2024

In this paper, we introduce an annotated dataset of 11,704 unique U.S. news headlines related to critical race theory and its controversies from August 2020 through December 2022. Annotations generated by GPT-4 specify the headline stance and the primary actor in the headline. GPT-4 annotations performed well on the validation dataset, with weighted average F-scores of 0.8339 for headline stance annotations and 0.7625 for primary actor annotations. Along with the annotated headlines and URLs to the full article, we augment the dataset with metrics that are relevant to future research on political polarization, news frame analysis, and regional news coverage. The dataset includes partisan audience bias scores by news source domain, tags for mentions of U.S. states in the article body, and exposure and engagement metrics for articles shared on Reddit. Among other preliminary descriptive analyses, we find that the most prevalent headline stance in our headlines dataset is anti-CRT (43.06%), and the most prevalent primary actor in our headlines dataset is political influencers (56.56%). This paper describes the data collection methodology, preliminary descriptive analysis, and possible uses of the dataset for future research in political science, computational social sciences, and natural language processing. Our dataset and replication code is available to access on Zenodo at zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10516190
El consonantismo en la interlengua de aprendientes italianos de español/LE: estrategias cognitivas, marcadez, preferencias universales
Authors: Miotti Renzo
Published: May 2024

El artículo ilustra los fenómenos más relevantes observados en el consonantismo de 22 aprendientes universitarios italianos de español/LE a la luz del modelo de análisis de la interlengua de lenguas afines de Schmid (1994). El análisis se ha centrado en dos clases de consonantes obstruyentes (oclusivas y fricativas) y dos de consonantes sonorantes (vibrantes y laterales). Se asume que determinadas estrategias cognitivas interfieren con procesos universales de naturalidad lingüística. Se tienen en cuenta tanto las propuestas procedentes de la teoría de la marcadez, como los principios de la Fonología Natural, con el fin de ofrecer una interpretación de los fenómenos observados, así como de los procesos que contribuyen a delinear la fisonomía de las interlenguas fónicas de los aprendientes. El análisis del corpus ha revelado que en las interlenguas examinadas inciden principios de marcadez, que dificultan la adquisición de ciertos elementos. En general, los aprendientes suelen mantener aquellas soluciones de la L1 que están en línea con preferencias y procesos universales, lo cual se manifiesta en la no supresión de procesos naturales de lenición. Por otra parte, además de los procesos de lenición, también desempeñan un papel importante los fenómenos de fortición, cuya función es la de optimizar la perceptibilidad de los segmentos y reforzar la saliencia perceptiva de la frontera de palabra.
Patch growth of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) treated with inorganic fertilizer and organic biostimulant
Authors: Madison L Meagher , Ambrose O Anoruo , Benjamin L Turner , Paul W Holland , Shad D Nelson , Maria C Donato-Molina
Published: May 2024

Inorganic fertilizers are often used in the United States in golf courses putting green maintenance. We used milled plant biomass on putting greens to test the hypothesis that organic biostimulants used in putting green maintenance can achieve similar results as inorganic fertilizers. Dilapidated putting greens, #4 and #14, with conspicuous patches at the L.E. Ramey Golf Course in Kingsville, TX, were selected for the study. Each green was split in half with one half selected for treatment and the other half maintained as the control and treated with NPK. Milled Medicago sativa L. mixed with milled high auxin-containing plant species in a ratio of 10:1 was used to test the hypothesis. The mixture was applied in the bio-treated section of the two greens while the golf course management continued to apply inorganic fertilizers on the control section of the study greens. Patch count on the greens was conducted once a week utilizing a randomly placed 1 by 1 m quadrant. Also, soil moisture measurement was taken twice a week on the greens to understand soil moisture retention due to the treatments. Patch count indicates that the bio-treated sections grew and filled significantly faster than the sections treated with inorganic fertilizers. Regression analysis of data collected between July 13th and July 27th indicates a strong linear biostimulant/patch growth relationship (R2 = 0.75 and 0.92) on Greens #4 and #14 respectively. Also, soil moisture data indicates significantly higher moisture retention on the putting green sections treated with the biostimulant.
Hafting tests on tanged blanks v1
Authors: Zejly Nassim , Wright Bonnie
Published: May 2024

By the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene (around 150,000 - 130,000 years ago), the Middle Stone Age in North Africa witnessed the emergence of tang technology. This innovation is characterized as a technical solution that facilitates hafting. Moreover, this technical behavior was consistently represented as point technology. This notion leads to the assumption that the tang was used for hafting in an axial orientation, with the tang being inserted into another material like wood or bone. However, what about the rest of the artifacts? What if the tang was not inserted but used for fixation instead? In our experimental work, we explored alternative hafting methods where the tang was not inserted but used for fixation. These methods involved testing two hafting systems: the juxtaposition of the tanged artifacts onto wooden sticks, and the insertion of one edge adjacent to the tang. The choice of hafting systems was motivated by the thickness distribution of the produced convergent artifacts. After hafting, we tested the functionality of these artifacts through three main activities: throwing the spear points, using the spears for penetration, and conducting butchering activities. The first two activities were tested on a simulation of animal carcasses using a mixture of gelatin and pig bones (two scapulae and two radius ulnae), while the butchering activities were conducted on fresh pig limbs.
Ablación por cateter de radiofrecuencia de extrasístoles ventriculares con origen en el seno coronario izquierdo
Authors: Alderete José F. , Berruezo Antonio , Centurión Osmar A. , Galeano Erdulfo J.
Published: May 2024

Las extrasístoles ventriculares (EEVV) son frecuentemente asintomáticas y no requieren de tratamiento antiarrítmico. Las EEVV de los tractos de salida son las EEVV idiopáticas más frecuentes en la práctica clínica. La anamnésis, el examen físico y el electrocardiograma son fundamentales en el diagnóstico. Aunque las EEVV de los tractos de salidas ventriculares son consideradas benignas, pueden producir diversos síntomas y desencadenar una cardiomiopatía inducida por las extrasístoles, que lleva a un deterioro de la función sistólica ventricular izquierda y en última instancia, insuficiencia cardiaca. Cuando el tratamiento farmacológico de las EEVV fracasa, nos queda la ablación de arritmias por catéter de radiofrecuencia como única alternativa eficaz. Este es el caso de la paciente de sexo femenino de 62 años, hipertensa, dislipidémica y tabaquista, que demuestra la seguridad de la ablación por catéter de radiofrecuencia, la eficacia terapéutica, y el restablecimiento integro de la función ventricular del corazón.
Fallas epistemológicas en la traducción inglesa del pensamiento decolonial y no-colonial latinoamericano
Authors: Rojas-Lizana Sol
Published: May 2024

La manipulación en la traducción es históricamente común y presenta diversas razones ideológicas. El pensamiento decolonial es víctima del epistemicidio en diferentes ámbitos y también ha sido silenciado en el proceso de traducción. En este trabajo demuestro cómo el paradigma de la modernidad se refleja en artículos académicos y especialmente en la traducción al inglés del concepto de Sumak Kawsay/Suma Qamaña o Buen Vivir expresado en los preámbulos de las constituciones ecuatoriana y boliviana traducidas por el Instituto Max Planck. Específicamente, examino cómo la visión antropocéntrica y universalista de la modernidad empaña la postura biocéntrica y localista del pensamiento decolonial.
A case study on the relationships between the dietary patterns and the nutritional status of school children in Galkadapathana village in Sri Lanka
Authors: Siriwardhane Jayasekara M. C. K. B. , Samarakoon Egodage R. J. , Jayaweera Anuradha
Published: May 2024

Background: Nutritional status is an important indicator in measuring the quality of life of children. Galkadapthana is a rural agricultural village in the Nuwara Eliya district, Sri Lanka. Villagers confront difficulties regarding their nutritional status due to low income, inadequate education and poor infrastructure facilities. This study was undertaken to identify the relationships between the nutritional status of school children in Galakadapathana village and their dietary patterns.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out using a deductive approach. A total of 85 households with 137 school children aged 6-18 years were randomly selected. Data was collected using structured surveys and conducting face-to-face interviews. The nutritional status of children was assessed through anthropometric measurements.
Results: A severely stunted condition was observed in 5.8% of children, while 7.3% represent severely underweight conditions according to the WHO growth references, 2007. The maximum number of 6 was scored in the Individual Dietary Diversity Score (IDDS) by 24.8% of the population. The maximum number of 7 in the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was scored by 21.2% of the population. There was no significant (P>0.05) relationship between the BMI-for-age status and the aggregate level of education of the breadwinner, birthweight of the child, IDDS, and HDDS. However, the amount of starchy food intake significantly (P<0.05) impacted the BMI-for-age status.
Conclusions: The amount of starchy food intake showed a significant impact on the prevalence of wasting (P<0.05), but not the aggregate level of education of the breadwinner, birthweight of the child and dietary diversity.
Utilization status of Safe Motherhood Program: a study from Jumla district, Nepal
Authors: Shahi Shubhadra , Neupane Dinesh Raj , Ranabhat Kamal , Wagle Subash , Rajbanshi Manish , Adhikari Anita , Niroula Sandhya , Kafle Hari Prasad
Published: May 2024

Background: Safe Motherhood Program is a national priority programme that aims to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity through demand and supply side incentives and free delivery care. The study investigates Safe Motherhood Program’s utilization, changes post-implementation, and associated factors in Jumla district to enhance maternal health care access and reduce preventable maternal deaths.
Methods: A community based cross sectional study using quantitative approach was conducted where the women of reproductive age group having at least one child of 3-15 months of age were interviewed using the semi structured interview schedule (n=228). Chi square test was used to show the association with independent and depended variables. All the test was carried out at the statistically significant of p value <0.05.
Results: The study revealed significant associations between utilization of maternal health care services and various factors: respondent's education level (p=0.034, OR=1.834, CI=1.043-3.223), husband's education level (p=0.007, OR=2.300, CI=1.252-4.228), respondent's employment status (p=0.003, OR=7.155, CI=1.650-31.029), husband's employment status (p=0.001, OR=2.778, CI=1.526-5.055), monthly income (OR=5.556, CI=2.005-15.393), and involvement in social groups (p=0.009, OR=2.312, CI=1.217-4.390).
Conclusions: Despite strong awareness of delivery incentives, the program success was restricted by poor knowledge of checkup incentives. The study identified the sociodemographic factors influencing the appropriate use of Jumla’s Safe Motherhood Program scheme. Pregnancy was highly registered, however less than two thirds of women had the necessary number of examinations performed. Institutional deliveries increased but there was disparity during the service delivery.
Evaluation and comparison of the oral health status of children in government and private schools between 6 to 9 years of age in Sangli city
Authors: Rane Saakshi , Shigli Anand
Published: May 2024

Background: To evaluate and compare the Oral health status of children in Government and Private schools between 6 TO 9 years of age in Sangli City
Methods: Subjects were selected by Cluster Random Sampling and all students between 6 to 9 years of age from the selected schools were examined. Screening was done on the basis of WHO oral health assessment form for children (2013). Consent was taken from the parents or the concerned authorities prior to the examination of the children. The examination was carried out by one trained and calibrated investigator using a mouth mirror and CPI probe under natural daylight.
Results: A total of 1000 children (500 governments and 500 private) were examined in the study. The estimates of non-carious teeth, carious teeth, enamel fluorosis and dental trauma between private and government school children were compared. There was significant difference found in non- carious tooth estimate (p=0.003) and carious teeth estimate (p=0.005). The children in private school had more non carious teeth (mean: 16.45) when compared to government children (mean: 15.89). Similarly, the children in private school had less amount of carious teeth (mean: 3.31) when compared to government children (mean: 3.84). There was no significant difference found with respect to fluorosis (p=0.683) and dental trauma (0.319) in the children of government and private schools.
Conclusions: The prevalence of oral diseases was relatively less among children from private schools in comparison with those from government schools.
Relevance of copper/zinc ratio and its association with redox status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Das Sonu , John Mathew , Adiody Supriya
Published: May 2024

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive and persistent inflammatory condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Increased oxidative stress amongst others, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. The objective of the present study was to conduct a preliminary yet comprehensive examination of metal exposure specifically copper and zinc levels and their association with overall oxidative stress in COPD.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Two groups were included in the study. One group with 20 COPD patients and the other group of 20 healthy controls. Plasma samples were obtained from both the groups and serum levels of copper and zinc were studied by atomic absorption spectrometry. Cu/Zn ratio obtained from the results was further correlated with oxidative stress index calculated from total oxidant status and total antioxidant status in COPD with respect to controls.
Results: The copper levels were significantly higher and the zinc levels lower in the COPD group as compared to the control group. The copper/zinc ratio was higher in COPD as compared to control population. The correlation between Cu/Zn ratio and oxidative stress index showed a positive correlation with a regression coefficient of 0.7.
Conclusions: The study throws light on the trace element imbalance in COPD and how these could induce oxidative stress, contributing to persistent inflammation in COPD. In the clinical perspective, monitoring Cu/Zn ratio in COPD patients may lead to better risk mitigation and thereby better therapeutic management of the disease.
Community based household data collection in a post pandemic world-challenges and way forward
Authors: Rajput Mansi , Premjit Reesha , Bhagat Shambhavi , Singh Ranjana , Ray Shomik
Published: May 2024

The COVID pandemic has instilled fear in the community creating challenges for household data collection. A community-based household survey was planned to assess knowledge and perception about air pollution caused by vehicular traffic and related ailments among residents of Delhi along with willingness to accept (WTA)/willingness to pay (WTP) discount/premium to discontinue/continue the use of private vehicles for their daily office commute. Access into households was difficult due to heightened sensitivity in post COVID situation. Respondents were not available during working hours. Researchers reached out to participants at workplaces, community events, during weekends or after office hours. Safety of researchers due to odd working hours was a concern. Researchers in post-pandemic world need to plan for multiple modes to access participants. Timelines of the data collection phase need to be sensitive for higher proportion of refusals and necessary permissions. Higher investments in effective communication skills are necessary.
Trends in budget allocation for primary healthcare: a decadal perspective on prioritization in Tamil Nadu
Authors: Balasundaram Sendilkumar , Raju Tamilchudar , Natesan Mani , Syamalakumari Lekshmi Krishnapillai
Published: May 2024

The healthcare industry in Tamil Nadu has evolved significantly during the last decade, with changes in budget allocations and policy goals. This article examines the state's health budget from 2013 to 2023, focusing on public health programs and healthcare delivery systems. Examining budgetary trends and allocation patterns sheds light on the complex relationship between resource prioritizing and healthcare outcomes. Key findings indicate a large increase in the state's overall budget, but with variable distribution among health departments. While the directorate of medical education (DME) receives a substantial portion, there are concerns regarding the diminishing distribution of essential healthcare services, particularly within the directorate of preventive medicine and public health (DPH). Despite this, Tamil Nadu's commitment to addressing public health concerns is evident in its purposeful investments in health and wellness centers (HWCs) and in its steps to reduce out-of-pocket costs. According to the recommendations, budget allocations should be reevaluated to ensure equal distribution based on population requirements and illness load. Furthermore, optimizing resource allocation and improving primary healthcare services, notably through enhanced DPH assistance, are critical for maintaining the state's excellent healthcare results. To summaries, Tamil Nadu's healthcare environment is a dynamic interaction of funding allocations, policy agendas, and public health results. As the state navigates changing challenges and opportunities, a data-driven approach to decision-making and a renewed emphasis on outcome-based healthcare programs are critical for improving the well-being of its citizens.
Competence-based teacher education programmes: Transitioning towards a paradigm shift or preserving the traditional?
Authors: Kacaniku Fjolla
Published: May 2024

Adapting teacher education programs to societal changes is a current issue, especially when viewed through the European frameworks driving transformative reforms. The paper reports how European frameworks and other initiatives in higher education and teacher education aim to support the transformation of teacher education programmes. Multiple European-level interventions have engendered shifts in the conceptual understanding and orientation of initial teacher education programmes across numerous contexts within Europe. The purpose of this paper was to examine the shift of teacher education programmes into competence-based in Kosovo, the youngest country in Europe, in the context of European frameworks as an impetus for transition. This qualitative research is a part of a broader study that involves analysing study programmes, conducting interviews with teacher educators and management staff, and holding focus groups with student-teachers. The goal is to explore the path of contextualizing European-inspired programme reforms in more detail. The findings show that Kosovo is shifting to a competence-based approach to align with EU integration, incorporating European principles for programme improvement. However, the study reveals a notable focus on maintaining programmes’ tradition. This leads to tensions and contradictions regarding programme tradition, EU integration goals, and actual implementation. The results provide valuable insights into the significance of educational context and the tacit knowledge of teacher educators and other stakeholders during programme reforms within the context of European initiatives.
Received: 29 April 2023Accepted: 13 January 2024
Evaluating Digital Proficiency: A Study on Online and Face-to-Face Educational Engagement Among Rural Middle School Students in Republic of Moldova.
Authors: Barbuta Alina , Ghetau Cosmin , Iovu Mihai-Bogdan
Published: May 2024

Digital inequalities in terms of access, skills, and digital technology use, generate a barrier to participating in an e-learning process, and ultimately it can be a major source of exclusion, inequality, and social isolation. This quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 1526 middle school students residing in rural areas from the Republic of Moldova. The goal of this study is to assess the digital skills of students and their perception of the online educational process. Our results indicate that the highest digital competence area is Digital content creation (DC) and the lowest is “Problem-solving” (PS). We also found a positive correlation between face-to-face discussion with the teacher and the mean scores from the digital skills level, the correlation seems to be mediated by the variable "the possibility to ask the teacher" (PAT). The discussion centers on the teacher's function as a facilitator and mediator of the learning process, with a focus on the tangible interaction between teachers and students as a key contributing factor to the cultivation and enhancement of digital skills.
Developing Art and Graphic Skills among Future Designers: An Integrative Principle and A Methodical Model
Authors: Maksymchuk Anatolii , Shvets Olena , Shtainer Tetiana , Petrova Inna , Kravchenko Nataliia , Abramova Oksana
Published: May 2024

The authors talk about the methodological problems of training designers in transitional educational systems of postcolonial society. They solve new theoretical perspectives of integrative design teaching for future specialists. The authors aim not only to generalize the theoretical foundations, but also to create a single relatively closed model of formation of artistic and graphic skills and abilities of future designers and even offer illustrative tasks with simultaneous use of different types of social consciousness and the main (generic) types of modern design - environmental, universal. , communicative (communicative-digital) and futuristic. Achieving this goal was possible by using only theoretical methods - system analysis of literature, historical and typological observations, epistemological generalizations extrapolations within an integrative understanding of the object of transformation and pedagogical modeling. The main practical achievements of the article are the universal multilevel model, its explication and illustrative examples of the tasks of its implementation. The theoretical results of the article were a new understanding of the functionality of artifacts, the secondary nature of the aesthetic component, the integration of its practical and universal communicative functions. The article may be of interest to teachers of design departments and courses, design students, design practitioners and specialists in the field of advanced design.
The Importance of Nutrition in Structuring the Locus of Control
Authors: Ababei Radu , Sandovici Anișoara , Ifrim Irina Loredana , Ababei Cătălina , Gorgan Carmina-Mihaela , Nechifor Constantin
Published: May 2024

Professional literature shows that certain modifiable behaviors in lifestyle, such as diet, physical activity, leisure time, and rest, are risk factors for decreased quality of life. In other words, neglecting these vital aspects of life leads, in chain, to the impairment of physical and mental health. Self-care behaviors, management of physical and mental resources are affected by personal psychological characteristics, with locus of control playing a central role. Research has been marked by the idea that dietary behavior (nutrition), alongside its specific existential roles (roles of growth and development, maturation, and survival), is significantly linked to other important dimensions of physical and mental life (locus of control, self-attitude, professional activity, physical and emotional regulation activities - such as engaging in physical activities and rest). To collect data in support of the formulated hypothesis, we administered two questionnaires (lifestyle questionnaire and locus of control questionnaire) to a sample of 219 teachers from pre-university education.
Holistic Education: the Unity of the Intellectual and Emotional Sphere
Authors: Marchuk Oksana , Holiiad Iryna , Boiko Vladyslav , Ribtsun Yulia , Bogdan Zhanna , Lukashenko Kateryna
Published: May 2024

The article provides a theoretical justification of the emotional-value approach in the educational process, shows its interaction with other conceptual approaches, in particular, defines the intellectual component of personal development. In recent years, pedagogy has developed and tested conceptual provisions characterizing various approaches aimed at effectively solving pedagogical tasks. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the ideas that prove the legality and expediency of the emotional-value approach as a truly valuable pedagogical phenomenon, as well as to show its connection with other pedagogical approaches, in particular to investigate the neuropedagogical aspect. The concept of "emotional-value approach" has not been introduced into pedagogical science. But in some studies and publications, the terms "emotional-value component" and "emotional component" are used. The relevance of the article is determined by the intensive development of information and communication technologies in connection with the physiological reactions of the body, which forms the neural factor as an aspect of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is the most relevant phenomenon of human development today. Empirical methods, the method of synthesis, analysis, research, explanatory and scientific methods were used in the research. The results do not exhaust all aspects, but they are important for achieving the goal, namely the determination of the most effective factors for the formation of the unity of the intellectual and emotional sphere in the context of the formation of education and in the conditions of using artificial intelligence as a neuropedagogical factor.
Women in Masculinized Occupations, Men in Feminized Occupations: Experiences of Gender Occupational Minorities and Their Roles within the Occupational Group
Authors: Czeranowska Olga
Published: May 2024

Horizontal gender segregation divides the labor market into ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ occupations. However, some individuals choose occupational paths which are not consistent with the expectations for their gender, thereby becoming a minority in their occupational group. We propose the joint term ‘gender occupational minorities’ to describe their situation. We aim to supplement previous research with a combined analysis of the two gender groups, enabling a more general perspective on the meaning of gender in the labor market as well as a comparison of how similar mechanisms work in opposite gender contexts. Based on Pierre Bourdieu’s practical principles of gender occupational segregation, women working in IT/new technologies and men working in childcare/education were chosen as the project’s target groups. In this paper, we focus on the experience of being a gender occupational minority on the Polish labor market as well as on the role of gender occupational minorities within the occupational group.
Examining Performance Determinants of Commercial Banks: Evidence from the Tanzanian Banking Sector
Authors: Mulbah Kessellie Traore , Kurbonov Sinbad , Nasriddinov Bobur
Published: May 2024

While the current body of literature offers valuable insights into the factors influencing bank financial performance, there remains a significant paucity of empirical research focusing on least developed nations. In this paper, we present new evidence of the effect of bank size, capital adequacy ratio (CAR), and net interest margin (NIM) on commercial banks' performance (return on assets (ROA)) from the perspective of Tanzania – a least-developed country. We employed the Random Effect, and the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression models utilizing a panel dataset spanning the period 2000 to 2022 of ten (10) Tanzanian commercial banks to examine the specific effect of the foregoing variables on commercial banks’ profitability. These banks have a combined share of approximately 85 percent of the total assets (TZS 46 trillion) of the Tanzanian banking sector. We found that capital adequacy and bank size have positive significant effects on the financial performance of commercial banks in Tanzania. Whereas the random effect model shows a marginally significant positive effect on ROA, the GLS regression shows a significant negative effect, indicating that the effect of NIM could be either positive or negative depending on the context. Thus, we intimate that regulators prioritize measures aimed at promoting healthy levels of capital adequacy and encouraging the growth of larger banks while ensuring adequate oversight to mitigate potential risks associated with market dominance, and regulatory frameworks should be designed to foster competition and efficiency in the banking sector, facilitating a conducive environment for banks of all sizes to thrive.
Impact des matériaux de protection des puits traditionnels à usage domestique sur la qualité de l’eau : cas de la commune de Yopougon, Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)
Authors: Gnagne Agness Essoh Jean Eudes Yves , Yapo Wolgang , Ballet Tiama Guy Nicaise , Traore Tiedaba , Okou Gnahoua Magloire
Published: May 2024

Les puits traditionnels à usage domestique constituent une source importante en eau pour une frange de la population du district d’Abidjan. Étudier la qualité de cette eau devient une nécessité. C’est pourquoi ce travail a été initié. Il a pour objectif d’évaluer l’impact des matériaux de protection des puits traditionnels à usage domestique sur la qualité des eaux. Pour mener à bien cette étude nous avons identifié, après enquête, cinq (5) puits traditionnels issus de la même zone géologique. Parmi ces puits choisis, quatre (4) possèdent des matériaux de protection tels que les pneus d’automobiles, les fûts métalliques, le plastique en PVC (polychlorure de vinyle) et les briques de ciment pour leur cuvelage. Quant au cinquième qui représente le puits témoin, il ne possède pas de matériaux de protection ou cuvelage. Les eaux de ces puits ont été soumises à des analyses physico-chimiques sur la base de la norme française et celles décrites par Rodier et al. Les résultats de cette étude montrent que le fer et la silice qui sont des constituants chimiques des pneus d’automobiles, des briques et plastique en PVC sont en concentrations très importantes dans les eaux dont les cuvelages sont confectionnés à partir de ces matériaux. Les différents éléments chimiques (silice et fer) se retrouvent dans ces eaux par les réactions de dissolution et d’oxydation.
 
Traditional wells for domestic use are an important source of water for part of the population of the Abidjan district. It is essential to study the quality of this water. That is why this study was initiated, with the aim of studying the impact of materials used to protect traditional domestic wells on water quality. To carry out this study, we identified five (5) traditional wells by means of a survey. Four (4) of these wells had protective materials such as car tyres, metal drums, PVC plastic and cement bricks in the casing. The fifth, the control well, has no protective materials. Their water was subjected to physico-chemical analysis. These analyses were carried out using French standard methods and those described by Rodier et al. Iron and silica, which are chemical constituents of car tyres and bricks, and PVC plastic exclusively in the case of silica, were found in very high concentrations in the water whose casings were made from these materials, compared with the control well. In fact, the control well is uncased and shares the same geological nature as the other cased wells. The various chemical elements (silica and iron) are found in this water through dissolution and oxidation reactions. The physico-chemical parameters of the wells with casings were compared with those of the control wells using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test, and the well waters were divided into groups using Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
Brown Tumor in Parathyroid Adenoma Mimicking Malignant Bone Tumor: A Case Report
Authors: Asri Dhea Pratiwi  , Setiawati Rosy
Published: May 2024

Brown tumors, also recognized as osteitis fibrosa cystica or osteoclastoma, represent a unique pathological entity intricately linked to hyperparathyroidism. Although benign in nature, brown tumor can manifest as focal bone abnormalities, presenting diagnostic challenges due to their striking resemblance to malignant bone tumors, particularly bone metastases. A 24-year-old woman presented with a lump on her left knee and right lower leg pain. Imaging unveiled multiple osteolytic lesions resembling aggressive bone tumors. Subsequent investigations, including abdominal USG, thyroid USG, bloodwork, and parathyroid hormone assessment, confirmed hyperparathyroidism with elevated PTH levels and nephrocalcinosis. HistoPA examination shows a brown tumor diagnosis, prompting parathyroidectomy. Brown tumor can mimic aggressive bone tumors both in clinical and radiological findings. Besides PTH level, thyroid and abdominal USG should be performed to find both parathyroid mass and nephrocalcinosis as the result of hypercalcemia. A HistoPA examination shoud be performed to diagnose the main cause of hyperparathyroidism, that is mostly parathyroid adenoma. As for the treatment, medical and surgical intervention can be done to treat hyperparathyroidism and brown tumor itself. Brown tumors pose a diagnostic challenge due to their association with hyperparathyroidism and their resemblance to aggressive bone tumors. Further research is needed to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for brown tumors associated with hyperparathyroidism.
EKSISTENSI MAQÀSHID AL-SYARÌ’AH DALAM PEMBARUAN HUKUM PIDANA DI INDONESIA
Authors: Harahap Zul Anwar Ajim
Published: May 2024

Abstract: This paper examines maqashid al-shariah in the Indonesian penallaw reform. Building on the theory of existence and maqashid al-shariah, thisnormative legal study explores elements and values of Islamic law withinthe national law. This study shows that Islamic law has influenced the Bill ofNational Penal Code since it was used as one important source of the code.The principles of maqashid al-shariah color the chapters of the Bill, especiallyin Book I on the general prescription and on Book II on criminal acts. Fromthe 49 chapters of the bill that are examined, it has been identified with thestrong values of maqashid. The stronger principle of the maqashid that isadopted is the protection of faith, followed by the protection of life, offspring,and reason. The least principle of the maqashid in the bill is the protection ofproperty because this part is closely related to civil matters.
Abstrak: Tulisan ini menyajikan hasil penelitian tentang eksistensi maqàshid alsyarì’ahdalam pembaruan hukum pidana di Indonesia. Kajian ini diawali darieksistensi hukum Islam dalam tatanan hukum nasional di berbagai Undangundanguntuk mengungkapkan rumusan-rumusan yang ada dalam hukumIslam kemudian dibandingkan dengan rumusan dalam RUU KUHP. Hasilpenelitian menunjukkan bahwa hukum Islam telah eksis dalam RUU KUHPsebagai sumber dan bahan hukum nasional. Konsep maqàshid al-syarì’ah dalampembentukan hukum Islam menjadi dasar dalam perwujudannya. HukumIslam bertujuan untuk mewujudkan kemaslahatan manusia yang dicapaidengan cara memperoleh kemaslahatan bagi manusia dan menolak segalahal yang merusak kehidupan, baik di dunia maupun di akhirat. Kemaslahatantersebut adalah untuk memelihara kehidupan, jiwa, dan akal. Konsep terakhirmaqahsid adalah untuk memelihara harta karena penutup bagian ini dikaitkandengan masalah-masalah sosial.