bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Liposomal Drug Delivery
Authors: Batra Unnati , Waghule Tejashree , Saha Ranendra N. , Singhvi Gautam
Published: December 2022

Liposomes are emerging as uni or multilamellar micro particulate
phospholipid bilayer sphere vesicles, which can be produced synthetically and have the
ability to encapsulate any kind of drug molecule. Either hydrophilic or lipophilic drug
substances can be easily entrapped in these vesicles for efficient delivery of a drug.
Over the past decades, these have been under investigation to develop novel and
revolutionary drug delivery aspects in the pharmaceutical field. Liposomes are based
on a simple mechanism of formation of the enclosed sphere formed when amphiphilic
lipid comes in contact with the aqueous layer. The advancements in liposomes have
paved pathways towards efficient drug delivery through alteration in the bioavailability
and bio-distribution of drugs. Classified into various types, liposomes can be prepared
using various techniques involving mechanical dispersion, solvent dispersion, and
detergent removal methods. The development of these liposomes has profound the
advanced delivery characterization. This helps deliver the molecules at the target site,
and the number of liposomal products in clinical use has now increased. Recent
advances are incorporating the emergence of second-generation liposomes over
conventional liposomes, which will help modulate the encapsulation efficiency and
drug release from liposomes. This literature briefly focusses on various aspects of
liposomes, which further relates to the growing advances and interest in this field.
Resealed Erythrocytes: As A Drug Delivery Tool
Authors: Parashar Ashish K. , Yadav Krishna , Kaurav Monika , Patel Preeti , Das Kurmi Balak
Published: December 2022

Being the most abundant cell in the human body, resealed erythrocytes have
been utilized as a promising natural biological carrier for therapeutic delivery. In
various therapeutics, delivery resealed erythrocytes are found to be an alternative
delivery approach with overcoming toxic and rapid clearance effects, such as enzyme.loaded bioreactors performing vital reaction along with improving the enzymes
circulation time, as drug-loaded carrier affords sustained release of drug and in drug,
targeting delivers drugs release in specific target organs without recognition by the
immune system. From the research level to clinical development, it has been observed
that the drug carrier expedition faces many regulatory and industrial process
development challenges. Resealed erythrocytes possess many remarkable properties
such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, long circulation and flexibility to
encapsulate a wide variety of therapeutic compounds via employing different chemical
and physical methods. It is possible to obtain resealed RBCs by collecting them from
the source of concern (e.g., humans, rats, rabbits, pigs, and so forth) through blood
samples following the separation of RBCs. A number of techniques are then used for
effective drug loadings, including hypotonic dialysis, hypotonic dilution, hypotonic
preswelling, endocytosis, lipid fusion, electric cell fusion, and chemical disturbance.
Up to date, resealed erythrocytes have been explored as a carrier for various therapeutic
drug substances (antiviral, anti-inflammatory, steroids and anticancer, etc.), enzymes,
antibiotics, and diagnostic agents. The main objective of this chapter is to emphasize
the advantages, limitations, source, isolation, loading methodology, characterization
parameters, and finally, to pay attention to in-vivo studies, clinical applications, and
future potential of resealed erythrocytes.
Contingent Valuation in Measuring Fishermen’s Willingness to Pay for the Conservation of Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna spp) Resources in Tanjung Luar, East Lombok
Authors:   Program Studi Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Pesisir dan Lautan, Sekolah Pascasarjana, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Wongsopatty Karto , Adrianto Luky , Zairion Zairion ,   Program Studi Pengelolaan Sumberdaya Pesisir dan Lautan, Sekolah Pascasarjana, Institut Pertanian Bogor,   Pusat Kajian Sumberdaya Pesisir dan Lautan (PKSPL), Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Yulianto Irfan ,   Departemen Pemanfaatan Sumberdaya Pesisir dan Lautan, Fakultas Perikanan dan Ilmu Kelautan, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Booth Hollie ,   Departemen of Zoology, University of Oxford, Zulfikar Andi ,   Departemen Manajemen Sumberdaya Perairan, Fakultas Ilmu Kelautan dan Perikanan, Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji
Published: December 2022

The hammerhead shark has high economic value, but its population is highly threatened due to its high exploitation. This study aims to calculate the level of preference of shark fishermen on the value of willingness to pay for the conservation of hammerhead shark resources. This research was conducted from November to December 2020 in Tanjung Luar Village, East Lombok Regency. The method used is observation and in-depth interviews with a sample of 150 shark fishermen. The analysis used is binary logit regression analysis using the R studio 4.1.2 tool. The results of this study indicate that (1) the total price of willingness to pay from all Tanjung Luar shark fishermen is IDR 9,654,000, and the average monthly value is IDR 53,633 per person; (2) factors that are quite influential on respondents' willingness to pay are age, education level, number of family members, and monthly income. The conservation of hammerhead shark resources needs to be considered because it has been included in the CITES Appendix II red list with a critically endangered status towards extinction. Suggestion there is a need for educational steps from various parties to fishermen regarding the importance of the existence of hammerhead sharks in the ecosystem so that they can reduce the high level of fishing activity in nature.
Adoptar los objetivos de la restauración ecológica como meta crucial al mitigar desechos mineros: una propuesta metodológica
Authors: Márquez-Huitzil Roberto , Martínez-Garza Cristina , Osorio Beristain Marcela
Published: December 2022

Antecedentes y Objetivos: México presenta acumulaciones de materiales tóxicos e inestables desechados por la minería, llamados jales, representando un riesgo potencial y efectivo para los ecosistemas y la sociedad. La restauración ecológica en combinación con otras estrategias de mitigación ofrece una alternativa para disminuir estos impactos ambientales y revertir la degradación del ecosistema por los jales. Este trabajo plantea algunas consideraciones y propone una metodología para aplicar la restauración ecológica a los jales.Métodos: Se describieron las afectaciones y riesgos ocasionados por el depósito de jales a partir de las características de los materiales y del ecosistema donde se depositan, aplicando y adecuando criterios como los utilizados en la Evaluación del Impacto Ecológico. A partir de esto, se plantearon algunas consideraciones para mitigar los jales. También se analizaron las limitaciones de algunas técnicas de mitigación con organismos o materia orgánica, por sus impactos colaterales potenciales.Resultados clave: La propuesta metodológica considera acciones de mitigación de un jal que integren al ecosistema y su funcionamiento, dirigidos hacia una restauración ecosistémica. Por una parte, estos lineamientos consideran aspectos relacionados con la toxicidad y estabilidad de los jales y, por la otra, características y procesos ecosistémicos afectados por su depósito. Esta propuesta considera diez pasos que incorporan distintos aspectos que deben abordarse para la restauración en los depósitos de jales.Conclusiones: Mediante un enfoque ecosistémico, como en la restauración ecológica, se resuelven los problemas ambientales de contaminación e inestabilidad de los jales. Evitando también los impactos colaterales de las propias estrategias de mitigación como la creación de trampas ecológicas o haciendo biodisponibles los contaminantes, introduciéndolos a la cadena trófica sin compensar los impactos ecosistémicos provocados por su depósito.
Culture Measure, Twitter Sentiment and COVID-19 Statistics: A Regression Analysis (Preprint)
Authors: Wang Jiali , Bandera Cesar , Yan Zhipeng
Published: December 2022

BACKGROUND

Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions (HCD) are the most prevalent metrics with which social scientists distinguish cultural differences between countries. In this study, we explore whether HCD and COVID-19 statistics are related with statistical significance. More specifically, we investigate how a country’s long-term orientation (LTO), indulgence (IVR), masculinity (MAS), power distance index (PDI), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) and Individualism (IDV) may influence its COVID-19 infection rate and death rate, with consideration of various social, economic, and environmental factors.
In addition, it is worth noting that Twitter Economic Uncertainty Index (TEU) is relevant to COVID-19 death rate in short run. The USA based Twitter Economic Uncertainty Index (TEU-USA) is relevant to COVID-19 death rate in short run (up to 3 months). By examining another similar index TMU-USA, it comes to the same conclusion.

OBJECTIVE

The paper explores whether HCD, TEU-USA and COVID-19 statistics are related with statistical significance.

METHODS

We used multiple linear regressions and time series techniques to interpret statistical and economic significances.

RESULTS

Based on the multiple linear regression results from the data of 73 available countries, PDI and MAS both are significantly associated with the infection rate (P value= .025, P value= .000), while IVR and LTO show statistical significance to the death rate (P value= .028, P value= .060).
These results differ to some extent from some earlier studies. However, the results still have implications for the design of public health campaigns on preventing COVID-19 infection and compliance with vaccination campaigns. Some practical strategies have been proposed for public health officials to help mitigate COVID 19 spread.
Conclusions
These results have implications for the design of public health campaigns on preventing COVID-19 infection and compliance with vaccination campaigns. Some practical strategies have been proposed for public health officials to help mitigate COVID 19 spread.

CONCLUSIONS

Some Hofstede measures are significant to COVID-19 statistics. Indulgence and long term orientation have negative significance to COVID-19 death rate, while power distance index and masculinity have negative significance to COVID-19 infection rate. Twitter Economic Uncertainty Index can predict short term COVID-19 death rate.
Exploration of Novel Mono Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives as Inhibitors for Histone Deacetylase Like Protein (HDLP) by Molecular Dynamics Studies
Authors: Parthiban Gunasingham , Dushanan Ramachandren , Weerasinghe Samantha , Dissanayake Dhammike , Senthilnithy Rajendram
Published: December 2022

The acetylation modification process of histone has an essential role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. This process is controlled by the balance between histone deacetylases (HDAC) and histone acetyltransferases (HAT). HDACs are thought to be vital for cell function. Particularly, higher HDAC expression is frequent in various cancers, resulting in the dysregulation of several target genes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival. In this study, the inhibitory feasibility of several HDAC inhibitors was investigated, including vorinostat (SAHA), N-hydroxy-3-phenylprop-2-enamide (CPD1), N-hydroxy-3-(pyridine-4-yl)prop-2-enamide (CPD2), N-hydroxy-3-(pyridine-2-yl)prop-2-enamide (CPD3), 4-(diphenylamino)-N-(5-(hydroxyamino)-5-oxopentyl)benzamide (CPD4), 2-(6-(((6-fluoronaphthalen-2-yl)methyl)amino)-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-yl)-N-hydroxypirimidine-5-carboxamide (CPD5), and N-(3-aminopropyl)-N-hydroxy-2-((naphthalene-1-yloxy)methyl)oct-2-enediamide (CPD6). By examining the stability of the enzyme, positional stability of the individual amino acids, and binding energies of HDLP-inhibitor complexes, the inhibitory feasibility was assessed. The complexes of the HDLP enzyme with SAHA, CPD4, CPD5, and CPD6 had higher stability than the other studied complexes, according to the results of trajectory analysis and the Ramachandran plot. Based on the calculated MM-PBSA binding free energies, the stability of the HDLP enzyme followed this order CPD4 > CPD5 > SAHA > CPD6 > CPD2 > CPD3 > CPD1. The drugability values followed the same trend as the previous ones. Based on the obtained in silico results, CPD4, CPD5, and CPD6 were discovered to be possible lead compounds as reference inhibitors of SAHA.
Antioxidant Activity of Fungus Comb Extracts Isolated from Indo-Malayan Termite Macrotermes gilvus Hagen (Isoptera: Termitidae)
Authors: Rachmayanti Yanti , Firmansyah Dikhi , Umma Reza Ro'isatul , Hertanto Decsa Medika , Sudiana I Ketut , Santoso Djoko , Nandika Dodi , Karlinasari Lina , Arinana Arinana , Batubara Irmanida , Witasari Lucia Dhiantika
Published: December 2022

Indonesian termites are one of the wealthiest biological resources considering their very high species diversity (300 species) and extensive geographical distribution in the Indonesian mainland. However, its potential as a source of bioactive compounds has not been fully explored. One of the endemic termite sub-families of Indonesian, Macrotermitinae (Isoptera: Termitidae), has a food source in the form of fungal nodules that grow and spread in a particular structure in the termite nest that is shaped like a mammalian brain called a fungus comb, which likely serves as a source of bioactive compounds. This study aims to analyze the potential of fungus comb from an Indonesian Macrotermitinae sub-family species as a source of antioxidants. Antioxidant activity was tested on four different extracts of fungus comb (EFC), namely hexane extract, ethyl acetate extract, methanol extract and water extract, using DPPH• (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS•+ (2,2′-azino-di-[3-ethylbenzthiazolinesulphonate]) radicals. The results showed that the highest antioxidant activity was found in methanol extract, followed by ethyl acetate extract with IC50 values of 0.6 mg/mL and 0.75 mg/mL, respectively. TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) analysis confirmed the high antioxidant activity of methanol extract.
Trabajo invisible. Una deuda de tiempo
Authors:   CIEG-UNAM, Ortiz Romero Edith
Published: December 2022

En los últimos años, el término «trabajo invisible» se ha expandido en redes sociales y medios masivos de comunicación para hablar de tabajo de cuidado no remunerado. Es decir, son todas aquellas tareas domésticas y de cuidados que a pesar de ser indispensables para el sostenimiento de la vida no se dimensionan como tal en la esfera pública. Puesto que se realizan dentro del espacio privado permanecen ocultas y, al obtenerse de manera gratuita, se desvalorizan. El ensayo, entonces, plantea el siguiente cuestionamiento: si todas las personas necesitan cuidados, ¿quién cuida? Para contestar esta pregunta, se presentan los datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Uso del Tiempo 2019, cuyas cifras evidenciarion la disparidad que existe entre mujeres y hombres en la participación en tareas de cuidado y el tiempo invertido en estas, y demuestra que son ellas quienes han asumido la mayor responsabilidad de cubrir la demanda de las tareas del hogar ⎯que se incrementó a partir de la pandemia de Covid-19⎯. Así, la autora reitera las demandas de activismos feministas que piden, como deuda del tiempo, reconocer la importancia de los cuidados y la necesidad de prácticas de corresponsabilidad.
Mujeres y literatura. Un acercamiento a seis voces contemporáneas
Authors:   CIEG-UNAM, Tapia Silva Nancy Alejandra , Vásquez Montiel Salma
Published: December 2022

Desde hace tiempo, hemos visto en el ámbito literario una labor de recuperación de escritoras que, en su época, fueron ignoradas o cuya literatura fue considerada menos relevante que la de sus contrapartes masculinas. Este cuadernillo es un ejercicio de difusión y promoción de la lectura. Es una invitación pensada para despertar la curiosidad de quienes no acostumbran leer literatura escrita por mujeres y deseen ampliar sus horizontes en ese sentido. Las autoras que presentamos son solo una pequeña muestra del vasto catálogo de escritoras contemporáneas que habitan el panorama de la literatura global; es nuestra contribución para que sus historias y nuestras experiencias tengan más resonancia.
Ser Técnica Académica en la UNAM
Authors:   CIEG-UNAM, Moreno Esparza Hortensia Manuela
Published: December 2022

La desginación de técnico académico entraña contradicciones y paradojas que la unam debe discutir como institución, dada la forma en que ha evolucionado la división social del trabajo universitario y en vista del peso que en este momento ha cobrado esta figura del personal académico. En este ensayo, la autora narra su trayectoria como técnica académica y cuestiona la jerarquía en que se conciben las funciones universitarias. Desde su experiencia, reivindica el valor de su trabajo y el de todas aquellas personas con el mismo nombramiento que se ocupan tanto de labores académicas como de servicios técnicos dentro de la universidad. Así, su texto nos invita a reflexionar sobre el papel que tienen el mérito y la meritocracia en las trayectorias profesionales del personal académico de las universidades mexicanas.
Práctica editorial feminista
Authors:   CIEG-UNAM, García Roa Modesta , Vázquez Téllez Lucero Elizabeth , Araujo Esquivel Ubaldo ,   CIEG-UNAM
Published: December 2022

Incorporar los feminismos en la práctica editorial comprende solo unos de los tantos retos de las y los profesionales de la edición durante esta primera mitad siglo xxi. Ser editora y ser feminista conlleva aplicar enfoques políticos, culturales, éticos y ecoambientales que permitan crear publicaciones congruentes con las preocupaciones de los activismos académicos feministas, tan actuales como necesarios, sin que por ello esta labor deje fuera las disposiciones para la actividad editorial de nuestras dependencias universitarias o de aquellas casas editoras que procuran la justicia social desde una orientación incluyente. En el Departamento de Publicaciones del Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de Género de la unam cuestionamos nuestros procedimientos, estrategias y políticas editoriales para aspirar a publicaciones reguladas que contemplen los posicionamientos de nuestro Centro: preservar la igualdad entre mujeres y hombres, así como erradicar, sin condescendencia alguna, el sexismo y la diversofobia.
A GIS-based Interpolation Technique to Predict Urban Ground Water Quality
Authors: Jain Siddhant , Singh Dr. Prachi
Published: December 2022

Abstract: The freshwater resources of our country include groundwater as a significant component. It is essential to supplying the country's numerous user-sectors with the water they need. Without first evaluating the water quality, the natural resource cannot be used and maintained in an optimum manner. Using ArcMap 9.3, a base map has been created after the data gathering. In order to create thematic maps that demonstrate the distribution of different water quality criteria, after doing an analysis, the water quality information is used as an attribute database. The water quality index has been calculated using a number of variables, such as pH, turbidity, total hardness (TH), chloride, total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium, nitrate, iron, and fluoride. A map of the Water Quality Index is also created. In order to better comprehend the current water quality situation in the research region, the data are provided as maps. Analysis shows that the area's groundwater has to undergo field-specific treatment before being used.
A Review of Wireless Sensor Networks in Agriculture
Authors: S Nifasath Piyar , Baulkani Dr. S.
Published: December 2022

Abstract: Wireless sensor network (WSN) contains various sensor nodes with the capacity of sensing, computing, and wireless communications. WSN technology is used to control and monitor the environmental and soil parameter in agricultural field. WSN employ as a part of agriculture for few reasons like gives high interpretation, increase the production of the crop, lowpower consumption and gather distributed data. Efficient management of water assumes an important part in agriculture. Various agricultural parameters like soil moisture, atmospheric temperature and humidity etc. are monitored and controlled by Monitoring and Controlling Units. WSN have fascinated much attention in various research areas like health care monitoring, environment monitoring and structural health monitoring. Recently WSN is widely used to provide solution on precision agriculture to overcome various problems in the real-world (field).This paper reviews the monitoring of precision agriculture using wireless sensor network focuses on literature of the development of a wireless sensor network on agricultural environment to monitor environmental conditions and deduce the appropriate environmental and agriculture. Agriculture and farming is one of the industries which has recently started using WSN to increase the productivity and standardize the agricultural yield at affordable cost.
Political Trust, Attitudes, and Behaviour in Population and Politician Samples From Latvia
Authors:   University of Latvia, Priedols Martins , Dimdins Girts , Gaina Viktorija , Leja Veronika , Austers Ivars
Published: December 2022

This study examines differences between the general population and politicians in overall political trust, previous and planned behaviour in line with COVID-19 restrictions, the importance of considering budget limitations, the industry needs, and the desirability of the solution when spending state budget funds. We compared answers from a population-representative sample (N = 1000) with a sample of active political actors (N = 100) in Latvia. The results showed that, in the case of political trust, political actors have significantly higher reported trust in the public administration and government during the COVID-19 pandemic, higher levels of overall trust in people, and substantially lower reported political cynicism – distrust in political actors’ intentions for participating in politics. There were no differences between both samples when asked about the past behaviour regarding COVID-19 restrictions; however, political actors reported significantly higher commitment to comply with the restrictions in the future. There were no differences between the groups when asked to rank factors that need to be considered when the state’s budget is used to solve acute problems – participants from both general population and political actor samples placed budget limitations at the top, followed by the desirability of the solution to the problem, with industry needs put at the bottom of the three-item list. The expected impact of construal level based on the distance to political decision-making thus was not observed in the results. These findings provide additional insight into differences between the general population and politicians in the context of political trust and cynicism, past and future behaviour, and consideration of factors when public funds are needed to solve an acute issue.
Confirmation Bias, Analytical Thinking, and Emotional Intensity in Evaluating News Headlines Online
Authors:   University of Latvia, Priedols Martins , Dimdins Girts
Published: December 2022

This study examines the role of prior beliefs, analytic thinking, and emotional intensity of content in believing that information is truthful or not. Participants (N = 169 Facebook users) were presented with a series of news headlines previously categorised into three specific subgroups – for or against vaccination, true or false, and high or low in emotional intensity. Each participant first answered questions about their attitude and behaviour towards vaccination against COVID-19 based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and filled out a cognitive reflection test (CRT), a measure of analytic thinking, followed by an evaluation of each headline on whether it is truthful or not. The results showed strong evidence of overall confirmation bias in the group that supports vaccination; however, when considering whether the headline is real or false, the most significant differences between the groups were found in the case of trust in fake headlines against vaccination – those against vaccination to a larger extend believed in false headlines confirming their prior beliefs. In contrast, such differences between the groups in case of false headlines supporting vaccination were weak. Further analysis showed that analytic thinking described by the CRT score had a weak yet statistically significant tendency to promote one’s ability to distinguish real from false information. The intensity of headlines had the most significant differences when evaluating real news headlines supporting vaccination with low emotional intensity and false news headlines against vaccination with low emotional intensity. Overall, these findings provide additional insight into the complex nature of information evaluation online and the critical role of one’s prior beliefs and emotional components of the content.
True, Partly False, and False Testimony of Child Witnesses: An Assessment of Credibility
Authors:   University of Latvia, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and Art, Department of Psychology, Lubāne Inga , Sebre Sandra Beatrice
Published: December 2022

The credibility of child witness testimonies is an important and controversial issue in forensic psychology. Children from an early age can testify in legal proceedings, while children are able to give false testimony for a variety of reasons. Research to date has focused on examining the differences between true and falsified children’s testimony, but little is known about assessing the credibility of testimony that is partly true but partly falsified. This paper presents a small sample quasi experimental study that explained the differences between true, partly falsified, and completely falsified children’s stories, and clarified the methodology for conducting a broader study. Study questions: what are the differences in credibility scores between true, partly falsified, and falsified children’s stories in this group of children; how do children understand the instruction to create a partly falsified story? Nine children aged 11 years (n = 9) participated in the study, three children in each study group. The children were interviewed about a real, partially falsified or completely contrived event, as well as taking the WISC-4 sub-test “Vocabulary”. The content of the narrative was assessed using the Criteria Based Content Analysis (CBCA). Results: CBCA averages did not differ between true-story and partly falsified story groups, while there were more children with higher CBCA scores in the true-story group than in the partly falsified story group. The CBCA averages were lower in the contrived story group compared to the first two groups. The children had difficulty spontaneously producing a false story during the interview. An association was found between CBCA scores and children’s level of verbal ability. The trends observed in the study group should be tested in a larger study with a larger number of participants.
Young People’s Media Literacy: Research and Possibilities of the Educational System
Authors:   The Advanced Social and Political Research Institute at the University of Latvia, Ločmele Klinta
Published: December 2022

The number of risks that young people may face when using the Internet and other information channels is increasing every year. Disinformation, data fraud, information bubble as an effect of social media algorithms, and negative impact on mental health are some reasons why media literacy education has become particularly relevant in recent years. Also, in Latvia, starting from the 2020/2021 school year, a new standard of education has been introduced. The article aims to provide insight into two issues interrelated with young people’s media literacy – its research in Latvia and its possibilities to improve how media literacy is included in the formal education system. The study consists of the analysis of the documents – the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers, which determine the educational standards in the stages of basic and secondary education, as well as the analysis of media literacy studies conducted among young people in Latvia and published over the last five years. Studies on media literacy among young people in Latvia have some gaps which determine that currently, it is more difficult to predict young people’s exact and current needs in terms of media literacy. Although media literacy is represented in the newest educational standard for basic and secondary education, the main concern is the actual implementation of this standard in work with students, as there is still a lack of official supporting methodological materials and regular and systematic teacher education (including life-long education) in media literacy in Latvia. An article could be helpful for education policy and media policy planners, practitioners, researchers, and organizations/institutions working in the media literacy field.
Digital Transformation in Higher Education: Drivers, Success Factors, Benefits and Challenges
Authors:   stitute for Quality Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, Robertsone Galina , Lapina Inga
Published: December 2022

Digital transformation (DT) is rapidly penetrating all spheres of human life, and higher education is no exception. This process is inevitable and ensures competitive advantage and other benefits for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in case of success. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HEIs worldwide were forced to completely transform their working methods and go digital in a very short period. Some institutions are more successful in this transformation by possessing the ability to overcome DT challenges and combining internal and external success factors. This research aims to identify what drives digital transformation in Higher Education Institutions, what benefits are there for them, what challenges they need to overcome, and what are the success factors of digital transformation in higher education.
Factors Influencing Digital Competence: A Focus Group Study From the Perspective of the Medical College Students
Authors:   University of Latvia, Litiņa Sanita , Miltuze Anika , Svētiņa Karīna ,   Red Cross Medical College of Riga Stradins University
Published: December 2022

Over the last decade, learning and working in medicine has been increasingly influenced by digital tools. Today’s medical students are growing up in a digital age where digital tools and devices are a regular part of professional life. The development of digital competence is crucial for healthcare education, as healthcare professionals will be the ones helping orientate patients in digital healthcare systems and tools. This study aims to explore the opinions and experiences of medical college students regarding the factors influencing digital competence. Four focus group discussions were organised, with 26 medical college students in total in various study programmes in December 2021. The interviews were conducted in Latvian and transcribed by the lead researcher. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions identified four main themes to be associated with the factors influencing digital competence: personal factors (self-confidence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), attitudes towards ICTs, prior training on ICTs, motivation), learning design (online, blended learning), lecturers’ digital competence and external aspects (family support, Covid-19 pandemic). This study presented results that could also be helpful for other universities to promote targeted development and improvement of digital competence of their students.
The Effect of Students’ Self-Reported Information and Informatics Literacy on Financial Literacy and the Use of Online Payment
Authors:   Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek Faculty of Education, Đurđević Babić Ivana , Bestvina Bukvić Ivana ,   Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek Faculty of Economics in Osijek
Published: December 2022

In today’s world, where almost everything takes place in the virtual world, information and informatics, as well as financial literacy are becoming increasingly important. Although most of the university students are considered to be sufficiently information and informatics literate, the Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed how necessary it is to possess the skills and knowledge related to these literacies in order to maintain quality of life by using new financial technologies and be effective in various spheres of life. This study investigated whether there is connection between these two literacies and financial literacy of university students. Also, students’ demographic data, Internet use, agreement with statements concerning information and informatics literacy as well as the use of payment services before and after the Covid-19 pandemic was explored. In addition, the research aim was also to see if acceptable neural network model could be made for distinguishing students based on their reported financial literacy. Monte Carlo exact test showed that there is statistically significant association at the 0.05 level of significance between the self-reported informatics literacy and information literacy (p = .000, two-sided), age (p = .027, two-sided) and by making payments via digital wallets in 2021 (p = .007, two-sided) and 2020 year (p = .024, two-sided). Also, Monte Carlo exact test showed that there is statistically significant correlation at the 0.05 level of significance between respondents’ information literacy and their work experience (p = .005, two-sided) and who covers their life expenses (p=.019, two-sided). The Monte Carlo test also showed that both of these literacies have statistically significant relationship with financial literacy (p = .000, two-sided), but statistically significant relationship was not found between financial literacy and payments via digital wallets. Concerning the neural network approach, the obtained multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network model gained overall efficiency of 97.5% in distinguishing students based on their level of financial literacy.
Digitalization of Higher Education and Response to Covid-19 Pandemic in Latvia
Authors:   University of Latvia, Daniela Linda , Selcuk Hasan
Published: December 2022

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak compelled many university administrators worldwide to take immediate measures to prevent spreading the disease on their campuses. One key measure was to switch from the face-to-face teaching mode to emergency remote teaching through online learning. Even though the swift and unplanned shift to move all courses online has caused several challenges to most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Latvia, such a challenging situation has also created opportunities and opened new perspectives to the understanding of the digitalization of teaching and learning in Latvian HEIs. This paper, therefore, attempted to explore the digitalization process of Latvian HEIs, the response to the Covid-19 crisis by HEIs in Latvia, and the views of students of the Faculty of Education, Psychology and Art, the University of Latvia on the remote learning process they were exposed to during the academic year of 2020/2021 as well as how formal and informal research classes/modules contributed to the students’ knowledge and attitudes toward the research process during the Covid-19 crisis. The conclusions of this paper were (1) digitalization and increasing study in the virtual environments are changing students’ attitudes towards studies. Therefore, it is expected that HEIs in Latvia will reach their digitalization goals by 2027, (2) it seems that the students and the faculty adapted the remote learning process and strategies were found to support the achievement of study results, learning remotely during the Covid-19 crisis. Even though the students’ responses to their self-assessment of their digital skills were high, they sought to acquire more digital skills during the remote learning mode. (3) Although the students take formal research classes/modules, they require more training and an in-depth understanding of research methodologies.
On a Pathway Towards the Digitalisation of Higher Education: The Case of Latvia
Authors:   University of Latvia, Daniela Linda , Ivsiņa Daiga ,   Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia
Published: December 2022

The European project POWERHEAD (Empowering Higher Education in Adopting Digital Learning), involving the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science (project partner) and the Flemish Department of Education and Training (project lead partner), aims to analyse the possibilities of digitising higher education. In order to identify the way forward, digitising higher education in Latvia and Belgium (Flemish Region) was mapped according to the methodology developed in the project, taking into account Laurillard’s model of drivers and enablers. The project aims to develop policy guidelines for partners at two levels: 1) guidelines for a national policy strategy on digital learning in higher education; and 2) guidelines including recommendations for higher education institutions to develop teaching and learning in this format and environment and to plan the next steps in the digitalisation of higher education. To this end, a multi-stage study was carried out to identify the situation in Latvia. The first phase consisted of a series of focus group discussions with higher education stakeholders (students, lecturers, business representatives and policy-makers). The second phase consisted of a survey of academic staff comprising 40 questions, two of which were designed to elicit demographic information, while the remaining questions were open-ended. The results (and related challenges) were analysed using content analysis principles. The key finding is that stakeholders are generally supportive of the digitalisation of higher education but point to a number of challenges that need to be addressed: support for lecturers in learning digital skills, collaboration between lecturers, and digital solution designers to ensure that digital solutions are of high quality and avoid the risks of knowledge fragmentation. It is also important to think about the principles of inclusive education so that the digital learning environment is accessible to everyone.
Usage of Digital Learning Tools to Engage Primary School Students in Learning
Authors:   Klaipėda University, Girdzijauskienė Rūta , Rupšienė Liudmila , Pranckūnienė Eglė
Published: December 2022

The article focuses on the usage of digital learning tools by primary school teachers in order to enhance student engagement in learning. Based on the data obtained in the focus groups of educators teaching at primary school, ways to identify and enhance student engagement in learning through digital learning tools were identified. The analysis of the research data proved that the use of the said tools enhanced students’ cognitive, emotional and behavioural engagement in learning. To this end, teachers reconstructed common educational practices, anticipated the hindrances to engagement caused by digital technologies and the ways to overcome them, exploited the opportunities provided by digital learning tools, and applied effective means to ensure classroom management and interaction between students. To conclude, the enhancement of learners’ engagement in learning required effective teaching and learning strategies, innovative methods, and apt and value-based organisation of the educational process.
The Benefits of Learning Analytics for Education: A Study of the Experiences of Teachers in Norway and Lithuania
Authors:   Klaipeda University, Melnikova Julija , Batuchina Aleksandra , Šakytė-Statnickė Gita , Šmitienė Gražina ,   SMK University of Applied Sciences,,   Klaipeda State University of Applied Sciences
Published: December 2022

The benefits of learning analytics for education are discussed in the article. First, at the theoretical part authors reveal the concept of learning analytics also discuss how learning analytics technologies help to improve the teaching and learning process. Second, the article emphasizes the increasing use of technology in education what goes hand in hand with the areas of learning analytics and artificial intelligence in education, also the particular focus on how data can be used to improve the teaching-learning process. When teaching/learning takes place in a digitally based learning environment, some learner interaction with the digital learning tool occurs, which leads to a specific learner’s learning experience, which results in high digital data flows. These data describe the individual learning activities of learners in learning systems or the interactions of learners in groups. The analysis of such data is an area of learning analytics. The focus of the article oriented to main beneficiaries – teachers. Moreover, in the article authors discuss the benefits of learning analytics on teachers’ pedagogical work. The empirical part of the article presents the results of a qualitative study: semi-structured interviews with 7 teachers from Norwegian and 10 teachers from Lithuanian, who are applying learning analytics (digital platforms that integrate learning analytics tools) tools in teaching/learning process. The semi-structured interview method allowed to gather the research participants’ insights into the use of learning analytics in schools from the perspective of teachers. Content analysis of the informants’ answers revealed teachers’ opinion on the benefits of learning analytics for teaching and learning, teachers’ competencies to work with learning analytics tools, empowering teachers to use learning analytics tools and to make data-based pedagogical decisions. The comparative analysis allowed disclosing some differences in a way how teachers in Norway and Lithuania approach digital technologies and implement them in teaching-learning process.
Teacher as a Subject of Law in Legal Education Relationship
Authors:   Rīga Stradiņš University, Erdmanis Rihards , Mihailovs Ivans Jānis
Published: December 2022

In Latvia, the essential legal aspects of the teacher’s professional activity have been little studied. In short, the relevance of the research and practical nature is not negative. Taking into account several difficult cases in the practice of educational institutions, as well as some legal proceedings in which teachers, educators and parents were involved, it follows from discussions about how the work of teachers, its content, rights, duties, and responsibilities both before and the Covid-19 pandemic are relevant. Although in Latvia, the number of teachers in general education schools has decreased over the past five years, at the same time, these schools form the largest number of teachers, i. e. 21,573 teachers (2020). There were only 2,424 (Official statistics of Latvia, 2021), teachers in vocational education institutions in 2020, and 11,430 teachers in preschool education in the 2019/2020 academic year (Ministry of Education and Science, 2020). That is why general education teachers are the focus of this study. The teacher is both a participant in the pedagogical process and a participant in legal relations. This means that teachers are an important subject of law, who fulfil their rights and obligations. The teacher, together with other subjects of law – the parents of the student, the head of the educational institution, support staff, etc. – are responsible for the result of the educational process. The teacher is involved in professional activities both in the field of children’s rights and in the field of labour, in constitutional and administrative law. Therefore, it is important to know the main rights, duties and responsibilities of a teacher and proposals for improving Latvia’s regulation of Education law.
Conditions for Effective Teachers’ Professional Development in a School as a Learning Organization
Authors:   University of Latvia, Kaulēns Oskars
Published: December 2022

Changes in the structure of the labor market determine new needs for further education and actualizes lifelong learning as a precondition for sustainable development of the whole society. This means that in general education in Latvia, new learning outcomes are defined, which refer not only to the curriculum, which students have to learn at school, and learning approach which is used for educational purposes, but also for the objectives of teachers’ professional development. The context of societal changes also determine different models for school governance, transforming schools into learning organizations, where effective teachers’ professional development is one of the most important characteristics of that kind of organization. The aim of the qualitative research conducted by the author is to find out what are the preconditions for effective professional development of teachers, transforming a school into an effective learning organization. Within the framework of the research, an analysis of the scientific literature has been performed, defining criteria, the implementation of which can increase the efficiency of teachers’ professional development and promote the development of the school into an effective learning organization. Within the framework of the research, 2 focus group discussions have been conducted with 8 teachers’ professional development experts in Latvia in order to find out the opinion of which professional development criteria mentioned in the scientific literature could have the greatest impact on teachers’ performance in working with students. The Delphi method has been used to obtain qualitative data, the method of qualitative content analysis has been used for data analysis, and the collection of expert opinions has been performed using the method of interpretive phenomenological analysis. The data obtained in the research show that the effectiveness of teachers’ professional development is increased by the autonomy of teachers to choose what learning content they want to acquire and what kind of learning activities they want to attend; linking the study content with the specifics of a particular subject; availability of feedback and opportunities for reflection during professional development; learning from outside expertise and good practice; regularity of learning and long-term learning, as well as the opportunity to learn inside the school through formalized system of professional development and methodological support.