The Study of the Narrative Identity of Russian and Chinese Students

Objective. The article is devoted to the analysis of the narrative identity of Chinese and Russian students. It was assumed that the reflection of the socio-political situation is more obvious and manifests itself in the main themes and attitudes, reflecting both the content side of the narrative and its structure, while the identification of cultural influence requires additional analysis. Background. Cross-cultural studies point to the need to analyze the narrative at the individual, political, social, economic and cultural level. In theory, each of the levels has its own influence on the structure and content of the narrative. Nevertheless, there is an extremely small amount of practical data on the comparison of various types of analysis and the peculiarities of their manifestation in narrative. Study design. The article analyzed the features in the presentation of fragments of biography, the manner of presenting information and mentioning the main topics of the citizens of countries with a different socio-political system. Participants. The sample consisted of 80 people: 35 narratives of students from the PRC (19 male and 16 females from 19 to 26 years old) and 45 narratives of students from the Russian Federation (PFUR) (17 male and 28 females from 20 to 23 years old). All participants were born between 1997 and 2000. Measurements. The article used the analysis of narrative identity of K. McLean and D. McAdams both as a theory and as research method. Statistical analysis included the calculation of differences between the two samples (Mann-Whitney U test) and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results. The narratives of Russian and Chinese students reflect inconsistency and a high degree of uncertainty of the socio-political situation in Russia, as well as great social pressure and high competition in China. Conclusions. The structure of narrative identity primarily reflects the socio-political situation as related to the direct experience of students. Cultural experience affects more fundamental personality constructs and is not read in ordinary narrative analysis.

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Understanding the Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Combined With Aromatherapy, to Enhance the Wellbeing of MCAST ICS Lecturers: A Narrative Study

MCAST Journal of Applied Research & Practice ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0015.0178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 4-39

Author(s):

Nadia Cauchi

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Mindfulness Meditation ◽

Work And Family ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Narrative Study ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Inquiry Approach ◽

The Common ◽

Mindful Meditation ◽

The Individual

This study looks at the effects of the combined practice of mindful meditation and aromatherapy on the wellbeing of MCAST ICS lecturers, potentially providing resources that can help them deal with various stressors. Each practice is supported with literature underlining its effects towards a holistic wellbeing. The researcher uses a qualitative narrative inquiry approach to draw meaning and understanding out of the participants’ experiences. Three MCAST ICS lecturers participated in this study. Their background in health care enables them to relate better with the benefits of mindful meditation and aromatherapy. The research design of this study consists of four stages; a pre-session held with the three participants, weekly mindful meditation sessions for six weeks, individual interviews with each participant, followed by a focus group. Three of the six sessions included aromatherapy and a mindful journal was kept throughout the sessions. The analysis format could either develop as an analysis of narrative or narrative of analysis. In this study both formats were used, however, due to the word count limit only the analysis of narrative is seen. The researcher elicited whole segments from the individual transcripts to develop various themes. To examine the data for the emergent themes the researcher chose to use thematic narrative analysis as it focuses on the ‘told’ (Riessman 2008). In this case the ‘told’ is what helped identify the common patterns found across the narratives. As themes started to emerge, whenever possible the researcher used the MAXQDA software to facilitate the process. Mindful meditation was found to lead to a series of events that enhance self-awareness, thus enhancing holistic wellbeing and positively effecting the individual’s approach towards work and family. This can be achieved because mindful meditation has the potential to enhance one’s social skills, soft skills, and emotional intelligence. Furthermore, combining aromatherapy with mindful meditation was found to positively enhance one’s experience. However, it was not the only decisive factor since the ambience was also an influencer.

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Semiology of the Pain Syndrome - Identifying the Ideal Methods of Locoregional Anesthesia Based on Their Rationale and Features

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.17.10.5888 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 68 (10) ◽

pp. 2373-2377

Author(s):

Mihaela Monica Scutariu ◽

Vlad Danila ◽

Corina Ciupilan ◽

Oana Elena Ciurcanu

Keyword(s):

Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Essential Element ◽

Pain Syndrome ◽

Oral And Maxillofacial Surgery ◽

Structuring Element ◽

Technical Accuracy ◽

Locoregional Anesthesia ◽

Special Approach ◽

The Individual ◽

High Degree

Anesthesia and the degree of control over the perception of pain depends on the personality of the individual, the socio-economic conditions, potential previous painful experiences and, last but not least, on fatigue and fear of the dentist. The perception of pain in patients is closely connected to their mental state. Pain is defined as a sensation of discomfort, with wide variations, both in quality and intensity, for different people in seemingly identical conditions; an unpleasant sensitive and emotional phenomena connected to the threat of a wound or caused in the tissues or described in the terms of this disease. The essential element of any type of anesthesia is analgesia, an effect which in some cases cannot be achived, due to the patient�s particularities or the physician�s lack of experience in anesthesia. Locoregional anesthesia (LRA) represents the blocking of the nociceptive sensitive and sympathetic autonomic afferents as well as that of motor efferents at the level of peripheral nerves� axons, by means of local anesthetic. To achieve the set purpose, we carried out a study on a representative human sample comprised of 10.123 patients treated in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic (Ambulatory) from the County Clinic Emergency Hospital St. Spiridon Iasi, between 01.01.2015-31.12.2016. The reason for the exclusion of certain categories of patients in the reseach was: the patients with a special conditions background require individual pre-anesthesia schemes, personalised for the nature of the pre-existing general condition, which must be further approved by the attending specialist physician : cardiologist, internist, diabetologist; children under 18 years old, with a high degree of anxiety; a high precentage of elderly patients, over 60 years old, possess a combination of general issues, thus requiring a special approach. The thoroughness lying at the core of the anesthetic practice, most especially the safegurading of a technical accuracy in the performance of anesthesia [12,], instead of improvisations, the lack of anatomical and stomatological training in general and the resulting inefficiency as such, is the underlying in-depth structuring element of this paper.

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Territories of state-led aquaculture risk management: Thailand’s Plang Yai program

Environment and Planning C Politics and Space ◽

10.1177/2399654420965241 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 239965442096524

Author(s):

Mariska JM Bottema ◽

Simon R Bush ◽

Peter Oosterveer

Keyword(s):

Risk Management ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Financial Risks ◽

Shared Resources ◽

Globalizing World ◽

Farmer Behavior ◽

Key Policy ◽

The Individual ◽

High Degree

The Thai aquaculture sector faces a range of production, market and financial risks that extend beyond the private space of farms to include public spaces and shared resources. The Thai state has attempted to manage these shared risks through its Plang Yai (or ‘Big Area’) agricultural extension program. Using the lens of territorialization, this paper investigates how, through the Plang Yai program, risk management is institutionalized through spatially explicit forms of collaboration amongst farmers and between farmers and (non-)state actors. We focus on how four key policy instruments brought together under Plang Yai delimited multiple territories of risk management over shrimp and tilapia production in Chantaburi and Chonburi provinces. Our findings demonstrate how these policy instruments address risks through dissimilar but overlapping territories that are selectively biased toward facilitating the individual management of production risks, whilst enabling both the individual and collective management of market and financial risks. This raises questions about the suitability of addressing aquaculture risks by controlling farmer behavior through state-led designation of singular, spatially explicit areas. The findings also indicate the multiple roles of the state in territorializing risk management, providing a high degree of flexibility, which is especially valuable in landscapes shared by many users, connected to (global) value chains and facing diverse risks. In doing so we demonstrate that understanding the territorialization of production landscapes in a globalizing world requires a dynamic approach recognizing the multiplicity of territories that emerge in risk management processes.

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A comparison of the compressibilities of some gases with that of nitrogen at pressures below one atmosphere

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series A - Mathematical and Physical Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspa.1950.0012 ◽

1950 ◽

Vol 200 (1061) ◽

pp. 201-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Differential Method ◽

Linear Extrapolation ◽

Volume Changes ◽

Pure Nitrogen ◽

Molecular Weights ◽

Nitrous Oxide Oxygen ◽

The Individual ◽

Straight Lines ◽

High Degree

A differential method for comparing the compressibilities of gases at pressures below 1 atm. has been developed in which many of the errors inherent in methods employed previously have been to a large extent eliminated, especially those due to meniscus volume changes and capillary depression. Using pure nitrogen as a standard the low-pressure isothermals of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, oxygen, ethylene and propane have been determined at a temperature of 22-05° C. The deviations of the individual points from straight lines do not in most cases exceed 2 parts in 100,000. In no case, even with propane, was any curvature in the isotherms detectable. The contention of Moles and other recent workers that the molecular weights of liquefiable gases can be determined to a high degree of accuracy by linear extrapolation is rendered highly probable by this fresh evidence.

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‘Persistence and Silence: A Narrative Analysis of Employee Responses to Organisational Change’

Sociological Research Online ◽

10.5153/sro.853 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 73-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Melanie Bryant

Keyword(s):

Narrative Analysis ◽

Workplace Violence ◽

Management Practices ◽

Resistance To Change ◽

Organisational Change ◽

Original Intent ◽

Career Opportunities ◽

Response To Change ◽

The Individual ◽

Employee Responses

This article is concerned with how employees talk about organisational change and focuses specifically on how employees discuss reactions and responses to change through the construction of narratives. Employees included in this study suggest that the use of voice as an attempt to inform managers of their discontent, or remaining silent and passive are the most common responses to organisational change. Within sociology and management literature, voice has been considered as a constructive response to change, providing invaluable feedback to managers about declining conditions or performance lapses. Alternatively, remaining silent or passive has been documented as a weak strategy in which the individual renounces control and forms a dependency relationship with powerful groups such as managers. The primary aim of this paper is to challenge the argument that voice is a constructive response to change and suggest that voice is likely to be perceived as destructive, thus leading to the removal of responsibilities and career opportunities. Furthermore, this paper argues that silence is the more constructive response to change, which is documented in this research as leading to the advancement of careers. Relationships between the way employees respond to organisational change and the type of narrative that they construct is also discussed. Those who report remaining silent construct ‘conversion stories’ suggesting that organisational change provided a turning point in which employees could embrace management practices and gain career advancement. Alternatively, those who reported using voice construct ‘atrocity tales’ in which change is associated with stories of workplace bullying, removal of career opportunities and workplace violence. These narratives suggest that the use of voice as a response to change is more complex than its original intent and explanation in the literature, providing challenges for researchers in understanding where voice as a constructive response ends and where resistance to change begins.

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Comparison and Identification for Rhizomes and Leaves of Paris yunnanensis Based on Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Combined with Chemometrics

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules23123343 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 3343 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yi-Fei Pei ◽

Qing-Zhi Zhang ◽

Zhi-Tian Zuo ◽

Yuan-Zhong Wang

Keyword(s):

Fourier Transform ◽

Principal Component ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Chemical Information ◽

Accurate Identification ◽

Mid Infrared ◽

Model Classification ◽

Paris Polyphylla ◽

Mir Spectra ◽

The Individual

Paris polyphylla, as a traditional herb with long history, has been widely used to treat diseases in multiple nationalities of China. Nevertheless, the quality of P. yunnanensis fluctuates among from different geographical origins, so that a fast and accurate classification method was necessary for establishment. In our study, the geographical origin identification of 462 P. yunnanensis rhizome and leaf samples from Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Dali, Lijiang, and Honghe were analyzed by Fourier transform mid infrared (FT-MIR) spectra, combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), random forest (RF), and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) methods. The obvious cluster tendency of rhizomes and leaves FT-MIR spectra was displayed by principal component analysis (PCA). The distribution of the variable importance for the projection (VIP) was more uniform than the important variables obtained by RF, while PLS-DA models obtained higher classification abilities. Hence, a PLS-DA model was more suitably used to classify the different geographical origins of P. yunnanensis than the RF model. Additionally, the clustering results of different geographical origins obtained by HCA dendrograms also proved the chemical information difference between rhizomes and leaves. The identification performances of PLS-DA and the RF models of leaves FT-MIR matrixes were better than those of rhizomes datasets. In addition, the model classification abilities of combination datasets were higher than the individual matrixes of rhizomes and leaves spectra. Our study provides a reference to the rational utilization of resources, as well as a fast and accurate identification research for P. yunnanensis samples.

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Team Resilience Training in the Workplace: E-Learning Adaptation, Measurement Model, and Two Pilot Studies (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.8955 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joel B Bennett ◽

Michael Neeper ◽

Brittany D Linde ◽

Gale M Lucas ◽

Lindsay Simone

Keyword(s):

Intervention Group ◽

Measurement Model ◽

Control Group ◽

Pilot Studies ◽

Working Model ◽

Team Resilience ◽

Two Samples ◽

Program Efficacy ◽

E Learning ◽

The Individual

BACKGROUND The majority of resilience interventions focus on the individual. Workplace resilience is a growing field of research. Given the ever-increasing interconnectedness in businesses, teamwork is a guarantee. There is also growing recognition that resilience functions at the team level. OBJECTIVE The objective of our work was to address three shortcomings in the study of workplace resilience interventions: lack of interventions focusing on group-level or team resilience, the need for brief interventions, and the need for more theoretical precision in intervention studies. METHODS The authors took an established evidence-based program (Team Resilience) and modified it based on these needs. A working model for brief intervention evaluation distinguishes outcomes that are proximal (perceptions that the program improved resilience) and distal (dispositional resilience). A total of 7 hypotheses tested the model and program efficacy. RESULTS Two samples (n=118 and n=181) of engineering firms received the Web-based training and provided immediate reactions in a posttest-only design. The second sample also included a control condition (n=201). The findings support the model and program efficacy. For example, workplace resilience was greater in the intervention group than in the control group. Other findings suggest social dissemination effects, equal outcomes for employees at different stress levels, and greater benefit for females. CONCLUSIONS This preliminary research provides evidence for the capabilities of e-learning modules to effectively promote workplace resilience and a working model of team resilience.

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Success-Driving Business Model Characteristics of IaaS Providers – Towards a Quantitative Evaluation

International Journal on Cloud Computing Services and Architecture ◽

10.5121/ijccsa.2020.10501 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Sebastian Floerecke ◽

Florian Felix Röck ◽

Franz Lehner

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Research ◽

Business Model ◽

Quantitative Evaluation ◽

Limited Resources ◽

Business Success ◽

Minor Importance ◽

Competitive Situation ◽

Web Based ◽

The Individual ◽

High Degree

Despite the highly competitive situation within the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) market and the resulting pressure and uncertainty for the involved providers, only little knowledge is available about business model characteristics (BMCs) related to success. Merely few qualitative studies are existing that propose hypotheses on success-driving business model characteristics (SDBMCs), however, a general and comparative quantitative evaluation and thus an evidence for their impact on business success is still missing. But this knowledge is essential for IaaS providers as it would allow them to focus their limited resources and efforts on the truly decisive BMCs and, at the same time, save costs by avoiding activities and investments of minor importance. Aiming to reduce this gap, a web-based survey was carried out, in which representatives of IaaS providers of different size rated the level of relevance of the proposed SDBMCs. As this study is still going on, this paper focuses on presenting the study design and an analysis of the data collected so far. As a preliminary result, nearly 80 % of the SDBMCs were rated as extremely important or important, meaning that the existing qualitative research results were confirmed to a high degree. The relevance of the individual SDBMCs varies greatly depending on the IaaS provider’s size

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HIGHER AND LOWER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS: THE CASE OF CHEMISTRY REVISITED

Journal of Baltic Science Education ◽

10.33225/jbse/20.19.467 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 467-483 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Georgios Tsaparlis

Keyword(s):

Student Performance ◽

Lower Order ◽

Cognitive Skills ◽

Student Assessment ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Higher Order ◽

Two Samples ◽

Twelfth Grade ◽

Low Performance ◽

The Individual

This work analyses students’ failure in the 2019 Nationwide Chemistry Examination in Greece, which concerns secondary education graduates, competing for admission to higher education Greek institutions. The distinction of thinking skills into higher and lower order (HOTS and LOTS) is used as a theoretical tool for this analysis. The examination included several questions that contained HOTS elements that had been unusual in previous examinations. This led to a decrease in overall student performance but better discrimination between outstanding and good students. Based on two samples of examination papers, corresponding to very similar subsets of the student population, the 2018 and 2019 examinations are compared, and the individual 2019 questions are evaluated. It was found that section B of the 2019 examination paper (which included contexts unfamiliar to the students, and for which, a large effect size between 2018 and 2019 was calculated) may have caused the large drop. An important link is established between the 2019 low performance and the HOTS and LOTS features of the questions, and the role or non-role of algorithmic calculations is examined. In addition, the critical opinions of chemistry teachers are provided, with a consensus emerging in favour of connecting chemistry with everyday life. Keywords: chemistry examinations, higher-order cognitive skills, higher-order thinking skills, student assessment, twelfth-grade chemistry.

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Psychophysiological features of fighters of different tactical styles of conducting competitive duels

Health, sport, rehabilitation ◽

10.34142/hsr.2019.05.03.07 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 63

Author(s):

G.O. Ogar ◽

E.I. Lewandowski

Keyword(s):

Cluster Analysis ◽

Hierarchical Cluster Analysis ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Test Results ◽

Time Switching ◽

The Individual ◽

Switching Attention ◽

Individual Training

Objective: To determine the psychophysiological features of skilled freestyle wrestlers with different tactical ways of fighting.Materials and Methods: The study involved 15 freestyle wrestlers who are students of the H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University. The athletes had experience in free-wrestling from 5 to 7 years, qualification of the Meister kandidat (n = 6) and the 1st sports category (n = 9), age of the examinees - 17-21 years. With the help of V. Schulte's technique, testing of stability of attention and dynamics of efficiency of fighters was carried out. The indicators of switching and distribution of attention of the investigated by the method of FD were also tested. Humpback. A hierarchical cluster analysis of psychophysiological test results was conducted, according to which the investigated fighters were divided into two groups. Results: According to the results of testing psychophysiological indicators, some differences were found between the groups. Cluster analysis of testing results of psychophysiological features of freestyle wrestlers divided the studied athletes into two groups. The first group includes fighters who lead competitive duels against defense, using mostly counter-attacks (defensive, counter-attacking style of conducting a competitive duel). The second group of investigated fighters included athletes, who are fighting in an active style (attacking style of running a competitive fight). The wrestlers of the second group, in terms of performance (p <0.001) outperform the athletes of the first group. The first group studied showed a better time switching attention than their opponents (p<0.05).Conclusions: The results of the study can be used in the individual training of fighters to determine the optimal tactical manner of the fight for specific athletes.

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