scholarly journals Population Stress Reactions in North-East Hungary during the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Andrea Rucska ◽  
Csilla Lakatos

Emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 has provoked several difficulties in daily life. On the other hand, it provided an opportunity to produce new attitudes toward our life and community, but also forced us to face our vulnerabilities. Outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 highlighted that despite our vulnerability, we can manage this crisis, by being able to influence our stress reaction as well as our fears and emotions about the pandemic. Faculty of Healthcare of the University of Miskolc is training such professionals, whose priority task is to preserve the mental health of individuals and communities, reduce stress reactions, increase the available information on the subject, and help the community to adapt adequately to unexpected difficulties, like a pandemic situation. In the present study, we examined the mental state of the population of Northeastern Hungary in the second wave to adapt the above-described education to the ongoing changes caused by the pandemic. During the research, we applied an online questionnaire, that included the Hungarian version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale-, the Adult Hope Scale-, the WHO Well-Being, and the Buss Perry aggression questionnaire. Most participants (n=528) live in small towns or villages and their average age is 39.4±13.1. The aggression level of responders did not reach the threshold, but the level of verbal aggression exceeded it. The participants were more stressed, but they thought they could handle their problems. Consequently, the pandemic harms the mental state and health of the population, therefore the presence of health professionals is needed.

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Seegers ◽  
Thérèse van Elderen

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what level work-related and environmental/personality characteristics explain individual differences in psychological and physical well-being, and absenteeism. The Michigan model, as developed by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, was used as a base for further analyses. A number of 376 bank directors was included in the study. Using the LISREL program for testing causal assumptions, a model resulted that explained substantial amounts of variance for psychological and physical well-being. The model, however, was not effective to explain absenteeism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-67
Author(s):  
Saturday U. Omeluzor

Objective - The aim of this study was to evaluate Integrated Library System (ILS) use in university libraries in Nigeria in terms of their adoption, performance, achievements, and shortcomings and to propose a rigorous model for ongoing evaluation based on use of candidate variables (CVs) derived from the approach used by Hamilton and Chervany (1981) and from evaluation criteria suggested by Farajpahlou (1999, 2002). Methods - The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Nigeria is made up of six geo-political zones including: North-East (NE), North-West (NW), North-Central (NC), South-South (SS), South-East (SE), and South-West (SW). The population for this study comprised Systems/IT and E-librarians in the university libraries from all six of the geo-political zones of Nigeria. Because of the large number of universities in each of the zones in Nigeria, a convenience sampling method was used to select six universities representing federal, state, and private institutions from each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. A purposive sampling method was used to select the Systems/IT and E-librarians who were directly in charge of ILS in their various libraries. Therefore, the sample for this study was made up of 36 Systems/IT and E-librarians from the 36 selected universities in Nigeria. The instrument used to elicit responses from the respondents was an online questionnaire and was distributed through the respondents’ email boxes and WhatsApp. The questionnaire administration received a 100% response rate. Results - Findings revealed that university libraries in Nigeria have made remarkable progress in the adoption and use of ILS for library services. The findings also showed that much has been achieved in the use of ILS in library services. Evidence in the study indicated that the performance of the ILS adopted in the selected university libraries in the area of data entry and currency, accuracy, reliability, completeness, flexibility, ease of use, and timeliness was encouraging. Conclusions - Adoption and use of ILS in libraries is changing the way libraries deliver services to their patrons. Traditional methods of service delivery are different from the expectations of the 21st century library patrons. The transformation seen in the university libraries in Nigeria using ILS was tremendous and is changing the narratives of the past. However, several shortcomings still exist in the adoption and use of ILS in university libraries in Nigeria. Overcoming some of the limitations would require a conscious effort and decisiveness to ensure that librarians and library patrons enjoy the best services that ILS can offer. ILS developers should consider the dynamic needs of libraries and their patrons and incorporate specific candidate variables (CVs) in their ILS designs to enhance the quality of the services being offered to the library patrons.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1661
Author(s):  
Rocío de-Diego-Cordero ◽  
Cristina Martínez-del-Carmen ◽  
Patricia Bonilla Sierra ◽  
Ana-Magdalena Vargas-Martínez

The new infection by coronavirus has supposed a challenge to all health systems worldwide, affecting our psychosocial health. Education as we knew it has changed, which is why university students, attending Health Sciences courses in this case, have been affected by the pandemic. This study aimed to analyze the impact of the preventative measures and restrictions associated with COVID-19 on multiple mental health and psychological well-being indicators in Health Sciences students at the University of Seville. A descriptive and cross-sectional pilot study in the University of Seville by means of an online questionnaire elaborated was conducted. Of the final sample (n = 68), more than 60% of the students acknowledged having received specific training by their university and/or health institution where they perform practices on COVID-19 measures; however, they negatively emphasized not having received psychosocial aid or support in most of the cases (94.12%). As the health situation imposed by COVID-19 is considered long-lasting, the proposal is to plan short- and long-term strategies for promotion and intervention in the mental health of students and future health care workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6047
Author(s):  
Carla Ana-Maria Tudorie ◽  
María Vallés-Planells ◽  
Eric Gielen ◽  
Rosa Arroyo ◽  
Francisco Galiana

Universities are showing a growing interest in becoming green institutions and improving campus open space management. Well-designed urban landscapes guided by green criteria integrate eco-friendly infrastructure which may be effective in facing urban challenges in the context of climate change. Student preferences and uses of campus outdoor environment should draw the attention of campus landscape planners. This study aims to analyse how the university community perceives landscape services provided by the Spanish Universitat Politècnica de València’s campus open space. An online questionnaire was sent to the university community to check its opinions, level of satisfaction, and their demands related to the current situation of the outdoor areas. Campus open spaces with different urban green infrastructure have a high potential to provide cultural, provisioning, and regulation landscape services. Respondents perceive the main benefits provided by campus open spaces to be that they are a place to relax, meet friends, and pass through. Their needs related to the welfare of outdoor areas and their preferences differ according to age, occupation, and time spent at the campus. This paper intends to help the university to meet environmental guidelines and to help other universities in their endeavour to reach sustainability and ensure the university community’s well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-155
Author(s):  
Maria Porzucek-Miśkiewicz

The article presents the results of study on the challenges faced by distance learning. It was carried out by means of a proprietary online questionnaire among students of pedagogy of the Faculty of Educational Studies at the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań. Conclusions drawn on the basic research results may be helpful in understanding the well-being of students during distance learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol LXVIII (2) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
Mihaela GUŢU ◽  
Simona SAVA

Well-being, a concept so often discussed, has increasingly come to the attention of specialists and practitioners, especially during the pandemic period whose magnitude has significantly influenced the well-being of all of us. The purpose of the comparative-correlational study was to investigate the perceptions and practices of teachers in Romanian preschool education regarding their role in ensuring the well-being of preschoolers in kindergarten, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, starting from the theoretical framework that delimits the factors that influence the well-being at this age (Aulia et al., 2020; Kwi-Ok et al., 2020; Sönmez & Ceylan, 2016), we used The Scale of Self-assessment of Wellbeing - IASB (Rodawell, 2019), developed by the University of Bucharest within the Rodawell project, and The Scale of Happiness Strategies for Children Used by Preschool Teachers - HSCPT (Sapsağlam et al., 2019). The online questionnaire was answered by 149 teachers for preschool education, especially from Timiş county. The results of the study (analyzed by The Independent-Samples T-Test, ANOVA One-Way, Spearman Correlation) highlight the existence of a positive association between perceptions and practices of educators in ensuring wellbeing, but also the existence of statistically significant differences between teachers’ practices in urban vs. rural environment, in the sense that, although they perceive children’s well-being similarly, rural teachers tend to use happiness strategies more often. At the same time, teachers’ perceptions differ depending on how the teaching activity is carried out in a pandemic context: the self-perceived role and the practices dedicated to ensuring well-being are more intense in hybrid and online format than the traditional one.


Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 459-463
Author(s):  
Sam Morris ◽  
Sarah Mercer

In our June 2019 LAB session on Teacher/Advisor Education for Learner Autonomy, our featured interview was conducted with Sarah Mercer, Professor of Foreign Language Teaching and Head of ELT at the University of Graz, Austria. Sarah has published a wealth of papers in the field of language and teacher psychology, and co-edited many books including, most recently, New Directions in Language Learning Psychology (2016), Positive Psychology in SLA (2016), and Language Teacher Psychology (2018). Sarah was awarded the 2018 Robert C. Gardner Award for Outstanding Research in Bilingualism in recognition of her work. We were delighted that she was able to share her knowledge on the topic of language learner and teacher well-being with us during the session.


Author(s):  
Ben Y. F. Fong ◽  
Martin C. S. Wong ◽  
Vincent T. S. Law ◽  
Man Fung Lo ◽  
Tommy K. C. Ng ◽  
...  

In Hong Kong, social distancing has been adopted in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19. This study aims to examine the changes in physical health, mental health, and social well-being experienced by local residents who were homebound during the pandemic. An online questionnaire in both Chinese and English versions was completed by 590 eligible participants from 24 April to 13 May 2020. The questionnaire found that individuals aged 18 to 25 years spent more time resting and relaxing but experienced more physical strain. Working status was associated with social contact, with participants working full-time jobs scoring higher in “maintaining social communication via electronic means” and “avoiding social activities outside the home”. Additionally, approximately one third of the participants (29.7%) had moderate to severe depression, and participants aged 18 to 25 were found to have higher scores in PHQ-9. Changes in physical health and social contact were significantly associated with developing depressive symptoms. From the results, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to exert a negative impact on the mental health status of individuals.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062199641
Author(s):  
Ilias Nitsos ◽  
Afrodite Malliari ◽  
Rodopi Chamouroudi

The use of reference management software in the context of academic work and research is the main subject of this study. The study focuses on the extent to which postgraduate students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, one of the largest Greek universities, make use of – or avoid using – reference management software tools to organize their bibliographic databases and to automate the process of creating references and citations. The study also tries to find out which are the key factors for their choices and whether certain background characteristics affect their behavior. It should be mentioned that no previous studies have been conducted in Greece regarding the use of reference management software in the academic environment. An online questionnaire was sent to the postgraduate students at the University and a result set of 545 responses was collected and analyzed. The majority (almost two-thirds) of the respondents identified themselves as non-users and one-third identified themselves as reference management software users. Among the latter, Mendeley was found to be the software used by more than two-thirds of the users and was followed by EndNote and Zotero. It is worth mentioning that Mendeley is the software officially recommended by the University’s central library to its users but most of the students (more than 60%) were not aware of this fact. In terms of background characteristics, the analysis revealed, among other things, statistically significant relationships between degree level, student discipline and preferences, reference management software features, and potential future use of reference management software.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4850
Author(s):  
Emanuela Mari ◽  
Giulia Lausi ◽  
Angelo Fraschetti ◽  
Alessandra Pizzo ◽  
Michela Baldi ◽  
...  

Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, since March 2020, the Italian population was forced into lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. The restrictive measures imposed forced many organizations and workers to work through online platforms and no longer in-person. Smart working, enjoyed by some workers for its flexibility, affected several professional categories. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are differences in the psychological variables related to four groups of professional categories (practitioners, managers, executive employees, teachers), particularly the teachers group. Methods: A total sample of 628 individuals was recruited through a random probability sample across Italy. Due to the lockdown, an online questionnaire was developed; several validated scales were chosen, and some ad hoc constructed items related to the smart working experience were included. Results: The results showed statistically significant differences between the four groups of examined smart workers. Conclusions: All workers have had to readjust to this new way of working, but our results show that teachers were the most affected, both in the perception of their psychological well-being and in the management of the smart working mode.


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