scholarly journals Psychological Restorative Potential of a Pilot On-Campus Ecological Wetland in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Lai Kuan Lee ◽  
Nor Azazi Zakaria ◽  
Keng Yuen Foo
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
University Students ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Satisfaction Level ◽  
Perceived Importance ◽  
High Risk Populations ◽  
The University ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study examines the perceptions and engagement tendencies of 788 university students, as well as their relationship with psychological distress, with respect to an on-campus ecological wetland. The students’ awareness, understanding, perceived importance, satisfaction level, and engagement tendency towards the ecological wetland were evaluated using a structured questionnaire. The psychological symptoms were assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem and depression, anxiety, and stress scales, and the predictors of psychological distress were determined. The majority of the students were actively engaged (62.3%), aware (88.3%), and satisfied (51.0%) with the ecological wetland. Gender, age, educational attainment, engagement, perceived importance, and satisfaction level towards the ecological wetland were the predictors of psychological distress. The results outlined the environmental and mental restorative values of the ecological wetland in mediating psychological distress among the university students. These findings shed light on the necessity of preserving the sustainability and integrity of the on-campus ecological wetland. Longitudinal investigations to explore the restorative values of built environments and psychological wellbeing among high-risk populations are warranted.

scholarly journals Beyond cultural and geographical proximity: delving into the factors that influence the dynamics of academic relationships between students in higher education

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José-Vicente Tomás-Miquel ◽  
Jordi Capó-Vicedo
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Academic Networks ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Specific Stage ◽  
The University ◽  
Proximity Dimensions ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractScholars have widely recognised the importance of academic relationships between students at the university. While much of the past research has focused on studying their influence on different aspects such as the students’ academic performance or their emotional stability, less is known about their dynamics and the factors that influence the formation and dissolution of linkages between university students in academic networks. In this paper, we try to shed light on this issue by exploring through stochastic actor-oriented models and student-level data the influence that a set of proximity factors may have on formation of these relationships over the entire period in which students are enrolled at the university. Our findings confirm that the establishment of academic relationships is derived, in part, from a wide range of proximity dimensions of a social, personal, geographical, cultural and academic nature. Furthermore, and unlike previous studies, this research also empirically confirms that the specific stage in which the student is at the university determines the influence of these proximity factors on the dynamics of academic relationships. In this regard, beyond cultural and geographic proximities that only influence the first years at the university, students shape their relationships as they progress in their studies from similarities in more strategic aspects such as academic and personal closeness. These results may have significant implications for both academic research and university policies.

University Student's Needs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Tindle ◽  
Paola Castillo ◽  
Natalie Doring ◽  
Leigh Grant ◽  
Royce Lyle Willis
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
University Students ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Psychosocial Needs ◽  
Psychological Distress Scale ◽  
The University ◽  
Distress Scale

Background: University students are four times more likely to experience elevated levels of psychological distress compared to their peers. Psychosocial needs of university students are associated with high psychological distress, stressful life events, and academic performance. Our study focusses on developing a measure to help universities identify these psychosocial needs. Aims: The study aimed to develop and validate the factor structure of the University Needs Instrument and identify the relationship between psychosocial needs, psychological distress, and academic performance within university students.Sample: Undergraduate university students (N = 433) currently studying at university. Method: Participants completed demographic questions, the University Needs Instrument, the Kessler-10 Psychological Distress scale, and the Stressful Life Events scale. The University Needs Instrument comprises 30 items within six psychosocial factors (academic support, financial support, support from family, support from friends, practical support, and emotional support), each consisting of five items. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all items significantly loaded on the six hypothesised factors. The hypothesised model was supported by the data displaying excellent model fit and psychometric properties. Our analysis determined that the UNI has strong internal consistency. The results also confirmed that university students’ high levels of psychological distress and their academic performance may be affected by their psychosocial needs.Conclusions: Our findings emphasise that psychosocial needs are an important underlying contributor to psychological distress and a reduction in academic performance in university students. Our findings provide an initial validation of the University Needs Instrument to measure the psychosocial needs of university students.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Shisha Smoking among University students in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Hawash ◽  
Rami Mosleh ◽  
Ahmad Hanani ◽  
Yazun Jarar ◽  
Yousef Hajyousef
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Middle East ◽  
University Students ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Once Daily ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
The University ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Abstract Background: Smoking is one of the main causes that is related to lung cancer. It was estimated that tobacco smoking may kill 10 million people annually in the next 20–30 years, and Shisha smoking was very common habit worldwide during the last 20 years, especially in the Middle East. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of shisha smoking and make a comparison between three different countries in the Middle East, and establishing factors associated with shisha smoking among students in universities in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was carried out among university students from 3 different Middle East countries; Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey. A total of 812 students were selected for the study. They were asked to answer an online structured questionnaire consisted of questions concerning prevalence and patterns of Shisha smoking, and associated factors. Data was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results: The overall prevalence of Shisha smoking was 31.77%. Less than quarter of university students (21.67%) had smoked shisha before. The highest percentage of current Shisha smokers were Palestinians (36.11%), and lowest percentage was from Turkey (20.23%). Approximately 43% of Shisha smokers believe that they will be addicted to Shisha smoking and almost half of them smoke Shisha daily. Approximately, 66% of Jordanian students’ current Shisha smokers were smoking shisha at least once daily while the 44% of Turkish students’ current shisha smokers were smoking shisha once monthly. The highest percentage of Shisha smokers were university students aged 25 years old and above. However, highest percentages of university students who are Shisha smokers were low monthly income’s students. The university students living with their families were smoking Shisha less frequently than students’ living in private residencies. Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of Shisha smoking among university students. The highest percentage of university students smoking Shisha were Palestinians. High percentage of smokers between the students believes that they will be addicted to Shisha smoking. The majority of current Shisha smokers was smoking Shisha daily; especially in Jordan and followed by Palestine. The monthly income was affecting the prevalence of Shisha smoking.

Evaluation and Improvement of students’ satisfaction in Online learning during COVID-19

Open Praxis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 495
Author(s):  
Fayyaz Ahmad Faize ◽  
Muhammad Nawaz
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
University Students ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Satisfaction Level ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Post Modification ◽  
The University ◽  
Students Satisfaction ◽  
Future Learning

With the closure of educational institutions due to COVID-19, the biggest challenge with the universities and the instructors was engaging students in virtual learning. This research aimed at supporting university students in Islamabad (Pakistan) for online learning through a collaborative approach. The university started online learning during COVID-19 and had no earlier experience of such mode of learning. The first phase was identifying the problems faced by students during online learning and seeking their suggestions for overcoming them. The next step was working on the students’ opinions with a team of instructors to modify existing instructional practices during online instruction. We measured students’ satisfaction level pre and post-modification to evaluate students’ adoption of online learning. The data for both the phases were collected through a Google Form. The post-modification data revealed students’ greater satisfaction in online learning. The findings offer useful insight related to students’ adoption of online learning and making it a more meaningful, organized, and productive medium for future learning.

Usage of and learning from Wikipedia: a study of university students in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wazzuha Amina ◽  
Nosheen Fatima Warraich ◽  
Amara Malik
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
University Students ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University ◽  
Masters Students ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose This study aims to explore the university students’ usage pattern of Wikipedia information and its effect on their learning. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was designed to collect data from the students of master programmes at University of the Punjab, Lahore. Proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to select the sample from the population of “Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences”. In total, 225 masters’ students from eight departments participated voluntarily in the study. Findings Findings revealed that the majority of the respondents used Wikipedia information regularly for both academic and leisure purposes. They usually did not edit/add content in Wikipedia entries though they observed incomplete contents in it. Overall, the respondents perceived Wikipedia as an easy and understandable source of information that enhanced their understanding about a topic and enabled them to accomplish tasks more quickly. Research limitations/implications The sample of this study was social sciences students from one university. The findings may not be generalizable across other groups of students and universities. Practical implications These findings suggest that students have a positive behaviour towards Wikipedia and regarded it as a good source of information. They use Wikipedia information for academic and leisure purposes. So, the academics and librarians need to provide better guidelines for using Wikipedia, rather than prohibiting its use altogether. Originality/value This paper provides useful information on the use of Wikipedia among university students from a developing country’s perspective and thus contributes to the tendency of increasing acceptance of Wikipedia in academia. Furthermore, understanding how gender plays a role in differentiating the using behaviour of Wikipedia information could benefit both academics and library practitioners.

scholarly journals Depression Among University Students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
AISDL
Keyword(s):  
College Student ◽  
University Students ◽  
Positive Reinforcement ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Financial Problem ◽  
Know How ◽  
Behavioural Theory ◽  
Theory State ◽  
The University ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

This study is done in order to find the factor of depression among the college student in Malaysia. Depression among the college student are increasing as it come from many factor. This study used behavioural theory as the foundations theories for the model development. The study involved 406 respondents, selected through google form responses involving all the university students around Malaysia. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. All variables were measured through scales previously used by other researchers. In behavioural theory, state that depression people precisely those who do not know how to cope with the fact that they are no longer receiving positive reinforcement like they before. Results shows the data analysis described that respondents having a financial problem where did not what how to differentiate between wants and need with the overall mean (M=2.51) and students always spend their money on uncertain things.

scholarly journals Digital Inequality amongst University Students in the Tshwane Region

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Wilfried Ndiaye Kassangoye ◽  
Robert Rugimbana .
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
University Students ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Digital Inequality ◽  
Group A ◽  
The University ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Whilst the main objective of this paper is to investigate the digital divide amongst the university students in the Tshwane region of South Africa, the purpose is to determine a generalisable profile that would characterize their Internet usage behaviour. The research design consisted of a descriptive design. The convenience sampling method was applied and the research instrument was a structured questionnaire, which was employed to collect the final data amongst a total of 300 university students (selected from two universities in South Africa, TUT and UP by way of self-administration questionnaires. Male and female students were almost equally distributed. The significance of the results obtained was then tested through analytical tools embedded in the computer software STATA 11. The analytical tools were used to quantitatively analyze the data, out of which different inferences were drawn. The main findings were that the university students in the Tshwane region can be profiled on the basis of the results obtained over and above specific situational and personal characteristics, provides important opportunities for marketers for better understanding the needs and expectations of the university students; and by extension, to those of the youth market, since the sample elements belonged to the 18 to 34 years old age group. A proper segmentation would present an important mean by which marketers can keep in touch with their consumers’ expectations.

scholarly journals University students and informational social networks: Total sceptics, dual moderates or pro-digitals

Comunicar ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (53) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Gavilan ◽  
Gema Martinez-Navarro ◽  
Susana Fernández-Lores
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
The University ◽  
Social Empowerment ◽  
Structured Questionnaire ◽  
Competencias Digitales

The goal of the present work is to analyze the use of social networks as a tool for social empowerment by Spanish university students, and their perception of the university as an institution that contributes to the formation of a critical and active citizenship, that provides them with the relevant digital competences. The literature review shows possible discrepancies regarding the effect of new forms of digital communication in empowering young people, specially university students, as well as the existence of issues related to clarify this digital stage. Following, a typological analysis of the perception of university students regarding social information networks, social empowerment and the role of the university is presented. Using the data collected through a structured questionnaire of a sample of 236 students of social science degrees, an analysis of typologies is performed with the algorithm K Medias. Three clusters significantly different –labeled as «total sceptics», «dual moderates» and «pro-digitals»– are identified. Its prevalence and its characterization are explained: belief and behaviour profiles related to these beliefs. The paper concludes with several recommendations for future research regarding the perception of the students about the use of social networks as a tool for social transformation and the role of the university in this area. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el uso de las redes sociales informativas como herramienta de empoderamiento social por los universitarios españoles, y su percepción de la universidad como institución que contribuye a la formación de una ciudadanía crítica y activa, al tiempo que les proporciona las pertinentes competencias digitales. La revisión bibliográfica evidencia posibles discrepancias respecto al efecto que tienen las nuevas formas de comunicación digital en el empoderamiento de los jóvenes y en particular de los universitarios, así como la existencia de numerosas cuestiones por aclarar en este escenario digital. A continuación se presenta un análisis tipológico de la percepción de los estudiantes universitarios respecto a las redes sociales informativas, empoderamiento social y el papel de la universidad. A partir de los datos recogidos mediante un cuestionario estructurado de una muestra de 236 estudiantes de Grados de Ciencias Sociales, se realiza un análisis de tipologías con el algoritmo K Medias. Se identifican tres tipos –etiquetados como «escépticos totales», «moderados duales» y «pro-digitales»– significativamente diferentes. Se explica su prevalencia, y su caracterización: perfiles de creencias y conducta relacionadas con dichas creencias. El trabajo concluye con diversas recomendaciones para futuras investigaciones en cuanto a la percepción del universitario sobre el uso de las redes sociales como herramienta de transformación social y el papel de la universidad.

scholarly journals Bonding, Academic Culture and Aggressive Behavior among University Students in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol V (I) ◽  
pp. 8-14
Author(s):  
Wisal Ahmed ◽  
Akhlaq Ahmad ◽  
Mazhar Iqbal Bhatti
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
University Students ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Confirmatory Behavior ◽  
The University ◽  
Violent Conflicts ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Aggression at universities has become a serious problem not only for developed but also for underdeveloped states across the globe. Growing violence at the campus is becoming a routine. Frequent incidences of violent conflicts and even killing in some cases at the campus has drawn the attention of scholars and made it an important area of research and investigation. This study was set out to understand students violent behavior and factors contributing to their violent behavior at the campus. A sample of 375 students was selected from different faculties of two universities from Islamabad city. The data came through a well-structured questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was performed to see the effect of bonding and academic culture on aggressive behavior students at the university. Findings show that bonding and academic culture significantly predicts i.e. 16% of aggressive behavior of university students. It is, therefore concluded that low level of bonding and poor academic culture at the university exacerbate violent, aggressive or non-confirmatory behavior among students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document