scholarly journals Enhancing Guidance and Counselling Services for Mitigating Psychosocial Distress among University Students in Tanzania

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-183
Author(s):  
James Ololo Otieno ◽  
Catherine K. Simiyu
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Psychosocial Distress ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Counselling Services ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Deans Of Students ◽  
New Students ◽  
Peer Counselling ◽  
Study Participants

This study investigated the strategies for enhancing guidance and counselling services in an effort to mitigate psychosocial distress in Tanzanian Universities. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Multistage and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants. Two universities, two counsellors and two Deans of Students were purposively selected while eighteen students, nine from each university were sampled on the willingness basis for group discussion across the faculties. Data was collected using focus group discussion and interview schedule. For content validity, the inter-raters established the viability of the instruments in view of the research question. Reliability was ensured through multiple data collection instruments. Data was analyzed thematically. The study established that peer counselling programs were not formalized in universities in Tanzania. It can also be concluded that students were not informed about the availability and benefits of guidance and counselling services available in universities and the guidance and counselling departments were underfunded by the universities. Moreover, the counsellors were not professionally trained in counselling. The study recommended that Universities should employ professional counsellors, adequately fund the guidance and counselling services for efficient services. Besides, orientation programs should include informing new students about available guidance and counselling services on campuses.

Administrative risks challenging the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asli Pelin Gurgun ◽  
Kerim Koc
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Risk Category ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Smart Contract ◽  
Criteria Weights

PurposeAs a remedy to usually voluminous, complicated and not easily readable construction contracts, smart contracts can be considered as an effective and alternative solution. However, the construction industry is merely known as a frontrunner for fast adoption of recent technological advancements. Numerous administrative risks challenge construction companies to implement smart contracts. To highlight this issue, this study aims to assess the administrative risks of smart contract adoption in construction projects.Design/methodology/approachA literature survey is conducted to specify administrative risks of smart contracts followed by a pilot study to ensure that the framework is suitable to the research question. The criteria weights are calculated through the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process method, followed by a sensitivity analysis based on degree of fuzziness, which supports the robustness of the developed hierarchy and stability of the results. Then, a focus group discussion (FGD) is performed to discuss the mitigation strategies for the top-level risks in each risk category.FindingsThe final framework consists of 27 sub-criteria, which are categorized under five main criteria, namely, contractual, cultural, managerial, planning and relational. The findings show that (1) regulation change, (2) lack of a driving force, (3) works not accounted in planning, (4) shortcomings of current legal arrangements and (5) lack of dispute resolution mechanism are the top five risks challenging the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects. Risk mitigation strategies based on FGD show that improvements for the semi-automated smart contract drafting are considered more practicable compared to full automation.Originality/valueThe literature is limited in terms of the adoption of smart contracts, while the topic is receiving more attention recently. To support easy prevalence of smart contracts, this study attempts the most challenging aspects of smart contract adoption.

scholarly journals Students’ Perception of the Influence of Guidance and Counselling Services and Academic Performance in Baringo Country, Kenya.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-35
Author(s):  
Wilson Kiptala ◽  
John Kipruto
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
The Self ◽  
Counseling Services ◽  
Guidance And Counseling ◽  
Counselling Services ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
Perception Theory

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of students of the influence of guidance and counseling services on academic performance in Baringo County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to: investigate the perception of students on the various guidance and counseling services and determine the perceptions of students on the influence of guidance and counseling on academic performance. The study was guided by the self-perception theory. The ontology was constructivist. The epistemology was interpretivist. The research method was qualitative. The research design was phenomenology. Samples of 12 secondary schools, 130 students, 12 teachers were selected. Focus Group Discussion (FDG) and interview guides were used to generate data. The data was thematically analyzed. The study major findings were; that students perceived guidance and counseling services positively and that they had contributed significantly to their academic performance. The study recommends that there is need to further develop and strengthen guidance and counseling in Baringo County Secondary Schools and develop a theory to guide this process, informed by increased cases of indiscipline and truancy among students.

Case Study

2018 ◽  
pp. 45-68
Author(s):  
Sophia Palahicky ◽  
Adrianna Andrews-Brown
Keyword(s):  
Online Instruction ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Student Orientation ◽  
Online Programs ◽  
Online Orientation ◽  
Instructor Presence ◽  
New Students

Student orientation programs can enhance new student self-esteem, which is in turn a significant positive predictor of personal, social, and academic achievement (Hickman, Bartholomae, & McKenry, 2000). Furthermore, these programs can help students develop the basic technical skills they will need to be active learners. According to Dixson (2010), research into effective online instruction supports the argument that “online instruction can be as effective as traditional instruction, [and] to do so, online courses need cooperative/collaborative (active) learning, and strong instructor presence.” Likewise, online orientation programs for new students must provide opportunities for active engagement and strong facilitator presence to be effective. This chapter presents a case study that describes the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the online orientation modules for new students at a Canadian postsecondary institution that offers primarily blended and online programs.

scholarly journals Difference between the biologic and chronologic age as an individualized indicator for the skincare intensity selection: skin cell profile and age difference studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yurij Sukhovei ◽  
Elena Kostolomova ◽  
Irina Unger ◽  
Andrey Koptyug ◽  
Denis Kaigorodov
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Skin Aging ◽  
Blood Cholesterol ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Skin Cell ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Cell Profile

Abstract Background The present research addresses the issue of skin aging and corresponding skin treatment individualization. Particular research question was on the development of a simplified criterion supporting patient-specific decisions about the necessity and intensity of skin treatment. Basing on published results and a wide pool of our own experimental data, a hypothesis is formulated that a difference between biologic and chronologic age can be used as a powerful indicator of skin aging. Methods In the present paper, we report the results of studies with 80 volunteers between 15 and 65 years of age linking skin cell profile parameters to biologic and chronologic age. Biologic age was calculated using the empirical expressions based on the forced vital lung capacity, systolic blood pressure, urea concentration, and blood cholesterol level. Epidermis and derma cellular structures were studied using skin biopsy samples taken from the gluteal region. Results The present study supports the conclusion that biologic and chronologic age difference is changing in the progress of life. Our studies are showing that time point when calculated biologic age becomes equal to the chronologic one reflecting the onset of specific changes in the age dependencies of experimentally measured skin cell profile parameters. Thus, it is feasible that a difference between chronologic and individually assessed biologic age indeed reflects the process of skin aging. Conclusions With all reservations to the relatively small number of study participants, it seems feasible that a difference between biologic and chronologic age can be used as an indicator of skin aging. Additional research linking blood immune profile and skin topography to the difference of biologic and chronologic age (reported in the following paper) provides further support for the formulated hypotheses. So, a difference between calculated biologic age and chronologic age can be used as an individualized criterion supporting decisions on skin treatment strategies. Further research involving larger numbers of participants aimed at optimizing the expressions for calculating biologic age could lead to reliable and easily available express criterion supporting the decision for the individualized skin treatment.

scholarly journals Olfaction and incident Parkinson disease in US white and black older adults

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (14) ◽  
pp. 1441-1447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honglei Chen ◽  
Srishti Shrestha ◽  
Xuemei Huang ◽  
Samay Jain ◽  
Xuguang Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Parkinson Disease ◽  
Cox Models ◽  
Body Composition Study ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Hazard Ratios ◽  
Health Aging ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Smell Identification

Objective:To investigate olfaction in relation to incident Parkinson disease (PD) in US white and black older adults.Methods:The study included 1,510 white (mean age 75.6 years) and 952 black (75.4 years) participants of the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study. We evaluated the olfaction of study participants with the Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT) in 1999–2000. We retrospectively adjudicated PD cases identified through August 31, 2012, using multiple data sources. We used multivariable Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results:During an average of 9.8 years of follow-up, we identified a total of 42 incident PD cases, including 30 white and 12 black participants. Overall, poor sense of smell, as indicated by a lower BSIT score, was associated with higher risk of PD. Compared with the highest tertile of BSIT (t3), the HR was 1.3 (95% CI 0.5–3.6) for the second tertile (t2) and 4.8 (95% CI 2.0–11.2) for the lowest tertile (t1) (ptrend < 0.00001). Further analyses revealed significant associations for incident PD in both the first 5 years of follow-up (HRt1/[t2+t3] 4.2, 95% CI 1.7–10.8) and thereafter (HRt1/[t2+t3] 4.1, 95% CI 1.7–9.8). This association appeared to be stronger in white (HRt1/[t2+t3] 4.9, 95% CI 2.3–10.5) than in black participants (HRt1/[t2+t3] 2.5, 95% CI 0.8–8.1), and in men (HRt1/[t2+t3] 5.4, 95% CI 2.3–12.9) than in women (HRt1/[t2+t3] 2.9, 95% CI 1.1–7.8).Conclusions:Poor olfaction predicts PD in short and intermediate terms; the possibility of stronger associations among men and white participants warrants further investigation.

Doing Research with the Indigenous People: An Autoethnography from the Ground

10.17158/210 ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reynaldo O. Cuizon ◽  
Arnulfo B. Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Life Stories ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ethical Standards ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Investigative Process ◽  
Vertical Test

What are the experiences of the researchers in doing research with Indigenous People (IP)? How do such experiences influence their thoughts, values, and advocacies with IP aspirations? What prognosis can be derived from their experiences? To answer such queries, a qualitative research was conducted and thereby revealed that the study participants describe research with IP as an in depth investigative process which upholds relevance, rigor, artistry and ethical standards.  It is undertaken through the use of diverse research methods like focus group discussion, survey, observation and in-depth interview, life stories or genealogy, three generation vertical test, document and photo analysis.  It involves face-to-face encounters, demands trustworthiness and credibility, and advances moral decency.  It enhances competence and boosts confidence not just in conducting ethnographic exploration but in pursuing the liberative education.  Furthermore, the participants developed the value of sensitivity to IP rights and culture, the virtue of respect to privacy, anonymity and confidentiality, the enthusiasm to share research-based knowledge through forums, conferences, meetings, trainings, and publications, and the solidarity and camaraderie with the IPs – immersion in their real life, discernment on their plight, and commitment in their struggle for their rights to ancestral domain and self-determination. Finally, for them, doing research with IP is noble. It is a call. <br />

scholarly journals Determinants of Secondary School Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Tanzania

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilman Jackson Nyamubi
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Community Support ◽  
After School ◽  
Appraisal System ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Workplace Conditions

This study examined teachers’ job satisfaction in Tanzania. It addressed one research question: what factors determine secondary school teachers’ job satisfaction? The study was conducted in eight secondary schools in two regions of Tanzania. It used focus group discussion as the data collection tool. Results show that teachers were satisfied by both monetary and nonmonetary incentives such as community support. They were pleased with fair remuneration packages that related to their labour input, opportunities for career development, a well-defined individual appraisal system, timely promotion, and requisite workplace conditions. The study also showed that teachers’ friendship and cooperation with coworkers and students as well as the respect of community members also enhanced their satisfaction in teaching. Also important to their satisfaction is their students’ success in and after school, which reveals the teachers’ sense of duty and responsibility. Teachers’ job dissatisfaction can lead to their search for other means to gain economically. It is recommended that care should be given to address teachers’ pertinent issues, especially salaries, workplace conditions, and timely promotion, to enhance teachers’ physical and mental attachment to their workplaces.

scholarly journals The Integration of Technology in New Student Orientation Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Miller ◽  
Patty Viajar
Keyword(s):  
Orientation Programs ◽  
Student Orientation ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Academic Transitions ◽  
Integration Of Technology ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Student Orientation ◽  
New Students ◽  
Technology Orientation ◽  
New Student

New student orientation programs are typically designed around a loosely defined set of expectations that assist in the social and academic transitions to college. An area that has only begun to receive considerable attention in these programs has to do with technology orientation. The current study reports what orientation coordinators perceive to be the most effective strategies for incorporating technology into new student orientatin programs. Coordinators agreed most strongly with the notion of emphasizing the importance of technology to new students coupled with providing new students email accounts immediately upon arrival to campus.

scholarly journals Kontribusi UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta dalam Studi Disabilitas di Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Liana Aisyah ◽  
Arif Maftuhin
Keyword(s):  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Disability Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning Research

Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN Sunan Kalijaga) Yogyakarta declared its commitment to become an inclusive university in 2007 with the establishment of its Centre for Disability Studies and Services (now Centre for Disability Services). As a higher education institution, this commitment should be reflected on its organizational structure as well as its three main missions, i.e. teaching and learning, research and publication, and community service and engagement. This study was aimed at examining and mapping UIN Sunan Kalijaga’s contribution to research and publication in the field of disability studies and inclusive education. A mixed-method approach was employed to collect data. Item pooling was conducted through literature study and structured interviews as well as focus group discussion. This was followed by a systematic content analysis to answer the main research question: in what forms has UIN Sunan Kalijaga contributed to research and publication in this field. A further analysis was conducted to examine the extent of its contribution in terms the number and kinds of research and publications and their impact to the academic world.[Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta menyatakan komitmennya untuk menjadi universitas inklusif pada tahun 2007 dengan pendirian Pusat Studi dan Layanan Disabilitas (sekarang Pusat Layanan Disabilitas). Sebagai lembaga pendidikan tinggi, komitmen ini harus tercermin pada struktur organisasinya serta tiga misi utamanya, yaitu pengajaran dan pembelajaran, penelitian dan publikasi, serta layanan dan keterlibatan masyarakat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji dan memetakan kontribusi UIN Sunan Kalijaga untuk penelitian dan publikasi di bidang studi disabilitas dan pendidikan inklusif. Pendekatan metode campuran digunakan dalam penelitian ini untuk mengumpulkan data. Pengumpulan dilakukan melalui studi literatur dan wawancara terstruktur serta diskusi kelompok yang terfokus. Penelitian diikuti oleh analisis konten sistematis untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian utama: dalam bentuk apa UIN Sunan Kalijaga berkontribusi untuk penelitian dan publikasi dalam bidang ini. Analisis lebih lanjut dilakukan untuk memeriksa sejauh mana kontribusinya dalam hal jumlah dan jenis penelitian dan publikasi serta dampaknya terhadap dunia akademik.]

scholarly journals Wilderness Pursuit Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwen Fears ◽  
Mark S. Denke
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
New Students

Orientation programs need effective activities for integrating new students into the campus in which they have chosen to further their education. As students continue to change and institutions strive to meet the needs of students, alternative methods of presenting students with information to assist them in their transition is necessary. One area of programming that has become increasingly popular over the last several years is the integration of wilderness pursuits and outdoor opportunities with the somewhat traditional orientation activities.

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