Perceived Organizational Support and Career Satisfaction among Chinese Teachers: The Mediation Effects of Job Crafting and Work Engagement during COVID-19

Recently, scientific theories on career satisfaction (CS) have been promoted worldwide. Research on the subject has become more and more popular, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study adds to the existing literature by investigating the impact of organizational support on career satisfaction through the mediation role of job crafting and work engagement among Chinese teachers. A diverse sample of teachers (n = 3147) was drawn from various schools in Zhejiang province (P.R. China), from June to September 2021. SPSS 26 software with PROCESS macro and JASP was used to analyze the data. The findings demonstrate that perceived organizational support (POS), job crafting (JC), and work engagement (WE) have a significant and positive relation with teachers’ career satisfaction. POS was serially associated with JC (b = 0.34, p = 0.001), CS (b = 0.40, p = 0.001), and WE (b = 0.49, p0.001). The residual direct pathways for JC → CS (b = 0.55, p = 0.001, 95% CI = [0.51, 0.60]) and for WE → CS (b = 0.47, p = 0.001, 95% CI = [0.44, 0.50]) were significant. Sequentially, JC and WE mediated the relation between POS and CS. The multiple mediation model supported our general hypothesis that JC and WE mediate the relationship between POS and CS.

The Impact of University Curricula on Financial Education of Millennials

The objective of this research is to analyze the financial literacy knowledge of the Millennial generation. The research method is qualitative-quantitative of correlational type since it consists of identifying the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. The general hypothesis is that limited financial education in curricula affects the financial education of the Millennials. Through the information gathered and the surveys applied, it is evident that Millennials have no financial knowledge and university curricula have limited information on financial education.

Teachers’ Key Competencies for Innovative Teaching

The educational process is by its nature and essence very dialectical, so it necessarily requires teachers to have a developed whole set of various competencies. The aim of the research was to examine teachers on self-assessment of competencies that were crucial for innovating the teaching process. The sample of respondents included 1300 elementary and secondary school teachers in the territory of Southern Serbia. The instrument used was a five-point TCS scale of attitudes, with a total of 48 items (individual competencies). The results of the analysis showed that teachers, based on their self-assessments, highly value all diverse groups of competencies, which fully confirms the general hypothesis. The results also showed the existence of statistically significant differences in the degree of expression of attitudes about competency groups with regard to independent research variables, within special hypotheses, based on which the first was rejected, the second partially and the third and fourth special hypothesis fully confirmed. The issue of key competencies of teachers is certainly one of the fundamental issues when it comes to quality teaching, its innovation, generally successful and efficient dealing with the educational process. Based on these postulates, there is hope that the obtained research results will represent a good starting point and incentive for further research work in this field in the future.

Long-term Trend in Mean Density of Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) Uncertain

Two recent attempts to model the long-term trend in mean density of Antarctic krill in the southwestern sector of the Atlantic using the KRILLBASE dataset using different statistical methods as well as inclusion versus exclusion of data from “non-scientific” nets have resulted in disparate conclusions. The approach that used a linear mixed model (LMM) fitted to the log of mean density, after standardisation was applied to individual net hauls and with means calculated for 12 spatial strata by years between 1976 and 2016, gave a highly statistically significant linear “regional” decline north of 60oS and, to a lesser degree, south of this latitude. The alternative approach that used a ”hurdle” model fitted to the individual net haul data, excluded regional stratification, and excluded non-scientific nets failed to detect an overall significant decline. The method of modelling log transformed means was reappraised and corrected by applying a meta-analytic LMM approach. Additionally, nonlinear smooths in year by region and a smooth in mean “climatological temperature” were included in the LMM. This model showed on average a mostly consistent decline north of 60oS, however, neither trend was significantly different from a no-trend prediction with the trend north of 60oS highly uncertain. Uncertainty of predictions resulted in only weak power to detect a substantial decline of the order of 70% between 1985 and 2005. These model-based inferences neither strongly support nor reject a general hypothesis that there has been a dramatic decline in density of Antarctic krill in the Southwest Atlantic over this period.

Formative Evaluation and Learning of the Technique of the Auction of Soccer of the Students of the University Level

The present research sought to determine the relationship between formative evaluation and the learning of the finishing technique of the subject of soccer of the students of the sixth cycle of the Professional School of Physical Education of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2019. The research of quantitative type of correlational design. A questionnaire and test were applied to 46 students, whose results were processed by the SPSS program, in the same way following the statistical procedure of Spearman's Rho. The general hypothesis found a correlation of Rho = 0.818 which explains that the formative evaluation applied from time to time has a relational link with the learning of soccer finishing technique reaching a regular level. As for the five specific hypotheses, a relationship of Rho = 0.492; Rho = 0.722; Rho = 0.514; Rho = 0.582 and Rho = 0.640 was found, respectively, which is understood that the form of regulatory, procedural, continuous, feedback and innovative evaluation has an impact on learning in this course. The way in which the teacher applies his evaluation limits the grades of the course, since the students are not yet high.

Necessary optimality condition for the minimal time crisis relaxing transverse condition via regularization

We derive necessary optimality conditions for the time of crisis problem under a more general hypothesis than the usual one encountered in the hybrid setting, which requires that any optimal solution should cross the boundary of the constraint set transversely. Doing so, we apply the Pontryagin Maximum Principle to a sequence of regular optimal control problems whose integral cost approximates the time of crisis. Optimality conditions are derived by passing to the limit in the Hamiltonian system (without the use of the hybrid maximum principle). This convergence result essentially relies on the boundedness of the sequence of adjoint vectors in L∞. Our main contribution is to relate this property to the boundedness in L1 of a suitable sequence which allows to avoid the use of the transverse hypothesis on optimal paths. An example with non-transverse trajectories for which necessary conditions are derived highlights the use of this new condition.

The Light Responses of Proteorhodopsin-bearing, Antarctic Sea-ice Bacteria

<p>Although homogenous in appearance, Antarctic sea ice forms a complex habitat that is characterised by steep vertical gradients of temperature, irradiance and salinity. Despite these harsh and variable environmental conditions, numerous microbial organisms prosper within Antarctic sea ice. In 2010, bacteria bearing the proteorhodopsin (PR) gene were found within Antarctic sea ice. PR is a photoactive membrane protein that functions as a light-driven proton pump. The hydrogen ion membrane gradient that PR establishes has the potential to drive ATP synthesis, thus allowing PR-bearing bacteria to obtain energy from solar radiation. Although this gene is present in up to 80% of marine bacteria, the active contribution of PR in vivo is debatable. Light induced growth or enhanced survival is generally observed only when PR-bearing bacteria are grown under sub-optimum conditions, such as limited nutrients or carbon, or variations in salinity. This has lead to the general hypothesis that PR has multiple functions, becoming most influential under conditions of stress. In this way, Antarctic sea-ice bacteria may utilise PR to promote survival and enhance energy inputs, when exposed to the harsh conditions of this environment. To explore this hypothesis, potential PR-bearing isolates were cultured from samples of Antarctic sea-ice bacteria. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing as well as a comparison of phenotypic and environmental characteristics, the isolates were identified as; Psychrobacter nivimaris, Polaribacter dokdonensis, Paracoccus marcusii and Micrococcus sp. These species, along with Psychroflexus torquis (an Antarctic sea-ice bacterium known to possess PR) were examined for the presence of the PR gene. This gene was identified in P. torquis, Ps. nivimaris and Po. dokdonensis. To my knowledge, this is the first time PR has been found in Ps. nivimaris. To assess the influence of irradiance on these species, a series of culture based experiments were undertaken. In 2012, a preliminary field experiment was conducted in which a mixed culture of PR-bearing and non PR-bearing bacteria; Ps. nivimaris, Po. dokdonensis, Pa. marcusii and Micrococcus sp., was incubated in situ in the annual sea ice surrounding Ross Island, Antarctica. The method developed for these experiments is unique, in that cultures of sea-ice bacteria have not before been incubated within their natural environment. No major differences in growth patterns were observed when bacteria were incubated under different wavelengths and light intensities, however, valuable insight into methodological improvement was obtained. Using these refinements, a second in situ incubation experiment was conducted at the same field site, in 2013. Over this 2 week incubation, monocultures of P. torquis grown in full strength media grew most readily under 50%- and blue-light treatments, with red- and green-light yielding lower biomasses, and no growth occurring in the dark. Ambient sea-ice irradiance resulted in highly variable growth, attributed to high irradiance growth-inhibition. These results indicate that P. torquis utilises low levels of light in order to increase its growth in Antarctic sea ice. The influence of light on the growth of P. torquis, Ps. nivimaris and Po. dokdonensis was examined in a laboratory-based experiment, in which media strength and temperature were varied. When cultured at 12°C, Ps. nivimaris grown under constant irradiance reached a higher biomass than in darkness. This trend was most pronounced when this species was cultured in a 10% media concentration. A trend of decreased exponential-growth was observed in light-incubated cultures of Ps. nivimaris, grown at 4°C or -1°C. Elevated maximum growth of Po. dokdonensis was observed under irradiated conditions in the 10% media treatment. This species however, only grew at 12°C; an unexpected result for an Antarctic microbe. P. torquis was not affected by irradiance under any culture conditions and did not grow at -1°C. This last result contrasts the results of the in situ incubations and may have been affected by factors such as culture age. This research demonstrates multiple examples of light-enhanced growth occurring in PR-bearing Antarctic sea-ice bacteria, with the most prominent trends occurring in reduced concentration media. Therefore, this work agrees with the overarching hypothesis that PR is most influential under conditions of stress. The varying effect of temperature on the influence of PR suggests that some species are able to use this protein at low temperatures, whilst others cannot. Therefore, PR likely provides a selective advantage to some species, depending on a variety of physicochemical factors, including nutrient and carbon availability, salinity and temperature.</p>

The Light Responses of Proteorhodopsin-bearing, Antarctic Sea-ice Bacteria

<p>Although homogenous in appearance, Antarctic sea ice forms a complex habitat that is characterised by steep vertical gradients of temperature, irradiance and salinity. Despite these harsh and variable environmental conditions, numerous microbial organisms prosper within Antarctic sea ice. In 2010, bacteria bearing the proteorhodopsin (PR) gene were found within Antarctic sea ice. PR is a photoactive membrane protein that functions as a light-driven proton pump. The hydrogen ion membrane gradient that PR establishes has the potential to drive ATP synthesis, thus allowing PR-bearing bacteria to obtain energy from solar radiation. Although this gene is present in up to 80% of marine bacteria, the active contribution of PR in vivo is debatable. Light induced growth or enhanced survival is generally observed only when PR-bearing bacteria are grown under sub-optimum conditions, such as limited nutrients or carbon, or variations in salinity. This has lead to the general hypothesis that PR has multiple functions, becoming most influential under conditions of stress. In this way, Antarctic sea-ice bacteria may utilise PR to promote survival and enhance energy inputs, when exposed to the harsh conditions of this environment. To explore this hypothesis, potential PR-bearing isolates were cultured from samples of Antarctic sea-ice bacteria. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing as well as a comparison of phenotypic and environmental characteristics, the isolates were identified as; Psychrobacter nivimaris, Polaribacter dokdonensis, Paracoccus marcusii and Micrococcus sp. These species, along with Psychroflexus torquis (an Antarctic sea-ice bacterium known to possess PR) were examined for the presence of the PR gene. This gene was identified in P. torquis, Ps. nivimaris and Po. dokdonensis. To my knowledge, this is the first time PR has been found in Ps. nivimaris. To assess the influence of irradiance on these species, a series of culture based experiments were undertaken. In 2012, a preliminary field experiment was conducted in which a mixed culture of PR-bearing and non PR-bearing bacteria; Ps. nivimaris, Po. dokdonensis, Pa. marcusii and Micrococcus sp., was incubated in situ in the annual sea ice surrounding Ross Island, Antarctica. The method developed for these experiments is unique, in that cultures of sea-ice bacteria have not before been incubated within their natural environment. No major differences in growth patterns were observed when bacteria were incubated under different wavelengths and light intensities, however, valuable insight into methodological improvement was obtained. Using these refinements, a second in situ incubation experiment was conducted at the same field site, in 2013. Over this 2 week incubation, monocultures of P. torquis grown in full strength media grew most readily under 50%- and blue-light treatments, with red- and green-light yielding lower biomasses, and no growth occurring in the dark. Ambient sea-ice irradiance resulted in highly variable growth, attributed to high irradiance growth-inhibition. These results indicate that P. torquis utilises low levels of light in order to increase its growth in Antarctic sea ice. The influence of light on the growth of P. torquis, Ps. nivimaris and Po. dokdonensis was examined in a laboratory-based experiment, in which media strength and temperature were varied. When cultured at 12°C, Ps. nivimaris grown under constant irradiance reached a higher biomass than in darkness. This trend was most pronounced when this species was cultured in a 10% media concentration. A trend of decreased exponential-growth was observed in light-incubated cultures of Ps. nivimaris, grown at 4°C or -1°C. Elevated maximum growth of Po. dokdonensis was observed under irradiated conditions in the 10% media treatment. This species however, only grew at 12°C; an unexpected result for an Antarctic microbe. P. torquis was not affected by irradiance under any culture conditions and did not grow at -1°C. This last result contrasts the results of the in situ incubations and may have been affected by factors such as culture age. This research demonstrates multiple examples of light-enhanced growth occurring in PR-bearing Antarctic sea-ice bacteria, with the most prominent trends occurring in reduced concentration media. Therefore, this work agrees with the overarching hypothesis that PR is most influential under conditions of stress. The varying effect of temperature on the influence of PR suggests that some species are able to use this protein at low temperatures, whilst others cannot. Therefore, PR likely provides a selective advantage to some species, depending on a variety of physicochemical factors, including nutrient and carbon availability, salinity and temperature.</p>

Wellbeing and Work Design in Brazilian Teleworkers

Studies suggest that work characteristics may be related to workers’ wellbeing. However, little is known about how these work characteristics may influence telework wellbeing in the face of the long period of social isolation and restrictions imposed by COVID-19. This study aimed to relate work characteristics in remote work to wellbeing using a two-stage multi-method approach. The general hypothesis is that different work characteristics will be organized into different groups and related to wellbeing. In Step 1, 108 teleworkers who participated in compulsory telework conditions answered the Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) and Wellbeing at Work scale. A cluster analysis was conducted in which two clusters emerged based solely on their valence. The variables that contributed most to the cluster were: feedback from the job, social support, problem-solving, and decision and execution autonomy. Cluster 1 aggregated higher scores on work characteristics, and Cluster 2, lower scores. Cluster 1 presented significantly higher scores on wellbeing. In Step 2, 27 of these workers were blindly interviewed. Five classes of words emerged from the interviews: Class 1 – wellbeing, Class 2 – work dissatisfaction lexicon, Class 3 – role clarity, Class 4 – job demands, and Class 5 – job resources, including receiving feedback, conversations, praise, and support. Chi-square analysis suggests significant differences in classes 2, 3, 4, and 5. Cluster 1 appears more frequently in the role clarity class and less frequently in the work dissatisfaction and job demands classes. Cluster 2 is more frequent in the job dissatisfaction and job demands classes, however, less frequent in the job resources class. Class 1 shows no significant difference. These results partially support the general hypothesis that different work characteristics will be organized into different clusters and related to the teleworker’s wellbeing, but in the sense that it prevents suffering but does not necessarily promote wellbeing. The results contribute to the understanding of the relationship between work characteristics and wellbeing during the pandemic by using a different methodological approach, describing that work feedback, social support, skill variety, and problem-solving are the most significant in differentiating the perception of the groups. Social support and feedback from the job differentiate cluster 1 from cluster 2, but social support is not able to increase wellbeing, unless buffering unwellness.

Investigating students attitudes and preferences towards disaster learning multimedia to enhance preparedness

This paper presents quantitative research results regarding students’ attitudes and preferences towards disaster learning multimedia to enhance preparedness. The research was conducted during February and March 2021, where the respondents' answers were collected by sending an online survey questionnaire electronically to the email addresses of high schools. The general hypothesis refers to verifying the claim that the application of multimedia in the education of children in schools about disasters ensures that students are acquainted with disasters and develop skills for safety and risk management in case of disasters. The regression model within the conducted research confirmed that the education of students through multimedia has the most significant impact on safety and risk management in disasters. Future directions of research in this field should move towards the analysis of different simulation models that can be of great help to acquaint students with the dangers arising from disasters. Given that simulation has proven to be an effective tool in acquiring knowledge, their application in educating students about disasters would inevitably have significant effects.