Can We Talk About Life Without Taking Death Into Account? Early Childhood Educators’ Self-Perceived Ability to Approach the Topic of Death With Children

The current explorative cross-sectional study evaluated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of early childhood educators towards death education and their self-perceived comfort to approach the topic of death in the classroom. All data were collected from June to July 2020. One hundred eight (108) early childhood educators participated in the study. The study was promoted through early childhood educators’ support groups and social networks. Demographic characteristics, an ad hoc questionnaire, and the Greek version of the Death Attitude Profile-R questionnaire were used to assess the educators’ comfort and attitudes. Results showed that participants’ self-perceived ability to approach the topic of death in the classroom was affected by gender and personal attitudes towards death (specifically death avoidance and fear of death). Overall, this study emphasized early childhood educators’ role in extreme situations which their students may face as death.

Weight-based stereotype threat in the workplace: consequences for employees with overweight or obesity

Background/Objectives Employees with overweight or obesity are often stereotyped as lazy, unmotivated, and less competent than employees with normal weight. As a consequence, employees with overweight or obesity are susceptible to stereotype threat, or the concern about confirming, or being reduced to, a stereotype about their group. This survey study examined whether employees with overweight or obesity experience stereotype threat in the workplace, whether it is associated with their perceived ability to meet their work demands (i.e., work ability), and whether high levels of knowledge about one’s self (i.e., authentic self-awareness) can offset a potential negative association. Subjects/Methods Using a correlational study design, survey data were collected from N = 758 full-time employees at three measurement points across 3 months. Employees’ average body mass index (BMI) was 26.36 kg/m² (SD = 5.45); 34% of participants were employees with overweight (BMI between 25 and <30), and 18% of participants were employees with obesity (BMI > 30). Results Employees with higher weight and higher BMI reported more weight-based stereotype threat (rs between 0.17 and 0.19, p < 0.001). Employees who experienced higher levels of weight-based stereotype threat reported lower work ability, while controlling for weight, height, and subjective weight (β = −0.27, p < 0.001). Authentic self-awareness moderated the relationship between weight-based stereotype threat and work ability (β = 0.14, p < 0.001), such that the relationship between stereotype threat and work ability was negative among employees with low authentic self-awareness (β = −0.25, p < 0.001), and non-significant among employees with high authentic self-awareness (β = 0.08, p = 0.315). Conclusions The findings of this study contribute to the literature by showing that weight-based stereotype threat is negatively associated with employees’ perceived ability to meet their work demands, particularly among those employees with low authentic self-awareness.

CEO Turnover: Governance, Games and Real Options

<p>The decision a Board of Directors (a board) makes to dismiss or retain its CEO is one of extreme importance in its role of representing shareholder interests and maximising shareholder value. This thesis presents three independent but highly related studies pertaining to the dynamics between a board and its selected CEO in deciding to retain or replace an incumbent manager. The first study presents a theoretical model of CEO turnover that is examined in order to develop new empirical testable predictions. The model employs a learning process for perceived CEO ability that offers new insight into the dynamics of the problem. We find empirical support for the theoretical predictions that: (1) if a CEO sends high noise performance signals to the board relative to the pool of possible replacements, the probability of turnover will be less sensitive early on in the manager’s tenure and more sensitive later due to the learning process; (2) the probability of turnover for a CEO who has a lower level of initial uncertainty relative to a pool of possible replacements will be less sensitive to performance because the CEO will need to be considered high quality to get the position in the first place; and (3) there is empirical evidence to support the notion that ongoing volatility in the board’s estimate of a manager’s ability plays a role in the updating process of ability assessment by a board. Recent empirical work has indicated that board-induced CEO turnover is a function of industry business cycles and not just relative performance evaluation. The literature notes that this could be because: (1) CEOs may optimally be rewarded or punished for peer group performance if a CEO’s actions affect peer performance; (2) boards receive more, or better information in industry downturns than they do during booms; or (3) boards misattribute industry performance to CEO ability. The literature concludes (3) largely due to the results not being sensitive to CEO tenure, where high tenure CEOs should have proven themselves in good and bad times. There is however no theoretical framework to help interpret these empirical findings and we consider conclusions incomplete. It is well established in the macroeconomic literature that downturns are highly correlated with increased levels of uncertainty, and as a result firm behaviour is impacted. The second study in this thesis presents a model of board-induced CEO turnover that allows analysis under two stochastic state variables: (1) perceived managerial ability; and (2) precision of the perceived ability. We use the constructed model to show that, following shocks that increase uncertainty, the probability of turnover for high tenure CEOs may be higher or lower than low tenure CEOs depending on the board’s estimate of CEO ability. This casts doubt on conclusions made from the findings of the empirical literature. The final study presented by this thesis is my job market paper. It presents a new game of performance-induced CEO turnover that analyses CEO turnover decisions in a context where the CEO and the board both have meaningful options. We show that under certain conditions a CEO has the incentive to lock in a high level of perceived ability, through good firm performance, and exercise their option to leave for other roles and increased prestige. This creates an upper and lower threshold for performance-induced CEO turnover. The lower threshold relates to the board’s option to terminate a low-quality CEO and the upper threshold relates to a high-quality CEO’s option to leave the firm. The upper threshold creates a credible threat for the board that affects its decision making. We define two types of threats: (1) the persistent threat, where the firm is one where the incumbent and any replacement will have an upper threshold; and (2) a unique threat, where only the incumbent has the upper threshold and replacements are taken from a pool of candidates who do not have an upper threshold. We estimate that both threat types have a negative impact on firm value. Empirically we find that consistent with the theory, the probability of a turnover event increases following positive relative accounting performance for small firms and firms with young CEO’s, indicating upper threshold constraints for these two groups.</p>

CEO Turnover: Governance, Games and Real Options

<p>The decision a Board of Directors (a board) makes to dismiss or retain its CEO is one of extreme importance in its role of representing shareholder interests and maximising shareholder value. This thesis presents three independent but highly related studies pertaining to the dynamics between a board and its selected CEO in deciding to retain or replace an incumbent manager. The first study presents a theoretical model of CEO turnover that is examined in order to develop new empirical testable predictions. The model employs a learning process for perceived CEO ability that offers new insight into the dynamics of the problem. We find empirical support for the theoretical predictions that: (1) if a CEO sends high noise performance signals to the board relative to the pool of possible replacements, the probability of turnover will be less sensitive early on in the manager’s tenure and more sensitive later due to the learning process; (2) the probability of turnover for a CEO who has a lower level of initial uncertainty relative to a pool of possible replacements will be less sensitive to performance because the CEO will need to be considered high quality to get the position in the first place; and (3) there is empirical evidence to support the notion that ongoing volatility in the board’s estimate of a manager’s ability plays a role in the updating process of ability assessment by a board. Recent empirical work has indicated that board-induced CEO turnover is a function of industry business cycles and not just relative performance evaluation. The literature notes that this could be because: (1) CEOs may optimally be rewarded or punished for peer group performance if a CEO’s actions affect peer performance; (2) boards receive more, or better information in industry downturns than they do during booms; or (3) boards misattribute industry performance to CEO ability. The literature concludes (3) largely due to the results not being sensitive to CEO tenure, where high tenure CEOs should have proven themselves in good and bad times. There is however no theoretical framework to help interpret these empirical findings and we consider conclusions incomplete. It is well established in the macroeconomic literature that downturns are highly correlated with increased levels of uncertainty, and as a result firm behaviour is impacted. The second study in this thesis presents a model of board-induced CEO turnover that allows analysis under two stochastic state variables: (1) perceived managerial ability; and (2) precision of the perceived ability. We use the constructed model to show that, following shocks that increase uncertainty, the probability of turnover for high tenure CEOs may be higher or lower than low tenure CEOs depending on the board’s estimate of CEO ability. This casts doubt on conclusions made from the findings of the empirical literature. The final study presented by this thesis is my job market paper. It presents a new game of performance-induced CEO turnover that analyses CEO turnover decisions in a context where the CEO and the board both have meaningful options. We show that under certain conditions a CEO has the incentive to lock in a high level of perceived ability, through good firm performance, and exercise their option to leave for other roles and increased prestige. This creates an upper and lower threshold for performance-induced CEO turnover. The lower threshold relates to the board’s option to terminate a low-quality CEO and the upper threshold relates to a high-quality CEO’s option to leave the firm. The upper threshold creates a credible threat for the board that affects its decision making. We define two types of threats: (1) the persistent threat, where the firm is one where the incumbent and any replacement will have an upper threshold; and (2) a unique threat, where only the incumbent has the upper threshold and replacements are taken from a pool of candidates who do not have an upper threshold. We estimate that both threat types have a negative impact on firm value. Empirically we find that consistent with the theory, the probability of a turnover event increases following positive relative accounting performance for small firms and firms with young CEO’s, indicating upper threshold constraints for these two groups.</p>

English Language Speaking Anxiety, Self-Confidence and Perceived Ability among Science and Technology Undergraduate Students: A Rasch Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and perceived ability in English oral communication among Science and Technology undergraduate students. It also aims to identify any significant differences in these constructs based on selected students’ demographic variables. The study employed the survey method with a 41-item questionnaire administered to a voluntary response sample of three hundred 3rd and 4th-year science and technology undergraduates from three Malaysian public universities. The Polytomous Rasch model was used to analyse the data. The analysis showed that the participants experienced English speaking anxiety, low confidence, and high perceived ability in English oral communication. There were significant mean differences in English speaking anxiety across the type of university as well as in confidence and perceived ability based on academic program. The participants were more confident and could perform better in familiar situations and communicate on familiar topics to familiar audiences. The findings suggest that the participants need more training on English oral communication. More authentic situations are also needed for them to practise and improve their proficiency levels. Other suggestions include providing lecturers with training modules, re-assessing the current language policies, and implementing certain programmes at the tertiary education level. Language programmes could be directed towards more social situations to enable undergraduates to make English a social practice, lower English speaking anxiety, and boost confidence.

Paramedics’ confidence and perceived competence when attending to varied patient presentations: A mixed-method study.

Objective: Paramedics are routinely called to patients presenting with mental health concerns. Previous literature suggests paramedics find this patient group challenging. However, no study has investigated whether paramedics find mental health presentations (MHP) more challenging relative to other patient presentations, or whether certain paramedic variables relate to their perceived ability to manage MHP. This study investigates differences in paramedics’ perceived ability to attend to MHP compared to other patient presentations, and whether their perceived ability is related to their level of experience or location of work (metropolitan or rural). The study also explores paramedic’s experiences and perspectives of MHP. Method: Operational paramedics in Australia (n = 138) completed a survey assessing their perceived ability to respond to mental health, cardiac, respiratory and trauma-related presentations. A repeated measures ANOVA tested differences in perceived ability between these patient presentations. T-tests and Pearson’s correlations were conducted to determine whether years of experience or location of work related to their perceived ability for MHP. Nine paramedics were also interviewed and a thematic analysis conducted to gain insight into paramedic’s experiences and perspectives of MHP.Results: Paramedics reported a significantly lower perceived ability to respond to MHP relative to each other patient presentation measured. No relationships were found between a paramedic’s perceived ability to respond to MHP and their length of work experience or location of work. Interviews with paramedics revealed four superordinate themes: 1) inconsistent conceptualization of their role, 2) feelings of helplessness and frustration, 3) stigmatized views of patients with a mental illness, and 4) inconsistent views of knowledge and learning relating to MHP. Conclusion: Paramedics believe they have a significantly poorer ability to respond to MHP relative to other patient presentations. Education and training focused on defining a paramedic’s role for MHP as well as reducing stigmatized views of patients with a mental illness may improve paramedic’s care of this cohort of patients.

The Effectiveness of Disaster Education for Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Knowledge, Willingness, and Perceived Ability: An Evaluation Study

As future healthcare professionals, nursing students should possess the appropriate knowledge, skills, and positive attitude to respond to public health emergencies or disasters worldwide. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a disaster management training course at improving Hong Kong nursing students’ disaster knowledge, willingness, and perceived ability. A mixed-method design using a single group with pre- and post-intervention comparisons followed by qualitative focus group interviews, was conducted. A 45-h disaster management training course with theoretical and practical inputs was conducted. A total of 157 students participated in and completed the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Positive significant results in disaster knowledge (t(156) = −8.12, p < 0.01, d = −0.84) and perceived ability (t(156) = −7.95, p < 0.01, d = −0.72) were found, but no substantial change in willingness to respond to disasters was observed. The participants expressed various concerns regarding their willingness to respond, which can be summarized and grouped as (1) personal risk perceptions, (2) contextual factors of the disaster events, and (3) organizational support. Incorporating disaster training into the tertiary education curricula for basic nursing professionals’ training could be a long-term strategy to prepare and expand the competent workforce for future disasters. Government or healthcare organizations are recommended to provide strategies and adequate support to alleviate nursing professionals’ concerns and enhance their willingness.

Adolescent girls’ perception about their ability to safely offer HIV self-test kits to sexual partners: a feasibility study in Siaya County, Kenya

Background: Adolescent girls (AG) in sub-Saharan Africa are at elevated risk of acquiring HIV, yet few know the HIV status of their sexual partners. Interventions to promote testing among partners are urgently needed. Objectives: To explore AG’s perceived ability to safely distribute HIV self-tests to their partners, if partners would self-test, and how to minimize partner violence. Methods: We recruited HIV-negative AG ages 15-19 years with a partner of unknown HIV status or who tested negative >6 months previously. Using mixed-methods for data collection and regression and inductive thematic analysis for quantitative and qualitative analysis, respectively, we determined factors associated with the study objectives. Results: We enrolled 101 AG, median age 17.3 years, sexual debut 15-16 years, and 54.5% reported ≥2 lifetime partners. Most participants (95.0%) would offer self-tests to their partners and 95.1% reported high-to-moderate chance their part- ner would self-test. No participant attribute was associated with perceived ability to offer self-test or likelihood of partner testing. To avoid violence, AG recommended politeness, indirect approach, voluntariness, and highlighting advantages of self-testing. Conclusions: AG believe they can safely distribute self-tests to their partners, and most partners would self-test, expanding utility of HIV self-tests to include partners of AG. Keywords: HIV self-testing; partner testing; couples testing; adolescent girls; Kenya.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of ICT and TPACK Competencies

Introduction: The competencies needed for information and communication technologies (ICT) integration in the teaching-learning process are related to the use of technology, pedagogical attitudes, and content planning. These qualifications are all interrelated and should not be seen separately (Becuwe et al., 2017). In this context, ICT and TPACK competencies are important for ICT integration. The standards of ISTE for educators define the ICT skills that teachers should have as designers and facilitators (International Society for Technology Education [ISTE], 2020). These standards are gathered within the framework of ICT literacy, digital literacy, and ICT competence (Tondeur et al., 2017). The concept of ICT competence discussed in this study refers to the integrated and functional use of digital knowledge, skills and attitudes (Hatlevik et al., 2015). In this study, the ICT integration competencies of pre-service teachers (PSTs) were examined as ICT competencies and TPACK competencies in terms of a range of variables. For this purpose, the following question was asked: “Is there any significant difference in the ICT integration competencies of PSTs according to a range of variables?” Methods: This study is based on causal-comparative research. The research was conducted in the autumn term of the 2019-2020 academic year. A convenience sampling method was used. In this regard, 413 PSTs, who are students of faculties of education at ten state universities located in different cities in Turkey, participated voluntarily in the study. The “Pre-service Teachers’ ICT Competencies Scale” developed by Tondeur et al. (2017) and the “TPACK-Deep Scale” developed by Kabakçı Yurdakul et al. (2012) were used to collect the data in the study. In addition to the scales, seven questions were asked about gender, grade, department, GPA, ICT course grade, owning a computer for educational purposes, and one’s perceived ability to use technology. Two methods have been adopted to collect data. The first was to collect the printed forms that were completed in pen by the PSTs, and the second was to prepare the electronic form and deliver it to the PSTs via e-mail and social media applications and then collect the data. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Results: ICT and TPACK competencies of PSTs differ according to grade, having one’s own computer for educational purposes, and one’s perceived ability to use technology, but do not differ by gender. There is no significant difference in ICT and TPACK competencies according to the gender of PSTs. There is a significant difference in ICT and TPACK competencies according to the grade of PSTs and this difference is in favour of fourth grades. There is a significant difference in terms of ICT competencies and TPACK competencies according to computer ownership for educational purposes. This difference is in favour of PSTs who have their own computers. According to the perceived ability to use the technology of PSTs, there is a significant difference in ICT competencies and TPACK competencies. This difference is in favour of PSTs who think they can use technology at the advanced or expert level. Discussion: In the face of constantly developing and changing technology, an important consideration is the competencies teachers and PSTs should have for ICT integration. Factors contributing to the explanation of the ICT integration process such as skills and competencies, pedagogical beliefs and self-efficacy, professional development and teacher experiences, ICT infrastructure, and access and tools are seen to have a positive effect on ICT use (Kaya & Usluel, 2011). It has been suggested that competence and pedagogical knowledge regarding ICT integration as perceived by teachers are important when starting to integrate ICT into teaching practices (Aslan & Zu, 2015). In this study, it was found that there is a difference in ICT integration competencies of PSTs in favour of those who have their own computers and those who think they can use technology at the advanced or expert level. As the PSTs experience an increase in their perceived level of skill in their use of technology, their ICT integration competencies increase. This study also shows that PSTs’ computer ownership has an impact on their education and improves their technological skills, making a difference in terms of ICT integration competencies. Limitations: This study was limited to PSTs who studied at the faculty of education at state universities in Turkey. In addition, two scales related to ICT integration and one demographic questionnaire were used. Also, the convenience sampling method was used and the sampling was confined to 413 PSTs. Conclusions: There is a need for educational processes that emphasise technology’s educational value and enable teachers to improve themselves pedagogically and plan more effective teaching-learning processes using this pedagogical knowledge. To meet the needs of the learners of this century, teachers must first be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills in their educational processes (Yıldırım, 2000; Zhou et al., 2010). PSTs should experience this process in their teaching-learning process, and should receive training in the integration of ICT in the teaching-learning process (Çubukçu et al., 2017). Research shows that the learning experiences of PSTs in this sense and the integration of ICT with their subject areas are closely related to understanding the educational value of ICT (Mumcu & Usluel, 2015). Academics, who take a role in teacher education, should use technology effectively in their lessons, and PSTs should experience the educational uses of technology through their education (Başal, 2015). In this sense, academics who take part in teacher education have important duties.