PSYCHOLOGICAL AND DIDACTIC ASPECTS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF USING INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING EFL

The article describes the significance of Internet technologies (IT) in the teaching process of English as a foreign language (EFL) and reviews the researchers’ opinions on this problem. In this paper, the author considers that Internet technologies in English lessons for pupils in grades 5-7, it is appropriate to briefly dwell on psychological features of this age. In the article, a number of scientific studies in the field of computerization of learning in foreign languages have been analyzed. The article focuses on the relevance of using Internet and Information Technologies in teaching foreign languages. The author notes that employing IT will help to develop pupils’ progress in multiple skills at the same time. Moreover, the author puts forward the assumption that lessons based on the Internet and IT can help to quickly master the skills of communication in the EFL compared to traditional face-to-face lessons. KEY WORDS: Internet technologies, Information Technology (IT), Interactive technology, English as a foreign language (EFL), learning and teaching, school pupils.

Night Eating Syndrome in Patients With Obesity and Binge Eating Disorder: A Systematic Review

Night eating syndrome (NES) is currently classified as an Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) under the Diagnostic Statistical Manual−5 (DSM-5). This systematic review aims to consolidate the studies that describe the sociodemographic, clinical and psychological features of NES in a population of patients with eating disorders (ED), obesity, or those undergoing bariatric surgery, and were published after the publication of the DSM-5. A further aim was to compare, where possible, NES with BED on the aforementioned variables. Lastly, we aimed to appraise the quality of the studies being included in the review. We conducted a systematic search on three databases (MEDLINE, PubMed and Embase) which resulted in the selection of 22 studies for the review. We included the articles that studied patients with NES and their sociodemographic, clinical and psychological features in a clinical (i.e., ED, obese or bariatric surgery) population, through a quantitative study design. Articles were excluded if the NES patients included in the study had a comorbid psychological disorder, and/or the sample was collected from a university/non-clinical population, and/or the study design was qualitative, and/or NES features were compared with any other disorder, except BED. Our study found that no conclusions about the link between any sociodemographic feature (such as, age, gender, income, etc.) and an NES diagnosis could be made. Further, NES patients presented with elevated ED pathology (including emotional eating and loss of control eating) and higher occurrence of depressive symptoms than controls. Contrary to the literature suggesting that NES and Binge Eating Disorder (BED; an ED subtype which is also comorbid with obesity) patients often report overlapping features, questioning the validity of NES as an ED diagnosis, we found that BED can be differentiated from NES by the higher occurrence of emotional eating, body related concerns and abnormal eating episodes. The review also suggested an overlap between NES and Sleep-Related Eating Disorder. We recommend that it is essential to study NES as an independent disorder to further develop its diagnostic criteria and treatment options, thereby, increasing the quality of life of the patients suffering from this syndrome.

Psychological Well-being as a Predictor of Resilience Among University Students

The concept of psychological well-being and resilience shares common psychological features involved in positive human functioning. The theoretical dimensions of psychological well-being are deeply rooted in the philosophical approach to humanistic, existential, developmental, and clinical psychology. The present study was aimed to examine the predictable relationship of psychological well-being and resilience among undergraduate university students of Karachi. Secondly, it differentiates the functioning of male and female university students on the construct of psychological Well-being and resilience. The sample was comprised of 300 undergraduate students, purposively selected; with a mean age of 21.89 years belong to different universities of Karachi. The Scales of Psychological Well-being (Ryff, 1989) and The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003) were used as measures of this study. Findings indicated that psychological well-being was positive predictor of resilience. In the Scales of Psychological Well-being, the domain of autonomy and environmental mastery were the significant positive correlates of resilience. In addition, psychological well-being and resilience were found to be greater among female students as compared to male students. The findings of this study provide implications for positive education that enables students to robust their strengths and capabilities to increase their well-being and effective management of university life challenges.

The Spatial Extent of Pain Is Associated with Pain Intensity, Catastrophizing and Some Measures of Central Sensitization in People with Frozen Shoulder

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the spatial extent of pain and its association with clinical symptoms, psychological features, and pain sensitization in people with frozen shoulder (FS). Forty-eight individuals with FS completed pain drawings (PDs) and reported their clinical symptoms including pain intensity (Visual Analogue Scale) and shoulder disability (Shoulder Pain and Disability Index). Moreover, pain sensitization measurements (pressure pain thresholds, temporal summation, conditioned pain modulation, and Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI)) were assessed. Psychological features were assessed by Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire. Pain frequency maps were generated, Margolis rating scale was used for pain location, and Spearman correlation coefficients were computed. The mean (SD) pain extent was 12.5% (6.7%) and the most common painful area was the anterolateral shoulder region (100%). Women presented a more widespread pain distribution compared with men. Significant positive associations were obtained between pain extent and current pain intensity (rs = 0.421, p < 0.01), PCS (rs = 0.307, p < 0.05) and CSI (rs = 0.358, p < 0.05). The anterolateral region of the shoulder was the most common painful area in people with FS. Women with FS presented more extended areas of pain; and a more widespread distribution of pain was correlated with higher levels of pain, pain catastrophizing and pain sensitization.

Getting the Full Picture in English and Spanish?

Drawing on the mental model theory of fictional characters (Schneider, 2001) applied to audio description (Fresno, 2016), this paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. The study is based on the premise that semantic descriptions of characters, rather than merely visual descriptions of physical traits, contribute to a better understanding of the narrative complexities of a film, favour AD users’ memory, and reduce cognitive effort (Fresno et al., 2016). This contrastive analysis shows how pertinent description of action movements and appearances together with lexical accuracy can trigger helpful semantic meanings that reveal characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which the majority of the characters are murder suspects, accessing all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this analysis indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent from the Spanish AD, a distinction that influences the semantic domains, filmic cohesion and coherence of the narrative. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the program in question. Lay summary This paper examines the audio description (AD) of characters in English and Spanish for the Netflix series Élite. Based on previous studies (Fresno, 2014; Fresno, 2016), this analysis shows that not only physical traits, but also the description of action movements and looks can trigger helpful semantic inferences that reveal crucial characters’ psychological features. Because Élite is a thriller in which most of the characters are murder suspects, grasping all types of information about them is essential to fully understand the plot. In addition, this paper indicates that the English AD emphasizes certain character attributes which are absent in the Spanish AD. This finding underscores the fact that cross-linguistic and cultural differences actually affect the reception of a fictional character by AD users (Orero, 2008; Mazur & Chmiel, 2012) and consequently, their appreciation and enjoyment of the show in question.

Social-Psychological Causes of Youth Extremism in Krasnodar Region

The authors study socio-psychological determinants of extremist criminal behavior of young people in Krasnodar Region within the framework of socio-economic, national and geographical specifics of the territory. The main goal was to identify and specify subjective (inner) causes as an aggregate of personal psychological features, needs, emotions, motives, specifics of conscience and volition that shape the intent and determine the qualitative side of extremist crimes. The authors used both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, etc.) and special (statistical and specific-sociological) methods of cognition. The dominant source of information was results of a questionnaire survey of 146 young people who were residents of Krasnodar Region aged 18–24 with the same level of education; they were university students (57 %), and students of vocational schools and colleges (28 %). The obtained data were used for SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) analysis, which identified regularities in the formation of the public opinion typical for young people in Krasnodar Region. Besides, the authors established a factor commonality which served as a logical proof that psychological patterns typical of the youth environment, stereotypes and models of behavior act as determinants of extremist actions. All of these allowed the authors to state that there are a number of negative trends, such as the mental acceptance of some extremist actions by young people, especially actions against people of a different race, nationality, religion; this acceptance is common for 20 % of people aged 18 to 24; young people do not know about 5 out of 13 types of extremist activities included in the federal legislation; extremist information is easily available on the Internet. To eliminate these trends, the authors suggest a number of measures: activization of legal information campaign; identification of students who are highly likely to commit extremist actions; creation of a system of model features of extremist behavior to be used in the preventive work in educational establishments of Krasnodar Region; designing and teaching, on the regional level, a special subject of preventive nature to high school, college and university students.

RESEARCH OF THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL EXPECTATIONS OF FUTURE PROFESSIONALS

Problem statement. Freelance teachers are often faced with the fact that students who study in a particular specialty for four or six years, after graduation go to work in another specialty or master another profession. This situation, or rather the problem of so-called "staff turnover", is especially characteristic of technical specialties. And it does not matter whether the student is studying under a contract, whether he occupies a state budget place, whether the student is successful in his studies, or belongs to those who are constantly absent from class and have academic debts. In our opinion, the study of the causes of such issues, which is characteristic of the Free Economic Zone in Ukraine, is an important and insufficiently studied task from a theoretical and practical point of view. A large amount of scientific psychological and pedagogical research is devoted to the study of motives for choosing a specialty and future profession, the topic of motivation of modern youth in general, the study of professional interests of high school students, experimental research on career guidance. But there is very little theoretical and practical work aimed at studying the reasons for choosing a profession that does not correspond to the educational specialty. Purpose of the article is to analyze the problem of studying the professional expectations of students, as well as to investigate the psychological characteristics of young people as a subject of study and the factors influencing young people's choice of specialty and future profession in the process of their education in Institutions of higher education (IHE). Conclusions. Analyzed: psychological features of students as subjects of study; the meaningful nature of students' choice of their professional path; factors influencing young people's choice of specialty and future profession; psychological features of successful mastering of knowledge during training in IHE; psychological components of the student's cognitive activity - motives, interest, attention, memory, volitional and emotional processes; problems of professional career realization as an element of self-realization and human self-development; components of emotional and evaluative attitude of students to the future profession; functions that fulfill professional expectations in the life of the individual; signs of the content of professional expectations.

Origins of Varying Understandings of Democracy

This chapter uses mixed-effect models to examine the origins of varying conceptions of democracy. Due to data limitations, we are only able to account for some key individual demographic, cognitive, and psychological features as we explore the impact of surrounding economic, political, and cultural contexts. Overall, our findings demonstrate the salience of surrounding economic, political, and cultural contexts in shaping popular conceptions of democracy. Short-term fluctuations (like economic growth vs. recession), mid-term changes (like democratic practices gauged by Freedom House ratings and economic development measured by per capita GDP), and long-term evolutions (like the history of personal dictatorships and Confucian political traditions) all play important roles in this regard.

ON THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPING CHILDREN’S INTEREST IN READING: THE SEARCH FOR EFFECTIVE METHODS OF WORK

Рассматривается проблема формирования интереса дошкольников к книге и читательской деятельности. Обосновывается необходимость ее решения из-за падения интереса к чтению и традиционной книге на всех этапах образования. Анализируются точки зрения ученых на данную проблему и различные методические подходы, связанные с формированием конкретных читательских умений у детей через соответствующие методические приемы литературного чтения, литературного слушания и литературного творчества. Приведены данные, полученные в результате эмпирического исследования, в котором участвовали дети старшего дошкольного возраста, а также показатели и критерии оценки уровня сформированности интереса старших дошкольников к книге и читательской деятельности, имеющие практическую значимость наравне с предлагаемыми путями решения обозначенной проблемы. The problem of the formation of preschool children’s interest in books and reading activities is considered, the necessity of its solution is justified due to the decline in interest in reading and traditional books at all stages of education. The points of view of scientists on this problem and various methodological approaches related to the formation of specific reading skills in children through appropriate methodological techniques of literary reading, literary listening and literary creativity are analyzed. The psychological features of the perception of the text of a work of art by children of middle and older preschool age are highlighted, based on which special methodological techniques have been developed and tested. The authors present their own experience of solving it and provide data obtained as a result of an empirical study (questioning kindergarten teachers, monitoring the activities of children), in which older preschool children participated. The indicators and criteria for assessing the level of formation of the interest of older preschoolers in the book and reading activities, which have practical significance on a par with the proposed ways to solve the designated problem, are given. A workbook is presented, based on which children perform interesting and diverse tasks when working with artistic texts. In the conclusion of the article, the authors demonstrate data confirming the effectiveness of the approaches they have developed.