EFFICIENCY OF MANAGEMENT DECISIONSIN THE SYSTEM OF PERSONAL QUALITIES OF A LEADER

The author considers the sense and significance of efficiency as an extremely important, but still insufficiently studied quality of a leader’s personality. Shows the professional and personal importance of the promptness of the timely adoption of adequate management decisions by the leader, especially in difficult problem situations. The conditions and pedagogical technologies for the formation and development of efficiency as an integral component of leadership potential are presented and analyzed. The need to include efficiency in the system of necessary personal qualities of a leader has been substantiated.

Religiosity and Depression at Midlife: A Prospective Study

Objectives: Previously, authors found high personal importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) in early adulthood to predict a 75% decreased risk of recurrence of major depression in middle adulthood. Here, the authors follow up the original study sample to examine the association between R/S and major depression from middle adulthood into midlife. Method: Participants were 79 of 114 original adult offspring of depressed and non-depressed parents. Using logistic regression analysis, three measures of R/S from middle adulthood (personal importance, frequency of religious service attendance, and denomination) were used to predict Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in midlife. Results: High R/S importance in middle adulthood was prospectively associated with risk for an initial onset of depression during the period of midlife. Frequency of attendance in middle adulthood was associated with recurrence of depression at midlife in the high-risk group for depression, as compared to the low-risk group. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the relation between R/S and depression may vary across adult development, with risk for depression associated with R/S at midlife potentially revealing a developmental process.

Value Beliefs About Math

This study proposed an improved representation of the factor structure of the Gaspard et al. (2015) value beliefs about math scale relying on bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (B-ESEM). Using a convenience sample of 537 Italian students (327 males; Mage = 18.2), our results supported the superiority of a B-ESEM solution including nine specific factors (intrinsic, importance of achievement, personal importance, utility for school/job, utility for life, social utility, effort required, opportunity cost, and emotional cost) and one global value factor. The results further revealed that the specific factors (with the exception of personal importance) retained meaning over and above participants’ global levels of value. Finally, our results confirmed that global value beliefs predicted career aspirations, whereas expectancies of success remained the strongest predictor of math achievement.

Religiosity and Depression at Midlife: A Prospective Study

Background: Previously, authors found that a high personal importance of religion and spirituality (R/S) at year 10 was predictive of a 75% decreased risk of recurrence of major depression in a prospective study of adults (mean age at year 20 follow-up = 37.1 years, SD = 6.2 years). Here, the authors follow-up with the original study sample 5/10 years later (mean age at year 25/30 follow-up = 47.5 years, SD = 6.9 years) to examine the association between R/S and major depression in midlife. Method: Participants were 79 of 114 original adult offspring of depressed and non-depressed parents. Diagnosis was assessed with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime Version. Three measures of R/S were included: personal importance of R/S, frequency of attendance at religious services, and denomination. Using logistic regression analysis, the three R/S variables were used as longitudinal predictors and the outcome was diagnosis of MDD. Results: Reported high personal importance of R/S at year 20 was associated at year 25/30 with risk for an initial onset of depression. When stratified by familial risk for depression, frequency of attendance at year 20 was associated with recurrence of depression at year 25/30 in the group at high familial risk for depression. Limitations: Limitations include generalizability and differential rates of frequent attendance between participants retained and those who dropped out. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the relation between R/S and depression may vary across adult development. The preponderance of midlife depression in spiritually-oriented individuals aligns with challenges of midlife.

Would you be more satisfied with your life if you travel more frequently?

This research intends to examine whether frequent travelers are more satisfied with their life as well as why these individuals travel more frequently than others. Derived from a sample of 500 Taiwanese respondents, the study results show that respondents attaching personal importance to tourism are more likely to gather travel-relevant information, resulting in more frequent travels. It is also found that frequent travelers are more satisfied with their life. These findings suggest that travel and tourism can be an important life domain affecting how people evaluate their overall quality of life.

Motivational and Value-based Component as One of the Structural Elements of Engineering Educators’ Readiness for Professional Mobility

In theoretical study of readiness of engineers-teachers of computer sciences for professional mobility, a valuative and motivated component is stated as a systemforming element and plays an important role in the process of forming a system of personal and professional values and goals. Valuative and motivated goals of an engineer-teacher reproduce social, professional and personal importance of vocational education, and influence formation of a purposeful creative mastering of professional competences necessary for development of professional mobility. The valuative and motivated sphere of would-be specialists is proved to be a significant instrument of socialization and adaptation to social and professional activities.

Personal determinants of style features of pedagogical interaction as a factor of successful professional activity of the teacher

This study focuses on the problem of relationships between personality traits and stylistic characteristics of professional interaction between a teacher and student, the consideration of personal determinant of the stylistic peculiarities of their interaction, as well as the styles of professional activity of a teacher. The model of interaction of subjects of educational process, from the point of view of innovative personality-oriented education is considered. And the result of this interaction is the transformation of educational features into personal and the transition to personal meanings. It is the personal importance of the subject of interaction and the interaction itself that contributes to the formation of the subjective position of the student and the teacher. The main emphasis is placed on the subject-subject interaction of participants of the educational process, personal determinants of style features of psychological and pedagogical interaction, which contribute to the development of the success of professional activity of the teacher.

Becoming Humble

Monastic directives to humility have been dismissed by most contemporary theorists as remnants of a lamentable past. But, if radical Christian humility as envisioned by the early monastic tradition is a legitimate view of humility, there should be something to learn from their many directives. This chapter interprets monastic wisdom about the pursuit of humility, showing how ascetic practices are consistent with the claim that humility is a gift of grace. It argues that the monastics were right to think that genuine Christian humility is unattainable apart from experiences of humiliation. Ascetic regimes can promote humility by training practitioners to go on loving in the midst of humiliations that sabotage their quests for personal importance. Such practices “position” devotees to be recipients of supernatural love, which enables persons to go on without falling back on proper pride as a source of moral energy.