How Language Influences Conceptualization

Do speakers of different languages think alike because of the universality of the experience of being human or do we all think differently because of differences in our languages? The answer to these questions has changed throughout the history of linguistic thought, ranging from observing languages merely as tools for expressing our thoughts to strongly believing that languages shape and even constrain our thoughts. This paper presents an overview of two most important theories that deal with these questions: the “rise and fall” of linguistic determinism (Whorfianism), and the development of its more cautious version – linguistic relativism (Neo-Whorfianism) – advocated today primarily within the framework of cognitive views of language, as well as their criticisms, most commonly within the framework of generative views of language.

Trainee Teachers’ Situational Motivation and Motivational Climate towards Physical Education Lessons during COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the trainee teachers’ situational motivation and motivational climate towards Physical Education lessons in primary schools during COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were 160 trainee teachers comprising of 115 males and 45 female aged 21 to 26 years old (1.10±0.30) from two Institute of Teacher Education Campuses in Sarawak, Malaysia. The participants were administrated the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS: Guay, Vallerand & Blanchard, 2000) and Teacher Initiated Motivational Climate in Physical Education Questionnaire (TIMCPEQ; Papaioannou, 1998). Descriptive analysis, independent-samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA and correlation were utilized. Independent-samples t-test indicated that there were no significant differences for all variables in SIMS and TIMCPEQ on gender and age groups. The one-way ANOVA was used to compare the effect on teaching methods in SIMS and TIMCPEQ. There was a significant difference in teacher-initiated mastery orientation for the three teaching methods, F(2,157)=3.31, p=0.04. Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test revealed that the mean score for the online learning (3.87±0.78) was significantly different than the mixed methods (4.22±0.55). However, the face-to-face learning method (3.96±0.62) did not significantly differ from the online learning and mixed methods. Furthermore, two-way ANOVA was used to examine the effect of gender and age groups in SIMS and TIMCPEQ which revealed no significant main effect of gender and age groups. Additionally, there was no statistically significant interaction between gender × age groups for all variables in SIMS and TIMCPEQ. The findings revealed statistically significant positive relationship between the variables in SIMS and TIMCPEQ ranging from very weak (0.24) to very strong (0.90). The findings revealed the necessity for positive motivational climate through adaptive educational resources, alternative teaching approaches and methods that would support and motivate the trainee teachers, educators and students in the teaching and learning of PE during this challenging time.

Physically Active Breaks in the Teaching Process

The aim of this research is to study the impact of physically active breaks, accompanied by video materials, on the level of pupils’ educational achievement and their attitudes toward physically active breaks during the teaching process in the classroom. The research lasted for two months, and the apposite sample consisted of a total of 38 pupils aged 10 to 11. The influence of physically active breaks on the educational achievement was estimated by the percentage of correct answers in the tasks of mathematics, while the Croatian version of the questionnaire Attitudes towards the Physical Activity Scale (APAS) was used for evaluating the attitudes toward physically active breaks with video materials. Differ ences between the initial and final measuring inside the same group were tested by the Student’s dependent sample t-test, while for differences between the experimental and control group the Student’s independent sample t-test was used. The obtained results showed that the ability to solve mathematical tasks in the experimental group has significantly improved when compared to the control one and that physically active breaks have a positive influence on the pupils’ attitudes toward physical activity. The implementation of physically active breaks into teaching has an impact on pupils’ productivity in the educational process, while at the same time their need for movement is fulfilled.

The Evolution of China’s Sporting Diplomacy since 1949

The sporting diplomacy in China, as an integral part of China’s overall diplomacy, unswervingly upholds the fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development since New China was founded. After adopting the policy of reform and opening, the sporting diplomacy in China has made historical achievements through intensive participation in international sporting competitions, extensive involvement in international sporting organizations, active hosting of mega sports events, and frequent engagement in cultural sporting exchanges with other countries. In the last decade, with a constant increase in China’s economy, cultural soft power and international influence of sports, China makes an all-round effort in the pursuit of major countrywide sporting diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Currently, despite the severe challenges outside China, Beijing is making smooth preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which embraces another milestone in the diplomacy of sport in China. This paper analyzes decision environments, goals, actions and defining features of China’s sporting diplomacy in different periods and follows on to summarize practical experiences in the development of the sporting diplomacy in China. The paper shows that the resounding success of China’s sporting diplomacy can be attributed to its commitment to serving the country’s diplomatic strategy and core interests, its commitment to following the Chinese path of sporting diplomacy, and its commitment to the traditional Chinese value of peaceful development. Finally, emerging issues and promotion strategies are presented.

Teachers’ Perceived Barriers to Implementation of Physical Education

This study investigated the perception of Physical Education (PE) teachers on barriers to implementation of PE pro[1]gramme in terms of the administration of PE programme, and the provision of non-human resources. A total of 248 PE[1]major teachers were surveyed using questionnaires which were mailed to schools. The sample consisted of almost 63% male teachers and the majority was under 40 years of age. A 12-item questionnaire was used to assess the administration of the PE programme, and the provision of non-human resources. Results showed that a majority of administrators did not assume PE important; they did not seek consensus in assigning teaching duty, did not discuss teaching and learning factors, and did not organize staff training programme (STP). Older teachers and teachers with 15 years of teaching ex[1]perience or more agreed that administrators discuss their teaching assignment, observe them, and organize STP. Respon[1]dents also perceived inadequacy of facilities, equipment, financial allocation, and reference books in the school PE pro[1]gramme. Male teachers, younger teachers and teachers with less teaching experience concurred the inadequacy of human resources. It is recommended that further research on solving PE human resource problems and PE administration be undertaken. Specifically, greater attention should be given to the needs of younger and junior PE teachers.

The Female and Male World in Croatian Proverbs

Proverbs as concise textual structures are primarily defined as oral (folk) literary forms in which universal thoughts are expressed on the basis of individual experiences understandable to speakers of the language, i.e., of the social community in which they originated. In relation to, for example, idioms, the use of proverbs in today’s public discourse is much rarer, and proverbs in Croatian are most often recorded in printed form, while online edited lexicographic sources of proverbs are rare. Folk customs, human character and physical features, social and religious values, the relation of human and nature are the most common motives in proverbs. Male-female relationships are also the subject of numerous proverbs. Given the past times when they were created, they can be considered the source of a stereotypical image of the status of women and men in society that exists in human consciousness. Based on proverbs with the component woman, grandmother, mother, daughter, sister, girlfriend, widow, father, son, husband…, this paper will analyze proverbs with the topic of male-female relations, e.g. Ljubav daj ženi, ali tajnu odaj samo majci i sestri. (Give your love to your wife, but reveal the secret only to your mother and sister.), or proverbs referring to an individual feature attributed to a man or a woman, e.g., Kakvo drvo, takav klin, kakav otac takav sin. (Like tree, like wedge; like father, like son.)., Ženi sina kad hoćeš, a kćer kad možeš. (Marry a son when you want and a daughter when you can.). The analysis includes the following: 1. representation of proverbs in other lexicographic (printed and online sources), 2. representation of such proverbs in contemporary public discourse, 3. structural and semantic features of proverbs motivated by male-female relationships. In conclusion, the role of proverbs on the topic of male and female in the contemporary context is discussed – what is their perspective and whether the corpus has replaced traditional recorders and word of mouth today.

Cardiovascular Disease Continuum

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an occlusive disease of extremities, which used to be diagnosed and treated as an isolated disease of the limbs or other parts of the body. Nowadays, the role of PAD transcends the affected limb; instead, the cardiovascular system must be observed as a whole, with PAD having a prognostic role. About 200 million people are affected by PAD worldwide. The prevalence of PAD is likely to increase steadily in the future due to the global aging of the population and the predominantly sedentary lifestyle, along with the expected universal increase in the major PAD risk factors such as smoking habit, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Patients with PAD are at a higher risk of coronary disease and cardiovascular events in comparison to healthy control subjects. The severity of PAD correlates with the development and complications of cardiovascular disease. In PAD patients, percutaneous coronary intervention is more demanding, associated with more comorbidities, more complex lesions, and poorer procedural success as compared with PAD-free patients. For a year now, the use of antiplatelet therapy with acetylsalicylic acid in combination with low (vascular) dose of a direct oral anticoagulant has been recommended for cardiovascular and lower limb protection in PAD patients. In the future, we expect a better understanding of atherosclerotic disease, stronger modulation of systemic inflammation, and the discovery of new therapies. In the meantime, it is necessary to identify the risk population and aggressively treat the classic factors – control of blood pressure, glycemia and lipids with antiplatelet and new anticoagulant therapy. The goal is to protect the limb and preserve the cardiovascular continuum. The negative consequences of COVID- 19 on treatment CVD will be estimated in the following years.

Identification of Risk Psychosocial Factors as Predictors of Loneliness of Elderly in Nursing Homes During Social Isolation Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

The elderly is at bigger risk for getting COVID-19 virus, and a particularly vulnerable group are people placed in homes for the elderly and frail. The aims of the study were: (1) to examine differences in the respondent’s experiences of social isolation, loneliness and perception of social support, (2) to examine correlations between the dimensions of social isolation and the experience of social support with the experience of loneliness, and (3) to examine whether dimensions of social isolation and perceived social support are risky psychosocial significant predictors of loneliness. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 participants from three nursing homes in Croatia, EU. It used Social Provision Scale, the short- form Loneliness Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. The results indicate that people who are single are lonelier, and if they do not have descendants are less likely to contact their family and at the same time they report a weaker social support experience. Loneliness is a statistically positive thing with a social provision dimension, information availability, and a significant negative correlation with the experience of social support. The dimensions of social provision, access to information and perceptions of social support contribute to the experience of loneliness. The constant exposure to negative information about the pandemic, the insecurity and anxiety of the people who communicate with them, make the users of homes for the elderly and infirm even more vulnerable to the development of loneliness.

Glycemic Control in Diabetes Type 2 Patients in Foster Families of Brod-Posavina County During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday life and medical supervision of chronically ill patients. Epidemiological measures, social distancing, and limited access to medical care impair glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Also, type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for more severe form of coronavirus disease. A large proportion of diabetic patients are placed in foster families who also adapt to the new situation. The purpose of this study was to examine the manner and frequency of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes who are placed in foster families in the region of Brod- Posavina County. We established contact with patients suffering from type 2 diabetes situated in foster families and their caregivers. Measurement of glycemia was performed several times a day with regular notes and the data were supplemented by an insight into the medical documentation of patients in the hospital information system. The study included 33 patients with type 2 diabetes. The relationship between HbA1C with fasting and postprandial glycemia was linear. There were no statistically significant differences in HbA1C regulation by type of therapy. There was a significant difference in the number of complications according to the level of HbA1C (Hi square test = 25.982, p <.001). The number of complications generally increased as HbA1C regulation was poorer. During current COVID-19 pandemic, care for patients with type 2 diabetes is significantly limited. Improved medical care for patients can be achieved by establishing cooperation and daily communication between caregivers, family physicians and, if necessary, diabetologists, especially through the use of online platforms and telephone communication, all with the aim of early detection of diabetes complications and adequate treatment of patients in current conditions.

Taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide found in South Sinai Bedouin tribes

The aim of this work was to study taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) amongst Bedouin tribes and compare the Bedouins with Arab and Jewish populations. Data obtained by the classic method of serial dilutions in 317 healthy male Bedouins, aged 16–70 belonging to different tribes, were examined. We discovered significant differ­ences in chemosensitivity to PTC in the Bedouin communities. A high frequency of the t allele was documented in the Bedouin tribes of Hamada, Muzeina, and “other Bedouins” and a relatively low level of the t allele frequency in the Gebelia tribe. The frequencies of non-tasters amongst Arab groups were similar in values to those of the Gebelia tribe. Three other Bedouin tribes showed very high values for the non-tasters’ frequencies. The revealed intertribal differ­ences can be explained by the genetic drift in isolated populations, on the other hand, this may be the result of endog­amy.