Self-Directed Learning Predicts Online Learning Engagement in Higher Education Mediated by Perceived Value of Knowing Learning Goals

Online education has made it possible to implement the "classes suspended but learning continues" policy during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the intangible sense of the online educational setting requires self-directed learning (SDL) and may force students to know the goals of learning that may impact their engagement. To understand the effect, based on situated expectancy-value theory, this study considered SDL as attitude and approach and constructed a research model to explore the mediating power of perceived value of knowing learning goals (PVKLG) related to participants' online learning engagement during the COVID-19 lockdown. Data were collected from 497 higher education students in China. After the confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling, the results reported that SDL attitude and approach positively predicted learning engagement mediated by PVKLG. The results suggest that only when students have a high level of PVKLG will they be able to regulate their learning process through the two types of SDL and enhance their engagement in online learning contexts during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Fitting Percentage of Body Fat to Simple Body Measurements: College Women

Percentage of body fat, age, weight, height, and 14 circumference measurements (e.g., waist) are given for 184 women aged 18–25. Body fat, one measure of health, was accurately determined by an underwater weighing technique which requires special equipment and training of the individuals conducting the process. Modeling body fat percentage using multiple regression provides a convenient method of estimating body fat percentage using measures collected using only a measuring tape and a scale. This dataset can be used to show students the utility of multiple regression and to provide practice in model building.

Performance and Early Results from the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) Imaging Spectroscopy Mission

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) acquires new observations of the Earth from a state-of-the-art, optically fast F/1.8 visible to short wavelength infrared imaging spectrometer with high signal-to-noise ratio and excellent spectroscopic uniformity. EMIT was launched to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 14, 2022 local time. The EMIT instrument is the latest in a series of more than 30 imaging spectrometers and testbeds developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, beginning with the Airborne Imaging Spectrometer that first flew in 1982. EMIT's science objectives use the spectral signatures of minerals observed across the Earth's arid and semi-arid lands containing dust sources to update the soil composition of advanced Earth System Models (ESMs) to better understand and reduce uncertainties in mineral dust aerosol radiative forcing at the local, regional, and global scale, now and in the future. EMIT has begun to collect and deliver high-quality mineral composition determinations for the arid land regions of our planet. Over 1 billion high-quality mineral determinations are expected over the course of the one-year nominal science mission. Currently, detailed knowledge of the composition of the Earth's mineral dust source regions is uncertain and traced to less than 5,000 surface sample mineralogical analyses. The development of the EMIT imaging spectrometer instrumentation was completed successfully, despite the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EMIT Science Data System is complete and running with the full set of algorithms required. These tested algorithms are open source and will be made available to the broader community. These include calibration to measured radiance, atmospheric correction to surface reflectance, mineral composition determination, aggregation to ESM resolution, and ESM runs to address the science objectives. In this paper, the instrument characteristics, ground calibration, in-orbit performance, and early science results are reported. © 2023 IEEE.

The solitary and uncertain learning process: A qualitative study of nursing students' experiences in the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic broke out, the nursing students clinical practice period was abruptly interrupted by the lock down. The present study aimed to investigate the nursing students' learning experiences during the initial phase of the pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted investigating nursing students' written assignments (n = 48) of reflections according to their learning process. The qualitative data analysis revealed three main themes, namely the solitary and uncertain learning process; from collective learning process to digital devices; additional learning outcomes. The students' anxiety about the virus affected their motivation to study, but they also expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for having the opportunity to learn about the health system in a time of crisis. These results point towards the health care authorities can rely on nursing students' ability to take part and cover important emergency functions. The use of technology helped the students to achieve their learning objectives.

The Effect of Using Social Media Towards Students' Motivation and Learning Outcomes During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the learning process which was initially carried out face-to-face at school into distance learning at home. This is an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Of course, an effective learning media is needed to support the learning process. This study aims to determine the effect of using social media on students' motivation and learning outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic. This type of research is ex-post facto quantitative research. The populations in this study were students of class XII IPA and IPS MA Negeri 1 Solok Plus Keterampilan as many as 169 people. By using random sampling technique, a sample of 51 students was obtained. Data was collected by using questionnaires and documentation techniques. To analyze the data, this study used simple linear regression analysis. The results showed that: (1) There was a significant effect between the use of WhatsApp social media on the motivation to learn Al-Qur'an Hadith in class XI at MA Negeri 1 Solok Plus Keterampilan. This is evidenced by the obtained significance value of 0.000. Because the significance value is (p) < 0.05, then Ha is accepted and H0 is rejected. (2) There is no significant effect between the use of WhatsApp social media on the learning outcomes of Al-Qur'an Hadith class XI at MA Negeri 1 Solok Plus Keterampilan. This is evidenced by the obtained significance value of 0.560. Because the significance value is (p) > 0.05, then Ha is rejected and H0 is accepted. The recommendations of this research are: Principals should be able to give freedom to educators to use media that can support online learning. The school principal must also provide supporting facilities so that online learning can run effectively. Educators can make optimal use of the use of WhatsApp as an online learning medium or as a communication medium to increase students' learning motivation. Educators are expected to find alternatives in order to improve learning outcomes in using WhatsApp as an online learning medium.

Out-of-the-Box Learning: Digital Escape Rooms as a Metaphor for Breaking Down Barriers in STEM Education

The traditional lecture-based model of teaching and learning has led to the exploration of innovative approaches including digital escape rooms. Digital escape rooms offer an immersive and engaging experience that promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, making them a unique opportunity to address the challenges of STEM education, which is often perceived as difficult, boring, and intimidating. In this study, the goal is to explore the application of digital escape rooms as an innovative practice in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education in Europe. More specifically, the study aims to evaluate the influence of digital escape rooms on student engagement and learning outcomes in mathematics education as well as to provide valuable insights into the efficacy of this approach as a means of teaching mathematics and fostering active and experiential learning in STEAM education. In order to investigate the potential of digital escape rooms as a metaphor for breaking down barriers and escaping from the ”box” in STEM education, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the pedagogical value of digital escape rooms in STEM education. It outlines the design process, including learning paths and scenarios, storyline, puzzles, challenges, and feedback mechanisms, and presents a concept of escape room design patterns. An example case study of a digital escape room designed to teach mathematics to university students is also presented, providing insights into the effectiveness of this approach. By using digital escape rooms as a metaphor for breaking down barriers in STEM education, a more inclusive, engaging, and impactful learning environment can be created to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Exploratory Factor Model of Immersive Formation in the COVID-19 era

Keywords: Organization;Human Capital;Intangible Asset;Model;Specification Introduction Within the framework of regionalist policies, which tend towards protectionism and the stagnation of competitiveness, as well as the multilateralism policies that promote the guidelines of international financial organizations to which the central bank is dependent, the need to study capital human as an intangible asset of entrepreneurial and innovative organizations, therefore, competitive, but without a recipe from the World Bank, the World Trade Organization or the International Monetary Fund [1]. [...]trajectories of dependency relationships were modelled following the principles of complexity in organizations, namely: factuality, fuzziness, chaos and emergency [3]. [...]it is inferred not only who the actors are or who they have been, but who they will be in certain environmental contingencies, organizational cultures and work climates. Isomorphism is inferred when the climate of relationships is in equilibrium with respect to the task climate, that means that demands and resources are also in balance. [...]isomorphism reveals the interrelation between negun tropia and entropy. From the role of the leader, the manager calls for promoting communication and the sense of the objectives that are to be achieved in the immediate future, in the medium and long term. [...]leadership is related to motivate and inspire this transformation and to interact with personal actions and those of teams.

The Effects of Motivation, Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, and Self-Regulation on Learning Engagement of Junior College Students

This study examined three influential factors of junior college students' learning engagement: (a) intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, (b) career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE), and (c) self-regulation. Participants included 206 students enrolled in the secretarial administration program in a junior college in South Korea. The primary research findings are as follows. First, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation positively influenced CDMSE. Intrinsic motivation influenced learning engagement through CDMSE and self-regulation;extrinsic motivation did not. Second, CDMSE influenced self-regulation and indirectly influenced learning engagement through self-regulation. Third, self-regulation had the largest effect on learning engagement. The findings highlight the need to examine and enhance students' self-regulation skills and help improve the learning engagement of junior college students. This study confirmed the significance of motivation, CDMSE, and self-regulation for junior college students' learning engagement.

A Review of An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order by Rebecca Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper

The authors stress that both economic and military investments will be required to counter China's integration of statecraft and industry.1 It is further suggested that a selective procurement of allies within the Asian-Pacific region is necessary to counter Chinese economic dominance, military aggression, and coercive practices.2 An Open World suggests that the United States should look to build on existing relationships within trade and security cooperatives in the Indo-Pacific region and bolster the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad, to become a formal alliance that projects a robust military presence to counter Chinese aggression and encroachment within the South China Sea. [...]the authors point out the current dearth of expertise, talent, and diplomatic finesse that exists within the United States Department of State. In November 2020, the four members participated in a joint naval exercise meant to improve sea readiness for their fleets.6 This exercise was followed by a virtual meeting the following March and the establishment of working groups to tackle challenges such as supply-chain resilience and COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution.7 If these working groups are the extent of the Quad's influence, then the United States needs to seek other alliances to combat China's aggressive economic and military tactics. Coupling public and private sector goals While this type of partnership with private firms is promising, the authors admit to the widening gap between the national security interests of the public sector and the industrial mission of private corporations, which seems to weaken their argument.

Single Audits Are Not What They Used to Be: Certified Public Accountant

Single Audits Pre-COVID-19 The Single Audit Act requires that audits be performed annually, except for certain entities that have been grandfathered in for biennial audits, on behalf of all federal agencies by independent accounting firms or by individual states' internal auditors. Most of these awards were granted in 2021;however, this program was not included in the 2021 OMB Supplement. [...]auditors had to determine which compliance requirements needed to be tested using Part 7 and Part 3 of the supplement. Typically, the audit threshold for a single or program-specific audit of federal awards is based on expenditures. Because for-profit entities are not required to adhere to the audit requirements in 2 CFR Part 200, the SBA has the flexibility to define audit requirements and thresholds specific to the SVOG program. [...]the SBA has defined the audit threshold for a for-profit entity that has received an SVOG award based on the GAAP principle of revenue recognition, specifically applied to recognition of an SVOG award.

Using Digital Learning Platforms to Enhance the Instructional Design Competencies and Learning Engagement of Preservice Teachers

Given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated radical changes to the teaching landscape, employing digital learning platforms in the professional training of teachers has become imperative. The instructional design competencies are among the most important competencies for today's teachers. Therefore, it is necessary to test the effectiveness of digital learning platforms to provide teachers with the required competencies, both cognitive and practical, and to help them improve these competencies. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to measure the effects of using the Google Classroom platform to develop instructional design competences and learning engagement among preservice teachers in Saudi Arabia. We used a quasi-experimental approach, with a one-group design (pre- and posttest) in this study, which included 61 female student teachers. Three measurement instruments were utilised, namely, the achievement test, the product evaluation card, and the learning engagement scale. The results of our study showed that using Google Classroom as a digital learning platform was effective in helping the preservice teachers acquire and develop their cognitive and practical competencies in instructional design. Our results further revealed high levels of learning engagement at cognitive, behavioural, and social levels among the preservice teachers who participated in learning instructional design through the Google Classroom platform. Our findings emphasise the need for greater investment in digital learning platforms to support preservice teachers' professional training, as these students can benefit from the potential these platforms offer in developing their instructional design competencies.

Research on a Sustainable Teaching Model Based on the OBE Concept and the TSEM Framework

This paper reports the results of a study on the implementation of a sustainable teaching model based on the OBE (Outcome-Based Education) concept and the TSEM (Teach, Study, Evaluate, and Manage) framework in computer science and technology at NingboTech University, China. In the context of digital education, the OBE concept and the TSEM framework are integrated to explore sustainable teaching and learning models based on "artificial intelligence and education”. Based on the core concept of engineering professional education accreditation, the course is designed by using the PCCM (Professional Competency Correlation Matrix) method to build a model based on big data analysis, deepen the classroom teaching reform of "artificial intelligence and education”, and explore the integrated digital sustainable teaching mode of "teaching, learning, evaluation, and management”. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of the teaching model based on OBE and the TSEM framework on students' sustainable development. The results show that students deepen their learning in computer science while enhancing their own learning initiative, teamwork skills, innovation skills, and awareness of sustainable development. Research shows that our teaching model plays an important role in the development of student sustainable education, enhancing student engineering practice and innovation capabilities and cultivating applied innovative talents. The efficacy of the teaching model based on the OBE concept and the TSEM framework for improving students' competence in sustainable education warrants further investigation.

Improving Sustainability of Learning Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Medical Students' Autonomous Learning

Achieving sustainable learning outcomes for medical students requires the assessment of their engagement in autonomous learning, and the development of sustainable autonomous learning skills. This study examined the relationship among autonomous learning, academic support, school satisfaction, and learning outcomes. It used structural equation modeling to analyze data from 725 medical students studying at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan. The findings showed that autonomous learning was positively related to academic support, school satisfaction, and learning outcomes. Furthermore, both school satisfaction and learning outcomes were positively correlated with academic support. Similarly, school satisfaction was positively correlated with learning outcomes. Academic support and school satisfaction mediated and serially mediated the relationship between autonomous learning and learning outcomes, respectively. Additionally, autonomous learning had positive direct and indirect effects on learning outcomes through the serial mediation of academic support and school satisfaction. The serial mediating effects of academic support and school satisfaction were significant. Thus, autonomous learning was considered to be an important aspect of sustainable learning outcomes;educational administrators could systematically encourage students' autonomous learning to increase their invested time and effort, and help students improve their learning outcomes.

Goal deviation and "tool deviation": a study on the long-term development mechanism of rural doctors

Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, rural medical and health safety has attracted much attention. As an important supplier of rural primary medical and health services, rural doctors play an important role in the prevention and control of the pandemic. However, the rural primary medical and health service system is facing problems in the construction of rural doctors' team, such as "no recruitment, no retention". This article proposes a two-dimensional analytical framework of "goal deviation" and "tool deviation", analyzes the causes of the development dilemma of rural doctors and further investigates the mechanism for establishing an effective country doctor system. The study finds that the goal deviation between the policy goal of "prevention and treatment synchronization" and the social process of "prevention in the first place" is the root cause of the development dilemma of rural doctors, whereas the tool deviation resulted from the divergence between policy tools(recruitment requirements of rural doctors, salary system and promotion system) and the social process is the surface cause of their development dilemma. Therefore, the establishment of longterm development mechanism of rural doctors should start from the following four aspects: First, making the policy goals adapt to the social process of rural doctors' function transformation, improving the "hierarchical diagnosis and treatment" system framework, and clarifying the functional division of rural primary medical and health service providers;Second, providing flexible recruitment requirements, so that rural doctors can be recruited;Third, improving the incentive mechanism, appropriately increasing their salary and subsidies, clarifying the subordinate relationship, and opening up the promotion channels for rural doctors, so that they can stay;Fourth, building a strong county medical and health community.

Research on the Design of Virtual Reality Online Education Information Presentation Based on Multi-Sensory Cognition

The popularity of the online teaching model increased during the COVID-19, and virtual reality online education is now firmly established as a future trend in educational growth. Human–computer interaction and collaboration between virtual models and physical entities, as well as virtual multi-sensory cognition, have become the focus of research in the field of online education. In this paper, we analyze the mapping form of teaching information and cue information on users' cognition through an experimental system and investigate the effects of the presentation form of online virtual teaching information, the length of the material, users' memory of the information, and the presentation form of information cues on users' cognitive performance. The experimental results show that different instructional information and cue presentation designs have significant effects on users' learning performance, with relatively longer instructional content being more effective and users being more likely to mechanically remember the learning materials. By studying the impact of multi-sensory information presentation on users' cognition, the output design of instructional information can be optimized, cognitive resources can be reasonably allocated, and learning effectiveness can be ensured, which is of great significance for virtual education research in digital twins.

Transformation Processes of Audit in Covid-19 Conditions

The article examines the features of the financial audit traditional forms transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The peculiarities of conducting a financial audit in compliance with quarantine restrictions are considered. The advantages and prospects of implementing agile-audit in Ukraine are analyzed. The need to introduce the institute of electronic audit as one of the methods to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy of Ukraine has been identified. It is noted that one of the elements of combating the consequences of COVID-19 is the use of digital technologies in compliance with tax legislation, namely electronic audit of business entities. It is determined that the content of electronic audit is the use of a specialized tax file Standard Audit File for Tax, which will allow auditors to freely obtain information for tax audits. The current normative and legal regulation of the functioning of the institute of electronic audit in Ukraine is studied, as well as draft laws aimed at improving the normative regulation of electronic audit. A number of measures have been proposed to improve audit processes to prevent the consequences of the pandemic and the full implementation of electronic audit in the traditional system of verification and tax payers activities. It is concluded that the quarantine audit can no longer be performed by traditional methods and it is determined that them a inform of audit is remote audit, which, despite the restrictions, should be conducted in accordance with established international standards, considering pandemic restrictions. It is proposed to consolidate the concept of "electronic audit" at the legislative level to start the functioning of electronic audit in Ukraine;at the regulatory level to determine the structure of the Ukrainian version of the specialized tax audit file SAFTUA, to form a phased procedure for electronic audit;develop an accurate plan for the implementation of electronic audit institute;develop appropriate software for auditors. Among other things, it was deemed necessary to provide special training courses for auditors in order to acquaint the latter with the new audit procedure. It is concluded that conducting an agile audit can allow for an effective audit and become a key element of business success.

Student satisfaction and perceived learning in an online second language learning environment: A replication of Gray and DiLoreto (2016)

The current study is an approximate replication of Gray and DiLoreto's (2016) study, which proposed a model predicting that course structure, learner interaction and instructor presence would influence students' perceived learning and satisfaction in online learning, with student engagement acting as a mediator between two of the predictors and the outcome variables. Using mixed methods, the current study investigated whether Gray and DiLoreto's model would be able to explain the relationships among the same variables in a computer-assisted language learning environment. A mediation analysis was conducted using survey responses from a sample of 215 college-level students, and qualitative analysis was conducted on the survey responses from a subsample of 50 students. Similar to Gray and DiLoreto's study, positive correlational relationships emerged between the variables. However, the model proposed by Gray and DiLoreto did not fit our data well, leading us to suggest alternative path-analytic models with both student engagement and learner interaction as mediators. These models showed that the role of course organization and instructor presence were pivotal in explaining the variation in students' perceived learning and satisfaction both directly and indirectly via student engagement and learner interaction. Moreover, qualitative analysis of students' responses to open-ended questions suggested that from students' perspectives, course structure was the most salient factor affecting their experiences within online language learning contexts, followed by learner interaction, and then by instructor presence.

University-Wide Digital Skills Training: A Case Study Evaluation

Digital competencies and confidence are thought to be critical to success in higher education. However, despite learning frequently taking place online through the use of virtual learning environment and tools such as lecture capture, and evidence to counter the idea of digital nativity, these critical skills are often not explicitly taught at university. In the present study, we describe the development and evaluation of our Essential Digital Skills programme, which is a university-wide digital training programme designed and implemented at a large London university, aimed at new students but open to all students at the University. Using Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, we demonstrate that the programme provided effective training in digital skills for all students but that individual differences exist in the training experience, notably around ethnicity and student status, with Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and international students feeling that the training made a greater contribution to their skill levels and resulted in greater behaviour change and impact, as well as intention to undertake further training.

Resilient supply chain network design without lagging sustainability responsibilities

In the 21st century, global supply chains have experienced severe risks due to disruptions caused by crises and serious diseases, such as the great tsunami, SARS, and, more recently, COVID-19. Building a resilient supply chain is necessary for business survival and growth. Similarly, there is increasing regulatory and social pressure for managers to continuously design and implement sustainable supply chain networks, encompassing economic, social, and environmental components. Hence, a panacea approach is required to establish a compromise position between resiliency concerns and sustainability responsibilities. To address this, this work presents a hybrid integrated BWM-CoCoSo-multi-objective programming model (BC-MOPM) formulated to deliver a compromise between resilience and sustainability supply chain network design (RS-SCND). First, a thorough literature review analysis is conducted to explore the relationship and correlation between resilience and sustainability to develop a framework for the resiliency and sustainability criteria, in a supply chain context. Second, four objectives were formulated, including the minimisation of total cost and environmental impact and the maximisation of social and resilience paradigms. A real two-tier supply chain network is deployed to evaluate the applicability of the developed BC-MOPM. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis is conducted to establish the relative importance of the identified criteria to prove the model's robustness. Results demonstrate the capability of the BC-MOPM in revealing trade-offs between the resiliency and sustainability aspects. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Distance Learning of Financial Accounting: Mature Undergraduate Students' Perceptions

This research sought to explore self-reported satisfaction levels of mature students enrolled in the virtual financial accounting course of the first online-only bachelor's degree in Portugal. While doing so, it attempted to generate understanding of which factors may affect undergraduate mature students' engagement—herein measured in terms of overall satisfaction—with online learning, particularly, of financial accounting. Thereby, this research addresses several research gaps. First, unlike most recent empirical research, it provides evidence from a post-pandemic period, in 2022. Second, responding to calls for further education research in different contexts, Portugal poses a highly relevant, unexplored research setting since it was only in 2019 that the Portuguese government approved a legal regime to frame distance education at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Third, this research focuses on the overlooked, and yet growing, population of adult mature students. The research evidence emerges from 32 valid responses to a structured electronic questionnaire circulated to students at the end of a financial accounting module (in July 2022). Satisfaction rates from students' own perspectives were derived in terms of (i) overall satisfaction, (ii) learning outcomes, (iii) e-learning process, and (iv) pedagogical practices adopted. The assessment of satisfaction levels was determined through Likert-type items with responses ranging from a minimum score of 1 to the highest score of 5. Data gathered were subject to quantitative analysis: descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, statistical tests, principal component analysis, and linear regression. High levels of satisfaction with distance education were uncovered. We found that pedagogical practices constitute the dimension that contributed the least (though, still importantly) to overall satisfaction as compared with learning outcomes and e-learning process. The results of this research offer the potential to contribute to the implementation of training offerings of online courses at other Portuguese HEIs as well as abroad.