Soft Skills of Latin American Engineering Professors: Gender Gap

The importance of soft skills in the professional work of an engineer is becoming increasingly important, even more so since the emergence of Covid-19 boosted the digitization of all professional sectors. In order for future engineers to acquire this type of skills, it is necessary for engineering professors to have an optimal level of technical and transversal skills. This article analyzes the assessment made by a group of engineering professors about their degree of development of soft skills and describes gender gaps in these assessments. Based on a self-created survey to evaluate different families of soft skills relevant to engineering education, a sample of 284 Latin American engineering professors reported: 1) high evaluations of their soft skills and 2) the existence of gender gaps in the families of work behavior and social skills in favor of females. This gap is especially wide among participants younger than 45 and older than 65 in the social skills family. In addition, females also rate their work motivation skills higher, except in the 55–64 age range.

Online peer support training to promote adolescents' emotional support skills, mental health and agency during COVID-19: Randomised controlled trial and qualitative evaluation.

Adolescents often look to their peers for emotional support, so it is critical that they are prepared to take on a supportive role, especially during a health crisis. Using a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN99248812, 28/05/2020), we tested the short-term efficacy of an online training programme to equip young people with skills to support to their peers' mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, one-hundred UK adolescents (aged 16-18) recruited through social media were randomly allocated (1:1) to immediate 5-day peer support training or a wait-list, via an independently generated allocation sequence. Primary outcomes were indicators of ability to help others (motivation, perceived skills, frequency of help provided, compassion to others and connectedness to peers). Secondary outcomes included emotional symptoms, mental wellbeing, and indicators of agency (civic engagement and self-efficacy). We also collected qualitative reports of participants' experience. Assessments were completed at baseline and 1 week post randomisation (primary endpoint), and up to 4 weeks post randomisation (training group only). The training increased support-giving skills, frequency of providing support, compassion and peer connectedness (medium-large-effect sizes), but not motivation to provide support, 1 week post randomisation, compared to controls. Gains in the training group were maintained 4 weeks post randomisation. Training also improved adolescents' mental health and agency, and qualitative reports revealed further positive outcomes including increased self-care and empowerment. Leveraging digital platforms that are familiar to young people, peer support training has the potential to enable adolescents to support their own and their peers' mental wellbeing during a health crisis.

Development of social skill training design for preschool in social distancing pandemic COVID-19

Introduction: The low level of social skills during the social distancing period triggers high levels of aggression in children. Teachers and parents find teaching difficult because of their limited knowledge and the pandemic situation. Therefore, teachers and parents must be trained to develop children's social skills proportionally. Training children's social skills should be done face-to-face because it is related to the ability to modify behaviour. Of course, this cannot be done, so it is necessary to design training designs in such a way as to deliver digital-based learning, namely virtual learning. This research aims to develop a social skills training design for preschools during the social distancing pandemic of COVID-19. Methods: The research method using Research and Development (R&D) refers to the ADDIE research development model: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, which aims to produce an effective training design to develop early childhood social skills for teachers and parents through digital-based learning, namely virtual learning. Results: The design has been tested and validated by 3 experts;experts in the field of character education, linguists, and experts in educational technology both quantitatively and qualitatively and has met the acceptability criteria. Therefore, design training has proved effective in improving the competence of teachers and parents in developing the social skills of children ages early during social distancing. These results can be seen from the activities of the trainers and trainees on the implementation of the training in the very good category, said to be practically based on the positive responses of the trainees (teachers and parents) in the very good category, can increase the knowledge and competence of participants based on the results of the learning evaluation. Conclusion: The design training has proved effective in improving the competence of teachers and parents in developing the social skills of children ages early during social distancing. © 2023, Sanglah General Hospital. All rights reserved.

The International Education Index: A global approach to education policy analysis, performance and sustainable development

Before the COVID‐19 pandemic, the world struggled to address growing educational inequalities and fulfil the commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The pandemic has exacerbated these inequalities and changed how education functions, moving to online and hybrid methods. The challenges in global education highlighted and worsened by the pandemic make it necessary to re‐evaluate education systems and the policies in place to support access, quality and equal opportunity. This article focuses on analysing education policies at a national level. It tests a pilot policy analysis tool, the International Education Index (IEI), developed as a starting point to begin this reconsideration and create an accessible and comprehensive way to evaluate national education systems to inform decision‐making and policies in the new context. This research uses Ireland and Northern Ireland to test the IEI pilot tool. The IEI consists of 54 questions across nine indicators, including institutional frameworks, education strategies, digital skills and infrastructure, twenty‐first century skills, access to basic social services, adherence to international standards, legal frameworks, data gathering and availability and international partnerships. Countries can score 108 points to be categorised as having developed, emerging or nascent national education systems. Ireland scored 94 and Northern Ireland 81, indicating that they have developed national education systems.

Staying sane in psychiatric residency during COVID times

This article gives a junior psychiatry resident's personal story of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: what led to it, what helped her get through it and the continual process of working to avoid burnout in the future. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of BJPsych International is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

College students' Twitter usage and psychological well-being from the perspective of generalised trust: comparing changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study investigated the relationship between generalised trust and psychological well-being in college students, considering the social support obtained from their social networks via Twitter and face-to-face (FTF) interactions. Initially, the authors planned to collect data at the beginning of the first semester in 2019 for fine-tuning the model as a pilot study, and in 2020 for the main study. However, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the data helped authors to analyse changes in young people's psychological situation before and during the pandemic in Japan.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted a self-report survey targeting college students in the Kanto region in Japan. Data were collected from mid-May to the end of June 2019, as well as in early to mid-June 2020, with 304 and 584 responses, respectively. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling and a multiple regression analysis.FindingsThe findings using the 2019 data set indicated that (a) students mostly used Twitter for information gathering and sharing of hobbies, and they received both informatics and emotional support from Twitter, and from FTF interactions;(b) there were direct positive effects of generalised trust and social skills on their psychological well-being;and (c) students with lower levels of generalised trust tended to interact with very intimate individuals using Twitter to obtain social support, which did not have any effects on their improvement of psychological well-being. From the 2020 data set, the authors also found that, like 2019, generalised trust and social skills had direct effects on the improvement of psychological well-being. Additionally, we observed that students spent more time using Twitter and received more emotional support from it, as most people tried not to meet other people in person due to the first State of Emergency in Japan. Similarly, the authors found that in 2019, only social support from very intimate partners via FTF communication had slightly significant effects on improving their psychological well-being, whereas in 2020, their expectation for social networks via FTF had decreased their levels of psychological well-being, but their social support from Twitter had slightly significant effects on their improvement of psychological well-being. One of the main reasons for this might be due to the challenge of meeting with others in person, and therefore, social support from Twitter partially played a role that traditionally was only beneficial through FTF communication.Originality/valueWe understand that this is one of the few social psychological studies on social media that collected data both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides unique evidence in demonstrating how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed college students communication behaviours.

Empathetic Conversation in the Library

One of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic was the limited ability to gather socially and connect with others in person. This was especially difficult for many of the students, who were isolated and disconnected from others in their rural community. To address this issue, Gilbert designed a project that focused on creating spaces for engagement and conversation, using literature as a lens to explore the human experience. In essence, students were invited to bring their lunches to the school library (it usually isn't used as a place to eat) to join them in conversations. They would weave in books they had in the library, but it was not at all necessary for them to have read the books before the conversations.

A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Early Initiation of Speech Therapy and Its Positive Impact on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition that consists predominantly of an apparent early delay in communication and social skills. Among the multiple identified etiologies, genetics play a key role. The implementation of early interventional therapy for children with ASD is starting to show promising results. A few medical databases were used to collect multiple published types of research, which were thoroughly screened. Ultimately, a small amount was selected according to the defined eligibility criteria. The 12 articles that were reviewed involved a more significant number of boys than girls, and most clinical trials displayed the importance of starting early therapy. Astonishingly, the overwhelming effects of the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect the continuation of speech therapy in certain areas. In addition, studies emphasize knowledge scarcity, insufficient resources in certain areas, and the demand to educate the community. Conversely, no difference in the level of severity was noted with the implementation of early therapy. Early therapy, chiefly speech therapy used to treat children with ASD, demonstrated favorable outcomes. Communities require awareness about the condition on a broader scale to educate caregivers on early alarming symptoms. All in all, additional exploration needs to be done.

Measuring Emotional Intelligence Competency of Undergraduate Students during Online Class learning

Emotional quotient is highly important in the current education system. The COVID-19 pandemic period has mandated the online classes among the students. The aim of this work is to analyze the characteristics of Emotional Intelligence (EI) of students during the online class learning. Totally 130 students have participated in this empirical study with interest. There are 50 questions in a self-report questionnaire with a 5-point likert scale that covers the different aspects of self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills. The students' responses are collected through Google form. The scores of each participant with respect to self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills are calculated. The descriptive statistics are applied and then Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is performed to find the important factors. Further Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlette' test are also made to measure the sample adequacy. From the results of the CFA, it is concluded that social skill component of EI played a major role among the students. © 2022, Rajarambapu Institute Of Technology. All rights reserved.

Improving medical students' interpersonal communication skills, applying cochrane review evidence: Presenter(s): Conor Gilligan, University of Newcastle, Australia

The demand for medical students to be trained to communicate effectively has seen the emergence of interpersonal communication skills as core graduate competencies in medical training. We conducted a systematic review of interventions for medical students aiming to improve interpersonal communication in medical consultations. We searched five electronic databases in September 2020 and screened reference lists of relevant articles. We included randomised controlled trials, cluster-RCTs, and non-randomised controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of interventions delivered to students in pre-service medical programmes. Standard Cochrane methodological procedures were used. We found 91 publications relating to 76 separate studies (involving 10,124 students). We performed meta-analysis according to comparison and outcome. Outcomes reporting on overall communication skills, empathy, rapport or relationship building, patient perceptions/satisfaction, information gathering, and explanation and planning were reported separately. The quality of evidence ranged from moderate to very low, and there was high, unexplained heterogeneity. Overall, interventions had positive effects on most outcomes, but generally small effect sizes and low quality limit the conclusions that can be drawn. for discussion include: programmes that include personalised feedback probably improve medical students' overall communication skills more than programmes that involve general or no feedback;and online or self-directed programmes may make little to no difference in improving skills in empathy or rapport compared with face-to-face teaching. Since publication of the papers in the review, the tertiary education sector has been rocked by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Taken together, the results of our review and the subsequent pandemic-related experiences lend weight to the notion that 'when taught, students will learn'. Combining the lessons of the review with those of the pandemic, we are in a position to offer well-informed guidance to educators and accreditors about the most practical and evidence-based approaches to teaching communication skills. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Patient Education & Counseling is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The impact of ethical climate and the LMX relationship on nurses' burnout in hospitals in Serbia *

Burnout contributes to the emergence of numerous negative organisational phenomena. Nurses are exposed to high stress working conditions every day, making it important to study burnout among nurses in health care systems. The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of ethical climate and the LMX relationship on burnout among nurses, as well as to examine the effects of the three moderators (gender, self-awareness and social skills among nurses) on the observed relationships. The sample consists of 326 nurses from 23 hospitals in Serbia. Standardised questionnaires were used, while correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were employed for statistical processing. The dimensions of the ethical climate and LMX relationship have statistically significant impacts and predictive effects on the burnout dimensions. Raising the level of the ethical climate and LMX relationship positively affects burnout: it reduces emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and increases personal accomplishment and involvement. An adverse ethical climate and unfavourable LMX relationships among men cause greater emotional exhaustion. For nurses with high self-awareness and high social skills, a favourable ethical climate and positive LMX relationships reduce emotional exhaustion, and increase personal accomplishment. For nurses with low self-awareness and low social skills, a favourable ethical climate and positive LMX relationships reduce depersonalisation. Recommendations are made for improving the ethical climate and LMX relationships in hospitals in Serbia.

Importance of Soft Skills in Health Sciences Students and Their Repercussion after the COVID-19 Epidemic: Scoping Review.

Soft skills (SKs) are skills related to the interaction among people and their way of dealing with tasks. Increasingly valued in the workplace, they are especially relevant in health professionals due to the importance of the relationship among them and their patients and families. Given their importance, the university training of healthcare professionals must promote the development of SKs. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a turning point in many areas, changing the learning process and, even more, the use of these soft skills as a fundamental ingredient in human relationships. The aim of this study was to analyse the available evidence regarding SKs in health science students, specifically nursing students, and to describe whether there is a worsening in the development of such skills after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the PRISMA-ScR methodology for systematic reviews, this study included articles on social skills and possible changes in these skills as a consequence of the pandemic in health sciences students The results highlight the importance of these emotional competences for future nurses, being particularly relevant for communication and emotional self-awareness and showing their influence on academic aspects, such as academic performance or mental health and coping skills. A major limitation of the present study was not considering aspects such as compassion or empathy. However, the novelty provided by this work is the analysis of the changes in SKs produced as a consequence of the pandemic. It is definitely clear that there is a need to enhance emotional intelligence, and thus soft skills, in future health professionals.

Attending (or not) after-school programs during the COVID-19 pandemic: What happens to children's social skills and behavior problems?

The demand for After-School Programs (ASP) has increased in the last decades, mainly related to the reduced availability of the family to take care of children in the after-school period. This study aimed to compare two groups of children who attend (ASP group) or not ASP (comparison group), from the first and second grade, regarding their social skills and behavior problems. Teachers assessed 120 children (half by group) across three times (one before and two during the COVID-19 pandemic). A pattern of ASP attendance was determined, in order to understand whether ASP attendance influences social skills and behavior problems. The results indicated that children who attended ASP showed higher levels of self-control and assertion skills. Higher levels of hyperactivity were reported by teachers for both groups when children came back to school after the first COVID-19 lockdown. Parents enrolled their children in ASP mostly for safety; and ASP attendance had a positive effect on social skills and negative on behavior problems. The implications of attending ASP associated to a more positive child development are discussed.

Effect of motor skills development on psychological and social traits of students of mazandaran province during the covid-19 pandemics.

Nowadays, the covid 19 pandemics are challenging all students. The present study aimed to investigate whether motor skill development affects students' psychological and social traits during the covid 19 pandemics. The present study's population consisted of all students aged 9-17 years in the three grades of the elementary, middle, and high school in Mazandaran province in the academic year 2020-2021, which corresponded to approximately 534 thousand students. We used a simple random sampling to determine the sample size because Iranian schools were closed. In this study, we selected 15 individuals for each of the experimental and control groups. Due to some students dropping out or leaving the practice, the samples comprised 42 girls and 45 boys in the control group and 41 girls and 43 boys in the experimental group. To collect data, we used the Standard Student Social Skills Questionnaire by Garsham and Elliott (1990), Cooper-Smith Self-Esteem Questionnaire, and Children's Depression Scale Short Form (CDS-A). We conducted the experimental group for 36 sessions, i.e., three months and three sessions per week, and each session lasted 30-45 min, depending on the quarantine conditions on the 19th day. To analyze the data, we used a two-way analysis of variance and the Scheffe post hoc test. The results showed that all groups had lower scores in psychological traits than those in the pretest. However, no significant difference was found between groups (P. < 0.05), and this effect was not significant in social traits (05/0 < P.). We also suggest that school principals and health care professionals use this study to design guidelines for creating a healthy environment and developing health-oriented educational programs to improve students' quality of life and health.

Evidences of Citizens' Engagement from COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. Health Care System' Facebook Communication

The study aims at demonstrating how social communication has changed in terms of flows and content during the COVID-19 pandemic to get to the fact that health system organizations have embarked on a path of rapprochement with the citizen that starts from the methods of communication and interaction. This article presents an exploratory and multidisciplinary study conducted through the analysis of the Facebook page of the Italian Local Health Units (LHUs) site in the areas with the highest cumulative COVID-19-induced mortality rate. The study affirms that they are in an early stage of the process both for the acquisition of skills for social communication and for the definition of a communication strategy.

Predicting growth in prosocial and externalizing behaviors during a summer treatment program for children with ASD, ADHD, and comorbid ASD and ADHD

Children ages 6-12 with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often demonstrate similar challenges in in social skills and externalizing behavior (e.g., Leitner, 2014;May et al., 2018). Although distinct evidence-based intervention strategies for improving social skills and externalizing behavior have been shown to have positive effects for children with ASD (e.g., Wong et al., 2015) as well as children with ADHD (e.g., Fabiano et al., 2014), less is known about how a single evidence-based intervention might differentially affect children with ASD, ADHD, or both (Davis & Kollins, 2012).This study examined behavioral trajectories of children with ASD (n = 39), ADHD (n = 50), or both (n = 28) who participated in Apex Summer Camp prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apex is an intensive behavioral intervention modeled after the Summer Treatment Program (Pelham et al., 2012). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model growth in prosocial and externalizing behaviors during camp, and to test whether diagnosis and pre-camp parent-reported child behavior ratings (i.e., Social Responsiveness Scale and Child Behavior Checklist) predicted growth. Results showed that all children, on average, had significant increases in most prosocial behaviors, but no overall changes in most externalizing behaviors. More importantly, campers with ASD and comorbid ASD and ADHD were rarely different from their counterparts with ADHD alone, though comorbid diagnosis was more often associated with less desirable outcomes. Last, parent pre-intervention behavior ratings were largely not predictive of positive behavior growth but predicted the intercept of some externalizing behaviors. Implications for clinical and school-based practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Virtual Parent Coaching of Music Interventions for Young Autistic Children in Mexico

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted education, peer interactions, and social access for a large percentage of learners and created increased stress and workloads for parents, particularly in families of autistic children, who lost access to specialized services. Providing parents with resources to support their children at home became a necessity. This exploratory study investigated the feasibility of a parent coaching model of music interventions through virtual sessions in a low-resource country. Eight families participated in six 1-hr weekly sessions where the music therapist shared music interventions for young autistic children through videoconferencing. Results show that parent coaching in a virtual setting is feasible, useful, and acceptable for parents. All parents improved in their ability to modify the environment to address child's needs, adequately respond to their child's communication attempts, and provide opportunities for engagement and natural reinforcement. Parents found the coaching important, useful, and supportive. Initial recommendations for practice include providing guidelines for safe sessions;adapting to family needs, strengths, and culture;relaying information quickly and concisely;and ensuring that parents can access local services to continue their parenting journey.

Innovative ICT-Based Strategies Used by Teachers for the Development of Social Competences in Business Administration Students

This study is developed with the aim of diagnosing the innovative strategies based on ICT used by teachers for the development of social skills in business administration students;which were applied during the COVID 19 pandemic as a response to the change of modality launched by higher education institutions. In this case, the present study was located in the positivist paradigm, with a descriptive level, with a non-experimental, transactional field design. The sample is taken from a group of 25 teachers, who teach in the business administration program of a private university located in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. A questionnaire consisting of a total of 15 items applied to this sample, which was validated by experts and its reliability was determined by means of the Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, yielding a value of 0.87. As a result, an average of 2.86 was obtained in the variable strategies for the development of social competences;located in the category neither appropriate nor inappropriate. These results show an important level of shortcomings in the implementation of innovative strategies based on ICT used by teachers for the development of social skills in business administration students. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Remote PEERS® for preschoolers: A pilot parent-mediated social skills intervention for young children with social challenges over telehealth.

Introduction: Social differences characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities are evident in early childhood and are associated with later difficulties. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of evidence-based interventions explicitly targeting social skills development for young children, few actively integrate parents and caregivers, and even fewer have remote models. The importance of providing accessible, tailored services for families in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted the creation of a parent-mediated telehealth version of Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for Preschoolers (P4P), a pre-existing, evidence-based social skills intervention for children 4-6 years focused on making and keeping friends. Method: This methodological paper documents the implementation, feasibility, and satisfaction of a novel telehealth group-based delivery of P4P. Results: Qualitative results indicate acceptable feasibility and satisfaction. Additionally, following completion there was an increase in parental confidence in social coaching and increased use of child social skills. Discussion: Future work will evaluate quantitative outcomes and comparisons between delivery methods (e.g., telehealth vs. in-person).