Moderating role of life skills for stress responses and COVID-19-related perceived stressors among high school student-athletes

This study aimed to investigate whether life skills could be negative predictors of stress responses in high school student-athletes and moderators of a relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related stressors and stress responses during the pandemic. A survey was conducted from July to August 2020, and 1528 (717 females and 811 males) high school students, who belonged to sport clubs in Japanese public high schools, participated. The Stressors for Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Stress Response Scale for Athletes, and the Daily Life Skills Scale were used to assess COVID-19-related stressors, stress responses, and life skills, respectively. The results showed that three factors of personal life skills—planning, self-esteem, and positive thinking—and one factor of interpersonal life skills—intimacy—were significant negative predictors of stress responses. In contrast, COVID-19-related stressors and one factor of interpersonal life skills—leadership—were significant positive predictors. Furthermore, positive thinking moderated the relationship between stressors and stress responses. The findings suggest the need for educators and practitioners to consider effective life skills in challenging situations, to provide fruitful life skills programs for student-athletes. © 2022 The Authors

Understanding Hospitality and Tourism Students' Emotional Intelligence Performance in the E-learning Environment: A Delphi Approach

The COVID 19 pandemic has forced educators and students to embrace e-learning. It has become urgent that educators expedite their efforts in establishing criteria to assess the overall effectiveness of e-learning, in which student emotional intelligence (EI) cultivation and development play an increasingly centric role. However, a survey of the current literature shows that EI in e-learning appears to have received little attention. This study was thus designed to help fill this research void. Specifically, it set out to understand typical hospitality and tourism students' EI behaviors in the e-learning environment. To achieve this goal, this study applied a two-round Delphi approach. The findings show that in the e-learning environment, students commonly exhibit high self-awareness, low self-management, low social management, and low relationship-building competence. Prior EI studies mainly focus on employee performance and behavior but this study extends the effect of EI in education and offers significant implications for hospitality and tourism educators and researchers (word count: 155). © 2022 ICHRIE.

The Feasibility of a Pediatric Distance Learning Curriculum for Emergency Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Improving Pediatric Acute Care Through Simulation Collaboration

To develop and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a longitudinal pediatric distance learning curriculum for general emergency nurses, facilitated by nurse educators, with central support through the Improving Acute Care Through Simulation collaborative. Kern's 6-step curriculum development framework was used with pediatric status epilepticus aimed at maintaining physical distancing, resulting in a 12-week curriculum bookended by 1-hour telesimulations, with weekly 30-minute online asynchronous distance learning. Recruited nurse educators recruited a minimum of 2 local nurses. Nurse educators facilitated the intervention, completed implementation surveys, and engaged with other educators with the Improving Pediatric Acute Care through Simulation project coordinator. Feasibility data included nurse educator project engagement and curriculum engagement by nurses with each activity. Efficacy data were collected through satisfaction surveys, pre-post knowledge surveys, and pre-post telesimulation performance checklists. Thirteen of 17 pediatric nurse educators recruited staff to complete both telesimulations, and 38 of 110 enrolled nurses completed pre-post knowledge surveys. Knowledge scores improved from a median of 70 of 100 (interquartile range: 66-78) to 88 (interquartile range: 79-94) (P =.018), and telesimulation performance improved from a median of 60 of 100 (interquartile range: 45-60) to 100 (interquartile range: 85-100) (P =.016). Feedback included a shortened intervention and including physician participants. A longitudinal pediatric distance learning curriculum for emergency nurses collaboratively developed and implemented by nurse educators and Improving Pediatric Acute Care through Simulation was feasible for nurse educators to implement, led to modest engagement in all activities by nurses, and resulted in improvement in nurses' knowledge and skills. Future directions include shortening intervention time and broadening interprofessional scope.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Competence A Case Study of Preservice Teacher Education Students in the Sultanate of Oman

The study looked into how COVID-19 affected the digital competence of a group of preservice teacher education students at a higher education institution in the Sultanate of Oman. The paper examined students' digital profile in five areas namely information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety and problem solving. Data from 32 undergraduate students was collected by utilizing DigComp, a European Commission digital skills self-assessment tool and findings from a survey. The digital competence framework measures the set of skills, knowledge and attitudes that describes what it means to be digitally competent. These skills are important for students to be effective global citizens in the 21st century. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the students scored Level 3 (Intermediate) in their self-assessment competency test score. The majority of the students perceived that their digital competence improved significantly as the result of online learning which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rationale of this investigation is that it helps educators understand the students' level of digital competence and the students' perspectives on ICT skills. In turn, it informs us the ways to monitor the students' digital progress and the next steps in developing their digital competency © 2023, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications.All Rights Reserved.

Cognitive Study for Online Education in COVID Using Python

This paper highlights the impact on education due to the corona virus/COVID 2019 crisis across the world. Over, 100 million students in India will be phasing out this issue from 2019 onward. The impact of this pandemic is not only on education but even on all sectors of the world. The enforced lockdown is having a bad effect on the students' lives. Due to the pandemic, students as well as educational institutions have to attain technology in the education sector. This paper is going to use the online survey method to gather the responses of some 20 schools and 10 college students from different states in India by using self-developed questionnaires to analyze the effect of online-based learning on students. We compare the different surveys of other countries to find out what major steps help in the education sector of those countries. Using Python discovered that 90% of students are currently dealing with health issues, and 70% are not receiving financial assistance. Only, 30% of students are found proficient in digital skills, and many of them feel a lack of teacher–student interaction. We found some negative and positive impacts of COVID-19 on students. Also, we are suggesting some solutions for the educational sector to opt for ICT at a low cost. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

An Introductory BIM Course for Engineering Students

Building Information Modelling is being adopted worldwide and universities are thus expected to provide the market with new professionals with BIM knowledge and skills. However, introduction of this theme into the curriculum can be challenging to teaching staff. Having successful implementation examples can help carrying on this task. This paper presents the structure, syllabus, adopted tools and activities of an introductory BIM course offered to first-year engineering students. Implemented with only 2 credits, it covers BIM fundamental concepts and develops collaboration skills and abilities with BIM software tools. It was effectively deployed on big classes and successfully offered both in face-to-face and remote modes, adopting a practice focus. An innovative organization for student group projects was adopted, enabling student participation on several projects, performing a different role in each one. Perceived benefits to students' development are reported. The covid-19 pandemics impact is discussed. Future improvements in the course are suggested. Overall results achieved were considered very good. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

The effects of the 2020–2021 Coronavirus pandemic change-event on football refereeing: evidence from the Israeli and Portuguese leagues

Upon the emergence of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic (CP), football referees were forced to cope with the interruption of leagues and experience quarantines, with a potential threat to their physical and psychological well-being. This study examined referees' perceptions of the CP change-event, particularly the effects on refereeing engagement and performance, in part to facilitate more effective support. For this study, an online inventory was circulated during January–February 2021 to 198 referees and assistants from Israel and Portugal, asking them to reflect on the CP in the context of their careers, and the potential effects on their refereeing engagement and performance. The results indicated that the CP was perceived as a moderate change-event in terms of significance, severity, and coping, although many participants did consider it as significant. The participants indicated just a minor reduction in their refereeing quality between the 2019–2020 and the 2020–2021 seasons. The main areas affected were training on a grass field, decision-making training, and financial status. Still, refereeing instruction (conducted mainly online) improved. The behavioural effects were more forceful among the non-professional referees, suggesting that Referee Associations must pay closer attention to support these populations. The participants' motivation, refereeing identity, and self-efficacy were actually improved. Finally, the absence of the crowd in matches allowed the referees to be more aware of their actions and better communicate with players and coaches, which related to better performance. These findings further emphasize the social aspect of football refereeing and the importance of having upright management and communication skills. © 2022 International Society of Sport Psychology.

Identification of counselor mind process on online counseling

Internal counselor competence refers to the metacognition skills to manage all their mental experiences and internal conditions. These are in the form of mind skills. In particular, in the industrial revolution 4.0 and the COVID-19 pandemic situation, online counselors face many unpredictable and unfamiliar conditions. This study aims to identify the state level of the counselor's mind skills during online counseling sessions. This research method uses survey research methods of 181 online counselors in various regions in Indonesia. A mind skills journal is the instrument used for data collection to assess the four levels of counselor metacognition (reflective, strategic, aware, and tacit). The analysis used basic statistics and graphs. The results showed the overall score of the mind skills level was 78.166%, which was in the strategic use level. The mind skills contribution can be counselor self-regulation, counselor assessment, verbalization, information visualization description, causal analysis, and predictive planning. Suggestions based on research results are the need for an alternative to improve mind skills through reflective learning of prospective counselors and reflective supervision activities of counselors in the field. © 2023, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

The Cloud-powered Hybrid Learning Process to Enhance Digital Natives' Analytical Reading Skills

Analytical reading is a necessary cognitive skill for advancing to other skills required in the digital age. Thailand is focused on the instructional development and use of digital media to enhance the digital natives' analytical reading skills, which will assist learners of all ages in effectively and quickly adapting to changes in the digital environment. After the COVID-19 pandemic situation, educational institutions in Thailand have begun to embrace a hybrid learning approach like never before. The limitations of the existing learning process for boosting digital natives' analytical reading skills are the lack of integration between reading techniques, hybrid pedagogies, and emerging learning technologies to enhance learners' seamless learning experiences. Thus, this study aims to propose the Cloud-powered Hybrid Learning process (Cp-HL process) to enhance digital natives' analytical reading skills. This study consisted of two main stages in the research methodology: 1) learning process development;and 2) learning process evaluation. The developed Cp-HL process had four main learning phases: (1) preparation for hybrid learning;(2) presentation for interactive learning;(3) practice with analytical reading;and (4) progress reports on analytical reading skills. All the experts agreed that the newly developed Cp-HL process performed extremely well in terms of overall suitability. © 2023, International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications. All Rights Reserved.

The rise (and almost fall) of Maneli Pets

Learning outcomes: At the end of the case discussion, students should be able to:▪ analyse and discuss networks as a form of social capital;▪ identify and discuss alternative growth strategies for an small, medium, micro enterprise (SMME) in the context of prevailing challenges;▪ use the six domains of the entrepreneurship ecosystem to identify and discuss factors that enhance and challenge a business with particular reference to an SMME;and▪ analyse and understand the key dimensions of entrepreneurial behaviour using the case protagonist as an example. Case overview/synopsis: Nhlanhla Dlamini, the managing director of Maneli Pets based in Johannesburg, South Africa had opened an office in Cincinnati in the USA in July 2019 to take over the distribution and marketing of the company's high-quality protein pet treats. Just over eight months later, the COVID-19 pandemic exploded across the world resulting in unprecedented disruption to people's lives, world trade and the global economy.Now, in June 2022, Dlamini contemplated the successes and challenges he had experienced since starting Maneli Pets in 2016, not least of which was parting company with US-based Novel Dog LLC, which had previously marketed and distributed the pet treats. He had built an internationally accredited factory from scratch, produced pet products and a brand that was appealing to the competitive international market, and exported to 12 countries around the world. However, Dlamini had also faced the retrenchment of a large number of staff, the breakdown of the relationship with Novel Dog, the difficulties of setting up a distribution business in the USA along with overseeing the South African factory, and in September 2019, his co-founder, Sipha Ndawonde, had left Maneli Pets.Maneli Pets had served Dlamini's philanthropic purpose of creating jobs and contributing to the growth of the South African economy. Despite the setback of parting ways with Novel Dog, he hoped to continue to create jobs and return to and exceed the staff numbers he had achieved by 2018, regardless of the hard work involved.In his dual position of managing director of Maneli Pets, based in Johannesburg, and sales director of the distribution and marketing arm, Nandi Pets Inc. in Cincinnati, Dlamini had a global view of the companies' financials that he realised had been missing initially. Would the new structure of Maneli Pets he had created in 2019 in a pre-pandemic world see the company profitable by the end of 2022? What else could he do to take the company to the next level? Complexity academic level: MBA, Masters in Management, Postgraduate Diploma in Business, Executive Education short courses. Supplementary materials: Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code: CSS 3: Entrepreneurship. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Learning Music Theory Through Musical Theatre During a Pandemic

This research focuses on the application of Musical Theatre in the subject of Music Theory, in specialized Music Education. The issue to be explored is related to the development of new creative approaches in Music Theory Education, showing how Musical Theatre, through song, movement and performance, can contribute, as a pedagogic resource, to the implementation of strategies to promote musical, conceptual, attitudinal and motivation skills in musical learning. The methodology applied was action research, taking a first-grade Music Theory class as the target population with five students, aged between ten and twelve years, at the Castelo Branco Regional Conservatory (CRCB), Proença-a-Nova branch, during the 2019/2020 school year, and lasted 10 sessions. Surveys through questionnaires (applied at the beginning and end of the research), reflective summaries of classes and observation grids were used as research instruments. According to the evidence presented in the course of the study, the strategies adopted reveal a significant improvement in students' musical skills and knowledge, despite the limitations caused by Covid-19, positively contributing to their motivation and interest in the exploitation of musical content. In this sense, we conclude that the results obtained throughout the study reveal that the practical application of Musical Theatre in Music Theory classes can be a very significant pedagogical resource, substantially improving knowledge acquisition, interest and motivation for musical learning. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Does intrinsic motivation mediate perceived artificial intelligence (AI) learning and computational thinking of students during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), born as the possibility of simulating the human brain's learning capabilities, quickly evolves into one of the educational technology concepts that provide tools for students to better themselves in a plethora of areas. Unlike the previous educational technology iterations, which are limited to instrumental use for providing platforms to build learning applications, AI has proposed a unique education laboratory by enabling students to explore an instrument that functions as a dynamic system of computational concepts. However, the extent of the implications of AI adaptation in modern education is yet to be explored. Motivated to fill the literature gap and to consider the emerging significance of AI in education, this paper aims to analyze the possible intertwined relationship between students' intrinsic motivation for learning Artificial Intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic;the relationship between students' computational thinking and understanding of AI concepts;and the underlying dynamic relation, if existing, between AI and computational thinking building efforts. To investigate the mentioned relationships, the present empirical study employs mediation analysis based upon collected 137 survey data from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid students in the Institute for Educational Science and the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering during the first quarter of 2022. Findings show that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between perceived Artificial Intelligence learning and computational thinking. Also, the research indicates that intrinsic motivation has a significant relationship with computational thinking and perceived Artificial Intelligence learning. © 2023

Conditioning factors in the remote learning context in higher education

With the epidemiological scenario produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, information technologies have increased their importance in education and become even more significant, forcing unforeseen and fundamental adjustments in the organization of work. To ensure that students continue to learn, these developments in educational institutions have led to the increasing use of remote learning. This study investigates the factors that facilitate or condition students' perception of their perceived efficacy and development of soft skills in a remote learning environment during the second COVID-19 blockade in Portugal. Between March 1 and 15, 2021, 258 students (higher education) who were enrolled in remote learning answered a web-based cross-sectional questionnaire. The results of the regression analysis revealed several conditioning factors for this type of learning that can impact on the effectiveness and development of students' competencies: technological issues, learning conditions (e.g., autonomy, study materials) and demotivation were significant factors. Given current and future generations of students, the results of this study provide clues for higher education managers and teachers to develop digital strategies to provide innovative, attractive and motivating learning environments.

Digitalization and Its Dimensions in a Social and Educational Context

The aim of the article is to show the role of digital skills and literacy as a consequence of the processes of digitalization, but also as a prerequisite for conducting online learning in educational systems. The different dimensions of digitalization and the formation of digital skills by people of different ages and professions are analysed. The methodology is based on various surveys, including an online survey conducted by the authors of the article among the Bulgarian population on the state of digitalization and online learning. An important place in the study is occupied by online education in secondary and higher education in the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Views and assessments of the participants in the learning process and their readiness for mobile learning are shown. The main conclusion of the article is that in Bulgarian society there is a relatively good availability of digital skills, which are important for modern processes. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Learner Engagement in a Business Simulation Game: Impact on Higher-Order Thinking Skills

Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) are reliable predictors of success in school and the workplace. A typical technique for encouraging higher-order thinking is to use instructional design interventions that engage learners in simple cognitive activities. Business simulation game (BSG) is one of the types of interactive learning environments that can increase HOTS. In addition, student engagement and attitude toward technology use are considered strong influences on HOTS. The study explored the effect of using a BSG on HOTS and student engagement. It examined the influence of attitude toward the use of a BSG on HOTS and student engagement. The results of the t-test analysis showed that learning activities using BSG had a positive effect on HOTS and student engagement. Additionally, PLS-SEM analysis results indicated that immersion, interaction, and intention to use the game influence student engagement. Furthermore, student engagement significantly influenced HOTS. The findings indicate that students must demonstrate that they are engaging actively in a course to improve HOTS and that a BSG can be a valuable and effective tool for promoting engagement. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic caused limitations in sampling and representativeness of respondents. Future research should involve a bigger sample size and students who have attended related courses. © The Author(s) 2022.

Management skills and digital transition for Mipymes Zone 3-Ecuador

After the Covid-19 pandemic, companies have faced a challenge in their economic activities, especially in the profile of human resources. The main objective of this research was to diagnose the managerial competencies of FMCG MSMEs in Zone 3-Ecuador necessary for a digital transition during the post-pandemic period. It is conceived as a descriptive study, with a prospective approach that used a structured survey for data collection, focused on a sample of 371 MSMEs in zone 3. Statistical tools were used for a quantitative analysis. In the results, two sections are presented, the first one focused on the diagnosis of the current situation of the companies, and the second one aligned to a statistical analysis where it was proved that managerial competences influence an adequate digital transition. It is concluded that it was evidenced that these are of vital importance because they support the improvement of the preparation and knowledge that both management and operational personnel possess;as well as, to face the challenges in the face of unexpected events. © 2023, Universidad del Zulia. All rights reserved.

Nurse Burnout in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Scoping Review

Burnout in hospice and palliative care nurses is a growing issue, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have focused specifically on burnout in this population. A scoping review was undertaken to identify what is known about burnout among hospice and palliative care nurses, and to unify disparate findings. Analysis of eight articles revealed three overarching categories: personal factors, organizational/workplace factors, and nursing professional development factors. Each category was then divided into three cross-cutting subcategories: contributory and noncontributory factors, mitigating factors, and workplace issues. Recommendations for individuals include self-care as well as self-awareness of intrinsic characteristics that can predispose one to burnout. Within the workplace, leaders are challenged to support evidence-based practice and ongoing education. Role modeling positive communication skills, effective conflict mitigation, responsiveness, promotion of equity, and workplace commitment also help to create a culture of wellness. Nursing professional development may aid in resilience-building, and promotion of self-efficacy, self-confidence, and assertiveness. Although all identified recommendations were derived from the literature, no interventional studies have been conducted to test the effects of suggested interventions. Future research should include interventional studies as well as qualitative research to capture nuanced experiences of burnout in hospice and palliative care nurses.

The Top 10 Soft Skills in Business Today Compared to 2012

The work environment has drastically changed in the last 10 years, necessitating a new look at which soft skills are most relevant in today's workplace. Because of COVID-19, organizations had to rapidly adjust where and how they work. According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of adults, who can perform their work responsibilities from home, are now working remotely. Then, the workplace shifted again during the "Great Resignation” where an all-time record of 24 million employees left their jobs between April and September 2021. This shift is ever more important as research in the last decade indicates that soft skills are being valued more compared to hard skills during the hiring process. The current study replicated Robles's (2012) study of soft skills to find which soft skills are most relevant to a thriving work environment in 2022. Results indicate that soft skills emphasizing employee initiative and including others in processes are most relevant today, including Adaptable, Agency, Conscientious, Contextual Awareness, Create Clarity, Curiosity, Engage the Mess, Genuine Care, Integrity, Partnership, Play, Positive Energy, Social Skills, and Suppress the Noise. © 2023 by the Association for Business Communication.

Business (un)usual: Critical skills for the next normal

The impact of COVID-19 on global human resource (HR) management has been swift, dramatic and has fundamentally changed HR processes. The prompt online migration of business has altered the skills required by employees to succeed in the workplace of the future. This research examines the hard and soft skill gaps that exist in the digital marketing and advertising industry. Through the use of two data collection points in 2019 and 2020, the research identified a renewed importance being placed on soft skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Soft skills and the development thereof have become a key focal area of training for new employees as a result of remote working. The identified hard skill gaps are indicative of the future growth areas of the industry, focusing on data analytics, marketing automation and user experience. Future research should consider an expansion to other industry-specific skills and contrast country-level skill gaps. © 2022 The Authors. Thunderbird International Business Review published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Use of Gamification in the Educational Program DigiCraft

From an increasingly early age, girls and boys handle technology, and digital education must become an essential part of the training of young people. The European Union has recognized that it is urgent to strengthen training in digital competence throughout Europe so that Member States can recover from the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to building the foundations for a more ecological and digital Europe. In line with European policies, Spain has designed a national plan for digital skills, providing a strategic framework aligned with the 2030 agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From the private sector, digital education initiatives have also been proposed. Thus, the Vodafone Spain Foundation has designed and is carrying out an educational program for the development of digital competence. In this educational program, gamification is part of both the training activities and the evaluation process, and in both cases, it is understood as a strategy aimed to promote engagement to the training process. This chapter presents the educational program DigiCraft for the development of digital competence and the evaluation process designed to verify their acquisition, in which the game has a fundamental pedagogical role. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.