Evaluation of the willingness for cadaveric donation in Greece: A population‐based study

Despite the importance of body donation for medical education and the advancement of medical science, cadaveric donation remains suboptimal worldwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the willingness of body donation in Greece and determine the characteristics of donors. This cross‐sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from January to June 2011. A specially designed questionnaire was distributed to 1,700 individuals who were randomly selected from five major Greek cities. It was found that higher educational levels (P = 0.002), annual family income below 30,000 Euros (P = 0.001), guaranteed employment status (P = 0.02), and the presence of comorbid conditions (P = 0.004) seemed to affect potential donors' willingness for cadaveric donation. Those with strong religious beliefs were found to be unwilling to donate their bodies to medical science. Interestingly, the majority of participants who believed that hospitalized patients are deceived or are used for harmful experiments were willing to become whole body donors (P = 0.043). In Greece, the rate of body donation to medical science remains low, and most Greek citizens are not willing to become body donors. Efforts to encourage discussions about whole body donation should be implemented in order to improve current low levels of donation. Anat Sci Educ. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Verbal Fluency and Verbal Short-Term Memory in Adults with Down Syndrome and Unspecified Intellectual Disability

The purpose of this study was to examine verbal fluency and verbal short-term memory in 12 adults with Down syndrome (DS) and 12 adults with Intellectual Disability (ID) of unspecified origin, matched for receptive vocabulary and chronological age. Participants’ performance was assessed on two conditions of a verbal fluency test, namely, semantic and phonemic fluency. In addition to the total number of correct words produced, the use of clustering and switching strategies was also evaluated. In order to investigate the likely relations of verbal short-term memory with the test variables, a digit span task was administered. According to the results of the study, the two groups differed significantly on the average phonemic cluster size, with the ID group outperforming the DS group. Regarding the within-group comparisons, a relatively similar pattern of results was found for the two groups, indicating higher scores on all the measures involved in the semantic test than the phonemic one. The examination of the relation of verbal short-term memory with the verbal fluency test measures revealed that, in the DS group, only the total words produced in the semantic and the phonemic test and the number of phonemic switches were significantly associated with verbal short-term memory. Additionally, in both groups, word productivity in the semantic and the phonemic test was positively associated with the number of switches. The observed similarities and differences in the performance of the two groups, as well as the associations that emerged among the test variables in each group, are discussed.     

Using time-driven activity-based costing to improve the managerial activities of academic libraries

Nowadays, Academic libraries are required to provide high quality services despite their limited budget. Library managers should rely on valid information to keep the library's activities, resources and costs under control. In this paper, we present a case study implementation of Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) at the library of the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. The TDABC is a reliable accounting method that considers many aspects that may affect the employees' efficiency and performance. We adopted quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the library's loan and return processes. In particular, we: i) analyzed cost data, ii) interviewed the library's staff, and iii) recorded the duration for all relevant activities with a stopwatch. The activities' duration was recorded via direct observation. The data were collected during the academic year 2017–2018 to cover all the different academic periods. According to our results, the automation of repetitive processes in the circulation department may decrease significantly the operating costs. This may be achieved by reducing the number of staff and replacing them by robotic services. Implementing TDABC in the lending and return processes helped the library managers to determine which activities demand more time and are costly, and to analyze their respective causes.     

My house of value: school intervention programme investigating aspects of self-knowing,knowing of the other,identity, diversity and interaction

The project My house of value was implemented at a fourth grade primary school classroom for 10-year-old students in Nicosia, Cyprus. The main goal of the project was to examine how pupils realise identity and diversity in their broad sense, how they deal with stereotypical thoughts and how they understand interaction in both positive and negative ways. This was achieved through certain activities during the art lesson, which gave them the opportunity to express themselves in various ways. The method included observation and discussion in classroom, analysis of teachers' diaries and students' works and interviews with students reflecting on the various activities of the project. The final results showed that many pupils could realise that the diversities between identities are more than similarities, but this fact was not necessarily negative. They also became aware of stereotypical thinking concerning the self and the other. They also realised the complication of human intercultural encounters since emotions and experiences are involved. Finally, they concluded that the different ways of knowing the other include different means of communication. The implementation of the project showed that such activities can have a positive impact on pupils especially if they are incorporated in everyday curriculum and classroom practice.     

Inequality and the home learning environment: Predictions about seven‐year‐olds’ language and literacy

Using a UK representative sample from the Millennium Cohort Study, the present study examined the unique and cumulative contribution of children's characteristics and attitudes to school, home learning environment and family's socio‐economic background to children's language and literacy at the end of Key Stage 1 (age seven‐years‐old). Consistently with previous studies, the findings showed that family's socio‐economic background made a substantive contribution to teacher‐rated language and literacy. Moreover, children's characteristics and attitudes to school as well as certain aspects of the home learning environment explained a significant amount of variance in language and literacy. Homework support and book reading, however, were not found to associate with children's language and literacy outcomes, despite a high percentage of parents being involved with home learning support routinely. These findings are likely to contribute to debates regarding the role of home learning in reducing underachievement, drawing important implications for family policy.     

Understanding Relations Among Early Family Environment, Cortisol Response, and Child Aggression via a Prevention Experiment

This study examined relations among family environment, cortisol response, and behavior in the context of a randomized controlled trial with 92 children ( M  =   48 months) at risk for antisocial behavior. Previously, researchers reported an intervention effect on cortisol response in anticipation of a social challenge. The current study examined whether changes in cortisol response were related to later child aggression. Among lower warmth families, the intervention effect on aggression was largely mediated by the intervention effect on cortisol response. Although the intervention also resulted in significant benefits on child engaging behavior, cortisol response did not mediate this effect. These findings demonstrate meaningful associations between cortisol response and aggression among children at familial risk for antisocial behavior.     

Body image perception, satisfaction and somatotype in male and female athletes and non-athletes: results using a novel morphing technique

Thirty-six adults (24 males, 12 females) were assessed for anthropometric somatotype and body image (perception and satisfaction) by a novel technique using quantitative distortion of a digital still image. Software produced random distortions in nine body regions. The participants manipulated interactive slider controls to adjust each body feature in turn, recreate their perceived image and indicate their desired image. There were no differences in perception between the sexes. However, the ideal-actual differences (i.e. satisfaction) indicated that males desired larger and females smaller features, respectively, in the chest and thighs (P < 0.001) and arms and calves (P < 0.01). When the male-derived data were partitioned by sport (strength, endurance, team-sport and controls), differences were found in the perceived image size in the chest and rib regions (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Strength athletes perceived these areas to be smaller and the control group perceived these areas to be larger than the true values. Somatotype analysis indicated that the physique associated with minimal dissatisfaction was 2.0-5.0-3.0 for males and 3.0-2.5-3.0 for females. Cluster analysis, combining anthropometric and satisfaction data, revealed seven distinct subgroups distinguished by particular attributes of physical appearance. We conclude that the method is reliable and that body image includes sex-specific, anthropometric, perceptual and personality-related components.     

Unconventional Internet genres and their impact on second language undergraduate students' writing process

The Web has become a vast and appealing source of information for undergraduate students writing academic papers. While some online resources are comparable in quality to the materials housed in a library, newly accessible, Web-specific genres, such as interest groups, often undermine traditional expectations of scholarly authority, rigor, and objectivity. Since many of these genres harbor hidden agendas, their impact is often manipulative. Giving the illusion of rigor, they can present challenges for novice undergraduate second language writers who are unfamiliar with North American academic guidelines, yet few studies have examined the impact of such sites on their writing. In order to assess this influence, unconventional, opinion-supporting Web citations in argumentative essays from 70 undergraduate ESL students were isolated and evaluated. Findings revealed that the students who cited unconventional sources appeared to be unaware of their ideological agendas. Additionally, viewing such sources as objective, they used them to support their own viewpoints.     

Young people’s participation: is disaffection another way of having a voice?

In this study, young people, described by teachers as being disaffected, were encouraged to become involved in a public forum to discuss issues regarding participation, learning and training at their school as well as their aspirations about the future. The young people discussed their learning and social experiences, and reflected on existing models of participation and student voices as they operated in their school. Through focus group discussions and interviews, the young people expressed concerns about participation in school matters and critiqued the curriculum as irrelevant to their aspirations and employment needs. The young people favoured a form of participation that involves and sustains informal ways of having a voice and creates possibilities for being genuinely listened to. The findings suggested that to enable young people’s participation in learning and other aspects of school life, the curriculum, learning and pastoral support and the school‐to‐training transition require re‐thinking. Finally, the results reinforced the view that inclusion and participation are not unproblematic, requiring a nuanced approach.     

美国学霸3学期上完大学

正读大学的时候,我决定制定一个计划挑战自己:只用三个学期完成其他人通常花费四年的课程。为了实现这个目标,我决心每个学期拿到30~40个学分,而其他学生平均只需12~15个学分。显而易见,我必须合理安排时间才能实现目标。我开始阅读我所能找到的所有关于时间管理的资料,并学以致用。最后,正好三个学期,我完成了目标:两个理科学士学位(计算机和数学)。在最后一学期我完成了高级计算机和数学两门总共37学分的课程,我甚至拥有一份游戏程序员的全职工作(每周工作40小时),还是当地ACM学会(Association of Computing Machinery)的副主席。我以3.9的GPA毕业,并且获得颁发给最优秀计算机专业学生的特别奖。我的一个教授后来告诉我当他们知道我所做所为之后,选择奖项的候选人就变得很简单了。下面就是我知道的时间管理的精华所在。