Libraries and Financial Literacy: Perspectives From Emerging Markets

The article uses conceptual correlations between information literacy and financial literacy as a basis for arguing that financial literacy services have a place in library settings. The article discusses the general requirements, profile of services, and various challenges related to the introduction of financial literacy programmes in public libraries. An intensified interest in financial literacy matters may be assigned to the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. The interdependencies between financial crisis, financial literacy, and the potential of public libraries is illustrated by the example of one South-Eastern European country whose economic transformations and developments reflect the importance of financial literacy.     

The role of artistic experiences in the comprehensive inductive educational approach

Postmodern pedagogy is constantly confronted with Lyotard’s condemnation of grand narratives found in the philosophy of modernity, on the basis of which basic patterns of moral education were developed. In searching for new answers to the question of how education can prepare individuals for life in an age of late modernity, this paper presents the idea of approaching identity and moral development through the inductive educational approach and highlights the importance of education through the arts in the latter, especially in view of the theoretical notion of aesthetics as ethics of postmodernity. In an age in which artistic creativity is deemed less important than acquiring competences aimed at technological development, it is crucial to provide a clear answer as to why and how different art practices may exert an influence on the full development of a child’s personality. In order to demonstrate the meaning of artistic experience in general education, one must seek arguments supporting the intrinsic value of the artistic experience. This paper stresses the meaning of artistic experience as a means of communication providing both the artist and the art recipient with the opportunity for personal fulfilment. In this context, Aristotle’s concept of mimesis and its role in education through the arts is emphasised as part of the comprehensive inductive educational approach. The argument is illustrated with some qualitative data from the implementation of a project in Kindergarten Vodmat, Ljubljana, Slovenia, using the inductive educational approach and art as a tool for cultural enrichment of pre-school children.     

Development of the profession and qualifications of adult educators in Lithuania in the context of reforms of adult education

The Baltic countries regained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined the European Union in 2004. This article seeks to explore institutional development and reforms of adult education and lifelong learning in Lithuania with respect to the processes, the actors and the context of socioeconomic change over the past 20 years. It also looks at the implications of these processes for the professionalisation of adult educators, referred to here as “adult learning teachers” (ALTs). The authors begin with an analysis of the historical-institutional and political-economical aspects of the development of adult education and lifelong learning by providing a retrospective of institutional change in Lithuania. They then move on to analyse the existing institutional and legal arrangements of adult education which shape and institutionalise the profession and qualifications of ALTs. Their empirical research reveals the opinions of Lithuanian ALTs on their current professional occupational profile and its future development.     

A novel way of liver preservation improves rat liver viability upon reperfusion

Background/aim： Currently, the liver is cold-preserved at 0-4 ℃ for experimental and clinical purposes. Here, we investigated whether milder hypothermia during the initial phase of the preservation period was beneficial for liver viability upon reperfusion. Methods： In the first set of experiments, rat livers were preserved either conventionally in clinically used histidine-trypthopan-ketoglutarate （HTK） solution （Group A： 45 min and Group B： 24 h） or by slow cooling HTK solution （from 13 ℃ to 3 ℃） during the initial 45 min of preservation （Group C： 24 h）. In the second set of experiments, additional groups of livers were evaluated： Group BB-preservation according to Group B and Group CC-preservation according to Group C. Further, some livers were preserved at 13 ℃ for 24 h. Livers were then reperfused using a blood-free perfusion model. Results： Bile production was approximately 2-fold greater in Group C compared to Group B. Alanine transaminase （ALT） and aspartate transaminase （AST） release into perfusate were 2-3-fold higher in Group B compared to Group C. No significant differences were found in ALT and AST release between Group C and Group A. Livers in Group CC compared to Group BB exhibited significantly lower portal resistance, greater oxygen consumption and bromosulfophthalein excretion into bile and lower lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） release into perfusate. Histological evaluation of tissue sections in Group BB showed parenchymal dystrophy of hepatocytes, while dystrophy ofhepatocytes was absent in Group CC. Livers preserved at 13 ℃ for 24 h exhibited severe ischemic injury Conclusion： These results suggest that the conventional way of liver preservation is not suitable at least for rat livers and that slow cooling of HTK solution during the initial phase of cold storage can improve liver viability during reperfusion.     

Plants have a chance: outdoor educational programmes alter students' knowledge and attitudes towards plants

Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants. It was found that mean scores of participants' attitudes towards and knowledge of plants significantly increased after the outdoor programme. These effects remained significant even after three months' post‐testing. No similar patterns were found in the control group. Interestingly, the proportion of participants who liked biology as a school subject also significantly increased after the outdoor programme in the experimental group. Females showed better knowledge of plants than males, but attitudes towards plants were similar between genders. Having a garden at home was not associated with better knowledge or attitudes towards plants. Our results reveal that outdoor programmes significantly relieve ‘plant blindness’ and make biology more attractive to pupils.     

Multidimensional analyzing of the microteaching applications in teacher education via videograph

Microteaching is a practice – based teaching method that can be applied at various stages in teacher training programs and it gives the opportunity to engage in self-evaluation and to eliminate or correct inadequacies of both pre-service and in-service teachers. It is believed that this study is important in determining the inadequacies of prospective teachers through microteaching applications, and in determining the steps to be taken to eliminate the inadequacies. Therefore, this study aims to exhibit prospective teachers’ individual, methodological and social performances through two microteaching applications. It is found from this research that prospective teachers’ discipline over the classroom developed, and students’ motivation and their interest in the lesson increased with reinforcement and effective communication in the second microteaching application. This showed that feedback given at the end of the first microteaching application was effective.     

Impact of primary and secondary social origin factors on the transition to university in the Czech Republic

The main objective of this paper is to show to what extent and why students with the same academic aptitude but different social backgrounds have different odds of entering university. For our analysis, we separated primary and secondary factors of social origin in the formation of educational inequalities. The results show that the primary and secondary factors have approximately the same influence on the transition to university. Czech schools do not affect the process of forming educational aspirations and transition to university, and merely ‘classify’ children according to their social origin. This situation emerged during the socialist era and has remained unchanged after the fall of communism (in 1989). However, the mechanism of the social origin effect has changed – while cultural capital with a ‘direct’ impact had a major role to play during the socialist era, at present there is a rather ‘indirect’ influence through economic capital.     

SCHOOL ANXIETY INVENTORY: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY EVIDENCE IN A SAMPLE OF SLOVENIAN ADOLESCENTS

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) using a sample of 646 Slovenian adolescents (48% boys), ranging in age from 12 to 19 years. Single confirmatory factor analyses replicated the correlated four‐factor structure of scores on the SAI for anxiety‐provoking school situations (Anxiety about School Failure and Punishment, Anxiety about Aggression, Anxiety about Social Evaluation, and Anxiety about Academic Evaluation), and the three‐factor structure of the anxiety response systems (Physiological Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety). Equality of factor structures was compared using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Measurement invariance for the four‐ and three‐factor models was obtained across gender and school‐level samples. The scores of the instrument showed high internal reliability and adequate test–retest reliability. The concurrent validity of the SAI scores was also examined through its relationship with the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SASA) scores and the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (QIDA) scores. Correlations of the SAI scores with scores on the SASA and the QIDA were of low to moderate effect sizes.