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In recent years, language practitioners have paid increasing attention to artificial intelligence (AI)'s role in language programs. This study investigated the impact of AI-assisted language assessment on L2 learners' foreign language anxiety (FLA), attitudes, motivation, and writing skills. The study adopted a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. Divided between an experimental group (receiving AI-assisted assessment) and a control group (receiving paper-format assessment), the participants were 70 intermediate English learners from two intact university classes in Bangladesh. The TOEFL iBT writing section measured writing skills, while the study also investigated perceptions and experiences of FLA, attitudes, and motivation using narrative frames. Thematic analysis of the narrative data showed that AI-assisted assessment greatly raised learners' motivation, improved attitudes about language acquisition, and lowered FLA. According to quantitative analysis, the pretest writing abilities across groups showed no appreciable variation. Even though the difference was not statistically significant on the posttest, the experimental group exceeded the control group. The results of this study imply that AI-assisted assessments can generate a helpful learning environment, lower anxiety, improve attitudes, and increase motivation, thereby delivering useful information. Future studies should investigate long-term consequences, and further improvements to AI tools should optimize educational advantages—attitudes, motivation, and writing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication use in older adults is increasing, therefore, reducing the risk of suboptimal medicine use is imperative in achieving optimal therapeutic outcomes. Research suggests that factors such as personal beliefs and beliefs about medicines may be associated with non-adherence and inappropriate medicine use. Aim: To systematically review and identify quantitative research on the influence of beliefs about medicines and the relationship with suboptimal medicine use in older adults. Method: Searches were conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO for quantitative studies (inception to March 2023). Inclusion criteria: (1) exposure: participants' beliefs (personal, cultural, and medication-related), (2) outcomes: polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medicines use, or non-adherence, and (3) participants: community-dwelling adults 65 years or above. Study selection, data extraction and quality appraisal (Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist) were completed independently by two investigators. Data were combined in a narrative synthesis and presented in a summary of findings table. Results: Nineteen articles were included: 15 cross-sectional and four cohort studies. Outcomes of included papers were as follows; adherence (n = 18) and potentially inappropriate medicine use (n = 1). Ten studies found stronger beliefs in the necessity of medicines and/or fewer concerns led to better adherence, with one paper contradicting these findings. Three studies did not find associations between adherence and beliefs. One study confirmed an association between unnecessary drug use and a lack of belief in a "powerful other" (e.g. doctor). Conclusion: Further investigation is necessary to (1) ascertain the importance of necessity or concern beliefs in fostering adherence and, (2) examine the influence of beliefs on polypharmacy and inappropriate medicine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability in cotton production is inevitable because producing more cotton means more employment, economic acceleration, and industrial expansion. India, China, the United States, Brazil, and Pakistan contribute 74% of worldwide cotton production. Pakistan is contributing only 5%, despite the high potential of cotton. The average yield of cotton in Pakistan is stagnant at 570.99 kg hm−2, whereas it entails the highest cost of production among all other crops. The yield obtained in Pakistan is less than the potential, profitability is drastically lessening, and farmers are abandoning cotton for alternative kharif crops. Some traditional quantitative studies have unveiled different factors that affect cotton production. However, an in-depth qualitative study has never been conducted in Pakistan to explore the root causes of growing cotton crop failure. Following Moustakas's traditional phenomenological guidelines, this phenomenological study was conducted in the district of Rahim Yar Khan in the core cotton zone of Punjab province. A total of 10 interviews were conducted with purposively selected cotton growers based on a criterion: (i) having more than 10 years of cotton growing experience, (ii) being a cotton grower, and (iii) having at least 10 years of formal schooling. Interviews were conducted face to face on an interview guide. One interview lasted 45–50 min, and responses were recorded and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. A total of 6 themes emerged from the collected data, including (i) climate change, (ii) varietal problems, (iii) pesticide usage, (iv) sense of institutional services, (v) attitude of farmers and (vi) soil health and environment. These six merging themes contributed to cotton crop failure and yield decline. The deep exploration further summarized that researchers, extensionists, and farmers need to seriously consider variety, sowing time, and the environment to revive cotton crops. The detailed recommendations and policy guidelines are presented in this paper, highlighting the cotton sector's research, development and investment areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of university teachers regarding plagiarism in Bangladesh. An online questionnaire consisted of 20 knowledge questions, 23 attitude items, and 18 practice questions was created using Google Forms. The link to the questionnaire was sent via email to university teachers. The total correct answers for knowledge and practice questions, and the total attitude score were converted to percentile scores and categorized accordingly as poor (< mean – 1 SD), average (mean ± 1 SD), and good (> mean + 1 SD). Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare the total knowledge, attitude and practice scores based on demographic and academic variables. Multiple linear regressions were used to identify the association between knowledge, attitude and practice scores, and other covariates. The findings revealed an average level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding plagiarism among the majority of university teachers. The knowledge, attitude and practice scores were significantly higher for teachers who attended academic writing workshops compared to those who did not attend such events. Demographic and academic variables did not impact knowledge and attitude scores. However, the number of papers published in the last two years and their indexing in Web of Science (WoS) or Scopus significantly impacted attitude and knowledge scores. The multiple regression analyses showed that the practice score was significantly associated with age, highest education, and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Varying forms of ontological and methodological naturalism are among the most popular theses in contemporary philosophy. However, each of these theses faces a different dilemma: ontological naturalism is famously challenged by Hempel's dilemma, while methodological naturalism faces issues regarding its coherence. Some prominent naturalists (Elpidorou and Dove 2018, Ney 2009, Rea 2002) have suggested to circumvent these respective dilemmas by reconceiving naturalism as an attitude (rather than a thesis). This paper argues that such attitude accounts are unsuccessful: naturalism as an attitude either collapses into a thesis again or is rationally unjustifiable. This paper closes by suggesting two options a naturalist has remaining. Either a naturalist can reasonably choose to revert to defending naturalism as a thesis; given that naturalism receives substantial support, it is not unlikely that a solution to the problems encountered by naturalism qua thesis is forthcoming. Or a naturalist might simply want to embrace an a-rational form of naturalism as a worldview, as suggested by Kim (2003) and Stoljar (2010) (and earlier by thinkers like Dilthey 1960 and Jaspers1925). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face-to-face interviews using paper-based or online survey questionnaires are used interchangeably to allow the strengths of each method to complement each other. Preconception care is important for maternal and infant health. Thus, this study aims to assess the reliability and validity of a preconception care questionnaire using online and face-to-face interviews. Additionally, this study examines the preconception care status of Jordanian women of reproductive age. Online and face-to-face interview questionnaires were conducted with a random sample of Jordanian women of reproductive age (18–44 years) in a cross-sectional design between March 2022 and May 2022. A total of 1367 participants from the online questionnaire and 416 participants from the face-to-face interview questionnaire were included in this study. The preconception care questionnaire was found to be valid and reliable in both online (α = 0.874) and face-to-face (α = 0.722) interviews. Both methods showed a high prevalence of good knowledge and positive attitudes but poor practices among women between the ages of 18 and 29 years. Women aged 30–45 had poor knowledge and practices as well as negative attitudes. Married women had inadequate knowledge and practices as well as negative attitudes. While single women had good knowledge, they had negative attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of green building housing products as a mainstream environmentally friendly product has risen remarkably. But, are consumers in general receptive to this product? Are they willing to pay (WTP) more for it? Do consumers have consistent perceptions, attitudes, purchase intentions, and WTP? This paper is based on a questionnaire to house buyers in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan's third-largest city by population. The data were analyzed via structural equation modeling. The results revealed that consumers' perception and attitude toward green building housing products affect their purchase intention, and purchase intention affects WTP. Secondly, attitude also directly affects the WTP, which is also indirectly impacted by attitude through the mediating effect of purchase intention. It shows that the gap between the attitude and WTP of consumers in the consumption decision of green building housing products has been reduced. This result is related to the increasing education, promotion, and marketing of green building housing products, and a consistent consumption decision has gradually formed. In terms of the managerial implications, further education and public awareness messages should be used to narrow the consumption decision gap. Moreover, the importance of the health benefits of green building housing products should be emphasized. Furthermore, green building transactions in the housing market should be more transparent so that consistency in consumer decision-making can be attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In medical studies, pharmacology is a subject with a high teaching and study load. The COVID-19 pandemic–related switch to distance learning implies challenges for students and teachers. To identify changes of behavior, attitudes, and needs among students and teachers in clinical pharmacology during the pandemic, regular surveys were conducted at Ulm University, Germany. Overall, 884 students and 5 teachers answered the survey. Over time, students' usage of learning materials in print form and further literature (textbooks, guidelines) constantly decreased. In turn, most students used digital materials provided via a learning management system. Attitudes and opinions of students and teachers significantly differed regarding (i) the benefit of certain teaching formats and learning materials, (ii) open-mindedness towards e-learning, and (iii) future visions. Most students and lecturers stated that they spent more time on study or teaching-related activities, respectively, and had less contact with fellow students or colleagues in comparison to pre-pandemic times. Furthermore, the subjective teaching load for most lecturers (80%) increased during the pandemic. To identify determinants of learning success, the survey data were correlated with students' gradings in the written exams of clinical pharmacology. In the first online semester (summer term 2020), the use of paper-based learning scripts was correlated with better exam grades. No correlation with grade was found for any other learning materials. Age was inversely correlated with exam grading. Striking a balance between the future visions and needs of students and teachers implies a particular challenge for the educational system of the next years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Advances in medical technology coupled with rapid growth of web-based mass media and social networking services have considerably increased public access to cosmetic surgery. In South Korea, in particular, the number of people undergoing cosmetic surgery has been rapidly increasing, and studies related to cosmetic surgery have markedly increased. We report an integrative review of studies examining the relationship between cosmetic surgery and self-esteem in Korea. We aimed to identify relevant variables and determine their overall effect sizes. Methods: This study was designed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two researchers separately performed the literature search, selected 16 papers based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and analyzed them. Results: Of the 16 papers on cosmetic surgery and self-esteem, 5 (33.3%) involved both men and women, and the remaining 11 (66.7%) involved only women. The respondents included teenagers and adults. The total number of respondents was 6296, with an average of 393.5 per paper. Most studies (n = 13, 81.3%) used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Self-esteem was correlated with variables grouped into the following six categories: appearance management intention, cosmetic surgery intention, sociocultural attitude, body satisfaction, BMI, and stress. The effect sizes from the meta-analysis with correlation coefficients were 0.157, − 0.118, 0.023, 0.175, − 0.045, and − 0.085. Conclusions: Among the relevant variables categorized in this study, sociocultural attitude, BMI, and stress showed weak effect sizes, and the appearance management intention, cosmetic surgery intention, and body satisfaction categories showed intermediate effect sizes. The results of this study are expected to serve as a concrete basis for the development of strategies to minimize the adverse effects of the ever-growing cosmetic surgery industry. This information can help elucidate the psychologic characteristics of individuals seeking cosmetic surgery and contribute to optimal medical outcomes. Level of Evidence IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the forced adoption of online teaching in several academic institutions across the world, we set out an objective in this paper to examine salient factors that may affect the decision to use online teaching by faculty members (teaching staff). We propose and validate a model based on an extended innovation diffusion theory and 284 online survey responses from Ghana and find that the attitude towards online teaching is predictably influenced by relative advantage and observability. Contrary to theory, complexity boosts rather than inhibits the attitude towards online teaching. The most salient predictors of willingness to use the mode of online teaching are attitude, observability, institutional trust, and compatibility. We conclude with discussions on the important implications for the scientific community and educational policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines a variety of restrictions preventing Bangladeshi youth, particularly Generation Z university students, from becoming involved in entrepreneurship. Moreover, the study examines the influence of Entrepreneurial Attitude (EA), Subjective Entrepreneurial Norms (SEN), Entrepreneurial Perceived Behavioural Control (EPBC), and Entrepreneurial Resilience (ER) on Entrepreneurial Intention (EI) of Bangladeshi Gen Z university students. A systematic literature review methodology following PRISMA procedure was performed to identify the relevant articles. A quantitative method with a positivism philosophy, cross-sectional time horizon and deductive approach was applied to the study. The data of 206 university students from the BBA department of ten universities were collected using convenience sampling and a self-administrated structured questionnaire survey. SPSS 26.0 and Smart PLS 3.0 were used to analyse the data. The output shows a positive and significant association amongst EA, SEN, EPBC, ER, and EI. Various constraints were identified from the literature and ranked based on the respondents' feedback. This research will help entrepreneurs, scholars, policymakers and practitioners to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem and develop young people's understanding of the entrepreneurial decision process and the importance of ER. This paper contributes through empirical investigation to an understanding of the actions that prevent Gen Z students from entrepreneurial activities; decisions are affected by socio-psychological constructions integrating ER with the Theory of Planned behaviour (TPB) model. Triple, Quadruple and Quintuple Helix models are considered supporting theories in this study to shed light on tackling the constraints. To the best knowledge of the researcher, integrating ER with TPB model's constructs is a pioneer scholarly contribution in the context of South-East Asian, specifically Bangladeshi Gen Z students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the problem of a spacecraft attitude estimation and its solution by integrating the measurement data from an information-redundant gyro unit and a stellar navigation system. The traditional solution methods are based on the use of Kalman filter of n + 3 order, where n > 3 is the number of measurement channels (gyroscopes or angular rate sensors). The numerical implementation of the corresponding algorithm on an onboard computer requires significant computational burden. To considerably reduce the computational complexity of the algorithm without losing the accuracy, it is proposed to use a method of decomposing the filter of n + 3 order into three filters of the second order and n − 3 filters of the first order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explore the correspondence (or lack of it) between women's access to resources and their social status on one hand and between women's social status and their values and agency on the other. This would necessarily involve an assessment of the role of women's access to resources towards their attitudinal transformation and ability to exercise agency. However, this also entails an understanding of the circumstances including norms and institutions amidst which women exercise choices. While gender research today boasts of rich empirical contributions, the implication of women's improved resource access on intra-family-gendered relation as well as on women's own preferences and agency roles still deserves a comprehensive inquiry. This paper attempts to conduct such an exercise in Indian context, by utilizing existing demographic health survey and other data. It observes that despite women's control over resources and access to education, gendered role as well as attitudes and preferences of men and of women themselves, remain intact. While this observation underlines the impinging role of social context, alongside it also reflects the inefficacy of using conventional indicators to measure women's autonomy and gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the process that led to the development of a national survey instrument used to gather over 20,000 observations across Canada. This survey captured aspects of household preferences and behavioural intentions towards electric vehicles through a choice experiment and a comprehensive suite of attitudinal questions. Background information on demographics, residential location and context, vehicle ownership and purchase plans, and travel patterns among other aspects were also collected. Important survey design decisions are examined that include: the choice and implications of using a survey panel, screening criteria for the sample, conceptualization of the observational unit for the sample, critical aspects relating to the choice experiment, and tactics employed to manage and measure survey cognitive burden. Novel aspects associated with the survey design are discussed in this paper and these have enabled new research works on the implications of vehicle body type on choice of powertrain and insights into spatial variation in electric vehicle preferences. Results and insights discussed are seen as relevant for a range of survey practitioners including those with a focus on the consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Star sensor (SS) is one of the most critical instrument on-board a spacecraft when it comes to attitude determination and control. Capability of providing precise attitude information makes it even more important for high resolution imaging satellite with stringent pointing requirements. At the same time, these instruments are highly sensitive to bright objects like Sun and Earth Albedo. In this paper, selection of star sensor mounting has been elaborately studied and presented for missions primarily performing highly agile Earth imaging. This paper addresses selection factors like Sun and Earth avoidance from bore-sight axis, orbit altitude and local time, angular separation between SS, sensitivity of SS on body axis and functional availability during imaging. Results are presented in the form of available mounting options and the way they satisfy geometrical constraints over a year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is divided into two parts. The first part aims to verify the presence of microplastics in bivalves, namely Perna viridis and Venerupis spp. using microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The second part explores the knowledge, attitude and perception (KAP) of bivalve gleaners on microplastics and plastics. Results of the study confirmed the presence of microplastics in both bivalves, with polyamide fibers being the most common polymer found in the bivalves. The mean size of microplastics found in Perna viridis and Venerupis spp. was 0.25 ± 0.05 mm and 0.33 ± 0.03 mm, respectively. Varying colors and shapes were also observed in both bivalves. Further, results of the KAP showed the lack of knowledge of the gleaners in terms of the basic information about microplastics. Nevertheless, they showed a positive attitude in terms of reducing plastic pollution and perceived coastal waters as important to them. The data on the two parts were used to compute for the estimate of the amount of microplastics that can be transferred to humans through consumption of bivalves, which was found to be 0.003 mg/day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores attitudes toward dating people with disability amongst young people in Australia and Hong Kong. Data relating to disability were extracted from an e-survey that investigated young people's (n = 2208) experiences of and attitudes toward dating. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics while open ended responses were subjected to interpretive content analysis. When asked about preferred characteristics for potential dates, young people identified factors that were unlikely to be negatively influenced by disability, such as loyalty, honesty, dedication, humour, and kindness. Yet when asked whether disability would influence their dating choices, most said that it would and expressed an unwillingness to date people with disability. Young adults in Hong Kong expressed less openness to dating people with disability than those in Australia. Physical disability and mental health issues were seen as less of a barrier to dating than intellectual or developmental disability. Despite recent gains in public attitudes toward people with disability, improvements are needed in terms of young people in the general population viewing people with disability as suitable partners and thus, allowing them to enjoy equal rights to relationships and sexuality. Culture is an important determinant, indicating a potential for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel rigid-body navigation and control architecture within the framework of special Euclidean group SE (3) and its tangent bundle TSE (3) while considering stochastic processes in the system. The proposed framework combines the orbit-attitude motions of the rigid body into a single, compact set. The stochastic state filter is designed based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) which uses a special retraction function to encode the sigma points onto the manifold. The navigation system is then integrated and evaluated with two different control techniques on TSE (3) : An almost globally asymptotically stabilizing Morse–Lyapunov-based control system with backstepping and a robust sliding mode-based control system. Also, the performance of the UKF in TSE (3) proposed here is compared with similar filters in the literature to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the proposed filter in a realistic setting. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed navigation filter for the full state estimation. In addition, the navigation and control systems are tested in the nonlinear gravity field of a small celestial body with an irregular shape. In particular, the performance of the closed-loop systems is studied in a tracking problem of spacecraft motion near the asteroid Bennu based on OSIRIS-REx mission data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The point of departure of this paper is a conception of faith that is broader than traditional conceptions on which it is essentially doxastic. On the theory presupposed here, neither propositional faith (faith that) nor attitudinal faith (faith in) entails belief. Faith is also irreducible to hope, though it is not without some kinship to it. More positively, on the view presented here, faith entails a set of positive attitudes of a certain kind. This positive element makes it natural to consider faith a kind of stance toward its object. That conception, in turn, indicates the presence of volitional elements in faith. With these points in view, the paper pursues in detail the kinds of volitional elements that are essential in faith or, at least, characteristic of certain major kinds of faith. The conception of faith as a kind of volitional stance helps to explain both the importance of faith—secular as well as religious—in human life and the resilience of faith in the encounter with counterevidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted existing educational systems worldwide. Due to lockdowns in several countries, the educational institutions have been directed by governments to move towards online learning. The challenge for educational institutions and faculty members is to assess the influence of various factors that would enable adoption of online learning by students in higher education. This study investigates the influence of awareness of COVID-19 (AOC19), computer & internet self-efficacy (CISE), and online communication self-efficacy (OCSE) on perceived net benefits (NB) of the students and their intention towards the online learning (INT). The study further analyzes the mediating role of students' attitude towards online learning (ATOL). Data of 1023 students of higher education across multiple universities in India were collected and analyzed using structural equation modelling through AMOS 24 and mediation analysis through 'PROCESS' macro for SPSS. The findings revealed that, AOC19 positively influenced students' NB and INT; CISE had a significant inverse relationship with NB, and partially significant positive relationship with INT; OCSE was observed to be a significant predictor of NB with positive direct relationship; ATOL had a significant full mediation among CISE and NB, and acted as significant partial mediator between CISE and INT, AOC19 and NB, AO19 and INT, OCSE and NB, and OCSE and INT. This paper would be useful for the faculty members, institutions and education technology companies in the higher education domain by enabling an understanding of the attitude, perception and intention of the students towards online learning during the COVID-19 scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, the emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought a drastic and sudden change in teaching practices, from the physical space of the classrooms to the virtual space of an e-environment. In this paper, through a qualitative analysis of 44 collected essays composed by Italian mathematics teachers from primary school to undergraduate level during the spring of 2020, we investigate how the Italian teachers perceived the changes due to the unexpected transition from a face-to-face setting to distance education. The analysis is carried out through a double theoretical lens, one concerning the whole didactic system where the knowledge at stake is mathematics and the other regarding affective aspects. The integration of the two theoretical perspectives allows us to identify key elements and their relations in the teachers' narratives and to analyze how teachers have experienced and perceived the dramatic, drastic, and sudden change. The analysis shows the process going from the disruption of the educational setting to the teachers' discovery of key aspects of the didactic system including the teacher's roles, a reflection on mathematics and its teaching, and the attempt to reconstruct the didactic system in a new way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gravity field is one of the Earth's basic physical fields. The geoid can be calculated and the tectonic activity underground can be inversed by gravity anomaly. With the development of various ship-borne gravimeters and navigation technology, including the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS), the precision of marine gravimetry has been significantly improved (achieve or better than 1mGal). Errors arising from calculations of the correction term have become the main source of gravity measurement errors. At present, the traditional approach is to deploy a GNSS antenna, connect the GNSS antenna to the gravimeter, record the real-time position through data acquisition software, and then use this position to calculate the gravity correction item afterward. Two errors are inevitable. (1) The GNSS antenna position error is large. The pseudorange point positioning method is generally used to obtain real-time GNSS antenna positions, and the positioning accuracy is poor compared with that of precise point positioning. (2) The position coordinates of the gravimeter contain systematic errors related to the ship's attitude. In this paper, a joint experiment including GNSS antenna arrays and ship-borne gravimeters was designed to evaluate the measurement accuracy via repeat lines on the same ship. The experimental results show the following: (1) attitude accuracies of 0.0299° for the yaw angle, 0.0361° for the pitch angle, and 0.1671° for the roll angle can be obtained at baseline lengths of 25 and 4 m. (2) The GNSS antenna array has an obvious role in determining the point acceleration in the low-frequency band (0–0.01 Hz) and the point position and velocity in the high-frequency band (0.01–1 Hz). (3) The vertical position eccentricity causes an absolute error of 1 mGal and a relative error of 10 - 1 mGal in gravity measurements and can be corrected by the GNSS antenna array method. (4) Using a GNSS antenna array can obviously improve the measurement accuracy of an instrument with a precision equaling or exceeding 1 mGal, but cannot obviously improve that to an instrument with poor precision (2 mGal or below). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In Austria, data on vaccine hesitancy is scarce. Available studies suggest around 1-11% of parents refuse vaccination, while many more are hesitant and consider refraining from some but not all of the recommended vaccinations. However, the key drivers for vaccine hesitancy in Austria are largely unknown. To learn more about vaccination coverage, attitude towards and knowledge around immunization as well as views on mandatory vaccination, we conducted a survey in a rural Austrian lay population including adults and children. Two paper-based questionnaires, one for adults 16 years or older and one for children aged 6-15 years, were developed, then sent to all houses of a rural community in Austria as well as handed out at the local primary and middle school, respectively. Self-reported coverage rates of children and adults were found to be low. Within the surveyed population 3% of children had never been or do not get vaccinated. More than half (57%) of the survey participants had a positive attitude towards vaccines, 21% were without reserves, 16% were found skeptical and 5% had a generally negative attitude. Knowledge about immunization in general was poor. Younger adults and people with secondary education appear to be most skeptical and negative towards vaccination. Children's attitudes were closely linked to those of their parents. The major concern around vaccination in adults was fear of side effects. In adults, 54.2% support mandatory vaccination for Health Care Workers and 20.7% are against it. 39% of adults and 37% of children wanted more information on vaccination, preferably provided by physicians. Knowledge about disease prevention by vaccination should be improved and children could also benefit from an early age-appropriate vaccine education to strengthen health literacy. Physicians are the most trusted source of health information. Medical doctors should be aware of their very important role in transmitting trusted health information. This should include an up-to-date education in communicable disease prevention and immunization during their whole medical career. Furthermore, the curricula of health-care workers may need to be improved and harmonized concerning prevention and vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the widespread development of low and ultra-low rectal sphincter-preservation surgery, low anterior resection syndrome, a new clinical challenge, has received increased attention. As the principal practitioners of this syndrome management, colorectal surgery nurses require sufficient relevant knowledge and skills, but few studies have been conducted of their actual ability and practice of managing the syndrome. The study adopted a knowledge, attitude, and practice model to evaluate low anterior resection syndrome management among colorectal surgery nurses. Method: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted, in which 361 registered nurses in colorectal surgery from 6 hospitals in 4 cities were enrolled. A structured paper questionnaire was used to collect demographics, scale scores for knowledge, attitudes and management practice, and training needs. Results: Participants scored poorly in knowledge, attitude, and practice. Whether training had been received or not was an important factor affecting the knowledge, attitude, and practice of nurses, and the majority of participants had not received training. Nurses with lower levels of education had worse knowledge and practice, and contract nurses scored lower than staff nurses in terms of knowledge and attitude. Conclusions: The critical role of nurses in patient management places high demands on their knowledge, attitude, and practice. However, the present study demonstrated that the current knowledge, attitude, and practice of colorectal surgery nurses regarding the syndrome gave cause for concern, and whether training had been received was a key factor affecting these three aspects. Therefore, training is a key strategy to eliminate the gaps identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present exploratory study describes senior citizens' attitudes relating to biotechnologies, which were compared with a younger sample. Using an anonymised voluntary paper-and-pencil survey, data were collected from a total of 86 senior Swiss adults attending the Seniors' University in Zurich, Switzerland. Unlike previous studies, our data suggest that senior citizens value the utility of biotechnologies. In particular, a high level of fascination was directed towards the prospects of medical biotechnological applications. Consistent with prior studies, our data reveal that senior citizens also express reservations in the face of potential risks. Therefore, an often-alleged conservative response behaviour of this group only relates to the supposed harm of these technologies. To explore the response behaviour of this cohort across technologies, we found a lesser degree of differentiation compared to university students. Consistent with this reduced level of differentiation, senior citizens assessed agricultural biotechnology similarly positively compared to nanotechnology and synthetic biology, in contrast to university students who made a clear distinction between positively evaluated emerging technologies and the more sceptically assessed agricultural biotechnology. Differences of gender were revealed to be more pronounced in the case of senior citizens compared to students, indicating that a comparison between different societal subgroups can contribute to a wider understanding of factors influencing public technology assessment without introducing a rigid separation of these groups. We close by discussing consequences for public-policy making and science and technology communication, such as the need to emphasise the characteristics that demarcate technologies against each other in public communication for this and comparable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationality requires us to have certain propositional attitudes (beliefs, intentions, etc.) given certain other attitudes that we have. Carroll's Tortoise repeatedly shows up in this discussion. Following up on Brunero (Ethical Theory Moral Pract 8:557-569, ), I ask what Carroll-style considerations actually prove. This paper rejects two existing suggestions, and defends a third. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many philosophers have understood the representational dimension of affective states along the model of perceptual experiences. This paper argues affective experiences involve a kind of personal level affective representation disanalogous from the representational character of perceptual experiences. The positive thesis is that affective representation is a non-transparent, non-sensory form of evaluative representation, whereby a felt valenced attitude represents the object of the experience as minimally good or bad, and one experiences that evaluative standing as having the power to causally motivate the relevant attitude. I show how this view can make sense of distinctive features of affective experiences, such as their valence and connection to value in a way which moves beyond current evaluativist views of affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the power of intonation to convey interpersonal or attitudinal meaning. Speakers have been shown to accommodate to each other in the course of conversation, and this convergence may be perceived as a sign of empathy. Accommodation often involves paradigmatic choices-choosing the same words, gestures, regional accent or melodic pattern, but this paper suggests that affective meaning can also be conveyed syntagmatically through the relationship between prosodic features in successive utterances. The paper also addresses the use of prosody in situations of conflict, particularly in institutional settings. The requirement of the more powerful participant to exercise control may conflict with the expression of empathy. Situations are described where divergent rather than convergent behaviour is more successful both in keeping control and in maintaining rapport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing amount of research on different aspects of product package design, there is lack of empirical evidence with regard to how package color perceptions may influence consumer preferences. Based on categorization theory, the present paper explores responses to package colors that conform or do not conform to product category color norms. Results of two experiments show that atypical package colors implicate negative consequences to the brand. Findings indicate that perceived package color atypicality increases consumers' skepticism and, contrary to expectations, decreases interest. These affective reactions negatively influence consumers' product attitude which subsequently translates into lower purchase intention. The results provide important insights for theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the features and capabilities of the software to simulate the dynamics of near-Earth satellites. The software package allows the passive and controlled angular and orbital motion simulation of both single satellites and formations. The software also allows using the mathematical models of varying precision and complexity while performing the computations. The user-friendly GUI is designed in a way to prevent or minimize the possibility of inappropriate data entry. The package was created in C++ using Qt Framework, which ensures cross-platform functionality and compatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a substantial number of studies have examined public opinion on the death penalty in the USA, and more recently parts of Asia, including China, very few empirical studies have considered support for the death penalty in Taiwan. This paper examines public attitudes in Taiwan and the role of 'value conflict' in attitudes to both death penalty abolition and in the context of alternatives. Using the results of 1016 respondents drawn from a national face-to-face sample (n = 2039) survey conducted by the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) in 2014, we demonstrate that public attitudes in Taiwan are simultaneously committed to many underlying values in conflict. The results also indicate that value conflict exists among the majority of the sample (more than 60 per cent) who are prepared to accept alternatives to abolition, and whom we can describe as ambivalent. Recognition of value conflict, ambivalence and the moral psychology underpinning public attitudes to the death penalty is essential, not only conceptually but to allow for a more appropriate and nuanced understanding of the abolitionist/retentionist debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the findings of a study pertaining to the psychological impact of e-learning on social network sites. The findings have resulted by means of a correlational analysis between attitude towards e-learning on social network sites and satisfaction with life of students experienced with e-learning experiences. It was based on an online survey of 607 valid responses with e-learning experiences gathered from 896 online respondents. The gender profile was balanced (males 50.7% and females 49.3% respectively). The analysis found that students who had experience of e-learning on social network sites also had a positive score on the Satisfaction with Life Scale (females 4.40 out of 6, SD = 0.91 and males 4.38 out of 6, SD = 0.9). The attitudes towards e-learning were also positive (female 4.34 out of 6, SD = 1.0 and male 4.12 out of 6, SD = 1.2). The relationship between e-learning attitudes and satisfaction with life was investigated using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation (rho) statistic. The research data shows a significant positive association between attitudes towards e-learning and satisfaction with life by females and males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having children compels parents to examine their vaccine beliefs, particularly if they are vaccine-hesitant or refuse all vaccines. Presently, little is known about the specific ways in which having children influences the vaccine beliefs of parents. This research examined how having children changed the attitudes of Australian vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusing parents towards childhood vaccination. We asked 904 Australian parents who believed that having children changed their attitudes to vaccination to describe these changes. Parents' responses were inductively, iteratively coded and thematically analysed. Themes were compared between parents who believed all vaccines should be refused, parents with varying degrees of vaccine hesitancy, and parents who were fully vaccine-accepting. Low numbers of responses from fully vaccine-accepting parents meant that this paper focused on mostly vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusing vaccine parents. Five themes were identified. Having children prompted all parents to learn about vaccine choices. Hesitant and refusing parents' interpreted vaccine choices through a lens of distrust of pharmaceutical companies and regulatory bodies overseeing vaccine safety. The distrust fuelled parents' fears about vaccination risks, such as side effects. Parents became concerned about the scheduled timing of vaccinations, particularly of the Hepatitis B vaccine. Parents among the three groups that believed some or all vaccines should be refused reported that a vaccine permanently injured their child. This research contributes to understanding how having children affects the vaccine attitudes among vaccine-hesitant and vaccine-refusing parents. Greater support for parents with negative vaccination experiences may prevent hesitant attitudes. The vaccination schedule needs to be communicated to parents better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formation flying is a novel concept of distributing the functionality of large spacecraft among several smaller, less expensive, cooperative satellites. Some applications require that a controllable satellite keeps relative position and attitude to observe a specific surface of another satellite among the cluster. Specially, the target space vehicle is malfunctioning. The present paper focuses on the problem that how to control a chaser satellite to fly around an out-of-work target satellite closely in earth orbit and to track a specific surface. Relative attitude and first approximate relative orbital dynamics equations are presented. Control strategy is derived based on feedback linearization and Lyapunov theory of stability. Further, considering the uncertainty of inertia, an adaptive control method is developed to obtain the correct inertial ratio. The numerical simulation is given to verify the validity of proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impact assessment is an important process that helps the policy makers to understand the consequences of possible and actual government interventions. Assessing the impacts and consequences is considered as applicable means for policy makers and planners of projects, since not only it measures and presents the plans' developments, but also for determining their impacts on the target group. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to assess the impacts of laser-land-leveling technology in Iran, comparing the impacts among two groups of farmers adopting traditional-leveling and laser-land-leveling projects and identifying factors influencing perception regarding laser-land-leveling technology impacts. Methodology: The research draws on a mixed-methods approach, which includes two distinct research phases. First, 375 farmers were selected using survey based on stratified random sampling for quantitative part. Twenty-Seven farmers were also interviewed in the qualitative phase. Results: The most important impacts of laser-land leveling were uniform germination of the crop, uniform distribution of water, decrease of soil erosion, increasing positive competition, and increasing net income. In addition, the results revealed that adopters of laser-land leveling expressed more impacts than another group. Conclusions: Attitude towards water and soil resources' conservation was the most important variable to predict the impacts' perception among traditional-leveling adopters. It is necessary to officials to increase the information of farmers regarding different consequences of the project and contributing them to make proper decisions for farm management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper was to explore people's perceptions of the role of education on youth's sexual behaviour. The findings from this study confirmed that people perceive that education can change the behaviour of youths in both positive and negative ways. People perceive that education has helped youths to make informed choices, adopt safe sex practice and realise the importance of using contraceptives but it has also exposed youths to live-in relationships and different types of sexual behaviour. Education has also changed the mindset and attitude of youths on sexual behavior. This study has implications for policy makers and academics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses survey data to examine the effect of the income-contingent charge mechanism, the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), and other demographic and attitudinal variables on fertility expectations in Australia over the recent past. HECS requires former Australian students to fund some of the costs of higher education through the repayment of interest-free loans made by the Australian government. Its defining characteristic is that repayments only occur when and if students' future incomes exceed a particular level. Since its introduction in 1989, media and other populist commentary has suggested that HECS has had unanticipated effects on behaviour. Most recently, attention has focused on the effects of HECS on fertility, with some arguing that university graduates are delaying births, and having fewer children, because of their HECS debts. This paper demonstrates that the introduction of HECS has had no discernible impact on Australian fertility rates, nor on the number of children that people expect to have. However, education, age and a number of attitudinal factors are associated with significant differences in fertility expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper brings to focus people’s perception about female involvement in science, mathematics and technology (SMT). Data for the study were obtained from a survey conducted in March, 2005 in two Local Government Areas of Osun state, Southwest Nigeria. The paper reveals that: (i) about 57% of household heads, 45.6% of mothers and 57.6% of the children are of the opinion that both boys and girls are given equal right to SMT education (ii) social forces play an important role in determining people’s attitude to SMT (iii) though, parents and stakeholders perceptions about girls’ participation in some professions is changing, however, socio-cultural and economic factors still determine which sex to encourage to read SMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auditing develops within a social context. On the basis of Parsons' social action theory, we examine whether auditors' attitude toward marketing activities influences the time balance between auditing and marketing activities and attitude toward the importance of corporate governance mechanisms. We use survey responses from 257 auditors in Iran. We conducted our analysis by applying a binary Probit regression and for additional analysis, we utilize neural networks. Attitude toward marketing has a positive significant relationship with balance time between auditing and marketing activities. And the attitude of auditors toward marketing has a positive significant relationship with attitude toward corporate governance. Also, the results showed a significant difference between industry expert auditors' attitude and other auditors toward marketing activities. Finally the results of this paper generally suggest that if artificial neural networks are employed in the prediction process, more reliable results will be achieved. The paper provides important insights into emerging issues and developments in auditing and marketing that have clear relevance to auditing research and practice. Drawing on our analytical framework, we provide directions for further opportunities for research of social theories and auditing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutrition support is an important care component for patients on hemodialysis. Also, patient self-management is important to maintaining proper nutritional intake during hemodialysis. This cross-sectional study investigated the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards nutrition support and management among hemodialysis patients treated at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January and March 2023. Among 445 (95.91%) valid questionnaires, 58.43% were filled out by male patients. The knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 11.44 ± 1.80 (possible range: 0–13), 30.29 ± 3.22 (possible range: 8–40), and 31.27 ± 5.67 (possible range: 8–40), respectively. Age > 60 years (OR = 0.487, 95%CI: 0.260–0.913, P = 0.025) and junior college or undergraduate or above (OR = 2.606, 95%CI: 1.621–4.189, P < 0.001) were independently associated with adequate knowledge. The knowledge (OR = 1.151, 95%CI: 1.024–1.294, P = 0.018) and female gender (OR = 0.632, 95%CI: 0.419–0.953, P = 0.029) were independently associated with positive attitude. The knowledge (OR = 1.404, 95%CI: 1.221–1.614, P < 0.001), attitude (OR = 1.146, 95%CI: 1.069–1.227, P < 0.001), age 51–60 years (OR = 1.879, 95%CI: 1.093–3.229, P = 0.022), and BMI of 24.0–27.9 kg/m2 (OR = 0.434, 95%CI: 0.269–0.700, P = 0.001) were independently associated with proactive practice. Hemodialysis patients showed adequate knowledge, positive attitudes, and proactive practice; however, there were also several gaps in knowledge and misconceptions regarding proper nutritional self-management. Accordingly, addressing these gaps and misconceptions through carefully designed and effectively implemented education is crucial for providing comprehensive guidance on optimal nutrition and self-management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research lacks an understanding of how decision makers preserve longevity within family businesses. This study examines longevity under a microfoundational lens, through an interpretive qualitative research design. The selected cases are nine long-established Australian family wineries. The outcome is a multilevel grounded model of the preservation of family firm longevity that integrates the dual firm-family relationship with the individual level of decision makers. The model shows the role played by interactions among multiple levels of analysis — namely, the individual, the family and the firm — in preserving the longevity of the family business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan face significant challenges regarding mental disorders. Individuals with mental health disorders often conceal their conditions, particularly in certain cultural contexts, due to the negative attitudes they face. This study aims to explore the attitudes of university students towards individuals with mental health disorders. Methods: A sample of 294 university students from five distinct colleges within a public university in the Kurdistan region of Iraq was selected to participate in an attitudinal survey. The participants were chosen using convenience sampling. The survey encompassed 34 items, which were categorized into six overarching conceptual sub-scales: benevolence, separatism, stereotyping, restrictiveness, pessimistic prediction, and stigmatization. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the gathered data. Results: The findings indicate that the majority of participants held negative attitudes towards individuals with mental health disorder. Furthermore, the study identified statistically significant associations between socio-demographic variables and students' attitudes across most of the subscales. Conclusion: The study highlights the prevalence of negative attitudes towards individuals with mental health disorder among university students. It suggests the establishment of a psychological and guidance counseling center at the university to promote awareness about mental health disorder and provide guidance and training to mitigate its severity, similar to physical illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: An aggregate annoyance construct has been developed to account for annoyance that ranges from not at all annoyed to extremely annoyed, toward multiple wind turbine features. The practical value associated with aggregate annoyance would be strengthened if it was related to health. The objective of the current paper was to assess the association between aggregate annoyance and multiple measures of health., Methods: The analysis was based on data originally collected as part of Health Canada's Community Noise and Health Study (CNHS). One adult participant per dwelling (18-79 years), randomly selected from Ontario (ON) (n = 1011) and Prince Edward Island (PEI) (n = 227), completed an in-person questionnaire., Results: The average aggregate annoyance score for participants who indicated they had a health condition (e.g., chronic pain, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) > 5, tinnitus, migraines/headaches, dizziness, highly sensitive to noise, and reported a high sleep disturbance) ranged from 2.53 to 3.72; the mean score for those who did not report these same conditions ranged between 0.96 and 1.41. Household complaints about wind turbine noise had the highest average aggregate annoyance (8.02), compared to an average of 1.39 among those who did not complain., Conclusion: A mean aggregate annoyance score that could reliably distinguish participants who self-report health effects (or noise complaints) from those who do not could be one of several factors considered by jurisdictions responsible for decisions regarding wind turbine developments. However, the threshold value for acceptable changes and/or levels in aggregate annoyance has not yet been established and could be the focus of future research efforts.

In this paper, I discuss aspects of Herbert Leyendecker's 1913 doctoral dissertation, Towards the Phenomenology of Deceptions (Zur Phänomenologie der Täuschungen), which he defended in 1913 at the University of Munich. Leyendecker was a member of the Munich and Göttingen Phenomenological Circles. In my discussion of his largely neglected views, I explore the connection between his ideas concerning "attitudes" (Einstellungen), e.g., of searching for, observing, counting, or working with objects, and the central topic of his text, perceptual illusions, thematized by Leyendecker as a kind of perceptual "deception" (Täuschung). Indeed, Leyendecker argues that a change of attitude is a necessary aspect of an illusion. I argue that Leyendecker's use of the notion of attitude in accounting for illusions is problematic; yet I also suggest that his ideas are not devoid of philosophical interest, in relation to current debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings of a comparative study in which students' perceived attainment of the objectives of an engineering ethics education and their attitude towards engineering ethics were investigated and compared. The investigation was carried out in Japan and Malaysia, involving 163 and 108 engineering undergraduates respectively. The research method used was based on a survey in which respondents were sent a questionnaire to elicit relevant data. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data. The results of the analyses showed that the attainment of the objectives of engineering ethics education and students' attitude towards socio-ethical issues in engineering were significantly higher and positive among Japanese engineering students compared to Malaysian engineering students. Such findings suggest that a well-structured, integrated, and innovative pedagogy for teaching ethics will have an impact on the students' attainment of ethics education objectives and their attitude towards engineering ethics. As such, the research findings serve as a cornerstone to which the current practice of teaching and learning of engineering ethics education can be examined more critically, such that further improvements can be made to the existing curriculum that can help produce engineers that have strong moral and ethical characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on our empirical research on global meaning in people with spinal cord injury and people with stroke, we formulated 'inner posture' as a concept in rehabilitation. Inner posture, as we concluded from our empirical data, refers to the way in which people bear what cannot be changed. It helps them to live with their injury. Considering that much has already been written about meaning from a variety of disciplines, the question arises whether the concept of inner posture adds something new to the existing literature, or is just another name for a phenomenon that has already been described before in different terms. In this paper, we aim to investigate this and to clarify our conceptualization, by comparing the concept of inner posture with influential concepts in healthcare literature which seem to be more or less related. In the work of Puchalski regarding spirituality, Pargament regarding religion, Eliott regarding hope and Frankl regarding attitude, we found definitions and descriptions that seemed to come close to the phenomenon we refer to as inner posture. Because these concepts have various theoretical backgrounds, the comparison can help to better understand our concept of inner posture, through a process of dialogue between traditions, following Gadamer's notion of dialogue as fusion of horizons of understanding. We conclude that inner posture differs from the other concepts in several ways. Some of these differences are more fundamental, other are partial. This suggests that we identified a new perspective on a phenomenon partially described earlier. The comparison also inspired us to slightly adjust our definition and to formulate new research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a validation study of a questionnaire to measure primary children's images of and attitudes towards curiosity (the CIAC questionnaire). Policy documents and scientific studies on twenty-first century learning increasingly promote the value of stimulating children's curiosity in primary school. However, no well-established measurement instruments yet exist to assess children's curiosity within educational settings. To fill this void, we focused on the measurement of children's perceptions of curiosity, as important precursors to children's potential curiosity-driven behavior. Based on attitude and curiosity theory, we developed seven components of children's images of and attitudes towards curiosity. We translated these components into corresponding measurement scales, which comprise the CIAC. Results of a validation study among 737 children (ages 8-13), using factor analyses, largely confirmed the factor structures of the image and attitude scales and indicated good convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, we provide evidence for the predictive power of children's images and attitudes on their motivation to be curious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]