App-Tailoring Requirements to Increase Stress Management Competencies Within Families: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Background Families experiencing high levels of psychological distress are considered a particularly vulnerable population for adverse effects on mental and physical health. Moreover, highly stressed individuals engage less in mental health promoting activities and show low stress management competencies. App-based stress interventions seem promising for the treatment and prevention of stress outcomes and might be a low-threshold solution. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the requirements for a tailored app to reduce stress in a cohort of highly stressed families that have low stress management skills. Methods Parents (n=1008; age: mean 47.7 years, SD 6.1; female: 599/1008, 59.7%) completed an extensive web-based survey and were subdivided into a target (stressed individuals with low stress competency) and nontarget group according to their reported stress level and stress management competencies. Group differences were analyzed using analysis of variance. In principal component analysis with Kaiser varimax rotation, personally defined stress management goals were grouped into components. Linear regression models were also calculated. Results A 3-factor solution cumulatively explained 56% of the variance in personally defined goals of interest for stress management with (1) active strategies (25.61% explained variance), (2) general competency (17.95% explained variance) and (3) passive strategies (12.45% explained variance). The groups differed in age (F1,978=27.67, P<.001), health index (F1,958=246.14, P<.001), personally defined general-competency goal (F1,958=94.16 P<.001), as well as “information acquisition” (F1,971=14.75, P<.001) and “need for stimulation” (F1,981=54.49, P<.001) personality traits. A regression model showed that for the active strategies goals of interest, only app feature information or instructional videos had a significant effect (P=.02). The general competency factor showed none, and the passive strategies factor showed significant effects for 2 app features—suggestions for planning possible activities with the family (P=.01) and diaries for documentation and development of strategies (P=.03). Conclusions The results of this survey study highlight the need to develop an app to increase stress management competencies that takes into consideration perceived stress level, stress management skills, personality, and personally defined goals of the user. The content of the app should be tailored to previously detected personality traits, especially selective information acquisition and low need for stimulation. Furthermore, personally defined stress management goals seem to affect interest in some features.

CEFR-Based Arabic Language Learning Competency

This research was an effort to formulate an easy and modern Arabic learning method for non-Arabic speakers. Learning Arabic at CEFR does not only focus on the principles of Nahwu as science or practice, but also there are other competencies that must be included in its learning. This research was descriptive qualitative in nature with the primarily data was the study of the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). Data analysis was carried out by document analysis on the CEFR-based Arabic learning competency and the results were presented in descriptive form. This research resulted two main competency standards in teaching Arabic based on CEFR, they were: language competence in general and communicative language competence. In this general competency there were four derivative competencies, namely: 1) declarative knowledge; 2) expertise and skills; 3) existential competence; and (4) the ability to learn. Meanwhile, the CEFR only defined communicative language competence in its three derivative competencies, namely: 1) linguistic competence; 2) sociolinguistic competence; and 3) pragmatic competence.

The role of emergency medicine for postgraduate year one undifferentiated physician: a qualitative analysis of trainees' perspective

Background PGY1 program was initiated in 2003 for undifferentiated physicians in Taiwan, the program aimed to improve the general competency gap exposed during the SARS epidemic breakout in physicians. Many published studies discussed the effectiveness of the program. We were interested in the learning impacts gained from the physicians' perspectives during EM rotation in the PGY1 program, and little was known regarding this subject. Methods This retrospective study used grounded theory data analysis methods. 201 PGY1 physicians rotated in the emergency department from August 2014 to July 2017 answered three open-ended post-rotation survey questions and resulted in a dataset of 603 comments. A three-member team for code development reviewed all comments and established the code themes with the consensus of the team members. A four-member coding team coded applicable comments accordingly. Results We coded 563 (96%) comments and sorted 32 themes essential to characterize the clinical experiences into two categories. Twenty-six codes were relevant to professional development; 6 were related to the emotional issue. In the professional development category, patient care (33%) was the most frequently coded domains in the sub-level of six core competencies, followed by system-based practice (25%) and interpersonal and communication skills (19%). Senses of growth and improvement were the most frequently coded theme in the emotional issue category, followed by pressure at the workplace and on-the-spot-feedback. The top 3 lessons learned by physicians' perception were decision-making, team and patient communication, and prioritize tasks. Conclusions EM rotation had a productive role in professional development for undifferentiated physicians before receiving specialty discipline training. Gaining experiences on clinical judgment and communication were the strengths of the EM PGY1 program. This model of analysis might be used as a novel way of assessment on the achievement of learning objectives from the trainee's perspective. However, a prospective standardized study protocol is needed for a further affirmative conclusion.

Designing the Structural Model of TVET Lecturers’ Professionalism and Generic Skills Based on an Empirical Study in Malaysia

This study seeks to identify the level of general competency of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) lecturers of construction technology civil engineering (CTCE) of vocational college using the standard model of competency requirement based on grade of lecturer and years of teaching experience. The data were analyzed using the SPSS Version 20.0 software, which involved descriptive statistical method, mean, and standard deviation. Data collection for the assessment phase involves construction technology lecturers from 45 vocational colleges in all the states in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents of the study were 304 lecturers who taught CTCE courses in vocational colleges from 14 states, namely Johor, Sarawak, and Federal Territory (Kuala Lumpur and Labuan). Finding shows that the professional general competency level of TVET CTCE vocational college lecturers based on years of teaching experience is high with satisfactory interpretation. It also shows that the level of professional competency of TVET CTCE lecturer of vocational college based on grade of the post is high, whereas the level of entrepreneurship skill competency as a whole is at moderate level. There was a slight decrease in the proficiency level profile of the CTCE lecturer who had more than 15 years of experience compared with those with teaching experience of 15 years or less. There found positive relationships between the dimensions of professionalism and the generic skills. The findings of the study will help the Ministry of Education in particular public or private institutions of higher learning in preparing TVET lecturers to become specialized, highly skilled, competent, and efficient in civil engineering courses in the attempt to strengthen the teaching profession, especially in technical and vocational education, which is in line with the aspirations of the 21st-century education.

Penerapan SMOTE dalam Pemodelan CHAID pada Data Keberhasilan Mahasiswa PPKU IPB

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) as the third rank of Indonesian non polytechnic universities in 2017 requires new students to join the General Competency Education Program (PPKU) for two semesters to improve the quality of human resources. Student achievement success can be determine from the student's academic status, where the student's academic status is divided into two, which are Drop Out (DO) and not DO. Only 1% of PPKU students who are drop out.. This means there is a data imbalance. One of the method used to handled that is Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) method. Classification analysis used is the Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) method to identify the factors that influence the success of PPKU students. The application of SMOTE to the 2016/2017 PPKU student data was able to improve the ability of classification trees with the average values ​​of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity to 0.718, 0.575, and 0.72. The factors that influence the success of IPB's PPKU students are the entry point, gender, and regional origin.

Constructing a general competency model for Chinese public health physicians: a qualitative and quantitative study

Background The purpose of the study was to construct a general model of the competencies required by Chinese public health physicians. This study is intended to lay the foundation for promoting reform of public health education in China, and may help perfect the testing and grading system of public health courses. Methods The behavioral event interviews were used to collect data on knowledge, skills and performance characteristics of public health physicians for coping with public health events. A random stratified sampling survey was used to select public health professionals and workers from different public health institutions in 14 provinces (municipalities or autonomous regions) of China. We then purposively selected 150 senior public health professionals from various agencies and 85 senior public health educators at colleges and universities to take part in the checklist survey. Finally, three times expert consultations were performed to determine the dimensions and elements of the general competency model for Chinese public health physicians. Results The age range of the 3245 participants was 18–65 years old. When comparing public health professionals and public health education specialists, we found significant differences in the perceived importance of the core competencies between these groups. The model was revised several times and finalized through the expert consultations, and comprised seven competency dimensions. Conclusion The final public health practitioner competency model comprised seven competency dimensions: basic knowledge of medicine, public health knowledge, health management and health promotion, specialized skills, research and development, comprehensive abilities and professionalism.

ANALISIS PENGARUH KOMPETENSI DAN IKLIM ORGAISASI TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI PADA UNIVESITAS METHODIST INDONESIA MEDAN

The performance of employees working at a university is one of the aspects of organization which is very much influenced by the competency and climate of organization. The importance of improving the performance in the work environment at the university is directly related to the students’ interest. Competency is an individual capacity to do various tasks of a work. The climate of organization is an atmosphere of organization created by several components that form a value of policy whose implementations is in accordance with the interest of working group. In general, competency has 2 ( two) main indicators namely knowledge and skill while the climate of organizations has 3 ( three) main indicators such as policy of organization, job description and compensation/reward system. The purpose of this survey with quantitative approach was to quantitatively explain the influence of competency and climate organizational on the performance of employees of University Methodist Indonesia Medan. The population of this study was all of the 52 employees still registered until 2011 and all of them were selected to be the samples for this study through total sampling technique. The data for this study were obtained through questionnaire-based interviews and documentation studies. The data obtained were analyzed through multiple linear regression test to inferentially test the influence of independent variables such as competency and climate of organizational on the dependent variable (employees’ performance). The result of this study showed that the competency conditional of the employees’ of University Methodist Indonesia Medan which was majorly good (73,1%) had significant influence of the performance of the employees. The condition of climate of organization of University Methodist Indonesia Medan which was majorly good (63,5%) had significant influence on the performance of employees. The competency and climate of organization had significant influence on the performance of employees. The management of University Methodist Indonesia Medan is suggested to more impore the competency either through seminar, course, and related trainings that the performance of their employees can be more improved.

Revisiting the Arcade Learning Environment: Evaluation Protocols and Open Problems for General Agents (Extended Abstract)

The Arcade Learning Environment (ALE) is an evaluation platform that poses the challenge of building AI agents with general competency across dozens of Atari 2600 games. It supports a variety of different problem settings and it has been receiving increasing attention from the scientific community. In this paper we take a big picture look at how the ALE is being used by the research community. We focus on how diverse the evaluation methodologies in the ALE have become and we highlight some key concerns when evaluating agents in this platform. We use this discussion to present what we consider to be the best practices for future evaluations in the ALE. To further the progress in the field, we also introduce a new version of the ALE that supports multiple game modes and provides a form of stochasticity we call sticky actions.

Investigation of Entrepreneurship Trends and General Competency Levels of University Students Studying at Faculty of Sports Sciences

The aim of this study is to determine the general competency beliefs and entrepreneurial levels of undergraduate students studying at faculty of sports sciences by different demographic variables.The sample group consists of total 1230 students, 541 women and 689 men, who have been educated in the sport sciences of five different universities and have been chosen by chance.In this study, the entrepreneurship scale, composed of 36 items, developed by Yılmaz and Sümbül (2009) and the entrepreneurship scale, developed by Jerusalem and Schwarzer (1992) and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), composed of 10 items, developed and adapted to Turkish by Çelikkaleli and Çapri (2008) were used as data collection tool.For statistical analysis of the data obtained from the study, the mean and frequency distributions were obtained. In order to determine the relationship between gender variables and the scores of the participants, t-test was performed and ANOVA test was performed to determine the relationship between the grades (points/marks) of the participants. Kruskal Wallis test was used for non-parametric tests because the variables studied did not meet the normal distribution and homogeneity conditions. In order to determine the relationship between the two scales, Pearson correlation test was performed and presented as results and tables. For statistical significance .05 significance level was selected.The results of the study show that the group has a high level of competency and entrepreneurship, that there is no meaningful relationship between gender variables and general competency and entrepreneurship levels, but that there is a meaningful relationship with the university variables they are studying. It has been determined that there is a positive correlation between the general level of competence of the students and the levels of entrepreneurship.