The Level of Understanding of the Nature of Science among the Biology Teachers in the Directorate of Irbid and Its Relation to the Level of their Explanation of Biological Phenomena

هدفت الدراسة التعرف إلى مستوى فهم معلمي الأحياء لطبيعة العلم، وعلاقته بمستوى تفسيرهم للظواهر البيولوجية. وتكونت عينة الدراسة من 120 معلماً ومعلمة يدرّسون مادة الأحياء في مديرية لواء قصبة إربد. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة طُوّر اختبار يقيس مستوى فهم معلمي الأحياء لطبيعة العلم، كما أُعدّ اختبار آخر يقيس مستوى تفسير معلمي الأحياء للظواهر البيولوجية، وطبقا على عينة الدراسة. أشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى أن مستوى فهم معلمي الأحياء لطبيعة العلم كان بدرجة متوسطة على الاختبار ككل، وعلى كل بعد من أبعاده، وعدم وجود فروق دالة في مستوى فهم معلمي الأحياء لطبيعة العلم تعزى لأثر كل من جنس المعلم، وسنوات خبرته، والتفاعل بينهما. وأشارت النتائج أن مستوى تفسير معلمي ومعلمات الأحياء للظواهر البيولوجية كان مرتفعاً، وعدم وجود فروق دالة في مستوى قدرة المعلمين على تفسير الظواهر البيولوجية تعزى لأثر كل من جنس المعلم، وسنوات خبرته، والتفاعل بينهما. كما أشارت النتائج إلى وجود علاقة ارتباطية دالة بين مستوى فهم معلمي الأحياء لطبيعة العلم، وقدرتهم على تفسير الظواهر البيولوجية.The study aimed to identify the level of understanding of the nature of science among the Biology teachers in the directorate of Irbid and its relation to the level of their explanation of Biological phenomena. The sample of the study comprised 120 teachers who teach biology in the directorate of Irbid Kasbah district. A test was developed to measure the level of teachers' understanding of the nature of science. Another test was developed to measure the level of teachers' explanation of the biological phenomenon. The tools was applied on the sample study. The results pointed out a moderate degree of teachers' understanding of the nature of science, and showed that there were no significant differences in the level of teachers' understanding due to their gender, the number of years of experience, or the interaction between them. In addition, the results pointed out a high degree of teachers' explanation of biological phenomena, and there were no significant differences in the ability of teachers to explain the biological phenomenon due to their gender, the years of experience or the interaction between them. In addition, the findings revealed a significant correlation between teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their ability to explain biological phenomena

Experiencing transformation: the case of Jordanian nurse immigrating to the UK

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112229/1/jocn12810.pd

Cross - national comparisons of attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons in university students from 12 countries

This paper reports the results of a comparative investigation of attitudes to suicide and suicidal persons in 5,572 university students from 12 countries. Participants filled out two scales measuring attitudes towards suicide and suicidal persons, a measure of psychological distress together with the questions about suicidal behavior. Results showed that the highest suicide acceptance scores were observed in Austrian, UK, Japanese and Saudi Arabian samples and the lowest scores were noted in Tunisian, Turkish, Iranian and Palestinian samples. While the highest social acceptance scores for a suicidal friend were noted in Turkish, US, Italian and Tunisian samples, the lowest scores were seen in Japanese, Saudi Arabian, Palestinian and Jordanian samples. Compared to participants with a suicidal past, those who were never suicidal displayed more internal barriers against suicidal behavior. Men were more accepting of suicide than women but women were more willing to help an imagined suicidal peer. Participants with accepting attitudes towards suicide but rejecting attitudes towards suicidal persons reported more suicidal behavior and psychological distress, and were more often from high suicide rate countries and samples than their counterparts. They are considered to be caught in a fatal trap in which most predominant feelings of suicidality such as hopelessness or helplessness are likely to occur. We conclude that in some societies such as Japan and Saudi Arabia it might be difficult for suicidal individuals to activate and make use of social support systems

Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-Nation Study. Archives of Suicide Research

This study investigated the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychological distress in university students across 12 nations. A total of 5572 university students from 12 countries were surveyed about suicide ideation, suicide attempts and psychological distress by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Almost 29% of the samples reported having contemplated suicide and 7% reported attempting suicide. Of the total sample, 51.1% scored above the General Health Questionnaire-12 ≥ 3 cut-off point, 41.6% above the GHQ-12 ≥ 4 cut-off point, and 33.8% scored above the GHQ-12 ≥ 5 cut-off point. While odds of suicide ideation were elevated in Austria and the UK, reduced ORs were detected for China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Similarly, while odds of suicide attempt were high in Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and to some extent in Turkey, reduced ORs were observed for Austria, China, Italy, Japan and the USA. Elevated ORs for psychological distress were seen in Japan, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey but reduced ORs were noted in Austria, China, Iran, Italy and the USA. Psychological distress was strongly associated with reports of suicide ideation and attempts. Suicide ideation, suicide attempt and psychological distress are common in university students but their rates vary depending on the sociocultural context. Due attention should be devoted to the mental health needs of young adults enrolled in higher educational institutions and more cross-cultural research is warranted to better understand the etiology of the observed intersocietal variations in suicidal behavior and psychological distress

The Role of Religion on Suicidal Behavior, Attitudes and Psychological Distress in University Students: A Multinational Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the association of religion to suicidal behavior, attitudes and psychological distress in 5572 students from 12 countries by means of a self-report questionnaire. Our results showed that an affiliation with Islam was associated with reduced risk for suicide ideation, however affiliating with Orthodox Christianity and no religion was related to increased risk for suicide ideation. While affiliating with Buddhism, Catholic religion and no religion associated with lowered risk for attempting suicide, affiliation with Islam was related to heightened risk for attempting suicide. Affiliation with Hinduism, Orthodox Christianity, Protestantism, Catholicism, other religions and with no religion was associated with decreased risk for psychological distress but those reported affiliating with Islam evinced greater risk for psychological distress. The associations of the strength of religious belief to suicidal ideation and attempts were in the expected direction for most but it had a positive relation in respondents affiliating with Catholicism and other religions. Students reporting affiliation with Islam, Orthodox religion and Buddhism were the least accepting of suicide but they displayed a more confronting interpersonal style to an imagined peer with a suicidal decision. It was concluded that the protective function of religion in educated segments of populations (university students) and in university students residing in Muslim countries where freedom from religion is restricted or religion is normative and/or compulsory is likely to be limited. Our findings suggest that public policies supporting religious freedom may augment the protective function of religion against suicide and psychological distress

Adherence therapy for medication non-compliant patients with hypertension: a randomised controlled trial

The objective of this study is to establish the efficacy of adherence therapy (AT) compared with treatment as usual (TAU) in reducing blood pressure (BP) in non-compliant hypertensive patients. This study was designed as a parallel-group single-blind randomised controlled trial. The study was carried out at three general hospital outpatient clinics in Jordan. A total of 136 non-compliant hypertensive patients with a mean baseline BP of 164.5 mm Hg (s.d. 10.0) over 102.2 mm Hg (s.d. 7.0) participated in the study. 7 weekly 20-min sessions of AT in addition to TAU. The main outcome of this study is systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 11-weeks follow-up. In all, 68 patients received TAU and 68 AT. Intention-to-treat analysis included all participants randomised. AT lowered SBP by -23.11 mm Hg (95% CI: -25.85, -20.36) and diastolic BP (DBP) by -15.18 mm Hg (95% CI: -17.55, -12.80) at 11 weeks compared with TAU. Adherence (measured by pill counting) was also improved in the AT group by 37% at 11 weeks compared with TAU. No significant adverse events were reported. AT increases adherence to medication for hypertension which then leads to a clinically important reduction in BP.Journal of Human Hypertension advance online publication, 17 February 2011; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.133