The Effectiveness of Empathy and Problem-Solving Skills Training on Social Self-efficacy and Mental Security of High School Boys

   Background: Teaching empathy and problem-solving skills is effective in improving students’ self-efficacy and quality of social life. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of empathy and problem-solving skills training on social self-efficacy and psychological security of Assaluyeh second high school boys. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study on all male high school students in Assaluyeh in the academic year of 2019-2020, of whom 45 were purposefully selected and assigned to two experimental groups and controls group. One experimental group received empathy training and the other group received problem-solving training in eight 90-minute sessions. To collect data, the social self-efficacy and Maslow’s psychological security questionnaires were used. Analysis of covariance was done using SPSS-24 software. Results: Empathy and problem-solving training were effective on social self-efficacy and psychological security of high school boys (P < 0.001). Also, no significant difference was found between the effectiveness of empathy skills training and problem-solving training on social self-efficacy and psychological security (P < 0.746). Conclusion: Empathy and problem-solving training increased social self-efficacy as well as psychological security in high school boys

Papel mediador da cultura organizacional na relação entre liderança servidora e desempenho no trabalho

The main aim of the present study is explaining the relationship between servant leadership and job performance by considering the mediating role of organizational culture. A descriptive-correlative method was used in this study. The statistical population of this study included staff of Shiraz nursing faculty. They were 275 persons at the time of study. The sample size was 160 persons based on Kerjesi-Morgan's table and the sampling was done by a simple- randomized method. Three questionnaires of servant leadership style (Taylor), organizational culture (Robbins) and job performance (Paterson) were used for gathering information. The validity and reliability of questionnaires were confirmed. Indexes such as mean and standard deviation and Pearson correlative coefficient and hierarchical analysis regression using Baron and Kenny method of two parts of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data and testing the hypothesizes. Results of the analyzed data showed that there is a direct and meaningful relationship between servant leadership, organizational culture and job performance. There is also a direct and meaningful relationship between organizational culture and job performance. Organizational culture plays a mediating role in the relationship between servant leadership and job performance.El objetivo principal del presente estudio es explicar la relación entre el liderazgo de servicio y el desempeño laboral al considerar el papel mediador de la cultura organizacional, para lo cual se utilizó un método descriptivo-correlativo. La población estadística de este estudio incluyó personal de la facultad de enfermería Shiraz. Fueron 275 personas en el momento del estudio. El tamaño de la muestra fue de 160 personas según la tabla de Kerjesi-Morgan y el muestreo se realizó por un método simple y aleatorio. Se utilizaron tres cuestionarios de estilo de liderazgo de servicio (Taylor), cultura organizacional (Robbins) y desempeño laboral (Paterson) para recopilar información. La validez y fiabilidad de los cuestionarios fueron confirmadas. Se usaron índices como la media y la desviación estándar y el coeficiente correlativo de Pearson y la regresión del análisis jerárquico utilizando el método de Baron y Kenny de dos partes de estadística descriptiva y estadística inferencial para analizar los datos y probar las hipótesis. Los resultados de los datos analizados mostraron que existe una relación directa y significativa entre el liderazgo de los servidores, la cultura organizacional y el desempeño laboral. También existe una relación directa y significativa entre la cultura organizacional y el desempeño laboral. La cultura organizacional juega un papel mediador en la relación entre el liderazgo de servicio y el desempeño laboral.O principal objetivo do presente estudo está relacionado com a relação entre o lider de serviço e o desempenho laboral considerando o papel mediador da cultura organizacional, para que o uso pessoal seja um método descritivo-correlativo. A população estadual deste estudo está incluída na faculdade de enfermaria Shiraz. Fueron 275 personas no momento do estudio. O tamanho da peça de 160 pessoas segue a tabela de Kerjesi-Morgan e o desempenho é feito por um método simples e aleatório. Se utilizaron os cuestionarios de estilo de liderar de servicio (Taylor), cultura organizacional (Robbins) y desempeño laboral (Paterson) para información recopilar. La validez y fiabilidad dos cuestionarios fueron confirmadas. A utilização de índices como a média e a baixa remuneração e o coeficiente correlativo de Pearson e a análise comparativa de histórico utilizando o método de Baron e Kenny para os componentes da estatística descritiva e estadística inferencial para analizar os dados e probar as hipóteses. Os resultados dos analizados mostram que existe uma relação direta e significativa entre os líderes de servidores, a cultura organizacional e o desempenho laboral. Também existe uma relação direta e significativa entre a cultura organizacional e o desempenho laboral. A cultura organizacional tem papel e mediador na relação entre o lider de serviço e o desempenho laboral

Innovation Models and Business Process Redesign

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a paradigm that is used by many organizations to survive in the competitive era. However, creative design of the business processes is a critical phase and the organization should prepare the ground for innovation in this phase. Innovation helps organizations to use the BPR concept efficiently. This paper reviews the BPR methodologies and innovation concepts and models and presents a business process redesign framework based on the innovation models using Dubin’s methodology. This brings innovation concepts to the world of business process reengineering. In the proposed framework, external and internal factors enforce the organization to accomplish a BPR project. Preparing an organization for innovation makes a new environment that drives employees to innovate and look forward to new processes. This is crucial for BPR projects where employees should make significant changes in jobs, workflows and IT, and increases the chance of BPR projects success. Key words: Innovation; Business process redesign framework; Dubin’s methodolog

Correlations between biomarkers of oxidative stress, glycemic control and insulin resistance in women with type 2 diabetes

Background. The main characteristic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance. Enhanced oxidative stress owing to increased oxygen free radicals and/or reduced antioxidant defense has very important roles in T2DM development and also most of its complications. The aim of the current study was to evaluate correlations between biomarkers of oxidative stress, glycemic control and insulin resistance in women with T2DM. Materials and methods. Seventy nine women with T2DM were included in the current study and fasting blood samples were collected. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c); glucose; oxidative stress biomarkers including malodialdehyde, 8-isoprostane, catalase and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured. The adiponectin/leptin (A/L) ratio and the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) were calculated. The results were considered significant when the p-value was less than 0.05. Results. Serum levels of TAC showed a significant positive correlation with the A/L ratio (r = 0.261, p = 0.02). A significant negative correlation was observed between values of HbA1c and TAC (r = –0.300, p = 0.007). However, HbA1c correlated positively with 8-isoprostane (r = 0.236, p = 0.036). Values of HOMA-B correlated negatively with values of HbA1c (r = –0.327, p = 0.003). Serum levels of 8-isoprostane were significantly higher in obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) women than in non-obese (BMI < 30 kg/m2) women (p = 0.032). Values of catalase (p = 0.022) and HOMA-B (p = 0.009) were significantly lower in women with HbA1c ≥ 7.6% compared with women with HbA1c < 7.6%. Conclusions. In summary, chronic hyperglycemia results in oxidative stress. This situation might lead to less beta cells function. In addition, low levels of the A/L ratio were associated with increased oxidative stress

Investigando o papel mediador da agilidade organizacional no efeito do capital intelectual sobre o desempenho do enfermeiro no Hospital Shahid Beheshti de Yasuj

Aim and literature: organizations face an environment which is characterized by increasing complexity and globalization and dynamism in the ultra-competitive era. So, the main aim of the present study is analyzing the effect of intellectual capital on nurses' job performance by considering the mediating role of organizational agility.The present research is an applied, descriptive, survey and correlative research in terms of its aim and methodology which was conducted in 2017 periodically. The statistical population of this study included the nurses of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Yasuj. They were 320 persons at the time of study. The sample size was 174 persons which were selected by a stratified- randomized method. The standard questionnaire was used for gathering information. The validity and reliability of this questionnaire was confirmed. Pearson correlation test, structural equations modeling and bootstrap test were used for analyzing the relationship between variables, measuring the fit of the research model and testing the hypotheses by SPSS and Smart Pls software respectively. Results suggested that the proposed model of research has a good fit and these results are in accordance with positive and significant effect of intellectual capital on nurses' job performance. Findings of this research also showed that intellectual capital has a direct, positive and significant effect on nurses' job performance with the moderating role of agility. The results showed that hospital agility can be an important factor in improving the nurses' job performance and thus strengthening the intellectual capital of the hospital.Objetivo y literatura: las organizaciones se enfrentan a un entorno caracterizado por el aumento de la complejidad y la globalización y el dinamismo en la era ultracompetitiva. Por lo tanto, el objetivo principal del presente estudio es analizar el efecto del capital intelectual en el desempeño laboral de las enfermeras al considerar el papel mediador de la agilidad organizacional.  La presente investigación es una investigación aplicada, descriptiva, encuesta y correlativa en términos de su objetivo y metodología que se llevó a cabo en 2017 periódicamente. La población estadística de este estudio incluyó a las enfermeras del Hospital Shahid Beheshti de Yasuj. Eran 320 personas en el momento del estudio. El tamaño de la muestra fue de 174 personas que fueron seleccionadas por un método estratificado y aleatorizado. El cuestionario estándar se usó para recopilar información. La validez y fiabilidad de este cuestionario fue confirmada. La prueba de correlación de Pearson, el modelado de ecuaciones estructurales y la prueba de arranque se usaron para analizar la relación entre variables, medir el ajuste del modelo de investigación y probar las hipótesis mediante el software SPSS y Smart Pls, respectivamente. los resultados sugirieron que el modelo propuesto de investigación encaja bien y estos resultados están de acuerdo con el efecto positivo y significativo del capital intelectual en el desempeño laboral de las enfermeras. Los resultados de esta investigación también mostraron que el capital intelectual tiene un efecto directo, positivo y significativo en el desempeño laboral de las enfermeras con el papel moderador de la agilidad. Los resultados mostraron que la agilidad hospitalaria puede ser un factor importante para mejorar el desempeño laboral de las enfermeras y así fortalecer el capital intelectual del hospital.O objetivo principal do presente estudo é avaliar o comprometimento organizacional de professores do ensino médio baseado na teoria de Herzberg sobre a motivação dos fatores. Um método de pesquisa descritiva é usado neste estudo. A população estatística deste estudo inclui os professores da escola secundária da administração educacional da cidade de Jahrom. Havia 330 pessoas no momento do estudo. O tamanho da amostra foi de 178 pessoas, de acordo com a tabela de Kerjesi-Morgan, e a amostragem foi realizada por método estratificado e randomizado. Dois problemas de comprometimento organizacional (Allen e Meyer) e motivação foram utilizados pelas razões dos fatores (expectativa de trabalho) (Lussier) para coletar informações. A validade e confiabilidade dos questionários foram confirmadas. indicadores SIRS como média e desvio padrão, amostra teste t, coeficiente de correlação de Pearson, t-teste em amostras independentes, análise de regressão multivariada e análise de variância através das partes de estatística descritiva e estatística inferencial para analisar os dados respectivamente. Os resultados dos dados analisados mostraram que existe uma relação significativa entre fatores de higiene motivacional e comprometimento organizacional. Não há diferença significativa entre os fatores de higiene de professores do sexo masculino e feminino, mas a taxa de fatores de higiene das professoras é maior do que a dos professores do sexo masculino. Tampouco há uma diferença significativa entre o comprometimento da organização do professor, mas a taxa de professores com mais do que a categoria de professores com bacharelado e mestrado em artes

Path Signatures for Seizure Forecasting

Forecasting the state of a system from an observed time series is the subject of research in many domains, such as computational neuroscience. Here, the prediction of epileptic seizures from brain measurements is an unresolved problem. There are neither complete models describing underlying brain dynamics, nor do individual patients exhibit a single seizure onset pattern, which complicates the development of a `one-size-fits-all' solution. Based on a longitudinal patient data set, we address the automated discovery and quantification of statistical features (biomarkers) that can be used to forecast seizures in a patient-specific way. We use existing and novel feature extraction algorithms, in particular the path signature, a recent development in time series analysis. Of particular interest is how this set of complex, nonlinear features performs compared to simpler, linear features on this task. Our inference is based on statistical classification algorithms with in-built subset selection to discern time series with and without an impending seizure while selecting only a small number of relevant features. This study may be seen as a step towards a generalisable pattern recognition pipeline for time series in a broader context

Computational models of V1 and MT neurons for estimation of visual motion direction

© 2016 Dr. Parvin Zarei EskikandThe processing of motion information in the brain initiates in the primary area of visual cortex (V1). V1 neurons transmit initial estimates of the motion of stimuli to neurons in higher areas of the cortex. However, V1 neurons measure only the component of the motion that is perpendicular to the edge of the stimulus because of their small receptive fields. A computational neural network model based on area MT is developed to estimate the correct direction of motion from the ambiguous information supplied by V1 neurons. The neural model processes the motion information of the stimulus through two stages. Complex V1 neurons at the first stage are spatiotemporal filters that represent ambiguous motion information along the edge of the stimulus but correct motion information at the end points (terminators) of the stimulus. The neurons responding to the terminators of the stimulus provide an unambiguous estimation of the direction of motion because of the two-dimensional structure of the corners. End-stopped neurons in V1 exclusively respond to the motion of terminators, which are modeled by inhibitory interconnections between the neighboring neurons. The incoming motion signals provided by complex V1 neurons and end-stopped V1 neurons proceed to MT neurons at the second stage. The excitatory and inhibitory interconnections between MT neurons result in the propagation of unambiguous motion information from the terminators to the other regions of the stimulus to achieve responses to the correct direction of motion. The information provided by end-stopped neurons is essential for the MT neurons to distinguish ambiguous motion information of the edges from the unambiguous information of the terminators. Although, end-stopped neurons provide a correct estimation of the direction of motion at the end-points (intrinsic terminators) of the stimulus, their represented local motion signals at extrinsic terminators (formed at the intersection of two overlapping stimuli moving in different directions) conflicts with the global motion direction of the stimuli. The neural model explains how interactions between form and motion information may assist neurons in the motion-specific regions of primate cortex to differentiate intrinsic from extrinsic terminators. In the proposed model, MT neurons additionally receive form information from neurons in the V1 area sensitive to the luminance of the stimulus with suppressive surrounds. As these neurons receive stronger inhibition from their surrounds at the extrinsic terminators, the excitatory inputs from these V1 neurons assist unambiguous motion signals at the intrinsic terminators to dominate over the local motion signals generated at the extrinsic terminators. The results show that, despite the inability of end-stopped neurons to distinguish two different types of terminators, center-surround V1 neurons have higher activity at the intrinsic terminators resulting in an accurate representation of motion by MT neurons. The proposed model also shows that the strength of the excitatory connections from center-surround V1 neurons, which supply initial form information to MT neurons, determines the pattern or component selectivity of MT neurons. A strong input from the center-surround V1 neurons inhibits the local motion information of the extrinsic terminators. Therefore, MT neurons reflect the component motion information of the stimuli received from V1 neurons in the absence of the intrinsic terminators. However, in the case of weak excitatory connections from center-surround V1 neurons, the pattern motion information propagates from extrinsic terminators to other regions over time and, after a temporal delay, MT neurons represent the pattern motion of the input stimulus. The proposed model of the V1 and MT neurons suggest the key role of terminators and the neurons enhancing or suppressing the motion information of these regions in the perceived motion of the stimulus. The findings are summarized in three main components: The results show that resolving ambiguity of the motion information along the edges is a two-stage process that is initiated by end-stopped V1 neurons and finalized by interconnections between MT neurons. - The model also suggests the necessity of form information for suppressing the effects of extrinsic terminators in the case of overlapping stimuli. - The results of the model question the generally believed hypothesis that the hierarchical process of pattern motion computation of MT neurons is based on the integration of component motions. The model suggests that the pattern or component motion preference of MT neurons is highly dependent on the strength of the input from center-surround V1 neurons

Correlation between condensed tannin and fiber contents of irradiated pomegranate seed

Pomegranate seeds were exposed to electron and gamma irradiations at doses of 5, 10, 15 and 20 kGy to study the relationships between their condensed tannin, NDF, ADF contents, in vitro rumen methane production and protozoa population. Data were analyzed by using the GLM procedure. Orthogonal contrast showed that gamma irradiation significantly increased the NDF content of pomegranate seed as compared to control (P<0.05), however electron beam irradiation did not significantly affect NDF%. The condensed tannin content of the pomegranate seed was significantly decreased by gamma and electron beam irradiation compared to control (P<0.05). Our results showed that there was a negative correlation between the methane production and NDF content of the gamma irradiated pomegranate seed. This means that the methane production of the gamma irradiated pomegranate seed decreased with increasing NDF%. Therefore, it seems that, in addition to tannin, the reduction of the methane production was affected by the cell wall content. Generally, the cell wall content may be more important than tannins in limiting microbial and in vitro fermentation