“Internship at United Nations (UN) _ Transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”

“Internship at United Nations (UN) _ Transition from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” Student: Mohammad Radmehr Advisor: Professor Oscar De Rojas Environmental Sustainability Long Island University The main purpose of this internship could be described as an involvement in the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at global level during the last United Nations General Assembly session, held at summit level, in September 2015. Today the importance of Sustainability is strongly linked with equality, eradication of poverty, and balance in natural resource consumption with respect to future generations. This internship, done at the Office of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the United Nations, was coincident with an exciting moment of United Nations Summit to launch the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The need for such goals can be found in today’s interconnected global society in all Environmental, Social, and Economic dimensions. Also this period could be considered as a transition from the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals, 8goals) to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals, 17 goals). These new goals are inevitable and necessary with respect to entering into an Anthropocene (human-made) era and emerging out of the idea of “planetary boundaries”, including dangerous patterns of climate change and loss of biodiversity. In this case, the UN is considered as a facilitator and general policy maker to show the road map to all participants. During this internship I had the opportunity to be involved with the process of negotiation and adoption of SDGs in different sessions. Making reports on all these processes and their progress, and also doing some research about the situation of sustainability in different countries was another part of my rewarding internship program

Estimating economic values for a sustainable energy supply : a case study in Northern Cyprus

PhdStated preference techniques are widely used to evaluate an individual’s preferences in the context of environmental economics. The aim of this thesis is to explore the use of different stated preference methods to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for micro-generation solar systems. The case study setting is North Cyprus. Households’ preferences and choices for generating electricity on their premises were assessed using contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiments (CEs). CV was employed to estimate individuals’ WTP for micro-generation solar technology, and also willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for loss of amenity and feed-in tariff. The data comprised a survey of 369 individuals through the face-to-face interviews. The survey was split between two separate CV experiments, one using open-ended questions, and the other in the double-bounded format. A Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) incentive compatible experimental approach was adopted with a cheap-talk to reduce strategic behaviour and hypothetical biases. Additionally, a CE survey of 205 respondents was carried out to evaluate the attributes that influence respondents’ choices in the adoption of micro-generation solar panels. The attributes comprised a government subsidy, feed-in tariff, investment cost, energy savings, and the space required for installation. Respondents were asked to choose their most preferred alternative from two hypothetical scenarios of attributes and the status quo (do nothing). One of the important findings of this thesis is the significance of the suggested experimental approach, which enabled the convergence of WTA/WTP values. The contribution of this thesis relies on the use of BDM with CV, as well as the CE, to value ii preferences for micro-generation solar panel adoption. This is the first application of the BDM and CE methods to evaluate solar technology in Northern Cyprus.AS Bank for providing the partial fundin

Exploring Students’ Metacognitive Knowledge: The Case of Integral Calculus

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Online mathematics teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: The perspective of lecturers and students

The global spread of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, reached Norway at the end of February 2020. MatRIC, Centre for Research, Innovation and Coordination of Mathematics Teaching conducted a national survey in Norwegian higher education institutions (HEIs) during June-July 2020 to explore lecturers’ and students’ experiences of online mathematics teaching and learning and to enable sharing of solutions to the challenges encountered. One hundred and twenty-seven students and eighteen lecturers participated in this survey. In this presentation, we will share some of the findings of the survey in relation to the following two themes: challenges of learning and teaching mathematics online, and the psychological impact of lockdown on student learning and lecturer teaching. The study findings show that many students missed the social contact, being physically present at the university, and face to face interaction with their lecturers. Additionally, several students experienced a degree of anxiety through the lockdown period to the extent that they perceived their learning was negatively affected. Lecturers took a number of steps to ensure lines of communication remained open. Our findings show that simple actions by the lecturer to open channels of communication can be very effective.publishedVersio

Switching to Fully Online Teaching and Learning of Mathematics: The Case of Norwegian Mathematics Lecturers and University Students During the Covid‑19 Pandemic

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Exploring engineering students’ engagement with proof without words: the case of calculus

Previous studies have reported that many engineering students struggle to develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics in university calculus courses. Engaging with mathematical proofs is one of the approaches to developing a conceptual understanding of mathematics; however, it is not always easy to use standard proofs for this purpose. In the present study, we focus on a type of mathematical proof known as Proof Without Words (PWW). A PWW typically consists of pictures or diagrams that help readers understand why a mathematical statement is true without providing verbal justifications. This study investigates how engineering students engage with PWW tasks related to calculus and also how they perceive its usefulness for teaching and learning calculus. Twenty undergraduate engineering students participated in semi-structured group interviews (in groups of two students), engaging with three PWW tasks related to calculus. Afterwards, students’ perceptions of PWW tasks were explored using several open-ended questions. The findings indicate that many students engaged well with this type of activity. Furthermore, all students perceived that PWW tasks could positively impact their mathematical understanding, and many believed they could be used for teaching and learning calculus. Furthermore, several students highlighted that PWWs could also help with comprehending standards proofs and make mathematics learning more enjoyable

A transition to online teaching and learning of mathematics in Norwegian higher education institutions: the perspectives of lecturers and students

This paper reports a study of university lecturers’ and students’ experiences of teaching and learning mathematics following the abrupt requirement to switch to online teaching in 2020. A goal of the study is to share experiences that could be useful to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics in online settings. The qualitative research described is a phenomenological study and draws on interviews with ten mathematics lecturers and six undergraduate students who were enrolled in at least one university mathematical course during the lockdown in 2020. The interview data were analysed using a thematic approach. This paper reports findings regarding perceptions of lecturers and students about the challenges and benefits of online teaching and learning of mathematics, how the transition to online education has influenced assessment and sharing useful approaches for teaching and learning mathematics in online settings.publishedVersio

The effectiveness of mindfulness–based cognitive therapy on interpretation bias and dysfunctional attitude in suffering disorder comorbidity social anxiety and depression

زمینه و هدف: همبودی اضطراب اجتماعی- افسردگی از شایع ترین مشکلات نوجوانان محسوب می شود که پیامدهای مخربی برای آنان دارد. هدف پژوهش حاضر بررسی اثر بخشی شناخت درمانی مبتنی بر ذهن آگاهی بر میزان سوگیری تعبیر و نگرش ناکارآمد در مبتلایان به اختلال همبودی اضطراب اجتماعی و افسردگی بود. روش بررسی: روش پژوهش حاضر از نوع طرح نیمه تجربی با پیش آزمون- پس آزمون و پیگیری با گروه گواه است. جامعه آماری این پژوهش کلیه دانش آموزان دختر دوره متوسطه اول و دوم مبتلا به اختلال همبودی اضطراب اجتماعی و افسردگی شهر خرم آباد می باشد که به منظور اجرای پژوهش غربالگری انجام گرفت که ابتدا 437 شرکت کننده با دامنه سنی 14 تا 17 سال، پرسشنامه اضطراب اجتماعی و افسردگی را تکمیل نمودند که از میان آن ها 30 نفر دارای اضطراب اجتماعی و افسردگی همراه بالا (یک انحراف معیار بالاتر از میانگین گروه) انتخاب گردید، سپس 30 نفر منتخب با انتساب تصادفی به 2 گروه 15 نفری آزمایش و گواه تقسیم شدند. گروه آزمایش 8 جلسه 2ساعته (هفته­ای یک جلسه) به صورت گروهی تحت آموزش MBCT قرار گرفتند. بعد از اتمام جلسات، هر دو گروه به پرسشنامه های تعبیر و نگرش ناکارآمد پاسخ دادند. یافته ها: در گروه آزمایش کاهش معنی داری در سوگیری تعبیر مربوط به خود، سوگیری تعبیر مربوط به دیگران (001/0>P) و نگرش ناکارآمد (05/0>P) بعد از دریافت آموزش مشاهده شد. ضمن اینکه نتایج در مرحله پیگیری نیز حفظ شد. نتیجه گیری: با توجه به نتایج حاصله، آموزش های مبتنی بر ذهن آگاهی برای کاهش میزان سوگیری تعبیر و نگرش ناکارآمد در مبتلایان به اختلال همبودی اضطراب اجتماعی و افسردگی توصیه می شود

The effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing death anxiety in women suffering from coronary artery disease

Background and aim: Coronary artery patiets face to important issues that mental health problems such as death anxiety are some of these problems that majority of patient's experience. Thus, they will cause the reduction of the quality of life and increased risk of death. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing death anxiety in women suffering coronary artery disease. Methods: This study was a semi-experimental, two-group, and three-step study that conducted on 30 women suffering from coronary artery disease that were assigned randomly into 2 groups: experimental and control groups. The experimental group received mindfulness-based cognitive therapy training eight 2-hour sessions and each session in a week. Tool of collecting data was Templer Death Anxiety Scale (1970) and in order to achieve results in the SPSS software, analysis of covariance and moderation mean was used. Results: The findings of the present study showed a significant effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on the reduction of death anxiety level (P<0.001). These results were maintained during the follow-up phase. Conclusion: Due to the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing of death anxiety level and continuity its effects, it seems necessary the use of these techniques at all levels of prevention and treatment of suffering from physical illness

Nursing Care Aesthetic in Iran: A Phenomenological Study

Background: Despite the emphasis of contemporary nursing theories on the belief that nursing is a science and an art in care, published studies show that only the nursing science has developed. Many experts believe that by recognizing and perceiving this concept, the clinical field can develop aesthetic knowledge in nursing and education of students. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explain clients and nurses perspective of nursing care aesthetics. Patients and Methods: Using an interpretive phenomenology, 12 clients and 14 nurses were interviewed. Participants in this study were purposefully selected and their experiences were analyzed using Van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological framework. Results: Emerged themes were as follows: subjective description, overt spirituality, opening desperate impasse, sense of unity, continue to shine, and painful pass and pleasing. According the participants experiences, nursing care aesthetics includes subjective description of spiritual and desirable caring behaviors combined with sense of unity and sympathy between the nurse and the patients, which leads to opening in desperate impasse with creating the feeling of satisfaction and peace in the patient. It is a shining of clinical capabilities and an action beyond what should be combined with a decorating care that leads to a pleasant ending against the pain and suffering of the others for the nurse. Conclusions: Many caring behaviors associate with aesthetic experience for both patients and nurses and despite two different views, findings of this study showed that these experiences were similar in most cases. The aesthetics of nursing care was defined as what reflects the holistic nature of nursing with an emphasis on spirituality and skill. Results of this study are effective in identification of the values existed in nurse caring behaviors and developing of profession by instruction, implementation, and evaluation them