MOTIVATING SCHOOLGIRLS TO LEARN DISCIPLINES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND PHYSICS

Sector of technological and physical sciences is exceptionally male professional area. It is rather difficult to motivate girls already in the school for career in this field. Professional gender stereotypes are one of the main reasons that impact attitudes towards girls in this male area. In this young age both parents and teachers play an important role as well as dominating images in media, forming aspirations concerning professional career. Thus, the school environment is particularly significant as motivating or demotivating girls to select this pathway of their professional career. This paper is aimed to identify factors significant for development of professional motivation for technological and physical sciences among schoolgirls in Lithuanian schools. The sample consisted of 1398 schoolchildren (58 % females and 42 % males) from 33 Lithuanian schools. The average age of the schoolchildren was 16-17 years. The study was financed by Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania.The results of the empirical analysis indicated that boys expressed stronger professional motivation and showed higher interest in IT and Physics practicing the related activities on their free time, whereas girls expressed lower evaluation of their abilities to learn IT and Physics and more follow gender stereotypes

Functions Ofeducationalactivitiesin Cultural Centersfrom Thecommunity Development Perspective

This paper aims to analyse the role that cultural centres in Lithuania and Lithuanian cultural organisations in the Kaliningrad region and Belarus play in organizing educational activities for the local communities. The aim of this article is to identify functions ofthe educationalactivitiesof cultural centres and Lithuanian cultural organisations revealing theirimpact on thelocal communitydevelopment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 4 Lithuanian cultural centres and 6 Lithuanian cultural organisations of border regions in Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia, the Kaliningrad region. The sample consists of 55 informants from Lithuanian cultural communities and cultural centres. The content analysis and comparative analysis methods were applied for the data analysis. The study revealed that educational activities would lead to active participation of members in community development. The following functions of educational activitieswere identified: dissemination of knowledge, empowerment, self-realization, enlightenment, value development, recreation, communication, national identitystrengthening, and community mobilization.

The Desired Managerial Leader Behavior: Leader Profile in the Education Sector in Iceland Examined From a Follower-Centric Perspective

This article presents a study of desired leadership behavior in the educational sector in Iceland. This sector has been undergoing major challenges during recent years, including restructuring and mergers of schools, strikes of teachers’ professional unions, and increasing dropout rates. This situation requires exceptional leadership together with the understanding that leadership is a culture and context contingent phenomenon. However, research on managerial leadership in the education sector in Iceland is virtually nonexistent, presenting a gap in literature as well as failure to contribute to solving issues in practice. This article contributes to closing this gap by investigating the desired leader profile from a follower-centric perspective. The results indicate that the most desired leader behaviors in this sector tend to be relationship orientated, suggesting a need to focus on the “soft” side of leadership and reconsider overemphasis on bureaucracy. Effects of gender and demographic differences are minimal, suggesting coherence with structural theory. Managerial leadership implications and future research directions are discussed.Peer Reviewe

Occupational radiation exposure to nursing staff during cardiovascular fluoroscopic procedures:A review of the literature

Fluoroscopy is a method used to provide real time x‐ray imaging of the body during medical procedures to assist with medical diagnosis and treatment. Recent technological advances have seen an increase in the number of fluoroscopic examinations being performed. Nurses are an integral part of the team conducting fluoroscopic investigations and are often located close to the patient resulting in an occupational exposure to radiation. The purpose of this review was to examine recent literature which investigates occupational exposure received by nursing staff during cardiovascular fluoroscopic procedures. Articles published between 2011 and 2017 have been searched and comprehensively reviewed on the referenced medical search engines. Twenty‐four relevant studies were identified among which seventeen investigated nursing dose comparative to operator dose. Seven researched the effectiveness of interventions in reducing occupational exposure to nursing staff. While doctors remain at the highest risk of exposure during procedures, evidence suggests that nursing staff may be at risk of exceeding recommended dose limits in some circumstances. There is also evidence of inconsistent use of personal protection such as lead glasses and skull caps by nursing staff to minimize radiation exposure. Conclusions: The review has highlighted a lack of published literature focussing on dose to nurses. There is a need for future research in this area to inform nursing staff of factors which may contribute to high occupational doses and of methods for minimizing the risk of exposure, particularly regarding the importance of utilizing radiation protective equipment

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Analysis of Electricity and Natural Gas Security. A Case Study for Germany, France, Italy and Spain

open4siThis work aims to present an analysis of electricity and natural gas supply security in the four European Union countries with the highest level of consumption, namely Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The goal of the study is to use and adapt a set of 22 indicators for estimating the level of energy security. The evaluation of an index called “Energy Security Level”, measuring the overall energy security, is performed for the period 2006–2018 in order to compare its evolution in each of the analyzed countries. The application of the proposed indicator system demonstrates which measures weakened or strengthened energy security in the past. The analysis of the energy security level demonstrates that Germany and France perform better than Italy and Spain in terms of energy security assurance. The main factors for these differences are the rich energy mix for Germany and the massive presence of nuclear power in France. These two elements make German and French energy systems more resilient than the Italian and Spanish ones. The results of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis demonstrate that the initial values of indicator weights have low impact on the uncertainty of energy security level estimations.openKrikstolaitis R.; Bianco V.; Martisauskas L.; Urboniene S.Krikstolaitis, R.; Bianco, V.; Martisauskas, L.; Urboniene, S

MOTIVATING SCHOOLGIRLS TO LEARN DISCIPLINES OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND PHYSICS

Sector of technological and physical sciences is exceptionally male professional area. It is rather difficult to motivate girls already in the school for career in this field. Professional gender stereotypes are one of the main reasons that impact attitudes towards girls in this male area. In this young age both parents and teachers play an important role as well as dominating images in media, forming aspirations concerning professional career. Thus, the school environment is particularly significant as motivating or demotivating girls to select this pathway of their professional career. This paper is aimed to identify factors significant for development of professional motivation for technological and physical sciences among schoolgirls in Lithuanian schools. The sample consisted of 1398 schoolchildren (58 % females and 42 % males) from 33 Lithuanian schools. The average age of the schoolchildren was 16-17 years. The study was financed by Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania.The results of the empirical analysis indicated that boys expressed stronger professional motivation and showed higher interest in IT and Physics practicing the related activities on their free time, whereas girls expressed lower evaluation of their abilities to learn IT and Physics and more follow gender stereotypes