Measuring student engagement with school across cultures: Psychometric findings from Portugal and Romania

Student engagement with school activities has been conceptualized and operationalized through three dimensions: affective, behavioral and cognitive. Recent empirical evidence suggests that personal agency could be added as a fourth core dimension. To capture all these dimensions, a new measure (Student Engagement in School-Four-Dimensions Scale/SES-4DS) has been designed and validated in a sample of Portuguese middle and high school students. This paper examines the cross-cultural construct validity of the Portuguese SES-4DS. The SES-4DS was simultaneously administered to a sample of 377 high school Portuguese students and 365 high school Romanian students. In order to estimate factor structure congruence, the Tucker’s φ coefficient was used. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor measurement model in both sample. Data also revealed reasonable values of φ coefficient for the cognitive and behavioral engagement, while values for affective and agentic engagement were good. Internal consistency ranged from .69 to .87 for the Portuguese sample and .73 to .78 for the Romanian sample. The results indicate that the SES-4DS is a measure that captures the same underlying dimensions of engagement in school across cultures. Implications in terms of using the scale for cross-cultural research purposes are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bactericide polymers obtained from nitrofuran and chitosan derivatives

Background: In this study, the synthesis and characterization of chitosan polymeric materials grafted with nitrofuran derivatives – furaceline and isofural in terms of antibacterial properties and prolongation of their action were performed. Material and methods: Synthesis of chitosan analog polymers with maleic anhydride was performed, followed by grafting of nitrofuran derivatives using ethyl chloroformate. The chemical composition of the obtained polymers was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Antibacterial study has been performed on a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. Results: Chitosan derivatives with a content of 30 mol% of maleic anhydride were obtained. To the analogous polymer ”chitosan maleinized” the medicinal products isofural or furaciline with the help of the ethyl chloroformate were functionalized. By comparative analysis of the IR spectra of the final products with the IR spectra of maleinized chitosan and furacilin or isofuran was demonstrated the individual structure of the polymeric preparations “maleinized chitosan grafted with furacilin“ / “maleinized chitosan grafted with isofural”. The antibacterial substances, isofural and furaciline, among nitrofurans, being grafted with chitosan maleinized, keep their bactericidal activity in the limits of 75-300 µg/mL. The polymeric materials from chitosan maleate grafted with isofural or furacillin in a ratio of 70:30 have a prolonged antibacterial action (observation period 72 hours). Conclusions: It has been found that isofural and furacilin, among nitrofurans, being grafted on chitosan polymeric material, retain their bactericidal activity and possess prolonged antibacterial action

Students’ Attitude Towards the Sustainable Use of Mobile Technologies in Higher Education

Our study aims to identify students’ attitudes towards the use of mobile technologies (MT) during learning activities in higher education. Data were collected using the Mobile Technologies Questionnaire/MTQ, a ten-item brief questionnaire that was designed to determine attitudes towards the use of mobile technologies in the learning process among university students and academic staff. The MTQ was completed by 575 students from a state university in the northeastern region of Romania. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed two latent factors: MT facilities for study resources and communication and MT facilities for learning. Along with general analysis of the statistical indicators regarding the attitude towards the use of MT, the relationships between the use of MT and five socio-demographic variables (gender, age, place of residence, year of study, academic status and study program) were analyzed. Comparative data showed some statistically significant differences but with small or modest effect sizes, depending on age, year of study, place of residence, academic status and the study program in which the students were enrolled. This study provides additional support for the construct validity of a brief tool that was designed to measure students’ attitudes towards the use of MT during learning activities carried out in higher education.Ministry of Education and Research, through the National Council for the Financing of Higher Education, Romania, grant number CNFIS-FDI-2021-0285

Can Teleworking Lead to Economic Growth during Pandemic Times? Empirical Evidence at the European Union Level

Teleworking is known as a way of the future that enhances economic growth as an accumulation of physical as well as human capital. Using digitalization that increase the procedures and services efficiency and reduce the repetitive work of employers by using technology, teleworking improves firm performance by enhancing efficiency, motivation, and knowledge creation. This paper aims to analyze the influence of teleworking, based on its characteristics and determinants under the influence of financial and pandemic crises, on economic growth as measured by GDP growth; this was performed using econometric models from the literature and fuzzy logic. The econometric analysis included a two-step approach regarding the years 2008–2020 (including COVID-19 pandemic period) for the 27 member states of the EU. The research results suggest that access to the Internet, employment ratio, and average wage significantly influenced the teleworking ratio of the employees. Furthermore, the access to the Internet made a significant difference in using teleworking, given the infrastructure that was already created in the first COVID-19 pandemic wave. Employees took advantage of it and continued, at a lower scale, to maintain social distancing, although the measures taken in the second wave were not perceived to be as tough as in the first one

Envolvimento dos alunos na escola e variáveis familiares: uma revisão da literatura

"Students' engagement in school" is regarded in the literature as a current and valued construct despite the lack of empirical studies on its relationship with specific family variables. The present research aimed to survey studies on the correlation between students' engagement in school and family contexts, specifically in terms of the following variables: perceived parental support, socioeconomic and sociocultural levels, perceived rights, and parental educational styles. In order to describe the state of the art of student's "engagement in school" and "family variables", a narrative review was conducted. The studies reviewed highlight the role of family as a context with significance in student's engagement in school. However, further research is needed to deepen the knowledge of this topic considering potential mediator variables, either personal or school variables. It was also found the need for a psychosocial intervention aimed at providing support for the students coming from adverse family contexts who exhibit low level of engagement associated with poor academic achievement and a higher probability of dropping out.A valorização e a atualidade do construto "envolvimento dos alunos na escola" têm sido salientadas na literatura teórica, observando-se, no entanto, falta de estudos empíricos acerca da sua relação com variáveis familiares específicas. A presente investigação teve por finalidade analisar as pesquisas acerca das relações entre o envolvimento dos alunos na escola e os contextos familiares, especificamente as variáveis: suporte parental percebido, níveis socioeconômico e sociocultural, direitos percebidos e estilos educativos parentais. Para descrever o estado da arte do presente tema, "envolvimento na escola", e as "variáveis familiares", a metodologia utilizada foi a revisão da literatura de tipo narrativa. Os estudos revistos destacam a importância da família como contexto com influências significativas no envolvimento dos alunos na escola. Detectou-se a necessidade de aprofundar os estudos existentes, tendo em conta possíveis variáveis mediadoras, quer de natureza pessoal quer de tipo escolar, bem como de uma intervenção psicossocial aos alunos que, vindos de contextos familiares adversos, apresentam fraco envolvimento e rendimento escolares e uma maior probabilidade de abandono dos estudos.Fil: Veiga, Feliciano Henriques. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Robu, Viorel. Petre Andrei University; RumaniaFil: Conboy, Joseph. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Ortiz, Adriana Yanina. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Carvalho, Carolina. Universidade de Lisboa; PortugalFil: Galvão, Diana. Universidade de Lisboa; Portuga

Sustainable Corporate Performance Based on Audit Report Influence: An Empirical Approach through Financial Transparency and Gender Equality Dimensions

Social, economic and environmental factors contribute to the companies’ sustainable development. Social and financial dimensions have an important contribution to sustainable performance, through assurance of transparency in the information communication requested by stakeholders in order to substantiate their decisions. Social transparency is ensured by presenting organization’s actions in the field of social responsibility, and financial transparency takes into account the most accurate, complete and neutral presentation of information, both in the annual financial statements and in the audit reports. The present study aims to assess the influence of financial transparency and gender equality on the sustainable corporate performance, thus contributing to increasing SDGs awareness and achievement required by 2030 Agenda. Through a sample of 1133 observations (Romanian listed companies/years) to the period 2008–2020, the obtained research results emphasis that gender equality and absence/presence of transparency in financial reporting have a significant influence on corporate sustainable performance

Students' engagement in school and family variables: A literature review

"Students' engagement in school" is regarded in the literature as a current and valued construct despite the lack of empirical studies on its relationship with specific family variables. The present research aimed to survey studies on the correlation between students' engagement in school and family contexts, specifically in terms of the following variables: perceived parental support, socioeconomic and sociocultural levels, perceived rights, and parental educational styles. In order to describe the state of the art of student's "engagement in school" and "family variables", a narrative review was conducted. The studies reviewed highlight the role of family as a context with significance in student's engagement in school. However, further research is needed to deepen the knowledge of this topic considering potential mediator variables, either personal or school variables. It was also found the need for a psychosocial intervention aimed at providing support for the students coming from adverse family contexts who exhibit low level of engagement associated with poor academic achievement and a higher probability of dropping out

Sustainable Environmental Management System Integration and Business Performance: A Balance Assessment Approach Using Fuzzy Logic

Companies constantly thrive to enhance their performance in order to achieve their environmental, social, and economic goals. One way to achieve these goals is to integrate some effective management tools, such as an environmental management system (EMS), that can support sustainable development and value creation. Based on the literature, in this study some EMS integration dimensions were identified that can be used to assess its influence on business performance. The study was conducted on SMEs listed on the AeRO-Bucharest Stock Exchange that voluntary apply the ISO 14001 EMS, using a quantitative approach. To assess the EMS integration score, principal component analysis was used. Using logistic regression analysis, business performance probability (quantified by return on assets) was estimated for each company included in the final sample. Fuzzy logic was further used for modelling the influence of EMS integration on business performance probability. The research results showed that EMS integration has different effects on business performance probability, considering the influence of activity field and environmental management experience. This research assertion could be extended for all the listed Romanian companies or for major companies at the EU level