Use of Two Step Small Group Discussion to Enhance Learning of Basic Immunology

Background & Objective: Discussion in small groups is one of the most reliable methods that will lead to a deeper learning. This method is based on the active participation of all members of the group. The immunology course necessitates thought and connection among the presented content. Therefore, in this study, the efficacy of this method in increasing students’ understanding of the relationship between the components of the immune system was evaluated. Methods: The course lectures were presented in 12 sessions each lasting 2 hours. Then, the students were given the opportunity to study for a few days. An exam was taken based on the presented content, and then, the students were divided into groups under the titles of immune system cells. The discussion sessions were conducted. A second exam was taken after the discussion. Scores of pre- and post-discussion in small groups were compared. Students' satisfaction with this approach was asked orally and through open questions and recorded. Results: A statistically significant increase was observed in students’ scores after the discussion in small groups compared to before the discussion. Among the students, 65% believed that this method had a great effect on deep understanding and were willing to repeat this approach. Furthermore, 82% of students believed that their confidence increased in respect to what they had learned. Conclusion: Small group discussion is a potent educational method, because its implementation in 1 session on taught content resulted in an increase in scores. The implementation of this method may be difficult for the teacher, but this approach has significant effects on student learning behavior. Keywords: Small group discussion; Self-confidence; Communication skills; Learning behavio

Identify Some of Effective Factors That Predict Self-care Behavior in Pap Smear Based on Women\'s Health Beliefs in City Karaj

[endif]--> Introduction: Cervical cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer and the second common cancer of women in Worldwide. Pap smear is the most cost-effective way to reduce deaths from cervical cancer screening. The purpose of this study was to identify some  of effective factors that predict self-care pup behavior based on Women's health beliefs Coverage health centers in the city Karaj. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with a total of 300 women 35 years and older that were referred to the research community health centers of Karaj. Data were collected by means of an interview form with the Health Belief Model Scale for Cervical Cancer and Pap smear. Content validity was determined by a poll of 10 experts the relevant fields and reliability was conducted on methods Cronbach's alpha and test-retest. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics test by SPSS software. Results: The results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference in, perceived benefits and barriers, and self-efficacy between women who had (67/3%of subjects) And who had not Pap smear also Regression analysis revealed Perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy are factors that predictor self-care behavior of pap smear. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that perceived Benefits, perceived barriers and self-efficacy are predictors the Pap smear in women. Every time that woman have a greater understanding of the benefits of Pap and in parallel have Lower perceived barriers and higher self-efficacy will attempt to do a Pap smear.  اصلاح ش

Factors Associated with Regular Physical Activity for the Prevention of Osteoporosis in Female Employees Alborz University of Medical Sciences: Application of Health Belief Model

Background: Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease and a growing global health problem that causes bones to thin and fragile. It is estimated that about two million people suffer from osteoporosis. According to the World Health Organization recommends regular physical activity is effective in preventing and while the results of some studies show about 65% of working women in Iran; do not get enough physical activity. This study aimed to determine factors associated with regular physical activity behavior for the prevention of osteoporosis in female employees Alborz University of Medical Sciences and was designed by HBM Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study involving 217 female university employees, all of whom were studied with the consent of the census. Tools for data collection questionnaire that included demographic questions, knowledge and questions based on health belief model structures that had done Validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using spss Edition19 and descriptive analytical statistics tests. Findings: The results show that regular physical activity was 37/8%. Idependent t-test showed a significant difference (P< 0/001) knowledge and self-efficacy between the two groups (with and without regular physical activity). Logistic regression analysis showed that knowledge and self-efficacy are significant predictor of Physical activity behavior. In this study, a significant association was found between the income and physical activity And the other factors such relationship wasnot found for physical activity. Conclusion: According to lack of regular physical activity and considering the relationship between knowledge and self-efficacy with physical activity, the need to addressing this issue through educational programming based on related factors.&nbsp

Immune system on the stage: The effect of teaching basic immunology using theater on the students\' academic performance and satisfaction

Introduction: Nuring is an intensive course which may cause stress and, in turn, decrease learning abilities. Given the important role of nursing graduates, efficient teaching methods should be used. Acting is one of the new simulation methods that improve learning. Hence, the effect of acting along with lecturing was compared with pure lecturing of basic immunology on student's learning. Methods: Two separate classes of nursing students were selected. For one class, the course was taught only through lecturing and for the other, through lecturing plus acting. In the latter, each student played as an immune response element taught in that session. At the final session, all of the students were involved and played the role of immune system elements against an infectious agent. At the end of the semester, a final exam was given to the students containing 40questions with similar difficulty and discrimination index. The results were analyzed, and the students' satisfaction was evaluated using a questionnaire Results: There was a significant increase in the average satisfaction of the class which was taught through lecturing and acting. Of course, the mean score for the female students was significantly higher. However, males did not show a significant difference. Results of the questionnaire showed that 100% of the students enjoyed this teaching method and believed their knowledge had increased. Conclusion: Acting helps deeper learning of immunology and changes the learning from a boring process to a pleasant one. More importantly, the students could be asked conceptual questions during the performances. Citation: Pouragha B, Norouzinia R, Ghazivakili Z, Pakravan N. Immune system on the stage: The effect of teaching basic immunology using students&rsquo; theater on the nursing students' academic performance and satisfaction. Journal of Development Strategies in Medical Education 2018; 5(2): 63-74

DIIG: A Distributed Industrial IoT Gateway

Ongoing emphasis on the fourth industrial revolution requires further focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) as a means to integrate all relevant entities within a single technological system. In the integration process, a gateway to relay the raw data to an IoT endpoint is essential so that a joint interface among the heterogeneous domains can be provided. This work describes the development of a distributed industrial IoT gateway, called DIIG, able to relay industrial network data to a centralized data-store. DIIG exploits a real-time client server programming model based on S7 communication and Modbus TCP protocols. The subsequent analysis carried out on the testbed mainly focuses on the performance evaluation of the gateway. In order to achieve high performance data transmission in a fair environment, a parallel real-time communication mechanism has been proposed

Mental Health of People Who Are Going to Marry and Its Relation to Some of Their Demographic Factors

Introduction: Marriage is one of the most important events during an individual's life. Mental health as a component of personal characteristics, are associated with marital satisfaction. considering the role of mental health in a successful marriage, the impact of family health on community mental health, and major role of couples in this regard the present study aimed to determine the Mental health of people who are going to marry and its relation to some of their demographic factors in karaj 2012. Material and Methods: We performed a cross sectional study on the established group of 600 people who attended premarital assessment in a health center. They were selected by convenient sampling method. The data collection instrument was a demographic questionnaire and standardized Goldberge mental health (GHQ-28) questionnaire. The data was analyzed with SPSS/18 using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.(P<0.05) Findings: The mean score of mental health questionnaire was (16/2 &plusmn; 9/9). The results also showed that mental health and sex, religion, place of birth, marital history and employment status were significantly related (P<0.05) such that the mental health of men, Shea, born in the village, no history of marriage, and have a permanent job was higher. Conclusion: Recent research results indicate the desirability of mental health in 80.3 percent of in new couples

Effect of Conceptual Mapping in Small Groups on Academic Performance and Student Satisfaction in Basic Immunology

Introduction: Basic immunology is one of the basic sciences in which deep understanding and link between the contents is essential. Teaching using small group is one of the student-centered approaches that have not been used to teach basic immunology. Concept map, as one of the educational methods that helps deep understanding of the content and link between concepts, was also considered.&nbsp; This study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching using the methods of &quot;small group and concept maps&quot; on the students' performance and satisfaction. Methods: The study was performed on the students who had taken the course of immunology during two consecutive semesters at the Paramedical Faculty of Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Basic immunology was taught to both groups through lecturing. In one class, group discussions were also performed on concept maps. Final exam was given, the students' satisfaction was evaluated using a questionnaire, and the results were analyzed. Results: Final score of the two groups did not differ significantly. Noteworthy, GPA of the lecture group was significantly higher than that of the lecturing for the small group-taught group. Comparison of final scores between boys of the two groups suggests that small group plus lecturing is more efficient for boys than girls. Results of the questionnaire showed that lecturing for small groups increases motivation (84%), passion (92%), and intimacy between students and instructors (92%). Conclusion: Utilizing concept map for small groups did not improve academic performance but creates enthusiasm, motivation, and establishes better communication between students and the teachers.. Citation: Pouragha B, Norouzinia R Ghazivakili Z, Pakravan N. Effect of Conceptual Mapping in Small Groups on Academic Performance and Student Satisfaction in Basic Immunology. Journal of Development Strategies in Medical Education 2018; 5(1): 54-6

Performance evaluation of learning styles based on fuzzy logic inference system

Determining best convenient learning style in accordance with the individual's capabilities and personalities is very important for learning rapidly, easily, and in high quality. When it is thought that each individual has different personality and ability, it can be recognized that each individual's best convenient learning style will be different. Because of the importance of lifelong learning, many methods and approaches have been developed to determine learning styles of the individuals. In this study, a rule based fuzzy logic inference system is developed to determine best convenient learning styles of the engineering faculty stuffs and the students. During studies, two different learning style models namely Honey&Mumford and McCarthy are used in implementations. This study is carried out with a total number of 60 and 26 engineering faculty students and stuffs, respectively. The personal information form and Learning Style Preference Survey of Honey&Mumford and McCarthy are used to collect the data which are analyzed using the techniques of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test. While Honey&Mumford learning style classifies engineering faculty students and stuffs as Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist; McCarthy learning style classifies them as Innovative, Analytic, Common Sense, and Dynamic. Gender, age, and department are selected as the metrics for evaluation of the system performance. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, In

The role of critical thinking skills and learning styles of university students in their academic performance

Introduction: The current world needs people who have a lot of different abilities such as cognition and application of different ways of thinking, research, problem solving, critical thinking skills and creativity. In addition to critical thinking, learning styles is another key factor which has an essential role in the process of problem solving. This study aimed to determine the relationship between learning styles and critical thinking of students and their academic performance in Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-correlation study was performed in 2012, on 216 students of Alborz University who were selected randomly by the stratified method. The data was obtained via a three-part questionnaire included demographic data, Kolb standardized questionnaire of learning style and California critical thinking standardized questionnaire. The academic performance of the students was extracted by the school records. The validity of the instruments was determined in terms of content validity, and the reliability was gained through internal consistency methods. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.78 for the California critical thinking questionnaire. The Chi Square test, Independent T-test, one way ANOVA and Pearson Correlation test were used to determine relationship between variables. The Package SPSS14 statistical software was used to analyze data with a significant level of p<0.05. Results: Our findings indicated the significant difference of mean score in four learning style, suggesting university students with convergent learning style have better performance than other groups. Also learning style had a relationship with age, gender, field of study, semester and job. The results about the critical thinking of the students showed that the mean of deductive reasoning and evaluation skills were higher than that of other skills and analytical skills had the lowest mean and there was a positive significant relationship between the students’ performance with inferential skill and the total score of critical thinking skills (p<0.05). Furthermore, evaluation skills and deductive reasoning had significant relationship. On the other hand, the mean total score of critical thinking had significant difference between different learning styles. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the learning styles, critical thinking and academic performance are significantly associated with one another. Considering the growing importance of critical thinking in enhancing the professional competence of individuals, it's recommended to use teaching methods consistent with the learning style because it would be more effective in this context