Agora Psycho-Pragmatica

THEORIZING A TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL IN ECEC IN ROMANIAN PRESCHOOL TEACHERS

Dana RAD — 2022-01-26

Given the current circumstances, we can argue that this epidemic, as well as the state of emergency declared from one day to the next, has resulted in a true educational experiment. Education systems all across the world must adapt to the circumstances and reinvent themselves. Millions of toddlers have been forced to stay at home due to the crisis, and preschool teachers have been compelled to shift their online activities, learning to utilize various digital tools and platforms to continue teaching and stay in touch with children. As a result, both preschool teachers and children were able to adjust to the new educational method and communication style. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a theory of computer systems developed to be able to make predictions about technology acceptance. This model suggests that when users are introduced to a new technology, a number of factors influence their decision about how and when to use it. TAM is based on the causal relationship beliefs - attitude - intention - behavior, a relationship developed within the theory of motivated action. Our extended technology acceptance model in ECEC (TAM-ECEC) will take into consideration the following variables: Perceived ease of use, Perceived usefulness, Perceived enjoyment, Intention to use, Actual use, Compatibility, Attitude, Self-efficacy, Zoom fatigue and Perceived risk. Conclusions and implications are discussed.

INTERNET DEPENDENCE / SOCIAL NETWORKS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEENAGE SOCIAL ANXIETY

Sonia IGNAT — 2022-01-26

Nowadays, because of the fast pace of life, which for many parents means less time spent with their children and less control over their lives, the latter spend extremely much time in front of the computer or smartphone. Thus parent-child communication in particular and face-to-face communication of young people in general have suffered greatly, and given the fact that in adolescence period the brain structure is developing, and during this period the personality of each individual crystallizes, thus there is a risk that some teenagers develop an anxious personality in real life social situations.

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between internet addiction, social anxiety, depression and lack of control in adolescents, motivated by the fact that this is a topic that addresses an acute problem facing today's society, and trends in the use of gadgets that provide access to the internet and social networks such as the phone, tablet or laptop is increasing from year to year.

DEVELOPMENT OF MEMORY SKILLS IN PRESCHOOLERS

Tiberiu DUGHI — 2022-01-26

The aim of the research was to identify a progression in the memory skills of children aged 3 to 6 years, using three memory development techniques: memorization, retelling with images and memory games. The objectives of the study are: determining the degree of reproduction of a memorized poem, identifying progress in children’s stories telling and setting the level of performance in memory games. Techniques used in this research have demonstrated through the results obtained that they are techniques that contribute to the development of preschoolers' memory.

LEADERSHIP STYLES AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SCHOLAR ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCES. A THEORETHICAL APPROACH

Anca EGERAU — 2022-01-26

The present article presents a theoretical approach on the various leadership styles used in educational formal institutions and its influence on the academical success and scholar achievement of pupil as its outcome. Educational challenges often include low achievement, political conflict, inexperienced teachers, low expectations, and lack of instructional coherence. In order to achieve coherence, formal educational institutions try to adopt different leading styles, both at institutional level and at the level of the classrooms. This is an important aspect, because at the institutional level there is the necessity of decision making, and at the level of the classroom there is the instructional guide choice. Leaders nowadays, invest large amounts of time, effort, and resources in changing the culture of their institutions and the general classroom climate and culture, in order to positively influence scholar achievement and academic success. The present theoretical approach on the theme, presents some practical ideas that can be used by formal institutions in order to get to the desired results.

EMPLOYEES MOTIVATIONAL ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC - AN INTERNET BASED BLOG POSTS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Lavinia-Ioana STEFAN — 2022-01-26

Purpose: The key purpose of this article is to extend insights into how to continue to motivate personnel to work in unsafe environments, especially now with the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, by examining numerous current literature and using qualitative methodologies to validate this study.

Design/Methodology/Approach: This research is an internet based blog posts systematic review method.

Findings: The findings of our study are in the form of guidelines related to the preservation of employee motivation.

Practical Implications: Organisations impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic will take various measures to sustain employee motivation at work.

INTERACTIVE METHODS FOR DEVELOPING MOTIVATION IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Cosarba EDITHA — 2022-01-26

In the learning mechanisms, motivation is the basis on which the success of the educational act is built and at the same time it is the stimulating factor of the learning activity, favoring the achievement of successful results. In contemporary society, students' motivation problems are extremely diverse and most of the time the teacher's intervention cannot be based on recipes or rules, but must be adapted to each individual situation, especially in the case of students with SEN. The use of interactive teaching materials in the classroom has proven to be a success factor. It is often difficult to get the attention of students with SEN, but the use of diversified teaching aids can be a first step in transmitting and receiving the message, fixing and consolidating new notions. The laptop, the video projector, the flipchart, the colored pencils can turn the monotonous lesson into an interactive one for all children, not only for those with special needs. This article presents some reviews of active-participatory methods, which will attract all students in a class most often guarantees the success of a lesson.

A STUDY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENTS’ SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE OF ONLINE TEACHING UNDER COVID-19 PANDEMICS

Iosif ILIA — 2022-01-26

The shift to online platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic poses serious challenges to medical education, how effective online learning is for undergraduate students’education remains unknown. This qualitative study aims to compare physiotherapystudents’ satisfaction and performances shown in an online course to a control group of students who underwent the same course delivered face-to-face in the previous year. Between May and June 2020, a class of second-year physiotherapy students, trained by an experienced clinical educator, had 16-hours online lessons. Students exposed to the same course delivered with face-to-face conventional lessons in the previous academic year, served as a control group.We compared satisfaction with the online course, resulting in no differences between online and face-to-face teaching. We weighted up students’ results by comparing their mean performances with the mean performances of the same course delivered face-to-face in the previous year, founding a non-statistical significance in favor of face-to face teaching. Online teaching in entry-level physiotherapy students seems to be a feasible option to face COVID-19 pandemic, as satisfies students as well as face-to-face courses and leading to quite similar performance.

EFFICACY OF PSYCHODRAMA THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS: A RANDOMIZED PILOT STUDY.

Maria ABATE — 2022-01-26

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of psychodrama psychotherapy compared with treatment-as-usual for patients diagnosed with severe major depressive disorder (MDD) in an inpatient setting. The sample included 30 patients with severe unipolar depression, randomly divided into a study group (N=15) participating in a psychodrama intervention in addition to the routine hospital protocol and a control group (N=15) participating only in the routine hospital protocol. Clinical assessment was performed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The results of the study showed a decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms as measured by MADRS, BDI and SAS, and this decrease was significantly greater for the psychodrama intervention group. Limitations of the present study, as well as implications for clinical treatment and research, are discussed.

THE PERCEPTION OF FREEDOM-DEPRIVED PEOPLE IN SOCIETY AFTER THEIR LIBERATION

Raluca-Andreea CODREANU — 2022-01-26

The study comprised in this paper aimed at identifying the way the freedom-deprived people are perceived when they try to reenter society after their liberation. The research covered a number of 60 subjects and based on this study we found out the terms under which the vast majority of freedom-deprived people want to reintegrate in society, as well as the labor market, by all means. The outcome of the study proves that when the ex-convicts do not face issues after their liberation and are not discriminated against on the labor market, the chances for their reinsertion and the shortness of time in which they are able to find a workplace increase, whereas in the situations when the employers refuse to deal with ex-convicts, the introduction of a supervising program carried out by a specialized unit is advisable. In the end, all the hypotheses we started from were confirmed by means of applying questionnaires to the subjects.

The most important conclusion drawn based on the analysis of the hypotheses is that freedom-deprived people want to step over the threshold of social development.

DEPRESSION AND PERSPECTIVES OF LIFE OF THE ELDERLY IN GREECE

Erietta PERDIKARI — 2022-01-26

Depression is a common and painful reality for a large percentage of older people. The way depressive symptoms are managed and perceived, is a strong predictor of the quality of life of the elderly with depression. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate depression definition and how it is managed by the elderly in Greece. The sample consists of 5 men and 6 women (N = 11), aged 65 to 73 years. Semi-structured interview was used for data collection and thematic analysis was applied to examine them. The results indicated that older people experience depression as a negative period compared to their past periods that were functional, as they mention that they developed psychosomatic symptoms, negative emotions, and a negative change in their relationships with others. The way depression is perceived is intertwined with the way it is managed. Feelings of frustration, denial, and pessimism lead to a passive attitude, shifting the energies of healing to external factors. Awareness and acceptance lead to active action, which refers to the identification of functional ways of management, a fact that could aim healing. The provision of support to the elderly from their family environment, a procedure that is very commonly used in Greece, in collaboration with health services, seems to be related to active action and adaptation. Lack of support is associated with denial and avoidance, reinforcing passive attitude, and reducing their levels of adjustment.