The impact of Covid-19 on Moroccan students’ learning habits, mental health, and physical health (ENSA Fez as a case study)

The Covid-19 pandemic, announced by the World Health Organization on 11 March 2020 as universal, brought about drastic sanitary measures all along with a thorough lockdown in spring 2020. People’s daily life was affected and ostensible behavioral changes were noticed. The objective of this research is to diagnose the impact of the pandemic on university students (ENSA Fez), how the lockdown affected their lifestyle, their education (distant learning, connectivity problems, withdrawal from course attendance), and mental/physical health deterioration (stress, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, lack of physical activity). To attain our objective, we resorted to a survey of 250 engineering students from École Nationale des Sciences Appliquées - Fez (ENSAF) who testified on changes in manners, mental/physical health, and emergency remote education–related problems. Data were statistically analyzed, and the results revealed regressions in physical activity and frequently disrupted bedtimes. We concluded that most engineering apprentices suffered from psychological stressors and endured physical health disorders that affected their lifestyle and well-being, all of which have negatively affected their competence and performance. Consequently, our recommendations are related to providing coaches to assess students suffering from health disorders, using innovative teaching methods to increase the motivation and engagement among students via online platforms and affording technical assistance.

Physical Activity and Sports Participation among Adolescents: Associations with Sports-Related Knowledge and Attitudes

The impact of physical activity and sport on the development of adolescents' knowledge and attitudes has not been studied sufficiently. We assume that young people with more knowledge of sports will continue to be physically active on their own. The aim of this study is to identify the differences in the sports and physical activity-related knowledge and attitudes of adolescents who engage in organised sports training and those who do not. A total of 1033 6th-grade students from (aged 12.7 ± 0.4 years) 52 schools in Estonia were involved in the study. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between sports-related knowledge and attitudes towards students participating in organised sports training. The main reasons which hindered adolescents from being active were a lack of suitable equipment, being weaker than others, and laziness. Knowledge of physical activity, higher perceived benefits, and lower barriers to physical activity were the predictors contributing to adolescents' participation in sports training. The results demonstrated that physically active students have better knowledge of sports and physical activity. Students participating in organised sports training have strong positive benefits from being regularly physically active and feel that sports training maintains their health.

A Nationwide Study Comparing Mental Health Professionals' Willingness to Try Hallucinogenic Drugs in Basic Research or Clinical Practice

This study explored whether personal attitudes toward drug users are associated with professional approaches and whether the association between personal and professional attitudes varies across different mental health professions. Participants (N = 347) included medical (psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses) and other (clinical psychologists and social workers) mental health professions from all 13 mental health centers in Israel. They completed questionnaires aimed to assess familiarity with medical usage of hallucinogenic drugs, personal attitudes toward recreational drug users and willingness to use five hallucinogens in research of clinical practice. Hypotheses were tested using multiple-group structural equation modeling (SEM). Psychiatrists reported the highest levels of familiarity with and willingness to use all types of hallucinogenic drugs, as compared to other mental health professionals. Psychiatrists held the strongest belief in the potential utility of hallucinogenic drugs; yet, their personal attitudes toward drug users affected negatively their willingness to try hallucinogenic drugs in clinical practice. This was the only significant association that was found. Future research and treatment programs should address the topic of hallucinogenic drug therapy, and specifically the need to separate between individual beliefs and professional clinical decision-making.

Personal and professional attitudes associated with nurses' motivation to work with patients with opioid use and opioid use-related problems

BACKGROUND

Opioid use and opioid use-related problems contribute significantly to increased morbidity rates and premature deaths as well as an increased economic burden. Nurses have key roles in providing care to this patient population; however, they often report low motivation toward working with these patients. Examining personal and professional attitudes associated with nurses' motivation to work with this population can present a valuable opportunity to enhance their willingness to intervene at an earlier stage when patients do not have a diagnosable opioid use disorder. Methods: A descriptive, correlational design was used. Nurses were recruited from four hospital settings in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Data on nurses' demographic/background characteristics, personal attitudes, professional attitudes, and motivation related to working with patients with opioid use and opioid use-related problems were collected via a paper/pencil survey and analyzed using linear regression. Results: A sample of 234 nurses were included in the final analyses. Personal attitudes associated with nurses' motivation included personal experience with a family member related to alcohol and/or other drugs, and stigma perceptions (familiarity, perceived dangerousness, fear, social distance and personal responsibility beliefs). Professional attitudes associated with nurses' motivation included working experience with substance use (SU), SU education as continuing education or other educational resources, role security, therapeutic commitment, role responsibility, and self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study's findings provide valuable information regarding the bivariate relationships between nurses' personal attitudes, professional attitudes, and motivation to work with patients with opioid use and opioid use-related problems. The study provides a base for future studies aimed at developing interventions to enhance nurses' motivation to work with this patient population particularly related to preventing the progression of opioid use to a diagnosable disorder.

Program to Promote Personal and Social Responsibility in the Secondary Classroom

The performance of school children has been studied by considering partial relationships between several personal variables such as the link between cognition and motivation. However, contextual variables, such as a child's willingness to accept social responsibility, also influence students' social and academic performance. Thus, students with greater responsibility have a better attitude toward their studies, resulting in higher academic achievement. This 2-year study aims to reveal to what extent an intervention program affects student performance and is based on the Theory of Positive Action among young people proposed by Don Hellison and the Theory of Reasoned Action by Fishbein and Ajzen. The program focuses on positive influences on social and personal responsibility, taking into consideration parental styles, gender, and academic performance. The program was a part of the educational curricula in participating schools and it targeted four main areas: (a) teaching units using academic texts about social responsibility, (b) student training in mediation processes, (c) teacher training, and (d) family training and involvement. A total of 271 students took part from first and second year of Secondary Education (12-14 years old). The experimental group was made up of 132 students while the remaining 139 formed the control group. All participants completed the Assessment Scale of Social Responsibility Attitudes in Secondary Education and the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale. Results show that students in the experimental group performed significantly better than those in the control group. Additionally, the issue of social responsibility seems to be related to commitment, self-discipline and perseverance. Regarding gender, males appear to score higher in the factor for well-mannered, friendly and tidy. Finally, a positive relationship has been identified between social responsibility attitudes and parenting with an open communicational style. This paper discusses the results so that schools can include programs aimed at improving social and personal responsibility.

Public Acceptance of Plant Biotechnology and GM Crops

A wide gap exists between the rapid acceptance of genetically modified (GM) crops for cultivation by farmers in many countries and in the global markets for food and feed, and the often-limited acceptance by consumers. This review contrasts the advances of practical applications of agricultural biotechnology with the divergent paths-also affecting the development of virus resistant transgenic crops-of political and regulatory frameworks for GM crops and food in different parts of the world. These have also shaped the different opinions of consumers. Important factors influencing consumer's attitudes are the perception of risks and benefits, knowledge and trust, and personal values. Recent political and societal developments show a hardening of the negative environment for agricultural biotechnology in Europe, a growing discussion-including calls for labeling of GM food-in the USA, and a careful development in China towards a possible authorization of GM rice that takes the societal discussions into account. New breeding techniques address some consumers' concerns with transgenic crops, but it is not clear yet how consumers' attitudes towards them will develop. Discussions about agriculture would be more productive, if they would focus less on technologies, but on common aims and underlying values.

Perceptions about Hearing Aids from Elderly Non-Users: A Bicultural Point of View (Italy and USA)

Perceptions about hearing aids can vary across people of different cultural backgrounds depending upon beliefs, healthcare policies, education, etc[...]