Esprit (Slovakia)

Aim/Purpose: This study explores the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) towards ChatGPT among university students and faculty. It also examines the faculty’s readiness to cope with the challenges and leverage the opportunities presented by AI-powered conversational models. Background: Launched on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT took the world by storm with its capability to generate high-quality written expressions in a conversational manner. The reactions to this innovation varied, from enthusiasm regarding its potential to enrich students’ learning to concerns about its threat to students’ cognitive development and academic integrity. A systematic exploration of students’ and faculty’s KAP towards ChatGPT can play an important role in addressing the multifaceted dimensions of AI-driven conversational models. Methodology: This study employs a cross-sectional survey research design based on questionnaires distributed to 145 faculty members, as well as 855 undergraduate and graduate students at the ESPRIT School of Engineering and School of Business. The student sample was based on stratified and convenience sampling, while the faculty sample was based on a consensus sampling approach. Contribution: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported study that contributes to understanding the KAP of students and faculty towards ChatGPT, as well as the readiness of faculty to effectively adopt AI-driven conversational models. Furthermore, our research contributes to the body of knowledge by taking Vygotsky’s (1978) principle of social interaction and its role in promoting cognitive development to a new level by hypothesizing that if students were to acquire the competencies to actively engage with AI-driven chatbots in meaningful discussions and collaborative conversations, they might be able to develop some higher-order thinking skills further. Findings: Our results indicated that faculty demonstrated a higher level of ChatGPT knowledge than students and that more than 40% of surveyed students and faculty expressed some trust in the reliability of ChatGPT’s responses, a perception that does not align with reality. Faculty attitude towards ChatGPT was comparatively more reserved compared to that of students and showcased varying opinions. Furthermore, the surveyed faculty showcased a more negative perception of ChatGPT than students, and they expressed a greater degree of skepticism. Our research revealed that 63.4% of surveyed faculty reported that they lack the requisite training and resources to integrate ChatGPT into their pedagogical practices. Recommendations for Practitioners: HEIs should take appropriate measures to enhance students’ and faculty’s knowledge, attitude, and perception regarding ChatGPT to stimulate ethical, meaningful, innovative, and engaging interactions and learning experiences. Recommendation for Researchers: Our study has shed light on some moderating factors that shape the acceptance of AI-driven conversational models and some adoption barriers. It delves into the perceptions, biases, and misconceptions held by both students and faculty, thereby providing a basis for future investigations on the effective integration of AI-driven conversational models in higher education. Impact on Society: This research provides new insights that can harness the potential merits of ChatGPT in enhancing students’ learning while mitigating potential pitfalls. It suggests facilitating open forums and dialogues among students, faculty, employers, and other key stakeholders to debate the impact of AI-driven conversational models on students’ learning and faculty’s teaching and assessment. Future Research: We invite researchers to conduct cross-cultural studies on this topic while also taking into consideration a qualitative research design approach. Future research can also test the hypothesis that AI-driven conversational models inhibit critical thinking by facilitating the passive consumption of information.

Current modern technologies are playing a key role in the development of the higher education sector by providing multiple modes of learning delivery, collaboration and communication. Cloud computing is an emerging paradigm that plays an important role and has major impacts on higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. It enables users to access diverse software applications, share data, collaborate more easily, and keep their data safely in the infrastructure. Despite the intensive use of cloud computing, limited research has been conducted regarding the use of cloud-based environments by HEIs in developing countries. The purpose of this work is, first, to provide a coherent understanding of cloud computing models used in HEIs. We distinguish the various opportunities and challenges emerging from using different cloud computing services. Second, we propose a cloud based-environment where several cloud services and deployment models are orchestrated in order to create a coherent environment containing the necessary tools. This environment puts into practice several expertise fields and deepens the knowledge of both students and instructors. In addition, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed environment through the experience and findings of a Tunisian School of Engineering, where our cloud-based environment is implemented. This school is a private higher education institution founded in 2003, it employs around 500 people and hosts more than 8,000 students. Finally, findings from this study will helps academics, instructors, and researchers understand the potential of using cloud computing environments from an engineering school’s perspective.

International audience

debates among intellectuals, pedagogues, and artists on both sides of the Atlantic revolved around concepts of propaganda and education to promote democracy.At a politically critical moment, they shared a belief in moving images as powerful tools for shaping the human mind.In Zimmermann's second chapter, 'Advertising and the Apparatus: Cinema, Television, and Out-of-Home Screens', the notion of the dispositif serves as a conceptual framework to both theorize and analyse the programming of moving image advertising on three types of screens: cinema, network-era television, and digital out-of-home displays.The chapter shows how screen ads stitch together different forms of intermittent movements -of bodies, images, and objects -and thus help to create flows.Zimmermann's final chapter, 'Advertising's Self-Reference: From Early Cinema to the Super Bowl', takes up the notion of self-reference and redefines it as a particular mode of address.When looked at from the perspective of screen advertising and screen ads, self-reference exhibits the assumed media knowledge of the viewers as much as it displays the medium itself.It thus works as acknowledgement and celebration of the audience's media expertise.The second section in the book, written by Bo Florin, is dedicated to 'Cases and Materials'.In 'Moving Objects: The Case of Volvo', Florin investigates the concept of mobility on several levels -the movement of cars, the movement of people, and the movement of the camera -and how this concept is launched within the ads along with 'Scandinavian' values.The commercials also point to the basic definition of cinema qua moving images, aiming in turn to move the audience.In 'Cinematic Intertexts: h&m Goes YouTube', Florin studies the designer collaborations of h&m, with a focus on these campaigns at the point of breakthrough for social media.The campaigns as such combine high culture and popular culture, and spans from exclusive consumerism to equal opportunities for all, with the Lanvin collaboration as an early example of 'friendvertising' -and using You Tube as an archive.The third and f inal chapter in the section, entitled 'Beyond Promotion: The un Global Goals Campaign', deals with the latter as a particularly interesting example, given the way this campaign did not advertise a product, but rather a policy.Does this change the way of relating to history?Advertising sustainability requires both economic development, environmental protection, and social responsibility.The chapter shows that the launch of this campaign, not least by using Aardman Animations, relies heavily on both film history and the history of commercials.

Windthrows are the most important type of disturbance occurring in the forests of Central Europe. On 19 November 2004, the strong northeastern katabatic winds caused significant damage and land cover change to more than 126 km2 of spruce forests in the Tatra National Park. The risk of subsequent soil erosion and accelerated runoff has increased in the affected habitats. Similar situations may reoccur this century as a consequence of climate change. A geographical approach and detailed research of the damaged area with more comprehensive statistical analyses of 47 independent variables will help us to obtain a deeper insight into the problem of windthrow disturbances. The results are based on a detailed investigation of the damaged stands, soil, and topography. A comprehensive input dataset enabled the evaluation of abiotic controls on windthrow disturbance through the use of a generalized additive model (GAM). The GAM revealed causal linear and nonlinear relationships between the local dependent quantitative variables (the damage index and the uprooting index) and independent variables (various soil and topography properties). Our model explains 69% of the deviance of the total damage. The distribution of the wind force depended upon the topographical position—mainly on the distance from the slope’s foot lines. The soil properties (mainly the soil skeleton, i.e., rock fragments in stony soils) affect the rate and manner of damage (uprooting), especially on sites with less wind force. Stem breakage with no relation to the soil prevailed in places with high force winds. The largest number of uprooted trees was recorded in localities without a soil skeleton. The spruce’s waterlogged shallow root system is significantly prone to uprooting. The comprehensive research found a significant relationship between the abiotic variables and two different measures of forest damage, and can expand the knowledge on wind impact in Central European forests.

Abstract Background The objective of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationships between night shift work, eating habits and body mass index (BMI) among Lebanese nurses. Methods A total of 307 nurses were randomly selected from five hospitals located in Beirut. Data about demographic and professional characteristics, anthropometric measures, dietary habits and intakes were collected through a validated questionnaire. To study the relationship between night shift work, eating habits and BMI, chi-square test, t-test and logistic regressions were used. Results The majority of nurses (78. 2%) had irregular meals timing with a significant decrease in the number of complete meals consumed during the day and an increase in the number of snacks consumed during night (p<0. 05). The most consumed snacks during night shifts were sweets and potato chips. The findings highlighted that BMI and waist circumference significantly increased with the number of years of work (r=0.175; p<0.05) and the cumulative number of night shifts hours over the entire work history (r=0.135/p< 0. 05). Conclusion: Night shift work is positively associated with abnormal eating patterns and BMI among Lebanese nurses. However the increase in BMI is not related to eating habits.

: عندما نتكلم عن الأدب الشعبي اللبناني، يتبادر إلى أذهاننا اسم سلام الراسي، وهو كاتب لبناني في الأدب الشعبي دون هذا الإرث في كتابات عديدة، كيلا تبقى أحداثا وأحاديث مخبأة في الزوايا، فلا تضيع وتذهب شيح بريح. نقل سلام الراسي في كتاباته الموروث الشعبي خلال حكايات مستقاة قلب مجتمع عاش فيه، فتطعمت كتاباته بتعابيره العامية، ونهلت مصطلحاته نبع لغته الشعبية، فتناول الأدب، والسياسة، والتاريخ، والدين، والمجتمع في روايات بطولة شخصيات الحياة اليومية، الشيخ، إلى القاضي، إلى المطران، والفلاح، والرجل العادي، وصولا إلى المرأة. منذ ربيعها، المرأة لعنة على المجتمع فـ الفلاح إن مات إبنو، بارت أرضو، وإن ماتت بنتو، انستر عرضو. المرأة، ومنذ ولادتها هي تلك البلية التي يجب تزويجها في أقرب فرصة سانحة، فنراها في صيفها ساذجة، خانعة، قانعة، قلما يسمع لها حس، تحضر جهاز عرسها في صندوق جوز فيه وفتيلتها، علما بأنه عليها إحكام حيلتها لئلا يقال عنها دكتها رخوة. وهي عليها إرضاء زوجها الذي يذبح البس ليلة عرسه؛ وحماتها، كيلا تصبح القصة قصة قلوب مليانة. أما في خريفها وشتائها، فتنفك عقدة لسانها، ليصبح سليطا، لا يهاب مرجعا، ولا مقاما، ولا ظرفا. هكذا تتحول، لتصبح المرأة المجاكرة، المشاكسة، المناحرة التي على الزوج أن يهابها، فهي تنشر الناس على صنوبر بيروت، لذلك من يسمع كلامها، يأمن ملامها، وفي هذه الحال، ما على الرجل إلا أن يصبر عليها عملا بالقول إصبروا على نسائكم إن الله يحب الصابرين، وإن حدث أن ضاق ذرعا بحاله، ما عليه سوى تنظيفها شوائبها وتخبيطها كما السجادة لأن المرة متل السجادة، ما بتمشي إلا بالخبيط لكنها تبقى رحمة ولو فحمة. بعد عرض هذه المشهدية، نتساءل كيف استطاع سلام الراسي أن ينقل صورة المرأة في مؤلفاته الكاملة (الأجزاء 1، 2، 3) مراعيا تغير طباعها في كل فصول حياتها، وذلك بالارتكاز إلى مقومات الأدب الشعبي، في دراسة تعتمد المقاربة اللسانية الاجتماعية، متوقفين عند مزيج الكتابة الأدبية والشعبية.

Cet article analyse l’impact de la présence du fondateur et des descendants/héritiers sur la performance des entreprises familiales au Proche-Orient Méditerranéen. Sur un échantillon de 300 entreprises provenant de cinq États (Chypre, Egypte, Jordanie, Liban, Turquie), les résultats de cette étude vont partiellement à l’encontre de la théorie de l’agence. Nous avons trouvé que la taille du conseil a un impact positif sur les entreprises familiales dont le dirigeant n’est pas le fondateur. En revanche, ladite relation est négative et significative dans le cadre des entreprises familiales dirigées par leur fondateur. La présence d’administrateurs externes a un effet positif sur la performance des entreprises dirigées par le fondateur. Cependant, si l’entreprise est dirigée par les descendants, la présence d’administrateurs externes affecte négativement la performance. Bien que la fréquence des réunions du conseil ait un effet positif, cette corrélation est bien plus faible quand l’entreprise familiale est dirigée par son fondateur que lorsqu’elle l’est par les descendants. Finalement, la dualité du dirigeant améliore les performances si les dirigeants sont les descendants, mais n’a aucun effet sur l’entreprise dirigée par son fondateur.