کارکرد اجرایی

This study focused on the competency profile of managers and the performance of MFIs in Goma. The objective of this study is to establish a link between the competency of managers and the performance of MFIs in Goma. The data used in this study were collected in the city of Goma on the basis of qualitative surveys (individual surveys, questionnaires). The data was processed using SPSS and Smart PLS 4 statistical analysis software with a structural equation econometric model.Based on a sample of 148 agents within the MFIs surveyed in July 2024, we selected a total of nine variables, including three independent variables serving as indicators of managerial skill profiles (generic, technical and conceptual skills), three dependent variables serving as performance indicators (financial performance, market performance and operational performance) and three socio-demographic variables: the seniority of managers, their level of education and the number of training courses they have completed. The results of our research confirm that all the competency indicators and variables analysed have a positive and significant effect on the performance of the MFIs surveyed in Goma. These results encourage MFIs to develop the managerial skills of their managers with a view to improving their institutional performance.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategies for developing and unlocking the professional capability and capacity of senior hospital managers in Nepal. This research is the first published study outlining the self-perspectives of Nepalese senior hospital managers on their capability and capacity development. The study utilised a qualitative descriptive design as the second phase of a larger sequential mixed methods research project. Data were collected from 11 senior hospital managers through semi-structured interviews conducted online via the Zoom online videoconferencing platform between August to October 2024. Four key themes identified were: Stability, continuity and coherence; Practical and logistical constraints; Interference, conflict and control; and managing the mismatch between ability and expectations. Findings highlight breakages in work roles and pervasiveness of political and opportunistic individual actions alongside complex and lengthy bureaucratic processes that stifled senior public hospital managers working roles. Along with well-organised administrative procedures, appropriate compliance training for senior hospital managers is sought essential. Findings from this study may be broadly applicable to other under resourced countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Executive function (EF) is foundational for school readiness, mental health, and social adaptation. Although cross-national studies document cultural variation in EF, less is known about whether EF differs across ethnic groups within the same national and educational context. In China, Yi, Bai, and Naxi children may differ in home language, childrearing practices, and educational beliefs, making them informative for examining universal and context-specific patterns of EF development. This study examined Executive Function (EF) development in a sample of 190 Chinese ethnic children (Yi, Bai, Naxi; 115 boys, 75 girls) aged 4–6 years. These findings revealed that, (1) Overall EF scores were highest for Bai children, followed by Naxi children, and than Yi children. (2) For inhibition control (IC), at ages 4 and 5, Bai and Naxi children performed significantly better than Yi children, whereas no significant differences were observed among the three ethnic groups at age 6. (3) For cognitive flexibility (CF), Bai and Naxi children are significantly better than Yi children. On the size, color, and shape sub-dimensions, pass rates were highest for Bai children, followed by Naxi and then Yi children; on the quantity sub-dimension, pass rates were highest for Naxi children, followed by Bai and then Yi children. (4) For working memory (WM), at ages 4 and 6, the ranking of scores across the three ethnic groups showed that Bai children obtained the highest scores, followed by Naxi children and than Yi children; at age 5, Bai children scored significantly higher than Naxi and Yi children. These findings contribute to theories of EF development by revealing both age-related convergence and cross-ethnic variation, and they inform culturally responsive early childhood education and intervention.

This action research study examined the relationship between social–emotional learning (SEL) and early mathematical achievement among transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students in a large urban Title I elementary school. National organizations emphasize that high-quality mathematics instruction for young children must consider cognitive, linguistic, physical, and social–emotional development. Guided by this framework, the study investigated whether systematic SEL instruction using the district adopted Second Step curriculum would increase students’ SEL competencies and support growth in foundational math skills measured by the Eureka Math Module 4 assessment. Using a pre- and post-test design, data were collected from eight students who received structured SEL and mathematics instruction over one semester. Results indicated consistent improvement in students’ SEL competencies, including executive functioning skills, alongside significant gains in mathematical performance. These findings align with prior research suggesting that SEL supports school readiness, adaptive learning behaviors, and academic achievement.

Background Digital systems are integral to nursing practice, but sustained digital engagement may be accompanied by fatigue. The roles of general fear of missing out (FoMO) and perceived stress in the association between digital fatigue and nurses’ job burnout remain unclear. Guided by conservation of resources theory, this study examined the separate and serial indirect associations through FoMO and perceived stress. Method A cross-sectional survey included 554 clinical nurses recruited by convenience sampling from five tertiary Grade A hospitals in Hunan, China, between January and May 2026. Self-report measures assessed the four constructs. Structural equation modeling with bootstrap confidence intervals examined the proposed associations. Results Digital fatigue remained positively associated with job burnout when FoMO and perceived stress were included in the model. Positive indirect associations were identified through each variable separately and through FoMO followed by perceived stress (effect = 0.041, 95% CI [0.021, 0.066]). Conclusion Digital fatigue was positively associated with nurses’ job burnout, both directly and indirectly through general FoMO and perceived stress. Hospital managers could assess digital fatigue, stress, and burnout when reviewing digital workflows. Clearer expectations for responding to work messages and protected recovery time warrant prospective evaluation, including effects on staff wellbeing, workflow, and patient safety.

Introduction This study examined associations among professional identity, work engagement, and self-rated caregiving performance among childcare trainees and early-career practitioners in China. Methods A cross-sectional survey included 318 participants recruited through 11 vocational colleges and 50 childcare institutions in Guangdong Province. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling assessed the measurement structure and associations, with bootstrapping and robustness analyses. Results The three-factor model showed good fit (CFI = 0.954, RMSEA = 0.039). Professional identity was positively associated with self-rated caregiving performance (total β = 0.694; direct β = 0.465), including an indirect association through work engagement (β = 0.229, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.128, 0.339]). Findings remained consistent across robustness analyses. Discussion Professional identity and work engagement were associated with more favourable self-appraisals of caregiving performance. The cross-sectional, single-source design precludes causal inference, and self-rated performance should not be equated with observed caregiving quality.

PURPOSE: Engagement in sports is associated with cognitive and academic functioning in youth. However, heterogenous methodology has resulted in mixed findings across the literature. We propose a new method for investigating how sports activity may affect cognition through metabolic equivalents (MET)-minutes per week during sports engagement and compare it against total number of sports engaged. METHODS: Using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, 9,973 children between the ages of 9 and 10 years old were included. Parent report of children's engagement in sports over the past year were utilized to calculate total MET-minutes per week. Youth participants completed the National Institutes of Health Toolbox. Generalized Additive Mixed Models were run to examine the relationship between MET-minutes on cognition, while controlling for Body Mass Index. The contribution of MET-minutes compared to total count of sports on cognitive performance were compared using Akaike Information Criterion values. RESULTS: Both total MET-minutes per week and past-year total sports were non-linearly associated with increased performance on multiple tasks of executive functioning and decreased expressive vocabulary. MET-minutes were shown to contribute more robustly to models of cognition than total number of sports. CONCLUSIONS: Past year MET-minutes per week was associated with increased cognitive performance, particularly in the domain of executive functioning, and was more sensitive to differences in cognition in contrast to total sports engagement. Indicating that greater measurement sensitivity for physical activity may increase predictive power on cognitive performance outcomes. Our findings provide more support for increasing physical activity in youth to promote cognitive trajectories.

هدف: مشارکت در ورزش با عملکرد شناختی و تحصیلی در نوجوانان مرتبط است. با این حال، روش‌شناسی ناهمگون منجر به یافته‌های متناقض در ادبیات پژوهش شده است. ما روش جدیدی را برای بررسی چگونگی تأثیر فعالیت ورزشی بر شناخت از طریق معادل‌های متابولیک (MET)-دقیقه در هفته در طول مشارکت ورزشی پیشنهاد می‌کنیم و آن را با تعداد کل ورزش‌های انجام‌شده مقایسه می‌نماییم. روش‌ها: با استفاده از مطالعه رشد شناختی مغز نوجوانان، ۹٬۹۷۳ کودک بین ۹ تا ۱۰ سال وارد پژوهش شدند. گزارش والدین از مشارکت کودکان در ورزش طی سال گذشته برای محاسبه مجموع MET-دقیقه در هفته به کار رفت. شرکت‌کنندگان نوجوان ابزار سنجش National Institutes of Health Toolbox را تکمیل کردند. مدل‌های ترکیبی تعمیم‌یافته افزایشی برای بررسی رابطه بین MET-دقیقه و شناخت، با کنترل شاخص توده بدنی اجرا شد. سهم MET-دقیقه نسبت به تعداد کل ورزش‌ها بر عملکرد شناختی با استفاده از مقادیر Akaike Information Criterion مقایسه گردید. نتایج: هم مجموع MET-دقیقه در هفته و هم مجموع ورزش‌های سال گذشته به طور غیرخطی با افزایش عملکرد در چندین تکلیف عملکرد اجرایی و کاهش واژگان بیانی مرتبط بودند. MET-دقیقه نسبت به تعداد کل ورزش‌ها سهم قوی‌تری در مدل‌های شناختی داشت. نتیجه‌گیری: مجموع MET-دقیقه در هفته طی سال گذشته با افزایش عملکرد شناختی، به ویژه در حوزه عملکرد اجرایی، مرتبط بود و نسبت به مجموع مشارکت ورزشی حساسیت بیشتری به تفاوت‌های شناختی نشان داد. این امر نشان می‌دهد که حساسیت بیشتر سنجش فعالیت بدنی می‌تواند قدرت پیش‌بینی پیامدهای عملکرد شناختی را افزایش دهد. یافته‌های ما حمایت بیشتری از افزایش فعالیت بدنی در نوجوانان برای ارتقای مسیرهای شناختی ارائه می‌دهد.