scholarly journals Back out or hang on? An event history analysis of withdrawal from doctoral education in Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Jaksztat ◽  
Martin Neugebauer ◽  
Gesche Brandt
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Event History Analysis ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Event History ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractDespite the benefits of a PhD for degree-holders as well for society as a whole, doctoral student attrition is a common phenomenon. Unfortunately, the empirical literature on dropout from doctoral education is scant, especially for non-US countries—an omission we address in the current study. Building on Tinto’s model of student attrition and rational choice theory, the study empirically assesses the association of different individual, institutional, and external factors with the propensity to leave doctoral studies. Unlike most studies in the field, it draws on longitudinal data using event history modelling, observing doctoral students in multiple disciplines and a wide range of universities. The key results can be summarized as follows: In Germany, women are more likely to dropout than men. The probability of dropping out strongly depends on the discipline and the availability of a scholarship. A close contact with the supervisor and exchange with other PhDs are associated with a lower dropout probability. Moreover, having children increases dropout rates. The study findings provide first empirical guidance for interventions that can possibly help reducing dropout.

Doctoral Student Attrition in the Stem Fields: An Exploratory Event History Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe L. Lott ◽  
Susan Gardner ◽  
Daniel A. Powers
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Event History Analysis ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Event History ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Attrition Rates ◽  
History Analysis ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Married Students ◽  
Science Major

The STEM fields, otherwise known as the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics areas, have become the focus of multiple studies and funding initiatives in recent years. Despite these efforts, lingering concerns exist about who enters, who is retained, and who completes the doctorate in STEM fields. This study utilizes discrete-time event history analysis to model doctoral attrition for 10,088 individuals, in 56 STEM departments, at one research-extensive institution, located in the South, over a 20-year period. Results show that the odds of attrition are the greatest in the first year. Additionally, the odds of attrition are greater for females, Asians, and for those who belong to a hard-applied science major (versus a hard-pure major). The odds of attrition are lower for married students and for those who have higher relative GRE scores than their peers in the same program. The findings of this study provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between particular characteristics of doctoral students and programs on attrition rates over time.

Crime Witnesses' Non-Cooperation in Police Investigations

2019 ◽  
pp. 150-157
Author(s):  
Usman Adekunle Ojedokun
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Crime Investigation

The importance of crime witnesses in policing and crime control cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, a constant impediment in the effective operation of the criminal justice system machineries is the non-cooperation of crime witnesses with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. Against this background, this paper examines the causes and consequences of crime witnesses' non-cooperation in police investigations in Nigeria. Rational choice theory was employed for its theoretical anchorage. A wide range of socio-cultural factors were identified as sustaining the traditional communication gap between the Police and crime witnesses that possess vital information which can aid their crime investigation. The Nigeria Police Force is urged to develop a holistic road-map through which the level of public confidence in its operation can be boosted.

A moral compass framework for resolution of wicked problems in doctoral education and supervision

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 355-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Bowden ◽  
Pam Green
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Education ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Capability Development ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Moral Compass ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multi Level

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to design and explain a moral compass framework that informs decision-making by those engaged in shaping the doctoral education and supervision environment. Design/methodology/approach – The research involved analysis of transcripts of 50 interviews with a range of doctoral students and supervisors. The framework was derived from the integration of the transcript analysis with a range of theoretical constructs: Rittel and Webber’s (1973) “wicked” problems; Bowden’s (2004) capability for the unknown future; Baillie et al.’s (2013) threshold capability development; liminality (Meyer and Land 2006); mindfulness (Langer and Moldoveanu, 2000; Green and Bowden, 2012); as well as our interpretation of moral compass and collective morality. Findings – Although applicable to a wide range of contexts, with broader, potentially universal implications for professional life, the framework is explained using the doctoral education system as example, and supervisor and candidate experiences as illustration. It relates individual decision-making to notions of collective morality and moral development within a multi-level system, through moral advocacy and moral mediation, activities identified as necessary at all levels of the doctoral system. Originality/value – Our framework demonstrates the need for developing awareness of the multi-factorial nature of the wicked problems that arise in doctoral education and the requirement to address such problems across all levels – individual, organisational and national. We identified the central importance of a new construct – collective morality and the way that moral advocacy and moral mediation can contribute to resolution of such wicked problems in doctoral education and supervision.

scholarly journals Bounded Rationality in Compulsive Consumption

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. p30
Author(s):  
Ingo Fiedler
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Time Horizon ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Pathological Gamblers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Compulsive Consumption

The standard microeconomic assumption is that consumers’ choices maximize consumers’ utility. This theoretical article challenges this assumption by presenting a framework of an extreme case: compulsive consumption. Backed by a wide range of existing empirical evidence it is shown by the example of pathological gamblers that some consumers (1) have inconsistent preferences, (2) underestimate the time horizon and the frequency of consumption, and (3) underestimate the costs and overestimate the benefits of consumption. The results do not necessarily violate rational choice theory if interpreted as intra-personal externalities. By applying the perspective of picoeconomics, it is possible to reconcile fully rational but competing agents within an individual with inconsistent aggregate decisions. Yet, from a welfare perspective, the results imply that bounded rationality can be interpreted as a source of inefficiency and can thus constitute a rationale for regulatory intervention.

Crime Witnesses' Non-Cooperation in Police Investigations

2016 ◽  
pp. 89-99
Author(s):  
Usman Adekunle Ojedokun
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Police Investigations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Crime Investigation

The importance of crime witnesses in policing and crime control cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, a constant impediment in the effective operation of the criminal justice system machineries is the non-cooperation of crime witnesses with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. Against this background, this paper examines the causes and consequences of crime witnesses' non-cooperation in police investigations in Nigeria. Rational choice theory was employed for its theoretical anchorage. A wide range of socio-cultural factors were identified as sustaining the traditional communication gap between the Police and crime witnesses that possess vital information which can aid their crime investigation. The Nigeria Police Force is urged to develop a holistic road-map through which the level of public confidence in its operation can be boosted.

scholarly journals Decision Theory as Practice: Crafting Rationality in Organizations

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1531-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure Cabantous ◽  
Jean-Pascal Gond ◽  
Michael Johnson-Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Decision Theory ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range

This paper explores the underlying practices whereby rationality — as defined in rational choice theory — is achieved within organizations. The qualitative coding of 58 case study reports produced by decision analysts, working in a wide range of settings, highlights how organizational actors can make decisions in accord with the axioms of rational choice theory. Our findings describe the emergence of ‘decision-analysis’ as a field and reveal the complex and fragile socio-technical infrastructure underlying the craft of rationality, the central role of calculability, and the various forms of bricolage that decision analysts deploy to make rational decisions happen. Overall, this research explores the social construction of rationality and identifies the practices sustaining the performativity of rational choice theory within organizations.

The Oxford Handbook of Offender Decision Making

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Core Element ◽  
Sexual Crime ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Decision

How offenders make decisions that lead to criminal conduct is a core element of virtually every discussion about crime and law enforcement. What type of information can deter a potential offender? For whom is the prospect of a sanction effective? How can emotions facilitate or impede crime? How does the availability of guns affect behavior in violent conflicts? Do offenders learn to commit crime from the experiences of others? Is crime perpetrated by juveniles always the result of impulsive decisions? How do offenders choose crime targets and locations? The Oxford Handbook of Offender Decision Making covers and integrates contemporary theoretical, methodological, and empirical knowledge about the role of human decision making as it relates to criminal behavior. It provides state-of-the art reviews of the main paradigms in offender decision making, such as rational choice theory and deterrence, but also includes recent approaches such as dual-process models of decision making. It contains up-to-date reviews of empirical research on a wide range of decision types, from criminal initiation and desistance to choice of location, time, target, victim, and modus operandi. It also contains reviews of decision making regarding specific types of crime, including homicide, sexual crime, burglary, and white-collar and organized crime. In addition, it includes comprehensive in-depth treatments of the principal research methods used to study offender decision making, such as experimental designs, observation studies, surveys, offender interviews, and simulations.

Event History Analysis in Demography

1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-357
Author(s):  
Johannes Huinink
Keyword(s):  
Event History Analysis ◽  
Event History ◽  
History Analysis
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