Lacking Advanced Degrees are Not a Barrier to Entry into Academic Surgery Leadership

Purpose: Given the high attrition rate in the field of academic surgery, we aimed to characterise the professional and personal situations of female and male academic surgeons as well as to gather data on their respective perceptions of career advancement and work satisfaction. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Germany, inviting all identifiable academically highly qualified female surgeons and their male counterparts in a 1:2 ratio to participate. An anonymous 103-item online questionnaire was designed and the data collected between July and September 2014. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 93 female and 200 male surgeons, of whom 63 women (67.7%) and 70 men (35.0%) replied. The average age was 47.5 and 47.1 years, respectively. Respondents identified ‘high degree of expertise', ‘ambition', and ‘clarity of one's professional aims' as important factors affecting professional career development. Both groups felt ‘workload', ‘working hours/shifts', and ‘gender' to be a hindrance, the latter of significantly greater importance to female surgeons. The mean work satisfaction scores were high in both female (69.5%) and male (75.7%) surgeons. The predictors ‘support from superiors' (standardised β coefficient = 0.41) and ‘manual aptitude' (β = 0.41) contributed incrementally to the variance in ‘high degree of work satisfaction' (90-100%) observed for female surgeons. However, childcare provided by ‘kindergarten/crèche/after-school care' had the greatest negative predictive value (β = -1.33). Conclusions: Although there are many parallels, female faculty members experience the culture of academic surgery to some extent differently from their male counterparts, especially when impacted by parenthood and childcare. Faculty development programmes need to develop strategies to improve perceived equality in career opportunities by respecting individuals' requirements as well as offering gender-appropriate career guidance.

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The 25th SBAS Presidential Address: Tools for success in academic surgery

The American Journal of Surgery ◽

10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.03.012 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 221 (4) ◽

pp. 660-665

Author(s):

Martin S. Karpeh

Keyword(s):

Presidential Address ◽

Academic Surgery

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Professional Psychology in Portugal

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1997.81.3f.1211 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 81 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1211-1222 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Teresa Fagulha ◽

Richard H. Dana

Keyword(s):

Rapid Development ◽

Well Being ◽

Professional Psychology ◽

Current Status ◽

Environmental Concerns ◽

Advanced Degrees ◽

Professional Degree ◽

History Of ◽

Training Research

This paper describes the history and current status of professional psychology in Portugal where a unique perspective combines training, research, and practical contributions from Europe and the Americas with their own history of psychological tradition and expertise. Training in professional psychology includes Social Psychology and Educational and Vocational Guidance specializations in addition to Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy and Counseling for the professional degree, Licenciatura. Advanced degrees are offered in Environmental Psychology, Career Development, Social Cognition, and other areas, primarily for academic positions. Research in all of these areas is expected to have applied outcomes that contribute to individual well being and an improved quality of life for the entire population. The result has been a rapid development of an indigenous professional psychology to address mental health, social, and environmental concerns that compel psychological attention and resources worldwide as well as those problems of local and national origins.

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Demystifying Deep Learning: Developing and Evaluating a User-Centered Learning App for Beginners to Gain Practical Experience

i-com ◽

10.1515/icom-2020-0023 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 201-213

Author(s):

Sven Schultze ◽

Uwe Gruenefeld ◽

Susanne Boll

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Deep Learning ◽

Practical Experience ◽

Learning Problems ◽

User Evaluation ◽

Classification Problems ◽

Human Centered Design ◽

Technical Evaluation ◽

Programming Skills ◽

Barrier To Entry

Abstract Deep Learning has revolutionized Machine Learning, enhancing our ability to solve complex computational problems. From image classification to speech recognition, the technology can be beneficial in a broad range of scenarios. However, the barrier to entry is quite high, especially when programming skills are missing. In this paper, we present the development of a learning application that is easy to use, yet powerful enough to solve practical Deep Learning problems. We followed the human-centered design approach and conducted a technical evaluation to identify solvable classification problems. Afterwards, we conducted an online user evaluation to gain insights on users’ experience with the app, and to understand positive as well as negative aspects of our implemented concept. Our results show that participants liked using the app and found it useful, especially for beginners. Nonetheless, future iterations of the learning app should step-wise include more features to support advancing users.

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Concorrenza e regolazione nel settore ferroviario: l'importanza del materiale rotabile

Economia e Politica Industriale ◽

10.3280/poli2009-002004 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 47-72

Author(s):

Carlo Cambini

Keyword(s):

Jel Classification ◽

Railway Transport ◽

Transport Regulation ◽

Market Competitiveness ◽

Railway Industry ◽

Pros And Cons ◽

Overall Efficiency ◽

Barrier To Entry ◽

The Uk

- The liberalization process in the railway industry is highly influenced by the availability of rolling stocks. Although these assets are duplicable and cannot therefore be defined as essential facilities, evidence from many countries shows that they represent the most relevant barrier to entry in the market. In this paper, following the UK experience, we analyse the role of the rolling stocks and the hypothesis of a vertical separation of these assets from the present owner, i.e. the incumbent operator Trenitalia SpA. We therefore evaluate the pros and cons of a potential de-integration of the Italian railway industry in order to enhance market competitiveness and the overall efficiency of this industry. . Keywords: railway transport, regulation, competition, essential facilities Parole chiave: trasporto ferroviario, regolazione, concorrenza, asset essenziali . Jel Classification: L43 - L51 - L92

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The situation of English speaker’s place of origin depending on Chinese dialects

Dialectologia et Geolinguistica ◽

10.1515/dialect-2021-0009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 161-171

Author(s):

Min Wang

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

English Language ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Speaking Rate ◽

Advanced Degrees ◽

Phonological Features ◽

Place Of Origin ◽

Chinese Dialects ◽

Student’S T ◽

High Degree

Abstract This study examines the ability to identify different Chinese dialects through the English language and evaluates how often respondents pay attention to phonological features and rate of speech to explain their categorizations. The research includes 100 Chinese undergraduate students and 100 young people without advanced degrees aged 20 to 25. Discrete independent data samples collected during the interview of participants are analyzed with the help of such statistical methods as Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Wilcoxon's test. The obtained results indirectly show the ability of respondents to identify native and non-native English speakers around the world, as well as determine their nationality. The outcomes of the paper explicate who, in general, categorize Chinese dialects better and which dialects are the most recognizable. Research data reveal a high degree of stereotypization of various dialects, especially the Beijing and U dialects. Moreover, based on the data obtained, it can be concluded that speaking rate significantly affects the perception and classification of a speaker from a particular province of China.

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