scholarly journals Effectiveness of Internships as Pedagogical Practices in Promoting Employability Skills Amongst Graduating Students in Selected Social Science Degree Programmes in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-668
Author(s):  
Kapambwe Mwelwa ◽  
Ailwei Ailwei ◽  
S. Mawela
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
Graduate Employability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Graduating Students

<p style="text-align: justify;">To explore their role in enhancing graduate employability, the study investigated the effectiveness of student internships as pedagogical practices in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students in four Social Science Degree programmes of selected universities in Zambia. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 162 participants through the questionnaires and interview guides using a mixed-methods approach. The participants included different actors in the labour industry as critical informants; graduating students taking Social Science Degree Programmes; Lecturers, and Employers. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using the SPSS version 24 and Atlas. Ti. Version 8, respectively. This study employed the Human Capability Approach and Human Capital theories. Findings indicated that although internship practices were considered an essential component in the social science degree programmes for skills development, their effectiveness in promoting employability skills amongst graduating students varied from one programme to the other. The findings have implications on how universities and the labour industry could work together to design and implement internship experiences for students in social science degree programmes that are more effective in promoting the acquisition of employability skills in Zambia.</p>

Data as representations: contextualizing qualitative and quantitative research strategies

2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaan Valsiner
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
New States

The opposition between “quantitative” and “qualitative” perspectives in contemporary social science is an organizational limitation that directs discussions of the topic away from the main issue - the adequacy of any kind of data in respect to the phenomena they represent. This is particularly complicated if the phenomena are known to include inherent dynamics, are modifiable by the research encounter, or develop towards new states of existence. It is often assumed that qualitative and quantitative methods are mutually exclusive alternatives within a methodological process that is itself unified. The article shows that quantitative methods are derivates of a qualitative process of investigation, which itself can lead to the construction of inadequate data. The issue of the representativeness of the data - qualitative or quantitative - remains the central unresolved question for the methodology of the social sciences. Errors in representation can be diminished by correction of methods through direct (experiential) access to the phenomena, guided by the researcher's educated intuition.

scholarly journals Rationale of early adopters of fossil fuel divestment

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Todd Beer
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Ecological Modernization ◽  
Early Adopters ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Ecological Values

This research uses the social science perspectives of institutions, ecological modernization, and social movements to analyze the rationale used by the early-adopting universities of fossil fuel divestment in the US. Through analysis of qualitative data from interviews with key actors at the universities that divested their endowments from fossil fuels, I examine how institutions navigate competing logics and frame their rationale. The results show that while many institutions relied on ecological values embedded in their missions to justify their decision to divest, many also continued to embrace an altered version of market logic.

Making Social Science Work Across Space and Time: A Critical Reflection on Robert Putnam's Making Democracy Work

1996 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Tarrow
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Individual Values ◽  
Italian History ◽  
Robert Putnam ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
North And South

Political scientists are becoming more self-conscious about how they connect quantitative and qualitative data in social science and about the role of systematic country studies in comparative research. As the most striking example of both practices in recent years, Robert Putnam and his collaborators' Making Democracy Work deserves more serious criticism than it has received. While Putnam's original project aimed at a precise goal—studying how a new administrative reform is institutionalized—his ultimate project aimed at nothing less than examining how differently democracy works in different sociopolitical contexts, operationalized cross-sectionally in southern and northern Italy. The sources of these differences he found in the two regions' histories, which led him to employ the quantitative interregional data he had collected for one purpose to support a model of historical development of North and South. This historical reconstruction rests largely on qualitative data; but it also rests on a set of comparative inferences about individual values and community cohesiveness in the two regions that is of questionable historical validity and innocent of structural grounding. This article applauds Putnam's joining qualitative and quantitative data but attacks his reconstruction of Italian history to fit his model of social capital.

scholarly journals Caught, clubbed and burnt: criminological reflections on the incidence of jungle justice in Benin Metropolis, southern Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Imuetinyan Obarisiagbon Barr
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Court System ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Southern Nigeria

All over Southern Nigeria, incidents of people taking the law into their hands and meting out instant justice on suspected criminals without recourse to the rule of law and the position of Section 33 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria abound. This motivation for participation in jungle justice was therefore explored. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative techniques was employed to collect data from six hundred and fifteen respondents. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data collected was undertaken, using frequency distribution while the qualitative data were content analysed. Findings from this study reveal that motivation for jungle justice was multifaceted. Illiteracy, lack of trust on the police, flaccid court system, chronic anger due to economic situation and disregard for the rule of law and human right were some of the motivation for the alarming incidence of the social phenomenon. Based on the findings of this study, there is the need to overhaul the criminal justice processes with a view to boosting the confidence of the public in its activities and also embark on a teaching on no violence and the ills of jungle justice.Keywords: Jungle justice, court, police, human rights

scholarly journals Gen Y recruitment

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 560-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Warmerdam ◽  
Ioni Lewis ◽  
Tamara Banks
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gen Y ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
Tpb Model ◽  
Explained Variance ◽  
Graduating Students ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether the standard TPB constructs explained variance in Generation Y (Gen Y) individuals’ intentions to join their ideal organisation. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods approach was used featuring qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings – The overall TPB model accounted for a significant 51.6 per cent of the variance in intention to join one’s ideal organisation in the next six months with the significant predictors in the model being subjective norm and perceived behaviour control but not attitude. Research limitations/implications – Using graduating students from a single Australian university sample may mean that the current findings may not extend to all Gen Y individuals. The current study has demonstrated the explanatory utility of the TPB in relation to graduate Gen Y’s intention to join their ideal organisation, providing further evidence of the robustness of the TPB framework in an organisational setting. Practical implications – These findings have implications for enhancing understanding of the most effective recruitment processes for Gen Y students entering the workforce. The findings could inform recruitment policies and strategies to attract Gen Y applicants. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge this study is the first application of the TPB to this topic. The current research extends the recruitment literature with a theoretically based investigation. Identification of factors which inform organisational recruitment strategies, allow organisations to stand out from their competitors and potentially achieve a larger application pool from which to select the best human capital and sustain competitive advantage.

scholarly journals Experiences of Homeless Families in Parenthood: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 2712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Maria Reinhardt Andrade ◽  
Amélia Simões Figueiredo ◽  
Manuel Luís Capelas ◽  
Zaida Charepe ◽  
Sérgio Deodato
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
The United States ◽  
Homeless Families ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Nursing Knowledge ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social

The objective of this systematic review was to identify the available qualitative data and to develop a framework to address the life experiences of homeless families in parenthood. The research was performed in the PubMed and CINAHL Complete databases, for works published in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. Studies that included qualitative data, or both qualitative and quantitative data, were considered for this research. A total of 358 articles were obtained, of which 37 were assessed for eligibility, and 26 were rejected. In the end, 11 studies were selected. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research was used. These studies were conducted mostly in the United States, in temporary/transitional shelters for nuclear or single-parent families (led by women) in a homeless situation. In this context, the area which arose as the more relevant one was mental health, followed by the social studies. Two types of dimensions emerged from the results: mediating dimensions (which include the categories “Insecurity”, “Lack of Privacy”, “Isolation”, “Stigma” and “Disempowerment”) that are responsible for difficulties related to education, and behavioural changes in both the parents and the children; and supporting dimensions (which include the categories “Context as a Facilitator”, “Relationship with Others” and “Parents’ and children’s Self”) that lead to motivation, as well as the acquisition of strategies by the parents, to resolve parenting issues. This research helps expand nursing knowledge and presents a synthesis of the life experiences of homeless families in parenthood. Nursing can respond to the vulnerable population, due to its predominant role in promoting their health.

scholarly journals Application of Yager’s Fuzzy Logic in Sociological Research: An Instance of Potential Payoff

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Faruque Uddin
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Social Facts ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

This article exemplifies Yager’s theory of fuzzy logic for interpersonal communication to the area of social research. Taking the dilemma between qualitative and quantitative approaches into the account, there is an anticipation to make a merge between these two. There is an enormous prospect to turn up scientists’ philanthropic innovations if they could use fuzzy logic in social science researches! However, by using fuzzy logic in sociological research there is a great deal of opportunity to study the social facts related to poverty, consumption, employment, intersubjectivity, social capital, environment, gender etc. How can we use Yager’s theory of Fuzzy Logic to analyze the relationship between social capital and labor market partcicpation? From the experiential connection in Bangladesh society, I try to seek this answer using a hypothetical quantification of attributes.

scholarly journals Relevance of selected Social Science Degree programs on skills development and graduate employability in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-147
Author(s):  
Kapambwe Mwelwa ◽  
Lazarus D.M. Lebeloane ◽  
Ailwei S. Mawela
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Work Readiness ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
Graduate Employability ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Job Prospects ◽  
The Capability Approach

A pragmatic approach was used to explore the extent to which four selected social science degree programs were relevant for the skill needs of the job market in Zambia. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 162 participants using interviews and questionnaires. The SPSS version 24 and Atlas. Ti Version 8 were used to analyse and interpret data within the framework of the Capability Approach. The findings reveal that the relevance of each of the four social science degree programs depend on how key stakeholders in higher education and the labour market perceive them and that graduate employability was affected by factors such as the need and importance of social sciences to the labour market; employer and student perceptions of employability skills in the degree programs; demand for the programs; graduate work readiness, and the availability of graduate job prospects. It could be concluded that although all four social science degree programs were important, their relevance to the needs of Zambia’s labour market varied from program to program.

Contextual Text Coding: A Mixed-methods Approach for Large-scale Textual Data

2021 ◽  
pp. 004912412098619
Author(s):  
Matty Lichtenstein ◽  
Zawadi Rucks-Ahidiana
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
Textual Data ◽  
Context Specific

With the growing availability of large-scale text-based data sets, there is an increasing need for an accessible and systematic way to analyze qualitative texts. This article introduces and details the contextual text coding (CTC) method as a mixed-methods approach to large-scale qualitative data analysis. The method is particularly useful for complex text, textual data characterized by context-specific meanings and a lack of consistent terminology. CTC provides an alternative to current approaches to analyzing large textual data sets, specifically computational text analysis and hand coding, neither of which capture both the qualitative and quantitative analytical potential of large-scale textual data sets. Building on hand coding techniques and systematic sampling methods, CTC provides a clear six-step process to produce both quantitative and qualitative analyses of large-scale complex textual data sources. This article includes two examples, using projects focusing on journal and interview data, respectively, to illustrate the method’s versatility.

Critical Appraisal on the Extent of Values Integration in Social Science Subjects

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Josephine M. Duritan
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Educational Management ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Statistical Measures ◽  
The Social ◽  
Jose Rizal ◽  
The University ◽  
Philippine History

The youth of today are caught between tradition and progress, and they are in the throes of a modernizing society and abrupt cultural and political changes.  Indeed, the extent of values integration in social sciences subjects have contributed in enhancing values integration in social science subjects. The study critically appraised in more detail the extent of the integration of values in the Social Science subjects among college students of the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA in the three major campuses of the school. The study used the descriptive research design.  The mix method of qualitative and quantitative was used in the appraisal of the salient aspects of the five social science subjects.  The study used three sets of questionnaires. The analysis utilized descriptive and inferential statistical measures. Findings of the study revealed that social science subjects such as Philippine History and Life and Works of Jose Rizal, integrate values to a very great extent across campuses vis-à-vis character development. The study concludes that extent of values integration has significant differences in the responses across the respondents’ strata. The values integration and educational practices about character development, educational management, and instructional leadership are implications from the findings in the study.

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