scholarly journals Empirical study of the important elements in the researcher development journey

2013 ◽  
pp. 42-55
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
System Development ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
National Context ◽  
High Importance ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Researcher Development ◽  
Research Administrators ◽  
The University ◽  
Development Agendas

This paper presents the results of a study into what is important in the researcher development journey as perceived by students, academic supervisors and research administrators. The study was undertaken within the Department of Electronics at the University of York to test the survey instrument for a wider, multidisciplinary and multi-institutional survey. It was undertaken in the National context of a focus on the importance of postgraduate skills development being an integral part of the researcher journey. An integrated support system is used in the department for all postgraduate students. Results show that students and supervisors both agree that helping the student gain a PhD and seeing them as a professional researcher are of high importance. Research outputs were rated lowest for students and both rate administrative needs low. The study informs engagement with the administrative and skills development agendas thinking and is being used by the system development team.

scholarly journals Individual Characteristics and Social Learning Modelling Factors Influencing ICT Skills Development among Postgraduate Students at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-30
Author(s):  
Kemi Ogunsola ◽  
◽  
M.A Adesakin
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
University Management ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Ict Skills ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Ibadan

Information communication technologies (ICT) offer opportunities to young people through guided education and skill acquisition, which in turn lead to youth's self-sustainability, and employment. Despite the immense contributions and benefits of ICT to economic development and reduction of unemployment, there is a little overarching investigation regarding the factors affecting ICT skills development among students in the University of Ibadan. This study investigates how individual characteristics and social learning modelling factors influence ICT skills development among postgraduate students in the University of Ibadan. The study adopted a survey research design. Data were collected from a sample of 398 postgraduate students. Frequency counts and percentages, Chi-square test, Spearman's rank correlation, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Three research questions were answered and three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result showed that individual characteristics and social learning modelling factors jointly influenced the ICT skills development of postgraduate students (F (9, 388) = 9.488, P<0.05). The study showed that students recognise that ICT skills are required to succeed in today’s world and are deemed necessary for employment. The respondents expressed interest in developing ICT skills to boost their employability. They also felt that the university management is obligated to provide training on ICT skills. Based on this, the study recommends that educational institutions and the government should implement effective policies for students to acquire sufficient ICT skills. The study also recommends that ICT skills development programmes should be incorporated into academic programmes of universities in Nigeria. Keywords: Information and Communication Technology, Digital Literacy, ICT Complementary Skills, Nigeria, Postgraduate Students, Ibadan, University.

scholarly journals Step Up to Masters

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Daniel John Pullinger ◽  
Jiani Liu
Keyword(s):  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Online Resource ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Key Topics ◽  
Learning Development ◽  
The University

The article in question introduces research conducted by the Learning Development Team at the University of Leeds on the academic literacy skills development needs and expectations of taught postgraduate students, and the subsequent creation of an innovative new online resource, Step Up to Masters. As well as focusing on key topics highlighted by the research, the resource encourages students to reflect on their individual development priorities and to select the most relevant support options for their successful transition to taught postgraduate (PGT) study. The rationale behind this reflect and select approach has been informed by a synthesis of (a) the outcomes of key studies on the diverse needs and challenges faced by PGT students when making the transition to Masters study, and (b) the team’s own research findings on PGT students’ academic development priorities and preferences. Step Up to Masters received the Digital Award for Information Literacy 2020, and was central to the online PGT induction programme initiated at Leeds for 2020/21 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Student Room Survey: Changes in the Post Graduate Study for Cardiothoracic Surgery

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-74
Author(s):  
Md Faizus Sazzad ◽  
Mohammed Moniruzzaman ◽  
Dewan Iftakher Raza Choudhury ◽  
Arif Ahmed Mohiuddin ◽  
Raafi Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thoracic Surgery ◽  
Retrospective Analysis ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Graduate Study ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
Secondary Objective ◽  
Cardio Vascular ◽  
The University ◽  
Day By Day

Background: The number of postgraduate students in Cardiac surgical discipline is increasing day by day with incremental proportion are measurably suffering from the unnecessary lingering of the present course curriculum. The primary objective of this study was to find out the last 5 years’ of results of Masters in Surgery course under the University of Dhaka from a student room survey. A secondary objective was to find out positive changes that could show us the way of a step toward up-gradation. Methods: It is a retrospective analysis of all examination results of Cardio-vascular & Thoracic Surgery published since January 2008 to January 2013 from the University of Dhaka with in depth interview of 11 participants. Results: 85.24% students failed to pass part-I of Masters in Surgery for Cardio-vascular & Thoracic Surgery course while, 82.18% in part-II and 71.28% failed to pass the final part. Average 2.51 attempts needed to complete each part of the designed course resulted into lingering of course duration for 42.18 months/student. In the thoracic surgery discipline the number of students alarmingly reduced up to 0% in the recent academic sessions. Conclusions: Masters in Surgery is resulting in unnecessary prolongation of the course. We should step forward to meet the next generation challenge. Journal of Surgical Sciences (2019) Vol. 23(2): 71-74

Impact Of Transformational Leadership On Motivating Faculty Members

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 303-312
Author(s):  
Jamal Asad Mezel ◽  
Adnan Fadhil Khaleel ◽  
Kiran Das Naik Eslavath
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Traditional Form ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
University Leaders ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

This empirical study show that the impact of all styles was well moderate. The means of effect of all styles were less than 3 out of 5. It means the expected impact of transformational affect upon the all dimensions of the activities, are not expected due to the traditional styles of leadership and the lack of information about the transformational leadership styles which can guide leaders to use such styles in the organization which may be this results due to lack of trained leaders and necessary knowledge with the leaders in all universities about transformational styles the traditional form of the leadership styles which used by the university leaders affect the communication between all levels of the administration and the faculty members which has consequence because decrease in motivation and a self-consideration from the administration.

Use of reference management software among postgraduate students in Greece

2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062199641
Author(s):  
Ilias Nitsos ◽  
Afrodite Malliari ◽  
Rodopi Chamouroudi
Keyword(s):  
Student Discipline ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Background Characteristics ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Management Software ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
The University ◽  
Degree Level

The use of reference management software in the context of academic work and research is the main subject of this study. The study focuses on the extent to which postgraduate students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, one of the largest Greek universities, make use of – or avoid using – reference management software tools to organize their bibliographic databases and to automate the process of creating references and citations. The study also tries to find out which are the key factors for their choices and whether certain background characteristics affect their behavior. It should be mentioned that no previous studies have been conducted in Greece regarding the use of reference management software in the academic environment. An online questionnaire was sent to the postgraduate students at the University and a result set of 545 responses was collected and analyzed. The majority (almost two-thirds) of the respondents identified themselves as non-users and one-third identified themselves as reference management software users. Among the latter, Mendeley was found to be the software used by more than two-thirds of the users and was followed by EndNote and Zotero. It is worth mentioning that Mendeley is the software officially recommended by the University’s central library to its users but most of the students (more than 60%) were not aware of this fact. In terms of background characteristics, the analysis revealed, among other things, statistically significant relationships between degree level, student discipline and preferences, reference management software features, and potential future use of reference management software.

scholarly journals Evaluating undergraduate research conferences as vehicles for novice researcher development

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Kneale ◽  
Andrew Edwards-Jones ◽  
Helen Walkington ◽  
Jennifer Hill
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Conference ◽  
Researcher Development ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to focus on the undergraduate research conference as its sphere of study and investigate the impact of significance of participation and socialisation in such activities on student attitudes and professional development. Using situated learning to theoretically position the undergraduate research conference as an authentic learning context, connection is also made with the concept of graduate attributes. Design/methodology/approach The Vitae (2014) Researcher Development Framework (RDF) is used to provide a template for charting the experiences and development of undergraduate students as researchers. This can be applied to short-term activities and programmes and to long-term career plans. The insights from 90 undergraduate students participating in three national undergraduate research conferences were obtained through interviews, and thematically analysed to map the students’ skills development against the RDF criteria. Findings Three main aspects of undergraduate research conference participation were considered particularly important by the students: the value of paper presentations, the value of poster presentations and the value of the overall conference experience. Within these themes, participants identified a wide range of skills and attributes they felt they had developed as a result of either preparing for or participating in the conferences. The majority of these skills and attributes could be mapped against the different domains of the RDF, using a public engagement lens for comparing actual with expected developmental areas. Research limitations/implications This research helps undergraduate research conference organisers construct programme content and form it in such a way that students’ skill development can be maximised prior to, and during, the course of an event. Learning developers can also use these findings to help understand the support needs of students preparing to deliver papers at such conferences. So far, little empirical research has examined students’ skills development within the undergraduate research conference arena. Originality/value The outcomes of this study show the diversity of the skills that students developed and the value of the conference format for offering networking practice and enhancing the communication skills which employers value.

Postgraduates’ Perceptions in Completion of Their Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
Teoh Sian Hoon ◽  
Geethanjali Narayanan ◽  
Raja Normi Raja Mohamad ◽  
Gurnam Kaur Sidhu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Learning ◽  
Research Writing ◽  
Institutional Factor ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Learning Challenges ◽  
Academic Competencies ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The University ◽  
Learning Institutions

This study was conducted to investigate the postgraduate students’ perceptions towards their experiences of completion of their studies. The population of this study consisted of postgraduate students in a public university in Selangor. The sample comprised 104 randomly selected postgraduate students from the university. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to the samples. The questionnaire consisted of four domains, namely student factor, supervisor factor, institutional factor and challenges faced by the students. This study discovered that (1) the postgraduate students perceived supervisors as a determinant factor that contributes toward conducting research. (2) they perceived their academic competencies in research writing as moderate and (3) the supervisor factor has a significant and inverse relationship on challenges faced by the postgraduate students, i.e. the efforts and competencies of supervisors reduced challenges of the postgraduate students to complete their research. Based on the findings, it was suggested that higher learning institutions should highlight on the construction of knowledge through active interaction between lecturers and students. This type of assistance has become a platform for the students to cope up with the learning challenges they were facing in higher education.

An Empirical Study of Factors Influencing Consumer Attitudes towards SMS Advertising

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep Dharmadasa ◽  
Thilini Alahakoon
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Consumer Attitudes ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Central Route ◽  
Customer Attitudes ◽  
The University

This article examines factors influencing consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising. The study's research framework was conceptualized using five predictor variables – informativeness, irritation, privacy, credibility, and incentives – and an outcome variable of consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising. The informativeness, irritation, and privacy was labelled as central route constructs and credibility and incentives were labelled as peripheral route constructs. Survey data collected from 251 mobile users selected from a cohort of undergraduates in business management from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, were analyzed using the Structural Equation Method (SEM). Results suggest that the informativeness and incentive variables are positively associated with customer attitudes towards SMS advertising, whereas irritation and privacy are found to be negatively associated with consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising. Surprisingly, credibility was found to be an insignificant factor predicting consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising. Several implications for consumer attitudes towards SMS advertising are discussed.

scholarly journals Forging a research community of practice to find out how South African children make their world mathematical

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Henning
Keyword(s):  
Community Of Practice ◽  
South African ◽  
Story Line ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Mathematics Competence ◽  
Shared Goal ◽  
Competence Test ◽  
The University ◽  
Different Sources

In a search for ways to capture foundation phase children’s competence in mathematics, a small research team was put together at a South African university four years ago. At first, working only in a single school where the objective was to model 80 learners’ growth in competence over four years, the team transformed into a very different entity. This article narrates the founding and development of a community of research practice, which eventually included undergraduate- and postgraduate students, researchers from institutions in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa, teachers at local schools close to the university, and an educational research and survey company. Supported by funding from four different sources, the project is fairly close to reaching the goal of delivering a standardised mathematics competence test for 4-8 year-olds, which is a first of its kind for the country where educational measurement seems to be at a crossroads. In the story line of this community of practice, it is evident that progress can be assessed best by the learning that has been taking place in a community with a notable diversity of people and interests, but with the shared goal of investigating children’s mathematical behaviour on a measure that can be trusted.

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