scholarly journals “Should I stay or should I go?” Indicators of Dropping Out Thoughts of Doctoral Students in Computer Science.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 246
Author(s):  
Dorothee Alfermann ◽  
Christopher Holl ◽  
Swantje Reimann
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Work Tasks ◽  
Lower Likelihood ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Doctoral Candidates

Evidence in the literature indicates that doctoral candidates may experience increased levels of stress and worry about successfully completing their doctorate degrees. As a result, a significant number of doctoral candidates drop out. In our study with 424 doctoral students in computer science (113 women, 311 men), we ask about the frequency of dropout thoughts as an indicator of possible premature termination. By means of machine learning algorithms, we extract variables associated with higher or lower likelihood of dropout thoughts. In particular, satisfaction with advisor’s support, experiencing a crisis, professional self-efficacy, choice of advisor, and perceived meaningfulness of additional work tasks proved to be of central importance. Based on these results, we suggest taking steps to improve professional and social support for doctoral students. Recommendations include implementing more intensive supervision in the early stages of the doctorate, improve the match between doctoral candidates’ expectations and the requirements of the respective institute, monitor progress during the doctorate (e.g., with the help of an advisor agreement), and increase the qualifications of advisors to include leadership and communication skills.

scholarly journals Interest, Burnout, and Drop-Out Intentions Among Finnish and Danish Humanities and Social Sciences PhD. Students

10.28945/4867 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 593-609
Author(s):  
Solveig Cornér ◽  
Kirsi Pyhältö ◽  
Jouni A Peltonen ◽  
Erika Löfström
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Personal Interest ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Individual Variations ◽  
Interest Profile

Aim/Purpose: This study focused on advancing understanding of individual variations in doctoral students’ interest in their doctoral studies and how they related to experiences of burnout and drop-out intentions in Denmark and Finland. Background: Ph.D. students’ experiences of interest, burnout, and dropout intentions among Finnish and Danish Ph.D. students have not been researched before. Research with a person-centred approach exploring individual variations in students undertaking doctoral studies in two comparable but distinct socio-cultural contexts is limited. Methodology: This study uses exploratory factor analysis, K-means cluster analyses in combination with Pairwise comparisons, ANOVA, and Chi-square test. A total of 365 doctoral students in social sciences and humanities disciplines in Finland and Denmark responded to a Cross-Cultural Doctoral Experience Survey. Contribution: This study contributes understanding on individual variation in doctoral students’ interest across two socio-cultural contexts by identifying four personal interest profiles. The profiles were invariant across the contexts. The study also shed further light on the interrelation between the interest in research and the risk for suffering from burnout and entertaining dropout intentions. Findings: The interest profiles identified among the Ph.D. students were the High interest profile, the Moderate interest profile, the Developmental, research and impact interest profile, and the Development and impact interest profile. All interest profiles exhibited high levels of the developmental interest, however they varied especially in the weight given to instrumental and research interests. Ph.D. students in the Moderate interest profile showed signs of burnout, and they were prone to consider dropping out. Also, individuals in the Development and impact interest profile considered more frequently dropping out of their studies. Recommendations for Practitioners: Investing in the identification and support of interest among Ph.D. students is worthwhile, as interest is not a permanent characteristic of the individual, and the combination of research, development, and impact interest indicates a lower risk for burnout and drop-out intentions. Recommendation for Researchers: It is possible that interest profiles are the same across the two national contexts investigated in this study, but their underpinnings and premises are different. It is likely that a qualitative approach would shed more light on these foci. Impact on Society: The results imply that personal interest was not determined by the socio-cultural differences between the countries, indicating that cultivating doctoral students’ personal interest, particularly a combination of research, development, and impact, provides a potential buffer for doctoral students’ burnout and drop-out, which has been raised as global concerns among policy makers, researchers, and doctoral education developers and administrators during the past decade. The study has impact on doctoral studies in international communities. Future Research: The results in this study reflect specific characteristics of social sciences and their applied nature. It remains for future research to investigate the extent to which the identified four profiles of interest in relation to burnout and drop-out intentions emerge in the natural sciences.

Dropout from an internet-delivered CBT Intervention for Adults with Depression and Anxiety: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Lawler ◽  
Caroline Earley ◽  
Ladislav Timulak ◽  
Angel Enrique ◽  
Derek Richards
Keyword(s):  
Online Communication ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Routine Care ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Lower Treatment ◽  
Perceived Change

BACKGROUND Treatment dropout continues to be reported from iCBT interventions and lower completion rates are generally associated with lower treatment effect sizes. However, evidence is emerging to suggest that completion of a pre-defined number of modules is not always necessary for clinical benefit nor considerate of the needs of each individual patient. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to carry out a qualitative analysis of patients’ experiences of an iCBT intervention in a routine care setting in order to achieve a deeper insight into the phenomenon of dropout. METHODS Fifteen purposively sampled participants (8 female) from a larger parent RCT were interviewed via telephone using a semi-structured interview schedule that was developed from the existing literature and research on dropout in iCBT. Data was analysed using the descriptive-interpretive approach. RESULTS The experience of treatment leading to dropout can be understood in terms of ten domains: Relationship to Technology, Motivation to Start, Background Knowledge and Attitudes towards iCBT, Perceived Change in Motivation, Usage of the Programme, Changes due to the Intervention, Engagement with Content, Experience Interacting with the Supporter, Experience of Online Communication and Termination of the Supported Period. CONCLUSIONS Patients who drop out of treatment can be distinguished in terms of their change in motivation: those who felt ready to leave treatment early and those who had negative reasons for dropping out. These two groups of participants have different treatment experiences, revealing potential attributes and non-attributes of dropout. The reported between group differences should be examined further to consider those attributes that are strongly descriptive of the experience and regarded with less importance those that have become loosely affiliated.

scholarly journals School dropout among female learners in rural Mpumalanga, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Prince Mokoena ◽  
Adrian D. van Breda
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
High School ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
High School Dropout ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Secondary Schooling ◽  
Out Of School

South Africa, like many countries, has high numbers of learners who do not complete secondary schooling. This reduces these young people’s chances of finding work or of earning a better salary. It is thus important to understand the factors that contribute to high school dropout. In the study reported on here we investigated the factors that caused a number of female learners to drop out and return to high school in a rural community in Mpumalanga. The learners provided 3 reasons for dropping out of school: pregnancy, illness and immigration. The analysis of these factors suggests 3 underlying themes that influence the ability of children to remain in school, viz. health, policies and structures, and poverty. The implications of these and recommendations to address them are discussed. The authors argue that greater interdepartmental efforts are required to support vulnerable girls to remain in school.

scholarly journals Ride through testing of variable speed drive due to voltage sag types (types I, II and III)

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 690
Author(s):  
Surya Hardi ◽  
R. Harahap ◽  
S. Ahmad ◽  
M. Isa
Keyword(s):  
Drop Out ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Voltage Sag ◽  
Type I ◽  
Voltage Sags ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Variable Speed ◽  
Variable Speed Drives ◽  
Standard Curve ◽  
Test Points

Variable speed drives (VSDs) are widely used in various applications mainly in process industry need constant rotational speed. It is developed from power electronic components thus saving energy in its operation. Unfortunately it is susceptible against power quality problem for example voltage sags. The VSD may be disruption or drop out when it is supplied by voltage sags and it is determined by sag characteristics. This study is to investigate effect of voltage sags Types I, II and III on VSD through laboratory testing. The voltage sags characteristics are generated from voltage sag generator (Shaffner 2100 EMC).  The effects are presented in susceptibility curves in disruption and drop out conditions. The curves resulted are evaluated by standard curve recommended. Test results show that voltage sag Type I cause the VSD disruption only, whereas two types sag other result in the VSD disruption and also drop out. Evaluation results explain  a few test points are in operation area for disruption condition whereas test points for dropping out far below the threshold recommended. Hence the VSD has good quality to voltage sags.

scholarly journals Gender and the Culture of Computing in Applied IT Education

2011 ◽  
pp. 474-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Herring ◽  
Christine Ogan ◽  
Manju Ahuja ◽  
Jean C. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Computer Science ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
It Education ◽  
Socially Isolated ◽  
Hacker Culture ◽  
Mode Of Being

The “shrinking pipeline” of women who ascend through the ranks in computer science education programs and careers is by now a familiar problem. Women drop out at rates faster than men at all levels of educational and professional advancement, resulting in a gender gap especially pronounced at the highest levels of the computing workforce, and that has not narrowed appreciably at any level in more than 20 years (Camp, 1997; ITAA, 2005; Vegso, 2005). Efforts to move more women into the pipeline at lower levels have met with limited success (cf. the Carnegie Mellon experience as reported by Margolis & Fisher, 2002); girls and women still express less interest than boys and men in studying computer science and pursuing information technology (IT) careers (Bentson, 2000; Vegso, 2005). A reason often cited in the literature is the masculine culture of many computer science programs and IT workplaces, which is perceived by many women as alien and unwelcoming (Bentson, 2000; Spertus, 1991; Turkle, 1988). Even when institutions make efforts to treat women and men equally or accord women special consideration in admissions and hiring decisions, attitudes discouraging women from entering computing persist, both within the institutions and in society at large. Sometimes these attitudes are expressed overtly: Underground “hacker” culture is notoriously antagonistic to women (Gilboa, 1996), and even mainstream computer aficionados respond with resistance and sexist jokes to proposals to recruit more girls and women to study computer science (Slashdot.org, 2005). Moreover, there is a widespread perception that computer experts are socially-isolated “geeks” or “nerds” obsessed with technology, a mode of being that women, who tend to be more socially oriented, find unappealing (Margolis & Fisher, 2002; Turkle, 1988). Fortunately, the situation for computer science does not tell the whole story. In the latter part of the 20th century, the expansion of computing and the Internet fueled the rise of applied IT fields in which technical skills, rather than being developed for their own sake, are increasingly put to use in the service of human needs. Applied fields, such as information science, information systems and instructional technology, have gained strength, and a new interdisciplinary field, informatics, has emerged. At the same time, interest in computer science itself is declining, especially among women (ITAA, 2005; Vegso, 2005). In this article, we explore the possibility that applied IT fields may provide more women-friendly cultures while still focused on technology. The larger question underlying this exploration is: Does applied IT education have the potential to bridge the “gender computing gap”?

scholarly journals No effect of gamification on attrition from a longitudinal cognitive testing study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Alexander Lumsden ◽  
Andy Skinner ◽  
David Coyle ◽  
Natalia Lawrence ◽  
Marcus Robert Munafo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Stop Signal ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Stop Signal Task ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Repeated Testing ◽  
Balance Task ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Gamelike Features

The prospect of assessing cognition longitudinally is attractive to researchers, health practitioners and pharmaceutical companies alike. However, such repeated-testing regimes place a considerable burden on participants, and with cognitive tasks typically being regarded as effortful and unengaging, these studies may experience high levels of participant attrition. One potential solution is to gamify these tasks to make them more engaging: increasing participant willingness to take part and reducing attrition. However, such an approach must balance task validity with introducing entertaining gamelike elements.We investigated the effects of gamelike features on participant attrition using a between-subjects, longitudinal online testing study. We used three variants of a common cognitive task, the stop signal task, with a single gamelike feature in each: one variant where points were rewarded for performing optimally, another where the task was given a graphical theme, and a third variant which was a standard stop signal task and served as a control condition. Participants completed four compulsory test sessions over four consecutive days before entering a six-day voluntary testing period where they faced a daily decision to either drop out or continue taking part. Participants were paid for each session they completed.We saw no evidence for an effect of gamification on attrition, with participants dropping out of each variant at equal rates. Our findings raise doubts about the ability of gamification to increase engagement with cognitive testing studies.

scholarly journals Socijalna integracija mladih u riziku od ispadanja iz sustava obrazovanja: rezultati slovenskog programa Projektno učenje mladih odraslih

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-308
Author(s):  
Miloslav Poštrak ◽  
Natalija Žalec ◽  
Gordana Berc
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Education System ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Project Learning ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Social Fund ◽  
The Republic

SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF YOUNG PERSONS AT RISK OF DROPPING OUT OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM: RESULTS OF THE SLOVENIAN PROGRAMME PROJECT LEARNING FOR YOUNG ADULTS In order to understand the phenomenon of dropping out of the education system, it is important to direct scientific and professional interest on understanding the lifestyle of these young persons from their perspective. The concept of social vulnerability of the youth is useful for that purpose, as it explores risk factors in various life circumstances of young persons, based on which approaches and programmes focused on prevention of dropping out, solving the problems of droputs and unemployed young persons are developed. The programme Project Learning for Young Adults combines both approaches and is based on an individualised, holistic and structured way of working with vulerable young persons. It consists of three levels of project activities: elective, individual and interest based with the aim of developing working habits, team work, self-confidence and career interests in order to reintegrate young adults in the education system and promote their entering the labour market and social inclusion. The programme has been active for 25 years in the Republic of Slovenia and it has included over 1,370 young adults. It has been financed by the European Social Fund. Key words: vulnerable youth, drop-out, NEET population, project learning for young adults.

scholarly journals Supervisory Practices for Intrinsic Motivation of Doctoral Students: A Self-determination Theory Perspective

10.28945/4415 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 581-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Kumar ◽  
Amrita Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Supervisory Practices ◽  
Doctoral Candidates

Aim/Purpose: The quality, degree of effort and persistence required in doctoral studies can be sustained through intrinsic motivation. Despite the critical role of motivation, studies that examine ways to promote doctoral students’ motivation are lacking. This study, drawing on the self-determination theoretical (SDT) framework, aims to offer advice for supervisory practices to facilitate the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs- autonomy, competence and relatedness of doctoral students’ motivation. The focus was on the experiences of the doctoral candidates who participated in this study. Background: Prior studies have established that creating environment and ways that lead to satisfaction of three basic psychological needs are capable of producing optimal outcomes. Based on that assumption the current study explores the ways in which supervisory practices lead to satisfaction of the three needs. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative approach and used the experience sampling method to collect data from 11 full-time doctoral students from a research-intensive university in New Zealand. In total, 72 entries that captured students’ real-time psychological experience of supervision in a repeated manner were used to analyse the data. Contribution: It proposes theory driven practices/guidelines for supervisors to adopt for effective supervisory practices for intrinsic motivation of doctoral students. Findings: Thematic analysis guided by the research question revealed that to have students experience autonomy support the supervisors must respect students’ research interest, encourage self-initiation, and be amenable to changes suggested by the students. To have students experience the feeling of competence, the supervisors carefully need to consider the quality, mode and time of feedback and provide students with optimal challenge level. Finally, to facilitate students’ need for relatedness, the supervisors should offer personal and professional support to students and look after their emotional well-being. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study highlights the need for supervisors to acknowledge the role of need satisfaction and mindfully adopt the practices to facilitate the satisfaction of the three needs for the intrinsic motivation of the doctoral students. Recommendation for Researchers: The researchers should consider the psychological health and well-being of doctoral students for persistence and successful completion of their studies. Impact on Society: The study can help improve doctoral studies completion rates as well as produce doctoral candidates with a positive and healthy disposition for future workforce. Future Research: The current study relies only on students’ self-report data. In future inclusion of data from supervisors of their own practices would enhance the quality of findings. Additionally, an analysis to chart changes in students’ experiences over time would provide a deeper understanding of the effect of supervisory practices.

scholarly journals Pre-diagnostic drop out of presumptive TB patients and its associated factors at Bugembe Health Centre IV in Jinja, Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-640
Author(s):  
Godfrey Ekuka ◽  
Ismael Kawooya ◽  
Edward Kayongo ◽  
Ronald Ssenyonga ◽  
Frank Mugabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Associated Factors ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Final Diagnosis ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Keywords Tuberculosis ◽  
Male Patients ◽  
The Individual

Background: Drop out of presumptive TB individuals before making a final diagnosis poses a danger to the individual and their community. We aimed to determine the proportion of these presumptive TB drop outs and their associated factors in Bugembe Health Centre, Jinja, Uganda. Methods: We used data from the DHIS2, presumptive and laboratory registers of Bugembe Health Centre IV for 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the population characteristics. A modified Poisson regression model via the generalized linear model (GLM) with log link and robust standard errors was used for bivariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Among the 216 registered presumptive TB patients who were less than 1% of patients visiting the outpatients’ department, 40.7% dropped out before final diagnosis was made. Age and HIV status were significantly associated with pre-diagnostic drop out while gender and distance from the health center were not. Conclusion: A high risk to individuals and the community is posed by the significant proportion of presumptive TB pa- tients dropping out before final diagnosis. Health systems managers need to consider interventions targeting young persons, male patients, HIV positive persons. Keywords: Tuberculosis (TB); Pre-diagnostic drop out; Presumptive TB; SORT IT.

Academic Engagement and Dropout Intention in Undergraduate University Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 152102512110636
Author(s):  
Pedro Ricardo Álvarez-Pérez ◽  
David López-Aguilar ◽  
María Olga González-Morales ◽  
Rocío Peña-Vázquez
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Academic Engagement ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Undergraduate University Students ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Engagement Scale ◽  
Out Of School

The relationship between engagement and the intention to drop out was the focus of this research. Following an empirical–analytical approach, a sample of 1,122 university students responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the engagement and the intention to drop out of school. The results confirmed that undergraduates who considered dropping out had lower scores on the engagement scale. These data are relevant for the adoption of preventive measures against academic dropouts.

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