Teaching radiology in Egyptian medical schools: Where do we stand and how can we start?

Background Radiology serves in the diagnosis and management of many diseases. Despite its rising importance and use, radiology is not a core component of a lot of medical school curricula. This survey aims to clarify current gaps in the radiological education in Egyptian medical schools. In February–May 2021, 5318 students enrolled in Egyptian medical schools were recruited and given a 20-multiple-choice-question survey assessing their radiology knowledge, radiograph interpretation, and encountered imaging experiences. We measured the objective parameters as a percentage. We conducted descriptive analysis and used Likert scales where values were represented as numerical values. Percentages were graphed afterwards. Results A total of 5318 medical students in Egypt answered our survey. Gender distribution was 45% males and 54% females. The results represented all 7 class years of medical school (six academic years and a final training year). In assessing students’ knowledge of radiology, most students (75%) reported that they received ‘too little’ education, while 20% stated the amount was ‘just right’ and only 4% reported it was ‘too much.’ Sixty-two percent of students stated they were taught radiology through medical imaging lectures. Participants’ future career plans were almost equally distributed. Near half of participants (43%) have not heard about the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria (ACR-AR), while 39% have heard about it but are not familiar with. Conclusions Radiology is a novel underestimated field. Therefore, medical students need more imaging exposure. To accomplish this, attention and efforts should be directed toward undergraduate radiology education to dissolve the gap between radiology and other specialties during clinical practice. A survey answered by medical students can bridge between presence of any current defect in undergraduate radiology teaching and future solutions for this topic.

Comparison of Forest Engineering Students’ Attitudes towards Their Education and Future Jobs: Case Results from Turkey

Forestry is a complex multidimensional discipline that implies a broad job description and task variety for forest engineers. Thus, the scope of professional forestry education is expanding and diversifying. It is essential to determine the students’ attitudes towards their education and future jobs to develop focused solutions in forestry education. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the attitudes of forest engineering students towards their education and future jobs. This study evaluated and compared the students’ attitudes over a 10-year period through questionnaires administered to senior forest engineering students of the Faculty of Forestry at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa (IUC). It was revealed that, during job selection, non-job factors (39.5%) were nearly as influential as job-related factors (53.7%). Moreover, students’ career plans were based mainly on working in public institutions (41.4%) and simply doing their job (78.1%). The results showed that students’ views on education have improved over time; however, they have doubts about their readiness to succeed in their careers (M = 3.41) and the adequacy of their knowledge and experience level (M = 2.95). Their attitudes on their future job were not wholly positive: They have doubts about finding a job (M = 2.90), having satisfactory working conditions (M = 3.38), and income (M = 3.57). The results of this study can support decision-making in forest education and human resources in forestry.

ENGLISH - MAJORING STUDENT TEACHERS’ RESPONSE TO EMPLOYABILITY IN LIGHT OF A TRANSITION TO ONLINE LEARNING

This study discussed English student teachers’ growth in employability as a driving consequence of the transition to emergency remote learning in light of COVID-19 pandemic. The authors focused on senior students reaching graduation during this critical time. The learning mode change was believed to have a significant impact on graduates’ employability capital, thus influencing their post-study career plans. This quantitative research followed Tomlinson’s (2017) graduate employability framework, covering five forms of capital explores their perceptions of employability capital and measures how perceptions vary between groups of backgrounds. Specifically, they sought to develop a comprehensive understanding of how the transition to remote learning has challenged students’ employability capital, which then affected their career-related decision-making following graduation. The findings suggested, besides implications and limitation, five clustered forms of capital and explain why they perceived differently.

Radically Ordinary Lives: Young Rural Stayers and the Ingredients of the Good Life in Finnish Lapland

This article focuses on young people who, despite the general tendency towards youth outmigration in rural areas, have decided to stay in their home town. We explore the agency of young, conscious stayers, as well as the process of staying in the northern Finnish town of Kemijärvi. The stayers’ values and perceptions of the constituents of a good life could be taken as an alternative to the prevailing Western ideal that emphasizes mobility and ambitious educational and career plans, and is, in part, driving young people to leave their rural hometowns. The stayers in this study are active participants in their own fate and are content with their choice of staying. Applying ethnographic methods, we undertake to learn what rural stayers consider the building blocks of a good life in a small-town setting, one offering comparatively limited options in terms of jobs, education and leisure activities.

MEANING OF LIFE AS THE BASIS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AT THE AGE OF ADULTHOOD

The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between the meaningfulness of life and the career plans of an individual in the professional and family spheres at the age stage of emerging adulthood. A family career represents a sequential change in conventional family role positions and the development of relevant competencies in accordance with the life cycle of the family and self-determination of the individual. We used the test of meaningful life orientations and the author's questionnaire of family and professional careers. The sample consisted of 167 students aged 17-22. The results allowed us to identify three groups of respondents, differing in the level of meaningfulness of life. It was found that a high level of life meaningfulness is combined with a certainty of career plans in the sphere of family and profession and a high level of their consistency. Respondents with a low level of meaningfulness in life are characterized by an insufficient balance of professional and family career plans. Orientation towards a professional career with insufficient attention to life plans in the family sphere is combined with an external locus of control.

The impact of the COVID-19 response on the provision of other public health services in the U.S.: A cross sectional study

Introduction Funding and staff formerly dedicated to routine public health tasks (e.g., responding to communicable and non-communicable diseases, investigating foodborne outbreaks, conducting routine surveillance) and services (e.g., environmental health, substance abuse, maternal-child health) may no longer be available in many public health departments due to the COVID-19 response. The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which staffing for essential public health services has been redirected to the COVID-19 response. Materials and methods This is a cross-sectional study using a survey distributed through the Qualtrics platform. Individuals (N = 298) working in public health across governmental and academic public health departments in the U.S. during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response were surveyed. Survey items measured multiple domains including professional experience (i.e., training, years of experience, content expertise, job functions, hours worked), mental and physical health status (i.e., generalized anxiety, depression, burnout), and career plans (i.e., pre-pandemic vs. current career plans). Results The total number of content expertise areas and programmatic functions covered by individual public health workers increased between January and September of 2020, with 26% (73 of 282) of respondents reporting an increase in both. The total number of respondents working in infectious disease and preparedness remained constant, while declines were reported in program evaluation (-36%) and health education (-27%) and increases were reported in disease investigation (+35%). Conclusions The provision of many essential public health functions and tasks have been limited or eliminated while the U.S. public health workforce responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight opportunities for funding and professional development of public health systems, both during and after the COVID-19 response, to help ensure the continuity of essential public health services, staffing sustainability, and preparedness for future public health emergencies in the U.S.

The Effects of Academic Advising on Juniors and Seniors of English Department at Balkh University

Academic advising is the process between the students and academic advisors who exploring the value of a general education, reviewing the services and policies of the institution, discussing educational and career plans to make appropriate course selection goals for their students. Some studies have been conducted on academic advising and its effects on students’ academic development. Therefore, the present paper is an attempt to contribute the previous studies by presenting the factors that academic advising has an impact on students’ academic development. Thus, this paper will explore whether academic advising is efficient to the students or not. For this purpose, previous studies were reviewed, and the questionnaire was shaped. The participants were selected randomly who are the juniors and seniors (61% females and 39% males) of English Department at Balkh University. In the long run, the analysed data revealed that the functions of academic advising have impact on students’, success, development, educational outcomes, students’ satisfactions and students’ retention.

FEATURES OF THE MOTIVATIONAL AND MEANING SPHERE OF YOUNG ADULTS WITH DIFFER-ENT TYPES OF CAREER PLANS COORDINATION IN THE PROFESSIONAL AND FAMILY SPHERE

Формирование жизненных планов в отношении карьеры в профессиональной и семейной сфере составляет задачу развития возрастного периода вхождения во взрослость. Транзитивность современного общества и трансформация института семьи определяют актуальность исследования типов согласования планов современной молодежи в сфере профессии и семьи. Исследована мотивационно-смысловая сфера молодых людей при различных типах согласования ими планов семейной и профессиональной карьер. Выявлены типы согласования карьерных планов в семейной и профессиональной сферах, изучены особенности мотивации при различных типах согласования карьерных планов, смысложизненных ориентаций молодых людей при различных типах согласования карьерных планов. Были использованы авторский опросник «Жизненные планы – семейная и профессиональная карьеры» и методика смысложизненных ориентаций (Д. А. Леонтьев). Выборку составили 167 студентов в возрасте от 17 до 22 лет. Выделены эмпирические типы согласования планов профессиональной и семейной карьеры (согласованность профессиональной и семейной карьеры при их высокой значимости, эгоцентрация при ориентации на профессиональную карьеру, приоритет семейной карьеры, приоритет профессиональной карьеры, негативное/незаинтересованное отношение к профессиональной и семейной сферам). Выявлены особенности мотивации для профессиональной сферы: возрастание значения социальной востребованности профессии и социального признания при согласованности карьерных планов и приоритет личных интересов при эгоцентрации. Для семейной сферы: возрастание мотивации избегания одиночества и воспитания детей при приоритете семейной карьеры, низкая мотивация воспитания детей – при приоритете профессиональной карьеры, негативном отношении к карьерным планам и эгоцентрации. Согласованность карьерных планов в профессиональной и семейной сфере связана с высокой осмысленностью жизни, переживанием ее наполненности событиями и достижениями. Formation of life plans for a career in the professional and family sphere is the development task of emerging adulthood. The transitivity of modern society and the transformation of the family institution determine the relevance of studying the types of coordination of plans of modern youth in the field of profession and family. The goal is to study the motivational and meaning sphere of young people with various types of coordination of plans for family and professional careers. Tasks: 1) identification of the types of career plans coordination in the family and professional spheres; 2) study of the features of motivation for various types of coordination of career plans; 3) the study of the life-meaning orientations of young people with various types of coordination of career plans. We used the author’s questionnaire «Life plans - family and professional careers» and the life-meaning orientations technique (D.A. Leontiev). The sample consisted of 167 students aged 17 to 22 years. Results. Empirical types of coordination of professional and family career plans (consistency of professional and family careers with their high significance, ego-centering in focusing on a professional career, priority of family career, priority of professional career, negative/disinterested attitude to professional and family spheres) are highlighted. The features of motivation for the professional sphere are revealed: the increase in the importance of the social relevance of the profession and social recognition motives with the coordination of career plans and the priority of personal interests in ego-centering. For the family sphere: an increase in motivation for avoiding loneliness and raising children with the priority of a family career, low motivation for raising children with a priority of a professional career, a negative attitude towards career plans and ego-centering. The consistency of career plans in the professional and family spheres is associated with a high meaningfulness of life, the experience of its fullness with events and achievements.

Evaluation of the guess project results (global student entrepreneurship survey) in the context of the influence of primary career experience on graduate choice (international aspect)

The purpose of the article is to evaluate the results of the GUESSS project in the context of building career plans for students. The GUESSS project explores the entrepreneurial spirit of students globally and spans 54 countries around the world. The materials of the project are used to carry out scientific works and publications in the world’s leading journals. Entrepreneurship has become an important part of the learning process. The development of students’ entrepreneurial skills is of great importance at the present stage. OECD countries take into account and develop their youth entrepreneurship programs based on projects like GUESSS. Current labor market trends are destroying utopian models of “well-paid” jobs in a global competitive environment. Digitalization, the economy of smart cities, sustainable development and shared consumption, new trends in healthcare, retail, mass communications and tourism create new opportunities for the development of private entrepreneurship. In the study of the career preferences of students from different countries, one can consider the general tendencies characteristic of modern youth. The article assesses the career preferences of five different countries that are very different in terms of GDP, demographic and socio-cultural characteristics. The assessment of changes in the career preferences of students immediately after graduation and five years after gaining career experience is carried out.