Increasing STEM Transfer Readiness Among Underrepresented Minoritized Two-Year College Students: Examining Course-Taking Patterns, Experiences, and Interventions

There is a strong need in the United States to increase the size and diversity of the domestic workforce trained in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). With almost half of all students that earn a baccalaureate degree enrolling in a 2-year public college at some point, the nation’s 2-year colleges provide great promise for improving the capacity of the STEM workforce for innovation and global competition while addressing the nation’s need for more equity between groups that have been historically included and those that have been economically and politically disenfranchized. Almost half of underrepresented minoritized (URM) students begin their post-secondary education at 2-year colleges yet their transfer rates within 5 years are only 16%. This study describes interventions put in place at a 2-year college to support increased transfer rates and STEM transfer readiness for URM STEM-interested students. The program studied, in place from 2017 through 2020, had an overall transfer rate of 45%. Analysis of administrative, transcript, and student survey data connects the program interventions to the existing research on STEM momentum and other research on URM STEM transfer success. Ultimately, this study identifies potential leading indicators of transfer readiness, providing much needed documentation and guidance on the efficacy and limitations of interventions to improve upward STEM transfer.

On the Combinatory Nature of Knowledge Transfer Conditions: A Mixed Method Assessment

Organisations are increasingly creating inter-organisational ecosystem partnerships to innovate openly. Despite effective knowledge management significantly supporting ecosystem infrastructures, empirical insights into the importance of and interdependencies between conditions for successful knowledge exchange across ecosystem contexts remain unexplored within existing literature. This study implements a mixed-method approach to ascertain which conditions are responsible for knowledge transfer success across innovation ecosystems. Interpretive Structural Modelling was employed to analyse questionnaires with key ecosystem stakeholders, in order to impose a hierarchical structure upon the conditions. The configurational nature of these conditions, and their combinations into solutions for success was ascertained through analysing semi-structured interviews using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Results reveal multiple, mutually exclusive pathways to knowledge transfer success, grouped into three solution types, increasing understanding of the interrelated nature of the knowledge transfer conditions. Limitations and implications for future research are provided.

Evaluating transition in Turner syndrome in the West of Scotland

Background A Turner Syndrome (TS) Transition clinic, Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow (RHCG), with paediatric and adult endocrinology/gynaecology teams was established in 1998 with an aim of improving health outcomes in TS throughout the lifespan. Objective To evaluate the success of our TS transition service, focussing on evaluating established follow-up after transfer to adult services. Methods Girls attending the TS Transition clinic at Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow, 1998–2017, were identified. Attendance data were obtained from patient records and an electronic appointment system. We assessed good and late early attendance in our cohort of TS patients as well as established endocrine follow-up, defined as those still attending adult endocrine services 3 years after transfer. Success of TS transition was determined by the proportion of girls in established endocrine follow-up. Results Forty-six girls (median age 18.3 yrs) were identified. Thirty-six, 36/46 girls transferred prior to 2015 and 26 of those (72%) were in established follow-up at 3 years, 22/36 girls had met with an Adult specialist prior to transfer and 14/36 had not met with an adult specialist prior to transfer. Twenty-one (80.7%) were good early attenders (p = 0.10). In the early attenders’ cohort, there was no significant difference between those that had and had not met an adult specialist prior to transfer. Conclusion A significant proportion of girls with TS are currently lost to endocrine follow-up following transfer to adult clinics. Early attendance at an adult clinic appears to predict established long-term follow-up. Strategies to improve early attendance and long-term endocrine follow-up are needed to ensure lifelong health needs are addressed.

Who Will Score? A Machine Learning Approach to Supporting Football Team Building and Transfers

Background: the machine learning (ML) techniques have been implemented in numerous applications, including health-care, security, entertainment, and sports. In this article, we present how the ML can be used for building a professional football team and planning player transfers. Methods: in this research, we defined numerous parameters for player assessment, and three definitions of a successful transfer. We used the Random Forest, Naive Bayes, and AdaBoost algorithms in order to predict the player transfer success. We used realistic, publicly available data in order to train and test the classifiers. Results: in the article, we present numerous experiments; they differ in the weights of parameters, the successful transfer definitions, and other factors. We report promising results (accuracy = 0.82, precision = 0.84, recall = 0.82, and F1-score = 0.83). Conclusion: the presented research proves that machine learning can be helpful in professional football team building. The proposed algorithm will be developed in the future and it may be implemented as a professional tool for football talent scouts.

Promoting careers, transfer success and information use and literacy: Evaluation of a health career pipeline program at an urban community college

There is an urgent need for employees from diverse backgrounds in the health field. Community colleges are where many low-income and under-represented students begin their academic career. A career pipeline program was implemented at a community college to promote rigorous health careers, facilitate transfer success and develop information literacy skills. We assessed students’ confidence with fitting into a career, the impact of the program on students’ academic and career choices, salient program components, successes and challenges, and suggestions for improvement. Fifty-nine students enrolled in the program and 64% (n = 38) completed, all were minority students. Students reported increased confidence with fitting into their career and a positive impact on their choice of academic and career paths. Important aspects of the program were exposure to health professionals, mentoring, peer connections, academic and professional skill building, developing information literacy and experiential learning. Most students are either pursing a bachelor degree or have graduated with the intent of pursing graduate degree. Our experience demonstrates the feasibility of implementing a health career pipeline at a community college. Future programs should focus on career and academic skill building, information literacy, mentoring, peer connection, experiential activities, targeted outreach to male students, and facilitating the transfer process.