PTEBL Teaching Method Combined with Caesar (Trauma Patient Simulator) Versus Traditional Teaching Method in The Training of Outstanding Doctoral Candidates in STB Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: The “Stop The Bleed” (STB) campaign has achieved remarkable results since it launched in 2016, but there is no report on the application of a STB course combined with a trauma patient simulator. This study proposes the “problem-, team-, and evidence-based learning” (PTEBL) teaching method combined with Caesar (trauma patient simulator) based on the STB course, and compares its effect with the traditional teaching method in outstanding doctoral candidates training of hemostasis skills.Method: Seventy-eight outstanding doctoral candidates program students (five-years and eight-years) were selected as the research subjects and were randomly divided into a control group (traditional teaching method, n=34) and an experimental group (PTEBL teaching method combined with Caesar, n=44). Their confidence of hemostasis skills and willingness to rescue were investigated before and after the course in both groups.Result: Students’ self-confidence of STB skills and willingness to rescue in both groups were improved after the class. Compared with the control group, students in the experimental group were more confident in compressing with bandages and compressing with a tourniquet after a class (compressing with bandages: control group 3.9±0.8 vs. experimental group 4.3±0.7, P=0.014; compressing with a tourniquet: control group 3.9±0.4 vs. experimental group 4.5±0.8, P=0.001) More students in the experimental group than the control group thought that the use of Caesar for scenario simulation could improve learning (control group 55.9% vs. experimental group 81.8%, P=0.024), and showed higher teacher-student interaction (control group 85.3% vs. experimental group 97.7%, P=0.042) The overall effectiveness of the teaching was better in the experimental group than the control group (control group 85.3% vs. experimental group 97.7%, P=0.042). There was a significant positive correlation between teacher-students interaction and overall effectiveness of teaching (R=1.000; 95%CI, 1.000-1.000; P<0.001).Conclusion: The PTEBL teaching method combined with Caesar can effectively improve students' mastery of STB skills, and overcome the shortcomings of traditional teaching methods, which has a certain promotional value in the training of outstanding doctoral candidates in STB skills.

Academic Resilience: The Ultimate Thriving Constituent Toward Persistence in Doctoral Studies

A doctoral degree is perceived as a milestone in one’s expedition of educational advancement; however, studies show that 40% to 60% doctoral candidates do not possess persistence to complete their degree. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to explore the factors that contribute toward increasing the persistence level among the doctoral students. Semi structured in-person interviews of eight participants (four male and four female) selected through snowball sampling were conducted in a university setting. The thematic analysis identified certain motivational factors including career progression, gaining subject command, and the desire to achieve self-actualization. Autonomy, sense of purpose, self-determination, and problem-solving skills were found to be the most effective factors that promote resiliency in the students to help complete their degrees.

Constructing meaning in a different language: the case of doctoral students in a French University

Drawing from a constructivist approach, this qualitative research presents results of teaching the Doctoral English Course (DEC) at the Center for Languages (CDL), University Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis. The DEC aims to train doctoral candidates in the practice of scientific communication in English. By allowing students to (re)think and approach their thesis in English, concrete research methods and tools to produce results related to their research were provided. The analysis explored students’ experiences on classroom activities and their reflections at the end of the course. Students reflected on meaningful experiences, collaborative learning, and impact of the process in developing their research. Overall, the study offers insightful contributions on the way rethinking in a different language influenced the way scientific meaning is reconstructed.

Doctoral supervisor’s views on building a Research Identity

Literature confirms that building a research identity forms the basis of good supervision. Also confirms that, it takes time and commitment, but every good supervisor needs to be a scholar in their field. The study’s main interest was quality value added to doctoral candidates as established researchers and how supervisors’ research identity transferred to doctoral students? In addition, the researcher wished to establish the supervisor’s responses to research identity and application thereof. A qualitative research study was used with a purposive sample of 10 doctoral supervisors at the time of research, were designated using knowledgeable sampling technique. Bourdieu’s homo academicus theory of cultural capital was used to frame academic identities of fit for purpose. Open-ended questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. The data collected was analyzed using thematic analysis. This study reveals that active participation of supervisors in research is critical, as that is how good quality in research can be measured. The findings also revealed that role and responsibilities of doctoral supervisors could be derived from taking part in research and willingness to learn from others open for training, collaborations and supervision developments in order to develop their research identity in academia.

Sport Media Vectors: Gender and Diversity, Reconstructing the Field

In this book, Walzak, Collura and Vidotto bring together an invited collection of writing from emerging scholars about sports, sports media and equity. We are excited about this work as authors span from undergraduates and Masters students to doctoral candidates from Canada and Ireland. All of us are passionate and excited about the possibilities for equity and radical change that needs to happen across the sports and sports media landscape to make sports truly equitable. This collection reflects the author's personal investments and interest in sports. Chapter themes include racialized sports women, media inequities in women's sports including basketball, soccer and swimming, and personal narratives of disability in sport.

Preparation for the Doctoral Defense: Methods and Relation to Defense Outcome and Perception

The doctoral defense is an important step towards obtaining the doctoral degree. As such, preparing for the event is necessary. Anecdotal evidence highlights that there is a wide variety of ways in which doctoral candidates prepare for the defense. In this work, I want to explore if there is a relation between the way in which a doctoral candidate prepares for the defense and two important aspects of the defense: the outcome of the defense, and the student perception during and after the defense. For this purpose, I first reviewed the literature on the topic of the preparation for the doctoral defense. Then, I carried out an international survey on the doctoral defense and analyzed the data of the 204 completed surveys with respect to the preparation for the defense using quantitative and qualitative methods. The methods I used included the statistical tests of the correlation between on one hand the preparation and on the other hand the defense outcome and student perception. I used inductive thematic analysis of the open-ended survey questions to gain deeper insight in the way candidates prepared for their defense. I found that candidates most often prepare by making their presentation, reading their thesis, and practicing. The most effective measure is the mock defense, followed by a preparatory course. Reading blogs, books, and chapters is a less effective preparation measure. The conclusion of this work is that doctoral candidates need to understand the format of their defense in order to be able to prepare properly, and that universities should explore either individual pathways to the defense or pilots using a mock defense and/or preparatory course to give their doctoral candidates the necessary tools to prepare for their doctoral defense.

Progress-Oriented Workshops for Doctoral Wellbeing: Evidence from a Two-Country Design-Based Research

Aim/Purpose. Doctoral education still suffers from two severe overlapping problems: high dropout rates and low emotional wellbeing experienced by many doctoral candidates (e.g., depression or anxiety symptoms). Yet, there are few interventional approaches specifically designed to address them in the doctoral student population.Background. Among structural, psychosocial and demographic factors influencing these problems, the self-perception of progress has emerged recently as a crucial motivational factor in doctoral persistence. This paper explores an intervention approach (in the form of workshops) focusing on doctoral progress. Methodology. This paper reports on an iterative design-based research study of workshop interventions to foster such perception of progress in doctoral students’ everyday practice. We gathered mixed data over four iterations, with a total of N=82 doctoral students from multiple disciplines in Spain and Estonia.Contribution. An approach to preventive interventions that combines research-backed education about mental health and productivity, peer sharing and discussion of experiences and indicators of progress, as well as self-tracking, analysis and reflection upon everyday evidence of their own progress. The paper provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed interventions, across two institutions in two different countries. Further, our data confirms emergent research on the relationships among progress, emotional wellbeing and dropout ideation in two new contexts. Finally, the paper also distils design knowledge about doctoral interventions that focus on progress, relevant for doctoral trainers, institutions and researchers.Findings. Our quantitative and qualitative results confirm previous findings on the relationships among progress, burnout and dropout ideation. Our iterative evaluation of the workshops also revealed a large positive effect in students’ positive psychological capital after the workshops (Cohen’s d=0.83). Our quantitative and qualitative analyses also started teasing out individual factors in the variance of these benefits.Recommendations for Practitioners. Intervention design guidelines for doctoral trainers include: focusing on actionable productivity and mental health practices, the use of activities targeting perception biases and taboos, or the use of active practices and real (anonymous) data from the participants to make progress visible and encourage reflection.Recommendations for Researchers. The construct of progress, its components and its relationships with both emotional wellbeing and doctoral dropout, need to be more deeply studied, using multiple methods of data collection, especially from more frequent, ecologically valid data sources (e.g., diaries).Impact on Society. The proposed interventions (and focusing on doctoral progress more generally) hold promise to address the current emotional wellbeing and dropout challenges facing hundreds of thousands of doctoral students worldwide, ultimately helping increase the research and innovation potential of society as a whole.Future Research. More rigorous evaluative studies of the proposed approach need to be conducted, with larger samples and in other countries/contexts. Aside from the proposed one-shot training events, complementary longitudinal interventions focusing on supporting everyday progress and reflection throughout the doctoral process should be trialed.

ACM SIGEVO best dissertation award 2021

The SIGEVO Best Dissertation Award was created in 2019 to recognize excellent thesis research by doctoral candidates in the field of evolutionary computing. Doctoral dissertation awards are also given by other Special Interest Groups of ACM, such as SIGCOMM, SIGKDD, SIGARCH and others. The SIGEVO Best Dissertation Award is given annually to a maximum of 1 winner and a maximum of 2 honorable mentions. The award presentation takes place at the awards ceremony of GECCO. The award carries a monetary value of $1,000 contributed by SIGEVO to be awarded to the winner. The award winner and honorable mentions each receive a plaque.