Reflections on race, ethnicity, and NIH research awards

It has been a decade since “Race, Ethnicity, and NIH Research Awards” was published. Receiving the American Society for Cell Biology Public Service Award allows me to reflect on this research and its impact. In this essay, I share the story of how my research interests and professional networks provided the opportunity to do this important work. I also make the case for improved data and mentoring to address race and ethnic disparities in NIH funding.

Empowering and Motivating Language Students in an Online Environment

This chapter explores pandemic-driven innovations in world language (WL) curriculum design and content delivery that encouraged student communication during remote learning. The study focused on questionnaire data from 49 WL instructors who identified specific pedagogical techniques acquired and honed during the COVID-19 pandemic, even amidst unprecedented hardships. Results indicated that WL instructors found most successful the types of activities which allowed for more timely feedback and student choice and built communicative skills for real-life situations. Furthermore, the instructors shared post-pandemic plans to employ more of these technological tools that fostered student collaboration and engagement, with a focus on building community and supporting social and emotional learning. Educators also emphasized deepened awareness regarding the myriad inequities among learners, the importance of establishing rapport with students, and the value of their own professional networks.

Exploring the Core Features of UTeach Maker

UTeach Maker is a collaborative micro-credentialing program that supports preservice and practicing STEM teachers in developing the knowledge, skills, and professional networks needed to bring maker-centered learning opportunities to secondary STEM learning environments. This chapter describes the UTeach Maker program and unpacks four core features including (1) collaboration with field leaders to develop an open portfolio, (2) collaboration with peers and mentors to develop a supportive community, (3) collaboration with technical experts to promote skill building, and (4) collaboration with participants to develop a personalized experience. The chapter also highlights unique aspects of the program and explains how the UTeach Maker model can be adapted to support micro-credentialing initiatives in other contexts.

The Linguistic Coping Strategies of Three Netherlanders in England

Thousands of migrants left the Low Countries in the second half of the sixteenth century for religious, political, or economic reasons. They faced many difficulties as they attempted to rebuild their lives abroad, including linguistic obstacles. Many of them moved to England, but proficiency in English was rare among the Netherlandish community. Nevertheless, as this article argues, the language differences did not only pose problems, they also offered opportunities, especially to members of the higher echelons of the Dutch diasporic community. The inhabitants of the Low Countries were widely reputed to have excellent knowledge of languages, and for good reason. This article concentrates on the linguistic strategies of three multilingual individuals who moved across the North Sea: the nobleman Jan van der Noot, the painter Lucas d’Heere, and the merchant Johannes Radermacher. It studies the ways in which they used their proficiency in multiple languages as starting capital to build new social and professional lives for themselves. For example, they used their linguistic skills to appeal to the local aristocracy in order to ensure patronage, to expand social and professional networks by frequenting particular religious language communities, and to offer language instruction. This article therefore contributes to our understanding of linguistic encounters in the everyday lives and struggles of migrants in the sixteenth century.

Professional development and career-preparedness experiences of STEM Ph.D. students: Gaps and avenues for improvement

This study presents the experiences of current science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Ph.D. students and alumni with respect to professional development opportunities in their Ph.D. training. Specifically, it investigates if and how the Ph.D. training supports graduates to pursue non-academic and non-R&D roles, which have become increasingly common career paths post-graduation. A mixed-methods questionnaire was developed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data regarding the graduate school experiences of current Ph.D. students and recent Ph.D. graduates pursuing diverse career paths. The study investigates the values, needs, and conceptions of professional development from the student perspective, as well as the contributions of peers and mentors in graduate school towards their professional development. Experiences of Ph.D. alumni are used to identify the barriers for transitioning to the first job post-graduation and to provide an assessment of the current professional development opportunities in Ph.D. programs. It is reported that although Ph.D. training allowed alumni to develop a robust skillset that includes research, teaching, and scientific writing; some common barriers associated with obtaining a job post-graduation were lack of awareness about career options, limited or no professional networks outside academia, and a lack of preparation and support for non-academic job transitions. Through analyzing the student perspective on various aspects of professional development, the study identifies gaps and avenues for improvement for professional development in Ph.D. training, including increased awareness of diverse career paths for STEM PhDs, increased networking opportunities for PhD students with sectors outside academia, embedding professional development in the PhD curriculum, and others; so that programs can support students in entering the labor market in a variety of careers that extend beyond academia and traditional R&D jobs, using interventions that resonate with the students and meet their needs.

Wilder Penfield dreams of the Nobel Prize

This essay investigates the relationship the Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield had, in old age, with honours and accolades, including the Nobel Prize. Documents from the Nobel Prize Archives shed light on his nominations and on the assessments the Committee took into consideration, illuminating the professional networks the nomination process activated and the values underwriting the adjudication process. Meanwhile, Penfield's correspondence and personal diary reveal the complex emotions that such a prestigious award can engender. Penfield expressed a reticence to fully embrace the Prize, although he had once actively worked to gather support for his own nomination. This essay also considers a little-studied phenomenon—the rejection of prizes. While mundane considerations such as wishing not to travel may have played a role, Penfield expressed a deeper disconnect between his own sense of self and the prizes he rejected, declaring a feeling of personal unworthiness vis-à-vis their particularities. Moreover, he also expressed a more general ambivalence regarding awards because they tended to single out individuals, and for him this stood in tension with the reality of the collective, communal nature of scientific work and medical practice.

Review of social networks of professionals in healthcare settings—where are we and what else is needed?

Background Social Network Analysis (SNA) demonstrates great potential in exploring health professional relationships and improving care delivery, but there is no comprehensive overview of its utilization in healthcare settings. This review aims to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the use of SNA in understanding health professional relationships in different countries. Methods We conducted an umbrella review by searching eight academic databases and grey literature up to April 30, 2021, enhanced by citation searches. We completed study selection, data extraction and quality assessment using predetermined criteria. The information abstracted from the reviews was synthesized quantitatively, qualitatively and narratively. Results Thirteen reviews were included in this review, yielding 330 empirical studies. The degree of overlaps of empirical studies across included reviews was low (4.3 %), indicating a high diversity of included reviews and the necessity of this umbrella review. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), particularly Asian countries, was limited. The earliest review was published in 2010 and the latest in 2019. Six reviews focused on the construction or description of professional networks and seven reviews reported factors or influences of professional networks. We synthesized existing literature on social networks of health care professionals in the light of (i) theoretical frameworks, (ii) study design and data collection, (iii) network nodes, measures and analysis, and (iv) factors of professional networks and related outcomes. From the perspective of methodology, evidence lies mainly in cross-sectional study design and electronic data, especially administrative data showing “patient-sharing” relationships, which has become the dominant data collection method. The results about the impact of health professional networks on health-related consequences were often contradicting and not truly comparable. Conclusions Methodological limitations, inconsistent findings, and lack of evidence from LMIC imply an urgent need for further investigations. The potential for broader utilization of SNA among providers remains largely untapped and the findings of this review may contain important value for building optimal healthcare delivery networks. PROSPERO registration number The protocol was published and registered with PROSPERO, the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42020205996).

Work Does Not End When You Leave: Concerns and Coping Strategies Among Nursing Home Social Workers During COVID-19

Nursing home social workers (NH SW) at the frontline during COVID-19 are faced with many challenges in meeting the psychosocial needs of residents while balancing their own well-being needs. In order to explore the experiences of NH SW during COVID-19, the study utilized a cross-sectional survey distributed to social media sites (e.g., Reddit, Facebook) and professional networks. The survey asked participants (N = 63) open-ended questions which were analyzed using the rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) method. Themes suggested that fear for self, lack of administrative support, and overall stress were notable concerns among NH SW. Findings also suggested that support from family/friends and self-care were most personally helpful to NH SW. Lastly, themes related to coping strategies included talking with co-workers, mindfulness, and boundary setting. Findings suggest the need for increased supports for NH SW. Implications related to stress and coping during COVID-19 are offered.

Deakin Launch Network: an employability network that improves engagement, graduate outcomes and wellbeing by connecting and leveraging the expertise of diverse students and alumni

Graduates require opportunities to gain experience and develop professional networks to enhance their employability and career progression. However, students’ access to relevant networks and opportunities to gain experience is not equitable, and this contributes to gaps in employment outcomes at graduation and beyond (Harvey et al., 2017; Tomaszewski et al., 2019). This paper showcases key principles underpinning the design and success of a student and alumni-led network designed to enhance employability. In addition to creating networks between students and alumni, Deakin Launch Network, leverages their skills and experience to identify and create opportunities to enhance the employability of Deakin graduates, especially for those more likely to face disadvantage in the graduate employment market. In doing so, the network provides students with valuable connections, experience, and knowledge relevant to employability. Students also report that the connections and collaborations supported by the network, contributed to their wellbeing and sense of belonging during remote learning, and satisfaction with their educational experience. For alumni, the network has provided motivation and opportunity to reconnect or remain connected to the university. Our case study shows that students and alumni are a valuable source of networks, experience and influence that can, and should, be better utilised by universities. Furthermore, distributed student-leadership and purposeful inclusion can positively impact the outcomes of student-staff partnerships, including project deliverables, the student experience and learning outcomes.