The Director's View, 2024

PurposeWith the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 transition to pass/fail in 2022, uncertainty exists regarding how other residency application components, including research conducted during medical school, will inform interview and ranking decisions. The authors explore program director (PD) views on medical student research, the importance of disseminating that work, and the translatable skill set of research participation.MethodSurveys were distributed to all U.S. residency PDs and remained open from August to November 2021 to query the importance of research participation in assessing applicants, whether certain types of research were more valued, productivity measures that reflect meaningful research participation, and traits for which research serves as a proxy. The survey also queried whether research would be more important without a numeric Step 1 score and the importance of research vs other application components.ResultsA total of 885 responses from 393 institutions were received. Ten PDs indicated that research is not considered when reviewing applicants, leaving 875 responses for analysis. Among 873 PDs (2 nonrespondents), 358 (41.0%) replied that meaningful research participation will be more important in offering interviews. A total of 164 of 304 most competitive specialties (53.9%) reported increased research importance compared with 99 of 282 competitive (35.1%) and 95 of 287 least competitive (33.1%) specialties. PDs reported that meaningful research participation demonstrated intellectual curiosity (545 [62.3%]), critical and analytical thinking skills (482 [55.1%]), and self-directed learning skills (455 [52.0%]). PDs from the most competitive specialties were significantly more likely to indicate that they value basic science research vs PDs from the least competitive specialties.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates how PDs value research in their review of applicants, what they perceive research represents in an applicant, and how these views are shifting as the Step 1 exam transitions to pass/fail.

Research summary The question of what boards do, or should do, has remained a central focus in governance research. Much of this research is based on explicit theories or empirical models that impose assumed behaviors onto boards—such as monitoring—that are thought to define their roles and duties. While these explicit perspectives have offered critical insights, we suggest it is time to consider directors' implicit beliefs of their roles and duties to understand their perspective of the board's overall role. We use a grounded theory approach to develop theoretical insights about directors' implicit views of their roles and duties. We integrate information learned from extensive interviews with active directors and executives and find that directors view themselves as strategic partners with their firms' executives. Managerial summary How do directors view their work on their boards? This remains a critical question for corporate governance researchers and practitioners alike. To help answer this question, we conducted extensive interviews with current directors and executives. Our analysis of these interviews suggests that directors view their CEOs as generally acting in the best interests of their firms. In turn, directors consider strategically collaborating with their CEOs as critical to their board service. Recognizing the unique perspectives that directors bring to the boardroom has important implications for governance practices directed toward ensuring overall board effectiveness.

Study delves into corporate secretaries' view of directors

This paper considers the use of various legal instruments to advance a more expansive, but focused, view of directors’ duties and discretion – one which focuses on the longer term interests of the corporation. To do so, we begin with an attempt to clarify the nature of directors’ statutory duties under Canadian corporate law. We then consider the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada in Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise and in BCE v. 1976 Debenture-holders, in which the Court took a broad view of corporate purpose but failed to provide clear logic or operational guidance as to consequential directorial responsibilities. As a result, the Court may have afforded directors increased deference (assuming they comply with prescribed procedural steps) without a clearly stated legal rationale. We then outline various legal theories that courts might consider and elaborate on in order to help advance and clarify some of the concepts averted to by the Supreme Court of Canada in the peoples and BCE decisions, as well as opportunities for complementary legislative or shareholder-initiated reform.

Investigating Organizational Health and Its Dimensions at an Organizational Level: A Research Study on Views of Directors Ahmet İlhan Abstract The organizational health approach comprises systematic processes developed for clearly specified goals, responsibilities, and evaluation stages in an organization’s operation, considering administrative functions at the organizational level. These processes act as feedback mechanisms to improve attitudes and opinions toward the culture and practices in an organization through organizational health dimensions, thus paving the way for a healthy organizational structure, which is crucial for organizations to survive and have a good position in their sector. This study investigates organizational health and its dimensions at the organizational level through an interview survey. Interview forms were given numbers, and interviews were conducted with 43 directors. The questions were qualitatively inclined; they were open-ended and were aimed at understanding the original variables. The views of directors were determined through 329 expressions including their comments. These expressions were grouped and analyzed extensively. The organizational health approach and its dimensions enable a healthy structure at the organizational level. Consequently, organizational health was determined to be a factor impacting the performance and activities of both employees and the organization. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jmpp.v8n2a1

Clive had the privilege of speaking with Kerry in late March 2010. They covered a number of governance issues, and here are Kerry's thoughts.From a New Zealand perspective, but also with an eye on the US and UK, and to a lesser extent Australia, for me the overriding issue is that boards and Directors are not providing consistently strong leadership that adds value to businesses.Underneath that I think that there are three specific issues. Firstly, there is a real shortage of directors with a strong business background. These are the sort of people who have been senior executives or chief executives. They understand strategy and leadership in the broadest sense of the word, and they can lead people and organizations. They have been well trained to make decisions and understand how business decisions are made. Critically, they know about sustained business improvement and creating high performance companies – how to lead people and to use systems to increase productivity. So, if you are trying to recruit directors now in New Zealand, there is a very limited pool of people who have that real depth of business background. There are a lot of people who want to be directors and who are trained in accounting, law and other professions, but there is an increasing shortage of people with the real depth of business experience that is required.

Clive had the privilege of speaking with Kerry in late March 2010. They covered a number of governance issues, and here are Kerry's thoughts.From a New Zealand perspective, but also with an eye on the US and UK, and to a lesser extent Australia, for me the overriding issue is that boards and Directors are not providing consistently strong leadership that adds value to businesses.Underneath that I think that there are three specific issues. Firstly, there is a real shortage of directors with a strong business background. These are the sort of people who have been senior executives or chief executives. They understand strategy and leadership in the broadest sense of the word, and they can lead people and organizations. They have been well trained to make decisions and understand how business decisions are made. Critically, they know about sustained business improvement and creating high performance companies – how to lead people and to use systems to increase productivity. So, if you are trying to recruit directors now in New Zealand, there is a very limited pool of people who have that real depth of business background. There are a lot of people who want to be directors and who are trained in accounting, law and other professions, but there is an increasing shortage of people with the real depth of business experience that is required.

This study aimed to know the reality of using educational methods and various techniques in the preparatory stage to teach Arabic from the point of view of specialized supervisors and school principals in Baghdad ,and to identify the most important difficulties facing the use of educational methods and various techniques in teaching Arabic at the preparatory stage .In order to answer the study questions ,the researcher prepared a questionnaire that was applied to the study population ,which represents the supervisors specializing in the subject of Arabic language for the preparatory stage, and they number ten supervisors ,as well as the principals of preparatory schools in Baghdad (Rusafa|2) and their number is two hundred and forty administrators ,and by analyzing the statistical data, the results were reached ,The following: 1-The cassette recorder and audio tapes are the most available devices from the point of view of supervisors and school directors ,while transparencies are the least available educational devices in schools. 2-The most important obstacles facing Arabic language teachers in using educational tools and techniques from the point of view of supervisors and school directors is the lack of technicians for maintenance of educational devices and aids inside the school . 3-The degree of Arabic language teachers ,use of educational aids and various technologies is average . 4-Teachers are aware of all that is recent in field of educational aids and various technologies . 5-There are no statistically significant differences between the responses of supervisors and school principals on the whole study tool ln light of these results, the recommends ; 1-providing educational aids and technologies of all kinds in schools and giving teachers the opportunity to use them. 2-Holding training courses for teachers to train them in the use of various educational aids ,devices and technologies. 3-Attention by supervisors and managers to follow up teachers to urge and encourage them to use the various educational methods and techniques. Key words: educational aids, multiple technologies, middle school.

Critical factors for adopting PACS in Taiwan: Views of radiology department directors

The regulation of the medical profession has recently been the subject of considerable debate. This paper describes a survey of the views of Trust medical directors and health authority directors of public health in the Northern and Yorkshire region on the way the GMC operates. A total of 46 out of 50 (92 per cent) gave a substantive response to the survey, of whom 16 (35 per cent) had not had cause to contact the GMC during the previous year, nine (20 per cent) were happy with their contact with the GMC and 21 (46 per cent) expressed some concern. The most commonly cited causes for concern were the length of time taken to process a complaint and lack of communication. While the individual opinions expressed are entirely subjective, it is argued that collectively they identify issues which the GMC and executive directors need to address.

The current study aimed to identify the qualification and training needs of new kindergarten teachers in Palestine from the point of view of kindergarten directors in Palestine, as well as to revealthe fundamental differences in the variables under study depending on the variable of place of residence, type of kindergarten, age, and educational qualification. To achieve the aim of the study, the researchers designed a tool to measure the qualification and training needs ofnew kindergarten teachers in Palestine after ensuring its validity and reliability. It was applied to a stratified random sample of (141) kindergarten principals in Palestine. The results of the study showed that the educational levels preferredThe percentage ofkindergarten directors for appointment as kindergarten educators ranged from 89.4% to 0.7%, and the highest levels were for those who held a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, with a rate of 89.4%, and the percentage of answers regarding the specialization they prefer for kindergarten directors for appointment as kindergarten educators. The percentage ranged from 52.5% to 5.7%, and the highest levels came for those who belong to the kindergarten field. The results of the study also showed that the overall score for the training needs seen by kindergarten principals in Palestine when new teachers were appointed was highly significant, as it obtained an arithmetic average of (3.85). The results of the study showed that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α ≤ 0.05) in the degree of training needs for new kindergarten teachers in Palestine from the point of view of kindergarten directors in Palestine depending on the variables of place of residence, type of kindergarten, age, and scientific qualification. The researchers recommended a set of recommendations, most notably the adoption by the Palestinian Ministry of Education of the results of this study because of their importance in developing the human staff and training them on many topics in the field of kindergartens, and reconsidering the training programs for kindergarten nannies in a way that is consistent with training needs.

The purpose of this research is to present the views of the Directors in secondary schools regarding the personality traits and skills they must have to introduce and implement Total Quality Management (TQM) in their schools. Our empirical research is quantitative and the data was collected via questionnaire. The research sample is 106 public secondary schools of the district of Attiki (N = 106). The data was analyzed with SPSS 20.0 statistical package. The survey was conducted from May 20 to June 30, 2015. The results reveal the personality traits and skills of the school directors that are required to introduce and implement Total Quality Management (TQM) in their schools. The variations in the opinions are related statistically to the sex, years of service in public education and in management position, the academic background, the seminars and training in educational administration and the type and size of the school.

Aim of the present research was to design a proper model for management of knowledge in environmental organizations of country. In study of the model, suitability of the proposed model was researched by asking views of directors, deputies, managers of groups and scientific board members of environmental organizations of country. For this purpose, with review of research literature, insight process, independent technology process and alteration technology process, knowledge solution process, knowledge spiral process and knowledge management conceptual process, principal elements of model and components were determined by examination of models and theories of joint process in the learner organizations. Later, the model was proposed using questionnaire. Reliability of questionnaire was calculated 94.75 % and 93.73% by means of retesting method and Crown Bach’s method, respectively. Admissibility of questionnaire was also determined by admissibility of content thereof and primary implementation (asking views of 30 of directors, deputies, managers of groups in environmental organizations of country). Determination of admissibility, durability and amendments were followed by implementation of the proposed model in random selected statistical sample consisting of 360 individuals from 4 groups of directors, deputies, managers of groups and scientific board members in environmental organizations of country. The inputs were collected by means of descriptive statistics (frequency distribution tables and diagrams), conclusive statistics methods including Pearson correlation co-efficient matrix for the relation between components. Then, Anova (analysis of variance) the four groups under study, extraction and operative analysis and principal component analysis were performed using the SPSS software and the proposed model, with scale of 6.15 out of 7, was confirmed. Principal finding of present research was introduction of a proper model for knowledge management to be used in environmental organizations of country that consists of philosophy and aims, theoretical fundaments, and model implementation steps.

The purpose of the article is to consider the process of the digital cinematograph transformation as a factor in forming a new visual aesthetics through the analysis of the foreign cinema discourse at the beginning of the XXI century. The methodology of the research is based on a holistic approach, which involves formulating a picture of cinema in the digital world, based on different points of view of directors and film critics on the results of the impact of new technologies on reforming the foundations of cinema, resulting in the formation of a new visual aesthetic. This dictates the use of discourse analysis (a method of studying the content) of reviews, comments, surveys, etc. related to innovative approaches in the film industry. An attempt to define the influence of new media on cinematic aesthetics involves the use of the principle of techno(media)determinism, which helps to reveal the interconnections of technological, stylistic, programmatic, and socio-cultural processes. The results. It is confirmed that the computerization at the beginning of the XXI century actively contributed to the formation of new structures of representation and content, and also initiated a rethinking of the role of cinema in society. Digital technologies have freed traditional cinema from its aesthetic and stylistic tropes and languages, thus opening up cinematic aesthetics to the influences of automatisms integrated into digital tools and computer software. It is emphasized that, along with the choice of long shooting, deep focus and A. Bazin’s theory of the objective machine, where the filmmaker’s prejudices are minimized, proleptic editing and indexicality are also perceived as a choice, not as format-driven limitations. The computerization and dematerialization of the camera turns it into a co-creator and co-director, thereby dictating a new logic of seeing the mise-en-scene and the nature of authorship, and also determines the development of aesthetic styles that, thanks to the hybridity of digital images, go beyond the boundaries of visual realism. It is found out that the optimization and further spread of compositing, as well as digital intermediaries, changes the indexical nature of cinema and creates conditions for the consistent hybridization of visual forms and the transformation of aesthetic styles that become more similar in their characteristics to the visuals of video games and graphic novels than to photography. The scientific novelty. The article for the first time analyzes different points of view of foreign directors and film critics in the first decade of the XXI century on the consequences and prospects of the impact of digital technologies on reforming the foundations of cinema, and also considers several creative experiments within the framework of cinema 3.0 with new influences and genre hybridity that have influenced the formation of a new visual aesthetic. The practical significance. The results of this research can be used in the educational process when teaching a general course on the history of cinema and special courses on the digital transformation of audio-visual art and cinematograph in particular.

Decision-making in agricultural co-operative societies: A note on the views of directors