Academic Commitments Research Articles

Community‐driven science and science education: Living in and navigating the edges of equity, justice, and science learning

Community‐driven science and science education: Living in and navigating the edges of equity, justice, and science learning

The Perception of Volleyball Student-Athletes: Evaluation of Well-Being, Sport Workload, Players' Response, and Academic Demands.

Physical activity has been shown to improve the health and well-being of students, athletes and the general population, especially when it is properly monitored and responses are evaluated. However, data are mostly gathered without considering a valuable element, participants' perceptions. Therefore, the objective was to know the perception of volleyball student-athletes when using different monitoring and response tools that assess well-being, workloads, responses to workloads, and academic demands. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with female volleyball student-athletes (n = 22) was used to know players' perceptions when using a wellness/well-being questionnaire, session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE), and countermovement jumps (CMJ), and consider academic demands. Results show that the wellness questionnaire and sRPE increased student-athletes' awareness of well-being and readiness to perform, improved self-evaluation, self-regulation, and self-demand. However, motivation and overcoming challenges were based on the CMJ. Academic demands affected 82% of student-athletes, altering stress, fatigue, and sleep quality. Nonetheless, sport was seen as an activity that helped with academic commitments. Therefore, the wellness questionnaires and the sRPE facilitated self-awareness and positive dispositions toward self-regulation. Simultaneous intensive academic demands and training can produce mutual positive effects if the variables of physical and mental loads are harmonized in the critical academic and sports periods.

Application of The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to inform understanding of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of opioid and naloxone training on college campuses

BackgroundThe opioid epidemic in the US continues to worsen. Opioid-only and polysubstance-involved opioid overdose deaths are increasing among adolescents and young adults, who have limited knowledge of opioid overdose prevention, including recognition and response. College campuses have infrastructure to support national-level implementation of evidence-based public health strategies for providing opioid overdose prevention and naloxone training programs among this priority population. However, college campuses are an underutilized, understudied setting for this programming. To address this gap, we conducted research assessing barriers and facilitators to planning and implementing this programming on college campuses.MethodsWe held 9 focus groups among purposively selected campus stakeholders whose perceptions were important to understand in planning for the dissemination and implementation of opioid overdose prevention and naloxone training. Focus group scripts were informed by The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to query about perceptions of opioid and other substance use, opioid and other substance use-related resources, and naloxone administration training. We used a deductive-inductive, iterative approach to thematic analysis.ResultsThemes about implementation barriers included (1) the perception that problematic use of other (non-opioid) substances was more prevalent than opioid use on campus and focus on those substances would be a greater priority on college campuses; (2) student schedules were overwhelmed with academic commitments and extracurricular activities, making delivery of additional training challenging; (3) barriers related to the perceived complexity and decentralization of communication on campus, preventing students from knowing how to access substance use-related resources. Themes about implementation facilitators included (1) framing naloxone training as important in becoming a responsible leader on campus and in the broader community and (2) leveraging existing infrastructure, champions within existing campus groups, and tailored messaging to facilitate participation in naloxone training.ConclusionsThis is the first study to provide in-depth insights into potential barriers and facilitators to widespread, routine implementation of naloxone/opioid education on undergraduate college campuses. The study captured diverse stakeholder perspectives and was theoretically grounded in CFIR, contributing to the growing literature on the application and refinement of CFIR across diverse community and school contexts.

‘One day I will make it to university’: Students from Refugee Backgrounds in University Pathway Programs

Australian universities have received an increasing number of students from refugee backgrounds (SfRBs) over the last few decades. However, programs adapted for the successful transition of this cohort remain relatively scarce. Therefore, there is a critical need for programs and strategies supporting SfRBs meaningful participation and success in their studies. This empirical paper reports on a project conducted at UniSA College. The research explores cultural and learning experiences of SfRBs in a university pathway program. This paper utilises data from a student survey, focus group, and interviews conducted with Peer Support Officers to explore students' aspirations, challenges they face and recommendations for the university and the enabling pathway program. The findings highlight that despite aspiring to obtain university qualifications, SfRBs encounter serious barriers including challenges associated with English language proficiency, as well as with navigating university and academic culture, managing family and work commitments whilst facing social exclusion and racism. For successful engagement of SfRBs education institutions need an all-encompassing approach consisting of culturally responsive efforts and peer-led support systems for students.

Understanding high dropout rates in MOOCs – a qualitative case study from Pakistan

ABSTRACT Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are a form of online learning that has become increasingly popular across the globe, yet they often suffer from low completion rates. This study aims to advance understanding of the Dropout Phenomenon in MOOCs through a qualitative case study conducted in Pakistan. The purpose of this research is to understand why learners drop out of MOOCs by identifying the factors that influence the decision of learners. Semi-structured interviews with MOOC participants were conducted and analysed who had enrolled in two MOOCs that had a high dropout rate. The responses from the interviews were categorised under three overarching themes: lack of motivation, perception of course content, and inability to manage time. Within those themes, several factors that affect course dropout rates were identified, including perceived rewards, difficulties in comprehension, academic and family commitments, and duration of the course.

Seeing the World Through African Eyes: A Tribute to Andrew Walls

This is an autobiographical essay describing the seminal impact that eminent World Christianity scholar Andrew Walls (1928–2021) had on my intellectual life and scholarship from the time I became a student at the Center for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World (at Edinburgh University) up to his passing in 2021. What is presented here is not an account of Walls’s illustrious career and extraordinary legacy; but rather a chronicle of my intellectual journey over a period of more than thirty years, during which Walls shaped my scholarship and academic commitments more profoundly than any other person. The story pulls back the curtain on what was, for me, a life-transforming relationship. It reveals in close detail how Walls’s tutelage, scholarly vision, and winsome brilliance molded and fashioned both my emergence as an African scholar and my evolution into a scholar of World Christianity (including the approaches, perspectives, and core interests that have characterized my work in the last two decades). The tale is told strictly through the lens of personal experience, with all the inherent biases and blind spots that this implies; not to mention the limitations of human memory that every historian knows all too well. Inevitably, however, the narrative arc engenders some coverage of Walls’s pioneering and immense contribution to World Christianity scholarship. It has been said that Walls “may be the most important person you don’t know.” It is my fond hope that this article goes some way to filling this knowledge gap. But, ultimately, this is a story of how a young African from Sierra Leone became a Walls-ian.

The Impact of Parent and Family Caregiver Roles Among Canadian Radiation Oncologists

Working parents, and a rising number of adults delivering care for aging relatives, experience numerous challenges in their personal, family, professional, and financial lives owing to multiple responsibilities. This study describes the experiences of Canadian radiation oncologist (RO) parents and family caregivers, reporting challenges that may exist in providing family care with clinical and academic work commitments. Canadian ROs, via RO heads of departments in cancer centers across Canada, and physician members of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey between November 2021 and January 2022. The survey focused on demographics, experiences of pregnancy and leave, parenting and adult caregiving responsibilities, and self-care. A total of 103 staff ROs (38%) completed the survey and 78 (75.7%) identified as having a parental (76 [89.7%]) and/or other family caregiver (8 [10.3%]) role; 41% were female and 59% were male, with no difference between genders in the number of children (median, 2; interquartile range, 1-3; P=.17). More female respondents took parental leave for their first child compared with male respondents (mean, 29 vs 6 weeks; P < .001). Of male respondents who started caring for their first child during residency, 27% took parental leave, compared with 77% who started caring for their first child as a staff member (P=.003). The majority of respondents described "always/usually" having collegial support for each pregnancy and parental leave. Both genders described parental responsibilities as negatively affecting attendance at conferences (male, 65%; female, 77%; P=.31) and early or late work-related meetings (male, 76%; female, 79%; P=1.0). More female respondents described parental responsibilities as negatively affecting their career (50% vs 29%; P=.085). Of female respondents, 52% (vs 26% of male respondents; P=.044) identified a physician mentor or positive role model around parenting issues. Parental and other family caregiving responsibilities are not gender unique in Canadian ROs, but competing work and family roles may affect genders differently.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISES AMONG FOUNDATION LEVEL STUDENTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: AN ANALYSIS OF INFLUENCING FACTOR

Quarantine, isolation, and social distancing were essential for preventing the transmission of the virus and protecting people's physical fitness during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, they may have had lasting negative impacts, notably on mental health and well-being, especially on higher education students, as they are in a pivotal life-transition stage linked to increased mental health crises. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the influential factors associated with mental health crises among foundation-level students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study involved 277 students from the foundation of science programme at the Preparatory Centre of Science and Technology, University of Malaysia Sabah. A questionnaire was originally constructed to analyse the factors impacting mental health crises. Overall results found that the range of the mean from the questionnaire was 4.56 to 4.80, indicating that depression, anxiety, stress, and eating disorders are undoubtedly the influencing factors of mental health crises among foundation-level students. The majority of students scored much higher on the items under the stress factor (4.73) compared to the other three factors, which suggests that most of the students suffered from stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is followed by depression (4.69), anxiety (4.64) and eating disorders (4.63). Thus, universities and lecturers play a crucial role in reducing stress, depression, and anxiety associated with academic commitments.

Suicide risk factors in university students: A review from the literature

The objective of the research is to carry out a review of the literature about suicide risk factors in young university students. The methodology used is quantitative descriptive with a bibliometric approach, under the PRISMA method. The search was carried out in three databases: Clarivate Web of Science, MDPI and Taylor and Francis that had the variables of suicide risk factors. Inclusion criteria were used such as: study variables, years 2019 to 2022, published in Spanish and English,scientific reports research results, research with clinical and non-clinical population. After the application of the Boolean operators, the total sample is (n=10360) and after screening with the PRISMA method (n=45). Results: The United States, followed by China and Bangladesh, are the countries that produce the most on the subject. The most frequent risk factors are: depression, anxiety, stress, academic commitments, lack of opportunities, low income and race. The students with the highest suicide rates are in the health area such as medicine and nursing, in addition, there is more suicide intent in women than in men.

Challenges faced in the peer review system in open access journals

Challenges faced in the peer review system in open access journals

Managing Instrumental Practice and Part-Time Employment for Music Students

Student-musicians must divide time between academic commitments and practising their instruments. As a result, many may be discouraged from having part-time work as it means a lack of hours available for practice. Through a survey, this study aims to find how performance students at Universiti Teknologi MARA who worked during the term coped with their training. The findings reveal that while they can manage their time well, work is not a disadvantage and can boost their prospects. However, students may have to acquire effective practice methods, as many believe they need more than three hours of daily practice.

Sleep, Affect, and Emotion Reactivity in First-Year College Students: A Daily Diary Study.

Sleep is an important factor in well-being, especially during the transition to college when academic and social commitments increase. Identifying factors that contribute to poor sleep (including short duration and increased variability in duration) can support development of interventions. Affect and emotion reactivity are factors that could contribute to sleep, and have not been studied in relation to sleep variables among first-year college students during their adjustment to the college environment. This adjustment might be difficult for some students, and therefore elicit affect fluctuations that contribute to poor sleep. Alternatively, sleep could contribute to daily affect. The present daily diary study examined bidirectional relations between daily sleep and affect, as well as between emotion reactivity and sleep (duration and variability) and affect (daily and overall variability) in first-year college students. First-year college students (n = 244; 86.1% female) completed a baseline survey including measures of emotion reactivity and anxiety and depressive symptoms, followed by 7days of a once-per-day diary, reporting on their affect and sleep duration. On days when individuals reported increased sleep duration, they also tended to experience greater positive affect the following day (p = .01). Those who experienced high levels of emotion reactivity also experienced more negative affect (p < .001) and negative affect variability (p < .001). Emotion reactivity might identify college students who experience more negative affect and are possibly at risk to develop mental health disorders. The importance of sleep health should continue to be emphasized to students as they transition to college.

Specially and Regularly Admitted Division I Student-Athletes: Differences in and Relationships Between Academic and Athletic Identity, Perceived Support, and Academic Commitments

The purpose of this study was to examine academic commitments in Division I specially and regularly admitted student-athletes. Division I student-athletes completed questionnaires assessing academic and athletic identity, perceived academic support, degree commitment, institutional commitment, and intent to withdraw. Structural equation modeling showed that institutional commitment was predicted positively by degree commitment and perceived academic support. It was also predicted by academic identity indirectly through degree commitment. Intent to withdraw was predicted negatively by degree commitment, athletic identity, and perceived academic support. Both institutional commitment and intent to withdraw were also predicted by academic identity indirectly through degree commitment. Compared to regularly admitted student-athletes, specially admitted student-athletes reported lower academic and athletic identities, lower perception of academic support from staff, and lower commitment to their degree, which contributed to their lower institutional commitment and higher intent to withdraw. Findings highlight the importance of academic integration of student-athletes.

Quantifying the consumer’s dependence on different information sources on acceptance of autonomous vehicles

• Explores the importance of multiple sources for pre-purchase information of CAVs among Tennessee residents. • Utilizes latent segmentation to identify public’s scepticism of CAVs. • Indifferent individuals: stronger reliance on information sources than skeptical individuals. • Residents interested in owning a CAV rely on their peers for the information. • Residents interested in autonomous public transit rely on the advertisements for the information. Recent academic research and industrial commitments highlight the potential of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in transforming the way we travel. However, there are some anticipated barriers associated with the widespread consumer adoption of CAVs, including but not limited to low user acceptance, cybersecurity, safety, and legislation. The existing literature is non-existent in capturing the impact of information received from multiple sources (peers, car dealers, media advertisements, and personal research) on the consumers’ acceptance of CAVs while considering these barriers associated with CAV. In this direction, we quantify the impact of the multiple information sources on the individuals concerned and indifferent about the anticipated barriers of CAVs to boost their acceptance while utilizing a two-step econometric framework based on an online survey of 4,448 Tennesseans. The two-step modeling framework utilizes latent class analysis followed by a multivariate ordered logit model. Results indicated that the elderly, three or more person households, and residents interested in owning a CAV are more likely to be concerned about CAV barriers. In contrast, males, physically challenged, and residents willing to pay higher for CAV are more likely to be indifferent toward CAV barriers. Among concerned individuals, the elderly, females, and residents willing to pay more than $30 k for a conventional car are more likely to rely on car dealers when purchasing a CAV. The results of this study are expected to assist automakers, technology companies, policymakers, and third-party agencies to advertise, promote and introduce CAVs effectively through appropriate information channel(s) to boost their consumer acceptance.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) of India: will it be a paradigm shift in Indian higher education?

ABSTRACT The Government of India introduced the National Educational Policy (NEP) in 2020. The policy aims to achieve the set goals phase-wise with spirit and intent by the prioritisation of action points in a comprehensive manner that entails careful planning, monitoring and collaborative implementation, timely infusion of requisite funds and careful analyses and reviewing at multiple implementation steps. Creation of a National Research Fund, incorporation of a new Higher Education Commission of India and investments of an amount equivalent to 6% of the country’s GDP are envisaged. The policy was perceived as beneficial and damaging, as per the opinions expressed in various forums. From the author’s perspective, while some aspects of NEP are novel, most are already being practised to a certain extent. Implementation of NEP to cause a significant change in the education system needs escalation of academic, logistic and financial commitments from all stakeholders.

Signaled or Suppressed? How Gender Informs Women’s Undergraduate Applications in Biology and Engineering

How does gender inform initial academic commitments and narrative self-presentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields during the college application process? Analyzing 60,000 undergraduate applications to the University of California, the authors surface two key findings. First, extant gender segregation of academic disciplines also manifests in intended major choice. Additionally, gender and SAT Math scores together strongly predict intent to major in biology and engineering, the most popular and gender-segregated majors. Second, using natural language processing, the investigators find that author gender is more predictive of essay topics written by prospective engineers than prospective biologists. Specifically, women intending to major in engineering write about essay topics that signal their gender identity to a greater degree than women intending to major in biology, perhaps to mitigate gender-transgressive academic commitments. The authors subsequently argue that prescriptive and proscriptive ideas about men and women’s academic choices remain highly salient in a moment of imagining future academic and professional selves.

Samoprocena učinka u onlajn učenju i anksioznosti kod učenika tokom Kovid-19 pandemije

Due to the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) from March 16th to May 18th 2020. the lectures at the Faculty of Sports and Psysical Education, University of Niš, took place exclusively through online learning platforms. The faculties of sports and physical education are content-wise and methodogically specific in comparison to other faculties. The aim of this study is to identify the degree to which students were able to complete their academic commitments, what their motivation for learning was, what variables affected their ability to do so, and how anxious they were throughout the epidemic. In total, 364 students from the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, representing all undergraduate and graduate academic years, took part in the online study. The research was conducted using a questionnaire consisting of self-assessment of mastered material in all subjects (five-point scale), the degree of motivation for distance learning (five-point scale), questions about factors that hindered students in learning and anxiety scales (AT-29, Tovilović and Novović, 2009). The results show that 68.6% of students managed to fulfill more than 60% of the obligations from the course per year. The largest number of students was mostly motivated (51.3%), while 17.9% were highly motivated for online learning. Less than 10% of all respondents were not motivated at all (7.4%). The largest number of students (42.6%) fulfilled their academic obligations in the percentage of 60 to 80%, while 33% of students fulfilled their obligations between 80 and 100%. The research showed that the biggest obstacle in online learning is the lack of direct contact and communication between students with colleagues and professors (36%), as well as technical problems, which represent a barrier for 16.8% of respondents. The results showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the degree of anxiety between male and female students (Sig. = .001), with higher values of anxiety recorded in female students.

Burnout in microvascular reconstructive otolaryngology - head and neck surgeons: Potential modifiable workplace factors.

Burnout has been previously assessed in head and neck microvascular reconstructive surgeons (HNMVS), but not in the context of modifiable workplace factors. Anonymous, cross-sectional survey. The Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey for Medical Personnel (aMBI-HSS) was utilized to assess emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal achievement (PA). Modifiable risk factors were also evaluated. High risk of burnout by EE, DP, and PA was demonstrated in 24%, 9%, and 27% of respondents, respectively. EE was associated with <10% dedicated research time, lack of autonomy over clinic schedule, inadequate inpatient support, and lack of supportive clinical partner. DP was associated with >3 operative days, difficulty balancing academic commitments, and lack of supportive clinical partner. Dedicated research time and two or fewer days of block time were protective. Burnout was associated with several modifiable workplace factors. Addressing these may prevent moderate to severe burnout in HNMVS.

Challenging career models in higher education: the influence of internal career scripts and the rise of the \u201cconcertina\u201d career

The paper develops the metaphorical concept of the “concertina” career to describe ways in which academic staff, across a diversifying workforce, modulate their interactions with institutional career frameworks, which tend to be unilinear and to be characterised by detailed progression criteria and milestones. In doing this, they are guided by Internal career scripts, providing an additional dimension to the dichotomy of boundaried and boundaryless careers found in the literature. Drawing on a longitudinal study between 2017 and 2020, of forty-nine mid-career academic staff across eight UK universities, consideration is given to individuals’ spatial movements, for instance, between academic activities, and professional and personal commitments; and the manipulation of timescales to accelerate or decelerate career progress in relation to opportunities and constraints. The study shows ways in which the spatial parameters of a career are being stretched in order to accommodate new forms of academic work supplementing disciplinary activity, such as online learning, employability initiatives and public engagement, as well as work-life considerations. In addition, individuals are adapting timescales to accommodate professional activities such as health practice or community outreach, as well as personal commitments such as caring responsibilities. Thus, in the concertina career, individuals expand and contract activity, as well as extending and compressing timescales. As a result, it is concluded that institutional career models do not entirely reflect the reality of career-making by individuals, which is likely to involve detours (therefore a spatial dimension) and a disruption of assumed timelines (therefore a temporal dimension).

Dual Careers of Athletes During COVID-19 Lockdown.

This study aimed to investigate the student-athletes' capability to face the academic, sport, and social challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown and to disclose novel aspects of dual careers. A 32-item online survey encompassing demographic characteristics, sport and university engagement, support and dual-career benefits, physical activity, sitting time, and the time deemed necessary to recover the previous level of performance was developed. Four hundred sixty-seven student-athletes (males: 57%, females: 43%) from 11 countries, competing in 49 different sports (individual: 63.4%, team: 36.6%) at regional (17.5%), national (43.3%), and international (39.2%) levels, and enrolled at high school (21.9%) and university (78.1%) levels completed the survey. During the lockdown, the respondents decreased the time dedicated to sport and academics, although they maintained an active lifestyle. Student-athletes from countries under severe contagion were more likely to train at home, dedicate to academics, and receive support from the coach but less likely receive support from their teachers. With respect to their team sport counterparts, athletes competing in individual sports trained more and were more likely to receive support from their coaches. International athletes showed the highest training time and support from their coaches and as student-athletes. High school students received more support from their coaches and teachers, whereas university students were more likely considering dual careers useful to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study substantiates the relevant role of competitive sports participation in the maintenance of active lifestyles, with student-athletes considering home training and e-learning valuable resources during the lockdown. Furthermore, their sport and academic commitments helped student-athletes cope with the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.