Academic Dilemma Research Articles

Enhancing Classroom Learning: ChatGPT's Integration and Educational Challenges

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping various aspects of society, including the realm of education. The emergence of ChatGPT in November 2022 has ignited global discourse, prompting numerous studies to explore its potential benefits and drawbacks, particularly within higher education. ChatGPT offers numerous advantages for teaching and learning, such as promoting personalized education, assisting in research paper writing, refining grammar, and writing skills, and fostering critical thinking. However, alongside its benefits, concerns regarding ethical considerations and academic integrity have been raised. This paper delves into the role of ChatGPT as an AI tool, examining studies conducted between 2022 and 2023. It also addresses the ethical and academic dilemmas associated with its widespread use. Additionally, the paper discusses the challenges impeding the seamless integration of AI in education, particularly in developing countries like Jordan. Furthermore, it sheds light on Jordan's efforts to embrace artificial intelligence in education and underscores the necessity for an education-centric AI policy to cultivate skilled professionals capable of navigating the global AI revolution. Despite varying conclusions across studies, this review underscores the importance of prioritizing the education sector within Jordanian AI policies. Such prioritization is crucial given the sector's role in nurturing skilled individuals and implementing curricula effectively, thus facilitating national development. This paper holds significance for researchers, educational technology practitioners, and policymakers alike, offering insights into the multifaceted implications of AI integration in education and advocating for informed policy decisions to harness its potential effectively.

The commodification of education: an academic dilemma

The commodification of education: an academic dilemma

Using enzyme activities as an indicator of soil fertility in grassland - an academic dilemma.

Grasslands play an important role in conserving natural biodiversity and providing ecosystem functions and services for societies. Soil fertility is an important property in grassland, and the monitoring of soil fertility can provide crucial information to optimize ecosystem productivity and sustainability. Testing various soil physiochemical properties related to fertility usually relies on traditional measures, such as destructive sampling, pre-test treatments, labor-intensive procedures, and costly laboratory measurements, which are often difficult to perform. However, soil enzyme activity reflecting the intensity of soil biochemical reactions is a reliable indicator of soil properties and thus enzyme assays could be an efficient alternative to evaluate soil fertility. Here, we review the latest research on the features and functions of enzymes catalyzing the biochemical processes that convert organic materials to available plant nutrients, increase soil carbon and nutrient cycling, and enhance microbial activities to improve soil fertility. We focus on the complex relationships among soil enzyme activities and functions, microbial biomass, physiochemical properties, and soil/crop management practices. We highlight the biochemistry of enzymes and the rationale for using enzyme activities to indicate soil fertility. Finally, we discuss the limits and disadvantages of the potential new molecular tool and provide suggestions to improve the reliability and feasibility of the proposed alternative.

Investigating factors affecting global environmental sustainability: evidence from nonlinear ARDL bounds test.

The concept of environmental sustainability formed the basis of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations conference in Rio de Janeiro. Empirically, without environmental sustainability, everything else could fall apart or be aimless. This study investigates factors affecting global environmental sustainability spanning 1966Q1 to 2019Q4. However, there are many micro-/macroeconomic factors engendering the environment, and the absence of robust clarity on whether factors such as economic growth, urbanization, trade openness, and energy consumption matter for global environmental sustainability remains a global academic dilemma in the economics literature. This paper utilized the unrestricted nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) bounds test techniques to model their relationship. Furthermore, the study adopted fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) methods to test the research hypothesis, catering to the problem of endogeneity and serial correlation. Up-to-date of this study, no empirical study has examined the nexus of these variables within the global framework. The outcomes suggested that (i) NARDL bounds test of cointegration confirmed evidence of long-run and short-run relationships among the variables; (ii) long-run asymmetric relationship was affirmed among the variables; and (iii) DOLS, FMOLS, and CCR models demonstrate that economic growth, energy consumption, and trade openness are positively significantly correlated with environmental sustainability except for economic growth which shows negative and insignificant correlation. These findings validate the protracted argument in literature that these estimated variables are significant for global environmental sustainability. This study recommends that environmental policymakers integrate global economic incentives with favorable regulatory changes for achieving the goals of a global sustainable environment in the long-run equilibrium.

The Academic Dilemma on the Use of Proof Readers in Academic Assignments

It is a well-known idea that Non-Native English Speakers (NNES) often try to find ways to assist writing. Perhaps, the most common assistance would be feedback from their supervisors or support from their peers. However, certain students with means, would go the extra mile of employing proofreaders to help improve their writing. This study is part of a longitudinal narrative study involving five international postgraduate students in a UK university where the theme of proofreader and/or proofreading had become an academic dilemma on whether it should be permitted at all. The findings showed both positive and negative assumptions from the participants. A participant who scored well with the help of proofreaders learnt the university’s writing conventions from her ‘mistakes’. Another participant who was academically weaker however, expected her writing to be ‘translated’ into the university’s writing conventions along with grade improvements. Other participants deemed such gesture as immoral and blamed the university for not banning such services, putting less financially able students at a ‘disadvantage’.

The Academic Dilemma on the Use of Proof Readers in Academic Assignments

It is a well-known idea that Non-Native English Speakers (NNES) often try to find ways to assist writing. Perhaps, the most common assistance would be feedback from their supervisors or support from their peers. However, certain students with means, would go the extra mile of employing proofreaders to help improve their writing. This study is part of a longitudinal narrative study involving five international postgraduate students in a UK university where the theme of proofreader and/or proofreading had become an academic dilemma on whether it should be permitted at all. The findings showed both positive and negative assumptions from the participants. A participant who scored well with the help of proofreaders learnt the university’s writing conventions from her ‘mistakes’. Another participant who was academically weaker however, expected her writing to be ‘translated’ into the university’s writing conventions along with grade improvements. Other participants deemed such gesture as immoral and blamed the university for not banning such services, putting less financially able students at a ‘disadvantage’.

A Persistent Academic Ethical Dilemma: Too Few Female Students in STEM Five Decades after Title IX

Research over the past three decades on the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) has consistently found an underrepresentation of females pursuing STEM degrees and careers. This is, at its foundation, an educational ethics issue. Schools at all levels, ranging all the way from middle school to graduate school, have a responsibility to prepare more females for careers in STEM. Experts have proposed a variety of fixes to encourage female students to study STEM, including increased funding, some of which have helped, and yet the gap remains. This paper examines one such effort to address this education and ethics issue - voluntary (elective) programs outside of normal school hours that provide young female students’ opportunities for active participation and engagement in STEM. Are these enrichment programs actually increasing subsequent female participation rates? The authors use a correlational study in an attempt to determine whether there is a positive correlation between participation in a voluntary before school STEM program (in grades 6–8), and their subsequent enrollment in STEM courses in high school, and/or in college and career. The authors surveyed intermediate school students, and the results showed that although voluntary before-school programs may not increase female interest in STEM, they do help to maintain long-term interest by those who have already demonstrated an inclination toward STEM. This is a pilot study with a limited number of subjects from one geographical area. Future research should be conducted that focuses on a larger nationwide sample to determine if school enrichment programs indeed act as career influencers for female students.

The Evolution of Joint Parenting in Poland: The Legal Perspective on Lessons Learned and Still to Be Learned

Abstract The aim of this article is to consider how ideas about raising children by parents who have parted have changed in Poland and how they were reflected in changing provisions of family law in order to offer at least an initial answer to the question of whether joint parenting should be a welcomed development in Polish family law. The article will focus not only on indicating when and how the relevant family law provisions have been amended but also on presenting the academic and practical dilemmas faced in the process of introducing a new concept of joint physical custody over a child when parents have parted. It is argued that an honest revision of the challenges and opportunities joint parenting offers, based not only on national experiences but also on research and experiences of foreign jurisdictions, promotes a better understanding of this solution, which in the Polish context is still an emerging concept requiring ongoing research and active academic consideration.

On the use of blockchain-based mechanisms to tackle academic misconduct

Current incentives for publishing in academic journals result in a “winner-take-all” contest-like situation, with significant benefits for publishing research in quality journals. At the same time, empirically, we observe a greater incidence of research misconduct. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the nature and extent of the misconduct problem, to show why it may persist in the absence of conscious remedial action, and to discuss solutions that help lower the likelihood of spurious research escaping undetected. A simple model is constructed to emphasize that there exists the potential for a Prisoners’ Dilemma in academia, where scholars engage in misconduct at equilibrium (the Academic Dilemma). The paper then examines why conventional “centralized” regulatory solutions under the current system are not likely to succeed in resolving the problem, analyzes the properties of a decentralized solution utilizing blockchains, and argues that once incentive structures in academia are factored in, a permissioned blockchain may emerge as an effective middle-ground solution for mitigating scientific misconduct. In doing so, the paper highlights the importance of new technologies and recent advancements in Open Science for battling misconduct, and takes stock of the evolving nature of academic publishing.

Rationale of an economically driven PD1 biomarker development in lung cancer—an academic dilemma

Rationale of an economically driven PD1 biomarker development in lung cancer—an academic dilemma

Foreign Language/Literature as Human and Social Sciences in the Chinese Context

Globalization has accelerated international and intercultural exchange in almost all aspects of life and every discipline of study has to take a global perspective for its development. This paper discusses some current issues in China’s ‘foreign language/literature’ sector, at the tertiary level of human and social sciences, and it does so in terms of localized concepts and diverse fields of study, administrative intervention, institutional organization, professional recognition, academic dilemmas, and problems and prospects of development in view of the international context of sociocultural globalization.

O dilema extensão universitária

Objetivou-se analisar como um grupo de professores universitários conceitua a Extensão Universitária, ou melhor, como avalia tal função no cotidiano das ações docentes. Discutiu-se o material empírico (entrevistas) com base na teoria de Norbert Elias, interpretando-se as forças específicas compulsivas no jogo universitário. Constatou-se que os professores entrevistados se baseiam em grupos de intelectuais que jogam e se perdem entre as funções do ensino, da pesquisa e da extensão, e assim medem as suas forças. Ora buscam na força da pesquisa o reconhecimento acadêmico ou, então, criticam a Extensão sem envolvimento com pesquisa ou, ainda, são favoráveis à Extensão e propõem a modificação do mundo circundante por intermédio da Extensão, defendendo-a por garantir melhor formação profissional. Concluiu-se que a Extensão Universitária é um dilema acadêmico, ou melhor, evidenciam-se tentativas de resoluções, mas ainda nenhuma delas plenamente aceitável pela totalidade da comunidade acadêmica.

Young, Black, Mathematically Gifted, and Stereotyped

In this paper, I describe the academic dilemma experienced by Tamara (pseudonym), a mathematically high-achieving high school sophomore. Raised in an economically strapped neighborhood, Tamara had the opportunity to attend a prestigious private high school, tuition free. Confronted by being viewed as an affirmative action student Tamara uses this negative stereotype as an extra source of motivation to achieve high marks on the admissions test. A new framework explains Tamara’s reaction to this situation that I call stereotype management (McGee & Martin, 2011b). Stereotype management describes the range of strategies and various forms of individual agency that high-achieving Black students employ to reduce the academic impact of demeaning stereotypes while maintaining high standards of achievement. For Tamara, however, her high test score and ability to achieve in the face of being stereotyped was bittersweet, as she examined the potency and permanence of being perceived as less than.

Approaches to management of dilemmas by leaders in academic pharmacy

In 1984, Bolman and Deal introduced the theory of frames as organizational strategies allowing one to examine dilemmas from multiple vantage points. These four frames, identified as structural, human resource, political, and symbolic, enrich and broaden a leader's options for solving problems. The objective of this project was to identify preferred strategies used by academic pharmacy leaders for resolving dilemmas in the context of the four frames of leadership. Current Deans of schools/colleges of pharmacy who have participated in the AACP Academic Leaders Fellowship Program as participants or facilitators were asked to complete an online survey. The survey instrument consisted of a tenure/promotion case with three brief scenarios involving different types of dilemmas pertinent to the case. The instrument was designed to address the four frames. The first scenario, which dealt with a faculty member being assigned additional research and administrative responsibilities, revealed that Deans tended to rely on the structural, human resources, and symbolic frames when making decisions about this dilemma. The second scenario, dealing with a faculty member with poor teaching evaluations, indicated that Deans operated within all four frames; however, the human resources and symbolic frames were slightly more dominant. The final scenario, which dealt with a suspected inappropriate faculty-student relationship, demonstrated that Deans felt confidential information should not be considered when making decisions regarding promotion and tenure. Although studies have shown that most people rely on the structural and human resource frames, it appears that pharmacy Deans use all four frames when making decisions regarding academic dilemmas.

Academic dilemma? Antipodean and New World directions on the ownership of inventions

Academic dilemma? Antipodean and New World directions on the ownership of inventions

The dynamics of hapū research relationships

The Whakaki Lake Trust has a long history of being an active kaitiaki of Whakaki Lake and has developed a hapū-based restoration and enhancement programme at the Lake property. Part of this programme has involved working with a range of external agencies and researchers. Research relationships have become an important part of the restoration process to build the capability and capacity of hapū to execute activities associated with restoration. In addition, relationships have provided an opportunity to strengthen and expand the knowledge base that hapū can draw upon to inform ecological restoration and resource management decisions. Some of these relationships have been adversarial and a source of much frustration. As a consequence the Trust has developed very clear expectations and policy around working with others. My experience of developing a doctoral research project with Whakaki Lake Trust is used here to discuss hapū expectations of research and resultant academic dilemmas.

A Comparative Analysis of Attitudes Towards Academic Dishonesty Between Canadian and Mexican MBA Students

This study describes the preliminary findings of a comparison of attitudes towards academic ethical dilemmas between Mexican and Canadian MBA students/faculty. 459 students and professors answered a survey containing ten vignettes on academic ethical dilemmas to establish their attitudes towards situations of potential student/faculty misconduct. The collected data was analyzed across academic, demographic and religious differences. Preliminary results indicate that the samples mostly differ with respect to their attitudes towards academic plagiarism. Other contrasting differences where identified with respect to main activity, level of education, field of education, age and gender. The impact on International Student Exchange Programs is discussed.

Hong Kong, Canada: Performed ethnography for anti-racist teacher education

For the last four years, I have been conducting critical ethnographic fieldwork in a Canadian multilingual high school, and thinking about the ways I might write up my findings. In an attempt to represent the experiences of those who participated in my study in a way that does not lead to the reproduction of the policies and practices of colonialism and racism I mean to challenge, I have experimented with the genre of playwriting. As a critical educational ethnographer who is also a teacher educator, I want my ethnographic writing to engage my teacher education students in critical analysis and practice. My experiments with ethnographic playwriting and performed ethnography endeavor to represent the research subjects in a way that not only facilitates their truths but also matters to people who were going to be asked to listen to and act upon these truths. This article describes a fictional, but ethnographically-informed play about some of the linguistic and academic dilemmas facing immigrant youth and their Canadian-born classmates. The article also provides a summary of the reasons why I believe that research-based drama holds exciting possibilities for critical teacher education.

Student Ethical Perceptions and Ethical Action Propensities: An Analysis of Situation Familiarity

Recently McCuddy and Peery (1996) have suggested that business students may not respond the same way to “unfamiliar” business ethical dilemmas as they would to more “familiar” academic ethical dilemmas. The purpose of this study was to present the same students with both “unfamiliar” business dilemmas as well as possibly more “familiar” academic dilemmas in order to examine this issue.

Accounting Student Ethical Perceptions: An Analysis of Training and Gender Effects

This study examined accounting student responses to academic and accounting/business ethical vignettes and examined if gender or formal training in ethics affected their responses. The study also controlled for a student's tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner by including a social desirability response bias instrument as part of the research materials. The results indicate no general differences in responses between the students with and without formal ethical training, or between male and female students. However, comparisons between the academic and accounting/business vignettes revealed that although students perceived the unethical actions discussed in the cases similarly, they indicated they would be more likely to engage in the unethical actions in the accounting/business cases compared to the academic dilemmas.