Attractive Career Research Articles

Is There Really A Shortage of Technical Professionals?

All of us are familiar with what I call here the Portrait of the U.S. science and engineering workforce. It appears frequently in the media, in statements by corporate leaders and lobbyists, and in Congressional testimony. It may be summarized briefly as follows: 1. There are serious or shortfalls in the U.S. of scientists and engineers--either current shortages/ shortfalls, or looming ones--that bode ill for the creativity and competitiveness of the U.S. economy. 2. The numbers of newly-educated scientists and engineers graduating from U.S. universities are insufficient for the needs of U.S. employers, this despite the fact that the science careers they are offering are growing rapidly and are attractive and well-remunerated. It is this insufficiency that is forcing U.S. high-tech firms to offshore increasing fractions of their RD and in the 2006 National Academies report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, which was the basis for substantial parts of what eventually evolved into the America COMPETES Act. The 2005 Tapping America's Potential report called for an array of policies and expenditures to double the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates by 2015, i.e., a 100 percent increase in 10 years. They were very forthright about this, with the core goal appearing right on the report's cover. The Realities Conventional does not necessarily mean correct, of course. Perhaps surprisingly, the declarative statements summarized above actually are largely inconsistent with the findings of most researchers who have come to the subject with an open mind. These include leading researchers at the Rand Corporation, Harvard University, National Bureau of Economic Research, Urban Institute, Georgetown University, Georgia State University, Stanford University, etc. Here is a similarly brief summary of the conclusions from such research: 1. There are no objective data suggesting general shortages of scientists and engineers. (Indeed some researchers suggest the empirical evidence points more toward surpluses than shortages.) There is much variation among fields, and some evidence of hiring difficulties in a few specific locales and in some sectors and technologies that are new or growing rapidly. 2. There are substantially more scientists and engineers graduating from U.S. universities than can find attractive career openings in the U.S. workforce (1). Indeed, U.S. careers in science and engineering appear to be relatively unattractive--relative, that is, to alternative professional career paths available to U.S. graduates with strengths in science and math (2). 3. Students in the off-criticized K-12 system appear to be studying science and math subjects more, and performing better in them, over time; nor are U.S. secondary school students lagging far behind comparable students in economically-competitive countries (3). …

On the Shortage of Scientists and Engineers

ABOUT the same time people decided the schools weren't working (circa 1949), they also decided that we had too few mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. confirmed their fears--although both the shortage and Russia's putative superior technology turned out to be illusory. Before Sputnik, the most common association with the word scientist was odd, but afterward science became an umbrella term for fields where exciting things happened. This produced the Sputnik Spike, followed by a sharp decline in interest in science, followed by a gradual increase that began in the 1970s and continues today. More recently, John Glenn's commission published the near-hysterical Before It's Too Late, and the National Academies came out with the pretentiously titled Rising Above the Gathering (the title alludes to Winston Churchill's Gathering Storm, which describes the events leading up to World War II). The Business Round-table chimed in with Tapping America's Potential, signed by 14 other business organizations. In November 2007, a number of people testified before the House Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Michael Teitelbaum, vice president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, outlined the litany of the conventional complaints, which I've summarized below: 1. The U.S. suffers serious shortfalls or shortages of scientists and engineers, and this bodes ill for both creativity and international competitiveness. 2. The number of newly educated scientists and engineers is insufficient to fulfill employer needs. Thus the need to hire from overseas. 3. The insufficient quantities are due to weaknesses--or even failure--of K-12 education. 4. U.S. students' interest in science and engineering is declining. 5. Post-doc jobs, increasingly common, offer excellent opportunities leading to later research opportunities. 6. Congress should provide more money to increase the number of science and engineering (S & E) graduates. Tapping America's Potential called for spending to double the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates by 2015. Teitelbaum then countered each item on the list by presenting the facts. I offer them here as a dispersed list, with some supporting evidence for each counterclaim. 1. There is no shortage. Several RAND Corporation studies found surpluses. There might be shortages in some new fields or fields growing explosively, but not overall. 2. There are substantially more scientists and engineers graduating from U.S. universities than can find attractive career openings in S & E fields. Indeed, the S & E opportunities seem unattractive to many holders of S & E degrees. Into the Eye of the Storm (no doubt a pot shot at the National Academies), a paper by Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown University and Harold Salzman of the Urban Institute, found roughly three S & E graduates for every new S & E job (not counting openings created by retirements). They also found that two years after graduation from S & E programs, 20% of the grads with bachelor's degrees were in school but not in S & E programs and 45% were in the work force but not in S & E jobs. The attrition rate for that time period for those with master's degrees was about 38%. One can only imagine how critics would howl if education lost 65% of its work force in just two years! Nor are fewer students following S & E paths in universities. From 1977 to 2002, the number of citizens and permanent residents earning bachelor's degrees in S & E grew from about 300,000 to about 400,000, those earning master's degrees increased from about 60,000 to about 70,000, and those earning doctorates held steady at about 20,000. Other studies have concluded that the decline in the pool of citizens and permanent residents with S & E credentials may reflect a weakening demand, a comparative decline in S & E wages, and market signals to students about low relative wages in S & E. …

Hedgehogs, humans and high‐school science

The ‘Lisbon strategy’, adopted by the member states of the European Union (EU) in 2000, aims to make Europe the most dynamic and competitive knowledge‐based economy in the world by 2010. The overall aim is to increase the levels of investment that member states put into scientific research up to and beyond 3% of their Gross Domestic Product. Although this aim will certainly not be met in the expected timeframe, it is noble and important nonetheless. > …even if the members of the EU increase investment into research, it will be in vain if they do not also work to increase the number of researchers However, even if the members of the EU increase investment into research, it will be in vain if they do not also work to increase the number of researchers. Indeed, the current number of researchers per 100,000 citizens in the EU is considerably lower than the figure for the USA or Japan. As scientists, we have virtually no possibility to influence how much money our governments spend on research and development, but we can have a much more active role in making science a more attractive career option for young people—notably high‐school students. Various projects and initiatives in EU countries and the USA have sought to achieve this aim by forging closer links between schools and universities or research institutes. Here, we describe the Cus‐Mi‐Bio (Centre University School of Milan for Bioscience Education; www.cusmibio.unimi.it) project that was developed at the University of Milano, Italy. The project's aim is to raise the levels of interest and enthusiasm of high‐school students for the life sciences, and hopefully to attract some of them to a career in science. There are various negative perceptions of science that need to be overcome when persuading students that it is a worthy career …

Career activities of physicians taking the subspecialty board examination in blood banking/transfusion medicine

Changes in blood banking and transfusion medicine (BB/TM) in the past 15 years may have made BB/TM a less attractive career choice than previously for physicians. To evaluate this, we developed a survey of professional activities and sent it to all physicians who took the BB/TM specialty examination offered by the American Board of Pathology (ABP) between 1995 and 2004. The examination was taken by 390 physicians (range, 25-68/year). Responses to the survey were received by 151 (39%). The number of candidates did not appear to be declining during the 10 years. All physicians who responded had practiced BB/TM and 94 percent were still doing so. Forty-three percent were engaged in BB/TM full-time and another 10 percent for at least 75 percent of the time. Most of the remaining time was devoted to pathology. Forty-three percent practiced in a university hospital, 22 percent in a community hospital, and 21 percent in a blood center. Examples of practice activities included transfusion service (85%), therapeutic apheresis (63%), stem cell collection (46%), stem cell laboratory (32%), and coagulation laboratory (29%). Sixty-six percent are involved in research. Interest in BB/TM careers is not decreasing as evidenced by the number of physicians taking the ABP specialty examination. Most currently practice BB/TM, many in an academic environment. Their activities are diverse. Many are involved in research and have presented abstracts at professional meetings. Approximately 60 percent combine the practice of BB/TM with pathology, but only a few (6%) practice hematology.

Enhancing Women’s Inclusion in Firefighting in the USA

AbstractOf paid firefighters in the USA, 3.7% are women, compared to an expected representation of at least 17.0%. Although low female employment in this attractive career is often attributed to the job’s physical demands, its fundamental cause is an occupational culture excluding many race and gender groups. This culture is the underlying problem, of which women’s under-hiring, “glass ceiling,” occupational segregation, lack of accommodation, social isolation, and sexual harassment are symptoms. Our surveys of firefighters and fire departments identify best practices for addressing such issues. However, for permanent change, these practices must be encompassed within development of an inclusive workplace culture.

Childbirth according to Hollywood

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the cinema to see ‘Knocked Up’. I went with some trepidation, not anticipating how pregnancy and birth might be portrayed but concerned that this so-called fresh comedy from a new writer, Jud Apatow, would trot out the usual misogynist ‘take’ on boys becoming men with accompanying toilet humour in excess. There was plenty of that with some taboos broken like sexual positions for pregnancy, previously not the butt of jokes in the movies. Beyond the implausible story of an attractive young career woman (Alison) having a ‘one-night stand’ with an unemployed, unattractive, unappealing young lad and getting pregnant, the portrayal of their encounter with the maternity services was full of all the stereotypes midwives would hope had been consigned to the cutting room floor.

Information and Human Capital Management

An increasingly important organisational design problem for many firms is to recoup general human capital rents while maintaining attractive career prospects for workers. We explore the role of information management in this context. In our model, an information management policy determines the statistic of worker performance that will be available to outside recruiters. Choosing different statistics affects the extent of regression to the mean which, we show, in turn affects the incidence of adverse selection among retained and released workers. Using this observation, we detail how optimal information management policies vary across firms with different human capital management priorities. This view of human capital management via information management has strong implications for labour market outcomes. We discuss the impact on average wages, wage inequality, wage skewness and labour turnover rates.

Vascular Surgery is An Unattractive Career Option for Current Basic Surgical Trainees: A Regional Perspective

The workload of vascular services will substantially increase in the foreseeable future with the recent changes in surgical training presenting a challenge to training and recruitment in vascular surgery. This study aimed to determine the current feelings towards vascular surgery as a career choice from basic surgical trainees (BSTs) within a single region. BSTs from a single region were questioned. Probable career specialty choice was ascertained, as were suggestions for changes to the career pathway of a vascular surgeon to make it a more attractive career choice. Seventy-seven of 110 BSTs returned the questionnaire. Of the 77, 52 had previous experience of a vascular firm. Ten BSTs had been on a pure vascular firm as an SHO and 52 had been on a general surgical firm. No BST specified vascular surgery as their ultimate career choice. Career choices included general surgery (n = 30), orthopaedics (n = 17), plastic surgery (n = 9) and urology (n = 5). Thirty-three BSTs would not be tempted at all to a career in vascular surgery. Changes in the career structure that would result in BSTs contemplating a career in vascular surgery included the inclusion of endovascular surgery (n = 13), no compulsion to undertake a period of research (n = 5), pure vascular training (n = 2), more general surgical training (n = 2) and less onerous on-calls when older (n = 2). The lack of trainees wishing to become vascular surgeons is of grave concern. Increasing the endovascular capabilities of vascular surgeons as well as altering the stance on research may have an increasingly positive role in recruitment.

Public perceptions of the teaching profession

Concerns about the recruitment and retention of teachers have prompted recent studies into the status of teaching in several different countries. This paper analyses the findings of a survey designed to investigate public perceptions of the teaching profession in the UK. It was undertaken as part of a broader DfES‐funded longitudinal project that has been using a mixed methodology to explore individual teachers’ perceptions of their status, and the status of teaching as viewed by education stakeholders and the general public. Whilst the survey confirmed many previous findings about the way in which teaching is viewed, it also produced some surprises. First, 50% of respondents deemed teaching to be an attractive career, a higher percentage than expected. Second, men, especially older men, were more likely than women to see teaching as an attractive career. Third, the survey found no obvious differences in the comparative status accorded to primary and secondary teachers. This is in sharp contrast to the views of many writers in this field who have argued that traditionally the younger the children taught, the lower the occupational status of their teachers. Overall, the findings suggest a positive change in the public perceptions of teaching particularly amongst the younger age‐range.

When seafaring is (or was) a calling: Norwegian seafarers’ career experiences

Careers are seen as important to individuals, organizations and to the world at large. As globalization processes continue to transform seafaring careers, David Cockroft's ‘Editorial’, published in the 30-year issue of this journal, calls on the maritime community to recover fundamental aspects of the human element that made seafaring an attractive career option 1. Norway has historically been the ‘essence of maritime things’; where seafaring may be considered an ‘ancestral ‘calling’. Due to the current public and academic attention placed on the Norwegian ‘maritime cluster’, there exists a dearth of academic studies focused on the experiences of the highly qualified Norwegian seafarers who helped to shape the maritime industry. Drawing upon the literatures in both career research and maritime studies, in-depth conversations with 41 Norwegian seafarers attempt to redress this imbalance; to unpack some of the human ‘elements’ connected with seafaring careers. The qualitative method of career narratives is used in order to explore the richness of experiences associated with seafaring as a calling; to identify both contextual facilitators and contextual hinderers associated with going to sea. Norwegian scholars are encouraged to participate in future conversations with multiple maritime stakeholders to continue the process of recovering the call to seafaring careers.

Redefining Firm Competencies, Innovation and Labour Mobility: A Case Study in Telecommunication Services

The search amongst large high‐technology firms to generate flexible competencies has been paralleled by growing interest in establishing flexible employment relationships with “knowledge workers” and greater labour mobility as a means of meeting the organization's growing diverse strategic requirements. This paper argues that while greater labour mobility may well aid greater flexibility, the consequent break down of internal labour markets as attractive career options for knowledge workers may also lead to the weakening of essential firm competencies. The discussion suggests, that rather than relying exclusively on labour mobility, large firms involved in innovation activity are developing novel employment practices to broaden their scope of knowledge while enhancing internal capability.

Working across cultures

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to show a mix of career reflections and personal observations about the decision‐making process of changing employers and countries.Design/methodology/approachThe paper covers some initial impressions of moving, living and working in another country, context and culture. It explores selected issues (some personal and some professional) and addresses the broader question of what factors impact such a move, such as environmental factors that are likely to make an overseas appointment an attractive and challenging career alternative.FindingsWorking in an international context might not be for everyone but those interested in working in another country can take some practical steps to help ensure a smooth transition to a new employer and a new country.Originality/valueProvides a discussion on some important matters which need consideration when changing employers and moving countries. It is based on the personal experiences and observations of the author, who moved from Australia to Canada in 2006.

A more attractive career

A more attractive career

Attracting and retaining learning disability student nurses

Accessible summary • The number of people training to be learning disability nurses has gone down over the last few years. • This study looks at why people decide to train as learning disability nurses and the reasons for carrying on with their training or to leave the course. • We found that students who decided to leave their training had been influenced by the negative views of their tutors and the staff in their practice placements. • This study matters to people with learning disabilities as it could mean that there will be fewer trained nurses to work with them in the future. Summary Recruitment onto pre-registration learning disability nursing courses has decreased considerably over the last decade. This paper reports the findings of the first stage of a longitudinal study that investigated the factors that influence students to train as learning disability nurses, and those that influence their decision to continue or leave the course. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with one cohort of learning disability student nurses (n = 19) within the first 6 months of their starting the Common Foundation Programme. A number of unexpected issues emerged. These revolved around the negativity displayed by some practitioners and tutors about learning disability nursing and how this in turn was impacting on the decision made by four of the students in particular to transfer to other branches of nursing. The paper concludes with some recommendations for Schools of Nursing to ensure that the speciality is seen as an attractive and worthwhile career option.

Bringing caring and competence into focus in gerontological nursing: A longitudinal, multi-method study

Background The recent literature suggests that caring has become increasingly devalued as health systems focus primarily on cure. This is a worrying trend, particularly for gerontological nursing, where cure is often not possible. Consequently, work with older people is often not seen as an attractive career option, a perception that is frequently reinforced during students’ practise placements, which exert a considerable influence on the values that inform their future professional practise. Aims and objectives To explore longitudinally the way that students experience their placement, and to identify the characteristics of an ‘enriched’ environment of care that potentially creates a positive view of work with older people. Methods A multi-method longitudinal study using a constructivist methodology and comprising both conceptual and empirical phases was undertaken. This paper concentrates on the results emerging from 57 focus groups completed over a 3 year period in four School's of Nursing in England, short visits to 33 placement areas and in-depth visits to seven placement areas. Findings The paper describes a temporal model of the student placement experience in which their focus of attention and effort varies over time. Five ‘foci’ are identified—self as focus, course as focus, professional care as focus, patient as focus, person as focus. The extent to which students are able to achieve person as focus is crucially dependant upon the input of their mentor, and their exposure to enriched environments of care that can be understood in terms of the ‘senses framework’. Relevance to practise The paper describes several important ways in which students’ placement experiences can be enhanced, enabling them to form and consolidate a more rounded and positive view of gerontological nursing. Numerous practical suggestions for achieving an ‘enriched’ environment of learning that enables students to appreciate the value of care as well as cure are identified.

Developing human functioning and rehabilitation research part I: Academic training programs

Key to building research capacity is the development of a qualified workforce. This requires the establishment of academic training programs and the creation of attractive research career opportunities. The adoption of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as unifying conceptual model for rehabilitation, the emergence of distinct scientific fields of human functioning and rehabilitation research, and the change to Bachelor and Master degrees in Europe provide opportunities to initiate academic training programs in human functioning and rehabilitation research. Applied training includes certificate programs in rehabilitation effectiveness and Masters and Doctoral programs in rehabilitation with specializations, e.g. in rehabilitation studies, management, education and rehabilitation counseling. Scientifically-oriented training includes Masters of Science and PhD programs in human functioning sciences and integrative rehabilitation sciences. There is also potential for collaborative Masters and Doctoral programs with the rehabilitation professions, movement sciences, psychology and the behavioral and social sciences. When initiating the process to develop these programs, one may learn from and co-operate with established programs in public health.

The ‘Golden Age of Quackery’ or ‘Medical Enlightenment’? Licensed Charlatanism in Eighteenth-Century Italy

The history of medicine during the enlightenment is full of paradoxes, and nowhere is this more evident than in the phenomenon of charlatanry. On the one hand, for the charlatans' numerical abundance and sheer audacity, historians have sometimes singled out the eighteenth century as the ‘golden age of quackery’. At the same time, it was one of increasing control and severity by the medical elites.In Italy, from the mid-sixteenth century, protomedicato tribunals, colleges of physicians, or health offices (jurisdiction varied from state to state) had required ciarlatani to submit their wares for inspection and, upon approval, pay a licence fee in order to set up a stage from which to perform and sell them. This procedure became an administrative routine, and the ‘licensed charlatan’ – not the paradox it might seem – became a common sight in Italian towns. The licensing regime gives the historian unparalleled opportunities when it comes to the investigation of suspect but generally tolerated categories such as charlatans. This article is partly based on a database compiled from the licences issued to some 1100 different charlatans by the various medical authorities in the states of Italy from 1550 to 1800.During the eighteenth century we notice a downward trend in the number of licences issued (in places such as Siena, Mantua, and Turin), especially from the middle of the century onwards. This was not part of a policy to discontinue the licensing of charlatans, for various reasons (which the article examines), but it did reflect a stricter licensing regime. This is especially evident in the attitude of the authorities to oral (or internal) remedies. Moreover, as of the early 1760s, both the Venetian and Milanese authorities began to reject charlatans' petitions to sell remedies that were not original, resembled medicines already stocked by apothecaries, or were judged to be either harmful or ineffective. The similarity to established remedies that had once helped ensure a charlatan's acceptance and licensing now prevented it. Fewer licence applicants met these criteria; there also appear to have been fewer applicants. The harsh policy may have made charlatanry a less attractive career option or economic opportunity than in previous centuries, reducing the supply and marginalizing charlatanry, economically and geographically.

Bilingualism and the Latin Language (review)

Reviewed by: Bilingualism and the Latin Language Andrew R. Dyck J. N. Adams . Bilingualism and the Latin Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. xxviii, 836. $140.00. ISBN 0-521-81771-4. "How much Latin did Jesus Christ know?" This question, prompted by the Latin-speaking Jesus of Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ, was posed to me several times recently. In our age of globalization awareness of the position of linguistic and cultural minorities is rising: people are under pressure to learn the dominant international language (English), while many other languages are marginalized or even threatened with extinction. In the train of the sociolinguists, scholars of ancient languages are coming to grips with shifts in the language used by individuals and communities and the fact that bilingualism is/was more common than traditional accounts of language acknowledge. Bilingual inscriptions are one symptom of a transitional state, as is the imitation of the formulas of one language in another. Besides inscriptions, stray literary references and linguistic borrowings are relevant, as is script. The treatment of names, including filiation, is another telling indicator. Such an intricately ramified subject demands knowledge of a number of ancient languages and the scripts used to write them, onomastics, socio- and general linguistics, and broad reading in ancient sources and the relevant modern literature. It is Adams' great merit to have painstakingly gathered the disparate materials and subjected them to probing analysis. The heart of the book comprises a survey of languages in contact with Latin, a detailed analysis of code switching, and a study of the linguistic features Latin developed in contact with other languages. Adams also considers such topics as Latin in Egypt, bilingualism at Delos, and the recently edited bilinguals from the Gallic-Latin pottery at La Gaufesenque. The book has been beautifully produced by Cambridge University Press and is remarkably error-free. A brief review can offer the merest taste of this substantial feast. Out of his evidence Adams teases the profiles of some bold linguistic border-crossers. For non-Romans, the Roman army offered an attractive career, but officers had to have at least some Latin. The Vindolanda tablets show that Cerealis, a Roman officer of Batavian origin, wrote very competent Latin. In the other direction, Romans were less likely to learn foreign languages, but trade provided incentives, as in the case of Q. Atilius, whose epitaph is extant. Another example, for different reasons, is St. Jerome, who achieved an excellent knowledge of Hebrew but had great difficulty with Aramaic. [End Page 197] Code switching, i.e., changing to language x within a context of language y, is widespread in bilingual communities, and sociolinguists have tried to develop a typology of triggering situations. Adams explores the phenomenon with particular reference to the rich vein of code switching in Cicero's letters. Here he shows the inadequacy of previous interpretations that emphasized Greek as a "language of intimacy" because it was the language of early élite education. He shows Cicero's code switching to be much more complexly motivated, part accommodation to the taste of the addressee, part showing off, part expression of (in)group solidarity, part distancing device, part quest for the mot juste. Latinists will find a number of insights here, such as the possible Punic origin of the common greeting aue, the significance of Julius Caesar's last words, a Semitism in the language of one of Petronius' freedmen, and a solid treatment of the much-discussed question of African Latinity. Historians will also want to be familiar with Adams' findings, since issues of ethnic identity and dominance or recessiveness of language and culture are implicated at every turn. To return to my initial problem: though Jesus evidently knew enough Latin to make out the legend on a coin, Romans generally communicated with Aramaic speakers via Greek (see 294). Andrew R. Dyck Los Angeles Copyright © 2006 Classical Association of the Atlantic States

Teaching as a career choice : attractors and deterrents identified by Grade 11 learners

Any strategic plan to address the predicted shortage of teachers will have to include the promotion of the teaching profession as an attractive career. This will, however, depend largely on how successfully the campaign takes into account the favourable and less favourable opinions and perceptions of learners about the education system as a whole and about teaching as a career. This research project focused on Grade 11 learners because this is the stage at which many learners are seriously considering different career options. The results obtained by this project highlighted specific attractors and deterrents that were identified by the respondents, which might influence their decision to consider teaching as a career. The prospect of working with children, sharing knowledge with others, playing an important part in the development of society in general, and making an important contribution to community development were experienced as strong attractors. In contrast, strong deterrents identified by the study were: the respondents' perception that pupils no longer respect teachers, their negative assessment of teachers' remuneration, the perceived unpleasant working conditions caused by poor discipline in schools, their observation that teachers do not look very happy in their jobs and the perceived extent of violence in schools.

Normalizing Assisted Reproduction

Normalizing Assisted Reproduction