BSc Degree Research Articles

HEALTH TOURISM EDUCATION: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND THE WORLD

The aim of this study is to investigate the university training programs that train professional manpower in the field of health tourism in Turkey and in the world. The study is descriptive and cross-sectional type. Data were collected from the web pages of the universities on February 1-25, 2018. The curriculum content of programs was investigated in terms of the credits of the courses, the process of the programs, the education fees, the language of education and the universities and institutions to which they are affiliated. There are five programs in the field of health tourism, with 3 masters without thesis and 2 masters with thesis. There is no doctoral program and also BSc program in Turkey. There are two programs that associate degree which is called as health tourism management. In the study, in total 12 country and 25 programs were examined. Three of them are doctoral, nine are masters, 11 are BSc degree and three are associate degree level. Considering that health tourism is one of the high value added of the sector in Turkey and the World it can be argued that the number of programs to train professional manpower in this sector is not sufficient.

Assessment of biosafety measures in clinical laboratories of Al-Madinah city, Saudi Arabia.

Workers in clinical laboratories are exposed to occupational hazards on a daily basis and their health and safety may be threatened if appropriate protective standards are not implemented. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and practices of clinical laboratory workers towards biosafety measures, in Al-Madinah city, Saudi Arabia. Clinical laboratory staff was recruited from both the public and private sectors. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to achieve the aim of the study. A total of 208 workers participated in the study (64% were males, 57% were from the public sector and 71% held a BSc degree). About 68% of the workers were trained in laboratory safety. The majority (> 80%) followed guidelines for disposing medical wastes, decontamination of sample spills, and use of protective lab coats, gloves, etc. However, among participants, 24.2% used to eat, drink or use gum, 18.3% used cosmetics and 24.6% used the mobile phone in the lab. About 18.4% reported that they continued working with a finger cut, whereas 67% reported that they used to recap needles after blood withdrawal. These unacceptable behaviors were associated with lack of lab safety training (P < 0.05), biology degree holders (P < 0.05), and low experience (3 years and less, P < 0.01). With respect to facilities, most of the laboratories complied with standard safety measures. The majority of the sample showed good laboratory practices with respect to safety measures. However, some behaviors are not accepted and need interventions.

Addressing the gap between school and university in South Africa: exposing grade 11 learners to the integrated and applied nature of science and commerce using geoscience examples

Geoscience Education is not included in the School curriculum in South Africa as a stand-alone subject area. Some concepts are embedded in other subject areas such as Plate Tectonic Theory in Geography and Evolution in Life Sciences. Consequently, most students who do register for a BSc degree at South African Universities do not initially intend to study Geology. Minimum entry requirements for different disciplines in the Faculty of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) mean that most of the Geology I registrations are by students not qualifying for Mathematical or Physical Sciences. Biological Sciences can only accommodate a portion of these students so the remainder of the students end up in Geology because they wish to ob-tain a degree and are “forced to do Geology”. In an attempt to introduce future students to a broader view of Science, and in particular to Geoscience, Wits has started offering certified Short Courses at NQF Level 4 (National Qualification Framework school leaving certificate level). In 2016 Wits ran the Wits Integrated Experience in Science and in 2017, the Wits Integrated Experience in Science and Commerce, short courses. Learners were exposed to the integrated nature of various Science disci-plines and the integrated nature of Science and Commerce through enquiry based, problem solving learning opportunities. The target audience was Grade 11 learners as they have not yet applied to any university and have yet to make subject choices and degree choices. By participating in the short course they are exposed to a variety of disciplines and through investigating real problems, they are exposed to the interdisciplinary nature of these disciplines. In 2016 the learners solved a murder mystery and in 2017, they had to scenario plan for an impending meteorite impact just south of Johannesburg. This scenario planning helped learners to see the relationship between Science disciplines and between Science and Commerce. This is important as the initiative is designed to assist learners in actively choosing their Science and/or Commerce majors and to encourage learners to consider taking innovative major combinations that might cross traditional Faculty boundaries.

Careers in Core Facility Management.

The need for centralized shared core facilities and highly qualified core facility staff is becoming increasingly important in universities, research institutes, and commercial laboratories. With the continued advancement and sophistication of scientific equipment typically comes a larger price tag than can be handled by individual research laboratories. Moreover, the ever-increasing need for researchers to think and act in cross-disciplinary environments, coupled with the increasing sophistication of both the instrumentation and associated technologies, prevents most researchers from becoming "experts" in all areas.At all levels, core facility positions involve a love of technology, working with people, working on many diverse scientific questions, and days full of multitasking. Entry-level positions include basic and advanced technicians that require a BSc or MSc degree and some experience in the field. Midlevel management positions require experience in the field and an MSc or PhD degree. Management experience is a plus but not always required. Scientific directorship positions require a PhD and a keen interest in the technologies that are typically applied in the director's research program. Associate deans of core resources are often former core managers or scientific directors with a vision for the core and who are strong administrators.A career as a core facility staff member can be very rewarding. Successful managers and directors must be able to multitask, reassess priorities, and be adept at using logical reasoning to identify and solve issues as they arise. These positions will continue to be available over the long term with the increasing complexity and continued fast pace of technology development.

A study exploring the impact of lecture capture availability and lecture capture usage on student attendance and attainment

Lecture capture is widely used within higher education as a means of recording lecture material for online student viewing. However, there is some uncertainty around whether this is a uniformly positive development for students. The current study examines the impact of lecture capture introduction and usage in a compulsory second year research methods module in a undergraduate BSc degree. Data collected from a matched cohort before (N = 161) and after (N = 160) lecture capture introduction showed that attendance substantially dropped in three matched lectures after capture became available. Attendance, which predicts higher attainment (controlling for students’ previous grade and gender), mediates a negative relationship between lecture capture availability and attainment. Lecture capture viewing shows no significant relationship with attainment whilst factoring in lecture attendance; capture viewing also fails to compensate for the impact that low attendance has on attainment. Thus, the net effect of lecture capture introduction on the cohort is generally negative; the study serves as a useful example (that can be communicated students) of the pitfalls of an over-reliance on lecture capture as a replacement for lecture attendance.

Measuring Aging Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Michael Saliba is a Group Leader at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland. His group studies novel materials focusing on perovskites for a sustainable energy future. Michael was a Marie Curie Fellow at EPFL. He obtained his PhD at Oxford University, an MSc with the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, and BSc degrees in mathematics and physics from Stuttgart University. Michael was awarded the Young Scientist Award of the German University Association, was named one of the World's 35 Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Technology Review, and is a Member of the Global Young Academy. Martin Stolterfoht is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Soft Matter Physics group at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He completed his Master degree in Physics at the University of Graz and obtained his PhD at the University of Queensland Australia in 2016 before moving to Potsdam. His research is focused on improving device efficiency through a fundamental understanding of charge transport and recombination processes in perovskite and organic solar cells. Christian M. Wolff obtained an MSc in Physics from Ludwig-Maximilians- Universitat Munchen with a focus on spectroscopy on semiconductor nanomaterials for solar-to-fuel conversion with Prof. J. Feldmann. He joined Prof. Neher's group in 2015 investigating halide perovskites and loss mechanisms in single and multijunction solar cells. Dieter Neher is a full professor of Soft Matter Physics at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He received his Diploma in Physics and his PhD in Chemical Physics at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Optical Science Center in Tuscon and the CREOL in Orlando, US. His current research focuses on the understanding and improvement of the electrical and optoelectronic properties of organic conjugated materials, hybrid organic/inorganic systems and organometallic perovskite semiconductors, and the implementation of such materials into highly efficient devices. Antonio Abate is a group leader at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in Germany and Visiting Professor at Fuzhou University in China. His group is currently researching novel active materials and interfaces to make stable perovskite solar cells. Before his move to the Helmholtz, Antonio was leading the solar cell research at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Switzerland. After his PhD in Politecnico di Milano in Italy, he was a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford.

The impact of nursing education and job characteristics on nurse's perceptions of their family nursing practice skills.

Implementing family system nursing in clinical settings is on the rise. However, little is known about the impact of graduate school education as well as continuing education in family systems nursing (FSN) on nurses' perceptions of their family nursing practice. To evaluate the level of nursing education, having taken a continuing hospital educational course in family system nursing (FN-ETI programme), and the impact of job characteristics on nurses' perceptions of their family nursing practice skills. Participants were 436 nurses with either a BSc degree or graduate degree in nursing. The Job Demand, Control and Support model guided the study (R. Karasek and T. Theorell, 1992, Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life, Basic Books, New York, NY). Scores for the characteristics of job demands and job control were created to categorise participants into four job types: high strain (high demand, low control), passive (low demand, low control), low strain (low demand, high control) and active (high demand, high control). Nurses with a graduate education who had taken the FN-ETI programme scored significantly higher on the Family Nursing Practice Scale than nurses with an undergraduate education. Nurses who were characterised as low strain or active scored significantly higher on the Family Nursing Practice Scale than the nurses who were characterised as high strain. Further, the interaction of education by job type was significant regarding family nursing practice skills. Hierarchical regression revealed 25% of the variance in family nursing practice skills was explained by job control, family policy on the unit, graduate education and employment on the following divisions: Maternal-Child, Emergency, Mental Health or Internal Medicine. Graduate education plus continuing education in FSN can offer nurses increased job opportunities more control over one's work as well as increased skills working with families in clinical settings.

Dr Yeshwant Laxman Nene: A Legendary Agricultural Scientist and Pioneer of the Asian Agricultural Heritage

Dr Yeshwant Laxman Nene, Former Deputy Director General of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and Chairman Emeritus of the Asian Agri-History Foundation (AAHF) suddenly passed away on 15 January 2018 at his residence in Secunderabad, Telangana state, India. Dr YL Nene was born on 24 November 1936 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India from where he completed his high school in 1951, and BSc (Agri) degree in 1955. He obtained his Master’s degree in Plant Pathology in 1957 from Government Agriculture College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He got PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA in 1960. He then joined as an Assistant Professor in the College of Agriculture, UP Agricultural University (now GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology – GBPUAT), Pantnagar, Dist. Nainital, Uttar Pradesh (now Dist. Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand) . At Pantnagar he excelled as a plant pathology teacher and a researcher and earned the reputation of being an excellent plant pathology teacher. He solved the mystery of the dreaded khaira disease of paddy in 1965, which was threatening its extinction from the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh. For his pioneering work on khaira, he was awarded the International Rice Research Prize in 1967 by FAO as part of the International Rice Year (1966) celebrations. His work on viral diseases of warm season (kharif) pulses was recognized internationally. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1966 and Professor and Head in 1969. He was considered a distinguished faculty member at GBPUAT at Pantnagar and was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1991 in recognition of the “singular contribution to the cause of agricultural research, education and development”. In 1974, Dr Nene joined ICRISAT as the Principal Plant Pathologist in the Pulses Improvement Program. Here again, he excelled in research and his landmark contribution was resolving the problem of “wilt complex” of chickpea. He developed simple disease-resistance screening techniques for laboratory, greenhouse and field conditions as well as multiple-disease field screening systems for major chickpea and pigeonpea diseases, which are widely used internationally. The most outstanding contributions of the Pulses and later Legume Programmes that he led during 1980-89, were the development of high yielding pigeonpeas, wilt-resistant chickpeas, and high-yielding, disease-resistant groundnut varieties. For these contributions, he was internationally recognized as the world leader in grain legumes research. He was also elected Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society (APS) in 1990. Post-ICRISAT (1996-2018), he devoted fulltime to the work of the Asian Agri-History Foundation that he conceptualized and founded in 1994 to unearth and disseminate information on the history of Asian agriculture. As its Founder Chairman, his outstanding achievements have been in the publication of 11 technical Bulletins on Asian agriculture and starting a quarterly journal of Asian Agri-History. He is wellrecognized world over for his leadership in revitalizing agricultural history in Asia especially India. He was a staunch supporter and promoter of Vedic agriculture through Vrikshayurveda of Surapala and strongly believed in its great potential and relevance for Indian agriculture to rectify the damages of the green revolution such as maintenance of soil health, crop growth and productivity, maintenance of biodiversity and protecting environment and human health. Dr Nene through his dedicated work has earned the reputation of a luminary scientist of modern India and has inspired and mentored many young students, scientists and colleagues during his 57 years of professional career. Needless to say that he will be missed by all of them and also by the Indian agriculture for a very long time to come.

Elena Matsa: Lighting Fires for Heart Disease.

Elena Matsa attended the University of Nottingham for her BSc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry and Genetics. She then earned her MSc at Imperial College, London, in Human Molecular Genetics before returning to the University of Nottingham for her PhD in Stem Cell Biology. After a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Nottingham, she moved onto Stanford University as a postdoctoral research fellow. Elena currently works as an Instructor for the Joseph Wu lab and teaches courses on Bioengineering, and Progenitor Cell Biology at Stanford, where she encourages her students to keep the fire in their belly burning. Elena Matsa Yes, most of my time is spent in the lab, and I am currently working on two main projects, both dealing with precision medicine.1 One project2,3 tries to figure out new treatments for people who are born with heart disease and have a mutation that causes the disease. This project is especially exciting since it’s what I’ve been working on since my postdoctoral fellowship in the UK under my mentor Chris Denning. Right now, at Stanford, we have progressed to using nanomaterials to deliver the new treatment to the heart. The other project4 relates to how our genetic makeup affects our response to medications. Some people are fine, but others may experience side effects when taking a drug, which can lead to heart complications. Fourteen percent of people who take antidiabetic medications have heart …

Non-physician clinicians in rural Africa: lessons from the Medical Licentiate programme in Zambia

BackgroundMost sub-Saharan African countries struggle to make safe surgery accessible to rural populations due to a shortage of qualified surgeons and the unlikelihood of retaining them in district hospitals. In 2002, Zambia introduced a new cadre of non-physician clinicians (NPCs), medical licentiates (MLs), trained initially to the level of a higher diploma and from 2013 up to a BSc degree. MLs have advanced clinical skills, including training in elective and emergency surgery, designed as a sustainable response to the surgical needs of rural populations.MethodsThis qualitative study aimed to describe the role, contributions and challenges surgically active MLs have experienced. Based on 43 interviewees, it includes the perspective of MLs, their district hospital colleagues—medical officers (MOs), nurses and managers; and surgeon-supervisors and national stakeholders.ResultsIn Zambia, MLs play a crucial role in delivering surgical services at the district level, providing emergency surgery and often increasing the range of elective surgical cases that would otherwise not be available for rural dwellers. They work hand in hand with MOs, often giving them informal surgical training and reducing the need for hospitals to refer surgical cases. However, MLs often face professional recognition problems and tensions around relationships with MOs that impact their ability to utilise their surgical skills.ConclusionsThe paper provides new evidence concerning the benefits of ‘task shifting’ and identifies challenges that need to be addressed if MLs are to be a sustainable response to the surgical needs of rural populations in Zambia. Policy lessons for other countries in the region that also use NPCs to deliver essential surgery include the need for career paths and opportunities, professional recognition, and suitable employment options for this important cadre of healthcare professionals.

MBA education at the University of Debrecen and its further development towards Double Degree Programmes

University of Debrecen is the oldest higher educational institution in continuous operation in Hungary based in the same city. MBA training at Debrecen Agricultural University was initiated by 0257-91/1 Tempus Joint European Project Grant. The project was coordinated by the Netherlands Institute for Management (RVB) Maastricht. Participating institutions include University College in Dublin, Agricultural University in Wageningen and Debrecen Agricultural University. Minimum requirements established were a BSc (or equivalent) degree, an English certificate of language proficiency and one letter of reference from work supervisors or former teachers. Application requirements included a completed application form, Curriculum vitae, a certified copy of degree(s), an official copy of language knowledge certificate, a letter of recommendation and the receipt of registration fee payment. The academic year began on 1 September 1991, and project studies were carried out in small groups. Practical experience that had been gained before enrolment was taken into account and after the successful completion of the requirements students were granted MBA degrees.&#x0D; JEL CODE: I21, I25

Health Promoting Behaviors among University Students: A Case-Sectional Study of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Background The health promoting behaviors determine the health status in the present and future. The medical students, as developers and providers of professional care, play a key role in the promotion of health. Hence, determining the health promoting behaviors among them is of the essence. The present study aimed to investigate the health promoting behaviors among the students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah city, Iran. Materials and Methods This descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-2015 on a sample of 380 students majoring at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. To collect the required data, an instrument comprising the demographic questions and health-promoting lifestyle profile II questionnaire by Walker et al. (1987) was used. Data were analyzed using The IBM SPSS Statistics Software version 21.0. Results The mean age of students were 20.07± 2.04 years old. In addition, of the total of 351 subjects of the present study, 134 students (39%) were male and 217 (61%) were female, and in terms of marital status, 330 of the participants (94%) were single. Further, the majority of students were studying doing BSc degrees (230 students or 65.5%), and 52.7% were residing in dormitories. The status of health promoting behaviors was average. In addition, the highest and lowest scores related to the spiritual growth (3.24±0.59) and physical activities (2.25±0.641), respectively. Conclusion The results of the present study revealed that the status of the students’ health promoting behaviors at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences was average. Therefore, more accurate planning is vital to improve the status of the students’ health promoting behaviors.

Two‐Dimensional Materials: A Powerful Platform for Energy Applications

Two‐Dimensional Materials: A Powerful Platform for Energy Applications

Factors influencing the knowledge and attitude of nurses towards adverse drug reaction reporting in a teaching hospital

Background: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) are common in hospitalized patients. Nursing staff spends most time in patient care placing them at a key it position to recognize ADRs at the earliest. However, ADR reporting practices among nurses is very poor. We conducted this study to identify the factors affecting knowledge and attitude of nurses in a teaching hospital towards ADR reporting.Methods: A pre-tested and validated questionnaire was used. Correct responses in the knowledge section were awarded one mark and incorrect responses were given zero. Based on responses to attitude questions on a 5-point Likert scale, best attitude was scored five and least preferred attitude was given one point. Total knowledge and attitude scores were analyzed with regards to age, gender, educational qualification, average weekly working hours, total working experience in years and past experience with ADRs and ADR reporting. Knowledge scores were also correlated with attitude scores.Results: Knowledge level was poor with 48.29±23.85% average score while attitude of the respondents was reasonable with 65.69±10.05% average scores. The knowledge scores and attitude scores of BSc degree holders was higher than GNMs and ANMs (p&lt;0.001). Those who had independently identified an ADR had higher knowledge scores (p&lt;0.01) and more positive attitude (p&lt;0.001). Attitude scores also had a significantly strong correlation with knowledge level of the respondents (r=0.72).Conclusions: Knowledge about ADR reporting is the most important factor determining the attitude towards ADR reporting. Increasing awareness would be pivotal in changing attitude and thus, improving reporting rates.

Computer programming in the UK undergraduate mathematics curriculum

abstractThis paper reports a study which investigated the extent to which undergraduate mathematics students in the United Kingdom are currently taught to programme a computer as a core part of their mathematics degree programme. We undertook an online survey, with significant follow-up correspondence, to gather data on current curricula and received replies from 46 (63%) of the departments who teach a BSc mathematics degree. We found that 78% of BSc degree courses in mathematics included computer programming in a compulsory module but 11% of mathematics degree programmes do not teach programming to all their undergraduate mathematics students. In 2016, programming is most commonly taught to undergraduate mathematics students through imperative languages, notably MATLAB, using numerical analysis as the underlying (or parallel) mathematical subject matter. Statistics is a very popular choice in optional courses, using the package R. Computer algebra systems appear to be significantly less popular for compulsory first-year courses than a decade ago, and there was no mention of logic programming, functional programming or automatic theorem proving software. The modal form of assessment of computing modules is entirely by coursework (i.e. no examination).

Preceptors' Need For Support In Tutoring Pharmacy Students in Finnish Community Pharmacies

A pharmacy degree in Finland includes a six-month obligatory internship. The internship is integrated with theoretical studies and adds up to 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits of the BSc (Pharm) degree. Learning is supported by reflective assignments from the university. The preceptors have an important role in organizing the internship and tutoring students successfully in community pharmacy settings.&#x0D; Objective: to assess whether the preceptors of University of Helsinki’s teaching pharmacies need pedagogic support in tutoring and if so, in which core pharmaceutical tasks or tutoring skills.&#x0D; Methods: The survey was sent to all preceptors of University of Helsinki´s teaching pharmacies (n=326) in 2011 (response rate 58%, n=190). The data was analyzed statistically using Excel (version 12.3.6). The open-ended questions were analyzed by qualitative content analysis.&#x0D; Results: The majority of preceptors found their skills in tutoring the students mainly good. However, assessment of learning (27% of the respondents), giving feedback (23%) and organizing the learning situations supportive for learning (23%) were the areas in which the preceptors mostly indicated a need for support. Teaching current care guidelines and pharmaceutical care (36%) and multi-professional collaboration (28%) were the areas in which the preceptors expressed that they needed to update their skills.&#x0D; Conclusions: The faculty should focus the support on the pedagogic skills of preceptors, particularly in improving their skills in assessment of learning and in reflective dialogue. In addition, their skills in teaching clinical and patient care aspects of pharmacy practice should be enhanced.&#x0D; Conflict of Interest&#x0D; We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties&#x0D; &#x0D; Type: Original Research&#x0D;

Adoption of dundee dreem questionnaire to assess the educational environment of an agriculture degree programme

Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) is widely used in medical education institutions to assess students’ perception on the educational environment. The present study used a modified version of the DREEM questionnaire to assess the education environment of a BSc (Agriculture) degree programme in Sri Lanka. Students’ agreement on each of the 50 statements of five domains; students’ perception of learning (SPL) and teachers (SPT), academic self-perception (SAP). Perceptions of atmosphere (SPA) and social self-perception (SSP) were recorded on a five point Likert scale (0= strongly disagree to +4= strongly agree). Scores were added to calculate domain subscales and the overall scale. Over-emphasize of factual learning (1.69/4) and boredness (1.19/4) considered under the domain SPL and SSP, respectively were the only problematic areas (scale 2<3.5). Male students’ perception on teaching and their social perception were significantly better than that of female colleagues’. There were no problematic areas under SAP and SPA. Perception on teachers (SPT) (70.1%) was significantly better than SAP (64.9%) and SSP (63.3%). Male (68.4%) students held a significantly better overall perception than female (63.4%) counterparts. Students overall perception decreased until third year and then improved in fourth year upto the level of first year students’. Having a total score of 132/200, educational environment was found to be more positive than negative, though there was a considerable room for further improvements. Particular attention should be paid to address the issues related to female students, second and third year students, with respect to all five domains.

Academic success, language and the four year degree: A case study of a 2007 cohort

Tension exists between broadening access to tertiary education and ensuring throughput; as simply enrolling underprepared students into three-year degree programmes can be counterproductive, leading to failure and an increased dropout rate. Thus, correct placement of students and effective teaching interventions are crucial. On this basis, the University of Johannesburg implemented a four year BSc degree. Typical of many extended degree interventions, the first year was offered over a two year period, with an intensive teaching programme designed to reinforce and promote academic literacy skills. This case study tracked a cohort of such students. The class was multi-racial, multi-ethnic and mixed gender. In the main, students had poor school results and weak language abilities. Using the Placement Test in English for Educational Purposes' (PTEEP) test as a pre and post intervention test, demonstrated that the academic intervention improved the academic literacy levels of all the students, but students hailing from poor, disadvantaged schools, who wrote English as a Second Language for matric, benefitted the most. From a gender perspective, black female students gained the most from the intervention. Still, in general, the higher the original (PTEEP) score, the more likely the student was to succeed. Students who attended well-resourced schools and wrote English First Language for matric generally obtained high PTEEP scores. In terms of graduation rates, a four year degree, combined with an intervention such as described here, can increase epistemological access to the Sciences. Importantly, success was nuanced, as there were still drop outs and academic exclusions. Not all were able to graduate within four years and some had to change to other degree programmes.

Guest Editorial

Guest Editorial

Life as an early career researcher: interview with Heloisa Helena Milioli.

Heloisa Helena Milioli speaks to Francesca Lake, Managing Editor: Heloisa received a BSc degree in Biological Sciences (2008) from the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Brazil) and obtained a MSc degree in Genetics (2011) from Universidade Federal do Paraná (Brazil). In 2011 and 2012, she worked as a lecturer and tutor in the Department of Cell Biology, Embryology and Genetics (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina). She moved to Australia in 2012 to obtain her PhD in Biological Sciences, with emphasis on Bioinformatics, from The University of Newcastle. Her doctoral work brings together new considerations in the breast cancer field by combining novel bioinformatics approaches with the study of intrinsic subtypes. She has been applying advanced methods and sophisticated algorithms in unconventional computer architecture for the molecular classification of breast cancer based on the genomic (single nucleotide polymorphisms, circulating nucleic acids and copy number variations) and transcriptomic (gene expression and miRNA) signatures. Fundamental research will allow her to identify biomarkers of use in translational medicine for the diagnosis, prognosis and disease management focused on group-based tailored therapies.