Career Enhancement Research Articles

Mechanisms of Career Enhancement at Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences.

Mechanisms of Career Enhancement at Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences.

Developing Researchers with Expertise in Sex as a Biological Variable through SCORE Career Enhancement Core Center Programs.

There is a critical need for interdisciplinary and translational scientists to apply sex as a biological variable (SABV) research to address knowledge gaps in the health of women. In 2018, the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) partnered with several National Institute of Health (NIH) Institutes and Centers to expand the Specialized Centers of Research (SCOR) Excellence (SCORE) Programs (together referred to as SCOR/E) with an important feature-the Career Enhancement Core (CEC). The SCORE CEC mentors early career investigators to become the next generation of biomedical and behavioral researchers focused on SABV and women's health. In this article, we outline our approach at the Yale University SCORE to support early career trajectories through the provision of salary support, educational curricula, translational mentorship, pilot project funding, and professional development. Using the Yale-SCOR/E CEC Programs as instructional models, we highlight critical measures of academic success, namely grant funding and publications, among early career investigators. At Yale University, 12 pilot projects funded by the SCOR/E Programs resulted in 14 extramural grants, amounting to an $80 return on every $1 invested in "seed" funding. So far, our SCOR/E Programs have resulted in 129 publications, 83% of which were first-authored by trainees, and 100% of trainees continued research careers with an emphasis on SABV. Finally, we provide recommendations on how biomedical scientists can apply SABV in their studies of major medical conditions in an interdisciplinary and integrative way.

Establishment of a Private Foundation-Academic Partnership to Promote Careers of Early-Stage Investigators Examining the Influence of Sex and Gender on Health and Health Care.

Biological sex and gender-based constructs contribute significantly to the diversity of disease outcomes and treatment responses across the life course. To promote research considering sex and gender, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) launched the Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on sex differences program. The Career Enhancement Core (CEC) of the Johns Hopkins SCORE on Sex and Age Differences in Immunity to Influenza (SADII) partnered with the Foundation for Gender-Specific Medicine, which matched NIH funding to support seed grants. Over 3 years we awarded 12 (10 were women faculty) seed grants to early-stage investigators. One year after the award, the seed grant awardees highlighted their progress, including publications, grant applications, and abstracts. All awardees noted challenges with their progress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain delays and shared suggestions for improving the programming of the CEC. They also highlighted the multiple ways the awards had helped them gain pilot data toward larger grants, build collaborative relationships, and present at the annual SCORE symposium. We describe a model and evidence supporting a private-academic collaboration to support the careers of early-stage investigators conducting research related to sex and gender.

Novel Collaborations Across Training Programs to Support Mentoring in Sex Differences Research.

There is a critical need to develop a capable and well-trained workforce dedicated to the systematic study of sex differences and examination of sex as a biological variable. Through the support of the Office of Research on Women's Health and partner National Institute of Health centers, the Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences Career Enhancement Cores (CECs) were established to help address this need. We describe the integration of the Medical University of South Carolina SCORE CEC with other National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded and institutional training programs to promote training synergies, share resources, and enhance mentorship opportunities. Benefits of developing an intrainstitutional training platform have included facilitating cross-disciplinary interactions, encouragement of peer mentorship, and reduced burden on training program leadership.

The Multimodal English Learning Strategies, Motivation, and Engagement among College Students in China

In China, traditional English teaching is teacher-centered, and students only passively accept knowledge. In addition, online language learning that is teacher-directed also needs to be further investigated. There is a glaring gap in how teachers explicitly examine how individual differences play a part in multimodal English learning. A questionnaire was distributed to 527 college students including English major and non-English major in China in total. With the results obtained from the data gathered, it was found out that EFL learners prefer to use metacognitive strategies more than affective, social, memory, cognitive, and compensation strategies. They exhibit a stronger desire for career and economic enhancement, as well as a keen interest in becoming global citizens than communicating and affiliating with foreigners, seeking self-satisfaction, and integrating with other cultures. EFL learners demonstrate a relatively high level of social engagement, followed closely by cognitive engagement. Affective engagement and behavioral engagement also receive favorable ratings, albeit slightly lower. It is hoped that this research may be beneficial to the cultivation of English learning strategy use and to improve the overall English proficiency of EFL.

Workplace learning in an effort to get recognition of Indonesian qualifications framework for career enhancement and employee competitiveness

The idea in this research is to add propositional enrichment to the theory of learning at work (WPL) linked to the Indonesian Qualifications Framework (IQF) to achieve equalization of WPL learning outcomes through recognition to improve competitiveness and enhance workforce careers. The education level of the workforce in Indonesia is still the cause of the low competitiveness and productivity of the Indonesian workforce, where the Global Human Capital Index ranking for Indonesia's human resources is in 65th position out of 130 countries. Discussion of research articles on the IQF as the basis for regulations for equalizing learning outcomes through education, job training, and experience, so far only in the scope of education, has not found one that focuses on WPL. Content analysis in this grounded theory research was conducted on 29 documents from two companies with the characteristics of having professional certification bodies. The originality of this study, based on the three characteristics of WPL proposed by Stern and Sommerlad, identifies more specifically WPL practices by companies in the form of a model. The twenty propositions in this study can be continued in further research as hypotheses to be tested, as well as recommendations to the Indonesian government authorities and industry players to focus on WPL which refers to the IQF.

ENGLISH-CONFLICTING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LANGUAGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

The English language is considered the global business language and a mutual language to provide communication and understanding in business. Learning foreign languages and implementing language management strategies enable cross-cultural communication, business growth and career enhancement. Drawing on this theory of business communication, this study explores the effects of language proficiency in business operations of Kosovan small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which intend to become integrated globally, by using mixed methods and the interpretation of business managers (Sample 1, N = 5), two pilot tests (Sample 2, N = 7 and N = 29) and an online questionnaire (Sample 3, N = 139). The role of English in business communication was interrelated with an analysis of other foreign languages, along with the implementation of language strategies and the effect of language skills on career development. This squares well with the proposition that these three aspects are consistent in their contribution to effective communication in business and convey richness on both an individual and a company level. The findings offer a new perspective on the effects of using foreign languages in business communication, which consequently contributes to internationalization, multilingualism and cross-cultural communication.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0011/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Expected Occupational Contexts and Postgraduate Pursuit among Skilled Immigrants and Natives in the United States

For college-educated immigrants, investing in a US postgraduate degree plays a critical role in skill transfer and career enhancement. However, little is known about the role of the US occupational structure, a key aspect in immigrants’ context of reception, in shaping immigrants’ postgraduate decisions. Using 2015 National Survey of College Graduates and linking three occupational characteristics to the field of study of bachelor's degree from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and Current Population Survey, this article examines the associations of rising educational expectation, occupational sex segregation, and occupational immigrant concentration with the pursuit of a US master's degree among college-educated immigrants and natives. The analysis shows that while occupational female share was positively associated with postgraduate pursuit among natives, such relationship was weaker among immigrants with a foreign bachelor's degree. In contrast, occupational immigrant concentration was positively associated with postgraduate pursuit among foreign-educated immigrants but negatively among natives. The occupational share of workers with advanced degrees operated similarly between natives and immigrants. Moreover, these occupational effects varied more by immigration status than by gender. These findings underscore the host country's occupational contexts that generate different incentives and constraints for immigrants and natives to pursue a postgraduate degree. This adds nuance to the immigrant human capital investment model that posits immigrants will invest more in human capital than natives. The differential postgraduate investment between immigrants and natives in response to the occupational contexts yield implications for subsequent education–occupation match, career mobility, and economic stratification within the highly educated workforce.

Networking in Academic Medicine: Keeping an Eye on Equity.

Networking in Academic Medicine: Keeping an Eye on Equity.

Impact of game-based learning strategies in student engagement in Health Professions education

Learning is enhanced when students are involved and engaged. However, in the past years there has been an increase in student disengagement. Class attendance is decreasing and students do not complete their assignments or turn work on time. Research has demonstrated that engagement allows the student to develop higher-level critical thinking, which is essential in Health Professions. Providing opportunities for this intellectual engagement is necessary to capture the student’s attention and numerous technologies have surged to meet this goal. One of the teaching resources utilized as an engagement tool in the classroom is gamification and game-based learning strategies. In this study, we developed game based educational resources and assessed their impact in student engagement and learning in Optometry students. A total of 66 students were enrolled in a Systemic Pathology course. The course used flipped instruction and students were asked to watch pre-recorded lectures or videos on a topic before the on-site session, where they worked in groups on a case based on that topic. The game-based learning approach was used for some of the course cases and consisted in using multiple games provided by the instructor to provide a short answer for the case questions. At the end of the semester, all the students completed a feedback questionnaire. The students reported that solving cases during class, independent of the use of games, was beneficial to their learning (79%). They perceived the use of games as enjoyable (68%) and reported an improvement in their learning (69% reporting from beneficial sometimes to very often) when compared to the traditional cases without the game component. Furthermore, we compared this cohort to the same course offered the previous year with no game-based activities to determine the impact on student performance. We found that the two groups obtained similar scores in the quizzes, final exam, and course average. In conclusion, the use of game-based learning strategies increased the engagement of the students and their perception of what they learned, however, it did not seem to improve their academic performance in the course. APS Teaching Career Enhancement Award This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Muted molecular responses to thermal stress in the Antarctic emerald rockcod (Trematomus bernacchii): Proteomic evidence and possible evolutionary mechanisms

The Antarctic emerald rockcod ( Trematomus bernacchii) and its relatives have long been of interest to comparative physiologists, given their history of isolation in extremely cold waters and indications that they lack some or all of the classic “heat shock response.” In this study we complemented previous transcript-level analyses with a comprehensive assessment of the proteomic response to elevated temperatures across three tissues (gill, head kidney, and brain). Animals were exposed to constant conditions at one of three acclimation temperatures, after which a subset were sampled and the remaining individuals experienced an acute heat stress with or without recovery (n=5-6 per treatment). Protein expression patterns were analyzed using tissue-specific, data-independent acquisition (DIA) assay libraries on a UPLC-MS system. The expression patterns reveal a muted response to these different thermal challenges, with only a small number of proteins (out of 2721-3421 per tissue) differentially expressed for any given tissue-treatment combination. The magnitudes of expression changes were also small. These results appear to contradict relatively robust induction patterns for a subset of cellular stress response genes obtained from previous transcriptomic analyses. Furthermore, the differentially expressed proteins were not functionally enriched for any Gene Ontology or KEGG database entries, nor were the promoter regions of the corresponding genetic loci consistently enriched for any transcription factor binding motifs, including those that might be predicted to play a role in the response to hyperthermal stress (such as Hsf1 or HIF). Subsequent bioinformatics approaches within the Perciformes clade suggest modifications to the suite of proteins that regulate translation as a plausible explanation for the lack of a coordinated response to thermal stress in the Antarctic lineage. Overall, our proteomics data offer further detail into the physiological underpinnings of stenothermy in Antarctic fishes. NSF IOS-165582 to WD and an APS John F. Perkins, Jr., Research Career Enhancement Award This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Abstract 4275: Averon: informatics platform to discover Actionable Vulnerabilities Enabled by Rewired Oncogenic Networks

Abstract Missense mutations can change protein structure, cellular localization, and functions. Such changes lead to the rewiring of protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, activation of oncogenic pathways, and acquisition of cancer hallmarks. However, the translation of the landscape of oncogenic mutations into clinically actionable biological models for cancer target discovery remains a major challenge. We address this challenge by leveraging the power of computational systems biology supported by high-throughput screening technologies. While some mutations can disrupt the PPIs, others may induce new PPIs that are not natural for the wild-type counterparts. Recently, we have established a quantitative High Throughput differential Screening (qHT-dS) platform [1] to discover such mutant-enabled or neomorph PPIs (neoPPIs). The screening of more than 13,000 mutant interactions revealed a landscape of gain-of-interactions encompassing both oncogenic and tumor suppressor mutations. This emerging neoPPI landscape may offer new mutant-directed therapeutic approaches for precision medicine. However, to infer clinically actionable mechanistic insights into how neoPPIs promote tumorigenesis special computational tools are needed. To inform the neoPPI-based target discovery, we develop a set of innovative informatics tools for discovering Actionable Vulnerabilities Enabled by Rewired Oncogenic Networks (Averon). Implemented in a widely-used Jupyter Notebook format, the Averon streamlines the identification of the oncogenic programs and clinically significant genes that are regulated by neoPPIs in cancer patients. The Averon can recapitulate well-established connectivity between known mutant-dependent PPIs and specific oncogenic pathways and reveal new, previously unknown mechanisms of neoPPI-mediated oncogenic signaling. To inform new therapeutic strategies in neoPPI-dependent cancers, Averon connects neoPPI-regulated genes with available approved drugs and clinical compounds. Together, the Averon provides a powerful informatics environment to determine therapeutically actionable vulnerabilities created by mutant-regulated protein-protein interactions to inform new personalized therapeutic strategies in cancer. Acknowledgments: This work was supported in part by NCI’s Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Program (R21CA274620, A.A.I.), Winship Cancer Institute #IRG-17-181-06 from the American Cancer Society (A.A.I.). Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD2) Network (U01CA217875, H.F.), NCI Emory Lung Cancer SPORE (P50CA217691, H.F.), Career Enhancement Program (A.A.I., P50CA217691), Winship Cancer Institute (NIH 5P30CA138292).

Abstract 441: Targeting MKK3-MYC complex to reduce racial survival disparity in breast cancer

Abstract Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. The triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive type of breast cancer. African American women experience up to 2-fold higher incidence of TNBC as compared to White women. Moreover, African Americans die from breast cancer at up to 40% higher rate than White and Hispanic women. However, there is no therapeutic options are currently available to reduce survival disparity in breast cancer. To address this unmet medical need, we develop novel computational methods combined with experimental chemical biology and high-throughput screening (HTS) technologies. Using our specially designed bioinformatics workflow, we discovered that high expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3) strongly correlates with worsened clinical outcomes in African American TNBC patients. The analysis of TNBC patient genomic profiles revealed that MKK3 promotes TNBC in part by activating the major tumor driver transcription factor MYC. MYC is a highly appealing therapeutic target in TNBC, however, no approved MYC inhibitors are available. We found that MKK3 binds and activates MYC through protein-protein interaction (PPI) in TNBC cells. Both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the MKK3/MYC complex suppresses MYC activity and the viability of TNBC cells. Thus, MKK3/MYC interaction represents a novel vulnerability for therapeutic intervention in TNBC. By combining computational modeling with experimental HTS, we have discovered the first small molecule MKK3/MYC PPI inhibitors. For example, a quinoline derivative SGI-1027 disrupts the MKK3/MYC complex in cells and in vitro, inhibits MYC transcriptional activity, and suppresses the viability of TNBC cells. Together, our studies revealed a novel mechanism of TNBC tumorigenesis through MKK3-induced MYC activation, establish a new HTS to enable the discovery of potent and selective inhibitors to regulate MKK3/MYC complex, and may open new clinical strategies to reduce racial disparity in TNBC mortality. Acknowledgments: This work was supported in part by Mary Kay Ash Foundation Grant for Cancer Research (A.A.I.), Emory initiative on Biological Discovery through Chemical Innovation (A.A.I.), NCI’s Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Program (R21CA274620, A.A.I.), NCI Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD^2) Network (U01CA217875, H.F.), NCI Emory Lung Cancer SPORE (P50CA217691, H.F.), Career Enhancement Program (A.A.I., P50CA217691), Winship Cancer Institute (NIH 5P30CA138292).

Pleasure Reading and the Role of Libraries: A Review of the Literature

Pleasure reading soothes mental stress and dispels boredom from hectic pressure. A considerable number of studies have been conducted worldwide regarding pleasure reading. The purpose of this study is to conduct a state-of-art review of pleasure reading. This review also covers the role of libraries for promoting pleasure reading to set up the potential research directions for future studies. The analysis and findings suggest that pleasure reading possess positive effect on following aspects - academic achievement, meta-cognition, self-realization, achieving potential quality, career enhancement and so on. From the reviewed literature it is observed that libraries and library professionals with the help of researchers, practitioners, and policy makers can foster a shared culture to promote pleasure reading trend among the enthusiast readers community.

How hard do women climb the ladder?

This paper reviews the literature on the glass ceiling and glass cliffs relating to female career enhancement. Two theories relevant to the issue are highlighted and four relevant issues on the predicament of female employees being promoted to the management level are presented. First, the rate of female employees promoted to a higher management position is far below than men. Second, factors that impede their career enhancement vary from personal to the organizational level. Third, women who break the glass ceiling face challenges as a leader. Fourth, this paper reviews the literature on what employers and female individuals could do to improve the situation.

New Trends in Higher Education with “Nano-Learning”

COVID-19 epidemic not only harmed higher education but opened new doors for higher education as well. The main trends in higher education in the following year may be continued by online teaching and learning to professional and career enhancement. All strive young professionals searching to improve their professional competencies and flexible learning in these days, that must be more efficient, effective, and time friendly ways for them, 'Nano-learning' will likely be the scene stealer in the coming years. India has the world's biggest higher education system, with 1,000 universities and 40,000 institutes of higher education. The higher education settings in India are about to undergo a dramatic upheaval, and the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will play a vital role in defining higher education in India. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of Covid-19 on the Indian higher education system and to forecast future developments in this field. This research used previously published researches on covid-19, NEP-2020, and Nano learning patterns.

Learning opportunities for further career development and enhancement of seagoing professionals: A South African perspective

Maritime education and training (MET) institutions have experienced major changes in their structure, and provision of services over the past four decades. These changes have come about partly due to national and international requirements concerning the seafarers’ standards of competence and partly due to financial regimes under which these institutions are funded, forcing them to diversify into other areas and activities, such as consultancy, research, shore-based training programmes and mergers with larger Institutions. Today’s seafarer is also markedly different to those who went to sea some 30 years ago. The differences in seafarers’ attitude and approach to a seafaring career manifest in a desire to spend less time at sea and treat this as a steppingstone in their working life career. This is true for developed nations, and is more and more becoming the norm, even for the developing countries. With above in mind, one can argue that MET institutions have an excellent opportunity to provide a range of programmes and bitesize courses that can be undertaken by seafarers to prepare them for the next stage of their career. Distance learning and web-based programmes are now commonplace in many institutions, including MET institutions, especially after the recent pandemic and long periods of lockdown. This paper will discuss some of the issues involved in web-based and distance learning, and use a leading global provider of distance learning education to highlight some of the possible opportunities for South Africa as a case study.

The master of arts in applied linguistics graduates’ perceptions on the program and their competencies

This study determined and analyzed the graduates’ evaluation of the master of arts in applied linguistics program on their perspectives on the contribution of the program to the present work demands, competencies in their work to further advance career and program enhancement. This study used the quantitative-qualitative research methods by using the modified self-administered questionnaires based on Schomburg primarily and interviews. The data revealed that the graduates perceived the relevance, appropriateness, and satisfaction of their program to their work. The graduates were also trained in terms of writing and presenting reports, critical thinking, managing their time and publishing. However, the program needed to enhance the skills in publication which could be attributed to the lack of internal motivation to publish one’s research output and availability of journals for publication. Thus, this study implies that there is a need to strengthen the research agenda of the department. It is indeed recommended that the students should be required by faculty members to submit their final papers for review and publication to a selected journal and publishing the master’s theses before and after earning the master of arts in applied linguistics (MAAL) program should be encouraged, reinforced, and practiced. A scholarly journal could also be created.

대학생의 프로티언 경력태도와 주도적 경력행동 간의 관계에서 주도성의 조절효과

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect proactivity on relationship between protean career attitude and proactive career behavior for enterprising career development of university students. Methods For this purpose, the survey was conducted on 336 participants enrolled in 22 universities. The collected data of 323 participants were analyzed with descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, moderated regression analysis was conducted with SPSS 24.0. program and Process Macro 1. Results Following are the major results of this study. First, there was a positive correlation between protean career attitude and proactive career behavior, proactivity and proactive career behavior. Second, a moderating effect of proactivity was found on the relationship between protean career attitude and proactive career behavior. Conclusions These result means that the influence of protean career attitude Specifically, when university students are lack of proactivity, protean career played an important role in proactivity career behavior. But high level group of proactivity showed that protean career didn’t play an important role in proactivity career behavior. Last, the lower proactivity should improve their protean career attitude, the higher proactivity should seek various way to engage proactive career behavior. This study confirmed the importance of proactivity in the process of proactive career behavior and discussed the implications of support services required for career development and enhancement of university students.

An Exploration and Comparison of Attitudes Towards the Participatory Solid Waste Management for Sustainable Development of Communities in Khaoroopchang Municipality, Songkhla Province, Thailand

The purpose of this study is to explore and compare the community members’ attitudes towards community participation in solid waste management. The participants in this research were 400 people in 3 communities in Khaoroopchang Municipality. The research instrument was a set of 5-point rating scale questionnaires, enquiring about the community members’ attitudes towards the community’s solid waste management. The statistics used for data analysis were mean, standard deviation, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and LSD pairwise comparison. The results revealed that the community members’ attitudes towards the participatory solid waste management were at a high level. The results also showed that people who had different ages, education, occupations, residences, and family incomes had different attitudes towards waste management. This research outcome serves as a guideline for community leaders in changing the behavior of each household in the community in terms of waste sorting, career enhancement, and increasing income in the community in order to be good role models and local philosophers for sustainable development.