Related Careers Research Articles

Building Online Social Networks to Engage Female Students in Information Systems

During the next decade, enrollment growth in Information Systems (IS) related majors is unlikely to meet the predicted demand for qualified IS graduates. Gender imbalance in the IS related program makes the situation worse as enrollment and retention of women in the IS major has been proportionately low compared to male. In recent years, majority of high school and college students have integrated social networking sites in their daily life and habitually use these sites. Providing female students access to role models via an online social network may enhance their motivation to continue as an IS major and pursue a career in IS field. For this study, the authors follow the action research process – exploration of information systems development. In particular, a Facebook application was developed to build the social network connecting role models and students. Using the application, a basic framework is tested based on the gender of participants. The results suggest that it is necessary to have adequate number of role models accessible to students as female role-models tend to select fewer students to develop relationships with a preference for female students. Female students likely prefer composite role models from a variety of sources. This pilot study yields valuable lessons to provide informal learning fostered by role modeling via online social networks. The Facebook application may be further expanded to enhance female students' interests in IS related careers.

Technology Student Characteristics: Course Taking Patterns as a Pathway to STEM Disciplines

Rising concern about America’s ability to maintain its competitive position in the global economy has renewed interest in STEM education. The power and the promise of STEM education is based on the need for technological literacy. Technology education is a discipline devoted to the delivery of technological literacy for all. Nevertheless, a decision to pursue a STEM major is a longitudinal process that builds during secondary education and carries into postsecondary studies. When analyzed appropriately, course-taking patterns may offer valuable insight into a student’s academic history and momentum through college as well as illuminate patterns that effectively and wisely engage academic resources that may shape students’ entrance in STEM related careers. This study utilized High School Transcipt Study data to examine and compare the patterns of STEM courses taken by technology students and those of high school students as a whole, the patterns of courses taken by technology students and those of high school students as a whole, and the GPAs of technology students with the GPAs of other high school student GPAs. Findings revealed that there was a significant difference in overall GPA between technology students, as defined in this study, and the general student population of the data set. There was also a significant difference in GPAs between technology students and the general student population in STEM courses.

A biochemistry laboratory course designed to enhance students autonomy

INTRODUCTION: Laboratory sessions are responsible for promoting instrumentation skills desirable in biochemistry and biochemistry related careers. They are traditionally based on experimental protocols that lead to the expected results, and students usually have not autonomy to plan and execute their experiments. GOALS: This work aimed to enhance a traditional biochemistry lab course, applying pre-lab quizzes on protein biochemistry and lab techniques in order to have students better prepared to plan, execute and interpret experiments. This approach also aims to bring the laboratory sessions into an inquiry-based environment capable to improve students’ independent capabilities in 2 autonomy domains: learning and communication. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Online quizzes are delivered one week before each laboratory session, containing questions regarding the experimental techniques and theoretical basis related to them. Laboratory activities are presented in an inquiry-based approach where the first class of each activity is dedicated to plan experiments in order to answer the research questions presented by instructors. Activities are also organized in order to enhance students’ autonomy. The first activity is the simplest and more instructor-controlled and the last one is the most complex and less driven, transferring gradually to students the responsibility for their decisions in laboratory, supporting students’ autonomy. RESULTS: Online quizzes allowed instructors to identify students’ difficulties and to timely intervene. Scientific reports presented by students at the end of each activity showed that they performed better on less driven activities in which autonomy support were more complex than in the instructor controlled activities. CONCLUSIONS: Scientific reports analysis reveals students capabilities related to different scopes of autonomy, such as: discuss different strategies; find multiple solutions to solve problems; make their own experiment hypothesis and look for literature to support data found. Thus, this approach may have positively supported students’ autonomy, encouraging them to think by themselves and to take decisions concerning their experiments.

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The inclusion of sexuality as an essential aspect of comprehensive care for individuals with mental disorders

The scope of this study was to understand the representations of mental health service patients and professionals concerning the sexuality of the former. Thirty-nine patients and 54 professionals of the public mental health services, divided up into six focal groups, were interviewed individually. Data analysis was based on the Structural Analysis of Narrative technique. Individuals with mental disorders do not perceive sexual health as a right and have difficulty taking care of themselves in the face of gender stereotypes, and for the contexts related with exclusion and poverty. Among the mental health service professionals, sexuality negation of mentally-ill individuals had been the commom representation. They classify this behavior as "not a normal representation" and believe that it must be restrained. Dialogues about sexuality with users are almost inexistent. Mental health service professionals are not prepared for integral assistance, which requires permanent qualification and the inclusion of this subject in the fundamental formation of health related careers, in a interdisciplinary way.

The Relationships among Turnover Intention, Career related Learning, Employability, Organizational Commitment and Career Commitment of Office Workers in Large Corporations

The Relationships among Turnover Intention, Career related Learning, Employability, Organizational Commitment and Career Commitment of Office Workers in Large Corporations

Newer researchers in higher education: policy actors or policy subjects?

In this article, we explore the extent to which 42 newer researchers, in the academic sub-field of higher education, were aware of, responded to and negotiated their careers in relation to higher education policies. Participants, who were mainly from European countries, tended to divide into two similarly sized groups: one that engaged with and made strategic use of higher education policy, who we termed ‘policy actors;' and another who felt that they were shaped by policy rather than working with it, who we termed ‘policy subjects.' These differences appeared largely to relate to participants’ background prior to studying for their doctorate, their mode of study and doctoral route. All of our participants appeared to perceive the relationship between their research and policies in individual terms, rather than in terms of being a part of a community of higher education researchers. We explore the implications of these findings.

DETERMINANTS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION:Fruit and vegetables (FV) are core components of a correct diet, its consumption plays an important role in health and disease prevention. Including FV in diet is related to some factors, one of the most important is the stage of change where the individual is found.OBJECTIVE:Evaluate determinants in the consumption of FV among a group of undergraduate students.METHODS:Descriptive and transversal study. The group answered an on‐line questionnaire before and after their participation in a summer workshop. The sample was integrated for 78 students that were facilitators in the workshop “Jugando a Ganar Salud” in Mexico's State. A questionnaire to measure stage of change in FV consumption was used. The results were analyzed prior and post intervention. A Fisher test and Student “t” test were done.RESULTS:Age: 17‐24yrs,most of the participants studied health related careers (67.5%), in private universities (67.5%). A significant increase (p=0.018) was observed in search of information about how to increase consumption of FV, and in the perception of supermarkets to make it easy to buy FV (p=0.048). There was observed an increase in social liberation (p=0.0503), and a decrease in self‐liberation (p=0.0431). The most common processes of change were:consciousness raising, environmental reevaluation, self‐reevaluation, self‐liberation and reinforcement management.CONCLUSIONThere was a perception of availability; nevertheless, there is a lack of self‐efficacy. The results show the necessity of increase self‐efficacy in youth,so they can be capable to make healthy choices. Interventions in this age group are valuable because many habits generated during youth,persist to adulthood.

Enhancing Students’ Interests in Science and Technology Related Careers Through a Specially Designed Optional Course

It is generally recognised that science and technology education should play a more important role in developing students’ awareness of, and positive attitudes towards, careers in science and technology. In order to address this call, an optional course was designed and taught in one Estonian gymnasium for 11th grade students (N=62). The aim of the course was also to develop students’ science knowledge through integrating different science disciplines with each other and with technology, engage students in issues related to the impact of science and technology on everyday life and develop students’ ability to make responsible decisions related to these issues. Four learning modules developed by different partners within the framework of the EU FP7 project ESTABLISH were adapted and taught within the optional course. 11th grade students’ interests in science and technology related careers were measured by means of a pre and post questionnaire. In addition, four students (two boys and two girls) were interviewed after the course for validation of the questionnaire. It was concluded that as a result of the course, students’ raised their interests toward careers related to science and technology. This change was statistically significant for both, boys and girls, but being more expressed by girls. Moreover, the learning units helped to broaden students’ understanding about the diverse field of technology and how science and technology are interrelated. Based on the current study, the design of the learning units would be consolidated by the study team.

Envisioning a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: some challenges and possibilities

In How High School Students Envision Their STEM Career Pathways, Lin Zhang and Michael Barnett attempt to shed light on the problem of underrepresented students (e.g., Aboriginals, Hispanics, African Americans, urban, females) in STEM higher education and related careers by exploring, in general terms, five high school students’ career visions and the experiences that influenced their career visions. In this paper, I attempt to extend the authors’ discussions on the underrepresentation of minority students in STEM higher education by highlighting some of the factors that begin to influence youths’ career decisions long before they reach the high school level and are required to make specific career choices. I also draw on Glen Aikenhead’s Sci Edu, 27, 1–52 (1996) notion of border crossing and research by Victoria Costa Sci Edu, 79, 313–333 (1995) to reflect on the significance of the relationship between students’ cultural worlds and the cultural world of school science.

Participant impact of the conservation corps experience

This study examined the impact of conservation corps experiences on participants. Based upon existing gaps in the conservation corps literature and drawing from research on other comparable programs, this study addressed the following research questions: did involvement in a conservation corps program increase participants' (a) intention to pursue natural resource management related careers or education, (b) positive attitudes towards public lands, and (c) environmental activism? A quasi-experimental design was used to answer these questions. The participant group for the study came from 10 different Public Lands Service Coalition corps in the Western United States during the 2011 season. The comparison group was recruited from an online panel drawn from the same states as the participating PLSC organizations. ANCOVA results revealed that participants experienced positive growth in relation to the comparisons over the course of their involvement in the program.

이공계 진로의식 신장을 위한 초등 5~6학년용 설계기반 미래 유망직업 STEAM 프로그램 개발 및 적용 효과

본 연구는 생명 의공학 관련 분야의 미래사회 유망직업 가운데 초등학교 5~6학년의 교과 내용과 연계가 가능한 직업들을 선정, '설계기반 미래 유망직업 STEAM 프로그램'을 개발하고 그 타당성과 효과성을 확인한 것이다. 각 프로그램은 2009 개정 교과교육과정 분석을 통해 교과별로 통합이 가능한 성취기준들을 추출한 후, 과학 기술 공학의 최신 이슈를 포함하고 STEAM 준거(틀)에 따라 집단 숙의를 거쳐 9개월간 개발되었다. 또한 생명 의공학 관련 직업을 창의적 설계가 강조된 모의적인 형태로 진로를 체험하게 함으로써, 학생들이 이공계 진로를 탐색하고 관련 진로에 대한 인식과 흥미를 이끌어 낼 수 있도록 하였다. 프로그램의 검증 단계에서 STEAM 리더 스쿨에 적용한 결과, 프로그램의 내용과 수준이 적합하고, 이공계 관련 직업에 대해 모의적인 경험을 함으로써 학생들의 진로에 대한 관심을 끌어낼 수 있었다는 긍정적인 평가를 받았다. 또한 현장적용 과정을 통해 자료의 완성도를 높일 수 있었다. 최종 개발된 STEAM 프로그램을 다른 학교의 일반 학급에 투입한 결과, 초등학생들의 이공계 진로의식이 통계적으로 유의하게 향상되었다는 것을 확인할 수 있었으며, 기존의 과학 수업에 비해 STEAM 프로그램 적용 수업에 대한 학생 만족도가 상당히 높다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통해 교과교육과정 내용 기준이 더욱 핵심적인 지식 및 아이디어를 중심으로 대강화될 필요성, 교육과정 재구성의 편리성을 높일 수 있도록 '통합을 위한 기준'의 제공, STEAM 프로그램을 재구성 또는 조직하고 수업을 할 수 있는 교사의 능력 개발, STEAM과 같은 정책이나 프로그램의 효과를 얻기 위해 장기간의 지속적인 지원의 필요성, 교과내에 통합된 진로교육의 강화등이 필요하다는 제언을 하였다. In this research, two careers connectable with the contents of the curriculum of fifth to sixth grade elementary school students were selected among other promising future careers in biotechnology and medical engineering fields. 'Design-based promising future career STEAM program' was developed and its validity and effectiveness were verified. Reflecting recent issues, and complying with the STEAM standard (frame) instructional materials were developed through group deliberations for nine months, based on the achievement standards through an analysis of subject curriculum revised in 2009. This was prepared so that students are able to experience biotechnology and medical engineering related careers in a simulational form emphasized with creative design to make them prefer natural sciences and engineering careers and draw their interests and recognition of the relevant careers under the two disciplines. As a result of such application to STEAM Leader School students at the verification stage of the program, the contents and level of the program were verified suitable, receiving favorable reviews. And as a result of applying the developed program on other elementary school students, it was discovered that significant improvements were found in their career consciousness. Through this research, it was suggested that there is a need for a simplification of the curriculum content standards, a provision of 'standard for integration,' development of teachers' ability in reconstituting or organizing the STEAM and proceeding classes, continuous long-term support to see the effects of a policy or a program, and a reinforcement of career education integrated in the curriculum.

The entrepreneurship-motherhood nexus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use boundaryless career theory as a perspective from which to explore understanding related to the interplay between life-stage and career transitions in women; and, specifically, the life-stage-related event of motherhood relative to the transition from corporate employment to self-employment. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative longitudinal research design was operationalized over a four-year period and data from both primary and secondary sources were collected in relation to four New Zealand case studies. Findings – The findings highlight how life-stage events such as motherhood can have a profound influence on both the perception and enactment of careers and career transitions. In total, two primary micro-processes were identified in relation to the career transitions of the female participants into self-employment and were labeled “traditional employment” (relating to role change; integrating work and life domains; opportunity seeking; and support) and “creating boundaries” (relating to: compartmentalization of responsibility, life-stage events, work models, and business growth and success). Research limitations/implications – Exploratory in nature; small in scale; limited to one geographic context. Originality/value – The authors attempt to add a more nuanced understanding of the notion of boundaryless careers in relation to entrepreneurship generally and the transition of a group of women into self-employment specifically. Both the discourse and pragmatics of boundaries between work/life and past careers/new careers is more salient in terms of success than possibly historically understood in this domain, and the enactment of boundaries richer and more diverse than theory may currently account for.

How do early career teachers value different types of support? A scale-adjusted latent class choice model

Using a discrete choice experimental approach and associated Scale-Adjusted Latent Class Model (SALCM), we quantify the relative value early career teachers (ECTs) place on various types of support in the form of affirmation, resources, collegial opportunities, mentoring, and professional development. ECTs with intentions to depart the profession, place greater relative value on the sharing of resources, cooperative teaching and planning, offsite discussions about classroom management and programming with mentors, and having a greater professional voice. In contrast, those with intentions to remain, place greater value on observation from and conversations about teaching with more experienced teachers at their school.

MOJO WORKIN’: The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald (review)

Reviewed by: MOJO WORKIN’: The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald John P. McCarthy MOJO WORKIN’: The Old African American Hoodoo System. By Katrina Hazzard-Donald. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 2013. Hoodoo is the African-American system of spiritual practice based in the curative and protective power of roots, herbs, and other natural materials. Katrina Hazzard-Donald, also the author of Jookin’: The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African American Culture (1990), traces the history of Hoodoo from its African origins through the course of trends and events in America that had significant effects on developments in African-American culture, including spirituality and religion. Hazzard-Donald argues that Hoodoo was originally a coherent religion based in pan-African traditions and preserved through the oral traditions of the enslaved brought to the New World. It gradually came to syncretize the spirituality of African Gods with the Protestant Christianity the enslaved encountered here. Voodoo and Santeria, in contrast, are the result of syncretism with Roman Catholicism. Over the course of the antebellum era, Hoodoo was transformed into what Hazzard-Donald calls “old tradition black belt Hoodoo,” a folk system of spiritual belief, medicine, and control. A “golden age” of the practice came with slavery’s end. Hoodoo practice had three distinct centers or clusters in the deep South. From these a more nationalized, homogenized form of the faith developed gradually after Emancipation as recently freed African Americans were able to move to southern urban areas and to the industrial north. In the twentieth century, however, Hoodoo became “marketeered” and a debased form arose. These later, commercially marketed forms relied upon traveling salespeople and mail-order distributors who also sold a range of other products targeted at African-American consumers. The Hoodoo elements were often modified and even completely fabricated by outsiders, while authentic Hoodoo became a hidden system, operating almost exclusively among African Americans in a spiritual underground. Commercial products took the place of herbs and other natural materials, and traditional beliefs were exploited to sell lucky charms, gambling aids, etc. As these Hoodoo goods began to become mass marketed, root workers, conjure men, and [End Page 147] midwifes (including female healers/spiritual workers) were supplanted by retailers selling mass-produced goods lacking religious tradition and sacred content. In post–World War II America, Hoodoo came to be viewed by many African Americans as incompatible with integration and upward mobility, while at the same time those who wished to practice the tradition were hindered by lack of access to both traditional supplies and practitioners. Hoodoo faith and traditions survive in certain African American churches and through oral transmission that have maintained the old “black belt” style of Hoodoo. As some of the children and grandchildren of old tradition workers entered medical and related careers, Hoodoo beliefs became integrated into health care practice with the application of naturopathic cures as well as spiritually-based mental health and midwife practices. Hazzard-Donald’s formulation of Hoodoo’s evolution represents a new chronology for its study and transformation over time. It’s a valuable contribution to the growing number of volumes concerned with African-based traditional spiritual beliefs in the New World such as Jeffery E Anderson’s Conjure in African American Society (2005) and Yvonne P. Chireau’s Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition (2003). John P. McCarthy Delaware State Parks Copyright © 2015 Mid-America American Studies Association

중학교 패션관련 직업체험교육 프로그램 효과에 관한 연구: 진로결정 자기효능감, 패션관련 진로의식성숙도를 중심으로

The purpose of the study was to explore effects of fashion related work experience program and its satisfaction in middle schools. The study analyzed differences in self-efficacy of career decision making and fashion related career maturity before and after the program. The questionnaire developed by the researchers was collected from 114 participants enrolled in middle schools in Seoul or Kyunggido. The data were analyzed by common factor analysis, and independent sample t-test, using SPSS 18.0/Windows. The results demonstrated significant higher scores in self efficacy of career decision making, and fashion related career maturity after the program than before. Also, they showed high program satisfaction scores. The results of the study could be basic information for work experience program developers for high and middle school students.

Negotiating Mobility: South Asian Women and Higher Education

Using qualitative and quantitative data, this article explains how South Asian women’s attendance at university in Britain went from being exceptional in the 1970s to routine in the present century. Focusing upon the reflexivity of young South Asian women around issues of education, subject choice, marriage and careers in relation to their parents and their communities offers a better understanding than currently dominant social capital explanations of South Asian educational success. We show that conceptualizing reflexivity in a variety of forms following Archer better accounts for the different educational trajectories at the intersection of relations of ethnicity, class, gender and religion. The educational and career outcomes and transformations entail complex forms of resistance, negotiation and compromise across intersecting identities. These developments are transforming class and gender relations within South Asian ethnicities.

Intellectual property education exemplified by the patents on the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

With the accelerated globalization of the world economies, the role of intellectual property in the the competition is increasingly important. The universities are important base to instill the intellectual property awareness to the young generation. However, current model of intellectual property education cannot meet the needs of undergraduates. In this paper, we take the first patent issued for CRISPR/Cas9 system as a teaching example, and together with personal teaching experience in biomedicine related intellectual property, we propose a new way for intellectual property education which consists of two stages: enlightenment stage and in-depth training stage. In the former stage, we integrate the intellectual property education with the basic major courses. In the latter stage, students are encouraged to devote into intellectual property related career. This model can somehow solve the the current shortage of qualified teachers for biotechnology related intellectual property education and will facilitate the popularization of intellectual property in college students. Since genetics plays a pivotal role in biomedicine, this effort is illustrated by the novel genome editing technology based on the CRISPR/Cas9 system, which is one hotspot of recent studies. The trajectory of CRISPR/Cas9 from basic microbial genetics discovery to major tools for genome editing exeplified the essence of biomedicine related intellectual property education.

Bajah’s Interdisciplinary Model and the Conceptualization of Integrated Science in Nigerian School Curriculum

The aim of this paper is to examine how Bajah’s model of integration reflects the true concept of integrated science. This paper is focused on the reasons that lead to this integration of learning experiences around a theme that will project the spirit of integration rather than mere putting together of subject matter from well defined disciplines. Integrated science presents the teaching of science in which concepts and principles are represented so as to express the fundamental unity of scientific thought. To teach any subject effectively, one must know what the subject is all about and for what purpose the subject has been introduced into the school curriculum. It represents the foundation stone for subsequent teaching in the sciences. It is devised and presented in such a way that pupils who may wish to pursue a science related career in life and general introduction to the sciences for others who may wish to pursue either humanities based or vocational inclined studies. Thus success or failure of integrated science teaching at this introductory stage is therefore very important. To have a balance introduction to science a solid foundation in integrated science is needed to equip the pupils for successful science careers thereby indirectly contributing to the much needed scientific and technological advancement of the global community. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n7p96

Women Managers’ Careers in China: Theorizing the Influence of Gender and Collectivism

This article is concerned with developing an understanding of the careers of women managers in China. Existing literature suggests that while women in China are comparatively well represented in management roles, they face distinctive pressures and barriers to their progress arising from entrenched patriarchal and collectivist aspects of the Chinese cultural tradition. However, little is known about how these aspects impact on women's orientations towards their careers and to what extent influential Western career theories are adequate in interpreting their experience. Drawing on interviews with 20 women managers in China, the article interprets women's orientations towards their careers in relation to their adherence to traditional gender roles and collectivist values. Using this framework, a fourfold taxonomy is developed which identifies “conformist,” “revolutionary,” “soloist,” and “dissident” orientations. The article suggests that Western career theories fail to capture the collective dimension, and thus do not account fully for the range of experience and orientations of Chinese women managers that are captured in the taxonomy. Implications, both practical and theoretical, are discussed. Recommendations are also made as to how management and career development policies might be developed in organizations in China in order to address the diverse needs and preferences of women managers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.