Science Degree Research Articles

Low ethnic diversity among university applicants in marine and environmental science in the United Kingdom

The planet faces a triple crisis from climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Like any country, the UK needs to attract the best available talent to become thought leaders to overcome these global challenges. Several Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects in the UK face challenges with attracting ethnic minority students. As part of a wider project on diversity in UK environmental/marine science, we analysed university applications amongst 180 environmental and 88 marine science degrees in the UK between 2019–2021. We found them to be the least diverse degree subjects for ethnic minority students and Asian students were less likely to be accepted than white students on environmental science degrees. A survey of UK marine science course leaders highlights the belief that these issues impact the pipeline of diversity from higher education institutions to marine/environmental science careers. In this paper, we discuss the impacts of these findings and develop a roadmap to change.

Analysis of the General Skills of Graduates in Environmental Sciences: The View of Students, Teachers and Employers

General competencies are crucial for the personal and professional growth of university graduates. This paper provides a critical analysis of the significance and level of competence development within the environmental sciences degree (ESD) context. The research involved surveys conducted among final-year students, faculty members, and industry employers. The survey results reveal that employers perceive the level of competence achieved to be higher than what teachers and students reported. However, all three groups acknowledge a high level of competence development for most skills. Nonetheless, certain competences such as critical thinking (CT), problem-solving, organisation, and planning need to be strengthened to better align with their perceived importance. Students tend to undervalue essential competences such as digital literacy and environmental awareness, contrary to international organisations’ recommendations. The study findings also underscore the necessity of enhancing “entrepreneurial skills” and emphasising the significance of the digital realm for students pursuing an environmental sciences degree.

Comparative Analysis of Adaptations Progress in VO2max, Leg Power, and Agility among Male and Female Sports Science Students

The strength and conditioning program has emerged as a widely adopted, structured exercise intervention aimed at enhancing muscle strength, endurance, speed, power, flexibility, and physical function, all while mitigating the risk of injuries. Several studies, however, have assessed strength and conditioning interventions in general for sports science students at the university. Objectives: Therefore, this study aims to explore the differential effects of a strength and conditioning program incorporating a combination of Continuous Run (CR) and Circuit Training (CT) methods on VO2max, leg power, and agility applied to male and female sports science students. Material and Methods: Utilizing a quasi-experimental design with a one-group pretest-posttest setup spanning from July to October 2022, the study consisted of 8 microcycles (8 weeks) comprising 24 sessions, where each microcycle included 2 active rest days (recovery run). A total of 63 students with bachelor’s degrees in sports science who have recently enrolled as freshmen in the Faculty of Sports Science (n = 39 men; n = 24 women; aged = 18-20 years; mass (kg) man and women = 60 ± 7 and 51 ± 6, Height (cm) men and women = 172 ± 4 and 158 ± 3, and not trained athletes) were selected through purposive sampling and provided informed consent in the present study. Pre- and post-measurements were conducted using the Multi-Stage Fitness Test (MSFT), standing broad jump test, and the Illinois agility run test. Descriptive and inferential data analyses (differential pre and post-test using the Wilcoxon test) were performed using SPSS 25 software. Results: Our findings reveal significant improvements in VO2max and leg power following the implementation of a strength and conditioning program that combines circuit training with continuous running for males (from 35.76±5.94 to 41.99±5.35 and 2.175±0.23 to 2.30±0.25, respectively: P<0.05). Meanwhile, for females, (25.97 ± 2.78 to 31.10 ± 3.09; 1.66±0.24 to 1.72±0.17; P<0.05). However, the study does not identify a significant improvement in agility for both male and female participants (17.90±0.95 to 17.69±0.87; P>0.05 and 20.13 ± 1.17 to 19.89 ± 1.19; P>0.05). Conclusions: This investigation provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of an integrated strength and conditioning program using a combination of Continuous Run (CR) and Circuit Training (CT) methods on VO2max and Leg power, for both males and females. Although there were no significant improvements in agility for either males or females, there was an increase in overall averages. The results offer implications for optimizing physical performance and refining training protocols. Therefore, the combination of Continuous Run (CR), circuit training (CT), and Circuit Resistance Training (CRT) has proven to be a practical strategy for enhancing VO2max and leg power. This is particularly relevant for coaches seeking to diversify exercise variations that can be applied to sports science students in the future Keywords: Strength and Conditioning, Circuit Training, Continuous Run, VO2max, Leg Power, Agility, Sports Science Students

Enhancing undergraduate education and research in aging to eliminate health disparities (ENGAGED) – A pipeline program to advance diversity in aging research

ABSTRACT The Enhancing Undergraduate Education and Research in Aging to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) program takes advantage of the broad, multidisciplinary research established in the area of aging at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and its partner institutions, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University. The ENGAGED program is designed to provide undergraduate students who are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences an opportunity to participate in educational and research training in aging and health disparities. Funded since August 2019, ENGAGED has provided 73 academic year internships and 46 summer internships, with another 8 internships starting in Fall 2023. A total of 61 students (67% female, 64% African American, 21% Hispanic) have participated in the ENGAGED program, reflecting the fact that 49% participate in more than one session or program offering. To date, 38 of the ENGAGED trainees have graduated (100% with a science, technology, engineering, or math degree), 84% of whom are working or pursuing advanced degrees in the biomedical sciences. Given the unique strengths, existing infrastructure, and long-standing collaborations among the partner institutions, the ENGAGED program is helping advance diversity in aging and health disparities research by creating a pipeline for well-trained underrepresented students interested in biomedical research careers.

Culturally responsive professional peace officer framework: a community college’s response to educating the next generation of police officer candidates

Abstract From Sir Robert Peel’s 1829 argument for a professionally trained police force to President Barack Obama’s 2015 Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the discussion on quality and content of peace officer pre-professional education is ongoing. With an increase in police officer incidents impacting the BIPOC communities across the Twin Cities, the degree to which law enforcement education programs address topics of cultural relations and anti-racism has come into question by community and government agencies. In response to the public’s call for action for law enforcement education reform, Inver Hills Community College developed a pre-professional peace officer education framework which altered their programs to mirror this paradigm shift. The current programs: the Culturally Responsive Professional Peace Officer Associate of Science degree and certificate, integrate a culturally responsive and social justice curricula, experiential teaching and learning, and program mission, vision, and core values aimed to equip the next generation of police officer candidates.

Development of Educational Video Capsules for Active Learning in Environmental Sciences through Universal Design for Learning

Social changes in higher education have led to a transformation in teaching innovation for developing a critical and creative mentality in students. To this end, video capsules have emerged as an optimal tool that allows combining the management of information and communication technologies and collaborative work. Video capsules were elaborated by groups of students for the virtualization of the laboratory practices of the subjects Environmental Microbiology and Biochemistry of the Degree in Environmental Sciences for two academic years (2022–2023 and 2023–2024), paying special attention to the principles of Universal Design of Learning. To assess the impact of this activity on the knowledge acquired by the students in the laboratory practices, the marks from these academic years were compared with the previous academic year (2021–2022) without the generation of video capsules. Moreover, an evaluation of the development and acquisition of cross-curricular competencies was carried out. The generation of video capsules by the students tended to increase the average grade obtained in the laboratory practices of both subjects. Furthermore, instrumental, interpersonal, and systemic competencies obtained by the students by performing the video capsules improved their transversal skills. The creation of video capsules during laboratory practices and the methodology used had a very positive direct influence on the academic outcomes of the subjects and facilitated the acquisition of transversal competencies for the students.

Identifying factors influencing program selection in health sciences by underrepresented minority students—a scoping review

There is a critical need to diversify health professionals to better serve the growing minority population in North America. Unfortunately, minority groups remain underrepresented in health professions. Despite recruitment efforts by government and academic institutions, fewer underrepresented minority (URM) students choose careers in healthcare. Identifying the key factors influencing URM students’ decisions to pursue health sciences programs could enhance diversity in these programs through targeted admissions strategies, ultimately leading to a more diverse future healthcare workforce. This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Five electronic databases and gray literature were searched to identify North American papers published between 1942 and 2022. Identified studies focused on URM students’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to matriculate into a health science degree. Twenty-one articles were analyzed. Following content analysis, the facilitators and barriers identified comprised personal, socio-cultural, institutional, and financial. The most frequent facilitators reported were scholarships, family support, and the presence of role models. Common barriers included high tuition fees, pre-admission criteria, lack of awareness about the health profession, availability of financial aid, and the admission process. The findings of this review will facilitate the development and implementation of customized, comprehensive strategies to recruit more URM students to health science programs in the future, thereby improving efforts toward creating a diverse healthcare workforce.

Development and validation of a mental hyperactivity questionnaire for the evaluation of chronic stress in higher education

BackgroundExamination and understanding of neural hyperactivity are some of the greatest scientific challenges faced in the present day. For this reason, the present study aimed to examine this phenomenon in the context of higher education.MethodLikewise, this work will enable an instrument to be created to appropriately and reliably estimate neural hyperactivity associated with chronic stress in university students undertaking a Physiotherapy degree.ResultsAnalysis of content validity was carried out according to agreement and consensus between nineteen experts with Education Science or Psychology degrees, via the Delphi method. On the other hand, face validity was established by administering the questionnaire to a sample of 194 university students aged between 18 and 45 years (M = 30.48%; SD = 13.152).ConclusionThe final self-report measure, denominated mental hyperactivity, was composed of 10 items which showed adequate fit with regards to face and content validity (α = 0.775). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the questionnaire was unidimensional.

Strategies to Mitigate Delay Career Completion in Computer Science Area

Objective: The objective of this study is communicating the strategies based on two active methodologies in order to contribute to finish undergraduate studies in a computer science degree in the face of the universal problem called All but Dissertation (ABD). Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts concerning to ABD and active methodologies: challenge-based learning and formative research are synthesized. These theoretical references were chosen for their significant contribution. Method: The methodology descriptive, adopted for this research comprises the Evidence-based software engineering. Data collection is based on observations and analysis of the defended productions. Results and Discussion: The results revealed the importance of capitalizing on students' knowledge, experiences and practices to solve problems of the context, in articulation with final degree productions. As a limitation, the data correspond to the 2022 year. Research Implications: Contribution of new evidence to previous findings, incorporating other active strategies to mitigate the prolongation of studies in Computer Science careers, given its great labor demand. Articulation between the university and the software industry, to influence other similar professional fields without spatio-temporal limitations. Originality/Value: The findings provide evidence to contribute to the study the ABD syndrome. The ICT products belonged to these graduation projects are highlighted, representing knowledge, practices and artifacts aimed at proposing real solutions to problems identified in the context.

A Study on Causes of Gender Gap in Construction Management: High School Students’ Knowledge and Perceptions across Genders

This paper addresses three research questions: (1) According to the pertinent literature, what are the main causes of the current gender gap in the construction industry, particularly for management and leadership roles? (2) Is there a significant difference between male and female high-school-age students regarding their level of knowledge of the construction industry? (3) Is there a significant difference between male and female high-school-age students in their perception of the construction industry and factors impacting their career choice? These research questions are addressed by a review of the literature followed by a discussion of precamp survey results from two consecutive years of a two-week high school summer camp, which is focused on construction science and management. The literature review reveals that the issues are deep-routed and complex but can in general be categorized into two groups: the recruitment and retention of women in construction management and related careers. While the literature review summary in this paper addresses both categories, the focus of the paper remains recruitment, particularly through a study of high school students’ level of knowledge and perceptions of construction management. The pre-camp surveys assessed the participants’ baseline knowledge and perceptions of construction management as a career. The results showed that the knowledge of construction management as a career is very low, with no statistically significant difference between genders. It must be noted here that the participants are biased positively toward the construction management and related careers, as they chose to attend the camp for a variety of reasons, from wanting an experience on the campus of this university to parents’ encouragement. Despite this baseline interest, however, the data show that the participants lacked clarity on what this career really entails. It is suggested, therefore that the general knowledge of this career path across larger and more randomized samples across U.S. will be even lower. The perceptions of the construction industry differed slightly between genders, with females perceiving it as more physically challenging and prioritizing family friendliness when considering career options. In conclusion, both the literature review and the survey data analysis show that the lack of knowledge of this career path, exacerbated by the negative perceptions of the construction industry, contribute to the problem of women not choosing to study construction management. The construction industry continues to make significant improvements in their diversity and inclusion efforts, and there are a variety of paths within the industry for graduates of construction science and management degrees. As such, significant work remains for both the industry and academia to overcome the lack of knowledge and negative perceptions of the industry through increased outreach to better inform high school students, parents, and counselors.

SCIENTIFIC PROJECT TEAMS MANAGEMENT IN WARTIME REALITIES: PERSONNEL SECURITY ENSURING ASPECTS

The study is devoted to the scientific project teams management in the realities of wartime and personnel security ensuring aspects. The purpose of the work was to identify features that should be taken into account by personnel management and scientific and pedagogical personnel who are heads of scientific projects during the management of project teams engaged in research work under the influence of wartime risks. The research methodology means the use of content analysis and specialized literature processing, as well as taking expert opinion on modern features of scientific project management into account. As a result of the study, features were identified that should be taken into account by managers and scientific and pedagogical staff , including heads of scientific projects, when managing project teams mission is to provide research work under the influence of wartime risks; the characteristic features of the scientific projects management in comparison with applied research were investigated; the peculiarities of the scientific project team formation are determined, personnel risks accompanying the process of implementing a scientific project both in peacetime and in wartime are determined, and proposals are made for optimizing the management of scientific projects in the realities of wartime. The peculiarities of the scientific project team formation have been established, which include: the need for a team member to belong to the work team of a scientific institution or institution of higher education, the team members' compliance with the characteristics of active researchers, their availability of professional publications on the topic of the project; search for people with scientific degrees and scientific titles and united by common scientific interests. The field of application of research results is science management, project management, flexible management and team management in scientific and educational institutions, critical infrastructure enterprises and business structures.

Extraction of Knowledge Models from Textbooks

Isaac Alpizar-Chacon is an assistant professor in the Software Technology for Learning and Teaching group at the Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University. In addition to his primary role, he is also an associate professor at the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. His research interests focus on the impact of GenAI tools in computing education, the integration of these tools into the classroom, the teaching and learning of computational thinking skills, and knowledge extraction. Dr. Alpizar-Chacon holds a MSc degree in Computer Science from Saarland University (Saarbrücken, Germany) and a PhD degree in Information and Computing Sciences from Utrecht University (Utrecht, Netherlands). Homepage: https://isaacalpizar.info/

Evaluating the Reliability of a Social Presence Composite Construct for Online Computer Science Degree Programmes

As a contribution to ongoing discussions about the implications of social presence for online instruction technology, this study evaluated the reliability and validity of a composite social presence construct in online computer science programmes using archival data from the Computing Research Association’s (CRA) Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline (CERP) Data Buddies Survey. Questions from the survey were aligned to three interdependent subconstructs of social presence proposed by Kreijns et al (2021). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to analyse the relationships between the subconstructs. Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate the internal consistency and reliability of the subconstructs of social presence, sociability, and social space, as well as the composite construct of social presence. The findings indicate that the social presence construct and its subconstructs are internally consistent and highly reliable, aligned with the CERP survey. Results indicated that the subconstructs are interrelated indicators of the perception of social presence in online computer science programmes. This study contributes to the literature concerning measuring social presence in online learning by providing a reliable and valid construct that can be used to assess the construct using different permutations of analysis on the CERP dataset.

The market of academic texts in Russia (according to a qualitative survey)

In Russia, there exists a market where academic texts are sold and bought, from student qualification papers to scientific articles and dissertations. Although its existence violates the formal norms and values of the scientific community, it functions sustainably. The authors analyze the established practices of writing academic texts on demand (with an emphasis on the study of the social behavior of actors) as part of a specific organizational field, a kind of market. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with six direct actors, so-called scriptors (or ghostwriters) and four experts representing NGOs in the field of science and higher education. Destructive entrepreneurship in the system of higher education and science is characterized as a complex system, the actors of which are not only informally “self-employed” scriptors, but also formal organizations that provide contact between customers and performers of academic work. The stability of quasi-scientific texts market in Russia is associated at the macro level with the high demand for higher education and scientific degrees as a status attribute, as well as with a significant supply from scientific and pedagogical workers, thus compensating for the limited opportunities for legal academic entrepreneurship by informal destructive entrepreneurship. At the meso level, the institutional conditions are the rigidity of Russian universities, which continue to be primarily educational institutions, where legal academic entrepreneurship of an innovative type is developing very modestly, and low salaries of staff members. At the micro level, it is an attempt to impose publication activity as the main criterion of academic success in conditions where a significant part of university staff perceive themselves as teachers, not researchers, and do not seek (or do not have the opportunity) to change this situation.

Data Scientist Knowledge and Skills Evaluation towards a Data-Driven Research Methodology

The modern business world increasingly requires a higher level of data science expertise as well as abilities in problem solving and data analytics. Data science is a broad and fast-moving field of methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract insights from data. The University of Winchester has followed the guidance of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and worked in partnership with a number of international, national and regional employers in the design and development of its Data Scientist (integrated degree) programme, which leads to a Bachelor’s degree in Data Science. This degree apprenticeship supports students in gaining the knowledge and skills that are in demand by employers today and into the future, where working in multi-disciplinary teams alongside domain experts will often be the norm. IfATE specifies an End-point Assessment (EPA) plan to enable the apprenticeship to be completed in accordance with its Data Scientist degree apprenticeship standard. This paper considers professional practice and competence in data science and links the processes used in completing the EPA with domain-based knowledge and expertise. It reviews representative solution methodologies before demonstrating the applicability of a data-driven research methodology to discover insights and achieve organisational goals.

Ефективність використання інноваційного потенціалу підприємств харчової промисловості

The work aims to assess the current state of innovative activity of food industry enterprises to determine its innovative potential and the effectiveness of its use in the conditions of a prolonged economic crisis. Data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine for 2016-2020 were used since the selected number of enterprises was last updated in 2020 to achieve the goal. A study was conducted on the dynamic change in the share of innovatively active enterprises of the processing industry in the total number of enterprises, innovatively active enterprises of the food industry in the total number of enterprises, and innovatively active food enterprises in the total number of processing enterprises. The simultaneous allocation of positive changes in the value of fixed production assets, long-term biological assets, unfinished capital investments, long-term financial investments, and other non-current assets characterizes the value of non-current assets of food enterprises. An estimate of the innovation costs of food enterprises with positive shifts in the composition of R&D investments made by own forces, R&D made by other enterprises, and other innovation costs (excluding R&D) is provided. The number of innovative products (goods, services) sold by food enterprises was analyzed, with the selection of innovative products (goods, services) new for the market and innovative products (goods, services) new only for the enterprise. Changes in the number of employees involved in scientific research and development were assessed, with the specific weight of research staff (including researchers with doctorates and candidates of science degrees), technical staff and support staff allocated. The practical and analyzed steps of the management team indicate an increase in the efficiency of using the innovative potential of food industry enterprises, the result of which is an increase in innovatively active enterprises, an increase in investments in fixed and human capital, an increase in the costs of innovative research and the volume of innovative products produced and sold. Keywords: innovations, innovative potential, innovative costs, innovative products, food industry enterprises.

Exploration of Nursing Care for Individuals With Bipolar Disorder in a Manic Episode: A Qualitative Study.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that is chronic and has frequent relapses. The purpose of the research was to study the nursing care of patients with bipolar disorder in the mania phase. A qualitative study was employed in this study. The sample consisted of 10 nurses working in psychiatric clinics and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was applied for analysing the data. Of the10 participants, 70% were female and 30% were male. The mean age was 48.7 years. All participants were registered nurses and most of them held a Master of Science degree. Their work experience ranged from 10 to 30 years. Three main themes emerged when analysing the data obtained from the interviews with the nurses, those themes were a) Echoes of Vigilance: Navigating the journey, b) Amidst the Tempest: Attending to the Patients' Complex Needs, and c) Restoring Balance: The Nurturing Hands of Bipolar Nursing Care, each of which could be divided into several sub-themes. Nursing care plays an important role in symptom improvement and disease control by providing patient support, managing pharmacotherapy, preventing suicidality, and educating patients about the disease and self-management strategies.

Towards a multidimensional measure of self-efficacy in the adult learning ecosystem

ABSTRACT For adults engaged in formal learning, self-efficacy judgements may have substantial impact on key learning attitudes and outcomes. A complex systems/person-centric perspective emphasises the importance of contextual features of adult life, yet extant study of self-efficacy is largely constrained to judgements of competence in course activities. This approach may omit critical information about adult learners’ motivational beliefs. We developed a multidimensional measure of adult learning self-efficacy and provided initial validation data using a sample of 1200 working adults in an online Masters of Computer Science degree program. Our results suggest that adult learning self-efficacy (SE) is a multidimensional construct assessing self-perceived competence in 1) integrating learning and non-learning demands (Adaptive SE), 2) achieving mastery of course content (Academic SE), and 3) leveraging learning for professional growth (Transfer SE). Academic SE was further distinguishable by efficacy for memory and problem solving (Academic-MP) and for maintaining attentional focus (Academic-F). Our measure contributes to the literature on adult learning ecosystems by expanding research on motivational beliefs to include self-efficacy for managing critical contextual features of adult learning.

10 years of decision‐making for biodiversity conservation actions: A systematic literature review

AbstractDecision science emphasizes necessary elements required for robust decision‐making. By incorporating decision science principles, frameworks, and tools, it has been demonstrated that decision‐makers can increase the chances of achieving conservation aims. Setting measurable objectives, clearly documenting assumptions about the impact of available actions on a specific threat or problem, explicitly considering constraints, exploring and characterizing uncertainty, and structured deliberation on trade‐offs have been identified as key elements of successful decision‐making. We quantify the extent to which these five elements were utilized in published examples of decision making in conservation in both academic and conservation practice between 2009 and 2018. We found that less than 50% of identified examples included all five elements, with differences in the degree of decision science applied across five commonly used decision support approaches: adaptive management (AM), systematic conservation planning (SCP), structured decision making (SDM), multi‐criteria decision analysis, and cost‐effectiveness analysis. Example applications that utilized the SDM framework were limited in numbers but used on average more than 50% of the five key elements we considered. Although SCP and AM constituted the majority of examples, they were more prevalent in academic studies rather than management applications. SCP and AM examples were widespread in protected area planning, threat abatement, and restoration. Strong geographic bias exists in documented conservation activities that deploy all five decision science elements.

What strategies did graduates with disabilities in Health Sciences use to persist and not drop out their studies?

This article analyses the difficulties that 16 graduate with disabilities from 8 Spanish universities in the area of Health Sciences experienced during their academic career. It also shows how they overcame these difficulties, as well as their insight into their own resilience. This qualitative study used semi-structured and individual interviews. The results showed that the difficulties, the strategies to deal with them, and the opinions of the participants about their resilient characteristics are multiple and relate to both external and internal factors. The results reveal that participants’ voices from these Health Sciences degree contain useful strategies for the ­university community to promote the academic success of students with disabilities for the benefit of all students.