Early Graduate Research Articles

Perceptions of readiness for independent practice among graduating orthopedic surgery residents in Ontario in the last 30 years.

There is increasing concern regarding the lack of physicians and underresourcing of the medical system in Canada. The training of orthopedic surgeons has emerged as an area of particular concern. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the outcomes of graduates of orthopedic surgery residency programs in Ontario in the last 30 years. We invited graduates of orthopedic surgery residency programs in Ontario from 1992 to 2020 to participate in our survey regarding their practice patterns and career choices. Participants were asked whether they believed their residency had prepared them for independent practice and were asked about their practice patterns after graduation, including whether they completed fellowships. A total of 618 graduates met the inclusion criteria. We had a response rate of 40.9% (n = 253). A total of 62.8% of participants reported feeling ready to enter independent practice, which was less than the 80% expected threshold. This proportion varied by program and, overall, those who had graduated more recently reported feeling less ready. Nearly all participants had completed at least 1 fellowship, with most trainees having completed 2 fellowships. Earlier graduates were less likely to complete 2 or more fellowships. Completing a fellowship did not help with comfort in practice nor with earlier employment. Most respondents reported that their current surgical skills were primarily influenced by fellowship training, regardless of comfort level in entering practice directly out of residency. A substantial proportion of orthopedic graduates reported not feeling comfortable entering practice directly out of residency, with only 62.8% of participants reporting feeling ready for independent practice after graduation. Furtermore, graduates are incurring a significant opportunity cost completing 1 or often 2 fellowships. These findings necessitate an appraisal of our goals in residency education.

Recruitment and Retention in the National Diabetes Prevention Program Lifestyle Change Program in Two Federally Qualified Health Centers in Rural Hawai'i.

Prediabetes disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority groups in Hawai'i. The National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program (National DPP LCP) decreases the risk of developing diabetes. However, enrolling and retaining participants is a challenge for program providers. This evaluation aimed to understand factors that influence racial and ethnic minority groups in Hawai'i to enroll in and complete the program. From 2018 through 2023, two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in rural Hawai'i administered 6 year-long cohorts. Trained lifestyle coaches, who were FQHC staff members, recruited participants and facilitated the evidence-based curriculum. In 2023, the evaluation team conducted semistructured interviews with 14 of the 40 enrolled participants (35%), all of whom were women aged 25 to 74 years. Six participants identified as Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and 3 as Filipino. Eight participants reported completing the program. We used qualitative methodology to analyze transcripts. We identified themes around motivators, barriers, facilitators, and suggestions for improvement. Recruitment by trusted individuals in their communities motivated participants to enroll. Caregiving and work obligations were attendance barriers for early withdrawers and graduates. Social support from lifestyle coaches and enrolled friends and family were facilitators for program completion. Suggestions included improving class availability and incorporating culturally relevant recipes. Barriers experienced by Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and Filipino participants were similar to those reported by racial and ethnic groups in other studies. Program providers in rural communities should use trusted individuals as lifestyle coaches and recruit family and friends, regardless of National DPP LCP eligibility, to reduce caregiving barriers and engage critical support systems to facilitate completion.

Saudi Graduate Students’ Identities in Relation to Emotion and Agency in Applied Linguistics: A Narrative Multiple Case Study

This qualitative inquiry explores the identity development processes of graduate students in applied linguistics within the higher education context of Saudi Arabia. Through a merged research design of a multiple-case study and narrative inquiry approach, this study examined the narratives of Saudi graduate students’ identity development in applied linguistics, focusing on key experiences across past, present, and future, as well as their emotional and agentive experiences. Despite the growing body of research on identity in applied linguistics and second language acquisition, limited attention has been given to graduate students’ identity formation in this field. The study contributed to several key findings: 1) Early experiences shape Saudi graduate students’ current academic paths and future aspirations, 2) Positive and negative emotional experiences shape Saudi graduate students’ academic self-perception and identity development and 3) Saudi graduate students’ agentive responses to the challenges they face shape their identity development. This study’s outcomes provide insight into the dynamic relationship between the identities, emotions, and agency of Saudi graduate students in applied linguistics, offering practical implications and suggesting future directions for further research.

Implementation Of The Support Vector Machine Method In Predicting Student Graduation

Student graduation is an important indicator of the quality of education at a higher education institution. A high graduation rate not only indicates success in the learning process but also has a positive impact on the reputation of the institution. Conversely, a low graduation rate can be a signal of problems that require special attention. Various factors, both academic and non-academic, influence higher education institutions in ensuring timely student graduation. Therefore, we need a method that can accurately predict student graduation to carry out early intervention. This study aims to apply the support vector machine method in predicting student graduation. We chose this method due to its capacity to classify complex data. We use historical student data, such as Semester Achievement Index scores, as input variables to build a prediction model. We evaluate the model using precision, recall, and f1-score metrics. According to the study's findings, the support vector machine model's accuracy level is 71.20%. This method is good at predicting students who graduate with a precision of 95%, recall of 72%, and f1-score of 82%. However, the model's performance in predicting students who failed was less than satisfactory, with a precision of only 17%, a recall of 62%, and an f1-score of 26%. The imbalance in data between passed and failed students contributed to this result. The Support Vector Machine method effectively predicts student graduation for the majority class (passed), but requires special handling of the data imbalance to enhance the accuracy of predictions for the minority class (failed). Universities expect to use the results of this study to carry out early intervention and increase student graduation rates.

Understanding Microscopic Interactions in Binding Reactions: The pH Titration of EDTA

ABSTRACT Students beginning the study of biochemistry or biophysics at the undergraduate or even early graduate level are often overwhelmed by the complexity of the systems and the nomenclature. By comparison, chemical systems appear simple, as students can more easily relate to introductory chemistry courses, where the molecules are smaller and bind yet smaller ions. This allows students to write the structure of the entire molecule on a piece of paper and see exactly to which functional groups an ion, such as a proton (H+) in the simplest case, binds. Yet, concepts that are fundamental in biochemical macromolecules, namely proteins, can perfectly well be taught at the undergraduate or beginning graduate level, and probably be more easily understood, by using simpler, familiar chemical examples. The concept of interacting binding sites, which is at the root of cooperativity in protein binding reactions and conformational changes, is already present in simple molecules, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In this article, we show how to teach these topics by using the idea of the partition function, rather than a formal algebraic approach, to treat the binding of protons to EDTA. Profound concepts, such as that of interacting sites, appear naturally in a small molecule, where the origin can be easily ascribed, in this case, mainly to electrostatic interactions. Equipped with this understanding and this approach, students will be able to tackle more complicated biochemical systems, in which the molecules are larger, but the concepts are the same.

중국 고교학점제 졸업제도 탐색

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to examine the credit system and the corresponding graduation requirements of general high schools in China, and to present the associated issues and challenges. [Methods] The previous research related to the high school credit system and graduation requirements was analyzed, focusing on the literature. [Results] The analytical framework for this study is divided into graduation requirements, duration of study, grade promotion, and other related aspects. The findings based on this framework are as follows. First, to graduate, students must complete a minimum of 144 credits, which are categorized into mandatory courses, selective mandatory courses, and elective courses. The graduation exam can be taken from the second year of high school onwards, after meeting the minimum credit requirements set by the Ministry of Education's curriculum. The exam subjects vary monthly, and the results are classified into five grades. Courses are offered according to the national curriculum and the school's own curriculum.Second, high school education in China lasts for three years, and early graduation is generally not allowed.Third, the credit system is implemented alongside the grade-level system, so grade promotion is based on the grade-level system. Fourth, the comprehensive competency evaluation is conducted to observe, record, and analyze students' overall growth for character education purposes. For college entrance, there are two options: the 3+3 model and the 3+2+1 model. [Conclusion] FFirst, the graduation requirements include meeting the course completion standards and passing the graduation exam. Second, since the credit system aims to provide education tailored to individual aptitudes and talents, cases such as early graduation should be approached with caution. Third, as the credit system is currently implemented alongside the grade-level system, efforts are needed to fully realize the comprehensive implementation of the credit system. Fourth, it is necessary to enhance the comprehensive evaluation for the overall development of students, and continuously improve the college entrance evaluation system towards self-assessment and self-formation

근거이론에 의한 과학고등학교 기회균등전형 학생의 수학 학습 경험 연구

This study applies the grounded theory research method to closely understand the difficulties experienced and the coping mechanisms employed by students admitted to science high schools through the equal opportunity admission system in their mathematics learning. Specifically, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight graduating third-year students from a science high school, and the collected data along with the participants' math learning journals were analyzed following the procedures of grounded theory. The findings revealed that all participants experienced academic burnout in relation to their mathematics studies. The timing, pace of entering burnout, and recovery varied among the participants. Although this academic burnout seemed to naturally resolve to a significant extent during the third year due to reasons such as early graduation of top-tier students, some participants remained in a state of burnout. Based on the results of analyzing the difficulties and coping strategies in mathematics learning from the perspective of students in the equal opportunity admission system, this study proposes implications for the guidance and program development for these students.

Promotion in Place: A Model for Competency-Based, Time-Variable Graduate Medical Education.

Competency-based medical education is increasingly regarded as a preferred framework for physician training, but implementation is limited. U.S. residency programs remain largely time based, with variable assessments and limited opportunities for individualization. Gaps in graduates' readiness for unsupervised care have been noted across specialties. Logistical barriers and regulatory requirements constrain movement toward competency-based, time-variable (CBTV) graduate medical education (GME), despite its theoretical benefits. The authors describe a vision for CBTV-GME and an implementation model that can be applied across specialties. Termed "Promotion in Place" (PIP), the model relies on enhanced assessment, clear criteria for advancement, and flexibility to adjust individuals' responsibilities and time in training based on demonstrated competence. PIP allows a resident's graduation to be advanced or delayed accordingly. Residents deemed competent for early graduation can transition to attending physician status within their training institution and benefit from a period of "sheltered independence" until the standard graduation date. Residents who need extended time to achieve competency have graduation delayed to incorporate additional targeted education. A proposal to pilot the PIP model of CBTV-GME received funding through the American Medical Association's "Reimagining Residency" initiative in 2019. Ten of 46 residency programs in a multihospital system expressed interest and pursued initial planning. Seven programs withdrew for reasons including program director transitions, uncertainty about resident reactions, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Three programs petitioned their specialty boards for exemptions from time-based training. One program was granted the needed exemption and launched a PIP pilot, now in year 4, demonstrating the feasibility of implementing this model. Implementation tools and templates are described. Larger-scale implementation with longer-term assessment is needed to evaluate the impact and generalizability of this CBTV-GME model.

Making a difference to children and their families

Helen Haygarth, Family Hub Engagement and Participation lead for Durham Children and young People Service, talks about what inspires her each day, after she was named Early Childhood Graduate of the Year at the Nursery World Awards 2023. You can reach Helen @HJHaygarth

Is Japan's Early Graduation System for Gifted and Talented Undergraduates Socially Equitable?

Is Japan's Early Graduation System for Gifted and Talented Undergraduates Socially Equitable?

Careless Responding: Why Many Findings Are Spurious or Spuriously Inflated

Contrary to long-standing conventional wisdom, failing to exclude data from carelessly responding participants on questionnaires or behavioral tasks will frequently result in false-positive or spuriously inflated findings. Despite prior publications demonstrating this disturbing statistical confound, it continues to be widely underappreciated by most psychologists, including highly experienced journal editors. In this article, we aim to comprehensively explain and demonstrate the severity and widespread prevalence of careless responding’s (CR) inflationary effects in psychological research. We first describe when and why one can expect to observe the inflationary effect of unremoved CR data in a manner accessible to early graduate or advanced undergraduate students. To this end, we provide an online simulator tool and instructional videos for use in classrooms. We then illustrate realistic magnitudes of the severity of unremoved CR data by presenting novel reanalyses of data sets from three high-profile articles: We found that many of their published effects would have been meaningfully, sometimes dramatically, inflated if they had not rigorously screened out CR data. To demonstrate the frequency with which researchers fail to adequately screen for CR, we then conduct a systematic review of CR screening procedures in studies using paid online samples (e.g., MTurk) published across two prominent psychological-science journals. These findings suggest that most researchers either did not conduct any kind of CR screening or conducted only bare minimal screening. To help researchers avoid publishing spuriously inflated findings, we summarize best practices to help mitigate the threats of CR data.

Late Breaking Biological Sciences Session

Abstract This is a key element specific to the Biological Sciences Section within the Gerontological Society of America annual scientific meeting that allows for very new and unpublished findings to be presented. Due to the rapid advancement of our knowledge, four speakers in this symposium are selected from the submitted late breaking Abstracts. Special emphasis is given to selecting early career faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.

Effect of Participation in General Skills Training, Job Satisfication, and Perceived Organizational Support and Job Burn Out on Turnover Intention : Financial Technology Employees in Jakarta

Objective: This study aims to find the influence between Participation in General Skills Training, Job Satisfaction, and Perceived Organizational Support and Job Burn Out on Turnover Intention in Financial Technology Employees in Jakarta. Design/Methods/Approach: Data were analyzed using structural equation models and SPSS model-21. This research focuses on a number of Financial Technology workers in Jakarta, with a total sample of 165 respondents obtained by questionnaire with purposive sampling technique. The data obtained was processed using SPSS software to test validity, reliability and hypotheses. Findings: The results showed that there was a significant positive influence between Participation in General Skills Training, Job Satisfaction, and Perceived Organizational Support and Job Burn Out on Turnover Intention. Originality/Value: This research design was conducted with quantitative survey methods used on a sample of 147 early career graduate trainees in China. The data were analyzed using structural equation models and model-21 in the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Practical/Policy implication: This research is expected to provide input for company managers to maximize effectiveness by modifying or designing work to work more effectively.

Ottoman Imperial School of Fine Arts’ Department of Architecture: Foundation Years and Early Graduates

Ottoman Imperial School of Fine Arts’ Department of Architecture: Foundation Years and Early Graduates

Ottoman Imperial School of Fine Arts’ Department of Architecture: Foundation Years and Early Graduates

Ottoman Imperial School of Fine Arts’ Department of Architecture: Foundation Years and Early Graduates

The use of major-related knowledge by early career college graduates

ABSTRACT This paper develops a distance score that measures the extent to which college graduates work in jobs requiring knowledge that is related to their college major. For a given individual, this distance score is estimated by taking the Euclidean distance between the knowledge requirements of an individual’s occupation, and the knowledge requirements of the perfectly matching occupations that their major trains individuals for. Using this measure, it is documented that non-perfectly matched graduates of majors with high perfect match rates tend to use major-related knowledge in their jobs to a greater extent than non-perfectly matched graduates of majors with low perfect match rates. This indicates that cross-major differences in perfect match rates tend to understate cross-major differences in major-related knowledge use. Furthermore, average hourly earnings are found to be continuously decreasing in the value of the distance score. This earnings penalty persists when controlling for an individual’s demographic characteristics, as well as their college major.

Early Engineers and Architects Born on the Territory of Present North Macedonia

This article presents the initial results of the ongoing research into the early engineers and architects born in the past on the territory of present North Macedonia, who graduated before the establishment of the country on 2 August 1944, prior to the founding of the first Technical Faculty in Skopje in 1949. The majority of the identified engineers and architects were men who graduated within the interwar period from the Technical Faculty at the University of Belgrade (Serbia), founded in 1846. Women started entering engineering and architecture in the 1930s. Some of the early graduates pursued their professional careers elsewhere. Three graduates of Riga Polytechnic Institute (Latvia) were identified, who had their degrees recognized by the Technical Faculty in Belgrade, as well as one Serbian woman, an engineer, and an architect who briefly lived in Riga within the researched period. This study contributes to the history of engineering and architecture in North Macedonia.

Overcoming fear of conflict in group work: reflections from practice and teaching

ABSTRACT Groupwork is a core method of social work intervention, yet in our experience, social work students and early graduates rarely embrace the idea of facilitating groups, nor foresee that as a role they would like to fill. Through our years of experience in practising and teaching groupwork, we have learned that one of the reasons for this reluctance is the fear of conflict. This paper focuses on our journey of understanding the role of conflict in groups viewed through the lens of Tuckman’s 5 stages of groupwork. Through a series of examples from practice, we provide readers with strategies we have used for managing conflict in a groupwork practice setting. The aim of this paper is to provide social work educators, students and graduates with an understanding of why conflict occurs in groups and to provide a toolbox of strategies to respond to conflict.

Recruitment of nursing students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. A rapid response to the health emergency.

The Mexican government implemented a strategy to increase nursing staff in response to COVID-19, including the early graduation of university students, to incorporate them into the care frontline. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to analyze nursing students' experiences recruited by health institutions to care for COVID patients. It included 12 participants who received and accepted job proposals in health institutions for patient care during their internship. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with prior informed consent. The experiences of the participants were integrated into three themes: the students took advantage of the modified social service regulations to be recruited by an institution and integrate into COVID-19 care; the recruitment and remuneration conditions were plagued with anomalies and important informalities in the process; and the preparation for care was very incipient, so learning occurred in the very care process. The pandemic allowed the participants to enter the nursing labor market in extraordinary and substandard conditions.

Contratación de estudiantes de enfermería en el contexto de la pandemia por COVID-19 en México. Una respuesta rápida a la emergencia de salud

Abstract The Mexican government implemented a strategy to increase nursing staff in response to COVID-19, including the early graduation of university students, to incorporate them into the care frontline. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to analyze nursing students’ experiences recruited by health institutions to care for COVID patients. It included 12 participants who received and accepted job proposals in health institutions for patient care during their internship. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with prior informed consent. The experiences of the participants were integrated into three themes: the students took advantage of the modified social service regulations to be recruited by an institution and integrate into COVID-19 care; the recruitment and remuneration conditions were plagued with anomalies and important informalities in the process; and the preparation for care was very incipient, so learning occurred in the very care process. The pandemic allowed the participants to enter the nursing labor market in extraordinary and substandard conditions.