Future Activities Research Articles

Solving poverty or tackling healthcare inequalities? Qualitative study exploring local interpretations of national policy on health inequalities under new NHS reforms in England

ObjectivesMajor reforms to the organisation of the National Health Service (NHS) in England established 42 integrated care systems (ICSs) to plan and coordinate local services. The changes are based on...

Productivity and economic growth of manufacturing SMEs in an Ecuadorian locality

Background: This study examines the relationship between competitiveness, external growth, productivity, and communication in manufacturing SMEs in a Ecuadorian locality from the perspective of entrepreneurs. Methods: Quantitative methods and a Likert scale were employed, for which an instrument was generated, whose reliability was determined by surveys to collect data on the perceptions and opinions of SME owners and managers. Results: The results revealed an interdependence between competitiveness and SME consumption, as well as a crucial relationship between external growth and the GDP of these companies. Additionally, an essential connection was found between improving productivity and effective communication in SMEs. Conclusions: Consequently, the importance of SMEs focusing their efforts on improving competitiveness, considering internationalization strategies, and recognizing communication as a key component for their business success is highlighted. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the challenges and opportunities facing manufacturing SMEs, offering a solid foundation for future research and actions aimed at promoting their development and economic growth.

Exploring hidden pathways to sustainable manufacturing for cyber-physical production systems

Future manufacturing scenarios will likely be built around cyber-physical production systems. To succeed, this new manufacturing paradigm will also have to comply with the golden rule of sustainability. However, the concept of sustainability as defined in a number of high-level policy documents and recommendations requires disambiguation. The paper introduces HITECS, a novel, context-independent text analytics methodology for hidden correlation analysis in documents. HITECS is based on the assumption that there is a strong link between a concept and the words implicitly chosen to explain it. The analysis is based on the combination of bare words frequency and cosine similarity, excluding trivial, first-level terms (titles, keywords, and definitions). Processing a corpus of generally accepted documents related to various definitions and requirements of sustainability unfolded their hidden correlations and some common key concepts. These results indicate that terms like access, inclusion, global, change, together with others like resource, share, and integration, are among leading concepts in the high-level documents discussing the requirements of sustainability. A similar analysis in the domain of cyber-physical production systems shows strong conceptual overlaps but also gaps indicating pathways for future research and actions.

Mapping workforce contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals: a tool to enhance staff capacity and inspire action

The United Nations’ Agenda 2030 provides a framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve peace and prosperity for people and planet, now and into the future(1). The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition emphasises that food and nutrition are key levers for optimising both human and planetary health and that individuals working in food, nutrition and health play an essential role in contributing to the SDGs(2,3). This project aimed to (i) map the work being done by staff and higher degree students at Monash University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food and its alignment with the SDGs, and (ii) assess the impact of this process on workforce capacity to embed the SDGs in future work activities. Three mapping workshops; one pilot, one in-person and one online, were conducted (n = 28), beginning with a short expert-led seminar about the SDGs before participants engaged in an interactive activity to record their work activities (research, education or engagement) relating to the SDGs. Mapping data were analysed to determine which SDGs were being prioritised and in what type of activities. To determine the impact on workforce capacity, participants completed pre- and post-workshop surveys that assessed their knowledge of and confidence regarding the SDGs. From the three workshops, 129 work activities were described, each linked to one or more of the SDGs. Of those, 41% were education, 36% were research, and 23% were engagement activities. Work activities spanned all 17 of the SDGs, with the most commonly aligned being Goal 3 Good Health and Wellbeing (53% of work activities), Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities (37% of work activities), Goal 4 Quality Education (36% of work activities), Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production (34% of work activities), and Goal 17 Partnerships for the Goals (27% of work activities). The pre- and post-workshop surveys indicated increased staff knowledge and confidence related to the SDGs. The percentage of participants that could correctly identify the number of SDGs increased from 43% to 96%, and the percentage of participants that recognised the correct aim of the SDGs increased from 43% to 86%. Regarding confidence in talking about the SDGs, the percentage of staff who indicated that they ‘avoid talking about them’ or are ‘not confident’ decreased from 39% to 4%, and the number of staff who were confident talking about the SDGs ‘in general terms’ increased from 39% to 75%. Nutrition professionals are well-placed to support progress towards each of the SDGs. Workshops such as these provide an opportunity to increase workforce capacity to discuss, share and relate their work to the SDGs and provide a periodic pulse-check to identify opportunities for greater contribution to this urgent, global Agenda.

Promoting implementation research and One Health approach to respond the four global health challenges: an interpretation of the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) Strategy 2024-2029

Tropical diseases, notably neglected tropical diseases and infectious diseases of poverty, remain major health problems endangering the poorest and most-marginalized people in the world. The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), which is co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, is an important programme that helps facilitate, support, guide and coordinate global efforts to combat tropical diseases. On July 2023, TDR formally issued its 2024-2029 strategy, which proposed the direction and proprieties of global tropical disease prevention and control in the next six years. Based on its original focus on supporting researchers and research institutions from low and middle-income countries to conduct research on tropical diseases and building their research capabilities, this strategy proposed some new developments, which mainly included incorporating tropical disease prevention and control into the overall framework of addressing major global health challenges and achieving the health goals set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to combat tropical diseases and contribute to achieving health goals of SDGs in a collaborative and integrated manner; supporting implementation research and encouraging practitioners and social innovators to participate in research to enable generation of solutions that may be used to solve local health problems; promoting and encouraging the One Health concept and interdisciplinary and cross-departmental collaboration; shifting gradually its focus from disease prevention and control to addressing the health needs of the poorest and most-marginalized populations. These new developments deserve the attention of personnel and institutions in China dedicated to the prevention and control of tropical diseases in order to help their future researches and activities.

Decisive Factors for a Physically Active School Day in Denmark—A Multi-Stakeholder Delphi Process

ABSTRACT Introduction In 2014, the Danish Educational Act introduced daily physical activity (PA) as a part of a varied and physically active school day (PASD) to promote health and support motivation and learning. Implementation of PASD in Denmark has been slow, and schools meeting the legal requirement have decreased since 2017. Schools are complex systems with many stakeholders and different functions; however, evaluation of PASD often focuses on one group. This study aimed to identify the most important factors to succeed in implementing PASD as part of a varied school day in Danish schools through dialogue between stakeholders from all parts of the school system. Methods Stakeholders (n = 57) from all parts of the Danish school system participated in a Delphi study. Based on 449 inputs from practitioners, experts, and a literature review, 169 factors were identified. In two online surveys, stakeholders rated and prioritized factors within 12 themes related to the school system. This resulted in 136 factors which qualified as important for further discussion at two workshops where stakeholders prioritized factors within each theme through dialogue and experience exchange across the system. Results The panel identified 36 decisive factors for implementing PASD across all 12 themes representing the whole school system. Central themes included a common understanding of PA in PASD that aligns with teachers’ professional purposes. Also, leadership ensuring continuous evaluation and prioritizing time and resources to develop competencies and collegiate support was highlighted, along with a PASD culture where teachers and students feel competent and comfortable engaging in PA. Conclusion School systems are complex, and decisive factors related to all parts of a system indicate that they are interrelated, and all must be engaged to support the success of a PASD culture. The present findings can inform future actions for all stakeholders.

243 Community-Campus Research Incubator (CCRI) Grant Program: 13 years of partnerships improving community health

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: With the knowledge that population health will not improve without including community voices in research, analysis of the UCI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Community-Campus Research Incubator (CCRI) grants awarded since 2010 provides the foundation for understanding research partnerships impact on community health. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Over the past 13 years, the UCI ICTS CCRI program has funded 63 partnered research pilot or capacity-building projects, providing up to $30K annually to academic-community partnerships. Each year since 2010, between 3 and 7 projects were funded up to $5,000 annually for capacity-building activities and up to $10,000 annually for pilot research activities. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a collaboration between the UCI ICTS and the local Healthcare Agency provided up to $20,000 to research partnership teams to study impact and interventions related to the pandemic, where 10 CCRI awards were given out. Evaluations of these research teams was completed at the end of the project, and at years 2 and 3 after the project ended. Analysis of the projects and partnerships aim to reveal the impact of these projects. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In 2023, we compiled all evaluation data collected from 2010 – 2023 from the CCRI partnership grants, including traditional metrics of publications, subsequent grant applications submitted & awarded, presentations given, and return on investment for ICTS granted funds. Less traditional metrics include number of students trained, new tools or databases created, knowledge disseminated, and advances in clinical care. Since 2020, Translational Science Benefit Model metrics have been collected on community, policy, economic, and clinical domains. Since 2015, data on each CCRI partnership has been collected at the start and end of each project, with questions about attributes of each partner, trust, community engagement principles, and anticipated/actual impact of each project. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Organizing outcomes from the data collected will provide deep understanding of important components, functioning, and types and reach of partnered health research. This understanding will inform future action of the CCRI program in terms of what can be accomplished with a given amount of funding, and the constitution of successful partnerships.

A preliminary analysis of passport to practice: investigating development of core competencies in undergraduate health promotion students.

Equipping tertiary health promotion students with skills and knowledge to contribute meaningfully to the health promotion workforce begins with enhancing their health promotion competence via well-designed curriculum. This includes a focus on work-integrated learning, global citizenship, professional identity and competency mapping in line with the International Union for Health Promotion and Education Core Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion. In this paper we report baseline results for the Passport to Practice project, a mixed-methods prospective cohort study to track undergraduate health promotion student progress across their degree, to evaluate a new approach for assessing student achievement of the Competencies and Standards developed by the International Union for Health Promotion and Education. Baseline data were collected from first-year students via document analysis of student reflection papers (n = 40); and an online survey (n = 29) to measure self-reported health promotion competence, development of global citizenship and professional identity, and PebblePad usability. Findings suggest the Passport to Practice initiative positively contributed to professional identity and health promotion competence. Students appreciated work-integrated learning opportunities that enabled them to plan for future activities to address gaps in their competence; and students excelled in the social responsibility dimension of global citizenship but lagged in the political voice category of the global civic engagement dimension. Findings provide insights about strategies and concepts required to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for their role as health promotion practitioners to address complex public health challenges.

Influence of Hand-to-Hand Combat Training on Functional Fitness of Cadets at Higher Educational Establishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

Purpose: to analyze the influence of Hand-to-Hand Combat on functional fitness of cadets of a higher educational establishment of the national police of Ukraine. Materials and Methods. The study involved 125 Cadets at Higher Educational Establishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Research methods: methods of theoretical level of research; empirical research methods: pedagogical observation, pedagogical experiment; chest rheography (to determine functional state of the cardiovascular system); assessment of anaerobic performance according to the Wingate test and physical performance according to the PWC170 test; methods of mathematical statistics. Results: the service and combat activities of police officers in modern social and political environment in Ukraine set high demands to functional capabilities of the body. Hand-to-hand combat can have a significant impact on professional and psychophysiological fitness of personnel for effective actions to apprehend and detain a criminal, as well as under conditions of limited space. Hand-to-hand combat is an effective sport for quality formation of the process of training cadets of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as evidenced by improvement of all indicators of cadets of the experimental group, namely: heart rate variability, anaerobic and aerobic mechanisms of motor activity. Conclusions: for the first time, data on HRV, the Wingate test and physical performance of cadets of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were obtained. The changes of these indicators under the influence of Hand-to-Hand Combat classes in annual dynamics have been presented. Positive influence of Hand-to-Hand Combat classes on functional state of cadets has been established, which contributes to increase of the efficiency of their professional activities in future. At the end of the study, cadets of the experimental group had significantly better indicators of functional fitness than the cadets of the control group. The obtained results proved that the developed training program based on the application of Hand-to-Hand Combat is effective and proves expediency of its application in practice.

A bibliometric analysis of the world of VUCA in business and management literature

The aim of this study is to make a bibliometric analysis of scientific studies on "VUCA" in the fields of business and management for the period of 2013-2023. In this context, data was obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) database and the VOSviewer programme is applied to analyze. The results showed that it was determined that there were 393 studies on the concept of VUCA, and it was found that 154 of these studies were in the business and management category. The findings of the analysis indicate that the highest number of studies on VUCA were conducted in the management category and the most studied document type was the article. According to the results of the analysis, which revealed that the interest in the subject had been increasing, especially after 2016, the most cited author was “Bennett and Lemoine (2014)”; the most productive country was the USA and the most used keyword besides “VUCA” was "leadership". It is belived that the findings obtained from this study will insight into the studies to be carried out on the subject and contribute to the researchers about the research areas that are growing in the field of VUCA and the topics that will be the focus of research activities in the near future.

Strategies for Activating Independent Learning Activities of Students in Biology Classes

The article is dedicated to methods of activating students' independent learning activities during biology classes. It is proved that independent work in education holds significant importance for both the learning process and students of general secondary education. As noted by the authors of the article, the successful implementation of such activities depends on the teacher's ability to effectively manage them. Among the innovative methods there are: problem-based learning, projects and research, group work, utilization of internet resources and multimedia, task solving, and independent preparation of presentations or reports. By following these principles, it is possible to contribute to the development of students with their own worldview and a steadfast life position. The article highlights the importance of active independent learning activities during lessons, particularly in biology, and provides lesson plans developed using methods aimed at fostering such activities among seventh-grade students. Additionally, the results of student surveys are presented, demonstrating the level of interest in biological education, ranking of subjects in personal significance, level of students’ independent activity, and their suggestions for diversifying and improving the process of biology learning. It was revealed that 13% of students exhibit a high level of independent learning activity, 54% demonstrate an average level, while 32% have a low level of independent learning activity. It is noted that activation of students' independent learning activities in the process of studying biology is crucial for both their personal growth and overall development. As biology has its peculiarities, students' independent activity becomes the foundation for their success and the development of scientific thinking. Taking into account these aspects, it can be argued that students' independent cognitive activity in the study of biology is essential for their comprehensive development and the formation of scientific thinking and skills useful in future life and professional activities. According to the research, to achieve such results, teachers should create conditions conducive to the development of students' independence and cognitive abilities, providing them with the opportunity to independently explore, study, and conceptualize new knowledge.

FORMATION OF LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN THE PROCESS OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF FUTURE SPECIALISTS IN THE CONDITIONS OF AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The research is conducted in the article and theoretical and practical analysis of the characteristics of leadership and the substantiation of the psychological and pedagogical conditions for the formation and development of leadership qualities in students in the process of professional training in a higher educational institution. An analysis of various approaches to the interpretation of the concepts of "leader", "leadership", "leadership in education", and "educational leadership" is proposed; Based on the various definitions analyzed, he identifies the signs of student leadership: initiative, contact, sensitivity, goodwill, broad social and intellectual horizons, willingness to help, etc. It is noted that the concept of leadership is considered by scientists in such aspects as leadership as a mechanism for introducing innovative changes, leadership as a model of personality formation, and leadership as the spiritual mission of an individual. The results of a study conducted among students of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education of specialty 013 "Primary Education", which was conducted to study the state of formation of leadership qualities. future primary school teachers are presented and characterized. Empirical studies have shown that students systematize all leadership qualities into the following groups: organizational, communicative, perceptual, creative, and self-regulatory. It is noted that confirmation of the qualities of a leader in future primary school teachers involves the creation of appropriate favorable conditions that ensure that students’ activities are focused on the development of leadership motivation. The article defines and characterizes the necessary psychological and pedagogical conditions: the formation of the motivational and value sphere of a future teacher education specialist for impact on the process of increasing the level of personal professional development within the limits of future professional activity; the readiness of the university’s scientific and teaching staff to work with potential leaders; formation of practical leadership experience in the conditions of educational applicants undergoing various types of teaching practice; development and implementation of training sessions in the educational process of professional training of future specialists.

A Thermo-Economic Measure of Sustainability

Recently, an improvement of the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), named the Thermodynamic Human Development Index (THDI), has been introduced to link socio-economics to environmental and technical pillars of sustainable development. In this paper, the THDI is linked to the Kaya identity to bring out the quantities useful in energy economics and to obtain a clearer tool for the evaluation of sustainability. Moreover, the THDI has been normalized for use as an index for the analysis of sustainability. The component related to environmental emissions, which is included in the THDI, can be linked to the Kaya identity. This linkage allows us to use the THDI for the analysis of scenarios, which is useful for evaluating the possible impacts of any future actions on the development of countries.

The Comparison of Modal Be Going to and Will Between English and Gorontalonese

This study explores the differences and similarities in the use of modal expressions "be going to" and "will" between English and Gorontalonese, a language spoken in the Gorontalo region of Indonesia. The modal expressions "be going to" and "will" are commonly used in English to indicate future actions, intentions, or predictions. However, their usage may vary across languages and dialects. Through a comparative analysis of authentic language data, including texts and conversations, this research investigates how speakers of English and Gorontalonese employ these modal expressions in different contexts. The study examines factors such as grammatical structure, semantic nuances, and cultural influences that may contribute to the variation in the usage of "be going to" and "will" between the two languages. The findings provide insights into the linguistic features of modal expressions in English and Gorontalonese, shedding light on cross-linguistic differences and contributing to the field of comparative linguistics.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel ring-conjugated coumarins as biosafe broad-spectrum antimicrobial candidates

This study presents, for the first time, the synthesis of innovative conjugates identified as a five-membered ring integrating three heteroatoms linked linearly to the coumarin framework. Seven conjugates, comprising combinations of 1,3,2-dioxathiole-2-oxide and coumarin derivatives, were made via a three-stage synthetic procedure originating from benzene 1,2,4-triole. Spectroscopic methodologies, encompassing 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and FTIR, were utilized to validate the structural frameworks of the synthesized conjugates. Their capacity in the biomedicine field to act as broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents was evaluated. Furthermore, the biosafety and in silico pharmacokinetic characteristics of the conjugates were also examined. Six pathogenic aerobic bacteriomers, three anaerobic bacteriomers, and two fungiomers were utilized to investigate the broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity of the conjugates. On the other hand, three non-pathogenic bacteriomers were employed to reveal the biosafety profiles of the synthesized conjugates. Finally, two web-based programs were utilized to unveil the pharmacokinetic profiles of the title conjugates. The authors outlined four principal outcomes drawn from the extracted results. The conjugation between 1,3,2-dioxathiole-2-oxide and coumarin derivatives demonstrates biosafety and broad-spectrum antimicrobial implications. Conjugate DOTC5 displayed potent antibacterial activity against the tested aerobic bacteriomers, showing a potency comparable to that of the reference drug. Conjugate DOTC1 demonstrated strong antifungal activity exceeding that of the standard used. The synthesized conjugates, particularly DOTC5, displayed interesting biosafety profiles against the non-pathogenic bacteriomers. It concluded that the conjugates DOTC5 and DOTC1 exhibit the potential to function as valuable scaffolds for developing novel medications with biosafe, broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities in the foreseeable future.

УПРАВЛЕНИЕ ПРОЕКТАМИ КАК ЭФФЕКТИВНАЯ МОДЕЛЬ РАЗВИТИЯ ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

Environmental problems (air and water pollution, decline in biodiversity, noise pollution, etc.) that humanity faces today are partly related to the need to increase basic literacy of the population in the field of environmental protection and conservation. Existing environmental education in higher educational institutions often does not correspond to the principle of connection between theory and practice. Students are told about existing problems as a given, and not about what can and should be changed. However, in future professional activity, each student will have to “present” not knowledge in its pure form, but the ability to apply it in specific practical situations. In this regard, the article presents a project method of working with students, which allows them to be involved in active environmental activities. The authors examined an important environmental problem, using the example of a decline in the number of sterlet, and presented its relevance. The article also illustrates an effective step-by-step mechanism that must be included in the educational environment of higher educational institutions that train qualified personnel, ensure people's safety, a technosphere comfortable for human life and activity, and also minimize the technogenic impact on the environment. Based on the study, the authors came to the conclusion that design allows students to switch from passive consumers of knowledge to active creators who can analyze problems, find the optimal result and prove its correctness. The article is intended for further application of the method by the pedagogical community in the educational process in order to improve the existing educational system.

Formation of Professional Training of Future Chemistry Teachers in the Discipline 'Analytical Chemistry'

Today, the results of training in universities that train chemistry teachers are determined on the basis of the first level of Dublin descriptors for undergraduate studies and are reflected through specific competencies. Therefore, the results of training are formed at all levels of the educational program (EP) that trains chemistry teachers, that is, at the level of a separate discipline, module. High-quality organization of the content of basic disciplines is of particular importance for future chemistry specialists to achieve special competencies. In this regard, the presented article focuses on the methodological aspects of teaching chemical disciplines that contribute to the formation of a broad worldview, a high culture of thinking, an educated person in the training of chemistry specialists at the International Kazakh-Turkish university named after Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. The purpose of our research work is a comprehensive analysis of the components of the professional competencies of the Analytical Chemistry course and preparing for future professional activity by creating a methodology that forms the general and professional competencies of the future chemistry teacher. Therefore, as the object of research work, the course “Analytical Chemistry” is taken as a basis. Features, meaningful and effective opportunities for general and professional competencies are provided, which are analyzed for its content, the place and significance of the subject in the chemical education system is determined, and is also formed when teaching other chemical disciplines. The course of the study of the problem of organizing the education system with a focus on the principles of competence was organized in the field of control, data collection, analysis of statistical data, their generalization, oral and written requests. From the results obtained, it follows that in the formation of fundamental chemical-analytical knowledge and professional motivational and value relationships among students, the presence of various tasks focused on effective teaching methods and competencies is of great importance.

Metody rewitalizacji obszarów pokopalnianych na przykładzie światowych realizacji architektonicznych i studiów własnych

Post-mining grounds and spoil tips frequently render landscapes permanently flawed. As a result of mining activity, considerable stretches of land are often permanently excluded from further use. Due to the extensively transformed landscape, it is necessary to implement revitalisation processes. Relevant design and investment activities, coupled with the cooperation of specialists such as architects, civil engineers, geotechnicians, hydrotechnicians and environmental engineers, along with local authorities, can offer a comprehensive functional programme for areas degraded by mining and provide local residents with an attractive leisure area. This article discusses the current state of knowledge on the revitalisation of former mining areas, with special regard to architectural, environmental, social, and economic aspects. The aim of the study is to review and promote design solutions which permanently restore previously degraded areas to local communities. Various concepts of revitalisation of degraded areas are presented, based on examples of landscape architecture at home and abroad. The selected examples comprise natural regeneration, reclamation, and ecological engineering. These are examples of a holistic and modern approach to the development of tourist and environmentally active areas in post-mining sites and spoil tips. Furthermore, the study presents the authors' proposal concerning the revitalisation of a spoil tip area at LW Bogdanka mine for winter sport purposes and other activities, for which the demand was signalled by their management. The discussed examples can serve as an inspiration for future actions and executive projects, undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of Agenda 2030 and Fit for 55 policies.

Sustainable Agriculture Development and Optimum Utilization of Natural Resources: Striking a Balance

There is a finite supply of natural resources, and unchecked exploitation may harm the ecosystem. The strategy for their sustainable use must be determined. The framework of sustainable development is used to define strategies of ongoing societal and state advancement that do not negatively impact the environment or the natural resources that will be needed for future human activities. A model that governs sustainable use takes into account the legal and strategic guidelines for the extraction of energy and natural resources. Ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources both nationally and internationally is the aim. Environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources are closely intertwined. Additionally, a healthy environment's value and the degree to which the public is educated about its preservation are linked to the preservation of the working and living environments. All areas of human endeavour see improvements in quality of life as a result of faster technical development, but increased environmental deterioration is also a potential. Consequently, in order to achieve the objectives of the society's development policy, it is imperative to incorporate the appropriate standards that would support sustainable development. This review paper is a quick response to maintain the ecosystem's equilibrium and the surrounding area.

Immersed in scholarly projects: Upskilling our future medical workforce

Introduction: Much has been written about the need for medical students to have research skills. Increasing numbers of medical schools are incorporating compulsory research experiences to increase research literacy. However, little is known about the student perceptions of, and outcomes from, those programs. We aimed to examine medical students' perceptions of a compulsory 6-week scholarly project at a large Australian university. There was a particular focus on comparing students’ perceptions based on their prior research experience. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to survey 418 final-year medical students. Responses were analysed using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Results: One hundred and eleven students responded to the survey (27% of the cohort). Fifty-one percent had prior research experience. The majority of respondents perceived they had enhanced their confidence (69%) and research skills (74%), and as a result of this unit, 62% reported enhanced willingness to participate in future research projects. Students produced a variety of outputs in addition to their assessment requirements. Students without prior experience were significantly more likely to report they were suitably challenged and their project had enhanced their skills in interpreting and applying evidence. Conclusion: We found that short (6-week) scholarly projects enhanced final-year medical students’ perceived ability to interpret and apply evidence. Many students also reported an increased willingness to participate in future research activities. As clinician research literacy and engagement are thought to improve healthcare performance and health outcomes, scholarly experiences in the final year of medical school have the potential to enhance graduate enquiry to improve healthcare.