Graduate Student Research Research Articles

If not us, then who? QTBIPOC graduate student researchers’ experiences researching QTBIPOC communities.

If not us, then who? QTBIPOC graduate student researchers’ experiences researching QTBIPOC communities.

Understanding Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces in Gel Polymer Electrolytes Using in-Operando Raman Spectroscopy

Gel polymer electrolytes hold enormous potential for advancing battery performance and technology, promising high energy densities and safe, rechargeable quasi solid-state batteries. GPEs offer higher ionic conductivities than solid electrolytes and enhanced safety in comparison to liquid electrolytes. A particular advantage of these electrolytes has been their ability to create robust electrode electrolyte interfaces that guide uniform deposition and stripping of lithium via their mechanical strength from the polymer and interface species that form during initial cycling.Herein we report that 1:1 dimethoxyethane (DME) and dioxolane (DOL) with lithium bistrifluoromethanosulfonyl imide (LiTFSI) and lithium nitrate entrapped in Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) gel polymer electrolytes have shown stability for up to 500 hours in lithium metal symmetric cells at 1 mAh/cm2 and performs at 5mAh/cm2 in dynamic symmetric cell cycling. To understand the fundamental interfacial phenomenon governing lithium deposition and growth in this system in-operando Raman was conducted on an anodeless Cu|PVDF-HFP|Li cell. Copper was sputtered onto the polymer electrolyte before assembly with a thickness of 20nm, providing an optically transparent electrode through which the Raman laser could pass through to detect interfacial species. We observe that PVDF-HFP acted as a chemically stable polymer electrolyte while Raman shifts associated with TFSI anions disappear near the electrode surface. The spectral and electrochemical data allow us to build a model for the growth and evolution of interfaces in an anodeless lithium metal battery cell with a GPE.Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists, Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program. The SCGSR program is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the DOE under contract number DE‐SC0014664. Figure 1

International graduate research students

International students are aspirational and expectant of their learning improving the quality of their life. The stress from academic pressure and acculturative challenges exasperates them from fully experiencing a quality higher educational experience. Despite this, they continuously strive to learn and adjust as they construct their academic identities. While research studies provide several independent perspectives on identity using social, psychological, historical, and political orientations, the current small-scale explorative study focuses on a socio-psychological perspective, discussing the evolution of academic identities of early-career international graduate research (ECIGR) students. This study emerged from the lack of a comprehensive definition of students’ academic identity and may contribute to this evolving definition. It adopts a case-study approach with semi-structured interviews and applies the situated learning theory.

Study on the Training Model of the Combination of Production, University, and Research of Transportation Graduate Students

Study on the Training Model of the Combination of Production, University, and Research of Transportation Graduate Students

Placental IL-1β inhibits PKM2 and leads to endothelial barrier injury in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia, a life-threatening hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, continues to be a major global health concern. Maternal endothelial dysfunction induced by components from the impaired placenta is a key hallmark of preeclampsia (PE). Increased levels of IL-1β have been observed in preeclamptic placentas, but its association with endothelial dysfunction has remained uncertain. Our hypothesis was that IL-1β released from the placenta links the placental abnormalities with maternal endothelial dysfunction in PE. Our investigation revealed elevated levels of IL-1β in preeclampsia placentas, which were negatively correlated with reduced VE-Cadherin expression in endothelial cells, indicating consistent endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, we identified the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase 2 (PKM2) as a key regulator of glycolysis involved in the regulation of junctional VE-Cadherin in endothelial cells. Rescue assays further demonstrated that the overexpression of PKM2 was necessary to ameliorate endothelial barrier injury induced by IL-1β. Our study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms driving preeclampsia, highlighting the regulatory roles of IL-1β, PKM2, and VE-Cadherin in endothelial cells. These identified interactions may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, offering potential targets for therapeutic interventions to preserve endothelial integrity and alleviate the condition. This project was funded by Natural Science Foundation of Shandong (ZR2022MH195 and ZR2023MH211), and the Graduate Student Research Grant from Weifang Medical University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Graduate Student Research Award

Graduate Student Research Award

대학원생의 부적응적 완벽주의가 진로불안에 미치는 영향

Objectives The purpose of this study was to confirm the dual mediating effects of generalized anxiety and faculty conflict on the impact of maladaptive perfectionism on graduate students' career anxiety.
 Methods For this study, data were collected from 354 graduate students in Seoul, Korea, and SPSS Statistics 26.0 program and SPSS PROCESS (v.4.3) macro were used to conduct correlation analysis to analyze the relationship between key variables and the dual mediating effects of generalized anxiety and faculty conflict on maladaptive perfectionism and career anxiety.
 Results First, graduate students' maladaptive perfectionism, generalized anxiety, and conflict experience with a professor showed a positive correlation with career anxiety. Second, in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and career anxiety, generalized anxiety showed a simple mediating effect. Third, generalized anxiety and conflict experience with a professor sequentially double mediated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and career anxiety.
 Conclusions The findings are significant in that they provide implications for counseling interventions in the process of maladaptive perfectionism's transition to career anxiety in graduate student research. Finally, the current study's implications for future graduate student research are discussed, along with limitations and implications for clinical practice.

Developing a mentoring program to support the next generation of immunologists.

Mentorship refers to the guidance given by a mentor to a less experienced individual to enhance their professional and personal development. For graduate research students, seeking independent mentors external to their institution offers the rewarding opportunity to obtain objective guidance on a variety of work, study and life matters. This article outlines the steps taken to develop a professional society-based, international mentoring program of over 70 participants. This 6-month program aimed to connect graduate research students with more senior academic scientists in response to the limited networking opportunities imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia. Outlined here are the resources used to maximize the potential of this successful program, which include (1) an 'Introduction to Mentoring' workshop, (2) the use of a mentoring software or communication strategy to maintain program momentum and (3) the integration of in-person networking events. Overall, the program was a great success, with a high satisfaction rating (8.7/10) and a large number of participants reported that they would maintain their mentoring relationship. All participants stated that they would recommend the program to a peer, and thus reiterations of the program would likely be similarly well-received and beneficial to the Australasian immunology community.

TO PUBLISH OR NOT: PHILIPPINE GRADUATE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION, EXPERIENCES, AND NEEDS IN RESEARCH PUBLICATION

Engaging with research publications is crucial for graduate students in their academic pursuits. It allows them to not only reflect on their knowledge and practice, which in turn leads to the development of a research topic for their theses, but also to contribute to the advancement of knowledge within their field of study.This study delves into the motivations, experiences and needs of graduate students who have engaged in research and publication in the Philippines context. A phenomenological approach was applied, involving selected graduate students who have published at least one research in internationally refereed journals and experienced the processes of journal publication. The data were gathered from FGD and analyzed iteratively. The findings revealed that their motivations are professors’ encouragement, course requirements, new learning experience, collaboration, and promotion. In describing their experiences, they found it enriching, collaborative, fulfilling, and challenging. Their needs are mentoring, research capability building, having a research community, financial support and incentives, and providing relevant information. From the findings, it can be concluded that graduate students will be able to do research with the right motivation and support from the faculty. Research and publication are fulfilling and enriching but challenging. The experiences and needs of the selected graduate students can be used as inputs in the development of a research and publication program for graduate students. in general and comparing between autonomous versus controlled motivation.

Programmatic instruction for systematic reviews: Developing an interdisciplinary framework for instruction and assessment

Systematic reviews are a growing area of faculty and graduate student research. Academic libraries can anticipate more questions from their research communities regarding this advanced research methodology. This article details a framework for developing interdisciplinary programmatic instruction for systematic reviews. Scaffolded workshop series are identified as an effective method for providing this type of research assistance. The use of bibliometric data is identified as an assessment practice librarians can implement to inform programmatic direction and growth. Included within this framework are discussions on building a community of practice to ensure program development is both comprehensive and sustainable. The proposed framework will guide librarians as they develop an instruction program to assist researchers with systematic reviews across disciplines.

What matters to graduate students? Experiences at a statistical consulting center from pre‐ to post‐COVID‐19 pandemic

The COVID‐19 pandemic led to unprecedented changes in all levels of society, including the statistical consulting field. This paper focuses on the experiences of graduate student consultants and clients at our statistical consulting center (SCC) that operates all year independent of semesters. During the lockdown period, work continued without interruption and was conducted remotely, but there was a temporary reduction in utilization. Advice on statistical methods, help with data analysis and educational offerings are the main appeals to utilize SCC services. We describe our mentoring approach for graduate student research assistants (RAs) and how pandemic changes affected RAs and clients. Based on experiences during the pandemic, we offer practical suggestions for SCCs' approaches to research support, work characteristics and collaborations to improve the experiences of graduate students, both as consultants and clients. Most collaboration meetings are now virtual by request from clients. Telecommuting supports flexible personal schedules and needs. Online educational offerings provide easier access for participants and more opportunities for a wider range of topics and presenters. However, mentoring sessions for RAs are best conducted in‐person, and every effort should be made to encourage in‐person interactions and collaborations between staff members to advance the effectiveness of post‐pandemic SCCs.

Graduate student experiences and perspectives related to conducting thesis research within long-term ecological projects

Long-term ecological research (LTER) projects are considered valuable training grounds for graduate student researchers, yet student voices are largely absent from discussions of LTER merits in the literature. We aimed to identify benefits and challenges encountered by current and former graduate students in conducting graduate research within LTER projects. To explore graduate student experiences and perspectives, we conducted a survey comprising both closed-ended questions (i.e., multiple choice and Likert scale) and open-ended questions. From the responses, we identified emergent categories related to positive and negative experiences using sentiment analysis. We found agreement with purported benefits in areas including networking and access to established field sites and protocols. However, participants also identified data accessibility, authorship decisions, communication, and interpersonal conflicts as significant sources of challenges. We synthesized survey results with existing literature to provide actionable recommendations for principal investigators in four main areas (data, authorship, communication, and management) through an LTER lens. In addition to providing longitudinal data, LTER projects offer graduate students both physical and methodological infrastructure that can serve as the scaffold for new research questions to be developed. However, the likelihood of success of student research, as well as the success of the students themselves, can be improved when the needs of graduate students are prioritized.

Teaching, Learning, and Praxis: A Critical Inquiry on Graduate Student Research Apprenticeship Opportunities in Qualitative Research

Teaching, Learning, and Praxis: A Critical Inquiry on Graduate Student Research Apprenticeship Opportunities in Qualitative Research

Theses and dissertations completed in family and consumer sciences: 2022

AbstractSince 1992, completion of graduate student degrees and research in family and consumer sciences has been collected annually. Data collection for 2022 began in July 2023 when 549 e‐mail invitations were sent to contacts at 165 U.S. universities and colleges inviting family and consumer sciences programs to report graduate program degree completions and research production through theses and dissertations. Twenty‐three institutions responded with data. They reported 740 graduate degrees conferred collectively with 123 master's theses, 184 dissertations, and 433 non‐thesis master's degrees completed. This report presents submitted information on theses and dissertations organized into 17 subject‐matters categories and listed by degree level.

Rediscovering the Child

Action research is the term used for investigations done in the field, often by practitioners, and typically with a pragmatic rather than theoretical purpose (Willis & Edwards, 2014). This type of research is a key part of many Montessori teacher education programs, but the value of this important work is often lost to the field because the papers reside in separate institutional repositories with limited indexing. The Journal of Montessori Research is introducing a new annual review article series which features selected graduate student action research studies. The authors of this recurring series of articles represent Montessori teacher preparation programs and other university-based research roles. They will select studies that they believe are particularly high quality and relevant to the journal’s readers. We are calling this series of articles “Rediscovering the Child” to honor Maria Montessori’s seminal work and to acknowledge that all Montessori teachers engage in an ongoing process of rediscovering the children in their classrooms. When this process is formalized, action research is the result. This article is the first in the series and highlights six studies from University of Wisconsin-River Falls and St. Catherine University. In the coming issues, we will likely refine some aspects of our selection and review processes and expand the programs represented.

An explicit approach to liminality as an inclusive approach to librarian support for graduate student researchers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide readers with a deeper theoretical understanding of liminality, its utility in understanding the experiences of graduate student researchers and how being explicit about the liminal nature of the graduate student experience can be especially impactful for students from marginalized communities.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper examines liminality as an essential component of researcher identity development and how an awareness of this liminality relates to effective and inclusive librarian support of graduate student researchers. The authors explore the affective and academic implications of operating in this liminal state and how direct acknowledgment of this inbetweenness, especially within the spaces of classroom instruction and research consultations, can be leveraged as an inclusive practice. The authors ground this exploration in critical pedagogy.FindingsGraduate student researchers often operate in an unacknowledged liminal state, which causes students to question the importance of their previous knowledge and life experiences and feel discouraged and uncertain about their potential place in academia. This is particularly damaging to students from communities that have been traditionally marginalized and excluded from higher education.Originality/valueThe authors are liaison librarians to education and health sciences at a large, minority-serving, urban research institution in the western USA and draw on their experience supporting students in disciplines that include many students returning to graduate studies after substantial professional experience. This work makes a contribution to library and information studies by focusing on the concept of liminality. The authors offer a conceptual perspective on liminality relative to librarians and their support role in the graduate student experience.

Methodological teaching-learning experiments applied to Geotechnical Engineering

The use of problem-based and project-based learning is beneficial. The teaching-learning process requires the development of a critical, objective, and rational mind. This paper analyzes methodological experiments from the teaching-learning process carried out in the geotechnical area of the civil engineering program at three universities in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, for more than 40 years. Three integrated experiments are presented. In the first experiment, undergraduate students in geotechnical engineering courses interacted with companies operating in the area, conducting laboratory and field tests and geotechnical instrumentation. The second experiment integrated students and teachers from different areas of the civil engineering program around a multidisciplinary project, while the third brought together undergraduate and graduate (master and doctoral) student research activities into a single project that extends from the development and construction of geotechnical equipment and applications of new soil improvement techniques to land use planning and occupation. )This study demonstrated the use of positive teaching-learning experiences carried out in the teaching of geotechnical engineering in the development of civil engineers who have technical skills and professional competences. It contributed to the advancement of knowledge in the development of new equipment, soil improvement, testing techniques and in the use, planning and occupation of soils. The interaction between the university, society and government institutions in problem solving also contributed.

Growing in relation with the land: Experiential learning of Root and Regenerate Urban Farms

The food landscape of Calgary, Canada, is sown with an abundance of polycultures. Alongside place-specific Indigenous foodways are food rescue, banking, and hamper programs, food studies scholars, a City of Calgary food resilience plan, and a growing number of alternative food network producers. Within the local alternative food network, there has been a boom in advancing indoor growing for our colder climate, including container, aquaponic, vertical hydroponic, and greenhouse growing. Situated as an agrarian ethno­grapher and an urban regenerative farmer, we seek to highlight the viability of agricultural techniques that are in relation with the land to grow more socially and ecologically sustainable food and farm systems in and around Calgary. From this posi­tion, we formed a collaboration between the University of Calgary, Root and Regenerate Urban Farms, and the Young Agrarians to document the cultivation process for a production urban farm. Over the course of one growing season—May to September, 2021—we harvested approximately 7,000 lbs (3,175 kg) of produce across nine urban spaces totaling 0.26 acres. The 48 vegetable varie­ties were distributed to 35 community supported agriculture shareholders, weekly farmers market customers, restaurant chefs, and members of the YYC Growers and Distributors cooperative. More­over, we donated 765 lbs (347 kg) of surplus pro­duce to the Calgary Community Fridge, Calgary Food Bank, and the Alex Community Food Cen­tre, which work to mitigate food insecurity. Through a reflexive practitioner approach, our reflective essay discusses the benefits and limita­tions of Small Plot Intensive Farming methods and urban land-sharing strategies, as well as the viability of land-based urban agriculture in a rapidly chang­ing socio-ecological climate. Our paper also demonstrates the potential for transcending siloed approaches to knowledge-making vis-à-vis experi­ential learning partnerships between graduate student researchers, farmers, and agricultural organizations.

The Coleopterists Society Graduate Student Research Enhancement Awards and Undergraduate Travel Award 2023 Recipients

The Coleopterists Society Graduate Student Research Enhancement Awards and Undergraduate Travel Award 2023 Recipients

Greeting from the Editor

Greetings from the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor. To read the full message, please open the PDF link. Welcome to the final issue of 2023 for the Canadian Journal of Career Development. This year has seen an increase in submissions to our Journal and we are grateful to have so many consider us for their research publication. Our reviewers were certainly delighted and intrigued by your work. Contained within this issue are six articles that address various topics related to career development. There are four articles that are published under our Peer-Reviewed Article Category, and two of which we are happy to have from our francophone community. There is one article published in our Practitioner & Community Best Practices and one article published in our Graduate Student Research Brief Sections. Each article is interesting, and we highly recommend you take time readingthem.