Graduate Studies Research Articles

Examining the Relationship between Vaccine Utilization and Educational Attainment in Southeast Los Angeles

The Southeast Los Angeles cities of Maywood and Bell have educational attainment (bachelor’s degree or higher) rates of 8.7% and 8.8%, respectively, relative to California’s state average of 37.0% (U.S. Census Bureau 2022). The goal of this study is to evaluate the relationship between educational attainment and vaccine utilization in Southeast Los Angeles to inform future policies aimed at improving long-term health outcomes. For this study, the International Collegiate Health Initiative (ICHI), a 501(c)-3 nonprofit focused on providing multicultural low-income, immigrant, and refugee populations with educational, nutritional, and medical health services, conducted extensive surveying of the patient population at its mobile community health clinic events at the Maywood YMCA and the Bell Community Health Center. The data reveals significant differences in vaccine use between college- and non-college-educated individuals. 68.75% of college-educated respondents reported receiving a COVID-19 booster shot, whereas 56.82% of non-college-educated respondents reported the same. Similarly, college-educated respondents had a 62.5% flu vaccination rate in the 2022 flu season, compared to 47.7% for non-college-educated respondents. The trend of college attendees being more likely to use vaccine services than non-college attendees is corroborated by a longitudinal study of Wisconsin high school graduates. This study determined that college attendance was correlated with higher probability of vaccine utilization in general, and increased flu shot usage in particular (Fletcher & Frisvold, 2009). The study also indicates that there is causation, rather than simply correlation, between increased college attendance and use of vaccines. Moreover, an empirical assessment of OECD countries for the period 1995–2015 found that well-educated adults have better health relative to adults who are less-educated (​​Raghupathi & ​​Raghupathi, 2020). This underscores the need to support increased educational attainment in underserved communities in order to increase vaccination rates in the United States.

Facing the cliff-edge: care-experienced graduates’ access to and progression through taught postgraduate study in the United Kingdom

AbstractOver the past 15 years, a growing body of research into the issues care-experienced people face when accessing higher education (HE) has led to welcome support developments to attempt to redress inequalities. However, such support ceases upon completion of undergraduate degrees. Without continued support, constraints in accessing taught postgraduate study can lead to limitations in future careers, earning potential, and future stability for care-experienced people. Until now, there have been no insights into why care-experienced people wish to study at the postgraduate level, as well as whether and how they may be constrained or enabled by their care backgrounds when doing so. Using data from a qualitative longitudinal study of care-experienced graduates’ transitions out of HE, the paper illustrates how this ‘undergraduate cliff edge’ in support constrains the feasibility of progressing into and through taught postgraduate studies. The absence of often taken-for-granted support, such as a family home, means that entering postgraduate studies and facing this cliff edge is risky and perpetuates the sense of instability felt in childhood. The paper concludes by proposing recommendations for policy and practice to enable the creation of equitable opportunities to reduce risk for this group to comfortably study at the postgraduate level.

Physical properties and maximum allowable mass-radius relation of complexity-free compact stellar objects within modified gravity formalism* *The authors MKJ and SKM acknowledge that this work is carried out under TRC Project (BFP/RGP/CBS/22/014). This study is also supported via funding from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University project number (PSAU/2024/R/1445). The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific

This paper investigates the physical properties and predicted radii of compact stars generated by the Tolman-IV complexity-free model within the background of modified gravity theory, particularly the -gravity theory, under complexity formalism for a spherically symmetric spacetime proposed by L. Herrera [Phys Rev D 97: 044010, 2018]. By solving the resulting set of differential equations, we obtain the explicit forms of the energy-momentum (EM) tensor components, including the density, radial pressure, and tangential pressure. The influence of the parameter χ on various physical properties of the star is thoroughly investigated. The model undergoes a series of rigorous tests to determine its physical relevance. The findings indicate that the model exhibits regularity, stability, and a surface with vanishing pressure. The boundary of this surface is determined by carefully selecting the parameter space. The complexity method employed in gravity offers an interesting approach for developing astrophysical models that are consistent with observable events as demonstrated by recent experiments. In this regard, we use observational data from the GW190814 event, detected by the LIGO and Virgo observatories, to investigate the validity of the Tolman-IV model in gravity. The analysis includes comparing the model's predictions with the observed characteristics of the compact object involved in the merger. In addition, data from two-millisecond pulsars, PSR J1614-2230 and PSR J0952-0607, are incorporated to further constrain the theoretical theories. However, we present a diagram depicting the relationship between the total mass and radius of the compact object candidates for different values of χ.

Financial literacy and risk-taking behavior: a study of graduates and undergraduates

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between financial literacy and risk-taking behavior in the stock market for both graduates and undergraduates.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducted two surveys on two groups: graduates and undergraduates. The questionnaires were sent to the two groups via “Google Form”. The surveys were undertaken from March to October 2021, with final data on 500 undergraduates and 400 graduates. The three techniques used are multiple linear regression (MLR), structural equation model (SEM) and ordinal logit regression (OLR) to examine the causal relationships.FindingsBased on survey data on 400 graduate and 500 undergraduate students, our results show that financial literacy is positively associated with risk-taking behavior (i.e. use of debt and willingness to use debt) after controlling for demographics. Graduates with higher levels of financial literacy are more likely to use debt. Undergraduates with higher levels of financial literacy are more willing to use debt. In addition, parental education has a significant moderating effect on the association between financial literacy and debt use among undergraduate students. The results are robust compared to the alternatives.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study finds a positive association between financial literacy and risk-taking behavior among graduates and undergraduates, and these results are robust to the alternatives, the scope of this study is limited and only focuses on Vietnam. Hence, it needs to be expanded overseas. Next, graduates may make investment decisions based on stock prices or valuations, and as a result, the link between financial literacy and stock valuations should be investigated in subsequent research. Last but not least, further studies should also examine the digital financial literacy level of the younger generation, as it plays an important role in the digital age.Practical implicationsFirst, this study finds that higher financial literacy tends to use more debt, implying that financially literate people know how to use debt smartly to earn more profits. Second, students with higher-educated parents are less likely to use debt for stock investment, meaning that parents help students avoid possible risks while in the university. Finally, female graduates and college students all perform lower in financial literacy than their male counterparts. This can create a larger gender gap in financial literacy between women and men, particularly, in a society in which men often play the leading role in the family. As a result, it calls for policymakers, educators and parents to pay more attention to improving financial literacy among girls and women in general.Originality/valueThis study has three contributions. First, this is the first study to examine the impact of financial literacy on risk-taking behavior between two groups of graduates and undergraduates. The results show that individuals with a higher level of financial literacy are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior (i.e. debt use) in terms of the stock market. Recent research, for example, Phung et al. (2022), examines investors’ informal debt (from families and friends), while this study investigates graduates’ debt use (from brokerage firms). Second, parental education is a significant mediator between college students’ financial literacy and debt use. The literature on parental socialization mainly documents parents’ direct influence on children’s financial knowledge and performance (Shim et al., 2010; Phung, 2023). Unlike previous research, this study finds that parental education plays a moderating role between college students’ financial literacy and their risk-taking behavior. Finally, three methods and multiple models are used to test causal relationships. The results are robust compared to the alternatives.

Professionalisation of Andragogical Staff Through a University Study Programme in the Republic of Croatia

Despite a rich tradition of institutional adult education and relatively continuous development of andragogical theory and practice, the Republic of Croatia has only adopted strategic and legal frameworks that have created the conditions for the professionalisation of adult education staff in the last twenty years. This paper aims to present the andragogical thought, legislative framework, and andragogy study programme in Croatia. The need for the university education of andragogues stems from research results that indicate many employers prefer highly educated staff in this field. To respond to current needs, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka is going to implement a University Part-Time Graduate Study in Andragogy programme designed in accordance with ten years of positive experience in adult education in the Republic of Croatia, modern achievements in andragogical theory and practice, and based on the Croatian Qualification Frame.

Quality assessment of graduate services: Kano model application to a Peruvian university

Graduate higher education coverage has expanded worldwide due to globalisation, the demand for more specialised human resources and online education, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article validates an evaluation model of academic service quality in graduate studies that integrates HiEduQual instruments with the Kano method for graduate students at a Peruvian university. A survey was conducted among graduate students (masters programmes and continuing education) at Universidad Continental, obtaining 326 responses. The study found that the attributes that have the greatest impact on student satisfaction include the presence of foreign professors, international activities, continuous improvement of university infrastructure and constant evaluation; the dimension associated with internationalisation plays an essential role in the satisfaction of graduate students, particularly in a globalised context.

147 Creating a state-wide university network for translational science training

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: We have evaluated the primary factors behind successful expansion of the predoctoral TL1 training grant at OHSU to all research-intensive universities in the state, evaluating the precepts that were key to integration. We also evaluate inclusion of social and behavioral sciences in clinical and translational science training, METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: OHSU contains three professional schools (medicine, nursing, and dentistry) as well as graduate studies in science. There are also three research-intensive universities in Oregon: Portland State University (PSU); Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis; and the University of Oregon (UO). We report evaluation of our 7-year experience with a predoctoral TL1 program and the precepts behind successful implementation of statewide outreach. We have tracked applicants from each university and program, trainee feedback, and success of the applicants as measured by persistence in research, inclusion of translational methods, additional training acquired, and subsequent research funding. We also evaluate participation by behavioral and social scientists. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The predoctoral TL1 has included 40 scholars over 7 years, with 65% PhD graduate students and 35% MD students who pursue an additional research degree (PhD, MCR). Of PhD graduate students, the distribution is similar among universities: OHSU 31%, PSU 19%, OSU 27%, UO 23%. 38% of all graduate student trainees are in behavioral or social science. Key precepts behind success include: concentration on specific graduate programs at each university; implementing a common curriculum based on the MCR curriculum; interinstitutional mentor teams; leadership team that spans universities; required core TL1 activities; and a competitive application process with an interinstitutional review committee. Applicants are required to identify how translational science education enhances their research career. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Creating a statewide resource for TL1 translational science training has increased opportunities to expand translational research throughout Oregon through providing new opportunities to enhance excellence through disseminating resources and training across the universities.

New physics bachelors and graduate study

New physics bachelors and graduate study

Procesi u superviziji studenata socijalnog rada

ABSTRACT Supervision of social work students as an integral part of the educational process is an integrated way of learning in which social work students apply their theoretical knowledge to field practice, and by reflecting on their experiences from practice in supervision, they improve their professional and personal development. This paper presents part of the results of qualitative research into the process of supervision of students. 10 supervisors of social work students who supervised undergraduate and graduate studies at the Social Work Study Center, Faculty of Law in Zagreb, University of Zagreb participated in the research. The research was conducted using a semi-structured interview method, and data processing used a thematic framework analysis. The results of the research show that supervisors use numerous methods, techniques, models and concepts in their work, emphasizing the educational function of supervision, which ranges from focus on the task to focus on the process of supervision. In terms of feedback, the supportive aspect of supervision dominates. Specific difficulties in supervision are mainly related to the organizational model of conducting field practice and coordination of activities with the educational institution. Also, the paper describes the peculiarities of the student supervision process in relation to other types of supervision that student supervisors recognized in their work. Key words: supervision of social work students; field practice; supervision process.

Nilai –Nilai Kemanusiaan Dalam Novel Sang Saudagar Karya Sultan Ali Bumi (Kajian Struktural Genetik)

Values of Humanity in the novel “Sang Saudagar” (Genetic Structural Research). Thesis. Jakarta: Master Study Program of Indonesian Education, Post Graduate Study of Muhammadiyah University of Prof. Dr. Hamka Jakarta, 2015. This study aims to find the human values contained in the novel “Sang Saudagar”. To achieve these objectives, this study used theory of text interpretation by the method of content analysis. The technique used in this study is a technique based on the theory of genetic. Research disclosure humanitarian values using qualitative research, the formal text of novel “Sang Saudagar” of Sultan Ali Bumi in the form of words, sentences, and discourse. The results showed that the novel “Sang Saudagar” contains many human values that exemplary by the readers. Human values are: 1) policy, 2) perseverance, 3) compassion, 4) justice, 5) self-control, and 6) quality. Medium of developing human values in the story is through the background story, view of life figuress, the character's mind, character dialogue, action figures and events of the story..

PhD Student Funding Patterns: Placing Biomedical, Biological, and Biosystems Engineering in the Context of Engineering Sub-disciplines, Biological Sciences, and Other STEM Disciplines

Whether doctoral students are funded primarily by fellowships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships impacts their degree completion, time to degree, learning outcomes, and short- and long-term career outcomes. Variations in funding patterns have been studied at the broad field level but not comparing engineering sub-disciplines. We addressed two research questions: How do PhD student funding mechanisms vary across engineering sub-disciplines? And how does variation in funding mechanisms across engineering sub-disciplines map onto the larger STEM disciplinary landscape? We analyzed 103,373 engineering and computing responses to the U.S. Survey of Earned Doctorates collected between 2007 and 2016. We conducted analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons to examine variation in funding across sub-disciplines. Then, we conducted a k-means cluster analysis on percentage variables for fellowship, research, and teaching assistantship funding mechanism with STEM sub-discipline as the unit of analysis. A statistically significantly greater percentage of biomedical/biological engineering doctoral students were funded via a fellowship, compared to every other engineering sub-discipline. Consequently, biomedical/biological engineering had significantly lower proportions of students supported via research and teaching assistantships than nearly all other engineering sub-disciplines. We identified five clusters. The majority of engineering sub-disciplines grouped together into a cluster with high research assistantships and low teaching assistantships. Biomedical/biological engineering clustered in the high fellowships grouping with most other biological sciences but no other engineering sub-disciplines. Biomedical/biological engineering behaves much more like biological and life sciences in utilizing fellowships to fund graduate students, far more than other engineering sub-disciplines. Our study provides further evidence of the prevalence of fellowships in life sciences and how it stretches into biomedical/biological engineering. The majority of engineering sub-disciplines relied more on research assistantships to fund graduate study. The lack of uniformity provides an opportunity to diversify student experiences during their graduate programs but also necessitates an awareness to the advantages and disadvantages that different funding portfolios can bestow on students.

Bibliometric Analysis of Turkish Journalism Theses and Dissertations: Research Approach Transformation

The rapidly changing landscape in the media sector, driven by the dynamic interplay of technology, communication systems, and societal influences, is causing a profound paradigm shift in academic research focus. This study investigates the landscape of journalism theses and dissertations in Turkey, spanning years, universities, types, subjects, keywords, and methodologies. Our approach employs bibliometric analysis to illuminate the transformation in research strategies within the journalism field. We collected data from the Council of Higher Education Thesis Center, where all graduate theses and doctoral dissertations are submitted through institutional channels using a web scraping technique. Over 36 years (1985–2021), 1,709 graduate studies were authored in journalism in Turkey. Our findings reveal that Istanbul University and Marmara University were prolific publishers of doctoral dissertations and master's theses, respectively. Predominant interdisciplinary themes revolve around communication sciences, sociology, and political communication. Notably, content analysis, discourse analysis, and field research have emerged as the primary research methodologies in journalism.

Graduate Study with Online Education in the Post-Pandemic Era: An Experiential Case Study

It is important for the human resources industry to have the ability to overcome existing industrial challenges as well as to prepare for the coming challenges impacted by the changing strategic environment. This includes but is not limited to Industry 4.0, VUCA & BANI World, the COVID-19 pandemic, Society 5.0 and changing geopolitics. To be able to deal with more complex problems requires Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). Therefore, improving HOTS, especially in the human resources industry, requires a solid partnership between industry and academia. The academic partnership will be meaningful in improving HOTS’s ability through a tailored master’s program known as a multi-disciplinary master’s program (MDMP). MDMP improve the HOTS of industry human resources by combining the strengths of academics and industry. This is an action research developed together between industry and academia and performed in several academic projects towards a master’s degree in various fields. It was concluded, based on the results, that MDMP showed promising results toward the improvement of industry human resources, especially in the ability of HOTS.
 Keywords: higher-order thinking skills, academic-industry partnership, multi disciplinary master’s program

The impact of audit committee dimensions on financial reporting efficiency of limited partnership companies listed on the Amman Stock exchange

Currently, the Jordanian economy needs more investment due to the growing financial deficit facing the Jordanian state. Therefore, this study came to increase investors' trust in financial reports issued by Jordanian companies to attract more investments. Based on that, this study will investigate the impact of audit committee dimensions on the efficiency of financial reports of limited partnership companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. The data were collected from financial reports issued by 52 limited partnership companies for the year 2021. The study used multiple regression to test the hypotheses. Based on the findings, audit committee dimensions explained the variation in financial reports' efficiency which reached 0.629. The audit committee members' size does not significantly affect the financial reports' efficiency. The significance reached 0.287. However, the knowledge of financial management has a significant positive effect on financial report efficiency; the significance reached 0.000 and the effect volume arrived at 0.699. Also, the findings showed that audit committee meetings have a greater effect on financial reporting efficiency than financial management knowledge. The impact was significantly positive, arriving at 0.790, while the significance reached 0.000. The main research conclusion is that limited partnership companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange adopt corporate governance to achieve control effectiveness of audit committees to increase financial reporting efficiency to achieve more investments. AcknowledgmentThe publication of this research has been supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies at Philadelphia University – Jordan.

Can’t stop won’t stop: problematic phone use, sleep quality, and mental health in U.S. Graduate students

Objective Prior work has suggested the impact of problematic phone use on the mental health of graduate students. This research explores the mediating effect of sleep quality on this link. Participants A total of 186 graduate students from the United States were collected using an online data acquisition platform. Graduate study areas represented a wide range of subjects. Methods Participants completed questionnaires about problematic phone use, sleep quality, and both anxiety and depressive symptoms. Phone use was further broken down into time spent on specific phone applications. Results Analyses revealed significant indirect effects from problematic phone use to both depression and anxiety through diminished sleep quality. Effects were stronger for individuals who spent higher amounts of time on social media applications. Conclusions Findings suggest that U.S. graduate students are particularly prone to the negative effects of problematic phone use. Implications for interventions in graduate programs are discussed.

Caring for our graduate academy

This article examines the neglected hardships faced by graduate students and advocates for a paradigm shift towards care and empathy. Drawing upon a feminist ethic of care theoretical framework, four scholars from tourism and hospitality programs in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom engaged in a dialogical and introspective inquiry. The authors present four vignettes reflecting on their own doctoral experiences, revealing experiences of exploitation, pain, unworthiness, and loneliness endured during their graduate studies. The authors conclude by calling for a reevaluation of academic norms, advocating for a more humane, caring, and supportive environment for future scholars.

Klasifikasi Peminatan Topik Keilmuan Dalam Penyelesaian Studi Menggunakan Algoritma Naive Bayes

Academic expertise is a subject of study taught at the university level to assist students in completing their thesis writing, thereby enabling them to successfully complete their graduate studies. The chosen academic specialization aligns with the vision and mission of each program and can have a positive impact on the university. Students' chosen fields of expertise in completing their studies may either align or not align with the program's vision and mission. The variables used in this research are GPA, MKRV1, MKRV2, and Academic Expertise. The aim of this research is to determine how many students select an academic topic that aligns with the program's vision and mission, particularly in this case, the Computer Science program, as they complete their studies. The Naïve Bayes algorithm is employed in this research, yielding an accuracy rate of 98.11%. This research can provide valuable insights for STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematang Siantar to understand the extent to which students from other programs choose academic expertise that aligns with the vision and mission of each program.

New challenges and opportunities for IT companies and (L)IS departments in managing student internships in the time of crisis

This paper discusses the organization of students’ internship in new circumstances caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the research is on the IT companies in eastern part of Croatia and their perspective on how they managed students’ internship during and after the lockdown. Some of these IT companies successfully cooperate with the Department of Information Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Osijek. Since 2015 the Department enrolls students in graduate study of Information Technology track. From that time students used to do their internship and later find employment in IT companies in the region. The well based cooperation with local IT companies was interrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 lockdown and semi-lockdown. In such a situation, teachers and IT companies’ managers have been trying to find out the proper ways in which students could fulfill their tasks via online or hybrid mode. To learn more about the experience from the perspective of IT companies, we interviewed 18 of them. The paper points out the observed advantages and disadvantages as well as suggestions for setting a framework for future internship programs. Employers are thinking about continuing to perform online or hybrid internships, and it is clear to them that one of the answers is well defined and regulated model of internships in the online environment.

Work-life balance and online student engagement among registered nurses enrolled in online graduate nursing education: a mixed methods study

Background There is a growing number of online nursing graduate degree programs to address the professional development needs of working nurses. Work-related antecedents of online student engagement in graduate nursing studies are under-explored in the literature. Aim The aim of the study is to examine the relationship among demographic and work characteristics, work-life balance (WLB), and online student engagement (OSE) among registered nurses enrolled in online graduate studies. Methods This study design is convergent-parallel mixed methods, utilizing a survey approach to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The target population is students of an online Master of Arts in Nursing program at a university in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Respondents were recruited via email. Google Forms were used for data collection. Non-parametric, inferential statistical tests were used to examine relationships among variables. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used to draw insights from open-ended responses. Results A total of 173 graduate students responded to the survey. Quantitative results indicate high levels of WLB (Mdn = 4.8, IQR = 1.5) and OSE (Mdn = 3.7–4.0, IQR = 0.5–1.0). WLB was significantly lower among females (U = 3297.5, p < 0.01). Emotion OSE was significantly higher for respondents with managerial positions (U = 2987.5, p < 0.05). WLB had significant low to moderate positive correlations with the domains of OSE (r = 0.22 to 0.32, p < 0.01). Qualitative findings reveal various appraisals of online learning and factors influencing work-life-study balance, such as work, personal life, and school. Conclusion Work-life balance facilitates better online student engagement among graduate nursing students and is influenced by time management, work (i.e. job environment and stressors), personal (i.e. home life and leisure activities), and university factors (i.e. curriculum, modality, and professors). Impact statement Empirical evidence on the link between WLB and OSE can inform graduate nursing academics in developing initiatives to ensure the timely completion of the degree program.

Teachers’ Experiences and Self-Assessment in Teaching Biology in Senior High School in the Philippines

In support of the various studies for the ongoing Philippine Senior High School(SHS) curriculum, Analysis phase of the analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation (ADDIE) model of instructional design is presented in this study. The main objective is to evaluate biology teachers’ experiences and self-assessment in teaching Biology II in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Track of the K12 Basic Education Program during its first two years of implementation 2016-2017 and 2017-2018(face to face )in Iloilo Province, Philippines. A descriptive survey using a questionnaire from the K12 Science Curriculum composed of two parts: biology II complex topics, and biology teachers’ self-assessments. Five Biology experts from Western Visayas, Philippines, were asked to evaluate the researcher made survey instruments. Mean and standard deviation were employed to interpret the collected data using SPSS version 21. The results showed that the four primary areas of complex knowledge were Systematic Based on Evolutionary Relationships, Evolution and Origin of Biodiversity, Organismal Biology, and Genetics. According to rank, the most challenging topic was “Systematic Based on Evolutionary Relationship,” and the easiest was “Genetics.” On the self-assessment of Biology teachers, all topics were in “Moderate Mastery,” and Genetics was “High Mastery.” Also, a significant relationship between the content topic difficulty and Biology teachers’ mastery level. The findings show no relationship between self-assessed knowledge and self-assessed skills of Biology Teachers. Proper training and encouraging teachers for professional development is a must. Teachers must be trained to teach Biology II, become effective and efficient through professional development. Also, the national government should assess the implementation of the new curriculum based on the experts' recommendations. Thus, this study recommends encouraging SHS teachers to take graduate studies aligned with their undergraduate program to master the area of specialization. The national government must support scholarship programs in STEM for biology educators.. &#x0D; &#x0D; Received: 29 September 2023 / Accepted: 25 January 2024 / Published: 5 March 2024