Master's Degree Course Research Articles

Case study of employment trends across 25 years of graduates of a Japanese Science and Technology University

Graduates in the areas of Science and Technology are believed to have traditionally been employed in a number of specific industries, but the recent restructuring of some industries may have affected this phenomenon. In order to examine the trends concerning employment issues in more detail, a case study was conducted by surveying employment statistics for every five years between 1985 and 2010, of graduates from various departments of Science and Technology at a Japanese National University. In this period, the Japanese economy experienced a variety of changes which resulted in some leading Japanese universities with engineering programmes changing their emphasis from undergraduate studies to postgraduate studies. These influences were observed using employment statistics. According to the statistics representing degree levels and the ratios of job openings to applicants, the percentages of graduates employed by industry were compared using data measured at five year intervals. A shift in the employment of graduates can be observed. Employment of graduates of Master's degree courses increased twofold during the 1990s, and employment of Ph.D. course graduates increased significantly in the near term, while employment of Bachelor's degree holders decreased. The relationship between graduates of 13 departments and 21 types of industry was analysed using multiple correspondence analysis. Common two-dimensional scales such as basic-advanced science and technology, and broad-specific demand science and technology were extracted. Both factors of year and degree levels were also configured using the same figures. These configurations were compared between the years examined, and the changes in the structural relationships between degree levels, departments and industries were analysed. These results suggest that some industrial sectors have recently begun to require Master's or Doctoral level graduates from specific departments, though they had not strongly done so before. This also illustrates the relationship between university departments and industry with regard to human resource supply and demand.

Mestrado acadêmico em enfermagem: interfaces de sua criação na perspectiva ecossistêmica

Objetivou-se tecer as interfaces do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Stricto sensu, curso de Mestrado Acadêmico, em uma Universidade pública do extremo sul do país, na perspectiva ecossistêmica, a partir da voz dos docentes pioneiros. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa histórica construída por meio do método da história oral com os três docentes pioneiros do programa e levantamento documental. Os dados encontrados expressaram a seguinte temática: Criação do curso de pós-graduação stricto sensu - Mestrado Acadêmico. O estudo possibilitou conhecer como ocorreu a criação do curso de pós-graduação stricto sensu - Mestrado Acadêmico, o envolvimento, os significados de ser pioneiro e os desafios enfrentados pelos pioneiros. Conclui-se que o programa contribuiu expressivamente para a produção do conhecimento em enfermagem e saúde, para o seu desenvolvimento e para a qualificação de futuros docentes e pesquisadores, e estimulou e estimula a prática de ações interligadas, conectadas, em sintonia com o saber em Enfermagem.

Dynamics of email communications among university students throughout a semester

Email is considered as one of the most widely accepted computer-mediated communication tools among university students. Evidence from the present literature shows that students make a significant amount of their course-related communications (e.g. discuss a topic with peers) using this tool. This study explores the dynamics of an email communication network, which was evolved among 34 university students throughout a semester, using measures of social network analysis and network simulation. These 34 students were doing a masters-degree course. They made 621 course-related email communications throughout the semester which consisted of 15 weeks including 13 semester-weeks, 1 week for mid-semester vacation and 1 week vacation before the final examination. From the analysis of this email communication network, it is found that: (i) students make an increased number of email communications with their peers at the end of the semester compared to the beginning of the semester; (ii) students' communication network becomes sparse or decentralised over time during a semester; (iii) students have different levels of network participation at different times during a semester; and (iv) the reliabilities of the predictive power of reciprocity (i.e. an actor's tendency of making reciprocal relations with other actors of the network), indegree-activity (i.e. effects of an actor's present indegree on its future outdegree) and outdegree-activity (i.e. effects of an actor's present outdegree on its future outdegree) parameters of simulation models are changing significantly throughout the semester. Interpretations of these findings are also discussed in this paper.

Building the Genetic Counsellor Profession in the United Kingdom: Two Decades of Growth and Development

Building the Genetic Counsellor Profession in the United Kingdom: Two Decades of Growth and Development

Systems Engineering Graduate Research as Part of Curriculum – Summary of Research

In this paper, we review and analyze the systems engineering graduate research projects that students have completed as part of their curriculum requirement. The information presented here is gathered over five years. The semester long projects are completed as part of the graduate course titled ‘System Development Workshop’ taught at Southern Polytechnic State University (SPSU). Students are required to investigate a discipline-related topic in systems engineering in the form of capstone project. The general intent of the project is to give students an opportunity towards the end of their Master's degree courses, to demonstrate and apply the knowledge they have acquired over the course of the curriculum. The work performed in the project draws upon skills and knowledge acquired in the program. Students are required to identify an engineering problem, often in their work environment, and use systems engineering methods to achieve a solution to the problem. At the end of the study, each student prepares a formal report describing the work performed, resulting conclusions and recommendations. In addition, students present their results to the online audience. Students are expected to meet professional engineering standards in their work and reports. The results of the projects are considered for submission to an academic conference or journal in the field. This course gives students, often times their first, taste of research.The intent of this paper is to demonstrate several examples of research projects completed by students and to investigate the efficacy of a research based course in Systems Engineering graduate curriculum.

The rhetoric of disability: a dramatistic-narrative analysis of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

In this article the authors introduce a rhetorical perspective into disability studies by exploring the work of Kenneth Burke (1969). Specifically, the focus is on how Burke's theory of dramatism can be used in disability research as well as in teaching disability studies, as it holds potential for the production of a diversity of social interpretations of the relationship between ‘impairment’, ‘disability’ and a disabling society. The focus shifts to Burke's dramatistic pentad and the concept of circumference as possible tools for teaching social work students to deal with ambiguity in their prospective practice. The authors discuss how a rhetorical analysis of ‘mental health problems’ in the seminal movie, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, has been introduced in a Master's degree course on cultural studies for social work students at Ghent University, Belgium. In conclusion, the relevance of a rhetorical perspective for social work students is discussed, in order to orient and reorient their prospective practice, based on a diversity of social interpretations of ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’.

How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching

How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching

Produção do conhecimento em enfermagem: contribuição de um curso de mestrado

The Master's Degree Course in Nursing of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) elaborated, implemented and evaluated dissertations during the last ten years. That makes necessary as objective the knowledge of this production, in systematized way, as an important step for process of course evaluation. The present study is identified as descriptive research of quantitative approach. It consists of documental analysis of 195 defended dissertations in Master's Degree Course on Nursing, in the period of January 1999 to January 2004. For data registration, an instrument has been elaborated in order to identify the variables of interest. The obtained data were analyzed through statistical measures. The results show that most of the dissertations are of qualitative approach, standing out the technological area of Health Care and there was predominant participation from the Nursing Team. Among the researched lines it stood out the following ones: The Process of Living; Be Healthy and Get Sick; Education, Health and Nursing. This study partially presented the construction of knowledge in the Master's Degree Course on Nursing at UFSC, demonstrating the importance in having view from the productions accomplished by this Department and observing the repercussion these researches in practice.

Inmetro's Metrology Executive Master's Degree Course

In the last years Brazil has been growing enough and actually it is the seventh biggest economy in the world. Considering this fast economical development and the growth of our industry and exportation, the search for qualified professionals increased a lot, among them the metrology ones. However, qualified human resources in metrology are not sufficiently available. To supply this demand and to increase the number of professionals that work in the metrology career, the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) initially established a Technical Course in Metrology, and recently established the Metrology Executive Master's Degree Course. The aim of this paper is to present this Executive Master's Degree Course.

Social Media Integration in Higher Education. Cross-Course Google Plus Integration Shown in the Example of a Master's Degree Course in Management

Nearly all web services can be adapted for educational use. Although some instructors do use social media for their courses, privacy concerns always throttle the ‘need’ of instructors for social media. Google Plus seems to offer the possibility to overcome this privacy issue, in using a methodology to group one's contacts. The course concept shown in this contribution offers a concrete approach for integrating Google Plus functionalities in higher education and benefiting from cross-course interaction. The results of the forthcoming analysis will show advantages and potential for improvement, both of the system and the use of it in higher education.

An Error Analysis in Word Choices in Korean-English Translation

It is worthless to mention that selecting correct words in translation is very important because misusing words gives readers wrong information. However, using correct English words is difficult for Korean students because English and Korean belong to different language groups and they are very different in terms of word forms and usage. What is more, they learn English in EFL situation where there is very little authentic language input. Given such facts, it is not surprising for Korean students to make word choice errors when translating Korean source text into English. Accordingly, to reduce word choice errors, it is meaningful to analyse what factors cause word choice errors and in which situations word choice errors happen. For this purpose, this paper analyses lexical errors on the basis of 9 categories (too general, too specific, terminology, register, addition, omission, part of speech, spelling and collocation) from 19 assignments in two different genres translated by Korean students in the first semester of the master degree course of interpreting and translation. As a result of that, it is found that Korean students make lexical errors because of first language transfer and insufficient vocabulary usage knowledge in the target language. To solve the problems, Korean students should focus on studying vocabulary quality such as usage and the different semantic features between the two languages as well as vocabulary quantity. This paper concludes that education which focuses on instruction in vocabulary usage in different contexts, which offers opportunities to practice the usage, and which provides sufficient authentic input should be given in order to translate source texts into target texts with native-like expression.

Implicações da aprendizagem experiencial e da reflexão pública para o ensino de pesquisa qualitativa e a formação de mestres em administração

Na pós-graduação stricto sensu em Administração se formam professores e pesquisadores. Esperamos que os mestrandos desenvolvam sua capacidade de aprendizagem para realizar pesquisas. A procrastinação acadêmica e o choque de aprendizagem dos mestrandos, no entanto, dificultam esse processo. O estudo exploratório aqui apresentado se propôs a examinar a prática de ensino-aprendizagem durante e após o processo de aprender a pesquisar, buscando resposta para a seguinte questão: como mestrandos aprendem, por meio de prática experiencial, a realizar pesquisa qualitativa em administração? Apoiado em referencial teórico que trata de processos de ensino-aprendizagem, reflexão e pesquisa qualitativa, o estudo realizou percurso metodológico inspirado na fenomenologia e na abordagem socioconstrutivista, privilegiando a experiência vivida de professores e alunos. Chegamos à conclusão de que a vivência de pesquisa de campo e a prática de reflexão pública no e sobre o campo: (a) ampliou a consciência dos participantes sobre a sua importância no processo de ensino-aprendizagem; e (b) revelou duas implicações, quais sejam: pode auxiliar docentes de cursos de mestrado em administração na reflexão de suas próprias práticas, e gestores de IES na formulação de políticas para capacitação de docentes e de políticas didático-pedagógicas.

Práticas alimentares cotidianas de mulheres obesas moradoras da Favela da Rocinha (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil)

This article presents conclusions of research conducted at Ensp/Fiocruz, as part of a master's degree course. One of the objectives of the research to investigate the eating habits of women living in the Rocinha Shantytown (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) from a socio-anthropological perspective. The results revealed that the eating habits of the group were repetitive, with few variations in the menu consisting basically of rice, bean, sugars and fats. We further observed the rejection of industrialized and canned products. This food consumption pattern seems to conform to Brazilian food culture revealing the preservation of the national identity based on feeding habits. Consequently, it is necessary to set aside presuppositions regarding the relationship between food consumption and obesity, especially with respect to the predominant idea of changes in diet with the incorporation of a "modern" or "western" diet that prevail in studies in the field of nutrition in Brazil. In this sense, we signaled the need to reassert a multidimensional approach for studies about food and nutrition in the country. This proposal involves overcoming restricted conceptual outlooks and the creation of new avenues of investigation.

Strategic learning of simulation and functional analysis in the design and assembly of mechanisms with CAD on a professional Master's degree course

AbstractCurrently, programs that teach 3D CAD as part of an industrial engineering qualification in Spanish universities are structured around four pillars: solid design, surface design, model assemblage, and the drafting of plans. In this article, we add two new pillars: 3D CAD simulation and kinematic analysis of both mechanisms and assemblages, as part of the professional master's degree course entitled “Master's Degree in automotive components.” We should stress the novel content selected for this advanced CAD subject matter, in accordance with the needs of a group of firms and our prior experience of component design. Moreover, we recount our experiences, over two academic years, of student learning processes when using the EHEA‐based learning method that we refer to as “strategic knowledge.” The various innovative improvements throughout this experimental teaching approach were subjected to qualitative analysis. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 19: 146–160, 2011

Movilidad ocupacional y trayectorias profesionales de egresados de maestrías en educación del posgrado en educación de la Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala (UATx)

En este reporte de investigación se analiza la movilidad ocupacional en la trayectoria profesional de los egresados de las maestrías en administración educativa, educación superior y orientación educativa de la Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala. Los estudios de posgrado han permitido a más del 50% de los egresados encaminar sus trayectos profesionales de forma ascendente, sobre todo hacia áreas administrativas como la dirección y la gestión de las instituciones. De forma paradójica la docencia como función sustantiva se ha visto disminuida en su ejercicio y la investigación, como eje transversal de la formación, es realizada por una minoría de los egresados.

Examining Teachers' Hurdles to ‘Science for All’

The goal of this research is to identify science teachers' beliefs and conceptions that play an important role in shaping their understandings of and attempts to enact inclusive science teaching practices. We examined the work products, both informal (online discussions, email exchanges) and formal (papers, unit plans, peer reviews), of 14 teachers enrolled in a master's degree course focused on diversity in science teaching and learning. These emerging understandings were member-checked via a series of interviews with a subset of these teachers. Our analysis was conducted in two stages: (1) describing the difficulties the teachers identified for themselves in their attempts to teach science to a wide range of students in their classes and (2) analyzing these self-identified barriers for underlying beliefs and conceptions that serve to prohibit or allow for the teachers' understanding and enactment of equitable science instruction. The teachers' self-identified barriers were grouped into three categories: students, broader social infrastructure, and self. The more fundamental barriers identified included teacher beliefs about the ethnocentrism of the mainstream, essentialism/individualism, and beliefs about the meritocracy of schooling. The implications of these hurdles for science teacher education are discussed.

Using social web tools for knowledge construction

This paper examines knowledge construction in a distributed learning environment supported by social web tools. Research data was gathered from online asynchronous discussions in a first-year masters degree course in multimedia in education. Our analysis was modelled on Gunawardena et al.'s (1997) study and results indicate that, despite a significant percentage in the phase of sharing and comparing information, interaction at the highest levels of knowledge construction is relevant and suggests that knowledge was constructed.

Reflexões sobre a educação de profissionais da área de saúde

The objective of the present article is primordially to rise controversies about the education as a whole and the scientific knowledge as important foundations in the academic formation. Believing that the incessant search of the masters degree courses should not limit to the theories as a mere academic education. The methodological dynamics of the knowledge is questioned, as well as truth and knowledge. The human condition is introduced as a theme that has a tendency to the post-modern era, discussing the liquidity and human fragility. The complexity and interdisciplinarity were questioned. The approach of the qualitative research was correlated to the human and existential issue. Besides other topics regarding education and research such as bioethics, viability of the uninterested research, mass production and theories well addressed, we aimed at showing that the education process and knowledge can create events so that the student becomes the subject, an individual with self-criticism and with dialectics posture.

An introduction to fault diagnosis of permanent magnet synchronous machines in master's degree courses

AbstractEarly fault detection and diagnosis of high‐performance electric motors has been an active area of research for the past two decades. This work presents a practical session that facilitates instructing students in this field. To meet this objective, fault diagnostic methods based on the Fourier transform and the wavelet transform are successfully applied by means of processing and examining the frequency content of the stator currents acquired from healthy and faulty permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs). The goal of this practical lab is to introduce Master's degree students to the topic of fault detection by covering both stationary and nonstationary operating conditions of the motor under study. The Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) has successfully incorporated the learning methodology proposed in this paper in a practical session of an electronic engineering course. The effectiveness of the proposed practical lab has been assessed using the results of a satisfaction questionnaire answered by students involved in the course. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 21: 349–359, 2013

Bioinformatics education in India

An account of bioinformatics education in India is presented along with future prospects. Establishment of BTIS network by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India in the 1980s had been a systematic effort in the development of bioinformatics infrastructure in India to provide services to scientific community. Advances in the field of bioinformatics underpinned the need for well-trained professionals with skills in information technology and biotechnology. As a result, programmes for capacity building in terms of human resource development were initiated. Educational programmes gradually evolved from the organisation of short-term workshops to the institution of formal diploma/degree programmes. A case study of the Master's degree course offered at the Bioinformatics Centre, University of Pune is discussed. Currently, many universities and institutes are offering bioinformatics courses at different levels with variations in the course contents and degree of detailing. BioInformatics National Certification (BINC) examination initiated in 2005 by DBT provides a common yardstick to assess the knowledge and skill sets of students passing out of various institutions. The potential for broadening the scope of bioinformatics to transform it into a data intensive discovery discipline is discussed. This necessitates introduction of amendments in the existing curricula to accommodate the upcoming developments.