MSc Degree Research Articles

Contributors

Contributors

Graduate and postgraduate state university education of laboratory specialists in Hungary: medical doctors, pharmacists and laboratory analysts

The authors focus on the description of graduate and postgraduate training of specialists working in clinical laboratories in Hungary. All training schemes are regulated by government decrees and, after obtaining an MSc degree, medical doctors and pharmacists may enter a specialty program for Medical Laboratory Diagnostics. For biologists, chemists and medical research laboratory analysts with an MSc degree a clinical biochemistry specialty training program is open. Regulated by law, the trainings are uniform in Hungary and are assigned to accredited medical universities. The candidates should complete a 26-month core program followed by 36 months' specific education. After a successful final examination including both practical skills and theoretical questions, specialists get a full license which will enable them to supervise laboratory work and validate test results. Laboratory specialists should join a continuous (lifelong) learning program and collect scores by attending special training courses. To receive a scientific degree, specialists may join PhD programs at any of the accredited universities.

Contributors

Contributors

Anthropology at Jagiellonian University (Cracow, Poland) - past, present and future

For nearly 150 years, aspects of biological anthropology have been taught at Jagiellonian University in Cracow. The first course was given in 1856 by J. Majer, who was professor of physiology in the Medical Faculty. The Department of Anthropology was established in 1908 and today it is one of the very few university departments in Poland that teaches and conducts research in biological anthropology. We offer a broad program for students of biology and social sciences. We offer an MSc and a PhD in Biology with a specialization in Physical Anthropology. Specialization in anthropology is very popular among biology students. Each year at least 20 students prepare graduate work (MSc degrees) in our department. In addition, at the present time 12 PhD students of Jagiellonian University are specializing in anthropology. Apart from the courses recommended for students of biology, we also offer a course for students of archeology, psychology, sociology and philosophy. Since the end of the SecondWorld War, the Department of Anthropology of Jagiellonian University has been one of the major sources of professional anthropologists in Poland. Our students are especially well prepared for careers in a variety of biomedical fields, including public health, ergonomics, forensic studies and bioarcheology.

Food consumer science post‐graduate courses: comparison of face‐to‐face versus online delivery systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare face‐to‐face versus online course delivery systems in the area of food consumption and to analyse the students' expectations and experiences. It aims to analyse the following dimensions: general expectations, learning organization and interactions in students' discourses. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology adopted is of interpretative nature using semi‐structured qualitative interviews. An interview guide was designed taking into account the learning modalities (styles and strategies), materials and learning tools, teacher‐student interaction and peer interaction dimensions. The students of both courses were interviewed in the second semester of the curricular year of the respective MSc degrees. Findings – This study has shown that face‐to‐face and online students are equally satisfied with their courses revealing the same confirmed general expectations. Comments for both course delivery systems are the need for more laboratory and practical classes. Results from this study also indicated that face‐to‐face and online educations are effective training food consumer sciences students suggesting, however, that both systems should evolve to blended‐learning. Practical implications – Both course delivery systems (face‐to‐face and online) contributed to the competencies acquisition in Food Consumer Sciences. B‐learning appears as the natural convergence of students needs. Originality/value – The online course results of the discourse analysis suggest the success developing a learning community pointing out the role of the online instructor and the course coordinator. The paper provided useful data and knowledge on which further research can be carried out.

Poultry science graduate students: Challenges and opportunities

"What are you going to do next?" is a common question often asked of a student who has recently graduated with either an MSc or PhD degree. We should not be surprised to hear the answer "I do not know yet." I have talked with many poultry science graduate students who usually start thinking about their future careers a few months before defending their thesis. I personally believe that nothing happens overnight in this world (excluding political-related issues), so we as graduate students need to have a comprehensible and pragmatic strategy when it comes to answering the question "What to do next?" This paper is not about how graduate students can find a job because there are numerous sources of information that are readily available elsewhere. One of the key messages of this paper is that networking is of paramount importance when it comes to moving in the right direction after graduation. Consequences of any decision made at this stage will often have a far-reaching unseen influence on us for many years into the future. I am also fully aware that there are many things over which we do not have any control, but as graduate students, are we doing our best to prepare ourselves for the real world?

European MSc Programs in Nuclear Sciences—To meet the need of stakeholders

A stakeholder needs assessment, carried out under the EU-EURAC and EU-ENEN-II projects, clearly showed that, at the European level, there are a significant and constant need for post-graduates with skills in radiochemistry, radioecology, radiation dosimetry and environmental modelling and a smaller, but still important, demand for radiobiologists and bio-modellers. Most of these needs are from government organizations. If only the nuclear industry is considered, then the largest demand is for radio chemists and radiation protection dosimetry experts. Given this spectrum of need and existing capacity in the areas of radiobiology it was concluded that the needs identified would be most efficiently met by three new degree programs: • European MSc Radiation Protection, • European MSc Analytical Radiochemistry, • European MSc Radioecology. All three master programs would be developed using the framework provided by the Bologna Convention and the lecturing could be shared among specialist Scientists within a network of collaborating universities. Therefore, educational plans have been developed for the above MSc degrees. These plans envisage each degree comprising three modules that are common to all the degrees (3 × 10 ECTS credits), three specialist modules (3 × 10 ECTS credits) and a research project (1 × 60 ECTS credits). The courses should be aimed, not only to fill the identified European post-graduate education gap in radiological sciences, but also to provide a modular structure that is easily accessed by stakeholders for CPD training. It is anticipated that the European Masters will meet the academic training requirements of qualified experts”, as defined by the European Commission and the IAEA. At the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) a pilot MSc in Radioecology has successfully been initiated in collaboration with UK and France.

Professor Ioannis Vardoulakis (1949–2009)

Professor Ioannis Vardoulakis (1949–2009)

Social Workers Can e-Learn: Evaluation of a Pilot Post-Qualifying e-Learning Course in Research Methods and Critical Appraisal Skills for Social Workers

Social workers are increasingly encouraged to become research minded and integrate research findings into their practice. However, there is a paucity of high-quality accessible training for social workers in research methods and critical appraisal skills. We developed an e-learning version of an MSc degree module to widen access to this kind of training and this paper presents the findings of an evaluation of a pilot of this e-learning course. To test the effectiveness of the e-learning environment in delivering research methods and critical appraisal skills training to social workers in comparison with a classroom group, we adopted a mixed methods approach which comprised concept mapping exercises, semi-structured interviews and evaluation questionnaires administered to the e-learners (n = 3) and a classroom comparison group (n = 12). Our analysis of the students' concept maps revealed no conspicuous differences in the quality of student knowledge changes that were a consequence of the mode of teaching delivery. The e-learners met the learning outcomes of the module to the same extent as the classroom group and were highly satisfied with the mode of delivery. Although this was a small pilot, it provided tentative evidence that social workers can use e-learning to develop evidence-based practice skills.

Special issue on “quality of service and security in wireless and mobile networks”

Special issue on “quality of service and security in wireless and mobile networks”

Teaching Production Planning and Control to Informatics Engineering Students

A course on Production Planning and Control for Informatics Engineering students is presented and discussed. It is an elective course in a two years MsC degree. Its syllabus covers the main subjects for production management and control (forecasting, problem solving, aggregate planning, inventory control, master plan, MRP, push and pull systems, ERP/CRM) and it is the single course in the domain in the MsC degree. It follows an active learning approach to stimulate the student's involvement.

Attitudes of nurse professionals and nursing students towards children with disabilities. Do nurses really overcome children's physical and mental handicaps?

Many health professionals and nurses, who are involved in the care of disabled children, do not exhibit the essential sensitivity and appropriate attitudes towards them, resulting in a poor quality of nursing care. The objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of nurse professionals (paediatric nurses) and nursing students towards disabled children. The present study is a comparative study. The sample consisted of 228 first-year nursing students, 90 post-diploma nurses attending MSc degree course and 123 nurse professionals who are employed in paediatric hospitals. After obtaining permission from the hospitals and the educational settings and informing about the subjects of the study, data were collected using the paediatric Attitude Towards Disabled Person Scale (ATDP). Overall nurses' attitudes appeared to be poor (mean ATDP score 61.7 +/- 14.2). However, the post-diploma nurses had significantly higher ATDP scores than first-year students and paediatric nurses (P < 0.001). In addition, first-year students had significantly higher scores than paediatric nurses (P = 0.047). Across the sample, females hold significantly more positive attitudes than males (F = 9.5, P = 0.002), while age did not have any significant effect. Carefully designed curricula can influence the attitudes of nursing students towards children with disabilities. Special courses for treating disabled children should be integrated to the basic nursing studies. Moreover, continuing hospital education can change paediatric nurses' attitudes towards children with disabilities.

Biographies of the guest editors

Karl E. Butler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and Director of the Geological Engineering Program at the University of New Brunswick. He holds a BSc (1987) from Queen’s University, as well as MSc (1991) and PhD (1996) degrees in Geophysics from the University of British Columbia. From 1987 to 1989 he was employed in oil exploration with Chevron Canada Resources. His postdoctoral experience, prior to joining UNB in 1999, included electromagnetic modelling research at Lamontagne Geophysics Ltd and a study of electromagnetic effects associated with seismicity in mines carried out as a NSERC Industrial Research Fellow at Engineering Seismology Group Inc. His research interests include seismoelectric and electrical methods and, more generally, novel applications of high-resolution geophysics in hydrogeology, engineering and geological exploration. Luigi Sambuelli is Associate Professor of Applied Geophysics at the Politecnico di Torino. He holds an MSc in Mining (1982) from the Politecnico di Torino. From 1992 to 1995 he was Associate Professor in Applied Geophysics at the Universita di Cagliari. He was the scientific leader of the research ‘Experiments in the High-Frequency Georadar Band (0.9–2.5 GHz) for the Analysis of Ancient Historical Buildings’ within the ‘Cultural Heritage’ project of CNR and scientifically responsible for the European project ‘Holographic Ground Probing Radar System’. He has been invited lecturer at the International School of Applied Geophysics at the ‘Ettore Majorana’ Centre in Erice (Sicily) at the 8th European Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics in Aveiro, Portugal and at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Georgia Tech, Atlanta, USA). Since 1997 he has been a member of EEGS and since 1988 he has been on the Editorial Board of European Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics. From 2007 he has been a member of SEG and he is associate editor of Near Surface Geophysics. He is owner of one Italian patent and co-owner of two international patents. His main interests are the applications of geophysics to very small scales (non-destructive testing), to archaeology, tunnelling, geotechnics, the environment and hydrogeology.

Editor’s message: Current state of hydrogeology education in Iran and the major shortfalls

The classical education of ‘Hydrogeology’ in Iran does not trace back to long ago, despite the notion that the invention of the qanat, the oldest yet scientifically and ecologically sound groundwater abstraction system, is credited to Ancient Persia and despite the fact that Iran depends on groundwater for more than 50% of its water needs. Currently, there are seven governmental universities and one private university that offer MSc programs in hydrogeology; three of these offer courses leading to PhD degrees. Shiraz University, the first institution to provide a hydrogeology course in Iran, commenced its Masters program only 20 years ago in 1988. A PhD program in hydrogeology was founded by the same university, but 10 years later in 1998. However, before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, there were scattered institutions which used to run MSc programs in hydrogeology but not on a sizeable routine basis. Institutions currently involved in hydrogeology education include, in the order of starting date of the program, Shiraz University (Shiraz), Shahid Chamran University (Ahvaz), Shahid Beheshti University (Tehran), University of Tabriz (Tabriz), University of Sistan and Baluchestan (Zahedan), Shahrood University of Technology (Shahrood) and Tarbiat Moalem University in Tehran. The private university, namely Islamic Azad University offers an MSc in hydrogeology at its Tehran branch of Science and Research. Out of these, Shiraz, Shahid Beheshti and very recently Tabriz University offer PhD programs. Depending on the human capacity and facilities available, every year or every two years, these universities admit up to three PhD students each. Annual intake of MSc students is limited to fewer than 10 for each university. The spatial distribution of these institutions in the north, south, east and west of the country is uniform, enabling universities to cover all parts of the country in terms of hydrogeology research and education. It is estimated that some 500 hydrogeologists with MSc degrees and about 10 hydrogeologists with PhD degrees have graduated from all the above intuitions during the last two decades. It has to be pointed out that the above data are pertinent to hydrogeologists, i.e. graduates with background in geology who completed their studies at geology, geosciences or earth sciences departments. MSc programs in groundwater in civil engineering, irrigation engineering or water engineering departments are treated differently and are not discussed here. Subjects taught at these departments often are similar to hydrogeology subjects; a good discussion in this regard is the paper by Weissmann (2006). Geology is a less important subject in high school in Iran. It is taught for only two hours per week, and during the last two years only, to students who choose the experimental sciences field (There are four fields of study in high school: experimental sciences, mathematics and physics, humanities, and arts.) In addition, the quality of performance in the subject of geology has little impact for high school graduates who decide to continue their studies towards higher education in universities. Moreover, because of the physical harshness of this field of study, for a period of time there was a ban on girls entering undergraduate geology courses, although the ban has now been lifted. One more disappointing fact is that at the universities, the curriculum of undergraduate studies in geology involves only two subjects of hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry, with the latter even being an elective subject. Despite this dire picture of geology, the situation for hydrogeology in graduate and postgraduate programs is bright. Among all sub-disciplines of geology, namely sedimentlogy and sedimentary rocks, paleontology and stratigraphy, environmental geology, petroleum geology, tectonics and structural geology, economic geology, petrology, engineering geology, hydrogeology, and geophysics, the last three are the most preferred ones by Received: 13 December 2008 /Accepted: 2 March 2009 Published online: 20 March 2009

Professor T J Chandler

Professor T J Chandler

Intelligence-Led Policing and Volume Crime Reduction

Rob Heaton is a serving police officer in Kent Police. He was awarded an MSc degree in 1996 and PhD in 2007. He has published several papers on the subject of the effects of policing upon crime rates. This is the second of two linked articles that examine aspects of the relationship between the use of focused ‘policing styles’ and recorded crime rates. The first article found that in general, it was difficult to demonstrate a causal link between the practice of a particular policing style and any subsequent reduction in recorded crime. However, there appeared to be an exception in respect of intelligence-led policing, which was associated with reductions in thefts of motor vehicles. This study examined the association between intelligence-led policing and recorded crime rates in greater depth. Three hypotheses were tested in relation to six police forces that had similar and well-embedded ‘intelligence-led’ structures and processes. The findings were in broad agreement with those of the earlier study.

Currently available medical engineering degrees in the UK. Part 2: Postgraduate degrees

This paper considers taught medical engineering MSc degrees, based on mechanical engineering, which are provided in the UK. Currently there are 19 institutions which provide such postgraduate degree programmes. These are the University of Aberdeen, University of Bath, University of Bradford, Brunel University, University of Dundee, University of Hull, Imperial College London, Keele University, King's College London, University of Leeds, University of Liverpool, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, University of Southampton, University of Strathclyde, University of Surrey, University of Ulster, and University of Warwick. While most courses are delivered on a 1 year full-time basis, other delivery modes are also available. Relatively few modules are offered as distance learning or short courses. A wide range of modules are offered by the various universities for the different taught MSc degrees. Common modules include biomaterials and biomechanics. The medical-engineering-related modules offered by a number of universities are also made available to students on allied MSc programmes and undergraduate degrees in medical engineering.

Die Bologna Beschlüsse und die möglichen Konsequenzen für die Ausbildung von Raumplanern in Deutschland

The decision of the European Union, to harmonize higher education in Europe and to do this on the basis of the Anglo-American system of BA/MA structures (the so-called Bologna process) has caused considerable turmoil at German universities. This has been particularly a concern of Technical Universities which were forced to abandon a long tradition of engineering degrees. With the reform, full time (five years) planning education in Germany, exclusively established at Technical Universities is under scrutiny. By now all German schools of planning have restructured their programmes and introduced BA/BSc and MAI MSc degrees, substituting the traditional Dipl. Ing. in planning. This transformation will have considerable repercussions on the established programmes, on teaching and on practice orientation, as well as on student admission and international mobility. The article raises the respective issues for the programmes and discusses the likely implications for planning schools.

UK civil engineering education in the twenty-first century

The paper reviews many of the recent changes in the general and specific education of civil engineering graduates including: grade inflation at GCSE, AS and A level; the pressure on engineering education due to university expansion in non-traditional subject areas; the negative effect of research assessment exercises leading to skewed academic appointments; common teaching for three years for MEng and BEng (Hons) degrees; the proliferation of MSc degrees; the potential threat arising from the Bologna declaration; together with some views from industry. The paper concludes with a proposal to maintain the ‘gold standard’ MEng degree by developing closer relationships between industry and academia via the initial professional development of graduates.

Physiotherapy education in Sweden

This paper gives an overall view of the current state of physiotherapy education in Sweden, a Nordic country with about 9 million inhabitants. To become a physiotherapist in Sweden, a university education, i.e. a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy (BSc), is required, based on an entry-level of upper secondary school education (13 years). The final examination entitles the graduate to apply for registration as physiotherapist, which is issued by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. Eight of the Swedish universities provide programmes in physiotherapy, and students can take a bachelor degree for preregistration training, and subsequently a MSc or PhD degree. University education in Sweden is free of charge, even for foreign students. Speciality certification is issued by the Swedish Association of Registered Physiotherapists (LSR). Sweden has a comparatively high proportion of physiotherapists with a PhD, and most work within the higher educational system in teaching and research. Promotion of research positions in clinical settings is desirable in order to optimise career pathways within the profession and to develop physiotherapy.