Non-academic Environment Research Articles

Overview of medical physics education and research programs in a non-academic environment.

Northwest Medical Physics Center (NMPC) is a nonprofit organization that provides clinical physics support to over 35 radiation therapy facilities concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. Although clinical service is the primary function of NMPC, the diverse array of clinical sites and physics expertise has allowed for the establishment of structured education and research programs, which are complementary to the organization's clinical mission. Three clinical training programs have been developed at NMPC: a therapy medical physics residency program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), an Applied Physics Technologist (APT) program, and a summer undergraduate internship program. A partnership has also been established with a major radiation oncology clinical vendor for the purposes of validating and testing new clinical devices across multiple facilities. These programs are managed by a dedicated education and research team at NMPC, made up of four qualified medical physicists (QMPs). The education and research work has made a significant contribution to the organization's clinical mission, and it has provided new training opportunities for early-career physicists across many different clinical environments. Education and research can be incorporated into nonacademic clinical environments, improving the quality of patient care, and increasing the number and type of training opportunities available for medical physicists.

Living labs as third places: low-threshold participation, empowering hospitality, and the social infrastructuring of continuous presence

In this practice insight contribution, we reflect on our learnings from configuring and upholding a living lab as a third place in an urban and distinctively non-academic environment. Trying to make space for an empowering hospitality necessitated withholding our schemes and workshop plans so to facilitate grassroots endeavors on the side of the people dropping in and staying around though they might follow unexpected paths. This follows no blueprint but requires researchers and science communicators to be open to surprises, to be patient and persistent, and to be willing to swap positions and be the learners, not the instructors. While the physical and technical infrastructures were at one point installed, keeping the social infrastructuring of continuous presence running remains an open issue that requires us to rethink how to fund and support living labs and their mission in the long run.

И.Г. ЮНГ-ШТИЛЛИНГ И А.Т. БОЛОТОВ: РЕЦЕПЦИЯ ИДЕЙ НЕМЕЦКОГО МИСТИКА В НЕАКАДЕМИЧЕСКОЙ СРЕДЕ

German mystic and theosophist Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740–1817) gained immense popularity in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. This fact is proven by numerous translations of his works and reminiscences of his ideas in literary texts and memoirs of the time. Scientist, philosopher, and writer A.T. Bolotov (1738–1833) was his great admirer, follower, and popularizer. The reception of Jung-Stilling is reflected both in Bolotov’s poetic experiments and his works “The old man with his grandson, or Conversations of an old man with his young grandson” (1822), “Assumed events in the Afterlife” (1823) and “About the souls of dead people” (1823) written in the form of Platonic dialogues. Bolotov’s example makes it possible to analyze the reception of the German mystic’s ideas and their dissemination in the non-academic environment.

Understanding Third Mission Activities as Services to Cooperatively Design the Non-Academic Environment

The UNESCO World Action Program on ESD assumes that universities bear social responsibility by generating and transferring knowledge and innovations (BMBF 2022) to their non-academic environment. Those activities are often referred to as Third Mission Activities (TMA) besides the two initial university missions research and education. In this paper it is investigated whether considering TMA as “services offered by universities” is an adequate option for the analysis and management of those activities. In problem-centered interviews conducted between 2019 and 2020, 127 university members at three German universities presented detailed information about various TMA, which was examined in a qualitative content analysis. In this investigation, properties of classic and complex service types were compared to the characteristics of the TMA by deductive category formation. Inductive category formation additionally enabled a more detailed analysis of knowledge-intensive and cooperative service sub-types. As a result, it can be shown that classic, complex, knowledge-intensive and cooperative service types exhibit strong parallels with TMA.

Cardio-Oncology Care Delivered in the Non-academic Environment.

It is a fact that the field of Cardio-Oncology is growing rapidly throughout the USA and abroad. Cancer and heart disease continue to be the leading causes of death in the USA, and oncologic therapies are evolving to the point that cancer survivors are increasing yearly, some living long enough to develop cardiovascular disease, and others living with sequelae from their cancer therapy. The financial burdens to the healthcare system continue to present barriers for the delivery of healthcare, especially for patients with heart disease and cancer as chronic diseases. Collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists is paramount to ensure timely cancer care while minimizing cardiotoxicity. The field of Cardio-Oncology is the perfect model for the current management of these patients, positioned to break down silos, avoid delays in cancer care, and treating potential short- and long-term sequela of cancer therapy in a cost-efficient manner. While cardio-oncology programs initially sprang from the academic and defined cancer centers, it is rapidly growing in the nonacademic settings. This paper explores reasons that occurred and explores some of the unique aspects to cancer care and cardio-oncology delivery in the nonacademic setting. The ultimate goal is to achieve the best cancer care with the least degree of disruption to therapy that also minimizes cardiotoxicity, lowering costs, and improving outcomes for patients.

Blended learning - how global education system is merging best learning practices?

Formal education programs are transforming from pen, paper and memorizing facts to hybrid learning through technology. These assisted teaching methods and blended forms of learning allows flexibility to teacher and student community customizing the learning experiences of the latter. Exceptionally effective, the education sector has greatly benefited with innovative teaching methodologies using dynamic digital tools alongside more traditional classroom practices to create blended learning models. The study material is blended into the core academic program and is fully comparable to traditional courses, only the delivery medium is different.Out of several key blended learning practices, outside-in blended educational model has added new dimensions to learning. In this model, academic learning begins outside the class in a non-academic environment using digital devices. Instead of traditional classroom sessions, the class begins online daily and by the time students reach the classroom, they are well-prepared to share, collaborate, create and review feedback. Such a hybrid form of teaching cohesively blends the essence of traditional learning and remote learning opportunities for effective outcomes. Teachers manage their in-class time more effectively by engaging in discussions and review that enable students to work on their own pace and utilise resource content available. Although blended learning represents opportunities to personalize learning and reclaim instructional time in a hybrid schedule, the present challenges of a different kind. There are mixed views on the efficacy of a learning system that does not believe in assessments or an instructional approach for teachers to follow. It questions the premise of entrusting students with the responsibility of taking over their own journey of education. Adequate technology support and guidance to teachers builds up challenges in effective implementation. Its potential is questionable in remote locations and impoverished areas. As innovative technology transform, new markets open up, educational forms will transition into fascinating yet evolved learning forms with the highest blend of classroom lessons and digital classes. Access to world-class study material will not be a distant reality as universities aggressively embrace modern forms of learning. That is where the future of blended learning lies.

Centres for Evidence-base Public Health in Tunisia- development, tasks and opportunities

Abstract Introduction As a part of the CONFIDE project, 3 Centres for Evidence into Health Policy (C4EHPs) were established in the Universities of Sfax (Head Office), of Tunis El Manar and of Sousse in Tunisia. The tasks of the C4EHPs include development of training programs, establishment of a national network of public institutions and NGOs, which will offer internship placements for the centres’ trainees as well as enhance public health development in Tunisia in general. The progress The 3 Centres were established, each with the necessary infrastructures of specially designated rooms equipped with computers, books, etc. A communication platform was launched and is regularly updated. Partnership agreements with NGOs and private institutions have been signed. The C4EHPs have supported three Train-the-Trainer modules for 18 Tunisian trainers ran by the 3 European CONFIDE partners, autumn 2018. The centres have each further trained 29 Trainees under the supervision of the European partners, spring 2019. Conclusions The 3 C4EHPs will act as an open source for all trainees interested in enhancing their practical work experience, networking between academic and non-academic environment and facilitating the implementation of the trainee internships. They will also market the CONFIDE products in Tunisia with the aim to sustain the public health development also after CONFIDE. In addition, the centres will search for further international funding for both training and collaborative research, according to the research domain of each faculty. The C4EHP of Sfax will be specialized in the areas of addiction, obesity, emerging infectious diseases and the quality of public health management in rural areas. The challenges of this work include lack of infrastructure and economic resources in Tunisia, lack of multi-level and cross-sectorial collaboration in public health as well as lack of stakeholder collaboration with NGOs and other non-governmental actors in public health.

Unravelling the gender productivity gap in science: a meta-analytical review.

Women underrepresentation in science has frequently been associated with women being less productive than men (i.e. the gender productivity gap), which may be explained by women having lower success rates, producing science of lower impact and/or suffering gender bias. By performing global meta-analyses, we show that there is a gender productivity gap mostly supported by a larger scientific production ascribed to men. However, women and men show similar success rates when the researchers' work is directly evaluated (i.e. publishing articles). Men's success rate is higher only in productivity proxies involving peer recognition (e.g. evaluation committees, academic positions). Men's articles showed a tendency to have higher global impact but only if studies include self-citations. We detected gender bias against women in research fields where women are underrepresented (i.e. those different from Psychology). Historical numerical unbalance, socio-psychological aspects and cultural factors may influence differences in success rate, science impact and gender bias. Thus, the maintenance of a women-unfriendly academic and non-academic environment may perpetuate the gender productivity gap. New policies to build a more egalitarian and heterogeneous scientific community and society are needed to close the gender gap in science.

Clinical pharmacy academic career transitions: Viewpoints from the field Part 2: Understanding and balancing the distribution of effort

IntroductionThe six authors of this commentary series, who have recently transitioned into or within an academic career, discuss challenging aspects of an academic career change. The authors represent faculty members teaching within a large, state-funded, research-intensive School of Pharmacy located within a large academic health center. The authors have various backgrounds and represent individuals making transitions at various points in their careers (from residency into academia, from a non-academic environment into academia, and from one academic environment to another). CommentaryThis is Part 2 of a three-part commentary series that focuses on understanding and balancing the distribution of effort. Parts 1 and 3 of this commentary series explore feedback, evaluation and advancement; and learning when and how to say yes, respectively. While the entire series is intended to be read in continuity, faculty, or those interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy academia, can refer to Part 2 as a reference to aid in understanding and balancing the different components and the distribution of effort associated with a position in academic pharmacy, specifically. ImplicationsSchools of Pharmacy may utilize this as a tool for new faculty members during orientation in order to help ensure faculty success.

Effectiveness of Vocational High Schools in Students’ Access to and Persistence in Postsecondary Vocational Education

Vocational education is increasingly seen as a viable path to higher education and not simply a direct route to the labor market. This paper studies the relationship between the secondary school track attended by Chilean students (vocational or academic) and their subsequent outcomes in access to and persistence in postsecondary vocational programs. Although it is expected that vocational students will display lower access to higher education programs, due to their less intense curriculum and the generally non-academic environment of their schools, their performance in post-secondary vocational programs is unclear. Field-specific knowledge and vocational maturity could improve the performance of students from secondary vocational education backgrounds. Our analysis uses propensity score matching to reduce selection bias and determine causal relationships. It also utilizes sensitivity analysis to check for the robustness of results. The findings reveal that, indeed, vocational students have lower rates of access and persistence than academic ones. Students who change fields between secondary and postsecondary education have the lowest persistence levels. We also found that vocational students have lower probabilities of access to higher education funding, and higher probabilities of enrolling in evening classes. Thus, when controlling for these two characteristics, we found that students who continue in the same vocational field between secondary and postsecondary levels had a better performance than students with an academic background. These findings may suggest that vocational students require greater support in order to increase their probabilities of success in higher education.

Defining "faculty" in academic medicine: responding to the challenges of a changing environment.

Academic medicine in the United States is at a crossroads. There are many drivers behind this, including health care reform, decreased federal research funding, a refined understanding of adult learning, and the emergence of disruptive innovations in medicine, science, and education. As faculty members are at the core of all academic activities, the definition of "faculty" in academic medicine must align with the expectations of institutions engaged in patient care, research, and education. Faculty members' activities have changed and continue to evolve. Academic health centers must therefore define new rules of engagement that reflect the interplay of institutional priorities with the need to attract, retain, and reward faculty members. In this Commentary, the authors describe and explore the potential effects of the changing landscape for institutions and their clinical faculty members. The authors make a case for institutions to adapt faculty appointment, evaluation, and promotion processes, and they propose a framework for a standardized definition of "faculty" that allows for individual variability. This framework also provides a means to evaluate and reward faculty members' contributions in education, research, and clinical care. The authors propose a deliberate national conversation to ensure that careers in academic medicine remain attractive and sustainable and that the future of academic medicine is secure.

Historical Dialogue and Non-academic Environment in East Asia

Historical Dialogue and Non-academic Environment in East Asia

What I need to start my job: a wish list (positioning yourself for success in an academic or nonacademic environment).

Beginning practice as an orthopaedic traumatologist is an important event, when the groundwork is set up for the next few years of hard work. Plans must be made, resources allocated, staff hired, etc. to optimally support the newly practicing surgeon. Academic and nonacademic practice settings are possible, where the facets of practice (i.e., clinic, operating room, floor work, education, and research) may be quite different. The goal of this article is to discuss these differences between relatively academic and nonacademic practices, ultimately to allow the young orthopaedic traumatologist to form a "wish list" with which to start planning the logistics of his or her career.

AWARENESS, APPRECIATION AND FAMILIARITY WITH OPERATIONS RESEARCH AMONG MANAGERS IN QUOTED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Unconscious or informal application and failure to acknowledge the use of operations research (OR) approach by corporate managers has been going on globally for a very long time. This largely accounts for the inability of scholars to make accurate assessment of the level of application of operations research in the non-academic environment. It is therefore evident that asking an operations manager whether OR models or methodology is applied by his company may likely not produce a response that truly represents reality as some may be unknowingly making such applications. This study therefore examined the level of awareness of OR among corporations in the Nigerian manufacturing sector. It also assessed the extent of familiarity with OR models among managers in the manufacturing sector and their appreciation of OR techniques as a viable business decision-making tool. Consequently, steps that constitute the decision-making procedure of firms in the manufacturing industry of Nigerian economy were examined to determine the extent to which OR methodology or philosophy may have been incorporated.

Clinicians or Researchers, Patients or Participants: Exploring Human Subject Protection When Clinical Research Is Conducted in Non-academic Settings

Background: Clinical research is increasingly conducted in private physicians’ offices, clinics, community hospitals, local institutes, and independent research centers. The migration of research into this non-academic environment has brought new cadres of researchers into the clinical research enterprise and broadened the pool of potential research participants. This study was designed to explore how clinical investigators and research coordinators protect human subjects and ensure research integrity when conducting clinical research in non-academic settings. Methods: We employed a qualitative research design employing semistructured interviews that took place between October 2010 and September 2012. The sample of 80 participants from across the United States included 38 clinicians and 42 research coordinators, most of whom had been involved in clinical research for more than 5 years and nearly all of whom reported their patient base included a sizable rural population. With the aid of a research management tool, Atlas-Ti, the data were coded and organized into themes that could be compared and contrasted. Results: Findings suggest that clinicians conduct clinical research because such research is perceived as beneficial for both the patient and the practice. Findings also suggest that clinicians do not perceive firm distinctions between the roles of clinician and researcher, nor do they perceive firm distinctions between the goals of research and the goals of clinical care. Rather, most of the clinicians and coordinators in this study viewed trial participation as a means of providing optimal care for the individual patient. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the current processes and protocols employed in non-academic research settings may not achieve optimal protection of human subjects. More research is needed in order to more fully understand how a combination of factors, including the financing of research, recruitment practices, and the blurred distinctions between research and treatment, may undermine the optimal protection of human subjects.

Exploring determinants of students' experience, perceptions and loyalty intentions in higher education institutions

This study aimed at developing a model to explore and analyse the relationships among determinants of students’ experience, quality perceptions and loyalty intentions to higher education institutions (HEIs). A two-stage research was carried out to develop and test a structural equation model using partial least squares path modelling. The result of this exploratory study suggested that competent and caring academic staff, HEIs’ processes and campus facilities have substantial effect on students’ experience and their loyalty intentions. The result suggests that effect of non-academic staff and physical environment may have been overemphasised in the literature. The resulting model may also act as a predictive and diagnostic tool to aid improved service delivery in HEIs.

The Protectors and the Protected: What Regulators and Researchers Can Learn from IRB Members and Subjects

Clinical research is increasingly conducted in settings that include private physicians' offices, clinics, community hospitals, local institutes, and independent research centers. The migration of such research into this new, non-academic environment has brought new cadres of researchers into the clinical research enterprise and also broadened the pool of potential research participants. Regulatory approaches for protecting human subjects who participate in research have also evolved. Some institutions retain their own Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), but Independent IRBs, community hospital IRBs and community-based IRBs also fulfill oversight responsibilities. This article sheds light on this evolving world by discussing the findings gleaned from two studies: a study of the decision making processes used by members who serve on different kinds of IRBs and a study of the decision making processes employed by research participants. The article then discusses how the key findings may inform proposed revisions to the Common Rule.

Recognition of Prior Learning - a research under ISEKI_Food 3 project

In the frame of the ISEKI_Food 3 Erasmus Thematic Network activities, a working group related to the Life Long learning has been established. A questionnaire was created in order to know if and how the prior experiental learning (courses, working activities, language certifications, computer license, etc.) are considered and accreditated /recognised by the universities belonging the ISEKI_Food and ISEKI_Mundus partners to give academic credits to the students with prior certified experiences in order to facilitate the student's curriculum. Among the questions, data on a maximum of credits to be recognized, disciplines more frequently submitted to recognition, type of agreement between university and other institutions (secondary schools, training agencies, etc,), prior experience / learning, were included into the questionnaire. The recognition of prior learning or experiences resulted to be mainly related to foreign language certification and working experience in non-academic environment as well as industries or analytical laboratories. Credits in informatic certification (i.e. European Computer Driving License) and demonstrated personal skills courses were also considered.

Internationalizing the University: Theory, Practice, Organization and Execution

Leading universities around the globe have begun to internationalize their campuses. This effort is being driven by historic political and economic changes, changes in the academic and nonacademic environment, and by the strategic imperative for universities to remain at the forefront of its teaching, research and service missions. Universities are being asked to help meet major international challenges, to educate students in their disciplines with a sense of global competence and engagement, and to contribute to local and national economic competiveness. Faculty members must not only remain current in their disciplines globally but must also be aware of developments in key related disciplines since the nature of knowledge and the problems facing humanity are cross-disciplinary and global. How can leaders understand and manage these demands?

Commentary: Problems between the Academic Formation and the Nonacademic Labor Environment in Anthropology in the State of Yucatán, Mexico

Commentary: Problems between the Academic Formation and the Nonacademic Labor Environment in Anthropology in the State of Yucatán, Mexico