One is not like the other: Examining the neural response to repetitive low-level blast exposure in experienced military personnel

In nursing education, career readiness and professional identity are regarded as key factors influencing students' career development. Previous studies have suggested that their interaction contributes to effective career formation. Therefore, this study examined differences in professional identity between nursing students with high and low levels of career readiness. This analytical cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 329 first- to fourth-year male and female nursing students enrolled in a four-year program at Hirosaki University in Hirosaki, Japan. The Career Readiness Scale-Short Version (CRS-S) and the Professional Identity Scale for Medical University Students were used. A total of 157 valid responses were analyzed (valid response rate: 47.7%). Participants were divided into high- and low-score groups for each subscale of the Career Readiness Scale, and differences in the four professional identity factors were compared between groups using Mann-Whitney U tests, and associations were examined using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. For Occupational Career Concern (OCC), students in the high career readiness group showed significantly higher median scores than those in the low group across all professional identity items, including confidence in choosing a healthcare profession (p < 0.001), establishment of a professional self-concept (p < 0.001), pride in being needed as a healthcare professional (p < 0.01), and orientation toward social contribution (p < 0.01). Overall, career readiness levels were positively correlated with all professional identity factors (p < 0.01). In the low Occupational Career Autonomy (OCA) group, positive correlations were observed for the establishment of a professional self-concept (rs = 0.733, p < 0.01) and confidence in choosing a healthcare profession (rs = 0.543, p < 0.05). Additionally, Life Career Planning (LCP) was positively correlated with the establishment of a professional self-concept (rs = 0.530, p < 0.01). Nursing students with higher career readiness tended to exhibit a professional identity, particularly in terms of their sense of social contribution as future healthcare professionals. Among students with lower career readiness, associations with professional identity were limited. OCA was linked to pride in choosing the healthcare profession and to the formation of personal views on healthcare, whereas LCP was related only to the formation of personal views on healthcare. These findings suggest that differences in the level of career readiness promote the development of professional identity in nursing education.

Purpose Drawing the rationales from the sustainable career framework, and in the context of social cognitive career theory, the study examines how Science &amp; Technology and Management graduates' career develop over time, illustrating diverse career patterns, their association with the professionals' gender diversity, career success, and self-employment. Design/methodology/approach The present study utilised the LinkedIn database to extract the profiles of professionals working in Information Technology companies. The longitudinal data from 1,161 graduates over a period of 10 years were used for optimal matching analysis (OMA). Findings The results of OMA depicted four distinct career patterns, which are Related, Partly related, Related with career break and Unrelated sustainable career patterns. We find differences in gender among different career patterns. Furthermore, we observed that professionals characterised by Partly related and Unrelated patterns show more career success than Related career pattern, and for self-employment, we find an insignificant relationship. Research limitations/implications The study enriches the literature on career sustainability by investigating occupational career patterns of graduates and highlighting the gender diversity perspective. It also discusses the significance of performance management in enhancing the productivity of professionals to achieve career success. Originality/value The current study provides a novel perspective to sustainable career framework by empirical investigation of career patterns of the Science &amp; Technology and Management graduates over the long term. The findings present practical insights to the organisations and higher education institutions to promote sustainable careers of professionals.

Teacher attrition in government schools represents a critical challenge to educational quality and system sustainability. This comprehensive review synthesizes current research examining the complex interplay between occupational stress, compensation structures, and career mobility patterns that drive teacher departure from public education. Analysis of national data reveals that while overall attrition rates have remained relatively stable at approximately 8% annually, significant disparities exist across school contexts, with high-poverty schools experiencing turnover rates exceeding 20%. The review integrates quantitative findings on burnout prevalence (25-74%), stress levels (8-87%), and compensation gaps with qualitative insights on working conditions and professional satisfaction. Key findings indicate that occupational stress, characterized by workload intensity, administrative burdens, and inadequate support, serves as a primary predictor of burnout and subsequent attrition. Compensation emerges as a critical but insufficient factor, with teachers earning 19% less than comparably educated professionals in other sectors. Career mobility patterns reveal that teachers in high-need schools, beginning teachers, and those in shortage subject areas face elevated attrition risk. The conservation of resources theory and job demands-resources model provide theoretical frameworks for understanding how resource depletion accelerates burnout and turnover. Policy recommendations emphasize comprehensive approaches including competitive compensation, enhanced working conditions, strengthened induction and mentoring programs, and strategic differentiation of pay structures to address persistent staffing challenges in underserved schools.

Abstract Aging LGBTQ workers represent a unique and diverse population of workers who have struggled with homophobic and transphobic social constructions and a prolonged invalidation of their identities, stemming from periods when social exclusion and discrimination dominated their lives. These challenges have imposed multifaceted marginalization not only on their life patterns but also on their occupational trajectories and interpersonal relationships at work. Against this backdrop, drawing attention to characteristics of the occupational careers of aging LGBTQ workers requires focusing on the evolving marginalized social construction across their working life course, throughout their professional paths, and toward their older age and retirement. Appropriately, this article has three goals. First, we aim to synthesize current knowledge on the intersection of work, aging, and individuals with nonheteronormative sexual and gender identities, from a life course perspective. Second, we systematically review empirical studies on the intersection of aging, work, and LGBTQ identities to examine how this intersection is conceptualized and studied. Third, we develop a new theoretical framework best suited to account for the working life course of aging LGBTQ workers, reflecting plausible associations between multilevel contextual factors influencing workplace identity disclosure across occupational development, which in turn influence occupational-economic outcomes in later life. Thus, we propose a novel synergetic perspective on this population’s working life course, focusing on the interaction between aging with nonheteronormative sexual and gender identities, social change, and employability. We conclude by outlining directions for future research on this topic.

IntroductionFirefighters constitute a high-risk occupational cohort for alcohol use disorder (AUD) due to chronic trauma exposure, yet traditional screening methodologies relying on self-report instruments remain compromised by systematic underreporting attributable to occupational stigma and career preservation concerns. This cross-sectional investigation developed and validated a multimodal deep learning framework integrating T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging with standardized neuropsychological assessments to enable objective AUD risk stratification without necessitating computationally intensive functional neuroimaging protocols.MethodsAnalysis of 689 active-duty firefighters (mean age 43.3±8.8 years; 93% male) from a nationwide occupational cohort incorporated high-resolution three-dimensional T1-weighted structural MRI acquisition alongside comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation utilizing the Grooved Pegboard Test for visual-motor coordination assessment and Trail Making Test for executive function quantification. The novel computational architecture synergistically combined ResNet-50 convolutional neural networks for hierarchical morphological feature extraction, Vision Transformer modules for global neuroanatomical pattern recognition, and multilayer perceptron integration of clinical variables, with model interpretability assessed through Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping and SHapley Additive exPlanations methodologies. Performance evaluation employed stratified three-fold cross-validation with DeLong's test for statistical comparison of receiver operating characteristic curves.ResultsThe multimodal framework achieved 79.88% classification accuracy with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 79.65%, representing statistically significant performance enhancement relative to clinical-only (62.53%; p<0.001) and neuroimaging-only (61.53%; p<0.001) models, demonstrating a 17.35 percentage-point improvement attributable to synergistic cross-modal integration rather than simple feature concatenation. Interpretability analyses revealed stochastic activation patterns in unimodal neuroimaging models lacking neuroanatomically coherent feature localization, while clinical feature importance hierarchically prioritized biological sex and motor coordination metrics as primary predictive indicators. The framework maintained robust calibration across probability thresholds, supporting operational feasibility for clinical deployment.DiscussionThis investigation establishes that structural neuroimaging combined with targeted neuropsychological assessment achieves classification performance comparable to complex multimodal protocols while substantially reducing acquisition time and computational requirements, offering a pragmatic pathway for implementing objective AUD screening in high-risk occupational populations with broader implications for psychiatric risk stratification in trauma-exposed professions.

IntroductionThe turnover problem is a serious issue closely related to the shortage of nursing personnel. Therefore, investigating the factors that contribute to nurse turnover is critical.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that organizational commitment is a variable that predicts nurse turnover and is influenced by three factors: metacognition, career maturity, and identity in the nursing profession.MethodsThis study employed a cross-sectional design. The participants were 324 new nurses working at hospitals with more than 120 beds and multiple departments in the Kyushu region of Japan. Participants completed self-report questionnaires including their personal characteristics, metacognition, nursing professional identity, career maturity, and organizational commitment. Path analysis was used to test a mediating model of nurses’ organizational commitment to professional identity, career maturation, and metacognition.ResultsA total of 102 valid responses were obtained for the final analysis. Overall, the hypothesized model in this study explained 45% of the variance in career maturation and 8% of the variance in organizational commitment. Metacognition had a direct impact on occupational identity (β = .38, p < .05) and career maturity (β = .27, p < .05) in nurses. Metacognition was also found to influence career maturity (β = .087, p < .001) via occupational identity and indirectly to organizational commitment.ConclusionsTo prevent nurses from leaving the profession, career maturation should be promoted in basic nursing education through education that enhances metacognition and supports the ongoing formation of professional identity. Supporting flexible work choices based on personal, social, and professional values and beliefs, and in accordance with life stages is necessary. The results of this study can be used as basic data for the construction of career support education programs for nursing students.

&lt;p&gt;Young prison inmates (YPI) are also young adulthood offenders (YAO) in transition to added and/or new responsibilities, roles, and occupational careers. The transition typically encompasses a progression from varied forms of basic education to varied forms of employment or occupational careers. The transition is also a phase of life characterized by intense socio-economic vulnerability and the risk of disruption of lawful occupations. This study, therefore, assessed the socio-economic vulnerability of young prison inmates and the risk of contributing to the disruption of their lawful careers. The socio-economic vulnerability was assessed in terms of 1) the family type and structure, 2) the socio-economic indicators consisting of the location, religion, education and employment, and 3) more importantly, the livelihood security scale across several critical indicators including food, income, farming, employment, security to continue education and security in healthcare among others. The study concluded that a greater proportion of the young prison inmates had experienced extensive socio-economic vulnerability and risk of disruption of their lawful careers.&lt;/p&gt;

ABSTRACT Given the comparatively high salaries of professional soccer players during their active athletic careers, investments in education during their career seem to be less prevalent than among other athletes. This exploratory study analyses to what extent professional soccer players participate in vocational training, and what factors influence their cost–benefit assessment of participating in such activities during their athletic career. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 German professional soccer players (9 still active, 16 retired). Of these, 18 had competed in the top two leagues, while 7 had played in the 3rd and 4th leagues. The data were interpreted using qualitative content analysis. The results reveal a range of investments by players in education during their careers: from pursuing high-quality education to not investing in further education at all; from low to high opportunity costs of vocational training; from high willingness to take risks to low willingness to take risks. Our findings shed light on the decisions not only specifically among professional soccer players when choosing an education path, but also more broadly among individuals that face high occupational career risks and earn high salaries, to develop approaches for sustainable education planning (e.g. career goal development or guidance on educational pathways).

This study examined the influence of high school students' parent-child relationships on their career maturity and the mediating effect of career and occupational experience. And the gender differences of the causal relationships among the three variables were examined. To this end, we used panel data from the 6th survey(1st year of high school) of KELS 2013 included 2,743 male and 2,881 female students. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were applied to verify the research questions. The results a re a s follows. First, parent-child relationships had a positive e ffect on career maturity and career and occupational experience, and career and occupational experience had a positive effect on career maturity. Second, the indirect effect of career and occupational experience on the influence of parent-child relationships on career maturity was also confirmed. Third, gender differences were evident in the influence of parent-child relationships. The direct effects of parent-child relationships on career maturity and career and occupational experience were significantly greater for boys than for girls. These results suggest the importance of fostering positive parent-child relationships at home and providing diverse career experiences at school to foster career maturity, and they also highlight the need for a gender-sensitive approach to career guidance.

Social scientists are showing increasing interest in workers engaged in social change work and related organizational roles. While the sociological literature on occupational activism as well as scholarship on organizational change agents have provided insights into this work, the career pathways employes take to these roles are rarely the explicit focus of this research, prompting the following research question: how do workers enter socially conscious jobs, and with what consequences? I address this question by drawing on qualitative interviews of professionals working in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) roles across universities in the United Kingdom. My analysis finds three divergent pathways to EDI roles: the activist, the administrative, and the hybrid pathway. These different occupational pathways are further related to varied occupational rhetorics, workplace challenges, and career outlooks. My research contributes to scholarship on occupational activism, the literature on social change within organizations, and the sociology of EDI.

Purpose This study examines the relationships among career behavior, occupational self-efficacy, meaningful work and career satisfaction. It also investigates the role of flexible work arrangements in these relationships towards building an adaptive career system. Design/methodology/approach Data for the study were analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between the four variables and the moderating effect of different flexible work arrangements. Findings The results showed the direct effects of career behavior on occupational self-efficacy and career satisfaction. Occupational self-efficacy was significantly related to career satisfaction through meaningful work. Meaningful work was also positively related to career satisfaction. Finally, the findings revealed different relationships based on flexible work arrangements. Originality/value This study established that meaningful work and occupational self-efficacy are vital forces that impact the relationship between career behavior and satisfaction. By empirically providing evidence of flexible work practice on career satisfaction, the study answers several calls by research to examine how flexible work arrangement can play a critical role in career management.

BackgroundPhysical inactivity is common among young adults. Transitions from school to work can affect available resources for engaging in physical activity (PA). There is a lack of longitudinal data examining changes in PA following status transitions differentiated by occupational and academic career paths. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in PA of young adults across four status transitions from: (1) school to vocational education and training (VET), (2) school to university, (3) VET to workforce entry, and (4) university to workforce entry.MethodsA longitudinal analysis was conducted using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (waves 2014–2020) for young adults aged 18–35. McNemar tests and logistic fixed-effects regressions were performed in four separate subsamples with paired data (time points before and after a transition).ResultsIn total, 364 individuals transitioned from school to VET (47.8% women, mean age before transition (BT): 18.9, SD = 1.2), 482 from school to university (53.7% women, mean age BT: 19.0, SD = 1.4), 790 from VET to workforce entry (46.6% women, mean age BT: 22.2, SD = 3.3), and 305 from university to workforce entry (54.4% women, mean age BT: 26.3, SD = 3.0). A significant reduction in PA was observed when individuals transitioned from 1) school to VET and 4) university to workforce.ConclusionsYoung adults who choose an occupational career path already experienced a reduction in PA when starting VET, whereas this trend is temporally shifted for those choosing an academic career path, occurring only upon entry into the workforce. Tailored interventions (e.g., digital approaches that are flexible in terms of time and location) are needed to promote PA among the identified groups, considering available resources.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-23739-4.

ABSTRACTAimsThis study aimed to (a) examine the relationship between perceived career decision regret and turnover intention among nurses and (b) explore the mediating role of occupational stress and career decision regret in this relationship within the context of hospital‐based nursing practice.DesignA descriptive cross‐sectional study.MethodsData were collected between 1 November 2023 and 20 February 2024, from a final sample of 512 nurses employed across various hospital settings in Türkiye. Standardized questionnaires measured career decision regret, occupational stress and turnover intention. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethics committee, and informed consent was obtained from all participants. Group comparisons were performed using independent samples t tests and one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Pearson correlation analysis assessed relationships between continuous variables. The mediating effect of occupational stress was evaluated using the bootstrap method at a 95% confidence interval, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.ResultsNurses working in public hospitals reported significantly higher levels of occupational stress, career decision regret and turnover intention compared to those in private hospitals. Career decision regret had a direct positive effect on turnover intention (β = 0.37) and an indirect effect mediated by occupational stress (β = 0.33).ConclusionCareer decision regret directly and positively influences turnover intention, with occupational stress serving as a significant mediator. These results have important implications for the development of targeted interventions aimed at reducing occupational stress, particularly among nurses experiencing career decision regret, to improve retention and reduce turnover intentions.Reporting MethodThis study adhered to the STROBE guidelines.Patient or Public ContributionThere was no patient or public involvement in this study.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which occupational awareness and career adaptability predict career anxiety and whether career adaptability moderates the relationship between occupational awareness and career anxiety. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised 186 Australian tertiary education students with a mean age of 30.30 years (SD = 9.90). Participants completed an anonymous online survey where data were collected using a battery of career development and psychological scales. Findings Eight moderation models were performed and revealed that occupational awareness and the career adaptability resources of control and confidence were negatively associated with both current- and desired-career anxiety. However, the career adaptability resources of concern and curiosity were not associated with either current- or desired-career anxiety. No support was found for moderation by any of the adaptability resources. Research limitations/implications Researchers are encouraged to confirm the factor structure of the career anxiety scale items in order to further understand the theoretical difference between current career anxiety and desired career anxiety. It would be useful to have a greater understanding of how the two forms of career anxiety are applicable in the modern, changing world which provides indication for interventions for different stakeholders. Practical implications Teaching staff and career practitioners should consider assisting students in increasing their awareness of jobs and careers that are of interest to them as well as current and future technology and job market trends. Teaching staff should also be aware that a specific job or career may not be the goal for all tertiary students and that teaching transferable knowledge and skills also provides practical career adaptability skills. Originality/value Greater occupational awareness and both career adaptability resources of control and confidence resources may act as protective resources for tertiary education students in reducing their current career- and desired-career anxiety.

Do starting conditions in an educationally selected youth still affect occupational success in adult life? Educational selection depends on starting conditions for the career beyond the school which are given or controllable - gender, intelligence, and social origin vs. grades, aspirations, and life plans. In a group already selected, it intensifies competition and challenges motivations to succeed more strongly such that new privileges can arise among the already privileged. This is examined longitudinally from age 16 to 30, 43, 56, and 66. Two hypotheses will be tested cross-sectionally at each age: (1) Effectiveness: All starting conditions should increase occupational success, (2) Control force: Given starting conditions have less impact than controllable ones. And two hypotheses will be tested longitudinally from age 30 to 66: (3) Tapering off: All starting conditions lose impact. (4) Control persistency: Given conditions lose more impact than controllable ones. Data are from the Cologne High School Panel (CHISP). It starts off with 3240 German Gymnasium (the highest layer of the three German high school forms) students at age 16 in 1969. They have been re-interviewed at age 30, 43, 56, and 66 when 1013 respondents remain. The occupational career success from 16 to 66 is measured as occupational prestige and hourly net income, corrected for inflation. The results show that prestige is higher for men than women; it increases with social origin, and aspirations to a strong degree at age 30, to a lesser degree at age 43, to a still lesser degree at age 56, and not at all at age 66; however, the impact of the earlier success increases strongly and continuously. In brief, the past fades away and the careers consolidate. But given conditions do not have weaker impacts than controllable ones and do not lose their impact more strongly. Thus, (1) the effectiveness hypothesis is confirmed for most starting conditions, but (2) the control force hypothesis is not; and (3) the tapering off hypothesis is, but (4) the control persistence hypothesis is not. Given starting conditions have no less power over occupational success than controllable ones. Privileges resonate indiscriminately and decreasingly in life histories. Income at age 30, 43, 56, and 66 does not increase continuously with any starting condition, but decreases with intelligence at age 30 and increases with male gender and having a life goal at age 43. And the impact of the earlier successes increases strongly and continuously. In brief, the past throws no shadow and the careers consolidate. The (1 and 2) effectiveness and the control force hypothesis are disconfirmed. Given the irregular impacts of starting conditions, (3 and 4) the fading off and the control persistency hypothesis cannot be meaningfully examined. Privileges do not continue to favour the privileged and occupational careers stabilize autonomously.

In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence technologies have intensified discussions about the future of the translation profession. The present study aims to evaluate the occupational career awareness of translation students and their anxiety about artificial intelligence in the context of the translation profession and the relationships between these two variables by using multiple data collection methods. In this framework, Kırklareli University's Department of English Translation and Interpreting was selected as the research sample. The study used multiple data collection techniques and utilized quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches simultaneously. In this regard, demographic and occupational questions, an Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale, and an Occupational Career Awareness Scale were administered to the students, and 166 valid questionnaires were collected. In addition, a focus group interview was conducted with the participation of 10 students from different years of study. As a result, translation students' AI anxiety was not at a high level. At the same time, their career awareness was high, and there was no statistical relationship between the two. It was observed that the uncertainty experienced while entering the sector and job search were the main factors that increased AI anxiety. Finally, the majority of the students emphasized that to decrease their anxiety levels, AI-related courses should be included in the curriculum from the first year onwards.

This study aims to explore the relationship between gender role types and occupational efficacy, career mission, and job commitment among undergraduate male nursing students. Employing a cross - sectional study design with convenience and cluster sampling, data were collected using various scales. Results reveal that gender role types are significantly correlated with students' occupational psychological indicators. Biphallic male nursing students outperform others in occupational efficacy, career mission, and professional commitment. Multiple regression analysis shows that professional mission, commitment, and masculine, feminine, and biphallic gender role types jointly explain 53% of the variance in occupational efficacy. Based on these findings, it is recommended that educators implement customized education for male nursing students according to different gender roles to cultivate their diverse characteristics, thus enhancing the theoretical framework of nursing education and facilitating male nursing talent cultivation.

In this study, we examine whether vocational pathways to a higher education entrance certificate (HEEC) via upper secondary vocational schools lead to wages in the first five years of the occupational career that are comparable to the wages achieved after following the “royal roads” in general education, which lead directly to HEEC. We derive hypotheses on wage differences and the reasons for these differences from classical labour market theories such as human capital theory and labour queue theory, which we test using the German NEPS‐SC6‐ADIAB study with 1,256 male and 1,197 female employees. Applying multilevel regression analyses and Kitagawa‐Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition analyses, we find that graduates from direct pathways earn between 12% (men) and 18% (women) higher wages than graduates from vocational pathways to HEEC. For both men and women, these lower wage levels for the members of the latter group are first of all due to the lower level of their further educational attainments (vocational training/university [of applied science] degree) and school‐related competencies. Furthermore, female graduates from vocational pathways are more likely to be overqualified for their jobs and have less access to better‐paying “closed” occupations than graduates from direct pathways. We conclude that vocational pathways to HEEC cannot fully compensate for disadvantages in labour market opportunities that arise due to an early stratified educational system, and the extent to which they can be compensated is not the same for men and women.

This research is grounded in the Conservation of Resources theory to examine the impact of perceived occupational stigma on the career exploration of tour guides. This research examines the mediating and moderating influence of Mianzi concern in the relationship between perceived occupational stigma and career exploration. A total of 421 valid responses were gathered from full-time tour guides in China. The research employed the Partial Least Squares structural equation modelling approach. The research demonstrated that Mianzi concern mediates the relationship between perceived occupational stigma and career exploration. However, the moderating effect of Mianzi concern was not supported. This study enhances the understanding of the impact of occupational stigma and the elements that promote external career exploration, providing insights for reducing or removing occupational stigma.