Participation Of Undergraduate Students Research Articles

Factors affecting student participation in extra-curricular activities: A comparison between two Middle Eastern dental schools.

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to assess the level of participation of dental undergraduate students in extracurricular activities (ECAs) and the factors affecting this participation.MethodsThe study included dental students enrolled in undergraduate programs at the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Egypt, and the College of Dentistry, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. A questionnaire was developed to collect background information about students, their participation in ECAs, and time allocated for these activities. Students were asked about their perceptions of the relationship between ECAs and academic studies, and their reasons for participating in and satisfaction with ECAs.ResultsThe study included 199 students from Alexandria and 146 students from Dammam, with response rates of 99.5% and 73%, respectively. The percentages of those reporting ECA participation were 27.1% and 43.8%, respectively, mostly in community service, sports, and social activities. About 60% of students did not think that ECAs affected their studies, although the perceived difficulty of balancing ECAs and academics was associated with lower odds of participation (odds ratio = 0.51). Most students participated in ECAs to socialize and make friends, and the majority was dissatisfied with school-organized ECAs (52% and 59%, respectively). Gender and/or perceived relation between ECAs and academic studies affected actual participation in ECAs in one school but not the other.ConclusionsECA participation among these students was low. Gender and perception of ECAs in relation to academic studies affected ECA participation differently in the two schools. Better planning and management of ECAs that incorporate students’ preferences and reasons for participation is needed. Gender issues and the relationship between ECAs and academic performance should be addressed in relation to school and social characteristics.

Spectrophotometer-based student education program on health hazard assessment due to Cr(VI) and Pb contamination in surface and groundwaters of Hyderabad City, India

A student-centric research education program with the active participation of undergraduate students is initiated. The aim is to imbibe ―responsible citizenship behavior‖ in them so that each member becomes conscious and well trained to take up environmental-related issues and challenges for long-term sustainability of the ecosystem. In this work, we report spectrophotometer-based estimation of hexavalent chromium (57-268 gL-1) and lead (34–158 gL-1) concentrations in different surface waters and groundwater samples in and around the city of Hyderabad, India. Our results indicate that the studied surface water bodies and aquifers are contaminated to variable degrees and pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. In view of low geochemical baseline values for chromium and lead, the origin of heavy metal pollution is inferred to be anthropogenic, mainly originating from industrial effluents. The toxicological data are integrated with health data for risk assessment and impending health hazard. Finally, the novelty of this student-centric research program is highlighted.

Health care voluntourism: addressing ethical concerns of undergraduate student participation in global health volunteer work.

The popularity and availability of global health experiences has increased, with organizations helping groups plan service trips and companies specializing in "voluntourism," health care professionals volunteering their services through different organizations, and medical students participating in global health electives. Much has been written about global health experiences in resource poor settings, but the literature focuses primarily on the work of health care professionals and medical students. This paper focuses on undergraduate student involvement in short term medical volunteer work in resource poor countries, a practice that has become popular among pre-health professions students. We argue that the participation of undergraduate students in global health experiences raises many of the ethical concerns associated with voluntourism and global health experiences for medical students. Some of these may be exacerbated by or emerge in unique ways when undergraduates volunteer. Guidelines and curricula for medical student engagement in global health experiences have been developed. Guidelines specific to undergraduate involvement in such trips and pre-departure curricula to prepare students should be developed and such training should be required of volunteers. We propose a framework for such guidelines and curricula, argue that universities should be the primary point of delivery even when universities are not organizing the trips, and recommend that curricula should be developed in light of additional data.

Becoming Researchers: The Participation of Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Scientific Research Groups

ABSTRACTThis study sought to understand how graduate and undergraduate students learn to do science by participating in research groups. A phenomenological approach was used to illuminate the experiences of the students. The results provide evidence that the students were in the role of apprentices, although this was not made explicit. As apprentices they learned by doing as legitimate peripheral participants in the groups. Mentoring was distributed among the group, with more advanced students providing much of it. The groups were both communities of practice and epistemic communities in which students gained methodological and intellectual proficiency. Finally, student learning in research groups can be conceptualized as learning trajectories that enter the group, traverse characteristics of communities of practice and epistemic communities, and leave with the students as novice researchers, proficient technicians, or knowledge producers. The implications for K‐12 science education are that it is unrealistic to expect teachers to achieve the proficiency in traditional short‐term research experiences that would prepare them to teach their students how to engage in authentic scientific research, and that these experiences should be structured so that the teachers are placed in tightly organized research groups with mentors who explicitly teach them how to do science. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 97:218–243, 2013

A Structured Approach to Honours Undergraduate Research Course, Evaluation Rubrics and Assessment

This paper presents a new approach to the Honours Undergraduate Research Course design and implementation. The course design process, assessment and evaluation rubrics are provided. Lessons learned and the experience of the faced challenges and opportunities for two cohort offerings of the course during the winter terms of 2011 and 2012 are highlighted. Assessments show that major benefits include increasing interaction with the faculty and increasing intellectual maturity, skills, knowledge and confidence for the students and for the faculty, the furthering of research projects by the participation of undergraduate students. The course can serve as a model that can be easily adapted for use across the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Grupos de pesquisa em história da enfermagem: a realidade brasileira

Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar as atividades dos grupos de pesquisa em história da enfermagem existentes no Brasil e sua articulação com os cursos de graduação e pós-graduação em enfermagem. É um estudo exploratório qualitativo descritivo documental, realizado no período de julho de 2008 a março de 2010. Foram identificados 34 grupos de pesquisa com pelo menos uma de suas linhas de pesquisa em história da enfermagem. Os resultados indicaram que os grupos têm produzido um vasto material bibliográfico, linhas de pesquisa e ampla participação de estudantes de graduação e pós-graduação. Verifica-se também que ainda não há uma rede de comunicação entre os grupos da mesma linha de pesquisa. Conclui-se que é necessário trabalhar na interdisciplinaridade e no fortalecimento de algumas linhas de pesquisa que sustentem o conhecimento em história da enfermagem brasileira.

Study of the comprehension of the scientific method by members of a university health research laboratory

In Brazil, scientific research is carried out mainly at universities, where professors coordinate research projects with the active participation of undergraduate and graduate students. However, there is no formal program for the teaching/learning of the scientific method. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the comprehension of the scientific method by students of health sciences who participate in scientific projects in an academic research laboratory. An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using Edgar Morin complexity as theoretical reference. In a semi-structured interview, students were asked to solve an abstract logical puzzle - TanGram. The collected data were analyzed using the hermeneutic-dialectic analysis method proposed by Minayo and discussed in terms of the theoretical reference of complexity. The students' concept of the scientific method is limited to participation in projects, stressing the execution of practical procedures as opposed to scientific thinking. The solving of the TanGram puzzle revealed that the students had difficulties in understanding questions and activities focused on subjects and their processes. Objective answers, even when dealing with personal issues, were also reflected on the students' opinions about the characteristics of a successful researcher. Students' difficulties concerning these issues may affect their scientific performance and result in poorly designed experiments. This is a preliminary study that should be extended to other centers of scientific research.

Stimulating the Formation of the Physician-Scientist; Scientific Exposure during the Medical Course in Brazil

Despite major advances in medical research, there is a decline in the number of physician-scientists. It is necessary to stimulate the involvement of MDs in the scientific endeavor. Brazil has a national program which stimulates the participation of undergraduate students, including medical students, in research projects as a regular academic activity. Herewith we analyze the introductory scientific program and the involvement of MDs in research in Brazil. The program to promote early scientific exposure during the undergraduate or medical course has the objective of recognizing students with aptitude for scientific research. Brazilian research groups in the area of medicine show a continuous increase, and the health sciences represent a sizable part of graduate students who receive scientific initiation fellowships. An important part of students who participated in introductory scientific programs continued in scientific activities in graduate programs. This finding supports the importance of basic scientific research in stimulating students to follow a scientific career.

Mirateatro! – Um espaço de experimentação e difusão de artes cênicas

This report describes two experiments carried out in the artistic project Mirateatro! Study Space and Scenic Creation, coordinated by Prof. Nanci de Freitas at the Arts Institute, UERJ, with the participation of undergraduate students. The show Mirateatro: scene in progress was developed in the scope of metalanguage, aiming at understanding the structural principles of theatrical art. Another performance, Danger area, was conducted around a scenic experience of urban violence through a “collaborative process” in which students participated in all creative stages. The Pro-Rectorate for Community Affairs and Culture allowed research and artistic practice in interdisciplinary activities to happen, contributing to education and social diffusion of artistic experiences

Participation of high school and undergraduate students who are deaf in research on American Sign Language animation

The Linguistic and Assistive Technologies Laboratory (the "LATLab") at Queens College of The City University of New York conducts research on computational linguistics and human computer interaction - with a focus on assistive technology and accessibility applications for people with disabilities. We are currently conducting a five-year study supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (NSF Award #0746556). The goals of this research are to significantly improve the state of the art of animations of American Sign Language (ASL), which have important accessibility applications for people who are deaf. (Details of the scientific aims of this project are included below.) This article describes the educational outreach component of this project --- the participation of deaf high school students and undergraduate students in summer research experiences. Our goal in writing this article is to describe how the educational component of our project integrates with the scientific goals and to explain some of the details behind the summer research experiences we have organized. We hope that other SIGACCESS members who are interested in incorporating educational outreach efforts into their research may find this information useful when designing and proposing their own projects. There are several deaf students and researchers involved in our project. Each summer, two or three students from local deaf high schools or mainstream programs in the greater New York City area participate in three-month research experiences at the LATLab. In addition, we have also hosted a deaf undergraduate student (visiting from Gallaudet University) for a summer research experience, and a graduate-level deaf research assistant coordinates projects at the lab on an ongoing basis part-time throughout the academic year. We believe that the involvement of deaf ASL-signers in the research will help to train future researchers who have a community and cultural connection to the outcome of the work. Further, only users of ASL who have native level fluency are able to accomplish some of the aspects of the research: analyzing recordings of sign language we collect and conducting experimental sessions in which native ASL signers from the local community come to the lab to evaluate the ASL animations we produce. Our objective is to attract deaf students to careers in computer science by enabling deaf high school and undergraduate students to experience the research process. Students with disabilities pursue science careers at a lower than average rate (CEOSE, 2004), and our goal is to encourage the interest of these students in pursuing higher education and careers in the sciences, at a time when they may be making decisions about their future education. While these students have minimal programming or linguistics background, their ASL fluency can allow them to make meaningful contributions to the project. We want them to become aware of applications of computer science with direct relevance to the deaf community --- generating animations of American Sign Language to make information sources more accessible to deaf individuals who may have low literacy in written English.

The Participation of Undergraduate Students in a Community's Social Activities and the Contribution of the Youth in Reviving an Underpopulated Village

The Participation of Undergraduate Students in a Community's Social Activities and the Contribution of the Youth in Reviving an Underpopulated Village

Pedagogies of participation in higher education: a case for research‐based learning

This article addresses the question of the role and function of contemporary higher education in western industrialised nations through a focus on the participation of undergraduate students. The discussion examines some of the dramatic changes brought about by neo‐liberal educational policy, in particular the hierarchical division of teaching and research and the negative construction of students as consumers. Drawing on critical debates within the fields of art and education, what it means to participate – in both theory and practice – is interrogated. Research‐based learning is then presented as a participatory form of pedagogy. Combining evidence from the wider literature with that provided by the recent activities of a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in the UK, it is suggested that research‐based learning has the potential to reconfigure students as intellectual producers through their active engagement with research and their participation in the research cultures of their departments and disciplines. In so doing, such pedagogies present scope for critical and constructive intervention in relation to some of the damaging trajectories of educational reform in the UK and elsewhere.

How undergraduate students ‘negotiate’ academic performance within a diverse university environment

This article examines the practices, norms and values that constrain or enable successful participation of undergraduate students at a South African university undergoing a radical change. We look at four constructs about the resources that Wits students draw on when they negotiate their integration into the Wits culture of academic performance. The four constructs are: (i) internal regulation, which refers to the ways in which students experience the difference in relation to authority when compared to their school experiences; (ii) individual responsibility, which is related to the distribution of responsibilities between ‘the student’ and ‘the institution’ in relation to the process of learning and teaching; (iii) explicit and implicit rules, connected to the ways in which students get to understand how the Wits learning environment works; and (iv) re-visiting the familiar, which points to students’ experiences of failure and alienation and how these experiences elicit past experiences of racial oppression.

Preparation and participation of undergraduate students to inform culturally sensitive research

Most student work as research assistants occurs at the graduate level of nursing education, and little is known about the role of undergraduate students as research assistants (RAs) in major research projects. Based on our desire to study Mexican American (MA) cancer caregivers, we needed bilingual and bicultural RAs to serve as data collectors with women who spoke Spanish and possessed cultural beliefs that influenced their caregiving. Following successful recruitment, orientation, and mentoring based on Bandura's social learning theory [Bandura, A., 2001. Social learning theory: an agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology 52, 1-26] and accepted teaching-learning principles, RAs engaged in various behaviors that facilitated study outcomes. Faculty researchers, RAs, and study participants benefitted greatly from the undergraduate student involvement in this project. This article describes successful student inclusion approaches, ongoing faculty-RA interactions, and lessons learned from the research team experience. Guidelines discussed support the potential for making the undergraduate RA role a useful and unique learning experience.

Seismic field exercise in Nevada for students from the Kansas Geological Survey/University of Kansas and Montan University

As part of an effort to increase opportunities for student participation in field research projects, the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), University of Kansas (KU), and Montan University of Leoben (MUL), Austria, formed a partnership to enhance the exposure and encourage participation of undergraduate and graduate students from both universities to applied seismic research projects. The summer of 2007 was the first in what is hoped to be a recurring series of joint field exercises. This first year's field project evaluated the potential of high-resolution near-surface seismic imaging to help reduce the massive statics problems commonly encountered on commercial data sets in mountainous areas of northern Nevada. This project addresses a real exploration problem with clearly defined objectives and associated deliverables. The SEG Foundation was a key and essential sponsor of this partnership. The field portion of the project lasted two months with time split between data acquisition and quality control analysis in northern Nevada and mobilization, demobilization, and preliminary data reduction in Lawrence, USA.

Two laboratories on Human Physiology involving active participation of undergraduate students at the University of La Reunion's Island

Obesity and diabetes are associated with an increased mortality risk. In the Indian Ocean, La Reunion Island, a French overseas department, presents an increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes. The Island provides an example of rapid urbanization over just a few decades. At the University of La Reunion, two laboratories involving undergraduate students were designed to teach the determination of body composition and the measurement of blood sugar concentration and glycemic response consecutive to a food intake. Different devices were used by the students such as skin fold calipers, impedencemetry balances, blood glucose monitoring system. Using equations, students determined the fat and total muscular masses of their body composition. Correlations were established between the students’ body mass indexes values and their fat mass percentages and between their fat‐free and muscular masses as well. A higher fat mass percentage was found in sedentary students compared with more active ones. A positive correlation was observed between the students’ glycemic response and their fat mass percentages. These laboratories provided students with the opportunity to collect data, evaluate it using statistical analysis, interpret their results in a scientific report. By these, they engage a real world problem constituted by the increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes.

Lactate Testing Revisited: A Reliable Indicator of Training Progress for All Swimmers

We examined the use of lactate testing to monitor training progress in swimming at a small liberal arts college, using an inexpensive handheld lactate analyzer. The tests were carried out by undergraduates as part of their investigative learning curriculum in exercise science. Twelve female athletes participated in a 2-year program of periodic testing using a 5 × 200 swim of increasing intensity. Blood lactate values were measured from a sample obtained 2–4 min after each swim, plotted against swim time, and the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) was identified. MLSS improved significantly throughout the training period (higher by 0.56 mmol/L and lower by 5.92 s, p < .05), accompanied by significant improvements in swim performance in middle distances. We conclude that the use of a handheld lactate analyzer is an effective method to monitor training progress in swimming. The low cost of the procedure and the participation of undergraduate students were novel applications of established protocols.

Editorial parameters evaluation of some Brazilian publications in Dentistry

O estudo objetivou conhecer o perfil de algumas publicações brasileiras da área de Odontologia. Foram selecionados, aleatoriamente, fascículos de revistas publicadas no período de janeiro de 1995 a dezembro de 2004. Foram analisados 255 números, com o total de 1.071 artigos publicados, considerando-se os seguintes aspectos: data de publicação, instituição que gerou a publicação, número de autores, participação de acadêmicos ou bolsistas de iniciação científica, especialidade odontológica do artigo, financiamento, categoria da publicação, envolvimento de seres humanos e aspectos éticos. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria das publicações está relacionada à área geográfica de influência da cidade-sede da revista. A maioria dos artigos era original, a maior parte constituída por estudos epidemiológicos retrospectivos. De maneira geral, observou-se que as normas editoriais nem sempre foram totalmente seguidas.

Factors influencing the participation of undergraduate students from sub-Saharan Africa in higher education in the United States of America

This article reports on factors influencing the participation of undergraduate students from sub-Saharan Africa in higher education in the United States of America (US). A literature study investigated aspects of undergraduate study in the US as applied to international students. The policy of the US government and of individual institutions of higher education toward the enrolment of international students, its benefits and procedures for application are outlined. Against this background, an empirical investigation comprising two surveys, which produced descriptive statistical data, was undertaken. Data were gathered by means of two separate questionnaires from a stratified random sample of two-year and four-year private and public colleges in the US as well as from the population of Educational Advising Centers in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicated that the primary constraints faced by undergraduate Sub-Saharan African students relate to a lack of funding, an inability to access information and the application process. Based on these findings, brief recommendations to improve practice are suggested.

The Physics Workshop at Northeastern University in Boston

This paper describes a large-scale, voluntary, and informal project in which physics graduate students at Northeastern University help undergraduates who are taking physics courses. This approach has been of particular benefit to students in the large freshman and sophomore lecture classes. Its appeal is reflected by the high level of participation of both undergraduate and graduate students. On the basis of our experiences at Northeastern University, we also present specific suggestions that could help other departments who may wish to initiate similar programs.