PhD Thesis Research Articles

25 років Інституту вищої освіти НАПН України: досягнення та перспективи розвитку

The Institute of Higher Education of the NAES of Ukraine has celebrated the 25th anniversary of its activity. This review is dedicated to summarizing the fruit­ful academic research, methodical and educational activities of the Institute dur­ing its 25-year history, as well as to outlining the prospects for its further devel­opment. Over the years of its activity, the Institute has accumulated considerable experience in the field of fundamental and applied research of topical problems of higher education. The results of the Institute’s research have formed the basis of methodological recommendations and developments, which are being used in HEIs in Ukraine. Thanks to its academic activity, the Institute has trained high-level specialists who make a significant contribution to the development of Ukrai­nian science and education. The Institute has specialized scientific councils for the defense of theses of Doctors of Science, as well as regular one-time defenses of theses for the awarding of the scientific degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The In­stitute actively cooperates with Ukrainian and foreign universities, participates in international projects aimed at the development and modernization of the higher education system. The Institute publishes three specialized scientific journals, an­nually publishes collective scientific monographs based on the results of scientific research carried out by the Institute’s departments. The Institute plays an impor­tant system-creating function in the development of higher education in Ukraine. The Institute’s work is especially important at wartime. The institute investigates the impact of the war on the system of higher education and ways of its recovery. It develops innovative teaching methods, trains specialists who meet the needs of the contemporary society, and participates in reforming higher education in Ukraine. 25 years of the Institute of Higher Education of the NAES of Ukraine – that’s 25 years of academic achievements, painstaking work and dedication to one’s job. That’s 25 years of knowledge and experience that serve for the good of the Ukrainian education.

Confronting gendered racism: Rethinking maladaptive behaviours of African American women pursuing doctoral degrees at predominantly White institutions

AbstractThis phenomenological study critiques the limited understanding of how African American women confront gendered racism at one predominantly white institution in the United States. It also challenges the disciplinary conversation around maladaptive behaviours, which often attributes the onus and blame to the individual. Rather than replicate or perpetuate deficit‐oriented frameworks or analysis of African American women's behaviours, this research counters the narrative of maladaptive behaviours as merely personal failures, arguing instead that these behaviours are responses to a gendered and racist system. The authors draw from Black feminist thought and self‐efficacy theory to examine the ways in which African American women in doctoral programmes may perceive and respond to racist environments and circumstances that could prevent their persistence and achievements. Findings suggest that African American women in doctoral programmes exhibit maladaptive behaviours such as avoidance, anticipatory rejection, negative self‐talk, and survival mode when coping with gendered racism in university environments. These strategies may have sufficed earlier in the academic careers of African American women; however, due to the specialised nature of doctoral study, the overutilisation of these tactics and behaviours may be impacting individuals maladaptively. Furthermore, the long‐term effects of continuous maladaptive behaviours can have further implications for the individual and collective success of African American women in academia. Given the multifaceted nature of African American women, this study seeks to expand knowledge about their actions and behaviours in response to systemic challenges. It calls for a reorientation of our understanding of maladaptation. Context and implicationRationale for this studyThis study explores the maladaptive behaviours of African American women in doctoral programmes at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), focusing on how gendered racism influences these behaviours.Why the new findings matterThe findings illuminate the specific ways in which gendered racism fosters maladaptive behaviours, which in turn affect the psychological well‐being and academic success of African American women.Implications for practitioners, policy‐makers, and academic institutionsThe study underscores the urgent need for systemic changes within academic environments to support African American women effectively. It calls for institutions to not only recognise but actively address the root causes of gendered racism. By doing so, they can dismantle the structures that perpetuate these challenges and foster a more inclusive and supportive educational landscape. This involves reevaluating institutional policies, enhancing support mechanisms, and integrating comprehensive training for faculty members and staff to understand and combat gendered racism. Ultimately, this approach aims to transform academic cultures to ensure that African American women can thrive without resorting to maladaptive coping strategies.

ECR Spotlight – Sandra Martins

ECR Spotlight is a series of interviews with early-career authors from a selection of papers published in Journal of Experimental Biology and aims to promote not only the diversity of early-career researchers (ECRs) working in experimental biology but also the huge variety of animals and physiological systems that are essential for the ‘comparative’ approach. Sandra Martins is an author on ‘ Immunological resilience of a temperate catshark to a simulated marine heat wave’, published in JEB. Sandra is a PhD student in the lab of Rui Rosa and Deborah Power from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, investigating how human activities impact shark health by uncovering the immune and neuroendocrine responses that help them adapt and thrive in a changing ocean.

Assessing attitudes toward research and plagiarism among medical students: a multi-site study

BackgroundResearch involves the systematic collection and analysis of data to enhance understanding of a particular phenomenon. Participation in medical research is crucial for advancing healthcare practices. However, there has been limited focus on understanding the factors that motivate medical students to engage in research. Additionally, in the era of e-learning, the easy accessibility of online resources has contributed to a widespread ‘copy-paste culture’ among digital-native students, which is recognized in academia as plagiarism. Existing studies suggest that a contributing factor to the increasing prevalence of plagiarism is students’ limited understanding of this act. The purpose of this study was to assess medical students’ attitudes toward research and plagiarism, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Attitudes Toward Research (ATR) and Attitudes Toward Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaires.MethodsThis was a multicenter study conducted among medical undergraduate and postgraduate students attending the three medical universities who were involved in research. Students’ attitudes toward research and plagiarism were assessed using the ATR and ATP questionnaires. The research instruments underwent translation and cultural adaptation in accordance with internationally accepted methodology. The psychometric properties of the ATR and ATP, including validity and reliability, were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the model’s fit to the data.ResultsThe ATR and ATP questionnaires were completed by 793 medical students who were involved in research (647 undergraduates and 146 PhD students). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.917 and 0.822 indicated excellent and good scale reliability for the ATR and ATP questionnaires, respectively. The five-and three- factor structures of ATR and ATP have been validated with maximum likelihood confirmatory analysis, and the results demonstrated an adequate level of model fit (TLI = 0.930, CFI = 0.942 and TLI = 0.924, CFI = 0.943, respectively). Medical students showed a high degree of positive attitudes toward research and favorable scores across all three domains of attitudes toward plagiarism. In multivariate regression models, age was found to be positively associated with favorable attitudes of research usefulness, positive attitudes, relevance to life subscales and total ATR scale (p < 0.001), while PhD study level was related to research anxiety (p < 0.001) and favorable attitudes across all three ATP domains (p < 0.001).ConclusionMedical students who were involved in research showed a high degree of favorable attitudes toward research and plagiarism. Adjusting medical school curricula to include research courses would broaden the students’ interest in scientific research and maximize their impact on the full preservation of research ethics and integrity.

The followership paradox: The undervalued power of effective followers in early childhood education

Educators working in early childhood education play a critical role in enhancing outcomes for children and families through active leadership. However, there are persistent paradoxical perceptions regarding the practical implementation of followership alongside leadership. This article addresses this followership paradox, as a key finding drawn from a larger doctoral study that explored followership practices in Australian early childhood education settings. By examining educators’ understandings of followership through the lens of established followership theories, and employing multi-site ethnography and reflexive thematic analysis, contradictory understandings were unearthed. Despite observing educators enacting effective followership behaviours, participants predominantly hold negative connotations associated with the role. These findings highlight the urgent need to acknowledge and appreciate the role of followers and their impact in co-creating quality workplace outcomes in early education settings. The article argues for integrating followership training alongside leadership development to foster more cohesive early childhood environments.

Woven: the intersections of disability and doctoral study, and the lives of students who navigate these intersections

Purpose This paper aims to understand the experiences of disabled doctoral students at one Aotearoa New Zealand University, identifying barriers to accessibility and meaningful participation, and enabling practices. Design/methodology/approach This research was underpinned by the social model of disability and used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. A survey comprising closed and freeform questions was distributed to all doctoral students. From the 64 respondents, 12 also took part in an unstructured, narrative interview. Data were analysed using a combination of methods: descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and poetic inquiry. Findings Findings are presented mainly as data poetry. The poems centre on complexities faced by disabled doctoral students, and articulate challenges, enabling practices and possibilities for the future encountered by students in this study. Findings are additionally supported with quotes from narrative interviews, open-ended survey questions and descriptive data analysis. Originality/value The poetic inquiry approach gives voice to the collective experiences of disabled students. The poetic texts bear witness to the intersections of disability, impairment, chronic illness, neurodiversity and doctoral study, and the lives of students who navigate these intersections. These poems voice and seek to be lightning-rods for social change.

Into The Magic Circle

In this irregular, PhD student and clubgoer Ruby Schofield critically examines discourses around nightclubs, on the basis of her own mixed experiences. She engages Johan Huizinga's concept of a magic circle as a productive means to explain both the play-ground nature of a club, as well as the need to renegotiate the boundaries of club life, in order to keep it that way.

Traversing The Doctorate: Which Little Piggy Are You?

Traversing the doctorate from start to completion can be stressful, with some students never reaching completion. This autoethnographic study explored how one researcher completed a Doctor of Philosophy and maintained their subjective wellbeing through ‘self-introspection’, using the analogy of the three little pigs. Data was generated through autoethnographic accounts. A four-step iterative process frames data analysis. There were four key findings. Self-talk with internal dialogue was a strategy used to move thinking to a more optimistic state of mind. Relational connectivity was effective in deliberately shifting negative affect states. Organisational skills enabled dealing with cognitive complexity. The use of a Researcher Journal guided self-regulation and self-control in self-reflection, contributing to the positive maintenance of one researcher’s subjective wellbeing. This autoethnographic account highlights ways of working that could be beneficial to help other researchers balance their subjective wellbeing while successfully completing the doctoral journey.

The Role of Digital Training for Human Resources in the Relevance of Research Within the University

This article examines the role of digital human resources training in the mastery of digital research management (DRM) in universities. For they are primarily responsible for structural change and innovation in university research. Notwithstanding this, this paper aims to detect and identify the technical and digital deficiencies that mitigate the level of achievement in research. Method: Our approach is based on an empirical study via a sample of 135 research specialists who will be interviewed and organized as follows: 34 teachers and 34 PhD students from the université Chouaib Doukkali in El Jadida, and 33 teachers and 34 PhD students from the université d' Ain Chock in Casablanca. Nevertheless, we focused on the use of SPSS software. The chi-square test and Cramer's Phi V will form the basis of our analysis, in order to process and interpret the data. At the same time, we will assess the correlation and strength of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables Our study is based on a hypothetico-deductive approach that takes into consideration a mixed reflection based on qualitative and quantitative methods. The results of this study reveal that human resources are not being provided with specific training in MDR research, which is seen as a means of strengthening and modernizing research in higher education. Result: The results attest those human resources are not trained by digital management strategies to carry out research projects, however, cel impacts relevance, excellence and above all innovation in scientific research. Conclusion: In short, the aim of this article is to explore and determine the level of training of human resources for a digital transformation that positively impacts the world of creation, invention and innovation of new professional knowledge, reflexive and professionalizing, specific to scientific research on a national and international scale. Keywords: Digital management, research, university, challenges, prospect

Valery Aleksandrovich Chereshnev – organizer of the immunological service in the Western Urals

The article is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Valery Aleksandrovich Chereshnev, a Russian scientist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, known for his works in the field of immunology and pathophysiology. V.A. Chereshnev began his career at Perm State Medical Institute, where he continued his postgraduate studies after graduating with honors. In 1970, he defended his PhD thesis on the topic “On the role of the properties of microbial cells and macroorganisms in the mechanism of development of an early phagocytic reaction to the introduction of typhoid vaccine”. In 1982, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “Closed chest injury in combination with gamma irradiation (clinic, pathogenesis, treatment, medical protection).” He worked as a lecturer and professor in various educational institutions, and also headed scientific laboratories. In 1988, he became the director of the Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and then organized a branch in Yekaterinburg, which was later transformed into the Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he also became the director. Valery Aleksandrovich was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Committee on Science and High Technologies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. In addition, he was elected President of the Russian Scientific Society of Immunologists, organized the Society of Immunologists of the Urals. Currently he is actively developing immunological services in the Western Urals.

La colonisation du savoir

Samir Boumediene is a CNR researcher at the Institute d'histoire des représentations et des idées dans les modernités in Lyon (France), and this book is product of his PhD dissertation at the University of Lorraine. Boumediene presents in this well-researched monograph the extent of European colonisation and appropriation of Indigenous knowledge by focusing on medicinal plants from the New World, their transmission, and later integration into European markets and consumer culture.

How to Staff When Customers Arrive in Batches

In many different settings, requests for service can arrive in near or true simultaneity with one another. This creates batches of arrivals to the underlying queueing system. In this paper, we study the staffing problem for the batch arrival queue. We show that batches place a dangerous and deceptive stress on services, requiring a high amount of resources and exhibiting a fundamentally larger tail in those demands. This uncovers a service regime in which a system with large batch arrivals may have low utilization but will still have nontrivial waiting. Methodologically, these staffing results follow from novel large batch and large batch-and-rate limits of the multiserver queueing model. In the large batch limit, we establish the first formal connection between general multiserver queues and storage processes, another family of stochastic models. By consequence, we show that the batch scaled queue length process is not asymptotically normal and that, in fact, the fluid- and diffusion-type limits coincide. Hence, the (safety) staffing of this system must be directly proportional to the batch size just to achieve a nondegenerate probability of wait. In exhibition of the existence and insights of this large batch regime, we apply our results to data on Covid-19 contact tracing in New York City. In doing so, we identify significant benefits produced by the tracing agency’s decision to staff above national recommendations, and we also demonstrate that there may have been an opportunity to further improve the operation by optimizing the arrival pattern in the public health data pipeline. This paper was accepted by Baris Ata, stochastic models and simulation. Funding: We acknowledge the generous support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Andrew Daw’s Graduate Research Fellowship under grant DGE-1650441, received during the initial phase of this research as part of his doctoral studies at Cornell University. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.03979 .

Workplace learning potential in uncertain situations in care work

Purpose This paper aims to examine uncertain situations with potential for learning in care work. While the dominant learning strategy in elderly care is lecture-based education, learning from and during daily care work routines is crucial and suitable. However, little is known about the potential for learning in daily work in elderly care. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a doctoral study conducted in Danish nursing homes. Shadowing care workers led to the construction of care work vignettes, which were analyzed and validated in analytic dialogues with field practitioners. Here, a selected vignette forms the empirical base for analyzing uncertainty through the lens of Dewey’s philosophy of learning. Findings The results suggest labeling uncertain situations as noisy, as they are sensorily felt, prompting doubt and perplexity and, hence, reflection and learning. Noisy situations cause breakdowns in action experienced as a tension that triggers reflection, often with colleagues, alongside work. A critical discussion draws attention to silent situations that proceed undisturbedly, according to routine, and, hence, often without reflection. To handle uncertainty, either noisy or silent, care workers must be considered as learning actors. Space and time for reflection are mandatory. Originality/value By focusing on uncertainty in care work, this study contributes to the understanding of workplace learning potential by clarifying the characteristics of situations useful for systematic exploration and collaborative learning from specific instances in work.

Relatives' and Intensive Care Unit Personnel's Perspectives of Care in Organ Donation: Protocol for a Multiple Methods Study.

In organ donation from deceased donors, the interaction between the donor's relatives and intensive care personnel is an important factor. The organ donation (OD) process is complex, and patients' relatives play a vital role. Intensive care professionals need knowledge about how relatives perceive and experience the process to create a caring environment and support them throughout. Therefore, this collaborative project aims to explore both relatives' and intensive care personnel's perspectives of care in deceased organ donation in Scandinavia. This study aims to (1) investigate donor relatives' satisfaction and ICU personnel's perception of their own professional competence and (2) explore donor relatives' and ICU personnel's experiences in the OD process to design for care and support in OD. This protocol outlines a Scandinavian (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) project, including 4 work packages. Work package 1 started in 2023 with the translation and validation of the Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire into a Danish version and the translation of the Professional Competence in Organ Donation Questionnaire into a Swedish and Danish version. A cross-sectional survey measuring Scandinavian relatives' perception of support in and satisfaction with the organ donation process and a cross-sectional survey measuring Scandinavian intensive care personnel's competence in organ donation are the foundation for work package 2 (2024). The data from both surveys will be analyzed using descriptive and comparative analysis. The results will inform the interview guides in qualitative studies (work packages 3 and 4). Participants in the quantitative study will be invited to participate in in-depth interviews. In work package 3, in-depth interviews will be conducted to illuminate relatives' experiences in the organ donation process. The interviews will be analyzed using thematic analysis, according to Braun and Clarke. In work package 4 (2025-2026), 1 qualitative design study will be conducted to illuminate ICU personnel's experiences. Furthermore, the results from work packages 2 and 3 will inform the development of specific programs for care, support, and communication in the organ donation process. The project was funded by the Norwegian Organ Donor Foundation in 2022 and Scandiatransplant in 2023. The Norwegian Nurses Organisation supports the project by funding a PhD student. The PhD student was employed by the University in Agder in May 2024. This project will provide new knowledge that will assist us in designing and establishing programs for care, support, and donor relatives' involvement in OD processes. PRR1-10.2196/55643.

The impact of coarsening an exposure on partial identifiability in instrumental variable settings.

In instrumental variable (IV) settings, such as imperfect randomized trials and observational studies with Mendelian randomization, one may encounter a continuous exposure, the causal effect of which is not of true interest. Instead, scientific interest may lie in a coarsened version of this exposure. Although there is a lengthy literature on the impact of coarsening of an exposure with several works focusing specifically on IV settings, all methods proposed in this literature require parametric assumptions. Instead, just as in the standard IV setting, one can consider partial identification via bounds making no parametric assumptions. This was first pointed out in Alexander Balke's PhD dissertation. We extend and clarify his work and derive novel bounds in several settings, including for a three-level IV, which will most likely be the case in Mendelian randomization. We demonstrate our findings in two real data examples, a randomized trial for peanut allergy in infants and a Mendelian randomization setting investigating the effect of homocysteine on cardiovascular disease.

ПІДГОТОВКА МАЙБУТНІХ ДОКТОРІВ ФІЛОСОФІЇ ЗА ОСВІТНЬО-НАУКОВОЮ ПРОГРАМОЮ «ТЕОРІЯ ТА МЕТОДИКА НАВЧАННЯ ХІМІЇ»

The article reveals the issue of training doctors of philosophy as an important condition for the development of the scientific and educational potential of modern society. The purpose of the article is to focus on the objective need to train Doctors of Philosophy in the subject specialty 014.06 Secondary Education (Chemistry) to ensure further development of the field of theory and methods of teaching chemistry and to reveal the content and structure of the educational and scientific programme «Theory and Methods of Teaching Chemistry», which is designed to ensure it. The statistical analysis of the provision of educational and scientific institutions of our country with highly qualified specialists in the theory and methodology of teaching chemistry demonstrates the objective need to train Doctors of Philosophy in the subject specialty 014.06 Secondary Education (Chemistry) of the field of knowledge 01 Education / Pedagogy both to ensure the quality of educational services at all levels of higher education and to promote the development of the scientific field of the theory and methodology of teaching chemistry as a whole. The article describes the educational and scientific programme «Theory and Methods of Teaching Chemistry» in the subject speciality 014.06 Secondary Education (Chemistry), field of knowledge 01 Education / Pedagogy, which is implemented at theVinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University . The purpose of the educational and research programme is to train specialists at the third (educational and research) level of higher education (eighth qualification level according to the National Qualifications Framework) who are able to formulate and solve complex scientific and practical problems in the field of theory and methods of teaching chemistry, organise and carry out research and educational activities. The programme defines the integral, general and special competences and formulates the learning outcomes to be demonstrated by a Doctor of Philosophy in the subject speciality 014.06 Secondary Education (Chemistry). The content of the educational and scientific components of the programme «Theory and Methods of Teaching Chemistry» is also revealed and the educational components that ensure the achievement of the programme learning outcomes are described.

Preparing PhD Students for Tenure-Track Faculty Positions.

With an increasing number of nursing faculty approaching retirement, it is critical to prepare PhD students to take on tenure-track faculty roles. There are a multitude of competing time demands for nursing faculty, and one way that PhD students can prepare for faculty roles is leading team-based science with their peers during their predoctoral program. To describe the process of PhD students leading an independent research project, in addition to their dissertation work, which aimed to incorporate the tripartite mission- scholarship, teaching, and service. This paper outlines the components of the PhD-student-led project, as well as provides recommendations for leadership and schools of nursing as well as sponsors interested in funding this type of work. Students were able to conduct independent research using diverse research approaches, practice mentoring skills, and provide service and helpful information about the nursing workforce to their academic clinical partner. A key component of this relationship building was incorporating a clinical fellowship during the PhD program for students that directly aided the transition from BSN to PhD programs. PhD students learned valuable lessons about time management and collaborating in a team setting with peers. We recommend school of nursing seek funding opportunities for PhD students to conduct independent team science, encourage academic partnerships with affiliated medical centers and public health settings, and facilitate peer mentorship across cohorts.

Factors that support teachers as educational professionals doing doctoral studies: an integrative literature review

In recent decades, various initiatives have been established to support the professional development of teachers and their school context. In some cases, they provide teachers the opportunity to combine their profession with doctoral studies. This paper explores factors that support teacher research as part of school practice and academia. It takes the perspective of teachers as a starting point and examines their experiences through the lens of the learning potential of boundaries. A review of empirical studies was conducted from various international educational contexts through an integrative literature review. The selected empirical studies (n = 13) contributed to a better understanding of the complexity of this undertaking, and three themes were generated as main factors: (1) a stimulating school culture; (2) engaging with the academic community; (3) and aligning the research design with the practitioners’ needs.

Interview with Professor Colin Murrell

Prof. Colin Murrell, a distinguished microbiologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of East Anglia, UK, is well known for his contributions to various areas of environmental microbiology and microbial ecology. Prof. Murrell has received several awards, including election to membership of the European Molecular Biology Organisation, the European Academy of Microbiology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Distinguished Professor (Einstein) Award. He was awarded a highly prestigious European Research Council Advanced Grant and has been member of many editorial boards of leading microbiological journals including Environmental Microbiology and the ISME Journal. He has graduated over 60 PhD students and supervised around 150 researchers throughout his career. His research interests are immense, extending from the development of analytical tools in molecular microbial ecology to their testing in the field, which is reflected in his extensive publication list of over 350 highly cited papers in prestigious journals. His pioneering research has significantly improved our understanding of microbial processes in diverse environments, from soil to aquatic and marine ecosystems. More recently, he has extended his scientific curiosity to karst and caves, in particular to the Movile Cave in Romania, which represents a cornerstone for understanding the role of chemolithoautotrophy in caves.

Symmetric monoidal smash products in homotopy type theory

Abstract In homotopy type theory, few constructions have proved as troublesome as the smash product. While its definition is just as direct as in classical mathematics, one quickly realises that in order to define and reason about functions over iterations of it, one has to verify an exponentially growing number of coherences. This has led to crucial results concerning smash products remaining open. One particularly important such result is the fact that the smash product forms a (1-coherent) symmetric monoidal product on the universe of pointed types. This fact was used, without a complete proof, by, for example, Brunerie ((2016) PhD thesis, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis) to construct the cup product on integral cohomology and is, more generally, a fundamental result in traditional algebraic topology. In this paper, we salvage the situation by introducing a simple informal heuristic for reasoning about functions defined over iterated smash products. We then use the heuristic to verify, for example, the hexagon and pentagon identities, thereby obtaining a proof of symmetric monoidality. We also provide a formal statement of the heuristic in terms of an induction principle concerning the construction of homotopies of functions defined over iterated smash products. The key results presented here have been formalised in the proof assistant Cubical Agda.