Science PhDs Research Articles

Postgraduate training at the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana

Introduction. It is an essential requirement during the teaching process in the postgraduate the continuous scientific updating of the faculty members, both from the thematic and pedagogical point of view. Teachers must have skills to transmit their knowledge to students. The faculty is essential to achieve quality in postgraduate teaching. Objective. To characterize the postgraduate training of the University of Medical Sciences of Havana. Methods. Observational, descriptive, retrospective study, where the specialties, settings and faculty of each of the medical schools and postgraduate training centers of the university were described during the year 2021. The primary source for data collection was the databases of the Postgraduate Department of the UCMH. Results. The study included 11 faculties of Medical Sciences and 4 Postgraduate Centers, with 265 accredited scenarios and training in 69 specialties. In the year 2021, of 6 108 teachers, only 6.4% are consultants, 7.1% are associate profesor and 31.9% assistants. 18.9% of the teachers have a research category and 8.5% are doctors of science (PhD). The tutor/resident ratio was 0.69. The distribution of teachers with higher categories, PhDs in science and teachers with research category shows great variability, depending on the postgraduate training center. Conclusions. During the year 2021, postgraduate training at the UCMH was characterized by its heterogeneity, with 69 specialties, several training centers; where the quality of the faculty depends on the training scenario.

“Flying under the radar”: Postfeminism and teaching in academic science

AbstractNeoliberal academia is marked by vertical and horizontal gender segregation, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a particularly concerning case. Women with PhDs are underrepresented, and when they do participate, they are more likely than men to be in teaching‐intensive roles. Beyond equality concerns, this is problematic because when women are interpreters rather than producers of disciplinary knowledge, the STEM enterprise remains gender‐biased. Using data from a 2‐year ethnography with physical science faculty in teaching‐intensive roles, this paper argues that gender inequity is reproduced through postfeminist discourses of work‐life balance. Participants who are mothers say they are flying under the radar at work. They self‐surveille as they engage in both paid labor as university educators and unpaid carework at home. Importantly, when participants challenge hegemonic gender norms, they attract the radar's attention and are sanctioned. This study contributes to a growing understanding of how and why women are marginalized in STEM careers. Women with science PhDs fulfill their university's teaching mission with minimal support for the implied compensation of work‐life balance, leaving the institutional structures which privilege men's participation in STEM research intact.

Chemical Education and Research in India: Challenges, Perspectives, and Future Opportunities in Line with the National Education Policy 2020

Demographically India is in a very unique position compared to many other countries in the world. At present, the under-25 population in India is more than 50% of India’s total population, and it is predicted that it would comprise ∼25% of the world population within the next decade. This “demographic dividend” provides India with a solid platform to explore different possibilities in the field of education and research, especially after the approval of the new National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020. NEP 2020 proposed drastic changes for both the school and higher education systems─including a brand new academic structure 5 + 3 + 3 + 4, increased focus on experiential learning and higher-order thinking skills, innovative and technique-based pedagogy, new evaluation techniques, teacher training, and online learning. In light of these proposed changes in the educational system, we have discussed a brief history of chemistry education and research in India and its present scenario. We have examined the growing trend of the increasing number of students pursuing science, particularly in chemistry (PhDs in chemistry accounting for almost 20% of PhDs in science in India). We also debated the quality and impact of research publications from India. Finally, we scrutinized the challenges faced by chemistry education in India and explored different opportunities based on the new NEP to unleash the full potential of chemistry education and research in India.

Science with society: Challenges of early‐stage researchers engaging with transdisciplinary research in sustainability science

AbstractThe ongoing social and ecological crises create urgency in academia and elsewhere to devise actionable problem‐solving knowledge to tackle sustainability challenges. Transdisciplinary research (TDR) represents a problem‐solving methodology for sustainability problems. TDR requires researchers to get out in the real world and engage with other societal actors to jointly produce such problem‐solving knowledge for research to have a societal impact. This radical process of doing “science with society” instead of “science for society” is becoming more urgent and relevant. However, a transdisciplinary (TD) researcher faces challenges: often, institutions have limited readiness for facilitating TDR, a researcher has to juggle the roles of an academic and changemaker simultaneously and needs new ways of doing science. The research process requires enough manoeuvring space to incorporate reflexivity, adaptiveness, and emergence based on the research context. The research uses case studies, interviews, reflections, and document analysis from two finished and one ongoing TDR PhDs in sustainability science and connects them with the TD literature. Based on previous and ongoing TDR by early‐stage researchers (ESRs), this article identifies and discusses six TDR challenges ESRs in sustainability sciences might face.

Validity of a Rehab and Reconditioning Program Following an Adductor Longus Injury in Professional Soccer

The high rates of adductor injuries and reinjuries in soccer have suggested that the current rehabilitation programs may be insufficient; therefore, there is a need to create prevention and reconditioning programs to prepare athletes for the specific demands of the sport. The aim of this study is to validate a rehab and reconditioning program (RRP) for adductor injuries through a panel of experts and determine the effectiveness of this program through its application in professional soccer. A 20-item RRP was developed, which was validated by a panel of experts anonymously and then applied to 12 injured male professional soccer players. Soccer pitch and indoor gym. Eight rehabilitation fitness coaches (age = 33.25 [2.49]y) and 8 academic researchers (age = 38.50 [3.74]y) with PhDs in sports science and/or physiotherapy. The RRP was applied to 12 male professional players (age = 23.75 [4.97]y; height = 180.56 [8.41]cm; mass = 76.89 [3.43]kg) of the Spanish First and Second Division (La Liga). The experts validated an indoor and on-field reconditioning program, which was based on strengthening the injured muscle and retraining conditional capacities with the aim of reducing the risk of reinjury. Aiken V for each item of the program and number of days taken by the players to return to full team training. The experts evaluated all items of the program very highly as seen from Aiken V values between 0.77 and 0.94 (range: 0.61-0.98) for all drills, and the return to training was in 13.08 (±1.42) days. This RRP following an injury to the adductor longus was validated by injury experts, and initial results suggested that it could permit a faster return to team training.

Postdoctoral research training and the attainment of faculty careers in social science and STEM fields in the United States

PurposeWhile postdoctoral research (postdoc) training is a common step toward academic careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, the role of postdoc training in social sciences is less clear. An increasing number of social science PhDs are pursuing postdocs. This paper aims to identify factors associated with participation in postdoc training and examines the relationship between postdoc training and subsequent career outcomes, including attainment of tenure-track faculty positions and early career salaries.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates and Survey of Doctorate Recipients, this study applies propensity score matching, regression and decomposition analyses to identify the role of postdoc training on the employment outcomes of PhDs in the social science and STEM fields.FindingsResults from the regression analyses indicate that participation in postdoc training is associated with greater PhD research experience, higher departmental research ranking and departmental job placement norms. When the postdocs and non-postdocs groups are balanced on observable characteristics, postdoc training is associated with a higher likelihood of attaining tenure-track faculty positions 7 to 9 years after PhD completion. The salaries of social science tenure-track faculty with postdoc experience eventually surpass the salaries of non-postdoc PhDs, primarily via placement at institutions that offer relatively higher salaries. This pattern, however, does not apply to STEM PhDs.Originality/valueThis study leverages comprehensive, nationally representative data to investigate the role of postdoc training in the career outcomes of social sciences PhDs, in comparison to STEM PhDs. Research findings suggest that for social sciences PhDs interested in academic careers, postdoc training can contribute to the attainment of tenure-track faculty positions and toward earning relatively higher salaries over time. Research findings provide prospective and current PhDs with information helpful in career planning and decision-making. Academic institutions, administrators, faculty and stakeholders can apply these research findings toward developing programs and interventions to provide doctoral students with career guidance and greater career transparency.

Investigating Conflation of Sex and Gender Language in Student Writing About Genetics

Conflation of sex and gender is implicated in the development of essentialist thinking, which has been linked to the justification of systems of prejudice in modern society. This exploratory study presents findings from a person randomized control trial conducted with 460 students in 8th–10th grade that investigated the extent to which students conflate sex and gender in their writing about genetics. Students were randomly assigned to one of three short readings that either (1) explained the genetics of sex in plants; (2) explained the genetics of sex in humans; or (3) refuted neuro-genetic essentialism, offering instead a social explanation for why women receive fewer PhDs in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering than men. While previous findings from the authors suggest links between the condition students were assigned to and psychological indicators related to essentialist thinking, no work was done to investigate how students’ use of language might implicate cognitive conflation as a possible factor in understanding these results. In this study, student responses to a constructed response writing task given after the reading were analyzed to investigate the use of sex and gender language. Students in all three conditions used both sex and gender language. However, students in the refutational text condition tended to use sex and gender language deliberately in order to explain PhD attainment, while students in the traditional genetics conditions used the terms interchangeably, suggesting subconscious conflation. Students in the genetics of human sex condition were more likely to manifest this conflation than students in the genetics of plant sex condition. Implications for instruction are discussed.

Physics-related companies report mostly mild economic symptoms from COVID-19

Most makers of research tools for physical scientists report stable business. Some of their products are being used in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Escape From Models: How Science Publishing Went Sour (Presentation Slides)

In recent years, many published findings in science could not be reproduced. These publications turned out to be low quality despite having good p-values. Several measures to replace p-values have been proposed, including an incredibility index (Schimmack, 2012), meta-regression (Stanley & Doucouliagos, 2014). However, the real root cause of the souring of p-values is publication pressure. In that case, the newer measures will also eventually also go sour under publicaiton pressure. The problem of measuring science quality is actually just a specific case of a more general observation: Measures of behavior go sour (seem to work but actually not work) once pressure is placed on them to control people. So how do we fix science publication? There are two choices: 1. Reduce the pressure on scientists to publish. Produce fewer social science PhDs and make alternatives to tenure-track work more palatable (not adjunct hell). 2. Learn more about other systems with escape from measures. I discuss co-evolutionary hotspots and how spammers escape spam detectors.

Make science PhDs more than just a training path for academia.

Science PhD programmes cater almost exclusively to students bound for academia, but they don’t have to, says Sarah Anderson. Science PhD programmes cater almost exclusively to students bound for academia, but they don’t have to, says Sarah Anderson.

ACS selects institutions for Bridge Program

The American Chemical Society has selected six universities to be either ACS Bridge sites or partner institutions in the ACS Bridge Program, with aims to increase the number of chemical science PhDs awarded to underrepresented minority students. The ACS program, supported by a $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, is part of the Inclusive Graduate Education Network, a national alliance of five scientific societies to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in graduate education in the physical sciences. The alliance is being led by the American Physical Society. Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Chemistry were selected as ACS Bridge Sites and will receive funding from ACS to assist in the establishment of programs to support underrepresented minority students working toward an advanced degree in the chemical sciences. “The fact is that the demographics of

Continued publications by health science PhDs, 5 years post PhD-Defence

There is an increased focus on the outcomes of Health Science PhD-education, particularly if PhD-graduates remain active in research. There is a gap in our knowledge about the extent the investment in Health Science PhDs is moving science forward and no definition of expected investment return from PhD exists. We explore the research production of Danish Health Science PhDs, 5–9 years post PhD-defence, to find the fraction of PhD-graduates that are still actively publishing internationally. Secondary endpoints include analyses of the number of publications over time, identification of consecutive publishers, gender differences, and differences between medical doctors with a PhD (MDs) and non-MDs with a PhD. PhD-theses defended in 2005 and 2006 were identified and collected using the Danish National Research Database and via the four Danish universities offering Health Science PhD-programmes. Publication data were collected from Years 5 to 9 post PhD-defence to allow publications produced during the PhD-period to be washed out. Total 532 unique PhD-graduates (300 female and 232 male) produced a total of 4,530 PubMed-indexed publications. Results show zero publishers represented 31.2% (n = 166), while 25.8% (n = 137) of PhD-graduates published 10 or more publications during the 5-year observation window. Overall publication count increased from post PhD Years 5–9 with 68% (from 720 to 1,049). Number of publications did not differ between MDs and non-MDs. Our results evidence that not all graduates continue in research. Consequently, we need to identify early factors that make graduates remain in research, to identify future PhD-candidates that will continue publication post PhD.

Engaging Women: Addressing the Gender Gap in Women’s Networking and Productivity

ABSTRACT Women earn 40% of new PhDs in political science; however, once they enter the profession, they have strikingly different experiences than their male counterparts—particularly in the small but influential field of political methodology. For several years, the Society for Political Methodology, with support from the National Science Foundation, has attempted to address this gender gap through the Visions in Methodology (VIM) program. VIM features an annual conference that brings women together to present and discuss their research and to participate in professional-development sessions. Do programs like VIM have the desired impact? Using an original survey of political scientists, this study provides insights into the ways that bringing women together in small-group settings like VIM might facilitate networking and enhance productivity. In particular, the study finds that women who attend the VIM conference are better networked and more productive in terms of publication.

An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs

An evidence-based evaluation of transferrable skills and job satisfaction for science PhDs

Formación y competencias en la profesión del sociólogo/a

The perception of training in certain competences obtained a university degree and its perceived usefulness in the employability provides evidence for the discussion on the relationship between the profession and training. From the data provided by the survey on “Professional situation of graduates and PhDs in Sociology and Political Science” held in 2014, the results show that employability in sociology are characterized by a variety of paths . In a professional market where disciplinary boundaries are blurred, become relevant to the career, those skills related with the instrumental and personal skills, and with specific competences of disciplinary knowledge with high applicability of the knowledge and skills of the practice of sociological work.

Career preparation in PHD programs: results of a national survey of early career geographers

Social Science PhDs—Five+ Years Out (SS5) surveyed a national sample of recent doctorate recipients, including 164 geographers, to find out how well their PhD programs prepared them for their careers. The study was motivated in part by longstanding criticism of US PhD programs as “over-producing” PhDs and failing to equip graduates with skills needed in today’s labor market (Nerad 2004). It was also motivated in part by the need for student-centered evaluations of PhD programs (Ostriker and Kuh in Assessing research-doctorate programs: a methodology study. National Academies Press, Washington, 2003; Denecke in The assessment of doctoral education: emerging criteria and new models for improving outcomes. Stylus, Sterling, pp xi–xiii, 2006). This article presents findings about geographers, including career paths, skills used in their work, and evaluations of the quality of training in these skills received during graduate school.

Rewards and challenges of a career in research and teaching at a liberal arts college.

As recently as a couple of decades ago, the career goals of most PhD students in the sciences were to get a tenure-track jobat ahigh-powered researchuniversity and maintain multiple R01s. In those days, an alternative career meant getting a job in industry. Although it is still possible to have that high-powered research job in academics, the landscape has changed and made obtaining that tenure-track research job much more competitive, and it is exceedingly difficult to maintain multiple R01s. In further support of a shifting landscape, there are now countless workshops on alternative careers in science (which did not exist two to three decades ago) that reveal a variety of opportunities for scientists. For example, since 2007 the Endocrine Society has sponsored a wonderful day-long EndoCareers Early Career Forum (formerly called the Endocrine Trainee Day) that precedes the Endocrine Society meeting and offers workshops on early career advice and alternative careers in endocrinology to graduate students and postdocs. One of the topics at this Early Career Forum has been the nontraditional path of working at a liberal arts college. This commentary will discuss how a faculty position at a liberal arts college can enable one to engage in both meaningful research and undergraduate teaching. Most liberal arts colleges are predominately private institutions, have a relatively small student body (1000– 3000 students) and have little or no graduate program, and thus focus on undergraduate education. At liberal arts colleges, the number of courses in a major is kept relatively low so that students can take a variety of courses outside of their major. Therefore, these colleges attract students who have varied interests and produce students who can think broadly in an interdisciplinary fashion and maintain a big-picture perspective (1). Because of these traits, liberal arts colleges produce a disproportionately high number of graduates, compared with large research universities, who go on to obtain PhDs in science (1–2). Although faculty responsibilities at some liberal arts colleges consist of 100% teaching and involve no research, at the other end of the spectrum are colleges in which faculty spend 50% of their time teaching and 50% doing research (and a wide variation in between these two ends of the spectrum). The 50/50 teaching/research split tends to be present at the highly ranked liberal arts colleges (3). This commentary will focus on these more research-oriented colleges that offer meaningful research opportunities for faculty and undergraduates.

Kenneth Noble Stevens

Kenneth Noble Stevens

Creating opportunities for science PhDs to pursue careers in high school education

The United States is confronting important challenges at both the early and late stages of science education. At the level of K–12 education, a recent National Research Council report (Successful K–12 STEM Education) proposed a bold restructuring of how science is taught, moving away from memorizing facts and emphasizing hands-on, inquiry-based learning and a deeper understanding of the process of science. At higher levels of training, limited funding for science is leading PhDs to seek training and careers in areas other than research. Might science PhDs play a bigger role in the future of K–12 education, particularly at the high school level? We explore this question by discussing the roles that PhDs can play in high school education and the current and rather extensive barriers to PhDs entering the teaching profession and finally suggest ways to ease the entrance of qualified PhDs into high school education.

The Effects of Green Cards on the Wages and Innovations of New PhDs

AbstractVisa policies in the United States restrict job opportunities and job mobility for U.S.‐trained PhDs who hold a temporary visa, a group that accounts for 40 percent of newly graduated PhDs in science and engineering. The Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (CSPA) allowed Chinese students to be eligible for permanent residence in the United States. Many CSPA beneficiaries, Chinese students who became permanent residents, did not pursue postdoctoral training and instead entered the public or private sector directly. This supply shift increased the relative wage of native postdocs to non‐postdocs. Four to eight years after graduation, CSPA beneficiaries earned 9 percent more than the comparison group, were less likely to work in academia, published fewer research articles, and produced more patents.