Post Graduate Research Articles

Perception and Use of E-Collaboration by Postgraduate Students in Nigeria Universities

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>Collaboration in the Nigerian context has focused majorly on traditional collaboration and not even among postgraduate (PG) students. Advancement in technology has ushered many changes, particularly the introduction of numerous e-tools for collaboration. It is based on this that the study examined the perception and use of e-collaboration by postgraduate students in Nigeria Universities. The study adopted a survey design using a questionnaire to collect data from 631 postgraduate students selected across ten universities in South-West Nigeria. Six objectives were developed to guide the study. The results revealed that e-collaboration is perceived by postgraduate students as a collaboration among individuals engaged in a common task using electronic technologies. E-collaboration is used mostly for projects and research and it is impactful in providing opportunities to interact better than face- to-face collaborative activities. The study revealed electronic mail, social media including (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp), discussion forums and Google documents as the tools most significantly used for e-collaboration. The reasons why respondents use e-collaboration include flexibility, availability, and compatibility with cell phones. The level of awareness about the ethics of e- collaboration is reported to be too low. However, a small percentage were aware that participation in decision-making and the sharing of blame and credit for outcomes is the responsibility of all members. Challenges faced by PG students in their e- collaboration efforts are power failure, lack of trust, and poor internet connection and speed. It is recommended that more awareness of e-collaboration should be promoted and coupled with improved internet connectivity. </span></p></div></div></div>

The Sustainable Benefits of Construction and the Perception of Cement Workers

Objective: The challenge of this work was to diagnose the sustainable benefits of civil construction and the perception of employees in a cement factory based on a new production methodology.
 
 Method: The study was carried out through quantitative and cross-sectional research, with the application of a questionnaire via Google forms for employees and customers of the factory under study.
 
 Results and conclusions: The sampling plan was 62.79% male, 58.14% married, 28.93% aged between 28 and 32 years old, 32% technical level, 11.63% post graduates and 22% of participants demonstrated understanding about sustainability. 77% of employees are unaware that the industry used a less aggressive production method for the environment, unique in Maranhão. We conclude that the industry under analysis has sought to implement good socio-environmental practices, but to achieve more expressive results, it needs to qualify and involve the entire production and consumption chain of the civil construction market with qualification programs, to guarantee the horizontalization of information with effective socio-environmental actions and thus preserving future generations.
 
 Research implications: The research highlights the perception of workers/collaborators in the cement industry on the consumption and sale of products that minimize the negative effects on the environment.
 
 Value of originality: This is original research that contributes to the understanding of the impact of the cement industry, during the production process, from the extraction of raw material. Since it degrades the environment by contaminating water and soil, it also interferes with human health, in addition to proposing the search to balance the negative socio-environmental impacts through cement production.

A Strategy to Improve Pass Rates of Written Postgraduate Statistics Modules

<p>Many universities apply student support services to undergraduate (UG) students, but some postgraduate (PG) cases need it. South African universities have intensified PG admissions. PG students admitted with a minimum admission mark are not PG-ready. For the Bachelor of Science Honours (BSc Honours) in Statistics (Stats) that requires intense Math conceptual knowledge to apply to Stats concepts, where competition is high, only top students can be competitive. In South Africa, the job market prioritizes graduates from historically white higher education institutions (HEIs), and formerly black and newer university graduates’ struggle. Non-stop students from the latter universities are not easily employed, so they need a stimulus. This study focuses on BSc Honours (Stats) students who perform low for intervention to improve their performance. Measures were proposed for student conduct and behavior to enable lecturers to constantly stimulate the teaching and monitor and evaluate progress while continuously assessing the students. The study followed an experimental design. Students were ordered to practice with module exercises using statistical software packages in the computer laboratory. Exceedingly high pass rates of 100% were realized. The methods were viewed as effective and beneficial.</p>

Factors influencing career decision of undergraduate and postgraduate students: an Indian context

PurposeThe objective of the study was to explore the factors influencing the career decisions of students doing the students' undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes from urban private universities/colleges in the Indian context.Design/methodology/approachCareer decision-making is determined by different factors and is contextual. The present study explores and identifies the prominent factors influencing career decision-making. A pool of 33 questions was developed, and these questions were initially administered to a sample of 233 students. Principal component analysis with Varimax Rotation identified salient factors. In the second study, confirmatory analysis was performed based on the opinion of 304 students.FindingsThe study shows that the student's career deciding factors include (1) career clarity, (2) career exploration, (3) career reward and recognition and (4) career initiative for professional and personal growth.Originality/valueThe study focussed on career-deciding factors for UG and PG students from urban universities/colleges in the Indian context and the findings can be used for planning career counselling interventions.

Depression, Stress and Anxiety in Post-Graduate Dentists

Objective: To assess the level of depression, anxiety and stress in dental postgraduates by using DASS-21 scale. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration: Department of Prosthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi, from 1st May 2022 to 30th August 2022. Methodology: This study was conducted on dental post graduates. DASS-21 validated scale was used to collect data from 100 participants. The data was analyzed with linear regression analysis to evaluate the relationship of independent variables with DASS-21. A p-Value of ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The signs of depression were evident in 90% of post graduates. Regarding the causes of depression, 33.8% think saturation is the cause of depression followed by hectic schedules (21.3%), 21.3% marked pressure to pass the exams.13.8% of participants think that peer pressure is cause of depression. We also found that 10% of the participants. Moreover, dental sector faced major crisis during COVID-19 outbreak. 78.8% think that COVID-19 has increased the already existing depression. Conclusion: High levels of stress, anxiety and depression were evident in post graduates’ dentists. Stress levels were raised due to lack of post-graduation and job opportunity. Furthermore, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic augmented the DAS levels. Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic, Dentists, Depressive Disorder, Graduate; DASS-21, Psychological Health How to Cite This: Salahuddin A, Minallah S, Sajjad B, Vankwani AA, Ahmed N, Abbasi MA. Depression, Stress and Anxiety in Post-Graduate Dentists. Isra Med J. 2022; 14(4): 152-156. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55282/imj.oa1339

School Preparedness for the Mandatory Implementation of Face-To-Face Classes and Its Impact to Teaching Qualities in the New Normal

This research used descriptive correlational research design to find significant relationship between the extent of school preparedness in the mandatory implementation of five days face-to-face classes and its possible impact to teaching qualities. The respondents of this study were 188 teachers of Candelaria West District of Quezon. It was conducted during the third quarter of SY 2022-2023. Description of the profile revealed that the respondents are mostly female, aged between 46-50, mostly taking their post graduate degree, and majority of them have been in the service for five years. The perceived level of preparedness of the school in terms of facilities, school programs, safety protocols, and students and parent’s awareness were always prepared. The perceived level of the teachers’ practices in the new normal in terms of Classroom Management, classroom instruction and collaborative activities was always practice while professional development was in the practiced spot. All the variables are correlated to each other indicating that school preparedness has significant relationship to the teaching qualities of the teachers as perceived by the respondents. Thus, the hypothesis stating that school preparedness has no significant impact to teacher’s teaching qualities in terms of classroom management, classroom instruction, professional development and collaborative activities.

Factors Influencing Use of Web for Academic Pursuit in Relation to User Categories

This paper examines the factors accountable for users’ tendency to use the free web resources for achievingtheir academic goals and also the reasons that prevented the users from using the credible sources of the libraryfor their academic needs. Further, this study also attempted to ascertain whether user category has any influenceon the factors which boost the use of web for academic purpose. A questionnaire- based survey was conductedfor five universities of Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab including post graduate students, research scholars andfaculty members. The findings showed that a majority of respondents from three categories chose the web becauseof the speedy retrieval of information, ease of access, no need for any advanced search skills to search on internetand further it saved their time when compared with the online e-resources subscribed by the library. Most of themfound it difficult to physically visit the library. They were not familiar with which e-resources were available onsubscribed databases or on the web. About half of users stated that no updation was made on the library websiteabout newly subscribed e-resources. Discontinued e-resources were not removed from library website when userssearched them for information and found nothing. The paper recommends that user education programmes shouldbe conducted and the interface of the library should be made user friendly so as to encourage the users to useauthentic information from the e-resources subscribed by the library for academic purpose.

Blueprinting and auditing a postgraduate medical education programme – Lessons from COVID-19

Introduction: Disruptions of the postgraduate (PG) teaching programmes by COVID-19 have encouraged a transition to virtual methods of content delivery. This provided an impetus to evaluate the coverage of key learning goals by a pre-existing PG didactic programme in an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Specialty Training Programme. We describe a three-phase audit methodology that was developed for this Methods: We performed a retrospective audit of the PG programme conducted by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at National University Hospital, Singapore between January and December 2019 utilising a ten-step Training Needs Analysis (TNA). Content of each session was reviewed and mapped against components of the 15 core Knowledge Areas (KA) of the Royal College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology membership (MRCOG) examination syllabus. Results: Out of 71 PG sessions, there was a 64.9% coverage of the MRCOG syllabus. Four out of the 15 KAs were inadequately covered, achieving less than 50% of knowledge requirements. More procedural KAs such as “Gynaecological Problems” and those related to labour were poorly (less than 30%) covered. Following the audit, these identified gaps were addressed with targeted strategies. Conclusion: Our audit demonstrated that our pre-pandemic PG programme poorly covered core educational objectives i.e. the MRCOG syllabus, and required a systematic realignment. The COVID-19 pandemic, while disruptive to our PG programme, created an opportunity to analyse our training needs and revamp our virtual PG programme.

A Multicentric study of sleep patterns and electronic media usage in adolescents

Introduction: Adequate healthy sleep is essential for adolescents’ optimal cognitive, and emotional functions and physical health. With media overload and stimuli from electronic gadgets, multitasking and academic stress, students are sleeping for fewer hours, making them one of society's most sleep-deprived age groups. Association of Adolescent and Child Care in India (AACCI) conducts multicentric studies to survey the lifestyles of children and adolescents in India, which include the use of electronic media and sleep patterns. These results are shared with the management, teachers and parents and programs are held for them and the students to make them aware of the importance of improving sleep patterns and proper sleep hygiene and the risks of poor sleep habits. Methods: This paper shows the results of a multicentric college study. This data was collected from participants of AACCI Life Skills Education (LSE) workshops conducted in six different colleges in India during the period 2008 and 2010. A standardized and validated Questionnaire on Life style has been created by AACCI for use in these multicentric surveys The sample comprised 289 college students from six groups – A) and B) 62 First year Junior college from Mumbai (age range 16-18 years; 32 students of high socioeconomic status from an elite college and 30 students from middle socio-economic status), C) 113 First-year medical students from Pune (age range 18-19 years), D) 32 students from Vocational college from Mumbai (age range 19-21 years), E) 40 Final year nursing college From Delhi (age range 19-24) and F) 42 M.Tech Post Graduate (PG) Engineering Hyderabad (age range 20-25 years). Ethical clearance: Ethics approval was obtained from AACCI Institutional ethics committee. Permission and consents: Prior permissions were taken from the college Principals to conduct the workshop, including parental permission for the participants below 18 years of age. Written assent (16-17 years) consent (>18 years) was obtained from the students by including it in the questionnaire form. Statistical analysis: The data has not been analysed statistically, as the sample size at each centre was small and their backgrounds were different. Descriptive comparisons have been made across students’ sleep patterns and electronic usage. Results: Results indicated that students from the younger age group slept longer than those from the older group. Nursing and medical students had less sleep hours due to erratic schedules. PG engineering students had the most regular sleep hours. Regarding electronic devices, PG Engineering students used the computer and internet for >6 hours daily; nurses used the computer internet and mobile the least. Mumbai students watched Television the most while engineering students watched it the least. AACCI conducted workshops for these students to inculcate in them, a healthy lifestyle.

Infant Botulism.

Infant Botulism.

Personality Development – A missing outcome competency that future Doctors will need

Personality Development – A missing outcome competency that future Doctors will need

Exploring Specialty Selection and Influencing Factors among Medical Students and Postgraduates: An Observational Study

Medical students are driven by interest and influenced by factors like early exposure, training, environment, teaching, role models, rewards, appreciation, patient feedback, and mentorship. Gender also impacts specialty choices. Students' career choices shape the future workforce. Objective: To explore interests and factors influencing specialty choice among post graduate trainees and final year students, aiming to guide informed career decisions and address inadequate recruitment in specialties. Methods: This study was an observational cross-sectional study conducted at Fatima Memorial Hospital and college. Data were collected from 163 participants via online questionnaire using non-convenience sampling. Analysis was conducted using SPSS software, including frequencies, percentages, averages and t-test to assess statistical significances. Results: Study finds strong preference for clinical subjects among final year and postgraduate students. Divergence among specialty selection was seen as final year students favor general surgery, while postgraduate trainees lean towards pediatrics medicine. Prestige and social responsibility were common influential key factors, with salary benefits impacting more the final year students and specialty prestige, social responsibility and research opportunities weighing on postgraduate trainees were seen. The research also explores that family influence for final year students and teachers and senior doctors for postgraduate trainees in specialty selection. Conclusions: In conclusion, final year and postgraduate trainees prefer clinical specialties like general surgery and pediatrics, driven by considerations of future salary, working hours, and social responsibility. Family, teachers, and senior colleagues play crucial roles in specialty selection decisions.

ASSESSMENT OF POST GRADUATE AGRICULTURAL STUDENTS POTENTIALS AS AGENT FOR AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AKURE, NIGERIA

The study focused on postgraduate agricultural student potentials as agent for agricultural technology transfer in Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was administrated to thirty (30) respondents. Analysis of the data was carried out using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentage, and weighed mean score while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to present the results of the hypotheses. It was discovered that mean years of schooling was 16.63 years. Internet and University library were the major sources of information on Agricultural technologies available to respondents. The major problems that could cause loss of interest towards being an agent of agricultural technology transfer was inadequate funding of agricultural extension. Result also revealed that there is significant relationship between years spent in schooling (r=0.819, p=0.000) and the post graduate students potentials as an agent of agricultural technology transfer. The study concluded that Postgraduate Agricultural Students developed high potentials towards transferring of technologies to farmers. The study therefore recommended that policy makers and extension agency should accommodate and make use of Postgraduate Agricultural Students in the transfer of innovations to farmers especially at a time when the country is experiencing decline in Agricultural extension workers.

Opinion regarding Agri-tourism: Relationship between socio-personal characteristics and opinion

The present paper study the opinion of the respondents regarding agri-tourism and the relationship between their socio-personal characteristics and opinion. The study was conducted in Ludhiana district of Punjab state and 210 were selected for the study. The respondents selected were mainly teachers/principals, students and urban consumers. The findings revealed that majority of all the categories of respondents had high opinion of agri-tourism such as farm stays are the perfect ways to get closer to nature, agri-tourism is less costly than other tourism and agri-tourism creates curiosity to learn about food, plants, animals and rural lifestyle. Educational level of the teachers has positive and significant correlation with opinion of agri-tourism, while non-significant correlation observed between educational level and opinion of the urban consumers. Most of the teachers were having post graduate qualification, whereas the urban consumers were having only secondary education. Positive correlation between service experience of the teachers and opinion was notice and it was due to the fact that opinion may increase as service experience increase.

Predictors and coping strategies for stress, anxiety and depression among medical undergraduates and postgraduates in Puducherry

Background: Higher proportion of medical students experience stress, anxiety and depression than compared to general population in Indian settings which are often underdiagnosed. This study aim was to assess the frequency, predictors and coping strategies of stress, anxiety and depression among the medical undergraduates and postgraduates of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: Questionnaire based online cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 medical undergraduates and post graduate students from June to July, 2021. Sociodemographic profile, questions from the depression, anxiety, stress scale-4 and details of coping strategies were collected. The data were analysed using SPSS 21.0 Descriptive statistics, Chi square test and Multinomial logistic regression analysis were used. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 21.5±3.1 years. Majority (63.1%) belonged to upper middle class. 92.3% joined the medical course with personal interest. The frequency of severe depression, anxiety and stress was 22.4%, 16.2% and 18% respectively. The frequency of extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress was 16.4%, 23.2% and 9% respectively. Acceptance, self-distraction and positive reframing were commonly followed coping strategies. Substance abuse and behavioural disengagement were the least followed. Significant association was observed between Emotion focused and avoidant coping with depression, anxiety and stress. Conclusions: Higher frequency of depression (47.1%), anxiety (52.9%), and stress (38%), was observed among the students. Acceptance, positive reframing and self-distraction were commonly used coping strategies. Significant association seen with depression, anxiety and stress with emotion- focused and avoidant coping strategies.

The Level of Using Assistive Technologies in Inclusive Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder from Teachers’ Point of View

The current study aimed to identify the level of using assistive technologies in inclusive education for students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample of the study consisted of 193 teachers who responded to the used scale in order to assess the reality of assistive technologies in inclusive education after verifying the validity and reliability of the scale. The study results revealed that the level of using assistive technology was moderate. Furthermore, the results revealed a statistically significant difference in the level of using assistive technologies in inclusive education for students with ASD due to the teachers’ educational qualification in favour of post graduate qualification. Finally, the study findings showed no statistically significant difference between the arithmetic means of the level of using assistive technologies in inclusive education for students with ASD due to gender variable. The study recommended providing special rooms in autism centers to use assistive technology in teaching children with autism spectrum disorder, and providing what teachers need from these technologies to use with the children.

#5841 UTILITY AND ACCEPTANCE OF TELENEPHROLOGY AMONG KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS IN A PUBLIC SECTOR HOSPITAL IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Abstract Background and Aims The importance of telemedicine in delivering renal health care has come to light during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, specialist care to transplant recipients is often limited to urban areas especially in developing countries. Telenephrology offsets this discrepancy enabling quality care to patients in rural areas. But, apart from availability, the true success and future of telenephrology depends primarily on patients’ acceptance. This study was performed to assess the feasibility, patient attitude and acceptance of telenephrology services among renal transplant recipients at our institute, a public sector hospital in a developing country. Methods This single-centre cross-sectional study included renal transplant recipients who availed our telenephrology services for at least 3 months. A total of 100 transplant recipients were selected by stratified random sampling from the list of attendees of telenephrology consultation and included in this study. The study questionnaire was administered in local language by the telephone interview method. Results The mean age of our study cohort was 32.83 ± 9.96 years (16 – 55yrs) and 92% were males. The median number of teleconsultations availed by the patients was 5 (1-20). The questionnaire was answered by the patient himself/herself in 89% cases, spouse in 7% and children in 3% cases. Only thirty-nine (39%) patients were graduates or post graduates. Over one-half (51%) of the patients belonged to the lower-middle socioeconomic class as per the modified Kuppuswamy classification. Prior to initiation of the telenephrology service, the median distance travelled to attend our out-patient department (OPD) was 304.5 Km (6 – 1673 km). Most (87%) of our patients used public transport to attend OPD. Three-fourths (79%) of the patients were accompanied by family members for their OPD visit. Attendees incurred productivity loss due to missed work days in 57% of the cases. The median cost of each OPD visit was 3000 (40-15000) INR. Almost all the transplant recipients felt that Telenephrology service was a right approach during the COVID-19 pandemic. 98% of the patients said that they were confident discussing their complaints over phone while 99% of our patients were comfortable sharing reports over phone. Majority (>90%) of the patients gave a satisfaction score of 4 (out of 5) for their telenephrology experience. The most important benefit (79%) of telenephrology as perceived by the transplant recipients was financial benefit of avoiding travel and workdays saved. Regarding the problems faced during teleconsultation, 22% patients responded that they wish to see the doctor in person to feel satisfied; 5% had problems with availability of investigations locally. Only a small fraction (2%) of patients had difficulty in explaining symptoms over a tele-consult. A significant (97%) patients felt that Telenephrology services should continue in combination with physical OPD services. Conclusion Telenephrology is feasible and acceptable to kidney transplant recipients irrespective of literacy status across all socio-economic classes. In developing countries like India, telenephrology has immense potential to provide quality nephrology care.

A cross-sectional evaluation of the current state of wound healing education in the United Kingdom's undergraduate medical curriculum.

Between 2013 and 2018, there has been a 71% increase in the number of patients who have required wound care in the NHS and such large numbers has placed a significant burden on healthcare systems. However, there is currently no evidence as to whether medical students are equipped with the necessary skills to deal with an increasing number of wound care related issues that patients present with. A total of 323 medical students across 18 UK medical schools completed an anonymous questionnaire evaluating the wound education received at their medical school, encompassing the volume, content, format and efficacy of teaching. 68.4% (221/323) of respondents had received some form of wound education during their undergraduate studies. On average students received 2.25 h of structured, preclinical teaching and only 1 h of clinical based teaching in total. All students that received wound education reported undertaking teaching on the physiology of, and factors affecting wound healing, with only 32.2% (n = 104) of students receiving clinically based wound education There was very weak correlation and no significant association in student's ability to assess wounds (R2 = 0.190, p = 0.013), manage wounds (R2 = 0.060, p = 0.37), and prescribe wound care products (R2 = 0.093, p = 0.18) with their stage of training. Students strongly agreed that wound education is an important part of the undergraduate curriculum and post graduate practice, and do not feel their learning needs have been met. This is the first study to assess the provision of wound education in the United Kingdom, demonstrating a clear deficit in the provision of wound education compared to expectation of junior doctors. Wound education is largely overlooked in the medical curriculum, lacks a clinical focus and does not prepare junior doctors with the necessary clinical abilities to deal with wound related pathology. Expert opinion to direct changes to future curriculum and further evaluation of teaching methodology is required to address this deficit and ensure students have the necessary clinical skills to excel as newly graduated doctors.

What’s new for the clinician – summaries of recently published papers (April 2023)

Dental implants are a common treatment modality that is offered to many patients. There is therefore a good chance that many oral health professionals (dentists, dental therapists, oral hygienists, dental specialists) will encounter such patients in their private or public dental clinics. Barrak and colleagues (2023)1 have highlighted the mismatch between the knowledge and skill requirement of the general dental practitioner (GDP) in managing such patients and the training provided at undergraduate (UG) and general postgraduate (PG) levels. Studies in the UK among dental schools there and in Ireland have shown that most schools provided lecture-based information with no clinical trainingat undergraduate level on implant dentistry. This, despite the fact that most implants were in fact placed by dentists who had little training in their undergraduate training.

Effect of Boron and Zinc on Growth, Yield and Quality of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) F1 Hybrid

The field experiment was conducted during Rabi season in the year 2021-2022 at post graduate Horticulture Experimental farm, Department of Horticulture, Naini Agriculture Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, to study the foliar application of different micro-nutrient treatments on Okra cv. Sahnaaj. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with 9 treatments and 3 replications. Okra plants were treated with (boron and zinc) subjected to growth, yield and quality parameters and showed better results in combination treatment T7 [0.3% Boron + (RDF 100:40:100)] the treatment whereas minimum was observed in T0 (control).