Professional Profile Research Articles

Identification of soil‐related professional profiles for the future from a survey of European stakeholders

AbstractCurrent and future stakeholders and decision‐makers involved in agricultural soil management need to develop soil‐related skills to meet the challenges of food security and global change in the coming decades. The aim of this study was to identify professional profiles related to the management, conservation and restoration of agricultural soils on the basis of a European stakeholder survey and to relate these profiles to specific and generic skills. Stakeholders from 24 European countries, selected by the national hubs of the European Joint Programme on agricultural soil management, were invited to propose soil‐related professional profiles that they considered important to develop over the next 20 years. They were then asked to identify up to 15 specific or generic skills that they considered necessary for each profile. In total, 299 stakeholders proposed 1–3 professional profiles each, in 20 languages, for a total of 786 profiles ranging from the bachelor to doctoral level. After translation into English and grouping by expertise, 60 profiles were identified and classified as ‘traditional’, ‘specialised’ or ‘innovative’. Innovative profiles were related to the inclusion of soil in fields that do not currently provide soil‐related education (e.g., communication, mediation, economics, law, land‐use planning, architecture, data science). Correspondence analysis based on the number of times a skill was considered necessary for a given profile led to the grouping of the 60 initial profiles into 10 clusters of profiles that required similar skills: these 10 clusters of profiles were described, and their necessary skills were identified. The clusters illustrate the need to broaden the scope of soil science and the variety of professions that can address soil‐related issues and require knowledge about soils. Ultimately, this list of soil‐related professional profiles and their necessary skills could help revise existing higher‐education curricula or create new curricula.

Sustainable Urban Drone Operations: FF2020 view

Experts worldwide agree that development of operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, commonly known as drones) above populated areas, to remain socially acceptable, must satisfy a set of crucial criteria: safety, security, environmental sustainability (including noise and pollution reduction) and compliance with legal requirements (encompassing liability, privacy and alignment with urban land use regulations). However, for both commercial organisations and entities carrying flights in the public interest, these operations need to also be economically sustainable. This article considers two illustrative scenarios: (1) the urgent transport of medical equipment (e.g., defibrillators) on an ad-hoc basis, precisely when and where required, rather than on a routine schedule; (2) security or plant safety applications, where a drone remains on standby, recharging its batteries in a designated ‘nest,’ ready to take-off for capturing imagery or sensory data when triggered by security personnel or by automatic alerts (e.g., a camera detecting an individual penetrating a perimeter). Deploying one remote pilot for each ‘sleeping’ drone 24/7 would lead to enormous service costs, difficult to be sustained by any organisation. The drone hence needs to be completely autonomous, meaning that a remote pilot would no longer be necessary. The concept, often referred to as ‘Drones in the Box,’ is technically feasible and currently exists. Organisation of the operations, however, goes beyond technical feasibility. According to the Automation Concept by the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS), this falls under level 5 of automation. In this highest level, there is neither involvement of a remote pilot in aircraft flight functions, both on the ground and in the air, nor any human awareness of dynamic operational parameters. In essence, to ensure economic sustainability, the 24/7 operations must entirely eliminate the need for remote pilots. Nonetheless, a UAS operator would still exist as the legal entity responsible for organising and overseeing operations, securing necessary approvals and being accountable for the process. Therefore, a professional job profile would still be necessary, to possibly trigger the flight, receive the collected information and act upon or activate the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) when required. This professional would neither need to be trained nor licenced as Remote Pilot but the position should be 24/7. In scenarios such as the two mentioned examples, security personnel may already be on duty 24/7 to safeguard certain facilities (e.g., hospitals) or provide emergency medical services (e.g., 118 in Italy). These operations could thus become economically viable if these personnel were trained by the operator for this on-demand duty. The Flying Forward 2020 (FF2020) project has coined this role as the ‘Fleet Manager’ and intends to standardise it through ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation), for global harmonisation.

La ley de eutanasia y experiencias profesionales: tensiones en la práctica clínica

ObjectiveTo analyze the process of assisted death provision in Catalonia and identify the main tensions, difficulties, and/or sources of discomfort related to professional practice. MethodA qualitative study was conducted based on interviews (n=29) and focus groups (n=19) with professionals who participated in the euthanasia process. The selection of participants combined the snowball and maximization of variability procedures, taking into account the variables of professional profile, setting, gender, age and territoriality. Intentional and theoretical sampling process. ResultsThe assisted death process is divided into four main moments: 1) reception of the request, 2) medical-bureaucratic procedure, 3) the actual procedure, and 4) closure. At each of these moments, difficulties arise that can be a source of discomfort and have to do with the limits and tensions between the legal and moral, the conception of one's own professional role, the lack of recognition of some professional roles, stress and overload, the lack of formal and informal support, and the relationship with the patient and his/her family. The bureaucratic-administrative stress derived from a protective law, with both prior and subsequent verifying control, stands out, given that it stresses the professionals immersed in a healthcare system already under high pressure after budget cuts and the COVID-19 epidemic. ConclusionsThroughout the assisted death process, the sources of distress are diverse and of a psychological, psychosocial, and structural nature. These results may lead to interventions for psychological and peer support, information, training, institutional involvement, and burden reduction.

Teacher Professional Development, In-School Training and STEM

Professional development has central value at the professional life of teachers, a fact that is sealed by the institutionalization of compulsory in-school training in Elementary schools. Equally important is STEM education, appearing in both new curricula and skills workshops. Teachers therefore find themselves on the receiving end of intense reform initiatives. This work aims to record the factors that enhance the participation of teachers in in-school trainings and to describe the relationship of professional development to in-school training and STEM, as expressed by the teachers themselves. This is a focused case study of 11 teachers of a primary school in Greece. Our findings focus on each participant professional profile, his/her experience of attending in-school education, the characteristics of in-school education, the perceived relation of in-school training and professional development, as well as in-school education and STEM education.

Psychological Preparedness of Psychologists during the COVID-19 Emergency: Are There Any Individual Differences?

The COVID-19 outbreak has posed an unprecedented global challenge. However, despite the large amount of evidence on the psychological consequences of the pandemic, very few studies have focused on psychologists themselves. (1) Background: The present study aimed to characterise the professional and clinical profile of psychologists facing the COVID-19 outbreak and to investigate the relationship between psychological preparedness and a series of potential predictors (e.g., sociodemographic and professional variables and psychological distress). (2) Methods: A total of 1115 psychologists fully completed an online survey. The data collection period started with the first wave of the pandemic. Participants were asked to provide sociodemographic and professional data and to complete three questionnaires assessing psychological preparedness, worry, and anxiety symptoms. (3) Results: Descriptive results showed that the COVID-19 outbreak did not cause an interruption to the psychological practice of professionals (both in the public and in private sectors) and that psychologists accepted the introduction of technological devices within their regime of work in order to guarantee their service to clients. Only a minority of participants reported clinically significant levels of symptoms of anxiety and worry. Regression analyses revealed that being older, having taken part in training courses on the COVID-19 emergency, and experiencing lower levels of worry and anxiety were all significant predictors of both cognitive and affective psychological preparedness. (4) Conclusions: Taken together, these findings seem to highlight that specific factors can enhance psychological preparedness among psychologists. Therefore, it is vital to inform authorities about the importance of providing emergency programmes to train healthcare workers, especially psychologists, on how to develop psychological preparedness when facing the negative consequences of critical incidents at a universal level, given their crucial role in promoting mental health.

Use of qualitative methods to optimize collaborative practices by highlighting differences in perceptions between professionals: an example of patient education

ABSTRACT Interprofessional working must be approached within health promotion interventions using systematic methods to identify areas of suboptimal collaboration. We designed a qualitative study with a purposive sample of seven French therapeutic patient education programs. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 14 healthcare providers and seven clinician leaders (coordinators) involved in patient education. We used the same interview guide and thematic grid regardless of the professional’s profile to compare their perceptions on elements affecting outcome, participation and sustainability of programs. Healthcare providers and coordinators addressed non-convergent issues at both ends of a continuum from a micro-level nested in the program delivery to a macro-level corresponding to the structured implementation and sustainability of the program. Meso-level issues featured convergent perspectives. Our methodology could be used at the level of health services in a health system to provide a complete recovery of stakeholders’ perspectives (without “blind spots” from one stakeholder or another). In our study, we focused on patient education in the French health system and pointed out possible considerations to optimize the functioning of programs. Such considerations include specific training plan development, encouraging reflection on the content and use of initial assessment, leading sessions in pairs to save on work time, and communication on the ins and outs of organizational imperatives that require healthcare providers’ contributions.

Multidisciplinary radio-guided surgery team: Alternative to change the current paradigm

IntroductionGiven the constant increase in the healthcare demand for examinations related to radio-guided surgery (RGS), our hospital adopted new professional profiles in the RGS team, in order to partially reduce the time spent by nuclear medicine physicians on this task. AimTo analyze the process of incorporating the profiles of Diagnostic Imaging Technician (DIT) and Sentinel Node Referent Nurse (SNRN), evaluating their deployment in the procedures linked to the technique. Material and methodsAnalysis of RGS activity during the period 2018–2022, focusing on pre-surgical and surgical procedures related to breast cancer (BC) and malignant melanoma (MM), as they are those pathologies on which the transfer of care competencies was concentrated. Chronological evolution of the competencies assumed by the different profiles during their integration into the RGS team. ResultsRGS's healthcare activity during the analyzed period experienced an increase of 109%. BC and MM were the pathologies that accounted for by far the greatest demand for care. The transfer of competencies in these two pathologies occurred in a progressive and staggered manner, with 74% (460/622) of the administration phase being carried out by the SNRN and 64% (333/519) of the surgeries by the DIT in 2022. ConclusionsThe creation of a multidisciplinary RGS team that includes different professional profiles (nuclear medicine physician [MN], ERGC and TSID) is an effective strategy to respond to the increase in the complexity and number of all procedures related to RGS.

Health variables and professional practice profile of ballroom dance teachers in Brazil

The objective was to investigate fatigue, quality of life (QoL) and professional profile of ballroom dance teachers in Brazil compared by gender. A total of 272 professionals from the five regions of Brazil were evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire divided into professional profile, QoL and fatigue. It was observed that women showed better results compared to men in terms of education and BMI. The general QoL of both sexes showed regular scores, with higher values for the social relations domain and lower values for the physical domain. The data reflect the search for information on the profile of the ballroom dance teachers and health factors related to their professional practice profile, with possible distinctions between the sexes and highlight the importance of awareness for the maintenance of the health of dance professionals.

Perceptions/opinions about the formation of the bachelor program in exercise and sports science by students aimed at the new professional profile of the basic kinesiologist

PurposeIn Italy, the training of sports workers was carried out through national sports federations (NSF), sports promotion bodies (SPB) and associated disciplines (AD) since there were no laws regarding specific professional figures on a par with other labor sectors. New and recent legislation stipulates that specific training is the responsibility of universities, with the 3-year bachelor's degree program in Exercise and Sports Science (L22) for the cultural and scientific profiling of the new professional figure of the basic kinesiologist. The study measures the perceptions and opinions that students have with respect to the training in their studies and also analyze any gaps in terms of knowledge and skills to be applied in the professional field.MethodsA questionnaire was administered to 30 students consisting of 15 questions divided into three sections: Sect. 1 of sample identification, Sect. 2 assessing perceptions on knowledge acquired, and Sect. 3 assessing perceptions on skills learned. A chi-square (χ2) analysis was performed to check for significant differences.ResultsThe results showed a difference of opinion. Although 84.2% of the sample thought highly of the training offered, discordant data emerged on the knowledge and skills taught within the courses of study. Although this high percentage is convinced and entrusts their training to the university pathway, it is found that 19% have qualifications issued by NSF, 4.8% by other and 1.6% by SPB. In addition there is significance P = .001 demonstrating liking with respect to the training received.ConclusionThe basic kinesiologist is a key figure within sports organizations, and university training is also considered positive by those trained by NSF, SPB, and AD.

CFO Accounting Expertise and SEC Comment Letter Process

In this study, we explore the expanded role of chief financial officers (CFOs) in facilitating corporate disclosure by examining how their accounting expertise influences the resolution process of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comment letters issued on 10-K reports. Using CFO professional profile data collected extensively through EDGAR, Lexis-Nexis, and several online searches, we find that CFO accounting expertise improves the resolution of SEC comment letters by reducing the remediation costs and the likelihood of unfavorable resolution outcomes. We also show that the effect of CFO accounting expertise is more pronounced when the CFO’s involvement in the resolution process is greater, and the SEC comment letter includes comments on accounting topics. Our findings are robust to a battery of robustness tests. Overall, this study highlights the importance of CFOs’ role and function in regulatory compliance. JEL codes: G14; G30; M40; M41; M48

The entry profile of a pre-service physics teachers and the development of their professional competences

In the paper, we reflect on various factors of motivation of pre-service physics teacher. Based on the data obtained from the entrance questionnaires of incoming students for the previous four years and a structured interview with current students studying in all grades, we create a professional entry profile of a future physics teacher student. Based on international standards, current trends, current and future needs of school practice, we characterize the professional competences of a physics teacher graduate. In the conditions of the Slovak educational space, we are looking for a breakthrough with the updated description of the field of study teaching and pedagogical sciences and standards for study programs. We present the goals and key elements of the university training of future physics teachers, educational methods, educational content and links to pedagogical practice.

Social Media Use among Orthopedic Trauma Fellowship-trained Surgeons.

Objective: To quantify the use of social media platforms by orthopedic traumatologists with an emphasis on demographic, practice-based, and regional differences. Materials and Methods: Using the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) membership database, online searches were performed to identify professional profiles on numerous social media platforms. This presence was then quantified by a cumulative social media score which was correlated to the demographic information collected. Results: In total, 1,262 active fellowship-trained orthopedic traumatologists were identified. Surgeons practicing in an academic setting were found to be more likely to use numerous social media platforms and to present an overall greater social media score than those in private practices. No significant differences in use were found based on practice region. Conclusion: Social media platforms are currently underused by orthopedic traumatologists. Level of Evidence: IV.

Italian Association of Epidemiology: How has the demographic, educational, and occupational profile of members changed in recent years

In recent years, the number of members of the Italian Association of Epidemiology (AIE) has increased considerably, and their profile has undergone many changes. The aim of this work is to describe the characteristics of the members, with particular attention to those who have been continuously enrolled. To evaluate these characteristics, the data from membership forms submitted to the Association and information available on the new website in the personal profile area (period 2016-2024) were used. The characteristics considered were: gender, age, education, and job position of the member, Region, and type of affiliated institution. Members with at least three registrations during the period considered, including at least one in the last three years (2022-2024), are considered continuous members.In 2024, AIE counts 557 members, of whom 340 (61.0%) are female and 182 (32.7%) are under 35 years old. This data confirms the growing trend observed since 2015, when the number of members was just above 300, considering that each year there is a quota of new members amounting to about 30%. A total of 382 members can be considered continuous. Over 90% of these members work in 8 Regions (Lazio, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Tuscany, Veneto, Puglia, and Sicily), while the other regions are scarcely or not represented at all. Over time, and with the arrival of new members, the Association is shifting towards the academic world, while the proportion of professionals working in public health institutions has decreased. Members are overall highly educated; however, while older cohorts have predominantly a medical and biological education, younger cohorts increasingly have statistical/mathematical education. Seventy percent of the members have a permanent contract, 5% have a fixed-term contract, and 13% have an atypical contract. Precarious contracts tend to be lower among medical graduates and remain higher in other health professions and non-health-related degrees.AIE is dealing with a period of dynamism and openness, marked by the increase in the number of the members and the transformation of their occupational and educational profile. It is crucial to support and promote the ongoing positive changes, such as the wider geographic representativeness and the entry of new recruits, also facilitated by multiple activities carried out by AIE, including congresses, working groups, webinars, training courses, and collaborations with other scientific societies. At the same time, it might be useful to open a discussion on the meaning and consequences of the increase of academic members and the reduction, at least in relative terms, of individuals coming from public health. Finally, it will be necessary to approach some critical issues, such as the still poor multidisciplinarity and the persistence of job insecurity, especially among graduates in educational pathways that still do not fit into the professional profiles recognized by the NHS.

Diversity in the editorial boards of medical journals: a perspective from the Middle East.

Despite the significant increase in women in academic medicine over the last 50 years, women are still under-represented in leadership positions in academia. However, there is a lack of data on the diversity of editorial boards in Middle Eastern medical journals. So, we aim to portray the diversity of editorial boards of Iraqi medical journals by conducting a cross-sectional analysis of the editorial boards' members of all Iraqi medical journals. Gender, affiliation and specialty were extracted from the journals' websites and/or from the professional profiles of the editorial board members. Twenty-five journals and 446 editorial board members were analysed. More than half of editorial board members specialized in basic science, while 39.76% specialized in clinical specialties. Approximately, 20.18% of editorial board members (regardless their role) were women. Four percent of editor-in-chief were women. There were significant differences in editorial role according to gender (p < 0.0001), yet residency (p = 0.688) and specialty (p = 0.190) did not differ according to their gender. Most editorial board members were affiliated with Baghdad. So, we can conclude that there is a significant under-representation of women across all roles on the editorial board of medical journals especially in the leading positions. All stakeholders, publishers, authors and academics should commit to ensure the diversity of editorial boards.

Comparative analysis of measures of central tendency in the classification of Officer Cadets of the Military Police of Bahia

The study proposes a reassessment of the final classification methodology for Officer Cadets in the Military Police of Bahia (PMBA) through the application of different measures of central tendency. The research, conducted through bibliographic review, documentary analysis, and comparative study, encompasses four courses (one CFOPM, one CFOAPM, and one CFTAPM), with CFOPM still in progress. The choice was limited to Arithmetic and Harmonic means, revealing a strong correlation between the two. Remarkably, there was a change in the rankings of 318 out of 393 evaluated students, representing a variation of 80.9%. When comparing classifications based on legislation (Article 124 of RAPM), 41 Officer Cadets would have been classified differently, including the introduction of the "Regular" (R) concept. It is concluded that the application of the Harmonic mean is the closest to representing the desired professional profile by APMBA.

Pre-disease detection of stress-associated disorders in combatants depending on professional activity profile

Relevance. Combat stress and other forms of stress-associated mental disorders, as well as their consequences currently remain a most urgent issue in military personnel directly or indirectly involved in armed conflicts. Active deployment of weapons for remote destruction of manpower and infrastructure has caused qualitative transformations in the profile of medical casualties, thus becoming a powerful stress factor of intense psychological pressure on personnel. The fundamentally new nature of armed confrontations, which in many ways is incompatible with domestic experience acquired over the recent decades during local hostilities in the "hot zones", is gaining relevance, as well as effective prevention and treatment of health disorders associated with combat mental trauma in the personnel deployed in the special military operation. The objective is to identify pre-disease characteristics of stress-associated disorders in combatants, depending on their professional activity profile.Methods. We examined 209 males earlier deployed in combat zones. All the examined combatants were divided in three groups according to professional criteria: group 1 – employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (n = 71); group 2 – soldiers of the National Guard of Russia (the Rosgvardiya) (n = 70); group 3 – employees of the EMERCOM of Russia (n = 68). Clinical and psychopathological examination with prior blood chemistry and toxicological screening were conducted to identify metabolites of psychoactive substances.Results and discussion. Although the research showed an elevated risk of post-traumatic stress disorder in the combatants across all the three groups, employees of the EMERCOM of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia demonstrated average stress coping ability, whereas soldiers of the National Guard of Russia showed higher levels of maladaptation and greater susceptibility to subclinical anxiety and depressive disorders. Combatants directly involved in combat operations often resort to alcohol or sedatives.Conclusion. Programs for medical and psychological rehabilitation implemented as part of psychological and psychiatric prevention efforts shall be adjusted to the combatants’ professional profile with a specific focus on the type of combat service duties.

University Research Tutoring in A Formative and Preventive Environment

Graduating through a research work requires competencies in the student. For this reason, it is essential to study a research tutoring methodology from the tutor's training, resources and strategies that generate a positive, formative, and preventive work environment. The objective of this work focuses on the methodology that a research professor of high scientific productivity with Salesian style generates in the process of university tutoring in research, with visible results in the short term. The results show a total of 84 works completed between 2021 and 2023, an average of 28 works per year, as well as a participation of 29 female students and 59 male students. It is concluded that a research methodology accompanied by professors trained in a friendly spirit, proactive action, and immediate positive results, generates a positive environment where formative and preventive experiences permeate the conscience, the professional profile, and the life plan of the students.

Perception Of Patient Safety Culture At The Primary Care Level: The Case Of The Community Health Centre Ljubljana.

Patient safety is a crucial element of quality healthcare, and endeavours to enhance it are vital for attaining universal health coverage and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the perception of patient safety culture among staff at the Community Health Centre Ljubljana (CHCL). A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022. All CHCL staff (N=1,564) from different professional groups were invited to participate in an anonymous electronic survey using the validated Slovenian version of the "Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture" (MOSPSC). Mean percent positive scores for all items in each composite were calculated. The final sample included 377 participants (response rate, 24.1%), most of whom were women (91.5%, N=345) with different professional profiles. The mean age of the participants was 44.5 years (SD 11.1) with a mean work experience of 20.1 years (SD 12.1). The percentage of positive overall MOSPSC composite scores was 59.6%. A strong patient safety culture perception was identified in the following dimensions: Information exchange with other settings (93.5%), Organisational learning (90.2%), List of patient safety and quality issues (88.1%), Patient care tracking/follow-up (76.2 %) and Teamwork (75.0%). Weak patient safety culture was identified in the dimensions of Work pressure and pace (10.7%), Leadership support for patient safety (27.1%), Communication openness (40.9%), Office processes and standardisation (48.2%) and Overall ratings on quality and patient safety (49.4%). CHCL leadership should address weaknesses, redesign processes, and implement strategies to reduce patient safety incidents. Establishing a just culture that encourages employees to report errors fosters transparency and facilitates learning from errors.

Ethical awareness and professional responsibility: educating translators to tackle diversifying industry dilemmas

ABSTRACT Ethical awareness is arguably becoming ever more relevant with the increasing digitalisation of professional practice. Ethical dilemmas are changing in nature, becoming more diverse and more difficult to tackle, also as technologically infused realities give rise to more blurry boundaries. Language professionals, in training for the roles of the future, require a strong sense of professional responsibility. This correlates with the ability to define their own ethical profiles and to apply them agilely to navigate evolving industry expectations. Ethical profiling is paramount if graduates of translation education are to confidently engage with the variety of emerging language-based roles, including those that involve significant automation. This article focusses on professional ethical requirements for the language industry as exhibited in the Romanian national context and describes educational tools that may support the development of ethical awareness for newly trained translators. The article reports on a pedagogical model applied with second year master’s students in translation, which can ensure increased explicit exposure to ethically-charged professional scenarios as part of curriculum design. The suggestive model aims to mould professional ethical behaviours of trainee translators and to equip them with methodological options to support the continuous enhancement of their professional profiles while realistically assessing market developments and identifying shifts in ethical expectations.

Challenges in Collecting and Reporting Health Statistics in Kosovo.

Statistical data play a crucial role in research, planning and decision making in the health system, especially in the formulation and implementation of health policies. Health policy, adequate health legislation and sustainable financing of the health system remain serious challenges for countries in transition and especially for the Republic of Kosovo. To analyze the challenges of collection, accuracy and accurate reporting and the impact of the accuracy of these health statistics on the creation of appropriate public health policies in Kosovo. This research is mainly based on a combination of qualitative, quantitative, deductive, analytical and comparative methods conducted by health workers at all three levels of the health organization and IT experts who were actively involved in some of the important components of our research. It is interesting to note that respondents gave typical scores for the security and confidentiality of medical data and statistics during the cycle of their collection and processing, with one score being 3 and the other 5, and 50% of respondents gave a score of 5 for the successful fulfilment of the mission and tasks established by the Law on the rational use of medical data and statistics to support public health policy. The research and findings provide sufficient evidence that Kosovar health data and statistics system suffers from serious deficiencies ranging from the legal framework, organizational structure, functional organization, segregation of duties and responsibilities, to a pronounced lack of human resources, professional profiles in the health statistics service and the necessary technology to perform the basic tasks in a timely and high quality manner.