Academic Science Research Articles

‘How can I do it?’ Inclusive faculty members make recommendations for carrying out inclusive teaching practices

Inclusive education at the university requires a commitment from staff and faculty to guide higher education towards equality and equity. The scientific literature suggests that the success of students with disability depends, to a large extent, on the attitude of faculty members and their willingness to make adjustments. Faculty who carry out inclusive practices are characterised by being accessible, making adjustments and adaptations and providing adapted materials and flexible assessment. Therefore, the learning context is basic to the educational inclusion of these students and depends largely on the role played by the faculty. The aim of this study was to provide recommendations made by 42 inclusive Education Science faculty members to other faculty members who have students with disability in their classrooms for the first time. A qualitative methodology was followed. Specifically, the biographical-narrative methodology was used, and the analysis of the data was defined by its narrative nature. The faculty recommended their colleagues to interact constantly with their students, adjust their teaching to respond to their needs, be interested in training, gather information about disability issues and learn about certain characteristics related to the teaching role that favour the educational and social inclusion of students with disability. This study allowed identifying several keys related to inclusive teaching practices in higher education.

The role of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the study of respiratory health and development of pulmonology in the Far East of Russia

The establishment of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Far Eastern Scientific Center for Physiology and Pathology of Respiration» is examined within the historical progression of academic science in the Russian Far East and the Russian Academy of Sciences' contribution to this development, commemorating its 300th anniversary in Russia. The outcomes of medical science and healthcare contributions to pulmonology advancement in the Far Eastern region are evaluated.

Academic library science and its contribution to the development of bibliology and information science in Poland, 1945–2015

The aim of the study is to present the origins and development of academic institutions educat- ing librarians in Poland between 1945 and 2015, taking into account the institutional and scholarly aspects. In the first part of the paper the author presents the history of various institutions — university faculties, departments and institutes — arranged diachronically in three stages (1945–1974, 1975–1989, 1990–2015). She takes into account the circumstances of their establishment (including the legal framework), their organisers, staff, organisational structures and their changes. In addition, she points to other components of academic life influencing the work of academic library science centres, such as conferences and journals. In the second part, devoted to a discussion of bibliological and information-science research conducted at Polish universities, the author focuses on various issues, treating chronology only as an element organising descriptions of research processes at individual library studies centres. She identifies the areas of research, as well as changes in the thematic foci in the analysed period, citing selected scholars and their most important works. Like in part one, she also discusses the social, political and cultural determinants stimulating research processes, paying particular attention to the impact of new technologies and media. The author’s overview confirms the huge role the academic institutions engaged in library studies play in the consolidation of the position of bibliology as an academic discipline, but at the same time, she shows how the research profile of book studies has been changing in recent years, including issues associated with information science and new technologies.

Exploring the Relationship Between Academic Science and Economics Through Bio-fuel Research: A Scientometric Analysis

Scientometrics is increasingly wielded as a powerful tool in shaping scientific policies, impacting the allocation of funding for projects and institutions by assessing priorities, viewpoints, and capabilities. The investigation of the relationship between academic science and economics is one of the most recent developments in the field of scientific metrics study. It assumes the role of an analysis method of knowledge production and dissemination in innovation systems. These results suggest that biofuel positively affected research collaboration and, as a result, scientific performance. HistCite is one of the study’s tools for analyzing data in a clear and concise manner. Manual searches were conducted on their websites to gather a condensed overview of their data for data mining purposes. Additionally, the Web of Science (WOS) database was utilized for research visualization. Vos Viewer and MS Excel were employed to create graph-like visualizations of data, particularly focusing on the key term 'biofuel' to showcase the field’s research focus and productivity rankings in this area. Statistical techniques and web mining were employed to refine and extract pertinent information. The study period was 33 years (1989-2022), and the results are presented in this paper. This may help to show that the continual growth of plants on our planet greatly outweighs men’s fundamental energy consumption when considering ecological, technical, and economic considerations; only a portion of the biomass that grows can be used to generate energy.

Relationship Between Mental Workload and Cognitive Function in the Academic Staff of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran, 2022

Background: Academic staff have different roles which may impose a high mental workolad on them and affect their cognitive function. This study was designed to assess different subscales of mental worklaod and cognitive function in university academic staff. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 86 faculty members of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Stratified sampling was used to select participants from different schools. The participants were divided into basic sciences and clinical faculty members. Mental workload was assessed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX). Cognitive function was assessed by Stroop test. Data were analyzed by SPSS 26 using Shapiro-Wilks test, Student’s T-test, Mann Whitney U test, univariate ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis test. The level of significance was 0.05. Results: Mean age and work history of the participants was 43.6±8.6 yr. and 11.7±9.1 yr., respectively. Mental workload, especially two aspects of mental demand and performance, was high and it was significantly higher in the participants from school of medicine and among those with executive/administrative responsibilities. From subscales of mental workload, physical demand was significantly higher among clinical than basic sciences faculty members (p<0.05). Among different aspects of cognitive function, only numbers of congruent errors were significantly higher among clinical faculties. Mental workload and cognitive function were not significantly correlated. Conclusion: This study showed a high level of mental workload in university academic staff, especially in clinical faculty members, but this high mental workload did not affect their cognitive function.

Returning Clinically Relevant Research Results to Participants: Guidelines for Investigators and the IRB.

In 2019, the revised Common Rule required informed consent documents for research to include a statement about whether clinically relevant research results would be returned to research participants. While there are national discussions regarding the return of results, these do not provide specific guidance about how institutional review boards (IRBs) should address this issue. Through a year-long process involving IRB staff and leadership, science and bioethics faculty members, community IRB members, and others, Indiana University's human research protection program created a framework that offers a clear categorization of types of results for researchers to consider returning, provides language for informed consent documents, and describes an active but intentionally limited role for the IRB. In this article, we describe this framework and its rationale as a model for other universities and, more generally, as a model for balancing the need to protect human subjects with efforts to limit the burdens on researchers and the IRB.

How can academic health science centers help to increase diversity in the STEM professions?

In the United States, great inequities exist within the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in individuals who self-identify as belonging to underrepresented groups (e.g., from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, people with disabilities, and Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander). Underrepresentation in STEM careers has been documented to be due to a lack of qualified and diverse teaching personnel, limited access to resources in disadvantaged schools, and implicit bias within US institutions. In recognition of these inequities, an interprofessional team of biomedical faculty members and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) educators from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans developed and implemented a STEM educational training pipeline for elementary, middle, and high school (K-12), undergraduate, and medical students, with accompanying DEI training for LSUHSC mentors and staff to mitigate implicit bias and promote a welcoming environment for participants from different backgrounds. Our findings focus on one social determinant of health: access and quality of education. Other institutions can implement a program as described in the present study to address the educational and health inequities in their own communities.

ОПЫТ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ПИЛОТНОГО ПРОЕКТА «ГРОДНЕНСКАЯ УНИВЕРСИТЕТСКАЯ КЛИНИКА» В АСПЕКТЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ЛЕЧЕБНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ

In accordance with the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated December 11, 2018 No. 886 “On the implementation of a pilot project to create a university clinic”, the Ministry of Health, together with the Grodno Regional Executive Committee, has been implementing a pilot project to create a university clinic in the Grodno region since 2019. The participants in the pilot project were the health care institution “Grodno Regional Clinical Hospital” and the educational institution “Grodno State Medical University”. The purpose of this publication is to summarize the experience of implementing the pilot project at the Grodno University Clinic in terms of the effectiveness of medical activities. In frames of pilot project implementation a regional “diabetic foot” center has been organized; a center for “Medical Image Visualization” was organized (regional PACS archive of DICOM images of CT and MRI); a system of multi-level provision of medical care to the population of the Grodno region was developed and approved; a telemedicine consultation center was organized and equipped; a scientific and practical conference “Innovative achievements in the work of the University Clinic” is held annually; Regional professional skills master classes are held on a regular basis; modern diagnostic and treatment methods are being introduced into the clinical process, according to the work plans of scientific and clinical departments; the surgical building of the university clinic is at the stage of completion of reconstruction. The experience of implementing the pilot project gives the possibility to make next conclusions: 1. The results of functioning within the framework of the Grodno University Clinic project indicate that the comfortable conditions created contributed to a significant intensification of the process of generating ideas and introducing the most promising innovations into clinical practice. 2. The effectiveness of interaction between representatives of academic medical science, education and practical healthcare has increased significantly, which has contributed to an increase in the volume and quality of medical care provided. 3. It is necessary to continue to accumulate experience in the functioning of university clinics, followed by periodic assessment of the results of their activities in order to widely implement the best practices developed in them.

Теоретико-методологические и текстологические аспекты изучения русской литературы и журналистики в начале ХХ века: проблемы и перспективы

The article provides an overview of the most relevant aspects of the study of forms of interaction and methodology for analyzing Russian literature and journalism in the pre-revolutionary era. Particular attention is paid to the interdisciplinary direction of research in Russian humanities and ways to overcome existing theoretical and methodological contradictions that arise when studying such a complex, dispersed, diffuse and multi-genre phenomenon as Russian periodicals at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. Due to the specific nature of the research object itself, terminological “failures” are equally inevitable and methodological monism is impossible, and therefore the priority today seems to be a reasonable and balanced combination of traditional methods for academic science and new technologies in the field of digitalization of analyzed materials. It is necessary to develop approaches that are common to the intellectual history of the era as a point of convergence of interests in philology, journalism, philosophy, sociology and other related fields of knowledge. The significance of the discussed issues increases in the context of global cataclysms due to the growing attention to the role of the media in the formation of national and cultural identity, to their influence on radicalization or harmonization of the sociocultural situation, to their place in society’s adaptation to crisis phenomena and the ability to adequately respond to challenges time.

Strategies to promote dignified and feminist academia: some collaborative reflections from Chile

During the COVID-19 pandemic, scholars around the world warned about increasing gender inequalities within academia. In this context, we created Red Feminista de las Ciencias Sociales to support initiatives among women researchers in Chile. Our objective is to appeal for gender equality in academia and to promote structural changes that guarantee dignified feminist academia in the social sciences. This article draws on various self-training and discussion activities developed by the Red Feminista between mid-2021 and mid-2022 to discuss the role of women in academia, with implications for other marginalised groups in Chile and possibly other countries where inequality in academia is also a reality. Based on our discussions, we propose strategies to promote a decentralised, decolonised and feminist social science academia that guarantees gender equality as a fundamental human right and as a crosscutting axis in producing knowledge and access to it. We organise these strategies into four pillars: 1) equity and justice in the production of knowledge, 2) dignified work conditions in the production of knowledge, 3) a work environment free from harassment and 4) the democratisation of access to knowledge. Whilst these aspects have been studied in other countries, this article addresses the specific context of Chile. We argue that it is possible to reflect on feminisms (in plural) within academia and propose practical strategies for establishing new dynamics through collaborative work.

Surface recoil force on dielectric nanoparticle enhancement via graphene acoustic surface plasmon excitation: non-local effect consideration.

Controlling optomechanical interactions at sub-wavelength levels is of great importance in academic science and nanoparticle manipulation technologies. This Letter focuses on the improvement of the recoil force on nanoparticles placed close to a graphene-dielectric-metal structure. The momentum conservation involving the non-symmetric excitation of acoustic surface plasmons (ASPs), via near-field circularly polarized dipolar scattering, implies the occurrence of a huge momentum kick on the nanoparticle. Owing to the high wave vector values entailed in the near-field scattering process, it has been necessary to consider the non-locality of the graphene electrical conductivity to explore the influence of the scattering loss on this large wave vector region, which is neglected by the semiclassical model. Surprisingly, the contribution of ASPs to the recoil force is negligibly modified when the non-local effects are incorporated through the graphene conductivity. On the contrary, our results show that the contribution of the non-local scattering loss to this force becomes dominant when the particle is placed very close to the graphene sheet and that it is mostly independent of the dielectric thickness layer. Our work can be helpful for designing new and better performing large plasmon momentum optomechanical structures using scattering highly dependent on the polarization for moving dielectric nanoparticles.

Emotional Stability among Trainee Teachers in India: A Study of Seemanchal Districts of Bihar

Emotional stability is not only one of the effective determinants of the personality patterns, but it also helps to control the growth of adolescent development. Researcher found while reviewing the previous work that emotional stability of teachers determines perceptions of their classroom management, teacher–student relationships, and methodological-didactic setting disruptions. But the question was, is emotional stability matters in rural parts also. Researcher started to think about emotional stability of trainee teacher in backward districts of India. During training, these trainee teachers hardly get proper opportunity to acquire teaching skills as well as skills to deal with the social environment, in which emotional stability plays an important role being a significant trait of personality. Keeping this in mind, the researcher has conducted a study to explore further about the emotional stability of trainee teachers studying in teacher training institutions in Seemanchal districts of Bihar, with respect to their academic stream, nature of institution, and gender. A standardized tool developed by Singh and Kumar (2009) was used to collect the data on seven major traits of emotional stability, i.e., Self-Esteem, Happiness, Anxiety, Obsessiveness, Independence, Hypochondria and Guilt. The researcher found in the study that nature of institution is not a significant contributor for the development of emotional stability. Gender-wise also, there is no significant difference in the emotional stability. The emotional stability differs significantly among the trainee teachers from different academic backgrounds, i.e., science, social science and humanities.

Organizational Commitment in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences Faculty Members

Background: Organizational Commitment (OC) is an attitude or orientation toward the organization that connects the individual's identity to the organization. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the OC level of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) faculty members. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 177 faculty members of KUMS in western Iran. The samples were randomly selected among faculty members. The data were collected by self-reporting using a standard Balfour and Whechler questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS software version 16 using t-tests and Pearson correlations. Results: The mean score of OC was 28.12 (SD: 4.82), ranging from 9 - 45. There was no significant difference between gender and OC (P = 0.239). OC had a positive and significant correlation with age (r = 0.192 & P = 0.011). The relationship between job history and OC was positive but insignificant (r = 0.147 & P = 0.057). Conclusions: According to the OC score, emphasizing the subjects and areas of OC can effectively increase faculty members' dedication to the university.

How discipline shapes the meaning of value creation in higher education; implications for enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability.

This paper sets out the importance of teaching contextualized understandings of value within different disciplinary contexts in order to enhance employability and to foster greater levels of engagement with enterprise and entrepreneurship education.
 Key research has recognised the broader benefits of enterprise and entrepreneurship education, including that of developing graduate employability. Yet enterprise and entrepreneurship may not feel comfortable or relevant to students (EEUK, 2012; Henry, 2013). It has been identified that students can better relate to enterprise and entrepreneurship when it is contextualised in professions, sectors and communities of practice, moving away from a focus on venture creation and start up (Gibb, 2005). We argue that taking an approach which is explicitly based on value creation is a crucial driver of student engagement with enterprise and entrepreneurship education. This needs to be based in students’ individual values, embedded in their disciplines, and related to the communities of practice which as graduates they will go on to be part of. When grounded in the creation of value at an individual, disciplinary, and societal level, enterprise and entrepreneurship education can appeal to a wider constituency of students. In this paper, we discuss how value creation is understood in three diverse academic disciplines, Business, Biomedical Science and Music. Building on key research and drawing on our extensive practice as educators, we argue that explicitly foregrounding understandings of value within our different disciplinary contexts and developing appropriately contextualized, experiential forms of value creation-based pedagogy, is key to student engagement and enhances graduate employability.

Unveiling the gender gap in research: a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most-cited articles on food-borne pathogen outbreaks from 1990 to 2020.

Despite a recent increase in the representation of female authors in scientific literature, a significant gap persists concerning the inclusion of women in research. This necessitates the analysis of published literature from a gender perspective. This study aimed to provide gender distribution in authorship in the 100 most-cited articles on food-borne pathogen outbreaks from 1990 to 2020. Bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database. Two reviewers were selected to search the database. We included the 100 most-cited articles on foodborne outbreak investigations. The analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and Microsoft Excel version 2016. The citation data, including total citations, citations per year, and representation of women as first and senior authors, was analyzed in terms of frequencies, mean, median, and interquartile range. The correlation between journal impact factor and the representation of women in high-impact factor journals was determined. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Most of the top-cited articles were published between 2001 and 2010 (n=47). The top 3 most-cited articles were from the USA. Of the total 100 articles, women were the first and last authors in 46% and 28% of the articles, respectively, reflecting a significant gender gap. However, the proportion of females as principal investigators gradually increased from 25% (n=10/30) to 52% (n=24/47) during the period 2001-2010 and to 92% (n=12/13) during 2011-2020. The USA had the highest number of included articles (n=48), and women were principal authors in 56% (n=27) of them. The lowest representation of women was observed in Austria, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Women are under-represented in published literature on food-borne pathogen outbreaks. Although the representation of women as principal authors has recently increased, disparities still exist at the senior-author level, calling for women's advancement in academic science.

The Rise of Teamwork and Career Prospects in Academic Science

The Rise of Teamwork and Career Prospects in Academic Science

Омская конференция по истории Гражданской войны на востоке России: история проведения и перспективы развития

The history of the emergence and formation, as well as the dynamics of development of the scientific and practical conference «Civil War in the East of Russia: a look through the documentary heritage», held since 2014 in Omsk, is presented. The key characteristics of past conferences are analyzed (topics and number of materials in collections, geography of authors, whether they have academic degrees, the total number of participants, etc.). The authors of the article (active members of the organizing committee) consider the conference as a current phenomenon of scientific life, realized in external and internal political circumstances that are special for Russia and its academic science. The review is addressed to a wide range of readers, including researchers in the history of historical science, historiography of the Civil War in Eastern Russia, historical memory, the history of archival affairs in Siberia and local history.

СЕМЕЙНЫЕ РИТУАЛЫ КАК СТРЕССОРЫ: СОЦИАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ И МАРКЕТИНГОВЫЙ АНАЛИЗ

The article considers the main stages of the family’s life path and the boundary events separating them from each other, which, in turn, are accompanied by family stressors and rituals. Two events were selected for a more detailed analysis: the discharge of the mother and child from the maternity ward and the child’s baptism. Those events were described from the standpoint of the theory of family stress, as well as some socio-demographic parameters and socio-psychological attitudes of spouses who experienced the discharge of the mother and child from the maternity ward or the child’s baptism. The marketing aspect of the events is analyzed by using the results of interviews with representatives of the target audience (to clarify its features) and content analysis of social networks. Within the framework of the academic societal science on the family the prospects for studying a wider range of boundary events separating one stage of the family’s life path from another, and stressors and/ or rituals from the perspective of the theory of family stress, as well as factors of marriage success, are outlined. In addition, the information obtained can be used to more effectively promote the products accompanying those events.

Developing partnerships for academic data science consulting and collaboration units.

Data science consulting and collaboration units (DSUs) are core infrastructure for research at universities. Activities span data management, study design, data analysis, data visualization, predictive modelling, preparing reports, manuscript writing and advising on statistical methods and may include an experiential or teaching component. Partnerships are needed for a thriving DSU as an active part of the larger university network. Guidance for identifying, developing and managing successful partnerships for DSUs can be summarized in six rules: (1) align with institutional strategic plans, (2) cultivate partnerships that fit your mission, (3) ensure sustainability and prepare for growth, (4) define clear expectations in a partnership agreement, (5) communicate and (6) expect the unexpected. While these rules are not exhaustive, they are derived from experiences in a diverse set of DSUs, which vary by administrative home, mission, staffing and funding model. As examples in this paper illustrate, these rules can be adapted to different organizational models for DSUs. Clear expectations in partnership agreements are essential for high quality and consistent collaborations and address core activities, duration, staffing, cost and evaluation. A DSU is an organizational asset that should involve thoughtful investment if the institution is to gain real value.

Long-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic: Moral tensions, distress, and injuries of healthcare workers.

Given the longevity of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to address the perceptions and experiences associated with the progression of the pandemic. This narrative can inform future strategies aimed at mitigating moral distress, injury, and chronic stress that restores resilience and well-being of HCWs. In this context, a longitudinal survey design was undertaken to explore how health care workers are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic over time. A qualitative design was employed to analyze the open ended survey responses using a thematic analysis approach. All physicians and staff at an academic health science centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada were invited to participate in the survey. The majority of survey respondents were nurses and physicians, followed by researchers/scientists, administrative assistants, laboratory technicians, managers, social workers, occupational therapists, administrators, clerks and medical imaging technologists. The inductive analysis revealed three themes that contributed to moral tensions and injury: 1) experiencing stress and distress with staffing shortages, increased patient care needs, and visitor restrictions; 2) feeling devalued and invisible due to lack of support and inequities; and 3) polarizing anti- and pro-public health measures and incivility. Study findings highlight the spectrum, magnitude, and severity of the emotional, psychological, and physical stress leading to moral injury experienced by the healthcare workforce. Our findings also point to continued, renewed, and new efforts in enhancing both individual and collective moral resilience to mitigate current and prevent future moral tensions and injury.