Final-year Students Research Articles

Entrepreneurship education and personality traits as predictors of entrepreneurial intention: A qualitative approach

Purpose: The study explored entrepreneurship education and personality traits as predictors of entrepreneurial intention among final-year undergraduate students of a private institution in Ghana. Research methodology: A qualitative research approach was used in a case study design for this research. A purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from final-year students pursuing an undergraduate program in Information Technology from a private tertiary institution in Ghana. Observation and focus group discussions were used to collect data over a period of ten weeks. Results: Results indicated that though all students were exposed to the same tuition, course content and assessments; the level of entrepreneurial intention varied. Some groups of students wanted to pursue entrepreneurial ventures immediately after school; others wanted to start a business venture while they were still in school pursuing their first degree. Another set preferred to work as employees for a few years before pursuing entrepreneurship. The final group preferred to be employed throughout their working life with the aim of rising through the ranks as employees; with all the various groups showing a variety of personality traits. Limitations: The study was limited to final-year undergraduate students of a private institution in Ghana. Contribution: Educators, who specialize in training students in entrepreneurship need to focus more on orienting students to effectively manage their individual personality traits in ways that will ensure successful entrepreneurship careers. Novelty: This study qualitatively shows the varied levels at which entrepreneurship education affects students’ entrepreneurial intentions based on their personality traits.

Exploring the impact of a ‘Clients-as-Tutors Program on speech-language pathology students’ and graduates understanding of client-centred practice

Purpose This study explored the impact of an Australian regional university’s Clients-as-Tutors Program (CTP) on speech-language pathology students’ perception and understanding of client-centred practice. Method Two focus group interviews comprising three final-year students and four newly graduated speech-language pathologists who had completed the CTP. An inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to identify salient themes. Result Three themes were identified: (a) learning from theory, (b) learning from others, and (c) learning from yourself. These themes represented all participants’ experiences in the CTP, yet there were unique, individual journeys that each participant experienced. Conclusion Findings from this study have the capacity to affect change in how client-centred practice is taught at universities across speech-language pathology and other health courses, to disrupt the traditional power structure between client and clinician, and to provide an evidence base for the role of experiential learning in this area.

Analysis of Fieldwork Practice and Organizational Experience on Work Readiness

This research aimed to determine the effect of fieldwork practice and organizational experience on work readiness of final-year students from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" East Java. The research was conducted using a quantitative descriptive approach. The population of the study consisted of final-year students (class of 2019) from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" East Java. The sampling technique used in this study was Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling, and the sample size was 90 students. The data analysis technique in this research was Partial Least Square (PLS). This research result show that both fieldwork practice and organizational experience are able to support the work readiness of final-year students from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Pembangunan Nasional "Veteran" East Java.

How Innovation Affects Users’ Emotional Responses: Implications for Product Success and Business Sustainability

The market is experiencing an expanding range of products, prompting manufacturing companies to differentiate themselves from competitors by moving away from conventional concepts. However, these innovations often fail to meet consumer expectations, leading to product failure, and consequently, an unsustainable evolution of the market and the business. This unsustainability requires designers to adapt innovations to align with consumer needs and desires. Understanding and validating these adaptations can be achieved by examining users’ emotional responses to innovative products. The objective of this study is to assess the influence of innovation in the development of new successful products, sales performance, and, therefore, business sustainability. This evaluation is based on the perceptions of potential consumers through the analysis of users’ emotional responses to various new product concepts at different design stages. A case study presents the evaluation of 48 new interactive lamp concepts categorized into relaxation, study, and leisure topics. The target audience for these concepts is consumers aged 18 to 24. The designs were developed by 12 teams of final-year industrial design students using insights from a prior psychographic study involving over 800 potential consumers. The findings highlight differences in users’ perceptions of innovative and traditional products across topics. These differences relate to users’ interest, intuitiveness, and desirability toward a product. Generally, traditional product concepts are perceived as more intuitive, but users show greater interest and desire for innovative concepts, with some variations among the analyzed topics. The business environment is encouraged to share these data with new product-development teams to achieve sustainable market and business growth.

The role of perceived feasibility and perceived desirability on entrepreneurial behaviour through goal and implementation intentions of students in Southeast Vietnam

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between perceived intention (perceived feasibility and perceived desirability), goal and implementation intentions and entrepreneurial behavior of final-year students in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province, Dong Nai Province and Ba Ria Vung Tau Province. Vietnamese schools and the government both provide support to students who desire to set up a business.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The relationship between perceived intention (perceived feasibility and perceived desirability), goal, implementation intentions and entrepreneurial behavior was determined by the 368 students who have been starting the business using the AMOS-SEM estimation method. 
 Findings: The result shows that perceived feasibility and perceived desirability have positively influenced goal and implementation intentions and goal and implementation intentions have positively impacted entrepreneurial behaviour.
 Conclusion: In this study, entrepreneurial behaviour is directly explained by two factors, namely goal and implementation intention. It is also indirectly defined by perceived feasibility and desirability.
 Practical Implications: The study’s findings have implications for both university and student policies. Entrepreneurial ideas and implementation intentions have an impact on behavior.
 Limitations: Convenient sampling in this study could potentially impact the accuracy of the outcomes in terms of representation.
 Contribution to Literature: This study extends the Event Entrepreneur model (EEM) by adding the implementation intention factor into the model.

A Simulated Placement: Using a Mixed-Reality Learning Environment for Social Work Field Education

ABSTRACT COVID-19 presented fresh challenges for social work field education, requiring agile and innovative solutions. To address the scarcity of direct client-facing placements during the extended and unpredictable public health restrictions, Australian Catholic University (ACU) created the Simulated Placement Experience (SPE) for final-year students. The program immersed students into nine practice scenarios over a two-week (70-hour) intensive placement. Real-time feedback and reflective coaching sessions with a social work supervisor offered students enhanced learning and development opportunities applicable to multiple service settings and client presentations. The program was well received by participating final-year students, who highlighted that the experience enhanced their ability to perform and critically reflect on their direct practice skills. This article outlines the model and the initial evaluation of the pilot program using a Student Satisfaction of Simulation Survey tool. The findings of this evaluation reveal the potential for simulation to provide novel, valuable learning experiences to social work students for practice placements. IMPLICATIONS COVID-19 restrictions presented an opportunity for social work field education programs to rethink the structure and nature of placement learning. Simulation-based learning provides social work students with enhanced learning and increased confidence as part of direct practice placements. There is scope to include supported simulation-based learning to enhance future social work field education programs; however, discipline-specific simulation standards and conceptual frameworks are needed.

Impact of digital divide on students’ performance in computerised UTME in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a large-scale university admission examination, was fully computerised in 2015. However, knowledge gap and digital divide are prevalent in developing countries, which may impact students’ performance in computer-based tests (CBT). To this end, this study investigates ICT-related individual differences (computer familiarity/experience, CBT anxiety and CBT attitude) among secondary school students taking UTME and its effects on their performance on the test in Osun state, Nigeria, considering their locations (rural/urban) and school types (public/private). The study adopted a quantitative survey for data collection from final-year secondary school students who registered and took 2021 UTME. The study's findings revealed significant variations in the access and use of computers among students taking UTME. It was found that all students from private schools had prior computer experience, whereas 11% of students from public schools had not used a computer before. Within the group of students without prior computer experience, 63% were from rural public schools. Furthermore, computer familiarity positively correlates with students’ performance in UTME. For instance, students who have taken CBT at least six times before UTME have significantly better performance than those who have not taken CBT at all. However, CBT attitude and anxiety before and after the examination were moderate and had no significant relationship with test performance. We conclude that affordable and easily accessible ICT facilities and CBT practice centres should be provided to students, especially those in disadvantaged areas, to ensure the fairness of UTME to all candidates.

Attracting talented and committed students to the teaching profession. Student perspectives on teaching as a career

Attracting talented students to the teaching profession is crucial if schools are to be at the forefront of preparing future generations for effective participation in a complex society. This research identified the perspectives of Year 12 (final-year) students on teaching as a career, and the factors influencing these perspectives. The data set involved 470 students from five Catholic secondary schools in Western Australia. Results indicated that Year 12 student perspectives were multifaceted and influenced through student experiences, beliefs, personality, and expectations. A conceptual design was proposed to explain the domains of influence on student perspectives of teaching as a career.

Parental Social Support as a Predictor of Student Career Adaptability

This study aims to describe the form of social support that students receive from their parents as a form of social support in choosing students' future careers. Facing the transition to the world of work, students face various problems entering the world of work. Social support, especially from parents, will assist students in overcoming difficulties of confusion in choosing a career, lack of information obtained, and strengthening skills in entering the world of work. This type of research is descriptive quantitative with percentage data analysis techniques. The population is Guidance and Counseling final-year students, totaling 95 people with a total sampling technique. The results of the study illustrate that 65 respondents received social support in the high category, 12 respondents were included in the very high category, 13 respondents were included in the sufficient category and 5 respondents received low social support from their parents. Of the five aspects of social support, emotional support is the highest with an average score of 20.21, appreciation support 20.47, instrument support 19.96, information support 18.98, and social network support 15.26. There needs to be an increase in social support in the aspect of social networking from parents because it will provide broad opportunities for students to enter the world of work later.

Medication error reporting – An insight among final-year MBBS students and interns

Background: Medication errors can be defined as avoidable errors that can occur while prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, or administering a drug to a patient. Medication errors lead to mortality and morbidity of varying severities in patients. They also impose a heavy financial burden on the health-care sector. This study was conducted to compare three aspects of medication errors – Awareness, Outlook, and reporting, between two demographic groups, namely, interns and final-year MBBS students. Aims and Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the level of awareness about medication errors, the outlook toward medication errors and the medication errors reporting among MBBS students and Interns. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was handed out to 500 people and it had questions related to awareness, outlook, and reporting of medication errors. Out of these 500 people, the number of respondents was 425 and they were grouped into various sub-categories based on their responses. Results: 30.6% of the respondents had sufficient awareness, 44.9% of the respondents had a good outlook, and 27.5% were reporting medication errors. The results also depicted that the Interns have better awareness and better practice of reporting when compared to final-year MBBS students. On the other hand, final-year MBBS students had a better outlook toward medication errors than Interns. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that more education and training in medication error reporting is essential right from the undergraduate level. There should also be well-established reporting systems in hospitals.

Design and Development of an Objective Evaluation System for a Web-Based Simulator for Trauma Management.

Trauma injuries are one of the main leading causes of death in the world. Training with guidelines and protocols is adequate to provide a fast and efficient treatment to patients that suffer a trauma injury. This study aimed to evaluate deviations from a set protocol, a new set of metrics has been proposed and tested in a pilot study. The participants were final-year students from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and first-year medical residents from the Hospital Universitario La Paz. They were asked to train four trauma scenarios with a web-based simulator for 2 weeks. A test was performed pre-training and another one post-training to evaluate the evolution of the treatment to those four trauma scenarios considering a predefined trauma protocol and based on the new set of metrics. The scenarios were pelvic and lower limb traumas in a hospital and in a prehospital setting, which allow them to learn and assess different trauma protocols. The results show that, in general, there is an improvement of the new metrics after training with the simulator. These new metrics provide comprehensive information for both trainers and trainees. For trainers, the evaluation of the simulation is automated and contains all relevant information to assess the performance of the trainee. And for trainees, it provides valuable real-time information that could support the trauma management learning process.

Academic Procrastination in Completing Students’ Thesis

A thesis is a final project that must be completed by final-year students to complete their education in college. There are many problems experienced by students when completing their thesis, including the behavior of academic procrastination. Academic procrastination is a delaying behavior to complete academic tasks. This study aims to describe the academic procrastination of students. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. The participants in this study were final-year students who had passed 1 year of thesis completion, namely 4 people. The results showed that 4 participants in this study carried out academic procrastination in completing their thesis. This can be seen from the results of interviews and observations made by researchers. Various factors that influence students’ procrastination behavior include not being able to delay pleasure, lack of motivation from parents, distrust of self-ability, and participating in peer relationships.

Perceived Social Support, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Anxiety among Final Year Undergraduate Students: A Mediation Analysis

Students, especially in the final year, often encounter various sources of stress and increasingly high academic demands, which have the potential to cause academic anxiety. This study aimed to determine the effect of perceived social support on academic anxiety through self-efficacy as a mediator. Employing a cross-sectional quantitative research design, this study involved a sample of 80 final-year undergraduate students, comprising 49 females and 31 males. Data were collected via an online questionnaire encompassing three scales: General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES), and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The mediation analysis results revealed that academic self-efficacy acts as a full mediator in the relationship between perceptions of social support and student anxiety. These findings highlight the potential effectiveness of interventions to bolster students' self-efficacy to mitigate the adverse effects of academic-related stressors, ultimately enhancing their overall well-being and academic performance.

Tingkat Hardiness pada Mahasiswa dalam Menghadapi Pembelajaran Online Masa Pandemi

This study aims to determine the hardiness of 2018 Unpad Faculty of Nursing final-year students dealing with online learning during a pandemic. The research method used in this research is a quantitative descriptive method. The results showed that 108 students (70.6%) of FKep Unpad A'2018 had moderate hardiness. In conclusion, the resilience and hardiness of FKep Unpad A'2018 students are in the medium category.
 
 Keywords: Hardiness, Student, COVID-19 Pandemic, Online Learning

Evaluating Final-Year Student Classroom Communication at the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Classroom communication is a very important and complex aspect in teaching and learning. The complexity of a communication process is attributed to a host of components that include the participants, messages, encoding, decoding, and transmission channels. Not much is currently known concerning classroom communication in the context of engineering education in Malaysian universities. This paper evaluates classroom communication of final-year students of the Electrical and Electronic engineering degree programs at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Four important aspects of classroom communication were investigated to understand student abilities and issues in classroom communication. One hundred and four students undertook the self-administered survey, yielding a response rate of 92.8%. The majority of the students exhibited good non-verbal communication practices, and scored favourably in the aspect of adapting the way they communicate to others. However, 42.3% of the respondents seemed to have difficulties to explain and express ideas confidently via classroom presentations. Additionally, 43 students (41.3%) appeared to be handicapped in participating actively in class discussions. Finally, at least 40 respondents (38.5%) reported difficulties to express ideas in English, but not to the extent of hindering them in participating in classroom discussions. Further studies are needed to uncover classroom communication issues in student learning among engineering students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Risk Taking Behaviour as Determinant of Entrepreneurial Aspiration of Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Aim: The continuous increase in the rate of unemployment among graduates of tertiary institutions in Ekiti State has been a source of worry for the government and the public. Despite the series of courses taken on entrepreneurship during the period of their studies in the institutions, it was observed that many graduates could not establish their enterprises after graduation due to certain reasons. It was against this background that this study investigated the relationship between risk-taking behaviour and entrepreneurial aspiration of undergraduates as well as the difference in the risk-taking behaviour of male and female undergraduates towards entrepreneurship. 
 Methodology: Descriptive research design of the survey type was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 7342 final-year students in all tertiary institutions in Ekiti State. Simple, stratified and proportional random sampling techniques were used to select 400 students from faculties/schools across the three types of institutions in the state. A self-constructed instrument tagged Risk Taking Behaviour and Entrepreneurial Aspiration Questionnaire (RTBEAQ) was used to collect the data for the study. The instrument was constructed on 4-point Likert scale statements. Three experts ascertained the accuracy of the items on the instrument. The reliability of the instrument was established through Cronbach's alpha after it had been administered to 40 students outside the sample for the study, which yielded a coefficient value of 0.86. The reliability coefficient obtained for the instrument was considered high enough for the study. Data collected were analysed using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation and z-test. All hypotheses formulated were tested at a 0.05 level of significance.
 Results: Findings of the study revealed that there was a significant relationship between risk-taking behaviour (mean of 12.83) and entrepreneurial aspiration of undergraduates (mean of 80.92) with a p-value of 0.00, < 0.05. Also, the finding of the study showed that there was a significant difference between risk taking behaviour of male (mean of 241.2) and female (mean of 256.1) undergraduates with p-value of 0.01< 0.0.05). 
 Recommendation: It was recommended among other that adequate education should be given to undergraduates in tertiary institutions on risk-taking and entrepreneurial aspirations in a bid to prepare them for entrepreneurial activities in future. The quality of entrepreneurship education given across all tertiary institutions should be the same since all entrepreneurs are going to face the same challenges when engaging in entrepreneurial activities.

Reality Faced by Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic Situation

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic was causing an unfavorable effect on the education and mental health of students. Much information about this virus is available, but its effect on mental health has been overlooked during this pandemic. Also, disruption in the academic year had led to more of virtual learning. The pros and cons of virtual learning need to be assessed, there is a need to evaluate whether there has been a shift in approach toward dental practice.So in our survey, we evaluated the mental health, efficiency of virtual learning, and attitude toward future dental practices among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the mental health, efficiency of virtual learning, and attitude toward future dental practices among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods In this study, we included 87 final-year dental undergraduate students from A B Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences (ABSMIDS). The study was conducted through online questionnaire using google link. Results In our survey, we found that many of the student's mental health was affected as they experienced certain level of depression, isolation, and mood swings, which affected their sleeping pattern. So we can consider counseling sessions for the students. We also found that virtual learning is a convenient alternative, but it also has some drawbacks as it caused physical discomforts like eye strain, back pain, etc. The students' responses were overwhelmingly positive with regard to future dental practices, but they felt there is a need to treat patients with protective equipment and guidance. Conclusions Our study showed that this pandemic had hampered the mental health status of students in some ways. Also, it showed that virtual learning is helpful and is a convenient alternative, but it has some drawbacks as it causes physical discomforts. The students' responses were overwhelmingly positive with regard to future dental practices, but they need to treat patients with protective equipment.The Covid pandemic waves had made it difficult to control the situation, which resulted in extended periods of lockdown. Hence, these factors should be considered for the benefit of students in order to manage any future outbreaks in a better way.

Nursing Student Psychological Experience in Working on Thesis

Psychologic respon is how someone respons to stressors. To cope with the stressors, someone will react to achieve a self-equilibrium to survive. One of stressors that a college student faced is to finished their thesis, as their final task. Many psychological responses happened along with the thesis process. This research aimed to explore the psychological experiences of students while working on their thesis. This research was a qualitative method with a phenomenology approach. The researcher conducted a depth-intervieuw to 5 participants, who were a final-year student of Nursing Sciences Study Program in a College at Cimahi City. This research used a Collaizi Method to analyzed data to find the themes. Five themes generated in this research, that is 1) Student’s anxiety while working on the thesis, 2) Impact of the thesis process on student’s physical health, 3) The impact of thesis process on student behavior, 4) Student’s coping mechanisms during the thesis process, and 5) Student expectation regarding the thesis process. It is recommended for students to improve their coping skills while working on their thesis to prevent serious mental health problems and it is expected that thesis supervisors and study program to make an efforts to prevent mental health problems in students whose are completing their thesis.

Faktor-Faktor Penghambat Penyelesaian Tugas Akhir Skripsi (Studi Kasus Pada Mahasiswa Akuntansi Angkatan 2018 UPN “Veteran” Jawa Timur)

The thesis final project is a scientific work that must be made by final-year students to obtain an academic degree. But in reality, there are still many students who need help in doing the final thesis. This study aims to see and test how psychological well-being, academic ability, thesis administration system, and lecturer guidance influence the completion of the final thesis assignment for accounting students class of 2018 UPN "Veteran" Jawa Timur. The population in this study numbered 222 accounting students class of the 2018 UPN "Veteran" Jawa Timur who was working on or had completed their final thesis assignment. The sampling technique used is technique purposive sampling. This research uses quantitative methods. The analytical method used isPartial Least Square (PLS) with the help of software WrapPLS 7.0. The results showed that psychological well-being and lecturer guidance had no effect on completing the thesis's final assignment. In contrast, academic ability and thesis administration system affect the completion of the thesis final assignment.

Feasibility of Work-Based Learning Model for Undergraduate Engineering and Technology Programmes in Tanzania

This study proposes a new approach to teaching-learning in engineering and technology programmes at the undergraduate level in Tanzania, and evaluates its feasibility. The rationale was to improve flexibility in learning by providing learners with alternative programmes to choose from. A conceptual model was introduced showing how the work-based approach can be implemented in training diploma holders to acquire bachelor’s degrees. A survey type of study with a mix of open- and closed-ended questions issued to a sample of 150 finalist students was conducted. The sampled population was all finalyear diploma students pursuing engineering and technology programmes at Mbeya University of Science and Technology in Tanzania. A stratified random sampling approach was followed to obtain the sample. More than 93% of the respondents supported the establishment of work-based programmes. This study, therefore, recommends, amongst other things, that Tanzanian learning institutions should set a pilot programme to test the effectiveness and practicability of this model.