Training Decisions Research Articles

The Impact of STEM Integration on Student Achievement Using HLM: A Case Study

The study’s purpose was to determine the effectiveness of a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program in an urban, Ohio middle school. The definition of integrated STEM education along with curriculum, standards, and implementation models are described. Participants in this longitudinal, quantitative study were all students enrolled in grades 7-8 beginning in 2012-2013 and continuing for seven years. Per grade level for any given year, there were 25-28 participants receiving the treatment by voluntary enrollment in an integrated STEM education program (containing STEM curriculum and applying pedagogies of project-based learning) and 350-425 control participants receiving general education (defined as traditional and lacking both project-based learning and STEM curriculum). We sought to determine if participation in an integrated STEM education program had an impact on student achievement (measured by Ohio State Test scores) and, if any, interaction effects due to gender, socioeconomic status, student race, and attendance rate were present. The use of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) determined integrated STEM education had a significant, positive effect on achievement combining math and science (participants scoring 31.8 points higher on average) and in science only (participants scoring 38.2 points higher on average) compared to control participants, respectively. No interaction effects were found. These findings pose strong implications for educational leaders in making teacher training and curriculum decisions with the aim of increasing student achievement.

Developing a Human Performance Model Based Systems Engineering System Architecture (MBSE‐SA) for Defense Applications

AbstractThe military has limited means to objectively evaluate soldier and squad performance, leading to sub‐optimal operational, training, and acquisition decisions. Part of this limitation stems from the fact that the ability to monitor, predict, and enhance soldier and squad performance is a complex System of Systems (SoS) undertaking. To address this integration challenge, we developed a comprehensive conceptual framework that maps mission‐level success to measures of task effectiveness and human performance that quantify the impact of emerging technologies and interventions. In addition, by leveraging lessons learned from a previous effort that developed a Wearables MBSE system architecture (MBSE‐SA) and methodology for military health monitoring systems, we developed a Human Performance MBSE‐SA to capture and apply the conceptual framework, which provides the foundation for several system‐level and program‐level analyses, including gap identification. This paper presents the Human Performance MBSE‐SA and an illustration of its utility in showing the connections among ongoing military research efforts, strategic source requirements, and operational use cases.

Assessment of the Current Rhinology Workforce in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Workforce planning is a relatively new approach to identify the supply and demand of labor. The goal of workforce planning is to identify talent surpluses and shortages, project future needs, and facilitate matching training decisions. Methods: An online survey was sent to otolaryngologists with a high volume of rhinology practice. Results: Twenty-nine surgeons participated in the survey. All respondents had completed a rhinology fellowship and 20% practiced exclusively rhinology. The majority of surgeons reported <5 days of access to the operative room. More than 50% of surgeons reported having access to image-guided surgery. According to 65% of respondents, the number of surgeons practicing rhinology in Saudi Arabia is adequate. Overall, 62% of respondents were satisfied with their careers. Conclusion: The outcomes from this survey provided the necessary information required for rhinology physicians workforce modeling and allow us to begin strategically planning for Saudi Arabia's future rhinology needs and local fellowship requirements.

Labor market implications of education mismatch

This project studies the impact of education mismatch on labor outcomes. Across our sample of OECD countries, there is evidence of mismatch in educational attainment, defined by a lack of assortative matching on ability in terms of educational attainment. Labor market outcomes are not independent of education mismatch. Our framework for analysis is a dynamic choice model, focusing on education and training decisions. From the estimation of model parameters, the main factor explaining education mismatch is dispersion across individuals in the perceived value of education. The estimated model is used to determine both the magnitude of the output loss from education misallocation and the transfer needed to compensate those whose educational attainment is independent of their tastes. From simulations of lifecycle dynamics and counterfactual experiments, among four key countries, education undermatch in Japan is sustained through labor market mechanisms while in Germany, Italy and the US, education undermatch is largely resolved in that these individuals are eventually employed in skilled jobs. Training plays a key role in these dynamics.

The Emergence of the Emergency in Higher Education in Argentina

The context of COVID-19 has deeply penetrated various aspects of university life such as academic and administrative management; teaching practices and learning have been challenged, shaken and, in some way, transformed. This arti-cle will describe an ongoing study of trends in relation to the inclusion of tech-nologies; the representations about online teaching itself, before and during the COVID-19 emergency, and also a projection into the post-COVID and the impli-cations for student’s achievements before and during the emergency. A compari-son will be made between the data obtained from these two Argentinean universi-ties and the information published by the IAU Global Survey Report [1] in order to develop a broader map about the challenges ahead for Higher Education (HE). Besides, the article will include some inquiries about whether post-pandemic ped-agogical practices will change according to teachers' own views. Based on the re-sults of the survey, we have delved into a qualitative study that focuses on chang-es in teaching and assessment practices in HE that allow us to extract from the voices of practicing professors with many years of experience, possible scenarios that account for transformations in teaching practices and ways of learning for the next few years. The empirical statistical survey carried out on more than 400 pro-fessors and the in-depth qualitative study offer results that are enlightening to re-view, in addition, management, training and relationship decisions with the stu-dent body for the coming years

Use of wearable physiological sensors to predict cognitive workload in a visuospatial learning task.

Increased cognitive workload, sometimes known as mental strain or mental effort, has been associated with reduced performance. The use of physiological monitoring was investigated to predict cognitive workload and performance. Twenty-one participants completed a 10-minute seated rest, a visuospatial learning task modeled after crane operation, and the Stroop test, an assessment that measures cognitive interference. Heart rate, heart rate variability, electrodermal activity, skin temperature, and electromyographic activity were collected. It was found that participants' ability to learn the simulated crane operation task was inversely correlated with self-reported frustration. Significant changes were also found in physiological metrics in the simulation with respect to rest, including an increase in heart rate, electrodermal activity, and trapezius muscle activity; heart rate and muscle activity were also correlated with simulation performance. The relationship between physiological measures and self-reported workload was modeled and it was found that muscle activity and high frequency power, a measure of heart rate variability, were significantly associated with the workload reported. The findings support the use of physiological monitoring to inform real time decision making (e.g., identifying individuals at risk of injury) or training decisions (e.g., by identifying individuals that may benefit from additional training even when no errors are observed).

Workforce Information Needs for Vocational Guidance System Design

This paper proposes a framework for career information management and guidance systems (CIMGS) to support career decision-making by providing relevant career information and recommending suitable training courses based on individuals' characteristics. A survey was conducted to collect user requirements and opinions regarding the difficulties in identifying employees' relevant career information. The findings demonstrated that users' subject knowledge at work and age affects their information-seeking behaviors, thus, the system requirements. Further, we identify three underlying factors affecting individuals' career decisions, i.e., opinions from other individuals; abilities, affections, and career plans; and personalities and family influences. The four factors that influence training decisions are information perceived, physical constraints, affections, and resources.

Misallocation and Inequality

For a large set of countries with different GDP per capita levels, we document how the distribution of labour earnings varies by development. Data reveals that the distribution of earnings changes with development in a particular way: while there is a larger mass at the left-tail, the right-tails shrinks, and moves towards the center. As a result, while the standard deviation of log earnings increases with development, the mean-to-median ratio declines. We interpret this fact within a model economy with heterogeneous workers and firms, which features industry dynamics, labor market frictions captured by a matching function, skill accumulation of workers with learning-by-doing and on-the-job training, and earnings inequality both across firms and workers. The benchmark economy is calibrated to the UK. We study how the earnings distribution changes as we increase two distortions in the benchmark economy: wedges on firms' output correlated with firm productivity and reductions in the labor market's ability to match unemployed workers and open vacancies. These distortions lead to the misallocation of resources and reduce employment and the GDP per capita. But they also affect how much firms are willing to pay to workers, how well higher skilled workers are matched with firms with higher productivity, and how much training workers receive. The model is consistent with a host of factors on how firm size distribution, firms' training decisions, and workers' life-cycle earnings profiles change with development and generates the observed patterns of changes in earnings distribution with development.

Training Management of the Elite Adolescent Soccer Player throughout Maturation.

Professional soccer clubs invest significantly into the development of their academy prospects with the hopes of producing elite players. Talented youngsters in elite development systems are exposed to high amounts of sports-specific practise with the aims of developing the foundational skills underpinning the capabilities needed to excel in the game. Yet large disparities in maturation status, growth-related issues, and highly-specialised sport practise predisposes these elite youth soccer players to an increased injury risk. However, practitioners may scaffold a performance monitoring and injury surveillance framework over an academy to facilitate data-informed training decisions that may not only mitigate this inherent injury risk, but also enhance athletic performance. Constant communication between members of the multi-disciplinary team enables context to build around an individual’s training status and risk profile, and ensures that a progressive, varied, and bespoke training programme is provided at all stages of development to maximise athletic potential.

Comparison of Heart Rate Monitoring Accuracy between Chest Strap and Vest during Physical Training and Implications on Training Decisions

Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) based physiological metrics such as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), Energy Expenditure (EE), and Training Impulse (TRIMP) are widely utilized in coaching to monitor and optimize an athlete’s training load. Chest straps, and recently also dry electrodes integrated to special sports vests, are used to monitor HR during sports. Mechanical design, placement of electrodes, and ergonomics of the sensor affect the measured signal quality and artefacts. To evaluate the impact of the sensor mechanical design on the accuracy of the HR/HRV and further on to estimation of EPOC, EE, and TRIMP, we recorded HR and HRV from a chest strap and a vest with the same ECG sensor during supervised exercise protocol. A 3-lead clinical Holter ECG was used as a reference. Twenty-five healthy subjects (six females) participated. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for HR was 0.76% with chest strap and 3.32% with vest. MAPE was 1.70% vs. 6.73% for EE, 0.38% vs. 8.99% for TRIMP and 3.90% vs. 54.15% for EPOC with chest strap and vest, respectively. Results suggest superior accuracy of chest strap over vest for HR and physiological metrics monitoring during sports.

User-entrepreneurship and innovation: does customer involvement and learning orientation matter?

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the process of innovation in firms founded by user-entrepreneurs. It also empirically investigates the role of customer involvement and user-entrepreneurs’ learning goal orientation in the innovation process.Design/methodology/approachA survey design is used to collect data from entrepreneurs managing small businesses. A total of 255 entrepreneurs responded to the survey questionnaire. The partial least square structural equation model was used to test the measurement and structural model.FindingsResults suggest a positive association of user-entrepreneurship with innovation and customer involvement. Results also confirmed that customer involvement mediates the relationship between user-entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition, results suggest that the higher learning orientation (LO) of user-entrepreneurs plays a vital role in innovation by strengthening the relationship between user-entrepreneurship and customer involvement.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on small entrepreneurial firms with less than equal to or less than 250 employees. The results may not be generalizable to larger user-entrepreneurial firms. Also, this study is based on American entrepreneurs. Therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other countries.Practical implicationsEvidence for the role of customer involvement and LO in the innovation process can be used by entrepreneurs and small business owners in hiring and training decisions. Also, the findings suggest the important role played by customers in the innovation process. Firms can use this insight to involve their customers in the product development process to secure better innovation outcomes.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the innovation and entrepreneurship literature by emphasizing the critical role of customer networks in user-entrepreneurs’ innovation performance. It offers a process model that offers empirical evidence supporting the positive role of customer involvement in new ventures. It highlights the role of the LO of user-entrepreneurs in the customer engagement process.

The effect of team formation on defensive performance in Australian football

ObjectivesUnderstanding the successful characteristics of team formation during different scenarios in Australian Football matches can assist coaches in making important tactical match-day and training decisions. The aims of this study were to explore the outcomes of entries inside 50 m of the goal, in Australian Football and to determine whether there was an association between team formation and team defensive performance after a turnover. DesignObservational. MethodsGlobal Positioning System (GPS) data, technical event data and video files from 22 matches in one season were obtained from an elite Australian Football club. Of 1092 forward 50 entries, 392 possession chains that resulted in a turnover were analysed. Variables representing team formation of players at the occurrence of turnover were compared between positive and negative outcomes of the subsequent possession chain. Logistic regression and decision tree modelling were also used to explore associations and variable importance. ResultsNone of 18 team formation characteristics differed between positive and negative outcomes of turnovers. Multivariate modelling identified that having a team formation with greater width than length made it more likely to result in a positive outcome (Decision tree classification accuracy = 69.5%, AUROC = 0.72). ConclusionsNo single characteristic of team formation affects the outcome of a turnover possession chain, however team formation that was wider than it was long may be associated with a more desirable outcome. The lack of association between most team formation characteristics and defensive outcomes, highlight the risk of over emphasising team formation in tactical planning for some phases of play.

All you need is love: the relationship between agape and work outcomes

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to lay the necessary conceptual and empirical groundwork of agape in organizations. Specifically, the authors reviewed literature on agape; advanced formal definition of agape; explained the relationship of agape with related variables; developed a scale to measure agape and provided evidence of its reliability and construct validity; showed how agape uniquely predicted employee outcomes beyond transformational leadership; and showed how agape compensated for the lack of transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey with 214 working executives who rated their manager on transformational leadership and agape behaviours, and later indicated their own work attitudes. Next, the authors conducted a 20-min between-subjects vignette experiment with 147 business management students who were provided with a description of a supervisor and asked to indicate their work attitudes under the supervisor.FindingsThe authors advanced an operational definition and a scale to measure agape. The findings of this study indicated that agape was a unidimensional construct with high reliability. It had significant positive relationships with followers’ job satisfaction, faith and loyalty, team commitment, satisfaction and risk-taking; explained incremental variance in employee outcomes beyond transformational leadership; and compensated for the lack of transformational leadership.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research has the potential to inform recruitment, selection, training, promotion and performance evaluation decisions in organizations.Originality/valueThe authors responded to calls for developing a clear and consistent conceptualization and operationalization of agape for improving scholarly research and leadership training and development.

Talent management: four “buying versus making” talent development approaches

PurposeThis paper presents a typology exploring employers’ perceptions of the quality of available applicants and employers decisions to buy qualified staff vs. to hire available workers and then make i.e. develop them via employer-supported training.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses 2015 survey data from Southwestern Ontario, Canada, based on responses from 834 employers regarding their hiring, separations, training and other HRM policies.FindingsAmong surveyed employers, 10% are “Reliants” who found the quality of available applicants to be low, yet these employers do not provide employee training. Almost half of employers (at 45%) are “Developers” who find the quality of applicants to be low but they do provide employee training. Approximately, 7% of employers are “Poachers” who find that the quality of applicants is high and do not provide employee training, while 38% are Refiners, who find the quality of applicants is high and they provide employee training.Originality/valueEmployers need to make their training decisions in alignment with their assessment of the quality of job applicants to whom they have access. In this paper, decisions on training and applicant quality are considered concurrently. From an academic viewpoint, the findings raise the issue as to whether other stakeholders (such as educational institutions) are sufficiently helping individuals gain the skills, credentials and work experiences that employers are seeking. If job openings are remaining unfilled because employers are unwilling to hire those available, then applicants lose, employers lose and societies lose.

The Potential Role of Hamstring Extensibility on Sagittal Pelvic Tilt, Sagittal Spinal Curves and Recurrent Low Back Pain in Team Sports Players: A Gender Perspective Analysis.

It is assumed that mechanical restriction of hamstring tightness disrupts sagittal spine–pelvis–leg alignment and alters the lumbar–pelvic rhythm predisposing to low back pain (LBP) in athletes; however, this association is not clear. A prospective cross-sectional cohort study was conducted to determine the influence of hamstring extensibility (HE) on sagittal pelvic tilt, sagittal spinal curves, and LBP in 94 soccer and basketball players (61 man and 33 woman) with (n = 36) and without recurrent LBP (n = 58). Descriptive analysis displayed significant gender differences for HE, sagittal pelvic tilt, and lumbar curve. Differences were found between the low-HE and high-HE groups in lumbosacral angle in for the maximum trunk forward flexion (LH-MTFP). Low-HE was associated with LH-MTFP, lumbar curve and LBP in male players (p ≤ 0.023). In female players, LH-MTFP and lumbar curve were associated with low-HE (p ≤ 0.020). Low-HE predicted LH-MTFP (p = 0.000; OR = 65.6950) and LBP (p = 0.028; OR = 13.915) in male players. The decision tree analysis showed that 50.8% of the players were classified with restricted LH-MTFP, 77.4% with low-HE among male players. The 100% of male players with recurrent LBP had low-HE. The 65% of female players with low-HE had restricted LH-MTFP. Measurement of HE, lumbar curve, and LH-MTFP are important in making training decisions for to reduce the incidence of recurrent LBP in soccer and basketball players.

Task composition and vocational education and training – a firm level perspective

ABSTRACT In Germany, about half of the school-leavers – irrespective of their school-leaving certificate – start an apprenticeship instead of entering the labour market or university. Firms act as gatekeepers who influence which school-leavers start an apprenticeship. Previous studies have provided important information on the reasons firms train. By analysing tasks, I consider an additional characteristic that probably influences firms’ training decisions. The aim of my study is twofold: I examine whether tasks performed in a firm first correlate with the decision to provide apprenticeship training and second with the school-leaving certificate of newly hired apprentices. I use the BIBB Establishment Panel on Training and Competence Development to estimate hybrid models with the task shares of firms as the main independent variables. The results suggest that firms’ task composition affects their decisions concerning vocational education and training (VET). Firms with a high share of routine or manual tasks are more likely to be involved in VET. Moreover, high shares of manual and routine tasks are accompanied by a higher demand for apprentices with lower secondary certificates, and high shares of interactive tasks by a high demand for apprentices with the highest secondary school-leaving certificate (i.e. the Abitur).

A three‐step model for the gamification of training and automaticity acquisition

AbstractTraining design for automatic skills has a vast domain of application, such as education, physical and cognitive rehabilitation, as well as sports, arts and professional training. Gamification concept used in technology‐assisted training has the potential to increase motivation, engagement and adherence to the training programme. Currently, the general gamification models of learning, did not take into account the temporal specificity of the game elements for automaticity acquisition training. In order to address this problem, an extensive overview of the key training attributes that impact automaticity acquisition was carried out. Then, based on this review, the three steps of a proposed model were presented. The first step of this model, named Task Analytics, helps with task‐specific training decisions. The second step provides descriptive and prescriptive approaches for the three phases of automaticity acquisition (fast learning, slow learning and automatization). The descriptive part characterizes each phase using psychological and performance‐related qualities, while the prescriptive part recommends the appropriate training elements for each phase. Based on the prescriptive part, a game‐design model is proposed in the third step, which classifies the game mechanics and maps them onto each phase of automaticity acquisition. Finally, to validate this approach, a mobile game was designed based on the proposed gamification model, and it was compared to control design. The two approaches are tested with 49 participants. The results showed that the experimental group had a significantly better engagement and higher performance. Furthermore, the experimental group showed significantly better performance in a multitasking challenge designed to evaluate the automaticity. The main contribution of this article is the proposed game design model that takes into account the temporal specificity of game elements during the acquisition of automaticity.

Analysis of Fitness Status Variations of Under-16 Soccer Players Over a Season and Their Relationships With Maturational Status and Training Load.

The purposes of this study were (i) to analyze the variations in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), maximal heart rate (HRmax), heart rate at rest, acceleration, maximal speed, agility, anaerobic sprint test (RAST) of peak power (RPP), RAST of minimum power, RAST of average power (RAP), and RAST of fatigue index (RFI) during the competitive season, using maturation status and accumulated training load as covariates, and (ii) to describe the differences between responders and non-responders in relation to baseline levels. Twenty-three elite players from the same team competing in the national under-16 competitions were evaluated for 20 weeks in period 1 (before league), middle (mid league), and period 2 (after league). The VO2max (p = 0.009), maximal speed (p = 0.001), RPP (p < 0.001), RAP (p < 0.001), and RFI (p < 0.001) significantly changed across the assessment periods. Interestingly, using accumulated training load and maturation status as covariates revealed no statistical significance (p > 0.05). When analyzing responders and non-responders, only HRmax (between periods 1 and 2) showed no differences between the groups. As a conclusion, it can be seen that accumulated training load and maturation status play an important role in the differences observed across the season. Thus, coaches should consider the importance of these two factors to carefully interpret fitness changes in their players and possibly adjust training decisions according to the maturation level of the players.

On‐the‐job training: a skill match approach to the determinants of lifelong learning

AbstractA recurrent finding in on‐the‐job training research is the ‘training gap’ in formal training: the positive correlation between initial education and continuing training. This finding is here examined from the perspective of two important distinctions: (i) between employee skill supply and job skill demand and (ii) between formal and informal training. Less‐educated workers may hold jobs with low skill requirements demanding little further formal training because the use of high skills is irrelevant, jobs that moreover provide little informal training. Exploring these issues on representative Swedish survey data using the educational mismatch (overqualified, the rightly qualified and the underqualified) model, we find that job requirements are strongly correlated with the incidence of both formal and informal training. Rather than, as has previously been argued, employee training decisions being the cause of the gap, this suggests that employer decisions regarding how to structure jobs and whom to hire are the primary factors behind the training gap.

Job (In)Security and Workers’ Training Decisions: A Framing Approach

Context: In this study, we attempt to contribute to the scarce evidence about the relationship between perceived labour market insecurity and worker training investments. Drawing on existing research into framing in decision-making, we investigate whether framing the labour market as insecure increases the willingness of workers to invest in training. We also investigate whether this effect is larger when training contract terms are favourable, such as when training is done mostly in an employer’s time, or when no payback clause is included.Approach: Data are gathered through a vignette-study under a sample of senior Dutch students, with experimental manipulation of frames. Respondents are given a questionnaire in which they are asked to imagine themselves working for a fictitious firm (but presented to them as real). The security/insecurity frames are elicited by randomly stressing either the positive or negative side of a series of events related to the labour market position of people working in this firm. Respondents are then asked to respond to five vignettes, each of these a randomly generated combination of training contract terms. For each vignette, respondents are asked to state whether or not they would be willing to go along with the specified training program under the conditions outlined in that vignette. Data are analysed with multilevel logistic regression. Findings: The willingness to train is not invariably greater under an insecurity frame. Instead, we find a crucial interaction: the willingness to train is greater under an insecurity frame when training-contract terms are favourable (e.g when no payback clause is included), but smaller when training-contract terms are unfavourable. Since the positive and negative effects are approximately equal in size, in a balanced design such as ours they cancel each other out, resulting in a close to zero overall effect for the frame variable.Conclusion: Our results suggest that, when workers are aware of the insecurity in their situation, this only makes them more willing to follow training when the risk of losing their investment is low.