Training In Social Sciences Research Articles

Using machine learning to identify key subject categories predicting the pre-clerkship and clerkship performance: 8-year cohort study.

Medical students need to build a solid foundation of knowledge to become physicians. Clerkship is often considered the first transition point, and clerkship performance is essential for their development. We hope to identify subjects that could predict the clerkship performance, thus helping medical students learn more efficiently to achieve high clerkship performance. This cohort study collected background and academic data from medical students who graduated between 2011 and 2019. Prediction models were developed by machine learning techniques to identify the affecting features in predicting the pre-clerkship performance and clerkship performance. Following serial processes of data collection, data preprocessing before machine learning, and techniques and performance of machine learning, different machine learning models were trained and validated using the 10-fold cross-validation method. Thirteen subjects from the pre-med stage and 10 subjects from the basic medical science stage with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) >0.7 for either pre-clerkship performance or clerkship performance were found. In each subject category, medical humanities and sociology in social science, chemistry, and physician scientist-related training in basic science, and pharmacology, immunology-microbiology, and histology in basic medical science have predictive abilities for clerkship performance above the top tertile. Using a machine learning technique based on random forest, the prediction model predicted clerkship performance with 95% accuracy and 88% AUC. Clerkship performance was predicted by selected subjects or combination of different subject categories in the pre-med and basic medical science stages. The demonstrated predictive ability of subjects or categories in the medical program may facilitate students' understanding of how these subjects or categories of the medical program relate to their performance in the clerkship to enhance their preparedness for the clerkship.

Why is inculturation in Catholic theology difficult to operationalize?

This article attempts to explain sociologically why the Catholic Church’s popular theological concept of inculturation is difficult to operationalize or provide empirical indicators in order to make it more observable and measurable for social scientists, missionaries, and inculturation practitioners. Using some secondary data and peer-reviewed literature, it explores how the following major hurdles inhibit the clear conceptualization and operationalization of inculturation projects, namely: the (1) lack of unified definition in the Church for culture, (2) plurality of the meaning of inculturation, (3) ambiguity of the extent of the cultural change in inculturation that results in unsettled levels and units of analysis in measuring it, as well as (4) lack of social science training and expertise of Catholic theologians, clerics, and missiologists, leading to the neglect of empirical studies that operationalize inculturation in the mainstream research. This study recommends intensified social science training for missionaries and clerics in the Catholic Church and active dialogue between inculturationists and social scientists to enhance the empirical dimension of inculturation in research and literature.

Writing Castelessly

Abstract This article combines historical and life-writing approaches to demonstrate how caste is made invisible in histories and structures of education, canonical knowledge, and research. As a dominant-caste (savarna) Bengali academic, the author follows caste-oppressed feminists to offer a methodological intervention that challenges several ways in which castelessness is reproduced in feminist scholarship. The author asks why savarna write castelessly. “Writing castelessly,” wherein caste reflexivity is absented from analysis, solidarity, and teaching, is one manifestation of savarna feminists’ historical-material relation to caste. Narrating regional caste histories of savarna Bengalis, the author shows that her practice of writing castelessly is founded on material structures of power—historically claimed monopolies over culture and education, land, labor, and political representation. Relatedly, another reason savarna write castelessly is that disciplinary training in social sciences in higher education taught the author to think, feel, read, and write castelessly. Finally, the author traces the reproduction of these disciplinary structures in her scholarship. Ultimately, this self-critique grounded in historical and material relations of caste seeks a feminist readership invested in public accountability and denaturalizing Brahminical merit in academia.

Py-Feat: Python Facial Expression Analysis Toolbox

Studying facial expressions is a notoriously difficult endeavor. Recent advances in the field of affective computing have yielded impressive progress in automatically detecting facial expressions from pictures and videos. However, much of this work has yet to be widely disseminated in social science domains such as psychology. Current state-of-the-art models require considerable domain expertise that is not traditionally incorporated into social science training programs. Furthermore, there is a notable absence of user-friendly and open-source software that provides a comprehensive set of tools and functions that support facial expression research. In this paper, we introduce Py-Feat, an open-source Python toolbox that provides support for detecting, preprocessing, analyzing, and visualizing facial expression data. Py-Feat makes it easy for domain experts to disseminate and benchmark computer vision models and also for end users to quickly process, analyze, and visualize face expression data. We hope this platform will facilitate increased use of facial expression data in human behavior research.

Preventing sexual violence in Vietnam: qualitative findings from high school, university, and civil society key informants across regions

BackgroundSexual violence by young men against women is common, but efficacious primary prevention interventions tailored to men are limited in low- and middle-income settings like Vietnam. GlobalConsent, a web-based sexual violence prevention intervention tailored to university men in Hanoi, is efficacious. Implementation research is needed to understand facilitators and barriers to scaling GlobalConsent and prevention programs generally. We conducted qualitative research with key informants from three youth-focused organizational settings to understand the context of implementation in Vietnam.MethodsInterviews with university (n = 15), high-school (n = 15) and non-governmental (n = 15) key informants focused on perceptions about sexual violence among young people and prevention programming. Four focus group discussions with 22 interviewed informants, following the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, asked about facilitators and barriers to implementing GlobalConsent. Narratives were transcribed, translated, and coded inductively and deductively to identify salient themes.ResultsOuter-setting influences included greater expectations for sex among young people alongside norms favoring men’s sexual privilege, ostensibly ambiguous and lax laws on sexual violence, government ministries as bureaucratic but potential allies, external subject-matter experts, and the media. Inner-setting influences included variable cultures regarding openness to discuss sexual violence and equitable gender norms, variable departmental coordination, limited funding and ‘red tape’ especially in public institutions, inconsistent student access to technologies, and limited time and competing priorities among students and teachers. Several actors were considered influential, including institutional leaders, human-resource staff, the Youth Union, and student-facing staff. Important characteristics of individuals for implementation included subject-matter expertise, science or social science training, younger age, engagement in social justice related activities, and more open attitudes about sex. Regarding characteristics of sexual violence prevention programming, some participants preferred online formats for busy students while others suggested hybrid or in-person formats, peer education, and incentives. Participants generally accepted the content of GlobalConsent and suggested adding more content for women, ancillary support services, and adapted content for high-school students.ConclusionsImplementation of sexual violence prevention programs in youth-focused organizations in Vietnam requires multilevel strategies that connect outer-setting subject-matter experts with supportive inner-setting leaders and student-facing staff to overcome normative and organizational constraints, and thereby, to deliver institution-wide programming.

Research on Evaluation Methods of Social Science Training in Information Education System

With the launch of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, the reform and development framework of social science education has been further clarified, and the development prospects of social science education and training enterprises are favored by the capital market due to their large market demand and the trend towards scale. In October 2021, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Modern Vocational Education, promoting the overall rise of the A-share education sector. At present, vocational education is at the key stage of deepening the reform of industry and education and promoting the transformation and upgrading of talent cultivation. Vocational education and training enterprises will focus their development strategies on the capital market to achieve scale-driven development. With the rapid development of China's education industry, listing will help social science education and training companies further enhance their financing capacity and popularity, and effectively improve their industry competitiveness and brand effect. At the same time, few scholars at home and abroad have studied whether the listing methods of enterprises in the vocational education industry are effective and whether there are differences in the effects after listing. Therefore, this paper analyzes the listing methods and effects of social science education and training enterprises in order to help build and improve a good ecosystem of social science education and training industry, and will also provide some reference for the listing of vocational social science training enterprises.

Interdisciplinary Psychosocial Support for Refugees: Recommendations for Policy Makers in Europe

The scientific report presents policy recommendations for the interdisciplinary psychosocial support of refugees that were developed by "InterAct - Interdisciplinary cooperation in psychosocial interventions", a European Erasmus+ project between higher education institutions in Germany, Greece, Spain, and Sweden. The InterAct interdisciplinary team conducted interviews and focus groups with 28 refugees in various stages of resettlement, 30 students from health care and social science training programs and 23 practitioners from the fields of mental health, education, community-based practices, employment, higher education, and asylum services in different European countries. An iterative qualitative approach was applied considering already existing policy recommendations at a global level regarding psychosocial support for refugees. The policy recommendations that emerged are categorized in six key areas: a) human rights, b) participation, inclusive communities and citizenship, c) well-being, d) education, e) access to meaningful occupations, and f) sustainable approaches and solutions. The policy recommendations are illustrated by Current Situations, which describe the current challenges in the psychosocial support for refugees that stemmed from the interviews. In addition, the policy recommendations emphasize the interdisciplinary collaboration in the psychosocial support and address the life trajectory of refugees in a comprehensive sense. The aim is to create inclusive communities with equal opportunities for all to develop, learn, work as well participate in the local communities.

Place-based education and extractive industries: Lessons from post-graduate courses in Canada and Fennoscandia

Place-based education and, more specifically, field-base education, is increasingly considered an effective way to enhance learning experiences . By connecting academic curriculum with different ways of knowing and practicing, these are seen as potentially transformative experiences that can offer participants enriching opportunities to learn about social realities beyond the classroom . However, critics also argue that place-based learning methods can lack a critical perspective and fail to connect local experience with global phenomena, as well as with theoretical concepts.In light of the challenges and benefits associated with place-based education, this paper examines how this learning approach can be applied to the particular context of resource development studies and how it can contribute to postgraduate training in social sciences more generally. This example adds to a growing body of literature on place-based education, through an analysis of and critical reflection on the pedagogical approach used during two doctoral courses focused on mineral extraction in northern Canadian and Fennoscandian communities. Building on reflections by the course designers and the results of a survey administered to participants exploring the learning outcomes of these two postgraduate field courses, this paper examines how place-based education contributed to or hindered the pedagogical objectives pursued in the courses. It further explores the challenges and benefits of place-based education in postgraduate education and in the field of extractive resources development. After briefly reviewing the literature and defining the concept of place-based education, the paper describes the pedagogical approach used during the two PhD courses. In the third section, the results of the student surveys are discussed along with comments from the organizers, before some thoughts for future postgraduate courses are finally provided.

Postdoctoral research training and the attainment of faculty careers in social science and STEM fields in the United States

PurposeWhile postdoctoral research (postdoc) training is a common step toward academic careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, the role of postdoc training in social sciences is less clear. An increasing number of social science PhDs are pursuing postdocs. This paper aims to identify factors associated with participation in postdoc training and examines the relationship between postdoc training and subsequent career outcomes, including attainment of tenure-track faculty positions and early career salaries.Design/methodology/approachUsing data from the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates and Survey of Doctorate Recipients, this study applies propensity score matching, regression and decomposition analyses to identify the role of postdoc training on the employment outcomes of PhDs in the social science and STEM fields.FindingsResults from the regression analyses indicate that participation in postdoc training is associated with greater PhD research experience, higher departmental research ranking and departmental job placement norms. When the postdocs and non-postdocs groups are balanced on observable characteristics, postdoc training is associated with a higher likelihood of attaining tenure-track faculty positions 7 to 9 years after PhD completion. The salaries of social science tenure-track faculty with postdoc experience eventually surpass the salaries of non-postdoc PhDs, primarily via placement at institutions that offer relatively higher salaries. This pattern, however, does not apply to STEM PhDs.Originality/valueThis study leverages comprehensive, nationally representative data to investigate the role of postdoc training in the career outcomes of social sciences PhDs, in comparison to STEM PhDs. Research findings suggest that for social sciences PhDs interested in academic careers, postdoc training can contribute to the attainment of tenure-track faculty positions and toward earning relatively higher salaries over time. Research findings provide prospective and current PhDs with information helpful in career planning and decision-making. Academic institutions, administrators, faculty and stakeholders can apply these research findings toward developing programs and interventions to provide doctoral students with career guidance and greater career transparency.

Sharing knowledge to improve ecological restoration outcomes

Ecological restoration efforts are likely to be more successful when project components are informed by relevant stakeholders. However, key stakeholders are often not included in restoration design and deployment. This is largely driven by a lack of practitioner knowledge of and experience with stakeholder relations. However, inclusion of stakeholders across the entire restoration process can be accomplished by practitioners with no formal social science training. Here, we describe several easy (and usually inexpensive) ways to formally cultivate relationships among restoration practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders to improve restoration outcomes. These include: how to identify and work with stakeholders; how to recognize the unique needs and contributions of stakeholder groups, and how to provide information back to stakeholders through outreach. Although how this practice occurs is dependent on restoration context, integrating these approaches more regularly into ecological restoration projects will likely result in more successful, relevant, and community‐supported management outcomes.

Small Scale Fisheries, Dolphins and Societal Challenges: A Case Study in the City of Volos, Greece

Existing literature on dolphin-fisheries interaction focused on Greece reveals both an undeveloped area for research, but also a lack of relevant data in this field. Although imperative, relevant research has been slow on innovation and cooperation among universities, official bureaus, and NGOs that are obliged to work together as European and national laws dictate. Most of the research in this new field focuses on the interaction between marine mammals and local fisheries, suggesting that this relationship may be problematic for both parties since the former are being treated (at least occasionally) with brutality, while the latter try to deal with economic loss. Dolphins and fishermen operate within the same ecological niches for their survival, the main area of conflict being nutritious fish. Anthropological research on ethnic identity has long dealt with antagonistic relationships over resources between adjacent groups of people. Marine biologists’ research in Greece focuses on the human factor, and some of its shortcomings may well be seen as the result of limited, or an absence of, training in social sciences. This article attempts to draw from anthropological theory to shed light on a particular symbiosis between humans and dolphins. Multidisciplinary approaches gain ground in a wide range of research interests and seem to be fruitful in terms of theoretical and practical results.

Primary and secondary school teachers\u2019 perceptions of their social science training needs

Competency-based education is one of the challenges currently faced by social science teachers. At present, there is an abundance of research on competencies relating to the social sciences which favour the development of historical thinking among learners. The ongoing training of teachers is of vital importance when it comes to shifting the method of teaching towards approaches which focus more on the learner, which favour the teaching of historical contents and competences aimed at forming a critical citizenship. For this reason, the two objectives of this study are to discover which disciplinary contents are considered by teachers to be most relevant for the teaching of history and what training is required by teachers who give social science classes in primary and secondary education in Spain. The research is a non-experimental mixed-methods study. In order to achieve the first objective, a quantitative analysis has been carried out of the data obtained from a questionnaire with a Likert-type scale administered to 332 primary and secondary teachers in Spain. To achieve the second objective, the information obtained from 12 interviews with primary and secondary school teachers in Spain has been analysed in a qualitative way. The results obtained indicate that teachers update their disciplinary knowledge via scientific journals and that they are interested in receiving training in historical thinking skills, active learning methods and ICT resources. Based on these training needs, it is concluded that teachers currently envisage a teaching model in the social sciences which is more competency-based and focused on the active participation of the learner.

Not teaching what we practice: undergraduate conservation training at UK universities lacks interdisciplinarity

SummaryThe practice and science of conservation have become increasingly interdisciplinary, and it is widely acknowledged that conservation training in higher education institutions should embrace interdisciplinarity in order to prepare students to address real-world conservation problems. However, there is little information on the extent to which conservation education at the undergraduate level meets this objective. I carried out a systematic search of undergraduate conservation degree programmes in the UK and conducted a simple text analysis of module descriptions to quantify the extent to which they provide social science training. I found 47 programmes, of which 29 provided module descriptions. Modules containing social science content ranged from 3.8% to 52.2% of modules across programmes, but only 55.2% of programmes offered a social-focused conservation module, and only one programme offered a module in social science research methods. On average, almost half of the modules offered (46.2%) comprised biology and ecology modules with no conservation focus, and 17.9% comprised skills-based modules (research and vocational skills). Conservation-focused modules comprised a mean of only 22.5% of modules. These results show that undergraduate conservation teaching in the UK is still largely biocentric and is failing to deliver the interdisciplinary education that is widely called for.

Experiences of social scientists in health research settings: SBM Leadership Institute.

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Leadership Institute provides leadership training for mid-career behavioral medicine scientists. As an institute fellow, I explored the experiences of social scientists working in healthcare settings. Exploratory research to describe the experiences, barriers, and facilitators social scientists face working in a healthcare delivery and research system. Our research questions were exploratory, focused on understanding (a) the experiences of social scientists working in a healthcare delivery and research system, (b) barriers that social scientists face working in a healthcare delivery and research system, (c) perceived value of sociological and anthropologic methods to clinicians and other health researchers, and (4) to understand the landscape of organizational models that feature social scientists as part of a larger scientific enterprise. We developed a plan for needs assessment activities. We conducted a design workshop of social scientists (n = 11). Using human-centered design methods, we elicited experiences and asked participants to develop a prototype model where social scientists could find career fulfillment with minimal structural barriers. We found that social scientists feel a strong sense of pride in their social science training and passion for the work they do. They reported occupying multiple disciplines at once, including multiple promotion and reputational expectations. Participants commonly reported that they themselves, as well as collaborators, viewed social science work, particularly qualitative research, as supplemental to quantitative work. Participants described perceptions that social science research is less rigorous or requires less training compared with other disciplines. Participants identified several contextual factors that influenced the perceived value of social science research in healthcare, including the focus of external funding priorities on larger clinical questions, organizational structure, and tangible leadership support of social science. The SBM Leadership Institute created a space for preliminary research into an area that could improve the experiences and research impact of social and behavioral scientists.

A Graphical Catalog of Threats to Validity: Linking Social Science with Epidemiology.

Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), a prominent tool for expressing assumptions in epidemiologic research, are most useful when the hypothetical data generating structure is correctly encoded. Understanding a study's data generating structure and translating that data structure into a DAG can be challenging, but these skills are often glossed over in training. Campbell and Stanley's framework for causal inference has been extraordinarily influential in social science training programs but has received less attention in epidemiology. Their work, along with subsequent revisions and enhancements based on practical experience conducting empirical studies, presents a catalog of 37 threats to validity describing reasons empirical studies may fail to deliver causal effects. We interpret most of these threats to study validity as suggestions for common causal structures. Threats are organized into issues of statistical conclusion validity, internal validity, construct validity, or external validity. To assist epidemiologists in drawing the correct DAG for their application, we map the correspondence between threats to validity and epidemiologic concepts that can be represented with DAGs. Representing these threats as DAGs makes them amenable to formal analysis with d-separation rules and breaks down cross-disciplinary language barriers in communicating methodologic issues.

La “princesa antropóloga”: disciplinamiento de cuerpos feminizados y método etnográfico

El artículo reflexiona sobre las prácticas de disciplinamiento de los cuerpos que hacen etnografía; para ello, explora la formación en pregrado en ciencias sociales en Colombia. Se basa en el análisis de 32 programas de enseñanza de metodologías cualitativas y en un proyecto de investigación sobre formación a estudiantes. Encuentra que ese entrenamiento se apoya en la comprensión del etnógrafo como un cuerpo capaz, valiente y masculino. Retoma la expresión “princesa antropóloga” para hacer referencia a ese proceso de disciplinamiento que produce cuerpos fuera de lugar y “el campo” como un lugar agreste.

The co-design approach in the MIWOCA project

Abstract MIWOCA study group Background The project MIWOCA researches how chronically ill women of Portuguese, Turkish and German origin and women without a migration background subjectively experience, understand, interpret and use the Swiss health care system. Methods We conducted 48 qualitative semi-structured interviews with chronically ill women between the ages of 23 and 85 in Bern and Geneva (n = 36 with German, Portuguese and Turkish migrant backgrounds) and n = 12 Swiss women. In addition, n = 12 stakeholder interviews were conducted (doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, physiotherapists). In focus groups with interviewed women in Bern and Geneva, results are reflected back, identified topics from the interviews prioritized and representatives named for the cooperative planning. In a participatory planning approach, affected women in the canton of Bern, together with stakeholders from the Swiss healthcare system selected by a systematic stakeholder analysis (e.g. Swiss Medical Association, Red Cross Switzerland, Spitex, Federal Office of Public Health), develop recommendations for improving the quality of care and concrete dissemination strategies. Results Interviewees had multiple and chronic diseases and resulting extensive experience with the Swiss healthcare system. Relevant aspects referred to issues such as quality of specific services, complexity of the healthcare system, costs of care, role of family and social support, and multidimensional stigmatization (migration, chronic illness, alleged overuse of the care system). Findings are incorporated in evidence briefs and narrative stories for focus groups and participatory planning. Conclusions MIWOCA contributes to a targeted and differentiated improvement of structures and options for action in health care for specific groups. Results will be relevant for planning in the health system and may be incorporated into academic teaching and practical training in PH, medicine and social sciences.

Politics and Science as a Vocation: Can Academics Save us from Post-Truth Politics?

In an apparently post-truth era, the social science scholar, by disposition and training committed to rational argumentation and the pursuit of truth, appeals as the ideal bulwark against excessive politicization of facts and expertise. In this article, we look to the experience of four prominent social scientists who have recently left the academy to enter politics with the aim of using their academic expertise to reshape policy. We use these cases to explore fundamental dilemmas derived from a close reading of Max Weber’s seminal vocation essays of a century ago. Weber observed that politicians were driven by a will to power, whereas academics were driven by a will to truth. We argue that these two competing dispositions create four tensions for the academic turned politician: (1) between calling and commitment, (2) between means and ends, (3) between rationalization and professionalization and (4) between facts and values. Analysing memoirs written by four of the most prominent academics-turned-politicians in recent times, we explore how Weber’s tensions manifest in contemporary practice. Our account reveals that these actors face a daunting, but not impossible, task. Their success depends on wedding the relentless pursuit of ends with the prudent application of political means.

Gaps in Training in Interdisciplinary Social and Behavioral Sciences and Applications Among Undergraduate and Graduate Students in the 22 Top-Ranked Schools of Public Health in China

The next generation of public health professionals requires rigorous training in behavioral health, in order to design effective behavioral interventions to respond effectively to the epidemiological transition in China. This study aimed to investigate issues in training in social and behavioral sciences in public health in China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1285 and 835 last-year undergraduate and graduate public health students in 2013. The results showed that (1) majority of undergraduate students but a minority of graduate students had enrolled in psychology, social medicine, and health promotion courses; (2) very few had enrolled in other social and behavioral sciences courses; (3) high percentages of students perceived significance, needs, and interests related to social sciences courses; (4) very few were familiar with commonly used behavioral health theories and constructs, or had applied such theories/constructs to their thesis. The situation deviates from international accreditation requirement. A timely review and benchmarking are warranted.

Quantity Does Not Always Mean Quality: The Importance of Qualitative Social Science in Conservation Research

ABSTRACTQualitative methods are important to gain a deep understanding of complex problems and poorly researched areas. They can be particularly useful to help explain underlying conservation problems. However, the significance in choosing and justifying appropriate methodological frameworks in conservation studies should be given more attention to ensure data are collected and analysed appropriately. We explain when, why, and how qualitative methods should be used and explain sampling strategies in qualitative studies. To improve familiarity with qualitative methods among natural scientists, we recommend expanding training in social sciences and increasing collaboration with social scientists. Given the scale of human impacts on the environment, this type of nuanced analytical skill is critical for progressing biodiversity conservation efforts.