Research on the Training Mechanism of Top-Notch Innovative Talents Based on Interdisciplinary

The construction of interdisciplinary top-notch innovative talent training mechanism is conducive to the cultivation of high-level interdisciplinary talents in my country, especially after the establishment of interdisciplinary categories, it puts forward new requirements for the integration of interdisciplinary development and talent training in universities. On the basis of the existing research, this paper puts forward the construction of five aspects of the training mechanism of interdisciplinary graduate student enrollment mechanism, interdisciplinary tutor allocation mechanism, interdisciplinary course setting mechanism, interdisciplinary expert organization and interdisciplinary quality assurance mechanism, in order to provide a certain basis for standardizing the cultivation of interdisciplinary top-notch innovative talents

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Job evaluation model of major public hospitals in China

The current economic climate has contributed to an increasingly competitive environment among organizations. In order to ensure competitive advantage, they must be able to promote high levels of professional performance. This research is part of this theme and aims to analyze how the job characteristics, professional knowledge, skills, competencies, training and work engagement influence the job evaluation and, consequently, the performance of employees of six public hospitals, China. The sample consists of 546 subjects aged between 21 and 58 years (M = 37.9; SD = 8.73), with the majority being females (55.5%). For the collection of data, such scales were used as the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS), the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Personal Characteristics Scale (KSAOS), the Competencies and Training Scale (CTS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). The results obtained show that the job characteristics, the professional knowledge, the skills, the training and the work engagement influence the job evaluation. It was also found that the male respondents, those belonging to the older age group, those with higher academic qualifications and those with higher positions present higher average performance in all dimensions under study. It was also possible to verify that Autonomy is the JDS variable with greater effect on the Job evaluation and the bigger the Autonomy, Skill variety and Feedback given to the employees, the more positive their perception of Job evaluation. Data analysis also reveals that KSAO moderate the relations between job characteristics and job evaluation and the dimension with the most effect on Job evaluation is Professional Ethics and Health Law. On the other hand, the higher the competencies and professional training in the area of Organization and finance, the greater the Job evaluation. Finally, it was verified that Vigor is the only variable with significant effect on Job evaluation. It is hoped that these results may inspire further research that contributes to a better understanding of these relationships; and at the practical level, it is intended to alert the justified investment by the organizations in the implementation of a performance evaluation model. Taking into account the current competitiveness at the organizational level, it is considered that the analysis of the relationships between these dimensions is crucial to an organization. In this way, this project is intended to build a new process of performance evaluation in public hospitals in China, based on the competencies identified for each job.Atualmente, o clima económico contribuiu para um ambiente cada vez mais competitivo entre as organizações e para garantir a vantagem competitiva, as organizações devem ser capazes de promover altos níveis de desempenho profissional. Esta investigação insere-se nesta temática e tem como objetivo estudar como as características da função, o conhecimento profissional, as habilidades, as competências e o envolvimento no trabalho influenciam a avaliação do trabalho e, consequentemente, o desempenho dos funcionários de seis hospitais públicos . China. A amostra é composta por 546 sujeitos com idades compreendidas entre os 21 e os 58 anos (M = 37.9; DP = 8.73), sendo a maioria do sexo feminino (55.5%). Os dados foram recolhidos através das seguintes escalas: Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS), Escala de Conhecimento, Habilidades, Aptidões e Outras Escalas Pessoais (KSAOS), Escala de Competências e Formação (CTS) e Escala de Envolvimento no Trabalho de Utrecht ( UWES). Os resultados obtidos mostram que as características da função, o conhecimento profissional, as habilidades, a formação e o envolvimento no trabalho influenciam a avaliação do trabalho. Constatou-se também que os entrevistados do sexo masculino, os que pertencem à faixa etária mais avançada, os que possuem maior qualificação académica e que ocupam posições hierárquicas mais elevadas, apresentam um desempenho médio superior em todas as dimensões em estudo. Também foi possível verificar que a Autonomia é a variável do JDS com maior efeito na avaliação do trabalho e que quanto maior é a Autonomia, a variedade de competências e o feedback dado aos funcionários, mais positiva é a sua perceção da avaliação do trabalho. A análise dos dados também revelou que o KSAO modera a relação existente entre as características da função e a avaliação do trabalho e que a variável com maior efeito na avaliação do trabalho é a Ética Profissional e a Lei da Saúde. Por outro lado, quanto maiores são as competências e a formação profissional na área de Organização e Finanças, melhor é a avaliação do trabalho. Por último, verificou-se que o Vigor é a única dimensão do envolvimento no trabalho com efeito significativo na avaliação do mesmo. Espera-se que esses resultados possam inspirar pesquisas futuras e que possam contribuir para uma melhor compreensão dessas relações; a nível prático pretende-se alertar os gestores para a implementação de um modelo de avaliação de desempenho. Considerando a atual competitividade a nível organizacional, considera-se que a análise da relação entre estas dimensões é crucial para qualquer organização. Esta investigação pretende assim construir um novo processo de avaliação do trabalho nos hospitais públicos na China, com base nas competências identificadas para cada função

Building an Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) based model for physicians: the case of pediatricians in China

Considering the scarcity of medical resources in China and the lacking of sound ground level medical systems, the 19th National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist P arty put forward the goal of building a comprehensive medical service system that is of high efficiency, good quality, and Chinese characteristics. One of the grounds upon which those purposes are built is medical education and for such there is a need to structure a medical competency framework. This research is set to systematically contribute to such endeavor by means of entrustable professional activities targeting an important Chinese medical body: pediatricians, both general and specialized. To achieve this purpose the research was based on two empirical studies of an exploratory nature. The first, qualitative, was intended to depict the professional situation of pediatricians in third tier hospitals, which was conducted via two focus groups and interviews to specialists. It allowed the understanding of the medical practice and education in pediatrics supporting the need to systematize the competencies framework. Using international standards for entrustable professional activities (EPA), a second empirical study was developed, of a quantitative nature, that started by validating a list of EPAs with a population of 60 pediatricians to ascertain its transferability to the Chinese hospital context. Lastly, departing from these results, a questionnaire was developed to evaluate EPAs as well as a list of competencies (crossing European and American standards) and some deontological values. The questionnaire was addressed to pediatricians in China by means of the Chinese Medical Association and 776 valid answers were collected. Taking as formative constructs a set of EPAs for general pediatrics and gastroenterological specialized pediatrics, findings firstly showed the psychometric quality of the measures. Subsequently the Structural Equations Modelling supported a hierarchical model composed of four EPA blocks of increasing complexity that have a differential effect upon each of the gastroenterological pediatrics specialty EPAs. Lastly, the deontological values were found to predict all EPA blocks, thus corroborating their central role in medical education. These findings set the basis for a sequential design of competency development in Pediatrics. These competencies, expressed as EPAs, are the ground for medical education Pediatrics. These competencies, expressed as EPAs, are the ground for medical education and practicing pediatrics in generaland practicing pediatrics in general and subspecialties, of which gastroenterological and subspecialties, of which gastroenterological pediatrics is an example.pediatrics is an example.Considerando a escassez de recursos médicos na China e falta de provisão de um terreno sólido para os sistemas médicos, o 19º Congresso Nacional do Partido Comunista Chinês propôs o objetivo de construir um sistema de serviço médico alargado que seja de elevada eficiência, qualidade e com características ch inesas. Um dos princípios sobre o qual estes propósitos são efetivados reside na educação médica e para tal existe a necessidade de estruturar uma matriz de competência médicas. Esta investigação é desenhada para contribuir sistematicamente para tal objetivo através das atividades profissionais confiáveis (EPA) dirigidas a um corpo médico chinês importante: os pediatras, quer na generalidade quer nas especialidades. Para alcançar este propósito, a investigação teve por base dois estudos empíricos de nature za exploratória. O primeiro, qualitativo, procurou compreender a situação profissional dos pediatras em hospitais terciários (centrais), o que foi concretizado por via de dois grupos focais e entrevistas a especialistas. Permitiu compreender a educação e a prática médica em pediatria apoiando a necessidade de sistematizar a matriz de competências. Utilizando padrões internacionais de atividades profissionais confiáveis (EPA), um segundo estudo empírico, de natureza quantitativa, foi realizado, encetando pe la validação de uma lista de EPAs com uma população de 60 pediatras para avaliar a sua transferibilidade para o contexto hospitalar chinês. Por fim, partindo destes resultados, foi desenvolvido um questionário para avaliar as EPAs bem como uma lista de com petências (cruzando standards europeus e norte americanos) e alguns valores deontológicos. O questionário foi dirigido a pediatras na China por via da Associação Médica Chinesa, e recolhidas 776 respostas válidas. Tomando como construtos formativos um conjunto de EPAs para a pediatria geral e a especializada gastroenterológica, os resultados mostraram primeiramente a qualidade psicométrica das medidas. Subsequentemente, por via de equações estruturais foi corroborado um modelo hierárquico composto por quatr o blocos de EPAs de complexidade crescente, que exercem um efeito diferencial sobre cada um dos EPAs da subespecialidade pediátrica gastroenterológica. Por último, os valores deontológicos têm valor preditivo sobre todos os blocos de EPAs, assim reforçando o seu papel central na educação médica. Estes resultados constituem a base para o desenho sequencial do desenvolvimento de competências médicas em Pediatria. Estas competências, expressas como EPAs, competências médicas em Pediatria. Estas competências, expressas como EPAs, constituem o terreno para a educação médica e para a prconstituem o terreno para a educação médica e para a prática clínica na pediatria geral e ática clínica na pediatria geral e nas subespecialidades, do qual se fez exemplo a pediatria gastroenterológica.nas subespecialidades, do qual se fez exemplo a pediatria gastroenterológica

Beyond the PhD: the significance of boundaries in the early careers of highly qualified Greek scientists and engineers

Higher education and research have come to the forefront of international debate about economic growth highlighting the significance of doctoral education for fostering innovation and international competitiveness. Currently, there is limited information about doctoral graduates in Greece from both a demand and supply side. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the early career paths of Greek doctoral graduates in natural sciences and engineering educated in Greece and the UK, and how they are deployed in the labour market. This study is informed by the debate on human capital and its links to productivity and growth, social capital influences, career theories and the existing evidence on highly skilled migration. A mixed methods approach was adopted to deliver new quantitative and qualitative data and enable the understanding of complex phenomena, such as careers. An online survey of Greek PhD graduates was complemented by followup interviews with a sub-sample, to explore their perceptions of doctoral education and its outcomes. The career trajectories of Greek doctorate holders, together with individual and contextual determinants that shape career choices are presented. Within this investigation, the effect of country of doctoral study, and doctoral education experience are also explored. Emphasis is given to disciplinary labour markets in relation to engineering and biological sciences and the academic system in Greece as contextual considerations that influence career choices. This information is extended by a small number of interviews with Greek based non-academic employers, contributing to a better understanding of their views, informing both the PhD graduates and employers’ (mis)perceptions regarding doctoral education and its value beyond academia. Overall, it will be concluded that Greek PhD graduates are under-utilised in the Greek labour market raising concerns about educational investment and potential brain drain under the current economic crisis in Greece

The Impact of Leadership Style on Innovation in Iraq's Higher Education Institutions: The Role of Knowledge Sharing

Today, the higher education sector in developing countries is facing challenges from a dynamic environment characterised by rapid technological change and increased demand. As innovation becomes critical to the survival of organisations, transformational leadership (TL) has been found to have an important influence on innovation, leading to increased goal-directed behaviour on the part of followers, promoting organisational change, and a spirit of trust, and helping followers to exceed their performance expectations. Knowledge and knowledge sharing are recognised as the most significant resources for competitive advantage and the key to enhancing innovation. It has been shown that knowledge management and the promotion of knowledge sharing among the members of an organisation are an important part of the learning process as they help to convert the tacit knowledge embedded in individuals into explicit knowledge through interaction. Prior literature has pointed out that transformational leadership is one of the most important factors affecting knowledge sharing and enhanced innovation in an organisation. However, there is a lack of models linking transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, and innovation within higher education institutions (HEIs) in general within developing countries, particularly Iraq. This study sought to examine the impact of transformational leadership on innovation through the mediating role of knowledge sharing, and the differences between these impacts in public and private HEIs in Iraq. A mixed-methods approach was taken (quantitative and qualitative) and 486 (253 public and 233 private) valid responses were collected to test the causal relationships between transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, and innovation. Then, 10 interviews were conducted with the leaders of HEIs to explain the unexpected findings from the quantitative stage regarding the differences in transformational leadership practice and the effect relationships. Employing structural equation modelling (SEM) with AMOS 20, the study found that knowledge sharing plays a pivotal role in the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation, and that transformational leadership would be ideal in an educational context, promoting knowledge sharing activities and influencing innovation in both the public and the private sector. The multi-group SEM and the interviews revealed similarities and differences between Iraqi public and private HEIs in terms of the effect relationships. The findings contribute significantly to the theory on the mediating role of knowledge sharing in supporting the relationship between transformational leadership and innovation. They also provide a better understanding of these relationships in the educational environment within developing countries, specifically Iraq, a context that has been neglected in previous studies. The study has further detected sector-based differences, and similarities in terms of the transformational leadership exhibited, and has provided a clearer picture of the status of the HEI system in Iraq. Regarding practical implications, the findings show that leaders in higher education who are looking to establish strategies for achieving innovation would benefit from expending their efforts on promoting knowledge-sharing practices among their teaching staff.Iraqi government/Ministry of Higher Education and scientific researc

Shared Experiences of Novice School Principals\u27 Mentor Training: A Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Peer Educators

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the shared experiences of novice school principals’ mentor training and to gain an understanding of the experience of peer educators. This dissertation employed a qualitative case study methodology to interview Arizona principals with less than three years of experience who did not receive district-provided, formal mentorship training during their first years as principals to determine their experiences and support needs. I assessed the current literature on inexperienced principal mentorship programs in the United States via the lens of Kram’s Mentoring Model and then linked this literature to the principals’ reported concerns. In this study, I made conclusions about the practice of Arizona school principals and the potential development of formal mentorship programs at the district level using interview data. I investigated the challenges faced by inexperienced principals in Arizona, as well as the suggested inputs, processes, outputs, and potential outcomes if the proposed program were implemented. Using the principal participants as improvement partners, a program theory coaching model was created to facilitate the transition and success of new Arizona principals. The study identifies the perceived value of principal mentorship and many of the challenges associated with the current mentoring models in Arizona. The study concludes with suggestions for a wide range of stakeholders, including state education authorities, school directors, district executives, human resources, career development executives, district executives, and a select group of principal advisors

Exploring the promotion of creative thinking among secondary school students in India

In India, research on creativity has focused on the construction of tests of creativity and correlational studies of creativity with self-concept, intelligence, personality etc.,. There have been no studies considering the effects of schooling on creativity, teachers' perceptions of creativity or how they could to promote it. This research focused on teachers' views of creativity and their classroom practices, and on students' performance on Tests of Creative Thinking by Baqer Mehdi, their attitude towards curriculum subjects, their occupational choices and their experiences at school. \ud The sample for the survey included 373 students and 88 teachers drawn from nine Government schools in Andhra Pradesh, India. All the instruments were developed by the researcher and data was collected by means of questionnaires for students and teachers, an scale for assessing teachers encouragement of pupils in the classroom, interviews with teachers and a check-list for head teachers regarding out-of- school activities. To analyse the data, various quantitative and qualitative techniques were applied. \ud The findings showed that teachers valued creativity, had established criteria for its definition and for identifying creative children. They believed that the development of creativity depended on good teacher-pupil relationships, encouraging experimentation and building self-confidence among the students. Obstacles to the development of creativity included inadequate resources, lack of instructional materials, lack of funds, passive unmotivated students with a tendency to rote learning, pressure to complete the syllabus, preparing students for examinations and teachers' teaching load. They felt that the curriculum was overloaded, inflexible and not suitable to cater for the needs of the wide range of learners. They preferred a child centred curriculum based on activities. \ud The findings from the student data contributed to the development of a model linking parental factors, the medium of instruction and teacher encouragement. Path analysis showed that out-of- school activities, mother's education, teacher encouragement and mother's income had causal relationships with students' creative thinking. On the basis of the findings practical recommendations have been made for the promotion of creativity among school students. \u

Mentoring of early career academics in South African higher education : a transformation strategy

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2004Early career academics in South Africa enter a higher education system with a historical legacy of division along lines of past discrimination and apartheid. The higher education system has been undergoing profound transformation in the last decade through the promulgation of the SAQA Act (No 58 of 1995) and the Higher Education Act No 101 of 1997. Although numbers of black students at historically advantaged, predominantly white higher education institutions have increased dramatically in the past decade to over 50% in some cases, the change in the academic staff at these institutions has not been nearly as rapid. Less than 30% of the academic staff is black, even at institutions which consider themselves to be progressive. The argument in this research is that the professional socialisation and development of early career academics in all South Africa universities is generally neglected or receives scanty attention and that the professional development in teaching which they receive at entry-level, is minimal. Although mentoring as a professional development strategy has been shown in many studies to have a positive impact in careers at entrylevel, South African universities are not doing enough to support and develop early career academics and consequently the transformation of higher education is being retarded by institutional lack of support. The case of the University of the Witwatersrand illustrates the situation common in many higher education institutions. The purpose of the study is to investigate mentoring as a transformation strategy for the professional development and socialisation in the career development and management of the early careers of entry-level academics to higher education in South Africa where transformation of higher education is a critical issue on the national agenda. In this study there are 28 early career academics in formal mentoring relationships as a result of specially designed mentoring programmes or academic internships which have been established since 1999. They were interviewed in-depth for their interpretations of their experiences in formal mentoring programmes where almost all the mentors are white and the majority of mentees belong to different cultural groups. The findings in the study show how necessary it is for early career academics to be paired with mentors who are aware of the functions and roles of mentors in higher education and who are seriously committed to fulfilling those roles themselves or in conjunction with others in their networks. One new career development function and one new psychosocial function of mentors were added to a model of existing functions derived from the literature. Transformation is an important new function of mentors and their function as role models is emphasised by the context of this mentoring research. Mentoring may be lauded as the panacea for transformation in higher education but unless mentors are adequately trained, supported and monitored, and are committed to transformation, the strategy is not likely to meet with success. Mentoring in cross-cultural contexts in higher education in South Africa is also likely to be only partially successful because too little is being done to address the effects of institutional and covert racism which lingers on. A wide spectrum of recommendations is made for making mentoring work in higher education institutions. These range from broadly based macro interventions at national and institutional levels, to quite detailed micro interventions at the individual level. Without a systematic and committed thrust throughout the sector to accelerate transformation, the whole sector is likely to languish and busy itself with meeting legislative demands for equity compliance and quality assurance drives without addressing the fundamental issues of developing those young academics who are instrumental in transforming the system.WS201