Scientific Writing: A Blended Instructional Model

Scientific writing is composed of a unique skill set and corresponding instructional strategies are critical to foster learning. In an age of technology, the blended instructional model provides the instrumental format for student mastery of the scientific writing competencies. In addition, the course management program affords opportunities for ongoing student-faculty communication, electronic access to the research literature and submission of student assignments, and student empowerment for self-directed learning. This has been a successful experience for students and faculty, and the ongoing collaboration has served as a catalyst to scholarship of scientific writing

The Role Of Collaborative Scholarship In The Mentorship Of Doctoral Students

The work of a professor is the “scholarship of teaching” (Boyer, 1990).  The strength of the teaching and learning environment is fostered by a dynamic interplay between the mentor (scholar) and the mentee (student).  Boyer (1990) suggests that in order to be a scholar, one must have “a recognition that knowledge is acquired through research, through synthesis, through practice, and through teaching.” However, as the academy has placed increased emphasis on research productivity as a concrete measure of scholarship, faculty may lose sight of what it means to view teaching as a scholarship. For example, if mentorship collaborations (student/faculty, faculty/faculty) are not viewed as scholarship activities, faculty may limit the amount or depth of student mentorship or peer collaborations to pursue their own research endeavors and thereby compromise the scholarship of teaching. Research is needed to gain an understanding of how faculties view collaborative research in relation to the scholarship of teaching.  The purpose of this paper is to first briefly describe the student-centered mentorship model for doctoral students proposed by Zipp and Olson (2008); second, to address the question, “Should the outcomes associated with this model be recognized as faculty scholarship?”; and third, to present pilot data of faculty perceptions on the role of collaborative scholarship in the mentorship of doctoral students

Social Environment As A Determinant Of Coping Self-Efficacy In Men And Women Living With HIV Under The Auspice Of A Large Healthcare Provider In Kenya

Kenya faces a severe, generalized HIV epidemic that continues to have a devastating impact on men and women living with HIV and, generally, all sectors of the population. HIV-related stress based on living with HIV, fear of progression of HIV to AIDS or to death, stigma, and discrimination among others are constant stressors afflicting people living with HIV. There are two ways to help people face these stressors - changing the internal characteristics of a person or changing the social environment. A major healthcare provider engages a therapeutic coping model based on stress, appraisal, and coping theory that aims not only directly at changing internal dynamics of the person, but also changing these dynamics by altering the environment of men and women living with HIV. The interplay of a person’s effort with a socially supportive environment is believed to foster coping self-efficacy (CSE). However, the efficacy of this therapeutic model has not been assessed and documented. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the social environment in shaping CSE among men and women living with HIV enrolled in the treatment and care program under the auspices of a large healthcare provider in Kenya. Three types of social support are: 1) emotional, which reduces anxiety and promotes self-esteem; 2) informational, which provides needed knowledge and skills useful in solving problems; and 3) belonging, which helps to distract a distressed person from disturbing thoughts significantly predicted CSE. The results support interventions that strengthen a person’s character while encouraging family members, friends, and other social ties to act and react favorably, thereby creating a supportive environment. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Explorations, Vol. 3, No. 2

Cover: Edmund G. Schildknecht, Seated Figure, 1929, oil on canvas, 30” x 25”, acc. no. 85.6.31, bequest of Edmund G. Schildknecht Articles include: Reyes Syndrome Under Attack at UMaine, by MaryAnn Jerkofsky Maine Service Abroad: Using Labor Market Results for Planning Education and Training in Developing Countries, by David H. Clark Feeling and Form: Four American Paintings in the University of Maine Art Collection, by David Ebitz We Stand Corrected, Volume 3, Number 1, of EXPLORATIONS Confessions of a Comet Huckster, by Alan Davenport H.G. Wells: Socialist, Feminist, Polymath, Educator and Hero, by David C. Smith Supercritical Fluids and Their Interaction with Lignocellulosic Materials and Polymers, by Erdogan Kira

A Data Citation Roadmap for Scholarly Data Repositories [preprint]

This article presents a practical roadmap for scholarly data repositories to implement data citation in accordance with the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles, a synopsis and harmonization of the recommendations of major science policy bodies. The roadmap was developed by the Repositories Expert Group, as part of the Data Citation Implementation Pilot (DCIP) project, an initiative of FORCE11.org and the NIH BioCADDIE (https://biocaddie.org) program. The roadmap makes 11 specific recommendations, grouped into three phases of implementation: a) required steps needed to support the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles, b) recommended steps that facilitate article/data publication workflows, and c) optional steps that further improve data citation support provided by data repositories

Nurses' perceptions of using an evidence-based care bundle for initial emergency nursing management of patients with severe traumatic brain injury: A qualitative study.

Evidence to guide initial emergency nursing care of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Thailand is currently not available in a useable form. A care bundle was used to summarise an evidence-based approach to the initial emergency nursing management of patients with severe TBI and was implemented in one Thai emergency department. The aim of this study was to describe Thai emergency nurses' perceptions of care bundle use. A descriptive qualitative study was used to describe emergency nurses' perceptions of care bundle use during the implementation phase (Phase-One) and then post-implementation (Phase-Two). Ten emergency nurses participated in Phase-One, while 12 nurses participated in Phase-Two. In Phase-One, there were five important factors identified in relation to use of the care bundle including quality of care, competing priorities, inadequate equipment, agitated patients, and teamwork. In Phase Two, participants perceived that using the care bundle helped them to improve quality of care, increased nurses' knowledge, skills, and confidence. Care bundles are one strategy to increase integration of research evidence into clinical practice and facilitate healthcare providers to deliver optimal patient care in busy environments with limited resources

The FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship

There is an urgent need to improve the infrastructure supporting the reuse of scholarly data. A diverse set of stakeholders—representing academia, industry, funding agencies, and scholarly publishers—have come together to design and jointly endorse a concise and measureable set of principles that we refer to as the FAIR Data Principles. The intent is that these may act as a guideline for those wishing to enhance the reusability of their data holdings. Distinct from peer initiatives that focus on the human scholar, the FAIR Principles put specific emphasis on enhancing the ability of machines to automatically find and use the data, in addition to supporting its reuse by individuals. This Comment is the first formal publication of the FAIR Principles, and includes the rationale behind them, and some exemplar implementations in the community

Loans and Leaving: Migration and the Expansion of Microcredit in Cambodia

Over the last decade, the expansion of microfinance institutions (MFIs) has dramatically shifted the availability of credit across the developing world. This recent development provides an opportunity to examine the relationship between household labor migration and access to and use of formal credit. Both theories of migration and the expectations of formal credit providers have suggested that labor migration and credit are substitute solutions to the demand for capital in the developing world, with the implication that greater access to formal financial services may stem migration out of rural places. Using household survey data from Cambodia, an MFI-saturated country, we find that households using formal credit and households with greater access to formal credit are more likely to have labor migrants than households without access. This association persists across size of loan, purpose of loan, remittances behavior, and for domestic migrations. These findings complicate our understanding of the relationship between credit and migration, and call for a greater recognition of the importance of context in framing migration behavior