Academic Plate Spinning: the Difficulties of Balancing Full Time Degree Study With a Part-Time Job

The study examined full-time students engaged in part-time work during term time. A qualitative approach was used to examine how students cope with simultaneously managing the two activities, and how part-time working affects their academic study. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain data from a sample of 30 undergraduate business students. The findings confirm that students merely satisfice many aspects of their lives, with reading time and assignment preparation being key areas that suffer in order to allow students to engage with part-time work. Possible options available to HEIs to adapt to, and remedy, the situation are explored

Re-thinking case-based assessments in business management education

Despite criticisms of the use of case studies in assessment, especially in examination settings, their use is prevalent in business management education, primarily in order to develop critical thinking skills and highlight the complex business problems faced by managers. However, case studies readily available for business assessments typically comprise multi-national, world-leading corporations, which can result in a number of problems, not least the large volume of material available on the web about these organisations. In addition, employers feel that business courses are too focused on large corporations rather than preparing students for working in small-medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper will present the authors approach to developing his own case studies for use in business assessments, based on local SMEs. This approach facilitates a more in-depth assessment analysis and exposes students to a broader range of business scenarios. The use of a ‘live’ case provides a closer fit to reality which in turn, enhances learning. It is intended that the approach presented here will inform and challenge university colleagues to explore the development and use of case-based assessments, particularly how they might apply these practices to their own professional area

Discerning academic preparation and responsibilities of Division I and Division Iii athletic administrators

The field of athletic administration has become a complex enterprise within the university setting. The knowledge base from research and literature is relatively scarce. This study provides additional knowledge to the base of information related to the field of athletic administration. The primary objective of this study was to answer the question, what are the academic qualifications and the responsibilities for athletic administrators? The current study involved a survey completed by 137 current athletic administrators at Division I and III institutions. The participants were asked their academic preparation, responsibilities and opinion on what should be appropriate areas of academic preparation. The focus was on the academic qualifications, in hopes of developing a graduate curriculum that would be more applicable to the current job responsibilities in athletic administration. Results of the current study indicate that there are distinct characteristics desired for an athletic administrator. In addition, the findings warrant the inclusion of very specific courses in an athletic administration program of study

Layer guided-acoustic plate mode biosensors for monitoring MHC-peptide interactions

The transduction signals from the immobilisation of a class I heavy chain, HLA-A2, on a layer guided acoustic plate mode device, followed by binding of beta(2)-microglobulin and subsequent selective binding of a target peptide are reported

Low-Cost QCM Sensor System for Screening Semen Samples

Artificial insemination is a well-established part of modern agricultural practice. A viable semen sample is judged by the total number of spermatozoa (sperm) in the sample and the motility of the sperm. In this paper, we report the development of a reusable measurement cell and electronics for screening semen samples based on the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) and Universal Frequency to Digital Converter (UFDC-1) to produce a low-cost sensor system. After introducing the semen sample at one end of the measurement cell, sperm swim down a channel before causing a frequency change on the QCM. Data is presented that shows the different frequency changes using a commercial frequency counter caused by porcine semen samples, one two days old and one twenty one days old. Similar data is presented for a motile semen sample measurement using the low-cost UFDC-1

Low-Cost QCM Sensor System for Screening Semen Samples

Artificial insemination is a well-established part of modern agricultural practice. A viable semen sample is judged by the total number of spermatozoa (sperm) in the sample and the motility of the sperm. In this paper, we report the development of a reusable measurement cell and electronics for screening semen samples based on the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) and Universal Frequency to Digital Converter (UFDC-1) to produce a low-cost sensor system. After introducing the semen sample at one end of the measurement cell, sperm swim down a channel before causing a frequency change on the QCM. Data is presented that shows the different frequency changes using a commercial frequency counter caused by porcine semen samples, one two days old and one twenty one days old. Similar data is presented for a motile semen sample measurement using the low-cost UFDC-1

Using Part-time Working to Support Graduate Employment: Needs and Perceptions of Employers

An exploration of the value attached to the work experience of graduates, and particularly the value of part-time working whilst studying for a degree, from an employer’s perspective, is reported. A documentary analysis of graduate recruiters was conducted to assess the extent to which work experience was specified for graduate employment programmes. Further interviews were then carried out with a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to explore how the part-time working of graduates is perceived by employers. Work experience is deemed to be important to employers, not only as a differentiator but also as a measure of how graduates will perform in-post. Employers generally signalled the value of work experience, but indicated that graduates did not make best use of it in their job applications. It is argued that the findings will provide information to universities and educators about the contribution and importance of students’ part-time working in terms of graduate employment prospects and with respect to the employability agenda in the HE curriculum in the UK

Inertia, Friendships or Effective Relationship Marketing? Remaining at the Same University for a Taught Master’s Degree

This paper focuses on the influencing factors of individual students who remain at the same University for their postgraduate study. By interviewing students on an MSc Management course, we found some interesting motivations about where to continue studying a taught postgraduate course. These factors included such issues as the importance of developing and maintaining personal effective relationships, peer group influence and a sense of belonging