Scholar-Practitioners in HRD: A Qualitative Study of Research-Practice Integration

Literature in the human resource development (HRD) field identifies a gap between scholars and practitioners. HRD scholar-practitioners can close the gap between research and practice by acting as a bridge between empirical-based HRD research and practice. However, bridging the gap requires scholar-practitioners fulfilling a unique role. Moreover, a preliminary review of the HRD literature shows that little research has been done to explore how HRD scholar-practitioners identify and define their own competencies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore HRD scholar-practitioners’ perception and experiences of research-practice integration. I employed a qualitative, interpretative research approach to conduct this study. The approach included in-depth interviews with 14 HRD scholar-practitioners in order to better understand their perception on essential competencies and strategies. Participants, identified through criterion sampling, are knowledgeable about and experienced with evidence-based practice. The primary data source for this qualitative study was in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. The findings of this study provided several implications to HRD research and practice. For practice, universities can use this study’s competency framework to guide curriculum development in graduate HRD programs, and companies can provide ongoing professional development to their HRD practitioners on how to create a shared vision focused on evidence-based practice and continuous learning. Future research can employ a case study methodology to explore if HRD scholar-practitioners working in the same organization possess the same competencies. Future research can also explore contextual factors to better understand the competencies and strategies required to successfully integrate research and practice

Mind the implementation gap: a systems analysis of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to increase the number of doctors trained in the UK raises many questions

BACKGROUND: The National Health Service (NHS) in England is facing a workforce crisis. A new Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) seeks to address this, setting out ambitious proposals to expand and reform domestic medical education and training in England. However, there are concerns about their feasibility. SOURCES OF DATA: In September 2023, over 60 individuals representing medical education and training in the UK participated in an exercise run by UK Medical Schools Council by using systems theory to identify risks. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: The UK does need more 'home grown' doctors, but the LTWP has important gaps, including lack of attention to postgraduate training, absence of reference to the need for more educators and capital investment and risk of inadequate clinical placement capacity, particularly in primary care settings. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: There are unresolved differences in the understanding of a proposed medical apprenticeship model and no scheme has, as yet, been approved by the General Medical Council. Participants were unable to determine who the beneficiaries of this scheme will be (apart from the apprentices themselves). GROWING POINTS: While the LTWP represents a welcome, although overdue, commitment to address the NHS workforce crisis, we identified significant gaps that must be resolved. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: First, the development of the LTWP provides a case study that adds to literature on policymaking in the UK. Second, while we only examined the expansion of medical training, the method could be applied to other parts of the LTWP. Third, a prospective evaluation of its implementation is necessary

Hexa-arginine enhanced uptake and residualization of selective high affinity ligands by Raji lymphoma cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A variety of arginine-rich peptide sequences similar to those found in viral proteins have been conjugated to other molecules to facilitate their transport into the cytoplasm and nucleus of targeted cells. The selective high affinity ligand (SHAL) (DvLPBaPPP)₂LLDo, which was developed to bind only to cells expressing HLA-DR10, has been conjugated to one of these peptide transduction domains, hexa-arginine, to assess the impact of the peptide on SHAL uptake and internalization by Raji cells, a B-cell lymphoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An analog of the SHAL (DvLPBaPPP)₂LLDo containing a hexa-arginine peptide was created by adding six D-arginine residues sequentially to a lysine inserted in the SHAL's linker. SHAL binding, internalization and residualization by Raji cells expressing HLA-DR10 were examined using whole cell binding assays and confocal microscopy. Raji cells were observed to bind two fold more ¹¹¹In-labeled hexa-arginine SHAL analog than Raji cells treated with the parent SHAL. Three fold more hexa-arginine SHAL remained associated with the Raji cells after washing, suggesting that the peptide also enhanced residualization of the ¹¹¹In transported into cells. Confocal microscopy showed both SHALs localized in the cytoplasm of Raji cells, whereas a fraction of the hexa-arginine SHAL localized in the nucleus.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The incorporation of a hexa-D-arginine peptide into the linker of the SHAL (DvLPBaPPP)₂LLDo enhanced both the uptake and residualization of the SHAL analog by Raji cells. In contrast to the abundant cell surface binding observed with Lym-1 antibody, the majority of (DvLPBaPPP)₂LArg6AcLLDo and the parent SHAL were internalized. Some of the internalized hexa-arginine SHAL analog was also associated with the nucleus. These results demonstrate that several important SHAL properties, including uptake, internalization, retention and possibly intracellular distribution, can be enhanced or modified by conjugating the SHALs to a short polypeptide.</p

Note sur une épizootie de mélioïdose porcine au Cambodge

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The UK medical education database (UKMED) what is it?:Why and how might you use it?

The development of UKMED has not been directly funded by but has received support from the General Medical Council and Medical Schools Council as well as staff time from all participating organisations.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Overall energy conversion efficiency of a photosynthetic vesicle

The chromatophore of purple bacteria is an intracellular spherical vesicle that exists in numerous copies in the cell and that efficiently converts sunlight into ATP synthesis, operating typically under low light conditions. Building on an atomic-level structural model of a low-light-adapted chromatophore vesicle from Rhodobacter sphaeroides, we investigate the cooperation between more than a hundred protein complexes in the vesicle. The steady-state ATP production rate as a function of incident light intensity is determined after identifying quinol turnover at the cytochrome bc1 complex (cytbc1) as rate limiting and assuming that the quinone/quinol pool of about 900 molecules acts in a quasi-stationary state. For an illumination condition equivalent to 1% of full sunlight, the vesicle exhibits an ATP production rate of 82. ATP molecules/s. The energy conversion efficiency of ATP synthesis at illuminations corresponding to 1%–5% of full sunlight is calculated to be 0.12–0.04, respectively. The vesicle stoichiometry, evolutionarily adapted to the low light intensities in the habitat of purple bacteria, is suboptimal for steady-state ATP turnover for the benefit of protection against over-illumination

Women, modern technology and the Khmer culture in Cambodia

La globalización cultural promueve ideas ilusorias sobre el valor de las mujeres que han confundido a las adolescentes camboyanas y a la percepción que tienen de su individualidad, a la vez que viven en una sociedad Jemer conservadora. Esta tesis y sus resultados quieren examinar de qué manera la belleza irreal producida por la cirugía estética modifica no sólo la idea de identidad y de feminidad, sino que también altera la percepción del cuerpo de las mujeres. El estudio demuestra cómo las adolescentes se equivocan al definirse, a la vez que los camboyanos rechazan frontalmente tal perspectiva. Este es un aspecto nuevo de discriminación de género en Camboya, ya que es imposible que su sociedad acepte este tipo de belleza fabricada. Allí se define a las mujeres estrictamente a través de las normas tradicionales, que las reifican completamente; las mujeres no deberían reaccionar a dicha opresión buscando su valor en un cuerpo nuevo. En último término este estudio pretende explicar cuál sería la manera apropiada de definir el valor de una persona, que reside únicamente en la existencia tanto del cuerpo como del pensamiento y de su definición a través de teorías filosóficas y psicológicas. La autoestima no se consigue únicamente por medio de normas tradicionales ni de una apreciación positiva de la globalización. Esta investigación se basa principalmente en cuestionarios rellenados por estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria y universidad, en entrevistas con un grupo de personas entre 20 y 35 años que viven en la capital, Phnom Penh, y un grupo de cargos gubernamentales relacionados fundamentalmente con aspectos de la cirugía estética y la educación. Los cuestionarios sirven como base cuantitativa de análisis de las opiniones de los estudiantes sobre las mujeres y las nuevas modas después de que la globalización cultural alcanzase a Camboya desde 1993; también informan sobre la cirugía estética y los tratamiéntos químicos de belleza. Demuestran que la mayoría de los adultos aún definen el valor de las mujeres según las normas tradicionales, y diferencian el valor masculino del femenino. Así las cosas, la belleza artificialmente construída y las normas estereotipadas pueden llevar a las jóvenes a tomar decisiones poco saludables en secreto y, por tanto, a causarse daños físicos serios. Estas decisiones insanas se manifiestan de manera básica en blanquear el color de la piel usando productos clandestinos, pastillas, inyecciones, etc. Las entrevistas determinan normas y prácticas tradicionales que están enraizadas profundamente en la cultura camboyana y que oprimen a las mujeres, y las mujeres confunden el camino para lograr la libertad personal e intentan encontrar su auto-estima a través de una belleza artificial y puramente física. El resultado de esta investigación sirve como análisis cualitativo del significado de la "invisibilidad femenina" en la sociedad camboyana contemporánea

Towards a Tobacco Free Ireland-scaling up and strengthening quit smoking behaviour at population level.

BACKGROUND Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland; half of all long-term smokers die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. Achieving 'Tobacco Free Ireland' (a smoking prevalence of less than 5%) will require the prevention of smoking initiation and the promotion of smoking cessation. METHODS A secondary analysis of Healthy Ireland 2015 was undertaken to identify determinants of smoking cessation attempts and the use of smoking cessation aids in the general adult population in Ireland. RESULTS The majority of quit attempts were made unassisted. A number of factors including motivation to quit, tobacco dependency, deprivation, age, and chronic disease were found to be associated with making a quit attempt and with the use of help in a quit attempt; however, the effect of these determinants was not all the same. The odds of making a quit attempt decreased (adjusted OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99) for every increase in cigarette smoked per day, but when a quit attempt was made, the odds of using help increased (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.06). Older smokers were less likely to have made a quit attempt than younger smokers (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.98) but were nearly twice as likely to have used help in a quit attempt (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.54). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the need to strengthen smoking cessation in Ireland to increase the number of smokers that successfully quit and achieve a Tobacco Free Ireland. The development and implementation of National Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Tobacco Addiction will play a key role in this