“Digging Deeper?”: Insights From a Novice Researcher

This article reflects on lessons learned from a qualitative research project. Due to my quantitative academic upbringing, I missed the opportunity to dig deeper into the qualitative research material. The article critically reflects the steps of constructing an interview guide, conducting interviews, performing a qualitative content analysis and interpreting the results. Ideas on overcoming these barriers are presented. The article concludes with a positive outlook in the form of recommendations for other novice researchers in qualitative research as well as an appeal to experienced researchers to accompany us on this path

Using importance-performance analysis to bridge the information gap between industry and higher education

The goal of this viewpoint article is to introduce, critically analyse and further develop importance–performance analysis (IPA) as a framework through which strategic management recommendations can be extracted for higher education institutions. The article introduces a new method of combining the perspectives of two significant groups to bridge the information gap between industry and higher education by exploring the results of two differing IPA variants from the context of sport management. The first IPA matches the importance and performance of future competencies based on statements solely derived from the labour market. The second explores the same importance measures in comparison to performance measures derived from current graduates. The authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each analysis and recommend the use of this framework in the effort to decrease the existing information asymmetry between industry and higher education

Furosemide Enhances the Release of Endothelial Kinsis, Nitric Oxide and Prostacyclin

Despite a wealth of data, the mechanism of the direct dilator effect of furosemide on the systemic arterial and venous systems is far from being satisfactorily understood. Therefore, we investigated whether furosemide is capable of stimulating the production of the endogenous vasodilators nitric oxide and prostacyclin in primary cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells by an enhanced synthesis and release of endothelium-derived kinins. Nitric oxide production was assessed in terms of intracellular guanosine cyclic-3',5' monophosphate accumulation; kinin and prostacyclin release were determined by specific radioimmunoassays. Furosemide concentration- and time- dependently increased the formation of nitric oxide and prostacyclin. Maximal increases of both autacoids were already obtained after a 5-min incubation with 3 x 10(-7) to 10(-6) mol/l of furosemide. In the same concentration range, furosemide led to an enhanced release of kinins into the supernatant of the cells. This observation was supported by the inhibitory effect of the specific B2 kinin receptor antagonist icatibant (Hoe 140) on the furosemide-induced increase of nitric oxide and prostacyclin. Thus the hemodynamic effects, and in particular the direct early dilator effect, of furosemide may be explained in part by an enhanced endothelial synthesis and release of bradykinin and related kinins, which in turn stimulates endothelial autacoid formation via B2 kinin receptor activation

How do expectations about the macroeconomy affect personal expectations and behavior?

Using a representative online panel from the US, we examine how individuals' macroeconomic expectations causally affect their personal economic prospects and their behavior. To exogenously vary respondents' expectations, we provide them with different professional forecasts about the likelihood of a recession. Respondents update their macroeconomic outlook in response to the forecasts, extrapolate to expectations about their personal economic circumstances and adjust their consumption plans and stock purchases. Extrapolation to expectations about personal unemployment is driven by individuals with higher exposure to macroeconomic risk, consistent with macroeconomic models of imperfect information in which people are inattentive, but understand how the economy works

Teachers’ role in digitalizing education: an umbrella review

As teachers are central to digitalizing education, we summarize 40 years of research on their role in that process within a systematic umbrella review that includes 23 systematic reviews with a total of 1062 primary studies focusing technology integration and aspects of digital literacy. Our findings highlight the international acceptance of the TPACK framework as well as the need for a clear concept of digital literacy. It is unique that we identify and discuss parallels in developing teachers\u27 digital literacy and integrating digital technologies in the teaching profession as well as barriers to those goals. We conclude by suggesting future directions for research and describing the implications for schools, teacher education, and institutions providing professional development to in-service teachers

Hygienic guidance values for wipe sampling of antineoplastic drugs in Swedish hospitals.

The use of antineoplastic drugs in health care steadily increases. Health care workers can be occupationally exposed to antineoplastic drugs classified as carcinogenic or teratogenic. Monitoring of surface contamination is a common way to assess occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs, since wipe sampling is used as a surrogate measure of dermal exposure. Since no occupational limits for antineoplastic drugs in work environments exist, 'hygienic guidance values' (HGVs) should be used instead. HGVs are practicable, achievable levels, not health based, and can be calculated from exposure data from representative workplaces with good occupational hygiene practices. So far, guidance values for surface monitoring of antineoplastic drugs only exist for pharmacies where antineoplastic drugs are prepared. The objective was to propose HGVs for surface monitoring of cyclophosphamide (CP) and ifosfamide (IF) in Swedish hospitals where antineoplastic drugs are administered to patients. In total, 17 workplaces located at six hospitals in Sweden were surveyed by wipe sampling. Wipe samples were collected, worked up and then analyzed with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Surface contamination of CP and IF was found on 80% and 73% of the sampled surfaces, thus indicating that there is potential for health care workers to be exposed to CP and IF via the skin. The median surface load of CP was 3.3 pg cm(-2) (range <0.05-10 800 pg cm(-2)). The corresponding value for IF was 4.2 pg cm(-2) (range <0.13-95 000 pg cm(-2)). The highest surface loads were found on the floors. The proposed HGVs were set at 90th percentile values, and can be applicable to hospital workplaces where patients are treated with CP or IF. Surface monitoring combined with HGVs is a useful tool for health care workers to regularly benchmark their own surface loads which could control and reduce the occupational exposure to CP and IF in hospital workplaces. Thus, the occupational safety of the health care workers will be increased

Digital Transformation? A longitudinal interview study on teachers’ acceptance and usage of digital tools in times of Covid-19

The role of teachers in the digital transformation of education is recognized as a very important and complex holistic phenomenon (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010; Wohlfart & Wagner, 2022). But which factors promote the lasting implementation of digital tools by teachers? Research shows that successful integration of existing or new digital tools depends on knowledge of and access to, as well as time to explore them (Tondeur et al., 2012). Teachers’ willingness and ability to integrate technology is also influenced by their attitudes or personal fears (Njiku, 2022; Wilson et al., 2020), and exposure to a student-centered constructivist pedagogical approach during teacher education can have a positive effect on digital literacy development and integration of digital tools in teaching practice (Chai et al., 2013). Contrary to the study results, we are far from an exhaustive integration of digital tools in formal education. The International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2018 (ICILS) shows that around 49 % of teachers used digital tools on a day-to-day basis and highlights considerable differences in the availability of technological infrastructure and conditions for professional learning across countries (Fraillon et al., 2019). With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, teachers no longer had the liberty to choose whether to incorporate digital tools into their teaching, as the circumstances made this inevitable (Wohlfart et al., 2021). Within the past three years, schools were forced to adapt and re-adapt to varying situations to fulfil their educational mission. Teachers are central in this environment and especially affected by this process of digital transformation, which makes their experiences particularly interesting and relevant. Current research, however, has often relied on one point of data collection. These studies therefore struggle in explaining individual dependencies in transformation processes. With our study, we aim to better understand how the past years have affected the experience with digital tools in the context of teaching. Analogously, we examine whether the Covid-19 pandemic has thereby led to a sustainable transformation of teachers’ acceptance and usage of digital tools. Our study is based on an extended version of Davis’ (1986) widely accepted technology acceptance model (TAM). The core of the model consists of the variables perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use. In addition, the model describes the variable attitude towards using as a direct product of the former two variables in explaining user motivation for usage of a certain technology. Notwithstanding, these three core variables fail to fully explain the actual use of technologies. This is due to the influence of an array of external factors that determine user acceptance. Previous research has discussed and highlighted in detail the interaction and relevance of considering further external variables such as subjective standards (perception of how important the use of technology is to other people) or self-efficacy (one’s own ability to deal with technology) (Burton-Jones & Hubona, 2006; Lee et al., 2003). To gather a better understanding of the actual use of digital tools in teaching, we apply a refined TAM (Teo et al., 2008) as well as previous research to conduct and analyze longitudinal interviews with secondary schools’ teachers from Germany. Our study examines the following research questions: How has teachers’ acceptance and usage of digital tools developed across time since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic? Which factors influence a lasting integration of digital tools in teaching? Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used To answer our research questions, we conducted a longitudinal interview study over three years in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Here, the federal government suspended on-site school activities for nearly three months after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, re-opening for smaller groups in mid-June of the same year. Teachers, meanwhile, were required to enable distance learning and therefore produce appropriate learning content and transmit this to students. The mutations of the virus over the course of the next years led to iterative restrictions of school life and parallel on-site and distance teaching and learning. With our study design, we wanted to capture specific situations and relevant changes without delay or falsification caused by the dynamics involved with remembered experience over time (Becker et al., 2002). Thus, we conducted three rounds of interviews with the same teachers at secondary schools in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The first round of interviews in May and June of 2020 focused the experience which 15 teachers had with this unfamiliar situation. With a semi-structured interview guide, we asked the interviewees about their personal experiences with the adoption of digital tools in times of distance teaching. We followed up on these interviews with the same teachers in May and June of 2021 (n=12) and 2022 (n=10) respectively, interested in the personal development of the interviewed teachers and changes in the adoption of digital tools in face-to-face teaching over time. The 37 interviews lasted between 29 and 66 minutes, were audio-recorded, and transcribed – leading to a comprehensive database of about 400 pages of single-spaced transcribed text. We performed an iterative qualitative content analysis on the 37 transcripts according to Mayring (2015) with deductive categories based on the literature review (e.g. perceived usefulness, tools applied, infrastructure, etc.) as well as inductive categories that emerged from the transcribed interview material (e.g. changes, classroom management, school development etc.). The first two rounds of qualitative data analysis resulted in 42 codes and 2.177 coded segments (status of 18.01.2023). Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The analysis of interviews from 2020 indicate contrary to previous literature, that Covid-19 as an external factor has a universal impact on all variables along the TAM and thereby positively and directly affects the acceptance and usage of digital tools in teaching. Furthermore, we identified three vital external factors: (1) regulations and specifications, (2) technological infrastructure and (3) the heterogeneity of students and teachers (Wohlfart et al. 2021). With the second collection of interviews, we wanted to better understand how teachers’ usage and acceptance of specific digital tools developed across time and experience. The findings highlight the development of user motivation of most teachers and while some inhibiting external factors remained (e.g. lack of infrastructure), others had been overcome (e.g. universal regulations/specifications). Overall, the acceptance and integration of digital tools increased over the first year. With the third round of interviews, we expect to find valuable information concerning lasting adaption of digital tools in face-to-face teaching and better understand why this may not be the case for all teachers. With this, we hope to derive lessons learned from this unique situation and conclude the pandemic to have been (at least in parts) a catalyst for digital transformation in education