Search Results for
"human"

The decision to revise an educational choice has hardly been analyzed in previous research. Dropping out is only one possible choice, and we distinguish between dropping out (leaving the apprenticeship system) and changing or upgrading (staying within the apprenticeship system) as three possibilities to revise an educational decision, using a dataset that consists of apprentices who have dissolved their apprenticeship contract. We analyze the determinants of leaving apprenticeship training using competing risks models. Dropout decisions seem to be driven by financial considerations such as financial distress, but local labor market conditions seem to have no effect on them. Our findings underline the importance of distinguishing between the different choices instead of focusing exclusively on dropping out. © 2015, Walter de Gruyter GmbH. All rights reserved.

In a modern economy, the investment in human capital by firms is crucial to foster technological adoption and foster productivity growth. This paper analyzes the correlation between firm size and the investment in job training by employers. Using a large firm level data set across 99 developing countries, we show that a strong and positive correlation in the investment in job training and firm size is a robust statistical finding both within and across countries with very different institutions and levels of development. Even though we cannot fully disentangle correlation from causality, we show that the size-training gap is not fully explained by differences across firms in market imperfections or institutional failures impeding the development of smaller firms. Our findings call for the urgency of collecting better panel data sets to understand how cost-effective are on-the-job training programs in fostering firm productivity and growth in developing countries. Jel codes: J24, D24 © 2015, Almeida and Aterido; licensee Springer.

Purpose – Based on the theory of planned behaviour and social learning theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of training participation and learning experience on the beliefs of low-educated employees about their self-efficacy for learning. Design/methodology/approach – Low-educated workers of three different organizations (n=359) filled out a questionnaire at three different points in time, with a half-yearly interval. Regression analyses were used to establish the effects of training participation and learning experience on learning self-efficacy. Findings – Training participation alone did not affect low-educated workers’ learning self-efficacy, but a positive learning experience did contribute to workers’ post-training learning self-efficacy. These results support the relevance of positive learning experiences. Research limitations/implications – Follow-up studies could focus on the effects of learning self-efficacy for subsequent learning activities, establish which aspects of training contribute to a positive learning experience, and include contextual characteristics that may predict learning self-efficacy. Practical implications – To stimulate learning among lower educated workers, it is necessary that they have confidence in their ability to successfully complete their training. Trainers and training developers working for this specific target group of lower educated workers should aim to provide training that is a positive experience, besides being a learning exercise. Originality/value – The study is the first to analyse the longitudinal effects of training participation and learning experience on post-training learning self-efficacy among low-educated workers. © 2015, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The goal of this work was to use these cross-national comparisons to better understand how human resource policies operate to affect firm performance, not as individual practices, but as bundles of interacting practices that have positive effects on both productivity and the quality of life of workers. © Copyright 1997 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin.

Introduction: We undertook a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the literature to identify how professionalism is defined in the medical education literature. Methods: Eligible studies included any articles published between 1999 and 2009 inclusive presenting viewpoints, opinions, or empirical research on defining medical professionalism. Results: We identified 195 papers on the topic of definition of professionalism in medicine. Of these, we rated 26 as high quality and included these in the narrative synthesis. Conclusion: As yet there is no overarching conceptual context of medical professionalism that is universally agreed upon. The continually shifting nature of the organizational and social milieu in which medicine operates creates a dynamic situation where no definition has yet taken hold as definitive. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd.

Fukuoka University Hospital began to employ a resident pharmacist system in 2006. In the present study, to evaluate our resident program, we conducted a questionnaire survey of graduates who completed program as well as staff of the Pharmaceutical Department of this hospital. In addition, based on the results of this survey, we examined the current state and future of postgraduate training programs that can be offered to those who have completed a 6-year pharmacy course. The proportion of residents and staff who responded to the survey was 76.5% (13/17) and 100% (42/42), respectively. Of these two groups, the program was rated as beneficial by 92% and 72%, respectively. Regarding the contents of the training program, both residents and staff highly evaluated guidance on drug management on wards and the preparation of drugs (including anti-cancer agents) because these were useful for actual work. The necessity and usefulness of a resident program under the 6-year course system were also suggested. According to those graduating from a 6-year pharmacy course, a training program should include training instructions for students in a long-term internship during the 1st year, and specialty pharmacist education during the 2nd year. The results of our study suggest that it is advisable to begin to provide graduates on a 6-year course who participate in a resident program with specialized education focused on ward duties from the latter half of the 1st year based on their undergraduate education. © 2014 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.

Summary Interprofessional education, learning which brings together different professional groups, helps to prepare practitioners for effective team-based collaborative practice and is now included in all undergraduate training programmes in the health professions. We explore the merits of team-based interprofessional learning, drawing on learning theory and mental health policy. We endorse the use of a practice-based interprofessional education model involving patients in which students experience the complexity of team working and the clinical team gain a more detailed analysis of team processes, which can enhance the quality of patient care. The model has been replicated for undergraduate education in mental healthcare and could easily be used for postgraduate staff. Interprofessional education at postgraduate level could foster the ongoing team-based reflective learning needed to enable mental health services in the UK to adapt to the dramatic changes both in their organisation and in the roles and responsibilities of individual professions.

The laboratory setting is an exciting and gratifying place to teach because you can actively engage the students in the learning process through hands-on activities; it is a dynamic environment amenable to collaborative work, critical thinking, problem-solving and discovery. The guided inquiry-based approach described here guides the students through their laboratory work at a steady pace that encourages them to focus on quality observations, careful data collection and thought processes surrounding the chemistry involved. It motivates students to work in a collaborative manner with frequent opportunities for feedback, reflection, and modification of their ideas. Each laboratory activity has four stages to keep the students' efforts on track: pre-lab work, an in-lab discussion, in-lab work, and a post-lab assignment. Students are guided at each stage by an instructor created template that directs their learning while giving them the opportunity and flexibility to explore new information, ideas, and questions. These templates are easily transferred into an electronic journal (termed the E-notebook) and form the basic structural framework of the final lab reports the students submit electronically, via a learning management system. The guided-inquiry based approach presented here uses a single laboratory activity for undergraduate Introductory Biochemistry as an example. After implementation of this guided learning approach student surveys reported a higher level of course satisfaction and there was a statistically significant improvement in the quality of the student work. Therefore we firmly believe the described format to be highly effective in promoting student learning and engagement. © 2013 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Co-operatives are seen to offer alternatives for individuals to improve their livelihoods. However, they have a mixed record, especially in Africa. Initially controlled by the state, many co-operatives did not survive with the advent of structural adjustment policies. However, there is now a revival. In parallel, some countries have policies to engage youth in co-operatives. Can co-operatives, as socially oriented businesses, throw off their history and provide an opportunity for youth? This article examines this question by combining extensive field data from youth co-operatives in Uganda and Lesotho with situated learning and human development theories. It finds that contemporary co-operatives and their networks provide an 'expanded learning space' for youth, although there is differentiation by education and gender and type of co-operative. The article makes a novel contribution to debates about co-operatives in development and their potential to provide an alternative route for youth futures. © 2014 European Association of Development Research.

The purpose of the study was to identify if performance of speech-language pathology students in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials could predict subsequent clinical performance evaluated through (a) a non-standardized, custom clinical evaluation form (HKU form) and (b) a standardized competency assessment for speech pathology developed in Australia (COMPASS®). Students' scores from PBL tutorial performance were correlated with scores in clinical placement on both the HKU form and the COMPASS. Significant correlations were found between students' PBL tutorial performance (reflective journals and participation in the tutorial process) and their clinical performance (treatment and interpersonal skills) on the HKU clinical evaluation form. Significant correlations were also found between (a) PBL tutorial performance (participation in the tutorial process) and their clinical performance (all generic and occupational competencies, and the overall score) on the COMPASS, (b) PBL tutorial performance (reading forms) and two occupational competencies on the COMPASS, (c) PBL tutorial performance (reflective journals) and four occupational competencies and the overall score on the COMPASS. The results highlighted the need for validating the assessment for the learning process in PBL tutorials with empirical evidence and the advantage of assessing clinical performance through COMPASS in Hong Kong. Tutors, clinical supervisors and students should be given clear behavioral descriptors for expected performance in PBL tutorials and clinical practice at different year levels. © 2014 Informa UK Ltd. All rights reserved.