Project description:This study examines the extent to which the market for PhDs in the sciences can impact economic returns in Cameroon. The specific objectives address the demand and supply for PhDs and the challenges encountered by these PhDs in the labour market. An ordinal regression model is used to assess the effect of the demand and supply of PhD on economic returnsin Cameroon. The findings reveal a direct and significant relationship between the market for PhDs and economic benefits with respect to years of schooling, experience, sector of employment, abilities of PhD holders and the number of PhD holders in the study area. There is also evidence that the demand for PhDs is high in academia than in industries. Indeed, most PhDs find careers in academia than in the industry due to a mismatch of skills between the demand for skills in industry and the supply of skills by higher education institutions. We propose some recommendations on how to improve the market for PhDs in Cameroon and similar African economies.
Project description:Modern medicine has progressed in parallel with the advancement of biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology. By using the tools of modern medicine, the physician today can treat and prevent a number of diseases through pharmacology, genetics, and physical interventions. Besides this materia medica, the patient's mind, cognitions, and emotions play a central part as well in any therapeutic outcome, as investigated by disciplines such as psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology. This review describes recent findings that give scientific evidence to the old tenet that patients must be both cured and cared for. In fact, we are today in a good position to investigate complex psychological factors, like placebo effects and the doctor-patient relationship, by using a physiological and neuroscientific approach. These intricate psychological factors can be approached through biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology, thus eliminating the old dichotomy between biology and psychology. This is both a biomedical and a philosophical enterprise that is changing the way we approach and interpret medicine and human biology. In the first case, curing the disease only is not sufficient, and care of the patient is of tantamount importance. In the second case, the philosophical debate about the mind-body interaction can find some important answers in the study of placebo effects. Therefore, maybe paradoxically, the placebo effect and the doctor-patient relationship can be approached by using the same biochemical, cellular and physiological tools of the materia medica, which represents an epochal transition from general concepts such as suggestibility and power of mind to a true physiology of the doctor-patient interaction.
Project description:Background: As greater career development support for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers has been emphasized, the individual development plan (IDP) has become a recommended mentoring tool. However, little is known about the effect of IDPs on mentoring and career development. This study proposed two conceptual models to examine the interrelationships among the use of IDPs, mentoring support, and career preparedness with a diverse sample of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences. Methods: The data leveraged for this study was collected over a three-month period, March 2016 to June 2016, as part of a cross-sectional, online survey. The survey was distributed through social media and direct email to participants enrolled in life/biological/medical or physical/applied doctoral programs at U.S. institutions. To test the proposed conceptual models, this study employed the design-based multilevel structural equation modeling. Results: The analytic sample comprised 660 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in the life sciences from 91 institutions. The results suggested that 1) using the IDP could enhance mentoring support and career preparedness of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers; 2) greater mentoring support and career preparedness would motivate mentees to continue utilizing the IDP with their principal investigator (PI) or advisor; and 3) females, postdoctoral researchers, and international scholars might need more support throughout the mentoring and career development process. Conclusions: This research offered empirical evidence for how an IDP, mentorship, and career preparedness interact. Findings revealed the IDP enhances mentoring support and career preparedness, as well as mentoring support and career preparedness predict IDP use. We conclude the IDP is an important mentorship tool that enhances trainees' overall career preparation.
Project description:AimThis study aims to evaluate the necessity and feasibility of integrating a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree into Endodontic programs at the Faculty of Dentistry King Abdulaziz University, (KAUFD), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to gather insights from key stakeholders regarding the value and necessity of a Ph.D. in enhancing the field of Endodontics.Materials and methodsAn online questionnaire link was distributed among potential Ph.D. candidates and key decision-makers in Endodontics in Saudi Arabia through social media and emails to members of the Saudi Endodontic Society and the Saudi Endodontic Journal. The questionnaire assessed demographics, professional background, interest in Ph.D. programs, program preferences, perceived need for Ph.D. programs in various sectors, and university selection criteria. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 23).Results141 responses were received. Most respondents were aged 31-40, with an almost equal gender distribution. In terms of current position, a significant number were Endodontic consultants (35.7%) and Endodontic residents/Master students (28.6%) (P = 0.006). Additionally, a considerable proportion of probable prospective students had less than 5 years of expertise (45.7%) (p = 0.013), and the highest degree held by many was a bachelor's degree (35.7%) (P = 0.007). Key considerations for prospective students were program duration, Saudi Commission for Health Specialists (SCFHS) recognition, part-time options, and cost. The importance of acquiring research skills, such as learning new research technologies and gaining publication experience, was also highlighted.ConclusionThe findings strongly suggest a need for a Ph.D. program in Endodontics in Saudi Arabia. The results provide valuable insights for developing a program that aligns with potential candidates' and key stakeholders' needs and preferences, thereby advancing Endodontic research and education within the country.
Project description:An important aim of teaching philosophy in Dutch secondary schools is to learn about philosophy (i.e., the great philosophers) by doing philosophy. We examined doing philosophy and focused specifically on the relationship between student learning activities and teacher behavior; in doing so, a qualitative cross-case analysis of eight philosophy lessons was performed. The effectiveness of doing philosophy was operationalized into five learning activities comprising rationalizing, analyzing, testing, producing criticism, and reflecting, and scored by means of qualitative graphical time registration. Using CA we find a quantitative one-dimensional scale for the lessons that contrasts lessons that are more and less effective in terms of learning and teaching. A relationship was found between teaching by teachers and doing philosophy by students. In particular we found students to produce a higher level of doing philosophy with teachers who chose to organize a philosophical discussion with shared guidance by the teacher together with the students.
Project description:Biologists in search of answers to real-world issues such as the ecological consequences of global warming, the design of species' conservation plans, understanding landscape dynamics and understanding gene expression make decisions constantly that are based on a 'philosophical' stance as to how to create and test explanations of an observed phenomenon. For better or for worse, some kind of philosophy is an integral part of the doing of biology. Given this, it is more important than ever to undertake a practical assessment of what philosophy does mean and should mean to biologists. Here, I address three questions: should biologists pay any attention to 'philosophy'; should biologists pay any attention to 'philosophy of biology'; and should biologists pay any attention to the philosophy of biology literature on modelling? I describe why the last question is easily answered affirmatively, with the proviso that the practical benefits to be gained by biologists from this literature will be directly proportional to the extent to which biologists understand 'philosophy' to be a part of biology, not apart from biology.