Early career researchers and their authorship and peer review beliefs and practices: An international study

This article reports on the findings of an international online survey of early career researchers (ECRs) with regard to their authorship and peer review, attitudes, and practices, which sought to discover how the new wave of researchers were utilizing these key aspects of the scholarly communications system. A questionnaire was developed on the back of a 3‐year longitudinal, qualitative study and was distributed through publisher lists, social media networks, university networks, and specialist ECR membership organizations. Identical English, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and French versions of the questionnaire were used. Results from 1,600 respondents demonstrated that 82.7% had co‐authored a paper, and most had performed a variety of authorship tasks. Almost half the respondents reported being subject to various authorship policies, although a quarter said they were not aware of any such policies. Almost all Chinese ECRs reported being subject to authorship policies, but only a third of UK ECRs reported the same. Three‐quarters of ECRs had experience in responding to peer review, and half had been peer reviewers. Half the respondents had a good experience of review and viewed it as a valuable way to improve their authorship skills. However, there was some criticism of some shortcoming such as lengthy peer review and superficial or uninformed comments by reviewers. Double‐blind review was the preferred methodology, and there were few suggestions for how to improve the review process.     

Decision-Making Styles of Department Chairs at Public Jordanian Universities: A high-expectancy workforce

Tertiary Education and Management - The primary purpose of this study was to determine the decision-making styles of department chairs employed by three public institutions in Jordan. A total of 95...     

A nationwide comparative study between private and public university students’ soft skills

The main function of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) is to produce skilled and knowledgeable workforce who are able to not only function with minimal guidance but also to contribute effectively to the hiring organizations. Many studies have indicated that most HEIs have somewhat similar course content and thrived at producing students with good academic achievement. But what differentiated them from one another is their ability to develop knowledge workers with the right employability skills or ??soft skills?? such as communication, problem-solving, interpersonal and other skills deemed important as the foundations by which they require to function at work regardless of the nature of employment. This paper reports findings of a large-scale study looking into the soft skills attainment of Malaysian HEI graduates. A quantitative survey design was employed whereby data were obtained through the administration of an instrument called the Malaysian Soft Skills Scale (My3S). My3S consists of 180 items covering seven elements namely Communications, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Teamwork, Moral and Professional Ethics, Leadership, Life Long Learning and Entrepreneurial aspects. The mean scores for the seven My3S subscales were found to be between 6.3 and 7.8 from the maximum possible score of 10. Specifically, comparisons were made between graduates of public and private institutions with respect to the seven elements. Findings of the study suggest that, in general, students of public HEIs scored higher in all seven skills. With respect to gender, male students scored higher than female students in all elements except for teamwork skills and moral and professional ethics. A comparison between fields of study showed that for both types of HEIs, technical students scored the highest in all skills except for moral and professional ethics. Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that in addition to offering specific courses to improve soft skills attainment, HEIs need to embed soft skills in their academic curricula.     

Effective teaching approach employed by primary school science teachers

Teachers are often urged to use a variety of modes of instruction to ensure that diverse student interests and abilities can be accomodated. Yet teachers can be limited in the instructional modes they can use because of insufficient background or knowledge about a specific instructional mode （Dawson, 2004）. Teaching approaches are various in purposes such as to trigger students＇ interest in science, to discover through inquiry approach, to build students understanding through constructivism approach or to introduce a concept through demontration approach. Every approach has the strength and weakness in its use. Although inquiry may not be the only way to teach science, many science educators believe that it may be the best way for students to learn science （Audet ＆ Jordan, 2005）. According to Woolfolk （2001）, constructivism is a mode of instruction that emphasizes the active role of the learner in building, understanding and making sense of information. Demonstrations by teacher can be used with students of all ages and across all subjects. The teacher is not only knowledgeable about the topic but also uses a variety of aids to ensure that students understand what is being demonstrated （Marsh, 2004）. By studying their teaching approaches and methods, the actual practices could be analysed and the effectiveness status of their effectiveness could be determined. Specifically, this study aimed to answer these questions in terms of three approaches namely inquiry, constructivism and demonstrations; how far is this approach effective in terms of teaching and learning, and what is the correlation between these three approaches. Data were collected from primary school science teachers （N=239） and the results shown that the teachers were agreeable with the three approaches, inquiry approach （mean=3.74, SD=0.27）, demonstration approach （mean=3.61, SD=0.27） and constructivism approach （mean=3.86, SD=0.30）. The results also showed that there are significant correlations among inquiry, demonstration and constructivism approach. This finding showed that primary school science teachers not depend only on one type of approach and apply variously in teaching science. There are also positive and significant correlation between that approaches used by primary school science teachers.     

The Role of Formal Education,Technical and Management Training on Information Systems (IS) Managers' Managerial Effectiveness as Perceived by Their Subordinates

This study examined the relationship between Information Systems (IS) managers' formal education, level of technical and managerial training and their managerial effectiveness as perceived by their subordinates. The study finds that there is a strong positive relationship between the amount of technical training IS managers have received and their managerial effectiveness as perceived by their subordinates. There is also a significant relationship between IS managers' level of managerial training and their subordinates' perception of their managerial effectiveness. The managers' level of formal education was not found to have a significant relationship to the subordinates' perceived level of (their) managerial effectiveness. Finally, a regression model has been proposed to measure Information System managers'managerial effectiveness.     

Paired values of serum fructosamine and blood glucose for the screening of gestational diabetes mellitus: A retrospective study of 165 Saudi pregnant women

This study reports the utilization of serum fructosamine and blood glucose for the screening of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Blood samples from 165 pregnant women were analyzed for fasting blood glucose (FBG), random blood glucose (RBG) and serum fructosamine. The actual fructosamine levels were corrected for serum protein (c-Fruct) for more precise presentation. Two cut-off values of FBG (>5.3 mmol/L and >7.0 mmol/L) and RBG (>7.8 mmol/L and >11.0 mmol/L) were used to classify hyperglycemic subjects for subsequent evaluation. The average values±standard deviations for FBG, RBG and cFruct were 5.865±1.95, 7.767±3.21 and 2.387±0.47 mmol/L, respectively. FBG levels were significantly correlated with RBG (Pearson correlation=0.597, P<0.001). Significant correlations were also observed between cFruct and FBG (Pearson correlation=0.673, P<0.001) or RBG (Pearson correlation=0.641, P<0.001). Out of 165 subjects, 24 (14.5%) cases were classified as hyperglycemic on the basis of FBG>7.0 mmol/L or RBG>11.0 mmol/L; use of lower cut-off values resulted higher frequencies of hyperglycemia. Whereas, a combined criteria of FBG>5.3 mmol/L and cFruct >2.5 mmol/L predicted 35 patients as the most probable hyperglycemic as compared to 32 patients identified using the criteria of RBG >7.8 mmol/L and cFruct >2.5 mmol/L. These criteria were associated with 4.8% and 3.6% false-positivity at the expense of 3.6% and 3.0% false-negative outcomes, respectively. The levels of FBG, RBG and cFruct were significantly higher in hyperglycemic groups (irrespective of grouping criteria) as compared to the respective normal groups. In conclusion, these findings clearly indicate that the paired values of cFruct with FBG or RBG could help in filtering high-risk individuals for OGTT and therefore avoiding a unnecessary OGTT.     

Finding the next ‘wave’ in internationalisation of higher education: focus on Malaysia

This article presents a case study of Malaysia’s inroad in internationalising its higher education system for the past three decades and proposes recommendations and the way forward in internationalisation. Internationalisation is one of the critical agenda in Malaysia’s higher education transformation with an end target of becoming an international hub of higher education excellence by 2020. The country is no stranger in internationalisation as efforts in student mobility, academic programmes and international collaboration have started since the 1980s and 1990s. As with other higher education systems globally, it was the private sector that initiated and sustained efforts in internationalisation of Malaysian higher education. With the growth in international student enrolment, the country has established itself as a student hub; however, greater focus and clarity in direction should be set forward in accelerating Malaysia’s progress in internationalisation, with research and development as a potential catalyst. The article also questions Malaysia’s current standing with regard to internationalisation and the need in facilitating higher education institutions to build their capacity in internationalisation, highlighting the important roles of individual institutions at both public and private sector that drive the country’s internationalisation agenda.     

Importance of ticks and their chemical and immunological control in livestock

The medical and economic importance of ticks has long been recognized due to their ability to transmit diseases to humans and animals. Ticks cause great economic losses to livestock, and adversely affect livestock hosts in several ways. Loss of blood is a direct effect of ticks acting as potential vector for haemo-protozoa and helminth parasites. Blood sucking by large numbers of ticks causes reduction in live weight and anemia among domestic animals, while their bites also reduce the quality of hides. However, major losses caused by ticks are due to their ability to transmit protozoan, rickettsial and viral diseases of livestock, which are of great economic importance world-wide. There are quite a few methods for controlling ticks, but every method has certain shortcomings. The present review is focused on ticks importance and their control.     

Open and Dual-Mode Universities in East and South Asia

This article draws primarily upon Asian research, literature, and experience to describe the open and dualmode universities of East and South Asia. It describes their origins, admissions, development, delivery methods, and applications of technology. It discusses their successes and failures and the contributing political, social, economic, and cultural factors. It questions whether Asian distance education is best served by adopting Western models or whether there is need for the evolution of indigenous systems more firmly based upon local, vocational, social, and cultural needs. It considers faculty development and performance improvement issues and concludes by arguing for more research and evaluation to increase the institutions' standing with the governments, students, and communities they serve.