Kellie W. Roberts

Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers: An Exploratory Study of Students’ and Professors’ Perceptions

Mentoring is believed to be one of the most influential factors in US efforts to encourage college‐aged students to seek careers in science, yet the role that mentoring plays in this process has not been elucidated. The researchers were interested in understanding whether the long‐held beliefs about the importance of mentoring would be revealed as what actually occurs in an undergraduate research program. They describe students’ perceptions of the mentoring process and students’ beliefs about how it impacted their experiences as undergraduate researchers and their development as scientists. Also described are professors’ perceptions of their roles and effectiveness as mentors in students’ development as scientists. A multi‐case narrative analysis was conducted of two groups, undergraduate science scholars (n=5) and mentoring professors (n=5), who were each interviewed on two occasions at the beginning and end of the first year of a funded research program. As this grounded research study shows, students and professors described student gains as increased technical expertise and communication skills. Professors suggested that they were available to students on a regular and frequent basis. However, students’ experiences suggested a contradiction. They were often mentored by postgraduates, technical assistants, and other students; their meetings with mentoring professors were infrequent and at times distant. With respect to mentoring, this finding highlights the differences between beliefs and the reality of what was delivered. Professors discussed the challenges associated with mentoring including the recruitment of and difficulty of working with students whose first language was not English and concerns about the quality of instruction from graduate students.

Local agricultural financing and Islamic banks: is Qard-al-Hassan a possible solution?

Purpose – This paper aims to study Qard-al-Hasan (QH) (good loan) from the stand point of its possible application to agricultural farming with a view to augmenting the sources of Riba (interest)-free agricultural financing for Muslim farmers of Islamic countries like Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a study of QH (good loan) from the stand point of its possible application to agricultural farming with a view to augmenting the sources of Riba (interest)-free agricultural financing for Muslim farmers of Islamic countries like Pakistan. Findings – The study reports that Riba-free financing is essentially needed by poor Muslim farmers who, owing to prohibition of Riba, do not rely on interest (Riba)-based financing. The study also shows that QH is a viable option for fulfilling this need and is beneficial for the farmers as well as for the Islamic banks or financial institutions. Research limitations/implications – The case of QH as a potential mode of agricultural financing, as presente...

Dental school student and faculty perspectives about changing to comprehensive patient-care clinic management

Abstract Purpose Some dental schools have modified the curriculum to better meet students’ educational needs while providing comprehensive patient care. Like other organizations, their inability to adapt to changes has been of concern to scholars. Frequently, organizations focus on technical aspects and minimize the human component. Qualitative studies are essential to describing how faculty and students respond to large-scale planned programmatic change so that findings can be used to guide implementation efforts. Method Fullans theory of action framed this study. Multi-case narrative inquiry was used to explore faculty and students’ experiences during the first year of their new clinical education model. Focus group meetings elicited perspectives about the programs effectiveness. Results There was congruence between programmatic goals and implementation: interdisciplinary teaching and communication, collegiality and collaboration, varied student learning, and faculty mentoring. However, the clinical management system and the lack of training hampered the progress of implementation and change. There were also disagreements about competency attainment. Conclusions Aspects of Fullans model were shown while components: that systems learn, capacity building prevails, and learning the work were not evident. The temporal nature of participants’ experiences shaped their stories. Providing comprehensive patient care while ensuring that students acquire skills for becoming competent general dental practitioners is indeed a delicate balance.

Factors That Advance and Restrict Programme Change and Professional Development in Dental Education.

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a professional development initiative using organisational change research studies to frame the inquiry. Two faculty groups and two student groups participated in a total of four focus group interviews to ascertain their perceptions of a new model of pre-clinical dental education. Using a grounded theory approach, the findings showed that there were individual, structural and resource-related issues that advanced and restricted the successful implementation of the initiative. The exchange of ideas and the development of critical thinking skills, the use of modelling in multidisciplinary clinics, and just in time consultation were benefits of the programme, while its reliance on attaining competencies to determine student skill development and continual issues with patient allocation and a sufficient pool of patients were drawbacks. The findings suggest that inviting those involved in the professional development initiative into an investigation of their instructional practices while trying out new ideas in action is key to the processes of institutionalising change and engendering professional development growth.

The Effect of Job Insecurity on Attitude towards Change and Organizational Citizenship Behavior : Moderating Role of Islāmic Work Ethics

The main purpose of this study is to examine the direct and interactive effects of job insecurity and Islāmic work ethics on employee’s attitude towards change and organizational citizenship behavior. The data was collected from 171 male and female university teachers in Pakistan. Selfadministered, closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect the data. Moderated regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Results of data analysis showed that job insecurity has a strong negative effect on the attitude towards change in university teachers. On the contrary, job insecurity exhibits no significant effect on organizational citizenship behavior of university teachers. A positive direct effect of Islāmic work ethics on a ttitude towards change and organizational citizenship is also confirmed. It is also established that Islāmic work ethics do not moderate the relation of job insecurity and attitude towards change; however a moderation effect of Islāmic work ethics is found in the relationship between job insecurity and organizational citizenship behavior. This study provides the first ever examination of the relationship of job insecurity with employee’s attitude towards change and organizational citizenship behavior with the moderating effect of Islāmic work ethics.

Mushārakah—A Realistic Approach to the Concept in Islamic Finance and its Application to the Agricultural Sector in Pakistan

AbstractFood is one of the basic necessities that is imperative for human survival. The majority of farmers related to agriculture belong to the lower class and are hence not in a position to fulfil their agricultural needs. Therefore, they must borrow from various sources, e.g., from individuals, organizations, and/or banks, using interest-based lending, which Muslims are prohibited from doing according to the Sharīʿah. Here the concept of mushārakah (participatory mode of finance) is the best option. The present work discusses the application of such transactions to overcome farmers’ financial problems. In this article, the concept of mushārakah is first elaborated in light of classical/contemporary Islamic law literature referring to its rules and regulations followed by a discussion on how mushārakah can be effectively applied to the agricultural sector. The concepts of muzāraʿah (temporary sharecropping contract), musāqah, diminishing mushārakah (al-mushārakah al-mutanāqisah), and customer agency are critically analyzed in such away to make these fit and viable for farmers and Islamic financial institutions.