scholarly journals Does Evolution matter?: a case study in Brazil of the effects of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere in postgraduate students' belief in God/religious belief

2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 551-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan A. Dias ◽  
Rodrigo H. Willemart ◽  
Antonio C. Marques
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Alternative Conception ◽  
World Population ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
Religious Professionals

Although the theory of evolution is more than 150 years old, a substantial proportion of the world population does not mention it when explaining the origin of human beings. The usual alternative conception is offered by creationism, one of the main obstacles to full acceptance of evolution in many countries. National polls have demonstrated that schooling and religiosity are negatively correlated, with scientists being one of the least religious professionals. Herein we analyzed both (1) the profile of 1st semester undergraduate students and (2), thesis and dissertations, concerning religious and evolutionary thoughts from Biology and Veterinary Schools at the largest university of South America. We have shown that students of Biology are biased towards evolution before they enter university and also that the presence of an evolutionary-thinking academic atmosphere influences the deism/religiosity beliefs of postgraduate students.

scholarly journals Managing the pork supply chain through a cooperative: the case of Jinzhong Food Co. Ltd.

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Ji ◽  
Fu Jia ◽  
Jacques Trienekens
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Agricultural Economics ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Pork Industry ◽  
Supply Chain Governance

Food security and supply continuity have become main concerns of food companies and societies nowadays. To address these concerns, Jinzhong Food Co. Ltd. (hereafter abbreviated to Jinzhong) was one of the first Chinese meat companies to establish and integrate a pig production cooperative in 2005. Over the last decade or so, Jinzhong has successfully developed the cooperative to stabilize and improve the quality of pig supply, by building relationships with pig producers (farmers) and achieving an exceptional financial performance in the process. The company-led cooperative represents an innovative supply chain governance mechanism in a Chinese context. However, the pork industry has evolved significantly and the time has come for the senior management team at Jinzhong to decide whether or not to keep the cooperative. This case study is aimed at senior undergraduate students and postgraduate students specializing in agricultural economics/agribusiness and can also be used for executive training for the management of food companies.

scholarly journals Differences in Interpersonal Communication Efficacy among Chinese and International Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-85
Author(s):  
Xintong Lu
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Policy Makers

Within Chinese societies, as in western ones, interpersonal relationships, which can also be called social relations, are one of the most important needs for human beings. Within universities, Interpersonal Communication Efficacy (ICE) has been regarded as having a direct influence on the psychological health of undergraduate students. Based upon the theory of Bandura’s self-efficacy and Xie Jing’s ICE, this article compares the extent of ICE between domestic and international students in a Chinese university. The aim is to identify the similarities and differences between the two research groups, and the implications for the stakeholders (students, teachers, policy-makers, and researchers). A case study was conducted using a questionnaire survey. By employing the methods of quantitative analysis, the questionnaires of 390 respondents were analysed by using variance analysis of SPSS software. The findings of the study reveal that Chinese students are more likely to pay attention to interpersonal communication, and are more interdependent than other international students. This implies the importance of teaching communication skills, improving interpersonal communication efficacy, and understanding teaching and learning across cultures within the ongoing internationalisation of education.

scholarly journals Coaching as support for postgraduate students: A case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Role Conflict ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Support Function ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Coaching Intervention ◽  
Insight Into

Background: Undergraduate students as a group are well researched, with focus on enhancing student engagement and improving learning and teaching methods. However, working postgraduate students have become a growing trend in the higher education sector, with little known about their experience. The purpose of this research is to better understand and to gain insight into the inter-role conflict experienced by postgraduate students owing to managing the multiple roles of work, personal life and studies. This article reports the case study of a coaching intervention administered to a group of postgraduate students over a 5-month period. The study concludes that the inclusion of a coaching intervention to assist postgraduate students in dealing with inter-role stress can no longer be ignored. Coaching support is an authentic way to support these students, with benefits reaching beyond the classroom.Research purpose: The purpose of this research is to better understand the inter-role conflict emanating from managing work, personal life and studies, and to gain insight into the role of coaching as a support function.Motivation for the study: There is limited research focusing on the experiences of postgraduate students, who are often working either part-time or full-time while pursuing their studies, and navigating three overlapping role domains simultaneously. Furthermore, even less is known about coaching as a support function to strike a balance between these three demanding roles.Research design, approach and method: This study is qualitative in nature. A coaching intervention over a 5-month period was used to assist postgraduate students in managing inter-role conflict.Main findings: The study suggests that coaching can be used as a method to address the interface between work, personal life and study demands for the working postgraduate student. To ensure successful throughput rates in the allocated time, a new support framework is required to complement the often insufficient academic interventions.Contribution: The contribution of the research is twofold: Firstly, it focuses on working postgraduate students to gain insight into and a better understanding of the potential of coaching. Secondly, it highlights coaching as a potential support function. Very little research exists in the general literature on how to support working postgraduate students in higher education. The research also shows the potential of coaching as a support function to help postgraduate students navigate the three demanding role domains.

scholarly journals Vegetable supply chain integration: the case of a trinity cooperative in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-780
Author(s):  
Lu Wang ◽  
Jianli Luo
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Agricultural Economics ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Rural Finance ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Cooperation Mechanism ◽  
Financial Credit

China’s vegetable supply chain faces challenges, such as the shortage of technologies for vegetable production, storage and preservation, imperfect rural finance services, and uncertainty in terms of vegetable production and sales. Companies and the Chinese government focus on food safety and security, as well as supply stability. The Meiyu Cooperative is a National Top 100 farmers’ cooperative in China that addresses these concerns successfully. It has established ‘a trinity cooperation mechanism’ to coordinate and integrate vegetable production, supply and sale, and financial credit. The cooperative has successfully built close relationships with farmers and companies, thus achieving financial, social, and environment benefits. This cooperation mechanism represents an innovative model for integrating the vegetable supply chain and providing necessary services based on farmers’ demands. This case study is addressed to senior undergraduate students and postgraduate students specialising in agricultural economics and can also be used for training administrators in food companies.

Design of Experiments in a higher education setting

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiju Antony ◽  
Laxman Sivanathan ◽  
E.V. Gijo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Design Of Experiments ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Validity Of Results ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Study Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of Design of Experiments (DoE) in a higher education setting and to remove the misconception that it is only applied to a manufacturing environment. The authors demonstrate a simple case study here to illustrate its application in a typical non-manufacturing context. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology involves the execution of a simple study in the form of an experiment in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Strathclyde. The experiment was performed with the assistance of both undergraduate and postgraduate students in one department in the Faculty of Engineering. Findings – It was found from the experiment that postgraduate students prefer a case study approach of teaching with multiple speakers and prefer their classes in the morning. As for undergraduate students, similar results were obtained but would prefer their classes in the afternoon. Moreover further analysis shows that the postgraduate students prefer a 30 minutes introduction to the topic in a one hour lecture. Moreover the students prefer more time to be spent on the exercises and less time on the discussion. Research limitations/implications – The sample size of the experiment was considered small in the study although this was a pilot study to investigate the use of DoE in a higher education setting. The authors will continue to collect more data for further validity of results obtained from the pilot study. The authors will also explore the use of different designs as part of the future investigations. Practical implications – The outcome of this experiment would help everyone who is involved in teaching to understand the factors and their influences to improve students’ satisfaction scores during the delivery of teaching. Originality/value – This paper shows how DoE as a pure manufacturing technique can be extended to a higher education setting. The results of this study were quite an eye opener for the authors in terms of understanding the key factors which influence any process irrespective of the sector.

scholarly journals University Students' Acceptance of Evolution: Basis for STEM-based Instructional Design

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Odessa D. Aberilla ◽  
Monera H. Salic ◽  
Ronaldo R. Orbita ◽  
Joy B. Bagaloyos ◽  
Cesar G. Demayo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
State University ◽  
Scientific Validity ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Science Group ◽  
Degree Of Acceptance

This study was conducted to explore the overall acceptance of evolution among undergraduate students in a State University as basis for developing a STEM-based instructional design to address the misconceptions about evolution. The research was conducted using the 20-item questionnaires of the Measurement of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument assessing undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution in relations to; the process of evolution, the scientific validity of the evolutionary theory, the evolution of humans, evidence of evolution, scientific community's view of evolution and age of the Earth. The study is within a quantitative and qualitative framework using descriptive and inferential analysis. The findings revealed that all the colleges in the science group acquired a moderate level of acceptance except for the CED non-science group who received a low degree of acceptance of the theory of evolution. Although among the six concepts in the study, they generally agree on the statements and only in the idea on the age of the earth where the students were undecided. This research confirms that the level of acceptance is not positively related to the students' specialization. Based on the result of this study there is a need to develop a STEM based instructional design and this should be emphasized in the science curriculum. The teaching design will fill in the gaps in understanding concepts of evolution and its significance to the lives of many organisms and for the teachers to look evolution from very broad flexible and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Religiusitas Tokoh-Tokoh Dalam Novel Bumi Cinta Karya Habiburrahman El-Shirazy

AKADEMIKA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Minahul Mubin
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Relationship With God ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
The World ◽  
Religious Aspects ◽  
Religious Elements

A novel titled BumiCinta written by Habiburrahman El-Shirazy takes place in the Russian setting, in which Russia is a country that adopts freedom. Russia with various religions embraced by its people has called for the importance of human freedom. Free sex in Russia is commonplace among its young people. Russia is a country that is free with no rules, no wonder if there have been many not embracing certain religion. In fact, according to data Russia is a country accessing the largest porn sites in the world. Habiburrahman in his Bumi Cinta reveals some religious aspects. He incorporates the concept of religion with social conflicts in Russia. Therefore, the writer reveals two fundamental issues, namely: 1. What is the characters' religiosity in the Habiburrahman El-Shirazy'sBumiCinta? 2. What is the characters' religiosity in the BumiCinta in their relationship with God, fellow human beings, and nature ?. To achieve the objectives, the writer uses the religious literary criticism based on the Qur'an and Hadith. It emphasizes religious values in literature. The writer also uses the arguments of scholars and schools of thought to strengthen this paper. This theory is then used to seek the elements of religiousity in the Habiburrahman El-Shirazy'sBumiCinta. In this novel, the writer explains there are strong religious elements and religious effects of its characters, especially the belief in God, faith and piety

A Mixed Exam Format Closes the Gap for Students with a Conflict between Their Religious Belief & the Theory of Evolution

2014 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin F. Stanger-Hall ◽  
Julianne A. Wenner
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Final Exam ◽  
Constructed Response ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Acceptance Of Evolution ◽  
Introductory Biology Course

We assessed the performance of students with a self-reported conflict between their religious belief and the theory of evolution in two sections of a large introductory biology course (N = 373 students). Student performance was measured through pretest and posttest evolution essays and multiple-choice (MC) questions (evolution-related and non-evolution-related questions) on the final exam and posttest. The two class sections differed only in exam format: MC with or without constructed-response (CR) questions. Although students with a reported conflict scored significantly lower on the final exam in the MC-only section, they scored equally well in the MC+CR section, and all students in the MC+CR section performed significantly better overall. As a result, (1) a religious conflict with evolution can be negatively associated with student achievement in introductory biology, but (2) assessment with constructed response was associated with a closed performance gap between students with and without a conflict. We suggest that differences in exam format and focus on student acceptance of evolution (either evidence-based or opinion), rather than reported conflict, may contribute to the inconsistencies in student learning of evolution across research studies, and that CR questions may help students overcome other obstacles to learning evolution.

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