Motivation for choosing a career in the construction industry

Introduction. The choice of the future profession, that determines the field of occupation, stages of continuous education, and routes to self-fulfillment, is a most important decision made in the course of a human life. The problem of choosing a career is not new, and it remains relevant at the present time. The purpose of the study is to identify the principal motives underlying career-related decisions, that make students choose the master programmes offered by NRU MGSU. Materials and methods. The methods, used by the co-authors, include interviews, didactic testing and observation of the process of its implementation by the students. The analysis and generalization of the empirical data, obtained in the course of didactic testing, have allowed to determine the principal motives underlying the choice of advanced master programmes provided by NRU MGSU. Results. Principal motives underlying the choice of master programmes, offered by NRU MGSU, include the prestige and popularity of professions in the construction industry; competitive compensation packages and career opportunities; satisfaction of educational needs, self-improvement and self-fulfillment; interest in computer systems and IT technologies; dynasties in the construction industry; willingness to serve the society and see the work results. Conclusions. Material and status-related motives have determined the choice of the master programmes delivered by NRU MGSU. This fact is explained by the development of research and practice, the upgrade of currently offered specialties and emergence of new ones, ensuring the advancement of the construction industry and allowing people to maintain their sufficiently high socio-economic status. The second important factor encompasses the motives that deal with the personality and his/her creativity and the motives that are associated with the satisfaction of educational needs, self-improvement and self-fulfillment. This factor substantiates the need to make schoolchildren think about their future profession as a self-fulfillment opportunity within the framework of vocational guidance procedures, and to encourage the manifestation of the need for continuous education, personal and professional development. A comprehensive analysis of motives can serve as the basis for improving the system of vocational guidance designated for schoolchildren and popularization of careers in the construction industry.

Received Affection and Caregiving in the Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship

Grounded in Affection Exchange Theory’s assumptions that affectionate communication fosters relational benefits and increases people’s likelihood of survival, this study sought to examine young adult grandchildren’s willingness to serve as their grandparents’ caregivers as a function of received affection from their grandparents. Young adult grandchildren ( N = 209) independently completed a questionnaire in reference to a specific, biological grandparent. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed partial support for the hypothesized positive relationships between grandchildren’s received affection from their grandparents and the grandchildren’s willingness to care for their grandparents. These findings are indicative of both practical and theoretical implications.

Scientific and theoretical bases for designing a model for forming future lawyers' civic-mindedness

The relevance of the research is determined by the need to search for new scientific, theoretical, methodological, substantive and technological foundations for the training future lawyers, as the intellectual and political elite of the state, possessing a stable civic position and ready to form a civil society and protect the rights of Russian citizens. The problem of the research is to study the features of training future lawyers and to determine the scientific and theoretical platform for designing a model for the formation of civic position of future lawyers in the legal clinic of a university. The purpose of the research is scientific substantiation and design of a model for the formation of the civic position of future lawyers in the legal clinic of a university. The research methodology and methods: content analysis of scientific research; theoretical analysis of pedagogical dilemmas in the training of future lawyers; forecasts of pedagogical fronts for the development of conditions for the development of the civic position of future lawyers in the process of professional training; designing a model for the development of the civic position of future lawyers in the legal clinic of a university. The research results are: transformational processes in the world change civil society (social stratification, lack of protection of the rights of a separate part of society, etc.) and become challenges to modern education in the training of future lawyers; integration and an interdisciplinary approach in the training of future lawyers determine scientific-theoretical, methodological, substantive and technological approaches to the development of the civil position of a future lawyer; designing a model for the development of the civic position of future lawyers in the legal clinic of a university makes it possible to make forecasts for the required competencies of this category of specialists, optimize the environment of a university - a legal clinic as a place of professional self-realization and manifestation of the civic position of a future lawyer. Key findings are: global trends are challenges for modern legal education; the training of future lawyers should be coupled with the formation of a civic position, understood as a willingness to serve their Fatherland, the state and its citizens; the design of innovative models for the training of future lawyers is focused on the integration of the processes of professional formation and education of a future citizen of Russia with a stable civic position, on the anticipatory nature of the development by future lawyers in the legal clinic of university of professional and personal competencies in demand in the rule of law.

What Would People Think? Social Norms, Willingness to Serve as a Surrogate, and End-of-Life Treatment Decisions

Population aging has increased the prevalence of surrogate decision making in healthcare settings. However, little is known about factors contributing to the decision to become a surrogate and the surrogate medical decision-making process in general. We investigated how intrapersonal and social-contextual factors predicted two components of the surrogate decision-making process: individuals’ willingness to serve as a surrogate and their tendency to select various end-of-life treatments, including mechanical ventilation and palliative care options. An online sample (N=172) of adults made hypothetical surrogate decisions about end-of-life treatments on behalf of an imagined individual of their choice, such as a parent or spouse. Using self-report measures, we investigated key correlates of willingness to serve as surrogate (e.g., decision-making confidence, willingness to collaborate with healthcare providers), and choice of end-of-life treatments. Viewing service as a surrogate as a more typical practice in healthcare was associated with greater willingness to serve. Greater decision-making confidence, greater willingness to collaborate with patients’ physicians, and viewing intensive, life-sustaining end-of-life treatments (e.g., mechanical ventilation) as more widely accepted were associated with choosing more intensive end-of-life treatments. The current study’s consideration of both intrapersonal and social-contextual factors advances knowledge of two key aspects of surrogate decision making—the initial decision to serve as surrogate, and the surrogate’s selection of various end-of-life treatment interventions. Providers can use information about the role of these factors to engage with surrogates in a manner that better facilitates their decision making.

The fate of the scientist as a reflection of the epoch: in memory of the first rector of the Kuban State Medical University Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov

The paper analyzes the life and professional journey of Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov, an outstanding scientist, doctor, and professor, as a reflection of Russian history from the end of the 19th century till the first quarter of the 20th century. The study identifies the role of Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov in the development of medical science and the establishment of medical education in the Kuban region. The analysis was conducted with the involvement of archival records, personal correspondence, and scientific works of Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov. To solve research problems, the authors used historical descriptive, comparative historical, problem-based chronological, biographical methods, and the method of monographic description. It is shown that the scientist’s fate mirrors the cultural and historical era experienced by the country. The authors define the exclusive role of Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov in the establishment of the Kuban Medical Institute. His life path helped reveal the inviolability of medical ethics based on mercy, dedication to the profession, and willingness to serve people. Even in the situation of social upheaval Nikolai F. Melnikov-Razvedenkov found the meaning of his life in scientific work and helping people. His example will allow the modern generation of doctors to gain a greater understanding of the essential purpose of their work.

Understanding the needs of rural preceptors from groups underrepresented in medicine

Introduction Community preceptors are essential in providing sufficient training opportunities for health professional students. Recently, focus has been given to the recruitment of community preceptors from groups underrepresented in medicine (UiM) for their contibutions in training a diverse and culturally competent workforce. The overall goal of this study is to review data collected from UiM preceptors and potential preceptors for unique beliefs or values that reveal their motivation for teaching. We hypothesize that community preceptors from groups underrepresented in medicine hold beliefs reflective of high levels of altruism and service. Methods This is a retrospective study of interview data collected from UiM community preceptors for developing clinical education experiences. We sought to uniquely understand the needs of these preceptors in order to develop our recruitment strategy. Each participant agreed to a structured interview and gave or denied permission to have the interview recorded. In the structured interview, community physicians were asked to answer questions about their motivation to precept medical and physician assistant students. They were further asked about their desired compensation, reservations about teaching, and interest in participating in curricular development. Results We interviewed 12 community providers- 11 physicians and one advanced practice nurse. Participants were from a broad range of specialties: Obstetrics/Gynecology (3), Surgery (3), Psychiatry (3), Family Medicine (1), Pediatrics (1), Emergency Medicine (1). Of the providers interviewed, 10 were from groups underrepresented in medicine. All 10 of the UiM participants were physicians. All participants completed the structured interview. The answers provided in the interview were able to be grouped into themes reflecting a recurring set of beliefs and motivations. Conclusions UiM preceptors hold values reflective of altruism and a willingness to serve in the creation of the future workforce. We have found UiM preceptors possess a strong desire for training as educators. Further, UiM preceptors are incentivized by financial compensation and willing to commit their personal time to advising the medical school.

Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge of Teachers Serving as Mental Health Lay Counselors in a Low and Middle Income Country: A Mixed Methods Pragmatic Pilot Study

Background: Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a dire need for trained mental health professionals, especially for children. While teachers’ child development expertise potentially positions them to serve as lay counselors, they have rarely delivered indicated child mental health care in LMICs. As part of assessing the feasibility of teachers serving as lay counselors, we explored teachers’ perceptions about serving as mental health lay counselors on top of typical professional duties and their attitudes towards and knowledge about mental health after serving as lay counselors.Methods: In 2018, 20 primary school teachers from five rural, low cost private schools in Darjeeling, India, received training and supervision to serve as lay mental health counselors in their classrooms. Using mixed methods, we measured teacher mental health attitudes and knowledge and perceptions of serving as lay counselor with study-specific assessments and through semi-structured interviews. Pre-training, post-training, and post-intervention mean scores were compared using paired t tests. Post-intervention interviews were coded for teachers’ mental health attitudes and knowledge and perceptions of serving as lay counselor. Results: Interviews revealed teachers qualitatively having more inclusive mental health attitudes, expressing a willingness to serve as lay counselor, and retaining mental health knowledge as applicable to what may be used during instructional time. By contrast, quantitatively, teachers’ attitudes appeared to become more inclusive on the study-specific survey pre versus post-training, but reverted to pre-training levels post-intervention. Teachers’ mental health counseling knowledge on the quantitative study-specific assessment did not change pre-training versus post-training versus post-intervention.Conclusions: Training, supervision, and serving as lay counselors led to teachers’ willingness to serve as lay counselors. Teachers served as lay counselors by incorporating therapeutic techniques into their student interactions during class time and as part of their typical instruction, not through delivering one-on-one office-like traditional care. Their changes in attitudes and knowledge reflected those expected within an “education as therapy” emerging system of care. Quantitative measures of knowledge and attitude changes did not capture these nuanced changes.Trial Registration: The parent feasibility trial was registered on January 01, 2018 with Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI), reg. no. CTRI/2018/01/011471, ref. no. REF/2017/11/015895. http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pdf_generate.php?trialid=21129&EncHid=&modid=&compid=%27,%2721129det%27

What would people think? Perceived social norms, willingness to serve as a surrogate, and end-of-life treatment decisions

Background Population aging has increased the prevalence of surrogate decision making in healthcare settings. However, little is known about factors contributing to the decision to become a surrogate and the surrogate medical decision-making process in general. We investigated how intrapersonal and social-contextual factors predicted two components of the surrogate decision-making process: individuals’ willingness to serve as a surrogate and their tendency to select various end-of-life treatments, including mechanical ventilation and palliative care options. Method An online sample (N = 172) of adults made hypothetical surrogate decisions about end-of-life treatments on behalf of an imagined person of their choice, such as a parent or spouse. Using self-report measures, we investigated key correlates of willingness to serve as surrogate (e.g., decision-making confidence, willingness to collaborate with healthcare providers) and choice of end-of-life treatments. Results Viewing service as a surrogate as a more typical practice in healthcare was associated with greater willingness to serve. Greater decision-making confidence, greater willingness to collaborate with patients’ physicians, and viewing intensive, life-sustaining end-of-life treatments (e.g., mechanical ventilation) as more widely accepted were associated with choosing more intensive end-of-life treatments. Significance of results The current study's consideration of both intrapersonal and social-contextual factors advances knowledge of two key aspects of surrogate decision making — the initial decision to serve as surrogate, and the surrogate's selection of various end-of-life treatment interventions. Providers can use information about the role of these factors to engage with surrogates in a manner that better facilitates their decision making. For instance, providers can be sensitive to potential cultural differences in surrogate decision-making tendencies or employing decision aids that bolster surrogates’ confidence in their decisions.

Just Hierarchy between Citizens

This chapter turns to just hierarchies between citizens—mainly strangers to one another—in modern large-scale political communities. It argues that hierarchies between rulers and ruled in such communities are justified if the political system selects and promotes public officials with above-average ability and a willingness to serve the political community over and above their own private and family interests. The chapter demonstrates that this kind of ideal—the “political meritocracy”—helped to inspire the imperial political system in China's past and Chinese political reformers in the early twentieth century, and may help to justify the political system in China today. However, the meritocratic system needs to be accompanied by democratic mechanisms short of competitive elections at the top that allow citizens to show that they trust their rulers and provide a measure of accountability at different levels of government. In the Chinese context, however, there is a large gap between the ideal and the reality. Thus, this chapter recommends that a judicious mixture of Confucian-style “soft power” combined with democratic openness, Maoist-style mass line, and Daoist-style skepticism about the whole political system can help to reinvigorate political meritocracy in China.