International placement analysis of the German business market for a Nova Achool of Business and Economics graduate student

Changes in today’s society led to the evolution of professional migrations and individual searches for more suitable professional opportunities and careers outside one’s countries. International Placement is nowadays one of the world’s biggest trends in higher education for the future ahead and an appealing demand of the Millennium generations. The following work project aims to study the German business market identifying the most attractive German companies and respective graduate programs for a Nova School of Business and Economics graduate student. The study’s conclusion relies on concrete strategic suggestions regarding the implementation of the results and practical use of the outcome provided.

Students competences in Business Administration subjects

The evaluation of the competences acquired by the students in the context of a university education system is needed to enable professors to develop teaching-learning processes tailored to students" needs. The main goal of this paper is to analyze in depth the profile of the acquired competences of the bachelor students in Business Administration subjects. In that sense, this paper explains an experience in assessing bachelor student"s competences by applying an ICT-based digital platform designed for the selfassessment of personal and social competences. In particular, we apply an evaluation tool which was specifically designed for self-evaluating the project managers" generic and specific competences. The authors of this research have previous experience in implementing this evaluation tool in the subjects of Business Administration, Operations Management and Strategic Management taught in the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Barcelona. In this paper, the results show that there exist significant differences in the self-evaluation of competences depending on the respondent gender. This kind of tools benefits the three parties involved: students, university managers and organizations, and should be applied along the Bachelor as a transversal project and adapt the programs to achieve graduate students with higher levels of social and personal competences, as demanded by the labour market.

An investigation of computer literacy and attitudes amongst Greek post-graduate dental students

An accurate assessment of the computer skills of students is a pre-requisite for the success of any e-learning interventions. The aim of the present study was to assess objectively the computer literacy and attitudes in a group of Greek post-graduate students, using a task-oriented questionnaire developed and validated in the University of Malmö, Sweden. 50 post-graduate students in the Athens University School of Dentistry in April 2005 took part in the study. A total competence score of 0-49 was calculated. Socio-demographic characteristics were recorded. Attitudes towards computer use were assessed. Descriptive statistics and linear regression modeling were employed for data analysis. Total competence score was normally distributed (Shapiro-Wilk test: W = 0.99, V = 0.40, P = 0.97) and ranged from 5 to 42.5, with a mean of 22.6 (+/-8.4). Multivariate analysis revealed 'gender', 'e-mail ownership' and 'enrollment in non-clinical programs' as significant predictors of computer literacy. Conclusively, computer literacy of Greek post-graduate dental students was increased amongst males, students in non-clinical programs and those with more positive attitudes towards the implementation of computer assisted learning.

Engineering design motivations : a qualitative and quantitative analysis of university students

What motivates students to perform and pursue engineering design tasks? This study examines this question by way of three Learning Through Service (LTS) programs: 1) an on-going longitudinal study examining the impacts of service on engineering students, 2) an on-going analysis of an international senior design capstone program, and 3) an on-going evaluation of an international graduate-level research program. The evaluation of these programs incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods, utilizing surveys, questionnaires, and interviews, which help to provide insight on what motivates students to do engineering design work. The quantitative methods were utilized in analyzing various instruments including: a Readiness assessment inventory, Intercultural Development Inventory, Sustainable Engineering through Service Learning survey, the Impacts of Service on Engineering Students’ survey, Motivational narratives, as well as some analysis for interview text. The results of these instruments help to provide some much needed insight on how prepared students are to participate in engineering programs. Additional qualitative methods include: Word clouds, Motivational narratives, as well as interview analysis. This thesis focused on how these instruments help to determine what motivates engineering students to pursue engineering design tasks. These instruments aim to collect some more in-depth information than the quantitative instruments will allow. Preliminary results suggest that of the 120 interviews analyzed Interest/Enjoyment, Application of knowledge and skills, as well as gaining knowledge are key motivating factors regardless of gender or academic level. Together these findings begin to shed light on what motivates students to perform engineering design tasks, which can be applied for better recruitment and retention in university programs.

International teachers in the American classroom : deposing the myth of monolingualism

An international graduate teaching assistant‘s way of speaking may pose a challenge for college students enrolled in STEM courses at American universities. Students commonly complain that unfamiliar accents interfere with their ability to comprehend the IGTA or that they have difficulty making sense of the IGTA‘s use of words or phrasing. These frustrations are echoed by parents who pay tuition bills. The issue has provoked state and national legislative debates over universities‘ use of IGTAs. However, potentially productive debates and interventions have been stalemated due to the failure to confront deeply embedded myths and cultural models that devalue otherness and privilege dominant peoples, processes, and knowledge. My research implements a method of inquiry designed to identify and challenge these cultural frameworks in order to create an ideological/cultural context that will facilitate rather than impede the valuable efforts that are already in place. Discourse theorist Paul Gee‘s concepts of master myth, cultural models, and meta-knowledge offer analytical tools that I have adapted in a unique research approach emphasizing triangulation of both analytic methods and data sites. I examine debates over IGTA‘s use of language in the classroom among policy-makers, parents of college students, and scholars and teachers. First, the article "Teach Impediment" provides a particularly lucid account of the public debate over IGTAs. My analysis evidences the cultural hold of the master myth of monolingualism in public policy-making. Second, Michigan Technological University‘s email listserve Parentnet is analyzed to identify cultural models supporting monolingualism implicit in everyday conversation. Third, a Chronicle of Higher Education colloquy forum is analyzed to explore whether scholars and teachers who draw on communication and linguistic research overcome the ideological biases identified in earlier chapters. My analysis indicates that a persistent ideological bias plays out in these data sites, despite explicit claims by invested speakers to the contrary. This bias is a key reason why monolingualism remains so tenaciously a part of educational practice. Because irrational expectations and derogatory assumptions have gone unchallenged, little progress has been made despite decades of earnest work and good intentions. Therefore, my recommendations focus on what we say not what we intend.