Search Results for
"human"

This paper explores the structure of incentives undergirding the German system of apprenticeship training. We first describe characteristics of the German labor market which may lead firms to accept part of the cost of general training, even in the face of worker turnover. We then compare labor market outcomes for apprentices in Germany and high school graduates in the United States. Apprentices in Germany occupy a similar position within the German wage structure as held by high school graduates in the United States labor market. Finally, we provide evidence that -in both countries - the problem of forming labor market bonds is particularly acute for minority youth.

The explosion of knowledge coupled with a more diversified society have led to a new set of demands on dentists. For more than 20 years, dental educators and the profession have been concerned about the pressure on the university to ensure that every new graduate is fully competent to enter a dental practice independently and successfully. This paper reviews some of the innovations which are being employed to attempt to deal with these concerns. There is no one formula that can answer these concerns. Postgraduate training in general dentistry is becoming more wide-spread and may need further investigation. The main focus of this paper is on trends in formal advanced postgraduate training in general dentistry.

With investment in human capital an urgent economic imperative in America's quest for competitiveness, policymakers and analysts have focused on the bottom half of the labor force. In doing so their vision of literacy has been constricted by workplace needs. The literacy discourse is framed in terms of what workplaces, not adults, need. The curriculum follows efficiency criteria, not straying from the workplace context. I argue that this view of the problem fits Bhola's motivational-developmental/structural-developmental explanation of how national governments view the problem of adult literacy. I argue further that this workplace-based approach to illiteracy leaves the root causes of the problem - such as inequality of opportunity in the society - substantially intact, and that what is needed is a grander conception in line with Dewey's vocationalism and consistent with his democratic ideal. © 1997 by The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Published by Blackwell Publishers.

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The advent of graduate entry into the radiography profession has brought into question the role and function of the practicum. There is evidence that the nature of the practicum remains under-theorized by both the university and the profession. As a result academic knowledge and practical know-how remain at arms length. Across a wide range of professional programmes the notion of a reflective practicum has been embraced as a means of resolving the dichotomy between academia and the practice setting. This paper examines the present conceptualization of a practicum within radiography programmes and explores ways in which a reflective practicum might be developed.

[No abstract available]

Second-year pharmacy students were divided into two cohorts, one of which participated in structured work-based learning (WBL) activities in a summer vacation training programme (VTP) in a community pharmacy work placement. Assessment methods were developed to measure quantitatively any change in knowledge and knowledge-based transferable skills. Results from the assessments showed that participation in structured WBL activities increased the students' knowledge and knowledge-based transferable skills.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Danish vocational training scheme from a patient's point of view. This was especially interesting as all young doctors have six months vocational training in general practice after finishing university. During April 1993 junior doctors in twelve general practices in the county of Aarhus, Denmark, distributed a total of 574 questionnaires to consecutive patients after a consultation. The questionnaire was anonymously returned to the research unit. Four hundred and five patients answered the questionnaire. Ninety-three percent were fairly or very satisfied with the consultation, and 87% were sure or fairly sure that they would attend a trainee again. Eighty-five percent said that the trainee was as easy to communicate with as their own doctor. However, 36% said that attending a trainee was their only chance of seeing a doctor on the day preferred, and 47% did not feel fully informed about the trainee system. The data was analyzed with respect to sex, age, and disease related factors, and only minor differences were found. The survey shows that Danish patients were very positive about the GP trainee system, especially compared to previous investigations from other countries. However patients were not sufficiently informed about the aim and contents of the trainee system.

German horticultural enterprises face increasing difficulties in obtaining and maintaining qualified human resources even with a high rate of unemployment. Two surveys of apprentices' attitudes to being a horticulturist and their job satisfaction were undertaken to explore some hypotheses concerning the reasons for this fact. From November 1994 to February 1995, 79 apprentices of vegetable growing and 224 apprentices of tree nursing were interviewed during their vocational school days. Their perceived job satisfaction is generally high. The vegetable growers, with an extraordinary share of organic producers, are even more satisfied than the tree nursers. Eighty-two percent of the vegetable growers and 72% of the tree nursers would choose the same job again if starting new. After apprenticeship 33% of apprentices in tree nurseries do not want to continue working there. Their reasons are physical strain (57%) and insufficient salaries (53%). Eighty-three percent of all apprentices in tree nurseries complain about the salaries. Changes in managerial practices could increase job satisfaction, namely more appreciation, more responsibility and participation, and support of advanced training and personal education. The status of the vocational horticulturist, and how this job is evaluated by family and friends is judged quite ambiguous by the apprentices. Therefore, professional organizations could do a lot to attract qualified workers to the industry by improving their industiy's image in the society. © ISHS 1996.

This paper describes the development and structure of a pilot programme of professional development for new graduates initiated by the New Zealand Dental Association, the Dental Council of New Zealand, and the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Otago. The programme consisted of a series of monthly evening seminars, co-ordinated by a facilitator, and led by experienced practitioners. Initially provided in Auckland, the programme subsequently extended to Wellington, Christchurch, and Waikato-Bay of Plenty. The award of a New Zealand Dental Association Travelling Fellowship enabled the author to observe the United Kingdom Vocational Training Scheme, and attendance at the 1994 meeting of the Fédération Dentaire Internationale provided opportunity to study systems used in other countries. The pilot programme has now been replaced by the ongoing Graduate Professional Development Programme Dentistry, a programme which extends beyond the recent graduate, but remaining based on the concepts developed in the pilot programme.