Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which term-time employment influences two specific aspects of the student experience in higher education: working collaboratively and preparing for entry into the graduate labour market. The paper also aims to consider the extent to which the students are able to appreciate the inter-relationships that exist between activities such as these. Design/methodology/approach -The study is based on three research projects: an ongoing piece of action research into the factors influencing student engagement in collaborative activities for examination preparation; a related study into attitudes to group work; and a study into how students make career decisions. Findings -In all of these studies term-time working was identified as a factor influencing student engagement in collaborative/group activities and career planning and preparation. However, the research found that term-time is often "blamed" by the students for their failure to engage in these activities when other factors are more influential. Practical implications -This research argues that students should try and obtain term-time jobs that benefit both their academic studies and their prospects in the graduate labour market. The students need to appreciate the inter-relationships that exist between the different activities they are engage in. They should be supported in this by both higher education institutions and employers. The government ought to monitor the situation, and if necessary, introduce legislation to protect students from the negative effects of term-time employment. Originality/value -This research suggests that the negative effects of term-time employment may be exaggerated by students looking for an excuse for not engaging in particular activities.
Decreased cardiac contractility and β-adrenergic responses have been observed in the chronic portal vein-stenosed (PVS) rat. Because nitric oxide (NO) may be increased in PVS and has been recognized as a negative inotropic agent, we investigated the induction of NO synthase (NOS2) and/or changes in constitutive NOS (NOS3) as factors in the cardiac dysfunction of the PVS rat. Ten to twelve days after portal vein stenosis or sham operation, cardiac function was evaluated in paced left ventricular papillary muscles (LVPM) and right ventricular strips (RV). To determine if NO modulation of contractile function was altered in PVS, we examined the increase in developed tension produced by the effect of N ω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) on the myocardial force-frequency relationship. Cardiac tissue NOS2 and NOS3 activities were assayed, Western blot analyses of NOS2 and NOS3 expression were performed, and circulating nitrate-nitrite (NOX) levels (an indicator of in vivo NOS activity) were assayed. Basal LVPM and RV contractile indexes were significantly reduced in PVS (30–50%), without a change in the relaxation rate. No between-group differences in the cardiac NOS2 or NOS3 enzymatic activities of PVS and sham-operated (SO) rats were observed. Western blots revealed no cardiac NOS2 expression in either SO or PVS rats. In contrast, NOS3 was expressed in both SO and PVS rats, but there was no quantitative difference in expression between the two groups. Changes in the cardiac force-frequency relationship (staircase effect) after l-NNA were consistent with NOS3 modulation of contractile function in both SO and PVS rats, but there was no between-group difference in the modulation. Circulating NOXconcentrations did not differ between SO and PVS rats. In conclusion, protein expression data, enzymatic assays, end-product assays, and functional data indicate that between-group differences in NOS2 and NOS3 activity are not responsible for the cardiac impairment that has been observed in the chronic PVS rat.
This paper reports on a research project within the context of the Chinese healthcare sector. From a functional quality aspect, the research identifies, selects and confirms the service quality assessment criteria suitable for Chinese hospitals via literature search, focus group and survey investigation; the numbers of the criteria have also been reduced based on principal component analysis; then through importance-performance analysis, provides further understanding/prioritisation on the criteria and also groups them accordingly to reflect their influence on service quality. The research produces a set of appropriate service quality criteria suitable for evaluating hospitals' performance in a Chinese context. Meanwhile, the learning obtained from the research and the grouped criteria (quality performance indicators) can support consequential empirical research projects for obtaining more insights into running hospital businesses, and provide guidance to a wider range of Chinese hospitals on their business operations. They can also be used to guide foreign healthcare providers on developing/implementing their business management strategies while planning to enter the Chinese healthcare marketplace.
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