Mentoring is believed to be one of the most influential factors in US efforts to encourage college-aged students to seek careers in science, yet the role that mentoring plays in this process has not been elucidated. The researchers were interested in understanding whether the long-held beliefs about the importance of mentoring would be revealed as what actually occurs in an undergraduate research program. They describe students' perceptions of the mentoring process and students' beliefs about how it impacted their experiences as undergraduate researchers and their development as scientists. Also described are professors' perceptions of their roles and effectiveness as mentors in students' development as scientists. A multi-case narrative analysis was conducted of two groups, undergraduate science scholars (n=5) and mentoring professors (n=5), who were each interviewed on two occasions at the beginning and end of the first year of a funded research program. As this grounded research study shows, students and professors described student gains as increased technical expertise and communication skills. Professors suggested that they were available to students on a regular and frequent basis. However, students' experiences suggested a contradiction. They were often mentored by postgraduates, technical assistants, and other students; their meetings with mentoring professors were infrequent and at times distant. With respect to mentoring, this finding highlights the differences between beliefs and the reality of what was delivered. Professors discussed the challenges associated with mentoring including the recruitment of and difficulty of working with students whose first language was not English and concerns about the quality of instruction from graduate students.

Service-learning in dental education helps students integrate knowledge with practice in an underserved community setting. The aim of this study was to explore how a service-learning experience affected a small group of dental students' beliefs about cultural competence, professionalism, career development, desire to practice in a community service setting, and perceptions about access and disparities issues. Prior to beginning their irst year of dental school, ive irst-year dental students at one U.S. dental school participated in a six-week service-learning program in which they interned at one of three at-risk settings in order to experience health care delivery there. After the program, 60 relective writing assignments completed by the participants were analyzed using grounded theory methods; interviews with the students were used to corroborate the indings from that analysis. Seven themes identiied in the journal relections and interview indings showed enhanced awareness of social health care issues and patient differences, as well as a social justice orientation and desire to address disparities. Building on this study, future research should explore the curricular components of service-learning programs to ensure students receive ample opportunity to relect upon their experiences in order to integrate previously held assumptions with their newfound knowledge.

Purpose -This paper aims to study Qard-al-Hasan (QH) (good loan) from the stand point of its possible application to agricultural farming with a view to augmenting the sources of Riba (interest)-free agricultural financing for Muslim farmers of Islamic countries like Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach -This paper is a study of QH (good loan) from the stand point of its possible application to agricultural farming with a view to augmenting the sources of Riba (interest)-free agricultural financing for Muslim farmers of Islamic countries like Pakistan. Findings -The study reports that Riba-free financing is essentially needed by poor Muslim farmers who, owing to prohibition of Riba, do not rely on interest (Riba)-based financing. The study also shows that QH is a viable option for fulfilling this need and is beneficial for the farmers as well as for the Islamic banks or financial institutions. Research limitations/implications -The case of QH as a potential mode of agricultural financing, as presented in this paper, is based on a theoretical or conceptual framework. The findings need to be further substantiated with empirical evidence. A future study, based on reliable empirical data would certainly add value to the subject. Originality/value -Islamic banks and financial institutions typically rely on Musharakah (partnership), Murabaha (sale with profit), Ijarah (leasing), Salam (advance payment sale), Istisna' (manufacturing contract), etc., and they rarely use QH as a mode of financing. Despite its huge utility, QH is practically non-existent in its application as an agricultural financing instrument. This paper presents a case for QH that can be adopted by Islamic banks or financial institutions for provision of the much needed financing for the small farmers of Islamic countries, as well as those living in non-Islamic countries.

No abstract

Food is one of the basic necessities that is imperative for human survival. The majority of farmers related to agriculture belong to the lower class and are hence not in a position to fulfil their agricultural needs. Therefore, they must borrow from various sources, e.g., from individuals, organizations, and/or banks, using interest-based lending, which Muslims are prohibited from doing according to the Sharīʿah. Here the concept of mushārakah (participatory mode of finance) is the best option. The present work discusses the application of such transactions to overcome farmers’ financial problems. In this article, the concept of mushārakah is first elaborated in light of classical/contemporary Islamic law literature referring to its rules and regulations followed by a discussion on how mushārakah can be effectively applied to the agricultural sector. The concepts of muzāraʿah (temporary sharecropping contract), musāqah, diminishing mushārakah (al-mushārakah al-mutanāqisah), and customer agency are critically analyzed in such away to make these fit and viable for farmers and Islamic financial institutions.