Enhancing the Practical Relevance of Research

This article seeks to encourage scholars to conduct research that is more relevant to the decisions faced by managers and policymakers, and addresses why research relevance matters, what relevance means in terms of a journal article, and how scholars can increase the relevance of their research. I define relevant research papers as those whose research questions address problems found (or potentially found) in practice and whose hypotheses connect independent variables within the control of practitioners to outcomes they care about using logic they view as feasible. I provide several suggestions for how scholars can enhance research relevance, including engaging practitioners in on‐campus encounters, at managerial conferences, and at crossover workshops; conducting site visits and practitioner interviews; working as a practitioner; and developing a practitioner advisory team. I describe several ways that scholars can convey relevant research insights into practitioners, including presenting at practitioner conferences, writing for practitioners in traditional crossover journals and in shorter pieces like op‐eds and blogs, and attracting the interest of those who write columns, blogs, and articles about research for practitioners. I conclude by describing a few ways that academic institutions can encourage more relevant research, focusing on journals, professional societies, and doctoral programs.     

政府服务与经济发展方式转变

政府服务是现代市场经济条件下政府的一项主要职能,具有促进经济发展方式转变的功能和作用。实证分析表明,随着我国经济的发展,政府各项公共支出有所增加,政府服务水平有所提高,但仍存在政府公 共服务供给不足、效率不高以及非均等化问题,不能有力支撑我国经济发展方式转变。加强政府服务,促进经济发展方式转变应从如下几方面着手：一是树立政府服务理念;二是强化政府服务职能;三是把制度建设作为初始着力点;四是创新政府服务方式。     

试析恽代英创新人格

恽代英是我党早期创新人才的代表。本文从人格心理学的视角,运用个案分析法、文献研究法、心理历史学研究等方法,对恽代英进行创新人格探析,既是创新研究的深化也是对恽代英研究的拓展。恽代英在品德、意志、智慧三方面构成了“金三角”人格模型,形成了其独特的创新人格,这与其在早年接受中国优秀传统文化熏陶,胸怀“利社会、利国家、利天下”的崇高理想信念,注重自我修养、自主学习,身体力行、勤于实践等因素是分不开的。对恽代英成长历程的分析,为当今创新人才的培养提供了有益经验。     

金融集聚对经济增长的知识溢出机制研究

从金融地理学的角度出发,运用演化博弈模型分析得出,金融集聚有利于区域内知识溢出效应的发挥,通过集聚网络知识的系统效应、创新效应、技术进步效应和信息升级效应,提升中心区域内的经济发展水平。此外,如果区域间知识水平差距过大,会形成知识锁定的局面,造成区域间知识溢出阻塞效应,拉大区域间主体知识水平差距,从而加剧区域间经济发展的不均衡。因此,营造区域间良好的金融生态环境,对落后区域的企业给予更多的金融支持,拓宽中小和新兴企业的融资渠道,引导性地使金融集聚发挥辐射作用,能够使金融的正向集聚效应提升经济发展水平。     

"通用英语"转向"学术英语"——教育国际化背景下的大学英语教学改革与实践

教育国际化背景下大学英语教学应以学术英语为导向,通过对清华大学、浙江大学、第三军医大学、西南政法大学等45所高校的学术英语课程开设状况进行实证调查,结合调查结果对学术英语课程的需求进行分析,并投入教学实践,进行学术英语课程设置、教学体系的构建与实践.目前学术英语课程的开设状况不容乐观,仍处于刚刚起步的阶段,学术英语课程的改革与实践有待进一步深化.     

软件和信息技术服务业创新效率研究

对中国27个省、自治区、直辖市的软件和信息技术服务业创新效率及其影响因素进行了测度。在2009—2012年,软件和信息技术服务业创新效率的提升主要依靠增加研发人员的数量,中国东部地区该产业的创新效率高于中西部,并且产业开放度对其创新产出有负向影响,市场结构和企业规模对其具有正向影响。研究结果表明,该产业的创新效率还具有很大提升空间。     

Solving Current Social Challenges: Engaging Undergraduates in Policy Practice

This article explores an innovation in teaching policy practice at the undergraduate level. It analyzes an experiential learning model that uses current social challenges as a compelling way to generate student learning about policy practice. Over the course of the semester, students examine antecedents, current issues, and potential solutions to a contemporary social issue through a series of assignments that build knowledge and skills and link the topic to larger social policy concerns. Using quantitative and qualitative evidence from seven semesters, the article explores benefits and challenges of this approach to teaching, and derives lessons for social work education.     

NASW Involvement in Legislative Advocacy

NASW serves as the professional association for social workers, yet little is known about how NASW chapters engage social workers and social work students in policy practice. This article presents the results of a survey of 40 NASW state chapters, describing how NASW engages social workers in legislative advocacy, the role of legislative advocacy days, and the involvement of social work students in NASW advocacy efforts. Findings indicate state chapters are very involved in policy practice and legislative advocacy days appear to be one prominent vehicle in engaging members and social work students in legislative advocacy.     

Analysis of perception of training in graduates of the Faculty of Medicine at Universidad de Castilla-Mancha

IntroductionProblem-based learning has been a key component of the teaching method employed at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM) in Albacete, Spain since its creation. The aim of this study was to evaluate perceptions of training among residents who graduated from the first three years of the UCLM Degree in Medicine.MethodsUsing the Jefferson Medical College postgraduate rating form, residents rated their performance in four areas of clinical competency (medical knowledge, data gathering skills, clinical judgment, and professional attitudes) at the beginning of residency training in comparison with colleagues from other faculties. The construct validity of responses was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and exploratory factor analysis.ResultsOver half the respondents (57.8%) considered that they had received better training than peers from other medical schools, and 98.5% felt that their general performance in the four competencies analyzed was similar or superior to that of their colleagues. Factor analysis revealed two major factors: “the physician as scientist” and “the physician as manager and communicator”.ConclusionsOur study shows that graduates from the UCLM Faculty of Medicine perceive their training, which is largely based on problem-based learning, as satisfactory.     

Speed Mentoring in Teaching and Learning: Young people with experience of the care system mentor social work students

The value of listening and talking to young people with experience of the care system has been recognised as a vital and positive contribution to social work students' learning. A model of co-production was used to develop a series of speed mentoring events whereby social work students placed in local authority children and family settings were mentored by young people with experience of the care system. This tentative review of this small-scale project shares the authors' critical reflections on the value and reliability of this model, for evaluating the outcomes of co-productive mentoring relationships between young people and social work students. The reversal of the power dynamic between student and service user contributed to the unsettling of assumptions about each other and empathy for each other's role. The student authors reflect on learning about the child's experience that has influenced their practice. The mentor authors welcomed the opportunity to participate in the development of ‘young people friendly’ social workers. Suggestions are made as to how this model could be developed to contribute to a more systematic approach to the role of service users in mentoring, advising and contributing to the supervision process of students and social workers.