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Background: Empathy is crucial for effective clinical practice, and patient care. Despite its importance, the comparative studies and effectiveness analyses focusing on empathy-training strategies within both medical education and clinical practice are limited, particularly in China. The objective of this study is to compare empathy levels across doctors, nurses, medical students, and nursing students in China, exploring how workplace settings, professional roles, and training stages influence empathy development, to inform targeted empathy education strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Chinese Version of the Jefferson Scale of Healthcare Professional Empathy (C-JSHPE). Participants included doctors, nurses, medical students and nursing students from primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals, as well as medical schools located in eastern (economically developed), central (moderately developed), and western (less developed) regions of China. Results: Qualified professionals (licensed nurses and doctors) exhibited significantly higher empathy scores than healthcare students (doctors vs medical students t = 12.959, p < 0.001; nurses vs nursing students t = 7.135, p < 0.001). Nurses exhibited significantly higher empathy than doctors (t = 4.081, p < 0.001), and nursing students likewise exhibited markedly greater empathy than their medical student counterparts (t = 5.221, p < 0.001). Significant differences in empathy scores were observed between nursing students who participated in internships and those who did not (t = 2.548, p < 0.05). In contrast, no such differences emerged among medical students (t = − 0.228, p > 0.05). Both doctors and nurses with more clinical experience demonstrated higher empathy scores (F physician = 10.696, p < 0.001; F nurse = 30.029, p < 0.001). In contrast, those working in tertiary hospitals reported reduced empathy (F physician = 94.018, p < 0.001; F nurse = 486.586, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study underscored the importance of both developing and retaining empathy in qualified professionals and healthcare students, and highlighted the significant role of clinical work environments and stages of professional development in shaping empathic capacity. The findings suggested that empathy was not static, but evolved in response to the demands, pressures, and relational dynamics of different clinical roles. Simulation-based education and other experiential learning approaches represent promising avenues for fostering empathy, particularly when integrated longitudinally throughout training and aligned with authentic clinical contexts. Embedding these strategies into the continuum of medical education may be key to sustaining empathy as a core professional competence in complex healthcare systems. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

Background: Compared to the general population, adults with disabilities often have poor employment rates. Apprenticeships offer one way to improve employment outcomes; yet, it is unclear whether apprenticeships have been effective among adults with disabilities. Objective: Our objective was to explore apprenticeships among adults with disabilities. Method: We conducted a systematic literature review of 19 studies which examined apprenticeships among adults with disabilities. Results: The studies were inconsistent in their characterization of disability and/or the nature of the apprenticeship. Yet, overall, most studies reported that apprenticeships were effective for adults with disabilities. In spite of their effectiveness, stakeholders often have negative views of apprenticeships for adults with disabilities. Conclusion: Implications for research and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Background: The global healthcare workforce is facing a substantial shortage and an uneven distribution of qualified professionals, which restricts access to essential healthcare services. This shortage may be mitigated through more effective support of healthcare workers in training. Therefore, an overview of existing economic barriers for this demographic is necessary. Objective: To review the existing literature on financial challenges of students and early-career professionals in the healthcare sector. Methods: Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, articles published between January 2008 and February 2024 were identified using PubMed and Scopus. A total of 17,268 articles were screened by reviewing their titles and abstracts followed by a detailed review of full texts with cross-validation. Themes were identified, clustered, and analyzed. Results: This scoping review included 167 articles focusing on the themes debt (36.5%, n=61) and loans (10.2 %, n=17) and their influence on career pathways, the role of employment for career satisfaction, summarizing findings concerning salary (29.9%, n=50), finances (25.1%, n=42), funding (10.8%, n=18), and savings (10.2%, n=17), and obstacles toward a sustainable lifestyle, which included results considering career choice (34.1%, n=57), migration (7.2%, n=12), gender disparity (6.0%, n=10), and working conditions (2.4%, n=4). Conclusions: Efforts to close the healthcare workforce gap require greater investment in training, compensation, and support for junior healthcare workers. Students and early-career professionals warrant particular attention to build a sustainable, resilient, and reliable healthcare workforce. © 2025 The Author(s)

This article revisits the insights of lesson-drawing. Today, policy design experts are well aware of the risk of the best practice approach, or policy transfer conducted in a one-size-fits-all manner. However, often warnings are provided only in reference to the distinctive nature of policy-borrowing jurisdictions. This is insufficient in terms of designing a policy transfer conducive to problem-solving or for preventing inappropriate transfer, which merely leads to a waste of time and resources. What must also be taken into consideration is the nature of the original policy itself. To use the size metaphor, we must detect not only the size of those who purchase and wear the costume but also the size of the costume itself so as to compare them and assess fitness. In particular, although “setting and context” are deemed integral to policy transferability, discovering relevant setting and context in ex ante assessment remains an analytical challenge. Paraphrasing setting and context to institutions (which are understood as the rules of the game following the Northian definition), this article advances two methods to identify relevant institutions behind the policy under assessment: looking at the policy’s historical origins and exploring cases of failure. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Background: Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a pedagogical approach combining classroom learning with practical experience. Despite its growing popularity, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics, trends, and outcomes of intervention studies. Purpose: This systematic review explores the current research on WIL intervention studies, examining publication venues, research aims, methodologies, and outcomes, as well as the implications and challenges. Design/Method: The structured and predefined PRISMA process was used to identify relevant studies published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, ensuring rigor, precision, and replicability. A typological framework was developed and applied to extract and categorize data from the included studies, which were then synthesized to identify patterns and trends. Results: The review included 22 studies between 2014 and 2023. Although the study quality was generally low across journal articles and conference proceedings, the included studies nevertheless provided essential insights. International interest in this topic is evident, growing, and exploratory, with a potential bias toward individual factors and little consideration of institutional or cultural factors. The methodologies included various approaches, but the lack of unifying frameworks suggests that the outcomes are likely context-dependent. The benefits of WIL were numerous and multifaceted, while the challenges highlighted the complexity institutions and industry partners face. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive overview of current research on WIL intervention studies. The findings highlight the importance of theoretical underpinnings, research aims, and methodologies in WIL research. The results have implications for educators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to improve the effectiveness of WIL programs. © 2026 American Society for Engineering Education.

This study examines the role of Oman’s business schools in aligning educational initiatives with Vision 2040 and preparing graduates for the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and beyond. A qualitative research approach was used, involving semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, including industry professionals, business graduates, business faculty, and heads of business programs. The study highlights the necessity for business schools to align with Vision 2040, focusing on skill development, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It emphasizes integrating Industry 4.0 concepts into the curriculum and fostering academic-industry collaboration. Essential skills for graduates include interpersonal, leadership, and adaptability skills, along with technical competencies. Leadership within business schools is crucial for driving transformative change through proactive industry engagement and continuous curriculum adaptation. The study advocates program adjustments to enhance job readiness, industry collaboration, pedagogical improvements, and faculty upskilling. The study is limited to institutions offering business and management programs and relies solely on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews. The findings offer strategic guidance for business education, supporting Oman’s economic diversification and the development of a skilled workforce. This research contributes to the literature on business education and organizational change, providing a foundation for policymakers to develop frameworks and policies to enhance student competencies, thereby fostering regional development in Oman and the gulf region. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

This article describes the application of the principles of magnetism and motion by working with engineering students at Tecnológico de Monterrey to construct and simulate a Magnetic Linear Motor (MLM) through the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) methodology combined with STEM to facilitate experiential and collaborative learning. PjBL is a teaching methodology that applies learning to real-world problems. This approach is currently being adopted by various educational institutions, which face challenges in using pedagogical methods to foster positive relationships between students and mentors. Three phases can be distinguished in project-based methodology. Commitment: Students are motivated to participate in the importance of an MLM as a device capable of giving motion in one dimension. Research: Students engage in a research project where they design and model their ideas from different areas, such as electromagnetism, differential equations, and programming. Action: Assemble the prototype in the laboratory and evaluate its model. The differential equations of the magnetic force in the MLM prototype are used to determine its kinematic graphs and interpretation. As evidence of learning, students are required to submit two reports that are evaluated using rubrics. © 2026 Sociedad Mexicana de Fisica. All rights reserved.

While discrete choice experiments (DCE), have increasingly been used in the medical literature, little is known about the use of these methods for eliciting preferences from and about students and trainees in health professions. The objectives of this scoping review are to (1) describe the extent to which DCEs have been used in health professions’ education, (2) identify which health professionals have been studied, and (3) identify thematic areas of research in which these methods have been used thematic areas. Between June and September 2024, we conducted a scoping review of the PubMed/Medline, EconLit, Web of Science, and Global Index Medicus databases to identify articles. Studies were eligible for inclusion in this review if they included a health profession training population and if conjoint analysis, DCE, or best-worst scaling studies were used. Forty-nine articles, comprising 60 studies and 21,731 health profession trainees, were included in this review. Medical and nursing students constitute the majority of the population studied. The greatest number of studies have been conducted in China (n = 11) and the United States (n = 8). The two most popular thematic areas in which these studies have been used are to identify preferences for policies and incentives to take a job in a rural area and residency training preferences for medical students. There has been a gradual increase in the use of these methods in the health profession education literature. The extent to which findings have been used for curriculum or policy design is not clear. DCEs are increasingly used to study health profession students and other trainees. More research is needed to explore the validity of preferences and whether preferences correlate with student outcomes or observed behavior. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Much of the research on identity formation of early-career researchers (ECRs) emphasizes how neoliberal restructuring of academia has impacted processes of becoming an academic. As a marginalized population in the academy, this is especially acute for women and female-read bodies. This study illuminates “academic identity crafting” processes based on sixteen interviews with ECRs in the United States and Austria who identified as women. Findings point to forms of identity crafting that are connected to “thriving for autonomy,” “having a community,” and “finding purpose.” In addition, challenges of academic identity crafting, which are related to the neoliberal influence on the academy as well as the perceived absence of role models and mentors, were identified. This study highlights the need to improve the ways in which higher education institutions support early-career women researchers in crafting their academic identities. © The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Labour productivity has been a critical area of research, particularly in addressing challenges posed by globalisation and Industry 4.0. While the importance of training in enhancing productivity is widely recognised, there is a lack of systematic research that traces evolution, trends, and thematic shifts in this field. This study addresses this gap by analysing a dataset of Scopus-indexed articles spanning from 1971 to 2024, offering an analysis of how training influences labour productivity, based on an extensive bibliometric review. Design/Methodology/Approach — From an initial pool of 1,708 documents, 552 relevant articles were selected for analysis. Through descriptive statistics and bibliometric analysis, the study reveals significant growth in research focused on the multifaceted effects of training on productivity, reflecting sustained and expanding interest in this topic. Findings — The conceptual structure of this field is visualised through scientific mapping, which identifies three primary research clusters: alignment between employer needs and higher education outcomes, core employment frameworks for productivity, and the influence of work-based learning on labour effectiveness. These clusters offer insights into the field’s foundational and emerging themes, illustrating the multidimensional role of training in meeting labour market demands. Publication activity has accelerated markedly since 2007, with 62% of all contributions appearing after 2015. The analysis of country collaboration further shows that the United States, China, and the United Kingdom are leading contributors, while the strongest international ties are observed between the United States and both China and the United Kingdom. Originality/Value — Going beyond previous studies, this research employs bibliometric methods to uncover underlying patterns and trajectories in the literature. The findings provide a roadmap for future research directions, pinpointing key areas for deeper investigation and encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to understand the enduring impact of training on labour productivity. © 2025 World Scientific Publishing Co.