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ABSTRACT

Amidst the growing importance of employability in higher education, this study explores and identifies the motivations behind full-time university students engaging in part-time employment during term time, how students cope with simultaneously managing the two activities and how part-time working influences their career aspirations. Semi-structured interviews are used to obtain data from a sample of 30 business degree students at a UK university.The findings confirm previous studies, that financial necessity is a primary driver of parttime work, but also reveal a complex set of supplementary reasons, that either satisfies a long-term vision, or a more immediate need for development or self-gratification. Furthermore, most students compromise the longer term benefit of study against the more immediate financial gains offered by work, resulting in an accepted lowering of academic performance as a consequence. The majority of the students did not see a connecting opportunity between their part-time work and future career, and were uncertain regarding future career direction.This study extends the use of qualitative methods in this area, which is dominated by survey research, while also extending extant findings to the career aspirations of students, which is hitherto largely unexplored.

This study examined how full-time university students cope with part-time working during term time. A qualitative approach was used to examine how students simultaneously manage the two activities, and how part-time working affects their academic study. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain data from a sample of 30 undergraduate business students. The findings confirm that students merely satisfice many aspects of their lives, with time set aside for reading and assignment preparation being areas that are most likely to suffer in order to allow students to engage with part-time work. Possible options available to higher education institutions to adapt to, and remedy, the situation are explored in the conclusion.

Gadolinium enhanced 3D MR angiography (MRA) is becoming a widely accepted technique for imaging the vascular system. We set out to evaluate its accuracy and reliability in visualization of renal arteries in the clinical setting. Gadolinium enhanced MRA was performed in 15 potential live renal donors and 26 patients suspected of having renal artery stenosis who were referred for digital subtraction angiography (DSA). MRA was performed on a 1.5 T MR scanner in a single breath hold. Images from each study were prospectively analysed for demonstration of number of main and accessory renal arteries and degree of renal artery stenosis in a double blind fashion. All the main and accessory arteries were visualized on MRA in the renal donor group, but in one case a branch was not identified owing to breathing artefact. In one case, an extrarenal vascular anomaly was not demonstrated on MRA. In the renal artery stenosis group, sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive values of 96%, 93% and 96% were obtained for clinically significant stenosis (>50%). Gadolinium enhanced MRA proved to be a useful technique in demonstration of renal arterial anatomy and grading of renal artery stenosis. However, we encountered some pitfalls and limitations of the technique during the process. It is important to be aware of these before accepting it as the sole technique in clinical practice.