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1 – 10 of over 118000The data on which this essay is based were originally collected as part of a larger study investigating Academic Freedom and Commercialisation in Australian Universities (see…
Abstract
The data on which this essay is based were originally collected as part of a larger study investigating Academic Freedom and Commercialisation in Australian Universities (see Kayrooz, Kinnear, & Preston, 2001). A web-based questionnaire survey of social scientists across 12 universities in Australia was completed by 165 respondents (representing a 20% response rate). At the end of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to indicate whether they would be willing to engage in a follow-up telephone interview. Ten of those who indicated their willingness to be interviewed were contacted, and all agreed to the interview.
Mohsen Nazarzadeh Zare and Ehsan Parvin
The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran.
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to investigate the reasons for the gap between academic education and the required skills of the labor market in Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, the authors adopted a thematic analysis method. The participants in the study were connoisseurs from universities and research institutes in Iran, who were selected with purposeful sampling methods of snowball type. To collect the data, the authors used a semi-structured interview and performed a thematic analysis for data analysis.
Findings
The findings showed that the views and perceptions of the connoisseurs participating in the study about the reasons for the gap between academic education and the skills required in the labor market in Iran can be classified into four main themes including lack of attention to labor market needs in the academic curricula, lack of attention to practical and entrepreneurial skills in the academic curricula, the weak link between universities and industry and society, and shortage of academic resources and equipment in some academic disciplines.
Originality/value
The present study had three implications. First, the human capital theory, the social closure theory, the positional conflict theory and the labor market segmentation theory are more compatible with the labor market of Iranian graduates, compared to other theories of the labor market. Second, the lack of coordination between academic education and the required skills in the labor market has weakened the Iranian economy. Third, the absence of practical and entrepreneurial skills in academic graduates has led to increased unemployment in Iranian society.
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Maladies afflicting the higher education system in developing countries are well represented by what is happening in India and have been discussed in detail by many researchers…
Abstract
Maladies afflicting the higher education system in developing countries are well represented by what is happening in India and have been discussed in detail by many researchers and educationists (Anandakrishnan, 2008; Balram, 2005, 2008). The Government of India has formulated different projects and programmes for improving the education scenario in the country. The successive education commissions from Radhakrishnan (1949) through Kothari commission (1966) discussed various issues related to the higher education system and suggested many steps to resolve them. Recently, the Committee to Advice on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (2009) headed by Yash Pal discussed the challenges faced by the Indian higher education system and recommended complete revamping of the higher education system and evolving it as an Indian model. The National Knowledge Commission (NKC, 2006–2009) in 2007 while recommending several measures to keep up the pace of higher education with the developments of knowledge society and knowledge economy observed that ‘We recognize that a meaningful reform of the higher education system with a long-term perspective is both complex and difficult. Yet it is imperative.’ The view that the reforms cannot easily be carried out is more strengthened by the fact that the vision and recommendations of the Kothari Commission of 1966 (based on which the 1968 educational policy was formulated) are still valid and useful even now (Sam Pitroda, 2007).
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key implications of globalisation for business schools, and to put structural alignment of academic structures with the Bologna…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key implications of globalisation for business schools, and to put structural alignment of academic structures with the Bologna Declaration in a broader strategic alignment with the needs of a knowledge‐driven society and a socially sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis uses systems theory for analysing dynamic change in society and a synthesis of its influences on business education, as we see the Bologna Process is neither conceived nor implemented with sufficient care for holism in the European effort to become an innovative society.
Findings
Business schools should extend their transformation effort beyond the Bologna Process and align their strategic model of operation with societal needs by integrating social requirements into their strategic framework.
Research limitations/implications
Research focuses on key external developments in business education at a transnational level. Future research should focus on the exploration of the business school response to social change in a local context.
Practical implications
A requisitely holistic picture of contextual change offers business school leaders deeper understanding of external implications for aligning schools with societal needs.
Social implications
Emerging social challenges in Europe are taken as the starting point for realigning a strategic model of business school operation with societal needs and the business world with the aim to improve schools' accountability and their evolvement into socially engaged actors with innovative approaches.
Originality/value
The paper presents a systemic and requisitely holistic view of social change for aligning the business school model of operation with the broader needs of a knowledge‐driven society that stretches beyond the formal academic structures unification in the Bologna Process.
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Academic dishonesty is a global challenge, with organizational and economic repercussions of the most undesirable kind. Worldwide, efforts are made to establish external and…
Abstract
Academic dishonesty is a global challenge, with organizational and economic repercussions of the most undesirable kind. Worldwide, efforts are made to establish external and internal factors that contribute to the spread of unethical behavior, so that based on empirical evidence the most useful approaches to mitigating the phenomenon can be found. The present chapter has two major objectives. A first objective is to explore the steps taken by higher education institutions in Romania regarding the construction of an ethical infrastructure, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses. The author will refer to civil society initiatives and universities’ efforts, including legislative efforts. The second objective is to identify a set of lessons from international research that will support the intervention in the direction of building an academic ethical culture in Romania. Given the level of academic fraud demonstrated through research, the process of building university integrity is extremely difficult in Romania. The intervention of the political factors at the university level contributes to a great instability, sabotaging the process of implementing ethical standards. Ethics infrastructures from Romanian universities are incomplete, focusing on two formal components, namely the ethical code and the ethics commissions. There is no coherent chain of ethical decision, ethical management does not actually work. In conclusion, in Romanian universities, ethical principles are not a top priority, as they clash with organizational and governance practices.
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Jorge M. Gorostiaga and Óscar Espinoza
In this chapter, the authors analyze the academic field of comparative education in Spanish speaking Latin America as a contested construction both in epistemological and…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors analyze the academic field of comparative education in Spanish speaking Latin America as a contested construction both in epistemological and political dimensions. First, the authors provide a brief historical account of the origin and development of comparative education in the region since the nineteenth century. Next, they focus on the current state of the field by addressing three aspects: (1) the institutional basis, specially the development of comparative education societies; (2) an account of the contributions of international organizations, both in terms of studies that have been recently conducted and of the development of data bases; and (3) an analysis of prevailing topics as well as theoretical and methodological approaches in a sample of articles published during the 2010-2017 period. The authors conclude by summarizing the main aspects of the current situation, and pointing to future epistemological and political challenges for the field in the region.
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“Academic values” is one of the most popular terms used in the higher education literature. But how do we study academic values? Besides autonomy, freedom, and collegiality, the…
Abstract
“Academic values” is one of the most popular terms used in the higher education literature. But how do we study academic values? Besides autonomy, freedom, and collegiality, the “values” in “academic values” often remains implicit, leaving a conceptual gap in the literature. Moreover, autonomy, freedom, and collegiality may reflect the shared normative expectations as part of the value system of a profession, rather than the value orientation at the individual level. To examine the latter, this chapter proposes a conceptual framework adapted from the studies of work values in applied psychology. As a heuristic device, the academic work value framework consists of six ideal-typical value orientations belonging to three dimensions: work autonomy, social orientation, and value of knowledge. The framework's relevance and usefulness are evaluated by revisiting relevant literature on academic orientations. The result shows a spectrum of value positions in academic work, from the “old school” values to the “entrepreneurial” ones to the hybrid orientations. Overall, this framework provides a potential approach to operationalize the concept of academic values for empirical research. At the same time, as a heuristic device, it is open for reflection, critique, and further development.
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Korea has been at the forefront of the open access movement since 2003, with four nation‐wide repositories built to date. This study seeks to review their current status and to…
Abstract
Purpose
Korea has been at the forefront of the open access movement since 2003, with four nation‐wide repositories built to date. This study seeks to review their current status and to make proposals for further progress.
Design/methodology/approach
The study reviews the current status of the four nation‐wide repositories in Korea and identifies their drawbacks and solutions.
Findings
Korea's repositories were all built and are operated by government agencies. Their software is superb in contrast with the small volume of contents accumulated. If those repositories are to be invigorated, coordinated efforts are required to publicise the objectives of the repositories, and to try to have all research outputs contributed to the repositories with the cooperation of the operating agencies and researchers.
Originality/value
The study suggests several strategies for invigorating Korea's nation‐wide repositories. If the strategies are implemented in a calm and orderly way, Korea's nation‐wide repositories are expected to be more successful.
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Loreta Tauginienė and Rima Kalinauskaitė
This paper aims to examine the use of online social networks by doctoral students.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the use of online social networks by doctoral students.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative online survey was conducted – 448 doctoral students from 15 universities and 11 research institutes in Lithuania were asked about their participation in both academic and non-academic online social networks.
Findings
The results show that despite efforts to link academics to society, doctoral students are not supported by universities/research institutes nor are doctoral students trained for this purpose, including regarding such threats as offensive posts. Additionally, more comprehensive information is disclosed in academic social networks, but these networks are less common and less frequently used.
Research limitations/implications
International doctoral students in Lithuania cover about 4.4 per cent of the total population of doctoral students. They were not invited to participate in the survey. Furthermore, doctoral students consider any online social network as their professional (academic) network, as was found from our results. This resulted in the confusion of our definition of academic online social networks.
Practical implications
Learning about the diverse online roles doctoral students may take could be facilitated were doctoral students to receive clear and consistent awareness-raising and develop self-awareness in the importance of the roles, the most central online social networks and potential threats, and related institutional support to address them.
Originality/value
This study provides results on how engagement of doctoral students in online social networks might affect their links with society and what academic institutions should promote in doctoral education.
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