Search results

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have multiple roles including teaching, research and more recently projects for the benefit of local communities. From a management and leadership perspective, the formation and implementation of strategic plans and the collaboration with stakeholders have traditionally been based on formal agreements based on existing operational organizations and structures. Their strategic plans and collaborations with stakeholders are now evolving to become more organic and collaborative. They have become essential participants of the innovation and learning ecosystems and knowledge intensive communities as shown here in the case of Finland and Australia. New businesses and regions, especially in Europe and non-European Union countries such as Australia, are encouraged to identify and develop their own competitive advantages by analyzing their strengths and strategic potential growth areas.

This so-called Smart Specialization (RIS3) strategy brings HEIs together with the local authorities, business companies and civil society to co-operate in order to prioritize research and development (R&D) investment in the region. The need for Smart Specialization also challenges HEIs to rethink their visions and renew the present siloed and closed-ended practices.

This chapter examines and compares the management and leadership of the HEIs as actions are undertaken to effectively lead the Finnish and Australian HEIs toward their visions. These case studies demonstrate approaches which influence good institutional governance and management. It describes how LAB-ammattikorkeakoulu (LAB University of Applied Sciences) in Finland, and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia have implemented a RIS3 strategy, notably in health and well-being and agricultural (R&D) projects. These enhance the scope of accountability and participation of stakeholders. The chapter provides practice-based evidence to policy makers in higher education regarding HEIs’ responsible contribution to society.

The current scenario of higher education is undergoing a paradigm shift due to, among other factors, globalization, internationalization, cross border exchange of students and student mobility. This socioeconomic change has prompted educational institutions to brace themselves to deliver education in new ways. The authors are living in an age marked by information revolution where the phenomena of physical distance have shrunk giving way to online education and other innovative pedagogies. With the advent of new ways to teach and learn, education the concept of autonomy, accountability and responsibility has become the new buzz words in academia. Universities need to be more flexible and incorporate the needs of society into their mission and vision. Since education at all levels has become a key driver in economic and social development, universities must reorient their focus on the needs of society and the economy. Autonomy in governance and management in education has become the prerogative of higher education institutions and optimum allocation and use of resources have become one of the chief aims of all higher education institutions.

This book explores the creation of knowledge and its dissemination in order to create significant impacts in society. The chapters talk about the highly competitive education market and the transformation it has undergone. Authors from across the globe have suggested interventions that will help in sustainable growth of universities while enhancing quality standards. The chapters present a better understanding of a philosophy of management, society, development and education.

In response to a need for ‘consideration of the conceptual overlap between information seeking and information literacy’ (Julien & Williamson, 2010), this chapter explores their development. Since the 1960s there has been an ongoing stream of research called ‘information behaviour’ (IB). This has taken various forms and shifted its focus in terms of the topic studied and epistemological orientation. Since the 1990s there has been another stream of parallel research focusing on people’s information capabilities called ‘information literacy’ (IL). Both concern the interaction and experience of a person or a group with information. The former focuses on the social, psychological, behavioural and environmental aspects of people’s IB. The latter focuses on the person and the capabilities they need to interact with information which may be studied from a social, psychological, behavioural and environmental perspective. IB has traditionally placed an emphasis on observed or recorded information seeking, within a broad context of factors that may affect behaviour. In contrast, IL research places greater emphasis on specific cognitive and behavioural processes associated with information seeking and use. Both IB and IL throw light on people’s information experience. Over time, shifts in focus have been associated with changes in epistemological orientation. We now see a rich array of approaches for investigating people’s IB and IL. This reflects the multifaceted nature of these domains, that is social, organisational and individual. This chapter charts the relationship between these two fields of research and highlights their complementarity.

We examine whether variations in the most fundamental aspects of state corporate income tax regimes affect state economic activity as measured by personal income, gross state product, and total non-farm employment. We focus on a variety of statutory components of state corporate income taxes that apply broadly in most U.S. states and for most multi-state corporate taxpayers. Our econometric strategy consists of a series of fixed effects panel regressions using state-level data from 1996 through 2010. Our results reveal important interaction effects of tax rates and policies, suggesting that policy makers should avoid making decisions about tax rates in isolation. The results demonstrate a relatively consistent negative economic response to the combination of high tax rates with throwback rules and heavy sales factor weights. Combined reporting has no discernible effect on personal income, GSP, or employment after controlling for tax rates, apportionment, and throwback rules. In an effort to gauge the relative impacts of tax policies on the location of economic activity, we also estimate alternative models in which each state’s economic activity is measured as a share of the national economic activity in each year. Statistically significant effects for tax rates, apportionment formulas, and throwback rules in the shares models suggest that at least some of their impact involves the movement of activity across state lines, thereby leaving open the possibility of a zero-sum game among the states.

The purpose of this chapter is to present a model (Beginning, Acting, Telling (BAT) model) developed for the elementary-school classroom that integrates features identified by research into information-seeking behavior and information literacy.

The chapter provides an overview of research in the areas of information-seeking behavior and information literacy and models in which they have intersected (namely, the Information Search Process (ISP) model) to provide a theoretical framework in which to situate the BAT model. Examples from previous empirical studies conducted by the author that informed the model are provided.

A preliminary iteration of the BAT model has successfully been piloted in two third-grade classrooms in Buffalo, New York. Plans are underway to introduce the model to a wider audience.

The BAT model with its use of image and mnemonic cues can be used to teach the research process to students, beginning in the earliest grades of elementary school.

This chapter is the first time the final iteration of the BAT model has been presented. It is the first model integrating features inherent in information-seeking behavior and information literacy that also makes use of imagery and mnemonic.