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1 – 10 of over 1000Environmental behavior research has shown that environmental characteristics may have a big impact on people's behavior. This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation on…
Abstract
Purpose
Environmental behavior research has shown that environmental characteristics may have a big impact on people's behavior. This paper is part of a doctoral dissertation on evaluating the building performance of residential hostels in Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTI) in India, an appropriate methodology was developed using the relevant attributes of environmental behavioral research to conduct post-occupancy evaluation (POE) for a pilot survey that identified unique ground conditions. The approach aids in comprehending the state of residential surroundings from the perspective of students, and the conclusion will allow the ongoing research to inquire about and suggest parameters for a student-friendly and inclusive residential hostel design in India, through its primary user, the students. The study aims to employs POE as a significant research method.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach includes literature review (building performance evaluation/EBS); ground scenario in India; ground investigations outcome of ground scenario and investigations to frame further research processes; and discussions and conclusions.
Findings
Development of a methodology for studying residential environments in the CFTI in identifying variables in the Indian context and developing requisite tools for POE. The methodology also aids in communication between stakeholders and creates mechanisms for quality monitoring, providing knowledge when buildings fail to meet design intent and providing data and knowledge for future designs and key decisions. It will assist in the development of design and planning guidelines with respect to residential hostels in the Indian scenario.
Research limitations/implications
Research work is carried out only in CFTI in India where Architecture is one of the branches.
Practical implications
Development of a methodology for studying residential environments in the CFTI in identifying variables in the Indian context and developing requisite tools for POE. The methodology also aids in communication between stakeholders and creates mechanisms for quality monitoring, providing knowledge when buildings fail to meet design intent and providing data and knowledge for future designs and key decisions. It will assist in the development of design and planning guidelines with respect to residential hostels in the Indian scenario.
Social implications
This study identifies the specific difficulties and determined the research direction in this situation. It emphasized the need of paying attention to students' perceptions and contentment in residential hostels as a neglected component of Indian residential hostels that needs to be addressed. It aided in the creation of a bespoke research technique. The evaluation process of the main users of residential hostels on campuses is largely impacted by their cultural background and level of environmental awareness of their built environment. The survey also revealed the level of environmental awareness among hostel students in particular and Indian society in general. Finally, this study underlines the importance of rethinking the design and development of residential environments on campuses, particularly from the perspective of student welcoming.
Originality/value
The paper is a part of ongoing research in VNIT, Nagpur, India.
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This study attempts to conduct a post-occupancy assessment of the primary technical, functional and behavioral features in a student housing facility at the Visvesvaraya National…
Abstract
Purpose
This study attempts to conduct a post-occupancy assessment of the primary technical, functional and behavioral features in a student housing facility at the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology campus in Nagpur, India to see if the students are satisfied with the residential hostel's environs and facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study reviews knowledge areas pertinent to the technical, functional and behavioral performance of student housing facilities by looking at the body of accessible literature. Even though the literature review gave a thorough overview of the broad issues, it was essential to learn about the situation as it is and addresses the specific issues brought up to undertake a thorough evaluation, just as every in-depth study depends on a reliable methodology. Therefore, a methodology appropriate for the research was developed, which helped in identifying relevant attributes for the questionnaire to be used for the survey. This aided in analyzing the building's performance evaluation through the sole users of the hostel which are the students. The survey data is analyzed by statical methods using SPSS software to identify the key determinants of satisfaction in students' residential hostels and if these are affected by the gender of the students.
Findings
The survey results were examined to determine the level of satisfaction with the selected performance aspects, and the major determinants governing it. The findings concluded that most of the technical and functional determinants of satisfaction in hostels are identified the same by both genders, except for some of the attributes in behavioral elements. The research looked at how well key success elements in the student housing facility had been implemented.
Research limitations/implications
Research is carried out in CFTI only wherein architecture is one of the branches.
Originality/value
Planning professionals, architects, housing managers and facility managers involved in the design, construction and management of student housing facilities might benefit from feedback from a post-occupancy evaluation. The post-occupancy study can therefore aid in continually enhancing the standard and effectiveness of the facilities for planning, constructing, managing and maintaining student residential housing.
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Swagatika Sahoo and Rajeev Kumar Panda
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of the contextual antecedents on the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) of university graduates…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the impact of the contextual antecedents on the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) of university graduates, which, in turn, affects their entrepreneurial intentions (EIs).
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected in the form of 510 valid responses from engineering students across two technical universities in India, through a structured questionnaire consisting of scales adapted from the extant literature, and the data were empirically validated in this study. The reliability and validity measures of the constructs were validated through the confirmatory factor analysis, and the proposed hypotheses were validated using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results of this empirical analysis validate that the contextual antecedents have a significant positive impact on students’ entrepreneurial orientation (EO), which, in turn, has a significant positive influence on EIs.
Research limitations/implications
This analysis depicts the significance of EO as a perceptual driver at the individual level and substantiates that the availability of resources such as startup capital, access to business information, social networks and supportive university context significantly affects the decision-making process of an individual to venture into an otherwise uncertain occupation of entrepreneurship.
Practical implications
The study has the likely potential to help university administrators and policymakers to allocate resources, develop strategies and provide effective entrepreneurial learning in entrepreneurship-oriented courses aimed at honing entrepreneurial skills and self-confidence of the university students. This holistic model can be used as a tool for resource planning and prioritising in order to provide the desired contextual support essential for fostering the IEO of the university students towards adopting entrepreneurial career, thereby assisting them to achieve their career goals and the broader objective of nation-building.
Originality/value
This study adopts an innovative approach to empirically validate the EO construct at the individual level, which has been studied at the organisation (firm) level till today. This research explores the relevant contextual antecedents and analyses their impact on IEO as well as the explanatory capacity of IEO to explain students’ EIs in the contextual backdrop of universities in a fast transitioning economy like India.
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Alphil Maria Joseph, Jerrin Jose and Anusha Srinivasan Iyer
This paper aims to explore how the student fund managers perceive the benefits of being part of the fund. Furthermore, this paper examines the country-specific challenges of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how the student fund managers perceive the benefits of being part of the fund. Furthermore, this paper examines the country-specific challenges of setting up and managing a student-managed investment fund (SMIF) in India.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative content analysis technique is used to identify, compare and retrieve critical themes about the present state of SMIF clubs in India. The data collection method involved structured, in-depth online interviews with ten student fund managers from various higher educational institutions in India.
Findings
Some of the study’s key findings indicate that the existence of SMIFs as part of learning facilitates group decision-making and peer learning. Additionally, this study brings to light specific issues related to registration, incorporating real-world practices and integrating SMIF into the academic curriculum.
Social implications
The outcomes of this study shall be of use to students and the teaching fraternity across Indian colleges and universities who aspire to set up SMIFs as part of experiential learning. This study will also help existing SMIF clubs in India understand how their counterparts work and can consequently improvise their organizational structure and functioning.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first interview-based evaluation of the present structure of SMIFs structured as clubs in India.
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Manik Chandra Das, Bijan Sarkar and Siddhartha Ray
Due to liberalization, privatization and globalization, the need of competent technical manpower at an economical cost is increasing rapidly. Many foreign multinationals are…
Abstract
Purpose
Due to liberalization, privatization and globalization, the need of competent technical manpower at an economical cost is increasing rapidly. Many foreign multinationals are focusing on India for employable talents. Many technical institutions with cutting edge technologies and leading edge techniques are being set up by foreign collaboration, national and private initiatives. The objective of this study is to propose a model for performance evaluation and benchmarking of Indian technical institutions from perspective of all stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
For the proposed framework, a multiple criteria decision‐making tool, distance‐based approach (DBA) methodology is applied for performance evaluation of seven Indian technical institutions taking into account some selected criteria like, faculty strength (FS), student intake (SI), number of PhD awarded (PhD), number of patents applied for (patent), the campus area in acres (CA) and tuition fee per semester in rupees (TF). Consulting the experts in various fields with the help of certain questionnaire and aggregating their views by conducting ameliorated nominal group technique session, we select these evaluation criteria. The subjective weights of the criteria are determined using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). For the analysis, the required data are collected from annual report published by Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) for the year of 2007‐08.
Findings
In this paper, we have chosen seven centrally funded technical institutions for study and the institutions are coded as A, B, C, D, E, F and G. The result of the study reveals that A is the best and F is the worst. The ranking we get is in the order of A≽B≽E≽C≽G≽D≽F. From the result it is understood that A can be considered as benchmark for B, C and E (which form the second group) and this second group can be considered as an improvement target for the rest. At the end a holistic technical education system model (HTESM) is proposed.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few studies that evaluate the performance of technical institutions in India. The novelty in the approach is that DBA and AHP are being used as a benchmarking technique in a simple methodology which is generic in nature.
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This monograph is devoted to the countries of Eastern Europe, whichare experiencing the dramatic changes following on from the fundamentaldevelopments of the last few years. These…
Abstract
This monograph is devoted to the countries of Eastern Europe, which are experiencing the dramatic changes following on from the fundamental developments of the last few years. These countries, Albania, Bulgaria, Czecho‐slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the USSR and Yugoslavia, are likely to become members of a greater Europe in the future. Their economic and educational systems are examined and the structures of their management training systems are described.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide a background on the Thai higher education system which consists of over 160 public and private universities and colleges, under the purview…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a background on the Thai higher education system which consists of over 160 public and private universities and colleges, under the purview of the Commission on Higher Education of the Ministry of Education. Particular emphasis is placed on the Rajmangala University of Technology (RMUT) system, consisting of nine regional technology universities, consolidated less than ten years ago from over 30 region‐based technology institutes, spreading over 20 provinces.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper looks at challenges faced by the Commission and the University: aligning uneven and highly differentiated capacity with emergent and shifting educational needs; distributing or gaining access to resources to assure that quality is both established and maintained; and dealing with the existential fact that the very technological needs that one is seeking to educate for are changing literally moment by moment. Mechanisms on collaboration among the nine universities, and management practices to ensure effective regionalization are presented.
Findings
Thailand is witnessing a rapid expansion of the Thai higher education system. Two new university systems, the Rajbhat University system and the Rajmangala University of Technology‐RMUT system are newcomers. Both have evolved out of colleges under the original Ministry of Education for many decades. They have been under‐funded and inherited characteristics uncommon to universities. The RMUTs have to establish themselves among existing, mature and well developed technological universities. Issues and challenges are to be addressed by the new governance and management mechanisms.
Originality/value
This paper provides insight into the challenges and developments faced by the higher education system in Thailand.
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Larry Levine and Betsy McClain
Regardless of how they are budgeted, information technology (IT) costs must be paid. Most schools offer some computing services at no cost to the individual or unit and some that…
Abstract
Regardless of how they are budgeted, information technology (IT) costs must be paid. Most schools offer some computing services at no cost to the individual or unit and some that are charged back to users and units. Typically, common good services are centrally funded, and services that differentially benefit specific individuals or units are charged for. How services are funded often reflects a school’s philosophy about IT and about finances. Preferably, IT funding mechanisms deliberately help shape and influence an institution’s IT and services philosophy, as opposed to an IT or service philosophy being unintentionally shaped by fiscal policies that follow no particular strategy. Levying fees to users on an individual or departmental basis may yield a different demand and expectation of IT services than when costs are borne by a central budget. Quantity and quality, degree of centralization, and administrative complexity of services are major variables in determining funding. Also at stake is the degree to which an institution wishes to endorse, suppress, control or expand IT services. These issues are specifically illustrated through a case study of the formulation of a new budget and cost accounting model to both finance an institution‐wide network upgrade and to maintain that network.
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Suresh Chandra Babu, Jikun Huang, P. Venkatesh and Yumei Zhang
There is growing interest from the global development community in the role of agricultural research and extension (AR & E) systems to achieve development targets. Despite…
Abstract
Purpose
There is growing interest from the global development community in the role of agricultural research and extension (AR & E) systems to achieve development targets. Despite this interest, many smallholders in developing countries continue to lack access to updated agricultural information and reliable services. In an effort to increase the effectiveness, impact, and reach of AR & E programs, many governments have attempted to reform their national systems. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper systematically compares the systems and reforms of AR & E in China and India in order to draw out lessons applicable to developing countries. This paper first reviews the existing literature on AR & E systems and their role in agricultural and economic development. The authors then provide a detailed review and comparative analysis of the reforms and approaches implemented in the AR & E systems of China and India. The authors apply this comparative analysis to draw out lessons that can be applied to inform the reformation of AR & E systems in developing countries.
Findings
The authors find that although both countries face similar agricultural development challenges, each took a different approach in the reformation of AR & E to address these challenges. Each country’s approaches had different impacts on the effectiveness of the system. Lessons from the reformation of the AR & E systems in China and India can be used to inform and improve the impact of AR & E in developing countries.
Originality/value
The paper examines two systems together using a set of common indicators and factors. The paper’s value comes from its usefulness in informing future AR & E reforms in other developing countries in order to increase the impact of these reforms on development outcomes.
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Smita Kashiramka, Mahim Sagar, Amlendu Kumar Dubey, Amit Mehndiratta and Sushil Sushil
The purpose of this paper is to create a hierarchy of critical success factors affecting the higher technical education institutions, taking a case study of India. Using total…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to create a hierarchy of critical success factors affecting the higher technical education institutions, taking a case study of India. Using total interpretive structural modeling (TISM), the paper attempts to establish the inter-linkages among ten critical success factors for enhancing the performance of these institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) to understand the hierarchy of the factors and their interplay using response from 18 experts in the domain.
Findings
The findings reveal that autonomy and accountability coupled with availability of sustainable funds are the driving factors for the success of the institutions. Infrastructural facilities and establishment of centers of excellence act as amplification factors. Introduction of new programs and their accreditation, improvement in faculty quality, research output and improvement in performance of academically weak students emerge as process factors that drive the output factors, namely, academic performance and student placement.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitation of this study is the scope that was limited to 191 institutions, as mandated in the project.
Practical implications
This study has important implications for the institutions as well as the policy makers to channelize their focus and efforts on driving and amplification factors that would ultimately lead to enhanced performance of the next generation higher technical education institutions.
Originality/value
This paper is a part of pan India project carried out to assess the performance of higher technical education institutions in India.
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