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To explore the nature (component parts, degree structure) and purpose (intended outcomes) of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the degree as they stand presently, using Australian experience.

A review of DBA programme offerings in Australia identified commonalities and differences in these offerings, and provided information necessary to propose strategic and theoretical implications of DBA education.

The paper demonstrates areas of confusion surrounding the purpose and nature of the DBA degree, especially as a research degree in comparison to the PhD. It concludes that quality controls are needed to ensure that this growing addition to management education adds to, and aids, the goal of strengthening management research, in ways that link theoretical insights with management practice.

Theoretical and practical implications of the DBA degree are offered, as well as the extent to which the DBA addresses the educational needs of students and its benefits to the university.

The paper provides data useful to administrators interested in establishing a DBA degree in their institution, for researchers wishing to further explore and contribute to the discourse regarding the calibre and content of DBA degrees, and for students wishing to learn more about the fundamental differences between the PhD and the DBA.

This paper provides new information about the way the DBA degree is developing in an Australian context, and offers advice on issues that need attention in order to further ground the DBA in a combined research and practitioner ethic.

Professional Doctorates (PDs) have been added to the curriculum of many universities worldwide, as an alternative to the traditional Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). PDs are more focused on practice-based knowledge that advances professional practice and contributes to society, industry and the economy. The dominance of the PhD as the typical higher degree by research has led universities to develop frameworks for their PDs which are very similar to the PhD framework. This includes the assessment of the PD, which in many cases follows the same process and is based on the same criteria as for the PhD. This similarity in the assessment of the two types of doctorates creates challenges for external examiners (EEs), who are invited to evaluate the contribution of the PD within frameworks which are tailored around the PhD. Here, the authors focus the investigation on the Doctorate in Business Administration and conduct a review and analysis of institutional documents from universities in England in an attempt to understand the similarities and differences between the examination process of the PD and the PhD and the extent to which the examination process of the PD supports the evaluation of the practice-based contribution that is at its heart. Through this review and analysis, the authors identify the challenges that exist for EEs who are called to assess PDs, and make recommendations which will support EEs to evaluate the contribution of the PD.

Most of the studies in entrepreneurship depend on single-source rating methods to collect data on both predictors and criteria. The threat to effect sizes as a result of using single-source ratings is particularly relevant to psychology-based entrepreneurship research. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the prospects of applying 360-degree feedback to the field of entrepreneurship and to discuss a set of cases regarding how 360-degree feedback may boost effect sizes in entrepreneurship research.

A qualitative review of current literature was performed.

The review indicated that the effect sizes in psychology-based entrepreneurship research are mostly small and the use of single-source ratings is prevalent; some preliminary findings supported the utility of 360-degree feedback in entrepreneurship research; entrepreneurial orientation (EO) research may benefit from 360-degree feedback; and members of top management teams, employees from research and product development, sales agents, retail buying agents, store sales clerks, and consumers are all valid informants to provide ratings of EO.

The present study provided theoretical explanations and used empirical evidence to elucidate how 360-degree feedback may benefit the field of entrepreneurship. In addition, recommendations for future research using 360-degree feedback in entrepreneurship research were offered and discussed. A sample research study on EO using 360-degree feedback was delineated.

This paper aims to investigate the confidence of foundation degree (FdSc) and top‐up degree students in using and applying research methods within a sport and exercise discipline.

Closed questionnaires determined FdSc (n=24) and top‐up degree (n=21) students' confidence in five domains of research methods: using research literature, designing research studies, analysing data, interpreting research findings, and presenting research findings. Confidence was rated using a seven‐point Likert scale anchored by “most confident” (1) and “clueless” (7).

FdSc and top‐up students were most confident in using research literature and presenting research findings, respectively. Both FdSc and top‐up students were least confident in data analysis. Compared to FdSc, top‐up students were less confident in data analysis (FdSc: 3.4±0.29 vs top‐up: 4.38±0.39, p<0.01), interpreting research findings (FdSc: 2.99±0.39 vs top‐up: 3.62±0.42, p=0.02) and presenting research findings (FdSc: 2.90±0.17 vs top‐up: 3.33±0.15, p<0.01).

These data outline a need to address the teaching of research methods within FdSc and top‐up degrees in order to enhance student confidence.

Research methods are a defining feature of higher education degrees yet remain a challenging subject for many lecturers and students. Progression through FdSc and top‐up programmes provides an interesting transition with regard to research methods due to more diverse student cohorts and different research experiences. Limited insight into the experience and confidence of students studying for sport related FdSc or top‐up programmes, with regard to research methods, is currently available.

This paper reports the findings of a study of how new universities train research students in accounting and finance from a student perspective. The purpose is to provide evidence of the problems faced by the new universities in offering research degrees in accounting and finance, and how these problems are addressed. It was found that the new universities have made a major commitment to research students’ training since 1992. Financial incentives were offered to attract research students. Experienced supervisors were borrowed from other subject areas and established universities to make up for the internal shortage. Despite these efforts, students might suffer from a lack of an appropriate research culture and environment. Nearly half the students could not obtain advice from persons other than their supervisors, and more than half the number of students responding to the questionnaire did not take any formal research method course. The majority of the students found it relatively hard to surprise their supervisors by progress, to make their relationship with their supervisors amicable and enjoyable, to make a workable time schedule, and hard to obtain advice from non‐supervisors. They also expressed their wish for their supervisors to treat supervision as a higher priority, and be more knowledgeable and more available when needed.

Many countries are looking for ways to enable students to engage more effectively with PhD study. This paper aims to consider the effects of explicit discipline-specific research skill development embedded in multiple semesters of an undergraduate degree on PhD preparedness.

This case study of one Bachelor of Health Science programme determined the effectiveness of the implementation of a conceptual model, the Researcher Skill Development framework, across the undergraduate degree programme. Data were gathered through interviews of 9 academic staff and 14 students in their fourth year of undergraduate study, which is a research-focused year.

All students and academics stated the benefits of the use of the Researcher Skill Development framework in undergraduate study including: deepening metacognition of research processes; assisting students toward acting and thinking like researchers; and the research-capacity building of the school. While all academics and all but one student recommended that the framework be used early in the degree programme, a number of interviewees specified problems with the existing implementation of the framework.

While the results are not generalisable, the approach is worth studying in other degree programme-wide contexts to determine its broader capacity to enable students to be more research ready for PhD study when compared to current practice.

When adapted to the context, whole-of-degree research skill development may enable developing countries to have more students and developed countries to better prepared students commencing PhD studies.

No studies currently provide results for explicit research skill development across a degree programme, or of the benefits of this approach for PhD preparation.

360-degree video is recorded with omnidirectional or multi-camera systems that capture all directions at the same time in a spherical view. With immersive technologies gaining momentum and reducing educational cost, it has attracted the interest of the academic community. However, little is known about using 360-degree video in teacher education. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic scoping review through a systematic process based on 15 included studies to determine the characteristics, impacts, strengths and weaknesses of the 360-degree video applied to teacher education.

This study combines scoping and systematic review based on the PRISMA paradigm.

This paper explores that 360-degree videos are applicable to teacher education, specifically with their positive effects on pre-service teachers’ immersion, noticing, reflection and interpersonal competence. However, as for learners’ reactions, physical discomfort is reported, like motion sickness.

First, some recently published studies on the subjects were partially accessible, which precluded the authors from adding their findings to this study. Second, the sample of articles is constrained to the search and selection strategies described in the methods section, which increases the possibility that pertinent research may be omitted. Furthermore, this study’s summary of the selected research may be inadequate. Third, only English-language publications were included in this study. Future researchers can expand on this topic by gathering additional relevant empirical data from publications in other languages.

Practically, findings in this study reveal the positive effects of 360-degree video in teacher education. The results may help researchers and preservice teachers better understand 360-degree video and use it more frequently in teaching. Instructional video technologies have been found to have a nearly medium effect on learning effectiveness in educational practice from a broader perspective.

The findings in this study can shed light on future educational technology research on instructional video technologies and technology-enhanced teacher education.

This research investigates three major research questions. First, how does brand alliance type, defined by a partner's location and brand quality, affect consumers' emotional value perceptions of higher education brand alliances for dual-degree programs? Second, does perceived brand fit mediate the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions? Third, do individual differences in world-mindedness moderate the influence of brand alliance type on emotional value perceptions?

In total, two experiments are performed. Experiment one examines the effect of brand alliance type, at varying combinations of partner brand quality and partner location (domestic or foreign), on consumers' emotional value perceptions. Experiment two examines the moderating role of world-mindedness in the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions.

Results provide evidence that consumers' perception of brand fit mediates the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions of the alliance. Results also indicate that world-mindedness moderates the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions.

This research extends the previous literature on higher education dual-degree brand alliances and introduces world-mindedness as an important consumer-based characteristic to consider in this line of research. It answers calls for more research on higher education branding and calls for research into the potential mediating role and importance of brand fit. It provides several theoretical and managerial implications relevant to the higher education brand alliances, particularly in dual-degree programs.

This paper aims to analyse how learning levels differ within and between degrees and diplomas with specific application to the Bachelor of Applied Business Studies degree and the New Zealand Diploma of Business, which are delivered at a New Zealand polytechnic.

A literature review and content analysis of National Qualifications Frameworks was conducted to analyse how learning levels differ within and between degrees and diplomas with specific application to the Bachelor of Applied Business Studies degree and the New Zealand Diploma of Business which are offered at a New Zealand polytechnic.

A literature review and content analysis of National Qualifications Frameworks reveals that learning levels are differentiated by level of complexity, degree of abstraction, depth in a major subject, research competency, learner autonomy and responsibility, relative demand placed on students and increasing complexity and unpredictability of operational context. This analysis failed to find any difference in learning level between Bachelor of Applied Business Studies and New Zealand Diploma of Business papers nominally at the same level on the New Zealand National Qualifications Framework. The degree comprises a portion of papers at a higher learning level than the diploma and it is at this level that the difference is realised.

Future research should investigate learning level differences between disciplines, qualifications and institutions.

This paper provides a framework on which to base course design, delivery and assessment of the Bachelor of Applied Business Studies degree and the New Zealand Diploma of Business and credit transfer between them.

This case study addresses the increasingly important issue of the compatibility of learning levels between different qualifications. As many economies acknowledge the necessity for increasingly skilled workforces, credit transfer to enable seamless transfer between qualifications is becoming a focus in seeking to facilitate lifelong learning. There are few studies that focus on National Qualifications level descriptors and the implications for different qualification types.

Benchmark surveys regarding talent management assessment practices and interventions of choice for organization development (OD) practitioners have shown 360-degree feedback to be a popular tool for both development and decision-making in the field today. Although much has been written about implementing 360-degree feedback since its inception in the 1990s, few longitudinal case examples exist where interventions have been applied and their impact measured successfully. This chapter closes the gap by providing research findings and key learnings from five different implementation strategies for enhancing 360-degree feedback in a large multi-national organization. Recommendations and implications for future research are discussed.