Search results

1 – 10 of over 153000
Book part
Publication date: 1 September 2017

Liang Zhang, Liang Sun and Wei Bao

This chapter provides a thorough historical overview of policies that have governed and guided scientific research in China since 1949 and illustrates changes in scientific…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter provides a thorough historical overview of policies that have governed and guided scientific research in China since 1949 and illustrates changes in scientific publications that accompanied these policy reforms and programs.

Design

We divide this historical period into four stages, each with distinct R&D policies: (1) 1949–1955, a period of socialist transformation; (2) 1956–1965, a period of struggle for higher education and research development in a rapidly changing political environment; (3) 1966–1976, the lost decade of the Cultural Revolution; and (4) 1976–present, a period when major national policies have significantly promoted scientific research in China. We use the SPHERE project’s comprehensive historical dataset based on Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science and data from a set of research universities in China to analyze changes in scientific publication rates concurrent with these policy reforms and programs.

Findings

The analysis suggests a tight connection between national policy and scientific research productivity in higher education. The central government controlled scientific research through direct administration in early periods and has guided research activities through funding specific programs in recent decades. Due to their resource dependency on the central government, higher education institutions have been quite responsive to the common goals set by the central government. As a result, what is measured tends to be accomplished.

Originality/value

The chapter provides an in-depth description about the rise of higher education and science in China and produces recommendations for future development.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 September 2022

Patrick Mapulanga

The current paper sought to assess health research institutions in transferring knowledge from health research findings into decision and policy making in Malawi. The study…

Abstract

The current paper sought to assess health research institutions in transferring knowledge from health research findings into decision and policy making in Malawi. The study employed both a qualitative and a multi-case study approach. Data was gathered through interviews. The study's participants were purposefully chosen directors of research institutions, public universities, and the ministry of health. Few research institutions compile a list of organisations that might benefit from their health research findings, and even fewer libraries have databanks or repositories. Policymakers rarely receive actionable messages from research institutions. Researchers are short on communication skills as well as time to transfer research findings into usable formats. Research centres including libraries should provide an opportunity for interacting and enhancing the use of research evidence. Individuals, research groups, institutions must all develop stakeholder interaction structures. Structures should define incentives and advancement opportunities for those working in health research institutions.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 October 2021

Chet E. Barney, Brent B. Clark and Serge P. da Motta Veiga

The main purpose of this study was to examine which job resources are most valuable for research productivity, depending on varying teaching demands.

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this study was to examine which job resources are most valuable for research productivity, depending on varying teaching demands.

Design/methodology/approach

Data was collected from 324 management faculty at research, balanced and teaching (i.e. respectively low-, moderate- and high-teaching demands) public universities in the United States.

Findings

Results showed that no single job resource predicted research productivity across all three types of schools. At research schools (i.e. low-teaching demands), productivity was positively associated with job resources including summer compensation, level of protection for untenured faculty and number of research assistant hours, while negatively associated with travel funding. At balanced schools (i.e. moderate-teaching demands), research output was positively associated with time allocated to research, grant money, travel funding and conference attendance, while negatively associated with amount of consulting hours. At teaching schools (i.e. high-teaching demands), the only significant resource was time allocated to research.

Practical implications

This paper can help management faculty and business school leaders understand what resources are most appropriate given the teaching demands associated with the specific institution, and by further helping these institutions attract and retain the best possible faculty.

Originality/value

This study extends prior work on academic research performance by identifying resources that can help faculty publish given different levels of teaching demands. This is important as teaching demands tend to be relatively stable within an institution, while they can vary greatly across types of institutions.

Details

Career Development International, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1362-0436

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Ebikabowei Emmanuel Baro, Gabriel Ejiobi Bosah and Ifeyinwa Calista Obi

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which academic staff members in tertiary institutions in Nigeria access research grants, and to bring to light the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which academic staff members in tertiary institutions in Nigeria access research grants, and to bring to light the factors that hinder their effort to accessing research grants.

Design/methodology/approach

An online questionnaire was designed using the SurveyMonkey software to collect the qualitative data from academic staff in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Findings

The study revealed that only a few number of academic staff members in the tertiary institutions in Nigeria have received research grants. The study also revealed that a large number of research works carried out by academic staff are funded by themselves from the meager salary they receive. It also emerged that Tertiary Education Trust Fund is the highest funding body that academic staff have received research grants from. Different research funding agencies/organizations both local and international that support studies in Nigeria were also mentioned to create awareness for others to utilize. Politics in the selection of research proposals, inadequate publicity/advertisement for research grants applications and lack of knowledge about funding agencies/organizations were identified as the most mentioned hindrances to accessing research grants in Nigeria.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this study is the low response rate obtained, considering the number of tertiary institutions in Nigeria which does not permit generalization. The low response rate suggests that responding to an online questionnaire is not high on the agenda of academic staff members in tertiary institutions in Nigeria, and this is a major challenge for researchers undertaking evidence-based research considering the number of institutions.

Practical/implications

The findings will provide academic staff with important data and insight into the various local and international research funding agencies/organizations that support research in Nigeria.

Social/implications

Academic staff members receiving research grants will enable them find a solution to societal problems through evidence-based research. The findings of this study will inform other academic staff of the various research funding agencies/organizations that support research in Nigeria. This will create awareness for them to access such grants.

Originality/value

The work is an original research work conducted by the researchers. The findings will add to the body of knowledge on the area of research funding in Nigeria.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 October 2013

Christopher S. Collins

The African continent is filled with a textured history, vast resources, and immense opportunity. The landscape of higher education on such a diverse continent is extensive and…

Abstract

The African continent is filled with a textured history, vast resources, and immense opportunity. The landscape of higher education on such a diverse continent is extensive and complex. In this review of the landscape, four primary topics are evaluated. The historical context is the foundational heading, which briefly covers the evolution from colonization to independence and the knowledge economy. The second main heading builds upon the historical context to provide an overview of the numerous components of higher education, including language diversity, institutional type, and access to education. A third section outlines key challenges and opportunities including finance, governance, organizational effectiveness, and the academic core. Each of these challenges and opportunities is interconnected and moves from external influences (e.g., fiscal and political climate) to internal influences (e.g., administrative leadership and faculty roles). The last layer of the landscape focuses on leveraging higher education in Africa for social and economic progress and development. Shaping a higher education system around principles of the public good and generating social benefits is important for including postsecondary institutions in a development strategy.

Details

IThe Development of Higher Education in Africa: Prospects and Challenges
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-699-6

Book part
Publication date: 3 June 2008

Karin Amos, Lúcia Bruno and Marcelo Parreira do Amaral

For the longest period of its history, the university was the guardian and transmitter – not the producer – of knowledge. This relatively recent change of transmitting canonical…

Abstract

For the longest period of its history, the university was the guardian and transmitter – not the producer – of knowledge. This relatively recent change of transmitting canonical knowledge and generating new knowledge is normally associated with Wilhelm von Humboldt. Other highly influential university models were provided by France and Great Britain. The association of certain types of universities with particular countries is a strong indicator of the intricate link between nation-state and education. Hence, the history of tertiary education and its elite institutions, the research universities, must be considered in relation with a sea change in educational history – the gradual emergence of national education systems. Only under the conditions of the by now standard form of organizing modern societies as nation-states did education become a central institution (Meyer, Boli, Thomas, & Ramirez, 1997) collapsing individual perfectibility and national progress. The nationally redefined university was integrated into the education system as its keystone while also being considered the motor of societal development. From a social history perspective, the latter aspect in particular indicates the pragmatic (training professionals, imparting military and technical knowledge, etc.) and symbolic expectations, “myths” of the nation-state that have been so aptly described and analyzed in numerous macro-sociological neo-institutionalist studies (Meyer, Ramirez, & Soysal, 1992; Meyer et al., 1997; Ramirez & Boli, 1987). In a macro-phenomenological perspective, the term “myth” is used to denote a fundamental change in the self-description of European society which since the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries no longer views itself as consisting of separate collectivities divided from each other by social origin – as was the case under feudal conditions – with each collectivity providing itself the necessary education for its members or being provided for by others in the case of neediness. Instead, as a result of a number of material and immaterial changes, society now defines the individual as its key unit, with the nation being consequently the aggregate of individuals and not of collectivities and the state redefined as the guardian of the nation. This conception might be taken as a kind of overlapping area which includes different approaches, such as Michel Foucault's concept of the disciplinary society (Foucault, 1977), Balibar and Wallerstein's (1991) deliberations on the relation between race, class, and nation, and Benedict Anderson's (1991) description of nations as imagined communities. All these studies could be taken as sharing the notion of “constructedness” (cf. Berger & Luckmann, 1972) of modern society with the neo-institutionalist perspective. The concept of a “world polity” which encompasses the “myths” society is based on, the overall notion of a cognitive culture, which takes Max Weber's concept of rationality as a point of departure, is identified as the basis of isomorphic change in the organizational structure of modern education systems (cf. Baker & Wiseman, 2006). However, the strong emphasis on international, world system embeddedness of nation-states and their education systems is not to be taken as a unidirectional dependence on external forces. While modern nation-states originate from and remain tied to international dynamics and developments, they are conceived as unique entities. For most of their history, modern nation-states have been preoccupied with making themselves distinct from each other. Thus, while international competition has always been present, looking abroad traditionally meant reworking, adapting, and reshaping what was imported, or borrowed (Halpin & Troyna, 1995; Steiner-Khamsi, 2004). This is true for education as well as for other areas of society.

Details

The Worldwide Transformation of Higher Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1487-4

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2006

K. Brock Enger

Using bibliometrics to examine eight core journals in the year 2000 for the disciplines of higher education and library science, characteristics of the authors were determined…

Abstract

Using bibliometrics to examine eight core journals in the year 2000 for the disciplines of higher education and library science, characteristics of the authors were determined, including gender or sex; Carnegie Classification or institutional affiliation; and position of the authors. Characteristics of the articles were also examined, including the research methods used such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, or qualitative analysis. A content analysis of each article was performed to determine the subjects discussed in each literature. For both disciplines, it was learned that males publish more, the highest Carnegie Classification, extensive research institutions, were represented the most, and authors came from academic departments other than their own disciplines. In higher education, inferential statistics were used frequently; in library and information descriptive statistics were used frequently; both disciplines failed to use research methodologies regularly. From these findings, it appears that both disciplines are still emerging and are in their early stages of development.

Details

Advances in Library Administration and Organization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1410-2

Article
Publication date: 27 December 2022

Shivendra Singh, Ramesh Pandita and Kiran Baidwan

This study aims to seek the causative relationship between the library budget and research output with the ranking of 20 leading medial institutes in India. More so, the study…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to seek the causative relationship between the library budget and research output with the ranking of 20 leading medial institutes in India. More so, the study also attempts to find out whether the libraries associated with academic and research institutes in general and medical institutes in particular have turned redundant or irrelevant, or have become more relevant in the changing times by embracing technology in its every new form.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on the secondary data retrieved from the official website of the Ministry of Education, Government of India and research output against each institution under study has been retrieved from Scopus. The study is limited to Indian medical institutions that participated in the 2019 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), conducted by the Ministry of Education, India each year. The findings of the study can be generalized to all the medical institutions of the country.

Findings

On average, INR 160.90m were spent by each medical institute on the procurement of library resources at an average of INR 0.104m on procurement of resources against each individual published research article. Of the total research articles published by medical institutes under study, 26.39% of research articles were published by researchers from AIIMS, New Delhi, alone.

Research limitations/implications

Financial aid or funding is very vital for the survival, sustenance and excellence of research institutions, and this funding becomes more important when the investigation is aimed toward the furtherance of medical advances. Any medical advancement is hell-bent to influence the overall welfare and betterment of society at large, whereby the benefit of any investment made in medical science is bound to be reaped by one and all alike.

Originality/value

In India, a good number of studies have been undertaken on the NIRF data to dive deeper to assess the role and importance of libraries in the overall ranking of institutions like universities, management institutes, engineering and technology institutes, but no major study has been so far conducted covering leading medical institutes in India. The study is the original and first of its kind undertaken in India.

Details

Collection and Curation, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9326

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2008

Fredrik Åström

The paper's objective is to analyze the social organization of library and information Science (LIS) using the Nordic countries as example, focusing on organizational setting…

1157

Abstract

Purpose

The paper's objective is to analyze the social organization of library and information Science (LIS) using the Nordic countries as example, focusing on organizational setting, research work and relations between LIS and academia as well as the field of professional practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a framework for analyzing scientific fields, as well as its application on LIS, aspects relating to the impact of contextual factors on research was identified and discussed based on information from, e.g. LIS institution web sites. The results were discussed, not only in relation to the framework primarily utilized, but also from a less disciplinary view on research organization, for analytical contrast.

Findings

A close connection between academic affiliation and research orientation was found, reflected in organizational issues, media for communicating research and access to resources. This relates to general issues of levels of independence from other disciplines and lay groups, to what extent research is evaluated by intra‐disciplinary standards and to the level of consensus on terminology and research processes.

Research limitations/implications

Limiting the study to institutions in one particular geographical area, where several institutions being at an early stage of formalization, the possibility of reaching generalizable conclusions is limited. The strength of the conclusions is also somewhat restrained due to the nature of the empirical material, being based on web documents with varying levels of exhaustability in terms of data provision.

Originality/value

The intellectual organization of LIS research is well‐known, whereas social and institutional aspects have been analyzed to a lesser degree; and with the differences in age and size of Nordic LIS institutions, they provide an interesting case of contemporary institutionalization of LIS research.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 64 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 May 2020

Ali Uyar, Merve Kılıç and Mehmet Ali Köseoğlu

The objective of this study is to explore the accounting research network among institutions and countries globally and to contribute to the knowledge development in accounting…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to explore the accounting research network among institutions and countries globally and to contribute to the knowledge development in accounting discipline across regions with a novel and original approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has been conducted by manually collecting data from 10,863 papers published in 22 accounting journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) for the period 2000–2016. Analyses and visualizations of collaborative networks across institutions and regions were performed by using network analysis software packages, including Pajek, UCINET 6, NetDraw and VOSviewer.

Findings

The study finds that the most productive five universities are the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, University of Texas, University of California and University of Manchester worldwide. In accordance with the institution ranking, the five most productive countries in all periods are the USA, the UK, Australia, Spain and Canada. However, in addition to these countries, it is important to note that some European and Asian countries and New Zealand from Oceania are among the most productive countries which host prolific institutions. Furthermore, network indicators show that the UK is the most influential actor in centrality and brokerage within the research network. We should note that Australia is also among the most influential nations with its influential institutions. In all research metrics, the dominance of Anglophone countries (e.g. the USA, the UK and Australia) is observable on which language advantage might play a role since most internationally accredited journals publish scientific articles in English.

Research limitations/implications

The study is bounded with several main limitations. First, due to collecting the data manually, there might be some inherent limitations. Second, the study is constrained by the time frame between 2000 and 2016. The study does not answer why and how questions in investigating research productivity and effectiveness in the network. Our study might inspire new studies to complement ours by considering these constraints.

Practical implications

Our findings indicated the prominent institution-wide and country-wide actors; thus, the results provide a global perspective on the collaboration network. Second, our findings guide job seekers, who are particularly research-oriented, to potential recruiters around the world both at the institution level and country level. Third, the results might play an important role in forming institution-based and country-based research policies. The USA, among others, is a particularly important actor in productivity, whereas the UK, among others, is a remarkable country in centrality and brokerage in the research network. By examining the policies of these two countries, other nations might shape their research strategies, promotion policies and support and reward schemes. Fourth, cross-institution and in particular cross-country collaborations are imperative in the diversity of accounting research as they blend culturally diverse researchers. Fifth, prominent institutions highlighted in this study might be adopted as role models by other institutions in the same country and benefit their expertise in productivity and cooperation by scrutinizing their approaches. Sixth, our findings and metrics might be adopted as benchmarks for institutions and nations for performance evaluation. Considering our 5-year period indicators, institutions can set targets for their improvement and for measuring the progress. We provide other important implications in the conclusion section of the study.

Originality/value

To the best knowledge of the authors, no study yet investigated the collaboration across academic institutions, regions, and countries in accounting discipline to this extent. Therefore, our research provides a significant contribution to the literature by seeking a comprehensive network analysis of authorship patterns from an institutional and geographical perspective. Doing so, we contribute to knowledge development in accounting discipline with institutional and geographical network analyses.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 153000