Energy efficiency actions at a Brazilian university and their contribution to sustainable development Goal 7

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 842-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Gasparetto Rebelatto ◽  
Amanda Lange Salvia ◽  
Giovana Reginatto ◽  
Rangel Casanova Daneli ◽  
Luciana Londero Brandli
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South Of Brazil ◽  
Internal And External Factors

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse recent actions of energy efficiency implemented by University of Passo Fundo, a higher education institution located in the south of Brazil, and their contributions to Goal 7. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on collected energy data and information of energy efficiency actions applied at the university. Findings The paper shows the progress related to the energy practices and discusses opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of applying energy efficiency at universities and its contributions towards sustainable development goal (SDG) 7. Practical implications The findings of this study can inform readers about University of Passo Fundo’s initiatives towards energy efficiency focussed in lightening, photovoltaic solar power generation and free energy market. Readers are able to improve their knowledge with the discussion of internal and external factors related to the initiatives. Originality/value The originality of this paper is connected to the idea of sharing the experiences from University of Passo Fundo, connecting energy efficiency practices at universities to SDG 7 and also exploring opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of applying these practices in the context of a higher education institution.

Tourism education in France and sustainable development goal 4 (quality education)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugues Seraphin ◽  
Mamadou Bah ◽  
Alan Fyall ◽  
Vanessa Gowreesunkar
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Access To Education ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Education

Purpose This study aims to focus on the phenomenon of “over-education” characterized by a discrepancy between education provided and the needs of the economy vis-à-vis employment. The study considers this issue with reference to tourism and courses taught in the field. Specifically, the phenomenon of over-education is investigated with reference to university graduates in tourism and their employability in the sector. Design/methodology/approach The research design draws from secondary data derived from a review of the literature on tourism and education. Findings The findings point to a need to consider aspects of tourism (field of study and discipline) in destination management. This is to avoid discrepancy at macro and micro levels and at a discipline and industry level. This strategy would also help to ensure synergy between tourism education and the needs of the tourism industry as advocated by the Helix model. Originality/value By focussing on over-education, this study shows that Sustainable development goal (SDG) 4, which relates to quality education, may be addressed. The outcome of the study also leads to the conclusion that SDG 4 should be based on not only access to education and school enrolment rates at all levels, particularly for girls, but also the relationship between education and actual employment.

scholarly journals Analysis of Tinto’s student integration theory in first-year undergraduate computing students of a UK higher education institution

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 97-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Chrysikos ◽  
Ejaz Ahmed ◽  
Rupert Ward
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
First Year ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Integration ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose Retention is one of the key performance indicators in university quality assurance processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes leading to low retention rates for first-year undergraduate computing students in a UK higher education institution (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The study applies Tinto’s student integration theory, and connects it with the behavioural patterns of students. Data were collected from 901 students using Pascarella and Terenzini’s questionnaire (integration scales). This data were combined with student enrolment information and analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study results indicate that Tinto’s student integration theory is useful in analysing student retention, but this accounts for only a modest amount of variance in retention. Nevertheless, important relationships amongst student’s initial and later academic goals and commitments have been identified through this new approach to analysing retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goals and institutional commitments, followed by later goals and institutional commitments. In addition, the results show that academic and social integration constructs can have an influence on the student retention processes. When all, or some, of these relationships are operating towards students’ benefits, appropriate services or programmes, such as student support systems, can have their maximum benefits. Originality/value The authors mapped behavioural-related retention factors using a learning community lens. The study explored students’ social and learning experiences within the context of a UK HEI by employing Tinto’s model. This is the first time the model has been tested in this context.

Building quality culture in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liselott Lycke ◽  
Ingrid Tano
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Culture ◽  
Planning And Control ◽  
Control Education ◽  
Functional Teams ◽  
And Control

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe an approach to build a quality culture within a higher education institution. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on Action research and a Case study. Findings The authors show the result of the mapped processes of a higher education institution, Management planning and control, Education, Research and Support, and describe how the mapping was performed, working in cross-functional teams. Further on, they discuss the result of the pilot and the plan for implementation. Originality/value A process-oriented approach in higher education institutions, with its complexity, creates opportunities for successful quality assurance and control when having an integrated quality assurance system.

scholarly journals Achievements and Challenges for Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rapid Review of Media in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 12888
Author(s):  
Inge K. Sonn ◽  
Marieta Du Plessis ◽  
Carel D. Jansen Van Vuuren ◽  
Janene Marais ◽  
Emma Wagener ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
News Media ◽  
Online News ◽  
Rapid Review ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Facilitative Role ◽  
Media Reports

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck globally and has affected higher education institutions (HEIs) and their operations, indirectly impacting the progress of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 achieved thus far. This article addresses HEIs achievements and challenges experienced in the wake of the pandemic. Online news media reports played a facilitative role in providing information to the HEI communities. A rapid review exploring online news media messages relating to higher education at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa was utilised. Narrative synthesis was used to analyse the data. The results highlight HEIs achievements, which aim to ensure that all students receive the same level of education and provision in terms of devices and mental health support. However, challenges were also experienced at HEIs and include students feeling uncertainty and fear regarding completing their education. Furthermore, the results also show that not all students received the same level of education due to contextual factors, thus deepening the existing social disparities in Africa. The pandemic provides an opportunity for HEIs to embed the components of global citizenship education into the curriculum and to work in an innovative way to promote Sustainable Development Goal 4.

scholarly journals Employability outcomes for university joint honours graduates

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Pigden ◽  
Andrew Garford Moore
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Highly Skilled ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Cent Point ◽  
The Uk

PurposeIn the UK, the vast majority of university students specialise and study just one subject at bachelor degree level, commonly known in the UK as a single honours degree. However, nearly all British universities will permit students if they wish to study two or even three subjects, so-called joint or combined honours degrees, internationally known as a double major. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the study of a joint rather than a single honours degree had an impact on employment outcomes six months after graduation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analysed the complete data set provided from the Higher Education Statistics Agency Destination of Leavers from the Higher Education survey. The data were analysed to establish whether there was a difference in the highly skilled graduate employability of the joint honours students. The authors established whether there were any differences inherent in completing a joint honours degree in a post-1992 higher education institution, by nation within the UK or within a Russell Group higher education institution.FindingsThe authors found an approximately consistent 3 per cent point negative gap nationally in the highly skilled employment rates of joint compared with single honours graduates. This gap was at its lowest in the highly selective Russell Group universities (−1.52 per cent points) and highest in post-1992, vocationally oriented universities (−7.13 per cent points) and in Northern Ireland universities (−12.45 per cent points). Joint honours graduates of Scottish universities fared well, with a +3.09 per cent point advantage over the national average for joint honours. The authors found that universities that had a higher proportion of joint honours graduates generally had a lower employability gap between their joint and single honours graduates.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focussed on joint honours degrees in the UK where the two or three principal subjects fall into different JACS subject areas, i.e. the two or three subjects are necessarily diverse rather than academically cognate. Future work will consider the class of joint honours degrees where the principal subjects lie within the same JACS subject area, i.e. they may be closer academically, although still taught by different academic teams. This grouping will include, for example, pairs of foreign languages, some social sciences pairings such as politics and sociology, and pairings such as history and theology from the historical and philosophical subject area.Originality/valueThe potential disbenefits of studying for a joint honours degree are apparent in this study. Joint honours students may face organisational, academic and cultural challenges that require a positive, conscious and sustained effort to overcome, on both the part of the student and the higher education institution. In particular for graduates of the post-1992 universities, it appears that there is a negative relative impact on highly skilled employment. This impact is lessened if the university is Scottish (four-year degrees with in-built breadth of study) or where the proportion completing joint honours degrees is relatively high.

English instructors’ motivation levels in Islamic higher education

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fauzan Ansyari ◽  
Fabio Oliveira Coelho ◽  
Kalayo Hasibuan ◽  
Dodi Settiawan ◽  
Masni Kamallia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Schedule Flexibility ◽  
Financial Benefits

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the motivation levels of non-permanent English instructors (lecturers) in a university language centre (LC) and the factors with regard to what elements sustain their motivation to teach English and to remain in the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) profession at an Islamic higher education institution. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory case study with a purposive sampling technique was employed in this study. Ten instructors (seven females and three males) aged between 26 and 40 years old participated (M = 29.6 year olds). The selected participants in the sample were instructors who had taught between three to nine years at the LC (M = 3.9 years), and interviews were the tools used to collect data. Findings Overall, LC instructors’ motivation is not internalised or less internalised into their self-concept. This can be seen from the results that show, respectively, instructors’ levels of no internalisation (42 per cent), less internalisation (40.5 per cent), more internalisation (11 per cent) and full internalisation (6.5 per cent). In total, 11 factors were identified: the influence of others, financial benefits, professional development opportunities, schedule flexibility, supportive working environment, social status and acceptance, a stepping stone for career advancement, networking, dedication, challenge and teaching as a calling. In general, it has been found that instructors are more externally than internally regulated or motivated. Research limitations/implications This study only employed interview to collect data and had only ten respondents. Originality/value Data were collected at the LC of an Islamic institution of higher education institution where instructors are non-permanently employed. The LC is a TEFL environment serving about 12,000 students a year. This study, therefore, allows for an understanding of instructors’ motivation in such context.

scholarly journals Higher education and sustainable development goal 16 in fragile and conflict-affected contexts

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-108
Author(s):  
Sansom Milton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
The Public ◽  
Resource Mobilisation ◽  
Liberal Peacebuilding

AbstractSustainable Development Goal 16 commits to ‘promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’. While the concerns of SDG16 with violence reduction, rule of law, and governance are relevant to all societies, this paper focuses on fragile and conflict-affected countries, many of which have the hardest task in achieving SDG16. It analyses how higher education can contribute towards—or detract from—SDG16 through teaching, research, governance, and external leadership. It then analyses four dynamics influencing the agency of universities in fragile and conflict-affected contexts in engaging with SDG16: resource mobilisation and the public good; securitisation; academic freedom, insecurity, and politicisation; and tensions between demands for localisation and the universalising logics of liberal peacebuilding models and the SDGs.

Dynamic capabilities, organizational learning and ambidexterity in a higher education institution

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Patricia da Silva Souza ◽  
Adriana Roseli Wünsch Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to analyse how dynamic capabilities (DC) affect organizational learning (OL) in a Brazilian higher education institution (HEI) and how this relationship affects organisational ambidexterity (OA). Design/methodology/approach The research strategy involves a qualitative, single case study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, documentary research over a 15-year period and nonparticipant observation. Data were analysed using narrative analysis. Findings The results show that founders and managers influence the activities related to sensing, seizing and reconfiguring DC. They interpreted the new opportunities and shared them with other individuals. Gradually, a collective sense about the new ideas was constructed. New academic and administrative routines were created and an OL process took place at the HEI, which resulted in a valuable balance between exploration and exploitation (OA) for the organisation. Originality/value The study offers insight into how DC, OL and OA can be related. Although each construct has its own independent definition, there are similarities between them. The case study demonstrates how these theories were affected, and the research, therefore, makes a new methodological contribution regarding how to study DC, OL and OA as an integrative phenomenon.

scholarly journals Energy Efficiency Analysis in a Higher Education Institution in Manaus - Amazonas

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 424-431
Author(s):  
Jessica Santana da Silva ◽  
Fabiana Rocha Pinto ◽  
David Barbosa de Alencar ◽  
Gisele De Freitas Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Efficiency Analysis ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Electric System ◽  
Electricity Bill ◽  
Energy Efficiency Analysis

Thinking about solving the problem of high consumption and high cost in the electricity bill, this study proposes to present proposals to increase the energy efficiency of the site. In this sense, it is proposed an energy efficiency analysis of a Public Higher Education Institution in the Municipality of Manaus, Amazonas. A building survey was performed on the appliances and components of the building's electrical system, as well as an assessment of electricity bills to measure consumption. In order to verify voltage, current and power, electric measuring instruments were used to elaborate proposals aiming at increasing the energy efficiency of the site. Through the results obtained during the building survey at the IES, it was possible to observe the anomalies of the systems and indicate proposals for repair or replacement of equipment to increase the energy efficiency of the building. From the results obtained from the invoice it was possible to propose a new value of demand contract and by comparing the collected data, we identified the appliances that make the electric system less efficient, in this case, the air conditioners. Recurring payment problems with overconsumption were encountered. Adhering to the proposal of a new contract value with possible annual savings of R $ 22,543.92 referring to the payment of the demand portion in the electricity bill. It is also proposed to replace current lamps with LED tube lamps, reducing energy consumption by 9,122 kWh / month and saving R $ 3,263.57 per month. As for the proposal presented for the HVAC system, given the exchange of existing appliances for new and energy efficient, was not viable. Despite representing a reduction of 41869.91 kWh / month, the expected investment is not paid.

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