Challenging listening environments in higher education: an analysis of academic classroom acoustics

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten van den Heuij ◽  
Theo Goverts ◽  
Karin Neijenhuis ◽  
Martine Coene
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Reference Level ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Reference Levels ◽  
Classroom Acoustics ◽  
Content Type

PurposeAs oral communication in higher education is vital, good classroom acoustics is needed to pass the verbal message to university students. Non-auditory factors such as academic language, a non-native educational context and a diversity of acoustic settings in different types of classrooms affect speech understanding and performance of students. The purpose of this study is to find out whether the acoustic properties of the higher educational teaching contexts meet the recommended reference levels.Design/methodology/approachBackground noise levels and the Speech Transmission Index (STI) were assessed in 45 unoccupied university classrooms (15 lecture halls, 16 regular classrooms and 14 skills laboratories).FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that 41 classrooms surpassed the maximum reference level for background noise of 35 dB(A) and 17 exceeded the reference level of 40 dB(A). At five-meter distance facing the speaker, six classrooms indicated excellent speech intelligibility, while at more representative listening positions, none of the classrooms indicated excellent speech intelligibility. As the acoustic characteristics in a majority of the classrooms exceeded the available reference levels, speech intelligibility was likely to be insufficient.Originality/valueThis study seeks to assess the acoustics in academic classrooms against the available acoustic reference levels. Non-acoustic factors, such as academic language complexity and (non-)nativeness of the students and teaching staff, put higher cognitive demands upon listeners in higher education and need to be taken into account when using them in daily practice for regular students and students with language/hearing disabilities in particular.

Managing knowledge transfer partnership for a rural community

Kybernetes ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 629-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Wiltshier ◽  
Michael Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Entrepreneurial Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Skills ◽  
Market Town ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) model, using higher education (HE) students researching in the UK. It is focused on community engagement via charitable trusts, New Opportunities Wirksworth (NOW) & Ecclesbourne Valley Rail (EVR). The researchers designed and implemented a pilot study that explored the potential of a small, yet attractive and active, market town to diversify and regenerate using tourism. This project, which has been funded by the UK Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), has been devised to operate and monitor a KTP in the culturally important heritage market town of Wirksworth, in Derbyshire. Design/methodology/approach – A systems-thinking constructivist approach is used and employs problem-based learning (PBL) through engagement of students in research and data collection. The authors identified that skills for sustainable development within the community are dependent on the reintegration of complex, inter-dependent and inter-disciplinary factors. A holistic approach to the learning and knowledge shared within the community underpins UK initiatives to promote capacity development in ways to change knowledge applications across product and service boundaries. Therefore, in addition to encouraging diversification and regeneration through tourism, this project supported the University of Derby's academic agenda to promote experiential and entrepreneurial learning in students working at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This paper accords with the current university initiatives to meet the student employability agenda through the application of PBL and knowledge management. Findings – The creation of outcomes and recommendations for Wirksworth's stakeholders provides sustainability through the knowledge creation and sharing processes. There are seven outcomes that chart a path to development and knowledge transfer (KT) and sharing. The authors simultaneously provided an environment for students to gain skills and a community to acquire new knowledge, and these are the outcomes and output of this project. New learning styles may support inclusive academic practice (see related samples of PBL such as Ineson and Beresford in HLST resources 2001). Implications for building a KT community through the social capital accumulated in the project are explored. Originality/value – In taking PBL from the classroom to the community, the authors have created a new KT environment in which skills can be acquired and a regeneration strategy can be tested in a work-or-practice-related setting. Students recognise that they are building learning for themselves that is unique in that it cannot be recreated in a classroom setting. The authors see this project developing into a robust long-term partnership between communities and institutions with KT benefits to teaching staff in addition to students. These benefits will include new skills for PBL, working collaboratively with partners in the community to develop key skills in HE students, innovation in assessment, inclusive learning and teaching, experiential and entrepreneurial learning in practice.

Total quality management elements and results in higher education institutions

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelos Psomas ◽  
Jiju Antony
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the main total quality management (TQM) elements adopted and the respective results achieved by higher education institutions (HEIs) in Greece. Design/methodology/approach A research study was designed and carried out in private sector Greek HEIs. Fifteen HEIs were approached through interviews based on a structured questionnaire. The measured variables of the TQM elements and results identified in the literature were used as the questionnaire items. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine the TQM elements mostly adopted and the results achieved by the HEIs. Findings According to the findings, the TQM elements mostly adopted by the Greek HEIs concern the following: student focus, leadership and top management commitment, strategic quality planning, process management and teaching staff and employee involvement. On the other hand, the most significant results achieved by the sample HEIs concern quality performance improvement, teaching staff and employee satisfaction, operational performance improvement and the positive impact on society. Research limitations/implications The subjective data collection involved chief executive officers of a small sample of HEIs operating in a European Union country. Thus, no advanced statistical methods could be applied. Based on these limitations, future research studies are recommended. Practical implications By focusing on specific TQM elements, an HEI can develop a robust TQM model, approach business excellence, which can, in turn, help the HEI apply for appropriate quality awards, and finally derive significant benefits. In doing so, an HEI can lay the foundations for being competitive in the current global context that is characterised by an economic downturn. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by empirically determining the TQM elements mostly adopted as well as the respective results achieved by Greek HEIs in a period of economic downturn. This is the first research study in the field of TQM in higher education that has been carried out in Greece in a period where many service organisations, whether private or public, are making significant efforts to withstand the current downturn and achieve a sustainable growth.

scholarly journals An Experimental Study of Acoustic Comfort in Open Space Banks Based on Speech Intelligibility and Noise Annoyance Measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rostam Golmohammadi ◽  
Mohsen Aliabadi ◽  
Trifah Nezami
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Irrelevant Speech ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Noise Annoyance ◽  
Transmission Index ◽  
Acoustic Comfort ◽  
Bank Employees

Abstract Tasks requiring intensive concentration are more vulnerable to noise than routine tasks. Due to the high mental workload of bank employees, this study aimed to evaluate acoustic comfort in open-space banks based on speech intelligibility and noise annoyance metrics. Acoustic metrics including preferred noise criterion (PNC), speech transmission index (STI), and signal to noise ratio (SNR) were measured in seventeen banks (located in Hamadan, a western province of Iran). For subjective noise annoyance assessments, 100-point noise annoyance scales were completed by bank employees during activities. Based on STI (0.56±0.09) and SNR (20.5±8.2 dB) values, it was found that speech intelligibilities in the workstations of banks were higher than the satisfactory level. However, PNC values in bank spaces were 48.2±5.5 dB, which is higher than the recommended limit value for public spaces. In this regard, 95% of the employees are annoyed by background noise levels. The results show irrelevant speech is the main source of subjective noise annoyance among employees. Loss of concentration is the main consequence of background noise levels for employees. The results confirmed that acoustic properties of bank spaces provide enough speech intelligibility, while staff’s noise annoyance is not acceptable. It can be concluded that due to proximity of workstations in open-space banks, access to very short distraction distance is necessary. Therefore, increasing speech privacy can be prioritised to speech intelligibility. It is recommended that current desk screens are redesigned in order to reduce irrelevant speech between nearby workstations. Staff’s training about acoustic comfort can also manage irrelevant speech characteristics during work time.

Learning communities: an untapped sustainable competitive advantage for higher education

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane Dawson ◽  
Bruce Burnett ◽  
Mark O'Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Measurement Tool ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Sustainable Competitive Advantage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance

PurposeThis paper demonstrates the need for the higher education sector to develop and implement scaleable, quantitative measures that evaluate community and establish organisational benchmarks in order to guide the development of future practices designed to enhance the student learning experience.Design/methodology/approachLiterature regarding contemporary Australian higher education policy and community development is critiqued to illustrate the need for universities to adopt scaleable quantitative measures to evaluate stated strategic imperatives and establish organisational benchmarks. The integration of organisational benchmarks guides the implementation of future practices designed to enhance the student learning experience. A current active exemplar methodology is discussed to demonstrate applicability to both higher education administrators and teaching staff across the various organisation levels.FindingsWhile universities are promoting and investing in the concept of community to enhance the student learning experience there are as yet, limited scaleable evaluative measures and performance indicators to guide practitioners. This paper proposes an effective measurement tool to benchmark current pedagogical performance standards and monitor the progress and achievement of future implemented practices designed to enhance the sense of community experienced by the student cohort.Originality/valueThis paper identifies and addresses the current absence of effective scaleable evaluative measures to assess the achievement of stated strategic imperatives implemented as a consequence of reducing government financial support, increasing accountability, and increasing student expectations as result of educational consumerism.

Aspect-based sentiment analysis of reviews in the domain of higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-64
Author(s):  
Nikola Nikolić ◽  
Olivera Grljević ◽  
Aleksandar Kovačević
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Content Type ◽  
F Measure

Purpose Student recruitment and retention are important issues for all higher education institutions. Constant monitoring of student satisfaction levels is therefore crucial. Traditionally, students voice their opinions through official surveys organized by the universities. In addition to that, nowadays, social media and review websites such as “Rate my professors” are rich sources of opinions that should not be ignored. Automated mining of students’ opinions can be realized via aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA). ABSA s is a sub-discipline of natural language processing (NLP) that focusses on the identification of sentiments (negative, neutral, positive) and aspects (sentiment targets) in a sentence. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a system for ABSA of free text reviews expressed in student opinion surveys in the Serbian language. Sentiment analysis was carried out at the finest level of text granularity – the level of sentence segment (phrase and clause). Design/methodology/approach The presented system relies on NLP techniques, machine learning models, rules and dictionaries. The corpora collected and annotated for system development and evaluation comprise students’ reviews of teaching staff at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, and a corpus of publicly available reviews from the Serbian equivalent of the “Rate my professors” website. Findings The research results indicate that positive sentiment can successfully be identified with the F-measure of 0.83, while negative sentiment can be detected with the F-measure of 0.94. While the F-measure for the aspect’s range is between 0.49 and 0.89, depending on their frequency in the corpus. Furthermore, the authors have concluded that the quality of ABSA depends on the source of the reviews (official students’ surveys vs review websites). Practical implications The system for ABSA presented in this paper could improve the quality of service provided by the Serbian higher education institutions through a more effective search and summary of students’ opinions. For example, a particular educational institution could very easily find out which aspects of their service the students are not satisfied with and to which aspects of their service more attention should be directed. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of ABSA carried out at the level of sentence segment for the Serbian language. The methodology and findings presented in this paper provide a much-needed bases for further work on sentiment analysis for the Serbian language that is well under-resourced and under-researched in this area.

Quality expectations in Thai higher education institutions: multiple stakeholder perspectives

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mukdashine Sandmaung ◽  
Do Ba Khang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Quality Indicators ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Multiple Stakeholder ◽  
Quality In Higher Education ◽  
Managerial Staff

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the quality indicators that are suitable for assuring quality in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Thailand, from the perspectives of students, teaching staff, managerial staff and employers. These quality expectations are then to be compared with the quality indicators of the Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachA list of quality expectations was first established based on a review of the literature and the OHEC quality indicators, then finalized with input from interviews with experts and a pilot survey. Over 2,000 questionnaires were then delivered to stakeholders. Statistical analyses of differences and factors were conducted and compared with OHEC's official list of quality indicators.FindingsIn terms of relative perceived importance, while the rank correlations among quality expectations of different stakeholder groups were generally high, a correlation between students and teaching/managerial staff was the lowest. The most important expectations of stakeholders are found missing from the OHEC list, and several indicators used by OHEC were among the lowest ranked items. Factor analysis also suggested a different structure for categorizing the quality indicators compared to what is being mandated by OHEC.Practical implicationsThe stakeholders' perspectives and their priorities observed in this study could serve as initial empirical inputs for OHEC and HEIs in developing or reviewing quality assurance systems.Originality/valueThe paper shows that assessing and comparing similarities and differences among multiple stakeholder perspectives can present a more comprehensive and accurate understanding for the development of quality assurance indicators suitable for Thai HEIs.

Creating employable graduates: the case of ethnic minority students in Greece

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-209
Author(s):  
Antonios Panagiotakopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethnic Minority Students ◽  
Graduate Employability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the main barriers to employability skills development of ethnic minority students in the context of higher education (HE) in Greece and recommends strategies to help higher education institutions (HEIs) overcome those barriers. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on a series of in-depth interviews conducted with 20 ethnic minority students and ten “traditional” students studying at three institutions of HE in Greece. Findings – The study shows that there are many barriers facing ethnic minority students in HE including: poor self-esteem; lack of good advice about HE courses; isolation once in HE; discrimination by staff in HE; and unresponsive curriculum to ethnic diversity in HE. In this context, it is argued that there is an immediate need for decision makers in HEIs to develop policies that target ethnic minority students in order to help them secure employment. It is suggested that HEIs should: provide opportunities for students to discuss concerns with teachers and counsellors; address issues of motivation, self-perception and self-efficacy; encourage teaching staff to adopt various teaching methods to accommodate different learning styles; decrease competitive, norm-referenced environments; use multicultural education and counselling techniques and strategies; and provide work placement opportunities. Practical implications – The paper suggests ways that can help HEIs embrace diversity and promote graduate employability among ethnic minority students in the context of widening participation agenda. Originality/value – The study fills a significant knowledge gap in the existing literature in relation to the measures that HEIs can take to enhance graduate employability among ethnic minority students particularly in less developed countries like Greece.

Identifying dimensions of employer attractiveness in Indian universities: an approach towards scale development

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chetna Priyadarshini ◽  
Sireesha Mamidenna ◽  
O.B. Sayeed
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Scale Development ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
University Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global War ◽  
The University ◽  
Employer Attractiveness

Purpose As the global war of talent is prevalent across different industries, universities are also facing an acute shortage of faculty members because of massification of higher education system in the past two decades. The tremendous increase in the number of higher education institutions has made attracting talented professors a challenging necessity for the university management as employers. The present study, therefore, carries out a scale development exercise and explores the attractive dimensions of Indian universities as employers. Design/methodology/approach With the help of principle component analysis, exploratory factor analysis was carried out to obtain five significant constructs of employer attractiveness in Indian universities. Findings The dimensions identified in the study includes fairness and work–life balance; teaching environment and compensation and benefits; research resources and career development; organizational integrity and commitment to quality; and organizational culture consisting of respect and recognition. Practical implications The finding provides valuable insights for the university management and government bodies and posits to assist them in formulating policies with regard to attracting competent teaching staff. Originality/value Although employer attractiveness has gained scholarly attention in the past two decades, study exploring the dimensionality of employer attractiveness in the context of academic institutions and universities has not been conducted so far. The present study, therefore, is one of the pioneers in this realm.

Spirituality at workplace and its impact on academic performance: an empirical study among private higher education faculties of Delhi NCR

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayashree Sapra ◽  
Khushboo Khosla ◽  
Garima Dungrakoti
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Education System ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Workplace Spirituality ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe impact of workplace spirituality on organizational performance has continued to draw the attention of scholars and practitioners. Despite this enhanced attention, little is known about its the impact on academic performance. Addressing this gap in research, the purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of spirituality at workplace on academic performance among private sector higher education faculties in Delhi NCR.Design/methodology/approachThis study outlines the existing literature on workplace spirituality and academic performance and its relationship. The scale created by Petchsawang and Duchon (2009) has been used to measure workplace spirituality, whereas academic performance of faculties was measured by the scale created by Abubakar et al. (2018). Pearson correlation and linear regression have been used to depict the degree of relation and impact of spirituality on academic performance.FindingsThis study provides evidence that by practicing workplace spirituality, the performance of higher education faculties can be positively and significantly impacted. The result reflects that in the presence of compassion, mindfulness, meaningful work and transcendence, the academic organizational performance of higher education institutes is improved as there will be an enhancement in their academic reputation, employability of the graduate students, research work, internationalization, Nobel-prized and field medals, research grant, resources, infrastructure and community services.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of this study are subject to certain limitations, which can be addressed in future studies. Only four dimensions of workplace spirituality, i.e. compassion, mindfulness, meaningful life and transcendence, are taken into consideration. Also, the impact has only be studied on academic performance of higher education institutions. The results of this study cannot be used in a generalized context as the framework of this study is based on higher education faculties in Delhi NCR.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study would be a roadmap for higher education institutions or their faculties to improve performance with the assistance of spirituality at workplace.Social implicationsRetention of academic personnel is critically necessary so that the excellence of higher education is maintained. It is the need of the hour for these educational institutions to be more focused on improving the teaching staff efficiency. This is made possible through the development of an atmosphere that installs spirituality. The empirical findings of this research will enable academics as well as managers to understand how and to what degree faculties experience spirituality at workplace and its association with different outcomes.Originality/valueIndia's higher education higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to the USA and China. India's higher education system has expanded steadily, and India has over 1,000 universities as of 2020. Workplace spirituality for academicians is under-researched and neglected by organizations. It may further benefit those interested in employment learning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document