scholarly journals Middle-Out Approaches to Reform of University Teaching and Learning: Champions striding between the top-down and bottom-up approaches

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Cummings ◽  
Rob Phillips ◽  
Rhondda Tilbrook ◽  
Kate Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Executive Staff ◽  
Accepted Practice ◽  
External Forces

<P>In recent years, Australian universities have been driven by a diversity of external forces, including funding cuts, massification of higher education, and changing student demographics, to reform their relationship with students and improve teaching and learning, particularly for those studying off-campus or part-time. Many universities have responded to these forces either through formal strategic plans developed top-down by executive staff or through organic developments arising from staff in a bottom-up approach. By contrast, much of Murdoch University's response has been led by a small number of staff who have middle management responsibilities and who have championed the reform of key university functions, largely in spite of current policy or accepted practice. This paper argues that the "middle-out" strategy has both a basis in change management theory and practice, and a number of strengths, including low risk, low cost, and high sustainability. Three linked examples of middle-out change management in teaching and learning at Murdoch University are described and the outcomes analyzed to demonstrate the benefits and pitfalls of this approach.</P>

scholarly journals Challenging The Primacy Of Lectures: The Dissonance Between Theory And Practice In University Teaching

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-15
Author(s):  
Rob Phillips ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Espoused Theory ◽  
Accepted Practice ◽  
Sound Learning ◽  
Principles Of Learning

Current practice in universities foregrounds the traditional lecture, tutorial, examination approach to teaching. The nature of currently-accepted practice in course design and administration is considered through an examination of the influence on universities of historical views about knowledge. These findings are contrasted with current research about learning and learning environments, and the dissonances explored in terms of the concepts of theory-in-use and espoused theory. Recommendations are then made about appropriate ways to design educationally-sound learning environments in higher education. Finally, this paper questions why lectures are largely viewed as the core of the learning process, and why university teaching and learning practices continue to be resistant to, and often inconsistent with, fundamental principles of learning developed through sustained scholarly enquiry.

scholarly journals Multiscale additive manufacturing of polymers using 3D photo-printable self-assembling ionic liquid monomers

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bineh G. Ndefru ◽  
Bryan S. Ringstrand ◽  
Sokhna I.-Y. Diouf ◽  
Sönke Seifert ◽  
Juan H. Leal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Liquid ◽  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Low Resolution ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Cost Approach ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Nanoscale Features

Combining bottom-up self-assembly with top-down 3D photoprinting affords a low cost approach for the introduction of nanoscale features into a build with low resolution features.

Mapping seabed assemblages using comparative top-down and bottom-up classification approaches

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1536-1548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D Eastwood ◽  
Sami Souissi ◽  
Stuart I Rogers ◽  
Roger A Coggan ◽  
Craig J Brown
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Unconsolidated Sediments ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Infaunal Community ◽  
Acoustic Technologies

Acoustic technologies yield many benefits for mapping the physical structure of seabed environments but are not ideally suited to classifying associated biological assemblages. We tested this assumption using benthic infauna data collected off the south coast of England by applying top-down (supervised) and bottom-up (unsupervised) classification approaches. The top-down approach was based on an a priori acoustic classification of the seabed followed by characterization of the acoustic regions using ground-truth biological samples. By contrast, measures of similarity between the ground-truth infaunal community data formed the basis of the bottom-up approach to assemblage classification. For both approaches, individual assemblages were mapped by first computing Bayesian conditional probabilities for ground-truth stations to estimate the probability of each station belonging to an assemblage. Assemblage distributions were then interpolated over a regular grid and characterized using an indicator value index. While the two methods of classification yielded assemblages and output maps that were broadly comparable, the bottom-up approach arrived at a slightly better defined set of biological assemblages. This suggests that acoustically derived seabed data are not ideally suited to class ifying biological assemblages over unconsolidated sediments, despite offering considerable advantages in providing rapid and low-cost assessments of seabed physical structure.

The place of English in the Russian higher education landscape

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Belyaeva ◽  
Lyudmila Kuznetsova ◽  
Olga Nikiforova ◽  
Svetlana Suchkova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Open Access ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Teaching And Research ◽  
Russian Higher Education ◽  
Access Data ◽  
Russian Universities

The dissemination of English and the role it plays in Russian higher education are connected with its internationalization – a process that has been gaining momentum over recent decades spurred by a number of top-down and bottom-up initiatives. The role of English in university teaching and research is illustrated by the analysis of open access data on two leading Russian universities and the findings of a survey of teaching staff’s perceptions of English in academia. The views of some other stakeholders have been collected from the existing publications on the topic. The term Englishization is inappropriate to describe the Russian context because the use of English in Russian academia is not as far-reaching as the term implies.

Model (my) neighbourhood – a bottom-up collective approach for crime-prevention in Portugal and Lithuania

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Saraiva ◽  
Irina Matijosaitiene ◽  
Mónica Diniz ◽  
Vilius Velicka
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to respond to the need for comparative studies on methodologies for implementing Crime Prevention through Urban Design and Planning (CP-UDP) at the local level, particularly in peripheral Europe where CP-UDP’s top-down standards have poor dissemination and acceptance. This paper debates how local partnerships can help reduce crime and how a CP-UDP-based model can be introduced into municipal planning. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses the challenge of CP-UDP in the framework of a post-crisis Europe and Europe 2020. Because there is a large gap between theory and practice, lack of a shared holistic approach, and scepticism, or lack of knowledge, of public authorities, at local-level planning professionals and the police have devised bottom-up initiatives based on interdisciplinary partnerships with the community. The paper describes, discusses and compares the implementation of such approaches in Lisbon (Portugal) and Vilnius (Lithuania). Findings The paper addresses the processes and challenges of establishing synergies and working relationships between police officers, public officials and the community, and it discusses six main causes for its (un)success. When these conditions were met, crime and social constraints reduced. Practical implications Lessons learned are deemed crucial to disseminate knowledge and best practices, paving the way for proper top-down policies and planning legislations in these and other countries. Originality/value This paper analyses the potentialities and shortcomings of local-level implementation of CP-UDP strategies as an alternative to failed top-down strategies in two realities mostly unknown of the international scientific community. The case study material is previously unpublished internationally.

Team coordination and organizational routines: bottoms up – and top down

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1059-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Christopher Banks ◽  
Jeffrey M. Pollack ◽  
Anson Seers
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Team Coordination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Processes ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Work Coordination ◽  
Explanatory Mechanism

Purpose – Conceptualizations of work coordination historically assumed that work systems are put into place and that these systems shape the ability of workers to accomplish tasks. Formalization has thus long been invoked as an explanatory mechanism for work coordination. Recent studies have extended interest in emergent implicit and relational coordination, yet their underlying mechanisms of bottom-up coordination have yet to be explicated such that formal top-down coordination can be approached as a complementary mechanism rather than an alternative substitute. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, and extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Implications of this work, for both theory and practice, are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual review was conducted. Findings – By integrating the literatures related to coordination and routines, the authors extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Research limitations/implications – From a theory-based point of view, in the present work, the authors integrated the literatures related to coordination and routines and arrived at the conclusion that bottom-up coordination can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Practical implications – The authors suggest that there is a need in the contemporary workplace for implicit, relational processes to enable individuals to continuously assess what changes are needed and adapt coordinated routines to accomplish the task at hand. This propensity will continue to increase as technology facilitates even more seamless communication among employees, organizations, and external partners. Originality/value – For the first time the authors integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, in order to extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations.

How Should We Combat Corruption? Lessons from Theory and Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Brock
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Fair Treatment ◽  
Good Lives

AbstractFour recent books, taken together, offer a wealth of important insights on how we might effectively tackle corruption. All of the books’ authors agree that there is something akin to a universal understanding of what corruption is, and all dispute the idea that corruption may simply be in the eye of the beholder. However, there are also sharp disagreements—for example over whether corruption is best eliminated from the top down, or whether bottom-up approaches are more effective. If the books share one weakness, it is that they do not sufficiently emphasize the importance of getting people to believe and feel that they have fair opportunities for good lives, even after institutional and legal reforms are made. Tackling corruption involves taking seriously the substantive link between actual fair treatment and the belief that fair treatment prevails. This will require further research examining how to shift and update people’s deeply held sentiments.

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