scholarly journals Brain Gain in Fiji? How do past emigrants’ experiences shape the education decisions and emigration plans of tertiary students in Fiji?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lakshmin Aashnum Mudaliar

<p>This thesis examines the case of Fijian youths’ increasing demand for higher education in order to explore the brain gain theorem. Its primary aim is to understand how past emigrants’ experiences shape the education decisions and emigration intentions of tertiary students in Fiji. This is achieved through semi-structured interviews with Fijian youths as well as an examination of policy and media reports. The research questions through which these aims are achieved are: Why do Fijian students enter higher education? Do Fijian students intend to migrate, and if so, why or why not? And what are the constraints and obstacles to Fijian students’ emigration intentions? The central conclusion of this thesis is that the brain gain effect is present in Fiji because half of the student-participants responded to the incentive effect, defined as the prospect of migration raising the expected returns to higher education, which is created by two distinct cultures of migration and three of the Fijian governments’ initiatives. The strength of their social ties determined whether they had perfect or imperfect information about the constraints and obstacles to their emigration intentions which in turn, determined the type of brain gain effect Fijian communities may be experiencing.  In this thesis, the relationship between emigration and human capital formation is understood through the notion of the brain gain effect, defined as prospect of migration leads to a higher average level of education per individual in origin countries. Existing empirical studies have employed quantitative methods to establish the correlation between past emigration rates and current enrolment rates. The significance and novelty of this thesis lies in its adoption of qualitative case study methods in which real people were asked what they are doing and why, thus bringing us closer to a causal understanding of the relationship between higher education and emigration. In addition, by including ethnic and skill-level variables in the research design, this thesis shows that those remaining behind after upskilling may be some of Fiji’s ‘best and brightest.’</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lakshmin Aashnum Mudaliar

<p>This thesis examines the case of Fijian youths’ increasing demand for higher education in order to explore the brain gain theorem. Its primary aim is to understand how past emigrants’ experiences shape the education decisions and emigration intentions of tertiary students in Fiji. This is achieved through semi-structured interviews with Fijian youths as well as an examination of policy and media reports. The research questions through which these aims are achieved are: Why do Fijian students enter higher education? Do Fijian students intend to migrate, and if so, why or why not? And what are the constraints and obstacles to Fijian students’ emigration intentions? The central conclusion of this thesis is that the brain gain effect is present in Fiji because half of the student-participants responded to the incentive effect, defined as the prospect of migration raising the expected returns to higher education, which is created by two distinct cultures of migration and three of the Fijian governments’ initiatives. The strength of their social ties determined whether they had perfect or imperfect information about the constraints and obstacles to their emigration intentions which in turn, determined the type of brain gain effect Fijian communities may be experiencing.  In this thesis, the relationship between emigration and human capital formation is understood through the notion of the brain gain effect, defined as prospect of migration leads to a higher average level of education per individual in origin countries. Existing empirical studies have employed quantitative methods to establish the correlation between past emigration rates and current enrolment rates. The significance and novelty of this thesis lies in its adoption of qualitative case study methods in which real people were asked what they are doing and why, thus bringing us closer to a causal understanding of the relationship between higher education and emigration. In addition, by including ethnic and skill-level variables in the research design, this thesis shows that those remaining behind after upskilling may be some of Fiji’s ‘best and brightest.’</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-304
Author(s):  
Debananda Misra

AbstractThis article examines the effect of location on the development of new universities. The study was conducted in seven new higher education institutions (HEIs) established in India during 1996–2008. I collected the data by conducting semi-structured interviews with 73 faculty members in the HEIs and from official documents, media reports and opinion pieces about the HEIs. Using the conceptual framework of path dependency, I investigated the tensions and challenges faced by the HEIs in their initial years. I find the placement of the HEIs in their respective locations to be a contingent event that can make the development of HEIs path dependent. I find that the initial conditions and decisions of the HEIs were influenced by the location and led to reactive sequential events in their initial years with effects that were hard to shake off, making their development path dependent. I show that having to develop their infrastructure and constrained by resources, the HEIs started their academic programmes first, followed by their research activities, and outreach and regional engagement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 630-647
Author(s):  
Marcello Chedid ◽  
Ana Caldeira ◽  
Helena Alvelos ◽  
Leonor Teixeira

Collaboration has been considered a way to address the challenges of the 21st century, fostering the necessary innovation, growth and productivity for all parties involved. Several studies reveal that collaboration can be strongly influenced by knowledge sharing. The literature suggests that this topic is quite relevant and that there is an evident lack of empirical studies that properly investigate the relationship between knowledge-sharing and collaborative behaviour in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In this context, the purpose of this work is to examine whether knowledge-sharing intention has a positive relationship with collaborative behaviour among professors and researchers in a public Portuguese HEI, taking into account other constructs that can have effect on the knowledge-sharing intention. In order to reach this objective, a conceptual research model was developed based on the theory of reasoned action. The empirical study was conducted based on a questionnaire, and the data analysis was performed using partial least squares. The results indicate that intrinsic motivation and networking are the factors that positively affect the attitude towards knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, it is concluded that trust is the variable that more strongly affects the knowledge-sharing intention. Finally, the study identified that knowledge-sharing intention has a positive influence in collaborative behaviour. It is considered that this study can contribute to support institutions’ management in defining strategies and developing actions in order to promote an organisational culture based on knowledge management that significantly leads to knowledge-sharing and collaboration relationships.


Author(s):  
Jennie Bristow ◽  
Sarah Cant ◽  
Anwesa Chatterjee

The 21st century has witnessed significant changes to the structures and policies framing Higher Education. But how do these changes in norms, values, and purpose shape the generation now coming of age? Employing a generational analysis, this book offers an original approach to the study of education. Drawing on a British Academy-funded study, comprising a policy review, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with students and with academics of different generations, and an analysis of responses to the Mass Observation Study, the book explores the qualitative dimensions of the relationship between academics and students, and examines wider issues of culture and socialisation, from tuition fees and student mental health, to social mobility and employment. The book begins with a discussion of the emergence of a ‘graduate generation’, in a context where 50 per cent of young people are encouraged to go to University, on the basis that this is a personal investment in their future careers. Subsequent chapters review the policy changes that have led to this framing of Higher Education as an increasingly individualised experience, where ‘student choice’ is operationalised as the means by which Universities are funded and held to account; historical differences in the experience of Higher Education; and the impact of these changes on the role and status of academic staff and the experience of current and prospective students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (65) ◽  
pp. 18-30
Author(s):  
Cristian Bedoya Dorado ◽  
Mónica García-Solarte ◽  
Juan Sebastián Peña-Zúñiga ◽  
Steven Alejandro Piñeros Buriticá

Management in the context of higher education has been characterized by the predominance of male participation, mainly in senior management positions. As a result, women’s low participation is mainly concentrated in lower management positions, and their chances of escalating hierarchical positions are mediated by various factors ranging from subjective to socially naturalized. The objective of this research is to analyze the barriers women face to enter and escalate positions in university management in Colombia. Under a qualitative design, 26 semi-structured interviews were applied to university managers from different institutions of higher education in Colombia. The transcripts were analyzed using discourse analysis through three categories: individual, internal, and external barriers of the university. It was found that women face entry and promotion barriers marked by experiences, and conditions of inequality and discrimination in a male-dominated context. These barriers are conditioned by personal elements, organizational culture, and the social role of women. In addition, women’s trajectories involve mediation between professional development and family life. The study reveals experiences that contribute to understanding the research phenomenon from the webbing of senses and meanings. It is posited that the “glass ceiling” is mediated by variables in the internal order, and by the relationship between universities and their context.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Quah Chun Hoo ◽  
Siti Rohaida M. Zainal ◽  
Guok Eng Chai

Despite the huge allocation on funds and attention channeled towards solving the brain drain issue by the Malaysian government, this issue is still far from being resolved. Agencies such as Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysian Development Corporation (MDC) and others have been established to try to lure back our top talents from abroad. MOSTI launched its first brain gain programme in 1995 till 2000, which successfully attracted 94 scientists, of whom only one remains in Malaysia. The second brain gain scheme which was implemented from 2001 to 2004 was intended to attract 5000 talents a year. Unfortunately, only 200 took advantage of the offer. Then, to better coordinate the plan, Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad was established under the Prime Minister’s Department with the objective of wooing foreign talent and overcoming the barriers for them to settle down in Malaysia, among others (Starbizweek, 2011b). Unfortunately, the reception to these initiatives is far from encouraging. Even though the study on brain drain is not new among researchers; in Malaysia, empirical studies on this issue is still limited. Drawing on the push and pull factors identified by previous researchers, this paper attempts to conceptualize which of these factors have the greatest potential of influencing the return intentions of Malaysia’s top talents working abroad. Proposing two propositions, these conceptual papers then analyzes related articles on the facts about brain drain. The implications of this paper are discussed from two perspectives namely are from the company as well as from the country perspectives. In conclusion, this paper manages to highlight the push and the pull factors influencing brain drain phenomenon in Malaysia.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Ali ◽  
Mohammed Kayed Abdel-Haq

This chapter provides an overview of research on AI applications in higher education using a systematic review approach. There were 146 articles included for further analysis, based on explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings show that Computer Science and STEM make up the majority of disciplines involved in AI education literature and that quantitative methods were the most frequently used in empirical studies. Four areas of AI education applications in academic support services and institutional and administrative services were revealed, including profiling and prediction, assessment and evaluation, adaptive systems and personalisation, and intelligent tutoring systems. This chapter reflects on the challenges and risks of AI education, the lack of association between theoretical pedagogical perspectives, and the need for additional exploration of pedagogical, ethical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions of AI education.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 1129
Author(s):  
Mehdi Duyan ◽  
Süleyman Murat Yıldız

Recently, the relationship between leader-member exchange and job performance has become more interesting subject among researchers. However, the literature has a paucity of empirical studies conducted in the higher education institutions; therefore, the relationship between these two variables is not clear. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of leader-member exchange on the job performance of academic staff in higher educational institutions. The data for the study were collected from the academic staff (n=174) of five faculties of sport sciences in Turkey. The LMX-7 scale developed by Scandura and Graen (1984) was used to determine the quality of the interactions between leaders (i.e., administrators) and members (i.e., academic staff). Sigler and Pearson’s (2000) job performance scale, which is a modified version of Kirkman and Rosen’s (1999) team productivity scale, was used to measure job performance. The findings exposed a statistically significant positive effect of leader-member exchange on job performance (p<0.05).


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Mansell ◽  
Lisa Reuter ◽  
Carter Rhea ◽  
Andrea Kiesel

We tested a novel method for studying human experience (thoughts and affect). We utilized Cognitive-Affective Maps (CAMs)–an approach to visually represent thoughts and their affective connotations as networks of concepts that individuals associate with a given event. Using an innovative software tool, we recruited a comparative sample of (n = 93) Canadians and (n = 100) Germans to draw a CAM of their experience (events, thoughts, feelings) with the Covid-19 pandemic. We treated these CAM networks as a series of directed graphs and examined the extent to which their structural properties (latent and emotional) are predictive for the perceived coronavirus threat (PCT). Across multiple models, we found consistent and significant relationships between these network variables and the PCT in both the Canadian and German sample. Our results provide unique insights into individuals' thinking and perceptions of the viral outbreak. Our results also demonstrate that a network analysis of CAMs' properties is a promising method to study the relationship between human thought and affective connotation. We suggest that CAMs can bridge several gaps between qualitative and quantitative methods. Unlike when using quantitative tools (e.g., questionnaires), participants' answers are not restricted by response items as participants are free to incorporate any thoughts and feelings on the given topic. Furthermore, as compared to traditional qualitative measures, such as structured interviews, the CAM technique may better enable researchers to objectively assess and integrate the substance of a shared experience for large samples of participants.


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