scholarly journals A Global MetaUniversity to Lead by Design to a Sustainable Well-Being Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Costanza ◽  
Ida Kubiszewski ◽  
Tom Kompas ◽  
Paul C. Sutton

The COVID19 pandemic has revealed deep, ingrained problems with higher education, but also opportunities for positive transformation. In the post-COVID world, education at all levels has the chance to become: (1) universally available at low cost; (2) focused on developing competencies, (3) empowering fulfilling lives, not merely job training; and (4) engaged with communities to solve real-world problems. Achieving this will require overcoming the mass production model of higher education by utilizing the full potential of the Internet in creative ways balanced with face-to-face solutions-based integrated learning, research, and outreach agenda. Building a global collaborative consortium of universities and other educational institutions can move this agenda forward. We describe how this “MetaUniversity” could be structured and how it would serve to advance this agenda and lead the way to a sustainable well-being future for humanity and the rest of nature.

Author(s):  
Luis Almeida ◽  
Paulo Menezes ◽  
Jorge Dias

The socialization between elderly people assumes a key role on their mind and body well-being while loneliness expects to be one of major problems of our increasing age society. This research aims to study and develop a framework to support elderly people socialization when they are confined to their homes for some reason. It can be also adequate for people following some neurological or physical rehabilitation treatment remotely or monitoring behaviors in order to prevent potential diseases. This work proposes a framework that supports the socialization through Augmented Reality (AR) based on telepresence. The aim is a low cost solution that enables users to communicate and interact remotely, experiencing the benefits of a face-to-face meeting. The authors explore computers graphics, spatial audio, and artificial vision to induce sensations of being physical in the presence of other people and exploit the potential activities that such frameworks enable. TV and phones are elderly common companion devices that should be complementarily used with emergent AR technologies to enhance and create the remote presence feeling, minimizing the loneliness. Inspired by Virtual Reality (VR) studies, one of the authors’ goals is to explore if VR presence measurement instruments are useful in the AR context by reviewing literature on the area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-397
Author(s):  
A. G. Bykova ◽  
I. V. Kiselev

The article discusses the formation of legislation on higher education in Russia. The sphere of education is the most important condition for the spiritual, professional formation and development of the individual, the social well-being of society, political and economic formation of the state. An analysis of the historical and legal experience of regulating public relations is a prerequisite for building modern legislation in the field of education. The relevance of the study of the Russian features of legislation on higher education of the XVII-XVIII centuries is that modern social relations in the field of education are not fully regulated. This is evidenced by a range of legal problems. Particular attention should be paid to the legislative regulation of certain powers of participants in public relations in the field of higher education, by-law legal regulation, as well as the implementation of certain legal norms of the Federal Law of 29.12.2012 № 273-FZ. The need to resolve these problems updates the relevance of theoretical problems. The answer to the above questions is an analysis of the historical foundations of Russian legislation on higher education. In the pre-revolutionary Russia, sufficient experience in managing higher education, as well as regulating relevant social relations was in place. The completeness of the study of the subject of public relations in the field of education in the historical context is closely related to the analysis of the activities of Russian universities. The article considers the reasons for the appearance of educational institutions in Russia. The first domestic educational institutions appeared at the end of the 18th century - at a historical moment when the expansion of Western European ideas for organizing university education reached the Russian state. Russia had an urgent need to train specialists in the field of public administration - officials, theologians - to strengthen the Orthodox faith, teachers - to educate and promote morality. The authorization of the first regulatory and legal sources in the field of higher education was associated with attempts to create the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. The revival of the ideas of education in Russia objec'tively accelerated the process of creating domestic educational institutions. The further development of legislation on higher education is associated with the implementation of new ideas about the establishment of universities under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine the Great . In the final part of the work, it is noted that in connection with the creation of the first educational institution in Russia, the first normative legal act regulating legal relations in the field of higher education is published - "Privilege for the Academy." During the XVII-XVIII centuries Russian legislation on higher education contained personal regulatory legal acts. They were strictly targeted and regulated the activities of the educational institution, its officials, teachers, students, as well as other participants in academic social relations.


Author(s):  
Svitlana Romanyuk ◽  
Veronika Trofimchuk

The article deals with the peculiarities of blended learning implementation in teaching foreign languages for professional purposes at the institutions of higher education. The author examines the essence of blended learning model, which combines traditional form of study (face-to-face session) with online collaborative learning and all characteristics of information educational technologies, analyzes its main principles and priorities, as well as the difficulties of its introduction in the educational process of the university. In particular, the possibility of using blended learning as a means of improving the effectiveness of the educational process is considered. The article substantiates the methodical expediency of blended learning application in the process of teaching foreign languages for professional purposes at higher educational institutions at non-philological specialties. Recently, the higher educational institutions intensify the process of learning foreign languages through the introduction of the variety of teaching technologies. Blended learning is a combination of the traditional classroom and modern digital education. Blended learning can be an important direction in the modernization of higher education and a prerequisite for improving quality and efficiency of the learning process. The main advantages of blended learning are productivity, teamwork, individualization, asynchrony, speed, interactivity, didactic support, the presence of control systems, self-control, evaluation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Leightley ◽  
Valentina Vitiello ◽  
Alice Wickersham ◽  
Katrina A.S. Davis ◽  
Gabriella Bergin-Cartwright ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the feasibility of home antibody testing as part of large-scale study, the King’s College London Coronavirus Health and Experiences of Colleagues at King’s (KCL CHECK).MethodsParticipants of the KCL CHECK study were sent a SureScreen Diagnostics COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette to complete at home in June 2020 (phase 1) and September 2020 (phase 2). Participants were asked to upload a test result image to a study website. Test result images and sociodemographic information were analysed by the research team.ResultsA total of n=2716 participants enrolled in the KCL CHECK study, with n=2003 (73.7%) and n=1825 (69.3%) consenting and responding to phase 1 and 2. Of these, n=1882 (93.9%; phase 1) and n=1675 (91.8%; phase 2) returned a valid result. n=123 (6.5%; phase 1) and n=91 (5.4%; phase 2) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. A total of n=1488 participants provided a result in both phases, with n=57 (3.8%) testing positive for SARS- CoV-2 antibodies across both phases, suggesting a reduction in the number of positive antibody results over time. Initial comparisons showed variation by age group, gender and clinical role.ConclusionsOur study highlights the feasibility of rapid, repeated and low-cost SARS-CoV-2 serological testing without the need for face-to-face contact.What is already known about this subject?Higher education institutions have a duty of care to minimise the spread and transmission of COVID-19 in its campuses, and among staff and students. The reopening of higher education buildings and campuses has brought about a mass movement of students, academics and support staff from across the UK. Serological antibody studies can assist by highlighting groups of people and behaviours associated with high risk of COVID-19.What are the new findings?We report a framework for SARS-CoV-2 serological antibody testing in an occupational group of postgraduate research students and current members of staff at King’s College London. Over two phases of data collection, 6.5% (phase 1) and 5.4% (phase 2) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, with only 3.8% testing positive for antibodies in both phases, suggesting a reduction in positive antibody results over time.How might this impact on policy or clinical practice in the foreseeable future?Our study highlights the feasibility of rapidly deploying low-cost and repeatable SARS-CoV-2 serological testing, without the need for face-to-face contact, to support the higher education system of the UK.


Author(s):  
Carla Freire ◽  
Catarina Mangas ◽  
Rogério Costa ◽  
Adriana Lage Costa

We live in a changing world, where the role of educational institutions is being transformed. The available technologies allow new conditions to access learning; however, as they evolve very fast, sometimes it is challenging to track this evolution regarding the changes that entail to all of us, which may contribute to a digital divide if it is not well addressed. This chapter intends to present distance education as a reliable modality to include students in higher education. For that, it presents the universal design for learning and its crucial role to make inclusive virtual learning environments. Like every modality that exists, there are some challenges that need to be addressed, as well as some benefits that allow to see the potential of this modality to learning, overcoming some adversities that may occur, like the lack of time to go to face-to-face education or even the need of social isolation by risk of getting a disease.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-61
Author(s):  
Mark Hutchinson

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between a liminal rural Australian city (Lithgow) and the development of higher education options across the city's history. The paper proposes a nuanced interaction between national, social, religious, political, regional and local forces to explain why an industrial city such as Lithgow, with obvious educational strengths, would be overlooked while others (such as Wollongong and Bathurst) were not. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of a longitudinal study of educational institutions, placed in their historical contexts, in order to demonstrate the fluctuation of educational vision with the rise and fall of socio-economic contributors to the town's fortunes. Findings – The paper finds that the city's formation and dependence on war-related industries created boom-bust cycles which negatively impacted on its entrepreneurial, managerial and working class elites, and so on its ability to bring cultural and political influence to bear in the formation of local higher education options, across a period in which higher education becomes an increasingly federal responsibility. Practical implications – The paper suggests policy ramifications for the support of higher education options in the city. Social implications – The paper supports the interpretation that it is not merely that education itself promotes social mobility, but that what type of education is important, along with an eye to how education contributes to the overall well-being and cross-class profile of the city of Lithgow. Originality/value – This paper fills a gap in historical knowledge about Lithgow's educational institutions, the study of which heretofore has tended to be located with either labor historical or heritage approaches. This paper takes a socio-cultural and longitudinal/holistic approach which brings together a variety of approaches previously not treated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria José Sá ◽  
Sandro Serpa

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound consequences on the social, economic and cultural life at the global level. The educational dimension has also been affected in the schools’ regular functioning, with the temporary closure of educational institutions, as well as the impediment of face-to-face classes. This perspective paper aims to add to the knowledge already produced on this topic, by arguing that these challenging conditions can be a pivotal moment of opportunity for reshaping higher education, with the implementation, development and diffusion, among academics and students, of digital technologies. The paper also discusses the role of leadership in the transformation of organizational culture in higher education. The methodology used to carry out this study is qualitative, and the technique employed to analyze the data collected was content analysis. Research studies, in diverse formats, already published on the COVID-19 topic and its impacts were the elected data sources. The results of this document analysis allow us to conclude that there is the need to improve the digital sustainable development in teaching in higher education, which entails profound challenges that higher education institutions need to face and overcome if they want to be at the forefront of success in the international education market. This is where the authors seek to contribute, by offering insights on the challenges—but also the opportunities—that COVID-19 poses to higher education at a time when it needs to redefine its teaching methods, leadership models, and interaction channels, by going digital towards the improvement of the sustainable development of its teaching.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen T.B. Drysdale ◽  
Margaret L. McBeath ◽  
Sarah A. Callaghan

Purpose Peer support has been identified as an important protective factor for mental health and overall well-being. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of implementing an online peer support group and its impact on measures of well-being. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods randomized controlled trial design was used to examine the feasibility and impact of online peer support. Comparisons in well-being were made between the online peer support group and an in-person peer support group and control group. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group or either a six-week in-person or online peer support group. All participants completed an online survey measuring constructs of well-being pre- and post-condition. Additionally, qualitative data regarding the benefits of peer support and in particular the efficacy of the online format were collected from participants. Analysis of variance and post hoc tests determined significant differences within and between the groups. Findings Both the online and face-to-face peer support groups scored significantly higher on post-test measures of well-being than pre-test scores and control group scores. Qualitative narratives and significant quantitative findings supported the feasibility of peer support offered online. Post-condition outcomes showed that online peer support is as effective as in-person peer support for improving well-being. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to compare online and in-person peer support programs for students in higher education. The results have direct implications for higher education students and practitioners, especially at times when face-to-face support is not feasible.


Author(s):  
Nancy M. Chase ◽  
Becky Clegg

This exploratory study examines the impact of email as a primary communication technology upon the perceptions and work behaviors of higher education professionals who support university administrative functions. Based on the interviews and observations of 23 participants, key themes emerged regarding the relationship of email to the interactions of higher education professionals. Findings are presented in three sections: (1) impact on productivity, (2) impact on social interactions, and (3) impact on well-being. The professionals who participated in this study articulated the importance of face-to-face interaction particularly in complex situations; they recognize the need to manage email sender expectations to deal with their own work stresses, and strive to temper the negative impact of constant disruption by email on workplace productivity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Tereseviciene ◽  
Airina Volungeviciene ◽  
Estela Dauksiene

Abstract The concept of virtual mobility and its characteristics are presented. Most definitions which consider virtual mobility from the educational perspective describe it as a form of learning, research, communication, and collaboration, but also as a form of mobility, which can be a supplement or substitute for physical mobility. Based on the theoretical dispositions a study module “Learning in Higher Education” was created and delivered by an international, multiinstitutional group of teachers to an international, multi-institutional group of students. The virtual mobility case, research design, and data analysis, are presented. The results demonstrate the importance of virtual mobility in promoting international communication and developing communication skills with people from other countries, cultures as well as impact of internationalisation on higher educational institutions


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