scholarly journals Certifying Gender Equality in Research: Lessons Learnt From Athena SWAN and Total E-Quality Award Schemes

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charikleia Tzanakou ◽  
Kate Clayton-Hathway ◽  
Anne Laure Humbert
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Quality Award ◽  
Research Organisations ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Athena Swan

In the past 2 decades, many Certification and Award schemes (CAS) related to gender equality, diversity and inclusion have emerged in the higher education, research and industry sectors. According to a recent report, there are as many as 113 CAS which have been identified across Europe and beyond. These CAS aim at addressing inequalities in relation to the grounds of sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability among others. The high number of CAS, and their continued growth, has taken place in parallel to the shift of policies and efforts from “fixing individuals” to “fixing the system.” In these schemes, gender equality is often understood as a structural, systemic challenge, with a recognition that advancing gender equality is complex and requires drivers and interventions at micro, meso and macro level. Studies focused on analysing and evaluating gender equality initiatives in higher education have been scarce, and often limited to specific schemes. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a better understanding of the CAS landscape through comparing two of the main gender equality schemes used by research-performing organisations in Europe Athena SWAN (in the UK) and Total E-Quality Award (in Germany). Based on qualitative interviews with stakeholders across Europe and document analysis, this paper focuses on strengths, challenges faced by and the impact of these CAS. This comparative exercise highlights particular learning points that can inform potential reviews of existing schemes and/or the development of new schemes such as a Europe-wide scheme. The latter is the focus of a Horizon 2020 project entitled CASPER (Certification-Award Systems to Promote Gender Equality in Research), which aims at making recommendations to the European Commission as to the feasibility of a Europe-wide CAS for gender equality in research organisations.

scholarly journals Psychological Impacts of COVID–19 on Healthcare Trainees and Perceptions towards a Digital Wellbeing Support Package

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10647
Author(s):  
Holly Blake ◽  
Ikra Mahmood ◽  
Gonxhe Dushi ◽  
Mehmet Yildirim ◽  
Elizabeth Gay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Intervention Fidelity ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Psychological Impacts ◽  
Perceived Preparedness ◽  
Pastoral Support ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

We explore the impact of COVID–19 on the psychological wellbeing of healthcare trainees, and the perceived value of a digital support package to mitigate the psychological impacts of the pandemic (PoWerS Study). This mixed–methods study includes (i) exposure to a digital support package; (ii) participant survey to assess wellbeing, perceptions of work and intervention fidelity; (iii) semi–structured qualitative interviews. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed, data were handled and analysed using principles of thematic framework analysis. Participants are 42 health and medical trainees (9M, 33F) from 13 higher education institutions in the UK, studying during the COVID–19 pandemic. Survey findings showed high satisfaction with healthcare training (92.8%), but low wellbeing (61.9%), moderate to high perceived stressfulness of training (83.3%), and high presenteeism (50%). Qualitative interviews generated 3 over–arching themes, and 11 sub–themes. The pandemic has impacted negatively on emotional wellbeing of trainees, yet mental health is not well promoted in some disciplines, and provision of pastoral support is variable. Disruption to academic studies and placements has reduced perceived preparedness for future clinical practice. Regular check–ins, and wellbeing interventions will be essential to support the next generation health and care workforce, both in higher education and clinical settings. The digital support package was perceived to be accessible, comprehensive, and relevant to healthcare trainees, with high intervention fidelity. It is a useful tool to augment longer–term provision of psychological support for healthcare trainees, during and after the COVID–19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Crisis Management in Higher Education in the Time of Covid-19: The Case of Actor Training

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Anna McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Crisis Management ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Actor Training ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Frequency Words

The impact of Covid-19 placed Higher Education leadership in a state of crisis management, where decision making had to be swift and impactful. This research draws on ethea of mindfulness, actor training techniques, referencing high-reliability organisations (HRO). Interviews conducted by the author with three leaders of actor training conservatoires in Higher Education institutions in Australia, the UK and the USA reflect on crisis management actions taken in response to the impact of Covid-19 on their sector, from which high-frequency words are identified and grouped thematically. Reflecting on these high-frequency words and the thematic grouping, a model of mindful leadership is proposed as a positive tool that may enable those in leadership to recognise and respond efficiently to wider structural frailties within Higher Education, with reference to the capacity of leaders to operate with increased mindfulness, enabling a more resilient organisation that unlocks the locus of control.

scholarly journals Shape-shifting and pushing against the odds: staff perceptions of the experiences of first generation students in South Africa and the UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Forsyth ◽  
Claire Hamshire ◽  
Danny Fontaine-Rainen ◽  
Leza Soldaat
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Staff Perceptions ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
University Life ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThe principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to leave their studies early, and to achieve lower grades in their final qualifications, than students whose families have previous experience of higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a mismatch between staff perceptions and students’ experiences might be a possible contributor to these disparities. The study explored and compared staff discourses about the experiences of first generation students at two universities, one in the United Kingdom (UK), and the other in South Africa (SA). One-to-one interviews were carried out with 40 staff members (20 at each institution) to explore their views about first generation students. The results showed that staff were well aware of challenges faced by first generation students; however, they were unsure of their roles in relation to shaping an inclusive environment, and tended not to consider how to use the assets that they believed first generation students bring with them to higher education. This paper explores these staff discourses; and considers proposals for challenging commonly-voiced assumptions about students and university life in a broader context of diversity and inclusive teaching practice.

scholarly journals Migration infrastructures and the production of migrants’ irregularity in Japan and the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nando Sigona ◽  
Jotaro Kato ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Legal Violence ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Access And Quality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe article examines the migration infrastructures and pathways through which migrants move into, through and out of irregular status in Japan and the UK and how these infrastructures uniquely shape their migrant experiences of irregularity at key stages of their migration projects.Our analysis brings together two bodies of migration scholarship, namely critical work on the social and legal production of illegality and the impact of legal violence on the lives of immigrants with precarious legal status, and on the role of migration infrastructures in shaping mobility pathways.Drawing upon in-depth qualitative interviews with irregular and precarious migrants in Japan and the UK collected over a ten-year period, this article develops a three-pronged analysis of the infrastructures of irregularity, focusing on infrastructures of entry, settlement and exit, casting a comparative light on the mechanisms that produce precarious and expendable migrant lives in relation to access to labour and labour conditions, access and quality of housing and law enforcement, and how migrants adapt, cope, resist or eventually are overpowered by them.

scholarly journals Investigating the impact of status and context on workplace incivility.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Irwin ◽  
Charlotte Patricia Irvine ◽  
Barbara Bekes ◽  
Emily Nordmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Staff Retention ◽  
Teaching Context ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Incivility has been reported as having an adverse impact on student learning, faculty staff retention and student commitment within Higher Education. As such this behaviour has the potential to reduce student achievement and could have a financial impact on institutions. The aim of this two-stage study was to examine the impact of teaching context (lecture versus tutorial) and instigator status (staff versus student) on the perception and impact of incivility in academia. Study 1 recruited participants from Scotland and utilised a vignette-based approach to evaluate status and context effects across four fictional teaching scenarios, each illustrating the uncivil behaviour of ignoring someone. Study 2 recruited participants from the UK and Ireland and used an online survey to gather quantitative and qualitative data investigating uncivil behaviours within lectures and tutorials. The combined results indicate that the uncivil behaviours absenteeism, non-participation, ignoring and unrelated behaviours were all more frequent during a lecture in comparison to a tutorial. Uncivil behaviours were associated with a higher emotional impact within tutorials as opposed to lectures and an assertive response to incivility was more likely in a tutorial than a lecture. In terms of status student behavior was perceived as more uncivil than the equivalent staff behavior, yet a higher emotional response was reported for staff as opposed to student incivility, regardless of context. These results indicate the need for a tailored context-specific approach to addressing incivility within Higher Education, with practical implications discussed.

scholarly journals International Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of British Drinking Cultures

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 572-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Thurnell-Read ◽  
Lorraine Brown ◽  
Philip Long
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
International Student ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Heavy Drinking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Drinking Habits ◽  
Public House ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

While the increased scale and importance of international students to the UK Higher Education sector is now well established, little is known about the ways in which students from non-UK countries experience and interact with the heavy drinking culture that predominates on and near many British universities. Drawing on qualitative interviews, this article analyses the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of British drinking cultures held by international students studying on postgraduate courses at a UK university. Students report prior awareness of alcohol consumption being important to British culture and recount both positive and negative experiences of witnessing and, for many, participating in drinking alcohol. Students make ready comparisons with the drinking habits and attitudes of their own culture. Further still, many made a distinction between the public house, or ‘pub’, as a welcoming and friendly social space, and bars and nightclubs, where a far greater risk of exposure to violence and harassment was perceived. The article provides theoretical insights to support future and more wide-ranging research into mobile drinking cultures and also suggests practical implications to inform stakeholders with interests in the welfare of international students in the UK in relation to the provision of effective and proactive policies which address the impact of British drinking cultures on international student integration and well-being.

Impact of the European Higher Education in the World Initiative on Higher Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 237-252
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Herridge ◽  
Lisa J. James
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Faculty ◽  
The World ◽  
European Higher Education ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Bologna Process ◽  
The Impact

This chapter looked at the implications of Brexit on the recruitment of international faculty, students, and the ability to obtain research funding. Higher education stakeholders have legitimate concerns regarding the impact of the UK's separation from the EU. In preemptive moves, students are transferring to institutions outside the UK and EU to universities that are welcoming and accommodating the special needs and circumstances of international scholars. Researchers are prematurely dissolving collaborative partnerships with colleagues to mitigate complications and lost funding expected, as a result of Brexit. There are universities exploring possible locations for new satellite campuses in other countries. Through the development of policies and treaties such as the Bologna Process, Lisbon Strategy, European Higher Education in the World initiative, the European Union has demonstrated the importance and purpose of higher education both in Europe and at the international level.

Diversity and data: an ontology of race and ethnicity in the British Film Institute’s Diversity Standards

2020 ◽  
pp. 016344372096092
Author(s):  
Clive James Nwonka
Keyword(s):  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Film Productions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Production Areas ◽  
The Impact

This article addresses the role of data in the analysis of racial diversity in the UK film industry. Due to the prolonged poor representation of racial difference, academic researchers increasingly identify the UK film sector as a particular site of multi-dimensional structural inequalities. This article will assess the impact of data-led interventions made by the UK film industry to increase the presence of BAME individuals within the sector. It will do this through an analysis of the policy approach of the UK’s lead body for film, the British Film Institute, examining how one major policy initiative, the BFI’s Diversity Standards launched in 2016 as an industry intervention into prevailing sector inequalities, has sought to achieve racial diversity and inclusion across its Film Fund-supported film productions between 2016 and 2019. Analysing cross-sectional data from 235 films which is aggregated across differing film genres, budgets and regions, the study assesses how the outcomes of the Diversity Standards have offered a representation of racial diversity across these production areas.

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