scholarly journals Strategic Networking for Sustainability: Lessons Learned from Two Case Studies in Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Kahle ◽  
Katrin Risch ◽  
Andreas Wanke ◽  
Daniel Lang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
Interactive Workshop ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

As places where future citizens are educated, knowledge is (co-)produced and societal developments are critically reflected, higher education institutions (HEIs) can play a key role in addressing sustainability challenges. In order to accelerate mutual learning, shared problem understanding, and joint development of sustainable solutions, interinstitutional exchange and collaboration between HEIs is crucial. However, little research to date has focused on institutional HEI networks in the field of sustainability. More specifically, we still understand little about the concrete development, implementation, and adaptation of such networks. This article explores early-stage HEI networks for sustainability from a conceptual and empirical stance in order to develop a framework that facilitates structured descriptions of these networks, as well as to foster cross-HEI learning on their effective performance. It therefore combines insights from an explorative literature review, two case studies and an interactive workshop at the ISCN Conference 2018. As results, we first suggest an analytical framework to facilitate a systematic characterization of HEI networks. Second, by applying the framework to the two case studies, we present and discuss lessons learned on how a single HEI can contribute to establishing a network and how it can utilize its network membership effectively to strengthen its efforts for sustainability.

scholarly journals Investment Determinants in Self-Consumption Facilities: Characterization and Qualitative Analysis in Spain

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2178 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Ángel Gimeno ◽  
Eva Llera ◽  
Sabina Scarpellini
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transition ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Investment Determinants ◽  
Private Investments ◽  
Faster Development

Self-consumption energy facilities are presented as viable and sustainable solutions in the energy transition scenario in which many countries are immersed. However, they rely on dispersed and private investments in the territory. Given the uneven growth in the number of self-consumption facilities in Europe, the main objective of this study is to identify and measure the investment determinants in self-consumption facilities. To this end, the main influential incentives and barriers are identified through the aggregate analysis of the regulatory framework for self-consumption in several European countries, and the empirical characterization of Spanish facilities as a multiple case study, to define the common features of the investments made. The technical, economic, and financial characterization of real self-consumption facilities in climatic zones of southern Europe is a significant contribution of the present work. There are few samples of this type in the studies published to date, which have mainly been prepared from case studies or statistical data without identifying particular facilities. Cost-related variables have been identified as the most important variables in private investment decisions, and potential influential factors on these variables that could be regulated have been pointed out as relevant. It is also worth highlighting the elaboration of an analytical framework based on this conceptual approach, which has been proven to be useful to depict regulatory scenarios and to compare the positioning for the development of self-consumption systems in different countries. A model that transfers the influence of the determining factors to the deployment of self-consumption under specific regulatory scenarios has been developed and applied to the case of Spain. As a general reflection, to increase the adoption of this kind of technology and encourage consumers to make private investments, policies for renewable energy must consider self-consumption and microgeneration as the main axis, by increasing the availability of energy when necessary. For instance, the promotion of energy storage from these kinds of facilities could receive priority treatment, as well as rewarding the electricity surplus in the interests of security of supply in a period of energy transition towards a new, more sustainable model. Incentive schemes, aids to compensate for the additional costs resulting from the battery storage or easing restrictions in terms of contracted power would foreseeably increase the rates of adoption of the technology, favoring its faster development in terms of research and development and product innovation.

scholarly journals Grafting New Values into Public Institutions by Reforming the Accounting System: Lessons Learned from the Italian Higher Education System

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Guido Modugno ◽  
Ferdinando Di Carlo ◽  
Manuela Lucchese ◽  
Tommaso Agasisti
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
Accounting Rules

The paper wants to highlight some accounting practices in the early stage of the adoption of accrual accounting in Higher Education Institutions. The accounting reform was one of the core aspects of a process of enforced hybridization of HE institutions. Exogenous and endogenous (organizational) issues emerge, that undermine transparency and comparability of accounting information. Based on structured interviews in 14 Italian universities, the paper provides evidences of the main aspects that hinder the transparency and the comparability of accounting information with the risk to deprive the new accounting rules of their potential for change. Resistance to change could be observed, resulting in a partial or distorted adoption of the new accounting rules: some practices, in particular, aimed at safeguarding the interests of a particular group. The paper propitiates further research based on case studies aiming at understanding how public organizations tend to design internal accounting procedures that preserve the prerogatives of particular groups within the organization. The research overturns the rhetoric of the adoption of managerial practices for the enhancement of efficiency, effectiveness and economy by showing how organizations shape these practices in order to keep the status quo unchanged.

scholarly journals Enterprise Architecture Implementation Is a Bumpy Ride: A Case Study in the Norwegian Public Sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Kristin S. Ajer ◽  
Dag Håkon Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Enterprise Architecture ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
The Public ◽  
External Consultants

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a widespread approach for the development of new digital solutions in a planned and controlled way for large and complex organisations. EA is also viewed as a prerequisite for the digitalisation of the public sector. However, public sector organisations struggle to implement EA programmes, and research has demonstrated that organisational and managerial issues are critical obstacles to EA implementation. This study aims to increase our understanding of EA implementation in the public sector by investigating the central challenges for EA initiatives and to trace the progress of current EA initiatives in the Norwegian public sector. An additional goal is to disclose some ways to improve the situation. We conducted three interpretive case studies in the hospital, higher education, and labour and welfare sectors. We have identified 28 challenges to the EA initiatives. We find that organisational and technical complexities, as well as a limited understanding of EA and lack of formal EA governance mechanisms, are significant obstacles. Among others, the lack of understanding of EA and its methodology will lead to problems with anchoring the EA approach in the organisation and facilitating the necessary EA arrangements to induce the promised benefits of EA, which are necessary requirements to establish the EA initiative’s legitimacy and foster the organisation’s willingness to implement change. Our study provides four lessons learned for planning and implementing EA initiatives, as follows: #1. It is advisable to take small steps. #2. The use of external consultants should be carefully considered. #3. Formal architectural governance mechanisms are important for legitimacy and enforced use. #4. Executive commitment and understanding of EA are crucial for achieving a sustainable EA initiative. Finally, we find a common evolution of the EA initiatives through the phases of optimism, resistance, decline and finally, reconsolidation of the most persistent ones.

The Management and Creation of Knowledge

2010 ◽  
pp. 92-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bruen ◽  
N. Fitzpatrick ◽  
P. Gormley ◽  
J. Harvey ◽  
C. McAvinia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Design Management ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Group Project ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Development Processes

Wikis are frequently cited in higher education research as appropriate and powerful web spaces which provide opportunities to capture, discuss, and review individual, group, project or organisational activities. These activities, in turn, offer possibilities for knowledge development by utilising wiki collaborative active spaces.The chapter uses selected case studies to illustrate the use of wikis to support online community based tasks, project development/processes, collaborative materials development and various student and peer supported activities. A key focus of the chapter is on evaluating the effectiveness (or otherwise) of wikis to create online communities to support knowledge management, development, retention and transfer.By way of contextualising the studies, a variety of examples of the use of wikis in higher education are reviewed. While there are relatively few studies of the use of Web 2.0 for the creation of knowledge, there are a number of reports which indicate the preference for the use of Web 2.0 technologies over the standard virtual learning environments.The chapter concludes with a review of the emergent themes arising and lessons learned from the case studies. This leads into a series of recommendations relating to the effective establishment, design, management and use of wikis to support knowledge creation and collaborative enterprise.

scholarly journals A Necessary Partnership: Study Abroad and Sustainability in Higher Education

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea M.W. Dvorak ◽  
Lars D. Christiansen ◽  
Nancy L. Fischer ◽  
Joseph B. Underhill
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Higher Education Administrators ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Education Administrators

In this article, we will explore two case studies of programs abroad that seriously engaged both the contradictions and opportunities inherent in the idea of sustainable international education. The first examines environmental politics and ecology in New Zealand and the Cook Islands and the second compares sustainable urban practices in Canada and the United States. Based on the lessons learned from these case studies, we will argue that partnership between internationalization and sustainability efforts is necessary to help institutions of higher learning become both global and “green.” To that effect, we discuss specific and concrete ways to “green” study abroad courses throughout this paper, particularly within the two case studies and in our concluding discussion of strategies for international educators, faculty, and higher education administrators.

scholarly journals Customized Education as a Framework for Strengthening Collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and Regional Actors in Sustainable Development—Lessons from Albania and Kosovo

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 3941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Meyer ◽  
Michael Pillei ◽  
Friedrich Zimmermann ◽  
Gernot Stöglehner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Regional Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Regional Development ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in Albania and Kosovo have invested considerable efforts to tackle present regional sustainability challenges on a research-based and strategic level. This happened through their traditional role as a provider of research and education. Additional activities fostering HEIs as a driver for sustainable regional development and innovation have been initiated as part of their third mission. However, customized education approaches were missing in order to fulfill specific regional demands of different research and learning projects in collaboration with regional actors. This paper explores the recently finished project “Connecting Science-Society Collaboration for Sustainability Innovation—ConSus” which focuses on the efforts of HEIs in Albania and Kosovo to tackle present regional sustainability challenges in both countries. An analytical framework regarding collaborative learning opportunities towards sustainable regional development and innovation has been drafted based on five key elements (capacities of HEIs in regional development, planning, learning and implementation theory, and action research). This framework has been applied to analyze the learning activities of the ConSus project. As a main finding, customized education approaches in the contexts of sustainable development (SD) and collaboration of scientific and regional actors are important elements to cope comprehensively with real-world problems.

Case Studies in Atomic Force Probe Analysis

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal Mulder ◽  
Sam Subramanian ◽  
Tony Chrastecky
Keyword(s):  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Light Emission ◽  
Electrical Characterization ◽  
Logic Circuits ◽  
Contrast Imaging ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Measuring Surface ◽  
Analysis Environment

Abstract The use of atomic force probe (AFP) analysis in the analysis of semiconductor devices is expanding from its initial purpose of solely characterizing CMOS transistors at the contact level with a parametric analyzer. Other uses found for the AFP include the full electrical characterization of failing SRAM bit cells, current contrast imaging of SOI transistors, measuring surface roughness, the probing of metallization layers to measure leakages, and use with other tools, such as light emission, to quickly localize and identify defects in logic circuits. This paper presents several case studies in regards to these activities and their results. These case studies demonstrate the versatility of the AFP. The needs and demands of the failure analysis environment have quickly expanded its use. These expanded capabilities make the AFP more valuable for the failure analysis community.

SEM/EDS Characterization of Uncommon Metal Whiskers and Determination of Underlying Growth Mechanisms

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Basak ◽  
L. H. Ponce
Keyword(s):  
Reliability Analysis ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Whisker Growth ◽  
Innovation Systems ◽  
Growth Mechanisms ◽  
Crystal Oscillator ◽  
Analysis Laboratory ◽  
Investigative Techniques

Abstract Two case-studies on uncommon metals whiskers, performed at the Reliability Analysis Laboratory (RAL) of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, are presented. The components analyzed are an Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) and an Electromechanical Relay. Investigative techniques were used to determine the chemical and physical makeup of the metal whiskers and develop an understanding of the underlying effects and mechanisms that caused the conditions conducive to whisker growth.

Winning the Argument and Moving the Fight: The Legacy of a Grassroots Humanitarian

Public Voices ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Mary Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Winning Strategy ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
The United States ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Trade Offs

The author of this article argues that the two-decades-long litigation struggle was necessary to push the political actors in Mississippi into a more virtuous than vicious legal/political negotiation. The second and related argument, however, is that neither the 1992 United States Supreme Court decision in Fordice nor the negotiation provided an adequate riposte to plaintiffs’ claims. The author shows that their chief counsel for the first phase of the litigation wanted equality of opportunity for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as did the plaintiffs. In the course of explicating the role of a legal grass-roots humanitarian, Coleman suggests lessons learned and trade-offs from that case/negotiation, describing the tradeoffs as part of the political vestiges of legal racism in black public higher education and the need to move HBCUs to a higher level of opportunity at a critical juncture in the life of tuition-dependent colleges and universities in the United States. Throughout the essay the following questions pose themselves: In thinking about the Road to Fordice and to political settlement, would the Justice Department lawyers and the plaintiffs’ lawyers connect at the point of their shared strength? Would the timing of the settlement benefit the plaintiffs and/or the State? Could plaintiffs’ lawyers hold together for the length of the case and move each piece of the case forward in a winning strategy? Who were plaintiffs’ opponents and what was their strategy? With these questions in mind, the author offers an analysis of how the campaign— political/legal arguments and political/legal remedies to remove the vestiges of de jure segregation in higher education—unfolded in Mississippi, with special emphasis on the initiating lawyer in Ayers v. Waller and Fordice, Isaiah Madison

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