scholarly journals UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CASE STUDY OF LITHUANIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 337-357
Author(s):  
Vida Navickienė ◽  
Gražina Droessiger ◽  
Ilona Valantinaitė ◽  
Vaidotas Trinkūnas ◽  
Arūnas Jaras
Keyword(s):  
Research Methodology ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
University Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The article is aimed at analyzing university management decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic thus emphasizing the impact of the decisions made on the effective management of the situation. Research methodology – To achieve the established goal, research methodology involved the qualitative research strategy applying the semi-structured interview method and scientific literature analysis. The article is of a theoretical and empirical nature. The empirical part presents its individual research on implementing strategies in the field of adapting appropriate areas of the University as an important part of the study implementation process. The study involved 15 experts – 12 men and 4 women. The research results are the basis for developing practical guidelines for higher education institutions. Findings – Research findings have disclosed that successful management decisions fall into eight categories: management actions, the collaboration between the different levels of authorities and the academic community, the development and maintenance of a technical base, timely and continuous academic support for teaching staff, multipurpose support for students, control over the studying process, security assurance, solutions at the level of study programs. The article demonstrates a holistic approach to making the required decisions. Research limitations – Research limitations impose conducting a study in a specific culture and the organizational context of Lithuania. Practical implications – Practical implications suggest that the conducted research helps the leaders of various levels at educational establishments make the most useful necessary decisions for the institution in an emergency. Originality/Value – The uniqueness of the conducted research lies in the first attempt to show management solutions worked out by the universities in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Communicating science in higher education and research institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Thorsten Schwetje ◽  
Christiane Hauser ◽  
Stefan Böschen ◽  
Annette Leßmöllmann
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Internal Stakeholders ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Executive Boards ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe paper reports on a research project exploring the change in the organizational context of communicators and communication units in higher education and research institutions (HERIs), the importance of informal processes within their daily work and the great diversity of expectations communicators have to tackle.Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature review, a mixed-methods study combining expert interviews with 54 German HERI heads of communication units, an online-survey and a document analysis of organizational characteristics was conducted. Findings were validated in four focus groups.FindingsThe study illuminates the impact of organizational and operational structures of HERIs on communicators and their boundary spanning activities. Due to varying expectations of stakeholders, communicators constantly have to switch roles. Members of HERIs' executive boards affect status and working conditions for communicators in the organization.Research limitations/implicationsInterviews with other HERI actors, especially members of the executive board, are proposed to get more thorough insights into the organizational context of HERIs and the mutual expectations of different internal stakeholders.Practical implicationsInsights from the project may help HERI actors to reflect their organizational context and to identify potentially contentious structures or processes.Originality/valueCommunicating science sometimes clashes with complex organizational and operational structures. Despite the “organizational turn” in HERI research, there is a lack of data on the relation between communicators, their communication units and the larger organizational context. The exploratory study addresses this gap.

scholarly journals Higher education policy: A case study on quality assessment towards a model of university management

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 249-269
Author(s):  
Marcelo Fernandes da Silva ◽  
Luis Henrique Borges ◽  
Maria Soledade Gomes Borges ◽  
Inara Pena Barbosa Elias
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
University Management ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Education Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Assessment ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Impact

Abstract: The institutional self-assessment is considered herein in the context of higher education assessment as a university management tool. The paper aims to present and discuss the impact of the results of an institutional self-assessment committee in the management of pedagogical and administrative issues of a Brazilian university in accordance with contemporary education policy. Four consecutive annual reports were reviewed to demonstrate the impacts of institutional self-evaluation and to raise questions about the academic community. Content analysis principles were used to validate the assumptions of the committee’s annual routines regarding the importance of the institutional assessment framework as the basis for the qualification of academic procedures. It was possible to observe the positive effects of the committee on the university’s practices: the effective participation of the academic community in the evaluation processes as well as validation of the information for university management. Another aspect that the evaluation allowed was the identification of areas of greater or lesser impacts on the scientific, social, pedagogical and technological aspects. The role of the committee was essential in identifying strengths and weaknesses, thus contributing towards performing actions to improve the institutional quality of the University of Uberaba under the panorama of Brazilian higher education assessment.

scholarly journals Making a Difference: Accounting for the Impact of Management Decisions in Environmental Management

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-139
Author(s):  
Stanimir Ivanov Kabaivanov ◽  
Veneta Markovska
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Public Agency ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Management decisions are typically meant to be making a lasting impact, or at least bringing us one step closer to a long-term goal. Yet there are situations where it is hard to link decisions made and results achieved. The problem gets more complex when comparing different backgrounds, as management quality is often assessed either in specific organizational context (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1994; Coggburn and Schneider, 2003) or in a finite number of case-studies. These methods have been successfully used for a long time in corporate environment (Gong et al., 2018) and for public sector decisions (Eller et al., 2018), but their application is not as easy when facing problems that are affected by multiple economy-wide factors, and/or by variables that are not directly observable. We study the long term impact on management decisions in environmental management by using market information on different instruments used to manage and control environmental pollution and risk. The core reason for choosing this approach is that market data is able to account for economic reasons and capture changes that go beyond the scope of an individual corporation or a public agency.

Evaluation of the impact of an entrepreneurship training program in Recife, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando José Moreira Coelho ◽  
Carla Marques ◽  
Armando Loureiro ◽  
Vanessa Ratten
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Entrepreneurship Training ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Emerging Country ◽  
New Business ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand in a qualitative context, the importance of the EMPRETEC entrepreneurship training in an emerging country context of Brazil. This helps to understand the capacity of entrepreneurship education to improve the ability of individuals to generate new business opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through three semi-structured interview scripts and analyzed with the support of the NVIVO qualitative analysis software using Bardin content analysis. Findings The findings support the assertion that in emerging economies, entrepreneurship education is increasingly important in transforming society through enabling individuals to progress in their careers and life. Research limitations/implications It was concluded that the EMPRETEC course fulfilled the objective of encouraging entrepreneurial behavior and stimulating the trainees to contribute to the economic growth of the country. The implication was that participation in entrepreneurship education is strictly interconnected to the success of the trainees. Practical implications The study found that there are positive practical outcomes for the trainees’, teachers’ and managers’ perceptions involved in the Entrepreneurship Training Program – EMPRETEC. Originality/value The paper helps understand the role of the trainees’ (EMPRETECos), teachers’ and managers’ perceptions of the Program at SEBRAE/Recife about the impact of the Entrepreneurship Training Program – EMPRETEC.

scholarly journals Digitalization of human resource management practices and its impact on employees’ well-being

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alena Fedorova ◽  
Olga Koropets ◽  
Mauro Gatti
Keyword(s):  
Research Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Human Resource Management Practices ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – the purpose of the article is assessing the impact of the processes of the labor activity digitalization on employees’ well-being that have not yet received sufficient attention in HRM research and practice. The causal relationship between the digital transformation of the HRM practices and employees’ well-being is examined in the paper. Research methodology – the research methodology involves the analysis of data obtained by means of sociological surveys, narrative and content analysis. Additionally, the case study method allows us to explore the problem in detail using the example of the largest Russian university. Findings – the results of our study identify the problematic issues resulting from expanding the practice of applying digital technologies in HRM system, proving the negative impact of digitalization processes on employee well-being (along with positive effects), and, therefore, the need to develop management solutions aimed at preserving well-being in the workplace. Research limitations – the limitations of this pilot research are primarily due to the insufficient sample size that will be overcome in the future annual monitoring study. Practical implications – searching for new management decisions and models aimed at prevention of worsening wellbeing at work in organizations that introduce digital technology. Originality/Value – the novelty of this study consists in examining the HRM digitalization process in the context of social pollution of the labor sphere

scholarly journals El impacto del bullying en el desarrollo integral y aprendizaje desde la perspectiva de los niños y niñas en edad preescolar y escolar

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
María Ester Morales-Ramírez ◽  
Margarita Villalobos-Cordero
Keyword(s):  
School Facilities ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
Mixed Approach ◽  
The Impact ◽  
School Cafeterias

This article is part of a wider investigation about the impact of bullying on the integral development and learning of preschoolers and schoolchildren. An objective was designed to allow “analyzing the impact of bullying in the integral development of preschool and schoolchildren to promote prevention and intervention strategies to address this problem.” To achieve this, a study with a mixed approach, of exploratory and descriptive nature, was conducted to analyze the influence exerted in the learning and development of a child who experienced bullying. The information contained in the article only renders the answers related to the impact and provided by 857 children, namely: 237 preschoolers, 286 of the third grade and 334 of the fourth grade. We worked with these groups in order to detect if there were signs of bullying from preschool, and if there was any significant difference in the perception of this problem from students of the first and third cycle. We worked with 14 schools in the province of Heredia, Costa Rica, randomly selected, and coordinated with authorities and parents to obtain authorizations. To compile the information, a questionnaire was constructed, consisting of open and closed questions of yes and no answer. Also a semi-structured interview based on the designed questionnaire was applied to the children at the preschool level. The data were analyzed from a quantitative and qualitative perspective. This perspective included emerging categories elaborated from the answers provided by the children, to assure that their feelings and thoughts about bullying constitute an input to raise awareness of the prevailing need to prevent this problem and to address it in all the areas in which it is present. Among the most relevant results found, 229 students (26.7%) reported having been harassed; of these, 198 (86.5%) are actually suffering from bullying, since the time for suffering this harassment can vary from weeks to a year, with repeated episodes in a single day. Likewise, the greatest impact of this problem has been in the socio-emotional area, followed by an incidence in learning, mainly in motivation, because 29.2% openly expressed that they did not want to continue attending the school. The places for bullying against students are classrooms, hallways, school cafeterias, restrooms, out of school facilities, and during recess. In the opinion of the researchers, it is imperative that the educational center conducts a diagnosis with the entire student population allowing to determine the real incidence of this problem, to establish a constant supervision of the teaching staff with students under their responsibility, and to train the whole educational community, not only to raise awareness, but also to address bullying in a timely and effective manner within the existing legislation framework.

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Higher Education Sector in Yemen and Response Requirements

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Khalil Mohammed Al Khateeb ◽  
Ali Abdullah Al Awadhi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Fear And Anxiety ◽  
The Impact

This study aimed at identifying the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on higher education sector in Yemen and the requirements of fighting the consequences. To achieve this objective, the study followed the descriptive content analysis method. The population and sample of the study were (46) items selected from the literature. Major findings revealed consequences of Covid-19 included suspension of university study, death of some university staff, spread of fear and anxiety among academic community, administrative staff and students, inability of Yemeni universities to use an alternative e-learning system (due to the lack of institutional technology), lack of e-learning material, bad internet services and the spread of technological illiteracy among most of teaching staff and students. In light of these findings, the study is concluded with a set of recommendations as follows: the creation of a unified body under the supervision of the two parties in Sana'a and Aden to manage Covid-19 crisis; strengthening awareness of protection; supporting medical services; providing the staff of the Ministry of Higher Education with health insurance; building technological capacity of universities to overcome technology illiteracy; and developing e-learning.

From conceptual to perceptual reality: trust in digital repositories

2009 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 593-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adolfo G. Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Academic Community ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Academic World ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Digital Repositories ◽  
User Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeDigital repositories offer a great benefit to people in a variety of settings, especially since an ever‐increasing amount of information is being gathered, transmitted, and preserved through various technologies. The purpose of this paper is to underscore trust as a critical element in the infrastructure of digital repositories and to look more closely at trusted digital repositories from the perspective of the user communities for which they are designed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper looks to the literature in reviewing the concept of trust and its role in an online environment. Attention is then paid to trusted digital repositories, with close examination of the user communities’ perceptions of trust and the impact of these perceptions. Special attention is given to users within the academic community.FindingsWhile digital repositories may be trustworthy because of adherence to technological standards, accepted practices, and mechanisms for authenticating the authorship and accuracy of their content, it is ultimately their respective stakeholders – both those who deposit and use content – whose perceptions play a central role in ensuring a digital repository's trustworthiness.Research limitations/implicationsA future empirical study would be beneficial in order to measure perceptions of trust as contributing factors to the trustworthiness of digital repositories.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a useful resource for persons wishing to review the topic of trusted digital repositories or increase their awareness in this area.Originality/valueThis paper offers a focused look at various levels of trust as they relate to the dissemination of scholarly communication in the academic world, particularly through institutional repositories.

Information and Communication Technology and Cultural Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hansen ◽  
Tom Postmes ◽  
Nikita van der Vinne ◽  
Wendy van Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ict For Development ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control group without laptops (n = 76) and a second control group of children whose laptop had broken down (n = 24). Results confirmed that after 1 year of laptop usage, the children’s self-concept had become more independent and children endorsed individualist values more strongly. Interestingly, the impact of laptop usage on cultural values was mediated by self-construal (moderated mediation). Importantly, modernization did not “crowd out” traditional culture: ICT usage was not associated with a reduction in traditional expressions (interdependent self-construal, collectivist values). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

TEACH-POT: Provide Opportunities in Teaching

2020 ◽  
pp. 79-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Giulia Ballatore ◽  
Ettore Felisatti ◽  
Laura Montanaro ◽  
Anita Tabacco
Keyword(s):  
Academic Community ◽  
Real Effect ◽  
The Real ◽  
Main Components ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Training Opportunities ◽  
Different Levels

This paper is aimed to describe and critically analyze the so-called "TEACHPOT" experience (POT: Provide Opportunities in Teaching) performed during the last few years at Politecnico di Torino. Due to career criteria, the effort and the time lecturers spend in teaching have currently undergone a significant reduction in quantity. In order to support and meet each lecturers' expectations towards an improvement in their ability to teach, a mix of training opportunities has been provided. This consists of an extremely wide variety of experiences, tools, relationships, from which everyone can feel inspired to increase the effectiveness of their teaching and the participation of their students. The provided activities are designed around three main components: methodological training, teaching technologies, methodological experiences. A discussion on the findings is included and presented basing on the data collected through a survey. The impact of the overall experience can be evaluated on two different levels: the real effect on redesigning lessons, and the discussion on the matter within the entire academic community.

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