Between the traditional, the neo-liberal and the open university Early career investigators caught in the triple bind of academic career requirements

Literature shows that, facing the neo-liberal definition of academic excellence, early career investigators (ECIs) in the social sciences and the humanities (SSH) have developed particular professional identities and behaviours towards the requirements of the academic career. Specificities of the SSH make the compliance to the assessment procedures of the “neo-liberal university” particularly challenging. Furthermore ECIs in the SSH are caught in an unprecedented “triple bind”. While pursuing their post-doctoral career in the context of the neo-liberal university, they are still academically trained in the disciplinary and collegial values of the “traditional university”. Although most career rewards and evaluation criteria are bound to the neo-liberal university, researchers now in the early stages of their career also constitute the first generation of academics to be exposed to the new requirements of the “open university”, through the Open Science policies and the Impact Agenda. In such context of uncertainty and conflicting rationalities, more efficient “early career building information ecosystems” should be put in place within academia. We also recommend to better integrate ECIs in the design and implementation of research evaluation principles and processes.

The role of incentives and training programs on Job Satisfaction of Employees – An Empirical Study on Workers in the Arab Open University –: دور الحوافز والبرامج التدريبية على الرضا الوظيفي للعاملين – دراسة تطبيقية على العاملين في الجامعة العربية المفتوحة بالسعودية –

This Study aimed to: identify extent of interesting in financial and moral incentives regulation and incentives regulation in Arab Open University , identify extent of interesting in humanistic value and electronic training of employees in Arab Open University, identify reality of job satisfaction for employees in Arab Open University, the analytical descriptive approach and study population is included all employees in Arab Open University in all their job levels, their number reached to (230) and the researcher is obtained (149) electronic response. The study revealed that study sample members are agree to some extent on degree of interesting in financial and moral incentives regulation and incentives regulation in Arab Open University where approval averages of study sample members is reached to (3.08), revealed that study sample members are agree to some extent on degree of interesting in humanistic value and electronic training of employees in Arab Open University where approval averages of study sample members is reached to (3.01) and revealed that study sample members have intermediate degree of job stratification where approval averages of study sample members reached to (2.85), the study recommended with necessity of work on adopting motivation system to comply with Arab Open University , providing the necessary moral for university relatives especially for the excellent employees and increasing financial incentives and allowances which is provided to the employees in university.

Editorial: Special edition ‘Race and Ethnicity’

The articles in this special issue of Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning are based on presentations at a series of remote seminars organised by The Open University (UK), titled ‘Avoid Photocopying the past – re-designing HEIs to reduce inequitable outcomes for BAME students’. The first seminar (15 July 2020) proved so popular that parts 2 (6 October) and parts 3 (3 December) were added. The theme continued into Day 1 (of 4) of The Open University???s Access, Participation and Success (APS) Biennial International Conference held online in March 2021. This special edition therefore includes five articles which originated as presentations focused on research around race and ethnicity in higher education (HE).

The voice of students from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background

The Open University is a large, distance-learning university, serving all four nations of the United Kingdom (UK) and provides education for most of its students through open entry, meaning that no prior qualifications are necessary. At the OU, we have a low percentage of students who come from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background, ranging from 4% to 13% depending on their programme of study. However, due to the high student population at the Open University, that low percentage amounts to thousands of students. We were keen to hear from our BAME students, as we are aware of a challenging awarding gap between these students and white students. We ran three focus groups with a total of ten students from a BAME background, and asked about issues such as being valued, inclusion, a sense of belonging and feeling represented. This was the first time that BAME students had been asked about their views in this way. We found that although there were positive insights, students were uncomfortable engaging in forums, lacked a sense of belonging and did not feel represented in the curriculum. By encouraging these students to give voice to their concerns, we heard, for the first time, some of the issues they are dealing with that need to be addressed.

دور الأحزاب الفلسطينية في تعزيز المشاركة السياسية من وجهة نظر خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة

ملخص: هدفت الدراسة التعرف إلى دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في تعزيز المشاركة السياسية من وجهة نظر خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة، ولتحقيق ذلك تم استخدام المنهج الوصفي، ومنهج دراسة الحالة، وأعد الباحث استبانة طبقها على عينة طبقية عشوائية بلغت (378) مفردة، صلح منها للتحليل (292) مفردة من خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة البالغ عددهم (22724) خريجاً وخريجة، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى النتائج الآتية: 1- هناك ضعف في دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في تعزيز المشاركة السياسية من وجهة نظر خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة. 2- هناك قصور في دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في نشر القيم الثقافية التي تنمي المشاركة السياسية لدى لشباب، وتعمل على تشجيع وتحفيز طاقاتهم، وبث روح المثابرة وتبني الأفكار والتوجهات المبدعة التي يقترحونها. 3- هناك تفرد لدى الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في صنع القرارات أكثر من المشاركة لدى الشباب به، ويؤشر ذلك على جمود وتعقد نظم الأحزاب ويظهر ذلك في عجزها على تفعيل المشاركة للشباب في صنع القرارات. 4- هناك ضعف في دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في القضاء على ظاهرة العقلية الفردية وعدم البعد عن تحقيق المصالح الذاتية، وتغليب المصلحة العامة على المصلحة الشخصية بشكل مرضي لدى الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية. 5- هناك ضعف في مشاركة الشباب في إعداد البرامج السياسية والثقافية والمجتمعية لدى الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية، وذلك يشير لإهمال الأحزاب في حث الشباب للمشاركة في إعداد البرامج السياسية والثقافية. 6- وجود علاقة طردية موجبة قوية ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى (α≤0.05) بين دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية في تعزيز المشاركة السياسية من وجهة نظر خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة. 7- وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى دلالة (α≤0.05) بين متوسط التقديرات حول دور الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية من وجهة نظر خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة فرع غزة تعزى لمتغير (النوع الاجتماعي الكليات العلمية، العمر، مجال العمل مكان السكن). الكلمات المفتاحية: الأحزاب السياسية الفلسطينية- المشاركة السياسية- خريجي جامعة القدس المفتوحة. Abstract The study aimed to identify the role of Palestinian political parties in promoting political participation from the point of view of the graduates of Al-Quds Open University, Gaza Branch, and to achieve this, the descriptive approach and the case study approach were used. (292) male and female graduates of Al-Quds Open University, Gaza branch, numbering (22724), and the study reached the following results: 1- There is a weakness in the role of Palestinian political parties in promoting political participation from the perspective of graduates of Al-Quds Open University, Gaza Branch. 2- There is a shortcoming in the role of Palestinian political parties in spreading cultural values ​​that develop the political participation of young people, encourage and stimulate their energies, spread the spirit of perseverance and adopt the creative ideas and directions they propose. 3- There is a uniqueness among the Palestinian political parties in decision-making more than the participation of the youth in it, and this indicates the rigidity and complexity of the party systems and this appears in their inability to activate the participation of young people in decision-making. 4- There is a weakness in the role of the Palestinian political parties in eliminating the phenomenon of the individual mentality and the lack of distance from achieving self-interest, and giving priority to the public interest over personal interest in a satisfactory manner among the Palestinian political parties. 5- There is a weakness in the participation of young people in preparing the political, cultural and societal programs of the Palestinian political parties, and this indicates the neglect of the parties in urging young people to participate in the preparation of political and cultural programs. 6- There is a strong positive direct relationship with statistical significance at the level (α≤0.05) between the role of Palestinian political parties in promoting political participation from the point of view of graduates of Al-Quds Open University, Gaza Branch. 7- There are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α≤0.05) between the average estimates about the role of Palestinian political parties from the point of view of graduates of Al-Quds Open University, Gaza Branch, due to the variable (gender, scientific colleges, age, field of work and place of residence). Keywords: Palestinian political parties – Political participation – Al-Quds Open University Graduates