Top PDF Higher education White Paper : success as a knowledge economy

quality assurance and data is an elegant solution, providing much needed stability for QAA and HESA and one that recognises the importance of co-regulation with the Higher Education sector. “GuildHE has always welcomed high quality new providers of higher education and we support the Government’s intention – but in deciding to relax the requirements for Degree Awarding powers it is essential they set commensurately high expectations for entry to ensure high standards are maintained. We look forward to working with BIS to implement the details of these of these proposals and the changes expected in a Higher Education Bill.

Abstract: The present study examines the key determinants of employee performance in a knowledge-intensive service fi rm located in the UK. Using data from a pilot study, we mapped eight performance-related behaviors to two measures of global performance to isolate the strongest predictors of the latter. We also examined the degree to which these associations varied depending on whether employees or their managers reported on performance as well as according to the degree of complexity (eg, ongoing learning, multitasking, problem solving, etc.) present in workers’ jobs. Findings revealed that more traditional employee performance- related behaviors (eg, dependability) as well as behaviors that have likely increased in importance in the knowledge economy (eg, sharing ideas and information) accounted for the most variance in reported global performance. Sharing ideas and information was a particularly important predictor for workers in complex jobs. When the performance-related behaviors were regressed on the organization’s annual employee appraisal ratings, only dependability and time management behaviors were signifi cantly associated with the outcome. As organizational success increasingly is dependent on intangible inputs stemming from the ideas, innovations and creativity of its workforce, organizations need to ensure that they are capturing the full range of behaviors that help to defi ne their success. Further research with a diverse range of organizations will help defi ne this further.

The promotion of HE participation by the current UK government is partly reflective of the view that investment in human capital and lifelong learning is the foundation for success in a global economy. This logic has played a critical role in the formation of policy over the last two decades whereby the state has taken an increasingly proactive role to encourage higher education institutions to provide an appropriately trained workforce. This perspective reflects a policy focus firmly on the supply-side of the labour market; an orientation that, at least partly, assumes that where supply leads, demand will follow. The shift from an elite to a mass higher education system is seen by policymakers as the principle mechanism by which to create a supply of potential ‘knowledge’ workers to fill the expanding number of ‘high-skill’ jobs in the economy and, in the process, stimulating demand for better jobs from employers, improving the quality of work itself and driving economic prosperity (Keep and Mayhew 2004).

Nigeria’s vision plan (vision 20:2020) is generally aimed at placing the country in the league of top 20 industrialised economies in the world by the year 2020. This aspiration was made on the realization of Nigeria’s abundant human and material resources, which places it in good position to achieve economic growth and development. However, the country’s higher educational sector which produced top quality graduates in the 1970s; 1980s and 1990s is in shambles. The resultant effect is low ranking in terms of human development. The UNDP’s Human Development Reports (UNDP, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) have consistently shown that Nigeria is still amongst the countries in the lower bottom of human development as compared to emerging economies such as South Africa, Malaysia, Chile and Egypt implying that that Nigeria despite its abundant resources, is far behind in human capital development, and this calls for concerted efforts towards transforming the economy from a mono-product economy to a knowledge-based economy if the vision 20:2020 goals are to be realised (Daggash, 2008). One critical success factor is massive investment in higher education with emphasis on science and technology, with a view of competing in the fast changing global economy. To become a successful knowledge-economy, Nigeria must act, with seriousness, on overhauling the higher education sector, the National Innovation Systems and ICT infrastructure and at the same time building robust and high quality economic and institutional frameworks that would support the emergence of new entrepreneurs, particularly in the SME sub-sector.

Abstract. Due to the accelerated pace with which developments in information and communications technology are taking place, digital society and the digital economy have become real and, in turn, are generating specific challenges. In this environment, digital skills and competencies are essential in order to achieve professional success and the personal development of any individual. Through this paper, we aim to bring to light the basic concepts in the field of digital technology and at the same time, the topical implications on the educational processes. The main objective of the paper is to reflect the impact of digitalization on the education sector both in the European context and in Romania. The importance of the topic under consideration can be justified with many arguments, but we will mainly appeal to the need to meet the objectives proposed by the 2020 Strategy in the field of education, research and development at European level and in Romania. Considering the previous premises, in the paper, we will present information about the concepts of digitalization and digitization and the implications in the field of education. The realization of this paper is based on the study of the specialized literature, of the official documents published by the European Commission offices and of the statistics issued by the specialized bodies.

Academic freedom. Several threats to Indonesian higher education exist, but the greatest threat is to lose academic freedom. When rectors and deans hesitate to champion academic freedom, they risk leading a faculty fearful of innovation and at risk for stagnation in their teaching and research efforts. Scientific inquiry and peer review are of little help to faculty members who have lost academic freedom. Innovations in science and teaching require academic freedom and an associated willingness to take risks in the pursuit of new knowledge. Research and teaching of history, the arts, or science without a possibility to disconfirm conventional knowledge will result in teaching incomplete knowledge and restricted truths. An Indonesian university education would become increasingly narrow. Mission statements of universities would remain unrealized.

During the apartheid era, the fostering of gender inequality in education was through the formal and informal curricula. It reinforced and reproduced the dominant hegemonic views of stereotypical masculinity and femininity (Marshall 2000). Labode (1993) and Msimang (2001) contend that the exclusionary nature of missionary education contributed to the perpetuation of patriarchal ideology. The aims of the colonial and missionary education were to promote domesticity and subservience and thus maintain social order and cohesion amongst the colonist communities. The system was to produce good Christian wives and mothers, according to Labode (1993) and Adeyemi and Adeyinka (2003). The training of “native” would enable them to take up leadership and entrepreneurial roles through training in farming, fighting, blacksmithing, masonry, and hunting. On the other hand, the “native” girls trained to become good wives and home keepers by learning sewing and housekeeping skills and religious studies with a bit of reading and writing. This kind of curriculum symbolically used femininity and masculinity in preparing girls and boys for their gender roles while excluding them from participating meaningfully in prominent societal activities (such as denying women adequate participation in politics, decision-making processes, the economy and nation building) (Murdock 1949; Parsons 1954; Bowlby 1969; Report of the Gender Equity Task Team 1997).

At  the  policy  level,  as  articulated  in  the  excerpts  from  Carr’s  report  above,  the  macro‐narrative  of  education  for  the  purpose  of  and  in  service  to  the  national  economy  is  unambiguous.  The  language  invoked  constructs  knowledge  and  those  involved in its production as a useful and necessary, albeit meaningless, resource— as fuel for feeding the growth of the economic machinery and the implied captains of  industry needed to drive it. The rationale for universities and their contribution to  knowledge is cast in terms of excellence, measurement and competition—a means  of national protection against a ruthless and cut‐throat world that lurks just beyond  imaginary  borders  where  the  Other  awaits,  ready  to  plunder  and  despoil  national  fantasies  of  a  perennially  prosperous  white,  middle‐class,  ‘lucky  country’.  As  for  teaching  and  learning,  the  reform  agenda  for  higher  education  following  the  2008  Bradley review in Australia will be (not surprisingly), subject to ‘an increased focus  on  quality’  that  will  require  institutions  ‘to  demonstrate  that  their  graduates  have  the  capabilities  that  are  required  for  successful  engagement  in  today’s  complex  world’. 22   According  to  the  Australian  Federal  Government’s  2009  Transforming 

Continuity in the teaching of Irish is important between primary and second- level education. The aim is to build on the knowledge and skills developed during the primary years, allowing the students to acquire such competence as will enable them to achieve success and satisfaction in learning Irish. Similarly, continuity will be fostered between the social and environmental programme at primary level and science and technology at second level, and between the broadly based creative and performing arts curriculum at primary level and the arts curriculum at second level. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment will be asked to develop recognised full Junior Certificate courses in drama and dance to assist this continuity. To cater for differences in students' abilities and aptitudes, all subjects are now offered at higher and ordinary levels. Irish, English and Mathematics are also offered at foundation level. Students should be encouraged to follow courses at the highest level indicated by their capacity, thus challenging them to develop their potential and secure their access to courses appropriate to their ability at senior cycle.

Mkapa gave free rein to IMF-World Bank technical assistance to the Tanzanian government. As an outgrowth of this technical assistance, Adams reassess the role played by Gerry Helleiner in preparing evaluation and follow-up reports on the application of the policies suggested by the donor organizations. That report’s recommendations included a reference to the continuity of international assistance selected by the Tanzanian government in coordination with IMF-World Bank. On the basis of that assistance, the donors would continue to fund projects to be carried out in Tanzania. Likewise, the report stressed the importance of integrating personnel educated in Tanzania into the technical advising for the government and of having them share in the policies recommended by the IMF and the World Bank. Within that integration, Adams discussed a group of economists that had received training through seminars given at the University of Dar-es Salaam around the 1980s and had managed to obtain employment at the IMF and to contribute to the design and application of the policies needed for “economic success.” One notable economist in this group was Benno Ndulu, who headed the annual “Public Spending Review Project,” which determined the government budget for this sector.

Nowadays, the universities, as driving forces of innovative economy and as components of modern society, based on knowledge and collaboration, face a number of challenges and difficulties. In order to overcome them and to create/ensure the bases of eScience education and research activities, universities have to change culturally, strategically, and operationally. The paper highlights the need for ICT (Information and Communications Technology) use and its implications for higher education. In addition, the study places the theoretical aspects into a specific context, combining technologies through interfunctionality in order to ensure academic education agility and innovation. This involves the use of knowledge, process management, service oriented architectures, and Cloud solutions, exemplifying on the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest case. The integrated approach is extended using the SharePoint 2010 platform to improve academic management and achieve harmonization of teaching and research and development content and methods with European Union standards. The platform has been implemented and tested within two AES departments and the Master’s Degree Studies in Computer Economics. The results have encouraged the integration of the proposed solution within the institution. The study was based on the authors' competences in the areas addressed and was joined with a rigorous analysis of technology trends and various EU countries (Italy, Germany France, Belgium, Netherlands etc.) universities outputs regarding knowledge economy implications for economic higher education studies.

The unifying ideal in this strategy is that everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education should have equal opportunity to do so. Higher education brings significant benefits to individuals, society and the economy. It enriches the lives of individual students, opening the door to rewarding careers and enhancing physical and mental wellbeing. Equity of opportunity also brings significant public benefit: higher education enables people to be active, committed citizens and is vital to social mobility and economic growth, building the knowledge and skills of the population to succeed in a highly competitive world. A diverse student body fosters a vibrant and cohesive intellectual, social and cultural environment. Considerable progress has been made in widening access and achieving student success in recent years. But there is still a long way to go. The national strategy will help the sector build on its achievements to date, adding fresh impetus to current and future work, delivering faster progress, supporting innovation, helping to identify gaps where more effort should be focused and maximising the impact of the investments made by Government and the sector.

Knowledge is the understanding, experience, thoughts, every individual possess. Knowledge Management (KM) refers to a system of acquiring, creating, applying, storing and disseminating knowledge to every individual to achieve institutional objectives. Knowledge management is essential for ensuring quality in higher education. Educational institution has ample opportunity to manage the intellectual resources available to achieve the set goal. It is important for educational institution to manage knowledge for sustainable higher education. Higher education system being the knowledge economy deals with infinite knowledge, but most of it is not stored or disseminated to all the departments of the institution. This paper throws light on how knowledge management can ensure sustainable higher education system. A good management of knowledge can foster the growth of an institution and give competitive edge in higher education. Every institute should make conscious effort to manage the internal and external knowledge resources. Institution which has sound system to acquire, store, disseminate, and apply knowledge has a good progress when compared to institution which do not have such system. Thus knowledge management is essential for sustainable higher education.

This study seeks to provide an up-to-date analysis of key economic aspects of UK higher education institutions, the size of the sector as a whole, its sources of income, the employment it creates, and the export earnings it attracts. Using economic input-output analysis the study is able to examine the impact of HEI expenditure in generating employment and output throughout the economy. Additionally it examines the skill content of employment generated by the UK HE sector, and compares this with other UK industries. The primary focus of the study is the activity of the higher education institutions, their revenue base, direct employment and the impact of institutional expenditure on the economy through secondary or ‘knock-on’ effects. In examining the overall knock-on effect, the off-campus personal expenditure of overseas students and that of overseas visitors to UK HEIs is also analysed. The personal expenditure of domestic UK students is excluded as while this may be of significance in regional terms, reflecting transfers across regional boundaries, it is arguably not of any specific additional benefit to the UK as a whole, as the monies are likely to have been expended within the UK in any case.

The military reality of frequent and unexpected moves has a direct financial impact on their budget. It is easy to understand that military spouses will have to make difficult choices to complete traditional four-year degrees when families are only assigned to a duty station for 2 1/2 or 3 years. Military spouses often find they lose credits when they move, especially higher level degree courses, and must pay either to repeat the class at their new institution or take additional required courses mandatory for graduation. Additionally, if military spouses choose to remain behind and complete the required coursework, their enrollment switches to out-of-state status in 16 states. As the status changes, their tuition status also shifts to the higher out-of- state tuition rate.

The relationship between students’ overall and stream-specific GPAs with their IELTS sub-scores has been an area of much discussion amongst faculty but this data proves once again that these relationships are not as consistent or straightforward as many language teaching practitioners expect. While there were statistically significant correlations found in this study they are mainly weak relationships. Interestingly, the one non-significant correlation is between the students’ strongest skill, speaking, and GPA. The existence of statistically significant relationships amongst all the other permutations of IELTS, however weak, is aligned with a number of other studies (Elder, 1993; Dooey, 1999; Huong 2001) , but not with the Oman study (Al Malki, 2014) where a stronger correlation of .49 was identified. In relation to IELTS sub-scores, reading, though weak, had the highest correlation to GPA mirroring Cotton and Conrow’s (1998) and Oliver, Vanderford and Grote’s (2012) previous findings. Given the reading intensive nature of higher education, this is not unexpected. Finally, a major difference between this study and the earlier study using UAE preparatory program graduates (Garinger & Schoepp, 2013) is that there were statistically significant correlations for these direct entry students, but not for the preparatory graduates examined previously. It may be that the lower IELTS scores of the preparatory students eliminates any possible correlations because they have yet to achieve a meaningful English proficiency threshold for academic success.

This study aimed to understand how the “knowledge-economy agenda” is translated into the national higher education regulation with regard to the integration of Roma in the higher education system of Slovakia. The conceptual framework pointed to the importance of knowledge and human capital and the chapter about Slovakia and its education system showed the problematic situation of Roma in the Slovak education system. The data confirmed that situation and clearly showed that the national government does not seem to have a lot of interest in changing it. This lack of political will is due to different factors, e.g. the belief system of some politicians that Roma are less valuable than Slovaks. Roma are not yet seen as human capital of Slovakia although they become more and more important. According to the results of Marcincin and Marcincinová (2009) Roma should be integrated to increase the economic growth of Slovakia. They use the argument that educated citizens will more likely be able to participate in the labour market, which is one of the main arguments of the human capital theory.

Cloud computing has become widely recognized as a means of improving productivity and expanding col- laboration in education, while alleviating the financial burdens imposed by server-based infrastructures. Cloud computing refers to expandable, on-demand services and tools that are served to the user via the Internet from specialized data centers and do not live on a user’s device or physical site.

Wealth management firms are also interested in understanding the risk appetite of their clients and the nature of their investment portfolio - both critical in suggesting a [r]

Statutory programmes such as State funded out-of- school Youthreach and VTOS programmes; European Commission Community Initiatives particularly Employment NOW, YOUTHSTART, INTEGRA and HO[r]