Returning after taking a break in online distance higher education: from intention to effective re-enrollment

One of online distance learning’s positive attributes is its flexibility. However, the possibility of engaging in periods of non-enrollment (breaks) usually ends in students dropping out. In this paper, the intention to continue of those students who have not enrolled in the second semester is analyzed, adopting a long-term program perspective. This continuance intention is compared with the subsequent restart (or dropping out) in the third semester. This analysis has confirmed that the models of continuance intention and effective re-enrollment are essentially different. Continuance intention is more rational, even logical, and is mainly based on the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the educational experience (difficulty of the learning materials or perception of the learning system). Effective re-enrollment is more practical or pragmatic, with more importance given to the effects of student dimension variables, for example, motivations for studying, previous university experience, or environmental variables, such as having a job.     

Students with disabilities in higher education: a biographical-narrative approach to the role of lecturers

This article presents an analysis of how lecturers respond to students with disabilities, the initial question being: do lecturers aid or hinder students? Findings pertain to a broader research project being developed by a multidisciplinary team employing a non-usual research methodology in higher education (HE) research and students with disabilities: biographical-narrative methodology. The general aim is to analyse – by listening to the students themselves – barriers and support identified as affecting access, academic performance and overall perception of the HE experience. The present paper analyses lecturer-centred data to focus specifically on one of the objectives of our research project: the role that lecturers play in the inclusive education of students with disabilities. Unlike other international research, this article explores the barriers and support differentiating between five fields of knowledge: health sciences, experimental sciences, social sciences (law and education), engineering and technology and humanities. Findings are organized in four topic areas: lecturer attitudes, practices in the classroom, curricular adaptations and faculty training. Key findings are discussed in the conclusions section, together with a discussion of contributions made by earlier studies.     

Heterogeneous MNC subsidiaries and technological spillovers: Explaining positive and negative effects in India

One of the most intriguing aspects of the recent empirical literature on FDI-related spillover effects is the increasing identification of mixed results. A few studies, particularly in advanced countries have found positive effects; however, a more common scenario in recent studies is the prevalence of insignificant or even negative effects. This is despite the fact that theory predicts substantial positive effects in association with a supposed technological superiority of MNCs relative to domestic firms, particularly in the context of less advanced countries. In this paper, by distinguishing subsidiaries according to their orientation to carry out creative vs. exploitation activities in the host economy, we are able to distinguish situations with positive and negative spillover effects, and we explain why they may be emerging. More specifically, we find that only subsidiaries that are oriented to technologically creative activities have a significantly positive effect in India. In contrast, subsidiaries oriented mostly to technologically exploitative activities generate negative effects in some circumstances. The implications for theory and policy are discussed.     

The local/global integration of MNC subsidiaries and their technological behaviour: Argentina in the late 1990s

A growing number of studies suggest that only innovative subsidiaries generate positive technological effects in host countries. In this context, this paper explores the variability in the intensity of innovative activity across MNC subsidiaries within a late-industrialising host economy in connection with two factors: the subsidiaries’ functional integration within (a) their global corporations and (b) their host economy. We found that the more innovative subsidiaries were those that enjoy integration to both the local economy and their global corporation. However, they represented a small proportion of all subsidiaries, most of which were disconnected from both their global corporation and the local economy. We also found that, in common with some findings in advanced country contexts, but in contrast to common expectations in industrialising economies, subsidiaries that were strongly integrated into their parent corporations undertook more, not less, intensive innovative activity than those that were well integrated into the host economy.     

Inclusive university settings? An analysis from the perspective of students with disabilities / ¿Contextos universitarios inclusivos? Un análisis desde la voz del alumnado con discapacidad

Abstract

This article presents the partial results of a study that analysed the barriers and means of support that students with disabilities find in classrooms and other university settings (offices, departments, libraries, etc.), using the biographical narrative method. The results of this article focus exclusively on the obstacles and means of support identified by humanities students, with the information organized in relation to the institution in general, infrastructures and architectural barriers, lecturers and their teaching methods, fellow students and proposals for improving universities and classrooms. Finally, the conclusion discusses the main findings regarding how the university facilitates or hinders the participants’ learning processes in this study. From this perspective, and taking the social model of disability as a reference, it is concluded that in order to become inclusive, the university must commit to adopting proactive measures that eliminate the barriers preventing these students from learning and from participating fully.     

Voices from Spanish students with disabilities: willpower and effort to survive university

This article analyses the university experiences of 44 students with disabilities. The voices of Spanish students describe the reasons that lead them to choose a given university degree, their transition in the university, the perception they have of themselves as students and how they evaluate their academic results. This study was done with the biographical-narrative methodology using several different data collection techniques, such as narrative interviews, lifelines and photographs. Data analysis was based on an inductive coding system. The results of this study have enabled us to conclude that most of the students chose their degree course because they had a vocation for it, although their disability also influenced their decision. Some students had such a hard time during their first year that they had to change their course of studies. They thought they had to make a stronger effort than the rest of their fellow students, defined themselves as fighters and survivors, and valued this willpower as their main personal asset, above the outcome achieved.     

‘We aren’t heroes,we’re survivors’: higher education as an opportunity for students with disabilities to reinvent an identity

The partial results of ongoing research in the ‘University Barriers and Aids Identified by Students with Disabilities’ Project are presented. This four-year study (2011–2014) was carried out by a University of Seville research team with lecturers from a variety of fields and areas of knowledge (Educational Sciences, Economics, Health Sciences and Experimental Sciences). The general aim was to discover, from listening to the students themselves, barriers and aids they identified as affecting access, academic performance and overall perception of their higher education experience. The biographical narrative method, which allows the participants to talk freely about themselves without silencing their subjectivity, was used. This information was acquired by data collection techniques, such as in-depth interviews, observations, photographs and interviews with key persons in the life of each student. A structural analysis was implemented using an inductive system of categories and codes included in the MaxODA10 data analysis program. This study revealed the most personal and private feelings of the participants as they discussed such things as their perception as students, identification of disabilities or their strategies for facing ‘adversities’. The discourse revealed higher education as a privileged scenario in which they are socially included and able to reinvent an identity that may have deteriorated during other stages of their education.     

What if we could Imagine an Ideal University? Narratives by Students with Disabilities

This article presents the results of a project entitled, ‘Analysis of University Barriers and Aids Identified by Students with Disabilities’, carried out in a Spanish University. The study used the biographical–narrative methodology, which emphasises the importance of people talking about themselves without silencing their subjectivity. Different types of data collection instruments, such as biographic interview, timelines and photography, were employed to acquire this information. The Results section presents proposals made by students with disabilities which could contribute to developing a more inclusive university. Some of their suggestions were that students with disabilities should be better informed and oriented, academic staff should be better trained to favour their educational inclusion, the settings and infrastructures should be accessible, and universities should be prepared to deal with people with disabilities. The conclusions discuss the main findings of the analysis, comparing them with other previous studies, and making some proposals that help universities progress towards inclusive education.     

Higher education inclusivity: when the disability enriches the university

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the perspectives of faculty members on disability in higher education. Their testimonies give value to the attitudes and qualities of university students with disabilities and show how they influence their professional and personal development. We carried out a qualitative study, through interviews with 119 faculty members of different fields from 10 Spanish universities, who were nominated by students with disabilities for developing inclusive pedagogy. We conducted a progressive analysis of the data using a system of categories and codes. The results describe the motivations that drove the participants to respond to the needs of students with disabilities, the personal and professional impact posed by the challenge of adjusting the teaching and learning processes, and the perceptions of the faculty members toward the contributions of these students to the university. In the conclusions section, we delve into the need of universities to embrace inclusivity. The data provided by this study reveal that disability can be a valuable asset in a university context that dissociates from the deficit lens and acknowledges that all students are important and able to learn when the attitudes and conditions are appropriate.