The European university landscape: A micro characterization based on evidence from the Aquameth project

This paper provides a new and systematic characterization of 488 universities, from 11 European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and UK. Using micro indicators built on the integrated Aquameth database, we characterize the European university landscape according to the following dimensions: history/foundation of university, dynamics of growth, specialization pattern, subject mix, funding composition, offer profile and productivity.     

When ‘national innovation system’ meet ‘varieties of capitalism’ arguments on labour qualifications: On the skill types and scientific knowledge needed for radical and incremental product innovations

The literatures on ‘varieties of capitalism’ (VoC) and ‘national innovation systems’ (NIS) propose very similar arguments about how firms require different types of labour qualifications to pursue strategies of radical product innovation (RPI), incremental product innovation (IPI), and product imitation (PI) respectively. Despite their similar lines of reasoning, however, the VoC scholars are concerned with the skill profiles of a firm's entire workforce, whereas the NIS proponents focus on the knowledge base of scientists. Given that both literatures have developed without explicitly taking the arguments of the neighbouring discipline into account, it is thus unclear whether they explain the same, or different, phenomena. Furthermore, both literatures propose firm level arguments but test them on the basis of macro- rather than micro-level indicators. This paper therefore asks: first, does micro-level evidence support the VoC and NIS arguments that particular types of employee skills and knowledge backgrounds of scientists are needed for different competitive strategies? And, if so, do RPI, IPI, and PI firms need to employ scientists in combination with a workforce having the respective qualifications, or is it sufficient if scientists or employees alone are adequately qualified. Quantitative analyses indicate that a particular mix of scientific knowledge combined with employee skills facilitate RPI, IPI, and PI strategies. The article thus concludes that - despite their similar reasoning - the VoC and the NIS literatures indeed describe different phenomena, without being aware of the synergies created whenever adequate employee and scientific qualifications are hired together.     

On the relation between the degree of internationalization of cited and citing publications: A field level analysis,including and excluding self-citations

The growing complexity of scientific challenges demands increasingly intense research collaboration, both domestic and international. The resulting trend affects not only the modes of producing new knowledge, but also the way it is disseminated within scientific communities. This paper analyses the relationship between the “degree of internationalization” of a country’s scientific production and that of the relevant citing publications. The empirical analysis is based on 2010-2012 Italian publications. Findings show: i) the probability of being cited increases with the degree of internationalization of the research team; ii) totally domestic research teams tend to cite to a greater extent totally domestic publications; iii) vice versa, publications resulting from international collaborations tend to be more cited by totally foreign publications rather than by publications including domestic authors. These results emerge both at overall and at discipline level. Findings might inform research policies geared towards internationalization.     

Understanding Bereavement in a Christian University: A Qualitative Exploration

This phenomenological study, based on ecological systems theory, examined the college student bereavement experience in a Christian university. Undergraduate students (N = 127) from a small Christian university provided answers to open‐ended questions about their experiences regarding college following a death loss. Results indicate that students are generally successful in adapting to bereavement and prefer an environment open to discussing death and asking difficult religious questions. Implications for counselors are provided.     

Supporting resilience in early years classrooms: the role of the teacher

It is an accepted fact that resilience is a multifaceted phenomenon which has been proven to affect the learning, growth and development of individuals. A child’s formative years are a time when resilience needs to be promoted so they can cope with the challenges of life. This paper reports some of the findings of an Australian Research Council-funded longitudinal study which investigated resilience in the context of significant transitions in the lives of children and young adults. This study explored the conditions and characteristics of resilience, looking at the educational, health, work-related or leisure interventions that support and foster resilience. Outlined in this paper are findings from the early years cohort of the study involving teachers’ pedagogy informing the practical approaches and strategies that promote and protect resilience in young children. It is argued that teachers working with young children need to be mindful of using enabling strategies in which their practice works purposively with the school environment and the building of relationships.     

Issues in Component Computing: A Synthetic Review

This paper provides a review of the rhetoric behind the component movement in educational software, and a critical analysis and synthesis of issues underlying the movement. We draw on case studies of several significant recent component projects in order to assess claims and to uncover and examine issues that are less often considered. While our empirical base cannot definitively answer all the questions raised, we hope to bring some clarity and some empirically based judgments to bear on how a promising technological innovation can best serve educational ends. Our study led to a focus on three critical issues: (1) the nature of the environment in which components are configured and used; (2) the extent of modifiability that is necessary for effective re-use of components; (3) how the work of designing components and component configurations is distributed among people with different competencies.     

Development as education for social justice

Asia Pacific Education Review - The correlation between education and development, with time, went through many changes along with the changes of perspectives. Since both of these concepts...