Diversifying Academic and Professional Identities in Higher Education: Some management challenges

This paper draws on an international study of the management challenges arising from diversifying academic and professional identities in higher education. These challenges include, for instance, the introduction of practice-based disciplines with different traditions such as health and social care, the changing aspirations and expectations of younger generations of staff, a diffusion of management responsibilities and structures, and imperatives for a more holistic approach to the “employment package”, including new forms of recognition and reward. It is suggested that while academic and professional identities have become increasingly dynamic and multi-faceted, change is occurring at different rates in different contexts. A model is offered, therefore, that relates approaches to “people management” to different organisational environments, against the general background of increasing resource constraint arising from the global economic downturn.

     

The computer as a mediating influence in the development of pupils’ understanding of variable

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Within a Logo environment, pupils routinely use the notion of variable. However, the process by which they come to develop understandings is more...     

“I Fell into Librarianship”: Experiences of Post-Soviet Librarians at the National Academic Library in Astana,Kazakhstan

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the attitudes of librarians in post-Soviet Kazakhstan regarding their roles at the new National Academic Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NAL). Using ethnographic observation, interviews, and surveys of library staff (n = 24), we find that Kazakhstani librarians either sensed a “calling” to librarianship or “fell into” library careers given life circumstances, and value their library for its contribution to cultural preservation and digital access on a national scale. This pilot project presents NAL to an international community, sharing the voices of Russian- and Kazakh-speaking librarians to highlight the role of libraries in the development of the post-Soviet nation.     

Documentation for institutional repositories

The documentation of seven academic institutional repositories (IRs) was compared and contrasted. This was followed by semi‐structured interviews with six practitioners experienced in the set‐up, management and maintenance of IRs, including representatives of three JISC FAIR projects. The aim was to identify the requirements of policy documentation provided by IRs. Although many issues were found to be handled differently, several common factors emerged. These included the importance of developing documentation in collaboration with academics, departments and senior management. Policies should be formulated only when the aims of the IR have been clearly defined and the documentation itself should be concise and understandable, with the rights and responsibilities of stakeholders clearly presented.     

The Python Project: A Unique Model for Extending Research Opportunities to Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate science education curricula are traditionally composed of didactic instruction with a small number of laboratory courses that provide introductory training in research techniques. Research on learning methodologies suggests this model is relatively ineffective, whereas participation in independent research projects promotes enhanced knowledge acquisition and improves retention of students in science. However, availability of faculty mentors and limited departmental budgets prevent the majority of students from participating in research. A need therefore exists for this important component in undergraduate education in both small and large university settings. A course was designed to provide students with the opportunity to engage in a research project in a classroom setting. Importantly, the course collaborates with a sponsor''s laboratory, producing a symbiotic relationship between the classroom and the laboratory and an evolving course curriculum. Students conduct a novel gene expression study, with their collective data being relevant to the ongoing research project in the sponsor''s lab. The success of this course was assessed based on the quality of the data produced by the students, student perception data, student learning gains, and on whether the course promoted interest in and preparation for careers in science. In this paper, we describe the strategies and outcomes of this course, which represents a model for efficiently providing research opportunities to undergraduates.     

Trade of Trepang: A Story of Cultural Exchange

<正>The art exhibition "Trepang: China & the Story of Macassan—Aboriginal Trade" was recently concluded at the Capital Museum of China in Beijing, as an event ce...