Moving beyond bureaucratic grey zones. Managing sexual harassment in Indian higher education

Higher Education - In the aftermath of the global #Metoo-movement, sexual harassment (SH) and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) have emerged at the forefront of public debate and research....     

User community vs. producer innovation development efficiency: A first empirical study

In this paper we report upon a first empirical exploration of the relative efficiency of innovation development by product users vs. product producers. In a study of over 50 years of product innovation in the whitewater kayaking field, we find users in aggregate were approximately 3× more efficient at developing important kayaking product innovations than were producers in aggregate. We speculate that this result is driven by what we term “efficiencies of scope” in problem-solving. These can favor an aggregation of many user innovators, each spending a little, over fewer producer innovators benefitting from higher economies of scale in product development. We also note that the present study explores only one initial point on what is likely to be a complex efficiency landscape.     

Evaluating the impact of an academic teacher development program: practical realities of an evidence-based study

This study aimed to assess the impact of an entire academic teacher development programme at a Midwestern masters comprehensive university in the United States over a period of five years by examining changes in teaching and student outcomes of nine randomly selected programme participants. Researchers analysed syllabi, course evaluations, grade distributions, programme activity reports, interviews and vita, and concluded that the centre’s impact was greatest on tenure-track faculty who struggled with their teaching. Far more useful to future improvement, however, were the insights gained from reflection on study methods, the researchers’ emotional responses to their findings, their struggle to make sense of the data and grappling with the definition of ‘impact’. In this paper, the researchers share useful lessons learned and illustrate the difficulties inherent in evaluating academic development programmes, with a view to qualifying recommendations currently prevailing in the literature.     

RPL for accreditation in higher education – As a process of mutual understanding or merely lifeworld colonisation?

This article focuses on a process of recognition of prior learning (RPL) in higher education. It is based on experiences from a project carried out in collaboration between the University of Lund, Linköping University and two trade unions in Sweden. The aim of the project was to find ways of recognising prior learning for accreditation of course credits at university level. In the project and its analysis, Habermas’ theory of communicative action was used as theoretical underpinning. During the project we carried out a thematic analysis based on interviews. The analysis suggested that the participants had a mystified view of higher education that RPL must be considered a learning process and that the participants’ prior learning can be characterised as practical wisdom. These themes guided the development of the project. In a retrospective analysis, language proficiency seemed to play a significant role for the outcome of the process. The conclusion suggests that a more fair and valid assessment of the participant’s prior learning could be accomplished by focusing on RPL as a process of mutual understanding. However, a critical appraisal of the process suggests that RPL for accreditation is problematic and could be seen as a colonisation of the lifeworld.     

Effects of strategy use on children's motor performance in a continuous timing task

The purposes of this study were to associate age-related performance deficits in children with the use of recall strategies and to determine whether children who performed poorly in cycling would benefit from learning a recall strategy. In Experiment 1, 18 younger children (ages 5-7years) and 18 older children (ages 8-10 years) were asked to recall selected pedaling cadences. The majority of the older children used strategies and performed with less error than the younger children. In Experiment 2, children with a high number of errors in Experiment 1 were assigned to an experimental or a control group. The children in the experimental group were taught to use a specific recall strategy. The results showed that children who received the instruction in strategy use improved their performance.     

Future Sex Educator Perceptions of Rural Versus Urban Instruction: A Case for Community-Centered Sexual Health Education

Instructors of sexual health courses in rural areas face unique challenges as they are often forced to use school-based prevention curricula field-tested in urban areas. Research has yet to consider what future sex educators’ regional expectations are for their profession and how those expectations might have an impact on the classroom. Drawing from interviews with 26 sex-educators-in-training, we find that future educators tended to expect that rural communities would be less diverse, more conservative, and less informed about sexual health matters, even though research demonstrates that today's rural communities inconsistently align with those perceptions.     

Comparison of 2D video and electrogoniometry measurements of knee flexion angle during a countermovement jump and landing task

Quantifying countermovement jump (CMJ) and landing knee flexion angle is important for performance and injury risk assessment. The purpose of the study was to compare electrogoniometer (El-Gon)- and video-derived CMJ and landing knee flexion angle. Twenty-two adults performed three CMJs while knee flexion angle was simultaneously assessed using an El-Gon and video. The average systematic offset (RMSE) of the El-Gon-derived knee flexion angle throughout the entire movement was 7.03°?±?2.69°. Excellent reliability was demonstrated by the El-Gon (ICCavg?=?0.92). Countermovement knee flexion angle, maximum landing knee flexion angle and flexion angle at maximum vertical ground reaction force were 12.0°, 10.9°, and 5.7° higher, respectively, when assessed using El-Gon (p?<?0.001), compared to video. Errors between instruments are likely due to El-Gon crosstalk, misalignment and/or axis determination. The El-Gon is a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to video analysis for the assessment of knee flexion angle if the error is accounted for and the sensor is precisely attached.     

Teachers' Experiences of Unfair Grading

Grading is often perceived as one of a teacher's most difficult tasks. Despite most teachers endeavoring to grade their students as objectively as possible, many students feel that they are subject to unfair grading. The aim of this study is to describe what it is about a teacher's grading that contributes to the perception of unfairness. This study used the critical incident technique, with 411 practicing teachers in Sweden contributing their own experiences of being assessed in a school context. The main findings from qualitative data analysis indicate that when teachers fail to follow guidelines of the current grading system, use undependable information, allow themselves to be influenced by irrelevant factors, or are ambiguous in their communication, the pupils perceived the grading process as unfair. The findings are analyzed and discussed in relation to a theoretical model of teachers' grading, validity and reliability, and three ethical principles.