Embodied knowledge and sectoral linkages: An input-output approach to the interaction of high- and low-tech industries

This paper considers the measurement of the direct and indirect flows of knowledge between different technology-intensive industries in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. Using the OECD Input-Output database and the ANBERD database, we show that product-embodied knowledge accounts for about half of total technology use, on average, but with a substantial variation between industries. We then develop a general two-sector linkage measure that allows us to examine the interaction between predominantly technology producing industries (generally high-tech) and predominantly technology using industries (generally low-tech). This study shows that the medium-high and medium-low tech industries, identified as specialized-supplier and scale-intensive industries, including knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), are essential for the production, diffusion and use of technology, and hence for economic growth.     

Community,Self and the Other: Learning Processes in Norwegian Folk High Schools

The Norwegian folk high schools have a legally defined role in the national educational system as a value-based pedagogical alternative without grades, exams or pre-defined curriculums. The roots of the schools can be traced to the theologian N.F.S. Grundtvig and his ideals of a learning that develops not just the mind but the whole student. The empirical study of this article seeks to explore the learning processes of contemporary Norwegian folk high schools. A theoretical development of Etienne Wenger’s social learning theory is applied to analyze 60 student texts. The article describes 3 overarching themes of learning: community as a context where self is developed through identity work and the other is the focus.     

The Place and Conditions for Democratic Education in Interreligious Encounters

This paper explores the spatial and environmental conditions for democratic education in an interreligious project. The interreligious project provides a case for applying Dewey's concepts of experience and environment. Four kinds of experiences are presented: invited places-being a guest, common meeting points-shaping an interreligious “we”, nomadic places-sharing everyday life and school as a secular public place-acting in public. It is concluded that educational experience is shaped by acting in a variety of environments. However, dimensions of power are also present in the context of civil life and should be taken into consideration.     

Specific remedy for specific problem: measuring service quality in South African higher education

This study commences a process of developing a scale for the measurement of service quality in higher education in South Africa and also examines the relationship between the measures of service quality on the one hand and some other related variables such as intention to leave the university, trust in management of the university and the overall satisfaction with the university. Using structured questionnaires, survey data was collected from students (n = 391) in two South African universities. Findings indicate that the 52-item measure of service quality in higher education is a multidimensional construct loading on 13 factors with a high reliability coefficient (0.93) and some construct validity. Significant relationships were also found between service quality in HE and other study variables—intention to leave university, trust in management of the university and overall satisfaction with the university. Some further research directions were suggested and policy implications of findings discussed.     

Investigating teachers' educational beliefs in Chinese primary schools: socioeconomic and geographical perspectives

This empirical study explores the nature of and profiles in primary teachers' educational beliefs in the Chinese educational settings. A survey of 820 primary school teachers was conducted using a questionnaire focusing on teachers' traditional and constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning. Analysis of variance and cluster analysis were applied. Results show that gender and subject domain affect traditional educational beliefs. Significant differences appear considering economic and geographical context variables. Cluster analysis helps to delineate four teacher belief profiles: a constructivist profile, a mixed constructivist/traditional profile, a traditional profile, and a mixed low constructivist/traditional profile. Inter-relation between teacher belief profiles and school categories are discussed.     

Long-run effects of public-private research joint ventures: The case of the Danish Innovation Consortia support scheme

Subsidized research joint ventures (RJVs) between public research institutions and industry have become increasingly popular in Europe and the US. We study the long-run effects of such a support scheme that has been maintained by the Danish government since 1995. To cope with identification problems we apply nearest neighbor matching and conditional difference-in-difference estimation methods. Our main findings are that (i) program participation effects are instant for annual patent applications and last for three years, (ii) employment effects materialize first after one year and (iii) there are no statistically significant effects on value added or labor productivity. We further show that these overall results are primarily driven by firms that were patent active prior to joining the RJV and that there are no statistically significant effects for large firms. The insignificant results we document for large firms coupled with the fact that these type of firms are over-represented in many support programs, including the one considered here, leads us to suggest a rethinking of support policies that often aim at large firms.     

Do academic developers’ conceptions support an integrated academic practice? A comparative case study from Hong Kong and Singapore

ABSTRACT

Academic development (AD) is increasingly being oriented towards an integrated approach to academic practice (AP), given arguments for the importance of integrating research, learning, and teaching. Given the complex and evolving character of AD as a profession, it is important to understand the conceptions of AD held by academic developers, who can play a key role in supporting conditions for such integration. This comparative case study explores conceptions of AD and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) held by academic developers at two universities in Hong Kong and Singapore, and examines the extent to which these conceptions support an integrated AP. The findings show that not all conceptions recognise the importance of integration; moreover, though in both cases aspects of integration come to the fore, there are gaps that militate against a fuller understanding of integrating teaching and research. The study has implications for future AD practice and raises questions about using SoTL as a means of fostering teaching and research integration.     

From Ends to Causes (and Back Again) by Metaphor: The Paradox of Natural Selection

Natural selection is one of the most famous metaphors in the history of science. Charles Darwin used the metaphor and the underlying analogy to frame his ideas about evolution and its main driving mechanism into a full-fledged theory. Because the metaphor turned out to be such a powerful epistemic tool, Darwin naturally assumed that he could also employ it as an educational tool to inform his contemporaries about his findings. Moreover, by using the metaphor Darwin was able to bring his theory in accordance with both the dominant philosophy of science in his time and the respected tradition of natural theology. However, as he introduced his theory of evolution by natural selection in On the origin of species in 1859, the metaphor also turned out to have a serious downside. Because of its intentional overtones, his contemporaries systematically misunderstood his metaphor not as a natural mechanism causing evolution to occur but as an agent who works towards particular ends. The difference in success between natural selection as an epistemic tool and its failure as an educational tool is labelled as a paradox. We explain the paradox from a cognitive perspective and discuss the implications for teaching evolution.     

Children's early numeracy in Finland and Iran

This research investigates similarities and differences in young children's early numeracy skills related to age, nationality and gender. The participants were five- to seven-year-old children from Finland and Iran. Early numeracy was investigated by using tasks measuring number-related relational skills (e.g. comparison, one-to-one correspondence) and counting skills (e.g. enumeration, number-word sequence skills). A hybrid multigroup, multiple-indicator-multiple-cause (MIMIC) approach to factorial invariance and latent mean differences between groups was used. The results showed that Finnish children had better scores in relational and counting tasks than did children in Iran. There was a gender difference in relational skills favouring girls in both countries. Younger children had weaker early numeracy skills than the older children in both countries. Comparing age groups in both countries shows a bigger difference in counting skills between young Iranian and Finnish children than between older children in both countries. The results are discussed in the context of early mathematics learning and gender equity in schooling.