Effects of performance management systems–strategy alignment on lecturers' engagement with knowledge transfer: A perspective from Spain

Growing competition among higher education institutions (HEIs) explains their increasing interest in reinforcing strategies by incorporating knowledge transfer (KT) objectives into their strategic plans. However, this strategic formulation must be aligned with the implementation of performance management systems (PMSs) to properly achieve KT objectives. Thus, the aim of this paper is to examine whether aligning PMSs with KT strategic objectives improves KT performance while misalignment worsens it. To that end, PMSs are measured with respect to planning; cybernetic control; policies and procedures and reward and compensation elements. KT is specified as R&D contracts, extended patents, patents and licences. With a sample of 3812 Spanish university lecturers, we test the theoretical positive and negative effects of PMS–KT strategy alignment and misalignment on KT performance respectively. The results show not only that this alignment is effective for KT strategy implementation but also that misalignment has unintended effects on the achievement of long-term KT objectives. Therefore, lecturers' behaviour is influenced by how closely KT strategy and PMSs are aligned. The findings are useful for managers and academics to develop PMSs that effectively contribute to the achievement of universities' strategic goals.     

A linear optimization approach to the combined production planning model

Two fundamental processes usually arise in the production planning of many industries. The first one consists of deciding how many final products of each type have to be produced in each period of a planning horizon, the well-known lot sizing problem. The other process consists of cutting raw materials in stock in order to produce smaller parts used in the assembly of final products, the well-studied cutting stock problem. In this paper the decision variables of these two problems are dependent of each other in order to obtain a global optimum solution. Setups that are typically present in lot sizing problems are relaxed together with integer frequencies of cutting patterns in the cutting problem. Therefore, a large scale linear optimizations problem arises, which is exactly solved by a column generated technique. It is worth noting that this new combined problem still takes the trade-off between storage costs (for final products and the parts) and trim losses (in the cutting process). We present some sets of computational tests, analyzed over three different scenarios. These results show that, by combining the problems and using an exact method, it is possible to obtain significant gains when compared to the usual industrial practice, which solve them in sequence.     

Skills development for the knowledge economy in Asia: Some conclusions from the OECD experience

The development of a knowledge-based economy relies greatly on developing the skills and education needed for inclusive and sustainable development so that growth will reach all parts of the society. Addressing skills development for all is challenging for all OECD countries; Asian economies are working towards developing integrated pathways of skills and employment. This paper addresses some key aspects of skills development in OECD countries through a case study of small and medium enterprises as a key sector in both OECD and Asian economies. It extracts some lessons from this analysis that apply to the unique nature of skills development in Asia.     

Women principals in South Africa: gender,mothering and leadership

This paper draws on qualitative data from a mixed‐method study that analysed women's access to the principal role and their leadership experiences. The paper draws on a subset of interviews with 54 female head teachers in the Gauteng and North West provinces of South Africa. Since a mothering style of leadership was self‐reported by over half of the participants in our study, this paper aims to explore the diverse ways in which motherhood was constructed and the outcomes of these constructions on women.     

Outcasts on the inside: academics reinventing themselves online

Recent developments in digital scholarship point out that academic practices supported by technologies may not only be transformed through the obvious process of digitization, but also renovated through distributed knowledge networks that digital technologies enable, and the practices of openness that such networks develop. Yet, this apparent freedom for individuals to re-invent the logic of academic practice comes at a price, as it tends to clash with the conventions of a rather conservative academic world. In other words, it may still take some time until academia and the participatory web can fully identify themselves with one another as spaces of ‘public intellectualism’, scholarly debate and engagement. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this research explores how academic researchers engaged in digital scholarship practices perceive the effects of their activity on their professional identity. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is used as a theoretical construct and method to capture and understand the professional trajectories of the research participants and the significance of their digital practices on their perceived academic identity. The research suggests that academics engaged in digital practices experience a disjointed sense of identity. The findings presented in this article illustrate how experiences with and on the participatory web inform a new habitus which is at odds with a habitus that is traditionally expected in academia.     

Using conceptual questions to promote motivation and learning in physics lectures

In the last years, science courses in higher education (HE) have been facing some problems, namely the lack of students’ motivation, the number of students’ failures and drop outs, particular in physics courses. The most probable reason, which has been mentioned in current science education research in HE, is that the level of interaction between teachers and learners in formal instructional settings is very low. In this paper, we describe changes that were introduced in lectures towards the promotion of active learning and analyse its effects in the classroom environment. The introduction of conceptual questions and peer instruction seems to motivate students in the class and help them engage in the learning process. These strategies have been used in the first year of an introductory physics course for engineering students in two different Portuguese HE institutions. The data were collected through questionnaires and student interviews.     

Social Support,Psychological Well-being,and Health Among the Elderly

This article is based on the influence that participation in the Third Age University Program has on the health and well-being of the elderly and with the mediation of social support. The data were obtained from a longitudinal study of 147 elderly students of the Third Age University of Seville (Spain). The hypothesis was that the elders who belong to the program would have, as a consequence of their participation in it, better health, well-being, and social support. The results revealed the influence that social support exercises on well-being and, as a result, upon health.     

Revisiting Quality Television: Audience Perceptions

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes what the audience understands by the concept of quality as applied to television channels. This research also examines the influence of the perceived quality of the different programs broadcasted by a channel on the perceived quality of the whole channel. The empirical part is based on the answers provided by a sample of 405 respondents in Spain. The factors found to be associated with the idea of quality television by the audience are somewhat different depending on the method used to assess it, which points to the existence of social desirability bias when asking directly about it. Notwithstanding these differences, entertainment is the characteristic that the audience most consistently associates with the concept of quality in television channels. The results also show that news programs, movies and magazines, and talk shows are the genres with a greatest influence on the assessment of the quality of a television channel by the audience.     

How are the Concepts and Theories of Acid–Base Reactions Presented? Chemistry in Textbooks and as Presented by Teachers

This paper investigates the views of science and scientific activity that can be found in chemistry textbooks and heard from teachers when acid–base reactions are introduced to grade 12 and university chemistry students. First, the main macroscopic and microscopic conceptual models are developed. Second, we attempt to show how the existence of views of science in textbooks and of chemistry teachers contributes to an impoverished image of chemistry. A varied design has been elaborated to analyse some epistemological deficiencies in teaching acid–base reactions. Textbooks have been analysed and teachers have been interviewed. The results obtained show that the teaching process does not emphasize the macroscopic presentation of acids and bases. Macroscopic and microscopic conceptual models involved in the explanation of acid–base processes are mixed in textbooks and by teachers. Furthermore, the non‐problematic introduction of concepts, such as the hydrolysis concept, and the linear, cumulative view of acid–base theories (Arrhenius and Brönsted) were detected.