The returns to UK degrees for foreign‐educated graduates

Exploiting information on foreign qualifications for the first time, we estimate the returns to obtaining UK higher degrees for foreign graduates who migrated to the UK in their 20s. Accounting for direct measures of foreign and UK qualifications and country‐of‐origin fixed effects, we find substantial returns to obtaining UK (higher) degrees on hourly wages and occupational attainment for both genders, working mainly through occupational attainment. However, there is strong evidence that the effect of the high returns is driven by immigrants from countries where English is not a dominant language. Moreover, returns to UK (higher) degrees are more pronounced for graduates from low‐HDI/GDP countries, suggesting an important role for the incompatibility of education and skills between home and destination countries. We further examine the robustness of our results by using a partial identification method, and our findings suggest that the extent of selection on unobservables required to eliminate a positive treatment effect is too large to be plausible, especially for men. Our study extends previous research with the first evidence from the UK, by showing large positive effects of post‐migration investments in human capital acquisition on labour market outcomes. Obtaining UK higher degrees appears to reduce the informational uncertainty associated with foreign credentials, facilitate cultural and economic assimilation, and boost economic opportunities for foreign graduates, especially for those developing/poor country immigrants.     

Group characteristics and profiles of shared regulation in collaborative environments involving asynchronous communication / Características y perfiles grupales de regulación compartida en entornos colaborativos de comunicación asíncrona

The processes of socially shared regulation in small groups of students who perform collaborative tasks through forums involving asynchronous communication are explored in this article. The specific aim of the study is to identify profiles of shared regulation in groups of students who have different performance levels on the task, depending on the regulatory activities exercised by the groups and their distribution over time. For that purpose, a case study was developed; six small groups of university students collaboratively performed a complex task (for 29 days) in a virtual environment based on asynchronous discussion forums. The results revealed three different profiles: (i) a profile with stable and high regulation; (ii) a profile with partially stable and medium regulation; and (iii) a profile with unstable and low regulation. The first two profiles were observed in the groups with high performance levels on the task, while the third profile was observed in the low-performing groups. Therefore, some recommendations are suggested to support processes of shared regulation in asynchronous collaborative learning situations.     

A comparison of extrinsic clustering evaluation metrics based on formal constraints

There is a wide set of evaluation metrics available to compare the quality of text clustering algorithms. In this article, we define a few intuitive formal constraints on such metrics which shed light on which aspects of the quality of a clustering are captured by different metric families. These formal constraints are validated in an experiment involving human assessments, and compared with other constraints proposed in the literature. Our analysis of a wide range of metrics shows that only BCubed satisfies all formal constraints. We also extend the analysis to the problem of overlapping clustering, where items can simultaneously belong to more than one cluster. As Bcubed cannot be directly applied to this task, we propose a modified version of Bcubed that avoids the problems found with other metrics.

Construction and validation of a classroom climate scale: a mixed methods approach

Students’ perceptions of their classroom climate have been found to relate significantly to students’ learning outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to construct an instrument for assessing elementary-school students’ perceptions of classroom climate, based on a previous instrument that was being used in Chile by a public national school mental health program as a tool for aiding teachers in improving classroom management, but which showed poor psychometric properties. We used a six-staged mixed-methods approach to construct relevant items and dimensions based on this measure and by adapting previously-existing scales. Item development included participatory construction of items involving program officials, focus groups with students, and a pilot study. The final version was administered to a sample of 6813 elementary-school students. Results showed adequate reliability and construct validity, convergent validity with school climate, and divergent validity with peer victimisation. When consequential validity was explored through semi-structured interviews with program officials and school administrators, we found that the instrument was being used as a tool for helping teachers to improve their school climate and management skills. We discuss the importance of constructing instruments using a mixed-methods approach.     

A critique of mutualism’s combination of the Aristotelian and Kantian traditions

In this article, I will identify two key normative principles at the core of Robert L. Simon’s mutualist theory of sport, namely, the respect-for-the-opponent principle and the idea that sport is a practice aimed at pursuing excellence. The former is a Kantian principle grounded in human beings’ rationality, and the latter is an Aristotelian principle related to the development of excellences as a means to human flourishing. After having presented and analyzed both principles, I will critically evaluate Simon’s attempt to combine them within his mutualist approach. To conclude, I will highlight the challenges that mutualism should face to complete such a combination more successfully.

Abbreviation: Categorical imperative (CI)     

Football transfers and moral responsibility

The main goal of this paper is to analyse the concept of social responsibility in sport management. By drawing on Hans Jonas, I shall analyse the concept of ‘corporate social responsibility’ in order to analyse several ambivalent cases within contemporary soccer such as the transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid or the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.     

Contextual variables associated with differences in educational performance between European Union countries / Variables contextuales asociadas a las diferencias de rendimiento educativo entre los países de la Unión Europea

Abstract

Extensive literature exists which shows the relation between academic performance and other variables of a contextual nature. A secondary analysis of the results corresponding to performance in PISA 2015 has enabled us to classify European Union countries into two different levels. The degree of relation between performance and contextual variables such as socioeconomic level, schooling indicators, resources allocated to education and organizational culture and school governance has also been studied at a national level. Subsequently, after selecting the variables that correlate the most with performance, the effects of the contextual variables on the differences of countries with high and low performance have been measured using a logistic regression model. Results show the role of some of the variables considered, with the economic level of the country standing out in particular, as well as parental involvement in decision-making. By way of conclusion, a series of recommendations are formulated to advance towards improvements in performance and to achieve educational convergence among EU countries.     

Research and technology policies in innovation systems: zero tillage in Brazil

The increasing complexity of technology development and adoption is rapidly changing the effectiveness of scientific and technological policies. Complex technologies are developed and disseminated by networks of agents. The impact of these networks depends on the assets they command, their learning routines, the socio-economic environment in which they operate and their history. In this new environment, scientific and technology policies should: (1) foster interactions among agents (whether public or private), (2) increase the effectiveness of public research, extension and funding institutions, (3) give sufficient freedom to researchers to set their research programs, and (4) monitor the quality of research (rather of research outputs). The evolution of innovation networks is analyzed looking at the development and diffusion of zero tillage (ZT) in Brazil.     

Measuring dissatisfaction with coauthorship: An empirical approach based on the researchers’ perception

Increasing levels of collaboration constitute one of the characteristics of science. However, the knowledge production system is based on a fundamental discordance: on the one hand, it is cooperative in nature, with links articulated through coauthorships, and on the other, the systems for assigning merit and distributing rewards function on an individual scale. This contradiction can give rise to dysfunction and inappropriate practices.This study analyses researchers’ perceptions about the problems associated with authorship in scientific publications. We make use of a coauthorship dissatisfaction index that measures the degree of dissatisfaction with the author order on the byline, ghost authors, and unjustified authorship. There are differences in this regard according to the branch of knowledge, status in the academic hierarchy, and sex. Using a sample of 2344 university researchers, we observed an overall dissatisfaction rate of 12.4%. The highest rates were in the areas of Health Sciences and Social Sciences, in early-stage career academics, and in women. The cognizant authorities should take steps to regulate authorship, tailoring rules to each area of knowledge, with an eye toward reducing discrimination, gender bias, and abuse of authority.