The impact of austerity on Irish higher education faculty

Given the impact of austerity on higher education systems, an intellectual concern with the impact of austerity on faculty seems appropriate. In this article, austerity is explored through the everyday lived experience of faculty and its impact on both their personal and professional contexts. This aspect has been under-researched in the higher education literature and addresses the complexities and contradictions that the austerity can create for faculty. The study located in the Republic of Ireland provides an interesting context as the global financial crisis in 2008 resulted in 9 years of austerity measures that impacted on all aspects of the economy and particularly on the higher education sector. A social realist approach using Archer’s morphogenetic framework was employed. The framework facilitated an in-depth understanding of the relationship between structure, culture and agency and how austerity was experienced by faculty within their institutions.     

Children’s levels of contingent self-esteem and social and emotional outcomes

Contingent self-esteem (CSE) describes the degree to which self-esteem is dependent on meeting day-to-day appraisals from oneself and others. This will vary between individuals, ranging from lower to higher CSE. A lower CSE is related to a range of adaptive social and emotional outcomes in adolescents and young adults. This study explores children’s CSE and how this associates with behavioural outcomes. A total of 280 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years completed a composite questionnaire on aspects of their self-esteem and behaviour. Children’s class teachers completed behavioural outcome questionnaires for a random sample of 100 of these children. Based on teachers’ and children’s scores, high levels of global self-esteem were associated with lower CSE and fewer behavioural difficulties. CSE domains of social feedback and physical appearance retained significant associations with behavioural outcomes after controlling for global self-esteem. This may relate to the degree that children depend on the perceived evaluations of others. Implications for educational psychologists are highlighted.     

Executivism and deanship in selected South African universities

It has been argued that traditional governance practices and decision making associated with the collegial model are no longer effective in universities, and business-like management techniques should be adopted. Dwindling resources, external demands for accountability, and increased competition for market share, have resulted in efficiency measures and increased demand for performativity. Executive leadership techniques that crept into universities during the early 1980s, referred to as ‘managerialism’ or ‘executivism’, are now widely practised. The increased focus on managerialism in the last decade has resulted in collegial crises and heightened conflicts between academics and administrators. The emergence of ‘executive deanship’ in South African higher education about a decade ago was in keeping with international trends and local demands for efficiency and performativity. With specific reference to the universities in the Gauteng province, this paper argues that the blanket introduction of executive deanship (referred to as executivism) appears not to have contributed to the envisaged operational efficiency, performance, and effectiveness, as initially claimed. Rather than fostering an enabling and empowering environment, it has added new layers of complexity to deanship pointing to a potential crisis in the advancement of the academic project. The position of dean is now more management oriented and allows little or no room for strategic intellectual and academic leadership.     

Want students to engage? Contextualise graduate learning outcomes and assess for employability

The ability of graduates to proactively develop, adapt and repackage their capabilities (or attributes) is an essential aspect of employability. This study was conducted at Deakin University, where graduate capabilities have been recast as graduate learning outcomes, and employability is frequently referenced. In light of significant curriculum reform to make graduate capabilities prominent, we investigated student perceptions of graduate capabilities and associated learning outcomes, as well as preparation for employment, to better understand how we can engage students in developing and showcasing their employability. We interviewed 45 students across 10 focus groups and qualitatively analysed their responses for commonly recurring themes. Focus groups were completed in two stages with data analysis and adjustment of questions between stages to enable validation and greater depth of understanding. Our analysis suggests that even with capabilities renamed as learning outcomes, students find graduate learning outcomes too generic to be meaningful and are most likely to engage with learning outcomes that are contextualised and assessed. Our case study illustrates ways to combat this – particularly the importance of assessment design and consistent, student-focused communication in engaging students in the development of capabilities and in the curation of evidence for employability. Students also suggest that advice from employers, professionals and recent graduates, and exposure to industry-related experiences could help make graduate capabilities more meaningful.     

Anonymous body or first patient? A status report and needs assessment regarding the personalization of donors in dissection courses in German,Austrian, and Swiss Medical Schools

Many Anglo‐American universities have undertaken a paradigm shift in how the dissection of human material is approached, such that students are encouraged to learn about the lives of body donors, and to respectfully “personalize” them as human beings, rather than treating the specimens as anonymous cadavers. For the purposes of this study, this provision of limited personal information regarding the life of a body donor will be referred to as “personalization” of body donors. At this time, it is unknown whether this paradigm shift in the personalization of body donors can be translated into the German‐speaking world. A shift from donor anonymity to donor personalization could strengthen students' perception of the donor as a “first patient,” and thereby reinforce their ability to empathize with their future patients. Therefore, this study aimed to collect data about the current status of donation practices at German‐speaking anatomy departments (n = 44) and to describe the opinions of anatomy departments, students (n = 366), and donors (n = 227) about possible donor personalization in medical education. Anatomy departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland were invited to participate in an online questionnaire. One‐tenth of registered donors at Ulm University were randomly selected and received a questionnaire (20 items, yes‐no questions) by mail. Students at the University of Ulm were also surveyed at the end of the dissection course (31 items, six‐point Likert‐scale). The majority of students were interested in receiving additional information about their donors (78.1%). A majority of donors also supported the anonymous disclosure of information about their medical history (92.5%). However, this information is only available in about 28% of the departments surveyed and is communicated to the students only irregularly. Overall, 78% of anatomy departments were not in favor of undertaking donor personalization. The results appear to reflect traditional attitudes among anatomy departments. However, since students clearly preferred receiving additional donor information, and most donors expressed a willingness to provide this information, one could argue that a change in attitudes is necessary. To do so, official recommendations for a limited, anonymous personalization of donated cadaveric specimens might be necessary. Anat Sci Educ 11: 282–293. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The effects of limb dominance and a short term,high intensity exercise protocol on both landings of the vertical drop jump: implications for the vertical drop jump as a screening tool

The effectiveness of vertical drop jumps (VDJs) to screen for non-contact ACL injuries is unclear. This may be contributed to by discrete point analysis, which does not evaluate patterns of movement. Also, limited research exists on the second landing of VDJs, potential lower limb performance asymmetries and the effect of fatigue. Statistical parametric mapping investigated the main effects of landing, limb dominance and a high intensity, intermittent exercise protocol (HIIP) on VDJ biomechanics. Twenty-two male athletes (21.9 ± 1.1 years, 180.5 ± 5.5 cm, 79.4 ± 7.8 kg) performed VDJs pre- and post-HIIP. Repeated measures ANOVA identified pattern differences during the eccentric phases of the first and second landings bilaterally. The first landing displayed greater (internal) knee flexor (η² = 0.165), external rotator (η² = 0.113) and valgus (η² = 0.126) moments and greater hip (η² = 0.062) and knee (η² = 0.080) flexion. The dominant limb generated greater knee flexor (η² = 0.062), external rotator (η² = 0.110) and valgus (η² = 0.065) moments. The HIIP only had one effect, increased thoracic flexion relative to the pelvis (η² = 0.088). Finally, the dominant limb demonstrated greater knee extensor moments during the second landing (η² = 0.100). ACL injury risk factors were present in both landings of VDJs with the dominant limb at potentially greater injury risk. Therefore, VDJ screenings should analyse both landings bilaterally.     

Dress for fit: An exploration of female activewear consumption

While the female activewear market is growing rapidly, research on activewear consumption and female consumers is lagging. Existing researchers have failed to produce an in-depth understanding of female consumers’ perceptions of activewear, thereby providing limited insights for the activewear industry. Drawing upon brand association theory and the functional, expressive, and aesthetic model, the authors identify important attributes of activewear brands and how attributes lead to benefits pursued by female activewear consumers. Focus groups were conducted with 72 female activewear consumers in Australia. Findings reveal three product-related attributes (functional design, colour, and size and fit) and two non-product-related attributes (price and model imagery) influence the fulfillment of four benefits (mood enhancement, exercise facilitation, healthy and active lifestyle, and physical fit body image). This research contributes theoretical and empirical knowledge about activewear consumption and the vertical structure of brand associations. Findings of this research can help activewear brands deliver benefits to female consumers through improved product designs and marketing strategies.     

Playing surface and UK professional rugby union injury risk

Artificial rugby union playing surface installation is increasing. This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the effect of playing surface on match injury types within 157 players of two UK professional rugby union clubs playing 209 matches (96 on artificial surfaces and 113 on grass) over three seasons. There was no difference in overall injury risk between the two playing surfaces with injury incidence on artificial 80.2 (CI 69.9–91.7) and on grass 81.9 per 1000 match-hours (CI 72.2–92.5), with an incidence rate ratio (RR) of 0.98 (CI 0.82–1.17). There was a higher rate of concussion (RR 0.52, CI 0.34 – 0.78) and chest injuries on grass (RR 0.26 CI 0.07, 0.95), and a higher rate of thigh haematoma (RR 2.25, CI 1.05–4.82) foot injuries (RR 4.12, CI 1.10, 15.40) and injury to players being tackled (RR 1.46, CI 1.00, 2.15) on artificial. Whilst there was no higher injury risk for matches played on artificial versus natural grass surfaces, the higher incidence of concussion and chest injury on grass, and the higher rate of foot injuries on artificial surfaces may be related to tackle and footwear-to-surface interface factors.     

The State of Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Programs in the United States: A Descriptive Profile of Programs Housed in For-Profit Institutions

While for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs) have long existed in the U.S., most were small, closely held companies (CHCs). Beginning in the 1990s, a new FPCU emerged that was owned by publicly traded companies (PTCs). While FPCUs owned by CHCs and PTCs offer baccalaureates in criminal justice (BCJ), little is known about the characteristics of these programs. To address this gap, the current study analyzed the population (N = 79) of FPCUs offering BCJ programs during academic year 2015–2016 by type of corporate owner. Analyses included comparisons of the two types of FPCUs on three categories of variables: institutional, departmental, and curricular characteristics. Implications of the results for baccalaureate education in criminal justice and future research on the role of FPCUs in criminal justice are presented.