Understanding value in the student experience through student–staff partnerships

ABSTRACT

Questions such as ‘what is value in the student experience?’ and ‘how do we measure or assess value in higher education?’ remain an under-researched area. However, in the context of marketisation and competitive forces in higher education, there is a need to unpack what is value in the student experience. In this article, a conceptualisation of value that can be applied in higher education (known as value-in-use) is introduced and applied to a specific and increasingly important aspect of the student experience – student–staff partnerships. Qualitative survey data (n?=?97) and interviews (n?=?35) from ten cases of various manifestations of student–staff partnerships in the Australasian context is presented and assessed in relation to value. The findings highlight that student–staff partnerships may enhance value in the student experience and that value-in-use may be an appropriate lens through which to continue to explore how value is created and measured in the student experience.     

大学生独立生活能力与法律素质培养探讨

分析独立生活能力和大学生法律素养的涵义及其意义,就目前我国大学生法律素质的现状,初步提出有利于提高大学生法律素质的方法和途径,为更好地实现大学生独立生活能力提出了一些浅见。     

Critically reflexive dialogue and praxis: Academic/practitioner reflections throughout a formative evaluation of Circles® USA

Reflections about the use of critically reflexive praxis by academic/practitioners are offered based on a case study of a formative evaluation of Circles^® USA, a nonprofit organization coordinating initiatives across the U.S. working to move families out of poverty. Critically reflexive praxis is theorized as featuring several themes including acknowledging different levels of context, critical dialogue with collaborators, engaging cultural difference and intersectionalities, problematizing power relations and relationships among researchers and collaborators, and occurring throughout the research project. Examples of critical dialogic reflexivity and navigating common tensions that emerge throughout such community engagement projects are detailed during three phases: planning and design; fieldwork and interviews; and outcomes, applications, and implications.     

Effects of psychosocial variables in the similarity and interdependence of physical activity levels among adolescent best friend dyads

Given that physical activity (PA) tends to decrease with age during adolescence, addressing factors that affect change is important. This study examined the similarity and interdependence of PA as influenced by psychosocial factors among adolescent best friend dyads. A total of 660 adolescents, representing 330 best friend dyads, completed questionnaires with regard to PA, sitting time, perceived exercise benefits and barriers, physical self-perception and social support for PA. Dyads were also identified as reciprocal and non-reciprocal best friends; reciprocal means that both considered each other best friends and non-reciprocal were those in which only one considered the other a best friend. Data were analysed using a hierarchical linear model framework. Results indicated significant similarities between reciprocal best friend dyads for PA and sitting time, and for sitting time in non-reciprocal best friends (P values <.01). Psychosocial variables were associated with PA in reciprocal best friend dyads and with sitting time in reciprocal and non-reciprocal best friend dyads. Best friend gender, regular sports practice of the person, perceived exercise barriers of the best friend and best friend social support were the best predictors for PA.     

Cuba’s Challenges Hosting the 1991 Pan-American Games and the Spectacle of the Revolution’s ‘Soft Power’

Abstract

This paper examines the confluence of global, regional, and national politics in the lead up to the 1991 Pan-American Games hosted by Cuba. Cuba’s contentious selection as host was wholly underpinned by the international politics of the time. Once selected, the preparations for the Games in Havana were surrounded by an unprecedented domestic economic crisis fueled by shifts in global politics. This paper analyzes how international politics informed the hosting of the 1991 Pan-American Games, and shaped the political challenge the Cuban government faced in hosting such an event. The Revolution’s use of sport domestically and internationally came to the forefront in its efforts as host and the results of those efforts proved to be providential given the emerging political economic contexts during and in the ensuing years after the Games.     

An Evolution of the Migration of Taiwanese Female Basketball Players: From the ‘American Dream’ to the ‘Chinese Dream’

Abstract

This paper explores the migration of female basketball players from Taiwan to China. Governance theory is adopted as the framework in this study to analyze the phenomenon of players’ migration and to understand how it was shaped over the years. The empirical work draws on a qualitative approach, which is based on a review of documentary materials and semi-structured interviews; coding and analysis were undertaken with a content analysis approach in order to investigate the decision-making processes and their consequences for the players’ migration. The feature of systematic governance for the development of women’s basketball has been revealed in this study. Stakeholders with personal interests caused the downturn of women’s basketball development in Taiwan, and it eventually led to the players’ migration abroad. Through the lens of governance theory, it has been revealed that a number of factors – namely, political, financial, personal, socio-economic, and cultural – all intertwine with one another dynamically to influence the female players’ decision to move abroad. This finding broadens the scope for the research of Taiwanese athletes’ migration to China, extending the focus from only business or industry to other aspects, thereby highlighting the fact that the subject is more complex than previously understood.     

Effects of environmental intervention on sedentary time,musculoskeletal comfort and work ability in office workers

Sit–stand workstations offer a potential strategy to reduce prolonged occupational sitting. This controlled intervention study examined the effects of an environmental intervention on occupational sedentary time, musculoskeletal comfort and work ability, and the usability of sit–stand workstations in office work via a self-reported questionnaire. The intervention group (n?=?24) used sit–stand workstations during the 6-month intervention period, and the control group (n?=?21) used traditional sitting workstations. The results showed that working at sit–stand workstations can reduce sitting time significantly compared to control workstations (?6.7% vs. 5.0%, p?=?.019), which is reallocated mostly to standing (r?=??0.719, p?p?=?.028), as well as work ability (p?=?.022). The majority of intervention subjects rated sit–stand workstation adjustability as good (83.3%), and 75.0% were satisfied with the workstation. About 41.7% of the intervention participants, who were exclusively female, used the sit–stand function on a daily basis. While the environmental change alone was effective, it is likely that promoting the daily use of sit–stand workstations with counselling would lead to even more substantial positive effects.     

Have a Legal Question Without the Resources to Get an Answer?

This article explores the Western New York's Library Resources Council's Ask the Lawyer Program. The program provides a timely model for local cultural heritage communities, such as archives, to collectively retain a lawyer in a non-representational capacity to answer both specific and hypothetical questions that arise as a result of their work.     

把握“四大主题”全面建设小康社会——用科学发展观发展十堰经济的对策思路

“全面建设小康社会”,是我国目前社会发展的中心任务。十堰市在全面建设小康社会过程中存在着低水平、不全面、不平衡三个问题。应该看到,十堰市建设小康社会有较多机遇,也有许多不利因素。全面建设小康社会的目标应分三个阶段完成,应把握好经济发展、民主与法制建设、人的全面发展、可持续发展四大主题。     

时尚心理与领导干部作风建设

时尚是一种群众性的社会心理现象,它对社会可能有益,也可能有害。现在开展领导干部作风建设,就是要将党对领导干部作风上的要求变成时尚,促进社会健康时尚的形成,进而促进和谐社会建设。