A university e-learning system to enhance higher education teaching environments: a model-base innovative service-orientated clouds intensive evolution approach.

The International Conference on Advanced Materials, Structures and Mechanical Engineering 2015 (ICAMSME 2015) was held on May 29-31, Incheon, South-Korea. The conference was attended by scientists, scholars, engineers and students from universities, research institutes and industries all around the world to present on going research activities. This proceedings volume assembles papers from various professionals engaged in the fields of materials, structures and mechanical engineering.

What factors of satisfaction and motivation are affecting the development of the academic career in Portuguese higher education institutions?

An important constituent group and a key resource of higher education institutions (HEIs) is the faculty or academic staff. The centrality of the faculty role makes it a primary sculptor of institutional culture and has implications for the quality of the institution and therefore has a major role in achieving the objectives of the institution. Demand for academic staff in higher education has been increasing and may be expected to continue to increase. Moreover the performance of academic staff as teachers and researchers determines much of the student satisfaction and has an impact on student learning. There are many factors that serve to undermine the commitment of academics to their institutions and careers. Job satisfaction is important in revitalizing staff motivation and in keeping their enthusiasm alive. Well motivated academic staff can, with appropriate support, build a national and international reputation for themselves and the institution in the professional areas, in research and in publishing. This paper aims to identify the issues and their impacts on academic staff job satisfaction and motivation within Portuguese higher education institutions reporting an ongoing study financed by the European Union through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.

Perspectives on academic writing in european higher education : genres, practices, and competences

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Higher Education Quality and Guidance : efficacy of a career celf-management seminar for undergraduates

Monogr??fico con el t??tulo: "Calidad en la Educaci??n Superior: una visi??n en perspectiva"

Investigating the supply and demand relationship in a profession: the English and Welsh schools of librarianship and information Studies and the Higher Education Library and Information Services employment sector in England and Wales.

Concern has been expressed in the professional literature - borne out by professional experience and observation - that the supply and demand relationship existing between the 13 English and Welsh Library and Information Studies (LIS) Schools (as providers of `First Professional' staff) and the Higher Education Library and Information Services (HE LIS) sector of England and Wales (as one group of employers of such staff) is unsatisfactory and needs attention. An appropriate methodology to investigate this problem was devised. A basic content analysis of Schools' curricular and recruitment material intended for public consumption was undertaken to establish an overview of the LIS initial professional education system in England and Wales, and to identify and analyse any covert messages imparted to readers. This was followed by a mix of Main Questionnaires and Semi-Structured Interviews with appropriate populations. The investigation revealed some serious areas of dissatisfaction by the HE LIS Chiefs with the role and function of the Schools. Considerable divergence of views emerged on the state of the working relationships between the two sectors and on the Schools' successes in meeting the needs of the HE LIS sector and on CPD provision. There were, however, areas of substantial and consistent agreement between the two sectors. The main implications of the findings were that those areas encompassing divergence of views were worrying and needed addressing by both sides. Possible ways forward included recommendations on improving the image of the profession purveyed by the Schools; the forming of closer and more effective inter-sectoral relationships; recognising fully the importance of `practicum' and increasing and sustaining the network of `practicum' providers.

Compendium of effective practice in higher education retention and success

A collection of peer reviewed papers focusing on effective practice in higher education

Az exportpiac-orientáció előzményei és annak exportteljesítményre gyakorolt hatása a magyar felsőoktatási intézményekben (Antecedents to the export market orientation of Hungarian higher education institutions, and their export performance consequences)

A felsőoktatás nemzetközi versenyképességének vizsgálata azt mutatja, hogy egyre szélesebb körben alkalmazzák a sikeres egyetemek azokat a megközelítéseket, amelyeket az elmúlt fél évszázadban a menedzsmentirodalom az üzleti szférában meghonosított. A szerzők a felsőoktatási ágazatra terjesztik ki az exportpiac- orientáció elméletét, és azt vizsgálják, hogy milyen előzmények vezetnek annak kialakulásához. Elemzik továbbá, hogy az exportpiac-orientáció milyen hatással van a felsőoktatási intézmények exportteljesítményére. A tanulmány továbbá kitér az exportpiac-orientáció és az exportteljesítmény kapcsolatát befolyásoló környezeti tényezők hatásának vizsgálatára is. A szerzők az említett összefüggéseket két almintán vizsgálják (a nemzetköziesedésben és a tudományos kutatásban vezető egyetemek vs. az előbbi dimenziókban gyengébben teljesítő felsőoktatási intézmények). Az eredmények alapján megállapítják, hogy az exporttapasztalat mindkét egyetemi csoportnál az exportteljesítmény szignifikáns előrejelzője, míg az exportkoordináció csupán a nemzetköziesedésben gyengébben teljesítő egyetemek csoportjánál magyarázza az exportpiac-orientáció változását. Megfigyelhető továbbá, hogy az exportpiac-orientáció exportteljesítményre gyakorolt hatása erősebb a nemzetköziesedésben vezető magyar egyetemeknél, míg a nemzetközi piacokon tapasztalható verseny intenzitása fokozza a nemzetközi irányultság kialakulását ugyanezen csoportnál. ______ The authors extend the theory of export market orientation to the higher education sector, and explore the association between export coordination, export experience, export market orientation, export performance and the competitive environment in the context of Hungarian higher education sector. The aforementioned relations are analyzed on two subsamples (universities with a top performance vs. universities with a lower performance in regard of internationalization and scientific research). Based on the results, the authors conclude that export experience is a significant predictor of export performance in both groups of institutions, while export coordination can only explain changes in export market orientation for the group comprising the universities that lag behind in terms of internationalization. They observe, moreover, that export market orientation becomes stronger as competitive forces in the environment intensify.

A distance education case study: A comparison of instructional delivery methods practiced by higher education faculty and emerging standards

The purpose of this research was to compare the delivery methods as practiced by higher education faculty teaching distance courses with recommended or emerging standard instructional delivery methods for distance education. Previous research shows that traditional-type instructional strategies have been used in distance education and that there has been no training to distance teach. Secondary data, however, appear to suggest emerging practices which could be pooled toward the development of standards. This is a qualitative study based on the constant comparative analysis approach of grounded theory.^ Participants (N = 5) of this study were full-time faculty teaching distance education courses. The observation method used was unobtrusive content analysis of videotaped instruction. Triangulation of data was accomplished through one-on-one in-depth interviews and from literature review. Due to the addition of non-media content being analyzed, a special time-sampling technique was designed by the researcher--influenced by content analyst theories of media-related data--to sample portions of the videotape instruction that were observed and counted. A standardized interview guide was used to collect data from in-depth interviews. Coding was done based on categories drawn from review of literature, and from Cranton and Weston's (1989) typology of instructional strategies. The data were observed, counted, tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted solely by the researcher. It should be noted however, that systematic and rigorous data collection and analysis led to credible data.^ The findings of this study supported the proposition that there are no standard instructional practices for distance teaching. Further, the findings revealed that of the emerging practices suggested by proponents and by faculty who teach distance education courses, few were practiced even minimally. A noted example was the use of lecture and questioning. Questioning, as a teaching tool was used a great deal, with students at the originating site but not with distance students. Lectures were given, but were mostly conducted in traditional fashion--long in duration and with no interactive component.^ It can be concluded from the findings that while there are no standard practices for instructional delivery for distance education, there appears to be sufficient information from secondary and empirical data to initiate some standard instructional practices. Therefore, grounded in this research data is the theory that the way to arrive at some instructional delivery standards for televised distance education is a pooling of the tacitly agreed-upon emerging practices by proponents and practicing instructors. Implicit in this theory is a need for experimental research so that these emerging practices can be tested, tried, and proven, ultimately resulting in formal standards for instructional delivery in television education. ^

Academic Risk-Taking in Higher Education

Little is known about how adults learn to take risks. However, learning to take risks can be beneficial to adults who fear uncertainty or struggle with academic achievement. Higher education can play a leading role in embracing risk-taking and raising the interest level of adult learners through strategic learning activities.