Global Knowledge Economy Research Articles

The Influence of Institutional Autonomy Policy on Internationalization of Higher Education: A Case Study in Vietnam

In this paper, I explore the enactment of institutional autonomy policy as a reform strategy to support the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam. The autonomy policy signifies the transfer of decision-making authority from the ministries to public universities so that university leaders can decide on matters of teaching, research, finance, personnel, and international cooperation. I draw on neo-institutionalism to gain insights on the enactment of autonomy policy and use thematic analysis to analyze data which include policy documents and interviews with senior leaders at one Vietnamese university. The findings indicate that while the autonomy policy has facilitated internationalization agendas with significant outcomes for teaching and research, the policy has been enacted through the interactions of Vietnam’s political features and foreign values. The paper contributes to the understanding of higher education reform in centralized contexts of Vietnam and other post-Soviet countries in response to influences of the globalized knowledge economy.

The politics of pupil self-evaluation: a case of finnish assessment policy discourse

ABSTRACT Illustrating the rising trend across education systems, the article examines the socio-historical constitution of the politics of pupil self-evaluation in the case of Finnish compulsory education assessment policy discourse. By studying self-evaluation as a ‘politics’, which, drawing on studies in governmentality, engages in the governing and shaping of educational practices, the conduct of teachers and pupils but also in the forming of pupils’ selves, the article challenges the mainstream understanding of self-evaluation as an apolitical technology of learning in pursuit of better learning outcomes, 21th century competencies and lifelong learning. The study uses Finnish compulsory education curricular, legislative and policy documents from 1921 to 2020 as data. In the genealogical reading of data, the rise of the politics of pupil self-evaluation at the interface of discursive formations of assessment as a practice of discipline and truth about the pupil and the practice of self-disclosure and constitution was demonstrated. Consequently, pupil self-evaluation will be consolidated as a normal educational practice. Importantly, implying subjectifying power, a self-regulative and self-evaluative pupil subjectivity in compliance with the requirements of current globalized knowledge economy and evaluation society will be mobilized and called for.

How post-Bologna policies construct the purposes of higher education and students’ transitions into Masters programmes

In this article, we address the questions: How is the purpose of higher education constructed within policy texts from the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), England and Sweden? How does this position students in making the transition from Bachelor to Masters? We do this through analysis of two recent policy documents from each of the EHEA, England and Sweden, identifying key discourses including the meanings, oppositions, contradictions and logics that structure the texts. We look at what aspects of ‘global policyspeak’ are common across them, what are their particularities and how these are shaped by distinct histories. We argue that all the texts represent neoliberal policies in sharing an economic rationale for higher education and in individualising the benefits of university education. Students are, in their transition from Bachelor to Masters, expected to maximise their employability and their ability to contribute to the national and global knowledge economy. However, there are also differences between the policy documents, tensions within them and alternative discourses, such as a focus on dialogue and academic freedom that challenge the reduction of higher education to the economic.

Research engagement of academics in the Global South: the case of Cambodian academics

ABSTRACT Engagement in research is crucial for university academics to fulfil their tripartite roles related to teaching, research, and service. While there is a substantial literature that examines how academics perceive and engage in research, studies investigating research engagement of academics in the Global South remain limited. Employing a qualitative case study approach, this study examines Cambodian academics’ research engagement. Data derived from interviews with 20 Cambodian academics from two universities show a low level of research engagement, much of which is in consultancy research. The academics’ pervasive need to generate extra income through teaching and the absence of clear academic career paths at both national and institutional levels are major barriers to their research engagement. The findings of this study point to an underdeveloped and under-productive research environment, which potentially prevents Cambodia as a developing country from enhancing its competitiveness in the global knowledge economy and realising its aspirations to transform itself into a knowledge-based society.

Co-producing Bioethics: How Biomedical Scientists and Applied Philosophers Established Bioethics in Australia

Summary This article examines the emergence of bioethics at Monash University and Australia during the late-1970s and early-1980s. Unlike bioethics in the USA, which was born a decade earlier during policy debates over human experimentation and withdrawal of treatment, bioethics in Australia initially emerged in the university context via interactions among research scientists working at the forefront of reproductive medicine and philosophers seeking to address issues of public concern. These interactions occurred in a rapidly changing university sector that was moving towards research translation and a new global knowledge economy. Drawing on oral histories with philosophers and medical scientists involved in these events, as well as archival materials, this article uses a co-productionist analytic lens to critically examine how changing institutional norms encouraged mutually beneficial interactions between philosophers and scientists, which shaped the emergence of a new and distinctive field of bioethics in Australia.

Revisiting the Global Knowledge Economy: The Worldwide Expansion of Research and Development Personnel, 1980-2015.

Global science expansion and the ‘skills premium’ in labor markets have been extensively discussed in the literature on the global knowledge economy, yet the focus on, broadly-speaking, knowledge-related personnel as a key factor is surprisingly absent. This article draws on UIS and OECD data on research and development (R&D) personnel for the period 1980 to 2015 for up to N = 82 countries to gauge cross-national trends and to test a wide range of educational, economic, political and institutional determinants of general expansion as well as expansion by specific sectors (i.e. higher education vs corporate R&D) and country groups (OECD vs non-OECD). Findings show that, worldwide, the number of personnel involved in the creation of novel and original knowledge has risen dramatically in the past three decades, across sectors, with only a few countries reporting decrease. Educational (public governance, tertiary enrolment and professionalization) and economic predictors (R&D expenditures and gross national income) show strong effects. Expansion is also strongest in those countries embedded in global institutional networks, yet regardless of a democratic polity. I discuss the emergence of ‘knowledge work’ as a mass-scale and worldwide phenomenon and map out consequences for the analysis of such a profound transformation, which involves both an educated workforce and the strong role of the state.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11024-021-09455-4.

INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING – A CHALLENGE OF MODERN ACCOUNTING

In the context of the new global knowledge economy, hidden intangible assets (intellectual capital) have become the main generator of added economic value and the one that creates significant competitive advantages in the business world, but traditional valuation and accounting methods, in addition to referring only to past issues, they fail to provide concrete solutions regarding the valuation and accounting of all intangible assets generating value and competitive advantages of contemporary enterprises. This study aims to show the importance of hidden intangible assets (intellectual capital) in the knowledge economy, what are the modern methods of valuing and accounting for them and to what extent these methods manage to provide solutions to the reported valuation and accounting difficulties.

Africa's Knowledge Economy and Links to India

Competitive advantage for economies, both developed and developing, will be increasingly based on knowledge in all its forms, including science and technology, smart entrepreneurship, and new business and organizational development models. Due to COVID-19, the need for innovative solutions to health and economic disruptions has never been as keenly felt. This paper is structured in five parts. The first part examines the extent to which various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa participate in the global knowledge economy. Data is drawn from the UN Knowledge Index and canvases knowledge economy parameters such as research and development, value-added industrial production and knowledge-intensive services, advanced education, and entrepreneurship. The second part examines in more depth some of the critical drivers of the knowledge economy, drawing on our own framework. The third part critically examines the key policy documents and visions of select African nations to ascertain progress and performance in the knowledge economy from a policy point of view. The fourth section examines the relationship between Africa and India. India has long-standing links with Africa in economy, culture, and society. This paper examines recent developments in the relationship including trade and student mobility. The final section is the conclusion and provides some strategies and policies for Africa to engage further with the knowledge economy.

Thoughts on the Architecture of Talents Training System of Innovate and Entrepreneurship Teaching in Universities

In recent years, China's innovate and entrepreneurship ecosystem has been continuously improved, and the public's awareness of innovate and entrepreneurship has also kept pace with the times, forming a "creative" environment for grassroots entrepreneurship and mass entrepreneurship. Under the influence of the development of the global knowledge economy era, China's socialist market economy is developing with each passing day. In order to strengthen the connotation of innovate and entrepreneurship teaching, this paper makes an in-depth analysis of it, puts forward new requirements for the architecture of talent training system of innovate and entrepreneurship teaching in universities, and improves the innovate and entrepreneurship ability of university students through different innovate and entrepreneurship instructional methods. The normal develop of innovate and entrepreneurship teaching is a strong support for the normal and sustainable develop of university teaching. This paper makes a rational analysis of the implementation of future teaching in universities from a strategic perspective, scientifically defines the connotation of innovate and entrepreneurship teaching, analyzes the bottlenecks that restrict its develop, and formulates a feasible and effective teaching model, which is conducive to the develop and implementation of innovate and entrepreneurship teaching in universities, and promotes the cultivation of students' creative spirit, entrepreneur's awareness and creative and entrepreneur's ability.

Individual Learning Accounts: A Comparison of Implemented and Proposed Initiatives

Access to lifelong learning opportunities has long been discussed in terms of the economic benefits conferred by access to and engagement in further education by members of the labor force, particularly within the global knowledge economy. However, equitable access to lifelong education opportunities, particularly for low-skilled adults in the labor force, has been lacking. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) identified three models for funding adult learning: (1) individual learning accounts, (2) individual savings accounts, and (3) training vouchers. The current study discusses examples of these models, either proposed or implemented, across four countries or economic blocks—France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, to understand the importance of providing funding for education and training to adults with low levels literacy skills, we use data from the Program for the International Assessment for Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to compare participation in adult education and training (AET) by literacy skill levels. In all countries examined, adults with low literacy skills participated in AET at lower rates than those with middle and high levels of literacy skills. To be successful in reaching adults most in need of skill upgrading, financing models need to provide adequate funds for meaningful skill upgrades, have well-structured information sources (e.g., websites) that are easily navigated by the target population, and include policies to screen educational providers for program quality.

The Determinants of International Competitiveness

Abstract The dynamics of the competitiveness in today’s economic environment has received increasing attention focusing on continuous and consistent consideration, requiring more in-depth scientific research. This topic highlights new challenges for competitiveness, at any level, by identifying and analyzing its own determinants. The present paper aims to develop a proposal model for the international competitiveness, starting from the determinants identified in the literature review. The 8-D model of international competitiveness integrates investment, economic freedom, corruption, global knowledge, culture, business performance, innovation and digital economy, and sustainability at the country level. Considering this conceptual model 8-D, the study aims to present an in-depth analysis of the top 5 most developed countries on each determinant proposed during 2019-2021 according to the international reports and ranks.

All the Poor and Wretched

AbstractIn this article, Ng examines Tan Malaka's engagements with labor universalism and Muslim universality in his respective attempts to theorize the problematic of minority subjectivity vis-à-vis universal emancipation. Located at the periphery of global capitalism, Indonesia, though embodying conditions of subordination, exploitation, and unfreedom through historical colonialism, is notably marked by a necessary unevenness in totalization and complete subsumption; this set of heteronomous conditions gave rise to historically distinct and specific discourses and forms of resistance. In positing the Dutch East Indies as one of the peripheral sites within a global Marxist knowledge economy, Ng argues that the constellation of Marxist discourses articulated by Tan Malaka—organized around the “Muslim question”—attempt to powerfully link the question of peripherality to emergent notions of the universal. Ultimately, the “Muslim” for Tan Malaka emerges not as an identity, historical subject, or a people per se, but as a “minor” political model of composition immanent to the relations of capital.

Educational and Ethical Aspects of the Technoscience Challenges in the University Landscape

Education and research are the main vectors that determine the development path of the university, while the transformations of the nature of science are so significant that in the field of education they find expression not only in the emergence of new disciplines and specialties, but also in the revision of the educational paradigm of a modern university. The paper analyzes the impact of transformations of modern science and methods of scientific knowledge production on the university and its research and educational strategies. In technoscience as a modern form of the post-non-classical paradigm of scientific rationality, science and technology form a hybrid of theoretical activity and social practice. Knowledge is produced not only in the context of discovery and underpinning, but also in the context of the estimated consequences of its application. It is shown that the challenges of technoscience, together with the dynamically developing global economy of knowledge, influence the development strategies of the university, which today performs not only research and educational functions, but also implements the mission of social responsibility, contributing to sustainable development, the introduction of responsible technologies and innovations, defending the status of knowledge as public good as opposed to the status of knowledge as social capital. The specificity of the technoscience ethos in the educational landscape of the university is updated, due to the transdisciplinary organization of scientific knowledge. Transdisciplinary research is characterized by a new vertical dimension that goes beyond the plane of object connections not only into the sphere of human as an agent, but also into the sphere of his life, practice, socio-cultural values, combining the complexity of the world with the complexity of human knowledge. The introduction of converging technologies is characterized by the unpredictability of undesirable side effects arising during their creation and operation. In a practical aspect, the ethics of technoscience is designed to contribute to the creation of mechanisms of self-restraint and self-control in conditions of uncertainty; it requires the researcher to be able to self-reflect on the methods, goals and consequences of the technologies usage. The task of a modern university in the context of the technoscience challenges is to cultivate a responsible professional, a person who is aware not only of the epistemic responsibility of a professional, but also of the internal, existential responsibility of a person as a global citizen.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND PRODUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE: WILL RESEARCH ENHANCE EFFECTIVE TEACHING, LEARNING, AND KNOWLEDGE CRITICAL TO AFRICA’ S DEVELOPMENT?

Academics at higher institutions are expected to conduct research critical to effective teaching, knowledge production, and community development. However, in Africa, research seems to be more motivated by promotion than by problem-solving initiatives. This has left a gap in effective teaching at the higher education level since most academics appear to be more interested in research than teaching, as their career advancement depends on the former. According to evidence, research motivated by promotion contributes far less to effective learning and critical understanding than research-driven by problem-solving initiatives. This disparity appears to be impeding African universities' ability to contribute successfully to the global knowledge economy. Despite this, Africa's university system is affected by a lack of funding, administrative bottlenecks, outdated teaching techniques, and a lack of research capabilities. To address these problems and produce knowledge critical to Africa's future, most African institutions, including those in South Africa, have developed several research entities, scholarships, fellowships, and training programs. These platforms allow academics to conduct research, teach and engage in community service to address social issues and provide value to students. Although these programs are commendable, their contributions to effective teaching and critical knowledge in Africa raise concerns, which have received little attention. The article investigates how research stimulates effective learning and knowledge critical to Africa’s development, using David Easton's theoretical input-output nexus, structural-functionalism and qualitative research design drawn from expert opinions interviews. The findings deepen understanding of the extent of contributions of research to effective teaching and critical knowledge. The results also provide approaches for university lecturers to improve research uptake, quality teaching, and critical knowledge. It concludes that a balance between research and teaching would rapidly enhance Africa’s knowledge production for its development.

Spatial thinking, gender and immaterial affective labour in the post-Fordist academic library

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use spatial thinking (space-time) as a lens through which to examine the ways in which the socio-economic conditions and values of the post-Fordist academy work to diminish and even subsume the immaterial affective labour of librarians even as it serves to reproduce the academy.Design/methodology/approachThe research question informing this paper asks, In what ways does spatial thinking help us to better understand the immaterial, invisible and gendered labour of academic librarians' public service work in the context of the post-Fordist university? This question is explored using a conceptual approach and a review of recent library information science (LIS) literature that situates the academic library in the post-Fordist knowledge economy.FindingsThe findings suggest that the feminized and gendered immaterial labour of public service work in academic libraries – a form of reproductive labour – remains invisible and undervalued in the post-Fordist university, and that academic libraries function as a procreative, feminized spaces.Originality/valueSpatial thinking offers a corrective to the tendency in LIS to foreground time over space. It affords new insights into the spatial and temporal aspects of information work in the global neoliberal knowledge economy and suggests a new spatio-temporal imaginary of the post-Fordist academic library as a site of waged work.

Career Development in Knowledge Management

AbstractThis is a SIG‐KM sponsored panel presented by members of the SIG‐KM officer team. First, the panel will overview their experience in knowledge management (KM) as scholars and scholar‐practitioners. They will briefly discuss their career development successes and hurdles as a roadmap for others to follow. Second, the panel will discuss career pathways for KM scholars and scholar‐practitioners in a global knowledge economy. Finally, they will hold an open discussion with audience members to share their experiences, expectations and hopes for the KM and the broader field of information science. [90 minute session].

The organization of innovation services in science and technology parks: Evidence from a multi-case study analysis in Europe

Science and Technology Parks (STPs) are key elements of the infrastructure supporting the growth of today's global knowledge economy. STPs create environments that foster collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and provide innovation services to support new technology-based firms in their activities. However, despite the extensive research on STPs, limited evidence has been provided regarding their organization of a portfolio of innovation services. In this work, we deepen the organizational challenges in developing a portfolio of innovation services through the analysis of the literature and ethnographic research on six case studies of European STPs in Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. In conclusion, based on the literature and the case studies, we highlight i) the four main alternatives to include an innovation service in an STP's portfolio; ii) the fundamental six drivers influencing the choice between these different alternatives.

The post-study migration of EEA postgraduates: who is remaining to work in the UK?

ABSTRACT This article models the migration flow of EEA students who graduated from masters and doctoral programmes in UK universities. The increased intra-European mobility of students and graduates is claimed to have crucial positive influence on building Europe’s high-skill labour force, which in turn would strengthen its competency in the global knowledge economy. However, the absence of accurate quantitative data on degree-mobile students makes it difficult to track and investigate their post-study mobility patterns. Six one-year extracts from the DLHE dataset were analysed (2011/2012–2016/2017) using cross-classified multilevel modelling in order to investigate which group of EEA graduates were more likely to remain and work in UK, and how the patterns were changing in the long-term. The stay rates of students from four countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Greece) were found to have stable growth between 2011/2012 and 2016/2017. Graduates who received degrees in Medicine & Dentistry and Computer Sciences were found to have the highest and the most stable stay rates among all graduates. Multilevel modelling results show that, at domicile-level, the difference between home and host country in GDP per capita could be an effective predictor in analysing student post-graduation movement. At HEI-level, the prestige level of HEI could not effectively predict students’ stay rate. At individual-level, students’ education background and gender identity were significant in predicting stay rate. Results imply that group effects at neither HEI-level nor domicile-level should be ignored. This study provides an empirical foundation for evidence-based decision-making in a field that is heavily contested in policymaking.

The Internationalization of Higher Education in Armenia Nowadays the Analysis of the Existing Problems

Internationalization is a rapidly growing trend among the higher education system around the world. Academic and research institutions demonstrate a growing interest in the processes of internationalization of higher education, at the international, regional, national, and institutional levels. Internationalization and global engagement are becoming key trends in the development of national systems of education in Armenia and abroad. Numerous researchers have highlighted the problematics of internationalization of higher education associated with the cultural impact of university education, a synergy of humanitarian and natural sciences, intercultural communication, digital and blended learning, international credit and degree mobility, the introduction of international standards for measuring the quality of education defined by the Bologna Declaration. Although internationalization has become established in education at the international level, it should be realized that at the moment there is no single policy or strategy for the internationalization of the higher education system in Armenia, both at the regional and national levels. The lack of uniform strategy is in some way offset at the institutional level: the increasing number of Armenian higher education institutions have integrated internationalization, to varying degrees, in their mission and vision. It can be seen in the activities of the leading universities in Armenia. The global knowledge economy requires all universities to be the competitors for students, faculties, strategic partnerships, and research funding, as well as to prepare their graduates to be global professionals, scholars, highly demanded and competitive. Indicating the mechanism of the implementation of an international component into the existing curricula, programs, research, teaching, and learning processes may contribute to the understanding of the process of internationalization of higher education. Thus, more research is needed on the experience of Armenia and other countries in implementing the provisions of the Bologna process. The purpose of this article is to examine the theoretical and practical aspects of the internationalization process, identifying some challenges and obstacles for the Armenian higher education system and presenting possible ways of overcoming them.

The geography of intercity technological proximity: evidence from China

ABSTRACT In the context of a globalizing knowledge economy, cities have become more technologically proximate due to the increasing exchanges of people, information, and knowledge. However, technological proximity at the city level has gained relatively little attention within the vast literature on proximity. Drawing upon detailed address information on nearly 3.6 million invention patents that were applied in China between 2012 and 2016, this paper investigates the geography of intercity technological proximity among 286 Chinese cities. Technological proximity is measured by comparing cities’ technological profiles which are represented by the distribution of different classifications of patenting activity in which cities specialize. The empirical results show that the level of intercity technological proximity among Chinese cities has been generally on the rise. Moreover, there is strong spatial political bias in the geography of intercity technological proximity, with geographical proximity and institutional proximity having played a significantly positive role in facilitating intercity technological proximity. Highlights Measure technological proximity among 286 Chinese cities using patent data The level of intercity technological proximity has been generally on the rise The geography of intercity technological proximity has a spatial political bias Geographical and institutional proximity facilitates technological proximity