Research-based University Research Articles

Assessing university policies for enhancing societal impact of academic research: A multicriteria mapping approach

Abstract While there is a prolific debate on evaluating the societal impact of academic research, so far little attention has been paid to assessing the design and implementation of suitable organizational strategies. This article argues that evaluation methods are needed which are both formative and sensitive to diverging views on what defines and constitutes societal impact. We use a participatory deliberation method, the Multicriteria Mapping (MCM) approach, to examine how stakeholders appraise the use of university policy options for enhancing societal impact, and understand on what basis they judge the performance of these options. Focusing on a large Dutch research-based university, we conduct 22 interviews with academics, management, and support staff as well as strategic policy officers to examine how they rank and discuss the expected performance of university policy options identified in previous literature. Our results show that interviewees base their scores on criteria related to policy options’ expected organizational output and external outcomes, as well as their practical and, to a lesser degree, cultural, and financial feasibility. The resulting rankings also point at contrasts in the perceived potential of policy options, with interviewees assigning priority to providing researchers with recognition and rewards for impact-based activities. We conclude by discussing how MCM can be used as a formative evaluation method to assess and select policies and inform decision-making that fit a university’s particular situation. Besides drawing lessons for the context of our illustrative case, we also reflect on the relevance of the evaluation method and our findings for other universities.

First-year Undergraduate Engineering Student Beliefs About Teamwork: A Qualitative Analysis.

This paper discusses a comparative study of first-year engineering students’ beliefs around design-based teamwork. In this study, survey data was collected from first-year students at a large research-based university in 2014 and compared to those discussed in the present literature. Using qualitative analysis, these descriptive textual responses were used to identify themes that represented specific beliefs. These themes discussed individual accountability, seeing teamwork as a collection of individual work, challenges around team member motivation, and intra-team communication challenges. When compared to the literature, themes regarding teamwork as inefficient due to experiences around unequal divisions of work and perceived skill disparity emerged as reflective of the literature.
 An underlying value of optimization emerged in our analysis. Tapping into this core value could enable students to develop more effective teamworking strategies.

Leader Motivating Language as predictor of Innovative Work Behavior in Higher Education sector of Pakistan

Innovative Behavior is considered vital for betterment of higher educational institutions because academics’ work nowadays is to go beyond teaching as the 21st century demands new and creative work practices by the teachers. They have to think ‘out-of-the-box’ by applying Innovating behavior at work. Head/ leader’s role in this process is critical, who can use motivating language to create affective commitment in them and providing them a suitable organizational climate in the form of work environment that fosters new and innovative practices by employees through enhancing their innovative abilities. Our study focuses on the role of leader motivating language and organizational climate for innovation to promote innovative work behavior among the university teachers. This study hypothesized: (a) positive relationship of leader motivating language with affective commitment and innovative work behavior, (b) mediation of affective commitment in relationship of motivating language and innovative work behavior and (c) moderation of organizational climate for innovation in relationship of affective commitment and innovative work behavior. To test these hypothesis, SPSS and AMOS was employed to analyze the survey data collected from 367 academics from Pakistani research-based universities and results showed that Motivating language significantly impacts the innovative work behavior directly and indirectly through mediation of Affective commitment of employees. Moreover, organizational climate for innovation significantly moderated this relationship. Theoretically, this study extends Motivating language theory by providing a mediator and moderator in the relationship between motivating language and innovative work behavior. The findings of this study can provide University Heads/ leaders with key implications for effective management of their communication and motivating language as catalysts to promote affective commitment and innovative work behavior among the university teachers and academics.

Determinants of research performance of university academics and the moderating and mediating roles of organizational culture and job crafting

Purpose This paper aims to identify the role of organizational and individual factors in predicting the research performance of academics when job crafting is a mediator variable and organizational culture is a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted by collecting responses from academics at five Malaysian research-based universities. The sample size was 273. Standard questionnaires were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings The most significant predictors of research performance were organizational culture, individual effort and professional development, whereby job crafting was most optimally predicted by work engagement and transformational leadership. While organizational culture moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and research performance, the mediating role of job crafting was insignificant between work engagement and research performance. Research limitations/implications The findings have important implications for human resource development practitioners (HRD) in terms of improving overall academic research performance. Practical interventions are suggested to assist academics in enhancing their performance. This study highlights how academic performance can be managed more effectively. Originality/value The findings extend the HRD literature in higher education and offer a framework that enhances the understanding of the organizational and individual factors that influence academics' research performance within a specific context of research universities in a non-Western context.

Investigation of the Effect of Badges in the Online Homework System for Undergraduate General Physics Course

Badges in education are an increasingly popular phenomenon, and a variety of questions exists as to the abilities and effectiveness of badges. In this study, the effect of digital badges within a Moodle-based online homework system was studied for an undergraduate general physics course at a large research-based university in northeast Taiwan. One hundred and sixty-two participants from two General Physics sessions were involved in this study and divided into two groups through self-selected options. Sixty-eight students in the treatment group could use digital badges in the online homework system, being able to earn one badge per assignment for turning their assignments in earlier than the assignment deadline, while the other students in the control group had no digital badges in the online homework system. The results showed that students in the treatment group turned in their assignments earlier than students in the control group did, and this difference was statistically significant. Further analysis showed that students in the treatment group spaced out their assignment practice more than students in the control group did, and the difference was statistically significant. Additionally, students in the treatment group actively attempted to earn badges, as there was a statistically significant increase in the number of badges earned by students in the treatment group over those in the control group. Based on a questionnaire given to study participants towards the conclusion of the study, the study found that students’ perception of badges was positive. These findings corroborate earlier findings by other researchers that badges can be used to motivate specific behaviors in students whilst requiring minimal changes to the course structure. However, further corroborating earlier research is the finding that badges may not be particularly useful to motivate students towards challenging tasks. An earlier study of this course in a preceding academic year found that students are appreciative of the online homework system, and it appears from this study that the primary function of badges within the system is to enhance the experience of students, as well as to motivate timely engagement with assignments.

Evaluation on the perception of final year dental students on their confidence level regarding endodontic treatments: a cross sectional analysis

Endodontics procedures are difficult and complicated that most of the practitioners would encounter. Therefore, dental students should gain their confidence and competent during their training. This research aimed to study the perception of final year students on confidence level regarding endodontic treatments from all public universities and their opinions on the quality of endodontic education. A Google Form was used to disseminate an online questionnaire to all dental students from public universities across Malaysia. The survey included both scaled answer and open-ended questions. 184 responses out of 235 students, were obtained (response rate = 78%). Perception of competence and confidence were significantly greater amongst the students from research-based universities group (P < 0.05). 93.5% (n=179) of participants agree that they were confident to do endodontic procedure on anterior tooth, whilst on posterior tooth, only 75.5% (n=139) were confident. Only 6.5 percent of participants (n = 12) did not feel confident doing root canal treatment on single-rooted teeth, but 76.1 percent (n = 140) did not feel competent performing root canal treatment on multirooted teeth. Over 90% of the students rated the quality and the amount of time spent on endodontic education were adequate at their respective university as ?5 on a Likert scale (1 = inadequate to 10 = adequate). In addition, when they were asked to give the suggestion on how to improve the quality of endodontic education, 10.9% of the students suggested to increase the number of practical session and to do regular discussion regarding endodontic cases. It is vital to improve undergraduate endodontic education in order to raise students' perceptions of their confidence and competence when doing root canal therapy.

Exploring Language Teachers' Beliefs About the Medium of Instruction and Actual Practices Using Complex Dynamic System Theory

This paper explores the relations between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction from the perspective of complex dynamic systems theory. Through a functional framework of teacher classroom discourse, mixed analytical models were adopted to fully describe the close interaction and non-linear relations between teacher beliefs and practices. Data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews from three college teachers working in a typical research-based university in northeast China. The findings revealed the complex and dynamic relations between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction. The consistency and inconsistency between the analysis of interviews and classroom observations represented the tensions and changes between teacher beliefs and practices about the medium of instruction. The study calls for attention to the socially situated and co-evolving relations between teacher beliefs and practices and how they develop with contextual affordances, attractor states, flexible goals, and high dependence on initial conditions.

Green Hydrogen as a Future Multi-disciplinary Research at Kathmandu University

Over 100 million tons of hydrogen are produced every year for a range of industrial purposes. The vast majority of this industrial hydrogen is produced from coal gasification or steam methane reforming, both of which need a lot of energy and generate significant carbon dioxide emissions. A much smaller proportion of hydrogen is produced from the electrolysis of water, which can be a far more sustainable and clean method if the electricity is produced from renewable sources. While the urgency of greenhouse gas emission mitigation has increased, many countries have begun to take action to decarbonize their economies. Nepal is expected to have about a 3000 MW electricity surplus by the Year 2030. It is a time to explore alternative use of electricity to make hydropower projects financially feasible. Hence it is also high time to investigate Hydropower-to-Hydrogen (H2H) technology and transfer the relevant knowledge in the region. Kathmandu University (KU) has been leading to initiate and institutionalize the new academic programs and research avenues to address the future need for this country. KU has played a role model to introduce and establish innovative and unique programs in engineering education in Nepal since it was established in 1994. Since the establishment period, KU carried the vision to establish itself as a research-based university. KU has carried the objective to design its academic programs, courses, and curricula to directly contribute to the research problem the industry or society has been facing. The intuitional realization that Green Hydrogen (GH) is the future academic and research need of this country will be the far-slightness of KU.

A Web Based Digital Repository for Scholarly Publication

Institutional repositories are essential research infrastructure for research-based universities. A properly dimensioned institutional repository has the potential to increase research impact and enhance the visibility of an institution through its scholarly outputs. The aim of the study is to design and develop a web-based digital repository for scholarly materials and publications in a tertiary institution. The motivation for carrying out this project is to provide a lasting solution to the need for an effective, efficient, reliable and easily accessible system for storing and retrieving scholarly materials, which will make study and research work less cumbersome and stressful for academic staff and students, thereby enabling them to easily carry out their day-to-day activities, especially as it concerns obtaining relevant scholarly information quickly. The system will be developed using open source software and OOADM (Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology). Findings obtained from system validation tests show that the system is a viable solution to the major challenges encountered in the management and sharing of scholarly information at the institution.

Experiences and Expectations of International Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

International students are the most important population in the American higher education system, particularly for students from different cultural backgrounds. Besides research-based universities, comprehensive universities, and liberal arts colleges, historically black colleges and universities have the traditions to provide an equal learning environment to minorities, including international students. This study aimed to understand the academic experiences and expectations of Chinese international students enrolled at historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern parts of the United States from the lens of neo-racism. One research question guided this study, which was: How would Chinese international university students describe their academic learning experience, expectations, stress, and difficulties at one of the historically black colleges and universities? The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to explore the academic experience, difficulties, stress, and lived stories of their academic voyage at one of the historically black colleges and universities in the United States. The findings indicated that discrimination based on skin color, nationality, and race, the gaps in academic expectations, and social unfairness of internship opportunities are still significant. The result indicated the directions and recommendations for leaders, policymakers, school administrators, and related professionals to redesign the current university planning and related counselling services to not only international students but all minority people.

Rational curriculum processes: revising learning outcomes is essential yet insufficient for a twenty-first century science curriculum

ABSTRACT In a competitive higher education sector, large-scale curriculum reviews are common, and increasingly require alignment with broader graduate attributes. Outcomes-based reviews can be difficult in practice, especially in generalist degrees such as science and mathematics, where students’ future career pathways are uncertain and varied. Working with academic leads, we revised learning outcomes across majors, streams and programmes within a diverse science faculty at a large Australian research-based university. We devised a novel measure to quantify the change and developed exemplars across the Faculty to further assist academics in aligning their curriculum to the University’s graduate qualities. Following revision, the language and alignment of learning outcomes was significantly improved. Although this study provides a model for others undergoing curriculum reform, caution is required as such large-scale, time-intensive revisions – although essential – are insufficient to create the required twenty-first century Science curricula.

Implementasi Research Based Learning (RBL) pada Mata Kuliah IPA Terpadu di Pro-gram Studi Pendidikan Fisika

To help realize UNP's vision towards a research-based university, awareness of Educators is needed to be active in providing innovation in classroom learning such as transforming conventional learning into research-based learning. This aim of this study was to analyze the implementation of research-based learning in Integrated Science courses Class VII in an effort to improve the ability to think critically and creatively. The study used the Quasi Experimental Research method with the design of the Pretest-posttest Control Group Design. The study was conducted in two sample classes obtained from cluster random sampling techniques by providing research-based learning treatment to the experimental class and ordinary learning to the control class. The research data was pre-test and post-test instrument, student response questionnaire and observation sheet during the learning process. With the implementation of research-based learning, the ability to think critically and creatively students of Physics Education FMIPA UNP was expected to be able to increase.

Strategi Peningkatan Kinerja Guru Besar Di Perguruan Tinggi Negeri

Human resourcesare the most important as set for an organization, including the IPB. Vision of IPB become World Classy University (WCU) and Research Based University (RBU) requires quality human resources, especially lecturers and professors. Quality of human resources capable of align IPB with the best universities in Indonesia and the world is a quality lecturers and professors are high performing. Good performance should be supported by a good performance management and appropriate strategies. This study aims to formulate alternative strategies that influence the performance professor. This research methoduses the AHP model (Analytical Hierarchy Process) with soft were of Expert Choice as an approach to looking at the structure and priorities of strategic alternatives. The results showed that the strategy of priorities to be implemented through the strategic management of IPB is development of self capacity in main priority to the education factor with indicators is development of lecturing materials through the function and main role of head of department (Kadep).

Design and Implementation of English for Academic Purpose Online Learning System Based on Browser/Server Framework

Today, with the rapid development of the information age, the education reform tends to be internationalized. The tertiary-level EFL education in colleges and universities has also changed its original model with focuses on cultivating gen-eral-purpose linguistic skills to one on students' English for Academic Purpose (EAP). EAP English instruction has been vigorously popularized in research-based universities. To achieve the informationized and standardized management for EAP English instruction work in the universities, in this paper, we design and develop a EAP English online learning system with B / S as the system develop-ment framework by which the system's overall functions are designed. MySQL is chosen as a database development tool used to implement the main object mod-ule, while JSP technology is used to support the cross-platform mechanism in order to access to diversified data sources. It is proved by the test on system op-eration that this system features operability, easy to use and maintain, and enables to meet the needs of university students for EAP English learning and teaching management, improves the students’ EAP English learning model and efficiency.

Stuck in the middle? Human resource management at the interface of academia and industry

At the interface of academia and industry, university commercialisation offices are distinctive firms that act as a conduit between two highly dissimilar sectors and their HR practices remain underexplored. We examine the human resource management (HRM) in two commercialisation offices of research-based universities in Australia and New Zealand, distinguishing key features of HRM in these offices and the HR challenges they are currently facing. Based on qualitative data from 65 interviews, we adopt an HR architecture ideal types model to analyse differences between the two cases’ HRM and employee perceptions of HR effectiveness. Our results indicate that while both cases are facing similar HR challenges, each has implemented company-specific HR practices that resulted in different employee perceptions. Our findings contribute to the literature by furthering the understanding of the ways in which HR creates value for the firm through examining discrepancies between managerial HR intentions and employee perceptions on HR.

Research on the Scientific Research Evaluation Innovation System of Humanities and Social Sciences in Research I Universities under the New Situation

In this article, the authors believe that research evaluation is a crucial method for scientific management in colleges, as well as an important reference for configuration of scientific resources. With development of knowledge economics in 21st century, research evaluation has become more and more profound. As a pronounced part of national innovation system, colleges are filled with talents, massive knowledge and complete scientific innovation system, which are considered as main force of innovation on knowledge and science. In new situation, comprehensive reformation of advanced education is fully implemented and construction of ‘Dual-First Class’ is completely started. In addition, development of philosophy and social science and construction of Chinese characterized innovation system philosophy and social science are tactic missions to research-based universities. As a consequent, completed evaluation system for researches in art and social science is required for research-based universities. Colleges are supposed to encourage everyone to build a ‘free and compatible’ academic environment, and to convert ‘project and product-based’ focus into ‘academic development-based’ focus. It requires colleges to values desire of original innovation and social value as the highest standard of evaluation system of art and social scientific research in order to guide teachers to achieve research product with high quality. Meanwhile, emphasize the importance of the experts’ status in the evaluation method, and use the academy as the lead and administration as the protection to provide support platform and long-term mechanism for the major breakthroughs in scientific research performance of the teaching and research staff.

2C25 研究型大学における6年一貫工学教育システムの構築 第2報

2C25 研究型大学における6年一貫工学教育システムの構築 第2報

2C24 研究型大学における6年一貫工学教育システムの構築 第1報

2C24 研究型大学における6年一貫工学教育システムの構築 第1報

Booklet | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College: Leading innovation in the health sciences

Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) share a history of firsts. PUMC was the first medical university in China authorized to grant M.D. degrees to students who have finished an eight-year curriculum that starts in undergraduate school. CAMS, its sister institution, is a leading multidisciplinary medical research institution that, among its many accomplishments, developed the new antitumor drug icotinib. CAMS and PUMC run 19 institutes, 7 satellite centers, 6 hospitals, and 7 schools. The pair are now seeking another series of firsts—to make PUMC an international research-based medical university and to transform CAMS into the "Chinese National Institutes of Health," giving it international standing. Despite the many dramatic changes in China since their founding, PUMC and CAMS have remained true to their mission and heritage as elite medical and research institutions. No doubt many more firsts remain in their collective future. Leading innovation in the health sciences (PDF, 9 MB) View the online version This special supplement brought to you by the Science /AAAS Custom Publishing Office.

Booklet | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College: Leading innovation in the health sciences

Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) share a history of firsts. PUMC was the first medical university in China authorized to grant M.D. degrees to students who have finished an eight-year curriculum that starts in undergraduate school. CAMS, its sister institution, is a leading multidisciplinary medical research institution that, among its many accomplishments, developed the new antitumor drug icotinib. CAMS and PUMC run 19 institutes, 7 satellite centers, 6 hospitals, and 7 schools. The pair are now seeking another series of firsts—to make PUMC an international research-based medical university and to transform CAMS into the "Chinese National Institutes of Health," giving it international standing. Despite the many dramatic changes in China since their founding, PUMC and CAMS have remained true to their mission and heritage as elite medical and research institutions. No doubt many more firsts remain in their collective future. Leading innovation in the health sciences (PDF, 9 MB) View the online version This special supplement brought to you by the Science /AAAS Custom Publishing Office.