Higher Education Research Institute Research Articles

The geography of science in 12 European countries: a NUTS2-level analysis

Europe has a long history as a global center of scientific research, but not all European regions are alike. Regions such as Ile de France and the corridor that stretches from Cambridge to Oxford via London produce a disproportionate share of Europe’s science output. An econometric analysis sheds light on the factors that explain the spatial distribution of European science. One result is that the regional volume of Web of Science publications depends on the regional number of researchers in higher education institutions. This is however not the only cause of high output. Universities and their surrounding regions are slowly evolving institutional structures. Some regions host universities that are more than 500 years old. A second key result is that an increase in the age of a region’s oldest university is associated with greater output, other things being equal. Third, interregional accessibility via road, rail, and air networks is important for small regions, but not for large ones. Conversely, regional high-tech R&D employment is important for large but not for small regions.

A conducive environment? The role of need support in the higher education workplace and its effect on academics' experiences of research assessment in the UK

AbstractLittle is known about how researchers in higher education institutions (HEIs) experience and respond to support received from their departments. The present study investigated how support for researchers' autonomy (choice and self‐expression), relatedness (through connections with colleagues) and competence (feeling effective in one's work) influenced their attitudes towards an external assessment of research. To do so, we surveyed 598 academics from four HEIs in the UK about their attitudes towards one such external assessment: the Research Excellence Framework (REF), a nationwide assessment of research quality and the subject of debate about research evaluation. Our findings, drawing on self‐determination theory, show that departments can shape responses to the REF: individuals whose psychological needs were supported by their academic departments held more positive, and less negative, attitudes towards the REF. This occurred both directly and indirectly through researchers' recognition that the REF had a more positive influence on their research activities and outputs.

Future in Law? A Profile of Graduating College Seniors Interested in Legal Education and Careers

The recent decline in law school applicants is well-documented. Despite a slight increase in 2018, the number of law school applicants remains substantially lower than levels observed prior to 2011. This decrease in the demand for legal education presents an opportunity to better understand the pathway to law school and the formation of interest in pursuing a law degree or career. The American Association of Law Schools pioneered inquiry in this area with their groundbreaking study, Before the JD: Undergraduate Views on Law School, which surveyed undergraduates from 25 four-year institutions and first-year law students from 44 law schools, to learn more about what attracts and deters undergraduate interest in legal education and other advanced degrees. This report aims to build on this work by analyzing a broader dataset of undergraduate students — specifically, college seniors — to further describe the characteristics, academic behaviors, goals and career path considerations of those who report an interest in law compared to those who have other career and degree aspirations. Utilizing 15 years of data from the College Senior Survey administered by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles, our study offers insight about the traits of college seniors aspiring to a law degree and/or career, when their interest in law develops, and the extent to which their interest in law changes during college.

Adaptive management of the process of acquisition of intellectual property rights and commercialization of research in higher education institutions

Adaptive management of the process of acquisition of intellectual property rights and commercialization of research in higher education institutions

Ciência aberta e novas (velhas) formas de fazer e comunicar ciência: ética, integridade e investigação responsável

The concept of Open Science (OA) hosts a wide range of events related to the new model of academic communication and to concepts such as ethics, integrity in research and responsible research and innovation. Our work consists of an eminently theoretical contribution since we develop a conceptual mapping that allows, in future works, the elaboration of grounded empirical research, essential to the scientific practice of Portuguese researchers in higher education institutions. This framework is particularly relevant for academic libraries that face new realities regarding the management of science information and the way as they position themselves in the context of research.

Orientation to the Student Role

This article explores and challenges the idea that today's college students (Millennials) are substantially different and more difficult to work with than past generations of students. To investigate students' college preparation and performance, researchers examined data collected by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) and by the National Department for Educational Statistics. Researchers compared this data to college professionals' attitudes of current students using a survey developed from the HERI data. The comparison revealed misperceptions of both student academic attitudes and performance which highlight the need for skepticism regarding generational differences in Millennials. This study examines misconceptions about college students, explores how these misconceptions are detrimental to student development, and offers ways to move beyond these misconceptions.

An Investigation of open access publications’ attractiveness among academic researchers from three European countries

A thriving open access publication (OAP) system represents a sound basis for Open Science development. Unfortunately, it is not yet clear what are the factors determining that academic researchers use OAPs, both as a source of knowledge and relevant references, and as an outlet to present their work to their peers, students and/or the general public. To investigate this topic, we assume an interpretative framework rooted in the institutional theory. Considering the development and evolution of the OAP system as a coherent set of structures, norms and routines, our research aims to (i) identify the factors that determine academic researchers in the business field to become active participants in this system; and (ii) to compare the way in which these factors influence academic researchers’ choices and professional strategies in three different European countries, which are traditionally different in terms of research culture and orientation: France, Romania and the UK.
 We adopt a research methodology based on semi-structured interviews, as our research objectives require a qualitative approach to identify not only the individual reasons for using the OAP system, but also the influence of the professional environment in shaping these decisions in terms of institutional standards, rules and practices. To collect primary data, we interviewed a total of 42 academics, who are active in both teaching and research in higher education institutions located in France, Romania or the UK (14 respondents from each country). The interviews lasted between 30 and 45 minutes, being conducted either face-to-face or through skype. With the permission of respondents – but under strict confidentiality standards, the interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed.
 The findings draw a highly complex picture indicating a set of conflicting factors and forces that determine the official perception and use of the OAP system. Although each of the investigated countries has specific features in terms of higher education quality standards and practices, respondents indicated a strong tendency towards uniformization, determined by the global spread of the North American academic system, which directly connects the professional status and evolution of academic researchers to their capacity to publish in peer-reviewed journals that are highly ranked in national or international publications lists (e.g., ISI, ABS, CNRS, FNEGE, etc.). Presently, there are relatively few open access journals included in national/international journal ranking lists, which prevents a widespread use of the OAP system by business academic researchers.
 Respondents indicated that although they currently use OAPs as a source of knowledge for teaching, they are more reluctant to use them as publication outlets for their research work, or as references in their scholarly publications. This tendency differs between these national education systems, although the general trend indicates a strong convergence of opinions and institutional practices. Overall, the academic publishing landscape can be described as a battlefield between two competing sets of institutions centred around open access and paid access systems, the paid access system still representing the standard for academic quality and professional recognition.

I-ENTRE-U: an individual entrepreneurial orientation scale for teachers and researchers in higher education institutions

Nowadays, something essential in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) is seeking to be entrepreneurial, with human resources with entrepreneurial characteristics. The success of higher education institutions will depend on the performance of its human resources. The main objective of this paper is to propose the concept of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO), based on the construct Entrepreneurial Orientation, a concept from the strategy-making literature, composed of five entrepreneurial dimensions (autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness) (Lumpkin and Dess Academy of Management Review, 21(3), 605–607, 1996a; 135–172, b). The paper also proposes a measurement scale with a set of items, which are to measure the IEO of Teachers and Researchers in HEI. The EO will be measured by the ENTRE-U scale developed by Todorovic, McNaughton, and Guild in (Technovation, 31, 128–137, 2011) and adapted in this study to the individual level (I-ENTRE-U). A set of items is reviewed from the ENTRE-U, and the proposal scale adaptation was validated by academic experts. To test, debug and validate this measuring instrument, we used the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Pearson’s correlations and Cronbach’s alphas, among other measures. This paper conceptualizes the EO strategy, taking into account higher education peculiarities and discusses the dimensions of the IEO concept in HEI.

Persistence and engagement among first-year Hispanic students

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between engagement indicators and intent to persist of first-year full-time Hispanic students attending public versus private universities. Design/methodology/approach Metadata from the Your First College Year survey from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) were selected for this study. The approach included using a descriptive correlational design and regression analysis to examine the relationship between engagement indicators and persistence among first-year, full-time Hispanic students and persistence. Purposeful sampling obtained from the HERI data set resulted in a sample size of 1,206 students who attended public institutions and 1,187 students who attended private institutions. Findings Analysis of the results disclosed a positive correlation between first-year Hispanic students’ intent to persist, satisfaction with peer interactions, amount of contact with faculty, first-year programs and sense of belonging. The results of the analysis disclosed differences between public and private institutions. Of the collective variables, satisfaction with amount of contact with faculty and sense of belonging are significant predictors of persistence. Research limitations/implications The sample of the study was limited to the use of archival data and the responses to specific questions obtained from the 2014 YFCY survey. Factors such as insufficient experience at the college students are attending, unwillingness to provide honest feedback and exaggerating specific areas of their behavior or performance may affect students who respond to surveys (Kuh, 2004), affecting the accuracy of the data. Further, 89.7 per cent of the variance in persistence has not been explained. Adding or using different variables and utilizing a more advanced statistical technique may account for additional variance. Cause and effect cannot be determined from correlational analysis, and the possibility exists that an unknown variable may be the cause of a correlation within the study. Incomplete information from predictors, complete separation and overdispersion can lead to SPSS output errors for logistic regression analysis. Social implications It is important for higher education administrators to understand the cultural differences of not only Hispanic students but other ethnic and racial groups. As a global society, public and private higher education institutions are looking for more inclusion of multi-cultural students. Recruitment is obviously important, but to recruit is not enough. It is the responsibility of higher education administrators to do all that is reasonably possible to retain students through graduation. Originality/value Studies have been conducted on academic disparities between Hispanic students and their White counterparts, but few studies exist on the factors associated to persistence among the first-year Hispanic student population. The results of this study may add to the existing body of knowledge and assist with faculty development of programs, decisions on class size, improvements to pedagogy and discussions to improve the campus climate for Hispanic students. Using the resources of HERI, future studies can be conducted involving other races and ethnicities.

Leadership practices by senior position holders in Higher Educational Research Institutes: Stealth power in action?

Using the concept of stealth power and a critical realist perspective, this article identifies leadership practices that obscure the centralisation of power, drawing on data from interviews with 25...

Enabling Knowledge Sharing Practices for Academic and Research in Higher Education Institutions.

This paper underscores the need for knowledge sharing practices as an enabler for enhancing academic and research activities in Higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the various HEIs availing support driven digital infrastructure to open and free access of information (digital resources) to academic and research community, the uptake and adoption of knowledge sharing practices is not evident enough to measure up the initiatives. Lecturers, researchers and scholars in HEIs need to embrace knowledge sharing in pursuit of innovation, recognition and competiveness. The paper therefore highlights the benefits of knowledge sharing as well as obstacles it faces. This paper applied content analysis in terms of review of both print and electronic resources as methodology based on identified objectives. The review found out that knowledge sharing is key to innovation but has not been fully embraced by the intended community as should. The paper suggests a number of ways in which knowledge sharing can be effected in HEIs. Major recommendations included aggressive sensitization on benefits of sharing knowledge and incentives not only to the targeted but also to stakeholders. The study also recommends a dedicated office for research coordination, collaboration, networking and visibility purposes. The paper proposes future research into investigating institutionalization and integration of knowledge sharing and possible approaches that would encourage voluntary knowledge generation and intra-sharing amongst academics in HEIs. Keywords : knowledge management, knowledge sharing, higher education institutions, academics, lecturers, researchers, scholars. DOI : 10.7176/IKM/9-3-09 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Defining ethical standards for the application of digital tools to population health research.

There is growing interest in population health research, which uses methods based on artificial intelligence. Such research draws on a range of clinical and non-clinical data to make predictions about health risks, such as identifying epidemics and monitoring disease spread. Much of this research uses data from social media in the public domain or anonymous secondary health data and is therefore exempt from ethics committee scrutiny. While the ethical use and regulation of digital-based research has been discussed, little attention has been given to the ethics governance of such research in higher education institutions in the field of population health. Such governance is essential to how scholars make ethical decisions and provides assurance to the public that researchers are acting ethically. We propose a process of ethics governance for population health research in higher education institutions. The approach takes the form of review after the research has been completed, with particular focus on the role artificial intelligence algorithms play in augmenting decision-making. The first layer of review could be national, open-science repositories for open-source algorithms and affiliated data or information which are developed during research. The second layer would be a sector-specific validation of the research processes and algorithms by a committee of academics and stakeholders with a wide range of expertise across disciplines. The committee could be created as an off-shoot of an already functioning national oversight body or health technology assessment organization. We use case studies of good practice to explore how this process might operate.

Academic And Administrative Obstacles Facing Scientific Research In Higher Education Institutions In The Sultanate Of Oman:, An Analytical Quantitative Study

Academic And Administrative Obstacles Facing Scientific Research In Higher Education Institutions In The Sultanate Of Oman:, An Analytical Quantitative Study

La brecha norte sur en investigatión científica

La poca relevancia que se otorga a la función de investigación en la sociedad y en las propias universidades del Sur, la debilidad de los sistemas nacionales de ciencia y tecnología y la falta de capacidades disciplinares y metodológicas aunada a las carencias en equipamiento e infraestructura cualificada para la investigación en las instituciones de educación superior son elementos que inciden sobre el mantenimiento de la brecha norte-sur en investigación científica.En este artículo se da cuenta de algunos elementos concretos que, en el caso de Honduras y la UNAH, propician esta brecha u obstaculizan su reducción; al tiempo que se describen algunas particularidades concernientes al desarrollo de proyectos de investigación colaborativos en el contexto Norte-Sur y se realizan apuntes que podrían aportar a la construcción de políticas públicas que potencien la producción científica como factor clave del desarrollo y faciliten la labor de los gestores académicos de investigación en el nivel de educación superior.

Challenges to and opportunities for establishing a qualitative approach to Built Environment research in higher education institutions

PurposeThere are serious implications for adopting inappropriate research strategies and methods, and this is evident in the Built Environment (BE) given the under adoption of qualitative strategies in some countries. Therefore, based on empirical evidence from Nigeria, the purpose of this study is to examine the challenges to and opportunities for establishing Qualitative Approach (QA) to BE research in higher education institutions (HEIs) and to develop an improvement framework for QA.Design/methodology/approachAcademics and research students in the BE research of Nigerian HEIs were interviewed and the data analysed thematically. Based on the findings, including recommendations from the respondents, a framework for improving the use of QA in BE research was developed and academics evaluated it for workability.FindingsThis study reveals that the challenges to QA in BE research include information constraints, socio-cultural issues and the negative attitudes of senior academics to QA. The opportunities include the realisation for a paradigm shift, the characteristics of the socio-cultural context and features of BE and the general potentials of QA. The proposed framework encompasses encouraging and providing a platform for international collaboration between academics in developing and developed countries, and preferential treatment for QA. It also enables regulatory and incentive mechanisms, which will act as drivers.Practical implicationsThis study provides stakeholders in academia with knowledge and a detailed guideline for establishing QA to research in the BE.Originality/valueThis study provides a country context-based detailed guide for establishing QA in HEIs BE research towards ensuring that research strategies adopted in BE research are fit for purpose, in turn are aligned to addressing problems in the society. There is little or no study of this nature in BE.

Exploring Curricular and Cocurricular Effects on Civic Engagement at Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Background/ContextHispanic-Serving Institution (HSIs), or those postsecondary institutions that meet the 25% Latina/o enrollment requirement to become federally designated as HSIs, are burgeoning in the United States. Similarly, emerging Hispanic-Serving Institutions (eHSIs), or those postsecondary institutions that enroll between 15% and 24% Latina/o students, are rapidly increasing. As these institutions increase in number, there is a need to understand them as unique organizations that provide distinct outcomes for diverse students, including students of color, commuter students, and low-income students.Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of StudyThe purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which eHSIs contribute to one specific outcome, civic engagement. We conceptualized civic engagement as primarily defined by political involvement (contacting public officials, participating in a political demonstration, discussing politics, voting in an election), although volunteerism was also included in our definition (engaging in community service). The main research question guiding this study was: What curricular and cocurricular experiences contribute to the civic engagement of students enrolled at eHSIs?Population/Participants/SubjectsA sample of 10,022 students was drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). The sample is inclusive of women (61%), first-generation college students (18%), and racially diverse individuals, including Latina/o (18%), Black (4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (38%), American Indian (4%), and White (51%).Research DesignWe used a cross-sectional research design, measuring the civic engagement of students enrolled at six eHSIs at one time point. Secondary data came from CIRP's Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) survey, which focuses on the experiences of diverse students and their perceptions of the climate and institutional practices for diversity.Data Collection and AnalysisThe DLE survey is web based and administered annually by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). We merged two data sets, the 2010 and 2011 DLE, data from the 2010–2011 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and information about diversity-related curricula and cocurricular programs for each of the six institutions. We ran t tests and used ordinary least squares regression to examine relationships between variables.Findings/ResultsFindings show that students’ perceptions of their academic validation and of a curriculum of inclusion in the classroom, as well as their involvement in campus-facilitated diversity programs, positively predict their civic engagement.RecommendationsRecommendations for research include developing and validating quantitative measures of civic engagement for diverse students attending compositionally diverse institutions. Recommendations for practice include acknowledging the changing demographics within postsecondary institutions and creating curricular and cocurricular structures that will contribute to nonacademic outcomes such as civic engagement.

Sexual minorities drop out of sciences at a higher rate than other students

Diversity in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce has long been a problem, but few studies have examined how sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students—LGBQ) persist in STEM fields as undergraduates. A new study by Bryce E. Hughes, an education professor at Montana State University, shows that LGBQ undergraduates are almost 10% more likely to leave science majors than their heterosexual counterparts (Sci. Adv. 2018, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao6373). Hughes examined data on over 4,000 students at 78 institutions collected by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. Students were surveyed as freshmen about their intended major and surveyed again as seniors. The low retention rate for LGBQ students persisted even when Hughes controlled for academic success and undergraduate research experience. In fact, more sexual minority students had research experience—49%—than the heterosexual student population, which had 41%. This suggests “that nonacademic fact...

STRATEGI PRODI MANAJEMEN KEUANGAN SYARIAH DALAM MENGEMBANGKAN MINAT MAHASISWA BERWIRAUSAHA

The development of entrepreneurship spirit has become a crucial things for the future of students. In supporting the emergence of high competitiveness, function and role of educators to be more active in providing motivation for learners to become entrepreneurs is indispensable. College as one of the means and facilitating role in shaping the young generation has an obligation to train and motivate the students to be come savvy generation, independent, creative, innovative and able to create business opportunities. Thus, every college immediately towards sole discreation to balance between higher education research institutions with entrepreneurs forming institutions. Alumni are required to be innovative and creative in terms of their personal development through the creation of level playing field, so that future expected with extensive job creation, economic growth in the region will increase.The aims of this study is to analyze the strategic of program study of law economic syariah should do to improve the interest of being entrepreneur of student.
 DOI 10.5281/zenodo.1214934

Role of ICT facilitation in mobilizing the performance of business research process in North India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study undertaken to understand Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilitation and performance of business research process in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The study has investigated the influence of ICT-aided infrastructure facilitation on the effectiveness of business research in HEIs. Scale development for the various dimensions of ICT facilitation and business research process performance has also been established.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling has been used for data analysis across a sample of 164 respondents, which have been randomly selected from the population of business researchers pursuing their research in the HEIs in northern India. Questionnaire has been used for survey and data collection.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that implementation of ICT initiatives have significantly enhanced the efficiency and quality of business research in higher education. Further, the study has found that ICT facilitation is multidimensional, consisting of three sub-constructs (infrastructure availability, human resource capacity and e-resource financing) and business research process performance consisting of four sub-constructs (facilitator, accessibility, ethical dimensions and data processes). It has been found that all the sub-constructs are related to their respective constructs.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a small sample as the number of business researchers was less in the northern region of India. For more generalization and authentication, larger sample size should be used. Further, the study developed a scale and tested it in the northern region of India. Therefore, it becomes important to examine whether the same scale can be applied to other sector/regions and countries.Originality/valueThe study has added to the understanding of the relationship between variables, namely, ICT facilitation and business research process performance. It also identifies the ICT factors and business research performance factors, and empirically tests their dimensionality. The study emphasizes that higher learning institutes should be more knowledge and result-driven with immediate practical implications for business development and revenue generation.

Thinking About Sexual Orientation: College Experiences That Predict Identity Salience

Sexual orientation has been socially prominent in the national media lately, but little is known about how college creates opportunity for thinking about sexual orientation among individual students. Using data from the Diverse Learning Environments survey, administered by the Higher Education Research Institute, we compared samples of heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual students to determine experiences that predict sexual orientation salience for each group. An inclusive curriculum, cocurricular diversity activities, and bias experiences are all related to increased salience. Participation in an LGBT student organization mattered for LGB students, whereas campus-administered diversity activities were most important for heterosexual students' identity.