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This article examines some selected Educational Policies of First and Second Cycle Institutions in Ghana and Burkina Faso, in comparison with that of the UK and US. The purpose of the study is to itemise the commonalities and differences in Educational Policies of both developed (UK and US) and developing countries (Ghana and Burkina Faso) in order to learn from the developed countries where necessary, and to improve upon the Educational Policies and Practices in Africa. Data collection for the study includes documents studies that involve integrated literature review. Content analysis is used as the method for data analysis. The results show that several Educational Policies of the countries under review conform to the UN Educational Policy standards and could be adopted in similar context in Africa.

This article explores the factors affecting the content of universities' mission statements. We conceptualize missions as identity narratives, a type of symbolic representation of an organization. Based on the literature on organizational identity we argue that universities need to address two major challenges when crafting their mission statements, (i) to pursuit legitimacy in spite of multiple and competing expectations, and (ii) to properly balance similarity and distinctiveness from other universities. We identify factors that affect this strategic effort and develop hypotheses that we test in the empirical context of the United Kingdom's higher education system. Results show that (i) among competing expectations, universities choose claims that are plausible to external constituents and consistent with the values of internal members, and that (ii) they adopt claims similar to universities belonging to the same organizational form while differentiating from geographically closer universities in order to reduce competitive overlap.

Purpose: There is a widely held belief that sustainable development (SD) policies are essential for universities to successfully engage in matters related to sustainability, and are an indicator of the extent to which they are active in this field. This paper aims to examine the evidence which currently exists to support this assumption. It surveys a sample of universities in Brazil, Germany, Greece, Portugal, South Africa and the UK and the USA to ascertain the extent to which universities that are active in the field of sustainable development have formal policies on sustainable development, and whether such policies are a pre-condition for successful sustainability efforts. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved 35 universities in seven countries (five universities respectively). A mixed-methods approach has been used, ranging from document analysis, website analysis, questionnaires and interviewing. Findings: Although only 60 per cent of the sampled universities had a policy that specifically addressed SD, this cannot be regarded as an indicator that the remaining 40 per cent are not engaged with substantial actions that address SD. Indeed, all of the universities in the sample, regardless of the existence of a SD formal policy, demonstrated engagement with environmental sustainability policies or procedures in some form or another. This research has been limited by the availability and ability to procure information from the sampled universities. Despite this, it is one of the largest research efforts of this kind ever performed. Research limitations/implications: This research has been limited by the availability and ability to procure information from the sampled universities. Practical implications: The findings provide some valuable insights into the connections between SD policies on the one hand and the practice of sustainable development in higher education institutions on the other. Social implications: Universities with SD policies can contribute to models of economic growth consistent with sustainable development. Originality/value: The study is the one of the largest research efforts of this kind ever performed.

Universities in many countries are developing strategies to enhance the student experience. This focus has never been so important since the development of rankings and the use of student experience measures in institutional performance assessment. Australian government policies to link student experience measures to performance funding were a key driver to increase the prominence of the student voice between 2004 and 2008. This paper analyses the strategic plans of 33 Australian universities with the aim of outlining the extent to which the enhancement of student experience is embedded as one of their key priorities. This review comes at a time when universities in Australia and elsewhere are realigning their future strategies and directions to achieve government aspirations for tertiary education with the introduction of various policy instruments including the possibility of rewarding universities on the basis of student experience measures. The paper also provides a comparative analysis of government policies in Australia and the UK on the measurement and enhancement of the student experience.

This comparison seeks to determine if the three documents addressing information literacy skills and competence developed by professional library associations for postsecondary education in four predominantly English-speaking countries--the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand--have similar or varying conceptions of information literacy. In a globalized society, postsecondary institutions not only prepare students to live and work within local, regional, or national contexts but also equip them to function in a global society. If conceptions of information literacy vary between countries, then graduates might not be well prepared to function successfully within this global society.

Universities traverse epistemic, sectoral and geopolitical boundaries with increasing frequency, but along the way encounter challenges in mitigating unequal capacities, soaring costs and proprietary concerns. The bridging of disparate stakeholder interests requires an enormous effort, as research policies, institutional norms and organizational cultures in global science often remain irreconcilable. In seeking to identify strategic leverages for optimal balance in cross-border partnerships, this paper considers the case study of the Structural Genomics Consortium, which represents a synergy of resources, interests and commitments by research universities, governments and industries in Canada, Sweden and the UK. By triangulating data derived from content analysis of institutional materials, interviews and participant observations in Toronto, the study zeros in on the Canadian equilibration of symbolic, cultural and organizational forces aimed at securing long-term stakeholder support across institutional, sectoral and geopolitical domains.

The higher skills policy of the UK New Labour Government emerged from the recommendations of the Leitch Review of Skills, and was implemented in England between 2007 and 2010. The policy aimed to encourage higher education (HE) institutions to engage with employers and employer representative bodies to design and deliver HE provision that reflected the needs of employers. Using key policy documents and evidence submitted to a select committee inquiry, aspects of ambiguity and conflict in the implementation of this policy are explored. This focuses on three specific areas where disagreements amongst parties, or with government, were observed, and ambiguities of policy means and objectives. Although conflict amongst interested parties is evident, this was not extensive within the HE sector as the policy was not seen as relevant to all institutions. The demonstrable ambiguity enables the policy to be absorbed and made appropriate to the norms and culture of the HE sector. The experimental structure of the policy, while always ambiguous, lost its rationale with the change of UK government in 2010.

This paper carried out a contextual analysis of different models of performance appraisals in both developed and developing countries on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). First, it conducted a thorough examination of the contextual implications of performance appraisal models in developed and developing countries. Secondly, to better understand the various performance appraisal models for HEIs in both developed and developing countries, a review of the theoretical and conceptual framework of several performances appraisal models were conducted. The third phase of the review focused on performance appraisal in educational institutions in selected countries, as well as a review of Eric Alan Hanushek article on the role of human capital in economic growth in developing countries. Finally, the paper presented the findings and the research gaps identified in the review. In carrying out the first phase of this paper, the emphasis was placed on the importance of the context, which involves the interplay between the extrinsic (such as societal norms, economic and political situation of the country) and the inherent (institutional culture and leadership style) factors within which the HEI operates. Intrinsic and Extrinsic factors affecting the performance assessment of HEIs in Iraq, Kurdistan, have been reviewed. A similar review was carried out in HEIs in the United Kingdom and the United States of America to determine the extent to which organizational culture and social norms influence the formulation of performance appraisal models.

The purposes of this paper are to investigate Taiwanese undergraduate students' responses to a selected fictional text, and to propose a critical intercultural pedagogical approach of reading global literature in the EFL educational context based on the insights from the research findings. The authors first critically analysed Xiaolu Guo's third novel, "A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers," in terms of Occidentalism, in order to unpack the ideologies underlying her representation of the British and the Chinese. The analysis of the text was conducted through a qualitative approach of critical content analysis. After that, a semi-structured interview was adopted to scrutinise Taiwanese undergraduate students' perceptions of the ideologies underlying the fiction. The analysis of the text identified three themes of British-Chinese binary opposition together with the juxtaposition of ethnocentric Occidentalism and reverse Occidentalism. The findings obtained from interviews indicated that two of the three dichotomies, i.e. individualism versus collectivism and cosmopolitan versus rooted, underlying the fictional text were commonly perceived by the interviewed undergraduates while they had diverse views on the second dichotomy, sexual freedom versus sexual reticence. Furthermore, some students? responses to the fiction signified a subtle, implicit and delicate form of reverse Occidentalism. Based on the above research findings, the authors configured a critical intercultural pedagogy for raising students' capability of decoding and deconstructing Occidentalist ideologies underlying global literature.

In this study, the variables having impact on the student motivation have been analyzed based on the articles, conference papers, master's theses and doctoral dissertations published in the years 2000-2017. A total of 165 research papers were selected for the research material and the data were collected through qualitative research techniques through document review and content analysis. According to the research results, the most important factors affecting student motivation are the fields of teacher, teachers' classroom management skills and their teaching methods. In this research, factors having less influence on the student motivation are parental communication, student characteristics and study fields. In addition, relational search type was used more than others, mostly students were selected as the study group and most researches were conducted in USA and Turkey.

Patriotism is an important and well-accepted value in educational institutions. As a civic virtue, it has always been included in education/training programs. This study aims to compare research articles on teaching of patriotism that were conducted in the last 20 years. The document analysis method was employed in the study for this purpose. The data were collected through the international databases e.g. Wiley, Jstore, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis. 218 articles were found by searching the keywords "patriotism", "patriotic education", and "teaching of patriotism". Upon initial analysis, it was decided that 110 articles would serve the purpose of this study. Content analysis technique was employed to reveal patterns of the selected articles. The number of articles published on patriotic education in each countries, the publication dates of these articles and the comparison of these articles according to countries, purposes, is presented in this study. The paper at hand shows that only some articles have a critical perspective on patriotism. Implications are made based on results.

This paper evidences the importance of maintaining a dynamic interpretive stance in e-learning research. In particular, it shows how a rigorous methodology, tailored to the research question, overlooked the importance of power and knowledge in technology acceptance research for education. It was perhaps the affordance of the mixed methods design, explained in this paper, which allowed for a blind spot to come to the surface, and prompt a renegotiation of the data. Empirical studies on the use of technology in education don't always take the pervasiveness of power dynamics into account. Yet this study shows how direct and effective they are in a teacher's decision to use or not use a technology. Using Michel Foucault's theory as an analytical tool, the findings from an original empirical study are re-examined. The analysis offers a new understanding of the critical manifestations of a performance culture in UK schooling, which goes hand in hand with a culture of observation and accountability. This is further underlined by the authority of time pressures. Both of these go at the cost of pedagogical considerations, which is arguably the primary concern of educators. That is where a power critique shows it value, but also its necessity. It traces the breaking points of the system; the moment where it undermines the rationality which it uses as its own justification. We correctly motivate our research choices through methodological paradigms and domain loyalties, but including a power critique suggests a new imperative for e-learning research. It offers the possibility to question normalised forces and better understand technology acceptance in education. We need to consider this critical position in any research design to continue challenging our theorising about e-learning.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing body of literature critically analysing the relation between neoliberalism and the global English Language Teaching (ELT) textbook with a new perspective. In this study, neoliberalism is regarded not only as an economic policy paradigm, but especially in a Foucauldian way, as a form of governmentality, with its emphasis on the responsibilisation of the self and the creation of a certain kind of subjectivity, related to the entrepreneurial-consumerist concept of society. The paper examines two best-selling global UK-produced English language textbooks. I develop a qualitative content analysis to explore in which way and to what extent these textbooks reflect, legitimate and reproduce neoliberal governmentality. The findings of the analysis suggest that the global ELT textbook not only presents a particular neoliberal worldview as common sense, but also encourages students to implement techniques of self-government to become entrepreneurial individuals and responsible consumers. In light of that, the paper concludes by arguing that the global ELT textbook may be regarded as a tool to extend and support the expansion of neoliberal governmentality in today's society.

Culture plays an essential role in the success of product design, especially in the age of a global economy where there is a high probability of discrepancy between the designer's intention and the consumer's response. However, the role of culture is often challenging to identify and measure. In the current paper, we employed Repertory Grids to investigate differences in UK and Chinese participants' evaluations of designs, which were themselves from both UK and Chinese students. The techniques of Honey's Content Analysis and Principal Components Analysis were applied to integrate the analysis of both the collected qualitative and quantitative data. The results show that the two groups tended to focus on a similar range of design aspects (i.e. aesthetics, form/shape, usability, creativity, and functionality), but apply different criteria in evaluating such aspects.The UK and Chinese designs were found to be distinctive from each other and tended to appeal more to the people from the same cultural background. The findings reveal the interplay between culture and design and underline the importance of integrating culture into design education.

Using the Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC) model, this study analyses postgraduate educational programmes that contribute to internationalization in higher education at British and Sino-British transnational universities. The purpose is to explore postcolonial curricular design influences and opportunities. The study identified patterns based on content analysis of twelve programmes' goals, approaches, and course listings. The findings reflected noteworthy similarities with limited emphasis on the emerging paradigmatic shift of IoC. The study invited one programme director from each type of university to speak about the design intentions from an insider's perspective. The discovery was that both types of universities were driven, in part, by a response to global market trends rather than an ideological postcolonial design imperative. Semi-structured interviews of postgraduate Chinese students in the Sino-British university's programme were conducted to understand students' perceptions of learning and former pedagogical experiences. Students appreciated opportunities to explore indigenous knowledge and experiences to make the curriculum relevant and meaningful. They expressed a clear need to conduct independent discoveries without necessarily following the patterns established by Western scholars. The paper offers suggestions for constructing postcolonial learning environments. Implications for educational practices are discussed.

Introduction There is anecdotal evidence that health messages interpreted from waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) research are inconsistent, such as comparing the health effects of one WTS session with that of 100 cigarettes. This study aimed to identify key health themes about WTS discussed by online news media, and how numerical cigarette–waterpipe equivalence (CWE) was being interpreted. Methods We identified 1065 online news articles published between March 2011 and September 2012 using the ‘Google Alerts' service. We screened for health themes, assessed statements mentioning CWE and reported differences between countries. We used logistic regression to identify factors associated with articles incorrectly reporting a CWE equal to or greater than 100 cigarettes, in the absence of any comparative parameter (‘CWE ≥100 cigarettes'). Results Commonly mentioned health themes were the presence of tobacco (67%) and being as bad as cigarettes (49%), and we report on differences between countries. While 10.8% of all news articles contained at least one positive health theme, 22.9% contained a statement about a CWE. Most of these (18.6% total) were incorrectly a CWE ≥100 cigarettes, a quarter of which were made by healthcare professionals/organisations. Compared with the Middle East, articles from the USA and the UK were the most significant predictors to contain a CWE ≥100 cigarettes statement. Conclusions Those wishing to write or publish information related to WTS may wish to avoid comparing WTS to cigarettes using numerical values as this is a major source of confusion. Future research is needed to address the impact of the media on the attitudes, initiation and cessation rates of waterpipe smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review aims to examine the approach given to open science policy in the different studies. The main findings are that the approach given to open science has different aspects: policy framing and its geopolitical aspects are described as an asymmetries replication and epistemic governance tool. The main geopolitical aspects of open science policies described in the literature are the relations between international, regional, and national policies. There are also different components of open science covered in the literature: open data seems much discussed in the works in the English language, while open access is the main component discussed in the Portuguese and Spanish speaking papers. Finally, the relationship between open science policies and the science policy is framed by highlighting the innovation and transparency that open science can bring into it.

Background: Following content analyses of the first 30 years of the UK speech and language therapy professional body's journal, this study was conducted to survey the published work of the speech (and language) therapy profession over the last 50 years and trace key changes and themes. Aim: To understand better the development of the UK speech and language therapy profession over the last 50 years. Methods & Procedures: All volumes of the professional journal of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists published between 1966 and 2015 ("British Journal of Communication Disorders," "European Journal of Communication Disorders" and "International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders") were examined using content analysis. The content was compared with that of the same journal as it appeared from 1935 to 1965. Outcomes & Results: The journal has shown a trend towards more multi-authored and international papers, and a formalization of research methodologies. The volume of papers has increased considerably. Topic areas have expanded, but retain many of the areas of study found in earlier issues of the journal. Conclusions & Implications: The journal and its articles reflect the growing complexity of conditions being researched by speech and language therapists and their professional colleagues and give an indication of the developing evidence base for intervention and the diverse routes which speech and language therapy practice has taken over the last 50 years.

This paper uses the remote interactions of professional examiners working for a UK-based awarding body as a vehicle for discussing the benefits of the use of different methods for analysing such discourse. Communication is an area of interest for sociocultural theory because it can potentiate cognitive shifts in participants and affords learning. In the professional examiner context the feedback given to examiners by more senior colleagues on their performance is a mechanism through which the examiners ensure that their work articulates [Schmidt 2011. "Taking CSCW Seriously: Supporting Articulation Work." In "Cooperative Work and Coordinative Practices," 45-72. "Computer Supported Cooperative Work." London: Springer]. Moreover, this communication has a learning function that helps examiners to become members of the professional community. The study captures feedback interaction data from 21 examiners. Once the study context is outlined, the paper briefly discusses three different approaches that have been widely used to analyse communication data. The paper then goes on to propose, using case study analyses of some of the study data, how these methods can be used to augment each other as part of a general sociocultural discourse analysis framework to construct a broad picture of communication.

The fiercely competitive HE market has led HEIs to invest significant resources in building a distinct identity. An HEI's location forms an inherent part of its identity and the uniqueness of location offers an opportunity to differentiate. However there has been limited examination of how location is used by HEIs and little consideration of how location can provide an effective means of differentiation. Through the lens of place marketing, this exploratory paper provides insight into the way HEIs portray location and discusses whether location can offer a source of differentiation.Using a content analysis of prospectuses and interviews with marketing decision makers, this paper contributes a deeper understanding of the way in which a place brand is constructed by a stakeholder. The study reveals that HEIs portray a location to simultaneously excite and reassure the student which ultimately leads to the commodification of location. As such, differentiation is not possible.

International policy changes that have prioritised increasing growth in the numbers of doctoral students have led to wide-ranging debate about the changing purpose of the doctorate. However, there has been little research aimed at investigating doctoral supervisors' views of the purpose of the doctorate, despite the significant role supervisors play in enacting any doctoral policy changes. This paper explores the purpose of undertaking a doctorate from the perspective of doctoral supervisors in a research intensive university in the UK, and the pedagogical strategies supervisors described using to achieve these purposes, showing the essentially integrated nature of purpose and pedagogy. The paper argues for the importance, for both doctoral education and supervisor professional development, of making variation in views of doctoral purpose explicit, and argues that the predominant focus on developing skills and abilities in research and supervisor training needs to be complemented by a concomitant focus on purpose and intentions.

The paper reviews major Economics textbooks used in the UK from the point of view of their use of rationality as a teaching tool. The textbooks vary widely in their explicit analysis of rationality from finding it important to totally ignoring it. When textbooks do use the concept as part of their analysis, the definitions vary considerably. In fact, there are some implicit uses of rationality in all textbooks although these are not always acknowledged. This complexity is reflected in the history of economic thought and modern economic analysis. The future use of rationality as a teaching tool is discussed in the context of current research in economics. JEL Classification: A22

Two ongoing and recurrent debates in the employment of academic staff are (1) how much industry experience should faculty staff have? and (2) what priority is given to research, teaching or both? Such debates take place worldwide and are particularly relevant to vocational subject areas. Through a statistical analysis of circa 200 job adverts for lecturer/assistant professor, senior lecturer/associate professor, and professor/full professor positions in Construction and Engineering posts in the UK, this paper investigates the essential and desirable attributes required for 'research', 'teaching' and 'overall requirements'. The analysis shows institutions unmistakably focus on, and coherently recruit for research, but demonstrate very little reasoned approach to recruiting for teaching. Indeed, findings identify 'administration' as the key teaching priority. Further empirical analysis demonstrates no significant difference in recruitment strategy before and after the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework, despite its aim to put teaching excellence to the fore.

Background: Following a content analysis of the first 10 years of the UK professional journal "Speech," this study was conducted to survey the published work of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the 20 years following the unification of two separate professional bodies into the College of Speech Therapists. Aim: To understand better the development of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the UK in order to support the development of an online history of the speech and language therapy profession in the UK. Methods & Procedures: The 40 issues of the professional journal of the College of Speech Therapists published between 1946 and 1965 ("Speech" and later "Speech Pathology and Therapy") were examined using content analysis and the content compared with that of the same journal as it appeared from 1935 to the end of the Second World War (1945). Outcomes & Results: Many aspects of the journal and its authored papers were retained from the earlier years, for example, the range of authors' professions, their location mainly in the UK, their number of contributions and the length of papers. Changes and developments included the balance of original to republished papers, the description and discussion of new professional issues, and an extended range of client groups/disorders. Conclusions & Implications: The journal and its articles reflect the growing maturity of the newly unified profession of speech therapy and give an indication both of the expanding depth of knowledge available to speech therapists and of the rapidly increasing breadth of their work over this period.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of analysing online discussion and argue for the merits of mixed methods. Much research of online participation and e-learning has been either message-focused or person-focused. The former covers methodologies such as content and discourse analysis, the latter interviewing and surveys. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches in the context of a study of an online social educational network for gifted students. Design/methodology/approach: The design of this study included the use of content analysis, visualisation diagrams, interviews and questionnaire survey to understand the nature of online discussion and the experience of taking part. Findings: It was found that the message-focused analysis provided insight into participation and interaction patterns, whereas the surveys and interviews enabled access to members' preferences and attitudes. Originality/value: The contribution of the paper is to argue for a mixed approach in which different types of data can be compared and contrasted. While the use of mixed methods in social research in general has long been suggested, its adoption in the field of online learning is yet to be widely established, possibly because of its time-consuming and demanding nature. Despite these constraints, a mixed-methods approach is advocated, as it allows for a comprehensive picture of the use of the network and the experience of online participation.

Purpose: During the last 20 years or so the changing environment in which universities operate has meant that commensurately more emphasis has been placed on marketing principles. In light of this emphasis, it is perhaps a little surprising that relatively little attention has been directed towards the processes by which universities develop their products, and the extent to which module and programme development processes are market informed and customer oriented. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a case study methodology to examine early stage new product development (NPD) processes in UK higher education (HE) institutions. Findings: The findings reveal some potential shortcomings in the early stages or fuzzy front end of NPD in universities. In particular, there appears to be a lack of staff incentives, financial or otherwise, to innovate and introduce new ideas relating to module and programme development. Research limitations/implications: The issue of sample bias needs to be factored into however, given that these six institutions proactively engaged with this process possibly indicating a recognition or impetus on their part to learn how new programme development could be better understood. That the vast majority of the sample were teaching dominant institutions is also an interesting consideration as this will have an impact on the imperative to improve new programme development processes in an increasingly competitive HE environment. Practical implications: The paper discussed some of the implications for the corporate governance structures of universities and also emphasized the need for cultural change. In this respect, one of the biggest challenges facing universities is to break down or erode the barriers, which exist between academic and non-academic staff and create a "level playing field". Originality/value: As the authors enter an era of higher student fees, the question of value for money combined with an associated increase in the expectations of university stakeholders, will have potentially quite marked implications for universities. Accordingly, the future viability of some degree programmes and, perhaps, even the long-term survival of some institutions may be dependent on the adoption of the sort of changes identified in this paper.

This paper discusses the effects of the use of service learning in pre-service teachers (PSTs). This methodology has been applied for two academic years at a Spanish university, providing a direct service for children with special educational needs (SEN) through motor and expressive games. We used Butin's model for the analysis of data collected through written reflections. The results show significant academic and personal learning, especially in areas useful for future teachers. The paper also proposes an extension (subcategories) of the original explanatory model.

The present study aims to examine the leadership research in higher education in order to shed light on its development during the last two decades by revealing the evolving trends in research on leadership in higher education, the most prominent scholars working on related research, the most popular topics in related research, and the countries in which the related studies are based. Bibliometric method was employed in the analysis of the original research and review papers published in five prominent higher education journals between 1995 and 2014: "Higher Education," "Research in Higher Education," "Studies in Higher Education," "The Journal of Higher Education" and "The Review of Higher Education." The results of this bibliometric analysis show that the majority of the related articles come from three countries: the U.S.A., the UK and Australia. It is also found that the leadership research in higher education is still very scarce and has not shown any meaningful increase during the last two decades. In addition, content analysis is used to provide more in-depth information about the topical focus, purpose and methodology of the selected articles. The results of content analyses are discussed in detail, and suggestions for the future research are provided.

Background Following content analyses of the first 30 years of the UK speech and language therapy professional body's journal, this study was conducted to survey the published work of the speech (and language) therapy profession over the last 50 years and trace key changes and themes. Aim To understand better the development of the UK speech and language therapy profession over the last 50 years. Methods & Procedures All volumes of the professional journal of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists published between 1966 and 2015 ( British Journal of Communication Disorders, European Journal of Communication Disorders and International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders) were examined using content analysis. The content was compared with that of the same journal as it appeared from 1935 to 1965. Outcomes & Results The journal has shown a trend towards more multi-authored and international papers, and a formalization of research methodologies. The volume of papers has increased considerably. Topic areas have expanded, but retain many of the areas of study found in earlier issues of the journal. Conclusions & Implications The journal and its articles reflect the growing complexity of conditions being researched by speech and language therapists and their professional colleagues and give an indication of the developing evidence base for intervention and the diverse routes which speech and language therapy practice has taken over the last 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an action research study investigating the use of online learning activities or "e-tivities" to enhance the learning and assessment experience of students on a distance master's programme. The study suggests that to be successfully integrated in a programme, such activities need to be carefully aligned with learning outcomes and assessment practices, and their value needs to be clear both to students and staff. The paper describes how e-tivities were designed, adopting a constructive alignment approach, to introduce more flexible and innovative approaches to learning and assessment. The e-tivities used a range of technologies (e.g., voice-based discussion boards, podcasts, wikis and blogs) to carry out group-based reflective activities. The study provides some evidence that such e-tivities, particularly voice-based activities, can help provide earlier, more detailed formative assessment, stimulate a more collaborative approach to learning and motivate students to engage more broadly with course content.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of students' commercial awareness within the curriculum of professional accredited courses. The targeted area of study is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited property courses. This paper also discusses how the curriculum of RICS-accredited courses can be designed to successfully incorporate commercial awareness within them and suitable delivery methods for developing this within the curriculum. Commercial awareness is one of the most important employability skills, however, employers have expressed dissatisfaction with graduates' performance in this area. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents the research findings of two sets of questionnaire surveys, as well as interviews and e-mail discussions with the course directors and current students of the RICS-accredited property courses in the UK. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the questionnaire data. Fisher's exact test was used to identify the statistical significance between academics' and students' views on the development of students' commercial awareness as part of the RICS-accredited property courses' curriculum. Content analysis was used to analyse the texts in the questionnaire survey, interviews and e-mail discussions. Findings: Academics and students involved with the UK RICS-accredited property courses agreed that commercial awareness is an important employability skill in the property sector and they mostly agreed on the definitions of commercial awareness, except in their "understanding of the wider business environment". They also agreed that commercial awareness has three components: strategic, financial and process. Academics and students agreed that the commercial awareness components and process sub-components are largely incorporated into the curriculum of RICS-accredited property courses but they have divergent opinions on the level of incorporation of strategic and financial sub-components. A suitable way to deliver commercial awareness in RICS-accredited property courses is to incorporate it into the overall curriculum, ensuring that the components of commercial awareness are closely linked to the RICS APC and match relevant competency levels. They also commented that including practical experience in the curriculum is the most useful way to develop a student's commercial awareness. Originality/value: This paper is the first to discuss the development of commercial awareness in professional accredited courses such as RICS-accredited property courses and also identifies suitable methods to enhance students' commercial awareness as part of the curriculum. The research findings can also be applied to other professional accredited courses that have a strong vocational focus, such as nursing, engineering and accountancy. These courses are usually accredited by relevant professional organisations and students studying these courses usually plan to embark on a career in a relevant profession. The design of the course curriculum has a strong focus on equipping students with the essential competencies to develop their careers within the relevant field.

This paper is based on a qualitative case study of undergraduate curriculum design and pedagogic practice in the new University Business School (UBS). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 24 academics from across a range of business sub-disciplines together with an extensive documentary review of materials relating to two undergraduate degree programmes. The case study found that the UBS curriculum had become recontextualised as a "business project" in which programmes were constructed as "products" for the higher education market. The associated pedagogy was largely confined to behaviourist problem--solution routines based on narrow projections of the "real world" of business. This paper contends that UBS undergraduate programmes were designed in a generic mode in response to the material and discursive influences of marketisation. As a consequence, "epistemic chaos" had arisen in which knowledge and pedagogy had become fragmented and amorphous.

Building performance is a widely held goal in the architecture, engineering and construction industries, driven by a shared pursuit of the triple bottom line. This research paper re-examined the term 'performance' and its characterization in post-occupancy evaluation (POE) literature using a semi-systematic review of 160 articles published since 2008. The review identified how performance parameters have been defined, what the dominant attributes of studies are and what metrics have been used to measure them. A thematic content analysis found that many new priorities had emerged in recent years, problematizing Preiser et al.'s 1988 construct of the concept. The main contribution of this paper is a new expanded definition of 'performance' in terms of three interrelated domains: building, people and organization, and the development of subcategories for more nuanced analysis. This definition builds on the building performance-people performance paradigm first established by the UK's PROBE initiative and responds to several shifts in thinking the review results revealed, including a shift from deterministic thinking towards a more bidirectional understanding of the person-environment relationship. Results were further distilled into recommendations to be used by researchers, practitioners and policymakers to identify performance areas of interest and develop more adaptive, integrated approaches to POE work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Men's engagement in family planning has become part of the global health agenda; however, little is known about the training manuals health practitioners' use and how these manuals describe and explain men's roles within a family planning context. Design: To further understand engagement, this paper examines how training manuals written for health practitioners describe and define men's participation within family planning. Setting: The training manuals were written for UK health practitioners and covered men's contributions to family planning. Method: Discourse analysis was used to examine the three training manuals focused upon. Results: Three main discourses were identified: 'contraception is a woman's responsibility', 'men disengage with health practitioners' and 'men are biologically predisposed to avoid sexual responsibility'. Conclusion: Together, these three discourses function to marginalise men in family planning, constructing them as detached accessories that lack the ability to engage.

This paper reviews the key types of personalization in children's literacy apps to propose a taxonomy and research framework for future empirical studies Systematic content analysis was used to identify the amount and type of personalization in a hundred most popular children's literacy apps/digital books. Titles with three and more personalization features were screened qualitatively to identify what can be personalized, how personalization occurs and who personalizes the experience. Similar themes were synthesized into a research framework that outlines how identity, self-evaluation and agency relate to personalization. The discussion sets the agenda for future research, design and evaluation of children's digital books.

Social media content generated by learning communities within universities is serving both pedagogical and marketing purposes. There is currently a dearth of literature related to social media use at the departmental level within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This study explores the multi-voiced interactions of a UK Psychology department's 'rotation curation' approach to using Twitter. An in-depth analysis of a corpus of 4342 tweets by 58 curators (14 staff, 41 students, and 3 guest curators) was carried out using a combination of computer-assisted and manual techniques to generate a quantitative content analysis. The interactions received (e.g. retweets and favorites) and type of content posted (e.g. original tweets, retweets and replies) varied by curator type. Student curators were more likely to gain interactions from other students in comparison to staff. This paper discusses the benefits and potential limitations of a multi-voiced 'rotation curation' approach to social media management.

There is growing appreciation of the importance of understanding the student perspective in Higher Education (HE) at both institutional and international levels. This is particularly important in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects such as Computer Science (CS) and Engineering in which industry needs are high but so are student dropout rates. An important factor to consider is the management of students' initial expectations of university study and career. This paper reports on a study of CS first-year students' expectations across three European countries using qualitative data from student surveys and essays. Expectation is examined from both short-term (topics to be studied) and long-term (career goals) perspectives. Tackling these issues will help paint a picture of computing education through students' eyes and explore their vision of its and their role in society. It will also help educators prepare students more effectively for university study and to improve the student experience.

Mobile and participatory cultures have led to widespread change in the way we communicate; emphasizing user generated content and digital multimedia. In this environment, informal learning may occur through digital and networked activities, with literacy no longer limited to alphabetic and character-based texts. This article explores adult learners' new literacies within the context of a digital mobile storytelling project. A qualitative approach is used to explore the artifacts and practices of nine adult participants who comprise the study. Participants created a range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and diary-style content in a variety of modes and media. Outcomes from content analysis, interview and survey methods depict mobile digital literacies as characteristically situated, experiential and multimodal. The mobile and participatory nature of this project was catalytic to participants' imaginative re-interpretation of the world around them as sources for meaning making and transformation. This paper contributes a case example of mobile learning with adults in a community setting.

This paper portrays the literature on voluntary corporate disclosure via social media networks over the course of two decades (2002-2022) through a content analysis framework. Focusing on papers in English, Turkish and Arabic, it reviews a total of 65 studies from 15 countries, based on number of posts, type of information disclosure, time span and social media platforms used. Additionally, it provides a detailed break-down of the reported effect between voluntary disclosures on social media and a total of 37 different variables used to proxy for market, accounting, corporate governance and firm-specific (size, age and risk) measures. Drawing from an exhaustive analysis encompassing more than 51 thousand companies and nearly 70 million social media posts, the prevailing body of knowledge pertaining to corporate disclosures via social media predominantly hinges upon empirical evidence based on the United States and the United Kingdom. We feel that more country comparison studies and multi-lingual samples as well as meta-analyses could significantly improve our understanding of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following a content analysis of the first 10 years of the UK professional journal Speech, this study was conducted to survey the published work of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the 20 years following the unification of two separate professional bodies into the College of Speech Therapists. Aim: To understand better the development of the speech (and language) therapy profession in the UK in order to support the development of an online history of the speech and language therapy profession in the UK. Methods & Procedures: The 40 issues of the professional journal of the College of Speech Therapists published between 1946 and 1965 (Speech and later Speech Pathology and Therapy) were examined using content analysis and the content compared with that of the same journal as it appeared from 1935 to the end of the SecondWorldWar (1945). Outcomes & Results: Many aspects of the journal and its authored papers were retained from the earlier years, for example, the range of authors' professions, their location mainly in the UK, their number of contributions and the length of papers. Changes and developments included the balance of original to republished papers, the description and discussion of new professional issues, and an extended range of client groups/disorders. Conclusions & Implications: The journal and its articles reflect the growing maturity of the newly unified profession of speech therapy and give an indication both of the expanding depth of knowledge available to speech therapists and of the rapidly increasing breadth of their work over this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Evidence suggests telehealth in speech and language therapy can enhance access to care, cost‐effectiveness and satisfaction. However, little is known about use of telehealth in the United Kingdom. Moreover, many assessments/outcome measures for aphasia have been tested for face‐to‐face administration only, posing challenges to reliable use within the telehealth context. We explored the experiences and views of speech and language therapists (SLTs) working with people with aphasia on using telehealth to conduct assessments/outcome measures, perceived barriers and facilitators in telehealth, and their priorities for research in telehealth aphasia assessment. Method: We explored views of UK SLTs through an online cross‐sectional survey (2021) delivered through the Qualtrics platform. The survey covered three main areas: (i) participant demographics; (ii) experience of using telehealth and doing telehealth assessments with people with aphasia post‐stroke during the COVID‐19 pandemic; and (iii) plans for telehealth post‐pandemic. Response formats included yes/no, multiple choice, 5‐point Likert scales and open‐ended text responses. The survey was expected to take no more than 10 min to complete. Survey data were analysed through descriptive statistics and content analysis of open‐ended questions. Results: One hundred twenty‐four SLTs responded to the survey. The majority (>80%) used telehealth during the COVID‐19 pandemic and >90% planned to continue to use telehealth in the future. The most used platforms were Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Attend Anywhere. Access to internet and telehealth platforms, and practical problems (e.g., difficulties sharing resources online, limited functionality of telehealth platforms for assessment) were common barriers. Therapists highlighted that training, resources and materials that assist the administration of assessments were important. Most participants responded that there was a need for existing measures to be tested for administration via telehealth (n = 68, 70.8%). Participants overall felt there was a need for online interactive assessments, more online resources that have been trialled for use via telehealth, accessible formats for resources for people with aphasia and clear instructions for how people with aphasia can access resources. Conclusions: This study provides new insights into the current use of telehealth assessment with people with aphasia in the United Kingdom and directions for future research. Barriers and facilitators identified can support the implementation of telehealth assessment in SLT services. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: The use of telehealth in speech and language therapy has advantages in terms of access to care, cost‐effectiveness and satisfaction with care. However, little is known about the use of telehealth in aphasia rehabilitation in the United Kingdom, especially in the area of assessment and outcome measurement. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study identified that the majority (>80%) of aphasia therapists used telehealth during the COVID‐19 pandemic and >90% planned to continue to use telehealth in the future. A need was identified for existing measures to be tested for administration via telehealth and for training, resources (e.g., online interactive assessments) and materials (e.g., accessible formats for people with aphasia). What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: To facilitate the successful implementation of telehealth assessment, there is a need for measures validated for use via telehealth and more online resources that have been trialled for use via telehealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the impact of ownership concentration on Covid-19 disclosure in the narrative sections of corporate annual reports. It also explores the mediating role of corporate leverage on the ownership concentration–Covid-19 disclosure relationship. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses automated textual analysis to measure Covid-19 disclosure in annual reports. It also applies different regression models to test the research hypotheses and to address the endogeneity problem. It uses univariate and multivariate analyses through correlations and ordinary least squares. Findings: The analysis shows that ownership concentration has a negative impact on Covid-19 disclosure. It also shows that corporate leverage negatively affects Covid-19 disclosure, and it has a partial mediating effect on the ownership concentration–Covid-19 disclosure relationship. Practical implications: The results offer important practical implications for the government, management, shareholders and policymakers. For example, corporate managers are encouraged to consider small shareholders' interests and provide a sufficient level of Covid-19 disclosure to avoid violating their rights. Also, the government may consider forming a mechanism for balancing the ownership structure to protect small investors and weaken large shareholders' tunnelling behaviours. Originality/value: This paper offers two important contributions to governance and disclosure literature. First, it provides new empirical evidence on the relationship between ownership concentration and Covid-19 disclosure. Second, it provides new evidence on the mediating role of the leverage ratio on the ownership concentration–Covid-19 disclosure relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cascade model of professional development presents a particular risk that "knowledge" promoted in a programme will be diluted or distorted as it passes from originators of the programme to local trainers and then to the target teachers. Careful monitoring of trainers' and teachers' knowledge as it is transferred through the system is therefore imperative. This paper focuses on the transfer of content knowledge through an in-service teacher professional development programme and offers an innovative methodology for investigating knowledge transfer, i.e. through insights gained during a mentoring process. The findings suggest that this methodology facilitated assessment of knowledge transfer because it involved the identification of knowledge in practice. The focus on knowledge in practice appeared to avoid a deficit model of trainers'/teachers' knowledge and revealed that content knowledge was generally being successfully transferred throughout the system. A detailed analysis of different aspects of content knowledge transfer suggested various foci for additional training.

This paper presents the main findings of a UK study exploring graduate students' perceptions of web-based education, with a specific focus on their change over time, throughout an asynchronous course. Data were collected through online messages and interviews, and analyzed qualitatively, following content and thematic analyses. Participant pre- (at the beginning of the course) and post-course (by the end of the course) perceptions were compared. Several inconsistencies were identified between the two sets of perceptions, while three themes emerged: managerial, social and learning. The findings indicate negative perception change with respect to the managerial and social aspects, whereas positive change has been evident in terms of the learning aspect. The implications drawn from the study are expected to inform and optimize the design and implementation of web-based courses.