Search

This study examines the potentials and challenges of integrating conversational AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools in higher education. Specifically, the study delves into how ChatGPT is reshaping teaching, learning, research, and student evaluation while addressing ethical concerns such as academic integrity. We employ a qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews with 12 highly accomplished academicians from North America, Asia, and Europe’s higher education institutions. Our analysis reveals ChatGPT’s potential to uplift educational productivity, learning outcomes, creativity, and idea generation but raises apprehensions about academic honesty, authenticity, and over-reliance. While ChatGPT can enhance educational practices such as brainstorming, analysis, and skills acquisition, its unchecked use may impede learning, critical thinking, and research quality. The study advocates for the responsible AI use in academia, underscoring educators and policymakers to establish policies guiding conversational AI ethical applications. Thus, training faculty and executing institutional policies are essential for effective and ethical integration of ChatGPT and other AI tools in higher education. Finally, this research contributes to ongoing research on AI in education by providing valuable insights that can harness potential of these transformative tools while upholding academic integrity and standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is grappling with challenges from globalization. The competition between worldwide universities depends not only on the availability of infrastructure and faculty members' teaching quality but also on their research performance. The research produced by faculty members has a significant impact on a university's standing, ability to acquire funds, and ability to enroll both domestic and international students. The objective of this paper is to identify factors affecting scientific research productivity in selected higher educational institutes. The paper reports the views of academic staff from different educational institutes on such issues as the determinants of research performance. A quantitative analysis approach, including correlation and regression, in addition to deep learning, was utilized to achieve the aim of the paper. The findings of this research demonstrate that the support of academic institutes for enhancing research and providing facilities and funds for such purpose has a great impact on research performance. The allocation of hours of scientific research to the faculty member also had a positive impact on the improvement of scientific research. Linking career promotion and scientific research encourages faculty members to publish more papers. Moreover, the level of qualification for faculty members has a great impact on their rate of publishing papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accrediting medical specialties programs are expected to influence and standardize training program quality, align curriculum with population needs, and improve learning environments. Despite global agreement on its necessity, methods vary widely. In the Chilean context, a recent new accreditation criteria includes research productivity in relation to educational research on resident programs, so we aimed to define it. What is the profile of publications in educational research produced by Chilean medical specialty residency programs in the last five years? Based on these results, we intend to analyze the potential impact of the new accreditation policy on medical specialty programs in Chile. Methods: We performed a preliminary bibliometric search to identify the use of the term "resident" in literature. After that, we conducted a literature search, using a six-step approach to scoping reviews, including the appraisal of the methodological quality of the articles. Results: Between 2019 and 2023, an average of 6.2 articles were published yearly (19%). The bibliometric analysis revealed that the dominant thematic area of the journals was clinical, accounting for 78.1%. Most articles focused on residents (84.38%), with only two articles including graduates as participants. One university was responsible for 62.50% of the articles and participated in all multicenter studies (9.38%). Surgical specialties produced 15 research articles focused on procedural training using simulation. Psychiatry was the second most productive specialty, with 5 articles (15.63%) covering standardized patients, well-being, and mental health assessment. The most frequent research focus within residency programs over the five-year period was teaching and learning methodologies, with 19 articles representing almost 60% of the total analyzed. Conclusions: Research on medical education in Chile's postgraduate residency programs is limited, with most studies concentrated in a few universities. The new accreditation criteria emphasize educational research, posing challenges for many institutions to meet higher standards. Understanding unexplored areas in educational research and learning from successful programs can enhance research productivity and align efforts with accreditation expectations. Continuous evaluation and new research on residents' satisfaction, skills acquisition, and well-being are needed to ensure training quality and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the potential advantages and challenges presented by the implementation of the ChatGPT within the realm of higher education. Specifically, it endeavours to shed light on the transformative effects of ChatGPT on the research and learning processes. Moreover, this study explores the intricate issues surrounding academic integrity, ethics, and regulatory concerns in this context. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study engaged in semi-structured interviews with 75 esteemed academicians hailing from higher education institutions in North Cyprus. The outcomes of this research endeavour reveal a spectrum of ways in which ChatGPT can augment educational productivity, learning experience, creativity, and idea generation. Nevertheless, it underscores the importance of meticulous consideration of ethical aspects pertaining to academic honesty and the potential over-reliance on ChatGPT. The findings not only offer insights into the opportunities and challenges linked with ChatGPT's integration into higher education, but also advocate for the responsible and ethical utilisation of AI technologies within academic settings. This study substantially contributes to the expanding body of research on the incorporation of artificial intelligence into education. It uniquely focuses on the ChatGPT, an innovative AI-based language model, within the context of higher education. The study's qualitative research methodology, characterised by its exploratory nature, provides a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the impact of ChatGPT on learning and research writing and offers a wealth of valuable insights intended to assist educators, researchers, institutions and policymakers in their endeavours to seamlessly integrate AI technologies into their educational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The journal article review process is one of the more troubling areas of academic life. Research indicates that journals' practices are highly varied. This article discusses a number of issues related to this issue: when submitted articles disappear in 'black holes'; when the review process appears endless; when different standards are being applied; and when it seems you are never going to get a worthwhile article published. It is suggested that journals need to provide more guidance for both reviewers and authors, that reviewing needs to be recognised in academic workload models, and that perhaps we need an academic Hippocratic oath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing effective study habits is crucial for academic success and establishing good study habits early on can lead to long-term benefits. This study, grounded in Walberg's Theory of Educational Productivity, explored the intricate interactions among student aptitude, instruction, and the environment in shaping academic outcomes. Employing a descriptive-correlational design, the study examined the impact of environmental factors, study habits, and demographic profiles on the academic performance of 31 BSED English majors. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, validated by experts, to assess students' demographic profiles-- specifically, the gadgets available at home for study, parents' educational attainment, reading materials at home, and hours spent reading per subject. The study also investigated students' study habits and their academic performance across individual subjects, as well as the relationships between demographic profiles, study habits, and academic outcomes. The findings revealed a negative correlation between the number of gadgets at home and study habits, but a positive yet weak correlation between gadgets and academic performance. Overall, the study found no significant relationship between students' demographic profiles to study habits and academic performance as well as the relationship between study habits and academic performance across individual courses. Specifically, parents' educational attainment, the availability of reading materials, and the time spent studying did not significantly influence academic performance. While these results are not conclusive, they suggest that other factors, such as student aptitude and instructional quality, may play a more critical role in academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study published in the Monthly Labor Review in October 2024 reveals that teacher strikes have a positive impact on teachers' pay, working conditions, and productivity. The research, analyzing 772 teacher strikes in 27 states between 2007 and 2023, found that strikes led to an 8% increase in teachers' salaries over 5 years, as well as improvements in benefits and school funding. Teacher strikes also resulted in reduced class sizes, increased support staff, and did not substantially impact student achievement. The study highlights that teacher strikes often address broader concerns about public education, with a focus on improving conditions for students from diverse backgrounds. [Extracted from the article]

Distance education and the development of assistive technologies represent a possibility of balancing the access and participation of people with special educational needs in learning experiences and participation in society. This study is aimed at finding out what is known about distance education mediated by assistive technology based on an analysis of the characteristics of scientific production. Through a review of the literature, the sample content is analyzed, culminating in trends that point towards the autonomy and independence of this people, the need for accommodation and accompaniment in a scenario of permanent technological change, initial training and continuing education of inclusive education teachers, as well as collegiate participation between professionals, community, and family in the design of training courses and technologies for people with special needs. The results reveal limited scientific productivity at all educational levels, with greater use of technologies to assist visual and hearing disabilities. The trends emphasize autonomy, Universal Design for Learning, and the challenges of technological adaptation. Findings are discussed and synthesized with the purpose of informing policy makers, researchers, and school communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore an employee workaround widespread in K–12 schools: compensating for insufficient funding with partnerships to nonprofit organizations (NPOs). We take an equity perspective and ask the following questions. (i) How do partnering workarounds differ across schools with different levels of socioeconomic advantage? (ii) What can education and NPO leaders do to ensure these workarounds do not exacerbate educational inequities? To answer these questions, we use Little's Law: a school's long-run average number of resource-supplementing partnerships (L) is a function of its average annual partnership formation rate (λ) and partnership cycle time (W). We collect and analyze interview (n = 62) and survey (n = 140) data from six strategically sampled schools with different levels of socioeconomic advantage to compare differences in λ and W and understand the implications for educational equity. We find wealthier schools have higher λ, making them more productive. We also find schools have equal W independent of wealth, but this problematically amplifies differences in λ. The difference in partnering productivity translates to educational inequities. We find that poorer schools report about 35% greater utility per partnership, but that is not enough to offset the disadvantage of fewer partnerships. Moreover, we find that differences in partnering productivity are particularly large for curricular partnerships, which are harder for poorer schools to form because of the high demand for wrap-around partnerships. Our findings contribute new knowledge on workarounds which supplement organizational resources and on the relationship between workarounds and equity. This paper was accepted by Jay Swaminathan, operations management. Funding: This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant 1344266]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4829. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Roca: Revista Científico-Educacional de la Provincia de Granma is the property of Universidad de Granma, Departamento Editorial and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study aimed to design a proposed study unit via interactive chat (an educational bot on Telegram) and to explore its effectiveness in understanding the concepts of developing awareness towards green consumption among third-grade intermediate female students at the school in Taif City. The study utilized the experimental approach with a quasi-experimental design – a one-group design. To achieve the study’s objectives, a study unit was designed according to the ADDIE model, in addition to developing pre-test and post-test, a teacher's guide, and a student's book. After confirming the validity and reliability of the study tools, they were applied to a sample of 44 female students from the third grade of the Fifty-first intermediate school in Taif City. The study employed a set of statistical methods including (arithmetical means, standard deviations, Pearson's correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Spearman-Brown stability coefficient, Point-biserial correlation coefficient, T-test for two correlated samples, and effect size calculator (Cohen's D)). The study results showed that there was a statistically significant difference at (a ≤ 0.01) between the mean scores of the pre-test and post-test in all concepts of green consumption in favor of the post-test measurement. According to the results, the study recommended urging the curriculum developers at the Ministry of Education to "Adopt the concepts of green consumption and the relevant modern technologies required to teach it and make use of the suggested study unit ―I am a green consumer with the curricula for intermediate schools. Also, benefiting from the educational bot on the Telegram application and promoting it through social media. Moreover, preparing teachers’ guides for teaching the concepts of sustainable development to intermediate students that accurately design the lessons of green consumption concepts, creating an appropriate educational environment within schools that allows students to practice green consumption. Providing courses about green consumption to female teachers, and the modern technologies necessary to teach it inside and outside the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the importance of effective learning spaces in education and the need for schools to adapt to social, political, and technological changes. It discusses the history of school design in the United States and highlights different educational trends and concepts that have shaped the physical environments of schools. The article emphasizes the importance of creating learning environments that promote student engagement, collaboration, and communication. It also examines the relationship between educational approaches and the design of learning facilities, focusing on the Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and Waldorf educational movements. Each approach prioritizes student-centered learning and encourages creativity and exploration, with the design of the physical environment reflecting their educational philosophies. [Extracted from the article]

Purpose: In this research, we investigated the factors that affect the productivity of academic staff members in educational, research and administrative scopes. Methodology: For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and then was distributed among 167 academic staff members of five national universities in Tehran. Based on the data obtained from the questionnaires, we identified the factors that affect the productivity of the academic staff members by using the exploratory factor analysis method. Subsequently, by applying the linear regression method, we estimated the impact rate of each factor. Findings: According to the result, the six key factors affecting the productivity of the academic staff members are education and the educational system, accountability and professional ethics, political behavior, motivational factors, the availability of facilities and opportunities for growth, and the university presidents’ high expectations.

Copyright of Estudios Pedagogicos (Valdivia) is the property of Estudios Pedagogicos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study compared the leadership empowering behaviors of male and female secondary school heads in Pakistan. Main purpose of the research is to collate captaincy empowering conduct of male and female educational leaders at the secondary level. The sample was comprised of 564 teachers including 379 males and 185 females employing a stratified random sample technique. In this study, quantitative and descriptive methodologies were used. A standardized tool “Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire” was used for data collection. Data was collected and analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test. Results explored that there is significant difference (t = 3.160, p =.002) between leadership empowering behavior among male (mean = 5.73, SD =.30) and female leaders (mean = 5.64, SD =.31) on whole. Male leaders were found to have better leadership empowering behavior than female leaders. Thus, it was recommended from results that female educational leaders should further improve and adopt leadership empowering behavior for better organizational productivity and female educational leaders should further improve their empowering behavior so as to stimulate potential of their subordinates for better performance and commitment in diverse situtions for desired outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study updates and extends prior work on institutional and individual productivity in educational psychology journals (Cognition and Instruction, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, Educational Psychology Review, Journal of Educational Psychology) from 2015 to 2021. As in previous studies, the University of Maryland, College Park, was the top-producing institution. Several universities (e.g., University of Tübingen) emerged as highly productive compared to previous time periods. Using two approaches to measure individual productivity, we found that Richard Mayer, Ulrich Trautwein, Fred Paas, Patricia Alexander, and Logan Fiorella claimed the top spots. We also identified productive early career scholars and, for some, recognized connections to productive doctoral advisors. Overall, compared to prior years, authors of educational psychology journal articles were increasingly working from non-US institutions and in larger teams (higher mean number of authors per article). A discussion of these trends and future directions for research are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the research is to assess the light intensity and its impact on the productivity of research participants in educational buildings. The research was carried out in 18 rooms in teaching buildings in Poland and involved over two hundred volunteers. The tests were carried out with the following climate parameters: air temperature ranged from 20 to 25.1 °C, relative humidity from 18.16 to 50.9 %, and the concentration of carbon dioxide from 509 to 1634 ppm. The light intensity in the tested rooms ranged from 17.3 to 1095.1 lux. The parameters of the room temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, relative humidity and light intensity were recorded using a microclimate meter. The study participants were asked to answer questions about overall well-being, lighting quality, and productivity in each room. The results show that the air temperature has an effect on the productivity of the participants with the most preferable range of about 22 – 24 °C. It was also observed that productivity increased with improved well – being of the respondents. The analysed research also made it possible to check whether the users were satisfied with the light intensity. 74 % of respondents assessed that with the prevailing lighting, their productivity is normal, and they also felt best in rooms where the light intensity was 200 - 400 lux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a thought-provoking impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were approved by United Nations in the year 2015. Therefore, taking this very consideration forward, this study primarily explores the impact of COVID-19, particularly on the SDG number 4, i.e., education. Due to the COVID-19 contagion, given the unusual and never been experienced circumstances, educational institutions all over the world have been forced to establish their e-learning systems practically overnight. For this purpose, we collected the relevant data from middle school students, by using a technique known as convenience sampling. Furthermore, moving on in the same context, we also developed an integrated model with five dimensions, i.e., Learner, Design, Technology, Instructor, and Environment, in order to gauge this relationship in further detail. The empirical findings of the step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that the learners' attitude towards the computer, learners' internet self-efficacy, usefulness, instructors' response timelines, and the instructors' attitude towards e-learning, positively and significantly tend to affect the middle school student's satisfaction with online. Whereas, learners' computer anxiety, ease of use, system availability, internet availability, learning climate, and interactions negatively affects the middle school students' satisfaction. These results imply that developing countries could possibly achieve goal number 4 (Education) of the Sustainable Development Goals, by improving the learner satisfaction, and further strengthening the implementation of their E-Learning practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semistructured interviews were conducted with community college students in Florida and New York, two diverse states with robust community college systems, to explore their self-perceptions of their information literacy (IL) needs. Findings indicate that students value IL in their personal lives, their academic work, and their careers, though it means somewhat different things to them in each of those areas. They think of IL in terms of skills rather than threshold concepts, and they feel that the most important skill is finding information, followed by evaluating information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HyFlex courses are conducted synchronously, with students both in the class and online simultaneously (Auburn University, 2021).Oregon State• HyFlex combines face-to-face learning with simultaneously streamed remote instruction. Note that all course materials, including class recordings, are governed by the university's course access policy.• Flex Plus Zoom: This class meets on campus in a Zoom-enabled room. Multimodal courses • In a multiple-mode course, students will either participate online or attend class in person during the days and times indicated on their schedule. For example, 50% of the "meeting hours"* of a hybrid will meet in class on one of the days of a Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday weekly class schedule (Eastern Florida State College, 2022).Green River College• A face-to-face-hybrid course is one where the course is split into two parts. [Extracted from the article]

As local governments around the world struggle to finance and deliver quality education under fiscal constraints, pressures mount to increase efficiency and productivity in order to obtain more output from the same or fewer resources. Focusing on the case of Korea, this study investigates the productivity of outputs in local offices of education (OEs) through the analysis of personnel and financial factors by year (2012–2016). Overall, the results indicate the efficient operation of the OEs in Korea. The Malmquist productivity index (MPI) mean decreased from 2012 to 2014, increased from 2014 to 2015, and decreased from 2015 to 2016. The rate of chronological change in each OE's MPI showed the same pattern of change in the distribution ratio of school expenditures. Finally, the MPI had the same pattern as the Technical Change Index. Policy implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We explored the experiences of academic mothers traversing the simultaneous demands of parenting and their professional roles throughout the pandemic to better understand the impact of COVID‐19 on engagement in scholarship. Background: In response to reports of reduced scholarship by women across academic disciplines, the goal of this study was to understand the lived experiences of women scholars who identify as mothers. Method: Academic women, including faculty and students, completed an online survey with demographic items and open‐ended questions. From the collected data, responses from participants who identified as mothers (n = 51) were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Analysis of the data revealed that participants' roles as parents and scholarly women were inextricably intertwined, each serving as foundational components of their identities, a reality highlighted by the exacerbating stressors associated with COVID‐19. Altered childcare demands, conflicting roles, and relational changes emerged as consequences of the ongoing pandemic, which compromised participants' ability to effectively attend to different aspects of their identity and sometimes resulted in the development of negative emotions. Conclusion: Participants identified additional responsibilities due to the ongoing pandemic. Feeling pulled between their often‐conflicting personal and professional identities, academic mothers cited a lack of supportive professional structures, which became more evident during COVID‐19, as a barrier to their pursuit of scholarship. Implications: This study aligned with previous scholarly documentation of historical gendered bias common within academia. The potential long‐term professional impact of these conflated circumstances on academic mothers during the pandemic is discussed, and implications and recommendations for addressing the same via future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The low level of digital literacy and the insufficient capabilities of the existing personnel training system to improve it, have restrained the labor productivity growth at most enterprises in the non-resource sector in the Russian Federation. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of the working-age population's digital literacy on labor productivity in Russian regions and to analyze the impact of the educational environment's digital transformation on the digital literacy of the population. Method: The study includes data on 87 constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 2015-2019 years retrieved from the website of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation. Panel regressions with random effects were employed to estimate the impact of digital literacy on labor productivity in Russian regions and the impact of educational environment transformation on digital literacy. Findings: Modeling results showed that digital literacy has a positive impact on labor productivity. The use of ICT by the population has the greatest positive impact on labor productivity among other studied factors. The educational environment's digital transformation has a positive effect on digital literacy. The use of ICT in the educational process and management of educational institutions is the most important factor in the formation of digital literacy over time. Implications for Research and Practice: New activities in the regional subprojects of the national projects of the Russian Federation "Labor Productivity" and "Demography" can be proposed based on the study results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contextual factors have been identified as greatly influencing students' reading performance. However, the collaborative influence of key contextual factors on students' reading performance is still elusive and warrants further exploration. Based on Walberg's educational productivity theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory, emphasizing that learning in humans can only be understood by considering the influence of multiple factors combined into a unit or system, the current study sought to identify the optimal factor set of key contextual factors that collaboratively influences fourth-grade students' reading performance. In this study, data from 183,428 students from 61 countries/regions were extracted from the progress in international reading literacy study 2016 dataset. First, a support vector machine (SVM) was adopted to classify the contextual factors influencing high-performing (students whose reading score is above 550) and low-performing (students whose reading score is below 475) students. Second, SVM recursive feature elimination (SVM–RFE) was applied to identify the key contextual factors capable of differentiating the two student cohorts. The findings indicate that 20 key contextual factors selected from 106 contextual factors at the student, family and school levels collectively differentiate high- and low-performing students, providing implications for future teaching and learning on elementary school students' reading performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author conducted a survey of librarians at different types of academic institutions who had earned tenure or an equivalent form of permanent appointment. The purpose was to illuminate the forms of research that are valued at different types of institutions, the extent to which tenured or permanently appointed librarians produce research, and in particular, their perceptions and motivations concerning research productivity. Key findings showed high levels of post-tenure productivity among survey participants, and the emergence of grant activity as a valued form of research. Furthermore, respondents provided comparative perceptions of pre- and post-tenure scholarship, and they described a suite of overlapping extrinsic and intrinsic motivators affecting their research production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational spaces have an impact on young children's spatial perception since preschool and primary school have been the first public places they have known. In school buildings, physical architectural parameters such as color, lighting, acoustic, ventilation and temperature have significant effects on students' and teachers' behavior, well-being and attainment. With the transformation of classroom environments in today's COVID-19 pandemic situation, physical educational environments have suddenly become to being classroom environments at home. While there are important design decisions to be taken in terms of children's concentration, productivity and well-being in educational spaces, this condition is also valid in newly created home-based classrooms in which computer screen has a leading role. The aim of this study is to provide information on how these home-based educational environments should be created with regards to physical architectural and design parameters in the light of empirical and theoretical evidence. In order to achieve this aim, this study presents a model for creating home-based educational environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Actas de Diseño is the property of Facultad de Diseno y Comunicacion, Fundacion Universidad de Palermo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article argues for intersectionality as analytical concept for transnational education policy analyses of teachers' work. We first lay out the conceptual and methodological groundwork, and then revisit two case studies of teachers' work to deepen understanding of the conceptual framework for intersectional transnational education policy analysis. The multi-scaled (individual-relational-systemic) nature of policy processes melds with intertwined oppressive systems to shape who teaches whom what where and why. We draw attention to teaching as work, labor, an occupation, whose contours are being dramatically altered by never-ending crises and neoliberal education projects. We find that the demands of the framework are quite demanding, but promising to theorize change to teachers' work and their role in policy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s low fertility is often presented as a major factor which will hinder its prosperity in the medium to long term. This is based on the assumed negative consequences of an increasing old-age dependency ratio: a simplistic measure of relative changing age structures. Based on this view, policies to increase fertility are being proposed after decades of birth restriction policies. Here, we argue that a purely age structure–based reasoning which disregards labor force participation and education attainment may be highly mis-leading. While fertility has indeed fallen to low levels, human capital accumulation has been very strong—especially among younger cohorts. Factoring in the effects of labor force participation and educational attainment on productivity, a measure called “productivity-weighted labor force dependency ratio”can more accurately capture the economic implications of demographic change. When using this ratio, a much more optimistic picture of the economic (and social) future of China can be envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collegium Antropologicum is the property of Croatian Anthropological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Today, technological advances are rapidly making it possible to automate much of the work currently carried out by humans (Halloran, 2015). It has made a big impact on people especially on lifestyle. Common source of information and entertainment are one of the many things that are affected in the society. At present, students are obsessed in using gadgets. They usually want to buy the latest release of these gadgets to satisfy their desires and to blend in the current trends. As a result, students tend to involve gadgets in their everyday lives including their studies. Methods: This study used the descriptive research method, in which a questionnaire was personally distributed to respondents, and closed-ended questions were combined with the expected answers formulated by the researchers. The questionnaire was distributed at random to 148 student nurses ranging in age from 20 to 23. Result: Overall, the student nurses had a positive response in terms of using gadgets. They perceive gadgets as a helpful tool that help them to be more productive in their education. Conclusion: Smartphone, laptop, tablets and other gadgets can also give students access to tools and apps that can help them complete their class work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The higher education system plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the country due to its mission in training the required human resources. Therefore, performance evaluation of different sectors of higher education is of great importance. The present study was conducted to evaluate the educational efficiency and productivity changes of Iranian medical sciences universities. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in 2011, 2014, and 2017 to evaluating the performance of 43 Iranian medical universities using Data Envelopment Analysis and output oriented approach. In addition, productivity changes were measured using the Malmquist index. For this purpose, Deap 2.1 software was used. The Anderson Patterson Model and EMS software were also used to rate the units accurately. Results: The average educational efficiency of medical universities was 0.97 in the study years. The average total productivity based on the Malmquist Index was 1.05, and educational productivity of the universities showed an average growth of 5% over the study years. This growth was 1% from 2011 to 2014 and 10% from 2011 to 2017. Conclusion: The results of the study showed the acceptable efficiency of the education sector of Iranian medical sciences universities. Moreover, a positive increasing trend was observed in the productivity of the education sector during the study years. Further research using quality and quantity measures are necessary to assess the educational performance of medical universities more accurately.

This article reports on a first‐ever survey of budgeting practices regarding the public K‐12 education sector in Canada. We interviewed budget officers in 12 of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories. It finds that most jurisdictions construct budgets using incremental approaches and are not allowing for a potential of $5.4 billion in annual productivity gains. We discuss three budgeting approaches for governments to consider: incremental budgeting, performance‐based budgeting, and productivity budgeting. We argue for productivity budgeting because it improves cost‐efficiency, allows productivity gains to be captured at the centre, and is more feasible than performance‐based budgeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of academic engagement of 307 second-year high school students is analyzed based on their previous results in the studies. For data collection, a questionnaire based on the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (Carmona-Halty, Schaufeli & Salanova, 2017) was designed. The analyzes carried out confirmed that the students who obtained the highest values on the engagement scale were those who had not repeated a year in their academic history, nor had they had difficulties in the prior learning process. The data obtained is relevant for educational practice and the development of preventive orientation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal Public Administration & Social Management / Administração Pública e Gestão Social is the property of Administracao Publica e Gestao Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)