VIRTUALISATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: AN ACTIVITY THEORY PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to understand how Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in developing countries virtualise their administrative work environment. Despite the increasing use of the internet and web technology to virtualise education and related activities, IS research on HEIs in both devel-oped and developing countries has focused more on learning environment and less on administrative work environment. Therefore, not much is known about how HEIs migrate from physical to virtual administrative work environment. Given this research gap, this study employs activity theory as ana-lytical lens and interpretive case study as the methodology to investigate the attempt by a developing country university to virtualise its administrative work environment. Although teaching and learning are the core activities of HEIs, administrative work provides the necessary support. It is thus im-portant that IS research in higher education pays attention not only to learning environment but also to administrative work environment. The study expects to draw specific implications and provide rich insight on how HEIs in developing countries virtualise their work environments

Review of the environmental and organisational implications of cloud computing: final report.

Cloud computing – where elastic computing resources are delivered over the Internet by external service providers – is generating significant interest within HE and FE. In the cloud computing business model, organisations or individuals contract with a cloud computing service provider on a pay-per-use basis to access data centres, application software or web services from any location. This provides an elasticity of provision which the customer can scale up or down to meet demand. This form of utility computing potentially opens up a new paradigm in the provision of IT to support administrative and educational functions within HE and FE. Further, the economies of scale and increasingly energy efficient data centre technologies which underpin cloud services means that cloud solutions may also have a positive impact on carbon footprints. In response to the growing interest in cloud computing within UK HE and FE, JISC commissioned the University of Strathclyde to undertake a Review of the Environmental and Organisational Implications of Cloud Computing in Higher and Further Education [19]

Conceptual foundations of transition to the non-linear models of higher education in the region

The subject matter of the analysis is the non-linear characteristics of the new model of higher education in relation to its resources and risk environment. The purpose of this article is to prove the need and the possibility of transition to the non-linear model of higher education in the region on the basis of theoretical positions and the results of the study of non-linear socio-economic processes. In this connection, the socio-economic factors of such transition are characterized; the objective necessity of its implementation in the context of the economic and social uncertainty of a particular region, which is Ural Federal District, is shown. A new type of relationship between universities and their social partners is considered. The need for the change of interactions between educational communities; reliance on the use of a new wide range of economic, social and spiritual resources; the constant search for new mechanisms, educational programs, relations with the external environment, management decisions are argued. Ural Federal District is shown as one of the most advanced regions of the Russian Federation not only in the sphere of the economy, social and cultural life, but also in the sphere of higher education. This circumstance is related to the constant, intensive search for innovative approaches to the modernization of higher education in the region, including the formation of its non-linear model. The presented situation forms the basis of the hypothesis that the non-linear model of higher education can ensure its competitiveness in the global educational space, to enhance its role in the society and specific regions of the country and to turn it to a locomotive of the socio-economic and socio-cultural development. The study is based on an interdisciplinary methodology, including the potential of theoretical sociology, sociology of education, economic sociology, management theory, regional economy. The findings of the research serve as the basis for improving the educational policy of the Ural Federal District.The article has been financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant (№ 16–18–10046) “Developing the non-linear model of the Russian higher education in the region in the context of economic and social uncertainty”

Governance and innovation in public sector services:The case of digital library

This paper examines the co-evolution of public governance and innovation, and proposes an adaptation of Hartley's model to take into consideration such co-evolution. This model is then applied to a longitudinal case study of the digitalization of Roskilde University Library. The theoretical and empirical analysis yields four main results. First, it is shown that the transition froma NewPublic Management approach towards a Networked Governance mode implies a greater distribution of knowledge and innovation across different organisational levelswithin public administrations. Interactions between such organisational levels crucially affect the development of new public services. Second, a more articulated view of users in public sector innovation is developed. It is argued that: (i) users play distinct roles at different stages in innovation processes, with relatively greater involvement inminor incremental changes; (ii) user-driven innovations have significantly increased with the diffusion of ICTs and Web based public services; and (iii) complex innovations are facilitated by face-to-face meetings between public servants and users. Third, it is suggested that changes in governance modes affect the balance between the different actors involved, thus influencing the nature and intensity of innovation. Fourth and finally, it is argued that the transition towards a networked governance approach requires information policies which persist over time, and are designed to increase collaboration between different (public and private) actors

Leadership in the Virtual Higher Education Environment: Towards an Appropriate Model and Framework

Research into leadership in the higher education environment has traditionally mirrored business related constructs. Many of the models and instruments that have been developed for the business environment such as the transactional transformational leadership dyad have been transposed to the higher education environment with relatively minor adaptation. On the other hand, there has been relatively little exploration of leadership models for the Virtual Organisation. This research brings together the literatures of virtuality and the virtual organisation, leadership and higher education management to interrogate the effect of virtuality on leadership styles within the volatile global higher education environment caused by the liberalisation of the sector. Through a case study of a higher education institution (HEI) that is developing a virtual campus, the research explores the perceptions of leadership skills, competencies and behaviours within the virtual higher education environment to determine whether a new model or framework can be developed for a virtual and widely distributed environment. The data from interviews, surveys and focus groups carried out in the case study show that virtuality does impact leadership skills in nuanced ways, thus proposing a configuration of behaviours, skills and competencies more relevant to the virtual higher education environment. The proposed framework adds to the literature on leadership in higher education as well as leadership in the virtual environment and contributes to practice in the areas of recruitment and training of leaders and managers in the virtual higher education sector.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Skills Needs of the ICT Sector in Tanzania

Information and Communication Technology will play a critical role in sustaining the high growth rates experienced by African economies in the last decade. Investment in the ICT sector enables the creation of high quality jobs and acts as an enabling technology for other key industries such as agriculture, mining, finance, health and education. ‘New Software Economy’ models mean international location and company scale are less relevant and enable small organisations to compete globally in niche markets. Unlike many traditional industries which have heavy infrastructure requirements, the key resource of the ICT Sector is its people and the knowledge, skills and competencies they possess. Relatively small scale investments in developing the ICT skills of the workforce can pay rich dividends in economic returns. The transformation of Ireland from a protectionist agri-economy in the 1970’s to a present day global technology hub means the ‘Irish Experience’ is something which can be heavily drawn upon by emerging economies as they seek to develop their own ICT sectors. Tanzania has the advantage of having gone ‘straight to mobile’ and to new software economy models. It can become the software gateway to Swahili-speaking Africa, a major market of 140 million people. The massive expansion of the Tanzanian higher education system is providing a greenfield site which has the potential to produce high quality graduates with the right skillsets for the global ICT industry. This Skills Needs research was based on similar international methodologies and was undertaken in July and August 2013 through the use of online surveys of ICT companies, interviews with key informants in industry, education and government and by analysing social media and jobs websites. As such it is not trends based and can at best provide a snapshot of the state of the Tanzanian ICT Sector at this point in time. The key findings indicate that there is a significant and vibrant ICT sector in Tanzania and it is estimated that it employs upwards of 12,000 people in over 80 companies. A third of these companies have been established in the last 5 years indicating a strong ‘start-up’ culture. Almost all organisations surveyed indicated that they had hired at least one new ICT practitioner in the last 2 years with one third of these stating that they hired more than 10. Almost all organisations indicated they would have further vacancies for ICT practitioners in the next 2 years with 40% indicating that they expected 10 or more vacancies to arise. Like most countries however Tanzania is experiencing a shortage of ICT skills due to a mismatch between the needs of industry and the skills of ICT graduates. The single most important message from this report for education and training providers is that the emphasis needs to shift from what students are expected to know to what they can do. In this regard both the ICT industry and Tanzanian education institutes involved in teaching ICT skills need to come together and form a viable partnership to pave the way forward and harness the full economic potentials of ICT’s. Such a partnership ensures that education and training programmes are designed and delivered in a way which meets the needs of the ICT sector

Student perceptions on skills and learning challenges in the use of educational technology in a low-contact, blended and professional learning context: a grounded theory of ‘improvised learning’

This research project provides an original contribution to knowledge, comprising a grounded and unified theory of improvisational behaviours via Blended Learning and suggests a new paradigm of self-regulated, improvisational learning for potential application beyond the field of study. The study comprises an original Grounded Theory of ‘Improvised Learning’ demonstrating the most prevalent challenges, strategies and behaviours of students undertaking Higher Education programmes in a campus-based, low-contact teaching environment. The participant group were typically undertaking accredited professional programmes (usually related to a profession such as nursing or accounting). The students engaged in ‘Blended Learning’ i.e. study on-campus alongside use of learning technologies such as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The research project used Grounded Theory as an holistic methodology to investigate the experience of students in this study context. The main data collection phase consisted of informal individual or group discussions held in classes, open plan Library areas or IT Labs. Grounded Theory is a sociological methodology designed to formulate a new (Grounded) theory from a ‘substantive area’, i.e. a participant group typically comprising a shared vocational role or activity. Key elements of Grounded Theory include an emphasis on induction-based conceptualisation of theory from descriptive participant indicators and the continuous comparison of data for the emergence of ‘theoretical categories’ or codes. The ultimate aim of Grounded Theory is to demonstrate how conceptual categories inter-relate within a common theoretical explanation for the behaviour of participants (the ‘core category’). This grounded study of professional learners identified a number of theoretical models of behaviour for engaging with Blended Learning, including innovative self-led use of Information Technology and collaborative learning. The emergent ‘core category’ - reflecting all dependant codes or variables was defined as ‘Improvised Learning’, explaining conceptually how students employ self-led strategies and skills to engage with disparate systems, environments and resources