Supported open learning for rural development: some experiences from the Open University, UK

Four key elements which have underpined the OU(UK)s success in delivering an integrated system of supported open learning are outlined. These are: high quality, multi-media teaching materials; locally-based tutorial support; first class research and scholarship and highly professional logistics. The argument is put that when designing any contemporary education programme there are advantages in considering the programme as if it were a learning system. To be responsible, designers also need to consider this within a context of global sustainable development which encompasses environmental decision making. Seminar delegates are invited to consider the question: How can distance education and open learning contribute to the emergence of viable and sustainable rural livelihood systems? It is further argued that a valid response to this question involves surfacing the value positions of the major stakeholders as means to establish what is culturally feasible and so as to define what relationships stakeholders wish to conserve in any organisation that is constituted for the Greater Mekong Sub-Region. Evidence from other contexts suggests that any effective rural development strategy needs to be owned by more than one ministry. This presents particular challenges for a multi-national “university” concerned with rural development. International partnerships have a potential role and the OU(UK)’s collaboration models are summarized

Youth and the future: effective youth services for the year 2015

This report provides an understanding of the services required by young people in the year 2015, based on a thorough analysis of recent trends and expert projections of those trends. The report analyses key social and economic changes for young people in Australia over the past 10 to 20 years including movements in population, education, employment/unemployment and the labour market, incomes, family and household structure, health, and crime and justice

Goodyer, J., Mackay, J., & Poskitt, J. (2017). A pilot study of the Application of Degree Apprenticeships in New Zealand: A focus on Infrastructure Asset Management. A Report for the Tertiary Education Commission. Massey University: Palmerston North.

Commissioned by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), through the Engineering-to-Employment (E2E) programme, the research team facilitated a group of engineering employers and Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) representatives to develop a Plot Degree Apprenticeship Standard in Infrastructure Asset Management. The report details the process of an employer-led development of a standard, in an area of impending engineering employee shortage. Recommendations are made for future development of other degree apprenticeship standards.falsePalmerston NorthTertiary Education Commissio

Research on approaches to public funding and development of tertiary education within selected OECD nations

No abstract available

Literature based Note on Digital Transformation of Education and Sustainability

The goal for its implementation is to increase value through innovation, invention, customer experience or efficiency. Digitization is the process of converting analog information into digital form using an analog-to-digital converter, such as in an image scanner or for digital audio recordings. As usage of the internet has increased since the 1990s, the usage of digitization has also increased. Digital transformation, however, is broader than just the digitization of existing processes. Digital transformation entails considering how products, processes and organizations can be changed through the use of new, digital technologies. Digital transformation can be seen as a socio-technical programme

Distance Education in Engineering for Developing Countries

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Dynamic Capability Building through partnering: An Australian Mobile handset case Study

Dynamic capabilities are increasingly seen as an organisational characteristic for innovation and are regarded as a source of competitive advantage. In a quest for sustainability, service organisations are partnering with their stakeholders, and subsequently are aptly bringing innovation in services to market. Most of existing empirical research regarding dynamic capabilities seeks to define and identify specific dynamic capabilities, as well as their organizational antecedents or effects. Yet, the extent to which the antecedents of success in particular dynamic capabilities, contribute to innovation in service organisations remains less researched. This study advances the understanding of such dynamic capability building process through effective collaboration, and highlights the detailed mechanisms and processes of capability building within a service value network framework to deliver innovation in services. Deploying a case study methodology, transcribing interviews with managers and staff from an Australian telco and its partnering organisations, results show that collaboration, collaborative organisational learning, collaborative innovative capacity, entrepreneurial alertness and collaborative agility are all core to fostering innovation in services. Practical implications of this research are significant, and that the impacts of collaboration and the dynamic capabilities mentioned above are discussed in the context of a mobile handset case study

A cluster randomised controlled trial of a comprehensive accreditation intervention to reduce alcohol consumption at community sports clubs: study protocol

Introduction: Excessive alcohol consumption isresponsible for considerable harm from chronicdisease and injury. Within most developed countries,members of sporting clubs consume alcohol at levels above that of communities generally. Despite the potential benefits of interventions to address alcohol consumption in sporting clubs, there have been no randomised controlled trials to test the effectiveness of these interventions. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a comprehensive accreditation intervention with community football clubs (Rugby League, Rugby Union, soccer/association football and Australian Rules football) in reducing excessive alcohol consumption by club members.Methods and analysis: The study will be conducted in New South Wales, Australia, and employ a cluster randomised controlled trial design. Half of the football clubs recruited to the trial will be randomised to receive an intervention implemented over two and a half winter sporting seasons. The intervention is based on social ecology theory and is comprehensive in nature, containing multiple elements designed to decrease the supply of alcohol to intoxicated members, cease the provision of cheap and free alcohol, increase the availability and costattractiveness of non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beverages, remove high alcohol drinks and cease drinking games. The intervention utilises a three-tiered accreditation framework designed to motivate intervention implementation. Football clubs in the control group will receive printed materials on topics unrelated to alcohol. Outcome data will be collected pre- and postintervention through cross-sectional telephone surveys of club members. The primary outcome measure will be alcohol consumption by club members at the club, assessed using a graduated frequency index and a seven day diary.Ethics and dissemination: The study was approved by The University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee (reference: H-2008-0432). Study findings will be disseminated widely through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.<br /

Evolution of Botswana planning education in light of local and international requirements

Planning problems have been with us ever since human beings realized that their wellbeing is very closely linked to the quality of their settlements and the environment. Over the last century this has led to the worldwide emergence of built environment education in general, and planning in particular. In many African universities planning education is a rapidly growing phenomenon reaching its maturity in terms of structure and number of programs. This development has been most significant in those countries that underwent rapid urbanization and environmental changes similar to those occurring in Botswana. The first Urban and Regional Planning Programme at the University of Botswana was established in 1993 as part of the Department of Environmental Science at the Faculty of Science. The continued growth and expansion of the planning profession world-wide as well as in Botswana, and its interdisciplinary ties with allied built-environment disciplines, have reached the point at which the University of Botswana is ready to continue with a new internationally recognized planning school. There is a belief that a combined (spatial and specialist) accredited planning programme should support local and regional interests, focusing on the Southern African Region, while acknowledging global standards and innovation in teaching, research, and technology

Training and Employment of People with Disabilities: Australia 2003

[Excerpt] Training and Employment of People with Disabilities: Australia 2003 is descriptive in nature. When the ILO commissioned the researchers for the Country Study Series, each was asked to follow the comprehensive research protocol appended to this document. The resulting report therefore includes country background information, statistics about people with disabilities and their organizations, a description of relevant legislation and policies and their official implementing structures, as well as the education, training and employment options available to people with disabilities. While few countries have all such information readily available, researchers were asked to note the existence or lack of specific data points and to report data when it did exist. Since the lack of information about people with disabilities contributes to their invisibility and social exclusion, the information itself is important. The protocol called for limited analysis and did not specifically ask for the researchers recommendations, however, researchers were asked to report on existing plans and recommendations of significant national stakeholders