Knowledge-based economy

The European Union is resorting to long-term multi-annual political and economical plans. The current set of plans, “Horizons 2020”, also involves restructuring the educational system, as in the Bologna system. The idea behind it is that education should help industry to win the competitive battle with other major economical blocks. The idea is best described by the adage of the European Union of developing a so-called “knowledge-based economy”. It implies that education is a form of investment. We should educate people – the society should spend effort on educating people – in order for society to make profit on it. Contrasting this is the idea of education as a consumption good. In the latter, people study to become knowledgeable, since knowledge makes a person happy. We discuss here the dissident view why an educational system that is for investment-only will at the end not bear fruit and will destroy science, creativity and eventually any form of competitiveness in the economy. It will lead to moral as well as financial bankruptcy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The EMS Deficit: A Study on the Excessive Staffing Shortages of Paramedics and its Impact on EMS Performance in the States of South Carolina and North Carolina and Interventions for Organizational Improvements.

This is a qualitative multi-case study on emergency medical services (EMS) paramedic shortages, their effects on ambulance responses, and the quality of patient care in the prehospital environment. A qualitative multi-case study was selected for this study because the nature of the methods’ design aligned with a systematic approach of life experiences (Creswell, 2015). Paramedics who participated in this study provided insight, from life experiences, as to why one prematurely leaves EMS; thus, creating a staffing shortage. The foundation of this study is the high staffing shortages of paramedics specifically in South Carolina (SC) and North Carolina (NC). Drastically reducing paramedic attrition is critical in reducing patient suffering, decreasing morbidity and mortality, and improving EMS key performance indicators. The conceptual framework for this study aligns with Fredrick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation and Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In conclusion, the findings from this study have shown that the number of ambulances that are unstaffed from the paramedic shortage has reached critical levels. Primarily, this review of the literature’s discovered themes has identified numerous challenges contributing to the increasing EMS paramedic shortages and their effects on patient care in the pre-hospital environment. Secondarily, the interview portion of this study solidifies the discoveries of the cited works and identifies further challenges through its semi-structured interview format. Thirdly, achievable data from previous studies, primarily from the South Carolina EMS Association, validate this study’s findings through triangulation; thus, instilling rigor on primary reasons for EMS paramedic shortages and their impact on patient outcomes

Complexity in the Context of Information Systems Project Management

Complexity is an inherent attribute of any project. The purpose of defining and documenting complexity is to enable a project team to foresee resulting challenges in a timely manner, and take steps to alleviate them.The main contribution of this article is to present a systematic view of complexity in project management by identifying its key attributes and classifying complexity by these attributes. A “complexity taxonomy” is developed and discussed within three levels: the product, the project and the external environment.Complexity types are described through simple real-life examples. Then a framework (tool) is developed for applying the notion of complexity as an early warning tool.The article is intended for researchers in complexity, project management, information systems, technology solutions and business management, and also for information specialists, project managers, program managers, financial staff and technology directors

Exploring Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Cybersecurity Professionals

The cyber threat landscape has led some cybersecurity leaders to focus on a holistic approach encompassing people, processes, and technology to make their government agencies and organizations more responsive to a more diverse and inclusive cyber workforce to protect critical infrastructure from hackers or cybercriminals intent on causing harm. This qualitative multiple case study used Schein’s organizational culture theory to explore strategies used by cybersecurity leaders to attract, recruit, and retain diverse cybersecurity professionals to effectively and efficiently protect sensitive systems from rising cyber threats. The study\u27s population consisted of cybersecurity leaders from 3 government agencies and 9 organizations in small, medium, and large enterprises in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area in the United States. The data collection process included semistructured interviews of cybersecurity leaders (N = 12) and the analysis of publicly available documents and presentations (n = 20). Data triangulation and member checking produced major and minor themes to increase the study findings’ validity. Thematic analysis was used to identify 5 prominent themes: maintain a diverse and inclusive approach to recruitment; continuous training and development; maintain a culture of openness and teamwork; top leadership support; and overcoming challenges to cyber talent attraction, recruitment, and retention. The study findings showed that valuing all diversity may enable cyber teams to execute cybersecurity functions and missions promptly with a variation of thought and lenses. The study findings may contribute to positive social change by improving diversity, inclusion, work-life balance, morale, stress-levels, and opportunities for women and minorities in the cyber workforce

Teacher Perceptions About Teaching Students with Executive Function Deficits

The problem that prompted this study was that kindergarten through 5th grade teachers were struggling to find appropriate interventions to support the rising number of students exhibiting executive function deficiencies (EFD). The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of local elementary teachers about students with EFD, about instructional strategies used to help focus EFD students, and about teachers’ professional needs to work effectively with EFD students. Diamond’s core characteristics of EFD served as the conceptual framework guiding this study. The research questions focused on teachers’ experiences and perceptions of strategies used for students with EFD, and of the professional training needs of teachers working with EFD students. A case study design was used to capture the insights of a purposefully selected sample of 12 elementary teachers through semi structured interviews and a focus group interview. Emergent themes were identified through an open coding process, and findings were developed and checked for trustworthiness through triangulation, rich descriptions, and member checking. The findings revealed that teachers perceived that EFD students responded best to active learning and technology-rich lessons delivered within a structured environment. A professional development project was created to provide teachers with instructional and technology strategies and interventions to engage and focus students with EFD. This study has implications for positive social change by offering teachers strategies to improve the performance and engagement of students with EFD

Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue four: New academics engaging with action research

This edition of ILIA showcases four papers which were originally submitted as action research projects on the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and Research programme. Within the programme we offer an environment where participants can explore their unique teaching situations – not to produce all-encompassing approaches to Higher Education (HE) practice but to develop an ongoing dialogue about the act of teaching. In effect, there are no generalisable ‘best’ methods of teaching because they never work as well as ‘locally produced practice in action’ (Kincheloe, 2003:15). Thus rather than providing short term ‘survival kits’ the programme offers new HE teachers a ‘frame’ for examining their own and their colleagues’ teaching alongside questioning educational purpose and values in the pursuit of pedagogical improvement. This ‘frame’ is action research which Ebbutt (1985:156) describes as: …The systematic study of attempts to change and improve educational practice by groups of participants by means of their own practical actions and by means of their own reflections upon the effects of their actions… We promote ‘practitioner-research’ or ‘teacher-research’ as a way of facilitating professional development for new HE teachers, promoting change and giving a voice to their developing personal and professional knowledge. Teachers as researchers embark upon an action orientated, iterative and collaborative process to interrogate their own practices, question their own assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs in order to better understand, influence and enrich the context of their own situations. The action researcher assumes that practitioners are knowledgeable about their own teaching situations and the fact that they are ‘in-situ’ and not at ‘arms length’ as the value-neutral, ‘scientific’ researcher is often claimed to be, does not invalidate their knowledge. Thus, practitioners are capable of analysing their own actions within a ‘reflective practitioner’ modus operandi. Action research is on-going in conception and well suited to examining the ever-changing and increasingly complex HE practice environment. Findings from action research are always subject to revision since it intrinsically acknowledges the need to constantly revisit widely diverse teaching situations and scenarios across everyday HE practice. Teaching is not predictable and constant, it always occurs in a contemporary microcosm of uncertainty. Action research provides an analytical framework for new HE teachers to begin to engage with this unpredictability on a continuing basis, that is its purpose and also its perennial challenge. The papers presented here describe how four relatively new HE teachers have begun to address the challenge of improving their practice within their locally based settings utilising the action research ‘paradigm’

Critical Soft Skills to Achieve Success in the Workplace

The focus of this study was a problem identified by human resources directors and managers in a medium sized community in the southeast of the United States. The problem was that some college graduates are not equipped with the necessary soft skills to be successful in the workforce. Executive directors and human resources managers brought this problem to the attention of the career center directors in the community. Goleman\u27s theory of emotional intelligence was the theoretical framework to ground this study. This study involved purposeful sampling to select 9 human resources directors from local companies. To investigate soft skills in college graduates, these 9 human resources directors and managers responded to a semi structured interview with questions focusing on the problem of the study. Once the interviews were transcribed, the information was analyzed by using manual coding and computer-assisted coding. Among the 6 themes that emerged from the data analysis, participants most often pointed out communications as the most important soft skill and the foundation for other skills. From the perspective of human resources directors and managers, soft skills were found to be lacking in some college graduates. There was a consensus among the participants of the study that higher education leaders need to incorporate different approaches to teach skills; therefore, a 24-hour professional development program for faculty was developed as a solution for improving the learning of soft skills of college students. The social change expected from having well-equipped college graduates with soft skills will be more successful professionals with better opportunities to have upward mobility, and more meaningful careers that will benefit their families and their organizations

Best practices to reduce math anxiety

The subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have grown in importance because they are fundamental to the future quality of life and the ability to compete in today\u27s global society. The demand for STEM careers is increasing; however, the United States is having difficulty meeting this demand. Society needs students who can research and think critically, so they can be proficient in STEM education and become the next generation of mathematicians, technologists, and engineers. Mathematical proficiency is of particular concern because while it is required from STEM education success, individuals find it challenging. Both adults and children have apprehension about mathematics, and their negative attitudes toward math develop a barrier to STEM education and careers. This negative math phobia, or math anxiety, causes a decrease in math achievement. This study explored the perceptions of elementary teachers in establishing a classroom environment free of math anxiety. Specifically, this study focused on best practices that teachers incorporate in order to reduce math anxiety. The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the strategies and practices teachers employ to reduce math anxiety, (b) determine the challenges teachers face in reducing math anxiety, (c) determine how teachers measure the success of their practices in reducing math anxiety, and (d) determine the recommendations teachers would make for future implementation of strategies in reducing math anxiety

Potential Pathways to Culturally Relevant Licensure

Despite recent trends favoring the integration of vernacular music in higher education, there are still stakeholders who are resistant to change. This qualitative study seeks to account for such responses. By examining relevant literature relating to the movement and interviewing educators with substantial experience in the field, the researcher seeks to uncover potential pathways to music education licensure for college graduates specializing in bluegrass and roots music studies. This study also considers foreseeable advantages and impediments to the initiative, including classism, Euro-centric musical biases, the marginalization of likely participants, and educational mandates for cultural relevancy. The study cross-references and compares these phenomena with interviewee responses to identify and contextualize those forces that deny formally trained and credentialed bluegrass and roots music studies specialists an equal opportunity to pursue Tennessee music education licensure. This study also examines a variety of alternative licensure pathways that could potentially facilitate music education licensure for these individuals. Additionally, the study contextualizes the individual, institutional, and societal benefits that can potentially emerge in the event that these individuals are provided with consistently replicable and navigable pathways through this process