23,248 research outputs found
Seeking togetherness: moving toward a comparative evaluation framework in an interdisciplinary DIY networking project
There is renewed interest in community networks as a mechanism for local neighbourhoods to find their voice and maintain local ownership of knowledge. In a post-Snowden, big data, age of austerity there is both widespread questioning of what happens to public generated data shared over ‘free’ services such as Facebook, and also a renewed focus on self-provisioning where there are gaps in digital service provision. In this paper we introduce an EU funded collaborative project (‘MAZI’) that is exploring how Do-It-Yourself approaches to building community networks might foster social cohesion, knowledge sharing and sustainable living through four pilots across Europe. A key challenge is to develop a shared evaluation approach that will allow us to make sense of what we are learning across highly diverse local situations and disciplinary approaches. In this paper we describe our initial approaches and the challenges we face
Understanding the evaluation of access and participation outreach interventions for under 16 year olds
The project team was asked to address the following six research questions and these were used to guide the project: 1. What are the intended outcomes for current outreach interventions directed at under 16 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds where the long-term aim is to widen access to higher education (HE)? 2. What types of outreach intervention activity or activities are institutions using in relation to intended outcomes? 3. What evaluation tools, methods and metrics are being used to measure the intended outcomes? 4. What are the perceived and actual challenges and barriers for different stakeholders to effective evaluation of long-term outreach? 5. What do different stakeholders consider most effective evaluation practice and why? 6. How valid and suitable are the evaluation tools, methods and metrics (identified through the research) that are commonly used? The project was constructed around six interlinked work packages: 1. A quantitative analysis of what higher education providers (HEPs) say about their pre-16 outreach activities (and their evaluation) in their 2017-18 access agreements (as the most recent available). 2. An online survey of HEPs to gather information about the pre-16 outreach activities delivered during the 2016-17 academic year and their evaluation, as well as the structure of their evaluation resources and challenges faced. 3. Case studies of four HEPs identified as demonstrating elements of good practice through their access agreements and the online survey, derived from telephone interviews with key staff and documentary analysis. 4. Telephone interviews with 11 third sector organisations (TSOs) to explore their practices and the evaluation of their activities, providing a counterpoint to the data collected from higher education institutions (HEIs). 5. A synthesis of the four preceding work packages to explore elements of good practice, determine a basis for assessing the quality of evaluations and highlight challenges for the sector and OFFA. 6. An invited participatory workshop for evaluators from HEPs and TSOs identified as demonstrating elements of good practice through the online survey and telephone interviews, to act as a sounding board for the emerging conclusions and recommendations.Office for Students (OfS
Addressing STEM Geek Culture Through Peer Learning
The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.STEM is generally considered to be a male-dominated environment. The geek culture that often leads
to social issues, and the gender imbalance that leads to fewer girls choosing a STEM subject, are
becoming important topics of research. Peer learning has been widely used across the world to
support retention and better grades with a more recent focus on adopting this approach to tackle
issues around gender imbalance and perceived ‘laddish’ culture. Through peer learning, students are
encouraged to work alongside their tutors, and to practice the critical soft skills that they will need as
they move into the workplace.
This paper explores the role of gender and geek culture, considering how students can break down
the stereotypes while moving away from didactic approaches. The gender gap in STEM has narrowed,
but women are still underrepresented. ‘Geek culture’ often creates a high-tech, androcentric
environment. Policy makers have agreed that the geek culture needs to be researched and its impact
identified. Social interactions and relations are the reflection of interpersonal values, and the peer
norms may affect a students’ engagement and motivations in STEM subjects.
The discussion will examine how peer learning can prepare students in Higher Education and offer
insights into creating an environment in which students can become partners. Peer learning can
represent a significant step in enabling students to become more engaged in their learning and is
becoming an important element across institutions globally.
There is a plethora of approaches to peer learning and it is encouraging to observe how students
transform and mature by participating in the scheme. Evidence is accumulating that peer learning can
enable students to become more confident and independent, enhancing not only their transition into
Higher Education but also into industry.
Peer learning can have a positive influence across the disciplines and supports students in achieving
more than they might otherwise do. It can also examine, in an informal way, the gender issues, laddish
and geek culture, and promote the sense of belongingness in STEM disciplines. This paper will inform
readers about how peer learning can reconstruct the geek culture and transform it from self-centred to
forming relationships and overcoming social issues. With regard to Higher Education specifically, we
try to understand the different situational frames that are being generated by such cultures, how we
can influence those stereotypes, and make them more acceptable and more inclusive
Charles Keene College of Further Education (FEFC inspection report; 45/96)
Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspection report for the period 1995-96 (45/96). The FEFC has a legal duty to make sure further education in England is properly assessed. Inspections and reports on each college of further education are conducted according to a four-year cycle. "Charles Keene College of Further Education in Leicester has been
successful in attracting an increasingly wide range of students, especially
those from groups which have not usually entered further education. This
is helped by the delivery of courses in a network of centres throughout
Leicester." - Page 1
Carpe Diem: Transforming Services in Academic Libraries
Amid a global economic crisis and spurred, in my country, by a great influx of funding intended to stimulate the economy quickly, librarians are confronted by other factors that could have transformative powers ??? if they choose to seize the opportunity. This paper focuses on the future of academic library services and the opportunities that await those who reject hunkering down in troubled times.unpublishednot peer reviewe
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Understanding the impact of outreach on access to higher education for disadvantaged adult learners
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Smart labs and social practice: social tools for pervasive laboratory workspaces: a position paper
The emergence of pervasive and ubiquitous computing stimulates a view of future work environments where sharing of information, data and knowledge is easy and commonplace, particularly in highly interactive settings. Much of the work in this area focuses on tool development to support activities such as data collection, data recording and sharing, and so on. We are interested in this kind of technical development, which is both challenging and essential for science communities. But we are also interested in a broader interpretation of knowledge sharing and the human/social side of tools we develop to support this. We are keen to know more about how groups of different kinds of scientists can make their work understandable and shareable with each other in a multidisciplinary setting. This is a complex task because boundaries and barriers can emerge between disciplines engendered by differences in discourses and practices, which may not easily translate into other discipline areas. In the worst case, there may be some hostility between disciplines, or at least doubt and scepticism. Nevertheless, sharing approaches to research, research expertise, data and methods across disciplines can be a very fruitful exercise, and encouragement to engage in this activity is particularly pertinent in the digital era. Issues of privacy and security are also key aspects – knowing when and how to release data or information to other groups is crucial to providing a safe environment for people to work, and there are several sensitivities to be explored here.
In this paper we describe an evolving situation that captures many of these issues, which we aim to track longitudinally
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