Precarious Employment Relations as a Factor of Social Pollution

The paper discusses the assessment of precarious employment relations as one of the systemic factors of social pollution. The social pollution phenomenon in employment relations is caused by employers who use a strategy for the reduction of labour costs and toxic practices of human resource management. This paper presents the intermediate outcomes of a longitudinal study based on the methods of survey, involving workers of Russian companies in different sectors of economy. In 2014, authors conducted a pilot study in order to test the methodological tools for assessing social pollution in employment relations, which included assessing the degree of precarization. This pilot study also allowed the authors to verify the hypotheses of their research and to improve the tools for further application in the survey which was conducted in 2015 among the staff members of enterprises in the Sverdlovsk region. Thus, the authors have managed to identify the precarization-related toxic elements of employment relations in these enterprises, which damaged the physical health and psychosocial well-being of the employees. This study has also brought to light a number of current trends in the employment relations in the region. Although the research results are somewhat limited due to the fact that such observations should be made repeatedly over a long period of time, intermediary conclusions might also be of interest and could be used to search for ways of dealing with problems caused by the growing precarization on the level of individual enterprises as well as on the level of the whole region

Graduate Learning Attributes in Science: Does Everyone Get the Same Value?

The development of transferrable skill-sets, articulated in statements of graduate learning outcomes, are emphasised in undergraduate science degree programmes. Science students enrolled in dual (double) degrees comprise a significant minority of Australian science undergraduates, yet comparing perceptions of single and dual degree students on their science learning outcomes has rarely been explored. Students studying dual (double) degrees take the same subjects as single degree students, and should thus be experiencing and gaining the same educational value out of their courses as single degree students. Study Design Using the Science Students Skills Inventory, we analysed the differences in perceptions of single (n=640) and dual (n=266) degree undergraduate science students on the importance, the extent to which outcomes were included and assessed, the improvement, confidence and likely future use of science graduate learning outcomes (scientific content knowledge, quantitative skills, oral communication skills, ethical thinking, writing skills). Percentage agreement was calculated based on the two highest points of a four-point scale for all indicators and the three highest points on the seven-point scale for confidence. The data were treated as continuous as per common practice in studies using alphanumeric Likert-item surveys. Thus, a series of independent sample t-tests were used to assess differences between dual and single BSc students on graduate learning outcomes. Results & Interpretation We found that dual degree students had consistently lower perceptions than single degree students across almost all graduate learning outcomes, with the notable exception of quantitative skills (Matthews et al., 2015). Viewing these results within the planned-enacted-experienced curriculum framework (Erickson & Shultz, 1992), our data indicates that despite the curriculum being planned and enacted by the lecturers in the same way for students in both degree types, the groups of students experience the curriculum differently. Encouragingly, the similarities in the two student groups with respect to quantitative skills perceptions indicate that with curricular reform, it is possible to equalise the students’ perceptions. This indicates that dual degree students may be getting less value for the science degree than single degree students, and indicates a gap in curriculum design. Impact The key contribution of this study is a shift toward progressive curriculum development that draws on both single and dual degree student perspectives to achieve graduate learning outcomes. Resulting recommendations for course coordinators and degree designers include: design whole-of-programmes curricular pathways premised on progressive development of learning outcomes (Knight, 2001) that are inclusive of dual degree students; create explicit interdisciplinary learning opportunities, and adopt dual/single status as demographic variable reported in future research. References Erickson, F., and Shultz, J. 1992. Students' experience of the curriculum Handbook of research on curriculum (pp. 469-485). Knight, P.T., 2001. Complexity and curriculum: a process approach to curriculum-making. Teaching in higher education, 6(3), pp.369-381. Matthews, K. E., Adams, P., and M. Goos. 2015. The Influence of Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform on Students’ Perceptions of their Quantitative Skills. International Journal of Science Education, 37(16), 2619-2636

Judicial Decisions Regarding Expert Evidence on Violence Risk Assessment

In Canada, there are legal provisions called Dangerous Offender and Long-Term Offender designations available to apply severe restrictions on individual liberties for persons who engage in serious offences (often repetitive) and who pose a substantial risk for violence. Since establishing the presence of a risk for violence is central to decision making in these cases, an evaluator’s violence risk assessment (VRA) and expert witness testimony play a vital role in hearings for these offenders. The present study examined judicial decisions regarding expert evidence on VRAs submitted to the court in 214 Dangerous Offender/Long-Term Offender hearings identified through the Canadian Legal Information Institute database. Written judicial decisions were analysed for any comments regarding factors related to expert evidence on VRA. The commonalities that were identified, including qualities of: (1) the evaluators, (2) the VRAs completed, and (3) the evaluators’ expert testimony about VRA, offer key considerations for professionals working in the mental health and criminal justice fields. They may also contribute to the development of guidelines for professionals conducting VRA used by courts

Precarious employment relations as a factor of social pollution

The paper discusses the assessment of precarious employment relations as one of the systemic factors of social pollution. The social pollution phenomenon in employment relations is caused by employers who use a strategy for the reduction of labour costs and toxic practices of human resource management. This paper presents the intermediate outcomes of a longitudinal study based on the methods of survey, involving workers of Russian companies in different sectors of economy. In 2014, authors conducted a pilot study in order to test the methodological tools for assessing social pollution in employment relations, which included assessing the degree of precarization. This pilot study also allowed the authors to verify the hypotheses of their research and to improve the tools for further application in the survey which was conducted in 2015 among the staff members of enterprises in the Sverdlovsk region. Thus, the authors have managed to identify the precarization-related toxic elements of employment relations in these enterprises, which damaged the physical health and psychosocial well-being of the employees. This study has also brought to light a number of current trends in the employment relations in the region. Although the research results are somewhat limited due to the fact that such observations should be made repeatedly over a long period of time, intermediary conclusions might also be of interest and could be used to search for ways of dealing with problems caused by the growing precarization on the level of individual enterprises as well as on the level of the whole region

Toward theories of partnership praxis: an analysis of interpretive framing in literature on students as partners in teaching and learning

A body of literature on students as partners (SaP) in higher education has emerged over the last decade that documents, shares, and evaluates SaP approaches. As is typical in emerging fields of inquiry, scholars differ regarding how they see the relationship between the developments in SaP practices and the theoretical explanations that guide, illuminate, and situate such practices. In this article we explore the relationship between theory and practice in SaP work through an analysis of interpretive framing employed in scholarship of SaP in teaching and learning in higher education. Through a conceptual review of selected publications, we describe three ways of framing partnership that represent distinct but related analytical approaches: building on concepts; drawing on constructs; and imagining through metaphors. We both affirm the expansive and creative theorising in scholarship of SaP in university teaching and learning and encourage further deliberate use and thoughtful development of interpretive framings that take seriously the disruptive ethos and messy human relational processes of partnership. We argue that these developmental processes move us toward formulating theories of partnership praxis

Growing partnership communities: What experiences of an international institute suggest about developing student-staff partnership in higher education

This article explores the perceptions of participants following the first International Summer Institute (SI) on students as partners in higher education, a four-day professional development experience designed to foster student-staff partnerships. Approximately 9 months after the Institute, 10 participants were interviewed to understand their perceptions of student-staff partnership, and what role the SI played in supporting partnership working. We discuss the key themes that emerged from our interviews, and analyse these participant responses in comparison to responses collected during the 2016 SI. In evaluating our data, we consider the general efficacy of the SI and offer ideas for academic developers interested in supporting partnership work more generally

An Analysis of Interpretive Framing in Literature on Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning: Data Tables

Data tables for the publication by Matthews, K. E., Cook-Sather, A., Acai, A., Dvorakova, S. L., Felten, P., Marquis, E., & Mercer-Mapstone, L. titled Toward Theories of Partnership Praxis: An Analysis of Interpretive Framing in Literature on Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning. Higher Education Research and Development

A Systematic Literature Review of Students as Partners in Higher Education

“Students as Partners” (SaP) in higher education re-envisions students and staff as active collaborators in teaching and learning. Understanding what research on partnership communicates across the literature is timely and relevant as more staff and students come to embrace SaP. Through a systematic literature review of empirical research, we explored the question: How are SaP practices in higher education presented in the academic literature? Trends across results provide insights into four themes: the importance of reciprocity in partnership; the need to make space in the literature for sharing the (equal) realities of partnership; a focus on partnership activities that are small scale, at the undergraduate level, extracurricular, and focused on teaching and learning enhancement; and the need to move toward inclusive, partnered learning communities in higher education. We highlight nine implications for future research and practice.</jats:p