Trust-based quality culture conceptual model for higher education institutions

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in societies as they enhance the sustainable development of nations. In a context of increasing competition and financial difficulties in higher education institutions, the loyalty of students, faculty and administration staff as well as institutional reputation are key factors for survival and success. They are built upon trust and high quality of services rendered by HEIs. The intentional development of trust serves the purpose of enhancing the quality culture in higher education. The concept of quality culture has become a natural successor of quality management and quality assurance in universities presenting a new perspective for viewing quality at HEIs - as a combination of structural and managerial with cultural and psychological components. This paper provides an elaboration of a novel Trust-Based Quality Culture Conceptual Model for Higher Education Institutions which presents the perceived interconnections between trust and quality culture at HEIs. It can form a source for an inquiry process at HEIs, thus contributing to better contextual diagnosis of the stage where HEI is in the process of building the quality culture based on trust. The findings of this study are important in better understanding the quality culture development in HEIs that is based on trust, loyalty and reputation. It may have an impact on the decision-making processes concerning HEIs’ management. The proposed model contributes to the need for greater clarity, ordering and systematization of the role of trust in the processes of quality culture development

Mergers in higher education institutions : a proposal of a novel conceptual model

Purpose - The macroeconomic changes as well as the challenges facing universities nowadays result in the transfer and adaptation of various concepts and organizational methods from enterprises to universities. One of such solutions is mergers. Even though there are a very large number of practical examples of university mergers in the world, at the same time there is a shortage of frameworks that would help manage mergers. The purpose of this paper is to present key areas of focus in HEIs' consolidation processes and the creation of the conceptual model of the universities' mergers. Design/methodology/approach - In this paper synthesis, the inductive approach for model development and case study description were used. The analysis and findings were based on the systematic literature review taken out from management and public policy areas. The new public management and public value governance approaches as well as strategic and process theories of mergers were applied. The descriptive approach to management was used as well. Findings - Formulation of a Conceptual Model of Universities' Mergers and ten principles of effective management of universities' mergers that cover the entire process, from planning, through implementation, to integration. Research limitations/implications - There is a need to verify the proposed inductive model of universities' mergers through further qualitative and mixed-methods research studies. Practical implications - The paper offers a significant opportunity for practical application of the presented content, because it indicates how the know-how from one (business) sector can be valuable for the future of another sector (the over-fragmented sector of higher education). Originality/value - This study presents the key areas of focus in HEIs' consolidation processes and proposes a novel Conceptual Model of Universities' Mergers. It concludes with the principles of effective management of universities' mergers

A conceptual model proposal : universities as culture change agents for sustainable development

This paper aims to propose a conceptual model that synthesizes the existing findings concerning universities as culture change agents for sustainable development. The model could serve as a guidance on how universities might get involved in the pro-SD activities. It also underlines the prerequisite of the quality culture that should be introduced within all the activities of universities to successfully act as culture change agents for SD. This paper builds upon the holistic and inter-disciplinary approach to demonstrate that SD does not happen in isolation and that the role of universities in its creation is significant. This study includes a literature review to contextualize the impact of universities on culture and their potential role in SD. The conclusions stemming from the literature review materialize in the proposal of the conceptual model of the university as the culture change agent for SD. The elaborated framework responds to the need for greater clarity, ordering and systematization of the role of universities in the processes of initiating, promoting and modelling the SD-oriented changes while appreciating the role of culture as an enabler, means of social change and a result of SD-focused interventions. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by offering a novel perspective on the assumed interrelations between university, its quality culture, university main operations such as education, research and engagement with the society as well as the culture and the agency of stakeholders in the context of meeting the world’s current demands without compromising the needs of future generations

Komunikacja naukowa w Polsce. Szczepionki, medycyna alternatywna, zmiany klimatyczne, GMO pod lupą

W monografii zaprezentowano wyniki jakościowego badania przeprowadzonego w projekcie H2020 CONCISE – Communication role on perception and beliefs of EU Citizens about Science, którego celem było zbadanie roli komunikacji naukowej w kształtowaniu wiedzy, opinii i przekonań obywateli Unii Europejskiej na tematy związane z nauką. W Polsce, Hiszpanii, Portugalii, na Słowacji i we Włoszech przeprowadzono jednodniowe konsultacje społeczne, w których brało udział stu odpowiednio dobranych mieszkańców danego kraju. W niniejszej publikacji przedstawione zostały wyniki konsultacji zrealizowanych w Polsce – we wrześniu 2019 roku w Łodzi. W trakcie moderowanej dyskusji uczestnicy konsultacji podzielili się swoimi opiniami na temat komunikacji naukowej, w tym szans i barier upowszechniania informacji naukowej. Publikacja składa się z czterech rozdziałów odpowiadających czterem tematom konsultacji – zmiany klimatyczne, szczepionki, GMO, medycyna alternatywna – oraz z podsumowania. Na podstawie wypowiedzi uczestników konsultacji przeprowadzonych w ramach projektu CONCISE udało się wysnuć wnioski na temat komunikacji naukowej dla omawianych tematów, jednak nie było możliwości znalezienia standardu dla komunikacji naukowej w Polsce, który mógłby stanowić uniwersalny drogowskaz dla naukowców, popularyzatorów nauki czy dziennikarzy. Każdy temat naukowy wymaga właściwej mu strategii komunikacyjnej. Dla każdego z tematów odbiorcy sformułowali odmienne preferencje dotyczące tego, skąd i w jakiej formie chcieliby otrzymywać informacje. Dlatego wydaje się uzasadnioną rekomendacją, aby osoby komunikujące treści naukowe w danym obszarze tematycznym wnikliwie rozpoznały preferencje odbiorców w tym zakresie, zanim przystąpią do komunikacji naukowej.Projekt CONCISE był finansowany z programu Unii Europejskiej „Horyzont 2020” w zakresie badań i innowacji na podstawie umowy o dofinansowanie nr 82453

El papel que desempeña la comunicación de la ciencia en la opinión de la ciudadanía europea

El documento recoge las recomendaciones políticas recomendadas a partir de los resultados de investigación del proyecto europeo H2020 CONCISE. En este proyecto se llevaron a cabo cinco consultas ciudadanas, en cinco ciudades europeas de España, Italia, Eslovaquia, Portugal y Polinia), en las que participaron alrededor de 100 ciudadanos en cada una de ellas, para hablar sobre ciencia. Concretamente a los ciudadanos se les preguntó cómo se informaban y en qué fuentes o canales confiaban más para informarse de temas como las vacunas, el cambio climático, las medicinas complementarias o alternativas, y los organismos modificados genéticamente. Los debates arrojaron información muy valiosa para el diseño de políticas públicas.H2020 CONCISE G.A. No 824537The document includes the suggested policy brief recommendations based on the European H2020 CONCISE project's research results. In this project, five citizen consultations were carried out in five European cities from Spain, Italy, Slovakia, Portugal and Poland, in which around 100 citizens participated in each of them to talk about science. Specifically, citizens were asked how they were informed and how sources or channels they trusted the most to find out about vaccines, climate change, complementary or alternative medicines, and genetically modified organisms. The debates yielded very valuable information for the design of public policies

Communication role on perception and beliefs of EU citizens about science

Este documento presenta un conjunto de recomendaciones basadas en el conocimiento de las consultas públicas de CONCISE. Los puntos se enumeran según los diferentes destinatarios: comunicadores científicos, responsables políticos, científicos y público en general. El principal objetivo de CONCISE es determinar el papel que desempeña la comunicación científica en la formación de creencias, percepciones y conocimientos sobre cuestiones científicas. Para lograr este objetivo, CONCISE llevó a cabo cinco consultas públicas en Lisboa (Portugal), Valencia (España), Vicenza (Italia), Trnava (Eslovaquia) y Lodz (Polonia) con la participación de cerca de 500 ciudadanos. Esto permitió al consorcio recopilar testimonios de diferentes regiones de la UE, proporcionando así a CONCISE información comparable y fiable sobre las percepciones generales de los ciudadanos de la UE sobre los cuatro temas científicos candentes en estudio, a saber, las vacunas, la medicina complementaria y alternativa, el cambio climático y los organismos modificados genéticamente.This policy brief presents a set of recommendations based on the knowledge of CONCISE's public consultations. The points are listed according to the different target: science communicators, policymakers, scientists and general audience. CONCISE’s main objective is to determine the role that science communication plays in shaping beliefs, perceptions and knowledge of scientific issues. To achieve this aim, CONCISE carried out five public consultations in Lisbon (Portugal), Valencia (Spain), Vicenza (Italy), Trnava (Slovakia) and Lodz (Poland) with the participation of near on 500 citizens. This allowed the consortium to gather testimonies from different EU regions, thus providing CONCISE with comparable and reliable information on EU citizens’ general perceptions of the four burning science issues under study, namely, vaccines, complementary and alternative medicine, climate change and genetically modified organisms

The Frequency of Using Websites and Social Media by Various Age Groups to Form Opinions about Scientific Topics: Findings from the European Context

This article presents the frequency of using websites and social media by three age groups (18-34, 35-54, 55+) from Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain to form opinions about scientific topics. The findings come from studies performed within a European project entitled CONCISE, which is researching the role of communication in creating EU citizens’ perceptions about science. The results show that young, heavy users take the lead in using all digital sources, except for general websites, where the middle-aged show dominance. Facebook is the most-used social media platform among all age groups. The group of social media non-users among older adults is almost seven times larger than that of the young. The study offers insights for scientists and policymakers on which digital media to target to effectively reach the various age groups with reliable and trustworthy scientific information thus combating misinformation and pseudoscience