Academic credit and career education for engineering and surveying students

Research has indicated the potential of career education for academic credit at university. This case study describes how a university careers service integrated careers education workshops into the academic curriculum of an engineering and surveying faculty. Workshops on Job Skills and Career Transition were presented to 118 undergraduate students. Participants completed assignments for academic credit. These were 'marked' by career counsellors and follow-up careers counselling was provided to interested individuals. This pilot project confirms the utility of curriculum-integrated career education. Implications for career education across an entire undergraduate degree course and on-line education are raised

Government policies favouring research for economic returns can overlook existing strengths in arts and humanities

There is an argument that the best way for governments to allocate resources for research is to prioritise those areas most likely to deliver economic returns. Andrew Gibson and Ellen Hazelkorn explain how, shortly after its Great Recession, Ireland prioritised research fields aligned with industrial sectors rather than disciplinary excellence or societal challenges. By starting with an orientation toward the economy and failing to evaluate the entire research base, Ireland overlooked areas of significant strength such as the arts and humanities; an oversight tellingly addressed by a later iteration of its strategy. What’s clear is that prioritisation without full evaluation can undermine wider national and societal objectives, as well as institutional and academic morale

Global Science, National Research, and the Question of University Rankings

Science has always operated in a competitive environment, but the globalisation of knowledge and the rising popularity and use of global rankings have elevated this competition to a new level. The quality, performance and productivity of higher education and university-based research have become a national differentiator in the global knowledge economy. Global rankings essentially measure levels of wealth and investment in higher education, and they reflect the realisation that national pre-eminence is no longer sufficient. These developments also correspond with increased public scrutiny and calls for greater transparency, underpinned by growing necessity to demonstrate value, impact and benefit. Despite on-going criticism of methodologies, and scepticism about their overall role, rankings are informing and influencing policy-making, academic behaviour, stakeholder opinions—and our collective understanding of science. This article examines the inter-relationship and tensions between the national and the global in the context of the influences between higher education and global university rankings. It starts with a discussion of the globalisation of knowledge and the rise of rankings. It then moves on to consider rankings in the context of wider discourse relating to quality and measuring scholarly activity, both within academia and by governments. The next section examines the relationship and tensions between research assessment and rankings, in policy and practice. It concludes by discussing the broader implications for higher education and university-based research. DOI: 10.1057/s41599-017-0011-

“The Accountability and Transparency Agenda: Emerging Issues in the Global Era

When global rankings first appeared in 2003, rankings in general were little known despite the fact that collecting statistical information on individual academic institutions had begun by the U.S. Bureau of Education in the late 19th century (Snyder, 1993). This was followed by various attempts to measure and compare the performance of faculty members and correspondingly their institutions by focusing on the schooling and characteristics of birth of such “Geniuses” or “Great Men”. This early focus on distinguished persons dominated rankings to the 1950s but effectively excluded most public universities, such as Land Grant universities, because they were newer institutions with a different mission than the older private universities

Arts and humanities research, redefining public benefit, and research prioritization in Ireland

This article looks at the effects of a national policy of research prioritization in the years following Ireland’s economic crisis. A national research prioritization exercise initiated by policymakers redefined the purpose of higher education research, and designed policies in line with this approach. Placing research for enterprise to the fore, it emphasized the economic value that subjects could return on state investments. This article examines the post-crisis policy of prioritization, its relationship with and effects on arts and humanities research, and how the notion of the benefit of research can be broadened while still addressing economic needs. It draws on 22 comprehensive semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Ireland’s academic, policy, and civil society communities, and is part of a wider study on the contribution of higher education institution-based arts and humanities research to society and the economy

Public Goods and Public Policy: What is Public Good, and Who and What Decides?

Higher education (HE) is usually seen as serving the public good, especially when funded directly by the state, and because of potential social effects such as a reduction in inequality and an increase in social mobility. Public support for higher education is conditional; however, on its capacity, capability and willingness to educate citizens, and to create and disseminate knowledge. But what is the public good and what defines it? Recent years have seen many governments adopt the format of a national strategy or development plan for higher education—setting out national objectives. Similarly, many governments (e.g. Ireland, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Finland and New Zealand) are adopting the policy tool of performance agreements or compacts to better align higher education institutions (HEI) with the national objectives, involving identification of appropriate performance management and indicators. The process by which national objectives are determined varies but may involve a group comprising national and international ‘experts’, sometimes using consultation mechanisms (open or limited). The concept of public good has played a significant role in (re)positioning higher education over recent years. This is especially so in response to growing demands for greater accountability for all public organisations, but also, specific concerns regarding growing higher education access/participation, costs/debt, graduate employability/unemployment, and social/economic impact. This paper takes a practical approach—by asking ‘what is the public good’ and ‘who defines it’ and looking at how different countries are approaching the issue

The Impact and Influence of Rankings on the Quality, Performance and Accountability Agenda

When global rankings first appeared in 2003, rankings in general were little known despite the fact that collecting statistical information on individual academic institutions had begun by the U.S. Bureau of Education in the late 19th century (Snyder, 1993). This was followed by various attempts to measure and compare the performance of faculty members and correspondingly their institutions by focusing on the schooling and characteristics of birth of such “Geniuses” or “Great Men”. This early focus on distinguished persons dominated rankings to the 1950s but effectively excluded most public universities, such as Land Grant universities, because they were newer institutions with a different mission than the older private universities

Beverage Consumption Patterns and Oral Health Outcomes : Do Milk and Water Confer Protective Benefits against Sugary- or Acidic-Beverage Consumption?

Background: Diseases affecting the oral cavity are the most prevalent chronic conditions in the world, and affect all ages, sexes, and nationalities. Diet is a strong predictor of oral health, and beverage consumption may affect oral health outcomes; however, there has been relatively little research on the association between the balance of beverages in the diet and oral health outcomes. Methods: The current study used data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) to determine the impact of the type and frequency of beverage consumption on oral health, as well as the interaction between beverages. The first round of data collection for the CHMS took place between March 1, 2007 and March 31, 2009, and involved 5604 Canadians between the ages of 6 and 79 from across Canada. The sample targeted individuals in privately occupied dwellings, and is representative of 97% of the Canadian population. The CHMS consisted of two components: a household questionnaire to collect sociodemographic information, health history, and information on personal habits, and a clinical examination to collect anthropometric measures, blood and urine samples, and oral health measures. For our current analysis, age was restricted to age 12-30 inclusive, with 16 participants removed for missing responses giving a final sample size of 1534. The current analysis examined a number of different types of beverages, including water, milk, regular soft drinks, diet soft drinks, fruit juices, fruit-flavoured drinks, vegetable juices, sport drinks, and alcohol; and four oral health outcomes: dental decay, periodontal health, self-rated oral health (SROH), and a general oral health index (OHX). Descriptive tests and Poisson and Ordinal Regression were used to determine whether an association existed between the variables of interest, and if so, the magnitude of this association. Four models, each consisting of three sub-models, were fitted in order to address the hypotheses and research questions. Due to the complex sampling nature of the CHMS, survey weights were used as outlined by Statistics Canada, and clustering and bootstrapped analyses were carried out in order to account for the complex nature of the data. Results: A number of the beverage variables, as well as other covariates, were associated with oral health outcomes. Soft drink consumption was associated with all of the oral health outcomes in the main effects models with increased soft drink consumption having a detrimental effect on oral health. Fruit-flavoured beverage consumption was significant with a negative impact in the dental decay main effects model, and water consumption was significant for the SROH main effects model, having a positive effect on SROH as the frequency of water consumption increased. Milk was significant and beneficial in all index models, and the milk and sugary- or acidic-beverage interaction variables were significant in all index models except for the sugary index model for dental decay. A number of the covariates were also found to be significant: age was associated with all dental decay, periodontal health and OHX models with higher age being associated with poorer oral health, sex was significant in the dental decay models as well as the index models for SROH with females having better oral health, income and frequency of dental care were significant in all of the SROH models (higher income and more frequent visits to health care professionals being associated with better SROH), frequency of flossing was associated with all of the dental decay models in a detrimental way, and fibre consumption was significant in the dental decay models as well as the index models for periodontal health and OHX and had a positive impact on oral health. All other beverage variables and covariates were not significant in any model. Discussion: Consumption of some beverages, specifically regular soft drinks, fruit-flavoured beverages, water and milk, had a small but significant effect on oral health outcomes. It was also found that milk consumption is protective over sugary or acidic beverage interaction, but the interaction between water and sugary and acidic beverages does not seem to be significant. The small magnitude of association suggests oral health outcomes are highly multi-factorial in etiology and oral health status is the result of an accumulation of life exposures. Further investigations would benefit from the inclusion of information regarding access to fluoridated water, as well as longitudinal studies. Overall, the current findings contribute evidence on the importance of minimizing consumption of regular soft drinks and fruit-flavoured beverages, and replacing these drinks with those with more beneficial oral health effects such as milk and water

Careers Service Performance Measures

Results of performance against standards, February 202

Careers Service Performance Measures

Results of performance against standards, February 2023. Updated September 2023 to meet accessibility standards