Quality management in Asian universities: lessons from the European and American universities

Quality management has taken ascendancy in the universities in particular due, inter alia, to the loss of their status as ivory towers. Hence, quality management in universities takes prominence over several other initiatives. Attention is not only drawn on whether it is primed in universities but also on its practicability and the mechanism for gauging how it is performing. The first pronouncement that comes from universities in their websites, advertisements, and banners and indeed in any policy pronouncement or at any other opportunity is how they are committed to quality, what is being done about it and the status of quality management. This paper compares the quality management in the western and American universities and what Asian countries have learnt from both. Their interaction and corresponding accountability to regulating agencies prompt them to align their existence to such needs into their higher educational frameworks

A construal of the understanding level of quality assurance by internal stakeholders in two Malaysian universities

The “understanding” in terms of interpretation of quality assurance is essential for the acceptance, theorizing and the practical application of the methods proposed by it. A great deal of research papers have often pointed to the lack of understanding, among others, as the reason behind the inadequate nature of implementing quality assurance in higher education institutes. This paper examines the “understanding” levels of two key stakeholders in terms of the meaning they make out of the policy pronouncements on quality. It utilizes the qualitative case study scheme to provoke the thoughts of mainly the academic staff and their administrative counterparts in two public universities. The findings reveal that there exist differences which are mainly grounded on their role and experience in the scope of understanding the purposes served by quality, and the depths of quality management fulfillment among the two categories of stakeholders. This underpins the value of clarifying the philosophy of quality assurance to stakeholders and their involvement for better understanding and ownership

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women during the first three COVID-19 waves in The Gambia

OBJECTIVES: SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa has probably been underestimated. Population-based seroprevalence studies are needed to determine the extent of transmission in the continent. METHODS: Blood samples from a cohort of Gambian pregnant women were tested for SARS-CoV-2 total receptor binding domain (RBD) IgM/IgG before (Pre-pandemic: October-December 2019), and during the pandemic (Pre-wave1: February-June 2020; Post-wave1: October-December 2020, Post-wave2: May-June 2021; and Post-wave3: October-December 2021). Samples reactive for SARS-CoV-2 total RBD IgM/IgG were tested in specific S1- and nucleocapsid (NCP) IgG assays. RESULTS: SARS-CoV-2 total RBD IgM/IgG seroprevalence was 0.9% 95%CI (0.2, 4.9) in Pre-pandemic; 4.1% (1.4, 11.4) in Pre-wave1; 31.1% (25.2, 37.7) in Post-wave1; 62.5% (55.8, 68.8) in Post-wave2 and 90.0% (85.1, 93.5) in Post-wave3. S-protein IgG and NCP-protein IgG seroprevalence also increased at each Post-wave period. Although S-protein IgG and NCP-protein IgG seroprevalence was similar at Post-wave1, S-protein IgG seroprevalence was higher at Post-wave2 and Post-wave3, [prevalence difference (PD) 13.5 (0.1, 26.8) and prevalence ratio (PR) 1.5 (1.0, 2.3) in Post-wave2; and 22.9 (9.2, 36.6) and 1.4 (1.1, 1.8) in Post-wave3 respectively, p<0.001]. CONCLUSION: SARS-CoV-2 transmission in The Gambia during the first three COVID-19 waves was high, differing significantly from official numbers of COVID-19 cases reported. Our findings are important for policy makers in managing the near-endemic COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women in Kilifi, Kenya from March 2020 to March 2022

BackgroundSeroprevalence studies are an alternative approach to estimating the extent of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the evolution of the pandemic in different geographical settings. We aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from March 2020 to March 2022 in a rural and urban setting in Kilifi County, Kenya.MethodsWe obtained representative random samples of stored serum from a pregnancy cohort study for the period March 2020 to March 2022 and tested for antibodies against the spike protein using a qualitative SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kit (Wantai, total antibodies). All positive samples were retested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, NCP, qualitative, IgG) and anti-spike protein antibodies (Euroimmun, ELISA kits, QuantiVac; quantitative, IgG).ResultsA total of 2,495 (of 4,703 available) samples were tested. There was an overall trend of increasing seropositivity from a low of 0% [95% CI 0–0.06] in March 2020 to a high of 89.4% [95% CI 83.36–93.82] in Feb 2022. Of the Wantai test-positive samples, 59.7% [95% CI 57.06–62.34] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 NCP test and 37.4% [95% CI 34.83–40.04] tested positive by the Euroimmun anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac test. No differences were observed between the urban and rural hospital but villages adjacent to the major highway traversing the study area had a higher seroprevalence.ConclusionAnti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence rose rapidly, with most of the population exposed to SARS-CoV-2 within 23 months of the first cases. The high cumulative seroprevalence suggests greater population exposure to SARS-CoV-2 than that reported from surveillance data

Quality assurance implementation and challenges in selected Malaysian public universities

The quest to improve, propelled by governments, institutions and concerned stakeholders has become the lifeline in higher education prompting many universities to wake up to this reality. Malaysia, no exception to this premise, has correspondingly responded with the dramatic upsurge of its universities in particular and tertiary education in general by expending huge resources and effort towards quality improvement and monitoring. This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the void between quality assurance policies and all those requirements and results it is expected to achieve on one hand and how superficially they view and agree or otherwise with the quality management practices and what they would have done different if they had the chance of taking charge of quality from design to implementation. The objective of the study was to examine quality assurance implementation in two selected Malaysian public universities, explore how quality assurance practices are understood by stakeholders as well as the extent of their involvement and to explore the challenges of implementation of quality assurance processes and the purposes viewed as essential for the enhancement of current quality assurance practices in public universities in Malaysia. For the purposes of achieving an in depth understanding of the nature of quality assurance practices, application and challenges, the qualitative approach which is characteristic for prying deep into a phenomenon was the chosen research methodology. With a view to understand the meaning of quality assurance practices, a complex phenomenon with its multifaceted challenges, the case study approach with its three pronged approach was chosen for a more comprehensive and holistic inquiry.A total of fourteen respondents comprising six Quality assurance officials and eight academic staff of two public universities were interviewed. Four dominant themes emerged: commitment to address quality for actualization of educational goals; differences in scope of understanding quality assurance; application of quality system as a means to an end; and challenges and nurturing quality culture. The results reveal an existence of strong policies by the government and the Universities under review, backed by material support and units specifically tasked with quality management and improvement with strict evidence of adherence to a generic quality management system called the ISO among other professional quality frameworks. The findings also reveal differences in understanding levels of quality between the two categories of staff studied which largely impacts on the views held by the two and culminate to the application of quality assurance as a means to an end by academic staff. The findings further reveal a cause and effect rationalization of challenges of quality assurance as well as a general concordance among the two categories of the challenges of nurturing quality culture. The study concludes on a recommendation that the whole philosophy of quality assurance needs to be realigned with some local and ownership flair added in order for the stakeholders to embrace it as theirs and give it the necessary attention it deserves to serve its intended purpose. In addition, vital processes of the quality management cycle especially the planning phase need to involve key stakeholders like academic staff whose experience and thoughts can build into the framework for ease of adherence and acceptance purposes

Una Conceptualización sobre el Nivel de Comprensión de la Garantía de Calidad de las Partes Interesadas Internas en dos Universidades de Malasia

The “understanding” in terms of interpretation of quality assurance is essential for the acceptance, theorizing and the practical application of the methods proposed by it. A great deal of research papers have often pointed to the lack of understanding, among others, as the reason behind the inadequate nature of implementing quality assurance in higher education institutes. This paper examines the “understanding” levels of two key stakeholders in terms of the meaning they make out of the policy pronouncements on quality. It utilizes the qualitative case study scheme to provoke the thoughts of mainly the academic staff and their administrative counterparts in two public universities. The findings reveal that there exist differences which are mainly grounded on their role and experience in the scope of understanding the purposes served by quality, and the depths of quality management fulfillment among the two categories of stakeholders. This underpins the value of clarifying the philosophy of quality assurance to stakeholders and their involvement for better understanding and ownership.La "comprensión" en cuanto a la interpretación de la garantía de calidad es esencial para la aceptación, la teorización y la aplicación práctica de los métodos propuestos por ella. Una gran cantidad de trabajos de investigación han señalado la falta de comprensión, entre otros, como la razón de la inadecuada aplicación de la garantía de calidad en los institutos de educación superior. Este artículo examina los niveles de "comprensión" de dos actores clave en términos del significado que se hace fuera acerca de las declaraciones de política de calidad. Se utiliza el esquema de estudio de caso cualitativo para provocar el pensamiento de todo el personal académico y sus homólogos administrativos en dos universidades públicas. Los resultados revelan que existen diferencias entre las dos categorías de actores, que se basan principalmente en su función y experiencia en cuanto a la comprensión de los efectos atendidos por la calidad y la profundidad de cumplimiento de la gestión de calidad. Esto sostiene la importancia de aclarar la filosofía de aseguramiento de la calidad a las partes interesadas, su implicación y porpiedad para una mejor comprensión

A Construal of the Understanding Level of Quality Assurance by Internal Stakeholders in Two Malaysian Universities

The “understanding” in terms of interpretation of quality assurance is essential for the acceptance, theorizing and the practical application of the methods proposed by it. A great deal of research papers have often pointed to the lack of understanding, among others, as the reason behind the inadequate nature of implementing quality assurance in higher education institutes. This paper examines the “understanding” levels of two key stakeholders in terms of the meaning they make out of the policy pronouncements on quality. It utilizes the qualitative case study scheme to provoke the thoughts of mainly the academic staff and their administrative counterparts in two public universities. The findings reveal that there exist differences which are mainly grounded on their role and experience in the scope of understanding the purposes served by quality, and the depths of quality management fulfillment among the two categories of stakeholders. This underpins the value of clarifying the philosophy of quality assurance to stakeholders and their involvement for better understanding and ownership.La "comprensión" en cuanto a la interpretación de la garantía de calidad es esencial para la aceptación, la teorización y la aplicación práctica de los métodos propuestos por ella. Una gran cantidad de trabajos de investigación han señalado la falta de comprensión, entre otros, como la razón de la inadecuada aplicación de la garantía de calidad en los institutos de educación superior. Este artículo examina los niveles de "comprensión" de dos actores clave en términos del significado que se hace fuera acerca de las declaraciones de política de calidad. Se utiliza el esquema de estudio de caso cualitativo para provocar el pensamiento de todo el personal académico y sus homólogos administrativos en dos universidades públicas. Los resultados revelan que existen diferencias entre las dos categorías de actores, que se basan principalmente en su función y experiencia en cuanto a la comprensión de los efectos atendidos por la calidad y la profundidad de cumplimiento de la gestión de calidad. Esto sostiene la importancia de aclarar la filosofía de aseguramiento de la calidad a las partes interesadas, su implicación y porpiedad para una mejor comprensión

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in The Gambia dataset

A quantitative dataset containing information on COVID seroprevalence in pregnant women, based upon an analysis of samples collected from 803 women between October 2019 – March 2022 in Farafenni, North Bank Region of The Gambia. This is a sub-set of women in the PRECISE Study where pregnant women were recruited to the cohort and followed up during their pregnancy