Exploring the reasons behind persistent low-level corruption in Hungary by looking into (the absence of) formally reported wrongdoings: “The less said, the better”.

This master thesis in Sociology of Law explored the persistency of low-level corruption in post-communist Hungary. By adopting an anthropological approach 20 unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted in Hungarian language. The main focus of the research was on how law actually works. The collected material suggested that inadequate legislation supports informal economic transactions (“bad regulation generates necessary corruption”). Therefore Ehrlich’s ‘living law’ and legal pluralism provided a theoretical framework. The results supported the idea that the phenomenon of petty corruption persisted and proliferated during the transition process, and kept growing despite the EU accession. Four main reasons were indentified for individuals taking part in informal transactions which fit into the 'survival tactic' literature of post-communist societies: ‘not enough salary’, ‘I have no choice, because the regulations are wrong’, 'I am pressured by my superior or the institute’, ‘just go with the flow’. The reasons behind the low frequency of formally reported wrong-doing were considered and it was suggested that citizens try to control corruption in informal ways. The lack of political will to implement adequate laws, and the civil social organisations never-ending fight to introduce legislation were presented. The research intends to contribute to the categorisation of petty corruption in Hungary, by establishing living law imperatives

Exploring the socio-legal aspects of low-level corruption: a study on the perceptions of informal practices of long-term local residents and migrants in Scotland and Hungary

This thesis aims to provide a nuanced insight into people’s understanding of everyday corruption practices, by exploring the practices themselves, as well as the norms surrounding them, through people’s participation in them and perceptions of them. I examine everyday corruption, which I understand as a socially constructed phenomenon, through a nonjudgemental approach to the lived experiences of long-term residents and migrants in two differing research contexts of Budapest and Glasgow. This investigation includes the examination of the norms of carrying out everyday corruption practices as well as the processes that help people to develop a sense of acceptance of these informal practices that are divergent from, and contrary to, formal norms. I use Ehrlich’s ‘living law’ theory as the underlying theoretical framework, which advises my overall conceptual framework, having made some modifications that enable me to apply this theory to an empirical analysis of the everyday corruption practices and their norms. The thesis is based on fifty-one in-depth interviews and five focus groups conducted between February 2017 and March 2019 in Budapest and Glasgow with four groups of participants: long-term Hungarian residents and British migrants in Budapest, and long-term Scottish (British) residents and Hungarian migrants in Glasgow. This thesis is an investigation within and between contexts, as my study takes place in two research locations. The migrants’ perspective has a particular importance because migrants move between social settings, which means that their lived experience can provide a more nuanced insight into learning the norms of, and participating in, everyday corruption in their new context. The study reveals that although it is important to consider and situate people’s understanding of everyday corruption in their local context, there are other more generalisable factors and processes (rationalisation, learning, and routinising) that contribute to construct this understanding. Moreover, these processes, combined with the factors that enable people to take part in informal practices according to their norms (procedural acceptability), on occasions lead to people perceiving these practices as being right (moral acceptability). The generalisable factors that people consider when constructing their understanding of informal practices are the external pressures in the context and internal pressures within social associations, and the perceived harmfulness of the informal practices. I argue that considering these factors, which I call the ‘matrix of acceptability’ can be applied more universally, which can challenge simplified, cultural explanations of everyday corruption and people’s participation in and perceptions of those

A MOOC Design Mapping Framework (MDMF): Evaluation ofAacademics’ and Learning Technologists’ Experiences

A MOOC Design Mapping Framework (MDMF) was introduced to streamline and enhance the development of MOOCs at the University of Glasgow. The MDMF is built on RealTimeBoard platform to enable development of and sharing of high level course designs among the course team and affiliated learning technologist(s), and to serve as exemplars for future MOOCs. Combining the core FutureLearn activities and ABC Learning Design Framework, it was anticipated that the MDMF approach would save time on development and encourage a more learner-centred approach to the course design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (nine academics and three learning technologists). Relating to process, reported benefits included collaborative development (among course teams and between academics and the learning technologist) as well as a focused concentration on the type, sequence and balance of activities, and the ability to see a big picture overview and any gaps. Reported challenges included the tool not capturing the details of discussions and some technical limitations. However, all participants agreed they would use the framework again in relation to the design of MOOCs and other courses. Presenter details: John is leading the development of MOOCs at UofG from strategic and operational perspectives. Current areas of enquiry include mainstreaming MOOCs as a standard prerequisite to online distance learning programmes, to facilitate successful student transitions, and progressing the potential for micro-credentialing MOOCs (@johnkerr001) With an interest in Learner Experience Research, Vicki champions technology-enhanced learning and teaching in the context of formal and informal staff development opportunities at UofG (@vhmdale)

Evaluation of a MOOC design mapping framework (MDMF): experiences of academics and learning technologists

With the increasing strategic importance of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) in higher education, this paper offers an innovative approach to advancing discussions and practice around MOOC learning design, in the context of staff development. The study provides a deeper understanding of staff (academic and learning technologists') experience when designing MOOCs, through the evaluation of a novel MOOC design mapping framework (MDMF) at one higher education institution. The MDMF was developed to enhance the MOOC design process for staff involved, providing dedicated, tailored support in this area. This study considers and contributes to the literature on learning design, differences between face-to-face and online learning and the role played by academic staff and learning technologists in the design of MOOCs. The study is based on rich qualitative data drawn from 12 semi-structured interviews with nine academics and three learning technologists who used the framework for constructing MOOCs. This study evaluates: (1) how the framework was used and supported; (2) benefits of the framework to support good practice in learning design and the design process; and (3) limitations of the framework. We also considered suggested enhancements to the framework. The study highlighted new areas that could influence the design process, such as the importance of the learning technologist as a facilitator of the MDMF, the benefits of the visual aspects of the framework, technological challenges, and users’ level of digital literacy

Evaluation of a MOOC design mapping framework (MDMF): experiences of academics and learning technologists

With the increasing strategic importance of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) in higher education, this paper offers an innovative approach to advancing discussions and practice around MOOC learning design, in the context of staff development. The study provides a deeper understanding of staff (academic and learning technologists') experience when designing MOOCs, through the evaluation of a novel MOOC design mapping framework (MDMF) at one higher education institution. The MDMF was developed to enhance the MOOC design process for staff involved, providing dedicated, tailored support in this area. This study considers and contributes to the literature on learning design, differences between face-to-face and online learning and the role played by academic staff and learning technologists in the design of MOOCs. The study is based on rich qualitative data drawn from 12 semi-structured interviews with nine academics and three learning technologists who used the framework for constructing MOOCs. This study evaluates: (1) how the framework was used and supported; (2) benefits of the framework to support good practice in learning design and the design process; and (3) limitations of the framework. We also considered suggested enhancements to the framework. The study highlighted new areas that could influence the design process, such as the importance of the learning technologist as a facilitator of the MDMF, the benefits of the visual aspects of the framework, technological challenges, and users’ level of digital literacy

A MOOC Design Mapping Framework (MDMF): Evaluation ofAacademics’ and Learning Technologists’ Experiences

A MOOC Design Mapping Framework (MDMF) was introduced to streamline and enhance the development of MOOCs at the University of Glasgow. The MDMF is built on RealTimeBoard platform to enable development of and sharing of high level course designs among the course team and affiliated learning technologist(s), and to serve as exemplars for future MOOCs. Combining the core FutureLearn activities and ABC Learning Design Framework, it was anticipated that the MDMF approach would save time on development and encourage a more learner-centred approach to the course design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants (nine academics and three learning technologists). Relating to process, reported benefits included collaborative development (among course teams and between academics and the learning technologist) as well as a focused concentration on the type, sequence and balance of activities, and the ability to see a big picture overview and any gaps. Reported challenges included the tool not capturing the details of discussions and some technical limitations. However, all participants agreed they would use the framework again in relation to the design of MOOCs and other courses. Presenter details: John is leading the development of MOOCs at UofG from strategic and operational perspectives. Current areas of enquiry include mainstreaming MOOCs as a standard prerequisite to online distance learning programmes, to facilitate successful student transitions, and progressing the potential for micro-credentialing MOOCs (@johnkerr001) With an interest in Learner Experience Research, Vicki champions technology-enhanced learning and teaching in the context of formal and informal staff development opportunities at UofG (@vhmdale)