7,091 research outputs found
Africa's growth prospects in a European mirror : a historical perspective
Drawing on recent quantitative research on Europe reaching back to the
medieval period, and noting a relationship between the quality of institutions and
economic growth, this paper offers a reassessment of Africaâs growth prospects.
Periods of positive growth driven by trade, followed by growth reversals which wiped
out the gains of the previous boom, characterized pre-modern Europe as well as
twentieth century Africa. Since per capita incomes in much of sub-Saharan Africa are
currently at the level of medieval Europe, which did not make the breakthrough to
modern economic growth until the nineteenth century, we caution against too
optimistic a reading of Africaâs recent growth experience. Without the institutional
changes necessary to facilitate structural change, growth reversals continue to pose a
serious threat to African prosperity. Only if growth continues after a downturn in
Africaâs terms of trade can we be sure that the corner has been turned
The embodied academic: Body work in teacher education
I am a lecturer in education, but entered academia because my experience in secondary school teaching was required for teacher education. As such I followed the traditional pathway of teacher educators transitioning from professional practice to become a lecturer in higher education (Boyd and Harris, 2010). Had I been asked two years ago if I considered myself an embodied academic, my answer would have been that I thought of myself as an embodied practitioner. This has more to do with my hesitation to identify as an academic than to describe myself as embodied. Even after several years in academia I would have considered myself a teacher and identified with that embodied teaching identity. Like the research participants in Boyd and Harrisâs (2010) study, I clung on to my âidentity and credibility as [a] school teacherâ (p. 10). My motto at the time â âonce a teacher, always a teacherâ â is proof of that. I would not have called myself an academic, but I was definitely embodied
Creativity and Playfulness in Higher Education Research
Due to the diversity of academics engaging with research into higher education, there is no single methodological approach or method that would embody higher education research. In this chapter, we put forward the case that this is a good thing and argue that higher education research can benefit from fusing existing methodological and theoretical paradigms with more creative, playful and artistic approaches, more commonly associated with sociological or anthropological research and performance-based disciplines. In order to frame this attitude of creativity, playfulness and openness, we start by providing a brief delineation of the research field and methods of higher education research. In this context we introduce the Deleuzoguattarian concept of rhizomes and assemblages to provide the grounding for what we mean by creativity and playfulness, which leads to our proposal of a renewed approach to research into higher education. We draw upon our own work on embodied academic identity and trainee teachersâ perceptions of their placement experiences in order to critically explore the benefits and potential pitfalls of incorporating this creativity and playfulness into higher education research
Ableism in academia: where are the disabled and ill academics?
Recent coverage in higher education newspapers and social media platforms implies that chronic conditions, illnesses and disabilities are becoming more prominent amongst academics. Changes to funding structures, increased globalisation, marketisation and bureaucratisation of higher education have resulted in a performance-driven working environment where teaching workload and pressures to publish are further intensified due to excellence exercises in teaching and research. The result is low morale and an ever-rising number of reported mental health issues, burnout and stress-related illnesses within academia. This article explores some of these issues in the context of higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. We draw on our research and our experiences as speakers regarding ableism in academia to provide food for thought, stimulate a debate and raise awareness of those academics experiencing chronic illness, disability or neurodiversity, whose voices are not heard
Researcher experiences in practice-based interdisciplinary research
This article reports on a study that followed up on an initial interdisciplinary project and focused specifically on the experiences of researchers involved in practice-based interdisciplinary research. We share an approach to research evaluation that focuses on the experiences of those conducting the research rather than the outputs. The study allowed those involved in the initial successful project to reflect post hoc on their experiences. We show that neglecting fundamental conceptions about how the research is conceptualized can lead to challenges with the research itself. In addition to alternative understandings of research and concepts, practical and logistical issues, whilst seeming trivial, feed into communication issues such as misunderstanding of terms and language. We argue that tensions and confusions around the very nature of the researchâwhat was being researched, and what was valued as research, epistemological differences between the disciplinary perspectivesâneed to be explored and interrogated in order to maximize the benefits of interdisciplinary research. We conclude with considerations of the relationship between interdisciplinary research in a team and identity work of team members, and the implications this may have for research design, an area of research evaluation that certainly needs further exploration
Validity of the linear coupling approximation in heavy-ion fusion reactions at sub barrier energies
The role of higher order coupling of surface vibrations to the relative
motion in heavy-ion fusion reactions at near-barrier energies is investigated.
The coupled channels equations are solved to all orders, and also in the linear
and the quadratic coupling approximations. Taking Ni + Zr
reactions as examples, it is shown that all order couplings lead to
considerably improved agreement with the experimentally measured fusion cross
sections and average angular momenta of the compound nucleus for such heavy
nearly symmetric systems. The importance of higher order coupling is also
examined for asymmetric systems like O + Cd, Sm, for
which previous calculations of the fusion cross section seemed to indicate that
the linear coupling approximation was adequate. It is shown that the shape of
the barrier distributions and the energy dependence of the average angular
momentum can change significantly when the higher order couplings are included,
even for systems where measured fusion cross sections may seem to be well
reproduced by the linear coupling approximation.Comment: Latex file, 15 pages, 6 figure
Making academia more accessible
Academia can be a challenging place to work and academics who have a disability, neurodiversity or chronic illness are further disadvantaged, as non-stereotypical ways of working are not necessarily supported or catered for. The remit of this paper is to provide practical ideas and recommendations to address accessibility issues in events and conferences as a first step to improving existing working conditions. We start with providing a brief overview of and background to the issues of ableism, disabilities, chronic illnesses and neurodiversities in academia. We then offer a detailed description of the organisational and developmental strategies relating to the Ableism in Academia conference to practically demonstrate how accessibility can be achieved. Despite vast literature available on theorisations of reasonable adjustments and some individual handbooks on conference accessibility, noted the absence of a systematic write-up of a case study that would demonstrate the thought processes required for the organisation of a fully accessible and inclusive event. This paper provides almost a step-by-step rationale and rundown of the decisions that had to be taken in order to facilitate an accessible event. After a brief consideration of challenges we encountered along the way, we share personal reflections regarding the event and future developments
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