To reveal the influence of variables such as entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial inspiration, and incubation resources on students' entrepreneurial intentions in vocational colleges, this study took vocational colleges in Zhejiang Province, a province with a strong entrepreneurial climate in China, as an example. The study used a questionnaire to obtain data, and 614 valid questionnaires were collected from seven vocational colleges. The study divided entrepreneurship education into three dimensions: entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial inspiration, and incubation resources, and used structural equation modeling to investigate the influence of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions while introducing entrepreneurial efficacy as a mediating variable to examine the influence mechanism of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intentions of higher education students. The results showed that entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial inspiration, incubation resources, and entrepreneurial efficacy were all significantly and positively correlated with entrepreneurial intentions and that entrepreneurial efficacy mediated between the two dimensions of entrepreneurship education (entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial inspiration) and entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in vocational institutions, we should stimulate students' sense of entrepreneurial efficacy, strengthen their entrepreneurial learning and inspire them to start their businesses. In turn, university incubation resources can be developed and utilized to enhance students' entrepreneurial confidence and intentions.

This study aimed to explore what factors affect teachers’ acceptance and instructional use of ICT in Chinese higher vocational colleges. Grounded in the modified UTAUT model, the current study investigated the direct and indirect effects of teachers’ performance expectancy, effort expectancy, external conditions, and behavioral intentions on using ICT in teaching. A total of 6087 teachers from 219 vocational colleges in 28 provinces in China participated in a large-scale survey. Structural equation modeling revealed that the teachers’ psychological perceptions (including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and intention to use ICT technology) and the external support conditions (including professional development support, infrastructures, the climate of organizational reform and innovation, and teacher performance assessment mechanisms) significantly directly affect the use of ICT in Chinese higher vocational college teachers’ teaching practice. Moreover, this study confirmed the mediating role of teachers’ intention to use ICT in teaching in the relationship between teachers’ psychological perceptions and ICT instructional usage behavior. However, there were differences in the significance of these variables in the chain effect of teachers’ intention to use ICT. These findings expand our understanding of the factors influencing ICT use in teaching among VET teachers in China and thus provide practical implications for higher vocational college managers to promote teachers’ ICT teaching behaviors.

Many assumptions exist about online learning and its impact on college students. Hitherto, the views of those meant to be the beneficiaries of this technology have been given little consideration despite the fact that students use cyberspace for academic work and beyond. This qualitative case-study report is based on research conducted by college students at a private university in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The aim was to examine the online learning experiences of their peers during the first wave of the coronavirus global pandemic, with a view to understand how prepared their university is for an academic genre located in cyberspace. The findings are based on the perspectives of 2,298 college students responding to a survey administered to the entire student population comprising around 9,000 individuals. They suggest that increasing opportunities for cyberlearning could have positive effects on students. Also provided is cautionary advice about the need to improve teaching pedagogies and combat academic dishonesty.

The management of a cultural change in higher education is becoming necessary and unavoidable: changes in teaching, changes in research and changes in governance. Digital transformation is an essential part of many countries’ modernisation agendas. The aim of this non-experimental, descriptive, survey-based study was to explore the perceptions of university students toward the digital transformation that took place in university teaching as a consequence of COVID-19. The specific objectives proposed were to: a) analyse the perceptions of students toward digital transformation in university teaching; b) determine the valuation of students about the digital transformation that occurred in university teaching as a result of COVID-19; and c) explore the resources (hardware-software), professional collaboration, digital pedagogy and student empowerment (motivation) with respect to digital education and the recent changes in university teaching due to the pandemic. The results show that a large number of items are positively correlated. In conclusion, further research should delve into motivation, collaboration, reflective experience sharing, self-learning and initiatives that promote the development of competences in future teachers.

Educational institutions worldwide have adopted e-learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this shift to online learning (OL) has presented challenges for students and teachers, it has also sparked innovative educational approaches. This study investigates college students' perceptions regarding OL, specifically focusing on gender differences in the experience with OL A quantitative survey gathered information from distinct college students in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations who experienced OL during the pandemic. The survey included questions related to satisfaction with OL and specific aspects such as course content delivery, interaction with instructors, behavioral changes, and challenges with OL. Male and female student OL experience was compared statistically. The results conclude that male students are more satisfied than female students. Students struggled with internet connection, OL adaptation, focus, and workload during OL. Understanding these gender differences in students' satisfaction with OL is crucial for educators and institutions as they strive to optimize the effectiveness of e-learning strategies. By recognizing and addressing male and female students' unique needs and challenges, educational institutions can enhance the overall educational experience during times of crisis and beyond.

The management of a cultural change in higher education is becoming necessary and unavoidable: changes in teaching, changes in research and changes in governance. Digital transformation is an essential part of many countries’ modernisation agendas. The aim of this non-experimental, descriptive, survey-based study was to explore the perceptions of university students toward the digital transformation that took place in university teaching as a consequence of COVID-19. The specific objectives proposed were to: a) analyse the perceptions of students toward digital transformation in university teaching; b) determine the valuation of students about the digital transformation that occurred in university teaching as a result of COVID-19; and c) explore the resources (hardware-software), professional collaboration, digital pedagogy and student empowerment (motivation) with respect to digital education and the recent changes in university teaching due to the pandemic. The results show that a large number of items are positively correlated. In conclusion, further research should delve into motivation, collaboration, reflective experience sharing, self-learning and initiatives that promote the development of competences in future teachers.

The objective of this paper is to analyze students’ assessments of the attainment of skills acquired by university graduates enrolled in a Training Programme (TP) to develop entrepreneurial skills and transversal employability competencies. Both of which are vital for the success of today's societies and play an important role in the sustainable development agenda. The TP was a twelve-week programme with six modules combining entrepreneurship training and traditional teaching methods. There were nine editions and 148 students worked in teams preparing business plans to present to consultants and potential investors. The Focal Group method was used to identify competencies and a survey was designed to identify the level to which skills were attained. The results suggest that the students attained both types of skills, acquiring a higher level of proficiency in entrepreneurial skills and those transversal competencies most connected to entrepreneurship. Additionally, different levels of attainment of entrepreneurial skills were found in different groups. We provide new evidence that TPs, as compulsory subjects in the core curriculum of degree programmes, will help accomplish both objectives: the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills and generic university educational competencies. The overall outcome of this research highlights the value added by the TPs.

Students who had been actively engaged in mediated collaborative activities, were asked for their perceptions about the sustainable peer feedback they had received and provided. Their views were then analyzed and categorized in terms of receiver and provider feedback, cognitive feedback and previously acquired feedback to further knowledge about sustainable education processes. A peer supported feedback questionnaire was created and validated, and its categories were correlated. The questionnaire was then aligned with the activities used to foster peer feedback between the pre-service students from the three bachelor’s degrees. The perceptions the students had of the feedback processes were analyzed using defined peer support feedback categories and the results showed a correlation between cognitive feedback and both provider and receiver self-efficacy feedback. In addition, there was a further correlation between both provider and receiver self-efficacy feedback as well as provider and receiver involvement and feedback structure. However, the results also revealed that neither receiver nor provider autonomy support were significant categories for supportive feedback.

Innovative teaching strategies are designing a new and promising landscape in education. They fill up the lessons with creativity and imagination either for the students and teachers. This article addresses an attempt to make easier the approach to science in a non-scientific environment: primary education at university level. Gamification methodologies were combined with flipped classroom in order to free up in-class time and engage the students with the taught courses. A qualitative study was merged with quantitative measures of emotional and motivational parameters. These results were improved with four semi-structured interviews. The results clearly showed a raise in the students' motivational level, an acknowledgment of good teaching practice and an evident enhancement of felt positive emotions toward science teaching and scientific issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about major changes in our world and has accelerated the progress of the job market. This presents both a challenging and exciting prospect for the workforce in the future, particularly in 2030 and beyond. Through thorough literature reviews, this paper navigates the constantly changing landscape of education and employment. It specifically focuses on the importance of preparing students for the jobs of the future by fostering skills such as adaptability, critical thinking, empathy, integrity, optimism, proactivity, and resilience. The pandemic has accelerated the need for online learning and remote work skills, which are now essential for future success. Through observations, the paper also examines the pulse of the situation in Iligan City, Philippines, where aligning educational institutions with the changing job market is crucial. Overall, this paper has significant implications for educational reforms and real-world challenges, creating a guide for institutions to empower students and contribute to the city's economic growth. Significant information suggests that in a constantly evolving world, those who are prepared, adaptable, and equipped with the skills to shape the future will succeed. Iligan City is well-aware that it needs to position itself to play a pivotal role in this journey.

Domestic abuse and stalking in higher education (HE) have been overlooked in research in comparison to sexual harassment and sexual violence. This article reports on survey data from 725 students at a UK university using measures of ‘dating violence’ – physical and psychological violence from an intimate partner – and stalking from a US survey instrument (the Administrator Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3) survey). According to this measure, 26% of respondents had been subjected to ‘dating violence’ and 16% to stalking behaviours. However, these findings need to be contextualised within a critical discussion of the use of the ARC3 survey tool in the UK context. The ARC3 questions on ‘dating violence’ focus on physical and ‘psychological violence’; the questions therefore omit further types of domestic abuse under UK definitions. In relation to stalking, US definitions – as captured in the ARC3 survey instrument – define specific behaviours. By contrast, in the UK stalking involves behaviours that engender fear or distress in a pattern of behaviour over time. These differences mean that the ARC3 modules on stalking and ‘dating violence’ would need to be significantly adapted to be suitable for use in the UK context.

Attracting and retaining international students has been widely discussed in higher education settings. Increasing the number of international students has become an indispensable strategy for national and global competition. This study focuses on effective strategies and international students' issues regarding satisfaction in the most popular STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. We designed a structural equation modeling (SEM) method to determine the effect of institutional mediation between push factors and satisfaction factors for the development of better strategies by which to attract and retain international students. Taking Taiwan as an example, this study employed a self-designed questionnaire to collect data: 485 degree-seeking international students in STEM programs were invited and successfully participated in this study during spring 2021. IBM SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 (Analysis of Moment Structure) were used to carry out the data analysis. We employed reliability, factor, and SEM analyses. This study assumed that the impact of push factors can be modified by institutional situations and result in international students’ satisfaction with their learning and environment and regarding migration policy. The results revealed that the predictors, mediation, and criteria were significant at the 0.05 or 0.01 levels. The findings suggest that push factors impact international students’ satisfaction when using institutional leadership and international strategy. The results of the bootstrap with a generalized least square method showed that the SEM model fit in 2000 bootstrap samples. The effect of institutional mediation can provide useful information for STEM programs to boost their future recruitment and retention strategies. This study provides an innovative approach to the detection of issues among international students in specific programs. These findings can enrich our knowledge regarding attracting and retaining global students in higher education settings.

This study assesses the development of professional skills in university students using serious games (SG), from a sustainability perspective. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set by the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Universities are strategic agents in the transformation process towards sustainability. This way, they should be committed to promoting such sustainable values in the students through curricular sustainability, implementing active methodologies and SG for that purpose. Transversal skills are essential for the development of future graduates. The objective of this study was to assess which professional skills should be developed through the SG called The Island, to improve the degree of student satisfaction with the incorporation of a sustainable curriculum. The data were obtained using a questionnaire, and then analysed using linear regression models, with their inference estimated through the goodness of fit and ANOVA. The first results indicated that the implementation of the SG promoted a strengthening of the students' sustainable curriculum through the development of those skills. It was concluded that the key to success in education for sustainable development is improving the development of strategic thinking, collaborative thinking, and self-awareness, in addition to encouraging systemic, critical, and problem-solving thinking.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based models hold the potential to transform higher education if adopted properly and ethically. A prime example is ChatGPT with earlier studies indicating its widespread adoption in academia and by university students. The current study aimed to identify the factors influencing the attitude towards ChatGPT and its usage among university students in Arab countries. A previous survey instrument termed Technology Acceptance Model Edited to Assess ChatGPT Adoption (TAME-ChatGPT) was administered online using a convenience-based approach among the contacts of the authors. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the survey constructs was done using root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), standardized root mean square residual (SRMR), comparative fit index (CFI), and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI). The final study sample comprised a total of 2240 participant divided as follows: Iraq (n=736, 32.9%), Kuwait (n=582, 26.0%), Egypt (n=417, 18.6%), Lebanon (n=263, 11.7%), and Jordan (n=242, 10.8%). A total of 1048 respondents heard of ChatGPT before the study (46.8%), of which 551 used ChatGPT (52.6%). The mean scores of TAME-ChatGPT constructs showed that the ease of ChatGPT use, positive attitude towards technology and social influence, higher perceived usefulness, the influence of behavioral/cognitive factors, low perceived risks and low anxiety were the determinants of positive attitude to ChatGPT and its use. For both the attitude and usage scales of TAME-ChatGPT, CFA collectively yielded satisfactory fit indices as indicated by low RMSEA and SRMR together with high CFI and TLI. Multivariate analysis showed that attitude to ChatGPT use was significantly influenced by country of residence, age, university type, and the latest grade point average of the students. The current study confirmed the validity of TAME-ChatGPT as a survey instrument to assess the possible determinants of ChatGPT use among university students in Arab countries. The study findings highlighted that successful adoption of ChatGPT in higher education could be dependent on perceived ease of use, usefulness, positive attitudes to technology, social influence, behavioral/cognitive factors, lower anxiety, and minimal perceived risks. The utility of ChatGPT in higher education requires policies that should be tailored for various settings, considering the differences observed in attitude towards ChatGPT among participating students in this study.

Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community to help shape its future or improve conditions for others. While it might have been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, this study explored how college students perceive civic engagement on selected campuses that were partially locked down. We sampled 1036 student volunteers from six universities in Taiwan by using a self-designed module of civic engagement and transferable capabilities. The Student’s t-test, ANOVA, regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to interpret the differences and relationships among these variables. This study provides a more detailed example of the current status of civic engagement and its relative to transferable capabilities in a higher education setting. The related programs and institutes should take responsibility for enhancing students’ civic engagement and transferable capabilities during the pandemic. How to ameliorate the situation? The findings suggest that it should consider a student’s academic major, learning experiences in the department, and time spent on related activities during the pandemic recovery. The findings might prove useful to various campuses for enhancing ongoing practices.

The goal of this study is both to determine the opinion that professors and students at the University of (details removed for peer review) have of active methodologies and to describe the perception and opinion of the modes of organization, methodological focuses, and evaluation systems that define the teaching-learning process. On surveying the professors and the students in their classes, we found significant differences in 32 of the 92 variables in common. The content of these results shows that professors and students are believe they are making progress toward a learning-centered model, that implementation of active methodologies implies new functions in their teaching practice.

In this study, we designed a structural model to determine the relationships among push–pull factors, institutional situations, and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 17 selected indicators fell under five domains, namely push factors, pull factors, institutional leadership, international strategies, and satisfaction. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to verify the assumptions of the model. Based on 1005 degree-seeking international students' views, this study found that push and pull factors may coincidentally exist, and their functions can be modified by institutional situations. The findings suggest pull factors will, through institutional leadership, impact students' satisfaction, while push factors will not. Moreover, the detection of institutional mediation can provide useful information for specific institutes to develop their future recruiting or retaining strategies. These findings enriched our knowledge of the field during the pandemic. For future studies, this design may be useful to interpret the phenomena of global student mobility in higher education settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst catastrophes that we have faced globally in recent years. It has not only taken its toll on the economic sector but also on the education sector. The social distancing norms that are in place as a direct response to the pandemic have turned conventional classroom teaching into a problematic minefield; as such, students all over the world have been forced into unprecedented situations that have served only to worsen the situation. The current pandemic has given rise to one of the worst crises the 21^st Century has ever seen, resulting in a surge of unemployment. Many companies have taken the route of firing employees or making redundancies, as they cannot afford the monthly reimbursement for staff. While this issue primarily concerns full-time workers, it also carries significant consequences for students – a considerable number of students are required to earn their daily living costs, and, without a job, they cannot pay their educational fees, accommodation costs, or living expenses. This comprehensive study briefly discusses the multitude of problems faced by students in the UK regarding higher education, as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. It contains six individual sections: a detailed introduction; the methodological procedures employed; educational disruptions, covering issues from hindrances in field research to examinations and student evaluations; personal problems experienced by students, such as accommodation and loss of income; concerns arising from the global pandemic; and finally, a conclusion and summary of the study’s findings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck educational experience systems around the globe. This paper investigates and evaluates the student participants’ perceptions who joined the international exchange seminar on global citizenship and peace held at a University in Hiroshima, Japan. Approximately seventy students and faculty members from nine to ten different universities from around the globe joined this summer program in August 2021 (online) and 2022 (face-to-face). This study is a mixed-method study. The first part consists of a quantitative analysis of BEVI data obtained from the students in the seminar before COVID-19 and after. The research concludes that there are no changes in the way students learn. The second part consists of qualitative data. This data shows the perceptions of students of online teaching versus hybrid teaching. It compares the differences in participants’ perceptions reported in students’ feedback on the programs during and post-COVID-19. Our results confirm prominent differences exist in the students’ perceptions of their learning experience during the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods. The findings of this study suggest that universities need to strive and define a meaning and purpose of international seminars, which enables students to experience a high level of intercultural social interaction face-to-face.

This paper used the decolonial theory to analyse provision of Assistive Technology and assistive devices at an institution of higher education in South African. It was an empirical study, in which data were collected through interviews with students with disabilities and the Disability Rights Centre staff members. The paper sought to understand the invisible hidden implications of provision of Assistive Technology and assistive devices. The finding was that it is students with disabilities who were provided with Assistive Technology and assistive devices at the institution. The institution provided them through the Centre, to support their learning. However, this way of provision was found to be stigmatising and segregative. Furthermore, while the provision on one hand enabled students with disabilities’ learning, on the other, it constrained it. The argument of the paper is that when provision of Assistive Technology and assistive devices is for a particular group of students it defeats the whole purpose for it is intended, and could hinder rather than promote learning. It is hoped that the paper will contribute to contemporary debate on provision of Assistive Technology and support services for people with disabilities in low resource settings, from a South African context specifically, and in higher education broadly.

Though there have been works highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of online learning, no study focused on university-level economics students. None of the studies explored students' opinions about improving the quality and effectiveness of online classes. Many used questionable samples, closed-ended questions, and all those researches were carried out at the beginning of online classes. In this paper, we overcome these limitations of earlier studies. Using a convenience sampling technique and open-ended questions, we collect data from 154 university-level economics students after being exposed to the online class for a year. Some advantages of online classes are: students can do classes from home without being exposed to health risks, easily accessible, flexible class schedule, students remained connected with the study, it saves costs, reduce the likelihood of semester loss, easy to understand, less stressful, and learning new technologies. Major problems from students' perspectives include network problems, difficulties in understanding the topic, unsuitable for mathematical courses, concentration problem, class not interactive, financial constraint, adverse health impacts, device issues, power outages, unfamiliarity with digital technology, internet problem, and unfixed class-schedule. Disadvantages outnumbered advantages. Students made several suggestions to improve the quality and effectiveness of online classes. Some of the vital suggestions are: using state-of-the-art digital tools, recording and uploading lectures, resolving internet issues, holding classes regularly, higher efforts to make the topics easier, resolving network issues, lowering class duration, institutional support, implementing a fixed class schedule, and introducing online evaluation system.

The higher education act of 2013 with its amendment act of 2021 was enacted to guide and regulate the provision of higher education in Zambia. This conceptual paper sought to assess the impact of this act in the higher education sector. It was qualitative in design and data was collected using content analysis. In this regard, literature regarding the Zambia higher education act and higher education provisions were scrutinised. The findings show that the higher education act has resulted in the creation of the higher education authority (HEA) which has brought sanity to the higher education sector by compelling all higher education institutions to be registering themselves and programmes with HEA. Further, the HEA has developed a policy for the promotion of academic staff in the higher education sector. However, the higher education act (the amended act of 2021) has negatively impacted the higher education sector. The amended act outlawed the spirit of accountability in the running of universities by removing stakeholders such as unions from sitting on the university council. Further, the act has reduced the number of councillors to sit on the council to run public universities from 16 to 8, thereby limiting the diversity of membership to the council. Furthermore, the higher education act has opened higher education institutions' affiliations to even private universities with little or no capacity, thereby further compromising the quality of higher. The Act has also increased the cost of running universities by introducing additional administrative structures in universities. Based on the above findings, the paper recommends that the Act be amended to remove the retrogressive clauses highlighted in this paper.

This paper discussed the concept of quality assurance (QA) in higher education and its implications to higher education institutions (HEIs) and the possible challenges. The study evaluated literature concerning QA in Zambia and elsewhere. The findings of the study show that QA is implemented through external and internal mechanisms such as accreditation, registration, institutional auditing, and the use of external examiners, self-evaluation, and peer reviews. The QA implications to HEIs in Zambia are that there is a need for accreditation of academic programmes with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) by HEIs. Further, HEIs should establish QA units to spearhead quality issues, reactive, and introduce the use of external examiners to ensure quality. The challenges identified in the implementation of QA in HEIs include inadequate funding, infrastructure, shortage of qualified academic staff, and lack of standalone QA units in some HEIs. In this regard, it has been recommended among other things, government improve funding in public HEIs, construct infrastructure, HEIs establish QA units, and recruit and retain qualified academic staff to ensure the quality of education.

Background: The university must take on the challenges that arise at all levels. Within this mechanism, university professors play an important role as facilitators of knowledge. Aim: To analyse the motivations that influence the professional performance of Spanish university professors. Methods: 102 university professors from 9 Spanish public universities participated in the study. [Male: 54 (52.9%); Female: 48 (47.1%)]. A questionnaire of 22 closed-ended Likert-type questions was designed, scoring from 0-10 (do not agree at all, strongly agree). Results: The questionnaire, finally composed of 17 items, showed good internal consistency. (Cronbach's alpha=0.858). The validity analysis showed a value of 0.822 (>0.5) ) in the sample adequacy measure KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) and Bartlett's sphericity test (p<0.0001). The exploratory factor analysis showed a clustering in 4 factors (2 for internal goods and 2 for external goods), explaining 64.33% of the total variance. Comparisons between each factor scores by gender (male and female) showed differences statistically significant by gender for factor F1 (higher for females) and F2 (higher for males). Finally, Q1 and Q13 showed a statistically significant correlation (p≤0.05) with years of teaching experience. Conclusions: The motivations of Spanish university professors seem to be associated with the age and gender of the teacher.

Policies are adopted and implemented to achieve specific goals. In this regard, the Government of Zambia in 2019 adopted the higher education policy with many objectives which include, the expansion of access to higher education; reduction of gender and other forms of inequity in accessing higher education; the improvement of quality of higher education by increasing funding to higher education institutions, construction, and repair of infrastructure in higher and improvement in the provision of learning materials in higher education institutions (HEIs).This paper, therefore, sought to evaluate the higher education policy of 2019. The four criteria were used namely; effectiveness, equity, policy sustainability, and consistency. Other principles such as political and social acceptability of a policy were not used because the policy is already adopted and being implemented. Further, the principle of efficiency was not used because it would have been problematic to gauge the expenditure against the outcomes.The findings have revealed that the policy to some extent has been effective; some of the objectives such as increased access to higher education and reduction of inequality have been partially achieved. It has been established that the number of students pursuing higher education has been increased to 114,049 in 2020 from 91,969 in 2017. Further, in 2021, 48.5% of scholarships in public universities were awarded to female students while 51.5% were awarded to female students. Further, more students are encouraged to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); and more women are pursuing studies in STEM-related fields. However, the policy has not helped to achieve the quality of higher education as funding in public HEIs has not improved. Further, infrastructure remains very poor and inadequate; and access to update and relevant learning materials also remains a challenge in HEIs. However, the policy seems to be duplicated by the recent re-launched Technical Education Vocation Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) national policy.Given the above findings, it has been recommended that the government among other things improve funding and build infrastructure in public HEIs. There is also a need to harmonise the TEVET national policy with the higher education policy.

This research is part of the Doctoral thesis "Perceptions of university professors on Health Promotion and Sustainability: a research proposal based on Health Promoting Universities (HPU) / World Health Organization (WHO) ", University Fernando Pessoa (UFP) / Porto - Portugal, authored by Ivaní Nadir Carlotto: (1) Background: Universities are essential institutions for health promotion (HP). Bioethics, as a transversal discipline, seeks to analyse and systematise these values in an ethical way, strengthening the synergy between health and HP. Ecological models are a possibility to develop health actions in a holistic, sustainable and salutogenic way, stimulating positive aspects related to ethics, well-being and quality of life; (2) Methods: Exploratory-descriptive methodology and quantitative-qualitative approach. Sample: Teachers from 9 higher education institutions (HEI), random sample, probabilistic for convenience, CI = 95%, n = 1400 persons; (3) Results: Production of 6 main components through Factorial Analysis categorized and interpreted by Qualitative Content Analysis and MAXQDA® software; (4) Conclusions: Universities function as research and learning venues to strengthen HP's activities. Bioethics and HP aim to build qualified actions in health, to defend and promoting well-being, quality of life, equity, inclusion, sustainability and social justice, with the proper conceptual clarity that distinguishes it.

In recent years, it has become common for individuals to juggle employment and unpaid care work. This is just as true for the England-based academic workforce, our focus in this article. We discuss how, in the context of English HE, support for carers is enacted and negotiated through policies and practices of care. Our focus on academics with a diverse range of caring responsibilities is unusual insofar as the literature on care in academia is overwhelmingly concerned with parents, usually mothers. The article is informed primarily by critical and post-structuralist feminist perspectives. We draw on a corpus of 47 interviews conducted with academics representing a broad range of caring responsibilities, subjects, and positions. A thematic analysis reveals how carers’ relationship with the provision and policies of care support at institutional level is characterised by ambiguity. On the one hand, participants approve of societal and institutional policy support for carers. On the other hand, they are often reluctant to position themselves as the beneficiary of such policies, expressing instead a general preference for support from outside the workplace or for workplace-based inter-individual and informal care arrangements. This resistance is particularly noticeable in the case of participants with caring responsibilities other than the parenting of healthy, able-bodied children and of those whose gender, class, racial, or sexual identity do not conform with the figure of the ‘ideal academic’, contributing to their othering in the academic realm. These findings have significant implications for policies supporting carers, pointing to the need for greater visibility and recognition of caring responsibilities in academia, especially in terms of their diverse identities.

Recent years have seen organizations increasingly shift towards the development of a mentoring culture, as opposed to the imposition of formalized mentoring programs. This original research paper set out to explore the utility of fostering mentoring cultures within higher education settings with a particular emphasis placed on the ways in which a mentoring culture may support the nurturing of leadership potential and serve underrepresented minority faculty and staff members. Primary data was gathered using an open-ended qualitative survey, which was followed up by semi-structured interviews. One hundred faculty members in diverse academic and administrative leadership roles across the United States were sent online surveys, with 18 individuals expressing interest in participating in a semi-structured interview. Those who responded affirmatively were then contacted via telephone to follow up with further questions. Analysis of their insights, in conjunction with analysis of other literature, suggests that the cultivation of a mentoring culture offers diverse benefits for mentees advancing into leadership positions; for mentors; and for the institution as a whole. Overall, the development of a mentoring culture characterized by informal, spontaneous exchanges, and tailored to the needs of underrepresented minority faculty members, appears to be a useful tool in enhancing leadership potential in higher education contexts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate trends in undergraduate enrollment, graduation, and employment in Ethiopia. It looked at data from the past 20 years of enrollment and graduation, as well as the 15 years of unemployment trends. For enrollment, we used the ARIMA(0,1,0) model, for graduation, the Holt-Winter model, and unemployment, the Simple model. Results showed that enrollment rates increased dramatically, but graduation rates remained constant. Besides, enrollment is expected to continue rising, while graduation rates are expected to fall. On the other hand, between 1999 and 2018, the overall unemployment trend declined. Yet, between 2009 and 2018 the unemployment trends stayed stable. According to the findings, for the next ten years, higher education enrollment and graduation will continue. Nevertheless, it is shown the diminishing demand for jobs in the labor market. As part of improving the existing realities of higher education, the study suggests reconsidering job-driven policy formulation, strengthening higher education-labor market alignment, controlling higher education expansion, and sustaining the development qualification systems.

This paper explores benefits of using VR technologies in higher education. Theoretical part investigates classical education system and its features in order to compare advantages of using VR systems in education. VR technologies and its current state in industry and in education were explored as well as which branches of higher education uses these systems. Survey was conducted through online questionnaire where respondents (N = 55) gave their opinion on VR and the implementation of VR technologies in education. Three hypotheses related to the use of VR technology, student interest, and learning outcomes as well as the effectiveness, immersiveness and the effect of VR systems on the users were tested through 27 questions.

The design, facilities and conditions inside a classroom play a significant role in the teaching and learning experience for both students and lecturers. Prior studies of primary schoolchildren indicate three design principles affecting student learning, namely: naturalness, individualisation and stimulation. The current study extends these investigations to Higher Education through a survey of undergraduate students and university lecturers aimed at determining the most critical factors in undergraduate classroom design. One-to-one interviews were conducted with students and lecturers (n. 31) at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus. Interviewees were encouraged to express their opinions, comments, concerns and suggestions through open-ended questions. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed and coded using NVivo10. Results show a strong desire among lecturers and students for improved classroom equipment, greater flexibility in classroom arrangement, more attractive decoration and for the addition of natural elements to the classroom environment. Of the three design principles, individualisation and naturalness emerged most strongly from the interviews and appear to be more important factors for undergraduates than stimulation. These findings could make a novel and significant contribution to the physical aspects of classroom design in Higher Education settings. Educational institutions are increasingly employing non-traditional classroom designs, which are expected to provide for more flexible, collaborative, and active learning and teaching experiences. Taking into consideration the environmental psychology of teaching and learning, several of the reported design attributes can serve as benchmarks for upgrading current classroom design and facilities in the future, as institutions look to upgrade their physical infrastructures to meet the changing demands of teachers and learners arising from technological innovations and shifts in our understanding of the methods and purposes of Higher Education.

In recent years, the use of gamified systems in education has increased due to the growing empirical evidence of their usefulness in improving motivation and participation in learning processes. In order to take advantage of the opportunities for improvement in education presented by gamification, plus the decision to create gamified systems in higher education, this article investigates the willingness of student teachers to learn with gamified systems. The research method is quantitative with validated instruments to measure: 1) student perception of gamification; 2) player profile; and 3) screen time, with an n=569 student teachers from the fifteen regions of Chile. The results show that students prefer to learn with gamified systems than in a traditional way with a significant difference (Wilcoxon z= -18.86, p < 0.01). There are significant positive and negative relationships in correspondence with the Gamer Profile. However, as a finding, a negative relationship was found between the number of hours spent playing video games and the perception of learning through gamified systems. In conclusion, Chilean student teachers present a favorable disposition to teacher training with gamified systems. However, the disposition varies in relation to the number of hours spent playing video games.

The experimental realization of twisted bilayer graphene strongly pushed the inspection of bilayer systems. In this context, it was recently shown that a two layer Haldane model with a thirty degree rotation angle between the layers represents a higher order topological insulator, with zero-dimensional states isolated in energy and localized at the physical vertices of the nanostructure. We show, within a numerical tight binding approach, that the energy of the zero dimensional states strongly depends on the geometrical structure of the vertices. In the most extreme cases, once a specific band gap is considered, these bound states can even disappear just by changing the vertex structure.

The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the success of graduating with distinction in higher education (SGDHE) using the fuzzy DEMATEL method. The observation has been done using cause and effect criteria. 11 cause and 14 effect clusters have been used in this study. The study result of this work shows that all the effects are connected to the given causes and a cause-effect graph has been generated for each connection. This proposed approach is demonstrated with the empirical case of Dire Dawa University students in Dire Dawa Ethiopia.

The great lockdown of the current COVID-19 pandemic has significant consequences on the global Higher Education Studies (HES).To find the relevance of eLearning in the HES, our study calculates the economic costs of higher education during Covid-19 in Bangladesh, which includes both stu-dents’ cost and institutional cost. The study used a purposive random sample survey conducted on 105 students enrolled in higher education in different categories of institutions to identify the stu-dents’ cost during this pandemic. The institutional cost of higher education is analyzed by breaking down the budget allocated in the education sector in Bangladesh and reviewing the literature. The result indicates that the HES of Bangladesh experiences a huge economic cost due to this pandemic and the study found eLearning can reduce the economic impact of HES. In the post-COVID-19 world, higher education will never be the similar because many institutions that already had experi-ence a huge advantage from online education. The findings of the study might be helpful for the policymakers to frame effective education policies during any bizarre situation that creates huge cost in higher education sector.

As a consequence of the global sanitary crisis in early 2020, universities had to tackle with a sudden shift in their teaching-learning strategies so that the preset competences could be fulfilled. This study presents the learning outcomes of the tasks implemented, student experiences and feedback, as well as some reflections from the instructors with a holistic perspective of the courses due to the measures and adaptations adopted. Six courses taught at Civil Engineering degrees of three universities, two from Spain and one from Peru, are analyzed. The teaching and evaluation strategies are described and some reflections are made by comparing the student’s performance with the previous course. Although the shift to online learning had to be made from day to day, with no time for preparation, the experience has proved that online learning can be beneficial in some aspects and have probably come to stay, although some others are difficult to replace with respect to face-to-face learning, especially students’ engagement and motivation.

Reading is a complex cognitive task involving processes from different systems. The present work aims to identify some points of divergence reported in the reading literature and discuss them in a new experimental paradigm framework. Inspired by the paradigms of perceptual identification and rapid parallel presentation (RPVP), we emphasize that the originality of our experimental paradigm lies in the recruitment of multi-stable Arabic percepts within the region where low-level processing occurs (i.e., the visual span area). With good flexibility, the current paradigm has reached higher-order processing levels. In agreement with previous works highlighting the parafoveal-on-foveal effect, results suggest parallel word processing. Furthermore, they suggest a rapid extraction of syntactic and semantic information from words in sentences while attributing an advantage to semantic processing in the emergence of the sentence superiority effect.

The portal website of a university or a college usually represents the cultural characteristics and teaching advantages and plays a vital role in higher education, showing the style of the university or college to society and improving the admission rate. Mississippi State (MS) is bounded by the Mississippi River in the west and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, with a population of 3.1 million. It has a rich cultural heritage, and many universities, especially historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS), have strong scientific research strength in agriculture, medicine, petrochemicals and papermaking. Therefore, this article will analyze the design of the portal websites of four HBCUs in Mississippi from two aspects: user experience (UE) and functional architecture (FA), determine their advantages, disadvantages, similarities and differences, and propose some optimization suggestions.

The Covid-19 pandemic that hit the world in early 2020 has had a major impact on social and economic life in every country, including Malaysia. Many socio-economic activities have been disrupted globally, leading to the closure of companies and the suspension of work activities, which have drastically increased the unemployment rate and narrowed employment opportunities. This study uses a qualitative method to explore the initiatives taken by Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education and university in improving the sustainability graduates’ employability at the post pandemic Covid-19 phase. The total sample of the study involved is ten officers who are experienced and responsible in organizing initiatives for university graduates’ employability programs and ten participant students who attended the programme were purposively selected. The study showed that Short -term training & placement programmes (MyStep), Career Advancement Programmes (Penjana CAP), Professional certification programmes (Penjana PACE), Career Advancement Programmes at State (Penjana KPT CAP@ State) were the major initiatives taken by Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education in improving graduate employability at the post Covid-19 phase. The findings also revealed upskilling and reskilling, gig economy, entrepreneur, finishing school programmes and online career fair were the important initiatives taken by university in improving graduate employability rate at the post Covid-19 phase. Interviews with student respondents showed that the initiative taken by the government and university to increase the marketability of graduates in the post-covid-19 era has given them the opportunity to learn and improve new skills that are very necessary to get new job opportunities in the post-covid 19 eras. The main contribution of this study is that upskilling and reskilling programs are essential to improve the sustainability of graduates’ employability in the post-covid 19 era.

IntroductionDiversity is known to be important but diversity of staff working in dental schools in the UK and Ireland is low in comparison with the dental profession and the overall population. AimsTo provide a detailed snapshot of the diversity of dental academic staff in 2021 including staff working in academic and clinical roles.MethodsAn online survey was circulated to dental schools by Dental Schools Council. Questions included dates of graduation and key career milestones, demographics and indicators of esteem. Free text questions were also included.ResultsThere was a high degree of variability in dental academic careers which made direct comparisons difficult. Neither gender nor race appeared to be associated with a faster career progression. Females and those of racialised minority were less represented at the most senior grades. For those who had completed specialty training, racialised minority staff were far less likely to be working at consultant grade than their White equivalents.ConclusionThere are differences in career progression between staff in dental schools. The high amount of individual variability makes these difficult to quantify except at the most senior positions. Qualitative information is needed to contextualise the results and provide additional information.

This paper presents an overview of EREMI, a two-year project funded under ERASMUS+ KA203, and its results. The project team's main objective was to develop and validate an advanced interdisciplinary higher education curriculum, which includes lifelong learning components. The curriculum focuses on enhancing resource efficiency in manufacturing industries and optimizing poorly or non-digitized industrial physical infrastructure systems. The paper also discusses the results of the project, highlighting the successful achievement of its goals. EREMI effectively supports the transition to Industry 5.0 by preparing a common European pool of future experts. Through comprehensive research and collaboration, the project team has designed curriculum that equips students with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the evolving manufacturing landscape. Furthermore, the paper explores the significance of EREMI's contributions to the field, emphasizing the importance of resource efficiency and system optimization in industrial settings. By addressing the challenges posed by under-digitized infrastructure, the project aims to drive sustainable and innovative practices in manufacturing. All five project partner organisations have been actively engaged in offering relevant educational content and framework for decentralised sustainable economic development in regional and national contexts through capacity building at local level. A crucial element of the added value is the new channel for feedback from students. The survey results, which are outlined in the paper, offer valuable insights gathered from students, contributing to the continuous improvement of the project.

Geoethics is a field of knowledge currently in full development. Researchers in geoethics are pri-marily concerned with the anthropogenic interaction with the Earth system. Due to its nature, ge-oethics holds particular importance in sustainable development due to its nature as it aims to promote ethical human behaviour that does not negatively impact the Earth system. In the present research, we implemented an intervention program addressing various issues related to the sus-tainability of the Earth system, such as the exploitation of geological resources, the management of geological risks, and the conservation and promotion of geopatrimony. The intervention program was applied to higher education students in the geosciences field. A sample of 90 students from various geosciences courses completed an initial questionnaire, revealing limited knowledge about geoethics. This study resorted to mixed-method research involving interviews with some students who volunteered (n=52). The results showed that after applying the intervention programme most students had developed a deeper understanding of the topics addressed and recognised the con-tributions this scientific area can make to sustainable development. Additional research in geoethics education is essential to foster the integration of geoethics into the curricula of higher education institutions.

The goal of this narrative review was to identify, synthesize and summarize research providing both institutional and personal recommendations for female leaders who aspire to hold leadership roles in academia. Existing evidence regarding factors that influence females acquiring leadership positions was first gathered and examined, noting recurring issues that have been identified as inimical to women assuming leadership roles. Recent research studies and statistical trends were then investigated, tracking and reporting on the increase in female leadership in academia that has occurred over recent years. Quantitative and qualitative literature focusing on successful strategies to support females aspiring to academic leadership positions were then elaborated upon, with specific factors identified in order to deepen understanding of shifts that may help to account for the rise of females in academic leadership roles. The recommendations resulting from the findings of this narrative review could be used to scaffold female success in the pursuit of academic leadership roles and offer insights for university executives and administrators on methods of more effectively supporting an increase in female leaders in academia.

Data-Flow and Higher-Order Mutation are white-box testing techniques. To our knowledge, no work has been proposed to compare data flow and higher-order mutation. This paper compares all def-uses data-flow and second-order mutation criteria. This compassion investigates the subsumption relation between these two criteria and evaluates the effectiveness of test data developed for each. To compare the two criteria, a set of test data satisfying each criterion is generated, which is used to explore whether one criterion subsumes the other criterion and assess the effectiveness of the test set that was developed for one methodology in terms of the other. The results showed that the mean mutation coverage ratio of the all du-pairs adequate test cover is 80.9%, and the mean data flow coverage ratio of the 2nd-order mutant adequate test cover is 98.7%. Consequently, 2nd-order mutation “ProbSubsumes” the all du-pairs data flow. The failure detection efficiency of the mutation (98%) is significantly better than the failure detection efficiency of data flow (86%). Consequently, 2nd-order mutation testing is “ProbBetter” than all du-pairs data flow testing. In contrast, the size of the test suite of 2nd-order mutation is more significant than the size of the test suite of all du-pairs.

Aim: To investigate the application of anterior and posterior corneal higher order aberrations (HOAs) in detecting keratoconus (KC) and suspect keratoconus (SKC). Method: This is a retrospective, case-control study which evaluated non-ectatic (normal) eyes, SKC eyes, and KC eyes. The Sirius Scheimpfug (CSO, Italy) analyzer was used to measure HOAs of the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces. Sensitivity, specificity and area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated. Results: Two-hundred and twenty eyes were included in the analysis (normal n = 108, SKC n= 42, KC n= 70). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed a high predictive ability for anterior corneal HOAs parameters: Root mean square (RMS) total corneal HOAs, RMS trefoil and RMS coma to detect keratoconus (AUC > 0.9 for all). RMS Coma (3, ±1) derived from the anterior corneal surface was the parameter with the highest ability to discriminate between suspect keratoconus and normal eyes (AUC = 0.922; cutoff > 0.2). All posterior corneal HOAs parameters were insufficient in discriminating between SKC and normal eyes (AUC < 0.8 for all). In contrast, their ability to detect KC was excellent with AUC of > 0.9 for all except RMS spherical aberrations (AUC = 0.846). Conclusion: Anterior and posterior corneal higher order aberrations can differentiate between keratoconus and normal eyes, with a high level of certainty. In suspect keratoconus disease however, only anterior corneal HOAs, and in particular coma-like aberrations, are of value. Corneal aberrometry may be of value in screening for keratoconus in populations with a high prevalence of the disease.

The higher-order interactions in complex systems are gaining attention. Extending the classic bounded confidence model where an agent’s opinion update is the average opinion of its peers, this paper proposes a higher-order version of the bounded confidence model. Each agent organizes a group opinion discussion among its peers. Then, the discussion’s result influences all participants’ opinions. Since an agent is also the peer of its peers, the agent actually participates in multiple group discussions. We assume the agent’s opinion update is the average over multiple group discussions. The opinion dynamics rules can be arbitrary in each discussion. In this work, we experiment with two discussion rules: centralized and decentralized. We show that the centralized rule is equivalent to the classic bounded confidence model. The decentralized rule, however, can promote opinion consensus. In need of modeling specific real-life scenarios, the higher-order bounded confidence is convenient to combine with other higher-order dynamics, from the contagion process to evolutionary dynamics.

Building sustainable campuses has become a priority for various higher education institutes (HEIs). Internalization is one of the important tasks in the progress. Therefore, attracting and maintaining international faculty has converted to action for various internationalized campuses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has impacted most of the citizens’ life, while the international faculty members’ life might be tight during this period. The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of international faculty members on their life in higher education institutes by using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Using a self-compiled online survey, we invited 80 international faculty members of HEIs in Taiwan to investigate this issue. The survey covers career and professional status, teaching and research status, and demographics of the faculty. This study proposes a novel conceptual framework for addressing international faculty’s campus life, the design will examine the relationships among working conditions, views of institutions, views of government’s measures, and levels of satisfaction through PLS-SEM. The demographic profile of the participants revealed (a) most international faculty are employed full-time as lecturers or assistant professors in most public universities; (b) most international faculty members earned their first degree outside of Taiwan; however, 66% of them earned their post-doctoral degrees in Taiwan. The results of PLS-SEM suggest that the international faculty perspective of government is more directly related to their current work satisfaction and overall satisfaction. The designed model has shown work well to assess this issue. This can be extended to other higher education settings to tackle similar issues.

Teachers of English as a foreign language in Taiwan are challenged to organize multi-dimensional language activities for foreign students coming from ASEAN countries, including Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam. With different cultural backgrounds, these students have different prior knowledge of Taiwanese culture, and, because of the similarities and differences between Taiwan and these countries, it is meaningful to explore the development of globalization with the students, who are learning both English and Chinese. The different historical backgrounds, various cultural and religious differences, and social conditions, such as gender relationships in working places, are significant topics for class discussions. When teachers serve as discussion facilitators, they encourage students to express their own multi-identities and expectations for the exchange program. Most interesting of all is to find out about their own short-term and long-term career goals. 32 foreign students from the Philippines and Vietnam were recruited for research. Questionnaires were used to assess their foreign language learning motivation and strategies, as well as to discover the learning environment they prefer and their globalization prospects. It was found that multi-lingual language policies for promoting globalization in higher education are very likely to influence the success of foreign student study in Taiwan.

In an era characterized by a move towards a “knowledge society”, universities are central in fostering “knowledgeability”, that is the reflexive understanding of knowledge in knowledge societies. The objective of “knowledgeability” can be met through creating a stronger link between education and research. Furthermore, overall student performance, for example in critical thinking and problem solving, can be improved if research-related activities are incorporated into the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to use inter-national examples to discuss the research- education nexus from four different perspectives, namely context, policy, im- plementation and quality, with case studies from higher education institutions in Singapore and Sweden. We suggest that different integrative technologies can be used to enhance the links, but it will be essential to consider the inputs of training, service and support in using new technology. Interestingly, the act of evaluating the link between edu- cation and research will increase awareness of this linkage by stakeholders involved in both education and research. In turn the link can be strengthened, contributing to increased quality in both education and research.

In this study is developed an aerobic and anaerobic stoichiometric model for Saccharomyces cerevisiae, compartmentalized in mitochondria and cytosol. This model considers the central metabolism of S. cerevisiae and it possesses the peculiarity of having catabolic and anabolic biochemical reactions for the synthesis of the higher alcohols contained in tequila; involving 94 metabolites and 117 reactions; of which 93 correspond to biochemical internal reactions and 24 to transport fluxes between the medium and the cell. The model is validated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions for the main fermentation metabolites and it coincides with experimental results and those in silico reported in the literature. This model is used to obtain three different physiological states of S. cerevisiae through of estimation of its distributions of fluxes calculated from experimental data reported in literature of fermentation in continuous culture during the tequila production under different dilution rate (0.04-0.12 h^-1). The model developed constitutes a tool for the estimation of flux distribution maps during fermentation processes for the production of tequila, which could permit estimate yields and visualize different fermentation scenarios.

In network analysis, links depict the connections between each pair of network nodes. However, such pairwise connections fail to consider the interactions among more agents, which may be indirectly connected. Such non-pairwise or higher-order connections can be signified by involving simplicial complexes. The higher-order connections become even more noteworthy when it comes to neuronal network synchronization, an emerging phenomenon responsible for the many biological processes in real-world phenomena. However, involving higher-order interactions may considerably increase the computational costs. To confound this issue, map-based models are more suitable since they are faster, simpler, more flexible, and computationally more optimal. Therefore, this paper addresses the impact of pairwise and non-pairwise neuronal interactions on the synchronization state of 10 coupled memristive Hindmarsh-Rose neuron maps. To this aim, electrical, inner linking, and chemical synaptic functions are considered as 2- and 3-body interactions in three homogenous and two non-homogenous cases. The results show that through chemical pairwise and non-pairwise synapses, the neurons achieve synchrony with the weakest coupling strengths.

To determine the ethical-attitudinal profile of university students in the education career during the pandemic with a tendency towards a new normality. University students of the education career were surveyed online, in an ethical key (axiological attitude, moral attitude and attitude towards new normality). The research was descriptive of univariate hypothesis, with non-probabilistic snowball sampling, reaching a sample of 480 participants. The Ethical-Attitudinal Profile Scale (EPEA) was designed, whose reliability was 0.93 in Lawshe's formula and 0.89 in Cronbach's Alpha. In the axiological attitude, values were obtained more frequently: respect with 79%, sincerity with 73%, prudence with 72%. In the moral attitude, a polar result is contrasted between laxity (67%) and kindness (45%); while, in the attitude towards new normality, there was no spike in frequencies, being distributed more homogeneously between indicators, with a low resilience index. There is an adequate evaluative profile of the university students of the education career despite the context of the pandemic and the trend towards a new normality; having a moral attitude of laxity inferred by the circumstances of uncertainty that are experienced in adverse contexts.

Utilising Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) as a case example, this report will provide information about the strategic challenges that many modern universities in the UK face in creating a flexible delivery of education. Using strategic concepts and analysis, the current short report will examine the competitiveness within the higher education sector in the UK and explore key external and internal environmental factors of CCCU, gaining a greater understanding of their current position. From these analyses, strategic recommendations as to how universities such as CCCU can create a competitive advantage through a new form of flexible learning delivery.

Education 4.0 postulates the flexible combining of digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving in training environments linked to real-world scenarios. Therefore, teachers are challenged to find or develop new methods and resources to integrate into their curricula to help students develop these desirable and necessary skills; hence, the question: What are the characteristics of a teacher to consider within the framework of Education 4.0? This article presents a study carried out in a higher education institution in Ecuador. The objective was to identify the teaching profile required in new careers within the framework of Education 4.0. The descriptive, exploratory methodology applied quantitative and qualitative instruments (surveys) to 337 undergraduate students in education careers and 313 graduates. It also included interviews with 20 experts in the educational field and five focus groups with 32 rectors, school principals, university professors and specialists in the educational area. The data was triangulated, and the results were categorized in (a) processes as facilitators (b), soft skills, (c) human sense and (d) use of technologies. This article may be of value to administrators, educational and social entrepreneurs, trainers, and decision-makers interested in implementing innovative training programs.

Cultivating research competencies facilitated by the use of technology in the university is crucial to boost acquisition of knowledge, educational innovation, and successful professional development. The objective of this article is to analyze the evolution and characteristics of scientific production that has had the greatest impact on the momentum of investigative competencies and their articulation within technological scenarios. Applying various selection criteria in the Scopus database, we utilized systematic, bibliometric mapping as a methodological strategy in which 250 articles related to the topic were identified, then analyzed with the semantic analysis software VOSViewer. The results indicate that there is an emerging line of research on the subject since 2016 and point to the underdevelopment of lines that associate research skills with digital literacy, information literacy, digital libraries databases, and the development of critical thinking.

Simulated crime scene investigation is an essential component of forensic science education, but its implementation poses challenges relating to cost, accessibility and breadth of experience. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology which offers exciting prospects for teaching and learning, especially for imparting practical skills. We document here a multidisciplinary experimental study in which a bespoke VR crime scene app was designed and implemented, after which it was tested by both undergraduate student and staff/postgraduate student cohorts. Through both qualitative and quantitative analyses, we demonstrate that VR applications support learning of practical crime scene processing skills. VR-based practical sessions have the potential to add value to forensic science courses through offering cost-effective practical experience and the ability to work in isolation, in a variety of different scenarios. Both user groups reported high levels of satisfaction with the process and reports of adverse effects (motion sickness) were minimal. With reference to user feedback, we proceed to evaluate the scalability and development challenges associated with large-scale implementation of VR as an adjunct to forensic science education.

Teaching through English Medium Instruction (EMI) has been a strategic move in some European and Asian countries as part of their educational internationalisation. A large number of studies on EMI teaching have appeared in the last decade. The majority of these report on issues and concerns at macro-level including: the lack of structured policy guidance, EMI lecturers and students’ low level of English proficiency, and a shortfall of research informed training programs for EMI lecturers. Up to date, there is little research into EMI in-class teaching and learning. Lived experience in EMI in-class practice has been largely ignored. To fill this gap, this research explored a group of academics’ in-class EMI practice in a Chinese university. Their teaching process through EMI was observed and recorded, with data analysed through a multiple theoretical lens. Data reveal that EMI teaching is a complicated issue and can be neither standardised nor prescribed. It needs to be addressed as a pedagogy responding to and influenced by local context, driven by language, culture and education systems. This research is expected to provide insight for the development of localised institutional guidelines for EMI teaching and lecturers’ professional development in EMI teaching.

Sustainable development (SD) is essential to reduce and mitigate climate change impacts, environmental deterioration and to increase social sustainability. SD is therefore highly relevant for the engineering profession and is today found integrated with the higher education of specific engineering programs. This paper investigated the knowledge of SD for students entering the master’s program in Sustainable Building Information Management (BIM) by comparing levels of knowledge at the start and end of the first course Sustainability, Analyses and Simulations. The level of knowledge of SD was analyzed by classifying students’ conceptions of sustainability using SOLO taxonomy and the spectrum of liminality and the threshold concept. Students written responses to the question “What do you know about sustainability?” and written group project reports were used for analyzing levels of knowledge of SD. Levels of knowledge of SD was classified as pre (pre-liminal or pre-structural); uni-structural, multi-structural, relational and post-stages (extended abstract or post-liminal). In total, 68% of the students entering the master’s program in 2017 and 88% in 2018 showed a pre-structural, uni-structural and multi-structural SD knowledge. In general, few students entering the program showed relational and post-stages of SD knowledge, 32% and 12% of the students in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The students at the post-stage were able to express themselves more individually and creatively compared to previous levels in that they could connect the dimensions of SD to the context of SD of buildings, but also argue why SD of buildings was important and they could also suggest actions or tools for improved SD that engineers should use. Only one group of five (in 2017) showed a post-stage level of knowledge in the group project report. It is likely that the student’s general approach to the work with the reports was to mainly cope with the course requirements which is a sign of surface approach to learning. It, therefore, seems reasonable that future developments of the course should ensure that the students use the scientific literature in their group project reports to make it easier for them to understand the relationship between software use and the connection to green buildings certificate systems and SD of buildings. By making it mandatory to include scientific literature in the reports the students will be encouraged to read and think critically, and deeper, and to put the practical implementation of the software analysis results into a scientific context of SD and BIM.

The digital format opens up new possibilities for interaction with monographic publications. In particular, annotation tools make it possible to broaden the discussion on the content of a book, to suggest new ideas, to report errors or inaccuracies, and to conduct open peer reviews. However, this requires the support of the users who might not yet be familiar with the annotation of digital documents. This paper will give concrete examples and recommendations for exploiting the potential of annotation in academic research and teaching. After presenting the annotation tool of Hypothesis, the article focuses on its use in the context of HIRMEOS (High Integration of Research Monographs in the European Open Science Infrastructure), a project aimed to improve the Open Access digital monograph. The general line and the aims of a post-peer review experiment with the annotation tool, as well as its usage in didactic activities concerning monographic publications are presented and proposed as potential best practices for similar annotation activities.

On the termination of nearly twenty years since the beginning of commercialization of the Ukrainian higher education the intensity of discussion of its purposes, results and possible amendments don't decrease neither among experts, nor among the interested public. Supporters and opponents of commercialization note that education is that social branch which participates in the formation of prerequisites of economic growth. The main point of the article is to disclose the essence of the phenomena of economism and commercialization. Economism is seen as part of globalization of education, a global corporatization of education provides training for the global labour market, using human capital economic theories. As noted by George Spring, the human capital, economists argue that investments in education lead to economic growth, reducing income inequality and increasing employment. The article confirms that the state educational policy as a component of social policy is one of instruments of influence of the state on formation of social structure and is directed ​​ to the solution of problems of societal level. It does relevant sociological examination of transformational processes in education and, in particular, results of commercialization. Thus, it is possible to claim that the educational system tests the uncommon influence of globalization, forming and building a peculiar system of the relations and interaction.

As a manifestation of technological innovation achievements, patents reflect the frontier of technological development in the field. This paper constructs a multi-entity patent collaboration network and analyzes its evolution patterns to provide a reference for innovation organizations to grasp the general direction of innovation development and select partners. Based on the data of collaboration patents of two and three organizations in China's new energy vehicles (NEV) industry from 2008 to 2021, this paper constructs higher-order interaction collaboration innovation networks in different periods to analyze the spatial evolution of networks and patent cooperation activities. The results show that the generalized degree distribution of nodes and edges conforms to the power-law distribution. The two-dimensional simplex networks gradually form triangle groups centered on the core nodes, and the importance of key edges is beginning to emerge. Key organizations and partners, including State Grid Corporation of China, Tsinghua University, and China Electric Power Research Institute, will largely determine the direction for the future development of cooperation innovation. The study also reveals that Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangzhou, and Shanghai are in central positions in the cooperative innovation network, based on their cooperation breadth and depth measures. Additionally, key links formed by Beijing as hubs are not only the center of information exchange but also function as bridges that connect to other regions.

This article analyzes the assessment of the four development levels of the Digital Teaching Competence (DTC) to recognize the needs and formulation of challenges in training and educational innovation required in the pedagogical practices of university professors under the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study used an empirical-analytical methodology with a non-experimental, transactional, descriptive design. The sample design was probabilistic, estimated with 95% confidence and 5% error among 252 teachers from various faculties of the University of La Guajira. The selected instrument corresponded to the rubric's application to evaluate the university professor's digital teaching competence in Latin America. Among the study's significant results, we highlight that the rubric presented a high Cronbach's alpha reliability (α: 0.947). In the general assessment of DTC development, it was estimated that 78.2% of teachers are in the first two levels of DTC development assessment (Beginning and Middle). The evaluation rubric allows identifying challenges and opportunities that teacher training must address to advance the professional development of professors.

Emerging technologies have a potential future impact on the developments in higher education and teaching practices at the universities. The paper is based on the project “My future colleague robot” that aims to improve the competence of university teachers in the implementation of Emerging Technologies (ETs) in the teaching practices at the university. In this paper, we identified the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are related to the adoption of two ETs, robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in higher education. Additionally, we analyzed the perceptions of faculty about these ETs. The empirical data was collected using written essays from 18 university teachers and students. Deductive and inductive approaches with thematic analysis were used for the data analysis. The findings support the idea that previous experience related to ETs can support positive attitudes and the implementations of ET in university teaching. University teachers had optimistic expectations towards ETs accepting them as part of teaching practice development, while discussion about the negative effects of ETs was negligible.

Purpose: Now traditional lecture-based teaching and learning have been affected by the COVID-19. The objectives of this article are to design the novel educational technique called ‘dynamic-based learning’ (DBL) that provides the combination of online teaching-learning methods and student’s creativity, to evaluate primary dynamic-based learning function, and to propose dynamic-based learning for higher education. Methods: DBL composes of four steps, including, preparation, homework, classroom, and evaluation, which was designed, and taught in medical and dental schools. Online support materials included mobile phone, email, Facebook Messenger, Line Messenger, Cisco Webex, and Zoom Meetings applications were recruited for this novel method. Results: A total of 32 third-year medical students and 26 sixth-year dental students was treated by DBL similarly. three subjects, including, Innovation in Dentistry, Basic Medical Research, and Principles of Pathology and Forensic Medicine were selected in this article. The results showed students could create their knowledge, ideas, and creativity during the online classes.Conclusion: DBL can be used as an alternative learning mode during the COVID-19 crisis. The benefits of DBL also include high flexibility, dynamic process, active learning, and high creativity. DBL should be tested with other disciplines such as engineering school, laws school, health sciences school, and should be compared with other traditional teaching and learning modes in the future. This method may support the global higher education systems to move forward the COVID-19 pandemic to set a novel standard of a future normal.

Urban settings are increasingly faced with challenges across natural and engineered environmental systems, threatening the sustainability of urban centers where >50% of the world's population resides. The pressures of aging infrastructure, water and air pollution, and environmental justice exemplify the growing need for urban professionals to employ complex scientific reasoning across disciplines where they can effectively address the multi-faceted issues of urban sustainability. Here we present an innovative model for preparing the next generation of public, private, and academic leaders to address complex problems in urban sustainability. Specifically, we outline the design and implementation of an integrated, adaptable graduate training program, with the goals of science leadership, curriculum relevancy, community impact, broader applicability, recruitment into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs and careers, and program sustainability. This program addresses human-ecosystem challenges using a transdisciplinary approach to produce scientific products in partnership with local communities, businesses, industries, scientists, and policy makers, while providing a mechanism to understand and overcome contemporary societal challenges. Students receive rigorous training in their home disciplines, coupled with training across disciplinary lines and developmental experiences, to prepare them to communicate, collaborate, and innovate in a variety of contexts. Training success is evaluated across measurable competency domains including problem definition, research methods, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. After three years the program expanded relationships across fields and professions, successfully established 18 internship opportunities with community partners, created a new dual-title PhD program open to students in 5 academic departments, and facilitated the co-production of knowledge with external partners. This model bridges the gaps between research, education, and application, providing an integrated, rigorous graduate training program that fosters collaborative problem-solving between STEM graduate students and the broader community of professionals conducting sustainability work in a post-industrial urban setting.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge about Project-Based Learning (PBL) methodology in higher education by describing and analysing interrelations between competencies, and their contribution to knowledge transfer (KT) and students’ rating of the project. The sample consisted of 464 students from the Universities of Huelva (N=347; 74.8%) and Murcia (N= 117; 25.2%), enrolled in the second year of a degree in either Infant or Primary Education. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire comprising a total of 53 items measuring General, Specific and Transversal competencies, as well as students’ rating of the project. Competencies were selected from the course programmes for the degrees in Infant and Primary Education. Preliminary results showed that competencies were moderately to highly acquired after PBL, and that students reported notable KT as well as a positive assessment of the project. KT showed a high degree of association with students’ ratings and was established as a key factor in learning and learner satisfaction in higher education.

The Bologna Process and the European Higher Education area require the application of new active methodologies in the classroom that place the student at the center of his or her learning process. In the present work we analyze the application of a Service-Learning methodology in the context of a Final Degree Dissertation (FDD) in the degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Extremadura (Spain). The project deals with an isolated Kichwa community in Ecuador and involves the development of alternative science education materials for the capacitation of in-service science teachers. This paper evaluates how an FDD carried out according to self-learning (SL) principles can help in the acquisition of so-called soft skills and how these can be focused in the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) knowledge and achievement. To this end, a qualitative study of the experience and a deep evaluation, followed by a final reflection, were carried out. According to the preliminary results, we can conclude that Higher Education should include SDGs in its teaching praxis and could do this successfully using the SL methodology.

Education is an imperative key to driving sustainability and gender equity. In addition to addressing well-known female deficiencies in leadership training, it is really important to develop initiatives in sustainable leadership education for women to acquire skills, competencies and tools on leadership and to increase their self-perceptions. The purpose of this study is to assess a Women’s Leadership Program for university students. The sample consisted of 50 students enrolled in the program. A mixed-method approach was applied. Quantitative methods with a survey were conducted to evaluate the training and the achievement of leadership skills. In the data analysis, a descriptive statistics variance analysis, using a Welch statistic and T2 Dunnett test, was applied. Qualitative research methods were conducted through three focus groups to evaluate personal changes in their own-perceptions and self-confidence. Results suggest that the female students in the program reached a level of leadership knowledge with practical tools for their future. The program inspired them and confirmed changes in their personal capacities or self-confidence, including reflection about facing challenges in the work environment. The findings support the effectiveness of the specific education in breaking two barriers shown by the literature for women to getting a managerial position: lack of training and female self-confidence.

The impact of instructional guidance on learning outcomes in higher biomedical education is subject of intense debate. There is the teacher-centered or traditional way of teaching (TT) and, on the other side, the notion that students learn best under minimal guidance (problem-based learning, PBL). Although the benefits of PBL are well-known, there are aspects susceptible to improvement. Hence, a format merging TT and PBL (hybrid-PBL, h-PBL) may advance education in biomedical sciences. Here, we systematically reviewed studies that employed h-PBL in higher biomedical education compared to TT and/or pure PBL. We found that h-PBL resulted in better overall students’ performance and perception than TT or pure PBL. These findings encourage more research on investigating the pedagogical benefits of h-PBL and posit an eclectic system in which the pedagogical tools from TT and PBL are used cooperatively in the best interest of the education and satisfaction of the students.

Extraction of high-resolution surface waves is essential in surface-wave survey. Because reflections usually interfere with surface waves on X component in a multicomponent seismic exploration, it is difficult to extract dispersion curves of surface waves. The situation goes more serious when the frequencies and velocities of higher-mode surface waves are close to those of PS-waves. A method for surface-wave extraction is proposed based on the morphological differences between reflections and surface waves. Frequency-domain high-resolution linear Radon transform (LRT) and time-domain high-resolution hyperbolic Radon transform (HRT) are used to represent surface waves and reflections respectively. Then, the sparse representation problem based on the morphological component analysis (MCA) is built and optimally solved to obtain high-fidelity surface waves. An advantage of our method is its ability to extract surface waves when their frequencies and velocities are close to those of reflections. Furthermore, results of synthetic and field examples confirm that the proposed method can attenuate the distortion of surface-wave dispersive energy caused by reflections, which contributes to extracting accurate dispersion curves.

The aim of this study is to introduce and evaluate a new approach by using 3D printed anthropomorphic breast phantoms in teaching X-ray mammography techniques Radiologic technologists. For this purpose, a physical anthropomorphic breast phantom is created, based on a computational breast version. The phantom is created by a stereolithography 3D printer. The practical exercises were conducted in three sessions with the participation of radiographers students first, second and third year of training, respectively. A survey was prepared to summarise the participants´ opinion about this new form of training in mammography technique. A total of 83 students were trained with the new approach. From these 52 responded to the survey questions. More than half of the students (71.2%) successfully handled the exercise with the physical breast phantom. The training provoked a substantial number of students to express the belief that incorporating modern methods based on digital technologies into their X-ray device training is essential. The instructor was well prepared and with the needed competence. The experience within this training convinces the future professionals to introduce the new technologies in their routine work, particularly for exercising the compression technique and breast positioning.

Purpose: The rapid development of technological innovations is causing major transformations in organisations. These changes are facilitating the transition of organisations from traditional to digital cultures and are influencing the positioning and even the survival of many of them. Higher Education Institutions are no exception. This article aims to understand the main factors that facilitate and drive this transformation from the point of view of their external stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach - Due to the complexity of the study, the case study method has been used as an appropriate methodology. Findings - As the results of the study show, the use of new agile methodologies, the development of continuous improvement processes, the automation of tasks with the use of new technologies, data-driven decision making, and the management of new digital talent are enablers. Research limitations/implications - Further research could conduct similar analyses with other stakeholders, to achieve a complete management model. Practical implications - The case study allows researchers to learn from practitioners and business leaders, while providing a theoretical model that can help other managers in the process of transforming their organisations. Originality/value - The main contribution of this study has been to apply the study to a specific Higher Education Institution.

With limited state budget, developed nation public higher education have increased their fees making education expensive for most developing nation students. Some developing nations have set up regional low-cost education hubs to attract developed nation universities to offer their reputable degree programs. However, the intense competition for student enrolment in both has led to the marketisation of education. Students as paying customers need to experience satisfying stress-free teaching and learning to sustain enrolment. With employers increasingly unhappy with the quality of human capital, has the marketisation of higher education led to nominal human capital development? Can substantive human capital be developed in the new normal of marketisation of higher education? An adaptation of randomised control trials was used to measure learning outcomes desired by future employers for two teaching and learning approaches namely students as customers (n=497) and employers as customers (n=355). Findings show both approaches have good learning outcomes with the latter generally more superior. However, the former leads to nominal learning outcomes. This research extends the literature on achieving substantive learning outcomes conducive to employability. Implications for student satisfaction, lecturer professionalism, employability and quality assurance are discussed.

This qualitative study unveils the intricate interplay between blended learning, language and literature learning, internationalization, and the development of 21st century skills within the realm of higher education. Set against the backdrop of the environment of St. Michael's College in Iligan City, this exploration seeks to unravel the profound significance and transformative implications of these educational dimensions. By delving into the rich perspectives and experiences of 30 college students, this study addresses critical gaps in the literature and sheds light on the potential of these integrated elements. Guided by a robust theoretical framework that amalgamates renowned scholars' insights on blended learning, language acquisition, internationalization, and 21st century skills, the study employs a qualitative research design, employing interviews, observations, and document analysis. The findings illuminate the dynamic nature of blended learning, empowering students with enhanced engagement, flexibility, and accessibility in language and literature education. The incorporation of diverse literary texts and cultural perspectives fosters intercultural competence and global awareness. Moreover, the study underscores the cultivation of critical 21st century skills through immersive learning experiences. Drawing upon the insights gained, the study provides practical recommendations for educators and curriculum designers to harness the potential of blended learning, foster diversity in literary texts, and facilitate the application of 21st century skills. Recognizing the inherent limitations, including the specific context of St. Michael's College and the modest sample size, this study encourages future research to explore broader contexts and diverse participant cohorts. Overall, this illuminating study contributes to the scholarly discourse on integrating blended learning, language and literature learning, internationalization, and 21st century skills in college education. It beckons educators and policymakers to embark on a transformative journey, nurturing an enlightened future where students are equipped with the competencies to navigate the complexities of the 21st century.

We consider the second order differential equation y'' + ω^(2)ρ(x)y = 0 where ω is a positive parameter. The principal concern here is to find conditions on the function ρ^(−1/2)(x), which ensure that the consecutive differences of sequences constructed from the zeros of a nontrivial solution of the equation are regular in sign for ω sufficiently large. In particular, if c_(νk)(α) denotes the k-th positive zero of the general Bessel (cylinder) function C_(ν)(x; α) = J_(ν)(x) cos α−Y_(ν)(x) sin α of order ν, and if |ν| < 1/2, we prove that (−1)^(m)∆^(m+2)c_(νk)(α) > 0 (m = 0, 1, 2, ...; k = 1, 2, ...), where ∆a_(k) = a_(k+1) − a_(k). This type of inequalities was conjectured by Lorch and Szego in 1963. We also show that the differences of the zeros of various orthogonal polynomials with higher degrees possess the sign-regularity.

This review paper delves into using micro-credentials in higher education ecosystems as a digital enablers. Micro-credentials, which are digital credentials that attest to a learner’s mastery of a specific skill or knowledge area, are becoming more popular in higher education. The paper examines the successful implementation of micro-credential frameworks in higher education, using case studies to demonstrate the advantages of micro-credentials. The review emphasizes the agility and flexibility of microcredentials, which enable learners to acquire new skills quickly and respond to changes in the job market. In addition, the paper discusses the digital nature of micro-credentials and how they allow institutionsto provide targeted, skills-based training that isrelevant to employers. It also explores how micro-credentials are delivered through online platforms, making them convenient and easily accessible for learners. The review underscores the significance of digital infrastructure, connectivity, and public utility for promoting micro-credentials. The paper argues that micro-credentials function as a digital enabler for higher edu- cation ecosystems, allowing learners to acquire targeted training and enabling institutions to expand their offerings and reach more students. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential for micro-credentials to help bridge the skills gap and equip learners with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s digital economy.

This overview study set out to compare and synthesise the findings of review studies conducted on predicting student academic performance (SAP) in higher education using educational data mining (EDM) methods, EDM algorithms and EDM tools from 2013 to June 2020. It conducted multiple searches for suitable and relevant peer-reviewed articles on two online search engines, on nine online databases, and on two online academic social networks. It, then, selected 26 eligible articles from 2,050 articles. Some of the findings of this overview study are worth mentioning. First, only 2 studies explicitly stated their precise sample sizes with maths and science as the two most mentioned subject areas. Second, 16 review studies had purposes related to either EDM techniques, EDM methods, EDM models, or EDM algorithms employed to predict SAP and student success in the higher education sector. Third, there are six commonly used typologies of input variables reported by 26 review studies, of which student demographics was the most commonly utilised variable for predicting SAP. Fourth and last, seven common EDM algorithms employed for predicting SAP were identified, of which Decision Tree emerged both as the most used algorithm and as the algorithm with the highest prediction accuracy rate for predicting SAP.

Selection of appropriate friction factors is paramount for accurate prediction of key flow characteristics in gas–liquid two-phase flows. In this work, experimental investigation of vertical air and oil (with viscosities up to 200 mPa s) flow in a 0.060-m ID pipe is reported. Superficial air and oil velocity ranges utilized are from 22.37 to 59.06 m/s and 0.05 to 0.16 m/s respectively. The influence of estimation of interfacial friction factor on accurate determination of film thickness, void fraction and pressure gradient was investigated using a two-fluid model. The results indicated that the two-fluid model is capable of accurately predicting flow characteristics. Further, it reveals that the best performing correlations are the Belt et al. and Ambrosini et al. correlations.

It is time that universities reexamine what is meant by globalization. Contemporary researchers in science and the humanities (Critchley, Chomsky, Mumford, Ostrom, Eisenstein, Ferry, Orr, Shiva, Klein, Margulis, Meadows, Capra and Tolba, just to name a few) have aptly redefined the concept of « world » as a biological and cultural ecosystem. This paper seeks ways to integrate the theory and practice of eco-citizenship into various cross-disciplinary aspects of higher education, with a focus on curricular adjustments that may be steered by World Languages and Cultures programs. While "global citizenship" is still often understood today as a form of supranational citizenship that may find its actualization through the valuable, yet often arrested efforts of the United Nations, or as the individualistic result of a neoliberal economic emancipation of markets and capital throughout the world, this notion must rather be embedded within a radically cultural, natural and ethical bedrock from which a more potent world citizenry will stem. Departments of World Languages and Cultures and cultures are ideally positioned in the academic landscape to foster the development of a greater eco-civic and biospheric awareness that can permeate new curricular orientations of universities in the US and abroad.

Student mobility is one of the most important indicators to reflect institutional internationalization in a sustainable higher education system. While student mobility issues have been addressed persistently, the phenomenon is rarely discussed in association with higher education expansion. Since higher education sustainable development has received much scholarly attention, monitoring student mobility flows to adjust international strategies is necessary. This study explored practical approaches to detect student mobility flows in the process of higher education expansion. Targeting Taiwan’s higher education system as an example, we addressed the topic of system expansion and the core issues of student mobility. Target series data were collected from 1950 to 2021, including higher education enrollment, gross enrollment ratio (GER), and number of inbound and outbound students. The data were transformed with index formats, for example enrollment increasing ratio (IR) and net flow ratio. The cross-correlation function (CCF) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) were used to determine the correlations of the series data and their future trends. The findings suggested that the effect of system expansion, with GER and IR, might influence the mobility ratios significantly in the process of higher education expansion. This study confirmed that the time series approaches work well in detecting the phenomena of higher education expansion and their effects on student mobility flows in the future.

Formulating a relativistic equation for particles with arbitrary spin remains an open challenge in theoretical physics. In this study, the main algebraic approaches used to generalize the Dirac and Kemmer–Duffin equations for particles of arbitrary spin are investigated. It is proved that an irreducible relativistic equation formulated using spin matrices satisfying the commutation relations of the de Sitter group leads to inconsistent results, mainly as a consequence of violation of unitarity and the appearance of a mass spectrum that does not reflect the physical reality of elementary particles. However, the introduction of subsidiary conditions resolves the problem of unitarity and restores the physical meaning of the mass spectrum. The equations obtained by these approaches are solved and the physical nature of the solutions is discussed.

The research is based on the inspection performed in June 2002 for carrying out a research program for the eradication of a termite infestation due a desertic species in the area of the Saint Catherine Holy Monastery at Mount Sinai - Egypt. The paper describes the application of the registered European bait system SentritechTM and the trend of eradication during the first year. The application of bait system blocked the termite infestation inside the Katholikon (Main church) and in the surrounding after 6 months. Nevertheless, the infestation restarted and even increased again in the surrounding of the main church. An explanation of this surprising event is attempted in this paper.

COVID-19 pandemic instigated a digital revolution in academia and higher education. Social distancing, months-long quarantine, as economic shutdown will help the majority of people working in academia and higher education not only to complete their personal transition to the fully functional and operational online tuition, but also to understand that online defences, online entrance and final exams, as well as online academic jobs are as effective and meaningful as those conducted “in real life”. Due to the crisis induced by the coronavirus epidemic, innovations in academia and higher education that would have normally taken several years due to the various contradictory administrative regulations are now introduced promptly in a matter of days. This is a clear example of the Schumpeterian ‘creative destruction’ in making that will forever change the status quo in academia and higher education.

Unlike other SDGs, the SDG4 about quality education is not a goal in itself, but rather a tool to achieve different goals. Universities in this respect play a crucial role in the short-term implementation of SDGs for education, including new approaches and contents. Current academic debates explore the best practices via deductive-theoretical or inductive-experiential methods, yet not always considering the geographical, and therefore cultural and infrastructural factors affecting the success and the failure of such practices. In this paper, we systematize the implementation of SDGs in Italian universities from 2016 to 2019. Eighteen experiences have been collected after a national call by the Italian Network of Sustainable Universities (RUS) aimed at mapping the current landscape of SDG related actions. Results have been analyzed according to two criteria: 1- the educational "container" where the SDGs implementation takes place (from random workshops to dedicated courses); 2- the different organizational scales (from the foundation of a new department to the campaigns by local green teams). With this paper, we do not propose a total refunding or "deus-ex-machina" solutions, disregarding the local factors and the local resources in Italian universities. On the contrary, we draw a map to propose the reuse of an existing structure with adjustments, retrofitting and renewal actions towards holistic and coordinated sustainability efforts. Results show that, within the Italian context, SDGs implementation is still primarily understood as a strategic element for branding and promoting the green image of the Athenaeum. Secondarily, it is seen whether as a separate discipline to be inserted into existing curricula and original teachings or as a conceptual tool for remedying specific societal challenges through random workshops or fieldworks. Conclusions highlight the value of this first Country-wide systematization of the Italian Higher Education Institutions toward SDGs implementation. This exercise avoids individual experiences remaining isolated and self-concluded, and, most importantly, provides comparability and transferability criteria to help similar cases. Further works envisage the recognition of same elements in the broader European traditions, as well as the enhancement of stimuli for a personal and societal transformation generated by the partnership of all those people and institutions engaged in the exciting yet urgent defy of today's societal challenges.

In this paper, we analyze the Hawking radiation phenomenon for types of Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli-like (BTZ-like) black holes. For this purpose, using the Hamilton-Jacobi method, we consider semi-classical WKB approximation to calculate the tunneling probabilities of massive boson particles. For these particles, we use the equation of motion for the Glashow-Weinberg-Salam model. Using quantum tunneling process of charged massive bossons, we compute the corresponding Hawking temperatures. Furthermore, we discuss the effects of rotation parameter on tunneling probability and temperature.

This paper presents a brief account and rationale for implementation of competency-based learning in any form of management and leadership development programmes in South Africa. The fact that competency-based learning (CBL), also known as outcomes-based learning has been scrapped from the schooling system in South Africa is unfortunate as this method enhances critical thinking skills and practical problem-solving skills. This paper presents CBL as a model of meta-cognitive approach to learning that integrates both theory and practice into experiential learning through six dimensions, namely, active learning, constructive learning, cumulative learning, goal-oriented learning, learner-centred and curriculum design strategies. In the advent of the fast-paced global economy, managers and leaders need to seek those business schools that value real-time practical approach to curriculum for relevance and to maximize shareholder value through human resource development. This brief presentation ends by recommending an approach through CBL that fosters three critical pillars of leadership development, namely: intellectual, behavioural and emotional agenda.

Universities can do more to deliver against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society – universities can be engines of societal transformation. Here, using a case study approach, different ways of strategizing sustainability in a university setting are explored with an example from the UK, Europe and USA. The first case is a public UK university that adopted enterprise and sustainability as its academic mission to secure differentiation in a disrupted and increasingly marketized global higher education sector which then became a source of inspiration for change in regional businesses and the local community. The second case study is a business sector-led sustainability-driven transformation working with a private university in Bulgaria to catalyze economic regeneration and social innovation. Finally, the case of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability engagement program is given to show how this approach connects faculty and students with institutional sustainability plans and external partners. Each case is a living lab, positioning sustainability as an intentional strategy. Leadership at all levels, and by students, was key to success in acting with purpose. Partnerships within and with universities can help accelerate delivery of the SDGs, with higher education making a fuller contribution to sustaining the economic, cultural and intellectual well-being of our global communities.

In the paper, the authors establish two identities, which can be regarded as nonlinear differential equations, for the generating function of Eulerian polynomials, find two identities for the Stirling numbers of the second kind, and present two identities for Eulerian polynomials and higher order Eulerian polynomials, pose two open problems about summability of two finite sums involving the Stirling numbers of the second kind. Some of these conclusions meaningfully and significantly simplify several known results.

ChatGPT, a freely-accessible AI language model designed to generate human-like text responses to users, has been utilized in several areas, such as healthcare industry, to facilitate interactive dissemination of information. Academic advising has been an important factor in promoting success among university students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Unfortunately, however, student advising has been marred with problems, with the availability and accessibility of advisors being among the hurdles. The current study explores how ChatGPT might serve to make academic advising more accessible, efficient, and even effective. Researchers compiled a list of questions frequently asked by current and prospective students in a teacher education Bachelor’s degree program in the United States. Then, the questions were typed into the free version of ChatGPT and the answers generated were evaluated for their content and delivery. ChatGPT generated surprisingly high-quality answers, written in an authoritative yet supportive tone, and it was particularly adept at addressing general career-related questions comprehensively, such as career outlook. We argue that ChatGPT may complement, but not replace, human academic advisors and it may very well promote educational equity through empowering students from a wide range of backgrounds with the means to access effective advising.

Higher education teaching staff members need to build a scientifically accurate and comprehensive understanding of the function of the brain in learning to optimize teaching and achieve excellent student learning. An international consortium developed a professional development six-module course on educational neuroscience and online community of practice applying design thinking. A mixed methods research design was employed to investigate the attitudes of thirty-two (N=32) participating academics using a survey comprising eleven closed and open questions. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, correlation, generalized additive model and grounded theory. The overall evaluation demonstrated a notable satisfaction level with regard to the quality of the course. Given the power of habits, mentoring and peer interactions are recommended to ensure the effective integration of theoretical neuroscientific evidence into teaching practice.

Social and academic integration variables have shown to be relevant for the understanding of university dropout. However, there is less evidence regarding the influence of these variables on dropout intention, as well as predictive models that explain their relationships. Improvements in this topic become relevant considering that dropout intention stands as a useful measure to anticipate and intervene on this phenomenon. The objective of the present study was to evaluate a predictive model for the university dropout intention that considers the relationships between social and academic variables, during the first university semester of 2020. The research was carried out using a cross-sectional associative-predictive design, with a convenience sampling (n=711) due the restrictions of pandemic period. The results showed a good fit of the proposed hypothetical model that explains 38.7% of dropout intention. Both social support and perceived social isolation predicted the sense of belonging, and through it, engagement. Previous academic performance predicted early academic performance, and through it, engagement. The set of variables predicted the intention to quit, through engagement. These results are a contribution both to the understanding of the phenomenon and to guide potential interventions in the early stages of the university experience.

Centromeres, the chromosomal loci where spindle fibers attach during cell division to segregate chromosomes, are typically found within satellite arrays in plants and animals. Satellite arrays have been difficult to analyze because they comprise megabases of tandem head-to-tail highly repeated DNA sequences. Much evidence suggests that centromeres are epigenetically defined by the location of nucleosomes containing the centromere-specific histone H3 variant cenH3, independently of the DNA sequences where they are located; however, the reason that cenH3 nucleosomes are generally found on rapidly evolving satellite arrays has remained unclear. Recently, long read sequencing technology has clarified the structures of satellite arrays and sparked rethinking of how they evolve, while new experiments and analyses have helped bring both understanding and further speculation about the role these highly repeated sequences play in centromere identification.

Higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) are recently discovered topological phases, possessing symmetry-protected corner states with fractional charges. An unexpected connection between these states and the seemingly unrelated phenomenon of bound states in the continuum (BICs) was recently unveiled. When nonlinearity is added to a HOTI system, a number of fundamentally important questions arise. For example, how does nonlinearity couple higher-order topological BICs with the rest of the system, including continuum states? In fact, thus far BICs in nonlinear HOTIs have remained unexplored. Here, we unveil the interplay of nonlinearity, higher-order topology, and BICs in a photonic platform. We observe topological corner states which are also BICs in a laser-written second-order topological lattice, and further demonstrate their nonlinear coupling with edge (but not bulk) modes under the proper action of both self-focusing and defocusing nonlinearities. Theoretically, we calculate the eigenvalue spectrum and analog of the Zak phase in the nonlinear regime, illustrating that a topological BIC can be actively tuned by nonlinearity in such an HOTI. Our studies are applicable to other nonlinear HOTI systems, with promising applications in emerging topology-driven devices.

The meshless Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method is developed to analyse 2-D problems for flexoelectricity and thermoelectricity. Both problems are multiphysical and scale dependent. The size-effect is considered by the strain- and electric field-gradients in the flexoelecricity and higher-grade heat flux in the thermoelectricity. The variational principle is applied to de-rive the governing equations considered constitutive equations. The order of derivatives in governing equations is higher than in equations obtained from classical theory. The coupled governing partial differential equations (PDE) are satisfied in a local weak-form on small fic-titious subdomains with a simple test function. Physical fields are approximated by the mov-ing least-squares (MLS) scheme. Applying the spatial approximations in local integral equa-tions a system of algebraic is obtained for the nodal unknowns.

In an ever-evolving landscape of higher education institution, the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Michael's College, Iligan City, Philippines, embarked on a strategic journey to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the post-pandemic era. This study, conducted in August 2022, delves into the multifaceted dimensions of their strategic planning processes. Through qualitative methods that use intensive in-depth reviews of literature, informal interviews, observation, and thematic analysis, this research unveils a narrative of adaptation, innovation, and internationalization. It explores how the institution resiliently adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraged technological advancements to enhance educational delivery, fostered interdisciplinary collaboration at the nexus of arts and sciences, and embraced internationalization through partnerships and cultural exchange. Anchored in a robust theoretical framework, this study resonates with broader trends in higher education, echoing the global call for agile, student-centric, and forward-thinking institutions. As this institution's journey unfolds, its experiences and lessons resonate with academic leaders, administrators, faculty, students, and stakeholders, inviting reflection and dialogue on the future of higher education.

Nowadays, the European Union and the governments of the different countries have focused on the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the 2030 agenda, something that has been translated into education itself. Video Games, Gamification, and Game Based Learning have become different strategies and tools to enhance the learning process and some of the growing approaches used by teachers to develop sustainable education in the classrooms. This research aims to analyze the characteristics to promote sustainability in education using games and technology, specifically its learning benefits for Higher Education. A systematic review of the literature was conducted following the PRISMA methodology. At first, 2025 documents were found which, after the filtering phases, the number of articles has been reduced to nine, which subsequently were analyzed in depth. The results indicated that among the benefits of the use of games mediated by technologies are the following: it favors education for sustainability and it promotes the educational inclusion and the work of various social skills such as collaborative and cooperative work. Also, showed an increase of the number of publications between 2019 and 2023, reflecting the growing interest in the topic. However, there are some research gap in this field.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created big challenges and opportunities in Higher Education (HE). In this situation, several universities worldwide have responded with digital methods and hybrid classes in a short period of time. The aim of this paper is to show how the universities have adapted teaching methods to digital platforms in the academic year 2020–21. This case study is based on the experience of 37 postgraduate communication students in the course Business and Communication from a Communication Programme. The objective of this course was to promote the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in business and following the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) of the United Nations. To do this, the students provided different solutions related to the SDGs and developed a communication strategy to inform and engage the stakeholders in the companies analyzed in a hybrid class. The results show that using this methodology and working in digital platforms, students have learned the importance of SDGs through implementing specific solutions linked to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Based on this analysis, they also developed a communication strategy showing how companies can improve society with specific actions through the lens of the SDG perspective.

In the present study, a mathematical model of non-steady partial differential equation from the process of oxygen mass transport in the human pulmonary circulation is proposed. Mathematical modelling of this kind of problems lead to a non-steady partial differential equation and for its numerical simulation, we have used finite differences. The aim of the process is the exact numerical analysis of the study, wherein consistency, stability and convergence is proposed. The necessity of doing the process is that, we would like to increase the order of numerical solution to a higher order scheme. An increment in the order of numerical solution makes the numerical simulation more accurate, also makes the numerical simulation being more complicated. In addition, the process of numerical analysis of the study in this order of solution needs more research work.

In this study, the partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed using no pre-processing, traditional preprocessing, multi-preprocessing 5 range, multi-preprocessing 3 range, genetic algorithm (GA), and successive projection algorithm (SPA) to assess the higher heating value (HHV) and ultimate analysis of grounded biomass for energy usage employing near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. A novel approach was utilized based on the assumption that using multiple pretreatment methods across different sections in the entire NIR wavenumber range would enhance the performance of the model. The performance of the model obtained from 200 biomass samples for HHV and 120 samples for ultimate analysis was compared, and the best model was selected based on the coefficient of determination of validation set, root mean square error of prediction, and the ratio of prediction to deviation values. Based on model performance results, the proposed HHV model from GA-PLSR, and the N and O models from the mul-ti-preprocessing PLSR 5 range method could be used for most applications, including research, whereas the C and H models from GA-PLSR performance is fair and applicable only for rough screening. The overall findings highlight that the multi-preprocessing 5-range method, which was attempted as a novel approach in this study to develop the PLSR model, demonstrated better accuracy for HHV, C, N, and O, improving by 4.1839%, 8.1842%, 3.7587%, and 35.9404%, respec-tively. Therefore, it can be considered a reliable and non-destructive alternative method for rap-idly assessing biomass properties for energy usage and can also be used effectively in biomass trading. However, due to the smaller number of samples used in the model development, more samples are needed to update the model for a robust application.

In this empirical article, we argue that, while emergency remote teaching (ERT) may have achieved its goal of saving the academic years during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also constructed unintended pedagogical consequences that were possibly overlooked at the time of advocating it. The research question that the article attempted to answer is, what unintended pedagogical consequences did students and lecturers suffer because of the move to ERT at rural-based universities (RBUs) in South Africa? Drawing on students' and lecturers’ lived experiences of ERT, this article foregrounds unintended pedagogical consequences that arose at one RBU in South Africa during the transition from face-to-face teaching to ERT. Underpinned by the tenets of critical realism philosophy, as well as student integration theory, in-depth interviews with three lecturers and six students were conducted. The findings of the study indicate that home conditions, individual characteristics, pre-COVID-19 blended learning experiences, university training and support, and teaching, learning, and assessment practices and policies altogether contributed to the construction of unintended pedagogical consequences of ERT presented in this article. These consequences include (1) exclusion of low-income students in active teaching and learning, (2) equipping middle-class students with better chances of success than working-class students. (3) distressing female students and lecturers more than their male counterparts, and (4) unproductive assessment practices. This study may be beneficial to academics and policymakers from similar contexts in their plight to continue with remote teaching and assessment (RTA) beyond the pandemic.