Nowadays, organisations are seeking to understand how one of the last truly competitive resources, their human resources, can be managed for competitive advantage (Allen and Wright, 2006). As Wright and McMahan (2011) state, today an organisation’s human resources have become more important than ever to their success. Consequently, a better understanding is needed of the role of HRM in creating better organisational performance. Although, human resource management practices have continued to be the focus of strategic HRM research (Combs et al., 2006), human capital has received little attention (Takeuchi et al., 2007), and human resource behaviours have received even less (Sun et al., 2007). This study theoretically develops and empirically tests a conceptual model that describes how the system of HRM practices is likely to have an impact on organisational performance. Drawing on the Resource Based View, the Behavioural Perspective and the Social Exchange Theory, the study provides a conceptual framework consisting of five constructs through which the underlying mechanisms linking the system of HRM practices and organisational performance are examined. It is proposed that HRM systems improve organisational performance by strengthening human capital and employee attitudes and behaviours (employee commitment). Primary data was collected from public and private universities in the Republic of Cyprus. The empirical analysis investigates the interrelationships between multiple independent and dependent variables that exist in the relationship between the perceived system of HRM practices and organisational performance. The study also intends to test the Resource Based View (RBV) and Social Exchange Theory at the higher education sector, by examining the level of human capital and employee commitment as mediating mechanisms through which a system of HRM practices affects university performance. To analyse the data and test the proposed hypotheses, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were employed. Goodness-of-fit measures were utilised to assess the structural fit of the overall model. As the aim of the study was to test and investigate the structural model that explains the relationship between the five constructs, standardised path coefficients and the significance of the hypothesised relationships were utilised to test the postulated hypotheses in a causal diagrammatic form. The results of the analyses revealed that the perceived system of HRM practices has significant positive effects on both, the level of human capital and employee commitment. In addition, the analysis indicated that the level of human capital has significant positive effects on employee performance, while at the same time employee commitment has also significant positive effect on employee performance. Moreover, the impact of employee performance on organisational performance was found to be positive and statistically significant. The analysis also revealed that the perceived system of HRM practices has a significant positive and direct impact on organisational performance. Finally, the relationship between employee commitment and organisational performance is significant and direct. Interestingly, the model indicates no significant direct impact between the level of human capital and organisational performance. The current research can be considered as pioneering in the area of strategic HRM in higher education, since it demonstrates that the simultaneous use of the Resource Based View and the Social Exchange Theory can provide empirical evidence for examining the mediating role of organisational resources (the level of human capital) and employee attitude and behaviour (employee commitment) as well as employee performance at university-level education. In addition, the results of this thesis contribute to the existing body of research and knowledge and provide recommendations regarding the role of the perceived system of HRM practices as an organisational mechanism that may help universities to configure valuable bundles of committed administrative employees who are equipped with high level of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s).

The concern over undergraduate engineering students’ mathematical skills and the means of addressing this through the provision of mathematics support is the main driver of this research. With the emergence of mathematics support within mathematics education there has been an associated research community interested in measuring the effectiveness of mathematics support provision. Recent studies have measured improvements in mathematics performance for students who have used mathematics support against those who have not by comparing prior mathematical ability against examination results. This does not address the issue of individual differences between students and resulting changes in mathematical ability. However the provision of mathematics support for individual students is resource intensive hence evaluation of the effectiveness of the support is essential to ensure resources are efficiently used. This mathematics education research examines the effectiveness of mathematics support in addressing the mathematics problem. It does this by considering individual differences and the mismatch of mathematical skills for studying at University by analysing the effectiveness of mathematics support in improving mathematical skills. The dataset for the analysis comprises of over 1000 students from a Scottish Post-92 University, over 8% having made use of mathematics support, and nearly 2000 students from an English Russell Group University, with just over 10% having made use of the support. It was discovered that in both sets of data the students who came for mathematics support in comparison to their peers had a statistically significant lower mathematical skills base on entry to their course, and at the end of their first year had improved their mathematical skills base more than their counterparts. Although the analysis is based on data from UK Universities we believe the findings are relevant to the international community who are also engaged in the provision of mathematics support.

In 2001 the then UK Government set a national target to get 50 per cent of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 into higher education by the year 2010. To achieve this goal, higher education institutions were required to deliver Widening Participation initiatives that would target under-represented groups in a bid to raise aspirations and bring them into the sector. The study that underpins this thesis was an investigation into the issues surrounding widening participation from the perspective of students in their final year of compulsory schooling. It began as a year-long longitudinal study of the students’ views as they moved towards a key transitional point in their lives. Nine students were identified from Year 11 in one school. Three were drawn from each of the following three categories or groups of students: (i) ‘traditional students’, these were students who were deemed as belonging to groups that were already well-represented in higher education; (ii) ‘non-traditional’ students, these were deemed ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education; (iii) ‘widening participation’ students, these were recipients of a widening participation initiative delivered by their nearest university which, by implication, also deemed them as being ‘non-traditional’ in the sense that they were seen as belonging to groups that were under-represented in higher education. Each participant was interviewed in-depth three times whilst they were in Year 11; in December 2003, in March 2004, and again in June 2004. Whilst all interviews sought to elicit information about their lives at that point in time, the first interview was intended to gather relevant information about their past lives, the second a more in-depth look at their current lives, and the third focused on their future lives. Follow-up data were collected from some of the participants in 2009, 2010 and 2011. An in-depth interview also took place in June 2004 with the university’s Widening Participation Officer and the school’s Head of Year 11 and Widening Participation Co-ordinator. They are considered to be key informants to widening participation initiatives, more broadly in the case of the former, and specific to the school in the case of the latter. The thesis reports on the process through which participants were selected (or not selected) for widening participation intervention, learning identities in school and out, imagined futures, choices, and ultimately what happened to those students who were tracked beyond Year 11. Flaws in the widening participation policy agenda at the time of the main data collection period were identified as: (i) the individualization of the problem which drew attention away from the structural nature of the problem of under-representation and also from deep-rooted flaws within the education system; (ii) the lack of awareness of the longitudinal nature of the problem whereby entrance into higher education is dependent on prior learning and prior qualifications – this resulted in little or no account being taken in the selection process of widening participation-targeted individuals’ previous patterns of achievements, such that they may not be on a trajectory that makes higher education a viable option, and (iii) the valuing of non-participation in higher education. The thesis concluded by acknowledging that a new legislative framework about to be implemented in 2012 appears to be addressing some of these concerns. Issues that remain unaddressed include deep-rooted problems within the formal education system, the valuing of non-participation and of vocational training, and an appreciation that learning takes place on a trajectory.

Historically, many higher education institutions have been structurally and culturally compartmentalised and subunits such as continuing education have been marginalised, merged or divested. In response to a variety of external phenomena, some higher education institutions are re-examining their internal and external relationships, including the relationship between their academic and continuing education units. This research examines the efforts of a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates to improve its overall effectiveness by changing the nature of the relationship between its academic and continuing education units. A review of theory- and practice-based higher education, organisational culture and inter-/intra-organisational relationship literature revealed significant support for each partner's goals for the new relationship and was used to provide the parties with a series of recommendations for successful formulation, actualisation and governance. These results add to the literature and practice of higher education and continuing higher education, particularly in the area of relationship-building among organisational subunits and subcultures.

This study explores the challenges perceived by senior officers in Western university branch campuses in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state and aims to provide insights into how leaders dealt with them. Thus, the study addresses four research questions. First, how campus senior officers perceive the challenges? Second, to what extent are these challenges a result of operating in a different cultural context? Third, how do senior officers deal with these challenges and maintain the quality of their home universities? Finally, how can the study findings be theorised to inform future policy and practice? As a form of transnational higher education, some of the GCC states have established branch campuses of leading Western universities to provide quality higher education to their citizens locally and build knowledge economies. Campus managers, usually from their home Western universities, face challenges related to the local cultural context. These challenges include the GCC state societal views of the campuses, the Western University approach to co-education, the GCC state development efforts to grow a Knowledge Economy through quality Western-style education, and national students’ academic preparation. This research was conducted as an exploratory qualitative multiple case study of five branch campuses. Data were collected through interviews with senior officers from the campuses and the host organization in the GCC state, and the five campuses' annual reports. Data were analysed through open and axial coding. Then thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the data. The study revealed that the major challenges for campus officers are recruiting academically strong students from the pool of citizens, and understanding the local culture and adjusting aspects of the curriculum to fit the local context especially for campuses that offer social sciences and arts programmes. Campus officers engaged in efforts to make school students more qualified for admission by the campuses, and some leaders made adjustments to the curriculum to better suit their students’ abilities.

This dissertation explores the nature, applicability and usefulness of social contract theory, and the resulting compact between higher education and society as a way to understand the growth and development of higher education in the United States. The goal is accomplished with an in-depth look at two different universities in the state of Minnesota at four different periods or pivotal points in the history of higher education in the United States. The underlying assumption was that if there is a social compact between higher education and society, traces of its existence would be found in the historical evidence concerning the relationship of these two institutions to society at distinct points in time. The study reaffirms the idea that the social compact between higher education and society is a shared reality, constructed and reconstructed each time that expectations of either party change - it is a social construct. As such, it is always changing and reforming as colleges and universities balance demands from the public and services they provide. The nature of the compact has changed as the nature of Higher Education has changed.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:26:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacaooglin.pdf: 703917 bytes, checksum: e90aff02edc30f176495d53deb02cf2e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-14 / This paper focuses on national policy for expansion of public higher education at the Federal University of Pelotas, defined as a guide line for actions to be implemented by this institution considering the period between 2008 to 2012, through the Programme of Restructuring and Expansion of Federal Universities-REUNI. As a starting point, the work shows the history of the university in Brazil, the process of transformation and the main reforms that took place in higher education, as well as its challenges. Then, this work draws a parallel with the public policy of expanding access to public university in Brazil today. The research also addresses the issue of public policy evaluation, for considering the context and speech which constant lack of resources for the implementation of public policies, the evaluation is considered as an important tool for those who formulates and implements these policies. At the same time, it is emphasized that the evaluation has the ability to potentiate the correction of the direction of policy employed. This study also aims to present a proposal for economic and financial evaluation of the program on UFPEL. The procedures adopted for the proposed evaluation program included document analysis of the proposed expansion of the Ministry of Education, the proposed expansion of UFPEL as well as other documents standardizations and institutional and legal frameworks related to the topic. As a result of this analysis, it was developed a proposal for evaluation with a topic called economic-financial, which to be better understood has been divided into a proposed annual program and a total program.This topic was divided into four dimensions: financial invested resources; transfer of funds to the program, budget execution, financial, and management and monitoring of the agreed targets. The dimensions were subdivided into variables, and these appropriate indicators. With this proposition, we expect improvements in program implementation, strengthening of monitoring and evaluation culture in the academic community and creation of parameters that can be used by other similar institutions / Este trabalho tem como foco a política nacional de expansão da educação superior pública na Universidade Federal de Pelotas, definida como balizadora das ações a serem implementadas pela instituição no período de 2008 a 2012, através do Programa de Reestruturação e Expansão das Universidades Federais (REUNI). Como marco inicial, o trabalho retrata a história da universidade no Brasil, o processo de transformação e as principais reformas ocorridas no ensino superior, bem como seus desafios. Logo após, traça um paralelo com as políticas públicas de expansão do acesso a universidade pública brasileira na atualidade. A pesquisa aborda também a temática de avaliação de políticas públicas, pois considerando o contexto, e o discurso, de constante escassez de recursos para a implementação de políticas públicas, a avaliação é considerada como importante instrumento para quem formula e implementa estas políticas. Ao mesmo tempo, não podemos deixar de ressaltar que a avaliação tem a capacidade de potencializar a correção dos rumos da política empregada. Portanto, este estudo tem como objetivo apresentar uma proposta de avaliação econômico-financeira do programa REUNI na UFPEL. Os procedimentos adotados para a proposta de avaliação do programa incluíram análise documental da proposta de expansão do Ministério da Educação, da proposta de expansão da UFPEL, bem como demais normatizações e documentos institucionais e marcos legais referentes à temática. Como resultado desta análise, foi desenvolvida uma proposta de avaliação com um eixo, denominado econômico-financeiro, que para sua melhor compreensão foi desmembrado em uma proposta anual do programa e outra total. O referido eixo foi dividido em quatro dimensões: recursos financeiros investidos; repasse de recursos ao programa; execução orçamentário-financeira; e gestão e acompanhamento das metas acordadas. As dimensões foram subdivididas em variáveis, e estas em indicadores adequados. Com esta proposição, espera-se melhorias na implementação do programa, fortalecimento da cultura de avaliação e monitoramento na comunidade acadêmica e criação de parâmetros que possam ser utilizadas por outras instituições similares

No description available.

O processo de ampliação e democratização do acesso ao ensino superior no Brasil tem sido uma das bandeiras do Governo Federal, nas últimas décadas, no que se refere à promoção social. O presente trabalho analisa a interface público-privada que permeia os programas de expansão de vagas no ensino superior, com ênfase no Programa Universidade para Todos (PROUNI), que oferece bolsas integrais e parciais em instituições privadas aos estudantes que preencham os requisitos de rendimento e perfil socioeconômico. Buscando compreender as bases legais que impulsionam as políticas públicas para o ensino superior, a dissertação analisa a educação como direito social e contextualiza o ensino superior dentro dos preceitos legais que remetem ao Estado o dever para com a educação em seus diversos níveis. Com isso, faz uma reflexão acerca do processo de ingresso no ensino superior, considerando que a educação básica é condição para a etapa universitária. Compreender em que contexto se dá essa mudança de nível educacional e os últimos dados acerca da avaliação dos egressos do ensino médio é necessário para identificar porque os investimentos públicos não se concentram apenas em universidades públicas, mas, têm sido destinados, em grande volume, às instituições mantidas pela iniciativa privada. Diante desse cenário, analisa a natureza jurídica do Prouni, e exclui o programa da categoria de Parceria Público-Privada (PPP), apesar da interface entre o Poder Público e a iniciativa privada. No decorrer da pesquisa, verifica-se que proposta do Prouni é adequada como estratégia de política pública, mas, os números apontam que se trata de um programa que, proporcionalmente, traz mais benefícios para as instituições superiores do que propriamente para os estudantes beneficiados ou que desejam sê-lo, na medida em que não há um gerenciamento público acerca da coerência entre os investimentos públicos (no caso do Prouni, por meio de renúncia fiscal) e o efetivo número de bolsas concedidas aos estudantes. / The process of expanding and democratizing access to higher education in Brazil has been one of the main targets of the Federal Government in the last decades regarding social promotion. In that scenario, there are several strategies and programs resulting from public policies aimed at facilitating the access to the higher education, which intend not only to increase vacancies in public universities but, in a complementary manner, to allow the usage of vacancies in private higher education institutions. The present which analyzes the publicprivate interface that permeates the programs of expansion of vacancies in higher education, with emphasis on the University for All Program (PROUNI), that offers integral or partial scholarships in private institutions to students who meet the income and socio-economic profile requirements established by the program. Looking for understanding the legal bases that drive public policies for higher education, the dissertation analyzes education as a social right and contextualizes higher education within the legal rules that delegate to the State the duty of the education at its various levels. With that, it brings a reflection about the process of access to the higher education, considering that the basic education is condition to reach the university degree. It becomes necessary to understand the context in which such change in educational level occurs and the latest data on the evaluation of high school graduates in order to identify why public investments are not concentrated in public universities, but have been destined, in great volume, to institutions maintained by the private sector. Based on that scenario, it studies the legal nature of Prouni, and excludes such program from the category of Public-Private Partnership (PPP), in spite of the interface between the Public Power and private initiative. In the course of the research, it was noticed that Prouni's proposal is adequate as a public policy strategy, however the numbers indicate that it is a program which, proportionally, brings more benefits to the higher institutions than for the students benefited or who wish to be so, since there is no public management to check the coherence between public investments (in the case of Prouni, through fiscal renunciation) and the actual number of scholarships awarded to students.

This qualitative study views international students as information-using learners, through an information literacy lens. Focusing on the experiences of 25 international students at two Australian universities, the study investigates how international students use online information resources to learn, and identifies associated information literacy learning needs. An expanded critical incident approach provided the methodological framework for the study. Building on critical incident technique, this approach integrated a variety of concepts and research strategies. The investigation centred on real-life critical incidents experienced by the international students whilst using online resources for assignment purposes. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and an observed online resource-using task. Inductive data analysis and interpretation enabled the creation of a multifaceted word picture of international students using online resources and a set of critical findings about their information literacy learning needs. The study’s key findings reveal: • the complexity of the international students’ experience of using online information resources to learn, which involves an interplay of their interactions with online resources, their affective and reflective responses to using them, and the cultural and linguistic dimensions of their information use. • the array of strengths as well as challenges that the international students experience in their information use and learning. • an apparent information literacy imbalance between the international students’ more developed information skills and less developed critical and strategic approaches to using information • the need for enhanced information literacy education that responds to international students’ identified information literacy needs. Responding to the findings, the study proposes an inclusive informed learning approach to support reflective information use and inclusive information literacy learning in culturally diverse higher education environments.