Diversity impacts organizations, both internally and externally. Responses to changes in demographics come from legal and moral imperatives. As a reflection of the changes in the population demographics in the United States, universities have seen and sought increased diversity in their student enrollment. Many institutions have purposeful plans to increase representation of under-represented groups as well as those students from low-income families. Some schools also recognize the importance of having diversity represented within their staff and faculty positions as a way of creating a supportive environment that also promotes diversity of thought. As schools increase the diversity of their student population, at what level are they increasing diversity among their tenured and tenure-track faculty? The purpose of this study is to examine the impact on full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty diversity compared to enrolled student diversity at institutions that promote, require, or provide access to training for faculty search committees, including diversity/cultural awareness, legal compliance, and process training, and those institutions that do not appear to have any training requirement as documented on their websites. Only tenured/tenure-track faculty were considered as they are the permanent teaching/research positions and generally represent the core faculty of every department at a university.

This research explored 19 higher education faculty members' perceptions of satisfaction with their online teaching work, identified elements that enhance or inhibit these higher education faculty members' online teaching satisfaction, and provided a theoretical framework, higher education faculty online teaching satisfaction a conceptual model, to understand the relationship among these elements. The study participants represented eight different university campuses, three academic disciplines, and 10 online programs. Data was collected from multiple sources including an online background questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and public documents. Data was analyzed using the procedures for developing constructivist grounded theory proposed by Charmaz (2006). The researcher posits that the individual context component in this conceptual model affects, and is affected by the work context component as follows, online teaching work-related experiences are subjectively interpreted by individuals and groups of individuals, i.e., work-related perceptions, which affect, and are affected by individual(s) socially constructed and subjective interpretations of their online teaching work, i.e., individual(s) interpretations of work circumstances. The work-related perceptions and individual interpretations of the online teaching work circumstances reciprocally interact with each other, affecting and being affected by the first two components, individual context and work context, which also reciprocally interact and affect, and are affected by the faculty member(s) affective and cognitive evaluations of their online teaching work. These affective and cognitive evaluations result in a continuum of online teaching satisfaction. The resulting continuum of online teaching satisfaction can reciprocally affect, and be affected by any or all of the previously mentioned components of the conceptual model of this research.

The career choice process, which emphasises the term ‘choice’, is one which is characterised by an ever changing multi-layered progression (Ozbilgin, Kusku & Erdogmus, 2004). This is due to the choice being a result of the on-going interaction between an individual and their social and organisational contexts. It is then safe to assume that this career decision making process involves an awareness of an individual’s surrounding environment and an ability to acknowledge and understand what they regard as being important to them. In support of this understanding, this research project seeks to draw attention to the career influences of a specific group of professionals rather than researching career choices across a range of professionals within different contexts in efforts to broadly predict career choice behaviour. This study rather focuses on the factors that actively influenced the career choices of ten Rhodes University Academics across a range of disciplines and faculties and their individual career decision making processes. In drawing on “mainstream and heterodox” (Ozbilgin et al., 2004, p. 2) literature, this research aims to apply existing notions presented by past researchers to South African academics, now residing and working at Rhodes University, which is located in the small town of Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The methods of qualitative inductive research are discussed and the results are explored within the settings and contexts unique to each individual who has been drawn to the specific University context. The purpose of the study is to therefore adopt an inductive thematic analysis approach in seeking to examine the internal and external factors that served to influence the sample of academics into their chosen discipline, their decision to become and academic and their employer of choice, in light of the increasing pressure on higher education institutions to contribute to social and economic transformation within the South Africa (Tettey, 2006).

The project's goal is to develop training courseware for new faculty at California State University, San Bernardino. The courseware presents classroom learning scenarios and teaching strategies that support the construction of the faculty member's teaching and learning philosophy and a five year plan.

This dissertation consists of three essays in applied microeconomics on the economics of science. The first chapter contribute to the understanding of fairness and recognition in innovation systems. The second and third chapters study the effect of government policies and university relocation on science and education outcomes respectively. The first paper, coauthored with Zihao Li, studies gender difference in innovation recognition using patent citations. We propose a method to quantify under-citation, by constructing a “should-cite” list for each of over 1.5 million patents based on textual similarity, using state-of-the-art natural language processing technique. We find that female-authored patents are approximately 12% more likely to be under-cited than male-authored patents. Additionally, male inventors are far more likely to under-cite patents written by female inventors. Our findings are consistent with the testable implications of taste-based discrimination but not statistical discrimination. Welfare analysis shows that past under-citations negatively impact future patenting activities, especially for female inventors. The second paper, coauthored with Elliott Ash, Mirko Draca and David Cai studies the impact of a large-scale scientist recruitment program – China’s Junior Thousand Talents Plan – on the productivity of recruited scholars and their local peers in Chinese host universities. Using a comprehensive dataset of published scientific articles, we estimate effects on quantity and quality in a matched difference-in-differences framework. We observe neutral direct productivity effects for participants over a 6-year post-period: an initial drop is followed by a fully offsetting recovery. However, the program participants collaborate at higher rates with more junior China-based co-authors at their host institutions. Looking to peers in the hosting department, we observe positive and rising productivity impacts for peer scholars, equivalent to approximately 0.6 of a publication per peer scholar in the long run. Heterogeneity analysis and the absence of correlated resource effects point to the peer effect being rooted in a knowledge spillover mechanism. The third paper studies the long run effect on local education outcomes of the temporary exodus of Chinese universities in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). During the war, over 80% of China’s universities, along with the top tiers of China’s educated talents were forced to relocate to inland underdeveloped areas during the war. We find that the large inflow of educated elite intellectuals and universities increased local supply of secondary schools by 6.6% during and after the war period, indicating the effect cascades to lower tiers of education. However, such trend does not persist into the People’s Republic of China (PRC) era and we find limited effect on local education outcomes in the long run. We discuss the salience of locational fundamentals and education policies in explaining the absence of persistence.

This research paper seeks to explore whether the University of KwaZulu-Natal (U.K.Z.N) Humanities Social Science Faculty (HSF) can provide utility (economic) value to the eThekwini region and the South African developmental state. Utility value within this paper is defined as being, „The welfare a given investor assigns to an investment with a particular expected return and risk.‟ (duke.edu). A developmental state according to Professor Ziya Onis is a “…state where the government is intimately involved in the macro and micro-economic planning in order to grow the economy.” (Onis 1991). Each existing developmental state has approached its development in a unique and contextually relevant manner. Yet all developmental states have one key variable prominent: Human Capital Development through investment in the Science Engineering and Management streams of study. This research project uses a qualitative research approach comprising of semi-structured interviews with selected personnel from the University‟s Humanities Social Science Faculty, private sector organisations, the local municipality, a representative from the Minister of Higher Education and Training and the Reference group set up by the Ministry to investigate the state of the HSF in South Africa. Six key questions will inform this research. Firstly, what is the content and curriculum make-up of a Humanities Social Science of the University of KwaZulu-Natal degree and what factors inform its make-up? Secondly, what is utility value expressed in employment terms does an HS degree provide? Thirdly, how are HSF Degrees structured to offer both knowledge and utility value to their students - and in turn - the South African job market? Fourthly, where do HSF graduates get employed i.e. in which Government Departments or industries do they find employment? Fifthly, what meaningful role does an HSF degree offer in the context of the developmental State in South Africa? And finally, does the UKZN HSF and its degrees need an overhaul? And if it is concluded that it does not need it, why does it not? This research project found that the Humanities Social Science Faculty and its products, the graduates , do provide utility value - needed for leading people and organisations - in the form of management skills, deductive reasoning, critical and lateral thinking. However, if the current state of the HS-Faculty continues, namely; the large number of students enrolled, the non-enterprising curriculum, the non-collaborative relationship between the faculty and local business and governmental structures, the HSF will have no “active role” in the developmental state and will in “fact” become a problem. And subsequently, a problem that contributes to the phenomena of unemployable graduates in a major way. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Submitted by Elba Lopes (elba.lopes@fecap.br) on 2016-05-16T17:11:53Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Patr??cia_Fernandes_Frauches.pdf: 1887353 bytes, checksum: fc40808ad867f38cb6c276cf98a2ba6f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-16T17:11:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Patr??cia_Fernandes_Frauches.pdf: 1887353 bytes, checksum: fc40808ad867f38cb6c276cf98a2ba6f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-25 / The study of the teaching profession has been the subject of research in different contexts, among the different approach of possibilities this theme stands out in recent years, the reflections that seek to understand the genealogy of the profession, that is, knowledge and expertise that it demands. This research aimed to outline a profile of the knowledge underlying the pedagogical practices of teachers who work in an accountancy course offered by a university in the state of Sao Paulo, trying to identify what kind of knowledge permeate the actions of teachers in room college tuition as well as the knowledge that there are manifest. To this end, we carried out an exploratory study of qualitative approach. Data were collected through an online form and analyzed using content analysis to the free issues and statistics for the structured questions. It was found that the knowledge underlying the pedagogical practice of the investigated teachers are related to the ability to select a topic from the given subject content and make connections with the goal and the teaching methodology and use assessment instruments and procedures student learning. However, they were not highlighted in the reports of the classes, what are the criteria in the evaluation processes used. On the other hand, it stands out as the predominant practical knowledge of these teachers, knowledge of the specific content of the given discipline and its teaching specifies, which allows the teacher to find ways to make the content understandable to students. It follows therefore that the practical knowledge, built on the action of teachers is characterized by a knowledge existential, social and pragmatic permeated by beliefs, values and ethical principles arising from their trajectories and livings, the accounting profession, the teaching and sharply the context in which they operate. / O estudo da profiss??o docente tem sido objeto de investiga????o em diferentes contextos, dentre as distintas possibilidades de abordagem desta tem??tica, destaca-se nos ??ltimos anos, as reflex??es que procuram compreender a genealogia dessa profiss??o, isto ??, que conhecimentos e saberes que ela demanda. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral delinear um perfil dos saberes que fundamentam a pr??tica pedag??gica de docentes que atuam em um curso de ci??ncias cont??beis oferecido por uma IES do estado de S??o Paulo, procurando identificar que tipo de conhecimentos permeiam as a????es dos docentes em sala de aula universit??ria bem como os saberes que ali se manifestam. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa explorat??ria de abordagem qualitativa. Os dados foram coletados por meio de um formul??rio online e analisados por meio da an??lise de conte??do para as quest??es livres e da estat??stica para as quest??es estruturadas. Constatou-se que os saberes que fundamentam a pr??tica pedag??gica dos docentes investigados est??o relacionados com a capacidade de selecionar um t??pico do conte??do da disciplina ministrada e de fazer conex??es com o objetivo e a metodologia de ensino, bem como utilizar instrumentos e procedimentos de avalia????o da aprendizagem dos alunos. Entretanto, n??o ficaram destacados nos relatos das aulas, quais foram os crit??rios estabelecidos nos processos avaliativos utilizados. Por outro lado, destaca-se, como predominante do conhecimento pr??tico destes docentes, o conhecimento do conte??do espec??fico da disciplina ministrada e da sua did??tica especifica, o qual permite ao professor buscar formas de tornar o conte??do compreens??vel aos alunos. Conclui-se assim, que o saber pr??tico, constru??do na a????o dos docentes caracteriza-se por um saber existencial, social e pragm??tico permeado por cren??as, valores e princ??pios ??ticos decorrentes das suas trajet??rias e viv??ncias, na profiss??o cont??bil, na doc??ncia e acentuadamente, do contexto onde atuam.

The aim of this study was to better understand how academics manage their personal information and therefore to have a basis for planning for appropriate support by librarians. There did not appear to be any current relevant research but from a review of previous studies, in which the predominant management strategy included a card personal index, a model was drawn up and validated by a number of academics would be using electronic personal indexes to manage their personal collections. The research methods selected for this study were in-depth interviews and a questionnaire survey. The main findings were that academics do not use a personal index (card or electronic) to manage their personal collections and they also use a language different from that of librarians to describe their activities of personal information management. Academics manage their information by organising their personal collection according to their working subject framework. to expand their collections they work outwards from items of known quality or follow the advice of colleagues to locate such items. To become aware of the new material in the library (or elsewhere), academics prefer to browse new journals and books, rather than use a subject index. Databases are used for confirmation of reference details and citation indexes are used to work outwards from documents of known quality. The output of references is by the use of word processing software with a few academics using bibliographic software just for this function. The conclusion of the study were that academics manage their personal information in a dissimilar way to that expected by librarians. Academics are managing ideas not documents and their methods of personal information management reflect the need to manage these ideas and the associated connective thought process. Librarians can better assist academics by designing library services that facilitate academics' ideas management. Suggestions for improved support include the development of services that enable browsing, the linking of ideas between research publications in different disciplines and the provision of a service to confirm reference details.

This study explored the importance attached to and the degree of satisfaction with 53 job aspects in the work environment of cooperative research center directors. A survey instrument was mailed to the 105 individuals identified as directors of research units that are (a) committed to multidisciplinary or engineering research, (b) organized as integral units of a university, and (c) supported and funded by industry and other sources. Responses were categorized into two groups: directors involved in NSF (National Science Foundation) Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC), and directors involved in other types of cooperative research endeavors. A 69% response rate was obtained. One purpose of this study was to measure: (a) factors that influence job satisfaction; (b) factors likely to influence center performance; and (c) success factors in industry/university cooperative research. This study was also designed to: (a) compare job attitudes between the two groups of directors; (c) determine the relationship between measures of importance and satisfaction for each group; and (d) develop predictive models of centers' performance using collected data; Directors assign a high degree of importance and a low degree of satisfaction to the majority of the job aspects; and they tend to be somewhat dissatisfied with those factors they consider most important in their work environment. Directors in the NSF I/UCRC group rated factors related to professional activities and industry/university interactions as significantly more important. In developing models to predict the total operating budget and the number of industrial members at a center, combinations of importance and satisfaction ratings were found to be significant factors.

Supervising students at a distance presents numerous social, mental, professional, and individual challenges on the student- supervisor relationship, and on the substance, progress, and conveyance. From the literature review, several tools and technologies are developed to improve academic quality; however, most of these tools and technologies focus on journal articles’ quality rather than student/supervisor relationships. This study aims to develop an academic rating index (ARI) that will show a supervisor’s review by students and provide an interactive forum. The application will serve as an academic supervision teaching-level index that provides an aggregated measure of supervisors’ past and current impact. Thus, the ARI aims to aggregate all academic supervisor ratings and the number of ratings that they received in the entire academic career to complement their citation index. The study will use quantitative coding and programming tools to ensure a good quality system in the development phase. The application and findings of the study contribute to academic service quality. / Operations Management / M. Tech. (Information Technology)