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SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DIFFICULTIES IN MALTESE SCHOOLS: A MULTILEVEL MODEL

Author(s): Paul Cooper,Carmel Cefai,Liberato Camilleri / Language(s): English / Issue: 03/2011

Keywords: SEBD; random intercept model; multilevel model; Malta; schools

Social, emotional and behavioral difficulties (SEBD) in schools are a complex phenomenon resulting from various factors, including biological, psychological and social factors. The main objective of this paper is to identify student-, class- and school-related factors that are significantly related to SEBD - seeking to develop new ways of understanding and preventing SEBD in Maltese schools. A proper methodology for analyzing hierarchical structured data where observations are nested within groups is multilevel modeling. This paper presents a threeleve random intercept model that accommodates random effect within each level of nesting and examines the contribution of a number of predictors in explaining variations in the SEBD scores elicited from 5300 students attending primary and secondary state, church and independent schools. The model identifies student- related variables, particularly engagement, diagnosis and intervention, as better predictors of SEBD than class- and school- related variables.

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THE CURRENT PERCEPTION OF THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT FROM THE ECONOMIC FIELD PROPOSED CHANGES TO IMPROVE THE PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCES

Author(s): Loredana Văcărescu Hobeanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 03/2011

Keywords: Professional performance; academic body; change; human resources management.

The achieved studies in the institutions from the university environment confirm the importance they attach to human resources and their professional performances, having the implemented well-structured systems, in which they manage the specific evaluation methods and techniques. The changes which are suffered by the contemporary society require a continuous process of evaluating the results of the academic body on the pathway of the whole existential flow of the human resources from the institution of higher education, leaving from employment, advancement of teaching positions, having regard to the professional performances and the motivation according to the obtained results.

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EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND R&D: TOWARDS NEW FORMS OF LABOR MARKET REGULATION

EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND R&D: TOWARDS NEW FORMS OFLABOR MARKET REGULATION

Author(s): Margarida Chagas Lopes / Language(s): English / Issue: 03/2011

Keywords: Labor market regulation; education and training; innovation; knowledge; North-South divide; Portugal

Labor market regulation and its relations with education and training have been performing an historical trajectory which closely intertwined with developments in economic thought. Under the form of human capital theories, neo-classical economics set the bridge between labor market equilibrium and education outputs for decades. The functionalist approach behind that lasting relationship was to be challenged by economic crises and globalization, which imposed the unquestionable supremacy of the demand for skilled work. Likewise, even if only that more strict perspective of education would prevail, which fortunately is not the case, time and hazard came to undertake its denigration on the grounds of a severe loss of regulatory efficiency as globalization was setting up. In this paper, we shed light on the increasing role which innovation is called to perform in labor market hetero regulation in the present phase of globalization. Depending on the institutional design throughout which R&D become embedded in nowadays societies, evidence clearly reveals how innovation strategies are to be found so asymmetrically implemented between developed and developing countries, thereby leading to the enlarging divide between the “new North” and “new South” globalization off springs.

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UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS EVALUATION:A MULTIVARIATE APPROACH

Author(s): Fabiana Monacciani / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2010

Keywords: Evaluation; departments; multivariate statistics

Aim of the paper is to present a new model, based on multivariate statistic analyses, allowing to express a synthetic judgement on Departments activities by taking into consideration the whole set of indicators describing them both as aggregations of researchers and as University autonomous organs. The model, based on Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis, allows both to explain the determinants of Departments performances, and to classify them into homogeneous groups. The paper shows the results obtained by testing the proposed model on University of Naples “L’Orientale” Departments, using data extracted by the 2007 assessment report to the Ministry of University and Research.

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GENDER DISPARITY IN COMPLETING SCHOOL EDUCATION IN INDIA OVER REGIONS

Author(s): Hussain Zakir / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2010

Keywords: Discrimination; disparity; gender; Oaxaca decomposition; school education; India

Is gender disparity in education greater in North India? This paper seeks to answer this question by examining gender differences in probability of completing school education across regions in India. A Gender Disparity Index is calculated using National Sample Survey Organization unit level data from the 61st Round and regional variations in this index analyzed to examine the hypothesis that gender disparity is greater in the North, comparative to the rest of India. This is followed by an econometric exercise using a logit model to confirm the results of the descriptive analysis after controlling for socio-economic correlates of completing school education. Finally, the Fairlie decomposition method is used to estimate the contribution of explanatory variables in explaining differences in probabilities of completing schooling across regions. The results reveal that gender disparities are greater in North India, for total and rural population, and in Eastern India, for urban population. However, the ‘residual effect’ after accounting for effect of explanatory variables - often referred to as ‘discrimination effect’, as opposed to disparity – is higher in Eastern India, irrespective of the place of residence.

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SCHOOL TO WORK TRANSITION, EMPLOYMENT ATTAINMENT AND VET THEORIES GUIDE FOR POLICY MAKERS

Author(s): Miguel Santos / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2010

Keywords: Employment attainment; vocational training; job search methods; constraints factors; employment; unemployment

The employment attainment after a vocational training course, in a lifelong learning perspective is due to several factors, those inherent to the individual and those through exogenous scopes. In this theoretical revue we identify the most and the least notorious theories that can support policy maker’s decisions. This paper is a result of a subchapter of the author’s PhD thesis. The usefulness of the theories briefly described is under the reader’s verdict and judgment. The objective is barely to share a structured way to compare eleven “big groups” of theories, underneath ten different elements, that are commonly the aim of public and private policies.

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THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Author(s): Loredana Văcărescu Hobeanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2010

Keywords: Education; training; legislative reform; the Bologna Declaration; European Higher Education Area; European Union

The legislative and institutional reform in the education is topical in our country, starting from the Bologna Declaration and from the results of subsequent meetings of ministers who are responsible for the higher education. With the signing of the Bologna Declaration and with the agreement creating the European Higher Education Area, Romania is committed to a long process of change. The undergone transformations from the Romanian education and from the higher education generally and in particular since 1990, the accession of our country to the European, required the conceptual and structural changes to make it compatible with the requirements of an effective education in which the recognition of the diplomas be covered with skills and competencies.

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SOME E-LEARNING TOOLS FOR KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

Author(s): Florica Paragina,Alexandru Jipa,Silviu Paragina / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2010

Keywords: E-Learning for knowledge-based society; competitiveness based on quality and innovation; the Moodle platform; Second Life; e-Didactics

Now, there are developed many e-Learning platforms, but, this system is at the beginning, yet. Till now, a lot of methodological and didactical compounds were developed similar with the classical system of education. The utilization of an e-Learning platform is not easy for all and there are big differences of the results obtained in this kind of education system, between the young students and the older one. Many universities developed their own e-Learning system but they had to surpass a lot of problems due to the technical requirements for the server and, also, for the software used for providing the students access into system. The introduction of the SCORM requirements had provided a modality for measurement of the education’s quality obtained using this kind of education at distance. Another problem was to ensure a personalized access to the platform, for every student, 24 h per day and 7 days per week and also for a large number of students. But, now, this was resolved due to technical innovation in the computers manufacturing process. From our point of view, the payment for the stuff involved in this kind of education is not yet very well defined. In this paper, we shall present our experiences as students and as non-editing teacher in using MOODLE platform and the second Life Environment, compared with the traditional education systems for students and adult persons. We are not able to identify a general perception of the e-Learning Education System, because its evaluation differs in function of the age of the teachers, students involve or not in this kind of education, and of the mass-media representative or of the researchers in education who develop studies in this field.

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WAGES AND HIGHER EDUCATION PARTICIPATION

Author(s): Panagiotis Petrakis,George Athanasiou ,Konstantinos Eleftheriou / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2010

Keywords: Admissions; high school wage; higher education; quality

The paper develops a model for the screening mechanism for higher education, within an adverse selection framework. Specifically it examines the effect of wage earned by high school graduates on higher education participation. The model pinpoints a positive relation between the “high school” wage and the number of candidates entered in higher education with positive influences on the quality of selection mechanism. An empirical examination is conducted, using U.S. data, in order to investigate the validity of our analytical results.

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SUCCESS/FAILURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKES TO COMPLETE SOME CORE 1ST. YEAR DISCIPLINES?

Author(s): Graça Leão Fernandes,Margarida Chagas Lopes / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2010

Keywords: Higher Education; Contingency Analysis; Cox Regression; Discriminant Analysis

Despite the enormous increasing in Higher Education (HE) enrolment during the last decades in Portugal, retention rates remain very high when compared to most European Union countries'. This outcome is particularly meaningful for a set of 1st year's critical matters which failure severely conditions subsequent success as they are part of the scientific domain's basic knowledge. In this paper we investigate this feature for ISEG (School of Economics and Management of the Technical University of Lisbon) and consider its Pedagogic Observatory database which includes more than 1,500 individual data relative to the four graduation programmes. As relative failure expresses frequently under the form of longer time spells needed to complete those disciplines in this paper we adjusted a duration model (with control group)in order to assess the main determinants of the "survival" probabilities. After having controlled for ability, the results we obtained from Cox Regression show that the economic and social status of the family of origin, especially mother's and father's school level and occupation go on influencing students' results although not so meaningfully as in previous educational phases. Also the specific graduation track – Economics, Management, and Mathematics applied to Economics, Management and Finances – appear to be deeply associated with success or retention. Nevertheless, the main determinant of relative success/failure is the student's situation towards the labour market, a meaningful proportion of them having to perform a paid occupation to afford to pay for education costs. Therefore our policy recommendations are twofold: i) to shed light on the need for a more robust Government's Social Policy towards HE students especially now that the Bologna Reform imposes an heavier budgetary burden upon students; ii)to emphasize the financial, organizational and syllabuses' reforms that HE institutions need to develope in order to capture and keep the "new publics" namely adult students for whom combining study and paid work represents the only available funding source.

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INTERACTIVE DIDACTIC STRATEGIES BASED ON LEARNING THROUGH COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION

Author(s): Florentina Irina Barbu / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2010

Keywords: Didactic strategies; collaboration; cooperation; learning; organization

The didactic strategy is the efficient way through which the schoolmaster / teacher helps his pupils to reach knowledge and develop the intellectual capacities, the skills, the habits, the faculties, the feelings and the emotions. It is made of a complex and circular structure of methods, techniques, ways of teaching and patterns of activity organization, complementary, in base of which the headmaster / teacher elaborates a plan of working with the pupils, in order to efficiently accomplish their learning. Using the interactive methods promotes learning by cooperation as a superior form of psycho-social interaction, based on mutual support, on the constant effort of all the pupils.

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THE NEW WAYS IN THE DISTANCE EDUCATION

Author(s): Mirela Mazilu / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2010

Keywords: Pedagogy; distance education; e-learning; change; didactic process

The new ways of learning available in the distance education programs differ a lot from the traditional ones. That is the reason why the more and more ample integration of the new informatics and communication technologies in the learning process, needs a profound reconsidering of the contemporary didactics, because the new means of learning available through these new technologies differ fundamentally from the learning and the teaching of the traditional classroom. This reconsideration must start firstly from the analysis of the features of these new technologies, and of the multiple functions which they can fulfil: the communicating functions, the demonstration, the solution of the problems, the research, the simulation, the assessment, and even the sensitivity and the increase in motivation. Otherwise, these programs risk to having a smaller effect than the one expected.

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ICT AND E-LEARNING LITERACY AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT FOR THE NEW COMPETENCY- BASED CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK IN KOSOVO

ICT AND E-LEARNING LITERACY AS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENTFOR THE NEW COMPETENCY- BASED CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK IN KOSOVO

Author(s): Edmond Beqiri / Language(s): English / Issue: 02/2010

Keywords: ICT; IT; education; e-learning; curriculum; information; technology; Kosovo; competency-based; South-East Europe; University of Prishtina Iliria

This research paper is focused on the role of ICT and e-learning education/literacy as a key component on the Education System of the transition countries. It investigates the importance of ICT and e-learning literacy and their impact on: curriculum development and implementation, Student/Learner-centered teaching/learning, Competency-based approaches, Integrated teaching and learning, Flexibility and mobility, Transparency and accountability. The research explores whether e-learning and ICT can enhance the competency-based curriculum in Kosovo within the new revised Curriculum Framework. The primary research is based on experiences and the level of inclusion of ICT education within the actual 2001 Curriculum Framework (White Discussion Paper), and on the result of intensive and dedicated 12 months work of Kosovo State Curriculum Council (KSCC) that is closely involved in the development of the new 2010 version of the Kosovo Curriculum Framework. The paper also looks at the effects of ICT literacy in all main features of the curriculum stages and their result with Student Personal development of key competencies such as: communication and expression, thinking and learning, Life, work-, and environment-related competencies etc. Finally, the research shows that the ICT and e-learning literacy of teachers needs to change and academics need to embrace new technology since Kosovo society is now reconnected to the most recent developments in science, technology and culture.

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GREEN TOURISM IN THE CONTEXT OF CLIMATE CHANGE TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH ASIAN REGION

Author(s): Mehdi Azam,Tapan Sarker / Language(s): English / Issue: 01 (03)/2011

Keywords: Green tourism; environmental impact; governance; local empowerment; South Asia

This paper attempts to examine the environmental consequences and challenges of tourism development in developing economies with particular focus on the South Asian region. South Asia is home to one-third of the world’s population and is experiencing a rapid growth in tourism due to its unique cultural and natural resources. The industry is not only dependant on the natural environment, but also can significantly alter it, meaning many tourist destinations are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These problems mean that developing nations need to take measures to control tourism in order to ensure the sustainability of the environment, but are limited by their weak institutional framework, political instability and inegalitarian social and economic structures. This paper suggests a more effective environmental governance mechanism through incorporating eco-thinking initiatives and climate change as a management challenge in order to foster the development of eco-tourism.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND THE CHALLENGES OF TOURISM PATRONAGE IN THE OBUDU RANCH RESORT NIGERIA

Author(s): Lydia A. Adie,Pius B. Utang / Language(s): English / Issue: 01 (03)/2011

Keywords: Challenges; Environmental change; Patronage; Resort; Spatial reorganization; tourism

Spatial reorganization in the Obudu Ranch has been massive since the last decade and this meant accelerated changes to the biophysical milieu. This study sought to examine the reorganizational outcomes and changes in the biophysical attractions as they relate to visitation (patronage). Patronage pattern was examined; observed spatial changes highlighted; specific attractions and the observed changes identified; and relationship between environmental change and patronage established. Data on vegetation change, patronage and physical infrastructure development in temporal context were used. Also obtained was data on specific attractions and observed physical changes by respondents. Geographic analysis was based on thematic maps, while statistical analyses were descriptive (including percentages, column and line graphs) and inferential statistics (time series, using least square regression, and chi square) were employed. Findings indicated that tourism, particularly international visitation, to the ranch followed a declining trend during the ten years of data, and this trend or change was significant over time. Environmental changes appear to influence patronage as reported by the tourists and indigenous population, while no difference existed between the tourist providers, tourists and local population on the relationship between environmental change and tourism patronage. Deemphasizing further expansion and encouragement of public mass transport and the cable car were some of the recommendations. Also recommended were education on energy efficiency and less dependence on fuel wood, which triggers deforestation.

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SOFT EMS, HARD EMS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIPS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Author(s): Harjeet Kaur / Language(s): English / Issue: 01 (03)/2011

Keywords: ISO 14001 EMS; soft elements; hard elements; environmental performance.

An environmental management system (EMS) provides the framework for continual environmental improvement through effective management of an organization’s environmental impacts. The most well-known and accepted EMS is the ISO 14001 standard on environmental management established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The literature suggest that the key components that impact on environmental management system (EMS) implementation are a synergistic blend of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ elements. The elements of soft EMS are essentially dimensions of human resource management (HRM), while the ‘hard’ elements are more technical-oriented. To ensure successful environmental management, the ‘hard’ elements of an EMS must be accompanied by equal attention to the ‘soft’ elements. At the present time, the nature of the relationship between the soft EMS elements, hard EMS elements and environmental performance remains unclear. Specifically more effort should be placed in formulating theoretical models that can represent the complex EMS practices-environmental performance relationships. This paper aims to provide a motivation for investigating the mediating effects of hard EMS elements in the relationship between soft EMS elements and environmental performance.

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AN INVESTIGATION INTO MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCING FOREIGN TOURISTS’ TO VISIT JORDAN. PUSH AND PULL FACTORS

Author(s): Abdelnasser Omran,A. Alhaj Mohammad Bashar / Language(s): English / Issue: 01 (03)/2011

Keywords: motivational analysis; travel motivation; foreign tourists; Jordan; push and pull factors

Tourism sector in the Middle East which has undergone and rapid development has generated foreign exchange and diversities the regional economies. In fact, World Tourism Organization has recognized this area as one of the fastest growing in the world. Despite the growth, however, in terms of tourism research, the Middle East region receives limited attraction. In Jordan, in particular, there are different types of tourism such as archaeological, cultural, historical, religious, adventure, and eco-tourism. While motivations are critical to understanding travel behvaiour, little information has been documented about travel motivations to Jerash city in Jordan. What little information there is, has most often been used to determine destination quality or overall tourist satisfaction rather than identifying specific motivation dimensions. Thus, this paper attempted to discuss the common travel motives of foreign tourists’ to Jerash city in Jordan. In more broad sense, it is purposing to analyze what are the travel motivations that influence those tourists to visit such place. Data were collected from 58 tourists who had traveled to Jordan through questionnaires. Results have shown that there are many push and pull factors that motivated foreign tourist to visit Jordan. One of these push motivational factors were “Getting a change from a busy job” and “Indulging in luxury” while pull motivational factor was “personal safety”.

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SOLVING OPTIMAL TIMING PROBLEMS ELEGANTLY

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SOLVING OPTIMAL TIMING PROBLEMS ELEGANTLY

Author(s): Tamara Todorova / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2013

Keywords: optimization of functions of one variable; continuous time; optimal timing; discounted present value; future value

Few textbooks in mathematical economics cover optimal timing problems. Those which cover them do it scantly or in a rather clumsy way, making it hard for students to understand and apply the concept of optimal time in new contexts. Discussing the plentiful illustrations of optimal timing problems, we present an elegant and simple method of solving them. Whether the present value function is exponential or logarithmic, a convenient way to solve it is to convert the base to the exponential number e, thus making it easy to differentiate the new objective function with respect to time t. This convenient method of base conversion allows to find a second-order derivative and to use the second-order condition as a proof of optimum.

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IS PUBLIC EDUCATION VIABLE?A BRIEF CRITICAL REVIEW OF NEOLIBERALISM IN EDUCATION WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE PORTUGUESE SITUATION

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IS PUBLIC EDUCATION VIABLE?A BRIEF CRITICAL REVIEW OF NEOLIBERALISM IN EDUCATION WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE PORTUGUESE SITUATION

Author(s): Margarida Chagas Lopes / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2013

Keywords: public education; neoliberalism; critical pedagogy; Portugal

As well as in other social domains, neoliberalism has been invading education. This trend is leading to a general commodification and to the progressive substitution of some basic values, as the equality of opportunities, by efficiency and competitiveness. At the same time, education policies become more and more shaped by strict economic principles, reflecting the training acquired by decision makers in economics and economics of education courses. That is why we reject, as a critical social scientist, the view that the viability of public education could be discussed uniquely on the grounds of mainstream public economics criteria. On the contrary, that discussion must allow critical pedagogies and alternative approaches to express themselves. Also mainstream clichés must be systematically criticized, as we exemplify in the domain of economics of education. Actually, those are the indispensable complimentary pathways throughout which we can return to education its full meaning as a social service; and also to economics of education its legitimacy as a social science.

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IMPLEMENTING THE BOLOGNA PROCESS IN THE ROMANIAN HIGHER ECONOMIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

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IMPLEMENTING THE BOLOGNA PROCESS IN THE ROMANIAN HIGHER ECONOMIC EDUCATION SYSTEM

Author(s): Loredana Văcărescu Hobeanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 06/2013

Keywords: higher economic education; bologna process; university; performance; quality; knowledge

In order to ensure the comparability in the standards and quality of the higher education qualifications of all European countries’ educational systems, the ministers of education of the European countries signed the Bologna Declaration in 1999. The establishment of a modern, competitive and specific European management vision is the new philosophy behind the education system promoted by the reform of the European higher education through the Bologna Process. Among its key guidelines we find quality assurance in education, excellence in research, a higher degree of performance, raising the level of competitiveness, student-centered learning, new strategies and approaches to teaching, fostering creativity and innovation, focus on the learning outcomes, the pragmatism of education, the close relationship between education and the labor market.

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