Fostering a Technology Cultural Change

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to attempt to answer some plausible questions like what do teenagers prefer to read at leisure, how do they read and why do they read? With the rapid changes in information technology, there is tremendous change in means of communication. Today, much more information is available from electronic and digital media as compared to traditional books. A paradigm shift in information delivery from just information to infotainment has also affected the preferences of the information seekers. Teenagers are a demographic group under transition and they are not untouched by these rapid changes in technology and their impact on their reading preferences. Design/methodology/approach – For this purpose, a survey among 223 school-going (public/convent and government-/aided) teenagers aged between 12 and 18 years was done using a semi-structured questionnaire. Findings – The findings revealed a decline in sports and outdoor recreational activities during leisure, and only 20.6 per cent teenagers preferred reading during leisure. However, self-perception as an avid reader was expressed by majority (53.8 per cent). Fictions were liked by > 75 per cent teenagers; however, non-fictions were also liked by majority (61.8 per cent). The reading preferences of the children were found to be affected by their age, their gender and the type of schools they attended. A significant inverse relationship of television watching and movie-going was observed with reading time. Research limitations/implications – The biggest limitation was inability to directly interact with the students and inability to gather data from more schools. Practical implications – By knowing the current reading trends, leisure time habits and exposure to different means of information technology, the choice of medium for knowledge dispersal could be done. The study would help in providing a basis for a strategic change in the ratio of conventional books and other information media in the library. Social implications – By identifying the media exposure time and popularity, proper steps may be taken in order to enrich the particular media and to ensure that quality of information available on the media can be directed for social benefit in large. Originality/value – The impact of demographic and environmental variables on reading habits of teenagers has not been evaluated in this part of the world, especially in view of the paradigm shift in information technology and the growing influence of electronic media and social networking. An understanding of this mutual relationship would help in modifying the reading behaviour of the teenagers.

The paper summarizes the experience in higher education institutions financing, substantiates the trends in their financial support models diversification. The study systematizes approaches to the organization of higher education institutions financing under market conditions and reveals their advantages and disadvantages in terms of the effects at the level of an individual and society as a whole. It defines tools and models of the financing under orientation on demand, supply and strategic purposes of the national development. The study proves the need to substantiate the rational balance of individual and social effects in higher education institutions financing, which can be achieved through a combination of market self-regulation and state regulation of the higher education services market. The system of methods was used in the study, namely: monographic – to define the research aim and conclusions, the method of theoretical generalization of foreign and domestic scientists was used to critically analyze the existing approaches to the organization of financing the work of agricultural education higher institutions. General scientific methods of cognition, such as analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, systemic integrated approach, were used to systematize the models of financial support for higher agricultural education institutions and to generalize the conclusions. The paper substantiated that the state should take leading positions in higher education institutions financing. The role of state funding in ensuring sustainable development of agricultural education higher institutions has been identified considering the specificity of educational services and their role in ensuring sustainable development of the agricultural sector of the economy and rural areas. It is argued that the current conditions of free economic development and challenges the institutions face requires focusing on consumer demand and adjusting their educational services through prompt updating the changing educational programs based on modern research, attracting a larger number of stakeholders in the financing model formation. The modern tendencies typical of the market of educational services determining the expansion of the participants of the organization of financing the higher education institutions activity, are considered. The importance of financing elements focused on the innovations development, the role of which will grow in the future, especially in the form of competitive and targeted financing is revealed. It is proved that the results-based approach to the organization of financing also reduces the risks of macroeconomic inefficiency and contributes to reducing the information asymmetry. The obligatory presence of the state in the organization of research funding in higher education institutions is justified due to the positive impact of research on educational services quality and increases their value for an individual and society. The paper considers options for market-oriented higher education financing and the state's demands in terms of the concept of management, public and private funding methods, the education fee. It is established that the changing conditions of the market of educational services require a revision of targets for state funding due to the following factors: increased number of foreign students, use of information and communication technologies, increase in the integration of higher education institutions nationally and internationally. Key words: higher education institution, higher agricultural education, concepts of higher education institution management, methods of free economic education financing, sources of higher education institutions financing.

The spread of the Corona virus compelled each education institution to shift from face-to-face mode to online mode at a faster rate. This forceful paradigm shift to the online mode of instruction was felt as a sudden change mostly for the developing country like Nepal where the online mode of teaching and learning was novel practice for the people. This study mainly focuses on the impact of the paradigm shift to the online mode of teaching and learning in higher education institutions (HEIs) and explores the existing situation of implementing online education. It was based on descriptive analysis technique with the systematic review of the related literature, observations of the online activities on the related field and discussions to the different stakeholders of the HEIs about the implementation of online mode of teaching and learning and, the self-experience of online mode. In this study, the major impacts due to force paradigm shift to online mode are concluded as access to quality education, social inequalities, technology adaption, and emotional wellbeing; accelerate change, high dropout, and laboratory work and assessment. These all impacts are considered as the consequences of the inadequacy and inaccessibility of the physical and human resources, geo-sociological condition of the learner, low proficiency of technical knowledge, low motivation and technical difficulties regarding curriculum, etc. The response towards the implementation of online education was found mixed. The study recommends supporting the teachers and students for the effective implementation of online teaching and learning. Similarly, it recommends providing the best alternatives to access education for remote and disadvantaged learner and the curriculum should be reintroduced so as to feet for online learning pedagogy.

Designing for Uncertainty: Three Approaches

The experience of the United States, where in higher education students are trained for conscious social activities and independent responsibility for the benefit of the community and society as a whole, seems to be significant for the theory and practice of higher education in Ukraine. The appeal to the American educational experience is due to the fact that today the United States as a state governed by the rule of law is a reliable guarantor of individual rights and freedoms, provided by strong traditions of civic education – the key to educating students' social values. At the same time, the interest in higher education in the United States is due to its high prestige within the world educational environment, its well-known democratic orientation and constant content and methodological improvement. In the United States, training graduates in adapting to their social life as responsible citizens-members of certain communities and professionals in society has historically been a duty of higher education. The purpose of the article is to highlight the features of the educational process in the course of general education in the framework of undergraduate studies within the US higher education, institutions, which contribute to the development of students’ social values. It is noted that the pedagogical experience of the United States, where students are being trained in conscious social activities and independent responsible activities for the benefit of society in higher education institutions, is useful for the theory and practice of higher education in Ukraine. The methodology of the research is based on the analysis of scholarly and pedagogical sources of the USA and Ukraine on the problem under study with the elements of induction and deduction to characterise the state of its development in the USA; the summarising of the organisation of various types of training in the US higher education institutions, which provide for the formation of students’ social values. The originality of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in the Ukrainian pedagogical science, the views of American scholars on the types of training, as well as the civic engagement of students in the U.S. higher education institutions which contribute to the development of their social values have been summarised. It has been found out that today, in higher education in the United States, students’ engagement into social activities during their general education ensures their readiness for a meaningful and responsible life in an interdependent world characterised by uncertainty and rapid changes. By teaching leadership and community service through dialogue and collaboration, the U.S. colleges and universities contribute to the development of students’ social values, social and intellectual development of students who, moving from a comfort zone to a contact zone, are able to interact effectively within a variety of situations.

Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm shift in how organizations think about their response to the climate crisis. This paper makes a conceptual contribution by exploring the potential of this paradigm shift in higher education. Through a commitment to advancing transformative climate justice, colleges and universities around the world could realign and redefine their priorities in teaching, research, and community engagement to shape a more just, stable, and healthy future. As inequitable climate vulnerabilities increase, higher education has multiple emerging opportunities to resist, reverse, and repair climate injustices and related socioeconomic and health disparities. Rather than continuing to perpetuate the concentration of wealth and power by promoting climate isolationism’s narrow focus on technological innovation and by prioritizing the financial success of alumni and the institution, colleges and universities have an opportunity to leverage their unique role as powerful anchor institutions to demonstrate climate justice innovations and catalyze social change toward a more equitable, renewable-based future. This paper explores how higher education can advance societal transformation toward climate justice, by teaching climate engagement, supporting impactful justice-centered research, embracing non-extractive hiring and purchasing practices, and integrating community-engaged climate justice innovations across campus operations. Two climate justice frameworks, Green New Deal-type policies and energy democracy, provide structure for reviewing a breadth of proposed transformational climate justice initiatives in higher education.

Purpose: development of recommendations for the study of security-oriented disciplines by students of higher educational institutions. Methodology: Analysis and generalisation of research results regarding the need of higher education students to study security-oriented disciplines. Results: In the conditions of modern warfare, knowledge and understanding of security issues are of critical importance for students of technical specialties. It helps them to be aware of the threats and risks associated with armed conflict and make the right decisions to ensure personal and collective security, and provides the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively respond to emergencies and save lives. Therefore, in the article: information on the state of higher education in Ukraine until February 2022 has been studied and summarised; the need of students of higher technical education to study security-oriented disciplines during the war was investigated; an expert survey was conducted among students who are studying for the Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees of two higher technical educational institutions – the State Higher Educational Institution “Donetsk National Technical University” and Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. It was established that about eighty percent of the respondents are in favour of mandatory study of security-oriented disciplines during martial law, as an opportunity to ensure their own safety and the safety of others, help others and be useful in war conditions. A new concept of civil security education in higher technical institutions under martial law from the point of view of studying individual disciplines is proposed, which consists of the following: improvement of training plans for higher education applicants. recommendations for students of technical higher education institutions to study the following disciplines (in order of priority): “Life safety”, “Occupational safety”, “Fire safety”, “Civil protection”, “Environmental safety”, “Psychology of hazards”. Mandatory courses for students on pre-medical care, psychological help for themselves and others, military training should be introduced. Scientific innovation: a scientific approach has been developed to clarify the new concept of civil security education in higher technical institutions under martial law. Practical significance: the results of the work can be used in the preparation of educational plans for applicants of higher technical educational institutions.

Higher education is the critical economic sector that is eventually followed by all other major service sectors in an economy such as financial services, healthcare, telecommunication, aviation, transportation etc. Today, higher educational institutions all over the world operate in a fast-dynamic environment with high competition for reputation, talent acquisition, and student attraction. Following the basis of that high competition that is leading to a significant focus on quality. It is not easy to define the quality in terms of higher education since due to the complexity in relationships of higher education to students and the different roles played by a student in the higher education process. Addressing the issue, International Organization for Standards (ISO) has recently published a new quality framework for higher educational institutions; ISO 21001:2018 EOMS and most of the institutions adopted ISO 9001 standard series until the publication of the new ISO standard for higher education. This study employs an evidence-based approach and systematically evaluates the existing literature on ISO QMS implementation in higher education institutions in different countries with the intention of elaborating on the necessity of adopting it in the Sri Lankan context. Further, it attempts to summarize the key benefits, challenges, and critical success factors of ISO implementation considering Sri Lanka. According to the findings, the key benefits of ISO adoption by higher education institutions are cost reduction, consistent customer satisfaction, risk management, international recognition, adopting rapid changes, attracting grants/ funds, and strengthening international linkages and relationships. In addition, the challenges and critical success factors which were extracted from the literature are also stated for easy implication. Thus, the study highly recommends implementing ISO-standardized quality management systems in all higher education institutions in Sri Lanka to mitigate the serious limitations while achieving international recognition for all educational programmes to finally generate a quality workforce for the economy.

Information technology (IT) changes rapidly, seriously challenging IT management. In response, many organizations create a formal group of IT professionals to evaluate emerging IT so they can better cope with its change. A survey based on structured interviews was mailed to a nationwide sample of 1,000 IT organizations. Two hundred forty-six respondents provided data to identify categories of coping mechanisms to handle changing IT. Five categories emerged: Education and Training, Internal Procedures, Vendor Support, Consultant Support, and Endurance. Organizations apply Education and Training more extensively than the others. Thus the research contributes to understanding the means by which organizations cope with rapid IT change. The research also found that organizations with a group dedicated to investigating emerging IT cope more extensively, but not more successfully, than do those without one. Thus the research contributes not only by providing an understanding of how organizations cope with rapid IT change, but also by suggesting the need to achieve more from the group charged with emerging IT.

Relevance. There is a need for a systems analysis of the history and current state of the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KhSAC), which is considered to be the founder and leader of higher LIS (Library and Information Science) education and higher education in culturology and arts of Ukraine within 90 years of its existence (1929-2019). The aim of this study is to analyze the origins of higher LIS education and higher education in culturology and arts as well as the history and current state of KhSAC on the occasion of its 90 th anniversary. Research methodology. The historical milestones and present-day diverse activities of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture are studied by the means of systems, comparative and historical approaches and a problem analysis. Results. The study deals with the ninety year history and current state of KhSAC, which is considered to be the founder and leader of higher LIS education and higher education in culturology and arts in Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to the significant achievements in educational, scientific, administrative and creative activities. The paper presents information on the organizational transformations of KhSAC, its academic staff. It includes over 75% of Doctors of Science, Candidates of science, people’s artists, honored artists, honored workers of culture of Ukraine. During the years of its existence the Academy has educated about 50,000 specialists, among them over 500 international students from more than 40 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Academy offers degree programmes at Bachelor and Master levels in 16 fields of training and specialties of 7 fields of study, namely Cultural Studies, Museum Studies and Historic Preservation, Management of Socio-Cultural Activities, Audiovisual Arts and Production, Choreography, Music Art, Performing Art, Information, Library and Archive Science, Information Systems and Technologies, Psychology, Social Work, Journalism, Tourism, Management. Postgraduate Studies (PhD Course) and Doctoral Studies offer programmes in 4 specialities. They are as follows: Culturology, Music Art, Information, Library and Archive Science and Social Work. The paper describes the features of KhSAC’s research activities. The structure of the Academy includes Postgraduate Studies and Doctoral Studies; two specialized academic boards authorized to accept for consideration and to conduct the defence of theses competing for an academic degree of Doctor (Candidate) of Science. Two academic journals are published, namely “Kultura Ukrainy (Culture of Ukraine)” covering the current issues of culturology and art criticism, and “Visnyk Kharkivskoi Derzhavnoi Akademii Kulury (Bulletin of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture)” covering the current issues of social communications. About 10 international, all-Ukrainian and regional scientific conferences are held every year. Available to students are a library, an e-material reading room, several computer laboratories, an Internet-centre, an editorial board. The place of the Academy in the European and world professional environment is identified. Novelty. An attempt is made to study the ninety year history and current state of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, which is considered to be the founder and leader of higher LIS education and higher education in culturology and arts of Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to the significant achievements in educational, scientific, administrative and creative activities. The practical significance. The main results of this study can be used by institutions of higher education in culture and arts of Ukraine for further improving academic, scientific, administrative and creative activities.

The article purpose is to introduce important theoretical items of training future agrarians in higher education institutions (HEIs) taking into account the views of modern scientists (Ukrainian and foreign) on professional education and training as well as outlining the priorities of higher agricultural education in Ukraine based on the experience of Great Britain.The methodology is introduced by different methods (analysis, synthesis, observation, description) of the research.There are research results in the paper. The literature on the study subject was analyzed and the theoretical ground of agricultural education and training (namely the definitions of training, vocational education, vocational education and training, professional education, agricultural education, training future agrarians in HEIs), were clarified and generalized. The ideas about the nature of agriculture, its importance in modern society, and approaches to agricultural education were cleared up. It was pointed out that the aim and tasks of training future agrarians were correlated with the needs of sustainable agriculture, labor market and human resource development. The aim of the training of future agrarians in higher education is identified as the formation, development and practical application of a wide range of knowledge and skills which are mastered in different subject areas related to agriculture, taking into account such factors as climate change, sustainability, food safety requirements, etc., oriented the professional and personal development of human resources. The priorities in the field of higher agricultural education in Ukraine according to the current national and international tendencies were detected.Conclusions: there is the interrelation between the agriculture and professional education and training in HEIs; clarifying the principle terminology provides an important theoretical precondition for future agrarians training in HEIs; the outlined priorities of higher agricultural education in Ukraine focus on economic, social, and individual aspects and take into account national and international achievements.

The Topographical Anatomy of the Head and Neck of the Horse: By U. Charnock Bradley, M.D., D.Sc., M.R.C.V.S. Edinburgh : W. Green & Son, Ltd., 1923. Price 21s. net

The Coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19) is hastily spreading, bringing pressure and challenges to international students and educators in a higher education institution who were locked down on campus during the COVID-19 outbreak. We sought to explore psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini. A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were 20 conveniently selected international higher education students and educators who were locked down on Campus from March 20 to September 25, 2020. The interviews were conducted face to face. Data were thematically analysed. The study was informed by the ecological systems theory. The psychological experiences of international higher education students and educators during COVID-19 pandemic were categorized in to four themes. Frist negative emotions present in early stages involving discomfort, anxiety and helplessness caused by isolation, fear and concern for safety. Second self-coping strategies included psychological and life adjustments, social distancing, acceptance of wearing of masks, hand sanitizing and online/blended learning. Third we reported growth under the crisis which included affection for family members, peers and self-reflection. Finally, we reported that positive emotions occurred concurrently with negative emotions. During the COVID-19 crisis positive and negative emotions of international higher education students and educators intertwined and co-occurred. Self-coping strategies and psychological growth played a crucial role in maintaining mental health of the students and educators. The international students and educators in a higher education institution appeared to be thriving in coping with the COVID19 crisis and lockdown situation which enhanced their participation in online/blended learning.

Social psychological studies have long emphasized the importance of openness, disclosure and the sharing of plans for the future to young people's friendships. Recently, similar claims have been made within sociology, but applied to friendships and other relationships practised at various points throughout the life-course. From both these perspectives, it would be expected that as young people come to make decisions about their post-18 destinations, their deliberations would be discussed with close friends. Indeed, various large-scale surveys of the factors affecting young people's higher education choices have indicated that friends may play an important role in this process. However, while these have provided a useful measure of the proportion of young people who discussed their choices with their friends, they have been unable to illuminate the content and length of such discussions, the number of friends with whom discussions were held, or the nature of the friendships of the young people in the sample. Using qualitative data drawn from a two-year, longitudinal study with young people between the ages of 16 and 18, this paper illuminates the nature of such conversations with friends and others in the wider peer group. It argues that, contrary to the implications of previous quantitative studies, conversations about higher education courses and institutions were extremely limited. In seeking to explain the reasons for this it will highlight a number of difficulties young people had in talking to their friends about higher education, focusing largely on the significant differences between friends and others in the wider peer group, which were brought into sharp relief by the decision-making process. On the basis of this evidence, it suggests that discussions about higher education were inherently problematic for almost all the young people in the sample, and for this reason were avoided.

Not the least due to rising public expectations and a changing self-perception, HEIs (higher education institutions) are increasingly concerned with the labor market relevance of their educational offerings. However, adapting curricula according to labor market information is a challenging task for HEIs, given financial, administrative and legal constraints. In this light, integrating “transversal skill”-modules into the curricula as cross-discipline key competences “particular valued by employers” (OECD, 2019) is an efficient way for HEIs to react upon skill demands in a flexible and efficient – partly cross-curricular – way. The chapter at hand retraces the paradigm shift in higher education (HE) toward graduate employability and applies a concept based on Suessenbach et al. (2021) to define the vague term of transversal skills. An empirical investigation of the prevalence of transversal skills in HE study programs is done via the analysis of a total of 1,243 Bachelor curricula from public universities of Austria, Ireland and Portugal. As will be shown, the three countries differ, among others, in terms of their HE systems and labor markets for HE graduates. The comparative curriculum analysis also reveals differences with a view to how and which transversal skills are integrated in the curricula. In Austria and Portugal, they could be found in almost half of all curricula and the majority were mandatory modules. In Ireland, they were occurred in less than a fifth of the curricula, the large majority being optional. In Portugal, a noticeable focus on generic digital skills could be elicited, markedly stronger than in the other two countries.