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Created in 2012 ORCID now enjoys global status as a Persistent Identifier (PID) in the academic community. The international literature has been generally positive towards this new piece of research infrastructure, particularly based on its obvious potential to aid name disambiguation. However, a small number of commentators have highlighted negative issues with ORCID, as well as the way in which they are increasing mandated by publishers, funders, and even employers. This research sought to critically evaluate perceptions of ORCID in the Technological University (TU)/Institute of Technology (IoT) sector in Ireland. This study adopted a mixed methods approach involving an online survey with academics in Ireland's TU/IoT sector and a survey of senior librarians. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore the qualitative data collected via open-ended questions. The results indicate that most lecturers have only minimally engaged with ORCID. Thematic analysis of responses from faculty identified six distinct themes. The majority of themes identified were negative towards ORCID, with many lecturers appearing unsure about its purpose, having only registered for ORCID because of external pressure. Faculty were also concerned that ORCID could facilitate external monitoring, as well as them being resistant to the effort involved in keeping an ORCID profile up to date. ORCID was also seen as a potential source of danger, although some lecturers had started to use their ORCID profile to promote their work. Perceptions amongst librarians were very different, with librarians notably more in favour of ORCID. Three themes were identified: name disambiguation, facilitation of linkages with other IT systems, and future potential. The paper offers a critical analysis of ORCID adoption in Ireland based on perceptions amongst two stakeholder groups, academics and librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper assesses the sustainability related performance of Indian Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) based on the parameters and indicators listed under the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and the University of Indonesia GreenMetric World University Ranking (UI GreenMetric WUR). Qualitative assessment of Indian HEIs based on the two selected frameworks is provided. Data were collected for parameters pertaining to sustainable development (SD) at nine Indian HEIs through surveys, documentation, direct observations, and interviews with professors, research scholars, students, and employees. The study shows that although Indian campuses are implementing SD strategies, the approach is not comprehensive and systematic, as almost 50% of the STARS and UI GreenMetric framework parameters are not currently being complied with. Out of the two selected assessment frameworks, Indian HEIs showed greater compliance with the UI GreenMetric, which can be attributed to its Asian origin. A lack of policies, monitoring and reporting mechanisms were common across all the HEIs. This study highlights the need to report specific rating parameters that are widely present on Indian campuses and those which are not currently being emphasised. The findings contribute to developing a contextualised rating system for assessing Indian HEIs that can help boost SD. This study can further help other developing countries aiming to progress along similar lines. Highlights • The framework used in the study are STARS and UI GreenMetric WUR. • The qualitative compliance of the Indian HEIs to these frameworks is analyzed. • The sustainable development in Indian HEIs is not holistic. • A new or refined rating system needs to be developed for Indian HIEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges for teachers of higher education is to design learning activities that will allow students to effectively acquire sustainability competences. Education therefore needs to be re-oriented to a combination of interdisciplinarity, envisioning, creativity, fun. This paper aims at contributing to this demand by asking students to assess the fostering capacity of alternative learning activities, i.e. a real-world experience and a service learning project. The data was collected through surveys and focus groups. The results demonstrate that students perceived to have developed sustainability competences in each learning activity in somewhat varying levels. To ensure the development of a wide-spectrum of sustainability competences, teachers are advised to combine different learning activities or to include a variety of characteristics to foster as many competences as possible, especially because of the interplay and interactions between the different competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sustainability is receiving increasing amounts of attention in higher education in terms of how it can best be integrated with university curricula. Sustainability is closely related to complexity, innovation, and interdisciplinarity; therefore, it requires alternative approaches rather than traditional, lecture-based pedagogy. This paper reports an educational initiative and research project based on collaboration between Beijing Normal University, China and Aalborg University, Denmark: developing a sustainability curriculum using the methodology of Problem and Project Based Learning (PBL) in a Chinese context. A theoretical framework is established to understand and analyze the culture's change toward a sustainability curriculum that employs PBL methodology. Empirical work is drawn upon first year results from the implementation of this methodology in an engineering and science curriculum. Data generation is based on multiple collection methods, such as survey of students' feedbacks, interviews with students, and analysis of students' project reports and reflection essays. This paper summarizes that a sustainability curriculum as proposed in this research can attract students' interests in not only mastering relevant knowledge, but also in developing necessary skills and competencies. PBL as a teaching and learning method can successfully facilitate participative learning, critical reflection, systemic thinking, creativity, and cultural awareness, which are the core values of sustainability. However, implementing a new curriculum with new teaching and learning methods can be more complex than expected. Many issues impact the implementation process and are therefore remain challenges to further development; for example, how to change the existing grading system, how to provide both teaching staff and students' with prior knowledge about the new PBL methods, how to gain institutional support, and how to change the broader societal and cultural values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates dynamics in approaches to learning within different learning environments. Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted with first-year student teachers (N Study 1 =496, N Study 2 =1098) studying a child development course. Data collection was carried out using a pre-test/post-test design by means of the Approaches to Learning and Studying Inventory. Study 1 compared a lecture-based learning environment with a student-centred learning environment. Results were opposite to the premise that student-centred instruction deepened student learning. Instead, the latter pushed students towards a surface approach. Study 2 investigated whether mixed learning environments consisting of lectures and case-based learning could enhance students’ approaches to learning, compared to learning environments in which either lectures or case-based learning were used. Results showed that the deep and strategic approach decreased in the lecture-based, the case-based and the alternated learning environment, in which lectures and case-based learning were used by turns, while they remained the same in the gradually implemented case-based learning environment. With respect to the surface approach, the strongest decrease was found in the latter learning environment. In conclusion, this paper shows the added value of gradually implementing case-based learning. Nevertheless, it remains difficult to enhance the deep approach, monitoring studying, organised studying and effort management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines the relationship between one type of data-driven learning (DDL) and inductive–deductive learning styles. Participants were 145 Japanese university learners of English as a foreign language, all of whom showed significant improvements in a grammar test after teacher-led guided DDL induction. Data were collected using a questionnaire on inductive–deductive learning styles and DDL task values. Weak correlations were found between the inductive–deductive continuum of learning styles and the DDL task value, but no differences in magnitude were found from an examination of the confidence interval for the two correlations. These findings indicate that depending on the type, guided DDL-type induction may be beneficial for both deductive and inductive learners irrespective of their learning styles. The paper concludes with suggestions that future DDL studies should carefully define the construct of DDL and explore its relationship with learner characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the flexibility of Personal Response Systems (PRSs), (also known as ‘clickers’ or electronic voting systems (EVS)), as part of strategies to support students’ learning in science. Whilst variants of this technology began to appear 12 years ago, there is now a steadily increasing adoption of these systems within higher education, including science programmes, and this use has grown significantly in the last six years. They have previously been shown to offer a measurable learning benefit. Typically, someone at an institution buys these systems for learning support and they never make it out of their cases. Far less work has been done with these systems at school level. In this practitioner based paper, the broad range of practical uses for these systems is described in a variety of formal and informal learning situations – from testing the understanding of science concepts (from primary aged school children up to physics undergraduates), to undertaking evaluation of events as well as public participation in data collection for research on attitudes to careers. In addition, the data collected on such handsets can be mapped to demographic factors such as gender and age yielding further layers of analysis. Overall this is a highly flexible and transferable approach to the use of interactive technology for engaging learners of all ages as well as carrying out research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ability to predict what university course a student may select has important quality assurance and economic imperatives. The capacity to determine future course load and student interests provides for increased accuracy in the allocation of resources including curriculum and learning support and career counselling services. Prior research in data mining has identified several models that can be applied to predict course selection based on the data residing in institutional information systems. However, these models only aim to predict the total number of students that may potentially enrol in a course. This prior work has not examined the prediction of the course enrolments with respect to the specific academic term and year in which the students will take those courses in the future. Moreover, these prior models operate under the assumption that all data stored within institutional information systems can be directly associated with an individual student's identity. This association with student identity is not always feasible due to government regulations (e.g., student evaluations of teaching and courses). In this paper, we propose an approach for extracting student preferences from sources available in institutional student information systems. The extracted preferences are analysed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), to predict student course selection. The AHP-based approach was validated on a dataset collected in an undergraduate degree program at a Canadian research-intensive university (N = 1061). The results demonstrate that the accuracy of the student course predictions was high and equivalent to that of previous data mining approaches using fully identifiable data. The findings suggest that a students' grade point average relative to the grades of the courses they are considering for enrolment was the most important factor in determining future course selections. This finding is consistent with theories of modern counseling psychology that acknowledges self-efficacy as a critical factor in career planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]