Images of poverty and attributions for poverty: does higher education moderate the linkage?

• ‘Development Education’ is a topical phrase describing campaigns to raise public awareness about global poverty, but how do such processes interact with more formal learning experiences, for example in Higher Education? One hundred and seventy-one final-semester Business versus Social Science University students experienced a conventionally ‘cropped’ (child's face only) versus ‘full’ (face-plus-context) campaign-like image of a child in poverty. They also completed the attribution-focused ‘Causes of Third-World Poverty Questionnaire’ (CTWPQ). Business students tended to disagree less than social science students with blaming-the-poor for poverty. More importantly, a cropped image condition resulted in significantly elevated blame-the-poor scores among business students, but not those in social science. Interactions like this suggest that campaign images can be psychologically tailored to differently educated market segments.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Competitive and opportunistic behavior in a prisoner’s dilemma game: experimental evidence on the impact of culture and education

The experimental study presented in Cox et al. (1991) referred to henceforth as CLM, revealed that culture has a substantial impact on the cooperative or non-cooperative behavior of U.S.-born African, Anglo, Asian and Hispanic Americans in a Prisoner’s Dilemma setting. The present article complements CLM’s study in three ways. First, CLM’s experiment is replicated with a sample of Dutch undergraduates. This replication confirms the major finding of the CLM study that culture matters. Second, the role of uncertainty is included by introducing two different information regimes, indicating that uncertainty regarding the opponent’s future behavior facilitates cooperation. Third, CLM’s study is extended by analyzing the influence of education — particularly, knowledge of the competition or game theory of economics. It is found that knowledge of behavioral theories or “soft” economics does stimulate cooperative behavior, but that it has no impact on opportunism. The first point supports the claim in Holler et al. (1992) and Frank et al. (1993) that education plays a role in determining the cooperative or non-cooperative attitudes among managers and students, while the second underscores CLM’s observation that culture does matter.     

Analysis of children’s interest in books and their reading levels depending on the education status of family

The reading rate is an important indicator of the development level of a country. The fundamental condition of being a developed country is having a sufficiently educated workforce, which, in turn, is directly related to reading abilities and habits. In modern society, which has been termed the “information age”, the fastest way to acquire knowledge is through reading. Reading habits are initially formed within the family. Subsequently, the desired reading objectives can be achieved through the positive contribution of the school and the child’s environment. A child with developed reading skills will have the targeted accumulation of knowledge and will be suitably positioned to attain success in their future education and professional lives. The ability to reach this objective easily is directly related to the guidance and encouragement of families in this regard. The results of this study indicate that there is a strong correlation between the levels of education of parents in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the reading habits that are given to children. For example, the results revealed that the children of 27 families with university and higher education levels read a total of 115 books, which is an average of 4.25 books per child on a monthly basis, whereas this figure was found to be 42 books, or an average of 1.82 in the 23 families with an education at high school level or below. The general purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between the reading habits of children and the education levels of their parents as well as the level of awareness of families in this respect. This is a qualitative study. The aim is to obtain in-depth and detailed data. The research is based on a case study, which is a qualitative research model. The examined case is that of North Cyprus.     

Should I stay or should I go? The effect of gender,education and unemployment on labour market transitions

This paper re-examines the turnover behaviour of men and women using panel data from six European countries. It makes a distinction between job-to-job (JJ) and job-to-non-employment (JNE) transitions, and explores the role that education and unemployment play in gender differences regarding these mobility patterns. Low educated women have lower JJ transition probabilities but are more likely to exit to non-employment compared to the other groups, high-educated women and men of all educational levels. Furthermore, unemployment reduces the JJ turnover of male and female workers of all educational levels. There is a pro-cyclical response in the JNE transitions of the less-educated males and a counter-cyclical response in the JNE transitions of the less-educated females. Finally, there are remarkable similarities in labour market mobility across countries, although there are various institutional and other labour market differences.     

Are Austrian returns to education falling over time?

In this paper, we make a systematic presentation of returns to education in Austria for the period 1981–1997. We use consistent cross-sections from the Mikrozensus and find falling returns over time. These falling returns are neither caused by changes in the sample design and reduced willingness to reveal personal incomes in the survey, nor by a declining quality of education. Moreover, it is shown that especially returns to tertiary and secondary education have fallen. Estimating quantile regressions provides further interesting insights: returns fall for all quantiles alike, but the spread of returns is much lower for females. The overall picture of falling returns is consistent with a rise in the supply of highly educated workers in the last two decades.     

Why is an elite undergraduate education valuable? Evidence from Israel

In this paper we compare the labor market performance of Israeli students who graduated from one of the leading universities, Hebrew University (HU), with those who graduated from a professional undergraduate college, College of Management Academic Studies (COMAS). Our results support a model in which employers have good information about the quality of HU graduates and pay them according to their ability, but in which the market has relatively little information about COMAS graduates. Hence, high-skill COMAS graduates are initially treated as if they were the average COMAS graduate, who is weaker than a HU graduate, and consequently earn less than HU graduates. However, over time the market differentiates among them so that after several years of experience, COMAS and HU graduates with similar entry scores have similar earnings. Our results are therefore consistent with the view that employers use education information to screen workers but that the market acquires information fairly rapidly.     

More educated,more mobile? Evidence from post-secondary education reform

More educated, more mobile? Evidence from post-secondary education reform. Spatial Economic Analysis. This paper examines the causal impact of the level of education on within-country migration. To account for biases resulting from selection into post-secondary education, it uses a large-scale reform within the higher education system that gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics in Finland in the 1990s. This reform created quasi-exogenous variation in the supply of higher education over time and across regions. The results based on multinomial treatment effects models and population register data show that, overall, polytechnic graduates have a significantly higher probability of migrating than vocational college graduates, although the estimates vary, for example, by gender, field of study and region.     

Were there no returns to education in the USSR? Estimates from Soviet-period household data

The relation between wages and schooling in the USSR is studied, by estimating log–linear wage-equations for a sample of a Russian city in 1989. Estimates, made separately for men and women, show that there were rewards to education, contrary to claims by many Soviet and Western scholars. The low wages of some professionals, relative to skilled workers, were partly caused by gender differentials, partly by excess demand for manual labour. In addition, private costs of schooling were low and there were important non-monetary incentives connected with higher education.     

The influence of co-location in higher education institutions on small firms’ perspectives of knowledge transfer

Since 1980, the UK has experienced a dramatic growth in firms and employment in information–intensive business services, such as management consultancy and market research. Recent expansion of new and small firms operating in these sectors is the focus of a major ESRC–sponsored research project currently under way at Cambridge University Small Business Research Centre.

Small business service firms are able to compete successfully with large firms due to the imperfect nature of the market which characterizes business services demand and supply, together with specialization of expertise. The success of small business service firms depends on informal person–to–person networks, word–of–mouth recommendation and repeal business based on successful earlier assignments or personal contacts acquired, for example, while working in a large consultancy or market research company. This paper examines the types of networks utilized by small business service firms and argues that two distinct types exist: demand– and supply–related networks; the former involves links with clients, the latter links and co–operation between complementary small business service firms.     

Internet and CALL

1.IntroductionFor a long ti me,the traditional English teaching mode is teacher-centered and knowledge-instruction-based.Inthis kind of teach-ing mode the teachers usually givelectures only by usingtextbooksinclassroom.The learners have to passively acquire knowledge andcomplain the boring learning of English in such a single method;therefore,it is essential to set up a newteaching mode to meet thehigher need of Englishlearners andincrease their interest of learningEnglish.Withthe rapid deve…     

The negative influence of the entrepreneur’s level of higher education on the attractiveness of European SMEs as alliance partners in Brazil: the role of practical experience and international entrepreneurial orientation

Notwithstanding the contemporary relevance of alliance strategies for SME internationalisation, especially in the case of uncertain business environments, few studies have investigated human resource issues in the context of SMEs prior to alliance formation. Even more scarce are studies looking at the impact of a manager/entrepreneur’s characteristics on pre-alliance formation, despite recognition of the expected crucial role of the entrepreneur in this context and of the strong connection between an entrepreneur and their SME. Drawing on international entrepreneurship theory and empirical observations from an exploratory study, we propose a post hoc conceptual model. The exploratory empirical part of our study employs a sample of entrepreneurs from biotechnology SMEs in the United Kingdom and Germany intending to ally in a large emerging market (i.e. Brazil). Our empirical observations suggest an anomalous (at first glance) negative association between the entrepreneur’s level of higher education (a construct at the individual level) and the attractiveness of the SME as a partner firm vis-à-vis alliance formation (a construct at the firm level). Our post hoc model emphasises the role of practical experience and the corresponding levels of international entrepreneurial orientation as theorised variables mediating the observed empirical relationship. We develop theoretical propositions, and suggest practical implications and future research directions.     

Macroeconomic factors and firm’s cross-border merger and acquisitions

This study investigates the impact of macroeconomic variables on the wealth effects of cross-border acquisitions by Malaysian multinational companies. The sample consists of 159 cross-border acquisitions by Malaysian MNCs bidding in 22 countries around the world from 2000 to 2007. The macroeconomic variables examined in this study are foreign economic condition, GNP correlation between countries, and level of economic development of target country. The findings indicate that, foreign economic condition affects the wealth effect negatively, while the level of economic development of target country affects the wealth effect positively. Aside from the macroeconomic variables, we also find that English or non-English language, government’s rules index and the telecommunication infrastructure all play certain roles in the Malaysian cross-border acquisitions. Implied from this study is that, value creation of the Malaysian cross-border acquisitions is a function of the foreign economic condition and the level of economic development of the target foreign country.     

Lessons from management–union partnership in teacher performance appraisal in the New South Wales public education system

Performance appraisal is frequently seen as one of the hallmarks of the ‘new managerialism’ in public sector human resource management. It is also commonly represented as a device for individualizing the employment relationship. Yet even appraisal offers scope for employee voice/participation, both individually and collectively, and for varying degrees of management–union cooperation. This study examines an unlikely case of management–union partnership in performance appraisal – that applied since 2000 to teachers in Australia's largest public schooling bureaucracy, the NSW Department of Education and Training, whose teachers have a long history of union solidarity and industrial militancy. The experiment can be seen as a union retreat from confrontationism, a concession to managerialism, and a resignation to the dominance of individualism over collectivism. However, we argue that it has also widened the scope for both union and employee voice at workplace level.     

How much does a single graduation cohort from further education colleges contribute to an open regional economy?

How much does a single graduation cohort from further education colleges contribute to an open regional economy? Spatial Economic Analysis. This paper combines elements of growth accounting and numerical general equilibrium analysis to produce an alternative micro-to-macro modelling approach. This is used to evaluate the macroeconomic impact on the Scottish economy of the human capital generated by a single graduation cohort from further education colleges. The macroeconomic impact is found to be significant and larger than growth accounting would suggest due to the associated endogenous investment, employment and competitiveness effects. From a policy perspective this identifies the importance of the conventional teaching role of education institutions and the key function played by further education colleges in this process.     

Developing measures for performance excellence: is the Baldrige criteria sufficient for performance excellence in higher education?

The implementation of the education criteria for performance excellence (ECPE)—the education version of the Baldrige criteria—is driven by the growing need for performance excellence in higher education. Ironically the criteria meant for performance excellence have no theoretical underpinning and are based on normative performance improvement requirements. The lack of content and internal validity is reflected in some critical weaknesses in the criteria. Based on a critical review, this paper highlights potential improvements in the areas of aligning processes with the organisational mission, operations focus, customer focus, workforce focus, and performance measurement. To help enhance the ECPE, the paper develops performance measures for systematic implementation of the criteria. This is discussed in terms of defining desired outcomes, developing key measures, identifying specific indicators to track performance, and choosing methods to assess performance. The discussions provide a basis for future revisions to the ECPE.     

Reforms and agricultural productivity in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics: 1989–2005

This paper analyses the changes in agricultural performance in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet republics since the start of the transition process. We provide a conceptual framework for the evolution of productivity and efficiency measures and link this evolution to the issue of factor abundance taking into account specific transition characteristics. We document the changes in agricultural performance using empirical data on the evolution of partial productivity and total factor productivity estimates and we illustrate how productivity varies between countries at various stages of the transition process. Over the past twenty years, virtually all transition countries witnessed an initial decline in productivity, and virtually all countries currently witness an increase in productivity. However, the depth and length of the initial decline differs enormously between countries. Our analysis indicates that the productivity changes were related to the extent of the pre-reform distortions, initial resource endowments and technology use, and the reform implementation in the countries.