Universitetet i Agder: UiA Journal System
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Educational Roles in Corpus-Based Education: From Shift to Diversification
No full textThis study discusses the educational roles afforded by the use of linguistic corpora as a teaching tool in pre-tertiary education and explores upper secondary students’ opinions and experiences of educational roles following corpus-based lessons. The data were collected through group interviews of 20 students following a two-week period where the students’ regular English teacher collaborated with the researcher/author to plan and implement a corpus-based approach in two first-year upper secondary school classes. The interview subjects were selected from the 69 total students across the two classes based on the teacher’s recommendations and the researcher’s observations throughout the implementation period.
The results show that during the largely student-centered, corpus-based approach, students felt that the teacher was absent and unengaging at times, but that they were used to “self-study” in his lessons. The students also wanted more variation in the approaches taken by their teacher beyond purely student-centered ones. This paper advocates for a diversification of educational roles where both teachers and learners adopt and change between different roles depending on the particular situation. At the same time, the call for role shifts in the corpus-based education literature is criticized in favor of a change in discourse toward one of role diversification.
 
Digitalisation and Sustainable Work: obstacles and pathways: The wolf is coming or God's gift to mankind
No full textWork is a central part of our lives in many aspects. Half of our awake time is for most of us performed as paid work. At work, we create the values we need to live the life we desire. At work, we are socialized and shaped into the human beings we are. We are all concerned about how our work will be in the future; will we be able to handle the new technology or will we be replaced by a robot? Do we see the new technology as The wolf is coming or God's gift to mankind? This is an existential question and the future work is shaped here and now. This means that we need to get a picture of what is happening so we can act, but we also need a vision of where we want to go. Our mission as a researcher is to find the pathways to the Sustainable work, but in order to to find the way, we sometimes have to take on the role of the wolf and ask the uncomfortable questions
Sustainable work for health and job longevity
No full textWhile improved public health in groups with high or middle socioeconomic status (e.g. educational level) permits many to work for more years, the gap is widening for less advantaged groups, such as those with only compulsory level education. Within manual jobs, individual health status and the challenges of physical demands exceed the physical capacity of many middle-aged, and with a low bargaining power, constitute major threats to job longevity. Artificial intelligence and digitization are also rapidly transforming the labour market, especially for low-mid grade (level) white-collar workers. Young workers often have insecure job contracts, while older workers may have a permanent position but have a fear of leaving a safe position for a new one, and ultimately may be forced to leave their job when they are unable to meet the demands.
Current economic incentives to prolong working life – often combined with more restrictive unemployment and disability benefits – may overall increase work participation but may also decrease sustainability in the more disadvantaged part of the labour market.
Recent research suggests that unemployment is the most important factor behind lost working years among workers with less education, and that primary prevention focused on the work environment rather than individual health promotion (lifestyle habits), will enhance sustainability together with inclusive welfare systems. Resilience, or reduced vulnerability, in the workforce on a macro- and workplace level can be achieved by well-established societal measures
European approaches to sustainable work: introductory remarks
No full textIntroductory comment on background to the issue and the Swedish platform for sustainable work in EU Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and short presentation of the content and title of articles and contributors
The generative relationship between job quality, innovation, and employment
No full textRecent qualitative and quantitative research on the interrelationships between innovation, job quality and employment shows a strong association between job quality and product, process, and to a lesser extent organizational innovation. This is theorized as the interaction of two systems – job quality and innovation systems. Increased employment and improved job quality are found to result from innovation, while specific employment dimensions are found to impact innovation and job quality. Much of the evidence for this recursive interaction between innovation, job quality and employment derives from qualitative and quantitative studies carried out under the Horizon 2020 project QuInnE that specifically targeted these interrelations for analysis. Findings largely support the skill-biased technical change thesis, leading to the conclusion that while innovation tends to improve job quality, it will exacerbate societal inequalities. Strong evidence is also presented from several studies that higher innovation results from higher job quality, in line with previous research. None of these relationships are found to operate in a deterministic manner, and the actions of management, workers and the social partners play important mediating roles
Eurofound’s Reference Framework: Sustainable work over the life course in the EU
No full textDemographic change has triggered policy debates and responses across Europe. The need of keeping workers in employment longer is a consequence that requires rethinking new solutions for working conditions and career paths helping workers to retain their physical and mental health – as well as motivation and productivity – throughout an extended working life. Eurofound has titled the broad goal set out by this statement as ‘making work sustainable over the life course’. Identifying and analysing the factors and actions underpinning sustainable work throughout working life has been a research priority for Eurofound since 2013. In this article, the Eurofound reference framework of sustainable work is introduced and its components are discussed. In a first step, the rather expansive concept of sustainable work was illuminated by a framework that explains our approach and that has been used as reference point for a range of Eurofound research projects examining different aspects of sustainable work. Section 2 presents sustainable work outcome indicators on the societal and the individual level and provides some reflections of how those can be used jointly to map overall beneficial work environments for sustainable work. Section 3 investigates contextual factors such as infrastructures, workplace practices and job quality. The specific role of motivation is highlighted in section 4 based on empirical analysis. The paper closes with some conclusions and a policy outlook. 
The Shifting role role of unions in the social dialogue
No full textThe article deals with the declining union density and shrinking coverage of collective agreements in most EU/EES countries, in particular in Eastern Europe and Greece. In many countries, international organizations pushed through “structural reforms” weakening trade unions. The result is declining union density and decreased capacity to conclude sectoral collective agreements and avoid downwards derogations at company level. Even in some core eurozone countries have governments without much of social dialogue carried through “internal devaluation” to restore competitiveness. High union density (Finland) or high union mobilization capacity (France) could not prevent this development. The economic performance of a country and degree of globalization, including the absence of a national currency, appear to be more important. The Swedish (and Nordic) model of self-regulation, resting on negotiations between the labour market parties, contrasts sharply to French state regulation with its high frequency of state extension of collective agreements and minimum wages set by the state. Union density in Sweden is still among the highest in the world but has declined considerably the last twenty years, in particular among the rapidly growing share of foreign-born blue-collar workers. As a small, strongly export-dependent country dominated by large transnational groups, Swedish economy is very influenced by globalization. This has shifted the balance of power to the advantage of employers, and by that circumscribed the unions’ efforts to achieve developing jobs and improved working environment
Stressors at work and elsewhere: a global survival approach
No full textAbstract: The United Nations´ “Agenda 2030” aims, in an integrated manner, to address the entire multitude of major global risks – e.g., to end poverty and hunger, realize the human rights of all, and ensure the lasting protection of the planet and its natural resources. However, recent political changes put this bold initiative at risk. To increase the likelihood of success, higher education institutions worldwide should teach and train today´s students – tomorrow´s decision makers – to think both critically and ethically, to learn to cope with ethical dilemmas, and to apply systems-thinking approaches to serious and complex societal problems. The Covid-19 pandemic provides just one example of a complex and serious challenge necessitating such approaches. Promoting decent work, full employment and economic growth is one of the other major challenges. And neither of them can be successfully dealt with in a piecemeal manne
