GiLE Journal of Skills Development
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Direct Outcomes and Win-Win Relationships Between University Careers Advisors and Graduate Recruiters
Full text linkThe purpose of our paper is to apply the state progress checklist from direct outcomes theory to a new domain of the university-to-work transition to mediate a dyadic win-win relationship between university careers advisors and graduate recruiters. The state progress checklist incorporates three endeavour elements - (i) potential, (ii) agendas, and (iii) effects; and nine themes - (i) resources, (ii) motivations, (iii) interactions, (iv) assumptions, (v) scenarios, (vi) plans, (vii) actions, (viii) outcomes, and (ix) reuses. The endeavour elements and themes are systematically applied to help envision, pursue, and achieve mutually beneficial relationships between both parties. The application of direct outcomes theory as a mediator of the relationship between university careers services and graduate recruiters offers synergy effects for both parties and helps overcome pre-existing barriers to collaboration and communication. Our paper applies the state progress checklist from direct outcomes theory to a new domain of the university-to-work transition to bridge research agendas across the education, vocational behaviour, and human resource management literature. We identify opportunities for university careers services and graduate recruiters to foster a win-win relationship by aligning their objectives and through the provision and receiving of support. These benefits subsequently transcend additional stakeholders, including university students, universities, and organisations. Moreover, Appendix 1 provides a summary sheet offering some potential questions for each of the nine themes across the three endeavour elements. These example questions are not meant to be an exhaustive list. Their purpose is to act as a starting point for discussion and action. The university careers advisors and graduate recruiters could initially work through this sheet separately before working through the sheet a second time collaboratively
Open Science as a Key Enabler of Development: Opportunity for Young Researchers and Widening Countries
Full text linkThe new European Research Area (ERA) policy paper with the Horizon Europe programme will change the continent’s Research and Innovation (R&I) ecosystems. With the support of several member states, decision-makers in European Institutions see Open Science as a key to a globally competitive European R&I system. Its success, however, also requires dedication from the national and local levels and a change in how researchers work. Interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches are becoming crucial in the new era of European research, while enhanced support and emphasis on connecting R&I leading and lagging countries can release new synergies. This article briefly introduces new tools and opportunities to help policymakers and young researchers increase their positive impact
The Echoes of Our Favourite Childhood Figures: Examining the Role of Disney in Lifelong Character Development Through Its Generational Fairy Tales
Full text linkSince its founding, Disney has become the symbol of values such as joy, magic, entertainment, and family in our lives through loveable stories, characters, and unique experiences. Disney also has had a significant impact on youth culture with its ability to appeal to universal human experiences through its versatile character portfolio. Disney\u27s recent tendency to reproduce their earlier success in modern adaptations (e.g., The Little Mermaid and Snow White coming in 2023) is the focus of this paper. It aims to examine the influence of Disney\u27s representation of the mechanisms of our world on youth character development by comparing the responses given for the ‘classic’ and the ‘modern’ versions. For this reason, in addition to explicit measures (survey), an Implicit Associations Test (IAT) was used to discover those attitudes which would generally be hidden from explicit methods of analysis due to their subversive nature (e.g., deep affective content like nostalgia). The analysis revealed a significant correlation between IAT-measured implicit attitudes and explicit measures of attitudes and behaviour toward modern and classic (our target) categories. The results also indicate the significance of these scenes (especially the childhood ‘classic’ ones) as they can form strong bonds with the young audience, affecting their preferences, values, worldview, and, thus, their character development
Are young graduates ready for the job market of the future? The study of the Italian case
Full text linkThe current paper presents the Italian results of the Project Erasmus + “21st Century Skills: Changing the Approach to Teaching in Higher Education” funded by the European Commission. The paper is aimed at presenting the work of Smarthink Ltd, as project partner, providing definitions, current research, and the best practices for teaching the ‘so-called’ soft skills among university students and fresh graduates in Italy, and to understand the employers’ perception of the owned and desired competencies among young employees. The study design was twofold. Firstly, desk research where major documents, national and international, were collected on the topic in Italy, and secondly, market research where a sample of entrepreneurs was interviewed in order to gather additional information on the level of development of these skills among young graduates and employees. Findings revealed that in Italy 21st Century Skills developed by young graduates are still few and that there are only a few examples of best practices to develop these competencies at the university level. In addition, employers testified that, while young graduates are usually well prepared in terms of the level of knowledge acquired during their studies, on the other side, they regularly lack practical skills and soft skills required by the marketplace. In conclusion, there is a broad and general need in Italy to improve these skills in order to make young people more employable, giving priority to skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and self-direction. For this reason, the role of institutions like universities becomes crucial in order to reach this goal
Key Considerations of Ethical Artificial Intelligence That Organisations Need to Consider for Success
Full text linkIt is argued that while Artificial Intelligence is far from having a consciousness like humans do, its consequences on society are minimal. Thus there is no rush to consider ethical issues. However, Artificial Intelligence applications are being implemented in almost every industry, imposing social unrest and upheavals for businesses. This paper aims to advocate for the importance and urgency of Artificial Intelligence ethics. This paper explores the different areas of ethics and then explains the concept of Artificial Intelligence ethics. A literature review is provided addressing four areas of Artificial Intelligence ethics that leaders must address if they are to win successfully in the industry in which they operate. These areas are biases, data security, explainability, and impact. A case study focusing on the fictional company Strategeion is examined to illustrate the complexities of an Artificial Intelligence system in which a potential candidate for a job was discriminated against because of an error in its learning system
Can Embedding Authentic Assessment Into the Curriculum Enhance the Employability of Business School Students?
Full text linkThe purpose of this paper is to explore whether embedding authentic assessment into the university curriculum can enhance the employability of business school students. Three research questions are addressed: (1) What is the rationale for authentic assessment in the curriculum?, (2) What are the opportunities for authentic assessment to enhance the employability of students?, and (3) What are the challenges of embedding authentic assessment into the university curriculum? The findings indicate that authentic assessment has the potential to increase the employability of students graduating from university business schools. The opportunity to develop human capital, collaborate with fellow students and solve real-world problems can help students to develop and signal their employability to prospective employers. However, lecturers and administrative staff require additional time to plan and deliver modules using this form of assessment. Students also need to be convinced of the benefits of the extra time investment if the module is not a compulsory component of their degree course. Our paper proposes that authentic assessment should be utilised to a greater extent by university business schools. The benefits of such an approach can transcend students, graduates, universities, organisations, and broader society. Directions for future research are also discussed to maximise the benefits of authentic assessment and seek to reduce the barriers to embedding authentic assessment in the curriculum
Switching to online learning: Using the flipped learning approach to deliver pre-sessional EAP remotely
Full text linkThis small-scale study investigates how the flipped approach to learning helped a UK university teaching team deliver the Pre-sessional English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course remotely during the pandemic. The study draws on the theoretical framework of the flipped approach to learning to explore the use of the approach in the Higher Education (HE) context. The study suggests that the flipped approach to learning may be helpful in the delivery of pre-sessional EAP courses remotely as it offers students opportunities to engage in communicative activities and encourages independent learning and autonomy, both of which are key practices in EAP. However, teachers may find the approach challenging if they cannot monitor students’ work or connect with them while completing the flipped activities. Only a few studies have focused on this issue to date. Further research involving more teachers and students is recommended to provide additional insights on this aspect of teaching remotely