1,720,994 research outputs found
The effectiveness of remedial courses: new evidence from undergraduate students in industrial engineering
No full textRemedial courses may support under-prepared candidates for higher education, but their effectiveness is still questioned especially in European countries, where their introduction is comparably recent. This paper implements a doubly robust estimator to account for heterogeneity between remedial and nonremedial students and possible noncompliance with the assigned remediation. Data on five cohorts of undergraduates in industrial engineering from an Italian university show average worse performances of remedial students. However, remedial students who complete the remedial path catch up in two years with the dropout rate of average nonremedial students and with the credits earned by the weakest nonremedial students
The return to recognition of prior learning: An analysis of the Portuguese case
Full text linkIn the first decade of this century subsequent Portuguese governments promoted two large programmes (RVCC Centres, 2001-2005, and Novas Oportunidades, 2006-2010) aimed at improving the educational qualifications of the adult population by means of an extended network of centres in charge of apprising prior and experiential learning. Based on the Quadros de Pessoal survey this paper assesses the wage return to the recognition of prior learning promoted by the RVCC Centres and the Novas Oportunidades programmes by means of DID-PSM estimates. The outcomes of the empirical analysis outline non-negative wage effects from participation in recognition of prior learning compared to traditional formal adult education. However, the path undertaken to upgrade individual qualification matters. Participation in recognition of prior learning under the RVCC Centres initiative resulted in no significant wage increases compared to formal adult education, whereas differentials became mostly positive and statistically significant under the Novas Oportunidades programme
The Effectiveness of Remedial Courses: The CAse of Undergraduate Students in Industrial Engineering
Full text linkUnder-preparation is one of the main causes behind poor academic performance by under-graduate students. Higher education institutions often launch remedial courses as an inclusive solution to help academically deprived freshmen fill their knowledge gaps. However, the substantial resources absorbed by remedial courses raise recurrent concerns about their suitability. This paper exploits 2012-2016 administrative data from a medium-size university in Northern Italy to appraise the effectiveness of the remedial courses undertaken by newly enrolled students in industrial engineering who fail to achieve the entry test cut-off score.
The outcomes of the empirical analysis provide an articulated picture. The two-year drop-out rate of students who successfully complete a remedial course is not statistically different from that of nonremedial students, whereas significant differences persist in the number of earned credits. However, in two years also this difference disappears when the control group restricts to students who could enrol in an undergraduate course without need for remedial education thanks to a performance just above the cut-off scor
Tecnologia, organizzazione e lavoro nella quarta rivoluzione industriale: due studi di caso comparati nel settore manifatturiero
Full text linkThis paper questions the existence of a one best way towards digitalisation by contrasting the success stories of two Italian middle-size manufacturing companies.
Both companies boast a history of excellence in technological innovation and in economic performance and recently launched important projects of digital transformation. However, one company seems to perceive digitalisation as a further step in the “traditional” sequence of efficiency-enhancing innovations aimed at substituting for human effort. In contrast, the other company frames digital technologies as means of stronger process integration, whose success is enabled by formal organisational tools in support of change management
Resilience, complexity, and digital transformation: Three case studies in the valves industry
Full text linkBased on on-site visits, interviews with managers, and available documents the cases studied in this paper provide successful examples of digital transformation. Our anal-ysis points out two main empirical findings. First, for all companies the digital trans-formation represents an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary process. Second, the successful firms examined confirm our research hypothesis by display-ing configurations of digital technologies that align with internal resilience level and external complexity
Learning in Networks of SMEs: A Case Study in the ICT Industry
No full textThis paper contributes to the debate on the participation of SMEs in voluntary business networks by framing the relationship between the different types of network-based learning. Learning about networking, which concerns the capability to set, manage, and terminate a strategic alliance, is opposed to learning by networking, which involves the sharing and the joint creation of technical knowledge. The proposed framework is tested in the case of a network of Italian SMEs in the ICT sector. Empirical evidence confirms that learning about networking enables learning by networking and helps to balance those tensions and conflicts that inevitably mark the existence of inter-firm networks. Learning about alliance management provides networked IT entrepreneurs with the capabilities to compete against larger competitors. As learning paths also drive the evolution of inter-firm alliances, networked entrepreneurs would benefit from choosing collective goals in line with their alliance management capabilities
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