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Information technology (IT) is so much the fabric of the university that its presence is often not fully recognized. The focus in the IT organization has shifted from a tactical to a strategic perspective. With the demand for IT only growing, understanding how IT leaders can best lead in these efforts is essential. In early 2014, EDUCAUSE and Jisc came together to address a common concern: understanding the skills required by technology leaders in higher education was an issue often overlooked and one needing immediate attention. The two organizations convened a working group of 10 leading US and UK IT leaders to define a set of desired technology leadership characteristics and capabilities, now and in the future. This report identifies 10 key roles played by the IT leaders, describes what each of these roles entails, and outlines the essential skills required to perform them.

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In this paper, the author seeks to explore the links between employers and unions using the partnership between British Telecommunication (BT) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU). The paper also examines the role played by CWU in facilitating and promoting workplace learning. The paper begins by briefly setting out the context of partnership within which workplace learning has emerged at BT. A closer look at workplace learning and why it has been accepted and promoted by management and trade unions follows. The BT case study is then outlined and the role of key players is analysed in detail. The paper finds that, while the case study has proved workplace learning worthwhile in this particular context, sustained commitment of leaders and key players is required for the continuing success of workplace learning.

The complete volume, with papers from sections 1-5 listed, is indexed at TD/TNC 71.26; the complete volume, with papers from sections 6-10 listed, is indexed at TD/TNC 71.27; selected individual papers are indexed from TD/TNC 71.28 to TD/TNC 71.75. Show less

This case study investigated an in-company women’s network with the mission of improving recruitment, retention, and advancement of women. The network was unsuccessful in improving women’s standing in the organization due to the nature of the women’s participation and the resilience of the patriarchal culture. The network was impaired by its members’ attitudes, awareness of gendered power relations, and participation. The network was also thwarted by the resiliency of the patriarchal organization culture. Study conclusions include that networks may serve to reproduce patriarchy, not erode it; the level of gender consciousness impacts on network participation and commitment; and network success is impacted upon by organization culture. Networks’ viability as an [human resource development] HRD intervention is assessed.

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This study intended to explore options for strengthening adult literacy education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) through community partnerships. The aim is to identify strategies for developing partnerships between adult literacy providers and community organisations as a way of bringing about a greater take-up of literacy learning. The project involved: reviewing and documenting barriers to access to literacy services for disadvantaged groups; exploring the extent to which community organisations could and did promote access to literacy services among their service users; developing models of collaboration in service delivery that would improve access to, and take-up of, literacy services; and recommending models of service provision that would assist service users to access literacy services. Show less

In this report, the author begins from the premise that the informal employment sector should be recognised by government policies on economic and social development, education and training. As well, it is suggested that this sector has not received sufficient attention from researchers in the fields of employment, education and training. The study reported here, based on case studies of Southern Indian non-government organisations (NGOs) seeks to understand the ways in which skills are developed in the informal sector and how workers are trained, if at all. Skill transfer cases which combine social and technical learning processes are mapped with a view to drawing lessons for formulating policy and programs. A central argument of the study is that the concepts of skill development, capacity enhancing and training may need to be reformulated for the informal sector. Show less

Demographic change as well as pressure from the European Union and national government are forcing organisations to change age-discriminatory [human resource management] HRM approaches. Based on a qualitative analysis of eight British and German organisations, [the authors] found that commitment, scope, coverage and implementation of age management differ due to country-specific institutions, particularly government, in nudging employers and unions to preferred age practices. This confirms the path dependency concept suggested by institutional theory. Nevertheless, [the authors] also found that industry-specific factors mediate the implementation of age management, leading to some convergence across countries. This indicates that organisations deviate from the institutional path to implement practices that they deem important. Show less

The aim of this chapter is 'to confront a number of prevailing theories and ideas about learning in organisations with the growing body of empirical research in that field'. Four topics from recent empirical research into work and learning programs are discussed: tuning learning programs to the work and to the organisation; work and learning in groups; learning programs in different work contexts; and views and perceptions of actors. The conclusions from empirical research include: the methods applied by training professionals do not contribute much to tuning learning programs to work and do not explain much of the variance in training effectiveness; there is little evidence to suggest that learning and working in groups is actually on the rise; the organisation of work shows diversity with a tendency for increasing collaboration of workers, although there is also evidence of developments towards individualisation and standardisation; while there are different learning programs in different work contexts, the relationship between work type and learning programs is ambiguous; and there is a wide variety of ideas and developments in the field of corporate learning which should be allowed for in theory. The chapter concludes that 'theories and concepts are quite remote from actual developments in companies and from the views and needs of managers and workers' and that 'multiple research strategies including action research and field experiments should be applied to produce more practically relevant knowledge'.

The volume from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/IRD 88.430; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 86.413 to TD/TNC 86.427. Show less

The authors examine perceptions that young people hold regarding their participation in community-based youth programs. Specifically, this study assesses young people’s sense of psychological safety, their relationships with adult staff, their learning of social skills, and how different ethnic groups experience these factors. Data for the study come from a national evaluation study of youth programs. Participants in this study include 272 White, 100 Asian or Pacific Islander, 61 African American, and 57 Hispanic youth. The results indicate that African American youth are more likely to feel psychologically safe and to have positive relationships with adult staff compared to the other youth. In addition, with the exception of African American youth, the associations between feeling safe and having positive relationships with adult staff and perception of learning social skills were significantly related. The possible explanations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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CEET has been in existence since 1992, and has operated jointly with the Australian Centre for Educational Research (ACER) since 2004. As there has been no comprehensive review of CEET's performance and operations, it was agreed that such a review would be undertaken. It consists of two stages, the first being this paper, which provides a self review, to be followed by a stage two review by an external panel.

This paper consists of five sections: (1) an overview of CEET's strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities; (2) the organisational structure and governance; (3) staff; (4) funding; and (5) functions.

The paper concludes with a set of proposals relating to these areas. Show less

An informal working group comprised of members of Employers' Federations from seven European Union (EU) countries was established in 1999 to examine quality in primary and secondary education in their countries. This article reports the initial views of employers organisations from the seven EU countries on improving the quality of general education. The working group identifies a general consensus across the EU on the need for reform and the strong interest of employers in the direction the reforms should take. The issues raised highlight the importance of including vocational education and training as part of the learning framework and not in isolation from other types of education. The group recognises that reform in education is the domain of national governments but puts forward a series of proposals as a contribution to the debate on quality in schools. The article sets out a broad framework for school reform in the coming century. The proposals are presented in four sections examining the reasons for reform, what shape the reforms should take, how the reforms can be achieved, and who should take responsibility for their implementation. Show less