scholarly journals University Performance Evaluation: The Business Of Research

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Ridgewell ◽  
Greg Tower
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Measurement Models ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Impact

The study examines the impact of national research assessment exercises for the visual arts discipline in a university structure.  It encompasses issues of evaluation, benchmarking, performance management, performance indicators and explanatory factors.  We find that whilst the definition of research is broad enough to include most of the activities of visual arts academia. The actual operationalisation of the measurement models may well exclude many current activities.  The need to clearly demonstrate quality peer review is the largest hurdle.  Analysis is also made of the impact of a ‘national research quality assessment exercise’ such as the New Zealand and UK initiatives (Tertiary Education Commission. 2004; RAE, 2001).  Whilst visual arts academia research performance activity was ranked low in both countries, we find that their position on the need for quality and peer assessment offers a potentially broader and more accurate depiction of activity.  Obtaining a balanced broader assessment of both traditional performance measures such as research publications along with the more creative elements of visual arts such as exhibitions is paramount. The national assessment exercises show that visual arts academics are struggling to compete with their academic brethren in other disciplines.  We argue the need for national assessment exercises engenders an acceptable peer review system to better assess their broad research activities for non-traditional areas. We also make calls for more research presentation training for the visual arts discipline to assist them in the recognition of quality research productivity.  The implementation of a national research assessment system which focuses more on quality output and outcome measures instead of input measures such as research income will engender this debate.

scholarly journals Benchmarking: An International Comparison

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Tower ◽  
Brenda Ridgewell
Keyword(s):  
Visual Arts ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The study examines the impact of national research assessment exercises for the accounting and visual arts disciplines. Analysis is also made of the impact of a national research quality assessment exercise of New Zealand and UK initiatives (Tertiary Education Commission. 2004; RAE, 2001) and well as the proposed Australian RQF (2005). We find that whilst the definition of research is broad enough to include most of the activities of accounting and finance, and visual arts academia the actual measures of research performance may be problematic. The need to clearly demonstrate quality peer review is the largest hurdle especially for visual arts academics with their individualist and independent mindset. Whilst visual arts and, accounting and finance academia research performance activity was ranked low in both the UK and NZ, we conclude that that the focus on output quality and peer assessment offers a potentially broader and more accurate depiction of activity. Obtaining a balanced broader assessment of both traditional performance measures such as research publications of accounting and finance along with the more creative elements of visual arts such as exhibitions is paramount. We also make a call for more research training for both disciplines to assist them in the recognition of quality research productivity.

scholarly journals Pay Peanuts and Get Monkeys? Evidence from Academia

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Boyle
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Academic Salary ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In most countries, academic pay is independent of discipline, thus ignoring differences in labor market opportunities. Using some unique data from a comprehensive research assessment exercise undertaken in one such country -- New Zealand -- this paper examines the impact of discipline-independent pay on research quality. I find that the greater the difference between the value of a discipline's outside opportunities and its New Zealand academic salary, the weaker its research performance in New Zealand universities. The latter apparently get what they pay for: disciplines in which opportunity cost is highest relative to the fixed compensation are least able to recruit high-quality researchers. Paying peanuts attracts mainly monkeys.

scholarly journals The Effect of TUBITAK’s R&D and Project Fundings on Academic Research Activities

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
emine beyza satoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Private Universities ◽  
Research Capacity ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Technological Research Council ◽  
The Impact

Universities, through providing research, publications and innovations in the scientific field, provide significant contributions to the national research and development (R&D) system. That is why most governments are keen to support scientific research activities directly or indirectly. In this regard, this paper aims to analyze the impact of R&D supports of TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) on the research performance of universities in Turkey. The study comparatively investigates the efficiency of the research fundings in different university types, public and private. As an empirical model, a panel data analysis spanning 2013 to 2018 period has been used for the top 10 public and top 11 private universities. Our findings prove that national research grants of TUBITAK have a significant and positive impact on academic research only when the highest-ranking universities are analyzed; otherwise, the impact is insignificant. Secondly, for the large sample analysis, we found that public universities used research funds more efficiently compared to private universities. Furthermore, our findings prove that teaching load does not necessarily risk the research capacity of a university.

scholarly journals The spectacle of research assessment systems: insights from New Zealand and the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1219-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikram Chatterjee ◽  
Carolyn J. Cordery ◽  
Ivo De Loo ◽  
Hugo Letiche
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Impact

PurposeIn this paper, we concentrate on the use of research assessment (RA) systems in universities in New Zealand (NZ) and the United Kingdom (UK). Primarily we focus on PBRF and REF, and explore differences between these systems on individual and systemic levels. We ask, these days, in what way(s) the systemic differences between PBRF and REF actually make a difference on how the two RA systems are experienced by academic staff.Design/methodology/approachThis research is exploratory and draws on 19 interviews in which accounting researchers from both countries offer reflections on their careers and how RA (systems) have influenced these careers. The stories they tell are classified by regarding RA in universities as a manifestation of the spectacle society, following Debord (1992) and Flyverbom and Reinecke (2017).FindingsBoth UK and New Zealand academics concur that their research activities and views on research are very much shaped by journal rankings and citations. Among UK academics, there seems to be a greater critical attitude towards the benefits and drawbacks of REF, which may be related to the history of REF in their country. Relatively speaking, in New Zealand, individualism seems to have grown after the introduction of the PBRF, with little active pushback against the system. Cultural aspects may partially explain this outcome. Academics in both countries lament the lack of focus on practitioner issues that the increased significance of RA seems to have evoked.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is context-specific and may have limited applicability to other situations, academics or countries.Practical implicationsRA and RA systems seem to be here to stay. However, as academics we can, and ought to, take responsibility to try to ensure that these systems reflect the future of accounting (research) we wish to create. It is certainly not mainly or solely up to upper management officials to set this in motion, as has occasionally been claimed in previous literature. Some of the academics who participated in this research actively sought to bring about a different future.Originality/valueThis research provides a unique contextual analysis of accounting academics' perspectives and reactions to RA and RA systems and the impact these have had on their careers across two countries. In addition, the paper offers valuable critical reflections on the application of Debord's (1992) notion of the spectacle society in future accounting studies. We find more mixed and nuanced views on RA in academia than many previous studies have shown.

scholarly journals The Influence of University Teachers' Scientific Research Pressure on Scientific Research Performance, Job Satisfaction, Mediation and Adjustment of Emotional Intelligence

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Wei Guorong
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Research Management ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

How the research pressure of university teachers affects scientific research performance is an important issue in the current development of university teachers and scientific research management. On the basis of literature research, the relationship between job satisfaction and emotional intelligence as intermediaries and adjustment variables was introduced into the relationship between scientific research pressure and scientific research performance, and empirical research was conducted in the form of questionnaires. The following conclusions were drawn: Higher research pressure; scientific research pressure will have a certain negative impact on scientific research performance; scientific research pressure affects scientific research performance through job satisfaction intermediary; emotional intelligence can effectively positively regulate the impact of scientific research pressure on scientific research performance. On this basis, it puts forward some countermeasures to reduce stress sources, optimize scientific research and assessment system, improve salary and treatment, and cultivate emotional intelligence.

scholarly journals Integrated Reporting Implementation and Core Activities Disclosure in UK Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Mahalaxmi Adhikariparajuli ◽  
Abeer Hassan ◽  
Mary Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Performance Indicator ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Through integrated reporting (IR) and integrated thinking (IT), higher education institutions (HEIs) can engage future students, staff and other key stakeholders. This paper examines the impact of IR framework implementation on core activities disclosure within the UK HEIs. In particular, the authors explore the influence of the integrated thinking approach, intended to enhance the extent of the IR content elements, teaching and learning, internationalisation and research activities disclosure. The study is based on the annual reports of 123 UK HEIs over 3 years—2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18. Consistent with the predictions of legitimacy theory and the integrated thinking approach, the results show the extent that integrated reporting content elements and HEIs core activities disclosure practices have increased over the study period. The results also indicate that adoption of the IR framework, league table ranking position, key performance indicator reporting, size, research quality and graduate prospects all have significant positive influences on HEIs core activities disclosure. Based on the findings, the recommendations are that UK HEI governing and other regularity bodies, such as British Universities Finance Director Groups, Leadership Foundation in Higher Education and the Higher Education Funding Council, should consider development of voluntary integrated reporting guidelines and a core activities disclosure framework.

scholarly journals The visible hand of research performance assessment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Hamann
Keyword(s):  
Research Performance ◽  
Performance Assessments ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
Research Quality ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Research Assessment Exercise ◽  
Research Staff ◽  
Visible Hand

Far from allowing a governance of universities by the invisible hand of market forces, research performance assessments do not just measure differences in research quality, but yield themselves visible symptoms in terms of a stratification and standardization of disciplines. The article illustrates this with a case study of UK history departments and their assessment by the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research Excellence Framework (REF), drawing on data from the three most recent assessments (RAE 2001, 2008, REF 2014). Symptoms of stratification are documented by the distribution of memberships in assessment panels, of research active staff, and of external research grants. Symptoms of a standardization are documented by the publications submitted to the assessments. The main finding is that the RAEs/REF and the selective allocation of funds they inform consecrate and reproduce a disciplinary center that, in contrast to the periphery, is well-endowed with grants and research staff, decides in panels over the quality standards of the field, and publishes a high number of articles in high-impact journals. This selectivity is oriented toward previous distributions of resources and a standardized notion of “excellence” rather than research performance.

scholarly journals The Impact of PISA Studies on the Italian National Assessment System

2014 ◽  
pp. 249-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando Arzarello ◽  
Rossella Garuti ◽  
Roberto Ricci
Keyword(s):  
Assessment System ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
The Impact

Maximizing the Benefits of TCS Partnerships

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Burns
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Financial Benefits ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ongoing Dialogue ◽  
Communication Path

TCS (the Teaching Company Scheme) provides a mechanism whereby a programme of work can be undertaken jointly between industrial and academic partners by a TCS Associate. The main objective is that benefits will accrue to all three primary stakeholders; the company, the Associate and the higher education institution. The advantages to the company and the Associate from participating in such a collaborative venture are readily identifiable and this paper sets out to discuss what benefits can be obtained from the university's point of view, and how these may be maximized. The paper looks at the impact of TCS programmes on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, research activities and research assessment, staff development and new course generation and validation. In addition, grant budgets are discussed and financial benefits to the university identified. Finally, it is emphasized that a major outcome of a TCS programme is that it creates a communication path between industry, government agencies and academic institutions. Without such ongoing dialogue, collaboration cannot take place.

Human capital loss in an academic performance measurement system

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Martin-Sardesai ◽  
James Guthrie
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Measurement System ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Performance Measurement System ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of academic human capital (HC) towards a university’s research performance measurement system (PMS), in response to a national research assessment exercise (RAE). Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on a subset of the data from a large mixed method case study research project about the impact of ERA on an Australian public sector university. Findings The findings reveal that the research PMSs were designed, implemented and used as a tool to measure and manage the research performance of HC within the university. The case study university performed well in the RAE. However, this also led to several unintended consequences in the form of fear and anxiety, gaming and strategic initiatives, a focus on quantity and not the quality of research, and increased workload, which led to a loss in the stock of HC. Practical implications This empirical evidence can inform governments and policy makers of the unintended consequences of government research evaluations on academic HC. University managers could improve the design of HC management systems by not only measuring academic HC performance, but also providing training and resources to enhance, support and maintain the overall well-being of academics. Originality/value This study provides insights regarding the connection between a university’s PMS and academic HC and contributes to the academic literature on intellectual capital and PMSs.

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