The debate on Sociology in basic education in Brazil refers to the clash experienced by the figure of the narrator in medieval Europe by enabling individuals to become aware of a distant reality through the narrative whose content had meaning and distanced itself from common sense, but society Capitalist industrialism created an urban and increasingly individualized way of life in which facts became disposable when presented in the information format that made up the modern press. A similar situation finds Sociology in high school when faced with technological innovations that reiterate the immediacy of social relations in our daily lives.
Open universities (OUs) have been at the forefront of educational technology. Designed as innovative and flexible organizations, they have proven instrumental to assure the consolidation of research, innovation and quality practice in distance and online education. Inspired by the impact of open education and MOOCs, traditional higher education institutions began embracing technology-enhanced learning and online education. The growing competition from these universities, as well as of new non-formal providers, have resulted for the OUs in the decrease in student numbers, especially in Europe and North America. With the closing down of campuses due to Covid-19, this growing movement was noticeably accelerated. As higher education prepares for the new normal, how may the European OU remain socially relevant and competitive? Are they still indispensable for assuring quality education opportunities for all, as a growing number of critics question? In this paper we analyse the impact of the pandemic on European OU, discuss possible strategies to meet the challenges of a rapidly transforming higher education landscape, and identify potential trends and models for future development.
WOS: 000380030700008 ; Much of the literature and the academic discussion about institutional strategic planning of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) has been centred on the U.S. context. Literature on MOOCs in Europe is still developing and just recently some empirical studies were conducted. However, these studies are not comparable, and it is hard to learn about differences between regions and types of educational institutions. Given the very different institutional, political and cultural contexts, it is interesting to analyse how in these two different regions Higher Education institutions (HEIs) are responding to the challenges of the MOOC phenomena and are integrating it in their own strategic planning. The current research presents the first attempt to conduct a comparative study of institutional MOOC strategies in Europe and U.S. It is based on a survey launched by the EU-funded HOME project and compares results with a similar survey conducted in U.S. Results show that there are significant differences in how the U.S. and European HEIs understand the impact of massive open education and also how they perceive the efficiency of digital education and online learning. ; European Union [543516-LLP-1-2013-1-NL-KA3-KA3NW] ; This research is conducted as part of the European Union-funded project HOME - Higher education Online: MOOCs the European way (Ref. 543516-LLP-1-2013-1-NL-KA3-KA3NW). We would like to thank all project partners for their contributions. However, sole responsibility for this article lies with the authors, and both the Commission and the HOME partners are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
We investigate and compare the spatial distribution of manufacturing activity and its determinants in Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal using comparable, exhaustive micro-level data sets. We find some similarities between Portugal and Belgium, but little for Ireland. Moreover, there is some evidence that forward and backward linkages, R&D activity, and labour market pooling of skilled labor can be important determinants of agglomeration, although this crucially depends on the country examined.
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the direct and combined impacts of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and conservative orientation (CO) on perceived business performance (PBP) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under strategic-hybrid orientation (SHO) theory.
Design/methodology/approach The data collected from the SABI NEO international database has 90 companies in 13 medium-to-high and high-tech activity sectors. The authors used partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the research model.
Findings Business strategies match a SHO that includes both orientations, i.e. EO and CO. Moreover, as expected, the authors found evidence that each orientation produces performance-related sign-opposite significant impacts. Finally, the hypothesis regarding the positive synergistic effect of both orientations (EO and CO) on PBP was also supported.
Research limitations/implications One stems from the study's cross-sectional nature, requiring a longitudinal approach. Another one resides in the absence of further examinations concerning multigroup analysis. Another restraint is the limitedness of data, focused on firms with med/high-tech intensity. For last, while the use of results in the initial stages of theory development can be beneficial, it is important to note that such results cannot be simply extrapolated or generalized to other industrial sectors without careful consideration of the contextual factors at play.
Social implications This study humbly endeavours to contribute to the finality of SMEs' more steady and prosperous existence concerning the consciousness of the need to improve labour stability and wage fairness, conditions such as requiring a continuous commitment.
Originality/value In this study, the authors aimed to investigate the impact of SHO on SMEs' PBP. To this end, the authors simultaneously used two different strategic orientations (SOs): EO, which is widely studied in the literature, and CO, which has been less researched. The authors also examined their synergistic effects on PBP. The authors' approach is based on Venkatraman's strategic orientation of business enterprises model and the comparative paradigm of SOs.
