title: How does culture impact on women's leadership in higher education? A case study in Vietnam

authors: Le, Ngan Thi Thuy

subjects: women

abstract: Whilst the subject of women and educational leadership is well documented internationally, research in this field is rare in Vietnam. This scarcity consolidates the commonly held belief that equity has been achieved in this country which masks the persistence of gender discrimination and social injustice. Drawing on the experiences of six women leaders, this study explored how culture shaped the way women led as well as their beliefs and perceptions about leadership in higher education in Vietnam. This qualitative research was conducted within a phenomenological theoretical framework which is concerned with people’s lived experience. Five out of six women leaders were Heads of Departments or Divisions at a technical university. They were personally interviewed in depth and the data gathered was analyzed using a thematic approach. The findings indicated that both the indigenous and organisational culture substantially influenced the female participants’ exercising of leadership and consequently contributed to the poor representation of women in senior positions. The women encountered more challenges in filling their roles when they were younger. Age appeared to be a very important factor in the practice of leadership in Vietnam. The women in this study were overwhelmed with huge workloads and domestic duties. The merit awards they strove for assigned them more responsibilities and made it harder for them to balance their work and other areas of life. In spite of these difficulties, the women could be proud of their leadership because of the democratic and transformational leadership styles they embraced. Traditional gender roles and socio-cultural norms together with the selection process and stereotypical tasks lowered the women’s self-confidence and career aspirations. This study indicates that to promote women’s progress and their representation in leadership positions, cultural change is necessary. This process will require the efforts and cooperation of many authorities, organisations and policy makers.

text: How does culture impact on women's leadership in higher education? A case study in Vietnam Whilst the subject of women and educational leadership is well documented internationally, research in this field is rare in Vietnam. This scarcity consolidates the commonly held belief that equity has been achieved in this country which masks the persistence of gender discrimination and social injustice. Drawing on the experiences of six women leaders, this study explored how culture shaped the way women led as well as their beliefs and perceptions about leadership in higher education in Vietnam. This qualitative research was conducted within a phenomenological theoretical framework which is concerned with people’s lived experience. Five out of six women leaders were Heads of Departments or Divisions at a technical university. They were personally interviewed in depth and the data gathered was analyzed using a thematic approach. The findings indicated that both the indigenous and organisational culture substantially influenced the female participants’ exercising of leadership and consequently contributed to the poor representation of women in senior positions. The women encountered more challenges in filling their roles when they were younger. Age appeared to be a very important factor in the practice of leadership in Vietnam. The women in this study were overwhelmed with huge workloads and domestic duties. The merit awards they strove for assigned them more responsibilities and made it harder for them to balance their work and other areas of life. In spite of these difficulties, the women could be proud of their leadership because of the democratic and transformational leadership styles they embraced. Traditional gender roles and socio-cultural norms together with the selection process and stereotypical tasks lowered the women’s self-confidence and career aspirations. This study indicates that to promote women’s progress and their representation in leadership positions, cultural change is necessary. This process will require the efforts and cooperation of many authorities, organisations and policy makers.

year: 2011

title: Experiences with starfield visualizations for analysis of library collections

authors: Sánchez, J. Alfredo

subjects: collections

abstract: This paper presents a qualitative and formative study of the uses of a starfield-based visualization interface for analysis of library collections. The evaluation process has produced feedback that suggests ways to significantly improve starfield interfaces and the interaction process to improve their learnability and usability. The study also gave us clear indication of additional potential uses of starfield visualizations that can be exploited by further functionality and interface development. We report on resulting implications for the design and use of starfield visualizations that will impact their graphical interface features, their use for managing data quality and their potential for various forms of visual data mining. Although the current implementation and analysis focuses on the collection of a physical library, the most important contributions of our work will be in digital libraries, in which volume, complexity and dynamism of collections are increasing dramatically and tools are needed for visualization and analysis.

text: Experiences with starfield visualizations for analysis of library collections This paper presents a qualitative and formative study of the uses of a starfield-based visualization interface for analysis of library collections. The evaluation process has produced feedback that suggests ways to significantly improve starfield interfaces and the interaction process to improve their learnability and usability. The study also gave us clear indication of additional potential uses of starfield visualizations that can be exploited by further functionality and interface development. We report on resulting implications for the design and use of starfield visualizations that will impact their graphical interface features, their use for managing data quality and their potential for various forms of visual data mining. Although the current implementation and analysis focuses on the collection of a physical library, the most important contributions of our work will be in digital libraries, in which volume, complexity and dynamism of collections are increasing dramatically and tools are needed for visualization and analysis.

year: 2005

title: The teaching, learning and testing of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand

authors: Tihema, Ngaire L. A.

subjects: tertiary educational institutions

abstract: Additional language teaching and learning is fraught with problems the world over and Aotearoa/New Zealand is not immune to these issues.  This doctoral research investigates current practices of teaching and learning te reo Māori (the Māori language) as an additional language in tertiary educational institutions and explores the appropriacy of measuring the language proficiency of speakers and learners of te reo Māori by using a variation of the C-test principle.  The first chapter (Chapter One) sets the context by providing an overview of post-colonial historical events in Aotearoa/New Zealand that led to a language shift which would result in many Māori learning te reo Māori as a second language.  The literature review (Chapter Two) provides an historical overview of additional language teaching methods and approaches since the 18th century and critiques some language teaching methods/approaches – found to be outdated, teacher-centred and/or too limited in scope – that are currently used to teach the Māori language in tertiary institutions.  The next two chapters report on responses from a questionnaire-based survey (Chapter Three) and semi-structured interviews (Chapter Four) with tertiary teachers of te reo Māori, which found that most teachers are largely untrained and unqualified in the area of additional language teaching and learning.  The chapter that follows (Chapter Five) provides an analysis of a textbook series – reported to be the most widely used Māori language resources in tertiary institutions – which was found to be largely influenced by an eclectic approach to textbook design that includes grammar translation and audiolingual methods.  For the next chapter (Chapter Six), the development of a particular type of Māori language proficiency test (variant C-test) is discussed, along with the findings and results of its trial, which was done, firstly, with a sample of highly proficient speakers of te reo and, secondly, with a small sample of second language learners of te reo, prior to a pilot of the test which was conducted with a second sample of tertiary learners of te reo Māori.  While analyses of test scores reveal that satisfactory reliability coefficients were obtained, more research is required, not only to investigate the validity of this particular C-test variant, but also to further explore the appropriacy of applying the (variant) C-test principle to measuring general Māori language proficiency.  This chapter (Chapter Six) concludes with a discussion of the questionnaire responses about the educational backgrounds, language backgrounds, motivations and attitudes of the samples of learners, approximately half of whom are additional language learners and the other half of whom have been raised with te reo Māori as (one of) their main language.  An overview of the research findings and its limitations is provided in the final chapter (Chapter Seven), along with potential contributions of the research and further recommendations for future research.  The challenge that each issue raised in this thesis places on teachers, students and the revitalisation movement of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions, is one which needs to be further explored and addressed.

text: The teaching, learning and testing of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions in Aotearoa/New Zealand Additional language teaching and learning is fraught with problems the world over and Aotearoa/New Zealand is not immune to these issues.  This doctoral research investigates current practices of teaching and learning te reo Māori (the Māori language) as an additional language in tertiary educational institutions and explores the appropriacy of measuring the language proficiency of speakers and learners of te reo Māori by using a variation of the C-test principle.  The first chapter (Chapter One) sets the context by providing an overview of post-colonial historical events in Aotearoa/New Zealand that led to a language shift which would result in many Māori learning te reo Māori as a second language.  The literature review (Chapter Two) provides an historical overview of additional language teaching methods and approaches since the 18th century and critiques some language teaching methods/approaches – found to be outdated, teacher-centred and/or too limited in scope – that are currently used to teach the Māori language in tertiary institutions.  The next two chapters report on responses from a questionnaire-based survey (Chapter Three) and semi-structured interviews (Chapter Four) with tertiary teachers of te reo Māori, which found that most teachers are largely untrained and unqualified in the area of additional language teaching and learning.  The chapter that follows (Chapter Five) provides an analysis of a textbook series – reported to be the most widely used Māori language resources in tertiary institutions – which was found to be largely influenced by an eclectic approach to textbook design that includes grammar translation and audiolingual methods.  For the next chapter (Chapter Six), the development of a particular type of Māori language proficiency test (variant C-test) is discussed, along with the findings and results of its trial, which was done, firstly, with a sample of highly proficient speakers of te reo and, secondly, with a small sample of second language learners of te reo, prior to a pilot of the test which was conducted with a second sample of tertiary learners of te reo Māori.  While analyses of test scores reveal that satisfactory reliability coefficients were obtained, more research is required, not only to investigate the validity of this particular C-test variant, but also to further explore the appropriacy of applying the (variant) C-test principle to measuring general Māori language proficiency.  This chapter (Chapter Six) concludes with a discussion of the questionnaire responses about the educational backgrounds, language backgrounds, motivations and attitudes of the samples of learners, approximately half of whom are additional language learners and the other half of whom have been raised with te reo Māori as (one of) their main language.  An overview of the research findings and its limitations is provided in the final chapter (Chapter Seven), along with potential contributions of the research and further recommendations for future research.  The challenge that each issue raised in this thesis places on teachers, students and the revitalisation movement of te reo Māori in tertiary institutions, is one which needs to be further explored and addressed.

year: 2018