scholarly journals The consistency and complexity of accounting terminology in Croatian higher education system

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-518
Author(s):  
Mateja Brozović ◽  
Sanja Sever Mališ ◽  
Ana Novak

Usually the most important role of language is to facilitate communication, which often proves challenging if the used terminology is inconsistent, complex or not understandable. These issues may especially affect specific language that is characteristic for a certain profession, particularly when the members of the profession communicate the message to the outsiders. Literature review suggests that the accounting terminology may sometimes be perceived as complex or incomprehensible, due to multiple changes and variations of accounting terms. Since there is a lack of research in the field of higher education, a research was conducted with the aim of analyzing accounting terminology used in the higher education institutions in Croatia. Both secondary and primary data were used in the analysis. The secondary data included accounting courses curricula of a sample of higher education institutions in Croatia, which were analyzed in order to explore the consistency of accounting terminology. In addition, the research was supplemented by collecting primary data using questionnaire on the attitudes of students about the complexity of accounting terminology. The analysis of accounting terms used in accounting courses curricula led to a conclusion that the analyzed courses, in most cases, are not harmonized regarding the terminology used. However, these results were expected from the previous research, that showed that the same applies for the Croatian regulatory accounting framework, which is why it was concluded that using different synonyms for the same accounting concepts may be beneficial for students. As for the students’ attitudes towards accounting terminology, the students who participated in the research mostly agree that the accounting courses often use different synonyms for the same concept. Although they perceive this as confusing, they are also aware that using multiple synonyms during courses for the same accounting concepts is useful because it serves as a preparation for practice. On the other hand, they mostly disagree with the statement that the accounting terminology is too complex and incomprehensible, which has proved to be influenced by the students’ characteristics, such as the type of study program enrolled, year of study, number of accounting courses attended, secondary school type and working experience. This research complements previous research conducted in Croatia in other areas where the accounting terminology is present, such as the legislation or in practice among business professionals, which is its main scientific contribution As for the practical implications, results of the research may serve as an indicator to educators and legislators in their future actions, since the potential problem of inconsistency and complexity of accounting terminology in courses' curricula are a direct consequence of inconsistency and complexity of terminology in accounting legislative.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCISCO D. S. LUNA ◽  
VIVALDO J. BRETERNITZ

ABSTRACT Purpose: To present the planning for the digital transformation of Brazilian higher education institutions (HEI) and to measure their degree of digital mastery, according to Westerman, Calméjane, Bonnet, Ferraris, and McAfee (2011). Originality/value: Some studies evaluate digital transformation and/or the degree of digital mastery carried out in HEI individually. However, those that assess them comparatively have not been identified, allowing to draw a baseline to assist managers in benchmarking processes. Design/methodology/approach: It is an exploratory, qualitative research, with field study, in which the secondary data were obtained through bibliographic and documentary sources and the primary data through semi-structured interviews. For this purpose, representatives of ten private HEI were interviewed using an instrument consisting of a script of questions. The content was analyzed according to the model of Bardin (2011) and supported by the tool Iramuteq. The findings served as an input for completing the digital mastery questionnaires. Findings: Elements identified in the research refer to the fact that the evaluated HEI have good maturity in their digital transformation processes. Such allegations could be verified from the evaluation of digital mastery, which found that most institutions have a good level of digitalization and that, despite having some limitations related to the development of digital and leadership skills, can be considered digital masters.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bokolo Anthony Jnr

Purpose This study aims to explore the current Green practices implemented in Malaysia higher education institutions toward sustainability attainment by developing a multi-disciplinary comprehensive policy framework to further extend the collaboration among sustainability practitioners in providing integrated data on Green indicators linked to economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability in higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach Primary data which comprises of sustainability archival documents from sixteen universities in Malaysia was used to explore the extent of Green practice for sustainability. In addition, this study also used secondary data from existing literature on sustainable development in Malaysia higher education institutional context. Findings Findings from the examined 16 universities and prior sustainability studies in Malaysia universities suggest that higher education institutions in Malaysia are presently implementing Green practices in their university campuses toward attaining sustainability. Research limitations/implications Qualitative data is only collected from higher education institutions in Malaysia. Hence, findings from this study cannot be generalized to universities in other countries. Practical implications This study provides insights toward infusing Green campus paradigms from a technological perspective to facilitate the exchange of information between sustainability practitioners to produce innovative solutions for addressing sustainability challenges. Social implications This research developed a policy framework that provides trans-disciplinary approach to be adopted by higher education institutions in Malaysia and further beyond toward attaining sustainability. Socially, this study provides Green indicators that act as a reference manual and road map toward sustainable development in higher education institutions. Originality/value A novel multi-disciplinary comprehensive policy framework is developed grounded on identified Green indicators integrated to provide information on how sustainability practitioners can implement Green practices paradigms across universities. Furthermore, the Green indicators can be used as metrics to provide data for Green practice measurement and monitoring in higher education institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 483
Author(s):  
Libena Tetrevova ◽  
Jan Vavra ◽  
Simona Munzarova

Higher education institutions play a fundamental role in the scientific, economic, social, and cultural development of each and every society. In view of new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of their social responsibility and ability to effectively communicate the socially–responsible activities which are performed is growing. The aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the scope and structure of socially-responsible activities communicated on the websites of public higher education institutions operating in a small post-communist country where education plays a traditional role—the Czech Republic, and to formulate recommendations for improvement of the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions. Primary data was obtained using latent analysis of the content of the websites of all public higher education institutions operating in the Czech Republic. The CE3SPA method was applied. The survey which was performed shows that the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions in the Czech Republic is low. Activities in the field of economic and social responsibility are communicated in the greatest scope. On the contrary, activities in the field of environmental responsibility are communicated the least. Public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic should therefore apply the measures proposed in the article, these also being transferrable to practice in other countries.


Author(s):  
Anom Bowolaksono ◽  
Fatma Lestari ◽  
Saraswati Andani Satyawardhani ◽  
Abdul Kadir ◽  
Cynthia Febrina Maharani ◽  
...  

Developing countries face various challenges in implementing bio-risk management systems in the laboratory. In addition, educational settings are considered as workplaces with biohazard risks. Every activity in a laboratory facility carries many potential hazards that can impact human health and the environment and may cause laboratory incidents, including Laboratory Acquired Infections (LAIs). In an effort to minimize the impact and occurrence of these incidents, it is necessary to evaluate the implementation of a bio-risk management system in every activity that involves handling biological agents. This study was conducted in an Indonesian higher-education institution, herein coded as University Y. This is a descriptive, semi-quantitative study aimed at analysing and evaluating the implementation of the bio-risk management systems used in laboratories by analysing the achievements obtained by each laboratory. The study used primary data that were collected using a checklist which referred to ISO 35001: 2019 on Laboratory Bio-risk Management. The checklist consisted of 202 items forming seven main elements. In addition, secondary data obtained from literature and document review were also used. The results show that out of 11 laboratories examined, only 2 laboratories met 50% of the requirements, which were Laboratory A and B, achieving good performance. Regarding the clauses of standards, a gap analysis identified leadership, performance evaluation, and support as elements with the lowest achievement. Therefore, corrective action should be developed by enhancing the commitment from management as well as improving documentation, policy, education and training.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Jyldyzbek Jakshylykov ◽  

The Kyrgyz higher education institutions are failing to meet the newly emerging challenges. Despite the efforts and jobs done, the effective results are not being achieved in the education and research sphere as desired. In this article, we give the examples of “Lean principles” implementations around the world as one of the solutions to the above mentioned challenge. In the last part of the article, we discuss a status quo of these principles in Kyrgyz higher education system.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald Ozee Fernandes ◽  
Balgopal Singh

PurposeThe higher education system has been entrusted globally to provide quality education, especially to the youth, and equip them with required skills and capabilities. The visionaries and policymakers of the countries around the world have been working relentlessly to improve the standard of the higher education system by establishing national and global accreditation and ranking bodies and expecting measuring performance through setting up accreditation and ranking parameters. This paper focuses on the review of Indian university accreditation and ranking system and determining its efficacy in improving academic quality for achieving good position in global quality accreditation and ranking.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed exploratory research approach to know about the accreditation and ranking issues of Indian higher education institutions to overcome the challenges for being globally competitive. The accreditation and ranking parameters and score of leading Indian universities was collected from secondary data sources. Similarly, the global ranking parameters and scores of these Indian universities with top global universities was explored. The performance gaps of Indian university in global academic quality parameter is assessed by comparing it with scores of global top universities. Further, each domestic and global accreditation and ranking parameters have been taken up for discussion.FindingsThe study identified teaching and learning, research and industry collaboration as common parameter in the accreditation and ranking by Indian and global accreditation and ranking body. Furthermore, the study revealed that Indian accreditation and ranking body assess leniently on parameters and award high scores as compared to rigorous global accreditation and ranking practice. The study revealed that “research” and “citations” are important parameters for securing prestigious position in global ranking, this is the reason Indian universities are trailing. The study exposed that Indian academic fraternity lack prominence in research, publication and citations as per need of global accreditation and ranking standards.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study is that it focused only on few Indian and global accreditation and ranking bodies. The future implication of this study will be the use of methodology designed in this study for comparing accreditation and ranking bodies’ parameters of different continents and countries in different economic development stages i.e. emerging and developed economies to know the disparity and shortcomings in their higher education system.Practical implicationsThe article is a review and comparison of national and global accreditation and ranking parameters. The article explored the important criteria and key indicators of accreditation and ranking that would provide an important and meaningful insight to academic institutions of the emerging economies of the world to develop its competitiveness. The study contributed to the literature on identifying benchmark for improving academic and higher education institution quality. This study would be further helpful in fostering new ideas toward setting up of contemporary globally viable and acceptable academic quality standard.Originality/valueThis is possibly the first study conducted with novel methodology of comparing the Indian and global accreditation and ranking parameters to identify the academic quality performance gap and suggesting ways to attain academic benchmark through continuous improvement activity and process for global competitiveness.


Author(s):  
Philip Altbach

India may finally open its doors to foreign higher education institutions and investment. India's higher education faces severe problems of capacity and quality. This lack of capacity will affect India's new open-door policy. It will be unable to adequately regulate and evaluate foreign institutions. Though the system needs systemic reform, it is impossible for foreigners to solve or even to make a visible dent in India's higher education system.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Van Deuren ◽  
Tsegazeab Kahsu ◽  
Seid Mohammed ◽  
Wondimu Woldie

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze and illustrate achievements and challenges of Ethiopian higher education, both at the system level and at the level of new public universities. Design/methodology/approach – Achievements and challenges at the system level are based on literature review and secondary data. Illustrative case studies are based on university data and interviews with university representatives. Findings – The Ethiopian higher education system has increased its enrollments substantially. The construction of 13 new universities that started enrolling students around 2007 contributed greatly to this achievement. Challenges accompanying this growth lie in funding, quality and quantity of staffing, teaching practices, research and community service, quality assurance and gender balance. Originality/value – The present study contributes to existing literature by describing case studies illustrating challenges and achievements in new public universities in Ethiopian higher education.


THE BULLETIN ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (390) ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Iryna Kalenyuk ◽  
Olena Grishnova ◽  
Liudmyla Tsymbal ◽  
Deniss Djakons

The key role of the education system in the formation of a knowledge society is raising the issue of improving its financing. In the face of new challenges and aggravation of global competition, the mechanism for financing the higher education system is being transformed. The need to increase funding is manifested in expanding financial sources and improving the management of various financial flows. Increasing the effectiveness of public funding is becoming an important issue, which remains the main source of financial revenues for institutions of higher education in countries of the world. A promising practice in the world is the use of funding based on the results of activity, which is becoming more widespread in various areas of economic activity. The purpose of this article is to study the current world-wide practice of applying results-based financing of higher education and defining promising directions for its implementation in Ukraine. The essence and features of RBF - Result Based Financing (RBF) method, including in the system of higher education, are revealed. The existing approaches to financing higher education institutions in the world based on results are systematized, the main criteria for their definition are identified: on the basis of inputs, process, output, output. The world practice of using higher education institutions financing based on the results, positive and negative consequences of its implementation is highlighted and summarized. The necessity of using RBF funding in the system of native education is proved, the main directions and areas of its use are determined. The application of a two-tier model of financing higher education institutions in Ukraine is proposed, which combines the traditional cost-oriented approach and funding based on the results of the activity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 413-427
Author(s):  
Erika Setyanti Kusumaputri ◽  
Hanifah Latif Muslimah ◽  
Adib Ahmad ◽  
Mayreyna Nurwardani

In the present era of globalisation, higher-education institutions are required to focus on innovation to deal with the various challenges. Considering what Islamic higher-education institutions in Indonesia, have achieved in recent times, they face an uphill struggle to compete at the global level. This study aimed at identifying and analysing the dynamics of resilience for globalisation in a state Islamic–University in Indonesia. The results of studies on the management of Islamic tertiary institutions, specifically on organizational resilience, are very difficult to find. This study used the qualitative analysis method of a case-study and comprised in-depth interviews with key people concerned with the management of the university, observation, and secondary data namely academic documents, photos, and information from the university’s official website. The findings showed the university’s continuous efforts to improve not only the academic community’s management skills, knowledge, and expertise but also the implementation of international-curriculum standardization and cooperation with overseas universities. These actions cannot be separated from obstacles faced by university from within and without particularly in terms of funding-related policies. The university’s program-based innovations which are yet to be carried out by other Islamic-universities in Indonesia indicate this institution’s initiative to break the obstacles.


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