Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

No abstract

This research is aimed at analyzing the problem involved in reconciling work and family based on the experience of 10 women who hold management positions in two Chilean universities. A qualitative research approach and a semi-structured interview as the data collection technique were applied. The analysis of the results was performed by means of the procedures proposed by the Grounded Theory, identifying some elements that condition the balance between work and family responsibilities of the academic faculty interviewed. The main conclusion of the study proposes that the non-existence of policies and explicit institutional strategies for reconciliation force women in university executive positions to turn to the private sector for the support needed to carry out their jobs, becoming a barrier that conditions the professional life of the study subjects. Moreover, this aspect represents an important challenge for the strengthening of the universities’ internal social responsibility through concrete actions that allow people who work in these institutions to be able to find a balance between their work and family roles.

This research analyzes the behavior of 50 variables related to corporate social responsibility in the area of communication of every Spanish university. To this aim, more than 25,0000 twits sent by the Twitter accounts of said universities—both private and public—were analyzed. Several different algorithms were applied to measure the frequency of concepts linked to the semantic universe of corporate social responsibility. The results reveal an unequal presence of these terms in the universities’ outgoing messages and an alarmingly reduced median, which leads us to conclude that these concepts are not part of these institutions’ outgoing communication. Based on this, future lines of research, as well as a unique system of university social responsibility indicators are proposed.

Two of the main indices used when doing a psychometric analysis of a performance test are the index of difficulty and the index of discrimination. These indices become indicators of the quality of a test as long as they are within acceptable ranges. This has two consequences, first the determination of the formula for the calculation of the indices, and secondly, the interpretation of them according to certain standards. This work shows the way how these indices are determined and related, as well as the way in which the discrimination rule influences the valuation of the test. Recommendations are also proposed for the use of both indices based on the analysis performed.

University Social Responsibility (USR) is the ethical and transparent management of the administrative, educational, cognitive and social processes carried out by a higher education institution. More and more universities are practicing USR not only in Latin America but also in the United States and Europe, in order to reduce the negative impacts their daily operations can have on different stakeholders and on a macro level on society, the economy, and the environment. However, despite existing knowledge in the implementation of USR in Latin America and the Caribbean, there are few empirical studies that analyze the positions of diverse internal stakeholders regarding USR practices mainly in the Caribbean. Therefore, this study analyzes the perspectives of the internal stakeholders in social responsibility initiatives and processes at a private university in Puerto Rico. A total of 533 participants (356 students, 99 administrative staff, and 78 faculty members) were interviewed and were given a questionnaire, which evaluated the following areas: responsible campus, professional and citizenship education, social knowledge management, and social participation. Overall, the internal stakeholders’ perceptions were consistent among the three groups. It can be observed that the various internal stakeholders are aware of what it means—in theory, and in practice—, to be a socially-responsible university, although they also recognize opportunities for improvement and future challenges regarding USR. The results of this study contribute to the literature, to the application of conceptual models—mainly from the perspectives of internal stakeholders—and to the importance of evaluating USR practices.

This paper looks into the lack of single and specific indicators in relation to university social responsibility, and into the limitations of models for the preparation of sustainability reports applied to universities. It begins with an analysis of the growing importance of University Social Responsibility and the reasons why it is considered appropriate to create a specific model for universities that produce sustainability reports. This research is limited to a case study of the processes carried out by two universities in Barcelona to adapt the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to their own organizational reality, detailing the creation process of new indicators that should make possible the production of higher-quality sustainability reports, given the fact that they are more in line with the university reality. The initial results for the indicators’ adaptation are presented, and some lines of discussion are suggested to promote the universities’ participation in the creation of a unitary framework that would allow the evaluation of performance towards continuous improvement.

This article presents an experience carried out at Universidad de Cadiz, which was part of the 2017/2018 call for proposals for Guaranteed Interventions for Teaching Improvements of said university where the project “The student body and the production of knowledge. Organization of conferences on childhood, citizenship, and school.” was approved. The project aims to raise awareness among university students about the needs, rights, and responsibilities of childhood, through the teaching and learning processes taking place in the classroom. Additionally, in the area of University Social Responsibility, it aims to introduce students to one of the paths offered by the University to intervene in matters related to childhood: the organization of conferences on citizenship, childhood, and education for peace and non-violence. This way, the project represents a teaching innovation strategy that relates transfer of knowledge, the academic ethical dimension, and university social commitment. This article presents the organizational structure of the proposal in a Childhood Education undergraduate program classroom.

Based on a previous model of faculty digital competence in higher education, a mixed sequential study (QUAN+QUAL) was carried out. A multi-stage design is applied to a study focused on detecting needs according to two of the study's objectives: to identify current competences and to establish-prioritize training needs. The population of the study refers to the faculty of university institutions in the Metropolitan Area of Valle de México. A sample of 20 institutions (11 public, 9 private) participates, with 247 professors involved. The results point out to a mid-low mastery of the digital competences corresponding to the teaching role (planning, development, and delivery of learning experiences, and evaluation with the support of ICTs). Next are the digital competences related to research and professional development supported on the ICTs. The digital competences in which the Mexican university faculty is most proficient are those that are linked to the commitment and social responsibility of professors with the use of ICTs. It is concluded that there are priority training needs in line with the mid to low level of mastery of competences.

The 2015 UNESCO’s call for the conceptualization of Higher Education (HE) as a common good opens doors to a new perspective for the understanding and search of a solution to a set of problems stemming from its increasing privatization. For this call not to remain as a mere speech and be able to produce a real transforming impact, it needs to reflect on the theoretical and practical implications of this new way of conceptualizing HE. A new theoretical framework and practical tools need to be built so as to migrate from the current forms of HE governance, designed to manage a public good, towards the specific forms of governance of common goods. This document discusses UNESCO’s call as having a solid theoretical foundation, for which a bibliographical review on the theory of the common goods is performed, demonstrating that Higher Education can be, indeed, considered as such. This work reflects, also, on the impact of this re-conceptualization on the governance of HE and on the changes to be introduced to it. This work concludes suggesting that the theoretical and methodological framework of University Social Responsibility contributes a base on which to build those changes.

This article describes the profile of the entrepreneur from an academic perspective, for its subsequent comparison with the way in which these skills are developed in the Specialization in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Degree (iNNoVaNDiS Program) of Universidad de Deusto at its San Sebastian campus (Spain). This program develops and promotes entrepreneurial behavior among all students in campus, working on knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and emotions related to it. The article shares the bases and philosophy of the program. It also contrasts the previous bases vis a vis the alumni of the said program (48 students: 54% men and 46% women) discussing what has meant for them to participate in iNNoVaNDiS. The answers obtained from these individuals who are currently working in different countries, sectors, and positions allows to identify which of the competences that are worked in the program are most valued by the labor market.