Peter K. McGregor, Jason Birt, Kelly Haynes, Ruth J. Martin, Lawrence J. Moores, Nicola J. Morris, Brender Willmott and Andrew C. Smart
A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
A significant (8-18 per cent) proportion of higher education (HE) students in the UK are hosted by colleges. The quality of college HE provision has been questioned. The purpose of this paper is to present the case studies showing an HE ethos and student scholarship in a college environment from two levels of degree, three areas of science and contexts from submission to government consultations to tropical fieldwork, and from event organisation to volunteering.
Design/methodology/approach
Five case studies are presented, each of which was developed and delivered by a subset of the authors (see biographies for details). During delivery, individual staff developed opinions on the success of components of the approaches; these were discussed with co-deliverers, other authors/staff members and degree programme external examiners during the academic year. The information reported in this manuscript is a composite of these views.
Findings
All of the case studies were designed to have elements of HE ethos and student scholarship that contribute towards a high-quality student experience. The extensive links with potential employers and outside professionals help to ensure student engagement with real world issues and provide opportunities for individual enhancement, often through extracurricular activities.
Originality/value
The range of case studies presented here indicates the potential for engagement and enhancement in a college HE context; it also indicates the college-wide culture of progression and scholarship. Whilst the details are necessarily specific, the diversity of the case studies indicates the potential of the approaches outlined in other subjects.
Details
Keywords
Ian Colville and Laurie McAulay
There is a scene in a play by Euripides in which Medea, the central character, persuades Jason, her husband, to be the unwitting participant in her plot for revenge. This scene…
Abstract
There is a scene in a play by Euripides in which Medea, the central character, persuades Jason, her husband, to be the unwitting participant in her plot for revenge. This scene illustrates a facet of finance and accounting expertise because it shows how narrative, including finance and accounting, provides ontological security; a belief in the security of reality and the predictability of outcomes. The Chorus in the play suggests that Jason is “so sure of destiny”. What makes the scene particularly interesting is that it carries a second meaning, which is absolutely clear to the audience, and which has tragic consequences, of which Jason is “so ignorant”. This possibility of a second meaning suggests dangers in accepting a superficial understanding of any narrative. In turn, this shows the need for a knowledge of the history and characters from which any single scene, or finance and accounting report or calculation, is constructed. Provides quotations from practitioners which illustrate ways in which they see finance and accountancy as narrative and the ways in which they succeed and fail to imbue any accounting scene with characters and history.
Details
Keywords
Paul Grainge and Catherine Johnson
The purpose of this paper is to examine the professional culture of television marketing in the UK, the sector of arts marketing responsible for the vast majority of programme…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the professional culture of television marketing in the UK, the sector of arts marketing responsible for the vast majority of programme trailers and channel promos seen on British television screens.
Design/methodology/approach
In research approach, it draws on participant observation at Promax UK, the main trade conference and award ceremony of the television marketing community. Developing John Caldwell’s analysis of the cultural practices of worker groups, it uses Promax as a site of study itself, exploring how a key trade gathering forges, legitimates and ritualizes the identity and practice of those involved in television marketing.
Findings
Its findings show how Promax transmits industrial lore, not only about “how to do” the job of television marketing but also “how to be” in the professional field. If trade gatherings enable professional communities to express their own values to themselves, Promax members are constructed as “TV people” rather than just “marketing people”; the creative work of television marketing is seen as akin to the creative work of television production and positioned as part of the television industry.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is the exploration of television marketing as a professional and creative discipline. This is especially relevant to marketing and media academics who have tended to overlook, or dismiss, the sector and skills of television promotion.