Neuroscience, Mindfulness and Holistic Wellness Reflections on Interconnectivity in Teaching and Learning, Abstract Neuroscience offers insight into how we learn. Understanding how to leverage neural development pathways is of interest in teaching because the circuits in the brain respond to effective pedagogical practice; therefore, the role of the teacher is critical. Neuroscientific studies (Damasio in The feeling of what happens: body, emotion and the making of consciousness, Heinemann, London, 1999; Davidson et al. in Front Hum Neurosci, 2012; Discords et al. 2012; Doidge in The brain that changes itself, Viking Penguin, New York, 2007; Immordino-Yang and Damasio in Mind Brain Educ 1(1):3–10, 2007; Ramachandran in The tell-tale brain—a neuroscientist’s quest for what makes us human, W.W. Norton and Company Inc, New York, 2011; Siegal in Mindsight: the new science of personal transformation, Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks, New York, 2010) suggest that mindful practices can have beneficial impacts on brain development and learning. This paper examines the evolution of reading, writing and brain development, and analyzes the relationships with mindful pedagogical praxis. The role of emotions and the impact of stress on the brain and body are explored with regards to mindfulness, holistic development and wellness. With consideration of those relationships and impacts, the paper considers the potential applications of neuroscience and plasticity theories for curriculum, teaching and learning. This analysis supports a shift in pedagogical practice towards mindful praxis and its potential to play a pivotal role in leveraging brain plasticity toward holistic learning and overall wellness

Academic Freedom and Collegial Governance in the Context of an Increasingly Commercialized University

A Symposium on Academic Freedom and Collegial Governance in Sweden and Canada

Teaching Philosophy in Central Asia: Effects on Moral and Political Education Abstract This paper investigates how an introductory philosophy course influences the moral and political development of undergraduate students in a Liberal Arts university in Central Asia. Within a context of rapid changes characteristic of transitional societies—reflected in the organization of higher education—philosophy provides students with the means to reason about moral and political values in a way that overcomes the old ideological tenets as well as contemporary reluctance to theoretical inquiry. Studying philosophy provides a remedy for deficiencies in both secondary and higher education, by improving general reading and reasoning skills, that enable the development of moral reasoning. Furthermore, familiarity with major works of moral and political philosophy can help students comprehend the patterns of social change, as well as surmount the issue of unsatisfactory theoretical foundations for social science.

Public Health is Politics Abstract ‘Public health’ investigates the determinants of health, born during the Enlightenment in the seventeenth/eighteenth century. But ‘public health’ is also policies, aiming at the improvement of a population’s health. There is a mutual interchange between public health as science and as politics. A brief historical background is followed by an analysis of the impacts of political changes during the first two decades of the twenty first century in Sweden. In 2005, a policy document accepted by all political parties except for the Moderate Party highlighted socio-economic factors and structural reforms to decrease the health gaps in the population. The general election in September 2006 resulted in a new majority in the parliament and a center-right coalition government, including the Moderates and three parties that had approved of the 2005 document. In 2007 a “new public health policy” was introduced. Its priority lists stressed individual behavior and the new policy should be incentives to work instead of “allowances”. The Public Health Institute got instructions in accordance with the new policy. The ten years following this policy change has seen public health policies and attitudes to research shifting almost year by year. The new policy met a counter-stream from the very beginning. Influenced by Michael Marmot’s WHO Commission on health inequalities, regional commissions started in Sweden, Recommendations how to decrease social health gaps was adopted with almost no opposition by regional health boards in 2012–2013. But new problems were now occupying politicians and media—how to finance the growth of the old, multi-sick part of the population and increasing costs for new medical technologies and drugs. Public health as an academic discipline was in the middle of this fluctuating political landscape with direct effects on what has been considered worth listening to or support by public money.

The Effect of Changing Capital-Labour Relations on the Universities: Some Interpretations of the 2008 Financial Crisis Abstract Neoliberal capitalism has faced severe criticism both in principle and in practice since the Lehman Shock in 2008. The purpose of the paper is to identify and explain how the current mode of neoliberal capitalism redefines and reshapes the societal roles of the university sector in neoliberal capitalist societies, notably the UK and the US in the post-credit crunch period. The paper examines capital-labour relations in relation to the concept of capitalism, which is then interpreted in the context of the socio-economic roles of the universities. This paper argues that the 2008 financial crisis per se has not removed government expectation of the economic role of the universities, which has been shaped in government neoliberal policy and practice over three decades and lately developed in relation to the discourse of the knowledge economy. The effect of 2008 was rather the rise of ontological insecurity, the loss of credibility in degrees and awareness on problematic graduates’ transition from university to work in a secure, managerial or professional occupation, as new dominant political discourses such as ‘lost generation’, ‘youth unemployment’ and ‘living wage’ suggest. This paper clarifies the differences between higher education access and graduate employment opportunities.

Brazilian’s Graduate Programs: Research and Development from 1995 to 2017 Abstract The main objective of this research is to measure the longitudinal evaluation of Brazilian stricto sensu graduate programs from 1995 to 2017. A historical review about the development of Brazilian graduate programs is also included in the introduction section. The variables used were (i) distribution of graduate programs; (ii) distribution of professors and students throughout the regions of the country; (iii) provision of grants to programs; (iv) Capes’ investments in scholarships in Brazil. The results show an increase of 241% in the number of graduate programs in the period from 1998 to 2017. It was also verified that from 1998 to 2017 Brazil granted 652.191 Master’s degrees and 224.560 PhDs. The Southeastern region is the region holding the largest number of graduate programs. However, it was also the region that presented the lowest growth rate between 1998 and 2017. Although the results need to mature, the advances of graduate programs during the period under evaluation represent a great achievement of the nation in terms of science, culture and technology, allowing the pursuit of consolidation and stability.

Managerial Decisions to Enhance Student/Customer Retention: The Case of Ontario’s Academic Institutions Abstract Academic institutions invest significant sums of money to serve their students and to influence their decisions to stay. This study sheds light on the challenge for academic institutions to allocate their investments to keep students and enhance their retention rates. This study aims to investigate whether or not providing academic services has affected the retention rate in Ontario’s higher education market. The variable of academic services is measured through an examination of the effect of providing student services, technology and library acquisition, and scholarships and bursaries. The retention rate variable reflects students returning to an institution for the second year. The results of this study were reported based on examining the responsiveness; first, for all universities together (the whole market), and then for each university in Ontario’s higher education market.

Academic Freedom and Collegial Governance Under Threat at A Canadian University Abstract In this article, I use the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) as a case study exemplifying some of the ways in which academic freedom and collegial governance are being undermined at a Canadian public university. Beginning with a brief narrative about how the actions of the senior administration have threatened both of these key concepts, I then contextualize the issue in two ways. First, I analyze the meaning of academic freedom and collegial governance and consider their importance for the life of universities in general. Then I trace the origins of the corporate model that has come to dominate universities in Canada. In the conclusion, I return to the ongoing struggle for collegial governance and academic freedom at the U of S and the lessons that can be learned from it.

Is Bigger, Better? Exploring U.S. News Graduate Education Program Rankings and Internet Characteristics Abstract University ranking systems influence a wide range of educational stakeholders, including students, faculty members, and campus administrators. Of these ranking systems, the U.S. News & World Report ranking of colleges and universities has been the subject of much research. However, little research has examined specific U.S. News disciplinary rankings (such as graduate education) and whether Internet characteristics—such as the popularity of an institutional website—contributes to such a ranking. This study examines relationships between Internet characteristics, institutional characteristics, and the ranking of 69 of the top graduate education programs per U.S. News & World Report 2018 rankings. This examination sought to understand which U.S. News criteria best predicts ranking and whether Internet and institutional characteristics are better predictors of ranking. Regarding U.S. News ranking criteria, results suggest peer assessment best predicts graduate education program ranking. Regarding Internet and institutional characteristics, results suggest institutions with larger endowments (p = 0.01) and smaller websites (p = 0.05) enjoy better rankings. Considering all U.S. News criteria alongside Internet and institutional characteristics, doctoral admission rates (t = 3.30, p = 0.00) and funded research per faculty member (t = − 4.89, p = 0.00) best predict ranking, but the size (t = 2.61, p = 0.01) and popularity (t = − 2.88, p = 0.00) of an institution’s website also strongly predicts ranking. Implications for theory and future research are addressed.