IER News & blogs

Research has shown that providing participants with high-quality learning material is not sufficient to help them profit most from online education. The level of interaction among participants is another key determinant for learning outcomes. However, merely proposing interaction does not automatically lead to fruitful discussion and collaboration. Specifically, social presence and facilitation activities add value to online discussions.

In this paper, co-authored by Professor Alan Brown with colleagues from the EmployID project, a framework for analysing online asynchronous discussions was applied in a workplace learning context and generated deeper insights into the dynamics of online discussions.

Read the journal article here.

Daria Luchinskaya has contributed to a new report, led by Dr Nikos Kapitsinis at Wales Public Services 2025, describing existing business rates arrangements in Wales and exploring proposals for changes to the business rates system. This is a topical question: business rates revenues have the potential to become a more important source of local government revenue in the context of austerity, with cuts to local government grants and potential limitations to relying on council tax. The report discusses a business rates incentivisation scheme for Wales, which would enable regional growth partnerships to retain a portion of the business rates they generate and incentivise them to grow their business rate tax base

Read the report here.

We are delighted to announce the new stage of the Futuretrack study, which will catch up with the Futuretrack cohort of students who applied to university in 2005/2006, most of whom graduated in 2009/10, eight to nine years after their graduation.

This is the fifth stage of the Futuretrack longitudinal survey, and is funded by the Nuffield Foundation. For more information read here.

Jenny Bimrose has co-edited a special issue of the Journal of Vocational Behavior on refugees. Together with the other co-editors, she has co-authored the editorial for this special issue: Newman, A., Bimrose, J., Nielsen, I., & Zacher, H. (2018). Vocational Behavior of Refugees: How do Refugees Seek Employment, Overcome Work-related Challenges, and Navigate Their Careers? Guest Editorial. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 105, 1–5.

The ‘One by One’ project, funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council, seeks to understand the impact of digital technology on museums. The notions of visit and object, collection and exhibition, have all been disrupted and renegotiated by the influence of digital technology. However, over a third of museums in the UK still feel that they do not have the in-house skills to meet their digital aspirations, and rather than improving, some digital skills areas have decreased.

Sally-Anne Barnes, Erika Kispeter and Doris Eikhof (University of Leicester) have undertaken the first phase of the project mapping digital skills and literacies in UK museums. Some initial findings have been published as part of the Museums in the Web 2018 conference to be held in April. The project is led by Dr Ross Parry from the University of Leicester.