Gender and diversity is a crucial area that requires more attention in multiple academic settings. As more women progress into leadership positions in academia, it becomes necessary to develop solutions geared specifically toward success for females in such environments. Challenges Facing Female Department Chairs in Contemporary Higher Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a key source on the latest challenges and opportunities for women heading academic departments in university settings, exploring the support available to female department chairs, and first-hand experiences and lessons learned in field. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives and topics, such as gender challenges, management techniques, and professional development, this book is a critical source for academics, practitioners, and researchers.

In Critical Reflection on Research in Teaching and Learning, the editors bring together a collection of works that explore a wide range of concerns related to questions of researching teaching and learning in higher education and shine a light on the diversity of qualitative methods in practice. This book uniquely focuses on reflections of practice where researchers expose aspects of their work that might otherwise fit neatly into 'traditional' methodologies chapters or essays, but are nonetheless instructive - issues, events, and thoughts that deserve to be highlighted rather than buried in a footnote. This collection serves to make accessible the importance of teaching and learning issues related to learners, teachers, and a variety of contexts in which education work happens. Contributors are: David Andrews, Candace D. Bloomquist, Agnes Bosanquet, Beverley Hamilton, Henriette Tolstrup Holmegaard, Klodiana Kolomitro, Minna Koerkkoe, Outi Kyroe-AEmmala, Suvi Lakkala, Rod Lane, Corinne Laverty, Elizabeth Lee, Narelle Patton, Jessica Raffoul, Nicola Simmons, Jee Su Suh, Kim West and Cherie Woolmer.

This open access book addresses the evasive problem of why truly effective educational innovation on a wide scale is so difficult to achieve, and what leaders may do about this. Examining the case of system-wide reform processes centering on teaching a thinking-rich curriculum, it discusses general issues pertaining to implementing deep, large-scale changes in the core of learning and instruction. The book emphasizes challenges related to professional development, assessment, achievement gaps, and the tension between knowledge and skills in 21st century curricula. It summarizes insights the author has gained from approximately 25 years of engaging with these topics both as an academic and as a practitioner who led a national change process. With a Forward by David Perkins

Educators are finding that communication and interaction are at the core of a successful web-based classroom. This interactivity fosters community, which contributes to effective and meaningful learning. Positive online communities and the communication therein encourage students to interact with others' views which not only grows one's empathy, but is an integral part of constructivist learning theories. Because of this, the most important role of an educator in an online class is one that ensures student interactivity and engagement. Creating Teacher Immediacy in Online Learning Environments addresses the most effective models and strategies for nurturing teacher immediacy in web-based and virtual learning environments. A number of innovative methods for building an authentic, personalized online learning experience are outlined and discussed at length within this publication, providing solutions for pre-service as well as in-service educators. This book is a valuable compilation of research for course designers, faculty, students of education, administration, software designers, and higher education researchers.

For the last decade, virtual reality has been utilized in diverse fields such as entertainment, medicine, and industry. Recently, virtual reality has been applied in educational settings in order to transform student learning and experiences through such methods as building prototypes using digital devices or exploring new cultures through immersive interactions. Teachers who can incorporate virtual reality into their classrooms can provide their students with more meaningful learning experiences and can witness higher engagement. Current and Prospective Applications of Virtual Reality in Higher Education is a cutting-edge academic research book that provides comprehensive research on the integration of virtual reality in education programs and establishes foundations for course design, program development, and institutional strategic planning. The book covers an overall understanding and approach to virtual reality in education, specific applications of using virtual reality in higher education, and prospects and issues of virtual reality in the future. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as gamification, teacher training, and virtual reality, this book is ideal for teachers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, academicians, program developers, administrators, educational software developers, policymakers, researchers, education professionals, and students.

Critical stories are narratives that recount the writer's experiences, situating those experiences in broader cultural contexts. In this volume of Critical Storytelling, marginalized, excluded, and oppressed peoples share insights from their liminality to help readers learn from their perspectives on living from behind invisible bars. Female inmates at Decatur's Correctional Center and the undergraduate Millikin University students who worked with them come together to give voice to their specific histories of living from behind invisibile bars and pose important questions to the reader about inciting change for the future. Specifically, the voices in this volume seek to expose, analyze, and challenge deeply-entrenched narratives and characterizations of incarcerated women, whose histories are often marked by sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty, PTSD, a lack of education, housing insecurity, mental illness, and substance addiction. These silenced female inmate voices need to be heard and contextualized within the larger metanarrative of prison literature. Through telling critical stories, these writers attempt to: sustain recovery from trauma, make positive changes and informed decisions, create a real sense of empowerment, strengthen their capacity to exercise personal agency, and inspire audiences to create change far outside the reaches of physical and metaphorical bars. Contributors are: Anonymous, Soren Belle, Megan Batty, Dwight G. Brown, Jr., Sandra Brown, Kathryn Coffey, Kelly Cunningham, Paiten Hamilton, Kathlyn J. Housh, Rebekah Icenesse, Kala Keller, Jelisa Lovette, Bric Martin, Amanda Minetti, Laura Nearing, Angie Oaks, Claire Prendergast, Cara Quiett, J. M. Spence, Noah Villarreal and Alisha Walker.

Because of the continued growth of online instruction, there is now a need to better understand every demographic of students in higher education. Achieving successful student-faculty engagement in distance learning is a growing challenge. Fostering Multiple Levels of Engagement in Higher Education Environments is an essential reference source that serves as a guideline for institutions looking to improve current undergraduate or graduate programs and successful engagement practices with online faculty, staff, and students. Featuring research on topics such as student-faculty engagement, engaging curriculum, engaging platform, and engaging relationships, this book is ideally designed for educators, practitioners, academicians, and researchers seeking coverage on successful engagement in higher education.

Data is the most important commodity, dubbed "the money of the twenty-first century," which is why data protection has become a global priority. Data breaches and security flaws can jeopardize the global economy. Organizations face a greater risk of failing to achieve strategy and business goals as cyber threat behavior grows in frequency, sophistication, and destructiveness. A breach can result in data loss, business interruption, brand, and reputation harm, as well as regulatory and legal consequences. Furthermore, cyber security has evolved into a critical component of national defense. Furthermore, its sphere of control encompasses all facets of a country's government, economy, and health, in addition to military realms. Companies of all sizes, markets, and market environments face the task of securing their vital systems and data daily. A company needs a strategic, well-thought-out cybersecurity strategy to secure its critical infrastructure and information systems to overcome these challenges. As a result, businesses should seek guidance from cybersecurity frameworks. When used correctly, a cybersecurity system allows IT security leaders to better handle their companies' cyber threats. The Framework can be applied in phases and hence customized to suit the needs of any organization. The Cybersecurity Framework is designed for businesses of all sizes, divisions, and stages. The system can be customized to be used by any company thanks to the built-in customization feature, designed to be flexible enough to be used by organizations that are developing information security and risk management systems. This book examines potential solutions, starting with an understanding of ICS security developments in terms of cyber threats, weaknesses, attacks and patterns, agents, dangers, and the effects of all of these on the industrial environment and the organizations that depend on it. Equipped with cybersecurity framework best practices, this book is an excellent resource for PG students, Ph.D. scholars, industry practitioners, manufacturing and service industries, researchers, professors, and academicians. The book provides an understanding of the specific, standards-based security controls that make up a best practice cybersecurity program.

As individuals progress through each stage of life, they continue to learn and grow intellectually. However, what may be a conducive learning environment for a child may not be as effective for an adult, creating a need to understand how to aid adults in being successful learners in their later life. Multicultural Andragogy for Transformative Learning provides a diverse collection of positions related to adult learning. The book touches on a variety of topics including autonomous learning as a transformative experience, mixing cultures through intercultural methodology, and integrating cultural perspectives into organizational learning. As a publication with a focus on andragogy, this proves a useful resource for academicians, higher education administrators, and educators who teach both traditional and non-traditional students in higher education.

Academics' International Teaching Journeys provides personal narratives of nine international social science academics in foreign countries as they adapt and develop their teaching. The team of international contributors provide an invaluable resource for other academics who may be exposed to similar situations and may find these narratives useful in negotiating their own conflicts and challenges that they may encounter in being an international academic. The narratives provide a fascinating reference point and a wide range of perspectives of teaching experiences from across the world, including Europe, Australia, North America and the Caribbean. The book offers a timely spotlight on contemporary issues of globalisation that many higher education institutions around the world may encounter. It contributes to the originality of constructing new knowledge in the field of transnational higher education - a modern phenomenon which will be increasingly prominent in the current and next generation in the globalised higher education contexts.

Management education is currently adapting to several societal changes. Due to increased workload and outside pressures heaped on students, business education programs are undergoing a unique transformation to keep up with shifting industry expectations. Innovative Management Education Pedagogies for Preparing Next-Generation Leaders facilitates the discussion on a variety of teaching methods and practices being used in current business education programs. Highlighting the ways that technology can be used to aid students in the advancement of their studies as well as career development and preparation, this text covers a range of topics, from leadership expectations and workforce requirements to electronic course materials. The timely research-based practices and methods included in this publication are beneficial to school administrators, instructional designers, instructors, and researchers in the fields of business and higher education.