tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/partnerships-20367/articlesPartnerships – The Conversation2023-03-22T12:39:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1942262023-03-22T12:39:57Z2023-03-22T12:39:57ZMoving in with your partner? Talking about these 3 things first can smooth the way, according to a couples therapist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516748/original/file-20230321-24-vneqip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=489%2C7%2C4692%2C3201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Before the boxes are packed, you should square your expectations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-couple-moving-house-royalty-free-image/1351287041?phrase=moving%20boxes%20couple">Tara Moore/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Partners who live together typically come to this significant place in their relationship in one of two ways – what some clinicians call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.x">sliding versus deciding</a>.” Moving in together can just kind of happen without too much thought, or it can be carefully considered and planned.</p>
<p>Some couples may see <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation-in-the-u-s/">living together as a test for future marriage</a>. For others, marriage is not a goal, so living together may be the ultimate statement of their commitment. </p>
<p>I have been a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZeuvLPoAAAAJ&hl">relationship therapist and researcher</a> for over 25 years, specializing in intimate relationships. Based on my research and clinical experience, I recommend that couples discuss the significance of sharing a home before they merge households. Doing so gives partners an opportunity to set realistic expectations, negotiate household roles and practice their communication. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-021-09594-6">a list of topics</a> partners should talk about before moving in together – or even after, if the moving boxes are already unpacked. These topics are organized into three main categories.</p>
<h2>1. Expectations</h2>
<p>Why do you want to move in together? What is the purpose? Will it lead to marriage? Many relationships struggle with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X08324388">intersection of reality and expectation</a>.</p>
<p>Clients tell me that their expectations of living together are often based on what they grew up with – for example, “My mom had dinner on the table every evening at 6 p.m. I expect the same of my partner.” Expectations also extend to intimacy, such as, “Now that we are sharing a bed, we can have sex all the time.” </p>
<p>Conversations about what this stage of commitment means for the relationship and how it affects each individual’s identity are part of this negotiation. Is moving in together “practice” for marriage? Are we moving into one of our current places, or finding a new home together? How will we split up the household finances? How frequently will we be intimate? Will we get a pet?</p>
<p>Understanding what will and won’t change helps smooth this transition, making space for conversations about the nitty-gritty of living together.</p>
<h2>2. Household roles</h2>
<p>As people launch from their childhood homes, the household rules they grew up with – both the ones they liked and the ones they hated – tend to come along for the ride. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men speak with one another while sitting on a narrow staircase." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516082/original/file-20230317-2171-410efr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Decide who will do what.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/couple-of-young-men-talking-on-the-stairs-royalty-free-image/465964450">lorenzoantonucci/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>It’s important for couples to talk about how they plan to handle mundane day-to-day tasks, such as dishes, trash, cooking, cleaning and so on. My colleagues and I recommend couples start these conversations by stating their strengths. If you like grocery shopping but hate cooking, first offer to do what you prefer. Talk through the different needs of your household – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X13503324">including finances</a>, pets, kids, cars and so on – and try to find some balance in the division of responsibilities.</p>
<p>During these negotiations, remember to keep in mind each person’s obligations outside of the home. For example, if one person stays at home or has summers off, take that into consideration in determining balance.</p>
<p>I once worked with a couple where one partner wanted her spouse “to be less of an asshole.” When we dug a bit deeper, what she really wanted was for him to vacuum. Talking further, they began to understand that their household rules were neither balanced nor accommodating of the ebbs and flows of their lifestyle, family needs and professional demands.</p>
<h2>3. Communication</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important conversation to have is actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X02023001004">about communication</a>. How responsive do I expect my partner to be when I text them? How do I tell them I really need alone time? When can I talk to them about my changing needs?</p>
<p>This can be an excellent time to reach out to a couple and family therapist to help negotiate some of these issues. Many times, the <a href="https://drclaudiagg.com/projects">hurtful comments people make to one another</a> are really about expectations, fear and the anxiety of the unknown. Talking about the best way to recognize and meet your partner’s needs and concerns invites collaboration and unity, which ultimately strengthens the relationship. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Couple talking on sofa in living room." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516763/original/file-20230321-1069-kqhd8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Good communication is key to healthy long-term relationships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/couple-talking-on-sofa-in-living-room-royalty-free-image/573103271">JGI/Tom Grill/Tetra Images via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>People and relationships change over time. Everyone is affected by their own life experiences, one of which can be moving in with a partner. Communication and empathy are key as expectations shift and evolve. This continues to be true as couples hit transitions throughout their lives. </p>
<p>Big things like moving, graduating, getting a new job and having children, as well as little things, like choosing which TV shows to watch or trying out a new recipe, are important topics to have conversations about. Developing good communication skills can serve as the foundation for navigating the trials and tribulations relationships bring.</p>
<p>And it’s never too late to start having these conversations – even if you’re already living together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thank you to co-authors, Brooke Schmidt and Cate Morrow.</span></em></p>Discussing some key topics before – or even after – they move in together can help couples successfully navigate this step.Kristina S. Brown, Professor and Chair of Couple and Family Therapy, Adler UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1171542019-05-20T13:27:18Z2019-05-20T13:27:18ZEmployee-owned companies perform better, but are resisted by banks, lawyers and governments<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275134/original/file-20190517-69192-p42lzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=516%2C8%2C4783%2C2816&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Richer Sounds which will become the second most well-known employee-owned company after John Lewis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1344687110">Roger Utting/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sick of seeing our shelves full of Beatles and Bob Marley LPs with no record player upon which to play them, our son visited Hi-Fi emporium Richer Sounds to buy us one. On finding it didn’t work he returned it to the nearest branch where they realised he’d been given the wrong cable, supplied the correct cable, issued a refund, and explained clearly how to set it up. If someone had asked me who should be running the company, the assistant serving us would have deserved consideration. </p>
<p>News that Julian Richer has now passed ownership of <a href="https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-7027965/Staff-Richer-Sounds-set-windfalls-20K-boss-hands-firm-employees.html">his company into an employee-owned partnership</a>, like that used at John Lewis, it so happens that that able shop assistant has in a way come to be his own boss. Most (60%) of the company’s shares will be placed in an employee ownership trust, with its 522 employees at 53 stores around the UK set to receive a share of a £3.5m payout. Richer has passed running the business to the management board, which will be advised by a newly arranged advisory council made up of current staff.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/275132/original/file-20190517-69209-zrilay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Julian Richer, who after turning 60 has handed 60% of his company to an employee-owned trust.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/horse-racing-julian-richer-businessman-sounds-1171138714">Mick Atkins/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>At the John Lewis Partnership (which includes Waitrose), a portion of the profits each year is paid as a bonus to its employees, much like other companies pay a dividend to shareholders. John Lewis suffered a squeeze in profits in 2018-19, causing the bonus to be lower than at any time since 1953, when it was zero. However, John Lewis still paid a bonus, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/john-lewis-bonus-cut-to-3-as-profits-fall-by-half-8lx23ppjp">equal to 3% of salaries</a>. </p>
<p>On the same day as the Richer Sounds announcement, the Institute for Fiscal Studies <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-48229037">announced a review of inequality in Britain</a> by Nobel Prize-winning economist Sir Angus Deaton, who warned: “There’s a real question about whether democratic capitalism is working, when it’s only working for part of the population.” </p>
<p>But as a form of stakeholder capitalism, the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-mutual-co-operative-and-co-owned-business-9780199684977?cc=gb&lang=en&">evidence shows</a> that employee ownership boosts employee commitment and motivation, which leads to greater innovation and productivity.</p>
<p>Indeed, a <a href="https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/rutgerskelloggreport_april2019.pdf">study of employee ownership models in the US</a> published in April found it narrowed gender and racial wealth gaps. Surveying 200 employees from 21 companies with employee ownership plans, <a href="https://smlr.rutgers.edu/faculty-staff/joseph-r-blasi">Joseph Blasi</a> and his colleagues at Rutgers University found employees had significantly more wealth than the average US worker. </p>
<p>The researchers also found that the participatory management practices that accompanied the employee ownership schemes led to employees improving their communication skills and learning management skills, which had helped them make better financial decisions at home. </p>
<h2>Obstacles to employee ownership</h2>
<p>If research over the years has found that employee ownership is a successful corporate model, this raises the question of why, if this makes companies more successful, it is not more widely adopted. </p>
<p>Most obviously, current companty owners may wish to retain their ownership, regardless of how much better their employees might prove to be as co–owners. </p>
<p>And for most public listed companies, the real owners of the company are institutional shareholders such as pension funds and the like, in which case there is no easy mechanism for bringing about employee ownership. And even where there is a single owner, such as Richer, the advice from banks and legal advisers will be to consider floating on the stock exchange or selling up to a bigger firm. Corporate institutional culture is largely ignorant about employee ownership, or otherwise outright hostile towards it. </p>
<h2>Dropped political pledges</h2>
<p>The UK Coalition government of 2010-2015 pledged to banish that ignorance and hostility. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg announcing they’d <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16570840">establish a centre</a> to promote the benefits of employee ownership, including for succession planning. It never happened – while less well-known than Clegg’s U-turn on student university fees, it was probably more damaging to the long-term success of the economy. </p>
<p>The Coalition government also pledged to promote corporate diversity, including in the financial services sector, but that pledge too was broken, with an <a href="https://www.cefims.ac.uk/research/papers/DP113">index of corporate diversity</a> showing no improvement over subsequent years. </p>
<p>So employee ownership can be more effective and such companies tend to have better outcomes. But these benefits don’t follow automatically: they require a considerable and sustained effort from management. This includes managers getting used to the idea that they’re answerable to the employees rather than shareholders. Research has found <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/dec/03/economy.comment">this can be a major hurdle</a>, not so much for the senior management who will generally appreciate the potential gain, but for middle management, who will have got used to the old, adversarial ways of giving orders.</p>
<p>It also requires the support of government, in the form of legislation and regulation. All three political parties claim to be supportive of employee ownership. Despite their failures in the Coalition government, the Liberal Democrats <a href="https://www.libdemvoice.org/the-liberal-plan-for-worker-coownership-59010.html">remain committed</a> to promoting employee ownership; when Theresa May became prime minister, she made supportive noises that included <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/nils-pratley-on-finance/2016/jul/11/theresa-may-plan-workers-boardroom-reform-extraordinary-tories">proposals to put employees on company boards</a> (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/10/theresa-may-misses-a-trick-after-u-turn-over-workers-on-boards">later quietly shelved</a>). Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/23/labour-private-sector-employee-ownership-plan-john-mcdonnell">pledged</a> that a Labour government will introduce employee ownership. </p>
<p>The key to the success of John Lewis over the decades has been not just the positive effects of employee ownership on employee motivation, commitment, innovation and productivity, but also that the employee trust is committed to promoting the interests of current and future employees. This has allowed them to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/451620.stm">sustain a more long-termist outlook</a>, for example in <a href="https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-5697551/Amazon-sent-packing-talks-Waitrose-takeover.html">rejecting takeover bids</a> that might provide current employees with a windfall, but offer bleaker prospects for future generations of employees. </p>
<p>However, UK company law governing employee ownership trusts includes a rule against perpetuity: such trusts are limited to 125 years (previously 80). To establish the John Lewis Trust required an Act of Parliament, and relied upon a version of the <a href="http://eureka.sbs.ox.ac.uk/6431/">non-perpetuity rule</a> – dating from the time of the Crusades – under which the trust is limited to “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants then living of the British monarch at the time”. In this case, 21 years after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. </p>
<p>This has to change. Otherwise, all gains from employee ownership that are won will prove temporary.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Michie receives no research funding currently, but previously has from the Economic & Social Research Council, Leverhulme, the British Academy, the Royal Economic Society, the European Commission, the Higher Education Innovation Fund, the Department of Trade & Industry, the Environment Agency, and various other research funders. He is Director of the Oxford Centre for Mutual & Co-owned Business. </span></em></p>Employee-owned businesses benefit from boosted productivity, profitability, and staff morale. So why are they so rare?Jonathan Michie, Professor of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1084622019-02-26T11:40:15Z2019-02-26T11:40:15ZAmazon pullout from NYC shows the perils of partnerships between higher education and business<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259350/original/file-20190216-56236-100nb4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amazon's plan to locate its second headquarters in New York City fell through.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Amazon-HQ/62a3c4a4fb584c38abd7efb3ca4a604f/7/0">Mark Lennihan/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amazon’s recent decision to pull out of plans to establish a new headquarters in New York City received a lot of attention. Much of it focused on whether the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-amazons-hq2-means-for-taxpayers-in-new-york-and-virginia-2018-11-14">big tax breaks</a> the company would have gotten as part of the deal were fair and reasonable.</p>
<p>Noting that the company would have brought 25,000 new jobs and major revenue to the region, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the pullout the “<a href="https://nypost.com/2019/02/22/cuomo-amazon-pullout-is-greatest-tragedy-ive-seen-in-politics/">the greatest tragedy I have seen since I’ve been in politics</a>.”</p>
<p>I study the <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QopoQ1MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">nexus of business, science and academic research</a>. From that vantage point, I think a different implication of Amazon’s decision needs attention.</p>
<p>But first a little background on the Amazon deal.</p>
<h2>In search of academic partners</h2>
<p>Amazon started searching for places to build a second corporate headquarters in 2017. Its request for proposals asked cities and regions to highlight creative partnerships with local colleges and universities. The idea was to make sure the new headquarters location could meet the company’s needs for a highly skilled <a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4114187-Amazon-HQ2-RFP.html">technical workforce</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Amazon-Mania-Revealed-These-3/245267">“Amazon mania”</a> ensued, prompting 238 proposals from interested cities and regions. In late 2018, Amazon chose two: Arlington, Virginia, and New York City. Both are home to – or surrounded by – many colleges and universities that do extensive work in areas of interest to Amazon.</p>
<p>On Virginia campuses, Amazon’s decision led to stepped up efforts in “<a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Amazon-Mania-Revealed-These-3/245267">Amazon-related fields</a>” such as business, computer science and math.</p>
<p>Virginia Tech is moving quickly to complete a US$1 billion “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/11/14/amazon-hq-arrival-spurs-virginia-tech-build-technology-campus-northern-virginia/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.de4d098de53a">innovation campus</a>.” That campus will emphasize topics such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity that are of special interest to Amazon. It will be located just minutes from HQ2.</p>
<p>Similar plans were being pursued in New York City. Several area universities, such as CUNY, NYU and Cornell Tech, developed <a href="https://therealdeal.com/2018/12/22/cornell-tech-nycs-hq2-trump-card/">research and partnership plans</a> to help Amazon meet its needs. But Amazon ran into <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/tech/amazon-hq2-statement/index.html">political opposition</a> from elected officials and community activists in New York City who were opposed to the nearly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazons-pivot-raises-scrutiny-of-incentive-deals-11550259076">$3 billion</a> in tax incentives the company would receive. That resistance led the company to back out of the New York headquarters deal. Amazon’s withdrawal imperils the plans that the New York colleges developed to help attract it. Which brings us to a problem I think needs more consideration.</p>
<p>When colleges and universities rush to make sure that Amazon – or any other company – has what it needs, they run the risk of damaging the very things that make them unique and valuable to their communities in the long term.</p>
<h2>A narrow focus</h2>
<p>The first risk is narrowing their work. This is particularly the case when universities step up efforts in a few fields of immediate interest to a particular business partner without attending to other aspects of their missions. </p>
<p>As I argue in my new book, <a href="https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=26387">“Research Universities and the Public Good: Discovery for an Uncertain Future</a>,” universities are a special kind of “anchor tenant” for their regions. They make good anchors because they are relatively open, committed to their places, and unlikely to go out of business. Their broad research and teaching allows them to engage with many different interest groups. That, in turn, helps make their communities more resilient and innovative.</p>
<p>Those things are endangered when campuses yoke themselves to the current needs of particular companies and industries whose situations and needs can change quickly.</p>
<p>The challenge is to ensure that new investments and activities to address particular partnerships do not come at the cost of pruning or ignoring other areas – such as social sciences, arts and humanities, education, urban planning or social work – that might be less immediately relevant to business but important to other stakeholders.</p>
<p>In the case of Amazon, both <a href="https://vt.edu/innovationcampus/index.html">Virginia</a> and <a href="https://tech.cornell.edu/programs/phd-studies/">New York</a> universities chose to emphasize computer science, engineering, business and mathematics exclusively in their plans.</p>
<p>I think a narrow focus that closely aligns university work with near-term business needs is perilous. One of the dangers is that powerful corporate partners might <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733303000453">control universities</a> by formally or informally shaping the direction of their research and teaching. The result can be lower impact research and potentially fewer career possibilities for students.</p>
<h2>Things change</h2>
<p>The other risk that universities face when they rush to serve the needs of a particular business is that companies work on tight time horizons, and may change direction or just up and leave – as Amazon did in New York City.</p>
<p>The different agendas and concerns of higher education and business mean that when universities overcommit to the needs of a single partner, they may be left hanging.</p>
<p>That’s what happened with the University of California, Berkeley’s famous deal with <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/book/9803">Novartis</a> – a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company –in the late 1990s. There, concerns about academic freedom, corporate control of university activities and the deal’s impact on faculty and students loomed large. </p>
<p>Changing industrial conditions ultimately led the company to shift its focus away from the university. The joint Berkeley-Novartis research deal ultimately <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Peer-Reviewers-Give-Thumbs/103070">dissolved in 2003</a> after the company spun out its agricultural division. A similar, 2007, $350 million deal between Berkeley and oil company BP went south when <a href="https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2015-02-20/not-so-fast-uc-berkeley-biofuel-research-takes-hit-bp-oil">oil prices dropped</a> in 2015.</p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/5/18064346/foxconn-deal-wisconsin-madison-university-partnership-students-ip">students expressed concerns</a> about a $100 million deal between the University of Wisconsin and Foxconn. Graduate students were worried about corporate control over academic research and ownership of intellectual property. In the Foxconn case, a lack of transparency and certainty about the process and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90262695/foxconns-wisconsin-factory-is-shrouded-in-questionable-dealings">Foxconn’s changes</a> to a companion deal with the state of Wisconsin highlight conflicts between business and community needs.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that when colleges and universities focus on a single business or industry’s needs they run serious risks. If corporate deals come at the cost of broader research and teaching portfolios, universities put their stability, credibility and the expertise they need in other fields on the line. Those are the very things that make them good anchors for regional economies and communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Owen-Smith receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.</span></em></p>When colleges rush to serve the needs of business, they risk losing sight of their purpose and entering into bad deals with a selfish partner, a scholar of research and business argues.Jason Owen-Smith, Professor of Sociology, Executive Director, Institute for Research on Innovation and Science (IRIS), University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1073082019-01-16T11:25:33Z2019-01-16T11:25:33ZAfrica should be building private-public partnerships in education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252988/original/file-20190109-32127-1rwqkfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Africa's higher education sector could benefit from public-private partnerships.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Raywoo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Private-public partnerships have become a common strategy for countries all over the world to meet their development goals. In the global north, these partnerships – which bring capital and expertise together – <a href="https://www.globalinfrastructureinitiative.com/article/private-money-and-public-good-promoting-investment-american-infrastructure">tend to</a> focus on <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/capital-projects-and-infrastructure/our-insights/the-debate-over-private-infrastructure-financing-in-the-united-states">developing infrastructure</a>. That includes energy, ports, rail and fibre networks. </p>
<p>Such partnerships have also benefited some sectors of society in African countries and elsewhere in the global south. </p>
<p>In Africa’s education sector, public-private partnerships have been largely limited to infrastructure developments and the provision of education. It’s time for the continent’s higher education sector to develop its own partnership models that deal with a different currency: knowledge. Public-private partnerships should centre on the production, transfer and use of knowledge for social and economic development.</p>
<p>First, the sector must interrogate why strategic public-partnerships are important. What are the advantages? Who benefits? And, are there accrued benefits for those beyond the partners involved? </p>
<p>It’s also vital to examine partnerships that already exist. Their successes and failures must be interrogated. There is good work being done on the continent. Now the success stories must combine their efforts for greater impact.</p>
<h2>The mechanics</h2>
<p>Ideally, public-private partnerships in the higher education sector should involve a combination of several actors: the private sector, academic researchers and governments. Other scientific resources, such as science granting councils, have a role to play, too. The National Research Foundation in Southern Africa, National Council for Science and Technology in Eastern Africa, and Programme d'Appui Stratégique à la Recherche Scientifique in Côte d'Ivoire are examples of such councils. </p>
<p>Higher education institutions and research groups must explore and create opportunities to connect researchers. This will allow them to establish collaborative projects with other scientists throughout the continent. </p>
<p>They must also support opportunities and activities that would link researchers with projects at national laboratories and research centres run by governments and the private sector. This would allow experts and leaders from academia, government agencies and national organisations to contribute knowledge to inform transformative science and policies.</p>
<p>At the same time, we cannot ignore the fact that partnerships’ <a href="https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/International-Higher-Education-Partnerships-A-Global-Review-of-Standards-and-Practices.aspx">power relations and dynamics</a> must be carefully managed to ensure equal benefit for, for instance, those from the global south and those from the global north. </p>
<h2>Who benefits, and how</h2>
<p>Academic researchers, including students, get exposure by getting involved in real and immediately relevant research. Private sector researchers are supported with an up to date base of literature to inform their work. This knowledge and skills exchange is beneficial for both parties. Of course, it also benefits governments and nations more broadly by producing solutions to problems or challenges.</p>
<p>International and regional academic partnerships have become the “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/32036299_Symmetry_and_Asymmetry_New_Contours_Paradigms_and_Politics_in_African_Academic_Partnerships">overriding paradigm</a>” for international development cooperation and policy. As a result, the partners stand to benefit through connecting with global networks and learning from each other. </p>
<p>In addition, African perspectives and those from other parts of the developing world would be included to inform global issues. We live in an interconnected world. Problems and solutions should be addressed together, rather than from one perspective.</p>
<h2>Learning lessons</h2>
<p>As I have said, there are already networks and partnerships that involve public and private organisations in the research space, and from which lessons can be drawn and models developed. </p>
<p>A few examples include the <a href="https://www.tekcapital.com">Global University Network</a>, which consists of 4 500 research institutions across 160 countries; the <a href="http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/departments/hiv-aids-stis-and-tb/SAHARA">Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance in South Africa</a>; and the US-based <a href="https://isrn.net/">Improvement Science Research Network</a>.</p>
<p>Governments can also be drawn into existing and new partnerships. They could either act as partners, or offer links to researchers through existing bilateral or multilateral agreements in other sectors. </p>
<p>These links can used to create continent-to-continent partnerships; continent-to-country partnerships; partnerships on demand based on regional requests and requirements; and organisational partnerships. This mimics the partnership <a href="https://au.int/en/continent-and-country-partnerships">structures</a> already prioritised by the African Union.</p>
<p><em>This article is based on the author’s <a href="https://sgciafrica.org/en-za/news/Pages/The-Science-Granting-Councils-Initiative-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Annual-Forum-and-Global-Research-Council-Africa-Regional-Mee.aspx">keynote address</a> at the Annual Forum and Global Research Council Africa Regional Meeting in Côte d'Ivoire during November 2018.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Teboho Moja does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In Africa’s education sector, public-private partnerships have been largely limited to infrastructure developments and the provision of education.Teboho Moja, Professor, New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1091772019-01-06T14:02:07Z2019-01-06T14:02:07ZFive survival strategies for spouses and partners of international students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252490/original/file-20190104-32145-1m07khg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4647%2C2260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Partners who accompany international students tend to be well-educated, yet many experience difficulties pursuing their own career goals once in Canada. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a new year and everyone with a project is busy again. But what about when you have your own hopes and goals, yet find yourself in an unfamiliar country supporting a spouse or partner who is an international student? </p>
<p>Over the past two decades, Canada has experienced massive growth in the numbers of international students enrolled in universities, from <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dai/smr08/2018/smr08_220_2018#a11">84,000 students in 1995</a> to nearly <a href="https://cbie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/International-Students-in-Canada-ENG.pdf">half a million students in 2018</a>. </p>
<p>Some of these international students, especially those in graduate school, have spouses or partners who <a href="http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/186193/pdf">accompany them</a> to Canada, even though the partner is not pursuing education themselves. A majority, though certainly not all of these accompanying partners, are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1028315306293547">women who follow male spouses</a> to their destination countries. </p>
<p>There may be many reasons for someone to become an accompanying partner, including wanting to have children or maintain an intact family unit, wanting to experience life in another country and wanting to support the international student in his or her educational pursuits. Indeed, at least one study has suggested that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1188752?origin=JSTOR-pdf&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">the presence of an accompanying partner is associated with greater academic success in male international students</a>.</p>
<h2>Career issues when you’re the partner</h2>
<p>Accompanying partners tend to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1028315306293547">well educated</a>, with many having completed university degrees in their home countries and having years of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1028315311403486">prior employment experience</a>.
Yet one problem many accompanying partners encounter after moving to Canada is difficulty pursuing their own career goals. </p>
<p>Some may not have explored legal requirements for working in Canada prior to their move, and many who find work end up in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1028315306293547">low-skilled, low-pay, gender-stereotyped work</a> such as child-care, domestic service or retail sales. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252486/original/file-20190104-32124-1tmqnst.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At least one study has suggested that the presence of an accompanying partner is associated with greater academic success in male international students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">thought catalog/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For some accompanying partners, <a href="http://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/186193/pdf">traditional gender roles</a>, including the desire to support the member of the household who is in school and the assumption of primary responsibility for child-rearing, may limit opportunities to pursue work outside the home. Accompanying partners may also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/014717679390004R">lack knowledge</a> about support services, a situation which is exacerbated by the <a href="https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/antistasis/article/view/25146/29470">exclusion of spouses</a> from many university-based services. Nonetheless, many accompanying partners <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02601370902757075">want to pursue their own careers</a> while living abroad, even if they don’t know how to accomplish this. </p>
<p>If this situation describes what you are living, here are some tips of what to do about your predicament. </p>
<h2><em>1. Apply for an open work permit</em></h2>
<p>It is important to know that in Canada spouses and common-law partners of international students can apply for an <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/help-your-spouse-common-law-partner-work-canada.html">open work permit</a>, as long as the international student is in school full-time and has a valid study permit. </p>
<p>Open work permits are not tied to any specific job, and provide a way for accompanying partners to become legally eligible to work in Canada. If you have not already applied for this work permit and you want to pursue your career goals in Canada, this is the first step you should take.</p>
<h2><em>2. Improve language skills</em></h2>
<p>In research I am <a href="http://asiapacificcda.org/2017-Conference-Presentations#ArthurDomene">now conducting </a> with colleagues from the University of Calgary, accompanying partners with limited ability to speak and write in English identify their language skills as a barrier to entering the local workforce, while participants who are proficient in English report that their skills are an important contributor to employment success in Canada. </p>
<p>In an ideal world, you would have taken steps to develop your English (or French if you are living in a French-speaking part of the country) language skills prior to moving, but in our research, many accompanying partners were not able to do that for different reasons. </p>
<p>Now that you are here, it will be useful to take as many opportunities as possible to learn and practice communicating with others in the new language. Also, as an accompanying partner, it can be tempting and comfortable to interact mostly with other people from your home country in your home language. However, overcoming that temptation and spending time with a wider local community will be important for increasing your communication comfort. </p>
<h2><em>3. Grow your local networks</em></h2>
<p>Building local experience and work-related networks is another important part of successfully pursuing career goals in Canada. Although there are <a href="https://ceric.ca/2013/02/a-dark-side-to-networking-the-social-costs/">positive and negative aspects of networking</a>, the reality is that many Canadians find work through their networks of personal contacts. Even if your priority is not your career, developing a network of people that you can connect with locally can provide an important source of personal and family support and friendship.</p>
<h2><em>4. Act short term, plan long-term</em></h2>
<p>Despite the existence of programs such as the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers.html">Temporary Foreign Worker Program</a>, participants in our research are finding that many employers in Canada preferred to hire individuals with Canadian experience and references. Although this may not apply to accompanying partners seeking employment in large, multinational companies, it is likely to be the case for anyone looking for work in small organizations and local businesses. </p>
<p>A natural follow-up question is this: “How do I build Canadian work experience and networks without prior Canadian work experience and networks?” Although it might feel like a step backwards, obtaining entry-level work, even in a field that is unrelated to long-term career goals is one way to resolve this question. </p>
<p>Another option for accompanying partners who are waiting to obtain their open work permit is to do volunteer work, preferably with an organization that has an established program that provides things such as a record of volunteer work and reference letters for volunteers. But make sure you also have a plan to look for work in your own field after you have built up enough Canadian experience in these entry-level and volunteer roles.</p>
<h2><em>5. Explore all formal supports available</em></h2>
<p>Finally, it will be useful to explore what kinds of career, employment and other support programs and services your spouse/partner’s university provides for international student families. </p>
<p>Although some campus-based services will be limited to students, other services may extend to accompanying partners. And if a couple of years passed since you last explored this, it might be worth looking again, in case the university changed its policies in response to the <a href="https://cbie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/International-Students-in-Canada-ENG.pdf">increased numbers of international students</a> they are recruiting. Taking the time to do this may provide you with important information and support for you to pursue your future career goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>José F. Domene receives funding from University of Calgary / Werklund School of Education Teaching and Learning Grants, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, SSHRC, the Canada Research Chairs Program, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.</span></em></p>Many international students bring an accompanying partner who struggles to make a life in Canada while their partner forges ahead.José F. Domene, Professor, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1027332018-09-11T14:57:53Z2018-09-11T14:57:53ZWhat universities in Uganda and Kenya can do to boost research partnerships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235750/original/file-20180911-144473-1fj0yz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research partnerships can have powerful results.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Konstantin Chagin/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cross-border partnerships can be extremely valuable for universities in Africa. They can provide new revenue streams for institutions. It’s also a good way for institutions to improve their reputations and develop capacity. Partnerships have a broader value, too. They’re a good way to bolster multidisciplinary research that aims to solve complex societal problems.</p>
<p>But they aren’t simple to put together. Partnerships require proper organisation and governance. They must also be relevant to all the institutions and individuals involved. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I wanted to know how universities in neighbouring Kenya and Uganda are dealing with research partnerships. So we conducted <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351971461/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315266909-5">a study</a> at six universities – three in each country. We specifically examined the construction and governance of research collaborations at these institutions.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that there is no “one size fits all” strategy for setting up such partnerships. Instead, each institution takes a different approach, using various institutional and departmental structures. Better, more standardised frameworks are needed especially in Uganda if the country’s universities are to benefit from transnational partnerships. </p>
<p>It may learn from its neighbour in this regard. Kenya’s National Research Fund is proving to be a good champion of such partnerships.</p>
<h2>How partnerships happen</h2>
<p>The first thing we wanted to know was how transnational partnerships develop among Ugandan and Kenyan universities. This happens in several ways, such as national calls for collaborative research or development initiatives. </p>
<p>Existing personal connections and informal encounters play a fundamental, indispensable role in enabling the initiation and development of sustainable partnerships. </p>
<p>There is a problem, though. Simply put, you can have bright people and great ideas – but without a solid policy framework these collaborations just won’t work in the long term.</p>
<p>Various studies <a href="https://www.acu.ac.uk/focus-areas/research-management-uptake/research-management-benchmarking/international-research-management-benchmarking-programme">have outlined</a> how important relevant, suitable policy frameworks are for successful research management. This is increasingly true in the context of fierce competition for scarce research funding. Policies also help to manage the growing interdependence of research institutions in a globalised world.</p>
<p>Having a policy framework also allows for coherence, predictability, consistency, and relevance in a university’s approach to external partnerships.</p>
<p>Our results suggest that Kenya is doing well to anchor its research and higher education partnerships in policy – at both the <a href="http://www.kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=No.%2028%20of%202013">national</a> and institutional levels.</p>
<p>Uganda is lagging behind. It has several policies linked to research collaboration at national level. But universities struggle to implement them. </p>
<p>None of the three Ugandan institutions we studied had partnership policies. This meant they had no framework to govern research collaborations. Collaborators and departments relied on ad hoc memoranda of understanding and agreements. They implemented partnerships on a project by project basis.</p>
<p>Kenya also fared better than Uganda on the governance front. All three Kenyan institutions had established structures and initiatives for running research partnerships. These included international offices, research and outreach units and administrative department units. The universities also employed programme directors or coordinators. Some used school or faculty committees to govern research partnerships.</p>
<p>In Uganda, partnership activities are managed by individuals, concerned departments, ad hoc departmental and university research committees formed to implement particular projects. The universities don’t have independent international or partnership offices. That affects the sustainability of many partnership projects. They grind to a halt or gradually fall apart when the collaborators aren’t able to continue coordinating the projects. </p>
<h2>Research champions needed</h2>
<p>A lack of adequate funding appears to be the biggest hurdle to both Ugandan and Kenyan universities initiating and implementing successful research partnerships. In some cases, there is funding available but universities and researchers don’t know about this. Many institutions don’t keep up to date databases of research funding opportunities.</p>
<p>Kenya’s government, meanwhile, is making steps towards increasing funding for research projects. This has been facilitated by the recent establishment of the <a href="http://researchfund.go.ke">Kenya National Research Fund</a>. The fund is driving a renewed focus on research and innovation activities. It is also encouraging a greater number of both <a href="http://researchfund.go.ke/bilateral-multilateral/">national and transnational partnerships</a> that address <a href="http://researchfund.go.ke/leap-agri-call/">national issues</a> such as information technology, agriculture and food security, among others. </p>
<p>In this way, Kenya is opening itself to sustainable partnerships with similar organisations and institutions elsewhere in the world.</p>
<p>By comparison, data suggests that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351971461/chapters/10.4324%2F9781315266909-5">less than 4%</a> of Uganda’s research projects have led to partnerships that address national issues. Perhaps this is partly because Uganda doesn’t have a national research fund or similar champion.</p>
<h2>Some positive signs</h2>
<p>There are some shifts in the right direction. The universities we studied are beginning to develop relatively more formal organisational structures, policy and regulatory frameworks to guide research partnership and management practices. </p>
<p>This might signal a focused move towards institutionalising partnership initiatives. And that will help universities in Kenya and Uganda to reap the benefits of transnational research collaboration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102733/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This study was funded by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)</span></em></p>Better, more standardised frameworks are needed especially in Uganda if its universities are to benefit from transnational partnerships.Jackline Nyerere, Senior Lecturer of Educational Leadership and Policy, Kenyatta UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/743252017-03-10T08:52:27Z2017-03-10T08:52:27ZSouth Africa’s grant scandal exposes myths about how the state should run things<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160286/original/image-20170310-3696-12kel8h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Africans waiting in line to register for social grants.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The social grants <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-risks-behind-south-africas-social-grant-payment-crisis-73224">scandal</a> rocking South Africa has been greeted with understandable shock. It’s also challenged two popular ideas about how government should operate. </p>
<p>The first is that public-private partnerships <a href="http://www.ppp.gov.za/Pages/whatisppp.aspx">(PPP)</a> are efficient. The second is that national government is better at running things than provincial government (the equivalent of states or counties).</p>
<p>Both are so widely supported that they seem obviously true – but in the wake of the social grants’ saga their truth now seems far less obvious. Both are implicated in an unfolding scandal which threatens to disturb payment of social grants to about 17 million South Africans who depend on them.</p>
<p>The idea that PPPs are efficient needs another look. The principle behind them is well known. Because the government lacks the capacity to perform some of its functions, it needs the expertise of private, for-profit, companies who have the ability to do what it can’t, presumably because they wouldn’t be in business if they didn’t. </p>
<p>The second truism under a cloud is the view that, if you want something in government done, you must take it away from the provinces that are wasteful and incompetent. It’s firmly believed across the spectrum: even critics of national government often assume that, if there’s any chance people will be effectively served, it rests with the centre, not the provinces.</p>
<p>The unfolding social grant crisis has come to prove that these widely held assumptions could be misplaced.</p>
<h2>Public Private Partnerships</h2>
<p>At first glance the PPP model sounds like a classic ‘win-win’: government gets the expertise it needs while the private provider expands its business. Citizens also win because they get the service they need. What, besides ideology, could possibly prompt anyone to object? </p>
<p>Court <a href="http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/03/08/constitutional-court-wants-answers-sassa-department-payment-grants/">proceedings</a> confirm that the PPP between the government and <a href="http://www.net1.com/business-structure/transactional-solutions-cluster/cash-paymaster-services-(cps)/">Cash Paymaster Services</a>, the company contracted to distribute the grants, may have worked for both parties – but not for millions of grant beneficiaries. The private partner received more than its fee for distributing each grant. It also used its position to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-risks-behind-south-africas-social-grant-payment-crisis-73224">market services</a> provided by a network of subsidiary companies: funeral policies, microloans, smart cards, airtime and insurance. </p>
<p>It’s also <a href="http://probonomatters.co.za/who-is-responsible-for-the-sassas-epic-social-grant-distribution-disaster/">claimed</a> that grant recipients are bombarded with sms messages selling these products. If they bite, the money is deducted from their grants. The company denies this but confirms that it uses its position to sell services. </p>
<p>Using PPPs to market products to a captive audience who may well believe that what they are being asked to buy has official sanction is not what the advocates of PPPs have in mind. The social development department and the South African Social Security Agency (<a href="http://www.sassa.gov.za/">SASSA</a>) did nothing to ensure that the poor and vulnerable were protected and so it’s not clear in what way this was a partnership. It seems more like a takeover by the private provider.</p>
<h2>The public interest</h2>
<p>This doesn’t mean that all PPPs should be tarred with the same brush: there clearly are cases in which government can increase its capacity by working with private providers. </p>
<p>But it does show that PPPs are not a guaranteed cure for government incapacity: unless government has the capacity to ensure that these arrangements serve the public, they are not partnerships, but surrenders to private interests. </p>
<p>Without the necessary controls, PPPs may do more to help the government and businesses than to serve citizens: since much corruption in this country stems from collusion between public and private actors at citizens’ expense, corruption could be seen as a particular popular type of PPP. </p>
<p>The capacity which governments need to ensure that PPPs are in the public interest is the ability to assess citizens’ needs and to ensure that the agreement will meet them. This requires an understanding of what citizens want and the will and ability to negotiate terms which will give it to them. Social Development and SASSA seemed to lack either the will or the ability to do either.</p>
<p>This should challenge the simplistic idea that, to do its job, government need simply call in private providers. PPPs will not achieve their stated purpose if they are buck-passing exercises: the government is still responsible for the service and it’s failing the public unless it can ensure that its private partner really is meeting the needs of citizens.</p>
<h2>The role of provinces</h2>
<p>Before SASSA was formed, social grants were distributed by provinces. In the Eastern Cape in particular, grants weren’t paid efficiently and the courts were forced to intervene. It was widely assumed that this showed the dangers of assigning grants to provinces – a single national distribution agency would, it was assumed, solve the problem.</p>
<p>SASSA was created in 2005. Twelve years later, it still lacks the capacity to distribute grants itself or to negotiate terms with the private provider which protects beneficiaries. While grant distribution seems more efficient, beneficiaries are now subject to commercial pressures they did not face when provinces distributed grants. The shift hasn’t been the magic bullet the country was promised.</p>
<p>There was, to be fair, one good reason for changing the provinces’ mandate to distribute grants. The amount to be paid and who was eligible for grants was fixed by national government – the provinces had no say. But provinces don’t levy taxes and so they receive a fixed sum from which they must fund all their obligations. Grants were a large and growing expense and, whenever they were raised, provinces had less to spend on their other needs. A system in which a government entity must provide a service but has no control over what it costs is unfair and unworkable.</p>
<p>But this problem need not have been solved by creating a single grants agency: provinces could have been given separate funding for grants so that other budget items were not affected. </p>
<p>The problems in the provinces are not an illusion – the bad press is often justified. But the SASSA case shows that they are not necessarily solved by taking provinces out of the equation.</p>
<p>Incompetence, patronage and indifference are not a provincial monopoly: which sphere of government provides a service may be less important than whether citizens have the muscle to ensure that it works for them. There’s no reason why this should be easier at a national than a provincial level (it is easier for organised interest groups to influence government at national level, but that doesn’t make citizens any more powerful). </p>
<p>Centralising government functions creates the illusion of greater effectiveness because it makes it easier to issue orders from the top. But it gives no guarantee of greater effectiveness: the orders may be no more reasonable and they may be ignored.</p>
<p>Fixing government is about increasing citizen power and ensuring that officials and politicians are more accountable. It’s not about shifting services to national level in the forlorn hope that officials will push buttons and all good things will follow. </p>
<p>In both cases, the ‘obvious’ needs another look. Bringing in private providers and excluding provinces are not automatic gateways to better government. The social grants scandal shows that improvement requires creative thinking, not relying on truisms which are less true than they seem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74325/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Friedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa’s social grant scandal seems to back up highly regarded views on public governance that Public Private Partnerships aren’t naturally efficient.Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/682682016-11-09T00:44:32Z2016-11-09T00:44:32ZDoes it really pay to be generous?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145054/original/image-20161108-16702-u5tsu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being generous may be more important than you think.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kar Tr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What do you look for in a partner? Surely that depends on what the partner is for – you’d probably want a business partner to be innovative, a choir buddy to be musical and a romantic partner to be attractive and funny. But how do such qualities and skills compare with simply being decent, as in fair and generous? </p>
<p>Humans are unusually prosocial – we <a href="https://theconversation.com/sino-tibetan-populations-shed-light-on-human-cooperation-49469">routinely cooperate with non-relatives</a> to an extent that far surpasses that of any other living creature. Nevertheless, there is a significant downside to helping others: the risk of being suckered by a cheating individual – someone who takes the benefits of cooperation without contributing to the pot. Understanding how humans form mutually productive relationships, while at the same time avoiding social parasites, is the key to understanding the evolution of extreme sociality in humans.</p>
<p>Reputation – a signal about your previous behaviour that observers can use to infer how you might behave in the future – <a href="http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199738182.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199738182-e-22">lies at the heart of the issue</a>. One major reason why individuals care about and invest in their reputation is because we evaluate and choose partners for social and romantic interactions on the basis of this information. </p>
<p>From an evolutionary point of view, we should use this clue to pick the best partners for whatever interaction we are doing. But what does best actually mean? The best partner could be one who is the most able to give you things, such as a business partner with great wealth, knowledge and contacts. Or the best person may be someone slightly lower achieving who is more open to share the qualities they have – in other words the most generous. </p>
<p>In many cases, ability and willingness to give might be correlated – it is easy to be generous if you have plentiful resources. But what if they don’t line up so neatly? Do we prefer the “highest quality” partners even if they’re a bit stingy, or do we go for “lower quality” but fairer individuals?</p>
<h2>Dictator game</h2>
<p>To find out, we recruited 788 participants from an online crowdsourcing website to take part in an online, modified version of a classic anthropological experiment: <a href="https://www.coll.mpg.de/pdf_dat/2010_07online.pdf">the dictator game</a>. This is a simple economic task used to gauge prosocial tendency. Individuals interact in pairs as “dictators” and “receivers”. Dictators are given some money and told that they can give as much (or as little) as they like to receivers. Receivers have no control over the allocation and must accept any offer the dictator makes. </p>
<p>Our dictator game was modified in a few important ways, to allow us to determine how people trade off ability versus willingness to give when choosing partners. First, we gave rich dictators five times as much money to share with receivers compared to their poorer counterparts, meaning rich ones could offer higher absolute payoffs – even when relatively stingy. We also modified wealth stability. In stable environments, the rich stayed rich and the poor stayed poor, whereas in unstable environments, current wealth was not predictive of wealth in the next game. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/145021/original/image-20161108-16733-1qeq1b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Would you want Donald Trump as your business partner?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, receivers could choose or avoid dictators on the basis of their reputation for having been fair or stingy in the previous game. Receivers observed the decisions made by two different dictators in a first game – and then decided which of these individuals they would like to choose as their own partner in a second game. We were especially interested in how receivers prioritised wealth over fairness in a partner when these traits were opposed to one another.</p>
<p>The results, <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsos.160510">published in Royal Society Open Science</a>, were striking. As expected, when wealth and fairness were aligned (for example, when choosing between rich-fair and poor-fair partners), receivers typically picked the rich partner – and this preference was especially pronounced in stable environments. When choosing between rich-stingy and poor-fair partners, however, the majority of receivers preferred the poorer partner – even in stable environments where the poor tended to stay poor (57% did this). This was despite the fact that they had an expected payoff reduction of almost 25%. As expected, receivers showed an even stronger preference for poor-fair over rich-stingy dictators in unstable environments, with over 85% choosing the poorer partner.</p>
<h2>Generosity in the real world</h2>
<p>The decision rules we use to select partners might not be economically rational, but they are probably ecologically rational, in that they somehow increase fitness in the environment that they were selected in.</p>
<p>But is there evidence that humans actually operate like this in the real world? Some <a href="http://www.ehbonline.org/article/S1090-5138(15)00021-5/abstract">evidence from hunter-gatherer societies</a> has shown that generosity is indeed more important than hunting skills in determining the popularity of hunters within their social networks. The best hunters may catch more meat, but it is those who share what they catch who are preferred as hunting partners. Our study supports these findings: ability to give is valuable, but willingness to give is indispensable.</p>
<p>And could it hold true for romantic relationships? It’s hard to do the exact same experiment with the most common things we look for in a partner – such as intelligence, humour and good looks – as these tend to be much more stable traits than wealth. But, in the experiment, the majority of people picked poor-fair partners over rich-stingy even when wealth was unchangeable. So there may be a similar pattern in dating where generosity or fairness could trump looks or intelligence. Future work could explore the relative importance of these traits when it comes to dating.</p>
<p>Other qualities, such as wealth or social status, tend to be more changeable over time and therefore a better analogy when it comes to dating. Status may for example change during transitions in life – you may have high status in high school but not in university. We’d certainly predict that people will value fairness more than social status during such transition times, and will value social status more when those successes are stable across time and situations.</p>
<p>So the next time you find yourself in a social situation where you’re keen to make an impression, being fair and generous is a good place to start. There’s every chance it could pay off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nichola Raihani receives funding from The Royal Society. </span></em></p>‘Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen’ will not make you popular, according to new research.Nichola Raihani, Senior Research Associate in Life Sciences, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/656552016-10-12T16:32:16Z2016-10-12T16:32:16ZDiaspora academics and those in Africa can do great things together<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141395/original/image-20161012-8385-172nczx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Collaboration is key.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What happens when you pair an African academic living in the diaspora with one who is teaching and conducting research on the continent? </p>
<p>That’s the thinking behind the <a href="http://www.codesria.org/spip.php?article2249">African Academic Diaspora Support to African Universities</a> programme, which I have been involved in since November 15 last year (2015). The programme is organised by the <a href="http://www.codesria.org/">Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa</a> (CODESRIA) and African scholars in the diaspora with their counterparts at African universities. It hopes to invigorate the social sciences, which include subjects like Geography, Population Studies and Sociology, and to groom Africa’s future social scientists.</p>
<p>I am a Ghanaian living in the US, and an Associate Professor of Geography at Delaware State University. I’m part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/harnessing-the-potential-of-africas-global-academic-diaspora-41644">large African academic diaspora</a>. We have much to offer our colleagues on the continent. Our institutions are doing cutting edge research and teaching, and we’re able to offer great support to scholars at Africa’s less well resourced universities. Working with us also gives postgraduates on the continent a broader world view.</p>
<p>But the benefits don’t just flow one way. Diaspora scholars can learn an enormous amount about research, theories and practise from those still in Africa.</p>
<h2>A partnership</h2>
<p>My partner on the programme was <a href="http://www.ug.edu.gh/aehrs/staff/drjohn-kwame-boateng">Dr John Boateng</a> of the University of Ghana’s Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies.</p>
<p>Our project investigated the role of technology in student-instructor interaction and its impact on learning outcomes. We were particularly interested in how universities can adopt new technology for teaching and learning. It was important to understand how any technology we chose could be adapted to the Ghanaian context. </p>
<p>We had several tasks. Firstly, we needed to introduce students to new technologies for teaching and learning. We had to get the postgraduate students he was supervising involved in research about these technologies. And we had to disseminate our findings through publication. </p>
<p>I travelled to Accra to launch the project, but since then Dr Boateng and I have worked electronically using WhatsApp, Skype, emails and Google Hangouts. There have been times when Ghana’s <a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/07/ghana-government-criticised-power-cuts/">erratic power supply</a> and internet network failures have got in the way, but these technologies have generally proved invaluable.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141077/original/image-20161010-3897-1sytp23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr John Boateng, left, and Dr Raymond Asare Tutu.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Giving students great opportunities</h2>
<p>Students are central to the CODESRIA programme. The skills and knowledge I’ve acquired working in the US allowed me to help Dr Boateng set up assessment exercises for one of his courses that went beyond traditional exams and tests. He had noticed that students’ strengths and inadequacies cropped up during courses and wanted to learn how to intervene early – before the exam stage. I helped him to design interventions.</p>
<p>It was wonderful to work directly throughout the programme with postgraduate students. </p>
<p>These students were able to get involved in practically implementing a pilot research project. They learned about the different research instruments we used, how to understand the database we created and how to code data. They didn’t just help to collect data, as is often the case for student researchers. The students have also learned the difference between focus group discussion and in-depth interview skills, as well as the art of transcription.</p>
<p>The students helped with the meat of the project: Dr Boateng and I taught them how to identify gaps in the existing literature around our project’s central issues. For example, I told them to review previous work on technology-mediated student-faculty interactions. That included any work, qualitative and quantitative, about teaching and technology; technology and learning; social media and learning; teaching methods, technology and learning. </p>
<p>As they reviewed, they had to pay particular attention to the broad theoretical debates on these topics. They were looking out for variables on online course management systems and learning, online management system and teaching, types of social media platforms used for teaching, students’ perceptions and use of teaching and learning technologies, and so on. </p>
<p>Then they were asked to write up their review of this work with the intention of publishing it in a scholarly journal. This is still a work in progress; the students have worked hard but need more guidance to get their writing journal-ready.</p>
<p>The students’ involvement at every step inculcates in them a sense of ownership. They have shown a high sense of responsibility and a desire to learn. They don’t offer excuses when they make mistakes. Instead, they enthusiastically make corrections and forge ahead.</p>
<p>I find this attitude tremendously exciting. I know I am not wasting my time and energy, and that Africa’s potential future social scientists are gaining incredible experience. </p>
<h2>Collaboration continues</h2>
<p>Our collaboration has gone beyond the boundaries of the original proposal we submitted to CODESRIA. Dr Boateng and I have worked well together. We’ve encouraged each other’s interests and curiosity and developed new interests. I’m delighted to report that we’ve published one <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-016-9723-1">journal article</a> based on this collaboration. More will follow.</p>
<p>This kind of initiative, which brings diaspora scholars and their counterparts on the African continent together, is very worthwhile. Successful interventions will undoubtedly lead to an increase in research findings and publications by scholars living on the continent. </p>
<p>More importantly, postgraduate students who get involved will come to understand the essence of scholarship. They’ll be able to see that becoming a scholar of repute is not beyond their reach, no matter where they live and work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raymond Asare Tutu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>African academics living in the diaspora have access to resources that can really help their peers working on the continent.Raymond Asare Tutu, Associate Professor of Geography, Delaware State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/651142016-09-18T16:43:14Z2016-09-18T16:43:14ZIf Africa grows its universities cleverly, its economies will flourish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137062/original/image-20160908-25272-1heut6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As degrees become more commonplace, African graduates are struggling more to find jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">George Esiri/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of “education for the masses” – rapidly increasing university enrolment rates – has <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/education/es/files/9619/10376170210CommissionI-E.pdf/CommissionI-E.pdf">changed the face</a> of higher education in the past 50 years. The term “massification” has been adopted to describe it.</p>
<p>Universities in the US, Britain, Russia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647285-more-and-more-money-being-spent-higher-education-too-little-known-about-whether-it">lead the pack</a> when it comes to opening their doors to more students. </p>
<p>These countries’ institutions also perform well by any measure of research and postgraduate output. They have shown that, over time, there’s no conflict between dramatically increasing access to university education and the quality of this tertiary education. </p>
<p>Africa’s universities are also growing rapidly. In 1999, there were <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/03/african-summit-calls-for-major-expansion-of-higher-education/">around 3.53 million</a> students on the continent. By 2012, that figure had <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/03/african-summit-calls-for-major-expansion-of-higher-education/">trebled to 9.54 million</a>. However, they must learn from more developed nations’ successes and failures to ensure that their massification is not just haphazard.</p>
<p>Massification needs policy, planning and funding. It must be done with a keen eye on a country’s economic needs. Otherwise, increasing graduate numbers will simply translate into increasing graduate unemployment.</p>
<h2>Graduate unemployment around the globe</h2>
<p>There are some 150.6 million tertiary students globally. That’s <a href="http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/ED/ED/pdf/WCHE_2009/1745_trend_final-rep_ES_FP_090617a.pdf">roughly a 53% increase</a> from 2000. Degrees are becoming more commonplace and job markets around the world are seeing a glut of graduates. There simply aren’t enough jobs for all of them. </p>
<p>This is true on all continents and is related to several factors: a mismatch between graduates’ skills and labour market demands; an oversupply of graduates for certain fields, and structural policies. Recent studies <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/04/53-of-recent-college-grads-are-jobless-or-underemployed-how/256237/">have found</a> that between 40% and 50% of US college graduates are overqualified for the work they’re doing.</p>
<p>The situation is similar in Britain, where <a href="https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications/long-destinations-2008-09/introduction">underemployment among graduates</a> rose from 37% in 2001 to 47% in June 2013.</p>
<p>Graduate unemployment <a href="http://acetforafrica.org/highlights/unemployment-in-africa-no-jobs-for-50-of-graduates/">plagues Africa</a> too. </p>
<p>But the continent should not use this as an excuse to bring massification to a halt. Given Africa’s growth trajectory, it needs skilled graduates. To meet this need, universities must open their doors to more students. But they must do so armed with knowledge, lessons from elsewhere and strong funding models. </p>
<h2>A regional focus</h2>
<p>Funding models from other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries provide some useful guidelines. Studying these will allow African universities to understand more about how to successfully pursue massification. Political will, government investment and a proper understanding of what sorts of graduates a country needs are all crucial. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uyZwufrro7s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The US’s experiences with massification hold many lessons for African universities.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The massification of higher education must be linked to regional socioeconomic development strategies. Universities need to respond to their regions’ specific needs. </p>
<p>For instance, Ethiopia is focusing on <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201506250731.html">two major economic initiatives</a>: the development of hydroelectric power and the development of an agricultural sector that provides food security.</p>
<p>The initiatives are in their infancy. But Ethiopia is <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201506250731.html">already starting</a> to integrate infrastructure projects with research and skills development. Its <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201505190473.html">Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam</a> was a site for scientific research and innovation as well as students’ skill development.</p>
<p>A similar model was used for <a href="http://www.smartrailworld.com/nation-building-through-rail-high-speed-rail-and-south-korea">South Korea’s</a> high-speed railway system. The project spawned major innovations and bolstered local engineering skills.</p>
<p>These examples show that large national projects can be run in tandem with universities and other research institutes.</p>
<h2>Alignment is key</h2>
<p>University systems must also align with local industries. One of the most striking is in Rochester, New York led by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York. It is a public-private partnership with a clear mandate to create new jobs and innovative products.</p>
<p>This creates a symbiotic partnership in which both academics and students get practical, relevant exposure. Such partnerships also give universities the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/27/fact-sheet-vice-president-biden-announces-new-integrated-photonics">chance to share</a> laboratories and cutting edge research facilities with both industry and government. </p>
<p>This should feed both research and industry needs. Simultaneously, it can drive the creation of new industries. It can also encourage commercialisation and entrepreneurship. A university that specialises in agriculture or has a strong faculty of agriculture should be using its expertise to develop commercial projects. </p>
<p>For instance, Kenya is a major tea producer. Since the 1980s the country has run the <a href="http://www.tearesearch.or.ke/">Tea Research Institute</a>. It taps into an available commodity and produces research which harnesses that commodity’s potential.</p>
<p>When such initiatives are properly organised students can move between classrooms and, for instance, solving concrete agricultural problems. They then gain skills and new insights. And the products that spring from their ideas can generate more funding for their institutions.</p>
<p>This sort of thinking will lead to the development of <a href="http://www.oecd.org/science/inno/2101733.pdf">robust national innovation systems</a>. These systems coherently organise the research and development initiatives of private industry, public research institutions and universities. This makes it easier for research to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/ostp/PCAST/past_research_partnership_report_BOOK.pdf">feed into</a> national development.</p>
<p>If Africa’s universities can get this right, their quality and competitiveness will improve. They’ll be in a position to add value to industry and economic development more broadly – an attractive proposition for the private sector, which will then be more willing to pour funding into universities.</p>
<p>And, as students and professors become part of this collaborative system, the private sector is more likely to develop a seamless capacity for absorbing graduates. If the market is absorbing graduates, the value of a country’s degrees goes up.</p>
<h2>The Asian example</h2>
<p>This is not pie in the sky thinking. It has precedents in Asian countries like South Korea, Singapore, China and Malaysia, among others. There universities have been able to expand enrolments while simultaneously developing partnerships between industry and themselves.</p>
<p>China is considered a latecomer in university massification. In 1988, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2015.1111751">there were 0.67 million</a> available places at China’s universities and colleges. By 2012, this <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2015.1111751">had climbed</a> to 6.89 million.</p>
<p>Until now its graduate unemployment rate has remained very high. But the country has in the past few years adopted <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20110610213858656">a policy</a> of aligning its graduates’ skills to the emerging knowledge economy. It has realised a key lesson of massification: universities cannot be divorced from local, provincial and national economic development plans if they want their graduates to be employed.</p>
<p>Africa must apply this lessons to drive rapid and sustainable economic development. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Africa’s universities need to take massification seriously. But they must also be aware of their own – and their countries’ – specific limitations.</p>
<p>A high-quality university education system must be realistic and appropriate to a nation’s stage of economic, technological and industrial development. A high-quality university is not simply a replica of one in the Western world. It must be grounded fully in addressing the local population’s tangible needs before it chases global prestige.</p>
<p>Africa’s universities need to start growing and developing in two dimensions: horizontally, in terms of reaching out to enrol more and more students; and vertically, in terms of total quality management. </p>
<p>If it is strategically managed, massification won’t just benefit individual universities and students. It will improve daily life for all those living on the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Emmanuel Ojo receives funding from National Research Foundation (NRF). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandile Swana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Global economic realities shouldn’t deter African universities from continuing to push for massification. But they must do so armed with knowledge, lessons from elsewhere and strong funding models.Sandile Swana, Lecturer at Wits Business School, University of the WitwatersrandEmmanuel Ojo, Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/622232016-07-12T02:31:26Z2016-07-12T02:31:26ZIndia soon to have the largest tertiary-age population in the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129829/original/image-20160708-25053-6xsgsu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By 2020, India will need 40 million university places.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia in 2014, he described India’s relationship with Australia as “a natural partnership arising from our shared values and aspirations”.</p>
<p>His visit marked a historic shift from the neglect of bilateral relations for nearly 30 years. </p>
<p>When Modi said that he saw Australia as a major partner in every area of India’s national priority, he was changing the vocabulary from the tired-old 3Cs (cricket, the Commonwealth and curry) to the 3Es (economy, energy and education).</p>
<p>At the time of Modi’s election as prime minister, his government faced enormous developmental challenges – both economic and social. This was further aggravated by wholly unrealistic expectations of the speed and intensity with which his electoral promise of “aache din”, or “better times”, would be translated. </p>
<p>He was acutely aware of India’s structural and other limitations in being able to achieve manifest change within an abbreviated time frame. Consequently, Modi reached out to the global community. </p>
<p>In his view, as he said in the Australian parliament, partnerships require that countries stand together at a moment of enormous opportunity and great responsibility.</p>
<p>Among the multiple opportunities that India offers, education has all the ingredients to be the game-changer in India-Australia relations. </p>
<p>But this requires a shift in mindset from a lukewarm, limited and uninformed engagement to one that is robust, dynamic and aspirational. </p>
<h2>Indian’s booming uni-age population</h2>
<p>India’s demographic trend will soon see it overtake China as the world’s most populous country. </p>
<p>Currently, over 50% of India’s population, or around 600 million people, are under 25 years. Within the next five years, India will have the largest tertiary-age population in the world. The middle class – those best able to pay for a quality education – is expected to swell to around 500 million.</p>
<p>With GDP growth rates set to cross 8%, the demand for higher education can only grow. </p>
<p>Coupled with the series of reforms and new initiatives through programs such as <a href="http://www.makeinindia.com/about">Make in India</a>, <a href="https://www.mygov.in/group/digital-india/">Digital India</a>, <a href="http://smartcities.gov.in/">Smart Cities</a> and <a href="http://startupindia.gov.in/">Start-up India</a>, exceptional possibilities for partnerships with institutions that embed education, entrepreneurship and innovation in their teaching pedagogy have opened up. </p>
<p>The demand for vocational education and training is expected to undergo an exponential surge. This suggests that India will emerge as the biggest opportunity for top-quality international education providers in the 21st century.</p>
<p>The Indian government is acutely aware of the importance of quality education. Without this, the benefits of the demographic dividend might be squandered and reduced, in fact, to a demographic disaster.</p>
<p>Large numbers of jobless young people can easily be lured into criminal and anti-social activity. This danger is even more pressing given that archaic pedagogical techniques coupled with dodgy fly-by-night educators have effectively delinked education from employability – a large number of India’s unemployed are, in fact, educated.</p>
<h2>Growing demand for higher education</h2>
<p>The Indian workforce needs to embrace global standards and innovation. This can only be achieved through education that departs from 19th-century mindsets.</p>
<p>New Delhi realises the urgency of this massive challenge: it is estimated that by 2020, India will need 40 million university places, an increase of 14 million over the next four years, and 500 million skilled workers. </p>
<p>While online education might address part of the problem, it is not likely to be the only solution, especially not in the vocational training sector. </p>
<p>Even if India achieves its target of 30% gross enrolment rate in the tertiary sector by 2020, it is estimated that 100 million eligible students would still miss out on a university education.</p>
<p>India simply has to increase the numbers of its young people receiving a quality education – either in India or abroad – if the country is to benefit from its demographic dividend.</p>
<h2>Opportunity for Australia</h2>
<p>The current lack of supply, coupled with the increasing ability of the middle class to pay for higher education, offers Australia’s world-class education providers an attractive opportunity.</p>
<p>It is no exaggeration to say that the scale of demand for what Australia has to offer is unprecedented. However, we cannot approach this opportunity with a “business as usual” mentality. </p>
<p>Simply offering more places for Indian students at Australian universities, although welcome, cannot be the only answer. </p>
<p>Australia must focus on collaborating with India’s leading educational institutions and vocational training centres, and do so in innovative ways. </p>
<p>Co-operation must include joint research projects with partner Indian institutions and active collaboration with the corporate sector. </p>
<p>In Modi’s vision, it is this historic challenge that represents the enormous opportunity and great responsibility for India-Australia relations. It would be the test of true partnership.</p>
<p>The history of India-Australia relations has rarely offered so much expectation and hope. </p>
<p>After 30 years of neglect, perhaps this is a relationship whose time has finally come, where collaboration in education and training could provide the much-awaited tipping point. </p>
<p>To lose this opportunity would be a major strategic setback and an opportunity squandered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amit Dasgupta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In five years’ time, India will have the largest tertiary-age population in the world. But supply is unlikely to be able to meet demand. This provides a good opportunity for Australia.Amit Dasgupta, India Country Director, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/582172016-05-26T20:08:53Z2016-05-26T20:08:53ZHow do we choose a partner?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122937/original/image-20160518-9487-1rgka5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There’s nothing that everyone wants in a partner. But there are characteristics most men or women find attractive.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ileohidalgo/13945303272/">Leo Hidalgo/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>CHANGING FAMILIES: In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/changing-families">ten-part series</a>, we examine some major changes in family and relationships, and how that might in turn reshape law, policy and our idea of ourselves.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>We know a lot about why people choose different brands of dishwashing detergent, because companies spend billions of dollars investigating who buys what. But when it comes to the processes behind perhaps our most significant life choice – choosing a romantic partner – science knows surprisingly little. </p>
<p>One reason partner choice is hard to understand is because it’s a two-way street. A person can choose any dishwashing detergent they like, because the detergent has no choice in the matter, but choosing a partner doesn’t work that way. We need to understand not only what kind of people person A prefers, but also what kind of people prefer person A, how those two groups overlap, the influence of other competitors trying to elbow in on person A’s turf, and so on. It’s all very complex. </p>
<p>So let’s start simple(ish). Accordingly, I’ll focus on Western heterosexuals, on whom most of the research has been done.</p>
<h2>What everyone wants</h2>
<p>There’s nothing that everyone wants in a partner – everyone has their own idiosyncratic preferences – but there are characteristics most men or women find attractive. </p>
<p>As depressing as it is, a big part of romance and attraction is physical. It’s not just that everyone’s a unique snowflake destined to find their special complementary snowflake. Different people tend to agree a fair bit about who is more and less physically attractive, which sadly means there are haves and have-nots in the looks lottery. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122940/original/image-20160518-9501-4kkogc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men generally prefer slim women, while women generally prefer men with a V-shape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/2751765930/">Nathan Rupert/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Body-wise, <a href="http://dfred.bol.ucla.edu/FrederickHaselton-2007-PSPB-MuscularityFitnessIndicator.pdf">women tend to prefer taller men</a> with a high shoulder-to-hip ratio (V-shape), and who are muscular (but not too muscular). </p>
<p>Men’s preferences, on the other hand, are dominated by a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1740144507000769">strong predilection for slimness</a> (though not ultra-thinness). Much has been made of men’s apparent attraction to low waist-to-hip ratios (hourglass figures), but <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19013182">more recent research</a> suggests it is just a byproduct of slim women tending to have low waist-to-hip ratios. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122945/original/image-20160518-9491-5q0w38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Miranda Kerr: ultra-feminine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/6873397097/">Eva Rinaldi/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public dismay about society’s heavy emphasis on beauty tends to focus on body image issues, but <a href="http://www.alittlelab.stir.ac.uk/pubs/Currie&Little_09_facevsbody_EHB.pdf">research suggests</a> a person’s face is even more important to overall attractiveness. This might sound nice, but isn’t really when you consider it’s harder to change a face than a body.</p>
<p>Both men and women tend to prefer geometrically average faces (that is, faces close to the shape of the average face for their gender, as opposed to distinctive faces). </p>
<p>People also tend to prefer left-right symmetrical faces, but this aspect of beauty is often oversold. Symmetry has only a tiny impact on facial attractiveness, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691809000407">accounting for only around 1%</a> of the total variation. So don’t worry too much about your wonky nostril or huge left eye or whatever. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122949/original/image-20160518-9501-bmhchl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=926&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Justin Bieber also has a feminine face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-348418241/stock-photo-los-angeles-nov-justin-bieber-arrives-to-the-american-music-awards-on-november.html?src=44BzFHILh-u_m-LttR9-sA-1-0">DFree/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Men also prefer feminine female faces. This typically means, for example, big eyes and a small chin – think Miranda Kerr.</p>
<p>Strangely, women don’t tend to prefer masculine male faces: on average they show no strong preference either way. If anything, they prefer more feminine male faces, thus your Biebers and your Depps being international sex symbols. </p>
<p>It’s not all about looks, of course. Both men and women say they’d prefer a kind and intelligent partner. And <a href="http://www.ehbonline.org/article/S1090-5138(05)00076-0/abstract">both sexes like a good sense of humour</a>. But there’s a catch: women want a man who is funny, while men prefer a woman who finds <em>them</em> funny. </p>
<h2>Individual preferences</h2>
<p>There is plenty of individuality in preferences as well, some of which is based on the extent to which we <em>value</em> different traits in a partner. Few women prefer narrow shoulders on a man, but plenty don’t place much importance on shoulder width. Instead they see nice eyes, brains or jokes as more important.</p>
<p>So what causes individuals to differ in the traits they value more and less? </p>
<p>My colleagues and I studied thousands of genetically identical and nonidentical twins who ranked 13 traits (such as physical attractiveness, kindness, intelligence) in terms of their importance in a partner. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122941/original/image-20160518-9491-5e5n5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What’s inside also counts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kiracronin/4477789530/">kira cronin/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that the genetically identical twin pairs had more similar rankings than genetically nonidentical twins. This implies that genes influence people’s preference rankings.</p>
<p>We’ve shown a similar thing with specific physical preferences, too, such as whether you prefer beard or clean-shaven, tall or short, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049294">long hair or short hair</a>, or whether you tend to prefer <a href="http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/06/0956797615591770.abstract">digitally masculinised or feminised facial photos</a>. All these preferences are more similar in genetically identical twin pairs than in nonidentical twin pairs, again implying genetic influence on our individual preferences. </p>
<h2>Actual partner choices</h2>
<p>So how do these genetically influenced preferences translate into who actually partners with whom? </p>
<p>Since identical twins have similar partner preferences, we’d expect them to have similar partners as well, right? Well, they don’t – at least not in any meaningful way <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21508607">that my colleagues and I could detect</a> among thousands of twins and their partners.</p>
<p>This means there’s a lot of mismatched partners.</p>
<p>If this mismatch between genetically influenced preferences and actual partners emerged only in humans, we might wonder if modern society has somehow divorced our partner choices from our inherited preferences. However, the same pattern of results <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7089/abs/nature04564.html">has been observed in species of birds</a> that, like humans, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0013855">form pair bonds</a>. </p>
<p>So what’s the deal with the mismatch? Well, this is an open scientific question, but it probably boils down to the fact we can’t all get what we want. For one thing, most of us don’t meet enough people to find someone who fulfils all of our preferences. So right away we’re dealing with the best of the available, rather than a perfect match. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122951/original/image-20160518-9484-ped7c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We usually have to settle on someone who meets some but not all of our criteria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmoong/8590592453/">Khánh Hmoong/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what are the chances that the best of the available will be interested in us anyway, with our wonky nostril and obvious character flaws? </p>
<p>And then there are those other guys or gals with preferences similar to ours, trying to get in on this action as well, telling better jokes at Friday drinks and generally leaving us for dead. </p>
<p>So we settle for someone who doesn’t really match our preferences too well, but is basically alright, we suppose. Hopefully. </p>
<p>This must be part of the reason relationships are hard and often stressful. The consequences of mismatch between preferences and actual partners aren’t well studied in humans, but in finches females paired with a non-preferred partner <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/01/25/rspb.2010.2672">were found to have stress hormone levels</a> three times higher than those paired with a preferred partner. </p>
<p>Judging by the amount of relationship dysfunction and breakdown in our society (<a href="http://www.formerministers.dss.gov.au/15362/economic-value-of-marriage-family-and-relationship-breakdown/">estimated to cost A$14 billion per year</a> in Australia), this phenomenon probably isn’t limited to birds.</p>
<p>So it would be great to see more studies about the process of partner selection, what causes partners to match or not, and the consequences of mismatch. There’s so much we don’t understand, and the immense complexity of the process makes the search for answers both intimidating and exciting. Much like the search for a partner, I guess. </p>
<p><strong><em>Read the other instalments in the Changing Families series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/changing-families">here</a>.</em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Zietsch has received funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>We know a lot about why people choose different brands of dishwashing detergent. But when it comes to the processes behind choosing a romantic partner, science knows surprisingly little.Brendan Zietsch, ARC Future Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/538262016-02-15T19:18:14Z2016-02-15T19:18:14ZTen rules for successful research collaboration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111440/original/image-20160215-22560-1m2vgbt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don’t be lured into collaboration just because it’s what everyone else seems to be doing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government <a href="http://www.innovation.gov.au/page/agenda">announced</a> last year that it wants to see more collaboration between academia and industry. The government believes this will help “find solutions to real world problems and create jobs and growth”.</p>
<p>But collaboration is not easy to achieve or sustain. Between 50% and 75% of all interorganisational collaborations fail. And failure is expensive.</p>
<p>So how do you know when it’s appropriate to collaborate and how to make the relationship work? </p>
<p>Here, according to <a href="http://www.networksandcollaborations.com.au">research</a>, are ten rules you should follow:</p>
<h2>Setting up</h2>
<p><strong>1. Make sure you actually need to collaborate</strong>. Don’t be lured into collaboration just because it’s what everyone else seems to be doing. It’s not a way of getting what you want done more easily or cheaply – it can often be the opposite. So think whether your goal could be achieved another way – ie, by building in-house expertise, hiring new staff with the skills you need, or by contracting another party, such as a consultant, to do the job.</p>
<p><strong>2. Understand that collaboration is risky</strong>. Collaboration is not business as usual. It is risky and represents a different way of working. It’s not always well supported within the organisation and not all people have the skills or appetite for it. Take time to review the proposed collaboration and determine the costs/benefits: what might you lose and what are you willing to hand over? Is the time and effort likely to pay dividends?</p>
<p><strong>3. Find the right partners</strong>. This might seem like a no-brainer, but so many collaborations are doomed from the start because of mismatched expectations and goals, or working with parties that don’t have the right skills and resources to make the project work. The right partners don’t necessarily have to be like you, but you need to be sure that the other parties respect your way of thinking. There’s no point in collaborating with partners who don’t bring additional expertise and resources to the table.</p>
<p><strong>4. Leverage your existing relationships</strong>. Collaborations often work best when you work with people you know well and trust, and where time has been invested in building relational capital. But the project might require new ways of thinking, different skill-sets and different resources. So previous collaborators or partners might become the connectors who can match you with the right sort of partners, even if they’re not entirely a good fit for the intended collaboration.</p>
<p><strong>5. Find common ground with the other parties</strong>. When you’ve got a fair idea of your ideal collaborators, negotiate your terms of agreement up front, particularly about how you will work together, how conflicts with be handled, who will do what, and what will be contributed. This doesn’t mean reaching for the rule book each time problems arise, but it is important for parties to fully understand everyone’s interests and responsibilities. Time spent setting the rules of the game can also reduce the costs of ongoing monitoring.</p>
<h2>Making it work</h2>
<p><strong>6. Invest in relationships</strong>. Collaboration is based on relationships, not programs or organisations. It’s not simply a transactional arrangement. If you only want that, hire a consultant. For collaborations to work, you need to establish face-to-face relationships initially to build relational strength. Face-to-face meetings every so often between collaboration partners also help to ensure that things run smoothly. Simply put, time is a big part of the investment.</p>
<p><strong>7. Identify and support champions and sponsors</strong>. Collaborative projects work best when there is a champion (usually from industry) who knows exactly how the research is going to benefit his/her organisation, industry or sector. If this person leaves the organisation, someone similar needs to be found. If not, the project will drift, the researchers will reduce their engagement, and the outcomes won’t be applied. This is the worst of all possible outcomes. By contrast, sponsors provide high-level endorsement for the project and help to secure legitimacy, funding and access to resources. Give sponsors good news stories to help them act as brokers for your work/projects.</p>
<p><strong>8. Close down the ineffectual or toxic</strong>. Some collaborative projects end up carrying a partner or two, which puts considerable strain on everyone else – and can affect relationships that would otherwise be productive. Call out these behaviours, but give work-shy parties a chance to redeem themselves, or look for alternative ways of getting their input. If that doesn’t work, revise previous agreements, particularly when it comes to co-authorship, and don’t reward shirking behaviours.</p>
<p><strong>9. Protect the fortress.</strong> Work hard to keep a successful collaboration going. Add parties as the need arises, but take care when doing so. New parties need to understand the culture of the collaboration and fit in with its values, norms and behaviours. Understand how your partners work, their strengths and weaknesses, appreciate their value-add and constantly find ways of keeping the magic alive.</p>
<p><strong>10. Measure, monitor and communicate success.</strong> You need to establish a clear way to measure how you’re tracking against previously agreed objectives. Make sure you plan for some early wins and be sure you can verify when you’ve got there. Being able to measure and communicate success is essential to keeping a collaboration going and – more importantly – working out whether it’s on the right path, or needs work. You also need to be able to demonstrate clearly and unambiguously whether the project was a success, or whether it fell short in some areas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53826/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Keast received program funding from Department of Education and Training - Collaborative Research Networks Section. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael B. Charles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Between 50-75% of all collaborations fail. Here are some tips on how to set up a successful collaboration between academia and industry.Robyn Keast, Research professor, Southern Cross UniversityMichael B. Charles, Associate Professor, Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/541372016-02-11T05:54:38Z2016-02-11T05:54:38ZShould you be my Valentine? Research helps identify good and bad romantic relationships<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110686/original/image-20160208-2634-klq2gg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Remove your rose-colored glasses and take a cold, hard look at your potential Valentine.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/britpendleton/5446460324">Brittanie Loren Pendleton</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Will you be my Valentine?” </p>
<p>People all across the country say those words in the run-up to February 14 and the Valentine’s Day holiday. Whether you’re asking a brand new paramour or a long-term partner, the question can evoke feelings both of romantic uncertainty and possibility. </p>
<p>But for the well-being of ourselves and our relationships, “Will you be my Valentine?” is the wrong question. Instead, the more important question to ask yourself is “<em>Should</em> you be my Valentine?” </p>
<p>Relationships can be one of the most important sources of happiness in your life, with social connections serving as a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.830764">key provider of happiness and meaningfulness</a>. Not surprisingly, human beings have a very <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497">powerful drive to form and maintain relationships</a>. After all, the future of humankind depends on people coupling up to conceive and raise the next generation. Because forming relationships is such a powerful motivator, being in any relationship can seem better than being alone. A variety of factors can lull us into relationship complacency – compatibility, friendship, shared interests, inertia, fear of being single or low expectations. The drive to be paired off may lead you to settle for the relationship you have, instead of the relationship you deserve. </p>
<p>Figuring out whether your relationship is thriving or merely surviving is daunting. In the hunt for “the one,” how can you know for sure if your partner is the type of person who’s best for you and your long-term happiness? Thankfully, scientists who study relationships know a lot about factors to consider when weighing whether your partner should be your Valentine, this year and beyond.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110693/original/image-20160208-2602-mephfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is there a better Valentine prospect for you out there?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/3196479757">Dave</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>The problem of greener grass</h2>
<p>No one wants to settle. We all want to be with the best possible partner. In your relationship, how often do you find yourself wondering if you could do better? Are there preferable partners out there whom you’d find more interesting, enjoyable, smarter or funnier? Does your current partner pale in comparison with what else might be out there?</p>
<p>Researchers call these perceptions of other possible partners your <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6811.1998.tb00177.x">quality of alternatives</a>. Psychologists measure your perceived quality of alternatives by assessing responses to statements such as “If I weren’t dating my partner, I would do fine – I would find another appealing person to date.”</p>
<p>Agreeing with this kind of statement and believing you have high-quality alternatives may sound desirable because you have confidence in yourself and your ability to attract a good partner. However, thinking about and monitoring other partner options can undermine your present relationship’s stability. This type of decreased commitment to whom you’re currently with <a href="http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2013/11/25/let-me-count-the-ways-5-reasons-commitment-is-good-for-your.html">increases negative behaviors like cheating</a>. </p>
<p>Ultimately, you should be in a relationship where you don’t even notice any other greener grass because you’re with someone whom you think is the best for you, and who thinks you’re the best for him or her. </p>
<h2>Building a better you</h2>
<p>Relationships provide a lot of benefits. Someone to share your Netflix account with, to talk with about your day, to take care of you when you’re not feeling well. Our social relationships positively affect our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.676">physical health</a>, including buffering against <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/75106/report.pdf">high blood pressure and heart disease, and improving mental health</a> by decreasing depression, anxiety and substance abuse. It all adds up to building a healthy, meaningful life together with someone. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=810&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110692/original/image-20160208-2625-12qb4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1017&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Does your Valentine help make you a better you?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/3233736009">Dave</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>A good relationship also provides a partner who helps you become a better person. Researchers refer to this experience as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195398694.013.0005">self-expansion</a>. It’s your relationship’s ability to provide you with opportunities for self-growth. Whether you learn new photography skills, develop a new perspective on politics, gain a new identity such as “organic gardener” or simply feel like a better, more capable person, self-expansion has benefits.</p>
<p>Relationships that include more self-expansion are more satisfying, more committed, have higher levels of passionate love, experience less boredom, and have partners who are less likely to pay attention to other potential partners and less likely to cheat. (If you’re wondering how much of this valuable quality you have in your relationship, check out the <a href="http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2011/2/23/sustainable-marriage-quiz.html">self-expansion quiz</a>.)</p>
<p>Given the potential consequences of being stuck in a rut, less passionate love and more cheating, if your partner is not helping build a better you, it is time for a better partner. </p>
<h2>Check with your peeps</h2>
<p>Who is the best judge of your relationship’s future? You, or your friends and family?</p>
<p>To investigate, researchers asked people in romantic relationships to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167299259007">predict their relationship’s future</a> and compared their predictions to those made by their roommate and mom. The daters thought their own relationship would last two to three times longer than what their friends and family anticipated. And people rated their own relationships as significantly better than how others saw them from the outside.</p>
<p>Parents, perhaps because their own longer relationship experiences gave them insight into what to look for, were most likely to identify problems. Friends made the most accurate predictions, but it was the person in the relationship who was most confident in the assessment they made about their own relationship.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110694/original/image-20160208-2634-1wp0ets.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1074&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Romeos and Juliets are more optimistic and confident about their relationships’ prospects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintagehalloweencollector/3212945820">Dave</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Consider that for a second – it’s not a good combination. When thinking about our own relationship, this research suggests that we are highly confident in our predictions, which are often inaccurate.</p>
<p>Give your friends and family some credit, because this research shows that they have unique insights into your relationship. After all, they’re looking out for your best interests and have a greater ability to see the relationship clearly and objectively without getting swayed by the heady mix of feelings and attraction you likely have for your partner. When in doubt, ask the people in your life who care about you whether your partner really should be your Valentine.</p>
<p>Knowing whether you are with the best possible partner for you is difficult. While many of us get driver’s education and sex education in high school, we don’t get “relationships ed.” </p>
<p>But learning what science has to say about what makes for a good relationship can help. Being informed ultimately helps us make better decisions about whether to stay or go. After all, not being part of a sappy couple during the chocolates-and-flowers Valentine’s hoopla is hardly the end of the world – especially if it means you’re ready to find the relationship you should have, according to science.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54137/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary W. Lewandowski Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is your relationship thriving or merely surviving? Scientists who study these matters of the heart have some insights into figuring out whether you’re with your best possible partner.Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Professor of Psychology, Monmouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/474012015-09-16T04:24:36Z2015-09-16T04:24:36ZClosing the research gap between Africa and the rest of the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94885/original/image-20150915-29616-1jh7jt6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">University of Cape Town scientists work in the Drug Discovery and Development Centre. More needs to be done to keep Africa's scientists on home ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Epa/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A large gap remains in research capacity between Africa and the rest of the world in all scientific disciplines. Addressing the challenges, especially, in the physical sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector remains a a major hurdle.</p>
<p>In Africa itself, <a href="http://www.elsevier.com/research-intelligence/research-initiatives/world-bank-2014">research</a> is mostly dominated by five nations: Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. It is no surprise that four countries - Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Algeria - are also leading in terms of GDP.</p>
<p>A World Bank <a href="http://www.elsevier.com/research-intelligence/research-initiatives/world-bank-2014">report</a> examined the research enterprise in Africa over a decade from 2003 to 2012, comparing it to that of Malaysia and Vietnam. These two countries had a comparable research base to the sub-Saharan Africa regions at the beginning of the period of analysis.</p>
<p>During 2003-12, all three sub Saharan African regions had doubled their yearly research output and had greatly increased both the quantity and quality of research. Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of global research has increased from 0.44% to 0.72% during the decade examined.</p>
<p>But a wide gap in research capacity still exists between sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. The region accounts for less than 1% of the world’s research output while being home to 12% of the global population.</p>
<p>It is time to tackle mediocrity in science and technology to forge the next generation of partnerships that can deliver results and lasting outcomes. Improving higher education is key to making Africa a knowledge driven continent.</p>
<h2>STEM should be a strategic priority</h2>
<p>Sub-Saharan Africa’s output growth has been driven by advances in health sciences research with around a 4% annual growth rate, making up 45% of all research.</p>
<p>Clearly, for sub-Saharan African countries, renewed attention to STEM should become a strategic priority. Research in the physical sciences and STEM makes up only 29% of all research.</p>
<p>By contrast, STEM makes up the largest share of Malaysia and Vietnam’s total output with an average of 68%.</p>
<p>Currently, sub-Saharan Africa relies on overseas collaboration and visiting academics for its research output. This must change.</p>
<p>There is very little regional collaboration among African countries. This too must change.</p>
<p>And greater public support is needed so that the fruits of research and collaboration can help advance sustainable development on the African continent.</p>
<h2>Governments must step up to the plate</h2>
<p>If Africa is to grasp the science and technology revolution, governments should take the lead in policy formulation. </p>
<p>They should focus on programmes to mobilise science and technology for sustainable development.</p>
<p>This goal becomes crucial since the continent unfortunately remains far from the target set by the <a href="http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/october-2007/africa-aims-scientific-revolution">Lagos Plan of Action</a> and African Union 2007 initiative calling on African countries to allocate 1% of their GDP to science.</p>
<p>Only Tunisia and South Africa have met or are on track for meeting that target.</p>
<p>With the combined GDP of Africa coming close to US$ 2.6 trillion, the amount that could potentially be allocated for science is US$200 billion.</p>
<p>African countries can no longer depend only on external financiers to fund basic and strategic research on the continent. African governments as well as the private sector should make the firm commitment to invest in science, technology and innovation, particularly if the continent wants to participate actively in the global knowledge economy and cultivate local capacity, including the full participation of women.</p>
<h2>Africa must keep its scientists at home</h2>
<p>The continent’s collective challenge is to reduce the brain drain, promote circulation and accelerate brain gain. About one-third of qualified scientists and engineers born and trained in developing countries have <a href="http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/09/26/000456286_20140926094154/Rendered/PDF/910160WP0P126900disclose09026020140.pdf%20Pg55">moved</a> to industrialised countries. </p>
<p>High-level research network, adequate infrastructure facilities and a better integration of basic science and technology within public and private sectors on the continent would contribute to attracting Africans back to their home countries.</p>
<p>And the next generation of partnerships that can deliver results and lasting outcomes needs to be forged, because science is a social enterprise and thrives on collaboration.</p>
<p>Such movement would also help to attract African scientists from around the world to work on the continent and address its challenges.</p>
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<p><em>This is an edited extract from a speech by the president of Mauritius, Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, at the <a href="http://www.aasciences.org/attachments/article/418/AESA%20Press%20Releaase.pdf">launch</a> of the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) in Nairobi, Kenya on September 10.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47401/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ameenah Gurib-Fakim received funding from the European Union for research work carried out when she was an academic researcher. She was sworn in as the 6th and first female President of the Republic of Mauritius on June 5th 2015.</span></em></p>If the continent is to grasp the science and technology revolution, then governments should take the lead in both policy formulation and implementation.Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Associate of the Unesco-Unisa Africa Chair in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.