Communicating Core Values of Academic Ethos
Involvement of Top Management of Higher School in the Process of Academic Ethos Management
As a leader, a college or university president may define the core values of a university and write them in the form of core values statements, but until he or she starts the communication process concerning those values and makes an effort to inculcate them into an academic community, implementation of those values will be a very hard or unfeasible task.
Many tools for core values communication exist, but the most significant and effective is through an example, a way of conduct that top management exhibits. If punctuality is the main feature of an organization, it is unacceptable for top management to be late. If treating others with equal respect is the core value of a university, top management cannot have reserved parking spaces, top floor offices, a special elevator, and an executive dining room. In a particular organization we may broadly communicate the core values, but unless its leaders are the exemplars and demonstrate those values with their own lives, those values will promote cynicism and discouragement.1 The president, as leader, is accountable for all that happens within the institution and assumes the obligation to provide ethical and academic guidance. Leadership is a moral act infused with a vision and commitment to action. Leaders can serve as symbols of moral unity for their institutions.2
Clearly, the academic ethos of an institution of higher learning must be communicated, promulgated, and protected by all its members, but the main responsibility for dissemination of academic ethos regardless the model of campus governance—the dual-organizational model, the academic community model, the political model, or the organized anarchy model3—lies with its leader (the university president). Every action taken—or not taken—conveys information about the values of leadership. Top management’s obligation to conduct in accordance with its core values is the first step to making such an obligation applicable to all the employees.4 Institutions with a strong positive ethos are led by managers who explicitly articulate the values and development of both character and intellect in a caring community.5 We should remember that we assess ourselves by taking our intentions into account, but others judge us by our actions. People not only hear what we say, but they also see what we do, and they believe what they see.6
Making decisions about implementing the next value and then resisting getting involved for better and for worse is a serious venture. This decision influences others; to gain others’ cooperation requires support in the form of real personal involvement in order to achieve all what has been planned. The leader must live and breathe the academic values. As Harvey and Lucia state: “Words to live by are just words, unless you live by them. You have to walk the talk.”7
It is not important how leaders demonstrate their involvement in managing academic ethos. What is really important in the process of academic ethos management goes beyond particular techniques or approaches, as it does not matter how the involvement is demonstrated if it is visible. If the involvement is visible, the lesson about being concerned about values is being diffused to the next levels of a university and can be passed from one generation of managers to the next.
Top management should demonstrate their involvement in core values not only by what they do, but they should also take each opportunity to discuss those values. The message about core values should be repeated and forwarded during favorable organizational moments. Carvenka, CEO and general director of Philips Plastics Corporation, often talks about a need to communicate (even exaggerate) values in different ways.8 Each opportunity, each speech, every celebration, or business meeting should be used for core values communicating.
Declarations of Core Values of Academic Ethos
The next tool for core values propagation is writing them in the form of declarations. The process of developing core values of academic ethos offers a number of benefits. First, it helps the academic community distinguish between activities that reinforce the institutional imperatives and those that do not. Second, a clear core value statement has the ability to inspire and motivate those within a university and to communicate its characteristics and history to key external constituents.9 Morphew wrote, “An organization such as university succeeds when anyone inside and outside the organization agrees that it is a university! According to this theory, colleges and universities would develop core values statements so that those within the organization (students, faculty) and outside (accreditors, regents, prospective students) see that such a statement exists, in proper form and verbiage”.10
If the values of academic ethos are clearly articulated and well written, they are ready to be communicated. It is a specific test of well-prepared declaration. If values are significant enough to be published, they are significant enough to be complied with.11 People who have core values and their definitions available in a written form may be better able to cause their enactment and may be more willing to remember them in everyday work.12 Eric Harvey also assumes that the core value statement not only directs the organizational members’ behavior, but also affects the organization’s decisions. It is obviously impossible for all decisions to be fully compliant with organization’s core values, but through core values statements, a university may avoid decisions that do not comply with those values.
Methods for resolving of ethical dilemmas may be also used for verifying a particular decision compliance with our core values.
Language As a Tool of Core Value Articulation
The successful tool for core values communication is its clear, precise, unambiguous language. A language distinguishes a group of people who use it from those who communicate in other languages. A language is a means of identification and integration13 and is defined as a particular form or manner in which members of a group use vocal sounds and written signs to convey meanings to each other.14 Implementing new values (such as quality, for instance) in an organization is connected with including new vocabulary regarding those values. Moreover, Bernard Harvey Levi says, “People (who) are talking are talking nonstop, and they will not stop talking with the language of their teachers.”15
Tradition and academic ethos at Cambridge University16 are enshrined in terminology that we still persist in using. “Kitchens are called ‘gyp rooms,’ two-part degree courses are called ‘triposes,’ the student common room is the ‘combination room,’ and all manner of people and practices have strange Latinate names that nobody knows the origin of. So students returning home after a term here can sometimes appear to their friends to be speaking a foreign language.”17
Academic Publicity
Academic publicity, such as a student and faculty handbook, college or university catalogue, brochures, and so forth, should be used in a communication (promoting) process of core values. Placing the core values of academic ethos in the catalogue or university’s website makes it available not only to currently enrolled students but also to prospective students and their parents, thereby emphasizing the importance the institution places on academic ethos.
University Tradition
The most plentiful and important set of tools for communicating academic ethos are the university’s traditions. Universities and colleges, of course, are not the only organizations steeped in tradition; religions, governments, and military bodies, to name a few, take pride in their rich traditions that reflect values that are built into their specific DNA codes, as it were. These traditions and rituals, ceremonies, myths, folk lore, or symbols are the most durable carriers and communicators of academic ethos values. They create a sense of community, distinction, and membership as well as feelings of pride.
This holds true for higher learning. Despite the fact many traditions have disappeared through time, most of them have survived, and today they are a substantial symbol of academic values for students and for their alma maters as well. “From solemn graduation ceremonies rooted in the Middle Ages to silly but enduring student rituals like food fights and pumpkin tossing, campus life is big on traditions.”18
This process may be perfectly described in words that we may find on Princeton University’s websites:19
Traditions are things that you can’t buy. It’s like a reputation, you can’t buy a reputation, you have to earn it. But traditions have to keep growing, and they have to keep fresh. I like to describe tradition as a river, not a wall. A wall is a rigid thing—firm, you can never move it. But a river, although the course stays the same, the water is always new. If it isn’t, it’s stagnant, and then the tradition becomes a burden. (…)
In days of old, when this country and this University were still young, many of the Princeton traditions we now take for granted did not exist. Indeed, the history of this University and its many customs, rituals, and traditions has been ever-evolving throughout our history.
Through more than 250 years of its history, Princeton has enjoyed a remarkable number of endearing and enduring traditions. But as the following will indicate, many of these traditions are not chiseled in stone, but rather, they are initiated, perpetuated and modified by succeeding generations.
However, “every trustee, faculty member, administrator, student, alumnus, and groundskeeper is a guardian of our traditions.”
Myths and Folk Tales
Important tools for values of academic ethos communication are myths and folk tales. Myths are anecdotes that become established and have an aim at socializing. They emphasize what is accepted, practiced, and intolerable within a particular culture. Myths are the link between present and past and serve as an explanation of some of today’s practices. There are reasonable arguments confirming that folk tales also have a great impact on people’s beliefs and values. First of all, it has been proven that legends and stories are more likely to be remembered than bare facts and statistics. Second, stories and “urban legends” keep organizational values alive. Research has confirmed that employees who identify with an organization to a great extent and who are likely to demonstrate their loyalty know many tales that have been flowing within organization for years.20
Each member of Auburn University21 community surely knows the tale of “War Eagle”:
“War Eagle” is Auburn’s battle cry, not a mascot or nickname. The most popular story about the battle cry dates back to the first time Auburn met Georgia on the football field in 1892 and centers around a spectator who was a veteran of the Civil War. In the stands with him that day was an eagle the old soldier had found on a battlefield during the war. He had kept it as a pet for almost 30 years. According to witnesses, the eagle suddenly broke free and began majestically circling the playing field. As the eagle soared, Auburn began a steady march toward the Georgia end zone for a thrilling victory. Elated at their team’s play and taking the bird’s presence as an omen of success, Auburn students and fans began to yell “War Eagle” to spur on their team. At the game’s end, the eagle took a sudden dive, crashed into the ground, and died. But the battle cry “War Eagle” lived on to become a symbol of the proud Auburn spirit.
At Princeton University,22 the Office of Communications in conjunction with the Annual Giving Office has produced a series of little books that focus on particular aspects of Princeton’s history and campus. These include legends and lore description of Princeton’s presidents or chronologies of campus buildings. Probably every member of the academic community of Princeton knows the story connected with “Theft of the Clapper”:23
One of the more peculiar traditions at Princeton pertains to theft of the clapper by members of the Freshman Class from the bell in the tower atop Nassau Hall. One of the oldest customs of the college is the ringing of the bell to signal curfew at 9:00 p.m. at night. For more than one hundred years Freshmen were not to be seen after the bell had stopped ringing. Thus, according to the legend, if the bell did not ring, they would be permitted to stay out later.
The tradition of stealing the clapper dates began in 1863. (…)
Through time, it became one of the challenging “duties” of the Freshmen Class to steal the clapper. At some point, the reward was shifted from evening curfew to the beginning of classes in the morning. According to legend, successful theft would result in cancellation of 8:30 morning classes.
Capturing the clapper became a point of Class pride, and in some instances, the iron from the clapper was melted down and used to make miniature examples of the prize, such as those sold to the Class of 1887 for $1.00. Examples of these pins exist in the Seeley Mudd Archive Collections.
However, university leaders should not rely solely on legends and stories from the past in order to cultivate core values. They should also participate in the process of furthering the university’s traditions. They should not only talk but also listen, as it is highly recommended to hear what academic community members are talking about, what jokes and tales they are telling, and choose those that reflect organizational values in the best way. Then, those stories should become commonly known.24
Rituals and Ceremonies
Rituals and ceremonies that are strongly rooted in the values of academic ethos also communicate what is important for the community and what are the elements that constitute it:
Founded in 1666, Lund University has a number of traditions and rituals which continue to be passed on to each new generation of students at Lund. One of them, the doctoral conferment ceremony, is the major academic event of the year at Lund University, accompanied by all the usual pomp and circumstance. It is a tradition which dates back as far as 1670 with ceremonies taking place at the end of May or early June, in Lund Cathedral. At the ceremony, the University bestows its highest honor on those who have completed a doctoral degree and defended their thesis. Canon salutes ring around the city to celebrate the new doctors, who are dressed in black and wear special hats or laurel wreathes. The tradition of this ceremony has even featured in an Ingmar Bergman film.25
Hey Day. On January 29, 1985, Auburn reinstated an annual tradition of the Fifties and Sixties called “Hey Day,” a day on which all students wear name tags and say “hey” to everyone they pass. Leaders on campus join forces and pass out name tags to support this tradition and prove that Auburn University has the friendliest campus around.26
Every Polish student of the Mining Faculties27 knows and celebrates the Miner’s Day:
The Miners’ Day (Barbórka) has been celebrated by Polish mining students since at least 1878. The program of celebrations at the University usually includes a holy Mass, an official meeting, the jumping over an apron—a tradition that symbolises that mining “apprentices” or “foxes” are admitted to the miners’ community. These traditions were observed in several mining academies and schools: Scheimnitz, Banska Stiavnics (from the late eighteenth century), Loeben (after 1849) and Pribram (after 1849). These traditions were then brought to Poland by Polish students gathered in the Polish Students’ Mining Library in Leoben from 1878. The jumping over the apron is a custom brought by Polish students of mining from Loeben. The candidates to the mining profession (i.e., foxes) are admitted to the miners’ community during a ceremony reviving all traditional customs cultivated by the miners’ professional associations (gwarki) and by the students. By jumping and being bound with the apron (a piece of hide) a candidate becomes a full member of the miners’ family. During the same ceremony the University banner and a torch are handed over to the younger generations, which is an impressive symbol. The parade of ‘foxes’ means the march of uniformed students through the city, each carrying the torch, accompanied by the orchestra. The parade is led by the mounted Lis (Fox)-Major, followed by the Rector and professors in hansom cabs or sleighs. A huge barrel of beer is transported on the platform. They leave the University grounds and march to the Main Square in the town, adding color to the city and becoming a great attraction for passers-by.
Ceremonies and rituals are also strongly connected with a university’s songs, such as “Dear Bucknell” (Bucknell University), “Boomer Sooner” (University of Oklahoma), “Greek Sing” (Auburn University), “Purdue Hymn” (Purdue University), or many traditional Princeton songs that express a pride of participation in a unique community. At the University of Manitoba,28 the official theme song of the U of M Students’ Union was written in 1940 and is still sung today. Entitled “The Brown and Gold,” it urges, “Forward to success, wisdom, happiness.” One of the oldest academic songs is “Gaudeamus,” which is a popular academic commercium song in many European countries, mainly sung or performed at university graduation ceremonies. Despite its use as a formal graduation hymn, it is a jocular, light-hearted composition that pokes fun at university life. The song dates to the early eighteenth century, based on a Latin manuscript from 1287. It is in the tradition of carpe diem (“seize the day”) with its exhortations to enjoy life.
Cultural Models
Exemplars and cultural models are another tool for core values communication. Exemplars are an integral part of a system of values; as they embody a set of values, they become symbols. In the Middle Ages, for example, knights and saints served as exemplars of the ideal human being; in the seventeenth century, it was a nobleman. In the eighteenth century, it was a philosopher; in the United Kingdom of the nineteenth century, it was the gentleman, while in France it was the townsman.29 Such models exist on many levels: there may be model human beings, model teams, or organizational models.
Fred Fox30 for Princeton University may serve as an example of a cultural model:
Over the years, Fox enlarged his role at Princeton, lecturing to a generation of first-year students and staff about Princeton’s legends, myths, colors, artifacts, sons, stories, and people. In 1976 Fox became Keeper of Princetoniana, moving to Nassau Hall where he increased his work with alumni, friends of Princeton, and the public at large. Fox’s contribution to Princeton is best enunciated in President William G. Bowen’s memorial remarks {hot link} about this ‘colorful, delightful person’ who was described as ‘a cross between a curator, a ringmaster, and a storyteller.’ (…)
He also had a much more subtle sense of tradition than all the orange and black trappings might have suggested to some. His symbol of tradition, of continuity, was the river, because it was never stagnant, never still, always moving. He believed so deeply in the core values of Princeton that he became incensed when people mistook the trappings for the real thing and tried to preserve the form at the expense of the substance.
Symbols
Symbols may also be used as a tool for values of academic ethos communication. Architecture symbols such as the external architecture of campus buildings, monuments, logos, seals, or colors, or the physical symbols such as a dress code (ceremonial gowns), rings, mascots or symbols of prestige, symbols of hierarchy or social position such as a presidential costume, chain, or mace may be a manifestation of a university’s values.
Architectural symbols
For example:
• Constructed in 1894, Gibson Hall of Tulane University is the oldest building on the uptown campus. It symbolizes the traditions and history of Tulane.31
• Clemson University32 has a proud tradition of military excellence. Founded as a military school in 1889, Clemson built its reputation by consistently graduating well-prepared officers. Clemson’s military spirit is commemorated through sites such as the Clemson Military Heritage Plaza, which overlooks Bowman Field and features an array of ribbons and honors, the footprints of brave service men, and inscriptions from a variety of alumni classes.
• On St. Patrick’s Day in 1939 Texas Tech University33 unveiled that they had discovered a piece of the Blarney Stone. According to the legend the stone was discovered by a group of petroleum engineers while they were on a field trip. After doing tests it was discovered that the stone was a piece of the original Blarney Stone. The stone now lies on a stand in front of the old Electrical Engineering Building. It is said that seniors that kiss the Blarney Stone upon graduation will receive the gift of eloquent speech.
The care for traditions and heritage of particular higher school may also take a form such as at Tulane University.34 The oak trees on the Newcomb Quad were transplanted from the original campus of Newcomb on Washington Avenue when the school moved to Broadway in 1918.
Another example of architecture symbols that reflect university’s values is a seal:
• Three years after the founding of the Bucknell University35 in 1846, trustees approved a resolution calling for a committee “to report the form and devise of a seal for the University at Lewisburg.” On April 17, 1849, the seal was approved. The seal shows the sun, an open book, and waves, symbolizing the light of knowledge and education surmounting the storms of life.
• The official seal of New York University36 combines a silver ceremonial “torch of learning,” which is carried in formal academic processions, with a group of four running figures symbolizing effort or striving in the pursuit of learning. The seal carries the Latin motto “Perstare et Praestare,” which is generally translated as “to persevere and to excel,” together with the name of the University and the roman numerals for 1831, the year of the founding of the institution. When reproduced, the darker portions of the seal are usually printed in violet, the official color of the University.
• The Texas Tech37 Seal was designed by the campus’ master planner, William Ward Watkin, in 1924, the Tech Seal’s symbols are the lamp, which represents “school,” the key for “home,” the book for “church,” and the star for “state.” Cotton bolls represent the area’s strong cotton industry and the eagle is suggestive of our country.
• At the University of Oklahoma38 the idea for seal came from a chapel talk he made on the parable of the man sowing seeds. George Bucklin drew the design, a sketch of a sower with his bag of seeds. The Latin motto, “Civi et Reipublicae,” furnished by Professor Paxton translated to “For the citizen and the state.”
Physical symbols
Physical symbols rooted in academic tradition also take different forms. One of them is the gown—a classic style for many university students. At Cambridge University,39 for instance, “Until the mid-1960s, students could be fined if they were not wearing a gown when in the street after dark. The undergraduate gown is still worn on the odd occasion; rather scarily, on the first couple of days at Corpus, especially for the Matriculation Ceremony—which in practice means walking to the front of the hall and signing student’s name (with a biro, no less) on a form. After that, the only occasions when new Cambridge students might wear a gown are if they go to services in Chapel, and for Formal Hall.”
Another case comes from Trinity College.40 “There was a time when Trinity College students had to wear their gowns, not only on campus but also whenever they ventured into the city,” said Sylvia Lassam, the Rolph-Bell Archivist at the U of T Federated College. (They were fined 25 cents if caught un-gowned). Gown-wearing endures to this day, but only for the 6:30 p.m. serving of the Wednesday evening dinner. The so-called “high table dinner” generally attracts about 50 people, including a “high table” of college officials. It’s also a tradition to wear robes to chapel.” Similarly, at Bucknell University,41 the university’s official colors, orange and blue, “were chosen in 1887 by a student committee. The official resolution of the faculty and students followed and the colors were approved by the board of trustees in January 1888.”
Another symbol of academic tradition and symbol of esprit de corps to graduates of a university are rings. There are engraved with a university’s symbols and inscriptions on them. A ring from Clemson University 42 offers a bold question that reads more as a challenge: “Who shall separate us now?”
Symbols of prestige
To the last group of university symbols—symbols of prestige—we may include an academic mace, presidential chain, and presidential costume. Use of the mace dates back to the University of Vienna in 1385.43 It was the weapon for a bishop in battle, protecting the clergy, who were forbidden to fight themselves. Through time, the mace became the symbol of power in civil ceremonies. In the sixteenth century, Oxford University 44 used a decorated mace in ceremonies to represent academic strength (excellence and independence); the mace as symbol of distinction and tradition is used to this very day.
A dignitary at official events sometimes wields a mace or a staff to showcase the power and prestige of an institution. For example, at commencement and at other George Washington University ceremonies, a marshal brandishes a ceremonial mace, representing the high standing of the University and the elevated status of higher education overall as a force for good. The mace was created at George Washington University 45 by Harry Irving Gates, associate professor of sculpture, and was presented by the Faculty Women’s Club of The George Washington University. Its flanges bear a profile of George Washington.
Using New Technology for Communicating Core Values of Academic Ethos
The process of communicating core values of an organization such as a higher school may be, or even should be, supported by using modern technologies. The aim of the communicating process of core values should be to reach the target group consisting of an organization’s employees (such as academic teachers, scientists, administrators, and service staff), the university’s partners (e.g., suppliers of services or materials), and students. The application of modern media may be the most appropriate way to communicate, especially with the last of the mentioned groups. It is widely known that students do not have any objections to use new technologies. Moreover, the resistance against tradition and traditional communication media is palpable, as they are perceived as obsolete, fossilized, or “for adults” and they are a generational barrier that hampers the process of information diffusion. The unwillingness to use traditional ways of communication may become a crucial factor that makes core values communication quite difficult. Young people prefer to send SMS or to chat than to have a conversation. They also prefer to read the content of a website than from a printed brochure, and they prefer to search for interesting information via Google than to ask a professor. From such a perspective, the use of the newest information, communications, and technology (ICT)s seems to be perceived better by this group of the young receivers. This will enable the process of communicating core values of a university to be more effective.
What can a university do in order to enhance its communication process? What media may be used? What technologies should be used? There is a wide spectrum: from those commonly used in the business world like contact centers, social media, to dialog systems based on artificial intelligence. The last one especially may be very interesting. Using hotlines, tweets, or listings on Facebook has become an integral part of the communication process in various organizations. The use of dialog systems based on artificial intelligence is in its initial stage. Nevertheless, the use of hotlines, Facebook46 profiles, or writing a microblog on Twitter involves valuable resources: it requires a lot of human, time, and financial resources. As a result, such processes of core values communication become costly.
How can organizations tackle such problems? One of the solutions is resorting to modern technologies that use methods and techniques of artificial intelligence. They are by now effective enough to be successfully put into practice. Such technological advances use so-called chatbots, also known as avatars, virtual advisers, or lingubots. Chatbots are computer programs using artificial intelligence, enabling a conversation with a user by means of natural language. Such systems are placed on Internet websites. Their task is to dispense information to users. They are also frequently used for entertainment purposes (e.g., video games), or for advisory purposes (e.g., a virtual credit adviser or a physician).
A chatbot can talk about almost anything; once it is provided with a knowledge base specific to a given firm or organization, it becomes an authentic virtual adviser. Chatbots provide a unique, interactive, and personal way for users to get answers and assistance on websites, 24/7. A user simply chats online with the chatbot, and it acts as a human contact center, providing answers and solving users’ problems. Some chatbots support text-to-text, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and speech-to-speech interactions, and are also available on popular mobile devices. Chatbots are available 24/7, 365 days a year, and they are less expensive for the college or university than other methods. The chatbots handle repeat questions that human service tires of answering, as well as queries of low-to-medium complexity.47 Students often prefer media like chat and SMS to personal or phone conversations; chatbots not only meet that preference but also make the conversation interesting with an avatar front-end.
The first prototype for all chatterbots was ELIZA, devised by Joseph Weizenbaum back in the 1960s. ELIZA mimicked a psychotherapist and enabled simple dialogue with a user. The mechanics behind ELIZA was simple; it had little to do with artificial intelligence, relying on several rules of English grammar. In point of fact, ELIZA did not have its own database, and its responses and questions were generated as simple transformations of the user’s input. It should be admitted, however, that despite its simplicity it managed to deceive many human interlocutors unaware of the fact that it was a computer they were talking to.
In the 1980s to 1990s, chatterbot technology boomed. The modern chatterbots are furnished with gigantic knowledge bases, and they are able to associate pieces of information and to learn using their user’s responses. In the case of specialist knowledge, six out of ten of them pass the Turing’s test, a universal measure of a machine’s ability to demonstrate intelligence, proposed by Alan Turing more than 50 years ago.
How can an organization use the technology? The uses that chatbots can be put to are solely dependent on the decision makers’ imagination. A chatbot can be furnished with any kind of knowledge and it can be used as, for example, a virtual spokesperson of the university, serviceperson, virtual teacher (e.g., part of an e-learning system), virtual adviser, or simply a navigator leading one around the university’s website. The possibilities are practically unlimited.
The technology can have numerous applications, including:
• relieving congestion on overburdened call centers, taking over part of user service inquiries;
• enhancing the university’s website;
• setting up interactive support;
• providing information resource systems for employees, lecturers, and students or partners.
Benefits for Organizations
Universities willing to implement such services can certainly expect many benefits, including:
• reducing user service costs through relieving congestion on overburdened call centers and other traditional communication channels;
• increasing user satisfaction levels through enhanced 24/7 user service availability, with no negative emotions, health leaves, holidays, training courses, and so forth;
• avoiding the “shy user/student effect,” eliminating the need to contact the call center through the phone number given on the website;
• increasing the popularity of the website;
• enhancing the university’s image in the eyes of students as an innovative organization.
Admittedly, however, the present solutions are far from ideal. As a rule, they are limited to a singular scope of use. Once you go beyond the scope, the computer starts behaving like a baby and is completely lost in the “other world.” It simply cannot function in a different context because it lacks sufficient general knowledge of the world. This is the main reason why a computer labeled artificial intelligence software may sometimes seem “stupid.” This will soon be over. There are many projects underway in the world, which aim at creating gigantic “common sense” term databases, including pieces of information such as, for example, “grass is green,” “organisms need water to survive,” “humans live 75 years on average,” and so forth. The most famous of such projects is the American CYC project, which boasts a huge database consisting of more than 10 million terms. For a computer, however, to have a knowledge comparable with that of a human being, it needs to amass about 100 million terms. This may be only a matter of time and money.
Chatterbots at the Universities
Chatterbots began appearing at universities at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Among the higher schools that implemented such solutions are: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Leeds Metropolitan University, Basque Country University—Universidad del Pais Vasco, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej, University of Wolverhampton Library, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Maastricht, University of Granada, Kingston University, Gonzaga University, and Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania Personelem, Wyższa Szkoła Handlu i Finansów Międzynarodowych.
The following are select implementations in the segment of higher schools:48
Mariana, a Virtual Agent developed by BotGenes, who works as a university advisor of Universidad Católica Argentina, one of the most prestigious universities in Argentina, which offers more than 50 degree titles and numbers some 50,000 graduated students. Mariana has studies in Advertising and Institutional Communication and enjoys orienting the applicants with the peculiarities of income and characteristics of every career. Mariana uses the more advanced “brain” developed by BotGenes, with more than 400,000 decision rules, allowing her to handle thousands of regionalisms, typos, spelling, and grammar errors; she can also contextualize answers. She integrates natural language processing (NLP) technologies with text to speech (TTS), also offering chat, audio streaming, and an animated avatar from BotGenes’s servers.49
Unai is a virtual assistant for the Basque Country University. Its goal is to help students know how to join the university, prices, grants, entrance exams, and so forth. Because it is a “fifth generation” virtual assistant, it can understand natural language, show emotions, and even comprehend ambiguous phrases. It can also engage in a social dialogue or correct spelling mistakes.50
Elvira is a virtual assistant, which can tell you everything about the University of Granada. You can write the question down or choose to click on any of the options showed to the right of Elvira. You can also send any suggestions you have about Elvira’s work by clicking on the white envelope icon.51
There are many tools for core values communication. This chapter has just touched the tip of the communications iceberg, as the only limitation for creating new communication methods is the brain and abilities of creative thinking of organizational leaders. Thus, leaders who want to call themselves the “custodians of values” should constantly search for new, more effective core value communication tools.52