In our theoretical and conceptual article, we propose that the application of Niklas Luhmann's sociological systems theory as a difference-theoretical approach to the opening of science unveils an openness paradox. We describe and discuss the general concept of open science as currently proposed by UNESCO and posit that only by accepting the…

Green sheds light onto the mercurial and ill-defined boundaries of institutional governance within China's unique system of higher education, a national system that remains misunderstood by scholars who continue to position it as little more than a research arm of the party/state. Through a synthesis of systems theory, complexity theory, and…

This article draws from narratives of 14 slum dwellers of Christian Colony, Islamabad, Pakistan, to explore their struggle through a web of barriers and enablers to participate in higher education. Using the qualitative approach, primary data was collected through in-depth interviews. The respondents were mostly from the families where males…

Globalization has become one of the most recurrent concepts in social and political sciences. More often than not, however, the concept is handled without much of a properly articulated theory capable of explaining its historical origin and expansion. For education researchers attempting to elucidate how global changes and processes affect their…

Findings from a case-method study that explored educational administration students' perceptions of two administrative theories--micropolitical analysis and traditional social systems approach--are presented in this paper. Methodology involved presentation of a case to educational administration students who participated in group discussion and…

In this nontypical dissertation the author develops a McLuhan-like style of writing and presents a holistic, humanistic social theory. This dissertation is a break with past approaches because it makes the humanistic assumptions that human action is: 1) value-centered and, 2) intricately holistic. The humanistic approach overcomes some current…

Presents a conceptual framework that embeds ideas from world-systems theory within the larger context known as the theory of dissipative structures. This perspective reflects the interconnectedness of individual and separate places into a larger global system that is a single functioning spatial entity. (MJP)