The question 'What the hell is quality?' has been subject to heated discussions since Pirsig posed it in 1974 in Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. To this day no conclusive answer has been formulated. And yet, the notion of higher education quality is here to stay. This dissertation investigates how people Dutch higher education 'make'…

This paper examines existing management concepts and practices that make up three contemporary approaches to public policy and public administration. We attempt to understand whether municipal public administrators and public administration graduate students validate these perspectives in "reality" versus "ideally." Addressing…

Small specialist higher education institutions often face challenges when negotiating with larger partners. In 1988, John Dawkins, Australia's federal Minister for Education, introduced sweeping reforms to create a Unified National System of higher education. Dawkins' criteria for funding necessitated mergers for many smaller providers. The…

Educational privatisation has received increasing scholarly attention in recent decades. In much of this work, educational privatisation is viewed as the outcomes of certain government policies or as the result of the influences of education businesses in school systems. This article presents a portrait of an educational entrepreneur in Cambodia…

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 boosted the rights of parents of children with additional support needs (ASN) by improving access to information, instituting a Code of Practice and establishing new redress mechanisms such as the ASN Tribunal and independent mediation. More than a decade later, Scottish…

Researchers are guided by their ideological and ethical viewpoints when conducting research. Doing research for government challenges them to confront these ideals head-on. This article explores the uncertain terrain researchers sometimes have to negotiate when conducting research for government, and discusses relations between researchers and…

Often organized as grassroots, nonprofit organizations, many farmers' markets serve as strategic venues linking producers and consumers of local food while fulfilling multiple social, economic, and environmental objectives. This article examines the potential of farmers' markets to play a catalyst role in linking local food systems to the social…

The responses to 46 state commissioners of higher education, or the equivalent officers, on questions concerning tuition policies are tabulated, including reasons used to justify tuition increases and holds, areas of greatest concern for cost and productivity, and the most likely areas for improving higher education productivity. (MSE)

This paper presents research designed to study the West African Examination Council's (WAEC) policy and its impact on teaching chemistry in Nigerian secondary schools. Five knowledgeable public figures in Nigeria and Great Britain were interviewed concerning policy formulation and implementation. Five pertinent documents were analyzed.…

Although the plight of cities seems nearly hopeless, three new-style big city mayors have emerged to try ideas deserving study by other cities. Edward Rendell of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), John Norquist of Milwaukee (Wisconsin), and Stephen Goldsmith of Indianapolis (Indiana) are demonstrating that U.S. cities can be made to work. (SLD)

This document, which is intended as a handbook for individuals who have been appointed to positions in United States (U.S.) governments, is a lengthy essay on understanding and fulfilling the responsibilities associated with accepting a position of leadership. The following are among the topics discussed in chapters 1-6: (1) joining the…