Academics, although committed to quality in research and teaching, continue to resist quality assurance processes within their universities. This apparent paradox reflects a series of disputes surrounding issues of power, definition and efficacy. This article reports on a study of 30 academics from 10 Australian universities and details their…

This article presents a brief critical commentary on Martin Carnoy's presidential address from Robert F. Arnove, Nelly P. Stromquist, Christine Fox, Henry M. Levin, Vandra Lea Masemann, and Erwin H. Epstein. Among other things, Arnove finds particularly useful Carnoy's recommendations on ways to engage in comparative education research, from…

Looking at descriptive, comparative social and historical evidence, this study explored factors contributing to language death for two languages formerly spoken on the Indonesian island of Buru. Field data were gathered from the last remaining speaker of Hukumina and from the last four speakers of Kayeli. A significant historical event that set in…

This paper conceives of a model of democracy that is tied up with narrative practices, and demonstrates how the initially democratic and radical auspices of one scholar's critique developed into a form of theory that was profoundly undemocratic in its narrative. The paper notes that the contemporary debate about power derives from a series of…

A current movement in qualitative research is a preoccupation with representation of the "other" (Denzin and Lincoln 1994). Feminists, critical theorists and postmodernists have questioned the dominant, legitimized social order and remained sensitive to the multiple issues related to and emanating from power. This paper briefly reviews the…

Most of the research on hate has focused on specific acts of hatred, but little attention has been given to the rhetorical expression and strategies of hate. The insights of scholars from a variety of disciplines have been gathered in this collection to explore hate as a communication phenomenon. Essays include: (1) "Elite Discourse and the…

Most of the papers in this volume were presented at a workshop in New Delhi (India) in April 1993, although some revisions and additions are included. Presenting primary evidence from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh and existing survey and census data, the papers in this collection explore interrelated issues of women's autonomy, female…

Literacy experts in composition have examined the exclusionary forces of academic discourse, and have identified various forms of classroom power that result from the system of academic literacy. Little is understood about the power relations that function to relate and regulate the classroom. Largely a humanistic notion, literacy has been defined…

Two characteristics that are commonly associated with organizational behavior, power and sex, are examined. Sexual behavior within the workplace and schools is discussed as are the effects of sexual stereotypes, sexually harassing and non-harassing sexual behavior, and office romances on the organization and its members. A conclusion is that these…

Academic institutions document their rhetoric through the written communications that show up in faculty mailboxes. Much of what arrives serves to remind faculty of what needs to be done to participate in the events and decision-making processes of the institution. The mail encountered by graduate students also reflects hierarchical power inherent…

Teachers' attempts to establish and maintain authority in their classrooms give rise to one of the essential tensions of teaching: reconciling caring and controlling. This paper examines sociopolitical questions about the nature of classroom authority and the uses of power to understand this tension. The first part presents an overview of the…

A writing teacher, troubled by the hierarchical, authoritarian design of his courses, restructured his writing classes to alter the dynamics of authority in the classroom. The idea was rooted both in Paulo Freire's writings and in the simple notion that students should be designing their own writing tasks. First, students brainstormed possible…

While studies by Stanley Milgram have shown that obedience to authority influences subjects' willingness to engage in behavior potentially harmful to others, Drout and Vandler (1992) found that observers consider an authority figure who harms or commands another person to harm someone more responsible and punishable than the obedient subordinate.…

According to Strong and Matross (1973), a counselor's main sources of influencing the client's behavior are expert, referent, and legitimate power bases. To date, the only studies examining the differential preference of counselors for interpersonal power bases have focused on preference as a function of counselor gender, counselor level of…

Perceived control is becoming an increasingly popular topic in the literature of communication. Intriguing evidence exists to suggest that the key to understanding the role of locus of control in the interpersonal encounter lies in appreciating the enthymematic nature of human interaction and the role of perceived control in this enthymematic…