Describes the sharp swing toward devolution at one South African University, followed by a sharper swing back toward centralization, discussing factors to consider, in terms of the national context of South Africa's higher education and the university's institutional dynamics, to explain these swings. The reasoning behind recommendations for this…

Discusses the rise of the United States Film Service through the auspices of government relief organizations as part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, the films which were produced by Pare Lorentz, and its demise brought about financial and political conflicts. (Author/AEF)

Funding for community development in Ireland promotes a conflict management approach. Defining women's roles as apart from conflict is a political maneuver that does not aid reduction of conflict, obscures women's political agency, and limits the access of women's organizations to funding. (Contains 52 references.) (SK)

A case study of automation in the British baking industry illustrates several perspectives: (1) technological change as inevitable due to external market forces; (2) selection and implementation of technology as an outcome of strategic choices; and (3) awareness of the need for change as part of a political process in which choices are made among…

Presents a revised version of a talk given at the 2001 meeting of the City University of New York Association of Writing Supervisors. Offers a critique of current use of metaphors of community in teaching writing as both utopian and confining. Suggests alternate ways of imagining writing and teaching. Proposes three counter-concepts to community:…

Adopted a decision/action rationality framework to explore the criteria used to close academic programs at four universities. Findings suggested that decisions are based upon criteria other than those usually stated (e.g., cost, quality, and centrality), and that process leads to criteria generation. (EV)

Examines the relationship between verbal and visual semiotic cues by analyzing how semiotic cues position speakers interactionally and communicate implicit evaluative messages in one television news story. (Author/VWL)

Examines the socially constructed, arbitrary nature of maps and the limits and possibilities of this form of representation, focusing on Appalachia and Appalachian Studies. Describes "low-tech" and participatory mapping strategies that may be used by communities to produce their own representations of place, useful for…

Argues that "middle schools" (marked by inclusiveness, cooperation, and commitment to the general welfare) are at risk, pressured by those who believe school should be utilitarian. Argues the purported academic failure of the middle school is because middle school tenets have not been sufficiently implemented, and that middle school educators bear…

Considers how the most heated broadcasting issue of the year 2000 was the fight over low-power FM radio. Notes that the rise and fall of the proposed service reflected the state of the art in telecommunication policymaking. Notes that public broadcasters were caught in the middle of the low power debate. (SG)

Describes how political and ethical positioning in classroom discussions can be intertwined with productive conversations about the subject matter. Follows a sociocultural approach to literacy, exploring how teachers and students borrow ethical positions from the larger social world and adopt these positions through classroom discussions of…

Analysis of the political aspects of adult education reveals multiple ways of examining policies, programs, and practices. Five key issues form a framework for analysis: politics of diversity, whose interest, material conditions and control, accommodation and resistance, and strategic thinking. (Contains 69 references.) (SK)

Reviews issues in the theme articles on adult education politics: professional identity, adult education's position in colleges of education, purposes and policies of literacy education, and democratic practices in higher education. (SK)

This paper analyzes the politics of education in the United States by considering the ideas and lives of Emma Willard and Catharine Beecher, nineteenth century educational reformers. It argues that understanding these women as American Antigones, as working through the contradictions between their public writing and their private lives, provides a…

Subjectivity and identity are newly configured within cyberspace and technologically mediated environments. The global musical subject is thus defined and framed within global empires and techno-culture in ways not unrelated to political interests. "Being musical" becomes a critical issue. The New Zealand music curriculum resonates with…