The romanticism of contemporary theory : institution, aesthetics, nihilism

"Justin Clemens presents a valuable study of the links between Romanticism and contemporary theory. The central contention of this book is that contemporary theory is still essentially Romantic - despite all its declarations to the contrary, and despite all its attempts to elude or exceed the limits bequeathed it by Romantic thought." "This study will be of interest to literary theorists, philosophers, political theorists, and cultural studies scholars."--BOOK JACKET.

Towards institution-wide online teaching and learning systems: trends, drivers and issues

Universities worldwide are consolidating and enhancing their commitments to various models of e-learning. These activities are leading to the adoption of corporate-wide e-learning systems, and accompanying changes in structures, processes and infrastructure requirements. The professed ideal is to identify narrowly defined corporate IT solutions which can deliver the full range of educational, administrative and student support features to meet the organisational need to expand e-learning activities globally. The trend seems to be away from locally driven and controlled IT development and adoption towards investments in Instructional Management Systems (IMS). In reality, however, universities generally are developing and using a broader array of solutions to meet their needs than may be deemed desirable under a more centralised, corporatised IT approach. This paper examines these trends by analysing the drivers shaping corporate approaches to IT implementation, and reflects critically on some of the educational, economic and organisational tensions and issues evident in institutional approaches to establishing such systems. The paper highlights the ongoing need for innovative, dynamic organisational solutions to progress the e-learning agenda, and the thoughtful reconciliation of centralised and decentralised approaches to achieving desired ends.

New forms of organising : changing structures, processes and boundaries in a public sector institution

Globalisation, deregulation, privatisation, and advances in communications technologies have intensified competition and impacted on the structures, processes and boundaries that define organisations. Increased competition at both the local and global level calls for increased responsiveness and flexibility, and continuous improvement and innovation. As organisations endeavour to become more attentive and responsive to environmental trends, and customer needs and expectations, they are experimenting with different forms of organising. This has included flattening structures, devolving decision-making responsibility and encouraging greater collaboration and knowledge transfer across functional areas.

The William Angliss Institute of TAFE operates in the post-secondary sector which has experienced significant changes over the past decade as a result of: wide-ranging public sector reforms imposed by successive governments; budgetary cutbacks; accountability and performance improvement pressures; increased national and international competition, industrial relations changes and more demanding, sophisticated customers. This paper draws on the INNFORM Study's three organisational design dimensions of structure, process, and boundaries to examine the nature and degree of change that has taken place at the Institute. Case study findings indicate that while William Angliss has implemetted changes across the three design dimensions, the depth and breadth of these vary and this has impacted on overall performance outcomes. Its experience suggests that even when an organisation adopts a systemic approach and implements changes simultaneously across structure, process and boundaries, optimal performance benefits will not accrue unless these elemental changes are mutually reinforcing and complementary. It also suggests that improvement to processes, particularly communications and human resources practices must be an overarching consideration, as complementary change across all three design dimensions depends ultimately on the contribution and commitment organisational members are prepared to make.

Managing academic support for international students: the appropriateness of a learning support unit in an Australian tertiary institution

The higher education environment in Australia has undergone a radical change since the 1980s with the phenomenal increase in the intake of international students, particularly from what are referred to as Confucian Heritage Cultures (CHC): China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Students from these countries view the Australian higher education system very favourably. The present increase in the proportion of full-fee paying students at Australian universities is also a result of decreasing government funding to the Australian higher education sector, which has now risen to be one of the most important elements of the Australian economy. These push-pull factors have drawn more Australian tertiary institution providers into the market place, as they seek more international student enrolments for their domestic campuses and also establish campuses overseas. Potential higher education students are becoming more discerning in their choices and are choosing learning environments that offers them both relevant and stimulating educational experiences and good qualifications, along with a range of both IT and academic support services that cater to their individual learning needs. Increasing competition, both within Australia and internationally, calls for a focus on student satisfaction in order to sustain the existence of the providers. This paper addresses the issue of what international students seek in terms of academic support and demonstrates that present levels of cost efficient services by Australian higher education providers, generally characterized by IT and language support services, are inadequate and do not meet the specific needs of the students.

Evaluation of a large group method in an educational Institution : the World café versus Large Group facilitation.

This article reports on the use of a large group method, theWorld Café, compared to large group facilitation in an educational institutional setting in Oman. Change is central to many educational institutions as they aspire to ensure quality procedures and processes are implemented and maintained. One of the difficulties of introducing change within this context is the number of stakeholders involved, as well as the inherent hierarchical nature of these settings. Large group methods (LGM) are one such intervention for change that seeks to involve a maximum number of stakeholders and minimise hierarchies, while at the same time encouraging participation and creating engagement. To evaluate LGM within this setting, the study compared two different workshop techniques: one workshop was run using the LGM theWorld Café, while the other was conducted using large group facilitation (LGF). Results indicated that theWorld Café was superior to LGF in terms of increases in participant knowledge and understanding. Participants who took part in the LGM were also significantly more likely to indicate that the technique was beneficial to their learning, compared to those who took part in the LGF. Qualitative data in the form of comments also provide support for LGM. Further research is needed to assess the applicability of the findings in educational settings in other countries. Moreover, more stringent research is required to assess over time, changes in behaviours occurring following LGM, to provide further evidence as to their value in facilitating change in institutional settings.

Institution building problems in East Timor, 1999-2002

Institution building in East Timor from 1999 to 2002 was undermined by numerous ineffective practices. These ineffective practices were partly due to international organizations' conflicting priorities, including donors' preference for short program timelines, some individuals' preference for "the easy path", and UNTAET'S preoccupation with maintaining security and administering the territory.

Use of moral theory to analyse the ethical codes of built environment professional organisations: A case study of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of moral theory as a philosophical analytical framework for built environment organisations' ethical codes of practice. The identified moral theories under consideration are “deontology”, “consequentialism” and “virtue ethics”.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study to examine the use of moral theory to explain the ethical codes of practice of built environment professional organisations. The chosen organisation is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The approach for conducting the case study is through semi-structured interviews with experienced RICS members which gather views on the application of moral theory to explain the RICS ethical principles.

Findings – The case study revealed that there are mixed views on the use of moral theory to explain the RICS code of practice. The general view is that deontology is the most suitable theory to explain the fact that the work or process has been undertaken correctly. On the other hand, there is also a view amongst senior professionals that virtue ethics is most appropriate as it addresses the importance of both the correct “result” and the correct “process”.

Research limitations/implications – The paper uses a case study approach to examine the ethical code of one built environment professional organisation. This research does not therefore claim empirical generalisation but instead provides illustrations on the use of moral theory to explain the code of practice of a built environment professional organisation. The paper is based on a series of interviews. The findings should be understood as the aggregated opinions of the interviewees.

Originality/value – The paper makes an original contribution to existing literature on the theoretical analysis of codes of practice for built environment professional organisations. It describes research which is the first to use moral theory as a framework for analysing rules of conduct of built environment professional organisations.