Japanese flagship universities at a crossroads

The increasing pace and scope of global structural change has left Japanese flagship universities at a crossroads. Reflecting upon historical trends, current policy changes and respective institutional strategies for global marketing among Japanese top research universities, the author discusses possible future directions for these institutions and how key decisions may be influenced by selected national policies. By taking a more active role in building flagship universities and making use of higher education for social and economic development, the Japanese government has already taken concrete measures to keep apace with higher education policies of neighboring Asian countries. However, in the author’s view, whether or not Japan can truly develop and maintain world-class universities ultimately depends on an overall improvement in the status of East Asian higher education.     

转型期晋江私营企业的战略演变过程——一个战略选择的阶段模型

通过分析晋江私营企业在转型时期的战略演变过程,发现其战略选择存在着两种逻辑,即追求效率逻辑和服从合法性逻辑。追求效率的竞争战略经历了社会资本战略、低成本战略和差异化战略三个阶段的演变,服从合法性机制的适应战略经历了社会资本战略、模仿战略和质量战略三个阶段的演变。整合任务环境和制度环境观点,并结合资源基础理论提出一个转型时期私营企业战略选择的阶段模型。     

国退民进:化解高校债务危机的新理念

目前,严重的高校债务危机已阻碍了我国高等教育的健康发展.而现有的化解高校债务危机的策略并不能从根本上解决高校债务危机.面对困境,我们要解放思想,创新思路,在高等教育领域实施国退民进,改变办学单一的状况,让民间资本进入高校,可实行债转股、TOT融资、高校转制等策略来化解高校债务危机.     

The power of institutional isomorphism: an analysis of the institutionalization of performance-based pay systems in Korean National Universities

The purpose of this study was to analyze the introduction of the performance-based pay system (PPS) in Korean national universities through the perspective of institutional isomorphism. Using three isomorphism concepts of coercive, mimetic, and normative, and further framing the PPS within the overarching theoretical frameworks of governmentality, neoliberalism, myth, and policy convergence, this study explored the historical and social background of the PPS, the reason the Korean government pursued the PPS form used in the US higher education, and the main factors that affected its introduction in Korean national universities. The result of this analysis shows that while the institutionalization of the PPS in Korean national universities seemed closely associated with the radical political, economic change in Korean society, it was in fact an exemplar of isomorphism from the US model of public and private higher education. This isomorphic activity functioned simultaneously as a norm, social order, and myth within Korean higher education while faculty displayed an anti-isomorphic tendency against the power of the institutional isomorphism of PPS in national universities.     

中国外资政策对经济增长的影响机制研究

中国经济快速增长已持续30多年,其中制度因素发挥了重要作用。中国外资政策是经济制度的重要组成部分,探究其与经济增长的关系,既是研究外资和经济增长的理论需要,也是完善外资政策及保证经济可持续发展的实际要求。中国外资政策通过资本积累传导机制、人力资本发展传导机制、技术进步传导机制和制度变迁传导机制影响经济增长,一方面增加了国内物质资本存量、改善了人力资本存量、促进了技术进步,增加了生产要素投入,从而推动了经济规模的扩张;提高了全要素生产率、推动了产业结构调整,提升了经济增长质量。另一方面也加剧了环境污染、拉大了区域经济发展差距从而制约了经济可持续发展;形成了一定程度的外资依赖,影响了产业安全,制约了内资企业发展并出现了威胁国家经济安全的隐患。有鉴于此,政府应采取改善外商投资环境、提高外资进入门槛、增强外资政策导向、完善环境法制体系、健全外资管理体制等措施,以促进经济的可持续发展。     

高校社会资本论

高校社会资本是一种重要的资本形式,在高等教育的发展过程中起着重要作用。提出高校社会资本既有必要,又是可行的。高校社会资本具有社会融资、信息获取、合作创新等多项功能。高校社会资本的积累,需要法律政策、高校领导、团体组织、社会责任等多重保障。     

美国营利性大学发展的动因、困境及启示

20世纪70年代以来,美国营利性大学顺应社会发展趋势,以市场需求为导向,抓住时机进入资本市场;关注弱势群体,获得政府政策支持,实现快速发展。然而,2010年以来,美国营利性大学在经历了约40年的发展后陷入了教学质量降低、新生数量减少、大学理念与公司理念矛盾逐渐凸显以及在资本市场上的表现不佳等困境。目前,我国已有一些民办高校选择登记为营利性高校,开启了我国营利性民办高校的办学之路。文章通过梳理美国营利性大学发展的动因,分析其面临的困境,为我国营利性高校的发展提供以下启示:顺应时代潮流,为营利性大学发展营造良好社会环境;发挥体制机制优势,处理好政府、市场和营利性高校的关系;以转型为契机,探索营利性大学内涵式发展道路;加强政府监管和第三方评估,实现资本逐利性与教育公益性的平衡;积极发挥资本市场的作用,同时注重风险防范。     

民办高校运作社会资本整合体制资源的策略与方式

由于尚处在转型期,我国的资源整合与分配制度还很不完善。为获得生存和发展所需要的各种体制资源,民办高校普遍进行了社会资本运作,其策略归纳起来有“变通”、“表达”、“财务刺激”三种。这些策略又可分为直接或通过老朋友、老领导、老邻居、老同学、老战友、老乡等找到政府官员,让他们为学校说话、办事;雇用前政府官员等社会知名人士到学校任职,并利用他们的关系为学校整合体制资源等9种不同的方式。     

组织免疫分析框架下民办高校风险防范机制研究

我国民办高校发展状态整体平稳向好,但各类风险挑战一直伴随着我国民办高等教育发展进程。现存风险主要表现于资金财务、内部治理、教育质量等领域。建立民办高校办学风险防范机制有利于民办高校实现高质量发展。借鉴组织免疫理论来构建的民办高校风险防范分析框架包括非特异性免疫、特异性免疫、组织与环境间关系三大要素。非特异性免疫是民办高校事先进行的风险防范机制,包括组织结构、制度规则和组织文化。特异性免疫是民办高校后天形成的风险防范机制,包括组织监视、组织防御和组织记忆。在组织与环境间关系层面,要构建民办高校风险治理协同体系,净化社会文化环境,完善政策制度环境,构建常态化评估监测。     

Successful Women Researchers in the Social Sciences: A case study of Catalan public universities

This article examines the factors which contribute to the success of female academics engaging in research in social sciences. The data were obtained through a series of interviews carried out at public universities in Catalonia with women, all of whom were the heads of research groups recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). These results reveal several aspects relevant for women academics, at both the individual and institutional levels, in terms of employment opportunities, management of research programmes, development of teaching strategies and individual time management. This should assist the development of institutional policies and practices within higher education to help women build successful research careers.     

义务教育均衡发展的社会资本障碍及其政府治理

The balanced development of compulsory education, with a focus on the goal of educational equality, is both a matter of policy orientation and a practical educational issue. At present, people are mostly concerned with the unbalanced state of development of compulsory education, its causes, and issues regarding its administration. Various modes of production, policy choices, and institutional arrangements during different periods have been the practical, historical causes of differences in regional compulsory education, differences between urban and rural areas, and differences between schools. A direct consequence of the unbalanced development of compulsory education has been the emergence of irregularities in school selection. During the process of school selection, the strength of family and school social capital is increasingly influential, and it has increasingly negative effects: circumventing the policy of going to school near home, aggravating differences between families because of family and school social capital, and therefore damaging the prospect of educational equality. On this account, we present a constructive proposal for government policy to reduce the detrimental effects of social capital by means of reasonable policy choices and institutional arrangements. With prerequisite balanced allocation of school resources for compulsory education, the government reduces the role that family and social capital play in school selection and constructs a benignly competitive environment wherein school social capital works to placate social issues aroused by the intervention of the social capital of families and schools in school selection. __________ Translated by Zhang Lin from Beijing Shifan Daxue Xuebao (Shehui Kexue Ban) 北京师范大学学报 (社会科学版) (Journal of Beijing Normal University (Social Sciences)), 2008, (2): 24–32     

Classifying university employability strategies: three case studies and implications for practice and research

This qualitative study documents three main strategic models used by Russell Group Careers Services to support students’ preparation for graduate careers. It is framed against the backdrop of a challenging graduate labour market, discussions of employability in the literature and the policy assumption that universities are responsible for developing students’ employability. First, we classify the strategies used at Russell Group universities through a content analysis of Careers Service websites. We then select three case studies representing contrasting patterns of provision. Interviews with Careers Service directors and staff at the case study institutions provide the rationales behind these three different strategies, which we describe as ‘Hands-Off’, ‘Portfolio’ and ‘Award’. Drawing on 17 interviews and analysis of participation data provided by the Careers Services, we compare and contrast the approaches. The first case fills gaps in an esteemed academic system in which most students already have social capital. The second case focuses on segmenting their market to directly serve varied student needs. The third case emphasises partnership with academics and embedding career development within the curriculum. We take a critical perspective on these strategies in relation to major theoretical conceptions of employability found in the literature. Finally, we suggest implications for practices within Careers Services and further research in this underdeveloped field.     

Entrepreneurialism in Japanese and UK Universities: Governance, Management, Leadership, and Funding

This paper scrutinises organisational change in Japanese and UK universities which are engaged in entrepreneurial activities. The study focuses on recent changes in governance, management, leadership, and funding in these universities. The paper argues there are convergent trends between Japanese and UK universities in terms of increasing entrepreneurial activities, a review of institutional strategies, a review of the organisation, the application of market-oriented institutional policy, links with the industrial sector, the notion of a public financial crisis and changing external environment, strong leadership of the university President or Vice-Chancellor, and the notion of the accountability of the university to society as a whole. However, the application of particular institutional strategies, entrepreneurial culture, and the way in which an institution relates itself to the private sector significantly differs among institutions. The paper suggests that those differences are related to different institutional history and characteristics – including those between national and private universities in Japan, and old and new universities in the UK – as well as different government policies between Japan and the UK. The paper first proposes a theoretical model for the five types of entrepreneurial culture of the institutions. It then examines the model by using case studies: Nottingham Trent University (UK), University of Surrey (UK), University of Tokyo (Japan), and Waseda University (Japan).     

Institutional hierarchies and research impact: new academic currencies,capital and position-taking in UK higher education

Abstract

Globally, performance-based research funding aims to support the most deserving academic institutions and researchers. However, overcoming entrenched assumptions about quality is a persistent challenge for higher education research policies worldwide; traditionally powerful institutions tend to maintain dominance. Research impact as a performance criterion presents an opportunity for position-taking through success according to non-academic criteria. Could impact-oriented research funding challenge institutional hierarchies? The UK university system presents an instructive case study for exploring this question. However, exposing the effects of such performance-based funding on institutional stratification requires focusing on the interface between institutions and disciplines. A Bourdieusian analysis of 53 cases of research-based impact on higher education policy/practice revealed the differential capital that researchers from more and less ‘prestigious’ universities mobilise when generating research impact. By uncovering how impact reinforces disparities in research power between UK institutions, the study contributes to understanding of sectoral reproduction through discipline-level mediation of research policy.     

Gender inequalities in transnational academic mobility and the ideal type of academic entrepreneur

Based on a study on academic career paths of PhD graduates in Switzerland, this paper is concerned with the individual and institutional factors that affect transnational academic mobility in the postdoctoral period. It will be argued that the institutionalisation of geographic mobility in academic career paths through research funding institutions and universities have gendering and stratifying effects. Complex formations related to gender, partnership, children, and dual-career constellations, as well as to social class and academic integration, are resulting in inequalities in the accumulation of international cultural and social capital.     

影响民办高校内部治理模式的因素分析

本文采用质性研究方法,通过比较三所民办高校内部治理模式的相同点和不同点,探讨影响学校 内部治理模式的因素。研究指出,影响民办高校治理模式的内部因素主要包括学校发展的不同阶段、举办 者的特征和学校领导的专业素质。基于同一外部政策体系下三所民办高校内部治理模式发展变化的分析, 该研究提出如下建议：加大党组织建设力度,突出公益导向;完善章程的内涵和功能,提升依法治校水平;加 强董事会和监事会建设,规范决策程序;强化管理团队的专业化建设,增强内部治理能力。研究为民办高等 教育政策的制定者、学校的举办者和管理人员以及从事高等教育研究的学者提供了丰富的实证数据。     

北京民办高校教育资源利用研究——以社会资本理论为视角

改革开放以来,有效地整合各方面的社会资本,充分利用可以支配的有限社会资源,不断地提高其利用效率,是民办高校发展壮大的重要原因之一。与物质资本和人力资本相比,社会资本具有更大的能量和潜力,可以整合物质资本和人力资本,能够使它们最大限度地增值并发挥效用。     

从“重点学科”到“一流学科”:政策学习视角

从政策学习主体开放度与政策学习意愿两个维度,将政策学习分为封闭型、抵抗型、争议型和开放型四种类型。贯穿我国高校学科建设政策发展历程的学习主要为封闭型学习,表现为政策学习主体为政府部门主导的小范围的政策网络,政策学习的动因重在经验汲取和问题解决,政策学习的目标为基于满意原则的渐进变迁与局部调整。封闭型政策学习使得学科建设政策无法容纳新因素成长和制度创新的内部机制,无法实现政策的"范式转变",不能满足"一流学科"建设的需要。治理视域下"一流学科"建设应以开放型政策学习推动政策创新和政策范式的转换。     

The market oriented university and the changing role of knowledge

The development of corporate-university linkages occurs within the orbit of two major influences, the information society and the globalization of capital. The presence of the information society builds great pressure towards the production and transfer of knowledge. The economic contraction of recent years is juxtaposed against the globalization of capital which demands that productive enterprises compete on a world wide scale. Universities are not exempt from this dynamic as they too are propelled toward a market orientation. This process leads to a series of conflicts within our universities which define the parameters of the transformation.The first part of this paper discusses these areas of development and conflict within the market university: 1) autonomy and collegiality, 2) the market and the university, 3) ideology, 4) globalization and privatization, 5) pluralism. The second part focuses on the role of knowledge within market university and the change from social knowledge to market knowledge. The focus here includes: 1) the social context of knowledge, 2) science, research of knowledge, 3) knowledge as property, 4) the transfer of knowledge. It is in this context that a new public policy for universities must be charted.     

Structural Development of Finnish Universities: Achieving Competitiveness and Academic Excellence

This paper discusses strategic instruments that are used to enhance the competitiveness of Finnish universities in the context of globalisation, internationalisation and commercialisation of research and education. The Finnish higher education system is currently undergoing a major policy reform, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of Finnish universities through structural development. This article focuses specifically on three themes of structural development: institutional cooperation and mergers between universities; stratification and differentiation; and changes in governance and leadership. Three ongoing projects are used as illustrations.