STAYING IN CONTROL; OR,WHAT DO WE REALLY WANT PUBLIC EDUCATION TO ACHIEVE?

In this essay, Yuli Tamir argues that the growing interest in public education in the developed world in general and in the United States in particular is grounded in a fear of losing global hegemony. The most rational approach to slowing down these hegemonic shifts is to empower public education and allow the neglected human capital vested in presently excluded communities to flourish. However, moves to improve public education are met by the unspoken though persistent resentment of those who fear the transformative power of education and would like to preserve the present social order. Here Tamir reviews some of the moves commonly taken to preserve these “social gaps” and concludes by suggesting that alongside vocal public support for school reforms promoting equal opportunities, silent yet very effective social strategies have developed that undo the benefits of such reforms and maintain the present social gaps.     

Analyzing inter-organizational systems from a power and interest perspective

Inter-organizational systems (IOS) are Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based systems that enable organizations to share information and to electronically conduct business across organizational boundaries. Especially since the increasing availability of the Internet, there have been less technological barriers to implement IOS. However, that does not imply that IOS possibilities are implemented successfully in all occasions: other barriers may remain. Innovation is not only a technical process of ‘solving problems’; it also involves economic and political processes in which interests are articulated, alliances are built and outcomes are struggled over. To explore this observation, this paper presents a model that helps to describe and analyze IOS from a power and interest perspective of multiple parties. To illustrate this model, eight case studies of IOS are discussed, of which one is in more depth. After that, we will put the findings of the analysis in a broader perspective. The paper concludes with the assertion that the scope for the design of an effective IOS depends on a combination of technical, economic and social factors, which are intertwined. The model may help users to assess and discuss these factors.     

"小学教育改革与发展"课程的开发与研究

研究就开发“小学教育改革与发展”课程的背景，理念及这门课程的设计与实施等作了理论探索与实践。     

FIFA seen from a postcolonial perspective

FIFA was created in Zurich in 1904 in order to oversee international football competitions among eight European states. The fact that FIFA was created by eight European states at the turn of the twentieth century is significant. The geopolitical context of the period is important for understanding FIFA’s pro-colonialist roots. With the exception of Switzerland, all the founding countries of FIFA were colonial powers. FIFA’s foundation coincided with the birth of the study of geopolitics and the perpetuation of control of territories and populations into the twentieth century. These pro-colonial foundations of FIFA are relevant because it would be European powers that originally controlled global football and also sought to block rival countries from other regions within the organization’s power structures. Europeans controlled FIFA through the selection of World Cup places that favoured Europeans. In addition, former colonial powers or ‘historically ‘aggressive racialized states’ have won all World Cup competitions.