The impacts of financial reductions on British universities: 1981–84

This paper arises from a research project funded by the Department of Education and Science which was concerned primarily with nine British Universities' responses to and the impacts of the University Grants Committee's recurrent grant reductions during the period 1981–84. The responses are summarised briefly prior to considering the impacts on the universities. It is concluded that whilst a number of the universities successfully developed and implemented plans to reduce staff and student numbers, to reduce expenditure and to increase income from non-government sources, there were serious negative impacts which suggest a further period of financial stringency would constrain the capacity to undertake effective teaching and research and to respond to the changing needs of society.     

Gender differences among sagittal plane knee kinematic and ground reaction force characteristics during a rapid sprint and cut maneuver

Women are more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during cutting sports than men. The purpose of this study was to examine knee kinematic and ground reaction forces (GRF) differences between genders during cutting. Male and female athletes performed cutting trials while force platform and video data were recorded (180 Hz). Differences (p < . 05) were observed between groups for knee flexion at contact and GRF at maximum knee flexion. Women averaged 5.8 degrees less flexion at contact and 1.0 N. (kg x m x s(-1))(-1) greater GRF at maximum flexion. Knee range of motion and peak GRF variables were not significantly different, but women had greater values. Women exhibited technique characteristics believed to increase ACL injury risk, but men exhibiting similar characteristics were also observed and could also be at risk.     

In Search of Excellence —Performance Assessment in the United Kingdom

It is argued that developments in institutional, departmental and individual performance assessment in the United Kingdom cannot be considered in isolation from pressures to change from bee, oligarchic and consensus models and administrative styles of management towards a shared commitment to a dominant and coherent entrepreneurial and market economy model culture with executive styles of management, which implies institutional and managerial performance being assessed in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness with increased emphasis on effectiveness.     

The changing relationship between institutional governance and management in the United Kingdom: A Scottish higher education funding council perspective

Abstract

The changing relationship between institutional governance and management in the United Kingdom arising from the second report of the committee on standards in public life, the United Kingdom National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, and from significant increased government expenditure on higher education is examined. The framework of accountability within which higher education institutions operate is related to these reports. The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's (SHEFC) perspective of the role of the governing body is examined and contrasted with Bargh, Scott and Smith's research on governing bodies. Both SHEFC's perspective and Bargh et al.’s research are also contrasted with, and related to, a number of National Audit Office (NAO) reports and also to Professor Sizer's investigation and the NAO report into allegations of misconduct at Glasgow Caledonian University (1998). Finally, the paper draws conclusions on the changing relationship between governing bodies and managements, on the requirement on governing bodies to demonstrate that they are appropriately constituted and operate effectively as corporate bodies, and on how these are reflected in the SHEFC code of good practice and good practice benchmarks.     

Chinese Business Process Re-engineering

The popularity of business process re-engineering (BPR) and its international diffusion from the United States make it important to understand the influence of cultural factors on this concept. The global economic prominence of the Chinese and their distinctive cultural characteristics prompted our study of Chinese business process re-engineering. This article addresses a large gap in the Chinese management literature and is intended to help those who are managing organizations or marketing information technology (IT) products and related services in Greater China. We systematically compare IT-enabled change in the American and Chinese business cultures. Informal planning and process modelling, highly interdependent social and organizational relationships with ingrained hierarchies, and the prevailing attitudes towards information management and organizational change will shape the preparation for IT-enabled process innovation efforts as well as the design and implementation of IT-enhanced business process models in Chinese organizations.     

Research and the Knowledge Age

The paper examines the pressures on universities to change their priorities and cultures as a result of the recognition by governments that they are at the heart of their efforts to build competitive knowledge economies. Consideration of the implications for universities, and world class research groups within them, of: globalisation and knowledge based competition; devolution of economic development powers from nation states to regions and cities; interactive learning and knowledge transfer clusters; high tech spin-offs and start-ups and commercialisation of intellectual property; leads into a discussion of the changing nature of knowledge transfer and the importance of dynamic collaboration between universities and corporate enterprises.     

The rôle of performance indicators in higher education

This paper arises from the experiences in five countries (Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) in developing and using performance indicators in government-institutional relationships. The rôle of performance indicators in higher education depends on the political culture, the educational funding system and the quality assessment procedures that determine the optimal allocation of resources in a particular country. The political culture of education can be geared, on the one hand, to equivalence in the provision of educational opportunities and, on the other, to variety in the educational system. The funding system can be incremental or differential. Quality assessment can aim at quality across the system or at comparative quality judgements. Ten lessons for government and intermediate funding agencies are drawn, which are believed to facilitate the debate on the development and the use of indicators in government-institutional relations.The authors wish to thank Marianne Bauer, Toril Johansson and Hugo von Linstow for their contributions from Sweden, Norway and Denmark.