Universities responding to policy: Organisational change at the University of Namibia

In this article the development of the University of Namibia since itsestablishment (8 years ago) has been studied within the context of theformation of the newly-independent Southern African state of Namibia. Ahybrid framework, based on the major theoretical perspectives ofneo-institutionalism and resource dependency, has been utilized toanalyse the accounts of key respondents involved in these developmentsand hence derive an explanatory narrative of the changes involved inresponse to (government) policy.It is suggested that the major themes within this narrative may be ofexplanatory value when studying organizational change in small(developing) countries with relatively young institutions. Inparticular, the following concepts are worth highlighting: thenormatively strong but operationally weak state interacting with thenormatively weak but operationally strong institution; the commonpolitical elite, with institutional leaders sharing government values;and the relative informality of policy formulation and pluralism ofgovernment, with leading institutional actions having a policy sensingand shaping role.The loose set of themes devised from the interpretation ofsemi-structured interviews with a relatively small number of respondentscan also be considered as providing a conceptual framework for furtherresearch both within the specific institution and on a broadercomparative basis.     

The Subsidized Muse: Government and the Arts in Western Europe and the United States

Using the neo-classical justifications for government support of the arts that Dick Netzer discussed in The Subsidized Muse as a starting point, the article contends that market failure is not an useful concept to understand and explain cultural policies and the degree of government involvement, particularly when viewed from a comparative perspective. The basic fault is that historical- institutional arrangements and the role of non-state actors in the formation of cultural policies are not taken into account. Discussing some aspects of the institutional framework in the development of French, Swedish and U.S. cultural policies, the article concludes with a call for the use of neo-institutionalist perspectives in analyzing government intervention in the arts field.     

教育产业化的制度分析--新制度主义社会学的视角

本研究以新制度主义社会学为分析框架,揭示了我国教育“产业化”制度变迁的起源(国家、教育组织,以及资本的参与和推动)及其主要的构建形式,并对其所面临的制度危机进行了剖析。     

政治学:从古典主义到新古典主义

在政治学发展的系谱上,既有革命性反叛也有连续性继承。古典主义政治学所确立的政治学传统是整体主义视野下的制度中心论以及制度与价值的合一性;作为反叛政治学传统的行为主义和理性选择主义则是个体主义视野下的行为科学;而以制度为中心的新制度主义则兼具整体主义和个体主义特征,从而为整合政治学提供了可能并是通向新古典主义政治学的桥梁。新古典主义政治学包括制度中心论、政治科学与政治哲学的统一性以及整体主义与个体主义的统一性。     

从新制度社会学视角看美国大学终身教职后评估的制度构建

本文从新制度社会学视角论述美国大学终身教职后评估三个层面的制度构建:社会规范层面由美国大学教授协会(AAUP)发布的文件、报告形成的非强制性制度,与立法机构、其他部门制定的实施政策形成的强制性制度构成;社会关系层面在以政府为主的外部社会力量、学校管理阶层以及部分教师的支持与美国大学教授协会的认可下进行构建;文化-认知层面通过坚持学术自由,完善而非否定终身教职制度两大策略进行构建。     

国际关系中无政府状态假设的内在逻辑及其发展

文章立足于结构现实主义、新自由制度主义、建构主义对国际体系中无政府状态的分析,指出无政府状态发展演变的内在逻辑及其未来趋势。     

新制度主义政治学在中国的发展

本文检视了新制度主义政治学主要流派历史制度主义和理性选择制度主义的基本观点、存在的问题，提出了理论整合的必要。在理论运用上，我国学者将新制度主义政治学用于分析国有企业改革所体现出来的政府与企业关系、改革开放所带来的整体性政治经济变迁以及中国近代政治发展和当代制度建设。在理论研讨上，我国学者主要是将制度变迁理论与马克思的国家观相比较，并提出了区别于新制度主义中层组织决定论和个体行为偏好决定论的整体主义的制度范式理论。     

Private Sector Consultants and Public Universities: the challenges of cross-sectoral knowledge transfers

Since the early 1990s, European higher education has been undergoing drastic changes with regard to the organisation and governance of academic work. The political emphasis on higher education autonomy and accountability went hand in hand with the introduction of market type steering devices and a new discourse regarding the universities' responsibilities to society. This article is about both carriers of diffusion processes that are crucial in disseminating private sector logics and the limits to such processes. By taking into account contradictory societal pressures towards isomorphism and differentiation; we will draw on neo-institutionalism and the sociological systems theory to provide a definition of privatisation in higher education. Especially, we are interested in detecting systematic limits to the privatisation of higher education. We therefore examine a relatively recent phenomenon in higher education governance: the increasing reliance of institutions on management consulting services. First findings show that the more market-centred a higher education system is, the more readily it accepts the economic rationale of the consulting business. Nevertheless, our study also stresses that management consultancy for higher education institutions is of limited scope. Systemic differences remain unbroken as the adherence to different value systems, communication patterns and resources limit the scope of external, private consulting activities in higher education.     

高校内部组织绩效评价类型分析——一个新制度主义的视角

新制度主义认为,组织同时受到制度环境和技术环境的双重作用,并且在这两种环境之间排列成一个连续谱(Meyer&Rowan,1977)。在技术环境中效率机制起作用,而在制度环境中合法性机制起作用。这一理论的意义在于,可以用绩效评价指标中可量化的比例(量化率)来表示组织受这两种环境影响的程度。据此,把高校内部组织(处级机构)分为强制度弱技术型、强技术弱制度型和中间型三类,为科学制定高校内部组织绩效评价指标体系提供了依据。同时,通过对样本的系统分析,证明了斯考特(Scott)按照组织所受制度环境和技术环境影响程度强弱对学校组织类型的界定:学校属于强制度弱技术型组织。     

试论中国教育学的作为——基于中美教育学发展境遇的比较与启示

教育学科在中美两国发展境遇迥异,美国教育学的发展处于最强势的地位,而在中国则处于受冷落的境况。美国教育学科研究生教育是其作为一种强势学科存在的主要推动力量。究竟是什么原因让教育学在美国如此繁荣?美国教师的专业化运动和教育学的应用化以及提升学历后收入的提高是其中最重要的原因。通过对比分析中美两国的教育学科生存环境,对我国教育学的发展提出政策性的建议。