A merger can be considered both a phenomenological and significant life event for an organisation and its employees, and how people cope with and respond to a merger has a direct impact on the institutional performance in the short to medium term. It is within this context that post-merger perceptions of a tertiary institution were gauged. Restructuring in any organisation is characterised by uncertainty, high levels of anxiety, low levels of morale, and tardy job performance, as well as high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover, all of which potentially impact on productivity and performance. Notably, the global phenomenon of transformation of higher education, taking place in most countries in the world, is an undeniable fact. The abolition of apartheid and the post-1994 aftermath period have seen South Africa undergoing tremendous transformation in its political, economic, social and technological environments. As part of the social environment, education, too, will be subjected to the restructuring and transition resulting in the new characterisation of the country and its people. Mergers are taking place between teacher-training colleges and technical colleges, as well as between universities and technikons. In South Africa to date, mergers have been limited mainly to the federal absorption of smaller, specialist institutions into universities; however larger and more unitary mergers have been advocated. Few notable studies have investigated the commitment perceptions of the employees (and the associated selected work constructs of job satisfaction and turnover intentions) who feel the full impact of these restructurings in a South African context. This subsequently results in a dearth of knowledge on the context of South African mergers and acquisitions of tertiary institutions. Human capital element in the form of teacher / facilitator / lecturer in educational institutions (knowledge intensive organisations) is much more important than in other organisations. In light of the recent restructuring of the institution in question, no attempt has yet been made to gauge the levels of organisational commitment amongst its employees. It is within this context that the research problem emerges: What are the employee perceptions of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and turnover intentions in a post-merger tertiary institution, and how are these variables related? Job satisfaction was determined as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences. A global approach was adopted, whereby job satisfaction is explained as a single, overall feeling toward ones job. Organisational commitment was defined as a cognitive predisposition towards a particular focus, insofar as this focus has the potential to satisfy needs, realise values, and achieve goals, and was subsequently addressed through a motivational approach. The state of commitment is not only separated from its antecedent and consequential conditions and behaviours, but also from its related affective and conative components that are also present in other widely used constructs, such as job satisfaction and turnover intentions respectively. Turnover intentions, approached as being mental decisions intervening between an individuals attitudes regarding a job and the stay or leave decision, were addressed as a planned behaviour. This is a result from the argument that behavioural intention is a good predictor of actual behaviour, in this case actual turnover. Turnover behaviour is a multistage process that includes attitudinal, decisional, and behavioural components. Furthermore the turnover process is initially stimulated by the thought of quitting, which ultimately will result in the actual process of either staying or leaving. The instance of a merger or acquisition normally results in, amongst others, lack of commitment, job dissatisfaction, increased labour turnover and absenteeism rates (even at managerial level), lowered work goals, uncertainty, and employee theft or acts of sabotage. The relationships established between the three selected work constructs, primarily in terms of mergers and acquisitions, suggest that a positive relationship exists between job satisfaction and organisational commitment, whilst also yielding a negative relationship with turnover intentions. The research approach could be described as a non-experimental and crosssectional field survey, the data as primary data, and data analysis as ex post facto and correlational. The non-probability (convenience) sample consisted of 367 employees of a South African tertiary instituition. The completion of the electronic questionnaires was personally administered and anonymously handled. Job satisfaction was assessed by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ20). The MSQ20 measures 20 different job-related items and can be subcategorised into extrinsic and intrinsic satisfaction. The end factor analystic result revealed the need to remove three items. Commitment was addressed through the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire which consisted of 18 items, measuring different foci of commitment, namely work, career, occupational and organisational. Diagnostic analyses indicated the need to remove three items. Turnover intentions were measured by an unpublished 15 item questionnaire. The diagnostic analyses warranted the removel of two items. The analyses followed a two phase procedure. The intial phase included all diagnostic testing of the measuring instruments in order to determine the reliabilty and validty of the measuring instruments for subsequent testing purposes of the study. The tests utilised were basic descriptives, factor (first and second order) and reliability analyses and normality testing. The latter phase described the inferential section of the sample, whereby statistics are used either to infer the truth or falsify hypotheses / research objectives. The tests carried out consisted of t-tests and ANOVA, correlations, structural equation modelling, twoway ANOVA and lastly a stepwise linear regression. Fifteen predefined models were investigated whereupon the most parsimonious model was selected. In applying the stepwise linear regression for the prediction of turnover intentions, the model was determined by entering all the variables simultaneously into the regression equation. The variables determined for the inclusion on the regression were based on the results from the inferenital testing phase. The final result yielded a prediction of 47% of the variance in turnover intentions. The final (most parsimonious) model determined for turnover intentions indicated as being significantly predicted by: job satisfaction, tenure, and a combination of job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Contrary to popular belief, commitment does not correlate more strongly than satisfaction does with turnover intentions. This indicates that withdrawal entails a rejection of the job rather than of the organisation. Turnover intentions of tertiary employees can be actively managed through the manipulation of the contextual variables of organisational commitment and job satisfaction. The resulting predictive model can be regarded as an important tool for management and the Human Resource Department in effectively planning talent retention strategies focusing on its controllable dimensions. Since this model was developed based on internal components, possible strategies can be derived from this model to prevent turnover intentions. / Professor Gert Roodt

D.Ed. / Colleges for Further Education and Training in South Africa, previously technical colleges, are important role players as service providers for education and training regarding the new learnership system implemented by the Department of Labour. The task of these colleges, regarding the new learnership system, is to present the theoretical components of approved learnerships as part of the learnership programme to learners. This training is done in co-operation with the workplace that in turn is responsible for the practical training. The Sector Education and Training Authority must approve all learnerships before it can be referred to the Department of Labour or presented in any way. Based on the above-mentioned facts, the researcher deemed it necessary to determine if Colleges for Further Education and Training are geared for the implementation of the new learnership system. This study focuses on the necessary capacity for the presentation of the learnerships and the available facilities of the colleges. This information has been collected by means of questionnaires sent to the colleges as respondents. The researcher also sent questionnaires to technikons, universities and industries in order to obtain the information for the specific sectors. With the gathering of this information, processed by the computer department of the Department Information Management, Division: Statistical Consultation Services (Statcon) of the Rand Afrikaans University, the focus has been primarily on the Colleges for Further Education and Training, technikons and universities, by comparing the processed information.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The study aims to identify the management competencies needed during the time of crisis at a university as perceived by the stakeholders. The study includes the top tier of management including the Executive Management of the University, as well as Deans of Faculties and Directors of Units, Centres, Divisions and Institutes. This research study explores the specific competencies emphasised in crises and uses the case of a university and its top management tier in the face of the #FeesMustFall onslaught. The researcher tests the perceptions and feelings of the university’s designated stakeholders (staff) with self-administered questionnaires to establish which competencies are present within management during a time of crisis. The reason for this study is to identify the management competencies at play during a time of crisis at a university and to establish university managements as crisis managers.

The concept of co-optation offers vocabulary to discuss how concerns and demands of feminist movements are transformed on their way to, and within, mainstream organizations and policymaking. However, applications of this concept can have problematic implications, failing to grasp the complexity of social change efforts and contributing to divisions, rather than alliances, between different groups that work and fight for gender equality. This article argues that conceptual tools from organizational institutionalism can help to avoid these pitfalls by capturing the ambivalence of organizational change initiatives, and allowing us to identify not only counterintentional effects, but also subtle and unexpected opportunities of organizational gender equality work. I illustrate my arguments with empirical examples from research on gender equality work in Austrian universities.

This thesis seeks to consider Thai students and their reasons for choosing to study in United Kingdom universities. Through the literature review it has been identified that higher education is globally expanding. Competing knowledgebased economies with higher education institutions have led education to be considered a market commodity and consequently the marketization of higher education in competitive world markets. This is exemplified by discussion of the United Kingdom higher education policies and the resulting demand for higher education in the United Kingdom. The numbers of overseas students studying at higher education institutions in the United Kingdom is rising, with a notable increase in the number of students from South-East Asia. In its endeavour to increase its knowledge-based economy, Thailand has increased opportunities for Thai nationals to study overseas through scholarships and Government policies. The advantages of overseas degrees to individuals, these include a facility with English language, enhanced employment and promotion prospects, and increased social status, are discussed. A study of Thai students studying in the United Kingdom has been used to explore the reality of these advantages for individual students. A case study approach was used and personal interviews with students and questionnaires with their parents and grandparents. The data was analysed using a ‘categorical-content perspective’ narrative method (Lieblich et al., 1998). The thesis concludes that, despite as a nation Thailand having good geographical links with other advanced countries such as Japan and China, living in an economically stable and democratic country, having excellent opportunities to access Thai universities and having no direct links with the United Kingdom, Thai students still see real advantages to studying at higher education institutions in the United Kingdom. This decision is influenced by social and cultural factors, in particular the extended family, and potential financial rewards. However as a result of studying overseas in the United Kingdom the Thai students experience and have to resolve various social and cultural tensions. They have become more individualistic in their attitudes and opinions, which are at odds with the traditional collectivist values, held by their families and deeply entrenched in Thai society.

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

‘Academic freedom’ in the Twenty-First Century is a contested concept and there exist many interpretations, or versions, of academic freedom, a number of which have been identified through a review of the literature. Some scholars now claim that academic freedom no longer exists in academia, or that it has become a second order value that competes with other priorities more appropriate to the now competitive business of higher education. In this context, the philosophical and legal responsibilities that Vice-Chancellors have in protecting academic freedom can no longer be taken as unproblematic, and their views may not be clear to themselves or to the staff and students in their institutions. This thesis explores the views Vice-Chancellors have on the concept of academic freedom, how they manage academic freedom and the extent to which they believe academic freedom is practised in their university. The Vice-Chancellors interviewed, of a regional and representative sample of English universities, included those from leading pre-1992 universities and new post-1992 universities as well as one private university. Vice-Chancellors were found to have paid little, or no, attention to academic freedom. They implied that academic freedom was a matter for individual subject departments, but they were resolute that they were the arbiters whenever academic freedom became an issue. Some thought that the concept of academic freedom had been misused by individual academics who raised issues motivated by political and ideological beliefs, and those who conflated it with the civil liberty of free speech. In summarising the Vice-Chancellors’ ‘version’ of academic freedom, a key finding was that they had neglected academic freedom. Consequently, one important proposal was that Vice-Chancellors in English universities should review the nature of academic freedom and consider the implications at governance and managerial levels, at departmental level and in practice. As one Vice-Chancellor admitted: “…we’ve never said to, or proven to, the outside world that academic freedom is important”.

The purpose of this study was to determine how deans of colleges within the state-supported, four-year universities in Texas use accounting information to allocate and control resources dedicated to faculty salaries, departmental operating expense, and instructional administration expense. Conclusions: 1. Communication is better between deans and financial officers at small universities than at large universities. 2. The relationship between line and staff appears to be misunderstood at several large universities. 3. Ten per cent of the deans at large universities and 2 per cent at small universities do not receive financial reports. 4. The financial reports, if comparative, usually compare year-to-date actual amounts with annual planned amounts. 5. Some of the deans keep their own set of financial records. 6. Deans are cost conscious and aware of the state formulas used in the state appropriation. 7. Many deans are frustrated and angry. 8. Most deans participate extensively in budgeting faculty salaries and departmental operating expense but 20 per cent do not participate in planning of instructional administration expense.

Zhang Yanfeng. / Thesis submitted in: November 2004. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-147). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / List of Tables and Figures --- p.v / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Pay-by-position System: Incentive Reform at the Case University / Chapter 2.1 --- Background of the Pay-by-position Scheme --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Chronology of the Incentive Change --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- Institutional Characteristics of the Pay-by-position System --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4 --- Summary --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Analytical Framework and Literature Review / Chapter 3.1 --- A Brief Introduction to the Theory of Tournament --- p.21 / Chapter 3.2 --- A Simple Model of Homogeneous Two-contestant Tournament --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3 --- Implications under Multi-contestant and Multi-position-level Situation --- p.26 / Chapter 3.4 --- Status Quo of Existing Research --- p.28 / Chapter 3.5 --- Summary --- p.30 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Empirical Models and Hypotheses / Chapter 4.1 --- Measurement of Key Variables --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2 --- Incentive Effect on Teaching --- p.41 / Chapter 4.3 --- Incentive Effect on Research --- p.48 / Chapter 4.4 --- Sorting Role of the Pay-by-position System --- p.54 / Chapter 4.5 --- Summary --- p.56 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Data Presentation and a Preliminary Analysis / Chapter 5.1 --- Survey and Data Processing --- p.57 / Chapter 5.2 --- Description of Data --- p.61 / Chapter 5.3 --- A Preliminary Probe into Data --- p.68 / Chapter 5.4 --- Summary --- p.74 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Empirical Analysis and Estimation results / Chapter 6.1 --- Incentive Effect on Teaching - Evidence from the Full Instructor Sample --- p.99 / Chapter 6.2 --- Incentive Effect on Research - Evidence from the Selected Sample of Responsible Professors --- p.106 / Chapter 6.3 --- Sorting Role of the Pay-by-position System - Ordered Probit Estimation --- p.114 / Chapter 6.4 --- Summary --- p.116 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Conclusion --- p.140 / References --- p.144

The university In-School Teacher Education Project in Science (INSTEP) used interactive video technologies to enhance initial teacher education programmes for science trainee teachers. With four Internet Protocol1 (IP) cameras and mounted microphones in school laboratories in six partner schools and the university teaching room, trainees and their tutors had access to live interaction with schools. This was a live feed of video and audio material, relayed from the school classrooms and reproduced on interactive whiteboards at the University. Image and sound processing software enabled users remotely to observe school classrooms and focus on particular features of pupil and teacher activity. Cameras and microphones placed at the University allowed links to function in both directions, enabling a variety of two-way interactions between teacher educators and student teachers at the University and teachers in schools. The INSTEP technology did not simply provide a single connection to a remote classroom: it created a number of opportunities for interaction within the teacher education classroom as the student teacher became part of a network of two-way connections enabling powerful and flexible learning experiences. In the course of university-based sessions structured around the contemporaneous observation of remote classrooms through the INSTEP video and audio links, student teachers were able to interact with classroom practitioners, tutors and with their peers. This thesis presents the findings of the internal evaluation of INSTEP aimed at identifying the benefits for trainee teachers. There has been an increase in the use of video material for teacher training purposes. However, trainee teachers are often intimidated by carefully selected extracts featuring experienced teachers. INSTEP activities are live and capitalise on all the opportunities associated with normal classroom practice. Literature points to INSTEP-type activities having the potential to enhance the development of trainees‘ observation skills, develop reflective thinking, to provide authentic illustrations of classroom practice, enable remote observation and facilitate the linking of theory with practice and the coaching of trainees by mentors. A fourth generation model of evaluation was undertaken with primary data generated by part-structured interviews with university tutors and mentors supported by a questionnaire and group interviews with the trainees. The main findings point to INSTEP 1. Facilitating the link between theory and practice; 2. Enhancing and accelerating the professional knowledge of the trainee teachers through enabling reflective practice, facilitating collaborative learning and supporting the development of the language of pedagogy. Additionally there appears to be a number of missed opportunities, e.g. the recording of lessons, the professional development and training of mentors and the use for continuing professional development in schools that may have enhanced the trainee experience further. There are also issues arising from being an insider-researcher that are considered in this work. The research was undertaken in the context of complex relationships including: 1. Being an internal evaluator working closely with an external evaluator; 2. Role and identity duality – particularly with respect to the university tutor team. 1 An Internet protocol camera, or IP camera, is a type of digital video camera that can send and receive data via a computer network and the Internet.