This portfolio concentrates on the experiences of administrative staff in universities. The aim of the portfolio is to examine the work and work experiences of administrative staff in the three universities in South Australia, particularly in the light of increased corporatisation of universities over the last fifteen years. Administrative staff are rarely discussed in the literature focused on universities as organisations and workplaces and yet they constitute over half the staff in Australian universities. They are growing in visibility and importance as universities become more corporate in their operation and structure. New occupations have come into existence as a result of the commercialisation of higher education and the accompanying increased government surveillance has resulted in greater professionalisation of administration and administrative work roles. This research brings these changes to the working lives of administrative staff in universities into focus and places their stories at its centre. / This portfolio consists of a series of three sequential interrelated reports, each of which takes a particular approach to the working lives of administrative staff in universities. “Research report 1: The Invisible Workers: Representations of administrative workers in the literature around higher education” analyses a range of literature- academic, journalistic, government and fictional in the light of four discourses which are part of the meta-discourse of corporate managerialism. / “Research Report 2: Who Keeps the Organisation Running?: Interviews about the working lives of administrative staff in universities” analyses a collection of interviews with administrative staff undertaken over a six month period across the three South Australian universities using a hybrid method based on grounded theory. / “Research Report 3: Tell me a Story: A narrative analysis of stories in interviews” uses narrative analysis of stories told in interviews used in “Research Report 2” to gain a greater understanding of experiences common to workers located in specific universities and across the sector. “Meta-analysis: This is My Song: An auto-ethnographic account of the research project” is approached as an auto-ethnography of my own work story interwoven with the experiences of participants and selected literature to link together the findings of the first three Reports. / This portfolio adds to the corpus of knowledge around the work of administrative staff in universities by illustrating a gap in the literature and addressing this by using the descriptions of experiences of some administrative staff in the three South Australian universities to gain a greater understanding of how they view universities as work sites. / Thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2005.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1968. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 299-317). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-179).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2008. / Bibliography: leaves 75-86.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 192 p. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the small liberal arts Christian colleges provide a distinctive environment apart from the traditional classifications of colleges and universities. The environments of the six sample colleges were assessed by administering the Institutional Functioning Inventory (IFI) to faculty and administrators. Statistically significant differences were found among the colleges on eight of the 11 environmental dimensions. However, it was concluded that the colleges constituted a relatively homogeneous group on all dimensions measured except Self-Study and Planning. Total sample means on the 11 scales of the IFI allowed for a generic description of 11 dimensions of the environments at these colleges. They were described as environments low on intellectual-aesthetic extracurriculum activities, human diversity, personal and academic freedom, concern for improving society, and concern for advancing knowledge, while being high on institutional esprit and placing high emphasis on undergraduate teaching and learning. The environments were characterized as having moderate amounts of democratic governance, self-study and planning, innovative educational practices, and programs designed to meet the needs of their immediate communities. The sample colleges differed significantly from both the liberal arts colleges and the four-year state colleges on eight of the IFI scales. When compared to the liberal arts colleges, the most notable differences were the considerably lower scores on Intellectual-Aesthetic Extracurriculum, Freedom, Human Diversity, and Concern for Advancing Knowledge. When compared to the four-year state colleges they were most distinguished by considerably lower scores on Intellectual-Aesthetic Extra curriculum, Freedom, and Human Diversity, and by higher scores on Concern for Undergraduate Learning and Institutional Esprit. The conclusion of the study is that these colleges do provide a unique college environment. It is suggested that additional research focus on other environmental dimensions, student and faculty characteristics, institutional goals, and the value of environments such as these in higher education.

No description available.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.