The integration of new technologies in higher education has provoked a strong response over the last decade, not only from administrators and the public but also from academics. It has re-opened basic theoretical questions about the role of universities and that of academic culture. / This thesis begins with a critical review of the literature dealing with conceptualizations of academic culture and technology in higher education. Most theorists have come to the conclusion that academic culture is a set of values and norms that serve as guides for action. At root, this conclusion is derived from an organizational perspective prevalent in contemporary academic culture theory. / I argue, instead, that academic culture needs to be re-addressed to consider the complexities between its traditional boundaries and new technological pressures. My research suggests there are high levels of contestation across the full range of technologies, and that the nature of this contestation is ideological, aesthetic, and pedagogical. Furthermore, the contestation is both a product of, and is productive of, a reshaping of academic culture. / Drawing on the theory of cultural production of Pierre Bourdieu, who views culture as constitutive of fairly engrained practices I demonstrate that academic culture stands as a check on institutional powers, yet it is also influenced by the integration of new technologies. This suggests that academic culture is formed and maintained by an ever-negotiated and shifting set of activities.

No description available.

This study documents three cases of protracted conflict in an institution of higher education. Work groups in conflict were studied for one year in order to create cases and to describe factors influencing conflict escalation. From these cases, autistic conflict as a descriptive construct was developed to illustrate one phase of protracted conflict escalation. The following research questions guided this study. 1. How and why does protracted conflict develop and escalate in higher education work groups? 2. What is the nature of chronic autistic conflict? 3. How do higher education cultures and system affect the development of protracted autistic conflict? The population studied included the administration and three distinct work groups from one university where conflicts had continued for an extended period of time. The stories of group conflict are fully reported in this study, and process maps illustrate incidents and influences related to conflict escalation. To study conflict and human behavior in this context and to describe the effect of the institutional culture on conflict escalation, ethnographic methodology was used. Cases were developed from interviews, participant observation, and document review. The researcher worked with the university in a number of settings for over a year, which provided opportunities to observe daily life in these disputant groups and to develop a broader understanding of the organizational culture. From findings in this study, it was possible to form a number of hypotheses regarding protracted conflict escalation. These hypotheses include the following: 1. Protracted conflict in institutions of higher education develops in five phases. 2. When conflicts escalate among groups in higher education without successful resolution, disputants develop dysfunctional behaviors which contribute to conflict escalation. 3. A number of contextual factors evident within institutions of higher education contribute to autistic conflict development. Additional research questions with broader implications for conflict in organizations and recommendations regarding the improvement of practice regarding conflict within institutions of higher education were also generated by this study. / Graduation date: 1999

This qualitative case study explores how moments perceived as ‘ defining’ or being a climatic turning point may influence students’ preconceived ideas and viewpoints. Institutions worldwide are becoming cognisant of the importance of preparing students for global leadership roles. In meeting this objective the Student Leadership Development Office introduced students on its leadership course to the topics of leadership and citizenship. The Leadership Course’s structure used an ethical lens to elaborate on elements of citizenship related to knowledge, skills, efficacy, and commitment. The course aimed to imbue students with a sense of stewardship, and commitment to civic involvement. The provision of real-world learning experiences included the use of a culturally responsive form of teaching, by the introduction of the African spiritual concepts of ubuntu and umhlangano. Lessons were further amplified by prior research, feedback, and the use of reflective journals by course participants. Using Mezirow’s (1991) theoretical framework of transformative learning, this study considers how the course facilitates the possibility of catalytic experiences for course participants. This study is particularly interested in determining whether real change is possible via defining moments which may potentially trigger transformative learning. Data gathered from reflective journals and email questionnaires has been coded and analysed for possible themes. Triangulation between sources allowed for greater validity for the findings of the data collected. The study shows how, via transforming experiences, students became aware of preconceived biases and judgements in their internal landscapes. These defining moments contribute to catalysts for development. Case study results suggest that students could develop a broader understanding of the responsibilities of leadership and citizenship by obtaining an overall understanding and appreciation for diversity and being motivated to implement activities that could potentially have a positive bearing on community life. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

First, from the distributive justice perspective, strong perceptions of distributive injustice are found among undergraduates from national minority and lower-middle and lower classes. The perceptions of distributive injustice can further be differentiated into injustice in educational accesses, educational processes, educational outputs and educational outcomes. Both undergraduates from national minority and from lower-middle and lower classes have registered strong sense of "accumulative distributive injustice" in their educational-advancement experiences. Attributions of educational distributive injustice to disparities of educational resources among regions have also been revealed in this study. However, educational injustice attributed to gender differences seems to be insignificant among perceptions of the subjects under study. / Second, from the relational justice perspective, the perceptions of educational injustice among undergraduates are investigated and categorized in accordance with Young's framework of relational injustice, namely exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence. It is common among undergraduates from national minority and lower-middle and lower classes to have relatively strong sense of relational injustice relating to cultural imperialism and violence. However, the experiences of violence revealed are mostly in the form of symbolic rather than physical violence. They also have substantive sense of relational injustice pertaining to marginalization and powerlessness. Experiences on exploitation are rarely reported among subjects from national minority and lower-middle and lower classes. This study finds that perceptions on relational injustice attributed to gender differences are insignificant among female subjects. / Social justice has risen to be one of the major social issues in Chinese mainland. As attainment of higher education has become one of primary determinants of attainments in social status among future generations, justice in higher education has therefore constituted as one of the areas of concerns among scholars in the field of Chinese education. / Third, differences in ethnicity and class have been revealed as the primary contributing factors to the perceptions of educational injustice among the subjects under study. Perceptions of educational injustice reported by undergraduates from national minority are mainly concentrated on subjects who are Islamite and Tibetan Buddhist from Xinjiang and Tibet. Among subjects of lower-middle and lower classes, subjects from rural areas have relatively stronger sense of injustice than those of comparable class backgrounds from urban areas. Therefore, it seems that disparities in class position and regional differences seem to have crystallized and asserted reinforcing effects on students' perceptions of educational injustice. / This study focuses on a group of the undergraduates from disadvantaged social backgrounds. It investigates their perceptions on educational injustice that they have experienced during their studies. The perceptions of injustice will be studied from the perspectives in both the distributive and relational justice. This study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the perceptions of justice among students of higher education in Chinese mainland. Twenty-two undergraduates from disadvantaged social backgrounds have been selected to be subjects of the study from four universities in Nanjing city of Jiangsu province. From the data collected, the following major findings are revealed. / This study has contributed to the scholarly discourses on distributive and relational justice by injecting first-hand qualitative data generated from the context of higher education in Chinese mainland. Furthermore, this study has provided some deep descriptions of the perceptions and experiences of educational injustice in a group disadvantaged background undergraduates in Chinese mainland. It is hoped that these data may help policy makers in formulating educational policy in the future. These data may also sensitizing teachers and other persons working in higher education sectors to address the perceptions and experiences of injustice among undergraduates from disadvantaged social backgrounds. Lastly, it is hoped that the study may be viewed as one of the tiny efforts that have been accumulated over the years by educators all over the world to constitute a relatively more equal and just educational system in human societies. / 钟景迅. / Adviser: Wing-kwong Tsang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-307). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Zhong Jingxun.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Community Engagement (CE) in South Africa is an increasingly important feature of the relationship between the university and a broader community, and may aid in bridging the entrenched social divisions of this nation. This will only be possible if CE succeeds in uniting the knowledge production interests of the university and the broader community. Through CE, knowledge production and dissemination from within the university should be made more relevant and applicable because it is based on a relationship or engagement with a community. Based on the perceptions of student volunteers in a CE programme at a South African university, this thesis set out to ask whether or not students are transformed through university-community collaboration. This research examines the perceptions and motivations of student volunteers entering community partnership programmes. More importantly, it asks whether these engagements are merely a “weekend special” consisting of shallow engagements, which last only a few hours a week that provide institutional window dressing; or well-intended engagements through which students build meaningful relationships and experience learning opportunities that prepare them for real world civic participation. As this thesis focuses on the student perspective, it explores whether or not CE has an impact, both personally and educationally or academically, on the lives of individual student volunteers. The literature on CE argues that students’ participation in CE opportunities should enhance academic learning, personal growth and promote a sense of citizenship or civic responsibility. Based on the perceptions of a small group of student volunteers at one university, this thesis identifies possible successes and limitations of CE volunteering programmes in order to see if what is promoted in the literature or institutional policies is being experienced or achieved in practice at universities. I argue that students are indeed transformed through processes of CE, often in unexpected ways, and despite many difficulties. Therefore, if CE provides students with more holistic learning opportunities while attending universities for academic ends, it is important to look at in what ways this is achieved.

Thesis (MA. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015. / The present research investigated the relationship between peer friendships and alcohol drinking patterns, amongst second year students at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop campus). The use and abuse of alcohol amongst students in South African and globally is problematic and increases decade after decade. Students consider alcohol consumption a normal part of university life and often overlook the consequences of health and social problems associated with high levels of alcohol use. The study utilised a quantitative approach with a cross sectional survey design. A convenience sample of second year students was used. Descriptive statistics were used to present the results as they give a clear and concise picture of the data. The chi-square test was utilised to see if there were any significant differences between male and female participants in terms of the study propositions and questions. The results suggest that positive psychosocial and psychological needs are intrinsic and are more likely to occur if an individual has ongoing and positive peer friendships, particularly amongst female participants. Generally, significant results indicate that females are more likely to engage in positive peer friendships and behaviours than males. Responses from male participants suggest that they are more likely to engage in maladaptive behaviours and are more likely to be negatively influenced by their peers, in terms of alcohol consumption, than females. However, females may tend to underestimate how much they drink as they are less likely to go out to a bar and are more likely to drink in their rooms or homes with friends than males.

This dissertation argues for the central role that higher education played in the making and remaking of gender difference as a fundamental organizing category of British politics and society. From the mid-nineteenth century, major legal, political, and economic shifts newly provided some—mostly elite—women with access to citizenship and the labor market. Nevertheless, gender segregation and gender difference remained essential to conceptions of women's participation in British politics and society. Across the same period, the number of universities in Britain doubled and national student intake more than tripled. Higher education became increasingly centralized and state-funded, and a degree increasingly became a professional qualification for both men and women. My dissertation examines the relationships between these changes and assesses their significance, moving beyond progressive accounts of women's formal admission to degrees. Drawing on extensive research in the archives of ten universities across England and Scotland, I show that gender was at the heart of faculty's, students', administrators', politicians', and donors' conceptions of what higher education was for, who should have access to it, and the extent to which universities should be funded by national government. Though expert opinion across Britain coalesced rapidly around the support of large coeducational research universities, this did little to alter gender difference as the fundamental organizing principle of university life. Campus relations between men and women remained conflicted, and the professional, social, and emotional lives of faculty and students remained largely gender-segregated—contributing to the lasting significance of gender difference for British politics and culture. I demonstrate these claims across three main sections of the dissertation, which cover how gender structured, respectively: the political and legal transformation of higher education, the culture of student life, and the relationship between faculty's careers and personal lives.

The percentage of women who receive doctorates has increased by over 300 percent during the past three decades. The consequences of pursuing the Ph.D. degree have always been far reaching and profound, serving as an impetus and springboard for the reconfiguration of one's beliefs, values, and professional life. The purposes of this national study were to ascertain and describe marital and social changes that occurred in the lives of women who were awarded the Ph.D. degree at midlife. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of three-hundred women who hold the Ph.D. degree and were employed in institutions of higher education in the United States. The study sought to identify the effects of the Ph.D. experience upon the marital relationships, friendships, and social activities of women who completed the degree between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five. Demographic data were collected which were related to their marital status before, during, and after the Ph.D. experience. Both closed and open-ended questions were posed which solicited information pertaining to their post Ph.D. experience. This research reports both quantitative and qualitative findings. The majority of women who complete the Ph.D. experience at midlife undergo and initiate changes in their lives which impact their relationships and activities. Many of these changes are the result of employment which follows the award rather than the degree itself. While some women experience negative effects in some areas of their lives, overall, the findings of this study suggest that changes are perceived positively by the majority of women who receive the Ph.D. at midlife.