<p> This dissertation reviews the extensive literature on the history of academia and education in historical context, distilling it into a concise storyline, followed by a concentrated focus on the French and German university models, departmentalization, and subsequent reactions to it. The extensive documentation provides a detailed sketch for the motivated scholar to elaborate upon with further reading. Hopefully, the interdiciplinary approach has something to offer most academics. The literature review also helped guide development of a survey assessing student educational experiences in contemporary academia (Cronbach&rsquo;s &alpha; = 0.717). The endeavor included a far-reaching journey of field research across every continent of the world except Antarctica. A total of 273 universities were assessed. Qualitative notes were taken, which may lead to an illustrated travelogue, but the current dissertation aim was to survey undergraduates with the new instrument (N = 1,495 undergraduates). Results show the majority of students were pleased with the education they were receiving, though their program requirements prevented them from studying other subjects of interest, and opportunities to take interdisciplinary courses were limited. Most students found their professors available for guidance, but did not find opportunities to collaborate on publishable research with them. Furthermore, most students did not intend to submit their work for publication, but would be more inclined to submit to a student run journal, if one was available. Finally, most students believe it is important to spend a semester or more aboard, or at affiliate university campuses, but they find the expense and logistical problems a deterrent. In closing, policy considerations are proposed as possible solutions to the problems uncovered by the survey results. The limitations and contributions of this research are discussed. Theoretically, this research places the new global network university model within the context of historical developments. It expands the construct for rating universities beyond standard criteria for rankings to include the issues mentioned above. Methodologically, this research advances the field of university rating systems by providing a new reliable measurement tool. Practically, the survey instrument increases awareness of several issues that need attention in order to improve the educational experiences of university undergraduates.</p>

This study begins by reviewing the literature on community education, identifying two major strands, the progressive, exemplified by Elsie Ripley Clapp, and the conservative. The literature on citizen participation in planning, especially land-use planning, is reviewed and again two major forms are identified, the strong and the weak. A third review chapter examines relationships between education, planning, and democracy. A survey of environmental and planning professionals is used to create a starting list of categories for further qualitative research. Two towns are chosen for their small size, their rural character, their recent history, and their open Town Meeting-Board of Selectmen form of government. This form of local government, peculiar to New England, includes a local legislative body responsible for local law and taxation open to all registered voters, together with an executive branch. Citizens of these towns are therefore empowered by definition on at least one level to act regarding local political and economic conditions. Recent records of planning board meetings are examined and compared with the survey of professionals, resulting in the addition of several categories. The results of two series of community meetings is recorded, and there is a discussion of barriers to participation. The results of a survey of citizens in the two towns, the most successful aspect of the study, and one which again resulted in several more categories being derived, is then reported. The results of this triangulated study are summarized and discussed in the final chapter, which includes a discussion of the stimulation of motivation for participation. This discussion is based on the proposition that a reasonable expectation of positive action resulting from participation is a precondition for the stimulation of motivation. This realization of this expectation may be hampered by the powerful effects of outside political and economic forces but may be facilitated through increased self-reliance for basic needs satisfaction, enabling further empowerment. A final note concerns the implications for local government of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which could allow citizens formerly unable to participate increased access to participation in decision making.