THOUGHTS ABOUT ART CLINIC

GÂNDURI DESPRE ART KLINIKA

Author(s): Mihai Badescu / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 02/2009

Într-o societate, într-o lume obosită în fuga ei spre distrugere, semănând cu un bolnav fugit de la casa de nebuni, unde se învârt şi se amestecă valorile, dar al cărei corp este încă viu, există întotdeauna semne de autoapărare, există un organ al acestui trup care încearcă să producă anticorpii necesari vindecării şi regenerării. Întreaga lume e în criză, dar aici, în Serbia, peste criza mondială se suprapun toate bolile, războaiele şi fricile unui trecut nu foarte îndepărtat, care au lăsat cicatrici adânci într-o conştiinţă aflată în reformare. Indiferent de condiţii, bunul simţ, bunul gust şi bunele intenţii, dacă există, reacţionează, răspund, se revoltă şi chiar dacă nu pot schimba multe, arată spre boală, încearcă să definească răul. De aceea a apărut la sfârşitul anilor `90 grupul LED ART, care prin proiectele şi acţiunile sale era răspunsul la acţiunile unei societăţii nevrotice, agresive, paranoice şi depresive, la care s-a ajuns în perioada Miloševic şi care a încercat să nu fie nepăsător, să aibă o atitudine prin acţiunile de stradă ce le-a desfăşurat în acea perioadă.

TRANS-SYSTEM WORLD

LUMEA TRANS-SISTEMICĂ

Author(s): Mihai Rogobete / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 02/2009

Într-o lume deja multi-polară, inter şi trans-sistemică, optica teoriei războiului rece sau a ciocnirii civilizaţiilor încă mai orbecăie opresiv, din interior în afară, datorită opacităţii neputincioase inerţiale în care, perimată, viziunea unisistemică s-a baricadat. Căci, tocmai prin autosuficienţa care de fapt îl închide, orice sistem se sufocă, se macină, se destramă, degenerează – niciunul nu-şi poate provoca întrebările care să-l deschidă, să-l regenereze împotriva închistării sale intriseci, tenace, stabilizatoare şi conservatoare. Românii transfrontalieri şi-au desmărginit ţara mentală. Captivi remanenţelor, cei de acasă ţin însă morţiş să... transfugă oricând, de afară, în temniţa sistemică dinăuntru.

Paths of Education Collage Based on Student Essays from the Journal Competition

Пътища на образованието. Колаж от студенстки есета по конкурса на сп. Критика и хуманизъм

Author(s): Elitsa Stanoeva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Collage of Elitza Stanoeva based on student essays from the journal competition

Scientifi c Competence: Personal and Institutional Assessment

Научната компетентност - персонална и институционална оценка

Author(s): Borislav Toshev / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: research literacy; world system for abstracting; indexing and evaluation; primary research journals; secondary research sources; impact factor; impact rank; index of Hirsch; factor of effi ciency; personal evaluation; institutional evaluation

Research literacy is a set of rules and information, the ignorance or disregard of which would make impossible the realization of a successful scientifi c career. This article offers a description and analysis of various issues concerning research literacy. A description is given of the world system for abstracting, indexing and evaluation: its fi rst level embraces primary research journals and the second level is built by secondary research sources where the same primary research journals are presented as well. The article describes both the Hirsch Index and the research effi ciency factor by which the scientifi c excellence of an individual researcher could be assessed. A system for a quantitative evaluation of research competency of scientifi c organizations is proposed.

Effi ciency of State Funded Higher Education Institutions in Bulgaria: Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Ефективността на публично финансираните висши училища в България: приложение на анализа на границата на ефективност

Author(s): Boyan Zahariev,Dragomira Belcheva,Petya Brainova,Anita Baikusheva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); cost benefi t analysis; universities; higher education; science; funding

The paper represents the authors’ pilot test of a method for cost benefi t analysis of higher education. For Bulgaria, this is an innovative approach but it is widespread in scientifi c research in Europe. The authors explain the basics of the method and highlight its advantages for the evaluation of non-profi t organizations and public administration vis-à-vis the traditional cost benefi t analysis. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to 33 publicly funded universities in Bulgaria. An overall assessment of the public spending on universities is made together with an evaluation of the quality of their research. The pilot experiment includes also differential modes of fi nancing different professional fi elds in higher education. The paper illustrates the broad possibilities for using this method of analysis in support of the decision making process and development of successful teaching and research in the Bulgarian universities.

Against the Wall

Срещу стената

Author(s): Tsvetelina Manova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Competition winning student essay of Tsvetelina Manova

Education, Education, Education: Three Notions of Quality in Higher Education in England and Wales

Образование, образование, образование: Три идеи за качеството на висшето образование в Англия и Уелс

Author(s): Carolyn Heitmeyer,Lois Lee / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: higher education; university; knowledge; quality; Britain; audit culture; critical theory; economic crisis; education policy

The goal of this paper is to review the recent history of higher education in England and Wales, focusing especially on the post-Tony Blair (and post-Bologna) years and on the related but distinct questions of the value and quality of academic research. We argue that Blair’s 1996 slogan, “Education, education, education,” unintentionally refl ects the signifi cant feature of this history. While intended to emphasize the importance of education in society, the phrase also symbolizes what we see as three distinct movements or threads in the late 20th century and early 21st century development of higher education in England and Wales: democratization (or popularization), marketization and, in a specifi c and revised notion of word, professionalization. Quality is the endgoal in all of these models, and meritocracy is universally conceived of as the means of achieving it. They differ, however, in their view not so much of what these things are but of how they might be implemented. We summarize these differences and argue that, despite them, democratization and marketization are mutually reinforcing in practice. We argue that this leaves a truly critical analysis of the purpose and ethos of higher education wanting – and suggest a third model, professionalization, as a real alternative to both. This discussion is related to the task of evaluating academia, both in terms of its value to society and the quality of its products.

The Bologna Process in Question: National Versions and Instrumentalizations

Болонският процес под въпрос: национални пречупвания и инструментализации

Author(s): Gilles Rouet / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Bologna process; student protest; universities; autonomy; fi nancing higher education; European integration

This contribution presents some negative reactions against the Bologna Process and an analysis of that process in terms of economic, political and “auto” instrumentalizations. The actors, the so-called “stakeholders,” have at best the illusion of being at the centre of the evolution of the higher education system. That defi ciency concerns especially students: they are not really consulted and have almost no decision making power. One of the aims of the Bologna Process is to implant a “culture of evaluation,” but this implementation is essentially technical. Rather than making a move to a new democratic functioning, the outcomes of the process separate the actors and their own strategies. The new competition should be diluted in new collaborations as part of the ongoing development of social uses, in new networking structures and public spaces. Universities are precisely such new networks and it is high time for their political “reestablishment.”

The National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency Facing the New Challenges in Higher Education

Националната агенция за оценка и акредитация пред новите предизвикателства във висшето образование

Author(s): Dimitar Yonchev / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: accreditation criteria; education policies; quality of higher education; Bulgarian universities and institutes

This paper clarifi es the actual role of the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NAAA), which is a statutory body for evaluation, accreditation and monitoring of quality in higher education institutions and scientifi c organizations in Bulgaria. The paper is an attempt to explain the Agency’s challenges and politics in the area of higher education which are meant to address the needs of various stakeholders including students, parents, industry and society at large.

Higher Education Reforms in England: From Public Provision to the Market

Реформи във висшето образование на Англия: от публично финансиране към пазарна логика

Author(s): John Holmwood / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: inequality; neo-liberalism; marketization; social rights; student as consumer; public university

This paper sets out the recent changes to higher education in England, drawing out their radical and far-reaching nature. The fi rst part of the paper describes the proposals in detail in order to identify their key aspects and to facilitate comparison with other higher education systems. The second part of the paper places them in the context of the growth of mass public higher education since the 1960s. It suggests that they mark a radical break with earlier policies and undermine a previously accepted social mission for universities in the amelioration of inequality. The market and its values of effi ciency, investment in human capital, and economic growth are now supplanting the wider public benefi ts of higher education and its role in maintaining a democratic and critical public culture.

The Changes in the Higher Education Act after 1995: A Dead-end Maze

Промените в Закона за висшето образование след 1995 г.: лабиринт без изход

Author(s): Tania Petrova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Higher Education Act; Bulgarian legislation; quality of teaching and research; assurance; public financing

The aim of this text is to analyze structural discrepancies and defi ciencies in the Bulgarian Higher Education Act with respect to the quality of the teaching process and research. The text traces back crucial legislative amendments concerning the mechanisms for quality management, evaluation, accreditation and control. Major issues on the national and institutional level, such as long-term policy setting, expansion of higher education, fi nancing and academic autonomy, are further analyzed in terms of different stimuli for raising the quality of education and research. The review of the normative changes mirrors numerous legislative compromises, delays of crucial regulations and implementation failures which all lead to ineffi cient models for monitoring and rewarding quality of teaching and research. In conclusion, the text outlines major problems that need to be addressed in future debates, such as total public spending on higher education, fair competition between state and private institutions, quality-based fi nancing of education and research, broader management and academic autonomy, combined with institutional transparency and accountability.

Pax Sinica and the Chinese Education Pact

Pax Sinica и пактът на китайското образование

Author(s): Dimitar Kambourov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Chinese higher education; comparative transitology; modernity; humanities; the Chinese Model of Success

The essay is a free attempt for a refl ection on the Chinese university education. Since I spent two years as a lecturer of Bulgarian language, culture and literature in a prestigious Chinese university, here I share my personal impressions and somewhat negative experience of this either backward or very different educational system which is based on learning by heart and mechanical reproduction of already dated data. In this, I rely also on information provided by my MA student there who worked on the comparison between the Bulgarian and Chinese educational systems. For me, it was obvious that the Chinese youths feel unhappy with their system because of its examoriented high-school education and its frailty as an up-to-date university effi ciency.

The End of State Control: From Political to “Academic” Arbitrary Rule?

Краят на ВАК: от политически към „академичен“ произвол?

Author(s): Maya Grekova / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: scientifi c responsibility; evaluation; academic degrees; academic titles; scientifi c review; academic selection committees

The emphasis of this paper is placed on the issue of responsibility and hence, it is not intended to be a detailed overview and analysis of the debates on and the amendments in the “new” law on the Development of the Academic Staff of 2010, which replaced the Academic Degrees and Titles Act. Of major interest for this paper are two issues that contain key aspects of the reform: What happens with the academic staff when political control is lifted? What happens with the academic staff when the system in charge of its development becomes decentralized? My thesis is that political control in itself does not relieve scholars from any responsibility for their actions related to the “development of the academic staff”; yet, the existence of political control allows for the degradation of responsibility as a value. The abolition of political control in itself does not restore the value of responsibility; in the lack of non-academic control, the unrestored value of responsibility could lead to “academic” arbitrary rule.

The Agency of the Periphery in after the Fallout of the Old Centrisms

Силата на периферията в епохата на разпадане на старите центризми

Author(s): Diana Mishkova,Elitsa Stanoeva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Interview; projects; cntrism; periphery

Interview with Diana Mishkova by Elitza Stanoeva

The Student Exchange as a Luxurious Opportunity

Студентският обмен като луксозна възможност

Author(s): Todor Hristov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Semantic web of Todor Hristov of student essays from the journal competition

Meanings and Functions of the University between Humboldt and Bologna

Смисли и функции на университетското образование между Хумболт и Болоня

Author(s): Krassimir Stojanov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Bologna reform; Humboldt; university; Habermas; academic teaching and research

In this paper, I develop the argument that Humboldt’s principle of the unity of teaching and research should be seen as a foundational norm of the contemporary university. Only teaching that is understood as inclusion of students in guided research practices could cultivate analytical and argumentative abilities, which are crucial for all academic professions. However, the way in which the Bologna reform has been implemented in the representative case of Germany works against the unity of teaching and research. That is why I conclude the paper with a plea for a reform of the Bologna reform.

Quality of Higher Education and University Reforms: The Italian Case in a Long-term Perspective

Качество на висшето образование и университетски реформи: италианският случай в дългосрочна перспектива

Author(s): Antonio Ferrara / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: Italy; university; quality of university systems; university reforms

This paper argues that tensions between mass access and quality of higher education (usually resolved in favor of the former) are at the roots of the problems currently faced by the Italian universities. Once de facto reserved to relatively small elite selected on the basis of social privilege, they were open to ever larger strata of the population since the 1960s when Italy started its brusque and uneven modernization process. The way the new “mass university” was created, however, ended up degrading the overall quality of Italian higher education since no measures were taken to safeguard standards of quality once guaranteed by the limited dimensions of the whole system. Only recently, some steps have been taken in the opposite direction, mainly with the latest reform of 2010 whose outcome however remains to be seen.

Accreditation versus Ranking System: What Is Each to Measure?

Акредитация срещу рейтинги – с кое какво да измерваме?

Author(s): Anastas Gerjikov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 36/2011

Keywords: higher education funding model; accreditation; university ranking

The paper examines the current situation of Bulgarian higher education and particularly the role of accreditation and the new university ranking system. It discusses the recently proposed new accreditation criteria and the adopted amendments to the Higher Education Act. The author accepts the funding principle of the last ten years, according to which the state subsidy of a university depends on the number of students enrolled, but argues that it must also depend on the quality of education. The paper defends the view that the quality of education should continue to be assessed by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency and this assessment should be used for the purposes of subsidy distribution, whereas the results of the ranking system should serve only as a tool guiding users’ choices.

Presenting social responsibility informationin corporate external reports

Prezentowanie informacji na temat społecznej odpowiedzialności w sprawozdawczości zewnętrznej przedsiębiorstw

Author(s): Arleta Szadziewska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 329/2014

Keywords: environmental and social information; Corporate Social Responsibility; integra¬ted report

Presenting reliable environmental and social information in external reports is a very important issue. It allows companies to build transparent and trust-based relationships with their stakeholders, and thus to improve competitiveness in the changeable market. Taking the above into consideration, the aim of this paper is to show some ways of presenting social responsibility information in corporate external reporting and proposals to include these aspects in the integrated report.

Reporting environment and social datain public companies in energy sector

Raportowanie danych w obszarach środowiskowym i społecznym w publicznych spółkach sektora energetycznego

Author(s): Ewa Chojnacka / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 329/2014

Keywords: Report of the management board on operations; CSR; ESG; energy sector

According to law regulations environment and social data can be presented in the Report of the Management Board on operations. The analysis of this report in chosen Polish public companies in energy sector confirms that the reporting level of given issues is different among companies. Some companies prepared the separate part concerning social responsibility but presented activities were not always connected with a company’s strategy given companies did not inform about additional CSR reports. Moreover technical elements of the reports make it impossible to use the search tools. Due to the varied report structure it limits the utility of this reports as the source of nonfinancial information.