Education Commons^™

A Theory Without A Movement, A Hope Without A Name: The Future Of Marxism In A Post-Marxist World, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Just as Marx's insights into capitalism have been most strikingly vindicated by the rise of neoliberalism and the near-collapse of the world economy, Marxism as social movement has become bereft of support. Is there any point in people who find Marx's analysis useful in clinging to the term "Marxism" - which Marx himself rejected -- at time when self-identified Marxist organizations and societies have collapsed or renounced the identification, and Marxism own working class constituency rejects the term? I set aside bad reasons to give on "Marxism," such as that the theory is purportedly refuted, that its adoption leads necessarily …

Examining The Transition To A Four-Day School Week And Investigating Post-Change Faculty/Staff Work-Life Balance: A Community College Case Study, Nelly Cardinale

Dr. Nelly Cardinale

This single descriptive embedded case study examined the process of implementing a four-day work/school week at a community college and investigated post-change faculty/staff work-life balance. All of the students attending this college live at home. The change was implemented due to state funding shortfalls, increasing college utility expenses and low employee morale. Additionally, this study resulted in a set of guidelines that can be used by change agents of similar colleges to implement this change. Moreover, the study describes the positive and negative aspects associated with the shorter work/school week. On a positive note, the schedule facilitates making personal appointments, …

Risk Analysis & Management In Student-Centered Spacecraft Development Projects, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Fevig, James Casler, Om Yadav

Jeremy Straub

Student involvement in any engineering project introduces an element of risk. This risk is particularly pronounced with small spacecraft projects, as a failure of the spacecraft on-orbit can result in a complete failure of the mission. However, student involvement in these projects is critical to allow research aims to be accomplished, in a university setting, and to train the next generation of spacecraft engineering professionals. The nature of risks posed by student involvement is discussed and a framework for assessing and mitigating these risks presented.

A Critical Examination Of The Relationship Between The Use Of Gatekeepers, Trust, And Organisation Knowledge-Sharing, Deogratias Harorimana Dr

Dr Deogratias Harorimana

This thesis critically examines the relationship between gatekeepers, trust, and an organisation’s knowledge sharing. The research applied mixed methods with the case study approach. In this research the concept ‘gatekeeper’ is widely used to represent a class of those who are part of a knowledge management strategy; they collect information and knowledge and contextualise this before they can share it with the rest of the members of the organisation’s knowledge networks - within the formal and informal organisation. In this study, it was found that there was a strong relationship between the openness of a given firm, as regards its …

Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

This short nontechnical article reviews the Arrow Impossibility Theorem and its implications for rational democratic decisionmaking. In the 1950s, economist Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no method for producing a unique social choice involving at least three choices and three actors could satisfy four seemingly obvious constraints that are practically constitutive of democratic decisionmaking. Any such method must violate such a constraint and risks leading to disturbingly irrational results such and Condorcet cycling. I explain the theorem in plain, nonmathematical language, and discuss the history, range, and prospects of avoiding what seems like a fundamental theoretical challenge to the possibility …

Creative Library Support For Faculty And Students, Ellen Mcmahon, Larissa Garcia

Ellen McMahon

This short presentation gives an overview of Library support can be embedded into course management systems. Librarian support offers students immediate help and answers to questions.

The Emplotment Of Human Dignity And Social Responsibility: College Health Promotion Comes Of Age In The Time Of Aids, Raymond Quirolgico

Raymond Quirolgico

At the end of 2003, between 1,039,000 and 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS (Glynn and Rhodes 2005) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 40,000 more persons in the U.S. become infected with HIV each year (CDC 2003). According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the international statistics are even more sobering: there were approximately 39.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2004, and an estimated 4.9 million newly infected people in 2004 with 3.1 million human deaths attributed …

Responding To Stakeholders’ Critical Needs- The Integrative Model Of Stakeholders’ Management (Imsm), Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

Organizations are increasingly required to enhance their accountability to diverse internal and external stakeholders (Burrows, 1999). Knowing and understanding stakeholders’ expectations increases the ability of an organization to effectively respond to those expectations. Stakeholder relationship management is critical for corporate sustainability (Perrini & Tencati, 2006) or “capacity of a firm to continue operating over a long period of time” (p. 296). Organizations may benefit from developing collaborative interactions with their stakeholders, integrating their values and views into the formulation and implementation of organizational goals and objectives (Merrick, Parnell, Barnett & Garcia, 2005; Susniene & Vanagas, 2006).

This document contains a …

Living Without Guard Rails, Ellen Mcmahon

Ellen McMahon

Travel encourages one to learn more about another location and culture, but also much about one's self. During my time as a Fulbright teaching scholar I learned much about the history and life in Sarajevo but even more about myself.

International Exchanges And Collaboration: A Student Perspective, Ellen Mcmahon, Agata Kubis, Kinga Ogonowska, Dzenan Kulovic

Ellen McMahon

This initial exploration into student perceptions and desired outcomes of international student exchanges and collaboration provides a snapshot in time of the thoughts on two small groups of students: Polish students studying in Chicago, IL in the US and Bosnian students using technology to interact with an American professor in the US. This paper can provide discussion prompts to address the specific interests of students for those academics involved student exchanges as well as those using technology to link students beyond geographic boarders.

The Role Of Higher Education In Preparing The Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs: The Role Of Service Learning, Ellen Mcmahon

Ellen McMahon

What role does higher education have in preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs? How can curricula be adapted and organized to allow students to go beyond learning theory and formula to applying what they learn to real world situations? Is it possible to link learning to opportunities within the community to build stronger more enduring businesses that can compete locally, nationally or internationally? This paper will discuss a model of service learning that strategically embeds activities within the community in specific organizations/businesses. Students participate in real world problems and challenges thematically linked to the learning outcomes of their course. Business …

Review Of Emergency Management: Concepts And Strategies For Effective Programs, Valerie Lucus Cem, Cbcp

Valerie Lucus-McEwen CEM CBCP

Review of Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs By Lucien G. Canton, CEM. By taking a different perspective on local government emergency management programs, this book presents the vision for a very different model—one that includes an independent emergency manager leading an enterprise-wide program focused on strategies that promote disaster resilient communities.

Green Space, Ellen Mcmahon

Ellen McMahon

Thoughts triggered by the view from my apartment in Grbavica.

Thoughts On Travel And Doors, Ellen Mcmahon

Ellen McMahon

Sometimes the most basic and common activities pose the biggest challenges when you travel. With a bit of humor and a commitment to solve the problem much can be learned, about your host country and yourself.

In Defence Of Exploitation, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

The concept of exploitation is thought to be central to Marx's Critique of capitalism. John Roemer, an analytical (then-) Marxist economist now at Yale, attacked this idea in a series of papers and books in the 1970s-1990s, arguing that Marxists should be concerned with inequality rather than exploitation -- with distribution rather than production, precisely the opposite of what Marx urged in The Critique of the Gotha Progam.

This paper expounds and criticizes Roemer's objections and his alternative inequality based theory of exploitation, while accepting some of his criticisms. It may be viewed as a companion paper to my What's …

Functional Explanation And Metaphysical Individualism, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

A number of (present or former) analytical Marxists, such as Jon Elster, have argued that functional explanation has almost no place in the social sciences. (Although the discussion is framed in terms of a debate among analytical Marxists, the point is quite general, and Marxism is used for illustrative purposes.) Functional explanation accounts for what is to be explained by reference to its function; thus, sighted organism have eyes because eyes enable them to see. Elster and other critics of functional explanation argue that this pattern of explanation is inconsistent with "methodological individualism," the idea, as they understand it, that …