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Discusses a personal return to the university in 1991 as the foundation Chair of Nursing at the Queen's U, Belfast, Ireland, in the context of a feminist vision of the academy. This appointment disrupted the existing power bases of nursing in Belfast, which were firmly in the control of men. The school was organized both to develop a strong theoretical basis for nursing knowledge & to increase nursing's status as a profession. The worlds of work & the academy met in the resistance of men to progressive proposals by women. Various examples demonstrate the patriarchal structure of nursing, both within & without the academy. It is suggested that the difficulties of establishing nursing in the academy are intimately related to the gender hierarchy in nursing generally. As such, advances in the former realm are dependent on changes in the latter. 18 References. D. M. Ryfe

Oradea, an important cultural, economic and administrative town at the
western border of Romania, is known as an academic center since 1780 through its area of
operation for over two centuries of the Academy of Law. The Romanian age of higher education
institutions has proven to be a step in regaining the status of high school like the other existing
universities in the country between the wars. The abolition of the Academy and its merger with the
Faculty of Law of the University of Cluj, in 1934, was a great loss for the city of Oradea, the values gathered during more that two centuries of high school, representing a solid fundament for
the academic education, from this part of the country, after the second world war.

An introductory essay to a section on "Stories from the Field" notes that the contributors offer a wide variety of examples of the diverse ways in which scholars in the field of feminist science studies have initiated a constructive discourse between feminism & education. They relate the challenges & struggles involved in trying to make connections between disparate places. In addition, the many successes have helped to develop an effective critique of science & feminism that is being integrated into education in both the sciences & women's studies. A discussion of the movement to reform science education at the elementary, high school, & university levels stresses transformative strategies intended to place a feminist analytical perspective into the goals for education. Ways to build critical thinking about the myth of a universal "Western" scientific framework into the curriculum for science majors are examined, along with the need to produce subsequent generations of teachers willing to challenge the accepted version of scientific culture. 18 References. J. Lindroth

The traditional barriers to entry of women into the modern university context have generally been dismantled; however, there still exists a hierarchy of positions & universities that prevents women from achieving status in the upper echelons of the academy. Moreover, as women have made dramatic strides in the academy as a whole, a new conservative assault on the university currently threatens to erase the gains they have made. In this context, it is suggested that three questions require immediate response by female academics: the extent & kind of response women should make to the conservatives' marketization of the university; the relation of women's studies programs to one another & to the academy at large; & the issue of ownership & control of knowledge in a climate dominated by market principles. It is deemed time that women make strategic use of their hard-earned space in the academy for the benefit of women & the academy generally. 19 References. D. M. Ryfe

As a part and an important, even determinant resource in the complex
process of national culture development, education has always been a topic addressed
by the Romanian history researchers. Education has been given the greatest attention
in partial monographs and monographs of branches of education up to syntheses and
treatises because its evolution has been a part of the Romanians' economic, social and
political development. The present study brings into the attention of the historians an
unpublished category of documents – study documents used or issued by the university
or academic secretariats. The case study focuses on the Oradea Academy of Law
students' quantitative data processing mainly upon the Romanian period of the
institution. The tables and graphs complete the picture of the students' life on the west
frontier of Great Romania while the analyses of the documents bring about new
information in the study of the intellectual elite.

"Europe's periphery is difficult to assess in terms of threats. The conflicts that the Middle East is facing today are no longer between states, but across borders and inter-societal. Furthermore, the borders that were set by the colonial powers are crumbling and the national state is losing ground. In its stead, offer forms of identity are resurfacing, namely the struggle between Shiites and Sunnis. Many other challenges occur, and Europe has to find a way how to deal with them, or at least parts of them. To get a complete set of answers to these challenges, the strategic trends must be examined. Once these are understood, Europe can find strategies to deal with them. One strategy for a safer periphery should be a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. Europe should be one of its main initiators. By helping its periphery to help itself, Europe helps itself as well. The second issue that Europe needs to tackle is the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Europe has to solve this issue, in a way that is acceptable to all parties and guarantees equal rights for all. Once these two persisting threats, or challenges, are resolved, Europe may well find a periphery that is not only more peaceful, but also much safer. This should be the strategy for Europe's periphery at risk." (author's abstract)

It is contended that "electoral democracy in Canada is sick." Among the political parties, only the Liberal Party appears poised to govern, but it lacks a strong base for governance. At the moment, the Liberal government, while strong in the House, is weak throughout the country. Yet the opposition parties are too weak to challenge the Liberals. A full account of how Canada got into this predicament is presented, using official archival data to trace the history of Canadian political parties & governments as far back as the beginning of the first party system in 1878, but focusing on recent decades. It is concluded that major structural reform is needed. Changes are suggested that include circulation of parties through office, but not necessarily as single-party governments, a more sensitive register of change in public opinion, greater proportionality in representation, & an "ends-against-the-middle strategy in electoral reform.". Tables, Figures, Charts, Graphs. J. Stanton

(Translated from French by Simon Lee.) Applies a regulationiste interpretation of the origins of capitalist diversity to the French economy. This regulationiste interpretation, built on a Marxist theory of modes of production -- ie, the nature & extent of market relationships presents a key source of capitalist differentiation -- adds a concern for the impact of structural crises that develop amid economic transition. This theory applies to post-WWII France, which enjoyed significant economic expansion through a Fordist system strongly regulated by the central government. This economic model was unable to react to 1980s circumstances, which caused a structural crisis that appeared to leave France one of two choices: either embrace the Anglo Saxon version of pure-market capitalism, or continue with its traditional unsuccessful system. However, the German model has recently become attractive as a third alternative. At present, it is unclear whether France will embrace the German model, revert to a state-driven Fordist model, transition to a new French-type capitalism, or converge with the Anglo Saxon model. 8 Tables, 7 Figures. D. Ryfe

Since the 1990s, there has been considerable debate about the feasibility & desirability of establishing Euro-parties as a way to allow voters in European Union member states to express their opinions regarding EU policy. The idea is not new, dating back to the 1970s when three 'transnational party federations' were established in expectation of their necessity in an EC-level party political democracy: the Confederation of Socialist Parties of the EC, the Federation of Liberal & Democratic Parties of the EC, & the European People's Party, which federated the Christian Democratic parties. However, the federations never gained a sustainable level of power. The history of this effort is recounted, demonstrating the federations', & subsequently the parties', membership, organization, & systemic functionality. A mix of two models of party-based democracy is suggested to be the most viable political party system for the EU today: European domestic party systems & the American-style competitive system. Tables, References. J. Stanton

Vergleicht man die erzielten Schulabschlüsse, so schneiden junge Menschen mit Migrationserfahrung insgesamt deutlich schlechter ab als gleichaltrige Einheimische. Dies ergeben Berechnungen mit den repräsentativen Daten des Mikrozensus für Migrantenkinder, die zwischen Ende der 1980er und Anfang der 2000er Jahre als Minderjährige in die Bundesrepublik kamen und hier zur Schule gingen. So schaffen von diesen Personen nur 26 Prozent das Abitur. Auch die PISA-Studien zeigen, dass Kinder aus Zuwandererfamilien überdurchschnittlich häufig zu den Leistungsschwächeren zählen. Die Autorin unterscheidet in ihrer Auswertung der Mikrozensus-Daten von 2005 die Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund nicht nach Herkunftsland, sondern stellt die Aussiedler als Gruppe allen übrigen Migranten gegenüber. Aussiedler erhalten direkt nach der Einwanderung die deutsche Staatsbürgerschaft. Der Vergleich zeigt, dass Kinder von Aussiedlern häufiger als Kinder von Zuwanderern ohne deutschen Pass die Schule mit der mittleren Reife abschließen. Die Auswertung der Mikrozensus-Daten verdeutlicht zudem das höhere Bildungsstreben der Aussiedler beziehungsweise ihrer in Deutschland geborenen Kinder: Der Anteil der Oberstufenschüler sowie derjenigen mit akademischem Abschluss liegt sogar über dem Wert der Einheimischen. Jugendliche aus Aussiedlerfamilien sind seltener erwerbslos und auch seltener von öffentlichen Leistungen abhängig als Einheimische. (ICI).