The reduction of lifetime working hours in Western industrialized countries is increasing the need for research, particularly qualitative, on the leisure of the elderly. This approach has been taken in planning a new empirical study. (MSE)

Statistics on college students in Czechoslovakia before November 1989 are presented, and a survey of 320 students after the massive political upheaval is reported. The survey assessed student views on the new social, economic, and political situation, the status and changes in higher education, changes in higher education funding, and future…

Interviews with faculty at 10 European universities examined 2 issues in developing effective staffing structures: (1) possible barriers to vertical and horizontal mobility caused by a worsening environment; and (2) the possibility of value-dissonance for staff as a consequence of new requirements. Clear identification of responsibility for…

Assesses the "evaluative state"--the historic background, the process and procedures used to evaluate institutions of public higher education in European Union countries. Reviews various types of evaluation used, changes in the concept and purpose of evaluation, and looks at some of the basic and long-term issues for the future, from its…

Reviews development of evaluation studies together with key epistemological and conceptual issues. Uses identified concepts to analyze peer review, the traditional mode of evaluation in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Lists criteria for improvement, including: range of knowledge; critical analysis…

Suggests that the introduction of corporate management ideals signals profound changes in the way public authorities understand academic activity and discusses the impact of these changes on institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Examines these changes from the perspective of a Norwegian university, focusing particularly on normative ideals…

Explores quality-assurance mechanisms for higher education and their use as a government policy instrument. Outlines several national or system-level approaches adopted worldwide; reviews an Australian quality-assurance program conducted from 1993 to 1995 and its successor program; and comments on ways in which the government used quality…

Discusses changes implemented in Italian higher education during the last 10 years to bring it into line with other European systems. Main changes included the introduction of short-cycle courses, changes in the mechanism related to public financing of universities, greater pedagogical self-regulation, and establishment of a system of periodical…

Examines the "evaluative state" that is, public management-based evaluation systems--in the context of experiences in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and suggests that further research is needed to examine problems in the evaluative state itself, in how market competition impacts upon it, and how academic oligarchies influence the…