Isomorphism and organizational performance: evidence from quality management in higher education

Purpose Quality management has become an integral part of management reforms in public sector organizations. Drawing on a new institutionalist perspective, this study aims to investigate the relation of management reforms and organizational performance in the context of higher education. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse the interaction between isomorphic conformity in quality management adoption, organizational learning and quality improvement and, in so doing, address the central theoretical question of what effects isomorphic conformity has on organizational performance. Empirically, the study draws on survey data from quality managers at public higher education institutions in Germany. Methodically, it applies confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings The results suggest that mimetic isomorphism is surprisingly compatible with processes of organizational learning, and thus, does not inevitably compromise organizational development. Originality/value By presenting these findings, the authors contribute to the controversial theoretical debate concerning the effects of isomorphism and to the ongoing discussion regarding the organizational impact of quality management in higher education.

Introduction

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the study of the history of philosophy. In general, there is an enormous difference between those who concern themselves with ancient philosophy, those who concern themselves with medieval philosophy, and the students of the history of modern philosophy. And, across this distinction, there is a great variety of approaches. One should not forget that the historiography of philosophy itself in many ways is a product of history and reflects the historical context in which it is pursued. Nevertheless, what this book is interested in is not the factual question of why historians of philosophy do what they do, but the theoretical question, the question of how one ought to conceive of and explain what they do; though they themselves in this work may not in fact be guided by these assumptions and principles, there must be such principles to the extent that their activity is a rational activity. It is also important to note that philosophers tend to criticize historians of philosophy as being unduly historical and not sufficiently philosophical.

Les Guidelines TEI à l’épreuve de la complexité textuelle et graphique médiévale

The TEI Guidelines represent today an essential standard in the world of textual encoding for digital editions. However, some problems concerning TEI encoding, both theoretical and practical, are far from being definitively resolved. In this context we firstly discuss a theoretical question: what is the nature of the encoding? Are we interested in the Text or in its documentary image? What is the difference between a descriptive encoding and an editorial one? Secondly, we analyse the specific case of the TEI Guidelines application to the Medieval textual and writing reality: indeed, this application risks being anything but automatic, as TEI tags were set in the context of contemporary printed books.

Between Max Weber and Gilles Deleuze: Leadership Democracy within a Society of Control

<p><b>Gilles Deleuze argued that modern western societies are undergoing or have undergone a shift away from a purely disciplinary formation as articulated by Michel Foucault towards new structures of control. Whereas disciplinary societies were defined by the specifics of certain kinds of confinement, what Deleuze terms societies of control emerge from the dissolution of the separation between these forms of confinement and the wider society. Because of this, social control has begun to pervade the individual lives of persons within a society, where persons are treated as subjects from which data and information can be extracted. However, at the same time many modern western societies are also considered or can be classified as what Weber described as leadership democracies, that is, democracies where charismatic leaders are elected and command large followings. Thus, a theoretical question emerges as to how these two theoretical approaches would interact. A society of control by its nature makes the imposition of control over subjects more encompassing while the charismatic leader at the helm of a political apparatus is theoretically able to overcome the various obstacles that impose themselves over most members of a society. The question is how this would include the overcoming of the imposition of the society of control.</b></p> <p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a leadership democracy under the guidance of a charismatic leader, or leaders, is able to overcome the impositions of a society of control. It shall be argued in due course, despite the presence and impositions of a society of control, that such impositions do not impinge upon the nature of the charismatic leader, or leaders, in such a way or to the extent required to prevent the charismatic leader, or leaders, from operating as this kind of leader, or leaders, by definition. In so doing, this thesis explores the manner in which the charismatic leader, or leaders, can overcome the mechanisms of a society of control and maintain the integrity of a leadership democracy in relation to the manner in which societal control is exerted over a population. Given that this thesis deals with a question of pure theory, the nature of this thesis shall be largely formal and shall rely largely on formal argumentation derived from primary and secondary literature as opposed to empirical research, however, where necessary empirical examples and research shall be drawn on for illustration purposes.</p>

Between Max Weber and Gilles Deleuze: Leadership Democracy within a Society of Control

<p><b>Gilles Deleuze argued that modern western societies are undergoing or have undergone a shift away from a purely disciplinary formation as articulated by Michel Foucault towards new structures of control. Whereas disciplinary societies were defined by the specifics of certain kinds of confinement, what Deleuze terms societies of control emerge from the dissolution of the separation between these forms of confinement and the wider society. Because of this, social control has begun to pervade the individual lives of persons within a society, where persons are treated as subjects from which data and information can be extracted. However, at the same time many modern western societies are also considered or can be classified as what Weber described as leadership democracies, that is, democracies where charismatic leaders are elected and command large followings. Thus, a theoretical question emerges as to how these two theoretical approaches would interact. A society of control by its nature makes the imposition of control over subjects more encompassing while the charismatic leader at the helm of a political apparatus is theoretically able to overcome the various obstacles that impose themselves over most members of a society. The question is how this would include the overcoming of the imposition of the society of control.</b></p> <p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a leadership democracy under the guidance of a charismatic leader, or leaders, is able to overcome the impositions of a society of control. It shall be argued in due course, despite the presence and impositions of a society of control, that such impositions do not impinge upon the nature of the charismatic leader, or leaders, in such a way or to the extent required to prevent the charismatic leader, or leaders, from operating as this kind of leader, or leaders, by definition. In so doing, this thesis explores the manner in which the charismatic leader, or leaders, can overcome the mechanisms of a society of control and maintain the integrity of a leadership democracy in relation to the manner in which societal control is exerted over a population. Given that this thesis deals with a question of pure theory, the nature of this thesis shall be largely formal and shall rely largely on formal argumentation derived from primary and secondary literature as opposed to empirical research, however, where necessary empirical examples and research shall be drawn on for illustration purposes.</p>

The Magnetic Properties of Selected Rare Earth Nitrides Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

<p>Gadolinium nitride (GdN) and samarium nitride (SmN) are grown by pulsed laser deposition on yttria stabilised zirconia substrates. Surface and structural characterisation shows that the thin films are epitaxial with crystallites of up to 30 nm in diameter and a very large in plane coherence length. A novel oxide layer is observed at the substrate-film interface, caused by oxygen in the substrate reacting with the deposited rare earth element. GdN is found to be ferromagnetic below 70 K with a saturation moment of 7 Bohr magneton per ion. The relationship between the crystal structure and the magnetisation is investigated using ferromagnetic resonance and a weak easy axis along the [111] azimuth is reported. Hall effect measurements show the carriers are electrons, present in concentrations of 1020/cm3. Magnetic measurements on SmN show the presence of metallic droplets, but correcting for these, the Curie temperature is found to be 30 K.We report on preliminary growths of europium nitride and show the valence of the Eu is 3+, solving an outstanding theoretical question.</p>

The Magnetic Properties of Selected Rare Earth Nitrides Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

<p>Gadolinium nitride (GdN) and samarium nitride (SmN) are grown by pulsed laser deposition on yttria stabilised zirconia substrates. Surface and structural characterisation shows that the thin films are epitaxial with crystallites of up to 30 nm in diameter and a very large in plane coherence length. A novel oxide layer is observed at the substrate-film interface, caused by oxygen in the substrate reacting with the deposited rare earth element. GdN is found to be ferromagnetic below 70 K with a saturation moment of 7 Bohr magneton per ion. The relationship between the crystal structure and the magnetisation is investigated using ferromagnetic resonance and a weak easy axis along the [111] azimuth is reported. Hall effect measurements show the carriers are electrons, present in concentrations of 1020/cm3. Magnetic measurements on SmN show the presence of metallic droplets, but correcting for these, the Curie temperature is found to be 30 K.We report on preliminary growths of europium nitride and show the valence of the Eu is 3+, solving an outstanding theoretical question.</p>

Maß (Moderation, Measure)

This entry on Maß (moderation, measure) explores a concept that has not received much attention in Goethe scholarship and makes a case for its usefulness and versatility in tracking how Goethe addresses a philosophical issue with a history stretching at least back to Aristotle’s conception of “the golden mean.” It shows how Goethe’s writings respond to numerous issues connected with the concept of moderation, ranging from the problem of self-moderation, when an individual’s own internal calibration comes in conflict with societal norms, to the more theoretical question of how to define the correct standard of measure (Maßstab). The discussion of moderation in Goethe’s work is, to be sure, coupled with its opposite, namely the potentially deadly threat of immoderation and excess, such as one finds in Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1774; The Sorrows of Young Werther), Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795; Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship), and Torquato Tasso (1790). Such potential conflicts, which also raise questions of where to position the standard of measure (Maßstab) of behavior, lead naturally into contexts of scientific experimentation, as in Goethe’s essay “Der Versuch als Vermittler von Objekt und Subjekt” (1792; The Experiment as Mediator of Object and Subject), where such standards take on a different valence from their role in mathematically based natural sciences. In addition, Goethe’s novel, Die Wahlverwandtschaften (1809; Elective Affinities), provides a poetic model where conflicts between individually and socially calibrated notions of measure and moderation play out with major ethical consequences. The entry concludes with a reflection on different kinds of aesthetic experience, each with its particular understanding of Maß: the individual’s appreciation of the sublime, the theatrical performance, and the embodiment of the self through poetic meter. Throughout these examples, the entry will underscore the role of narrative constraints: regardless of whether the medium is prose or poetry, one finds that questions of Maß as moderation in Goethe’s writings are often accompanied by questions of narrative control and excess. The following overview and analysis of Maß in Goethe’s writing will show that this term is a nodal point of ethical, epistemological, and aesthetic concerns.

A Plane-Dependent Model of 3D Grid Cells for Representing Both 2D and 3D Spaces Under Various Navigation Modes

Grid cells are crucial in path integration and representation of the external world. The spikes of grid cells spatially form clusters called grid fields, which encode important information about allocentric positions. To decode the information, studying the spatial structures of grid fields is a key task for both experimenters and theorists. Experiments reveal that grid fields form hexagonal lattice during planar navigation, and are anisotropic beyond planar navigation. During volumetric navigation, they lose global order but possess local order. How grid cells form different field structures behind these different navigation modes remains an open theoretical question. However, to date, few models connect to the latest discoveries and explain the formation of various grid field structures. To fill in this gap, we propose an interpretive plane-dependent model of three-dimensional (3D) grid cells for representing both two-dimensional (2D) and 3D space. The model first evaluates motion with respect to planes, such as the planes animals stand on and the tangent planes of the motion manifold. Projection of the motion onto the planes leads to anisotropy, and error in the perception of planes degrades grid field regularity. A training-free recurrent neural network (RNN) then maps the processed motion information to grid fields. We verify that our model can generate regular and anisotropic grid fields, as well as grid fields with merely local order; our model is also compatible with mode switching. Furthermore, simulations predict that the degradation of grid field regularity is inversely proportional to the interval between two consecutive perceptions of planes. In conclusion, our model is one of the few pioneers that address grid field structures in a general case. Compared to the other pioneer models, our theory argues that the anisotropy and loss of global order result from the uncertain perception of planes rather than insufficient training.

Ergativity in Indo-Aryan

Case and agreement patterns that are present in Old, Middle, and New Indo-Aryan languages have been argued to require the following perspective: since ergative case marking and ergative (object) agreement in these languages are historically tied to having originated from the past perfective morphological marker ta, they can only be fully understood from a perspective that factors in this development. Particular attention is given to the waxing and waning of ergative properties in Late Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan, which give rise to recurring dissociation of case and agreement; specifically, object agreement in the absence of ergative case marking is attested in Kutchi Gujarati and Marwari, whereas ergative case marking without object agreement is present in Nepali. With regard to case, recent insights show that “ergative/accusative” may be regularly semantically/pragmatically conditioned in Indo-Aryan (so-called differential case marking). Pertaining to agreement, a central theoretical question is whether “ergative” object agreement should be analyzed uniformly with subject agreement or, alternatively, as a type of participle agreement—drawing on synchronic parallels between Indo-Aryan and Romance.