LSU (Theses)
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Item type: Item , Apparent randomness and chaotic non-linearity: change over time in the essays of a cohort of philosophy undergraduates(Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, 2013) Binchy, JamesFor most degree programmes in third-level education, the primary form of assessment is by written work submitted by the student to an assessor, either through formal, time-limited examinations or take-home essays. This research examines a sample of the take-home essays from a selection of students in a single cohort within a degree programme in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. This research focuses on philosophy modules taken by the students, and in particular a set of essays written for a single assessor. These essays form a corpus of 94 texts submitted at six different points over the course of a degree programme. By looking at the use and distribution of linguistic items, this research shows that change in the writing of the students displays an apparent randomness and is not linear. Each text within the corpus is unique and each individual writer responds to the influences of genre, task and audience in unique ways. This unique response is because the essay texts are composed through a set of instantial decisions by the writers. It is argued that this uniqueness, apparent randomness and non-linear change is best understood by viewing the change in writing over the course of the degree as a dynamical system that closely approximates that advocated by chaos theory.Item type: Item , The development of internationalisation policy in UK higher education(2002) Healy, CarolineThis study is concerned with examining the process of the intemationdsation of education and teaching within UK higher education in general, and in particular, with the impact on the working practices, values and norms of professionals in higher education. The research was placed within a conceptual framework which draws on models of higher education which contrast the classic model of the autonomous higher education institution and academic profession with more dependent institutions and professionals who respond to exogenous values and policies. The fieldwork included 65 interviews with academics and senior administrators at four universities in the UK. The findings examined the existence of institutional polices and plans related to internationalisation, the organisational structure and whether this had resulted in a shift in working practices and power relations within universities. The content of the curriculum and delivery styles were also examined to see whether internationalisation had caused any changes to these. The results show that current internationalisation policies are a development in higher education which is the result of exogenous new public policy concerns which may be in tension with those working in higher education as it is a movement away from traditional academic values and norms. These concerns include the need for universities to increase nongovernmental income through increasing fees from overseas students and attracting external research funding from such bodies as the European Commission. The thesis examines existing models of the internationalisation of higher education. It concludes with an examination of possible future trends of the internationalisation of higher education.