Étude de la mondialisation des classements universitaires. Projets, programmes et transformations sociales

Les auteurs, qui s’appuient sur le cadre interprétatif de Walby et sur les conclusions d’Ellen Hazelkorn, examinent le phénomène des classements universitaires et de leurs effets sur l’activité scientifique à travers trois points de vue répandus : en tant que projet intrinsèque, visant la responsabilisation et la transparence ; en tant que partie d’un ensemble de stratégies destinées à promouvoir compétition et transformations au sein du système universitaire, aux niveaux régional, national et mondial ; en tant que manifestation d’un processus plus large de mondialisation affectant le domaine de l’enseignement supérieur, qui lui-même trouve ses racines dans les mutations de nos sociétés. Si ces différences d’interprétation sont fondées au niveau ontologique et épistémologique, elles n’en sont pas moins invoquées, dans le supérieur comme ailleurs, pour servir des intérêts stratégiques particuliers. Les auteurs attirent l’attention sur les enjeux de pouvoir existants et sur la nécessité de rendre ces derniers transparents, afin de susciter un débat plus large sur la production du savoir scientifique et sa transformation à travers l’usage des classements internationaux.In this paper drawn upon Walby’s framing of explanations and Hazelkorn’s recent conclusions the authors suggest there are three main explanations in circulation regarding rankings of universities and academic work more generally: as a discrete project aimed at accountability and transparency; as part of a programme of strategies aimed at generating competitiveness and transformation within the higher education sector at multiple scales (national, regional and global); and as a manifestation of wider processes of globalisation taking place within the higher education sector, and which are constitutive of transformations in wider social formations. Thay argue that while these differences in explanation are ontologically and epistemologically driven, they nevertheless are mobilised within and outside the higher education sector to serve particular strategic interests. They conclude by drawing attention to issues of power, and the need to make visible the actions of the powerful in order to generate wider public debates about the production of academic knowledge and its transformation through global rankings.Los autores, que se apoyan en el cuadro interpretativo de Walby y en las conclusiones de Ellen Hazelkorn, examinan el fenómeno de las clasificaciones universitarias y sus efectos sobre la actividad científica mediante tres puntos de vista conocidos: como proyecto intrínseco, interesado por la responsabilización y la transparencia; como parte de un conjunto de estrategias destinadas a promover competición y transformaciones dentro de un sistema universitario, a escalas regional, nacional y mundial; como manifestación de un proceso más amplio de universalización procedente de las transformaciones de nuestras sociedades, que involucra el sector de la enseñanza superior. Estas diferencias de interpretación están fundadas a escala ontológica y epistemológica, sin embargo se invocan en la enseñanza superior y en otros sectores, para servir intereses estratégicos particulares. Los autores llaman la atención sobre los intereses de poder existentes y la necesidad de ocultar estos últimos para suscitar un debate más amplio sobre la producción del conocimiento científico y su transformación mediante el uso de clasificaciones internacionales

Global Assemblage: Singapore, Foreign Universities, and the Construction of a "Global Education Hub"

In the late 1990s and early 2000s select cities in Pacific Asia formed or significantly deepened formal institutional linkages with a variety of foreign (mainly Western) universities. The objective of this paper is to examine: the policy objectives of Singapore, a Pacific Asian city-state, in opening up its territory to new forms of foreign educational knowledge, institutional structures, practices, and technologies; the specific programs and practices that have enabled the Singaporean state to implement these policy objectives; and, the preliminary implications of various "modes of entry" that the foreign universities have adopted for the formation of university-industry linkages in Singapore

Globalisation and The Asia-Pacific

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Evaluation of Advanced Thermal Protection Techniques for Future Reusable Launch Vehicles

A method for integrating Aeroheating analysis into conceptual reusable launch vehicle RLV design is presented in this thesis. This process allows for faster turn-around time to converge a RLV design through the advent of designing an optimized thermal protection system (TPS). It consists of the coupling and automation of four computer software packages: MINIVER, TPSX, TCAT and ADS. MINIVER is an Aeroheating code that produces centerline radiation equilibrium temperatures, convective heating rates, and heat loads over simplified vehicle geometries. These include flat plates and swept cylinders that model wings and leading edges, respectively. TPSX is a NASA Ames material properties database that is available on the World Wide Web. The newly developed Thermal Calculation Analysis Tool (TCAT) uses finite difference methods to carry out a transient in-depth I-D conduction analysis over the center mold line of the vehicle. This is used along with the Automated Design Synthesis (ADS) code to correctly size the vehicle's thermal protection system JPS). The numerical optimizer ADS uses algorithms that solve constrained and unconstrained design problems. The resulting outputs for this process are TPS material types, unit thicknesses, and acreage percentages. TCAT was developed for several purposes. First, it provides a means to calculate the transient in-depth conduction seen by the surface of the TPS material that protects a vehicle during ascent and reentry. Along with the in-depth conduction, radiation from the surface of the material is calculated along with the temperatures at the backface and interior parts of the TPS material. Secondly, TCAT contributes added speed and automation to the overall design process. Another motivation in the development of TCAT is optimization