All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education
All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education

Author: George Dennis O'Brien

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 0226616584

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In this refreshing and original exploration, George Dennis O'Brien looks at higher education in America. O'Brien argues that to debate intelligently the future of education we must stop focusing on its ideals and look instead at its institutions. He does this by addressing nine half-truths, such as whether "low cost public education benefits the least advantaged in society," and goes on to examine how accurately they reflect the true state of higher education. The result is a thought-provoking discussion of the present challenges and future prospects of American higher education. "O'Brien's historical overview of the transition from 19th-century denominational colleges to 20th-century research-driven and largely secular ones is provocative. Cleverly written and well-focused, the book addresses the financial pressures facing higher education and asks vital questions about cutbacks and curricula."—Publishers Weekly "Lively, engaging, and richly suggestive." —Francis Oakley, Commonweal "O'Brien employs calm, powerful reason, without sensationalism. His perspective is illuminating. . . . All the Essential Half-Truths About Higher Education is one of the wisest and most useful treatments of American higher education." —John Attarian, Detroit News

The Idea of a Catholic University
The Idea of a Catholic University

Author: Dennis O'Brien

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2002-04-15

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780226616612

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George Bernard Shaw thought that a Catholic university was a contradiction in terms—"university" represents intellectual freedom and "Catholic" represents dogmatic belief. Scholars, university administrators, and even the Vatican have staked out positions debating Shaw's observation. In this refreshing book, George Dennis O'Brien argues that contradiction arises both from the secular university's limited concept of academic freedom and the church's defective notion of dogma. Truth is a central concept for both university and church, and O'Brien's book is built on the idea that there are different areas of truth—scientific, artistic, and religious—each with its own proper warrant and "method." In this light, he argues that one can reverse Shaw's comparison and uncover academic dogma and Christian freedom, university "infallibility" and dogmatic "fallibility." Drawing on theology and the history of philosophy, O'Brien shows how religious truth relates to the work of a Catholic university. He then turns to the current controversies over Pope John Paul II's recent statement, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which seeks to make Catholic universities conform to the church's official teaching office. O'Brien rejects the conventional "institutional-juridical" model used by the Vatican as improper both to faith and academic freedom. He argues for a "sacramental" model, one that respects the different kinds of "truth"—thus preserving the integrity of both church and university while making their combination in a Catholic university not only possible but desirable. O'Brien concludes with a practical consideration of how the ideal Catholic university might be expressed in the actual life of the contemporary curriculum and extracurriculum. For anyone concerned about the place of religion in higher education, The Idea of a Catholic University will be essential reading.

The Professoriate
The Professoriate

Author: Anthony Welch

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2005-05-13

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 9781402033827

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This indispensable guide provides a unique insight into the academic profession at a time of major change. It is organized both thematically and geographically with attention given to regions rarely covered, such as China and Latin America. For the first time, here is a book that critically assesses the condition of the professoriate at a time of momentous change when the profession is fracturing along fault lines.

The Church and Abortion
The Church and Abortion

Author: George Dennis O'Brien

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2023-06-14

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 1442205792

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This provocative book takes a critical look at what is increasingly viewed as the central political issue for Catholics—abortion. From pro-choice politicians being denied communion to Democrats being called "the party of death," for some of the most vocal Catholic leaders, the abortion issue often trumps all others. The author, a practicing Catholic who is against abortion in principle, believes the Church is on the wrong course with this issue, with grievous results for the Church and American society more broadly. He gives a brief history of abortion legislation, then explores the issue from legal, moral, and Christian perspectives, presenting compelling reasons why Church leaders and Catholics should stop trying to overturn Roe v. Wade and reconsider the issue.

Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense
Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense

Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2006-02-14

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1422154580

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The best organizations have the best talent. . . Financial incentives drive company performance. . . Firms must change or die. Popular axioms like these drive business decisions every day. Yet too much common management “wisdom” isn’t wise at all—but, instead, flawed knowledge based on “best practices” that are actually poor, incomplete, or outright obsolete. Worse, legions of managers use this dubious knowledge to make decisions that are hazardous to organizational health. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton show how companies can bolster performance and trump the competition through evidence-based management, an approach to decision-making and action that is driven by hard facts rather than half-truths or hype. This book guides managers in using this approach to dismantle six widely held—but ultimately flawed—management beliefs in core areas including leadership, strategy, change, talent, financial incentives, and work-life balance. The authors show managers how to find and apply the best practices for their companies, rather than blindly copy what seems to have worked elsewhere. This practical and candid book challenges leaders to commit to evidence-based management as a way of organizational life—and shows how to finally turn this common sense into common practice.

Cautionary Tales in the Ethics of Lifelong Learning Policy and Management
Cautionary Tales in the Ethics of Lifelong Learning Policy and Management

Author: Richard G. Bagnall

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2004-04-30

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9781402022142

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This work is a critique, from an ethical perspective, of contemporary trends in lifelong learning policy and management. It focuses attention on 21 trends, each represented by a fable that is drawn from the experience of a stake-holder. The trends have been selected as exemplifying common responses to contemporary cultural change. They are drawn from a number of different countries and across educational sectors: higher, adult and vocational education and post-compulsory schooling. Each fable is explained, examined and grounded in scholarship on educational change and applied ethics through an accompanying account. The work is directed to educational policy makers and managers. It has been designed for use as a resource in advanced under-graduate and post-graduate professional development programs in educational policy, leadership, change, change management, justice and ethics. Its unique use of fables, accompanying accounts and background theory allows readers to engage with the text at different levels.