Archive for July, 2010
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3 Things To Consider When Comparing DirecTV vs Dish Network
Trying to compare DirecTV vs Dish Network can be hectic. Both of the major satellite providers offer a huge variety of channels to keep you still on the sofa for the whole year. So which one is better? Should price be your only concern?
Here is the top 3 things that you must consider when choosing one satellite provider over the other:
- DirecTV offers exclusive sports channels
- Dish Network offers the largest selection of international programming
- DirecTV offers a dual tuner digital video recorder (DVR)
Are you into sports? DirecTV offers exclusive sports programming that you can’t get anywhere else. From football to boxing, you’ll be able to fill your sports agenda for the whole year. Packed with exclusive pay-per-view (PPV) sports channels, you’ll be able to catch events that you can’t find anywhere else.
Do you watch channels in another language besides English? Dish Network provides a huge selection of international channels. So if you would like to get channels in Spanish, French, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean, or Mandarin (just to name a few), Dish Network can fit your needs. Dish Network also carries the largest selection of programming in middle eastern languages.
However, if you’re main focus is Cantonese, DirecTV does have the popular Jade Network. DirecTV also offers TFC, which is the most popular Tagalog programming.
Have you ever thought about watching television efficiently? You can with a digital video recorder (DVR)! These units will allow to skip time wasting commercials. You can also record your favorite shows and watch them at a time that’s most convenient for you!
However, DirecTV allows you to squeeze in more TV watching to your schedule. While Dish Network has it’s own DVR, DirecTV overpowers its competition by providing a dual tuner digital video recorder. Having a dual tuner DVR will allow you to record a program and watch another at the same time. If you don’t have a dual tuner DVR, your only option is to watch what you’re recording.
In conclusion, if you’re the type of person that wants to catch all of the cool sporting events, DirecTV may be for you. DirecTV goes beyond your local network television and even ESPN.
If you’re looking for international programming, make sure that you take a look at the language of preference. Although Dish Network is the leader in international channels, DirecTV does offer some premium international channels that are better for other languages.
If your main focus is to efficiently watch tv at your convenience, DirecTV’s DVR is one of the best in the market. You’ll be able to pack more TV watching into your schedule.
So while you compare DirecTV vs Dish Network, your priorities should come first. You can save money purchasing one over the other, but you might be upset to find that your needs aren’t being met. After you think about these 3 things that you must consider, you should have a clearer picture of what suits you the best.
About the Author
Looking for the best satellite deals? TopSatelliteDeals.com provides informative content on satellite entertainment, as well as a comparison of DirecTV vs Dish Network .
London Underground – The World’s First Underground Railway
The transport system now known as the London Underground began in 1863 with the Metropolitan Railway, the world’s first underground railway. Over the next forty years, the early sub-surface lines reached out from the urban centre of the London capital into the surrounding rural margins, leading to the development of new commuter suburbs. The London Underground map is also one of the Iconic English Designs and is copied all over the world at every other underground station system.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, new technology—including electric locomotives and improvements to the tunnelling shield enabled new companies to construct a series of “tube” lines deeper underground. Initially rivals, the tube railway companies began to co-operate in advertising and through shared branding, eventually consolidating under the single ownership of the London Electric Railway with lines stretching across London.
Important Dates of The London Underground
1820s
In 1825,Using his patented tunnelling sheild, Marc Brunel begins construction of the Thames Tunnel under the River Thames between Wapping and Rotherhithe. Progress is slow and will be halted a number of times before the tunnel is completed.
1840s
1843 The Thames Tunnel opens as a pedestrian tunnel. 1845 Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City of London, begins promoting the idea of an underground railway to bring passenger and goods services into the centre of the City.
1850s
1854 Metropolitan Railway (MR) is incorporated and granted powers to construct an underground railway from Paddington to Farringdon. 1856 Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) opens a line from Leyton to Loughton.
1860s
1861 Construction of the Metropolitan Railway near Kings Cross Station.
1860 Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway (A&BR) is incorporated.
1862 Edgware, Highgate and London Railway (EH&LR) is incorporated to build a railway between Finsbury Park and Edgware. 1863 MR opens the first underground railway in the world. 1864 MR opens the Hammersmith & City Railway, its first extensions to Hammersmith and to Kensington Olympia. Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) is incorporated. 1865 MR extends to Moorgate. East London Railway (ELR) purchases the Thames Tunnel for conversion to a railway tunnel. ECR extends to Ongar. 1867 EH&LR opens between Finsbury Park and Edgware. 1868 MR opens the Metropolitan and St John’s Wood Railway, a short branch northward from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage,[8] the first section of the company’s eventual extensions into Middlesex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. MDR opens between South Kensington and Westminster. The MR extends to connect to the MDR at South Kensington and both companies operate services over the other’s tracks. A&BR opens between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. 1869 MDR extends from Gloucester Road to West Brompton. ELR opens between New Cross Gate and Wapping. First use of Thames Tunnel for trains. London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opens line from West London Line to Richmond.
1870s Tower Subway, of tubular construction with segmental cast-iron rings
1870 Tower Subway opens, briefly, using a cabled-hauled carriage before conversion to pedestrian use. Constructed using a circular tunnelling shield developed by Peter W. Barlow and James Henry Greathead and lined with segmental cast-iron rings, this short tunnel under the River Thames successfully demonstrated new tunnelling techniques that would be used to construct most of the subsequent underground lines in London. MDR extends from Westminster to Blackfriars. 1871 MDR extends from Blackfriars to Mansion House. Brill Tramway opens between the A&BR’s station at Quainton Road and Wood Siding. 1872 Brill Tramway extends to Brill. MDR extends from Earl’s Court to Kensington Olympia. Great Northern Railway (GNR) extends E&HLR from East Finchley to High Barnet. 1873 GNR extends EH&LR from Highgate to Alexandra Palace. 1874 MDR extends from Earl’s Court to Hammersmith. City of London financiers establish Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway to complete the Inner Circle by linking the MDR’s terminus at Mansion House with the MR’s planned terminus at Aldgate. 1875 MR extends to Liverpool Street. 1876 MR extends to Aldgate. ELR extends from Whitechapel to Shoreditch. 1877 MDR extends from Hammersmith to connect to the L&SWR at Ravenscourt Park. MDR and MR commence services over the L&SWR to Richmond. 1879 MR extends to Willesden Green. MR takes over Metropolitan Inner Circle Completion Railway. MDR extends from Turnham Green to Ealing Broadway.
1880s
1880 MR extends to Harrow on the Hill. MDR extends from West Brompton to Putney Bridge. 1882 MR extends from Aldgate to Tower of London. 1883 MDR commences a service over Great Western Railway (GWR) via Slough to Windsor & Eton Central. MDR extends from Acton Town to Hounslow Town. 1884 City of London and Southwark Subway established to build a railway from the City of London to Elephant & Castle. MDR extends from Osterley & Spring Grove to Hounslow West. MR and MDR connect Mansion House with Tower of London, completing the Inner Circle. MR and MDR extend east to St Mary’s (Whitechapel Road) and connect to ELR with services running to New Cross and New Cross Gate. MDR extends to Whitechapel. 1885 MR extends to Pinner. MDR withdraws Ealing Broadway to Windsor & Eton Central service. 1886 MDR closes Hounslow Town spur. 1887 MR extends to Rickmansworth. 1889 MR extends to Chesham. MDR connects to L&SWR at East Putney and commences services to Wimbledon.
1890s
1890 City and South London Railway electric locomotive and carriages.
1890 City of London and Southwark Subway changes name to City and South London Railway (C&SLR) and opens between Stockwell and King William Street, the world’s first deep-level underground and electric railway. Central London Railway (CLR) incorporated to build a tube railway from Bank to Shepherd’s Bush. 1891 MR takes over A&BR between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. 1892 MR extends from Chalfont & Latimer to Aylesbury. Great Northern & City Railway (GN&CR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Finsbury Park to Moorgate. 1893 Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (CCE&HR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Strand to Hampstead. Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR) granted powers to build a tube railway from Waterloo to Baker Street. 1897 Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway granted powers to build a tube railway from Piccadilly Circus to South Kensington. MDR obtains powers to construct a tube railway from Gloucester Road to Mansion to run below its sub-surface line. Anarchists bomb a MR train which explodes at Barbican, injuring 60 and killing one. Whitaker Wright’s London & Globe Finance Corporation purchases BS&WR. 1898 City and Brixton Railway granted powers to build a tube railway from King William Street to Brixton. Waterloo and City Railway opens between Waterloo and Bank. 1899 Great Northern and Strand Railway granted powers to build a tube railway from Wood Green to Strand. MR services commence over the Brill Tramway.
1900s
“Underground”-branded Tube map from 1908 showing the newly opened tube lines in central London
1900 C&SLR closes King William Street and extends north to Moorgate and south to Clapham Common. CLR opens between Bank and Shepherd’s Bush. Consortium led by Charles Yerkes takes over CCE&HR. London & Globe Finance Corporation and BS&WR collapse following Whitaker Wright’s fraudulent concealment of large losses. 1901 C&SLR extends to Angel. Yerkes consortium takes over MDR, Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway and Great Northern and Strand Railway and merges the tube routes to form the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR). 1902 Yerkes consortium takes over BS&WR. Yerkes establishes the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL) as the holding company of the tube lines under his consortium’s control. MDR extends from Whitechapel to Bromley-by-Bow and commences a service from there over the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway to Upminster. Edgware & Hampstead Railway incorporated to build a railway from Golders Green to Edgware. 1903 C&SLR takes over City and Brixton Railway and allows its plans to lapse. MDR extends from Ealing Common to South Harrow. MDR reopens Hounslow Town spur. Watford and Edgware Railway incorporated to build a railway from Edgware to Watford. CCE&HR takes over Edgware & Hampstead Railway. Great Eastern Railway opens Fairlop Loop from Ilford to Woodford via Hainult. 1904 GN&CR opens between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. MR opens branch from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Uxbridge. Whitaker Wright commits suicide by swallowing cyanide after being convicted of fraud. 1905 UERL opens Lots Road Power Station to provide electricity for the MDR and the UERL’s forthcoming tube lines. MR and MDR replace steam trains with electric over majority of routes. MDR withdraws service between East Ham and Upminster. MDR opens branch from Acton Town to South Acton. MDR withdraws service between St Mary’s (Whitechapel Road) and New Cross. Charles Yerkes dies and is replaced as Chairman of the UERL by Edgar Speyer. 1906 Frank Pick, later Managing Director and Vice Chairman of London Transport, begins work at UERL. MR withdraws services between Hammersmith and Richmond. BS&WR opens between Elephant & Castle and Baker Street. It becomes known as the Bakerloo tube. GNP&BR opens between Finsbury Park and Hammersmith. It becomes known as the Piccadilly tube. MR withdraws service between St Mary’s (Whitechapel Road) and New Cross, pending electrification of the ELR. 1907 Albert Stanley, later Chairman of London Transport, begins work at UERL. C&SLR extends to Euston. CCE&HR opens between Golders Green, Archway and Charing Cross. It becomes known as the Hampstead tube. Piccadilly tube opens branch from Holborn to Aldwych. Bakerloo tube extends to Edgware Road. 1908 CLR extends to Wood Lane. MDR restarts service between East Ham and Barking. The underground railway companies begin to use the “Underground” brand for joint marketing. First version of the Underground roundel comes into use—a solid red disk with a bar carrying station names is based on a device used by the London General Omnibus Company. 1909 MDR closes Hounslow Town spur again.
1910s Tube roundels based on Edward Johnston’s design
1910 District line extends from South Harrow to connect to the MR at Rayners Lane and commences services to Uxbridge. District line starts excursion services from Upminster to Southend-on-Sea.. Separate managements of the Bakerloo tube, Hampstead tube and Piccadilly tube companies merge into a single company—the London Electric Railway (LER). The lines continue to be identified by individual names. 1911 First escalators come into use at Earl’s Court. 1912 CLR extends to Liverpool Street. 1913 LER purchases the C&SLR and CLR. MR takes control of the ELR and the GN&CR. Following electrification of the ELR, MR restarts service between St Mary’s (Whitechapel Road) and New Cross. MR starts service from Whitechapel to Shoreditch and Surrey Quays to New Cross Gate. Bakerloo tube extends to Paddington. 1914 Hampstead tube extends to Embankment. 1915 Bakerloo tube extends to Willesden Junction. MR begins publication of Metro-land its annual guide promoting the use of its line for commuting and leisure. The name becomes synonymous with the developing suburbs north-west of the capital served by the railway. Sir Edgar Speyer resigns as Chairman of the Underground Group following attacks in the press regarding his Germany origins. He is replaced by Lord George Hamilton. 1916 Edward Johnston designs the “Underground” typeface that now bears his name and is used by Transport for London for all transport related purposes. 1917 Edward Johnston re-designs the Underground’s disk and bar roundel, to suit his new typeface, turning the disk into a ring. 1917 Bakerloo tube extends to Watford Junction. 1919 Sir Albert Stanley replaces Lord George Hamilton as Chairman of the Underground Group.
1920s
1920 CLR extends from Wood Lane to Ealing Broadway. 1922 Underground Group purchases unbuilt Watford and Edgware Railway to extend the Hampstead tube to Watford. 1923 Hampstead tube extends to Hendon Central. 1924 Hampstead tube extends to Edgware. C&SLR extends from Euston to connect to Hampstead tube at Camden Town. 1925 MR extends from Moor Park to Watford. 1926 Hampstead tube links Embankment to Kennington and C&SLR extends to Morden, completing the integration of the two lines.
55 Broadway, built between 1927 and 1929
1929 55 Broadway opens as headquarters of the Underground Group.
1930s Arnos Grove station designed by Charles Holden
1932 MR extends to Stanmore. Piccadilly line extends from Finsbury Park to Arnos Grove. Piccadilly line extends over District line from Hammersmith to South Harrow. District line services restart between Barking and Upminster. MR ends publication of Metro-land. 1933 Piccadilly line extends from Arnos Grove to Cockfosters. Piccadilly line extends over District line from Acton Town to Hounslow West and from South Harrow to Uxbridge. District line service withdrawn between Acton Town and Uxbridge. Underground Group and MR brought under common public control with the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). Lord Ashfield and Frank Pick, formerly chairman and managing director of the Underground Group, become the LPTB’s chairman and vice chairman. LPTB publishes Harry Beck’s first design for the Tube Map. 1935 Brill Tramway closes. LPTB announces the New Works Programme, a five-year plan to modernise and extend the Underground network and to take over and electrify a number of main line routes. 1936 Metropolitan line closes from Aylesbury to Verney Junction. 1937 The combined Hampstead tube and C&SLR routes are officially renamed the Northern line and the CLR is renamed the Central line. 1938 Collision of two trains between Embankment and Temple kills six and injures 45 due to an incorrectly wired signal control. 1939 Bakerloo line extends from Baker Street to Finchley Road and takes over Metropolitan line services to Stanmore. Northern line extends from Archway to East Finchley. LPTB suspends majority of New Works Programme following outbreak of Second World War. District line ends excursion services to Southend-on-Sea.
1940s Londoners sheltering from The Blitz in a tube station
1940 Northern line extends over former EH&LR route to High Barnet. Metropolitan line services withdrawn between Latimer Road and Kensington Olympia following bomb damage at Uxbridge Road. Londoners use the deep tube platforms as air-raid shelters in the London Blitz. Hits by German bombs during this period kill passengers and shelterers at Charing Cross (7 killed), Bounds Green (19 killed), Balham (68 killed), Tottenham Court Road (1 killed) and Camden Town (1 killed). 1941 Northern line extends over former EH&LR route to Mill Hill East. Uncompleted new Northern line depot at Aldenham converted for the construction of Halifax bombers. Plessey uses unopened Central line tunnels between Wanstead and Gants Hill as an underground factory. A German bomb explodes in the Central line ticket hall at Bank, killing 56 people. 1943 Panic in a crowd entering the air-raid shelter at the unopened station at Bethnal Green causes the death of 173 people by crushing. 1946 Central line extends from Liverpool Street to Stratford. 1947 Central line extends from Stratford over former ECR and GNR routes to Woodford and Newbury Park and from North Acton over GWR route to Greenford Lord Ashfield retires from LPTB. 1948 The government nationalises all London Transport operations and the LondonTransport Executive (LTE) replaces LPTB. Central line extends over former ECR and GNR routes to Roding Valley and Loughton and over GWR route to West Ruislip.. 1949 Central line extends over former ECR route to Ongar.. Circle line appears on tube maps as an separate service for the first time.
1950s
LTE abandons New Works Programme Northern line extension to Bushey Heath due to introduction of Green Belt legislation preventing development in the areas to be served. 1953 LTE abandons take-over of former EH&LR line between Mill Hill East and Edgware due to diminished expected passenger numbers and lack of funds. A rear-end collision between two trains on the Central line between Stratford and Leyton kills 12 passengers. 1955 Aldenham depot opens as bus overhaul works. 1956 Parliament grants approval for the construction of the Victoria line. 1957 Electric tube trains replace steam-hauled shuttles between Epping and Ongar. 1959 District line spur between Acton Town and South Acton is closed.
1960s Hans Unger’s tiling design at Victoria line station, opened 1968
1960 The last published underground map designed by Harry Beck is released. Electric tube trains replace steam-hauled shuttles between Chalfont & Latimer and Chesham. 1961 Metropolitan line services withdrawn between Aylesbury and Amersham. 1963 London Transport Board (LTB) replaces LTE. 1964 District line services withdrawn between Acton Town and Hounslow West. Northern City line services withdrawn between Drayton Park and Finsbury Park to allow the tunnels to be reused for the Victoria line. Experimental automatic ticket gates installed at Stamford Brook, Chiswick Park and Ravenscourt Park stations. World’s first automatic trains brought into service on Central line between Hainault and Woodford to test Victoria line operating systems. 1968 Victoria line opens between Walthamstow Central and Warren Street. 1969 Victoria line extends to Victoria.
1970s
1970 Greater London Council (GLC) takes control of management of London Underground from London Transport Board controlling the Underground through a new London Transport Executive (LTE). 1971 Victoria line extends to Brixton. London Underground withdraws last operational steam locomotives from service. 1975 Moorgate tube crash kills 43 when a southbound Northern line (Highbury Branch) train fails to stop and crashes into the headwall of the tunnel. Piccadilly line extends from Hounslow West to Hatton Cross. 1976 Northern line (Highbury Branch) transfers to British Rail operation. During a bombing campaign against the Underground, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) gunman detonates a bomb on a train and kills the driver and injures a bystander while trying to escape. 1977 Piccadilly line extends from Hatton Cross to Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3. 1979 Jubilee line opens between Baker Street and Charing Cross and takes over Bakerloo line service to Stanmore.
1980s London Transport Museum, Covent Garden
1980 London Transport Museum opens in Covent Garden.. 1981 GLC introduces Fares Fair policy to reduce ticket prices by increasing London Transport subsidies from local rates. 1982 Fares Fair policy ends following legal challenge from Bromley London Borough Council, which does not have any Underground services. 1983 LTE introduces Travelcard and divides network into five fare zones. Bakerloo line withdraws services between Stonebridge Park and Watford Junction. 1984 Bakerloo line restarts services between Stonebridge Park and Harrow & Wealdstone. Fire at Oxford Circus guts the northbound Victoria line platform and damages adjacent northbound Bakerloo line platform. London Regional Transport (LRT) replaces LTE, removing control of the transport in London from the GLC.. 1985 LRT establishes its wholly owned subsidiary, London Underground Limited, to manage the Underground.. 1986 Piccadilly line opens Heathrow loop and Heathrow Terminal 4.. 1987 Fire at King’s Cross kills 31 people when a blaze breaks out in a Piccadilly line escalator. The first lines of the Docklands Light Railway open, between Tower Gateway, Stratford and Island Gardens.
1990s Canary Wharf station on the Jubilee line extension
1990 Hammersmith & City line appears on the Tube map independently of the Metropolitan line for the first time. 1991 Travelcard Zone 5 split to create a new Travelcard Zone 6. 1994 Waterloo & City line transfers from British Rail to London Underground ownership. Piccadilly line’s Aldwych branch closes. Central line’s Epping to Ongar section closes. 1995 East London line closes for repairs to Thames Tunnel. 1998 East London line reopens. 1999 Jubilee line extends from Green Park to Stratford. The section from Green Park to Charing Cross closes.
2000s Oyster card
2000
Last service operates with a train guard. Transport for London (TfL), an executive body of the Greater London Authority, is established to take over responsibility for London’s transport from LRT.] London Underground Limited moves to direct control by the Department for Transport 2002 Lots Road Power Station closes. 2003 TfL takes control of London Underground Limited from the Department for Transport. Oyster card smart card ticket system begins operation. Public Private Partnership infrastructure companies Metronet and Tube Lines take over responsibility for maintenance of underground system. Train operations remain the responsibility of TfL. A Central line train derails at Chancery Lane when a motor falls from the underside of a carriage. Following investigations, modifications are made to all 1992 stock trains. 2005 Suicide bombers detonate bombs on three tube trains and one bus, killing 52 and injuring more than 770.[95] Two weeks later four further bombers fail when their bombs do not explode. 2006 East London line closes from Shoreditch to Whitechapel. 2007 East London line closes completely for conversion into part of London Overground network. Metronet goes into administration following failures to manage the costs and programmes of its projects. TfL takes temporary control. 2008 Piccadilly line extends to Heathrow Terminal 5. 2009 Construction begins on Crossrail. Circle line extends to Hammersmith.
2010s
2010 East London line reopens as part of London Overground network.
England is the oldest European country ( 1500 years old ) and London itself was founded by the Romans in 53 AD this makes London a world capital. A recent UN survey recently found that London schools had children speaking 365 languages. Please click on links below to visit my various Articles and websites.
Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com
My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com
The Chinese call Britain ‘The Island of Hero’s’ which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.
About the Author
My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History which is great fun to research.
I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions. At present I have written over 100 articles which I call “An Englishman’s Favourite Bits Of England” in various Volumes. Please visit my Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Com where I have listed all my articles to date.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.
plz suggest me some good institutes for english speaking courses in delhi, preferably in northwest delhi.?
How to Do A Language Exchange
You should practice using the Cormier method, a language exchange method that has been proven for over 3 years at the C.E.L.M. school in Montreal, Canada.
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
English as a Second Language Links
http://free-esl.com/
http://www.eslcafe.com/
http://grammar.free-esl.com/
http://www.eslgold.com/toefl/links.html
http://free-esl.com/channels/articles/details.asp?fIndex=32
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/llc/languages/lang-links/link_efl.aspx
http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages/2512_esl_links.cfm?outputtype=print
http://www.churchillhouse.com/cgi/publisher/search.cgi?dir=links&template=listtemp.htm&output_number=30&sort_field=title&sort_option=a
____________________________
Listening Links
http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages/2512_esl_links.cfm?outputtype=print
http://www.paltalk.com/
Summers are cool and refreshing in Switzerland
A summer camp includes activities like hiking, swimming, arts and crafts along with peer bonding. You can choose a camp that you find interesting. For easy reference you can also consult the brochures and websites of different summer camps. Check out the facilities being offered and choose the one with the best features. Normally a summer camp lasts for fifteen days to two months. Summer camp Switzerland is great for youngsters as these camps provide them an opportunity to have fun, make new friends and indulge in outdoor activities. It helps a child to develop new skills like learning a second language like French or German and also appreciate the value of independence and teamwork. When people choose summer camps they usually narrow down their search to select destinations with Switzerland being one such destination.
Summer camp Switzerland can be really exhilarating. You can start off by hiking in the Bernese Oberland. You can indulge in different fitness activities amidst beautiful scenery. You can hike to the village of Kandersteg that is located below the Bernese Oberland which is dotted with chalets, hotels and restaurants. Next you can hike to Oeschinensee (alpine lake) located at an altitude of 1580 meters. There is another picturesque village named Kiental in the next valley where you have to pass through forests and alpine meadows which during summers is covered with flowers. You can also view some of the most wonderful vistas of Switzerland. When you hike at high altitude you can enjoy beautiful mountain scenery. On the other hand you can explore alpine trails of alpine regions like Mont Blanc and Matterhorn.
Camping and holiday villages are very popular with people vacationing in Switzerland. Summer school Switzerland includes various entertainments for children as most campsites have restaurants, swimming pools with slides and water games. For large groups there are farm camping which is traditional and quite cheap. Then there are Swiss holiday villages which are well appointed modern holiday villages offering various facilities.
Outdoor camping is also very popular in Switzerland. You can choose from six-berth tents or six-berth caravillas when you are here. Even in France many such camps are organized in locations like the Loire Valley, Dordogne, Riviera, Provence, Pyrenees, Brittany, Normandy and Picardy regions. Camping is also done in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, UK, Ireland, the Canary Islands, Germany, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greece, Belgium, Yugoslavia, and Austria. Some of the popular campsites of the world apart from the Swiss Alps are the French Riviera, Tuscany, Innsbruck and the German Black Forest.
While summer camping in Switzerland if you have included Montreux in your itinerary then apart from enjoying the breathtaking view of the Alps you can take up French lessons at any French language school managed by ESL to just add on to your French vocabulary or as a serious effort on your part to learn the language. You can learn French in French school Switzerland. ESL’s French language courses would enable you to learn the many nuances of this lovely language of the European continent.
About the Author
Mr. Xavier de Bastos
Marketing & Sales Manager of ESL-Ecole Suisse de Langues
www.esl-schools.org
Summer camp Switzerland, Summer school Switzerland, French school Switzerland
Hungarian Higher Education: the transition towards creating prosperity
Hungarian Higher Education: the transition towards creating prosperity
Abstract
The central issue of this article is that of the impediments to creating prosperity within the context of Higher Education during the transition period in Hungary from a budget-commanded regime to market-oriented operations. Fairbanks (2000: 290) refers to prosperity not only as the means through which people can live a good life but also as ‘the enabling environment that improves productivity’ and considers the purchasing power of a country per person’. It is seen as important as it affects living standards (e.g. malnutrition and poverty) and productivity levels. Thus dealing with the issue of prosperity also means dealing with poverty.
Fairbanks (2000) declared that each nation has a set of beliefs or mental model for creating prosperity which can change and suggests a 10 stage process, which is as follows: Decode the current strategy for Prosperity; Create a sense of urgency; Understand the range of strategic choices and inform them with analyses; Create a compelling vision; Create new networks of relationships; Communicate the vision; Build productive coalitions; Develop and Communicate short-term wins; Institutionalize the changes; and Evaluate and affirm the changes.
It is concluded that prosperity, despite being acknowledged as a good thing, is hard to achieve and a choice that leaders have to make when bearing in mind what exactly the consequences would be of such a choice. The article ends with a message to the Western world that it has a responsibility to consider and develop a change process relevant to local beliefs in developing nations with a constructive approach as a means to creating prosperity foremost in countries experiencing poverty, which Fairbanks mentions is a serious and all-too-common issue.
Introduction
Taking a macroeconomic perspective, this paper examines the process towards prosperity by applying the model developed by Fairbanks (2000) in the context of the change experienced by the education sector during the transition two decades ago of Hungary from a budget-commanded socialist regime to a market-oriented free market operation. Another issue to be considered is whether aspects of this change process could also be used on the micro level for the changes occurring in the merger of a higher education system.
The macro-perspective
When considering the macro perspective of the education sector during transition, Radó (2001: 11) declares, ‘The systematic vision of the transition in education … can be characterized as a move from a “command-driven” system to a “demand-driven” system’.
Change for prosperity is a global issue and in terms of the education sector, levels of prosperity during the transition are hard to gauge, however certain points are worth considering. The old fashioned education system had its weaknesses, but it also had its strengths such as high enrolment rates, universal and free enrolment, a generous supply of teachers and buildings and high levels of achievement of pupils in mathematics and science. In fact, this would be seen by many educators as a prosperous education system.
Fairbanks lists the steps as part of a process for change and each of these can be considered from the point of view of the educational sector in Hungary during the transition period towards a market oriented operation.
Step one: Decode the current strategy for Prosperity
When considering the strategy, a retrospective approach is required to find the strategy used in the period of transition in Hungary. According to Kornai (2000: 10), during the transition the strategy could be described as an organic one – a strategy of organic development. This strategy is characterized by creating favourable conditions for growth in the private sector (mass ‘de novo’ entry), privatization of most previously state-owned companies, companies having a ‘core’ owner and hard budget restraints on companies. Through this, the private sector’s proportion of gross production grew thanks to new private businesses and the shrinking of the state sector. This also meant an initial heavy reliance on Foreign Direct Investment and privatised industries.
This adopted strategy also has a sociological aspect according to Kornai (2000). It incurs a process of ‘embourgeoisement’ with the development of a property-owning class.
Lipton and Sachs (1990) refer to a strategy of transition which involves the likes of ending excess demand, budget restraints, creating market competition and privatization, many of the steps in this strategy could also be applied to Hungary and can be seen in the organic strategy suggested by Kornai.
Step two: Create a sense of urgency
When considering Hungarian teachers and perhaps many citizens in Hungary during the time of transition, there were great expectations that change was on its way and Hungary was about to join with Western countries, which in turn gave expectations about achieving the same standard of living and freedoms that weren’t available before. In this way, it could be said that there was a sense of urgency to become more market-focussed and ‘Westernized’ rather than risk the potential danger of reverting bank. In reality this would be a long process, but the expectations served as a means of creating this sense of urgency referred to by Sachs. The main impetus for this sense of urgency could be attributed to the people themselves rather than the government or the private sector although each had a role to play to some extent.
There are two other factors mentioned by Radó (2001) which could be seen as promoting a sense of urgency for change in the educational institutions in Hungary. The first is that of the reform of the governance system, including the rapidly emerging NGO sector and the appearance of private education. The second factor being a key impetus for public educational institutions is to consider becoming more competitive and, in order to achieve this, more market-oriented (Rado, 2001: 21).
Step three: Understand the range of strategic choices and inform them with analyses
When faced with the transition, a number of approaches from the West for education were considered in Hungary. The main four put forward by Radó (2001: 21) were as follows:
- The same for all. This approach is based on social equality with a focus on systematic outcomes like graduation rates. The reform strategy is to maintain centralization and privatization is opposed.
- Quality for those who deserve it. This is an elitist approach and the strategy promotes centralization and liberalization at the same time.
- Quality for those who can afford it. This free market approach presents a view of a decentralized and liberalized education system, with full support for privatisation.
- Quality for all. This approach supports decentralization and liberalization, but with only some support for privatization.
However, when considering the strategic choices available, there are a number of other factors that need to be considered. First of all, the educational sector in Hungary during the transition is making a change from a “command-driven” system to a “demand-driven” system. This factor is key when considering strategy and policy in Hungary. Appendix 1 shows the differences between the two systems according to Radó (2001: 24). The other factor is that of Hungary’s culture and attitudes to reform. Any strategy on a macro-level should consider Hungary’s specific situation not only economically and politically, but also culturally – adoption of a strategy based on Western approaches without such consideration would have a much smaller chance of success. In fact, educational reform in transition countries was carried out in a very different way to that of Western-European countries (see Appendix 2).
Step four: Create a compelling vision
When considering a compelling vision to promote change, it is worth noting that during the transition period there was a significant momentum for change in Hungary (Rado, 2001: 22). Such a momentum for change is rare and an important foundation upon which a compelling vision was built. From a macro point of view, the increased freedom experienced at the time of transition lead to a vision that was more aware of the surrounding environment as people experienced freedom to travel, labour mobility and freedom to trade with any markets abroad, just to name a few examples.
In the case of transition of the education sector, the vision was the demand-driven system retained many of the characteristics existing in education in developed countries in the West and for many, the compelling vision was the countries in the West with higher standards of living, high productivity and free markets.
Evidence of a compelling vision was referred to by Kaufman and Paulston (1991: 11), Hungarians saw their nation as a leader in change and this pride in change not reinforces the fact that Hungarians had a compelling vision for change but also that the task of communicating the change was much each (see step seven).
Step five: Create new networks of relationships
It has been argued before that productive coalitions between management of educational institutions and companies would result in greater relevance of courses to company and students needs, both of which can be considered as forms of customer in terms of receiving the skills or skilled labour or knowledge supplied by educational institutions, however this such coalitions have yet to be implemented to a level comparable with that of many market-oriented Western countries (Chandler, 2008).
New networks and were made and existing ones strengthened between Hungarian HEIs and educational institutions in the West and as Western HEIs such as those in the UK were becoming increasingly market-oriented in the early nineties this also created a further impetus for Hungarian HEIs to do likewise.
Step six: Communicate the vision
When considering reform in education, there are a number of key stakeholders that need to be considered as requiring communication of the vision: Teachers, Management, students (and students’ parents), the Government and to some extent, the public at large.
Whilst it could be argued that various types of media could be used to achieve this, it seems that in education, change is brought about in a different way. According to Radó (2001) reform in transition countries often takes place as either a “top-down” or “bottom-up” process. From the point of view of the thesis, this would mean that in the educational institution, change can be achieved through the medium of the teachers as they are right in the middle of the process, whether it is “top-down” or “bottom-up”. Thus teachers appear to feature as the main stakeholder to whom the vision should be communicated and, as reforms are generally initiated by the government and then communicated to educational management, the top-down process seems to be the most likely way to achieve this.
As teachers are central to communicating the vision and the vision during the transition (as mentioned in step four) is a Western system, the views of teachers towards the Western system during the time of transition need consideration. According to the research of Kaufman and Paulston (1991: 9), out of eighteen teachers interviewed in their research, the majority favoured a Western focus with only one indicating a need to concentrate on national uniqueness and national pride. Another finding of this research was that in Hungary the rural population tended to favour nationalism and the urban population had a more European focus (Kaufman and Paulston, 1991: 10). When communicating the vision it would seem that for teachers, the vision was already on board to some extent, however for educational institutions in rural areas there would have been opposition from local residents (including students and parents). From Fairbanks’ process for change, this would imply a greater need to communicate effectively the vision in rural areas with potential opposition to change in Hungary.
In the case of Hungary the vision of a ‘Western lifestyle’ began even prior to the transition itself and not through the media listed by Fairbanks as such would not have been allowed or available at the time. Rather, it was through such events as vacationing at Lake Balaton where Hungarians met with family members from the West and so they were exposed to Western values and consumer goods, all of which served to ‘whet the appetites’ of Hungarians (Kaufman and Paulston, 1991: 17), and thus, serve as a means by which a compelling vision (of the West) was initially put forward to Hungarians.
A number of other tools were used to internalize new ways of thinking in the education sector in Hungary. For example, a national supply of curricular programs with a national standard format, an electronic communication network to transfer information to schools and a new in-service training system (Halász, 2002: 8).
Step seven: Build productive coalitions
One of the strengths during the transition of the education sector in Hungary was that of certain coalitions. Extensive participation by teachers in conferences, input from the professional public with surveys and strong professional groups (e.g. curriculum development advisers and innovative teachers), all served as effective coalitions with educational institutions in the push for reform (Halász, 2002: 10).
Step eight: Develop and Communicate short-term wins (demonstrations of success to coerce change)
One key short-term win (with long term benefits) for the education sector in Hungary was that of “comparative advantage” for newcomers (Rado, 2001: 22), which is well-known in the history of various economies and these previous cases, such as Germany building modern railways in the middle of the 19th century, were used to demonstrate the potential success for Hungary and through this, promote change.
Communicating these short-term wins seems especially important in the case of Hungary as at the time of transition there was a mood of uncertainty and hesitancy due to the fact that Hungarians have often seen themselves as victims (Kaufman and Paulston, 1991: 13) due to a rather tough history of treatment and subjugation[1]. This mood could easily mean that any suffering caused during the transition would lead to a revert back to the old ways, however these short-term wins would reinforce the fact that in this case Hungarian are winners rather than victims and promote some level of assurance.
The need for short-term wins is further reinforced by the appearance of short term losses. According to Halász (2002: 5), the economic change also brought with it an economic crisis meaning a scarcity of resources in educational institutions, which in turn could be seen as creating nostalgia towards the former centralised model where resources were more freely available. This would be further accentuated by the budget costs forcing down teachers salaries between 1994 and 1996. Although not mentioned by Fairbanks, it could be said that for every short term loss that were to appear, there would be a greater need to communicate short-term wins so as to reinforce the change and prevent reverting to the previous condition Lewin (1951).
Step nine: Institutionalize the changes (Institutions provide new norms of behaviour)
The idea by Fairbanks here is further reinforced by Kornai (2000: 23) when referring to change in the education sector in Hungary as he mentions that ‘for growth to be sustainable there has to be … a deep comprehensive program of institutional reforms’.
When considering Hungary’s turn towards a market orientation during the time of transition, it should be mentioned that many of the institutions conducive to a market economy such as company law and a market friendly tax system were created before the fall of communism and were stable enough to survive the democratic elections of the early nineties. The work of Halász (2002) refers to a number of key steps of institutionalization in Hungary:
1) The basic institutions conducive to this transition were in place, such as the parliamentary framework and laws on associations.
2) Through the 1993 Education Act in Hungary, introduced a new model of curriculum regulation and in doing so changed the way educational institutions operated. As such this Act can be seen as providing new norms of behaviour for educational institutions, which in turn would pass these norms on to stakeholders such as students, teachers and parents. A further Amendment to the Act in 1996 served as further development of these new norms.
3) A step towards becoming less centralized and more market-focussed was achieved through the 1990 Law on Self governments when ownership of state schools was handed over to local communities. (Although in some cases this step served to heighten the differences between the new decentralised system of public education and certain unchanged mechanisms such as curriculum regulation).
Furthermore, various institutions were set up such as the National Institute for Public Education (set up in 1990) and as a result of the Education Act, the institution of the school board, on which the parents, the school and the maintaining authority were represented, was introduced in order to guarantee social control over schools (NIPE, 1996).
Although not specified by Sachs it would seem that the institutionalizing of the changes also serves as a means of sustainability of change for the long term.
Step ten: Evaluate and affirm the changes (Summits, venues for discussion of results, measurements of results and room for improvement)
Following the reforms due to the Education Act in 1993 and the Amendment in 1996, by 1998 debates were being held in connection with this, involving politicians, researchers and pressure groups (Halász, 2002: 3), which can be seen as a form of evaluation of the results of these changes. The new curriculum was also evaluated by nationally accredited experts according to Halász (2002) and subject to the approval of the local municipality running the school. Not only this, but a national survey was conducted in 1998 to monitor the impact of these reforms and according to the results, modifications to the legislation was considered. Through this the Modification of the Education Act in 1999 came about.
Conclusions
In view of the current situation as stipulated in the thesis, there is a lot of scope for considering the period of change and acculturation through mergers and becoming market-driven through the eyes of Fairbanks. The current reforms are indeed reforms with a view to prosperity and as such, it will be interesting to see if the institution adopts a similar process to that put forward by Fairbanks, or not.
Through this study of the transition period in Hungary in the education sector, there are clearly many issues listed here that could also be considered for an individual institution undergoing a similar change from budget-centred to market-focussed. Without risking the danger of a fallacy of composition by applying a macroeconomic process model to the microeconomic context of the thesis, it could still be said that certain aspects of the process put forward by Fairbanks could be adapted for usage on a smaller scale such as for an educational institution. Although clearly some steps in the change process put forward by Fairbanks would need modifying or in steps such as ‘institutionalizing reforms’ outright deletion.
In terms if the thesis, if the Sachs approach is considered on a micro scale in terms of the thesis there are a number of factors that can be considered. Firstly, the current strategy for prosperity is basically to become market-oriented (step one). This is a very general strategy but in an HEI this covers a huge number of areas from course planning, to bureaucracy and treatment of students and in turn will mean vast changes in mental models for teachers, management and students alike. In terms of the HEI in the thesis, creating a sense of urgency (step two), the expectations would be rather limited – many institutions such as the one on the thesis are slow to change and it is often resisted – as the Hungarian expression goes: “the wheels of power turn slowly”. The status quo is comfortable and the need to become market oriented would certainly increase workload and require effort and time. Such expectations might well limit the urgency and constitute a major hurdle to overcome. The key to this might be in the steps of Sachs of creating a compelling vision, communicating the vision and communicating short-term wins and in this way, resistance to change can be minimised. It is worth considering that Hungarians can often be rather short-term in their thinking and as such the last step mentioned might be the most effective. Communicating a vision to teachers to instigate change will certainly require more than an occasional meeting. It will be interesting to see how the change is handled in reality.
Other steps of relevance might include creating new networks of relationships. In order to become more market focussed (and more cost efficient) the three colleges (faculties) are to merge. As new subcultures are formed and new norms and values and introduced, this is no bad thing as it means that the former values and norms are being replaced. This might also be a good time to create and communicate the vision – before the new set of values becomes entrenched. Another important step would be to create coalitions. In fact, in my view, this is more important than the vision in terms of the HEI becoming more market oriented. Through stronger and closer relationships with employers and institutions abroad, teachers and management are much more likely to see the opportunities and the threats existing in the education market and, as the budget is reduced and there is a greater dependence on income from other sources such as EU tenders and foreign students, and in themselves create a vision and strategy based on the knowledge gained from such coalitions.
Evaluation of the change is the last step referred to by Sachs and in the case of Hungary, such evaluations and feedback are relatively new – it is only in recent years that teachers themselves at the HEI in the thesis have started to receive feedback from students by means of end-of-term questionnaires, prior to this it was unheard-of. This might be a tough step for management and other stakeholders to take and criticism of any change will need to be handled carefully and constructively.
Considering the issue of whether or not Hungarians HEI are still undergoing transition, as mentioned by Radó (2001:25) ‘reform in education is not a linear and continuous process’ and it really does seems to be a case of ‘one step forward and two steps back’. The institution in the thesis has changed little over the past few decades. In fact the changes that occurred during the transition were not so much about being demand-driven (which is happening currently) but about changing the regime. The main changes are as follows: -
1) The curriculum change of dropping mandated Russian language instruction;
2) Redefining school to include private and church affiliated schools;
3) The impacts of an economic and political restructuring on the existing system.
Furthermore, the impact of the changes during the transition in Hungary towards a market oriented system could be considered as possible expected changes of an educational institution (such as more open community involvement, cross disciplinary approaches, an increase in in-service training and a greater sense of professionalism).
When considering Fairbanks’ model of the process of change towards prosperity, it is worth considering in this case the work of Fullan (1991). Fullan (1991) focussed on change and the process of change but with a specialization in educational change. Fullan (1991) identified four steps in the change process: Initiation, Implementation, Continuation and Outcome. The key one for this assignment is Implementation and is according to Fuller (1991) covers four main factors: 1) the need, 2) clarity of goals and needs, 3) complexity: the extent of change required to those responsible for implementation and 4) quality / practicality of the change. Fullan’s research could in fact be seen as dealing with the strategy for change (step three), whereas Fairbanks goes beyond this. Halász (2002) refers to certain specific features for consideration and in turn, these need to be considered when writing the thesis. The relating of the work of Halász to that of Fairbanks can be found in Appendix 3. Thus overall, Fairbanks (2000) agrees with a lot of the features put forward by Halász (2002) even though Fairbanks deals with a generalist model not specifically concerned with the education sector.
In summary, Fairbanks process for change to prosperity can be considered on many levels as relevant to the thesis. By looking at Hungary’s education sector during transition toward a market-orientation, it is easy to see areas that could be considered in the management of a change of a higher education institution. That is not to say that the macro can be applied on a microeconomic level or that the issues involved in changing an organisational culture, strategy and structure are the same as the complexities of similar changes on a national scale. They clearly are not, but issues raised on a national level, such as obstacles to change and the importance of communicating short-term wins could be considered as possible issues on a microeconomic level as well.
[1] Such as the slaughter of protesters in 1919, the loss of 75% of Hungarian land after World War I and the 1956 revolution in which thousands lost their lives.
References
Chandler, N., (2008). The supply and demand of core competencies: a study of the relationship between employers and the Budapest Business School. Dissertation Paper. Budapest Business School library
Fairbanks, M., (2000). Changing the Mind of a Nation: Elements in a Process for Creating Prosperity, in Culture Matters, Lawrence E. Harrison and Samuel P. Huntington, editors, (New York: Basic Books), 2000, pp.270-281
Freeman, K., (2003). Higher education and multinational corporations: establishing a mutual bond, Policy Futures in Education, Volume 1, No. 2
Fullan, M., Stiegelbauer, S., (1991). The new meaning of educational change. 2nd ed. New York: Teachers College Press
Griffin, A., (1994). Transferring learning in higher education: problems and possibilities, in R. Barnett (ed.) , Academic community: discourse of disorder?, London: Jessica Kingsley
Halász, G., (2002). Educational change and social transition in Hungary. National Institute of Public Education, Budapest. Available at: http://www.see-educoop.net/education_in/pdf/halasz_edu_change_in_hungary1-oth-enl-t00.pdf
Harrison, L.E., Huntington, S.P., (2000). Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, Basic Books, New York, NY
Harvey, L., (2000). New realities: the relationship between higher education and employment, Tertiary Education and Management, Volume 6, Number 1, 2000. Available at: http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:yV9zesWh5n8J:www.shu.ac.uk/research/cre/publications/eair99.pdf
Kaufman C., Paulston R., (1991). Hungarian education in transition. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association (Chicago, IL, April 1991).
Kingston, P., (2006). Under new management: New proposals would put learners and bosses in charge of skills and training, The Guardian, December 12, 2006. Available at: http://education.guardian.co.uk/further/story/0,,1969689,00.html
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Lipsett, A., (2007). Why higher education means business. The Guardian, Wednesday June 20, 2007. Available at: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2107250,00.html
Lipton D., Sachs J., (1990). Creating a Market Economy in Eastern Europe: The Case of Poland, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, vol. I, 1990
National Advisory Board for Public Sector Higher Education and the University Grants Committee, (1984). Higher Education and the Needs of Society, London: National Advisory Board for Public Sector Education/ University Grants Committee
National Institute for Public Education (NIPE), (1996). Education policy in the transition period. Available at: http://www.oki.hu/oldal.php?tipus=cikk&kod=EduHun96-03-Education
Radó P., (2001). Transition in education. Institute for Education Policy, Budapest. Available at: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/esp/articles_publications/publications/transition_20010401/rado.pdf
Sir John Daniel, (1998). Tectonic shifts in higher education, Arizona State University. Available at: http://www.open.ac.uk/johndanielspeeches/Arizona.html
Szentirmai, L., (2001). Role of Intellectual Capacity in the further Development of the European Union, Jean Monnet Group on the Future of Europe Conference, October 2001.
Appendices
Appendix 1: The typical characteristics of “command driven” and “demand driven” systems in the education sector
The “command driven” system
The “demand driven” system
Teaching is in the center of pedagogy, teachers are in the center of policies.
Learning is in the center of pedagogy, students are in the center of policies.
Focuses on resources, controls processes and does not really care about outcomes.
Focuses on learning outcomes, improves the quality of processes, adjusts resources.
Gives preference to institutional and structural policies.
Gives preference to functional policies (improvement and development).
Focuses on the amount of financial resources that is deployed for educational provisions.
Focuses on the cost effectiveness of educational provisions.
Policy is driven by political and/or ideological agendas.
Policy is driven by analysis and bargaining
The system is centralized and controlled.
The system is decentralized and liberalized
The flow of information is blocked and reduced, the absorptive capacity of “educationalists” is low at both middle and grassroot levels (obedient system)
The flow of information is free and fostered, the absorptive capacity of “educationalists” is high at all levels (learning systems).
The number of circles that are involved in policy development, is small, stakeholders are not organized.
The number of circles that are involved in policy development is big, stakeholders are organized, and bargaining is institutionalized
Source: Radó P., 2001. Transition in education. Institute for Education Policy, Budapest, p.24. Available at: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/esp/articles_publications/publications/transition_20010401/rado.pdf
Appendix 2: Educational reform – Western European and Central Eastern European Countries
In Western-European countries
In Central-Eastern European countries
Reform is considered to be a new wave of a basically organic process of change (i.e. reconstruction).
Reform is considered to be an almost complete systemic and structural change (i.e. rebuilding).
Mainly genuine educational considerations and those of the “final users” mainly drive reform.
Reform is – to a huge extent – driven by ideological and political considerations.
The external challenges to education are partly predictable.
The speed of the transformation of the economic and social environment is very high.
Reform is initiated because of concerns about the achievement of students and the quality of education.
Educational reform is an inherent component of the overall transition agenda.
Avoidance of major structural changes.
Strong focus on structural issues.
Reform is about the support of grass-root change.
Reform is about the top-down implementation of systemic changes
Reform is supported by an existing and extensive system of information (evaluation, assessment, research) and by formal channels of bargaining and public discourse.
Reform is partly about the creation of the basic conditions of informed and open policy making.
Source: Radó P., 2001. Transition in education. Institute for Education Policy, Budapest, p.30.
Appendix 3: Relating the reform processes of Fairbanks to the specific work of Halász
Halász
Fairbanks
Educational changes are strongly related to processes outside the education sector.
Changes for prosperity on a macro level involving the private sector, governments, natural resources and so on
The change process is not a linear one
A sense of urgency required in terms of creating a need for change but the rate of change is not referred to.
The capacity to manage uncertainty is a critical factor.
Doesn’t refer to uncertainty per se, he does list factors which will reduce risk and uncertainty about the change such as creating a compelling vision and institutionalizing changes.
Higher level willingness to take risk is endemic to societies in transition.
Doesn’t refer to risk but refers to minimising risk at higher levels by understanding the range of strategic choices and analysing them. This is common sense although it can be conceded that there is always some risk involved in any change about to take place.
Communication and ongoing learning becomes particularly important.
Communication is important on a number of levels such as creating a compelling vision and new networks of relationships and communicating the vision.
Increasing efficiency in the use of resources occurs with the accumulation of experience.
Resources are a part of overall strategy such as the dangers of an over reliance on resources, but the issue of whether efficiency increases with experience is not touched upon.
A pragmatic approach focusing on the instruments of implementation predominates over abstract, theoretical conceptions of change.
Approach is very much pragmatic with detailed approaches and case studies to reinforce the point. The instruments such as those for communication are considered.
Source: Adapted from the works of Halász and Fairbanks (see Bibliography)
About the Author
Nick Chanler is a PhD student at Miskolc University in Hungary. He is in his 3rd year of studying a PhD in Management and specializes in orgnaisational culture and change both in Higher Education and in organisations in Hungary.
He is also a lecturer at Budapest Business School and has been working there for the past 13 years.
