Links for 8/31/10

Ben Wildavsky

The "us versus them" prism through which American universities and policy makers sometimes view stepped-up global competition is becoming less and less relevant. Cross-border research collaborations have more than doubled in 20 years and will surely grow. Partnerships between leading Western universities and rapidly improving institutions in Asia, Europe, and beyond are expanding quickly. Universities may take on entirely new forms...

In this evolving world, academic improvement in one country need not mean that others should fear falling behind. More than ever, the key to innovation and economic growth will lie in the freest possible movement of people and ideas—on campus, and beyond.

Iza Wojciechowska

many public universities are increasing their tuitions by upwards of 15 percent…

Nonetheless, the skyrocketing rates have bypassed some states even this year. While many universities’ increases average between 5 and 10 percent, some states – even those with large universities and large budget cuts -- are maintaining more modest increases. The percentage of state money that supports the University of Texas system budget is relatively small compared to other states, and as a result UT is raising its tuition by an average of only 4.1 percent. In-state students in Missouri, West Virginia, and at New York state and city universities will not see an increase in tuition this year, and it will increase less than 5 percent for out-of-state students…

Sarah Cassidy

The first academic research project into lap dancing has found that, rather than being uneducated young women who have been coerced into the industry, one in four dancers has a degree and has been attracted by the money…

Edububble asks

What’s the difference between the dancers with degrees and the dancers without? One group is filled with sex-positive feminists subverting the typical male gaze to invert the traditional gender-based power-dynamic, a wry and ironic application of Hegelian master/slave theory. The others are just…

Alex Richards and Ron Coddington with a really cool look at how colleges are ranked.