This book provides the general reader with an account of the diverse and often highly complex oracular techniques which made verbal communication with the gods possible. As negative oracles and omens were mostly an expression of divine anger, skilled experts attempt to divert the anger by ritual magic means and thus to correct the future or transgressions from the past. The topic of "Hittite mantics" has hitherto been largely neglected, except in specialist literature, although mantics was of supreme importance for Hittite society and was closely bound up with politics and cult.

"Derek Bok grasps better than anyone I know the changes that have taken place in the academic culture of American higher education. In Universities in the Marketplace, he documents the sheer growth of market forces and the escalation of commercialization in academia. Perhaps more important he alerts us that the reach of commercialization has moved from the innocent fringe of the campus (athletics and sweatshirts) to its academic heart. University presidents, trustees, and faculty leaders: take note! This is an important book."--Stanley O. Ikenberry, Regent Professor and President Emeritus, University of Illinois

"Derek Bok's wise and judicious book offers a road map for all concerned with the health and integrity of higher education in an age that has seen the boundaries between the academic, corporate, and public worlds become more permeable and the need to understand the costs associated with that transition more urgent. At the same time, President Bok's analysis of the potential dangers lurking in contemporary tendencies toward 'commercialization' is an affirmation that the enduring values of the academy can be extended and strengthened through thoughtful and careful engagement with the questions at issue."--Hanna Holborn Gray, President Emeritus, University of Chicago

"Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs of excessive commercialization in every part of the university.' His somber assessment of the current state of athletics, scientific research, and distance education, and his call for review and restraint, should engage the attention of every faculty senatein the country. He has given us a timely, candid, courageous, and important book."--Frank H. T. Rhodes, President Emeritus, Cornell University

"This book is a thoughtful and wide-ranging analysis of the commercial pressures on universities. There is no other study like it. Extremely well organized, clear, and gracefully written, "Universities in the Marketplace" will be of interest to all those concerned about higher education and its future."--William G. Bowen, President, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

""Universities in the Marketplace" is quite a successful book that breaks valuable new ground. Derek Bok's calmly reasoned voice contrasts favorably with the hyperbole that surrounds many such discussions. The writing is so clear and the arguments so reasonable that it is easy to overlook the author's effortless command of the relevant literature and his well-judged historical treatment of his subjects. No other book is both so comprehensive and so accessible."--Michael McPherson, President, Macalaster College

American universities today serve as economic engines, performing the scientific research that will create new industries, drive economic growth, and keep the United States globally competitive. But only a few decades ago, these same universities self-consciously held themselves apart from the world of commerce. Creating the Market University is the first book to systematically examine why academic science made such a dramatic move toward the market. Drawing on extensive historical research, Elizabeth Popp Berman shows how the government--influenced by the argument that innovation drives the economy--brought about this transformation. Americans have a long tradition of making heroes out of their inventors. But before the 1960s and '70s neither policymakers nor economists paid much attention to the critical economic role played by innovation. However, during the late 1970s, a confluence of events--industry concern with the perceived deterioration of innovation in the United States, a growing body of economic research on innovation's importance, and the stagnation of the larger economy--led to a broad political interest in fostering invention. The policy decisions shaped by this change were diverse, influencing arenas from patents and taxes to pensions and science policy, and encouraged practices that would focus specifically on the economic value of academic science. By the early 1980s, universities were nurturing the rapid growth of areas such as biotech entrepreneurship, patenting, and university-industry research centers. Contributing to debates about the relationship between universities, government, and industry, Creating the Market University sheds light on how knowledge and politics intersect to structure the economy.

In The Kindness of Strangers, Deni Elliott examines ethically questionable situations that have arisen in response to institutional dependency on external benefactors. Major concerns analyzed include: The increased professionalism of fundraising and of donating, an increased willingness of institutions to cater to the demands of donors, creation of dual roles for faculty, students and staff when they are fundraisers and donors in addition to playing their primary roles in higher education, business-university research partnerships that put business values in conflict of academic values and mission, commercialization of student athletics, and endowment use and investment. Supplemented by a series of carefully selected articles, The Kindness of Strangers needs to be read by anyone who is concerned by higher education's increasing dependency on corporate and individual donors.

This illuminating investigation uncovers the full dimensions of the student loan disaster. A father and son team--one a best-selling sociologist, the other a former banker and current quantitative researcher--probe how we've reached the point at which student loan debt--now exceeding $1 trillion and predicted to reach $2 trillion by 2020--threatens to become the sequel to the mortgage meltdown. In spite of their good intentions, Americans have allowed concerns about deadbeat students, crushing debt, exploitative for-profit colleges, and changing attitudes about the purpose of college education to blind them to a growing crisis. With college costs climbing faster than the cost of living, how can access to higher education remain a central part of the American dream? With more than half of college students carrying an average debt of $27,000 at graduation, what are the prospects for young adults in the current economy? Examining how we've arrived at and how we might extricate ourselves from this grave social problem, The Student Loan Mess is a must-read for everyone concerned about the future of American education. Hard facts about the student loan crisis: - Student loan debt is rising by more than $100 billion every year and is likely to reach $2 trillion by 2020. - Among recent college students who are supposed to be repaying their loans, more than a third are delinquent. - Because student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy, the federal government misleadingly treats student loan debt as a government asset. - Higher default rates, spiraling college costs, and proposals for more generous terms for student borrowers make it increasingly likely that student loan policies will eventually cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

College tuition and student debt levels have been rising at an alarming pace for at least two decades. These trends, coupled with an economy weakened by a major recession, have raised serious questions about whether we are headed for a major crisis, with borrowers defaulting on their loans in unprecedented numbers and taxpayers being forced to foot the bill. Game of Loans draws on new evidence to explain why such fears are misplaced--and how the popular myth of a looming crisis has obscured the real problems facing student lending in America. Bringing needed clarity to an issue that concerns all of us, Beth Akers and Matthew Chingos cut through the sensationalism and misleading rhetoric to make the compelling case that college remains a good investment for most students. They show how, in fact, typical borrowers face affordable debt burdens, and argue that the truly serious cases of financial hardship portrayed in the media are less common than the popular narrative would have us believe. But there are more troubling problems with student loans that don't receive the same attention. They include high rates of avoidable defaults by students who take on loans but don't finish college--the riskiest segment of borrowers--and a dysfunctional market where competition among colleges drives tuition costs up instead of down. Persuasive and compelling, Game of Loans moves beyond the emotionally charged and politicized talk surrounding student debt, and offers a set of sensible policy proposals that can solve the real problems in student lending.

'Higher Education Financing in the New EU Member States' summarizes the experiences to date of the new EU countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia the EU8) in the reform of higher education systems in a period of growing demand; changing patters of access; rapid expansion and increased participation rates; and an apparent dilution of average quality. The study discusses the growing experience with a variety of financing mechanisms in EU8 countries, drawing on detailed country case studies, and seeks to develop some useful lessons from experience, mindful that each country will continue to develop its own solution based on national priorities.

The most comprehensive guide on postgraduate grants and professional funding globally. For thirty-six years it has been the leading source for up-to-date information on the availability of, and eligibility for, postgraduate and professional awards. Each entry is verified by its awarding body and all information is updated annually.

Spurred by court rulings requiring states to increase public-school funding, the United States now spends more per student on K-12 education than almost any other country. Yet American students still achieve less than their foreign counterparts, their performance has been flat for decades, millions of them are failing, and poor and minority students remain far behind their more advantaged peers. In this book, Eric Hanushek and Alfred Lindseth trace the history of reform efforts and conclude that the principal focus of both courts and legislatures on ever-increasing funding has done little to improve student achievement. Instead, Hanushek and Lindseth propose a new approach: a performance-based system that directly links funding to success in raising student achievement. This system would empower and motivate educators to make better, more cost-effective decisions about how to run their schools, ultimately leading to improved student performance. Hanushek and Lindseth have been important participants in the school funding debate for three decades. Here, they draw on their experience, as well as the best available research and data, to show why improving schools will require overhauling the way financing, incentives, and accountability work in public education.

Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the second edition of this groundbreaking handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, with particular attention to elementary and secondary education. Chapters from the first edition have been fully updated and revised to reflect current developments, new policies, and recent research. With new chapters on teacher evaluation, alternatives to traditional public schooling, and cost-benefit analysis, this volume provides a readily available current resource for anyone involved in education finance and policy. The Handbook of Research in Education Finance and Policy traces the evolution of the field from its initial focus on school inputs and revenue sources used to finance these inputs, to a focus on educational outcomes and the larger policies used to achieve them. Chapters show how decision making in school finance inevitably interacts with decisions about governance, accountability, equity, privatization, and other areas of education policy. Because a full understanding of important contemporary issues requires inputs from a variety of perspectives, the Handbook draws on contributors from a number of disciplines. Although many of the chapters cover complex, state-of-the-art empirical research, the authors explain key concepts in language that non-specialists can understand. This comprehensive, balanced, and accessible resource provides a wealth of factual information, data, and wisdom to help educators improve the quality of education in the United States.

Writing high quality grant applications is easier when you know how research funding agencies work and how your proposal is treated in the decision-making process. The Research Funding Toolkit provides this knowledge and teaches you the necessary skills to write high quality grant applications. A complex set of factors determine whether research projects win grants. This handbook helps you understand these factors and then face and overcome your personal barriers to research grant success. The guidance also extends to real-world challenges of grant-writing, such as obtaining the right feedback, dealing effectively with your employer and partner institutions, and making multiple applications efficiently. There are many sources that will tell you what a fundable research grant application looks like. Very few help you learn the skills you need to write one. The Toolkit fills this gap with detailed advice on creating and testing applications that are readable, understandable and convincing.

The companion to our popular Student Support and Benefits Handbook, this annual title is the key guide to the benefits system for students in Scotland. It includes a quick guide to the grants and loans available for further and higher education in Scotland, and clear, easy-to-use information on students' benefit entitlement and how this is affected by their student income. Also included is information on how benefits are affected in vacations and if a student takes time out from their course. Fully updated for the 2019/20 academic year, the book is an invaluable resource for anyone who advises students in Scotland. It is fully cross-referenced to the law and includes easy-to-use checklists and examples.

In a world where the opportunity to advance scholarly and scientific knowledge is dependent on the ability to secure sufficient funding, researchers and scholars must write funding proposals that stand out from the competition. The practical advice in this guidebook is designed to aid academics in writing successful applications at all stages of their careers.

This book will help grant applicants plan and craft funding proposals that are concise, complete, and impressive--and that satisfy the mandates of the agencies to which they are applying. Applicants will learn how to

- Avoid common writing blunders- Understand the central importance of the research budget- Overcome procrastination- Choose and secure professional references- Develop a career path with a view toward funding opportunities- Maintain a winning attitude that will improve the chances of success

"Write an Effective Funding Application" details the all-important preparation stage in drafting a grant application, from identifying sources of funding and securing registration numbers to creating a schedule for meeting the application deadline. It reviews the nuts and bolts of writing and polishing a winning application, stressing the importance of logical thinking and thoughtful presentation. The book includes detailed information on developing budgets, "before" and "after" versions of proposals, and descriptions of common pitfalls that everyone can avoid.

Gary Heinfeld has updated the definitive guide to help school districts implement the dramatic changes in accounting and reporting required by GASB Statement No. 34. This book provides school district administrators with comprehensive guidance in implementing the new reporting model, affecting every school organization that issues financial statements in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Included are two new chapters: Achieving Excellence with Financial Reporting GAO New Independence Standard