Editorial

The third volume of the e-journal ACADEMIA is here.

The previous volumes appear to be continuing to attract interest and to have reached a significant readership.  The first two volumes have already reached more than 12,000 downloads.  What's more, it is worth noting that the first volume still receives a significant number of hits, a fact which underlines the importance of the electronic publication of a journal.  Since July 2013 we have also been able to see where the hits originate. Based on electronic measurement, the majority of our readers are to be found abroad, which is a particularly significant factor for the journal.

As far as the third volume is concerned, it comprises four (4) articles and two (2) book reviews. The book reviews constitute the innovative element of the second volume and based on the downloads, they appear to have enjoyed significant success.  For example, by the end of 2013 the second volume's three book reviews had had over 500 downloads.  Therefore they were judged to have been successful which is why another two (2) are offered in the new volume.

As far as the articles in the third volume are concerned:

The authors of the first article, which bears the title "Techno-Euphoria as a Visa for Neoliberal/Neoconservative Capitalism's Invasion of Academia: the Case of Digital Measures", are Torres Miriam N. and Ruiz Marisol, both teachers at the University of New Mexico.  Their article refers to the experience of the United States of America and to the changes which have been taking place in the public university over the past four decades. A basic target of these changes is the research and teaching staff who have seen, and are continuing to see, radical change in their work relations through technological changes which are called "techno-euphoria" in the article.

The second article is written by Annie Couedel of the University of Paris 8.  The title of her work is "Dispositif de Pédagogie de Projet: intervention/insertion.  De nouvelles frontières pour la construction de l'acteur social.  Le politique, l'institutionnel et le pedagogique intimement imbriques" (Project-based learning Dispositif: intervention/ insertion. New frontiers for the construction of the social actor. The political, the institutional and the pedagogical aspects intimately linked).  This article has three basic features: firstly, its acutely autobiographical character. Secondly, its sketching of a period (that of May '68), their aspirations, actions and production within the context of an institution (Paris 8) which was emblematic of the particular time. And thirdly, the construction of a tool of active pedagogy, the objective of which is the creation of active and free social subjects.

The third article is written by Diakhate Assane a member of the teaching and research staff at the Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal.  The title of his work is "La formation des enseignants au Senegal: des écoles normales aux CRFPE, état des lieux et perspectives de renovation" (Teacher training in Senegal: from training colleges to regional centres for the training of education staff: current situation and renovation perspective). The objective of the work is a historical overview of teacher training in Senegal.  The writer's intention is to show how the aim of 'universal schooling at the lowest cost possible' had a direct impact on teacher training.  The issue for the writer is the renegotiation of teacher training, now within a university environment, aimed at the provision of quality education. 

The writers of the fourth article are Gianzina-Kassotaki Olga and Ioannis Kassotakis, PhD student at the Warwick Business School and doctor at the National Technical University, respectively. Its title is "Strategic Management in Greek Higher Education: Management of change" (in Greek).  Their work focuses on the need for effective University administration which will emerge out of the formation of strategic planning. For the writers, this is a prerequisite for the negotiation of two initially irreconcilable views of the modern University: on the one hand, the safeguarding of its social and cultural role and on the other, its integration into a competitive global environment which is governed by the laws of the market.

Then, the two book reviews concern:

A PhD student at the University of Patras, Giorgos Aggelopoulos, looks at the book 'Science: the very idea' by Steve Woolgar, translated into Greek by Dimitris Papachiannakos and published by Katoptro publications.  This book poses the question 'what is science?'  Its author inclines towards scientific pluralism, emphasizing the context in which scientific research and its practices are produced.    Hence, it would appear to be directly related to the interests of G. Aggelopoulos, who is active in the field of interdisciplinarity as a space for the production and transfer of new scientific knowledge.

PhD student at the Universities of Patras and Paris 8, Elena Karachontziti, presents the book 'M.Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings' edited by Gordon C., and which was published in New York by Pantheon Books in 1980.  The book is a collection of Foucault's interviews which in essence attempts a good overview of his basic works.  What emerges is the central position occupied in his work by the relationship between power and knowledge. E. Karachontziti is interested in linking Foucault's theory to education policy through just this relationship, which proves to be fundamental to the construction of the theoretical framework of her doctoral thesis.

Enjoy reading this volume!

Georgios Stamelos

Professor, Editor