The Chimera of the 'International University'

British universities have, in recent years, come under increasing pressure to respond to 'international' and 'global' trends. This affects student composition, professional standards and research orientation, as well as competitiveness in research and the provision of facilities. This article sets the internationalization in historical context, identifies different meanings of the word 'international' and argues that in three key areas–language competence, area studies and information technology–current policies may be mistaken. The author concludes with a critical account of how factors external to the university may inhibit, rather than promote, fulfilment of its international responsibilities.     

A PUBLIC UTILITY APPROACH TO LAND USE

Escalating legal confrontations between private enterprise and government over land use controls are raising the costs of land development and slowly eliminating the potentials for reasonably priced family housing. Equally important, these confrontations are beginning to have more and more of the negative aspects of public utility control processes without any of the associated benefits. Now would seem to be an ideal time in which to review the “public utility” approach to land use controls since it can offer many more benefits than current control systems, while balancing society concerns and private developers' fair return objectives.