Kevin Orr
Biographic Data
| ID | 3941668 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kevin Orr |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kevin |
| FAMILY NAME | Orr |
| SIGNATURE | ORR K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Huddersfield |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3516-6396 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 53 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Raising the value of VET through qualification reform
Poor quality VET is perceived to contribute to a lack of skilled workers, low productivity, and poor outcomes for individuals and society. Such economic failings are often attributed to the low value of VET, ignoring the equally low standing of many of the occupations VET serves. Raising the value of VET through qualification reform is thus problematic, as it fails to address this wider economic context. The introduction of new post-16 technical …
Pragmatism, partnerships, and persuasion
Foundations are one of the oldest organizational forms globally; their number and resources, as well as their socio-political and economic importance, have steadily continued to grow. Yet, foundations’ attributes, activities, and actual achievements remain underexplored and poorly understood. This is particularly noticeable in the context of global policy and transnational administration, an area where foundations tend to be subliminal players, a…
University as a cathedral
The paper discusses the main issues which emerge for the university as an institution in the European context from the development of the lifelong learning paradigm. It focuses on both the opportunity-creating and tension-provoking presence of the lifelong learning concept in the university’s institutional environment. The analysis is based on a thematic review of articles published in the International Journal of Lifelong Education (IJLE) during…
A future for the further education sector in England
This paper considers the position of Further Education (FE) in the light of the analysis undertaken by Geoff Mason (this issue). It argues that despite great optimism as to the potential of FE to raise productivity and enhance social mobility this has not been achieved due to underfunding and the current system of governance. Without bold moves in both the funding and governance of FE, the sector is likely to languish
What is business school research for? Academic and stakeholder perspectives, politics and relationality
Through an empirically grounded analysis of contested interpretations of impact held by business school academics and wider stakeholders, we provide a political and relational understanding of research impact whereby impacts are realized through situated, relational and ongoing interactions. Our qualitative study of three UK business and management schools, comprising interviews with around 70 researchers, academic leaders and stakeholders explor…
Studies in the Education of Adults, Spring 2016
This edition of Studies marks the transition of the journal to our new publishers, Taylor and Francis. We are indebted to NIACE, our previous publishers, and we wish the organisation well in its new incarnation as it merges with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion to become Learning and Work Institute. For Studies, the move to a major educational publisher will allow the journal to broaden its international reach, and with the support of…
Local government partnership working
In this article we explore the dilemmas experienced by boundary-spanning actors working at the intersection of local government and the private sector. We suggest that these dilemmas are entwined with the disruption, transformation and reproduction of local government traditions. We utilise structuration theory to understand how agency is both constrained and enabled by traditions and how such agency in turn affects traditions. In drawing on the …
Local Government Chief Executives' Everyday Hauntings
This paper develops a theory of organizational ghosts, a concept that describes the haunted and burdensome aspects of organizational life and in particular of leadership action. The concept of organizational ghosts is not offered as yet another metaphor, a lens through which to analyse particular organizations. Rather, I offer my discussion of ghosts as a theoretical concept that explains how inheritances of the past haunt the relations and strug…
Local government and structural crisis
This article examines ideas of local government crisis in the UK aiming to apply macrolevel political economy debates to this sector. Two observations underpin its rationale. The first concerns structuralism's neglect of local government and the disconnection from its lively history of crisis discourses. Crisis discourses are a key frame through which local government actors have come to understand their environment. The second is that the fast-g…
Interpreting Narratives of Local Government Change under the Conservatives and New Labour
The recent work of Bevir and Rhodes has added momentum to a debate about the role of ideas in political science. This article aims to contribute to the debate by critically analysing a range of (interacting) narratives of local government change under Conservative and New Labour governments. It has a particular, but not exclusive, focus on normative academic commentaries, as these do not represent simply description and interpretation, but a purp…
If Mayors are the Answer then What was the Question
This short article explores the introduction of directly elected mayors in England and identifies that the case for mayors, as made within New Labour's agenda of 'modernisation', has proceeded on the basis of inconsistent arguments. The article suggests the failure of the reforms either to deliver empowered 'big hitters' or to transform levels of interest in local electoral politics. It explores the diminishment of the public discourse of mayoral…
The Modernisation of Local Decision Making
Improving the quality of public participation in council decision making continues to be a key goal of local government 'modernisation'. Different rationales for this have been advanced, including consumerist aims of service improvement, participation as an important value in itself, and participation as a survival strategy for local government. Based on surveys of, and interviews with, councillors and senior officers in Scottish local government…
The ‘Modernisation’ of Political Management Arrangements in Post Devolution Scottish Local Government
While devolution has brought central government geographically and politically closer to local government it has not shielded it from pressures to ‘modernise’ its political management arrangements. However, devolution has created a different political context to other parts of the UK and this has allowed Scottish local government to voice its views on ‘modernisation’ with perhaps greater weight than is the case elsewhere. Moreover, ‘modernisation…
Developing Local Government
John Fairley (1995) has located the debate on the roles and purpose of local government within broader discussions on the future of Scottish governance. Writing in Scott ish Affairs shortly before the dismantling of the two tier system of Scottish local government, he urged that this debate should not end with the installation of the new unitary authorities. Having spent much of their second year grappling with the immediate effects of a serious …
Joint arrangements in Scotland
Local Government Chief Executives' Everyday Hauntings
This paper develops a theory of organizational ghosts, a concept that describes the haunted and burdensome aspects of organizational life and in particular of leadership action. The concept of organizational ghosts is not offered as yet another metaphor, a lens through which to analyse particular organizations. Rather, I offer my discussion of ghosts as a theoretical concept that explains how inheritances of the past haunt the relations and strug…
If Mayors are the Answer then What was the Question
This short article explores the introduction of directly elected mayors in England and identifies that the case for mayors, as made within New Labour's agenda of 'modernisation', has proceeded on the basis of inconsistent arguments. The article suggests the failure of the reforms either to deliver empowered 'big hitters' or to transform levels of interest in local electoral politics. It explores the diminishment of the public discourse of mayoral…
The Modernisation of Local Decision Making
Improving the quality of public participation in council decision making continues to be a key goal of local government 'modernisation'. Different rationales for this have been advanced, including consumerist aims of service improvement, participation as an important value in itself, and participation as a survival strategy for local government. Based on surveys of, and interviews with, councillors and senior officers in Scottish local government…
Local government and structural crisis
This article examines ideas of local government crisis in the UK aiming to apply macrolevel political economy debates to this sector. Two observations underpin its rationale. The first concerns structuralism's neglect of local government and the disconnection from its lively history of crisis discourses. Crisis discourses are a key frame through which local government actors have come to understand their environment. The second is that the fast-g…
Local government partnership working
In this article we explore the dilemmas experienced by boundary-spanning actors working at the intersection of local government and the private sector. We suggest that these dilemmas are entwined with the disruption, transformation and reproduction of local government traditions. We utilise structuration theory to understand how agency is both constrained and enabled by traditions and how such agency in turn affects traditions. In drawing on the …
Interpreting Narratives of Local Government Change under the Conservatives and New Labour
The recent work of Bevir and Rhodes has added momentum to a debate about the role of ideas in political science. This article aims to contribute to the debate by critically analysing a range of (interacting) narratives of local government change under Conservative and New Labour governments. It has a particular, but not exclusive, focus on normative academic commentaries, as these do not represent simply description and interpretation, but a purp…
Joint arrangements in Scotland
Raising the value of VET through qualification reform
Poor quality VET is perceived to contribute to a lack of skilled workers, low productivity, and poor outcomes for individuals and society. Such economic failings are often attributed to the low value of VET, ignoring the equally low standing of many of the occupations VET serves. Raising the value of VET through qualification reform is thus problematic, as it fails to address this wider economic context. The introduction of new post-16 technical …
Pragmatism, partnerships, and persuasion
Foundations are one of the oldest organizational forms globally; their number and resources, as well as their socio-political and economic importance, have steadily continued to grow. Yet, foundations’ attributes, activities, and actual achievements remain underexplored and poorly understood. This is particularly noticeable in the context of global policy and transnational administration, an area where foundations tend to be subliminal players, a…
Studies in the Education of Adults, Spring 2016
This edition of Studies marks the transition of the journal to our new publishers, Taylor and Francis. We are indebted to NIACE, our previous publishers, and we wish the organisation well in its new incarnation as it merges with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion to become Learning and Work Institute. For Studies, the move to a major educational publisher will allow the journal to broaden its international reach, and with the support of…
The ‘Modernisation’ of Political Management Arrangements in Post Devolution Scottish Local Government
While devolution has brought central government geographically and politically closer to local government it has not shielded it from pressures to ‘modernise’ its political management arrangements. However, devolution has created a different political context to other parts of the UK and this has allowed Scottish local government to voice its views on ‘modernisation’ with perhaps greater weight than is the case elsewhere. Moreover, ‘modernisation…
Joint arrangements in Scotland
Developing Local Government
John Fairley (1995) has located the debate on the roles and purpose of local government within broader discussions on the future of Scottish governance. Writing in Scott ish Affairs shortly before the dismantling of the two tier system of Scottish local government, he urged that this debate should not end with the installation of the new unitary authorities. Having spent much of their second year grappling with the immediate effects of a serious …
The ‘Modernisation’ of Political Management Arrangements in Post Devolution Scottish Local Government
While devolution has brought central government geographically and politically closer to local government it has not shielded it from pressures to ‘modernise’ its political management arrangements. However, devolution has created a different political context to other parts of the UK and this has allowed Scottish local government to voice its views on ‘modernisation’ with perhaps greater weight than is the case elsewhere. Moreover, ‘modernisation…
If Mayors are the Answer then What was the Question
This short article explores the introduction of directly elected mayors in England and identifies that the case for mayors, as made within New Labour's agenda of 'modernisation', has proceeded on the basis of inconsistent arguments. The article suggests the failure of the reforms either to deliver empowered 'big hitters' or to transform levels of interest in local electoral politics. It explores the diminishment of the public discourse of mayoral…
The Modernisation of Local Decision Making
Improving the quality of public participation in council decision making continues to be a key goal of local government 'modernisation'. Different rationales for this have been advanced, including consumerist aims of service improvement, participation as an important value in itself, and participation as a survival strategy for local government. Based on surveys of, and interviews with, councillors and senior officers in Scottish local government…
Interpreting Narratives of Local Government Change under the Conservatives and New Labour
The recent work of Bevir and Rhodes has added momentum to a debate about the role of ideas in political science. This article aims to contribute to the debate by critically analysing a range of (interacting) narratives of local government change under Conservative and New Labour governments. It has a particular, but not exclusive, focus on normative academic commentaries, as these do not represent simply description and interpretation, but a purp…
Local government and structural crisis
This article examines ideas of local government crisis in the UK aiming to apply macrolevel political economy debates to this sector. Two observations underpin its rationale. The first concerns structuralism's neglect of local government and the disconnection from its lively history of crisis discourses. Crisis discourses are a key frame through which local government actors have come to understand their environment. The second is that the fast-g…
Local Government Chief Executives' Everyday Hauntings
This paper develops a theory of organizational ghosts, a concept that describes the haunted and burdensome aspects of organizational life and in particular of leadership action. The concept of organizational ghosts is not offered as yet another metaphor, a lens through which to analyse particular organizations. Rather, I offer my discussion of ghosts as a theoretical concept that explains how inheritances of the past haunt the relations and strug…
Studies in the Education of Adults, Spring 2016
This edition of Studies marks the transition of the journal to our new publishers, Taylor and Francis. We are indebted to NIACE, our previous publishers, and we wish the organisation well in its new incarnation as it merges with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion to become Learning and Work Institute. For Studies, the move to a major educational publisher will allow the journal to broaden its international reach, and with the support of…
Local government partnership working
In this article we explore the dilemmas experienced by boundary-spanning actors working at the intersection of local government and the private sector. We suggest that these dilemmas are entwined with the disruption, transformation and reproduction of local government traditions. We utilise structuration theory to understand how agency is both constrained and enabled by traditions and how such agency in turn affects traditions. In drawing on the …
A future for the further education sector in England
This paper considers the position of Further Education (FE) in the light of the analysis undertaken by Geoff Mason (this issue). It argues that despite great optimism as to the potential of FE to raise productivity and enhance social mobility this has not been achieved due to underfunding and the current system of governance. Without bold moves in both the funding and governance of FE, the sector is likely to languish
What is business school research for? Academic and stakeholder perspectives, politics and relationality
Through an empirically grounded analysis of contested interpretations of impact held by business school academics and wider stakeholders, we provide a political and relational understanding of research impact whereby impacts are realized through situated, relational and ongoing interactions. Our qualitative study of three UK business and management schools, comprising interviews with around 70 researchers, academic leaders and stakeholders explor…
University as a cathedral
The paper discusses the main issues which emerge for the university as an institution in the European context from the development of the lifelong learning paradigm. It focuses on both the opportunity-creating and tension-provoking presence of the lifelong learning concept in the university’s institutional environment. The analysis is based on a thematic review of articles published in the International Journal of Lifelong Education (IJLE) during…
Pragmatism, partnerships, and persuasion
Foundations are one of the oldest organizational forms globally; their number and resources, as well as their socio-political and economic importance, have steadily continued to grow. Yet, foundations’ attributes, activities, and actual achievements remain underexplored and poorly understood. This is particularly noticeable in the context of global policy and transnational administration, an area where foundations tend to be subliminal players, a…
Raising the value of VET through qualification reform
Poor quality VET is perceived to contribute to a lack of skilled workers, low productivity, and poor outcomes for individuals and society. Such economic failings are often attributed to the low value of VET, ignoring the equally low standing of many of the occupations VET serves. Raising the value of VET through qualification reform is thus problematic, as it fails to address this wider economic context. The introduction of new post-16 technical …
Political science (14 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Public Policy and Administration Research (6 works) · Government (linguistics (5 works) · Local government (5 works) · Political economy (5 works)