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137-631: An information school (sometimes abbreviated I-school or iSchool ) is a university -level institution committed to understanding the role of information in nature and human endeavors. Synonyms include school of information , department of information studies , or information department . Information schools faculty conduct research into the fundamental aspects of information and related technologies . In addition to granting academic degrees , information schools educate information professionals, researchers, and scholars for an increasingly information-driven world . Information school can also refer, in
274-483: A separate legal person was mainly administrative, as a unified entity under which the rights and duties of all investors and managers could be channeled. However, there was still no limited liability and company members could still be held responsible for unlimited losses by the company. The next, crucial development, then, was the Limited Liability Act 1855 , passed at the behest of the then Vice President of
411-438: A board of trustees; a president, chancellor , or rector ; at least one vice president, vice-chancellor, or vice-rector; and deans of various divisions. Universities are generally divided into a number of academic departments, schools or faculties . Public university systems are ruled over by government-run higher education boards . They review financial requests and budget proposals and then allocate funds for each university in
548-490: A broader consideration within a global context. Although there are antecedents, the modern university is generally regarded as a formal institution that has its origin in the Medieval Christian tradition. European higher education took place for hundreds of years in cathedral schools or monastic schools ( scholae monasticae ), in which monks and nuns taught classes; evidence of these immediate forerunners of
685-404: A certain field (e.g. music, fine arts, business). They might or might not have the power to award PhD degrees, depending on the respective government legislation. If they award PhD degrees, their rank is considered equivalent to that of universities proper (Universität), if not, their rank is equivalent to universities of applied sciences. Colloquially, the term university may be used to describe
822-400: A charter granted by the government. As explained above, such charters were often enacted as private bills . Today, a corporation is formed, or incorporated , by registering with the state, province, or national government and regulated by the laws enacted by that government. Registration is the main prerequisite to the corporation's assumption of limited liability. The law sometimes requires
959-484: A corporation are typically controlled by individuals appointed by the members. In some cases, this will be a single individual but more commonly corporations are controlled by a committee or by committees. Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of committee structure. In countries with co-determination (such as in Germany ), workers elect a fixed fraction of the corporation's board. Historically, corporations were created by
1096-436: A corporation as: a collection of many individuals united into one body, under a special denomination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form, and vested, by the policy of the law, with the capacity of acting, in several respects, as an individual, particularly of taking and granting property, of contracting obligations, and of suing and being sued, of enjoying privileges and immunities in common, and of exercising
1233-439: A corporation; shareholders instead elect or appoint a board of directors to control the corporation in a fiduciary capacity. In most circumstances, a shareholder may also serve as a director or officer of a corporation. Countries with co-determination employ the practice of workers of an enterprise having the right to vote for representatives on the board of directors in a company. The word "corporation" derives from corpus ,
1370-424: A distinct name. Historically, some corporations were named after the members of their boards of directors: for example, the " President and Fellows of Harvard College " is the name of one of the two governing boards of Harvard University , but it is also the exact name under which Harvard was legally incorporated. Nowadays, corporations in most jurisdictions have a distinct name that does not need to make reference to
1507-556: A higher education institution which is similar to the former polytechnics in the British education system, the English term used for these German institutions is usually 'university of applied sciences'. They can confer master's degrees but no PhDs. They are similar to the model of teaching universities with less research and the research undertaken being highly practical. Hochschule can refer to various kinds of institutions, often specialised in
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#17328523814751644-410: A law school teaching the ius gentium or Roman law of peoples which was in demand across Europe for those defending the right of incipient nations against empire and church. The University of Bologna, or Alma Mater Studiorum , is widely recognized as the oldest university that is independent of any direct authority, such as kings, emperors, or religious organizations. Bologna's claim to being
1781-584: A more equal and laic higher education system. Universities created by bilateral or multilateral treaties between states are intergovernmental . An example is the Academy of European Law , which offers training in European law to lawyers, judges, barristers, solicitors, in-house counsel and academics. EUCLID (Pôle Universitaire Euclide, Euclid University) is chartered as a university and umbrella organization dedicated to sustainable development in signatory countries, and
1918-592: A more restricted sense, to the members of the iSchools organization (formerly the "iSchools Project"), as governed by the iCaucus. Members of this group share a fundamental interest in the relationships between people, information, technology, and science. These schools, colleges, and departments have been either newly established or have evolved from programs focused on information systems , library science , informatics , computer science , library and information science and information science . Information schools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding
2055-495: A parliament or legislature). Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration . Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: whether they can issue stock , or whether they are formed to make a profit . Depending on the number of owners, a corporation can be classified as aggregate (the subject of this article) or sole (a legal entity consisting of
2192-523: A partnership arose. Early guilds and livery companies were also often involved in the regulation of competition between traders. Dutch and English chartered companies, such as the Dutch East India Company (also known by its Dutch initials: VOC) and the Hudson's Bay Company , were created to lead the colonial ventures of European nations in the 17th century. Acting under a charter sanctioned by
2329-546: A partnership or some other form of collective ownership (in the United States it can be used by a sole proprietorship but this is not generally the case elsewhere). Despite not being human beings, corporations have been ruled legal persons in a few countries, and have many of the same rights as natural persons do. For example, a corporation can own property, and can sue or be sued for as long as it exists. Corporations can exercise human rights against real individuals and
2466-767: A phase in one's life: "When I was at university..." (in the United States and Ireland, college is often used instead: "When I was in college..."). In Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Spain and the German-speaking countries , university is often contracted to uni . In Ghana, New Zealand, Bangladesh and in South Africa it is sometimes called "varsity" (although this has become uncommon in New Zealand in recent years). "Varsity"
2603-470: A private act to allow an individual to represent the whole in legal proceedings, this was a narrow and necessarily costly expedient, allowed only to established companies. Then, in 1843, William Gladstone became the chairman of a Parliamentary Committee on Joint Stock Companies, which led to the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 , regarded as the first modern piece of company law. The Act created
2740-466: A proliferation of laws allowing for the creation of corporations by registration across the world, which helped to drive economic booms in many countries before and after World War I. Another major post World War I shift was toward the development of conglomerates , in which large corporations purchased smaller corporations to expand their industrial base. Starting in the 1980s, many countries with large state-owned corporations moved toward privatization ,
2877-429: A significant factor in driving many scientists away from the university and toward private benefactors, usually in princely courts, and associations with newly forming scientific societies. Other historians find incongruity in the proposition that the very place where the vast number of the scholars that influenced the scientific revolution received their education should also be the place that inhibits their research and
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#17328523814753014-439: A single incorporated office occupied by a single natural person ). Registered corporations have legal personality recognized by local authorities and their shares are owned by shareholders whose liability is generally limited to their investment. One of the attractive early advantages business corporations offered to their investors , compared to earlier business entities like sole proprietorships and joint partnerships ,
3151-549: A spirit of inquiry into natural processes that had already begun to emerge in the 12th century. Some scholars believe that these works represented one of the most important document discoveries in Western intellectual history. Richard Dales, for instance, calls the discovery of Aristotle's works "a turning point in the history of Western thought." After Aristotle re-emerged, a community of scholars, primarily communicating in Latin, accelerated
3288-522: A state autonomic institution which functions as a completely independent body inside of the same state. Some national universities are closely associated with national cultural , religious or political aspirations, for instance the National University of Ireland , which formed partly from the Catholic University of Ireland which was created almost immediately and specifically in answer to
3425-958: A variety of political rights, more or less extensive, according to the design of its institution, or the powers conferred upon it, either at the time of its creation or at any subsequent period of its existence. Due to the late 18th century abandonment of mercantilist economic theory and the rise of classical liberalism and laissez-faire economic theory due to a revolution in economics led by Adam Smith and other economists, corporations transitioned from being government or guild affiliated entities to being public and private economic entities free of governmental directions. Smith wrote in his 1776 work The Wealth of Nations that mass corporate activity could not match private entrepreneurship, because people in charge of others' money would not exercise as much care as they would with their own. The British Bubble Act 1720s prohibition on establishing companies remained in force until its repeal in 1825. By this point,
3562-536: A very high standard in specific area of study, can be declared by the Central Government on the advice of the University Grants Commission as an Institution (Deemed-to-be-university). Institutions that are 'deemed-to-be-university' enjoy the academic status and the privileges of a university. Through this provision many schools that are commercial in nature and have been established just to exploit
3699-407: Is an organization —usually a group of people or a company —authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of statute"; a legal person in a legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter (i.e., by an ad hoc act granted by a monarch or passed by
3836-473: Is authorized to issue, and the names and addresses of directors. Once the articles are approved, the corporation's directors meet to create bylaws that govern the internal functions of the corporation, such as meeting procedures and officer positions. In theory, a corporation cannot own its own stock. An exception is treasury stock , where the company essentially buys back stock from its shareholders, which reduces its outstanding shares. This essentially becomes
3973-447: Is limited: one can only collect from whatever assets the entity still controls when one obtains a judgment against it. Corporate names are supposed to be unique to the jurisdiction in which the corporation is registered. Governments will not allow another corporation or any other kind of legal entity to register a name that is too similar to the name of an existing corporation. However, since "different states may register entities with
4110-559: Is possible, however, that the development of cathedral schools into universities was quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception. Later they were also founded by kings - but with prior papal approval. ( University of Naples Federico II , Charles University in Prague , Jagiellonian University in Kraków ) or municipal administrations ( University of Cologne , University of Erfurt ). In
4247-420: Is transferred from faculty to managers, economic justifications dominate, and the familiar 'bottom line' eclipses pedagogical or intellectual concerns". Academics' understanding of time, pedagogical pleasure, vocation, and collegiality have been cited as possible ways of alleviating such problems. A national university is generally a university created or run by a national state but at the same time represents
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4384-407: Is usually required to register with other governments as a foreign corporation and must formally appoint a registered agent to accept service of process within such other jurisdictions. A foreign corporation is almost always subject to the laws of its host state pertaining to external affairs such as employment , crimes , contracts , civil actions , and the like. Corporations generally have
4521-698: The Industrial Revolution had gathered pace, pressing for legal change to facilitate business activity. The repeal was the beginning of a gradual lifting on restrictions, though business ventures (such as those chronicled by Charles Dickens in Martin Chuzzlewit ) under primitive companies legislation were often scams. Without cohesive regulation, proverbial operations like the "Anglo-Bengalee Disinterested Loan and Life Assurance Company" were undercapitalized ventures promising no hope of success except for richly paid promoters. The process of incorporation
4658-604: The Latin word for body, or a "body of people". By the time of Justinian (reigned 527–565), Roman law recognized a range of corporate entities under the names Universitas , corpus or collegium . Following the passage of the Lex Julia during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus as Princeps senatus and Imperator of
4795-452: The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies , empowered to register companies by a two-stage process. The first, provisional, stage cost £5 and did not confer corporate status, which arose after completing the second stage for another £5. For the first time in history, it was possible for ordinary people through a simple registration procedure to incorporate. The advantage of establishing a company as
4932-829: The Roman Army (27 BC–14 AD), collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies . These included the state itself (the Populus Romanus ), municipalities, and such private associations as sponsors of a religious cult , burial clubs , political groups, and guilds of craftsmen or traders. Such bodies commonly had the right to own property and make contracts, to receive gifts and legacies, to sue and be sued, and, in general, to perform legal acts through representatives. Private associations were granted designated privileges and liberties by
5069-629: The United Nations University engages in efforts to resolve the pressing global problems that are of concern to the United Nations, its peoples and member states. The European University Institute , a post-graduate university specialized in the social sciences, is officially an intergovernmental organization, set up by the member states of the European Union . Although each institution is organized differently, nearly all universities have
5206-700: The War of the Spanish Succession , which gave Great Britain an asiento to trade in the region for thirty years. In fact, the Spanish remained hostile and let only one ship a year enter. Unaware of the problems, investors in Britain, enticed by extravagant promises of profit from company promoters bought thousands of shares. By 1717, the South Sea Company was so wealthy (still having done no real business) that it assumed
5343-447: The early medieval period , most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries . Pope Gregory VII was crucial in promoting and regulating the concept of modern university, as his 1079 Papal Decree ordered
5480-501: The public debt of the British government. This accelerated the inflation of the share price further, as did the Bubble Act 1720 , which (possibly with the motive of protecting the South Sea Company from competition) prohibited the establishment of any companies without a royal charter. The share price rose so rapidly that people began buying shares merely in order to sell them at a higher price, which in turn led to higher share prices. This
5617-729: The sociology of information ; and human–computer interaction . University A university (from Latin universitas 'a whole') is an institution of higher (or tertiary ) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines . University is derived from the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The first universities in Europe were established by Catholic monks . The University of Bologna ( Università di Bologna ), Italy , which
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5754-640: The 17th century was rife with events that adversely affected university expansion. Many wars, and especially the Thirty Years' War , disrupted the university landscape throughout Europe at different times. War , plague , famine , regicide , and changes in religious power and structure often adversely affected the societies that provided support for universities. Internal strife within the universities themselves, such as student brawling and absentee professors, acted to destabilize these institutions as well. Universities were also reluctant to give up older curricula, and
5891-540: The 19th century, religion played a significant role in university curriculum; however, the role of religion in research universities decreased during that century. By the end of the 19th century, the German university model had spread around the world. Universities concentrated on science in the 19th and 20th centuries and became increasingly accessible to the masses. In the United States, the Johns Hopkins University
6028-456: The 19th century, the German and the French university models had arisen. The German, or Humboldtian model, was conceived by Wilhelm von Humboldt and based on Friedrich Schleiermacher 's liberal ideas pertaining to the importance of freedom , seminars , and laboratories in universities. The French university model involved strict discipline and control over every aspect of the university. Until
6165-643: The Board of Trade, Robert Lowe . This allowed investors to limit their liability in the event of business failure to the amount they invested in the company – shareholders were still liable directly to creditors , but just for the unpaid portion of their shares . (The principle that shareholders are liable to the corporation had been introduced in the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844). The 1855 Act allowed limited liability to companies of more than 25 members (shareholders). Insurance companies were excluded from
6302-683: The Dutch government, the Dutch East India Company defeated Portuguese forces and established itself in the Moluccan Islands in order to profit from the European demand for spices . Investors in the VOC were issued paper certificates as proof of share ownership, and were able to trade their shares on the original Amsterdam Stock Exchange . Shareholders were also explicitly granted limited liability in
6439-522: The Early Modern period, as the term is applied to a burgeoning number of institutions. In fact, the term "university" was not always used to designate a higher education institution. In Mediterranean countries , the term studium generale was still often used, while "Academy" was common in Northern European countries. The propagation of universities was not necessarily a steady progression, as
6576-500: The Education Services for Overseas Students Act (ESOS). In the United States there is no nationally standardized definition for the term university , although the term has traditionally been used to designate research institutions and was once reserved for doctorate-granting research institutions. Some states, such as Massachusetts , will only grant a school "university status" if it grants at least two doctoral degrees . In
6713-674: The English East India Company would come to symbolize the dazzlingly rich potential of the corporation, as well as new methods of business that could be both brutal and exploitative. On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted the company a 15-year monopoly on trade to and from the East Indies and Africa . By 1711, shareholders in the East India Company were earning a return on their investment of almost 150 per cent. Subsequent stock offerings demonstrated just how lucrative
6850-516: The Higher Learning: the Madrasah. Significantly, the institutional adjustments of the madrasahs affected both the structure and the content of these institutions. In terms of structure, the adjustments were twofold: the reorganization of the available original madaris and the creation of new institutions. This resulted in two different types of Islamic teaching institutions in al-Maghrib. The first type
6987-473: The Middle Ages, though other guilds stood in the way of developing commerce and therefore were eventually abolished, the scholars guild did not. According to historian Elliot Krause, "The university and scholars' guilds held onto their power over membership, training, and workplace because early capitalism was not interested in it." By the 18th century, universities published their own research journals and by
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#17328523814757124-469: The UK, such as fraud and corporate manslaughter . However, corporations are not considered living entities in the way that humans are. Legal scholars and others, such as Joel Bakan , have observed that a business corporation created as a "legal person" has a psychopathic personality because it is required to elevate its own interests above those of others even when this inflicts major risks and grave harms on
7261-569: The United Kingdom, the Privy Council is responsible for approving the use of the word university in the name of an institution, under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 . In India, a new designation deemed universities has been created for institutions of higher education that are not universities, but work at a very high standard in a specific area of study ("An Institution of Higher Education, other than universities, working at
7398-609: The United States offer students the opportunity to apply for financial scholarships to help pay for tuition based on academic achievement. There are several major exceptions on tuition fees. In many European countries, it is possible to study without tuition fees. Public universities in Nordic countries were entirely without tuition fees until around 2005. Denmark, Sweden and Finland then moved to put in place tuition fees for foreign students. Citizens of EU and EEA member states and citizens from Switzerland remain exempted from tuition fees, and
7535-621: The University Grants Committee) and Sir Samuel Curran , with the formation of the University of Strathclyde . The British also established universities worldwide, and higher education became available to the masses not only in Europe. In 1963, the Robbins Report on universities in the United Kingdom concluded that such institutions should have four main "objectives essential to any properly balanced system: instruction in skills;
7672-486: The University of Bologna. Among the southern universities, a further distinction has been noted between those of northern Italy, which followed the pattern of Bologna as a "self-regulating, independent corporation of scholars" and those of southern Italy and Iberia, which were "founded by royal and imperial charter to serve the needs of government." During the Early Modern period (approximately late 15th century to 1800),
7809-477: The act, though it was standard practice for insurance contracts to exclude action against individual members. Limited liability for insurance companies was allowed by the Companies Act 1862 . This prompted the English periodical The Economist to write in 1855 that "never, perhaps, was a change so vehemently and generally demanded, of which the importance was so much overrated." The major error of this judgment
7946-467: The advancement of science. In fact, more than 80% of the European scientists between 1450 and 1650 included in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography were university trained, of which approximately 45% held university posts. It was the case that the academic foundations remaining from the Middle Ages were stable, and they did provide for an environment that fostered considerable growth and development. There
8083-489: The amounts of public grants granted to promising foreign students were increased to offset some of the impact. The situation in Germany is similar; public universities usually do not charge tuition fees apart from a small administrative fee. For degrees of a postgraduate professional level sometimes tuition fees are levied. Private universities, however, almost always charge tuition fees. The Adjustments of Original Institutions of
8220-445: The books of Aristotle for logic, natural philosophy , and metaphysics ; while Hippocrates , Galen , and Avicenna were used for medicine. Outside of these commonalities, great differences separated north and south, primarily in subject matter. Italian universities focused on law and medicine, while the northern universities focused on the arts and theology. The quality of instruction in the different areas of study varied, depending on
8357-537: The city from many lands entering into a contract to gain this knowledge, eventually organising themselves into Nationes , divided between that of the Cismontanes and that of the Ultramontanes. The students "had all the power ... and dominated the masters". All over Europe, rulers and city governments began to create universities to satisfy a European thirst for knowledge, and the belief that society would benefit from
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#17328523814758494-591: The company had become. Its first stock offering in 1713–1716 raised £418,000, its second in 1717–1722 raised £1.6 million. A similar chartered company , the South Sea Company , was established in 1711 to trade in the Spanish South American colonies, but met with less success. The South Sea Company's monopoly rights were supposedly backed by the Treaty of Utrecht , signed in 1713 as a settlement following
8631-544: The company's royal charter. In England, the government created corporations under a royal charter or an Act of Parliament with the grant of a monopoly over a specified territory. The best-known example, established in 1600, was the East India Company of London . Queen Elizabeth I granted it the exclusive right to trade with all countries to the east of the Cape of Good Hope . Some corporations at this time would act on
8768-511: The confines of the university, the connection has been commonly perceived as having been severed by the changing nature of science during the Scientific Revolution . Historians such as Richard S. Westfall have argued that the overt traditionalism of universities inhibited attempts to re-conceptualize nature and knowledge and caused an indelible tension between universities and scientists. This resistance to changes in science may have been
8905-581: The continued reliance on the works of Aristotle defied contemporary advancements in science and the arts. This era was also affected by the rise of the nation-state . As universities increasingly came under state control, or formed under the auspices of the state, the faculty governance model (begun by the University of Paris) became more and more prominent. Although the older student-controlled universities still existed, they slowly started to move toward this structural organization. Control of universities still tended to be independent, although university leadership
9042-402: The corporate model for this reason (as a trust ). State governments began to adopt more permissive corporate laws from the early 19th century, although these were all restrictive in design, often with the intention of preventing corporations from gaining too much wealth and power. New Jersey was the first state to adopt an "enabling" corporate law, with the goal of attracting more business to
9179-483: The corporate status of the entity (for example, "Incorporated" or "Inc." in the United States) or the limited liability of its members (for example, "Limited", "Ltd.", or "LLC"). These terms vary by jurisdiction and language. In some jurisdictions, they are mandatory, and in others, such as California, they are not. Their use puts everybody on constructive notice that they are dealing with an entity whose liability
9316-408: The corporation is determined by the portion of shares in the company that they own. Thus, a person who owns a quarter of the shares of a joint-stock company owns a quarter of the company, is entitled to a quarter of the profit (or at least a quarter of the profit given to shareholders as dividends) and has a quarter of the votes capable of being cast at general meetings. In another kind of corporation,
9453-632: The corporation is through stock, and owners of stock are referred to as stockholders or shareholders . Corporations not allowed to issue stock are referred to as non-stock corporations ; i.e. those who are considered the owners of a non-stock corporation are persons (or other entities) who have obtained membership in the corporation and are referred to as a member of the corporation. Corporations chartered in regions where they are distinguished by whether they are allowed to be for-profit are referred to as for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, respectively. Shareholders do not typically actively manage
9590-408: The corporation to designate its principal address, as well as a registered agent (a person or company designated to receive legal service of process). It may also be required to designate an agent or other legal representatives of the corporation. Generally, a corporation files articles of incorporation with the government, laying out the general nature of the corporation, the amount of stock it
9727-707: The demand for higher education have sprung up. In Canada, college generally refers to a two-year, non-degree-granting institution, while university connotes a four-year, degree-granting institution. Universities may be sub-classified (as in the Macleans rankings ) into large research universities with many PhD-granting programs and medical schools (for example, McGill University ); "comprehensive" universities that have some PhDs but are not geared toward research (such as Waterloo ); and smaller, primarily undergraduate universities (such as St. Francis Xavier ). In Germany, universities are institutions of higher education which have
9864-509: The emperor. The concept of the corporation was revived in the Middle Ages with the recovery and annotation of Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis by the glossators and their successors the commentators in the 11th–14th centuries. Particularly important in this respect were the Italian jurists Bartolus de Saxoferrato and Baldus de Ubaldis , the latter of whom connected the corporation to
10001-545: The entire curriculum, there emerged a type of scholar that put science first and viewed it as a vocation in itself. The divergence between those focused on science and those still entrenched in the idea of a general scholar exacerbated the epistemological tensions that were already beginning to emerge. The epistemological tensions between scientists and universities were also heightened by the economic realities of research during this time, as individual scientists, associations and universities were vying for limited resources. There
10138-422: The equivalent of unissued capital, where it is not classified as an asset on the balance sheet (passive capital). Under the internal affairs doctrine , the law of the jurisdiction in which a corporation is incorporated will govern its internal activities—that is, conflicts between shareholders and managers such as the board of directors and corporate officers. If a corporation operates outside its home state, it
10275-454: The government's behalf, bringing in revenue from its exploits abroad. Subsequently, the company became increasingly integrated with English and later British military and colonial policy, just as most corporations were essentially dependent on the Royal Navy 's ability to control trade routes. Labeled by both contemporaries and historians as "the grandest society of merchants in the universe",
10412-478: The highest concentrations in the German Empire (34), Italian countries (26), France (25), and Spain (23) – this was close to a 500% increase over the number of universities toward the end of the Middle Ages. This number does not include the numerous universities that disappeared, or institutions that merged with other universities during this time. The identification of a university was not necessarily obvious during
10549-645: The history of companies was the 1897 decision of the House of Lords in Salomon v. Salomon & Co. where the House of Lords confirmed the separate legal personality of the company, and that the liabilities of the company were separate and distinct from those of its owners. In the United States , forming a corporation usually required an act of legislation until the late 19th century. Many private firms, such as Carnegie 's steel company and Rockefeller 's Standard Oil , avoided
10686-417: The intent of the degree holder after graduation – in the north the focus tended to be on acquiring teaching positions, while in the south students often went on to professional positions. The structure of northern universities tended to be modeled after the system of faculty governance developed at the University of Paris . Southern universities tended to be patterned after the student-controlled model begun at
10823-547: The interests of education. Today, this is claimed as the origin of "academic freedom". This is now a widely accepted concept in international research. On 18 September 1988, 430 university rectors signed the Magna Charta Universitatum , marking the 900th anniversary of Bologna's foundation. The number of universities signing the Magna Charta Universitatum continues to grow, drawing from all parts of
10960-643: The landmark 1856 Joint Stock Companies Act . This was subsequently consolidated with a number of other statutes in the Companies Act 1862, which remained in force for the rest of the century, up to and including the time of the decision in Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd . The legislation shortly gave way to a railway boom, and from then, the numbers of companies formed soared. In the later nineteenth century, depression took hold, and just as company numbers had boomed, many began to implode and fall into insolvency. Much strong academic, legislative and judicial opinion
11097-531: The later university at many places dates back to the 6th century. In Europe, young men proceeded to university when they had completed their study of the trivium – the preparatory arts of grammar , rhetoric and dialectic or logic –and the quadrivium : arithmetic , geometry , music , and astronomy . The earliest universities were developed under the aegis of the Latin Church by papal bull as studia generalia and perhaps from cathedral schools. It
11234-425: The legal document which established the corporation or which contains its current rules will determine the requirements for membership in the corporation. What these requirements are depends on the kind of corporation involved. In a worker cooperative , the members are people who work for the cooperative. In a credit union , the members are people who have accounts with the credit union. The day-to-day activities of
11371-520: The lives of any particular member, existing in perpetuity. The alleged oldest commercial corporation in the world, the Stora Kopparberg mining community in Falun , Sweden , obtained a charter from King Magnus Eriksson in 1347. In medieval times , traders would do business through common law constructs, such as partnerships . Whenever people acted together with a view to profit, the law deemed that
11508-695: The madrasas in Al-Andalus , the Emirate of Sicily , and the Middle East during the Crusades . Norman Daniel, however, views this argument as overstated. In 2013, Roy Lowe and Yoshihito Yasuhara claimed that the influences of scholarship from the Islamic world on the universities of Western Europe requires a reconsideration of the development of higher education, turning away from a concern with local institutional structures to
11645-417: The members of their boards. In Canada, this possibility is taken to its logical extreme: many smaller Canadian corporations have no names at all, merely numbers based on a registration number (for example, "12345678 Ontario Limited"), which is assigned by the provincial or territorial government where the corporation incorporates. In most countries, corporate names include a term or an abbreviation that denotes
11782-527: The metaphor of the body politic to describe the state . Early entities which carried on business and were the subjects of legal rights included the collegium of ancient Rome and the sreni of the Maurya Empire in ancient India. In medieval Europe, churches became incorporated, as did local governments, such as the City of London Corporation . The point was that the incorporation would survive longer than
11919-467: The most part been displaced and the humanities had become a fixture, and a new openness was beginning to take hold in the construction and dissemination of knowledge that were to become imperative for the formation of the modern state. Modern universities constitute a guild or quasi-guild system. This facet of the university system did not change due to its peripheral standing in an industrialized economy; as commerce developed between towns in Europe during
12056-798: The non-denominational universities which had been set up in Ireland in 1850. In the years leading up to the Easter Rising , and in no small part a result of the Gaelic Romantic revivalists, the NUI collected a large amount of information on the Irish language and Irish culture . Reforms in Argentina were the result of the University Revolution of 1918 and its posterior reforms by incorporating values that sought for
12193-465: The oldest university is based on its unique characteristics, such as its autonomy and its ability to grant degrees. The conventional date for the start of teaching at Bologna of 1088, or 1087 according to some, records when Irnerius commenced teaching Emperor Justinian's 6th-century codification of Roman law, the Corpus Iuris Civilis , recently discovered at Pisa. Lay students arrived in
12330-885: The opportunities and challenges of information management , with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The field is concerned broadly with questions of design and preservation across information spaces, from digital and virtual spaces like online communities, the World Wide Web, and databases to physical spaces such as libraries, museums, archives, and other repositories. Information school degree programs include course offerings in areas such as data science , information architecture , design , economics , policy , retrieval , security , and telecommunications ; knowledge management , user experience design , and usability ; conservation and preservation , including digital preservation ; librarianship and library administration ;
12467-566: The power to confer bachelor, master and PhD degrees. They are explicitly recognised as such by law and cannot be founded without government approval. The term Universität (i.e. the German term for university) is protected by law and any use without official approval is a criminal offense. Most of them are public institutions, though a few private universities exist. Such universities are always research universities. Apart from these universities, Germany has other institutions of higher education (Hochschule, Fachhochschule ). Fachhochschule means
12604-434: The primary mission of lecturers, and the expectation of students. The university culture developed differently in northern Europe than it did in the south, although the northern (primarily Germany, France and Great Britain ) and southern universities (primarily Italy) did have many elements in common. Latin was the language of the university, used for all texts, lectures, disputations and examinations. Professors lectured on
12741-399: The process and practice of attempting to reconcile the thoughts of Greek antiquity, and especially ideas related to understanding the natural world, with those of the church. The efforts of this " scholasticism " were focused on applying Aristotelian logic and thoughts about natural processes to biblical passages and attempting to prove the viability of those passages through reason. This became
12878-589: The promotion of the general powers of the mind so as to produce not mere specialists but rather cultivated men and women; to maintain research in balance with teaching, since teaching should not be separated from the advancement of learning and the search for truth; and to transmit a common culture and common standards of citizenship." In the early 21st century, concerns were raised over the increasing managerialisation and standardisation of universities worldwide. Neo-liberal management models have in this sense been critiqued for creating "corporate universities (where) power
13015-411: The public or on other third-parties. Such critics note that the legal mandate of the corporation to focus exclusively on corporate profits and self-interest often victimizes employees, customers, the public at large, and/or the natural resources . The political theorist David Runciman notes that corporate personhood forms a fundamental part of the modern history of the idea of the state , and believes
13152-551: The qualifications of their members. In modern usage, the word has come to mean "an institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees". The earlier emphasis on its corporate organization is no longer the primary feature by which a modern university is recognized. The original Latin word referred to degree-awarding institutions of learning in Western and Central Europe , where this form of legal organisation
13289-491: The regulated establishment of cathedral schools that transformed themselves into the first European universities. The first universities in Europe with a form of corporate/guild structure were the University of Bologna ( c. 1180–1190 ), the University of Paris ( c. 1208–1210 , later associated with the Sorbonne ), and the University of Oxford ( c. 1200–1214 ). The University of Bologna began as
13426-429: The resources available through private benefactors. By the end of the early modern period, the structure and orientation of higher education had changed in ways that are eminently recognizable for the modern context. Aristotle was no longer a force providing the epistemological and methodological focus for universities and a more mechanistic orientation was emerging. The hierarchical place of theological knowledge had for
13563-407: The same names, a corporate name is a unique identifier only when combined with the name of the state of incorporation". This explains why lawyers in legal papers often expressly refer to a corporation's state of incorporation after the first mention of its name. Some jurisdictions do not allow the use of the word " company " alone to denote corporate status, since the word " company " may refer to
13700-538: The scholarly expertise generated from these institutions. Princes and leaders of city governments perceived the potential benefits of having a scholarly expertise developed with the ability to address difficult problems and achieve desired ends. The emergence of humanism was essential to this understanding of the possible utility of universities as well as the revival of interest in knowledge gained from ancient Greek texts. The recovery of Aristotle 's works – more than 3000 pages of it would eventually be translated – fuelled
13837-441: The scientific changes through providing a stable environment for instruction and material resources. Regardless of the way the tension between universities, individual scientists, and the scientific revolution itself is perceived, there was a discernible impact on the way that university education was constructed. Aristotelian epistemology provided a coherent framework not simply for knowledge and knowledge construction, but also for
13974-431: The selling of publicly owned (or 'nationalised') services and enterprises to corporations. Deregulation (reducing the regulation of corporate activity) often accompanied privatization as part of a laissez-faire policy. A corporation is, at least in theory, owned and controlled by its members. In a joint-stock company the members are known as shareholders, and each of their shares in the ownership, control, and profits of
14111-470: The source of their finances. The funding and organization of universities varies widely between different countries around the world. In some countries universities are predominantly funded by the state, while in others funding may come from donors or from fees which students attending the university must pay. In some countries the vast majority of students attend university in their local town, while in other countries universities attract students from all over
14248-496: The state university system in 1947. Madrasa , in modern usage, the name of an institution of learning where the Islamic sciences are taught, i.e. a college for higher studies, as opposed to an elementary school of traditional type ( kuttab ); in medieval usage, essentially a college of law in which the other Islamic sciences, including literary and philosophical ones, were ancillary subjects only. Corporation A corporation
14385-500: The state, and they can themselves be responsible for human rights violations. Corporations can be "dissolved" either by statutory operation, the order of the court, or voluntary action on the part of shareholders. Insolvency may result in a form of corporate failure, when creditors force the liquidation and dissolution of the corporation under court order, but it most often results in a restructuring of corporate holdings. Corporations can even be convicted of special criminal offenses in
14522-581: The state, in 1896. In 1899, Delaware followed New Jersey's lead with the enactment of an enabling corporate statute, but Delaware only became the leading corporate state after the enabling provisions of the 1896 New Jersey corporate law were repealed in 1913. The end of the 19th century saw the emergence of holding companies and corporate mergers creating larger corporations with dispersed shareholders. Countries began enacting antitrust laws to prevent anti-competitive practices and corporations were granted more legal rights and protections. The 20th century saw
14659-564: The system. They also approve new programs of instruction and cancel or make changes in existing programs. In addition, they plan for the further coordinated growth and development of the various institutions of higher education in the state or country. However, many public universities in the world have a considerable degree of financial, research and pedagogical autonomy. Private universities are privately funded and generally have broader independence from state policies. However, they may have less independence from business corporations depending on
14796-502: The texts used at the institution came from Muslim Spain...Al Quaraouiyine began its life as a small mosque constructed in 859 C.E. by means of an endowment bequeathed by a wealthy woman of much piety, Fatima bint Muhammed al-Fahri. Higher education has always been an integral part of Morocco, going back to the ninth century when the Karaouine Mosque was established. The madrasa , known today as Al Qayrawaniyan University, became part of
14933-404: The training of scholars within the higher education setting. The creation of new scientific constructs during the scientific revolution, and the epistemological challenges that were inherent within this creation, initiated the idea of both the autonomy of science and the hierarchy of the disciplines. Instead of entering higher education to become a "general scholar" immersed in becoming proficient in
15070-400: The translation and propagation of ancient texts, but also their adaptation and expansion. For instance, Vesalius was imperative for advocating the use of Galen, but he also invigorated this text with experimentation, disagreements and further research. The propagation of these texts, especially within the universities, was greatly aided by the emergence of the printing press and the beginning of
15207-462: The universities of Europe would see a tremendous amount of growth, productivity and innovative research. At the end of the Middle Ages, about 400 years after the first European university was founded, there were 29 universities spread throughout Europe. In the 15th century, 28 new ones were created, with another 18 added between 1500 and 1625. This pace continued until by the end of the 18th century there were approximately 143 universities in Europe, with
15344-451: The university were affected by the humanist approaches to learning and their linguistic expertise in relation to ancient texts, as well as the ideology that advocated the ultimate importance of those texts. Professors of medicine such as Niccolò Leoniceno , Thomas Linacre and William Cop were often trained in and taught from a humanist perspective as well as translated important ancient medical texts. The critical mindset imparted by humanism
15481-408: The university's focus. This led scholars to travel north or south based on their interests and means. The universities also awarded different types of degrees. English, French and German universities usually awarded bachelor's degrees, with the exception of degrees in theology, for which the doctorate was more common. Italian universities awarded primarily doctorates. The distinction can be attributed to
15618-430: The university; to increase the humanist presence in professorships and chairs, syllabi and textbooks so that published works would demonstrate the humanistic ideal of science and scholarship. Although the initial focus of the humanist scholars in the university was the discovery, exposition and insertion of ancient texts and languages into the university, and the ideas of those texts into society generally, their influence
15755-402: The use of the vernacular, which allowed for the printing of relatively large texts at reasonable prices. Examining the influence of humanism on scholars in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and physics may suggest that humanism and universities were a strong impetus for the scientific revolution. Although the connection between humanism and the scientific discovery may very well have begun within
15892-506: The works of Erasmus as a highly influential guide for connecting theology back to original texts, which was important for the reform at Protestant universities. Galileo Galilei , who taught at the Universities of Pisa and Padua , and Martin Luther , who taught at the University of Wittenberg (as did Melanchthon), also had humanist training. The task of the humanists was to slowly permeate
16029-513: The world, and may provide university accommodation for their students. The definition of a university varies widely, even within some countries. Where there is clarification, it is usually set by a government agency. For example: In Australia, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia's independent national regulator of the higher education sector. Students rights within university are also protected by
16166-486: The world. An early institution, often called a university, is the Harran University , founded in the late 8th century . Scholars occasionally call the University of al-Qarawiyyin (name given in 1963), founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 CE, a university, although Jacques Verger [ fr ] writes that this is done out of scholarly convenience. Several scholars consider that al-Qarawiyyin
16303-574: Was a collegiate or tutorial model based on the system at University of Oxford where teaching and organization was decentralized and knowledge was more of a generalist nature. There were also universities that combined these models, using the collegiate model but having a centralized organization. Early Modern universities initially continued the curriculum and research of the Middle Ages: natural philosophy , logic, medicine, theology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, law, grammar and rhetoric . Aristotle
16440-452: Was also common usage in the UK in the 19th century. In many countries, students are required to pay tuition fees. Many students look to get 'student grants' to cover the cost of university. In 2016, the average outstanding student loan balance per borrower in the United States was US$ 30,000. In many U.S. states, costs are anticipated to rise for students as a result of decreased state funding given to public universities. Many universities in
16577-449: Was also competition from the formation of new colleges funded by private benefactors and designed to provide free education to the public, or established by local governments to provide a knowledge-hungry populace with an alternative to traditional universities. Even when universities supported new scientific endeavors, and the university provided foundational training and authority for the research and conclusions, they could not compete with
16714-617: Was considerable reluctance on the part of universities to relinquish the symmetry and comprehensiveness provided by the Aristotelian system, which was effective as a coherent system for understanding and interpreting the world. However, university professors still have some autonomy, at least in the sciences, to choose epistemological foundations and methods. For instance, Melanchthon and his disciples at University of Wittenberg were instrumental for integrating Copernican mathematical constructs into astronomical debate and instruction. Another example
16851-464: Was derived from the fusion of old madaris with new universities. For example, Morocco transformed Al-Qarawiyin (859 A.D.) into a university under the supervision of the ministry of education in 1963. The Quaraouiyine Mosque, founded in 859, is the most famous mosque of Morocco and attracted continuous investment by Muslim rulers. As for the nature of its curriculum, it was typical of other major madrasahs such as al-Azhar and Al Quaraouiyine, though many of
16988-413: Was founded and run as a madrasa until after World War II . They date the transformation of the madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963. In the wake of these reforms, al-Qarawiyyin was officially renamed "University of Al Quaraouiyine" two years later. Some scholars, including George Makdisi, have argued that early medieval universities were influenced by
17125-573: Was founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of: The original Latin word universitas refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation , etc". As urban town life and medieval guilds developed, specialized associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights (these rights were usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes , prelates , or their towns ) became denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined
17262-472: Was imperative for changes in universities and scholarship. For instance, Andreas Vesalius was educated in a humanist fashion before producing a translation of Galen, whose ideas he verified through his own dissections. In law, Andreas Alciatus infused the Corpus Juris with a humanist perspective, while Jacques Cujas humanist writings were paramount to his reputation as a jurist. Philipp Melanchthon cited
17399-428: Was increasingly appointed by the state. Although the structural model provided by the University of Paris, where student members are controlled by faculty "masters", provided a standard for universities, the application of this model took at least three different forms. There were universities that had a system of faculties whose teaching addressed a very specific curriculum; this model tended to train specialists. There
17536-550: Was limited liability. Limited liability separates control of a company from ownership and means that a passive shareholder in a corporation will not be personally liable either for contractually agreed obligations of the corporation, or for torts (involuntary harms) committed by the corporation against a third party (acts done by the controllers of the corporation). Where local law distinguishes corporations by their ability to issue stock , corporations allowed to do so are referred to as stock corporations ; one type of investment in
17673-478: Was opposed to the notion that businessmen could escape accountability for their role in the failing businesses. In 1892, Germany introduced the Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung with a separate legal personality and limited liability even if all the shares of the company were held by only one person. This inspired other countries to introduce corporations of this kind. The last significant development in
17810-454: Was possible only through a royal charter or a private act and was limited, owing to Parliament's jealous protection of the privileges and advantages thereby granted. As a result, many businesses came to be operated as unincorporated associations with possibly thousands of members. Any consequent litigation had to be carried out in the joint names of all the members and was almost impossibly cumbersome. Though Parliament would sometimes grant
17947-477: Was prevalent and from where the institution spread around the world. An important idea in the definition of a university is the notion of academic freedom . The first documentary evidence of this comes from early in the life of the University of Bologna , which adopted an academic charter, the Constitutio Habita , in 1155 or 1158, which guaranteed the right of a traveling scholar to unhindered passage in
18084-527: Was prevalent throughout the curriculum, while medicine also depended on Galen and Arabic scholarship. The importance of humanism for changing this state-of-affairs cannot be underestimated. Once humanist professors joined the university faculty, they began to transform the study of grammar and rhetoric through the studia humanitatis . Humanist professors focused on the ability of students to write and speak with distinction, to translate and interpret classical texts, and to live honorable lives. Other scholars within
18221-525: Was recognised by the same magazine more than 70 years later, when it claimed that, "[t]he economic historian of the future... may be inclined to assign to the nameless inventor of the principle of limited liability, as applied to trade corporations, a place of honour with Watt and Stephenson , and other pioneers of the Industrial Revolution. " These two features – a simple registration procedure and limited liability – were subsequently codified into
18358-417: Was the first speculative bubble the country had seen, but by the end of 1720, the bubble had "burst", and the share price sank from £1,000 to under £100. As bankruptcies and recriminations ricocheted through government and high society, the mood against corporations and errant directors was bitter. In the late 18th century, Stewart Kyd , the author of the first treatise on corporate law in English, defined
18495-446: Was the first to adopt the (German) research university model and pioneered the adoption of that model by most American universities. When Johns Hopkins was founded in 1876, "nearly the entire faculty had studied in Germany." In Britain, the move from Industrial Revolution to modernity saw the arrival of new civic universities with an emphasis on science and engineering , a movement initiated in 1960 by Sir Keith Murray (chairman of
18632-553: Was the short-lived but fairly rapid adoption of Cartesian epistemology and methodology in European universities, and the debates surrounding that adoption, which led to more mechanistic approaches to scientific problems as well as demonstrated an openness to change. There are many examples which belie the commonly perceived intransigence of universities. Although universities may have been slow to accept new sciences and methodologies as they emerged, when they did accept new ideas it helped to convey legitimacy and respectability, and supported
18769-436: Was ultimately quite progressive. The emergence of classical texts brought new ideas and led to a more creative university climate (as the notable list of scholars above attests to). A focus on knowledge coming from self, from the human, has a direct implication for new forms of scholarship and instruction, and was the foundation for what is commonly known as the humanities. This disposition toward knowledge manifested in not simply
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