The invasion of managerialism in universities has changed the prerequisites for academic work. Decision making and control over academic work based on the expertise of academics have declined; in turn, managers have gained more decision-making power. Our study's target group comprises academics representing educational sciences in two Finnish…

Research has shown that a tenure track incorporates both commitment and control aspects: the career system offers junior-level academics long-term job prospects, but subjects them to performance control. This study complements existing research on tenure track positions, which has mostly been conducted in northern America. Universities in Finland…

Drawing upon the notion of acceleration of time in late capitalism, the article addresses the different forms and driving forces of the speeding up of the tempo and rhythm in research work in academia, and the impact of the temporal acceleration on how academics perceive their work and its connection to the private sphere of life. Based on 40…

This article analyses performance dialogs (PDs) in the university context in Finland. These are held annually between employers and employees. The study was carried out to assess the efficacy of this technique. Research methods included an electronic questionnaire over two different years delivered to the whole staff of the Department of Teacher…

This article investigates what Finnish academics on short fixed-term contracts consider to be the effects of having children on work and careers. The study is framed by the context of the current state of the university sector, its neoliberal and entrepreneurial tendencies and its claims to meritocracy. Informants express relative happiness with…