The field of research (FoR) that an academic participates in is both a manifestation of, and a contributor to the development of their identity. When an academic changes that FoR the question then arises as to how they reconcile this change with their identity. This paper uses the identity-trajectory framework to analyse the discourse of 19…

Assessment as a field of investigation has been influenced by a limited number of perspectives. These have focused assessment research in particular ways that have emphasised measurement, or student learning or institutional policies. The aim of this paper is to view the phenomenon of assessment from a practice perspective drawing upon ideas from…

Among recent developments in the field of higher education is the emergence of New Public Management and of what has been labelled as 'risk university.' The aim of this paper is to redress the lack of discussion over the role that risk-taking plays in academic practice by exploring what faculty understand academic risk taking to be and how they…

The changing nature of doctoral education over the past three decades has taken on a triadic relationship constructed around expectations-process-purposes and has generated much commentary and critique. The intention of this paper is to focus on the notion of "purpose" from the perspective of doctoral supervisors which we have collated…

In the higher education literature, there seems to be a growing consensus that contemporary higher education institutions (HEIs) are trapped in conformity. From a new institutional perspective, higher education scholars argue that HEIs tend to comply with widely endorsed institutionalized values (e.g. academic excellence) and this widespread…

As university public funding diminishes so the need for private funding increases commensurately. We investigate how a purposive sample of 16 professional university fundraisers in Canada successfully secured large (>$5m CAD) transformation donations from high-net-worth Canadian philanthropists. Using an inductive process, we articulate three…

Chinese universities are being continually subjected to new managerial practices and technologies that have fundamental consequences on the university faculty's academic life. Within a predominantly communitarian theoretical framework of academic identity, this qualitative case study draws upon interviews with 25 academics in Mainland China to…

A key attribute of reflective practice is its capacity for on-going purposeful learning in relation to changing and demanding professional work. The teaching of reflective learning techniques in management education is intended to promote deep-level learning and the application of critical thinking to oneself, personal experience and the work…

Doctoral supervision has attracted significant attention from higher education bodies over the last 15 years, stimulated by shifts in educational and socio-political contexts including what supports the knowledge economy and the stakeholdership of students. This paper conceptualises work worlds through Heideggerian discourse and presents…

Although talent management is widely discussed in large for-profit organisations and multinationals, it has been little discussed in relation to higher education. This paper examines one aspect of talent management, recruitment, in academia in accounting, in two different countries, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. It frames the study around…

The paper analyses the impact of a higher education (HE) funding mechanism, the "High Grades" policy, introduced as part of a student number control regime in England that was introduced in 2012/13 and withdrawn after only two years. This marked the end of an experiment in market making based on quality and price within a fixed student…

The post-doctoral phase is characterized by a high level of competition and even a risk of unemployment due to the increasing number of PhDs. This study explores the function of social support or lack of it in post PhD researchers' engaging and disengaging experiences from the beginning of their careers as researchers. The data were collected from…

A significant feature of contemporary doctoral education is the continuing trend for research and research education to migrate beyond discipline-based institutional teaching and research structures. The result is a more diverse array of settings and arrangements for doctoral education linked to an increasingly global research enterprise.…

The changes in government funding alongside external pressures of increased international and national competition have meant that higher education institutions need to excel in a turbulent environment. The leadership, governance and management (LGM) of academic departments are key concerns. This study investigates the correlation between…

The author uses character to examine a group of mid-level academics' accounts of work and career in a British research-intensive university. Highlighting how people draw on good character to justify their approach to work under the pressures of new performance demands, she argues that good character is a central feature of contemporary academic…