When a pronounced taste for science leads researchers to self-select themselves in academia, higher education systems must be able to protect it. By relying on the economic theory of higher education, the international mobility and the sociology of science literature, we compare the working condition in the four major European higher education…

The article analyses the effect of gender in professors' career advancement using data on the entire population of professors in the Italian university system, data on the National Scientific Qualification (NSQ) accreditation scheme, and data on scientific productivity (SciVal) for bibliometric scientific sectors. As NSQ accreditation is a…

In universities, being mobile and international has become ever more important for academics' career prospects. This article explores junior and other insecurely employed researchers' experiences of geographical mobility in relation to their personal life, career, employability and value as scholars. The aim is to discover the gendered strategies…

Professionalization in adult education is necessary, and several initiatives are underway to improve the professional situation as well as the competences and skills of adult educators. The relevance and importance of adult education is often stated. Large-scale assessments such as the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult…

Research on scholars' use of social media suggests that these sites are increasingly being used to enhance scholarly communication by strengthening relationships, facilitating collaboration among peers, publishing and sharing research products, and discussing research topics in open and public formats. However, very few studies have investigated…

The paper examines the determinants of scientific productivity (number of articles and journals' impact factor) for a panel of about 3600 French and Italian academic physicists active in 2004-05. Endogeneity problems concerning promotion and productivity are addressed by specifying a generalized Tobit model, in which a selection probit equation…

This study focuses on aspects of the Changing Academic Profession survey of 2007-08 that describe the place of faculty in their institutions. The authors examine the following aspects of institutional life: (1) the faculty role in institutional governance; (2) who evaluates their teaching and research; (3) the locus of their loyalties as between…

Describes structural changes in the Italian system of higher education that have forced a number of academic staff members to adjust to changes in their working conditions. These changes are in response to unmet social demands for higher education. Examines some alternatives related to their professional condition that Italian professors should…

Italy's Universities Act of 1981, designed to establish new hiring and working conditions for faculty, also initiates reform of university organization and teaching. Uniformity of faculty rank and terms of service, curtailment of anarchic growth, experimentation with new organizational and governance structures, and innovations in scientific…

The way in which changes in overall university funding can affect systems for paying staff, and in turn affect faculty career patterns and mobility, is examined. Data on pay, responsibilities, and qualifications of different faculty ranks in 8 countries (Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, United States) are compared. (MSE)