As the higher education landscape has shifted and calls for change and improvements have grown louder, researchers have turned to empirical investigations of what makes change possible in higher education. Recent studies on the impact of informal interactions for promoting change have given impetus to social network analysis as an approach to…

The academic department is a key administrative unit in universities, and so heading, or chairing, a department is a key role. However, it is also known to be a challenging role and academics are often reluctant assume this position. Despite its importance, the head's role has not received sufficient academic attention and needs further…

While university change initiatives have become more common in the face of changing learner needs and higher education funding, many fail to produce desired effects, even when guided by organizational change models. The purpose of this study was to document a successful change process in an engineering department at a Hispanic-serving institution…

This study sought to advance our understanding of the nexus between policy and ambient discrimination experiences of faculty and the intention to stay among graduate students. To accomplish this, we built on theory and research in higher education by leveraging models from the strategic human resource management (HRM) literature. In doing so, we…

This paper analyses the effects of research assessment on the overall research practices of academics. Case study research was conducted in departments from two contrasting disciplines -- the natural sciences and the humanities -- in one research intensive Danish university. The case studies examined academics' and administrators' experiences of a…

This paper is a response to Cotton, Miller and Kneale's 2017 paper on the current state of higher education research within UK universities. It seeks to contribute to the debate surrounding the inclusion of pedagogic research (PedR) via SoTL in the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the context of researchers who reside within a…

Coauthorship has intensified as a mode of production across the twentieth century and into the twenty-first in a large number of fields. Yet sole authorship remains a publishing mode in some fields. Publishing is not only an individual behavior but is also nestled in organizations. To that end, incentives to sole -- or co-author work may vary…

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…

This study provides an insight into the collegiality of Australian accounting academics and the association of collegiality with their work-related attitudes and academic performance. Data were collected by a survey questionnaire from a random sample of 267 accounting academics within Australian universities. The results suggest a moderate level…

This mixed-methods study explored how early-career academics (ECA) at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) acquire pedagogical knowledge, develop their teaching experience as well as examine their expectations regarding the teaching profession. A questionnaire, composed mostly of closed questions and one open-ended question, was applied to 71…

The activities of professorial department heads and the expectations surrounding their activities in British universities are examined, based on staff interviews. Variations in the way department heads adhere to or divert from departmental policy are discussed. (LBH)

The writings of several philosophers are discussed concerning the issue of defining philosophy. The philosopher aims at the world, at knowledge and understanding rather than at self-expression. (JMF)

Discusses why the concept of organizational culture in higher education institutions has failed to reflect the dual position of academics in their disciplinary and institutional contexts, the former of which is generally the determining factor in most academics' conception of their identities. (EV)

The article examines the ways in which rationalities of risk currently work to produce the academic as a self-managing worker within the 'post-welfare' university as a risk-conscious organization. It explores how risk minimization as audit (individual, departmental, organizational), engages all individuals within the university in doing particular…

In order to ascertain current assessment practices at final degree level in British university geography departments, 33 departments were surveyed. A model was then developed that conveys the value of using a range of examination techniques to suit particular teaching objectives and experiences. (LBH)