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Performance management systems are intended to positively influence employee behaviour but do they also motivate significant gaming? This concern is increasingly noted in the literature yet research into gaming and how it arises has been very limited. Using data collected from 65 semi-structured interviews with academics working in 13 research intensive business schools/schools of management in the United Kingdom, this article demonstrates how performance management systems can encourage employees to engage in a range of behaviours termed gaming in order to navigate performance management systems. It categorises gaming behaviours into five types: gratuitous proliferation, hoarding performance, collusive alliances, playing safe and cooking the books. The article then examines the distinctive features of each type and illustrates how it arises as a response to performance management systems. Given the widespread use of performance management systems and the close similarities in the way they are implemented in different public and private sector organisations, the derived categories are relevant to contexts beyond the university setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK Government's Industrial Strategy White Paper, published in November 2017, focuses on several key technologies of the future, in order to promote innovation and future economic performance. Universities play a key role in the delivery of the strategy, marking the culmination of nearly two decades of policy reviews that have continually promoted 'third stream' activities of commercial engagement with industry. Given the spatial focus of the strategy, this paper seeks to assess the regional distribution of competitive public research funding within the strategy's priority sectors. The paper contributes to debates on the effectiveness and spatial implications of the Industrial Strategy through arguing that while the funding landscape for research in the priority sectors is spatially uneven across the UK, this could provide an opportunity for a place-based strategy to be implemented which builds on the strengths of each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article analyses the papers presented at the 2011 BELMAS Conference in order to understand the sorts of works it contained in terms of topics addressed and types of papers, as well as authorship patterns of the presenters. Based on an analysis of 57 works presented at the Conference, it was found that the typical paper was authored by a single individual, who might originate from countries other than the UK. Additionally, the presenter is usually a university member who presents empirical and conceptual works mostly in the area of policy/reforms and headship (leadership) but not solely. Compared to the 2007 BELMAS Conference, some increase in the works authored by practitioners from schools and a variety of educational agencies was observed. A major shift between the conferences is evident in respect to the topics discussed by the presenters. Some suggestions for BELMAS end this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Practitioner research, as one example of research supported by universities, has developed in unexpected ways, some of them unhelpful and has not always generated the benefits predicted. This paper argues that practitioner research has become shaped more by the needs of universities than by the schools and teachers it was hoped it would serve. The paper goes on to explore the idea that the promise of practitioner research has been so beguiling that it has commandeered more than a wise share of attention in universities and that this has been at the expense of exploring some other avenues of engagement with schools. The paper notes that the evolution of practitioner inquiry has taken place at a time when regimes of accountability driven by central government have been visible globally and when universities and schools each had significant pressures to fulfil policy imperatives. The pressure towards performance has in England drawn the attention of universities and schools away from, rather than towards, each other: schools to revised curricula and performance, universities to research and funding. Practitioner research became developed as a skeleton for higher degrees and in that arena universities came to have a role in promoting and at the same time inhibiting and possibly damaging its development. Hopes that practitioner research would come to contribute to mainstream research were not fulfilled and both educational and more especially practitioner research remain problematic in the wider university research agenda. One response is to renew efforts to improve existing approaches and examples of this are now widespread. However, the paper observes that, at present universities’ support for schools seems to reflect only a small part of their much wider expertise and argues that education departments in universities might think much more radically about the range of expertise that they can offer schools, a more imaginative exploration. The paper continues by noting that the challenge for university departments of education of working together equally with schools and teachers is easy to aspire to, but not to fulfil, and this impacts on working with the authentic concerns of schools and on sharing expertise. Further opportunities are available: beyond education departments: for example, other university departments have expertise that education departments might link with which has hitherto remained unexplored. Additional areas which remain under-researched are the processes of incorporating educational change and in making judgments about educational initiatives. Readers are reminded that the accidental barriers produced by the categories of research, teaching and administration are accountancy categories and may demand creative and determined responses. The paper concludes that there is too much to lose by not exploring these or other wider possibilities and much to gain by doing so including opportunities in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article maps and compares four universities' policies and procedures for addressing faculty and staff sexual misconduct in higher education in the UK and US. While universities have engaged in significant work to grapple with student-student sexual misconduct, attention to misconduct perpetrated, and experienced, by higher education employees is relatively nascent. In this paper, we explore the maze of institutional processes and actors that victimsurvivors of FASSM might encounter. We describe what is known about prevalence of FASSM in the US and UK and offer an overview of the policy landscape in both settings. Inspired by Patricia Yancey Martin, we analyze publicly available policy documents on FASSM from two US and two UK universities and map out visually the range of investigative, reporting, and sanctioning processes. We introduce an analytic distinction between an actor and a practitioner within the FASSM context, whereby actors are those tasked with administrative duties in handling sexual misconduct reports, while practitioners are those with specialized knowledge and training that enables them to prioritize victim-survivor needs. These illustrative diagrams suggest that while university employees are tasked to act on reports and disclosures of sexual misconduct, it is difficult to identify specialist practitioners with expertise to support victim-survivors of FASSM. Ultimately, this work provides a deeper understanding of what practice looks like in relation to higher education FASSM, and we outline implications for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies have considered the evaluation of efficiency in higher education institutions. In this paper, we focus on the issue of revenue efficiency, in particular ascertaining the extent to which, given output prices, producers choose the revenue maximising vector of outputs. We then relax the price taking assumption to consider the case in which the market for some outputs is characterised by monopolistic competition. We evaluate efficiencies for English institutions of higher education for the academic year 2012-13 and find considerable variation across institutions in revenue efficiency. The relaxation of the price-taking assumption leads to relatively small changes, in either direction, to the estimated revenue efficiency scores. A number of issues surrounding the modelling process are raised and discussed, including the determination of the demand function for each type of output and the selection of inputs and outputs to be used in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information related to the January 2006 issue of the journal "Organization." According to the authors, this issue marks a new stage in the development of the Journal. Mike Reed is retiring from the editorial group and the main editorial and administrative functions of the Journal will now take place at the University of Warwick in Great Britain. The broader issue of how the Journal is governed is raised by these changes. This journal is not associated with any professional organization unlike many journals.

Introduction: Occupational therapists require research and evaluation skills to deliver evidence-based care, making research education integral to their training. We aimed to develop a student and staff-informed strategy to further embed research into the occupational therapy programmes and enhance the research culture at a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution. Method: We used group concept mapping to gather ideas from students and staff on how to embed research and improve research culture within the occupational therapy programmes at a United Kingdom Higher Education Institution. Participants generated, sorted and rated ideas for importance and success. We analysed the data to create a concept map and identified rating values for the themed clusters and their ideas. Results: The concept map contained four themed clusters of ideas: Wider research community, Integration of research into the core programme, Advanced research support and capacity building and Research awareness. Successes and improvement targets were identified within each cluster. Conclusion: Group concept mapping provided a structured and comprehensive method to develop a strategy for embedding research and fostering a research culture in occupational therapy programmes at a higher education institution. The four-themed concept map and identified priority targets serve as a foundation for implementing the strategy and improving research integration in occupational therapy education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait with two higher-order dimensions; perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns. The purpose of the present study was to explore and evaluate the two-factor model for the first time using three instruments developed to measure perfectionism in sport. In doing so, we (i) assessed the fit of two-factor models when including and excluding various contentious subscales (other-oriented perfectionism, parental pressure, coach pressure, organisation, and negative reactions to imperfection) and (ii) compared two-factor models to alternative one-factor (or unidimensional) models. Participants were recruited from community and university sports clubs in the UK (N = 527; M age = 18.07 years, SD = 0.49) and completed the Sport-Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2, the Multidimensional Inventory of Perfectionism in Sport, and the Performance Perfectionism Scale-Sport. Support was found for the two-factor model, with superior fit displayed each time the aforementioned subscales were excluded and, in all cases, when compared to a unidimensional model. The findings suggest that the two-factor model is an adequate representation of the underlying structure of instruments designed to measure perfectionism in sport with better fit and conceptual clarity offered by more parsimonious models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that postgraduate education forms an important, but hitherto neglected, element in the distinctive institutional landscape of the City of London. In particular, and drawing on research into early-career financial and legal elites in the City, we show how postgraduate education tailored to the demands of employers within London plays an important role in indoctrinating early-career elites into situated, Cityspecific, working practices and, in so doing, helps to sustain the City's cultures and norms of financial practice. Specifying the role of postgraduate education in reproducing these situated City practices is significant because, although geographical variegation in working practices between international financial centres has been widely reported, less attention has been paid to how such institutionally embedded differences are created and sustained. By identifying education as one mechanism of creation and sustenance, our analysis enhances understanding of how the institutional landscapes that underlie financial centres might be maintained or, when necessary, challenged; challenge being significant in relation to attempts to reform practices and cultures in international financial centres in the wake of the 2007-08 crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the operation of power and its consequences arising from the growth of new ethical bureaucracies in universities. We use the UK as a case study to illustrate more general points about the globalised nature and impact of such bureaucratisation. Our focus is on the social sciences as this is where, we argue, the impact is likely to be most marked. The paper is organised in five sections. The first introduces our concerns. Section 2 traces the genealogy of these new regimes of control in the UK. We then problematise the new ethical bureaucracies, making an analysis in terms of the shift in the locus of power away from researchers to becoming centralised in bureaucratic structures. In section 4 we explore some of the ways in which researchers might respond to the changing regimes of ethical control. Finally, we offer considerations of the ways in which ethical governance of research might be differently conducted so as to avoid the adverse consequences of new regimes of control on research practice. Our aim is to provoke debate and thereby contribute to a platform from which to reassert ways to ensure that research is ethical and that do not interfere with the production and consumption of critical social science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postgraduate trainees in psychiatry are being evaluated on their proficiency at competencies that comprise the physician roles identified by the CanMEDS 2000 Project. This paper provides an overview of each CanMEDS role and its associated competencies and suggests strategies to help residents prepare for the new format of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPSC) certification examination in psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on issues of identity and identification in a UK-based institution of higher education (Westville1 Institute). It is suggested that identity, both individual and collective, and the processes of identification which bind people to organizations, are constituted in the personal and shared narratives that people author in their efforts to make sense of their world and read meaning into their lives. The research contribution this paper makes is threefold. First, it illustrates how an organization's identity narrative evolves over time, and the variety of identification narratives, including dis-identification, neutral identification and schizo-identification, in terms of which participants define their relationship to it. Second, it makes a contribution to what are still rather inchoate efforts to theorize the dynamics of individual-collective processes of identification and identity construction. Finally, it argues that the efforts of senior managers to control processes of organizational identity formation, and participant identification, are interpretable as hegemonic acts required for legitimation purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the interaction between professional and academic staff in leadership in higher education institutions have focused on distributed leadership. Whilst such studies have considered the leadership of the whole university, aspects of this model also apply to the relationship between programme leaders and administrators. This paper aims to explore the usefulness of this model in leadership of professional doctorates. The study is an exploratory one, reporting on the reflections of how one programme is managed through the eyes of the programme leader and lead administrator. The results provide evidence for the usefulness of this model in understanding the working relationships between programme leaders and administrators. We also show that a long-term appointment in the role of programme administrator is vital in ensuring a good student experience. This is linked both to general good practice of programme administration and to the unique characteristics of professional doctorate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disappointment is common in many organizations. Yet little is known about how individuals' talk about their workplace disappointment shapes their identification with organizations. We conducted an analysis of 104 academics in a prestigious British university to make two contributions to our understanding of the discursive constitution of organizational identification (OID). First, we show how individuals used different types of disappointment-talk to narrate and respond to identification dilemmas in distinct ways. Our findings extend existing research by showing that discourses of emotion do not simply delimit agency but also enable individuals to resist and reject organizational discourses that attempt to anchor them to specific identity positions. Second, we identify a novel way in which individuals can configure the multiple discourses that can be in tension and generate disappointment – unravelling. Here, individuals draw upon one among the multiple discourses in conflict (in our case, prestige) to 'unravel' the knotting between the various discourses that constituted their OID dilemmas. We also consider the implications of our study for academic labour in universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent education policy in the UK has encouraged universities and industry to work in partnership as a means of improving the quality of student learning and preparing graduates to enter the workplace. Indeed, both the Lambert Review of Business–University Collaboration (Lambert, 2003) and the White Paper on The Future of Higher Education (DfES, 2003) highlight the need for collaboration and closer working relationships. This paper reports on the results of a research effort to assess the extent of university–industry collaboration in the UK's built environment sector and to measure the impact of such activity. The 'Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education' (ACBEE) initiative sought to identify the nature of engagement activities in the built environment and to formulate, evaluate and develop guidelines for best practice. Forty case studies of engagement were collected from the built environment sector using a standard template, and many sustained engagement activities and established collaborations were identified. The paper explains how these case studies were categorized and evaluated to develop an understanding of the nature of the different types of engagement. A framework was subsequently developed for the classification of the case studies. Finally, the paper considers how the quality of such engagement can be measured and proposes appropriate key performance indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to illuminate ways in which the introduction and use of management knowledges and practices in U.K. universities overlaps, intersects and confronts established knowledge and practice in these sites. While broadly supportive of the general directionality of work in this field by other authors (Parker and Jary 1995; Winter 1995; Miller 1995) who argue that U.K. universities are becoming increasingly corporately managed around a 'Fordist' mass production arrangement, the paper offers an empirically based exploration of some of the contradictions and struggles that make this broad shift unstable, partial and by no means inevitable. In particular the paper critiques and extends points made by Parker and Jary's discussion (1995) of the changing character of U.K. universities. To do this, the paper begins by reviewing a range of conceptual resources that can be brought to bear on this issue. Following a brief discussion of Bourdieu and Giddens, we suggest that a framework outlined by Fiske (1993) offers a potentially illuminating resource for addressing the changing character of universities in the U.K. This conceptual resource is used to interpret empirical materials drawn from discussions with nearly 40 senior post-holders in two pre-1992 and two post-1992 universities. In the analysis of this material, we argue for the relevance and value of fore- grounding the way that management knowledge is at work in processes of change that are underway. We conclude that management knowledge and practice, which provides resources through which the life of the university is thought and done in new ways, at best only partially reconstitutes and displaces existing knowledge arid practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes a number of major developments in higher education in the U.K during the past decade or so. It explores the connection between changes in the organization and control of academic labor processes (e.g., teaching, administration, and research) and pressures exerted by the dynamics of capitalist development to commodify and control the work of academics. The first section considers the relevance of labor process analysis for understanding these changes. Attention is then paid to the historical development of academic work and, in particular, to the role played by the University Grants Council in providing academics with a significant measure of protection from commodifying pressures. In the remaining sections of the paper, the focus is upon major developments of the past decade or so: (i) the context, character and impact of the 1981 cuts in university expenditure, (ii) the research selectivity exercises of 1986, 1989, and 1992, and (iii) the work of the CVCP's Academic Audit Unit. A central theme of the paper is that the commodification of academic labor and the managerial control of academic work results from politico-economic pressures to demonstrate that funds are being directed in ways that are ostensibly congruent with the commodifying logic and priorities of capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of university students experiencing mental health issues in the UK is increasing and a high number of students are dropping out of university as a result. Literature highlights a lack of knowledge regarding this topic and the significance in educating society. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide further insights as to why students are experiencing anxiety and into help-seeking behavior amongst university students. A thematic analysis was used to analyze a total of 118 blog entries of students discussing the impact of university on mental health. Findings highlighted three main themes: Balancing priorities, Fear of failure, and Critical incidents. These themes are discussed in terms of possible risk factors contributing to students experiencing anxiety while at university. Findings together with recommendations listed in this study offer higher education staff and institutions the opportunity to explore areas of focus and improve university students' mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article begins with the recommendations of the Leathes Report of 1916 in connection with the internationalisation of language study and the reasons why the ideal of transnational mobility was slow to take root in language departments in the UK. It examines how the provision of safe, secure and affordable accommodation for women students was an effective counter to alarmist stay-at-home tales. And it looks at how feminist educators campaigned to promote international learning and teaching opportunities for women scholars. It argues that the Leathes concept of an 'immersion' experience conflicted with the University of Paris's interpretation of the 'internationalisation' of study. The Cité universitaire (CU) project, launched in the 1920s, offered the possibility for the easy placement of a growing number of students from the British red-brick universities in particular. But the conviction of British academics that the proposed Collège Franco-Britannique should house both French and British students was at odds with the University of Paris's concept of a campus of representative national houses in which only students of that country were permitted to live. It concludes that the mobilisation of the profession into subject bodies was a key factor in the evolution of study abroad programs and more broadly in the consolidation of 'modern studies' in the new civic and red-brick universities across Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: While most children have developed effective handwriting by secondary school age, some have handwriting difficulties that hamper academic progress. Occupational therapists play a role in assessment and planning support, which may include introducing typing as an alternative. However, there is limited understanding regarding how decisions are made about recommending typing. This study explored the support provided to adolescents with handwriting difficulties by occupational therapists, and the contextual factors that influence their decision-making. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 occupational therapists and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Although there was shared practice underpinned by occupational therapy philosophy, there was also divergent practice due to different approaches. Roles and responsibilities, resources, and evidence and experience influenced occupational therapists' practice. Understanding the adolescent's motivation, the effect of handwriting difficulties on well-being and the need for a functional method to record schoolwork, was central to occupational therapists' decision-making to recommend typing. Conclusion: Strategies are needed to address the knowledge-practice gap, including evidence-based guidelines. Closer collaboration between occupational therapists and school staff could increase understanding of roles and highlight the unique occupational therapy contribution. Further research examining whether, when and how to introduce typing as an alternative to handwriting would support best practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Handwashing is a key strategy for reducing the spread of infection but hand hygiene practises are often poor. Pre-testing messages prior to a campaign is expensive and time consuming. Objective: This study investigates (1) emotional reactions to handwashing messages based on four different theoretical constructs (Knowledge of Risk, Comfort, Disgust and Social Norms), (2) how images may influence emotional reactions and (3) the influence of emotion, images and theoretical construct on handwashing motivation. Methods: A novel methodology was employed whereby FaceReader, software that automatically analyses emotions, was used to identify reactions to handwashing messages. Thirty-one participants from The University of Sheffield were recruited for this laboratory study. Results: Most participants did not react strongly to any message and emotional reactions were similar for messages from different theoretical constructs. Adding images to text messages intensified some emotional reactions, particularly Happy and Disgusted for the two messages from the Disgust theoretical perspective. Moreover, participants thought that messages that used images were 1.8 times more likely to encourage handwashing. Knowledge of Risk messages (most encouraging) were 2.9 times more likely to be selected as encouraging handwashing than Comfort messages (least encouraging). An increase in the Disgusted emotion was also associated with an increase in encouragement. Discussion: This study suggests that handwashing messages should be designed to exploit emotional reactions but more research is needed to understand how to design messages for these reactions. Whether disgust is as important post Covid-19 requires future investigation. FaceReader can be usefully and inexpensively employed to pre-test handwashing messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the development, impact and integration of interdisciplinary approaches in British Higher Education Institutions. It evaluates how the concept of interdisciplinarity has become popularised over time and embraced by disciplines such as archaeology. It then explores the extent to which interdisciplinary approaches have impacted research agendas, first, by evaluating the interdisciplinary research calls from 2019 for seven UK-based research councils and then, at a discipline level, using archaeology as an exemplar. Overall, interdisciplinary research calls only accounted for, at best, 11.9% of a council's budget. Interrogation of the funding requirements of four of the largest archaeological-research funders demonstrated that successful archaeology-themed grant applications are reliant on interdisciplinarity. The influence of interdisciplinarity on British University's research and education agendas was examined through analysing the strategic plans of eight universities, followed by an analysis of the availability and potential benefits of interdisciplinary undergraduate and research programmes. This indicated that interdisciplinary approaches are interwoven into university's research aspirations but displayed variation in relation to their educational goals, with only 20% of institutions offering specific interdisciplinary degree programmes. Despite this, the skillset and research outputs produced as a result of interdisciplinary collaboration were found to be highly valued, thereby suggesting that interdisciplinarity will increasingly feature in the research and education strategies of British universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses my experience of developing and presenting a multi-media research dissemination programme comprising presentations, workshops, a visual exhibit and a poetry performance collectively referred to as the g word tour. Programme elements were presented, exhibited and performed between November 2018 and July 2019 to audiences in 25 universities and research centres in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Each element of the programme was based on data collected for a research project: Gender(s) at Work, which investigated the impact of gender on workplace experiences and career trajectories among staff in a UK university. The article argues that this active approach to research dissemination involved dynamics of contraflow and diffraction and that rather than completing or closing the research process created new spaces for dialogue and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Higher education institutions and universities aim to provide students with a range of transferable skills that enable them to become more thoughtful and effective employees, citizens, and consumers. One of these skills is critical thinking. Objective: The aim of the present research was to examine whether taking a psychology degree is concomitant with students' increase in critical thinking skills when students are not explicitly taught critical thinking. Method: Study 1 utilized a cross-sectional design and Study 2 a longitudinal design. The Watson and Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA, UK) was used to measure critical thinking. Results: For both studies, the overall scores of WGCTA, as well as scores of the subtest of Recognition of Assumptions, were significantly higher for final-year than for first-year students. Conclusion: From the findings, we conclude that the levels of critical thinking by final-year psychology students may be enhanced. Teaching implications: We propose that teaching other aspects of critical thinking such as Evaluation of Arguments and Interpretation, as measured by this test, could be beneficial in further developing psychology students' overall critical thinking performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UK educators often express concerns that students from some cultural backgrounds frequently seem unwilling or are unable to apply critical thinking skills within their academic programmes. This may be due not to a lack of ability or confidence but rather to the way they have been previously taught and assessed. Often, the design of UK courses implicitly requires critical thinking skills, but the design of the use of these skills in courses may not have taken into account the conceptualization of critical thinking across a diverse global group of students. This paper reports on the results of a study of Master's engineering students from two universities in the UK to assess their conceptualization of critical thinking. The findings provide evidence that international engineering students' understanding of critical thinking is not well developed, although they may, without being aware of it, have a critical thinking mindset, and often display these skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's university sector is seeking to improve its participation in the knowledge economy and meet policy and financial imperatives. This paper reveals some of the opportunities and pitfalls in making that objective a reality in the context of a single university. The findings and organizational development resulting from an action research project undertaken in a small learning and teaching oriented university in the UK are outlined. The aim of the research was to facilitate an increased capacity for knowledge exchange and participation in enterprise activity. Action research was undertaken in a single organization and in collaboration with the university's academic workforce. The outcomes of an initial survey and a series of interviews were used to create a strategic proposal for developing knowledge exchange. The data revealed that a predominantly professionally-oriented academic staff was prepared to accept external engagement and was not averse to commercial outcomes for knowledge exchange. In contrast, the senior management was unwilling to establish systems and processes or enable organizational learning for knowledge exchange until a complete system restructure had been implemented; and this resulted in a very senior appointment (Pro Vice-Chancellor) being made, to lead external engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an examination of the value of business postgraduate courses undertaken by Chinese students at UK universities: such courses cost many thousands of pounds in tuition fees alone. It seemed worthwhile to attempt to assess the benefits that might accrue to such students, especially in terms of their subsequent experience in the labour market. The results suggest that it is the non-financial rather than the financial rewards of postgraduate study that are considered important by Chinese students. Moreover, there is a mismatch between the expectations of these students and their subsequent experience in the Chinese labour market. This issue has become particularly important following the announcement by the present UK coalition government of its intention to reduce central funding subsidies to university teaching by 40% and to reduce the number of students who would be permitted to enter the country. As a result, UK universities are now in an increasingly competitive market for international students; for strategic purposes, it is important to understand the perceptions that such students have formed of the benefits that have accrued as a result of their time spent studying in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research suggests that important issues are emerging among enterprise educators in higher education institutions (HEIs). This paper examines four key areas of debate. The first of these is the assessment of entrepreneurship ideas and related activities (Pittaway and Cope, 2007). Penaluna and Penaluna (2008, 2009a, b), for example, focus on assessment methods in schools of art and design and on how these methods could be employed more effectively by enterprise educators. Second, and linked to the issue of assessment, is the area of 'contextualized' enterprise education, focusing on enterprise education as it is taught within the context of a specific discipline (for example, Carey and Matlay, 2007). The third area concerns online social media platforms and how in the UK these are increasingly being employed to deliver and support enterprise pedagogies, including the use of external contacts, teaching marketing and explorations of professional boundaries (Smith, 2009; Carey, 2009a, b, c; Harris et al, 2011). The final emergent topic relates to risk and responsibility in the assessment and potential support of business ideas in entrepreneurship education on offer in UK HEIs (Harte, 2008; ISBE, 2010). This article explores recent developments in the debates on these emergent issues and examines them in the context of enterprise education provision in UK HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade policies framing the enterprise agenda for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) have consistently emphasized the potential impact of successful universities on both regional and national economies. Such policies have been backed by significant public funding to ensure that the UK HEI sector is able to compete globally in the creation and exploitation of cutting-edge science. Collectively, these initiatives have led to the development of a 'third mission' for universities – increasing the pace and impact of knowledge-exchange activities – while simultaneously maintaining and improving their more traditional research and teaching activities. Previous studies have demonstrated the contribution of universities to the growth of high-technology clusters as well as to knowledge exchange activities more generally. However, the extent to which these activities, particularly the formation of new university-related companies, deliver benefits to particular regions and cities is imperfectly understood. As a consequence, the economic and social impact of companies originating in universities in the UK is generally under-reported by official surveys, which frequently fail to capture details of the trajectories of such companies after formation. These considerations form the context for this paper, which presents the results from a detailed study of the impact of science and technology based academic spin-offs from a cross-section of London's HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores perceptions of entrepreneurship and innovation to discover why UK students did not engage with enterprise activities at their universities. A study involving 84 international and national university students identified stereotypical perceptions of terms such as 'innovator' and 'entrepreneur', 'entrepreneurship' and 'innovation', associating values and emotions with the development of these constructs often ignored in research on enterprise intent. There were differing perspectives on the drivers affecting engagement across international and UK students. It also emerged that the development of new interactive media technologies had influenced the process of constructing meaning for these terms, creating and reinforcing stereotypes rather than changing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing number of international education programmes, students' response to various pedagogical tools used in these programmes has rarely been examined. Accordingly, business academics teaching on such programmes may not be sure as to which pedagogical tools to use. This study empirically investigates how various teaching tools affect undergraduate students' perception of the learning process. A self-administered survey was used to gather data from 461 undergraduate students in the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. Findings demonstrate that the students from each region have a different opinion with regard to the impact of various teaching tools on their learning outcomes. The implications of this for business educators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the plea by Pelias (2004) for a methodology of the heart, this article presents a story about the embodied struggles of an academic at a university that is permeated by an audit culture. It is based on informal interviews with academics at various universities in England and selected personal experiences. Thus, the constructive process is inspired by partial happenings, fragmented memories, echoes of conversations, whispers in corridors, fleeting glimpses of myriad reflections seen through broken glass, and multiple layers of fiction and narrative imaginings. Methodological issues abound in the telling and showing but, quite rightly, remain dormant on this occasion. In the end, the story simply asks for your consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I draw on my experience, in the context of the UK higher education sector, of trying to be `useful'. Specifically, I discuss cultural policy work, and contextualize this through debates in both cultural studies and geography concerning relevance and engagement beyond the academy. In a confessional tone, I argue that the translations that occur in the policy environment can result also in ‘mundanization’ in the emptying out of applied research as it is repurposed to suit the pressing needs of a public sector, fast-policy audit culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UK university research produces highly cited publications (DTI, 2004), but demand from UK business for commercial ideas from academia is weak (HM Treasury, 2003). This paper reviews factors in the development of one regional UK technology broker, the London Technology Network (LTN), which has achieved significant and audited business demand. The authors highlight the implications of LTN's experience for future practice and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall aim of this paper is to deepen the understanding of forming and effectively managing university incubators in the UK. Recognizing that the term 'business incubator' embraces a wide range of institutions, all of which aim to foster the creation and development of enterprises – SMEs or corporate ventures – by established organizations, the formation of different types of university incubators is explored from the perspective of the incubator managers who are involved in the process. Four case studies are presented, which show how the incubator managers discern incubation practices within the current UK system of business incubation and develop their particular programmes. The case studies are constructed by generating in-depth case material through interviews with the incubator managers, participant observation in one setting, and documentary search during 2002 and the first half of 2003. Evaluating the contextual constraints and opportunities in the UK, it is illustrated that the contextual issues are by their nature complex, dynamic and diverse, and they are also central to understanding the way the incubation programmes are shaped and reshaped over time. Some core ideas and lessons have been drawn from the research and it is hoped that they can help incubation community members to re-evaluate their own experiences and assist public policy makers in gauging their policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the political pressures for increased foreign language learningin England at the beginning of the 21st century, and the implications these havefor foreign language learning in higher education. I argue, from a Bourdieusianperspective, that restricted access to foreign language learning sustains socialhierarchies. By focusing on functional use, to the exclusion of symbolic value, andthanks to the serendipitous rise of English as the international lingua franca, theEnglish nation has been socialized into contentment with its monolingualism, oblivious to the 'abusiveness' of this situation. In the context of the EuropeanUnion, there is both a functional need for increasing the nation's linguisticcompetence and a symbolic need to demonstrate England's readiness tocommunicate with partner states in their own language(s). Tentative steps towards raisingthe status of foreign languages in England must overcome the internalized valuesof a hierarchical society, which has traditionally been able to stand apart from othernations. The article examines the recommendations of an independent inquiry, the issues that must be addressed if the nation is to embrace plurilingualism (herethe knowledge of two or more languages), and the role that the universities haveto play in achieving this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British higher education has undergone an unprecedented transformation over the past twenty years from an elite and individualised personal option embodied in historic universities (and their qualified institutional imitation in post-war expansion) to an industrialised, mass higher education system designed to produce a standard, reliable, predictable human 'product' suited to the putative needs of British industry and commerce. This 'reform' or 'modernisation' incorporates key features of 'managerial modernity' and it has been imposed without effective critique or resistance. In this paper we outline and analyse aspects of the quasi-totalitarian 'normalisation' of the education system as a whole, and pose some basic questions about the adequacy of the result as means of intellectual maturation and fundamental socialisation. It is concluded that the limits of 'accountability' have been narrowly and prescriptively drawn, and that both the tacit assumptions and targeted outcomes of this facility for social reproduction may be held in part responsible for a reduced and diminished 'post-humanity'. Some marginal figures offer material for creative resistance, but what resources, if any, do conventional Christian theology, ethics or pedagogic practice offer in the face of this forced homogenisation of the human?

We are in the midst of a 'research-bourgeois' revolution within higher education in the UK. Part of the global project of neo-liberalism to strengthen the link between money and work, and driven by research assessment, diverse research use-values are being subordinated to homogeneous RAE-value. Academic research workers are becoming alienated from the product of their labour. Once freely available to all academics, 'intellectual commons' — well-stocked library, material security, time and other resources — are being enclosed, access becoming dependent upon production of RAE-value. Two new classes are emerging in academia as some research workers are forced to alienate their own research-labour-power, selling their ability to carry out research work to 'research capitalists', who are able to appropriate a portion of the RAE-value which results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a small-scale qualitative study, the article explores the perceptions of manager-academics on the state of the UK's higher education sector. Universities have been undergoing a process of marketisation for some time now, but recent changes to the regulation and audit of their activities – as well as uncertainty engendered by broader events – arguably make this a turbulent period for the sector. Despite a growing body of critical work on academic labour in the 'neoliberalising' university, the management of these institutions remains an under-researched subject. The article considers perceptions of crisis and responsibility amongst a group of manager-academics who conceive the sector as being 'under attack', before exploring the relationship of 'survival anxiety' to audit, metrics and rankings. The article concludes by considering why the perceptions of senior academic managers matter for the future of universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a pilot qualitative research study, exploring the impact of bereavement experiences, on pre-qualifying social work students in two UK Universities with diverse demographics. The research study took place in the context of general concern about the mental health of UK University students and suggests that social work students may be at particular risk of developing emotional wellbeing issues linked to bereavement. Interviews followed a free association narrative technique, with analysis of the data highlighting four main themes. Firstly, bereavement is associated with practical problems which may trigger wellbeing issues. Secondly, there is an increased need for specific bereavement training and support to be embedded within social work programmes, alongside skills and knowledge of cultural diversity and the part this plays in the bereavement process. Lastly, the study demonstrated that bereavement experiences are not isolated but linked to other losses and therefore students may need effective support to process these before they can effectively support others. The study appears to be distinctive in its focus on the impacts of bereavement on social work students and has significant implications for the ways in which students are supported by social work education programmes, as well as paving the way for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, my aim is to describe the growth of the academic profession in the UK, and to give an account of the security of tenure-or lack of it--of academic staff. In the early part of this century, while tenure was common among the professoriate, junior academic staff experienced considerable job insecurity. Although tenure for academic staff gradually became the norm, there are considerable doubts about how cast-iron tenure was, if put to the test as in the Edgar Page case. Recent employment trends in UK universities have been characterized by casualization and the statutory phasing out of tenure. In this article, the UK means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; Britain generally means England, Scotland and Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance of ethically acceptable research in higher education institutions has been under scrutiny over the past half a century. Concomitantly, recently, decision makers have required researchers to acknowledge the societal impact of their research, as well as anticipate and respond to ethical dimensions of this societal impact through responsible research and innovation principles. Using artificial intelligence population health research in the United Kingdom and Canada as a case study, we combine a mapping study of journal publications with 18 interviews with researchers to explore how the ethical dimensions associated with this societal impact are incorporated into research agendas. Researchers separated the ethical responsibility of their research with its societal impact. We discuss the implications for both researchers and actors across the Ethics Ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a postal survey of first year Sociology degree courses in the United Kingdom. The main feature of the results is their uniformity and traditionalism. Both polytechnics and universities work within considerable resource constraints in the first year, frequently teaching large numbers. Teaching relies heavily upon lectures and a highly planned course, with limited class/tutorial support. Although courses are constantly revised and few teachers appear satisfied, there is considerable consensus upon the contents of courses with a limited number of elements usually combined into one or more of a few recognizable types. The source of this constant revision yet limited range lies in the tension between the empirical aspiration to describe the social world and the complex issues raised by attempts to do so, the difficulty of which is often seen as frustrating to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper utilizes Foucault's framework of power/knowledge relations, buttressed by work on the sociology of translation (Callon 1986; Latour 1987), to examine the extent to which the budgeting system is implicated in a process of organizational change. The analysis is based on a field study in which a change initiative was developed by top policy-makers (the Centre) in a U.K. university against a background of reduction in funding by the state. The budgeting system is perceived to have relevance in this context at two levels: (i) as the vehicle through which reallocation of resources is effected, and (ii) as a means that provides actors with technical knowledge which can be utilized in the context of power relations. The analysis demonstrates that the Centre failed to deploy the budgeting system as a disciplinary regime in the sense of making it possible for the proposed resource reallocations to be implemented. The analysis also shows how the groups opposed to the proposed change: (i) through their technical knowledge successfully deployed arguments from within the accounting discipline to render the Centre's calculations `incorrect' or at best debatable; (ii) combined these technical accounting arguments with arguments from outside the accounting discipline to cast strong doubts on the ethical and professional underpinnings of the Centre's proposals; and (iii) evolved, and promoted, a 'more viable' strategy to cope with the reduction in funding at the Centre's university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transnational education has increased over the past decade for multiple reasons. Higher education institutions driven by a need to increase non-governmental funding and the concept of higher education as a commodity, have combined to cause many institutions to extend their activities into the field of transnational education partnerships. To ensure the survival of these strategic alliances, teaching faculty are required to service the commodity being exported from the UK. This unique study uses this context to evaluate the application of Heideggerian phenomenology and IPA as a means of analyzing the lived experiences of academic practitioners and the effects on their being. The study concludes that Heideggerian philosophical thought provides an insightful lens when combined with IPA, by providing access to an individual's personal perception of events as opposed to other methodologies that simply attempt to produce an objective account of the event itself. Two vignettes from the data exemplify how the approach can help us understand participant lived experiences in a given context, as well as documenting the wider benefits of applying this approach in other studies that concern the lived experiences of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Universities UK (UUK) Taskforce report, Changing the Culture, has been seen as a turning point in U.K. universities' responses to gender-based violence (GBV). Institutional changes have occurred as a response to grassroots feminist activism and resistance to GBV, focusing on sexual violence, harassment, and "lad culture" in universities. This article will argue that the neoliberal marketization of higher education, concurrent with the persistence of misogyny and patriarchy, creates an environment where GBV is normalized, and feminist voices are marginalized and silenced. Interviews with academics show support for victims/survivors on campus often falls to particular academic staff. When initiatives for change, led by institutional management, are limited to protecting the "reputation" of the university, it furthermore falls on academics to challenge not only GBV, but also the reactive and uncritical responses offered by institutions. We contend that national, institutional, and individual responses to GBV must consider the meaning of "cultural change" beyond policy reform, zero tolerance campaigns, and condemnation of GBV. Attempts to enact true cultural change must analyze the broader issue of sexism, its intersections with further structural issues, and the ways in which this plays out within the neoliberal institution to the detriment of students and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines activism to address staff-to-student sexual misconduct in higher education in the United Kingdom from our perspective as founders and members of the research and lobby organization The 1752 Group. We argue that in order to tackle staff sexual misconduct in higher education, the problem has first to be made visible. We theorize this as "slow activism" and outline the activities that we and others have been engaged in toward this end: conducting research, using complaints processes within institutions, naming the experiences of staff sexual misconduct and/or institutions and perpetrators, and carrying out discipline-led and sector-level initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the nature and role of courses designed to train creative workers, policy-makers and related actors, in the skills necessary for cultural management, enterprise or intermediation and their relationship in apprehending the sector. The article takes a case study approach, engaging with university policy, student research, reflections from graduates and staff who have participated in a suite of integrated MA awards at a UK university. We find that the programme created environments in which practitioners and intermediaries were positioned in reflexive relation to their experiences and roles. We outline the insights and understandings that have emerged as students explored their own orbits in relation to both critical and instrumental research on the cultural sector, and in relation to perceptions of the transformations in sector and how it is conceived. The case study sets out an agenda for exploring the relationship of research, pedagogy and practice after the creative industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the development of the accounting discipline in universities in England and Scotland from the 1960s. Drawing on the oral history narratives of six distinguished accounting scholars who played a significant role in the discipline, this article documents (1) the initial influences on the teaching of accounting in English universities, (2) the different influences on the teaching of accounting in Scottish universities and (3) the influence of US universities and their scholars on the development of academic accounting in the United Kingdom. With a focus on the second wave of accounting professoriate who followed the London School of Economics (LSE) ‘Triumvirate’ of William Baxter, Harold Edey and David Solomons, this article provides first-hand insights into the shape and spread of university accounting education at a crucial stage of its development. This, in turn, develops an understanding of the contemporary academic accounting discipline in the United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]