Digital and social media have grown exponentially to become highly influential spheres of public communication -- increasingly crowded, contested, and corrupted, and increasingly in need of scholarly engagement. Alternative metrics ('altmetrics') that are generated from social and digital media platforms have become more important as indicators of…

In an era of neoliberal reforms, academics in UK universities have become increasingly enmeshed in audit, particularly of research "outputs." Using the data of performance management and training documents, this paper firstly offers an analysis of the role of discourse in redefining the meaning of research, and in colonising a new kind…

Quality assurance policies and practices are critical to the performance of Australian universities both in terms of national funding and international prestige and are redefining the future of the academic enterprise. Quality assurance is not merely the systematic measurement of quality. It is a political and heuristic process, which has…

Reports a study of pay equity among both academic and nonacademic staff at 18 Australian universities. Addresses topics including employment level, tenure (faculty), age differences, years in higher education, family needs, employment qualifications, career progression, job content, and research productivity (faculty). (MSE)