The increasing competitiveness in international industry has raised new demands for effective research management, resulting in an array of science policy techniques and extensive experimentation. However, the new techniques must be tested, developed, and refined and applied with considerable caution before science policy can be based on them…

The capacity of the Australian university system is being steadily undermined by government policies, which erode infrastructure, destroy faculty career opportunities, and threaten commitment to teaching and research. Acceptance of current policies amounts to collaboration in the erosion of the universities. Those committed to educational quality…

Limitations of the market-economy model for organizing research in certain areas of knowledge, particularly the humanities, are discussed. A perspective in which knowledge is treated as a gift to society rather than a free-market commodity is outlined, and it is concluded that humanities and other research should be organized accordingly. (MSE)

A proposed charter of academic freedom and institutional autonomy in Australian higher education is examined, including the origins of the proposal, interests of staff and management, international political context of the proposal, history and values of the academic freedom concept, role of Australian universities, and faculty association role.…

The trend toward unionization of Australia's public university faculty and the redefinition of academic work according to market forces are examined. It is concluded that there are substantial contradictions in subjecting public sector employment to private sector modes of work organization, reward systems, and management models that must be…

The review examines (1) social class and improving access to higher education in Australia from 1852-1945; (2) interventions from 1943-74; and "winners and losers" since the 1960s. It is concluded that, in comparison with western nations, Australian university students are more representative of the general population, and the curriculum…

A survey of 185 single and married mothers enrolled at MacQuarie University and Macarthur Institute of Higher Education (Australia) investigated which mothers turn to college study, reasons for college entry, timing of entry, enrollment patterns, and academic achievement. This group was found to be exceptionally successful. Policy implications are…

This article examines changes in Australia's higher education system (institutional mergers, market forces, expansion of enrollment) that threaten the quality of graduate-level research and comparability of Australia's standards internationally. The role of the research supervisor, the process of supervising research, and students' perceptions of…

Graduate student journals of research projects and their supervision are suggested as a means of structuring the supervisory process, making it more accountable, and facilitating students' successful completion of their academic and research tasks. However, the method also requires skill in successful thesis production on the supervisor's part.…