A study of 25 years of publication outputs in the German academic profession

In the weak evaluation state of Germany, full professors are involved in the traditional social governance partnership between the state, and the self-governing higher education institutions (HEI) and disciplinary associations. Literature suggests that formal and informal governance could trigger changes in academics’ publication behavior by valorizing certain publication outputs. In the article, secondary data from three surveys (1992, 2007 and 2018) is used for a multi-level study of the evolution of academics’ publication behavior. We find a trend toward the “model” of natural science publication behavior across all disciplines. On the organizational level, we observe that a strong HEI research performance orientation is positively correlated with journal articles, peer-reviewed publications, and co-publications with international co-authors. HEI performance-based funding is only positively correlated with the share of peer-reviewed publications. At the level of individual disciplines, humanities and social sciences scholars adapt to the peer-reviewed journal publication paradigm of the natural sciences at the expense of book publications. Considering how the academic profession is organized around reputation and status, it seems plausible that the academic profession and its institutional oligarchy are key contexts for the slow but steady change of academics’ publication behavior. The trend of changing academics’ publication behavior is partly related to HEI valorization of performance and (to a lesser extent) to HEI performance based-funding schemes, which are set by the strong academic profession in the weak evaluation state of Germany.

Peer Review in Academia

In this chapter, we outline the notion of peer review and its relation to the autonomy of the academic profession and the contract between science and society. This is followed by an introduction of some key themes regarding the practices of peer review. Next, we specify some reasons to further explore different practices of peer review. Briefly, the state of the art is presented. Finally, the structure of this volume and its individual contributions are presented.

Open science and the academic profession

Open science is considered a new science paradigm to make research accessible, accountable, and effective. Open science is already changing the academic profession starting from micro-practices to professional relations with epistemic communities and stakeholders, with implications that we are not yet able to predict. The article delves first into literature and official documentation to unfold the discursive regimes which sustain the spread of open science. A specific focus is then devoted to the professional transition, highlighting the role of funding organizations in setting the new science environment and the subjective experience of academics. The article is completed by a case study in the field of Research Data Management where the misalignment among incumbent/changing processes can be more apparent. Finally, a research agenda that focuses on how academic micro-practices are affecting organizations and science structures is proposed. This article aims at beginning to plow the ground for new research directions to emerge.

Prevention of the psychoemotional burnout of academics during their professional activities

The article shows that psychoemotional burnout is one of the most common syndromes, developing against the backdrop of continuous exposure to stressful situations, and it leads to intellectual, mental, and physical fatigue and exhaustion. The pedagogical activities of academics lead to burnout syndrome among most professionals of this occupation. The aim of the article is theoretical substantiation of the concept of burnout syndrome, experimental study of its symptoms characteristic of academics, and presentation of recommendations for its prevention. The study involved 59 academics of different ages and records of work. The analysis of literature sources allows stating that the study of the burnout syndrome among academics requires a further search for solutions. The academic profession is one of those for which burnout syndrome is the most common because the professional activity of academics is recognized as one of the most emotionally stressful. It was found that burnout is exhaustion, which manifests itself in emotional devastation and fatigue, and depersonalization, in particular, depersonalization of relationships with people. It is established that most teachers are characterized by inadequate emotional response, reduced interaction with colleagues, termination of professional responsibilities, the desire to stay alone, intensified emotional thriftiness. A pronounced feature for teachers is the reduction of personal achievements when they negatively assess themselves, their professional achievements and success, express professional integrity in a negative way, and limit their opportunities and responsibilities.

La regulación de la educación a distancia y la experiencia previa de los académicos argentinos para desarrollar su actividad docente en entornos virtuales antes de la irrupción de la pandemia

Los académicos son actores fundamentales de la universidad en la medida en que desarrollan distintas actividades, tales como, la enseñanza, la investigación y la extensión universitaria. En el último año y medio, las universidades debieron implementar distintas estrategias de enseñanza remota de emergencia, sobre la base de tradiciones institucionales de carácter presencial. Dichas acciones debieron realizarse en un contexto caracterizado por la urgencia, la excepcionalidad y la incertidumbre frente a la necesidad de asegurar la continuidad pedagógica para garantizar el derecho a la educación. El presente artículo se propone caracterizar la experiencia previa, a la irrupción de la pandemia en marzo del año 2020, de los académicos argentinos para desarrollar su actividad docente en entornos virtuales, así como el desarrollo reciente y la evolución normativa de educación a distancia en Argentina. Dado el tiempo transcurrido que supone el desarrollo de nuevas experiencias de enseñanza mediada por las TIC, el trabajo podrá constituirse como insumo para contrastarlo con otros estudios que analicen los impactos de la pandemia en las universidades argentinas. El diseño metodológico implicó la aplicación de una encuesta a una muestra representativa de académicos de las universidades nacionales argentinas, en el marco del proyecto internacional APIKS (Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society).

Management and Governance in Higher Education: South African Universities under Siege

The recent spate of changes in university management worldwide should be carefully considered, interrogated and assessed against its impact on the capacity of the university fulfilling its unique role in society. For various justifiable reasons, South African higher education has been finding itself under the spotlight of the international community since 1994. The article surveys the South African academic profession vis à vis the changes that have been taking place regarding university governance and management. It is concluded that the South African academic profession, as far as (de jure and de facto) governance and management are concerned, find themselves sandwiched between two forces: from national and institutional governance on top, and the student corps from the bottom. This threatens the very survival of the university. A new exercise surveying the South African academic profession, as provided for by the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society (APIKS) international survey of the academic profession currently taking place, appears both timous and promising.

Institutional Influence of Academics in Argentinean Public Universities in a Context of External Control

The paper studies the institutional influence of academics in Argentina within a context of increasing external control as a consequence of deep public reforms in the Higher Education system. Drawing on data from the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society (APIKS) survey, the aim is to analyse how much and in what sense the recent changes on the public policy level and the intermediate level of the state agencies have affected the academic profession in Argentina over teaching, research and social engagement activities, and its effects over the perception of institutional influence. Although we assume that academic power has been reduced within the new scenario, we believe that not all academics have responded in the same manner.

Career Types and Career Satisfaction Among Sociology Doctoral Graduates of Corvinus University

The academic profession has significantly transformed in the past few decades due to the industrialization of higher education and research. Based on sixteen career path interviews, the study investigates how the career paths of sociology doctoral graduates who obtained their master’s or PhD degree at Corvinus University of Budapest have been formed within this changing environment of the academic profession. The study distinguishes four researcher career path types and describes attached job characteristics and career satisfaction. Hungarian and international academic researchers have spent most of their careers at Hungarian or renowned foreign universities. Hungarian academic researchers performed a high volume of teaching, while international academic researchers primarily focused on research. The career paths of market researchers were formed by their positions at research firms, where they were involved in applied research projects. Researchers of the mixed career type alternated between the different sectors throughout their career paths that led to dissatisfaction with their careers. Interviewees of the other three types were generally satisfied with their careers, however, the reconciliation of teaching, research and organizational tasks in the case of Hungarian academic researchers, the measurement of publication performance against Western scholars regarding international academic researchers, and the choice between academic and market activities among market researchers all emerged as sources of frustration in the narratives.

Meaning Sources of the Work on Academic Profession-A Research on the Relationship of Academic Performance

This study identifies sources of meaning at work, which can be the most important element of work motivation and whose importance and effect are better understood recently. This study aims to investigate a categorical model regarding the meanings attributed to the academic profession and to reveal which sources of meaning are more positively associated with academic performance. Data were collected in academicians. Academic incentive score and number of citations were used to measure academic performance; open and closed-ended questionnaires were applied to 815 academicians. As a result, the internal-external and development-contribution oriented the model of meaning sources of the work on academic profession was introduced. In the context of this model, the sources of meaning with the highest frequency were usefulness, passion, development and learning, meaning of life and scientific contribution. Also, it has been determined that academicians who see the academic profession as the meaning of their life have higher academic performance. It was also revealed that those who adopted the respectability meaning source had lower academic performance.