Going places: exploring the impact of intra-sectoral mobility on research productivity and communication behaviors in Japanese academia

This study analyzes the impact of intra-sectoral mobility of academics on research productivity and R&D information exchange dynamics in Japan. The analysis shows intra-sectoral mobility impacting positively both research productivity and information exchange dynamics, but that this effect—except for information exchange with peers based abroad—has a threshold. This result highlights the importance of academic job mobility but also alerts for cases of “overloads of mobility,” leading us to argue for some degree of stability in academic careers, supported by policies fostering temporary international mobility spells. We also find that the role of foreign academics in the Japanese higher education is one of national and international gatekeepers being this role shaped by where the doctorate was obtained (Japan vs abroad). Japanese academics that have performed the doctorate abroad are also key international gatekeepers.     

Transnational academic mobility,knowledge, and identity capital

This article begins with the contemporary context of transnational academic mobility, and sketches a typology of mobile academics according to their self-identification. UK examples are offered as the main case study here. The article will then explore the relations of mobile academics and their embodied and encultured knowledge. It employs a concept of ‘transnational identity capital’ to discuss the position of transnational mobile academic intellectuals as a ‘stranger’ as inspired by Simmel's sociology of space.     

Academic mobility,transnational identity capital,and stratification under conditions of academic capitalism

Academic mobility has existed since ancient times. Recently, however, academic mobility—the crossing of international borders by academics who then work ‘overseas’—has increased. Academics and the careers of academics have been affected by governments and institutions that have an interest in coordinating and accelerating knowledge production. This article reflects on the relations between academic mobility and knowledge and identity capital and their mutual entanglement as academics move, internationally. It argues that the contemporary movement of academics takes place within old hierarchies among nation states, but such old hierarchies intersect with new academic stratifications which will be described and analysed. These analytical themes in the article are supplemented by excerpts from interviews of mobile academics in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Korea and Hong Kong as selected examples of different locales of academic capitalism.     

Social stratification in Higher Education: What it means at the micro‐level of the individual academic scientist

The academic profession is internally divided as never before. This cross‐national comparative analysis of stratification in Higher Education is based on a sample of European academic scientists (N = 8,466) from universities in 11 countries. The analysis identifies three types of stratification: academic performance stratification, academic salary stratification, and international research stratification. This emergent stratification of the global scientific community is predominantly research‐based, and internationalisation in research is at its centre; prestige‐driven, internationally competitive, and central to academic recognition systems, research is the single most stratifying factor in Higher Education at the level of the individual scientist today. These stratification processes pull the various segments of the academic profession in different directions. The study analyses highly productive academics (‘research top performers’), highly paid academics (‘academic top earners’), and highly internationalised academics (‘research internationalists’) and explores the implications for individual scientists.     

Contestable professional academic identity of those who teach research methodology

A professional academic identity is important because it supports a sense of belonging and contributes to the scholarly advancement of a discipline. However, a professional academic identity for those involved in teaching research methodology is particularly complex and diverse. This research surveyed 144 academics from 139 universities in 9 countries, who are involved in teaching research methodology, and examined the extent to which participants construct their professional academic identity around research methodology. The study also sought to examine whether participants view research methodology as a distinct discipline. Findings show that academics teaching research methods inhabit multiple identities. Some identified as expert researchers, while others associated with particular research methods, along with a clear epistemic attachment, within a particular area of scholarly inquiry. Furthermore, few participants described themselves as research methodologists, and stressed the significance of teaching research methodology as a distinct discipline. Findings also revealed that the majority of the institutions involved in the study approach research methodology as ‘a service course’ and predominantly taught by volunteer academics. This study contributes to our understanding of how research methodology courses are organized, and the broader implications of the different approaches to the scholarly advancement of research methodology as a distinct subject.     

Boundary-crossing academic mobilities in glocal knowledge economies: new research agendas based on triadic thought

ABSTRACT

This editorial introduction identifies a need for more multidimensional and collective theorizations of boundary-crossing academic mobilities in order to conceptualise this phenomenon, compare empirical findings, and identify new research perspectives. My suggestion is that triadic thought – or the thinking in three rather than two conceptual categories – overcomes some of the limitations that binary thought has imposed on social theory. By transforming the three conceptual dyads that frame this special issue on boundary-crossing academic mobilities, namely mobility/migration, students/academics, and local/global, into more differentiated relational triads, I argue that ordering and framing studies on academic and other mobilities through three-by-three matrices grounded in triadic thought helps to advance conceptual debate and unfold a wider research agenda in truly collective ways.     

Reverse flow in academic mobility from core to periphery: motivations of international faculty working in Kazakhstan

Through expanding flows of labor and knowledge on a global scale, academics are increasingly mobile as higher education institutions compete for talent that transcends borders. However, talent often flows from the periphery to the core as scholars seek out employment in recognized institutions of higher learning in developed economies. This study examines faculty mobility in a reverse direction: from the core to Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia. What factors persuade faculty members to relocate to Kazakhstan for full-time employment? What types of individuals pursue this relocation? Through interviews with international faculty members based in Kazakhstan, the study identifies push factors that trigger departure from one’s previous country of residence: job market, unsatisfactory work conditions, age, and marital status. Alternatively, Kazakhstan attracts scholars via pull factors that include salary, sense of adventure, and the opportunity to build new institutions and programs as well as conduct research. Unlike previous studies that highlight boundaryless mobility and individual agency, this study reveals constraints that mediate international faculty mobility. Furthermore, salary plays a limited role as a pull factor particularly among early career academics who are seeking research opportunities and meaningful contributions in building new academic programs and institutions.     

Holding a post-doctoral position before becoming a faculty member: does it bring benefits for the scholarly enterprise?

This article examines the effects that performing a post-doc early in the academic career have for the current scholarly practices of faculty members. Results show that performing a post-doc early in the academic career impacts positively the recent research output of academics, although not affecting the other faculty member’s scholarly activities, namely teaching. The results also show that academics that did a post-doc engage in more regular information exchange dynamics with international peers than their colleagues that did not. This is particularly evident for the younger generations of scholars and for those who spent the post-doctoral period abroad. It is concluded that the post-doctoral period not only fosters a greater production of scientific outputs later in the academic career, but also leads to a greater integration into international scholarly communities. These benefits potentiate former post-docs to become key players in any scientific or higher education system.     

An econometric analysis of the effect of collaboration on academic research productivity

Previous studies on collaborative research emphasize industry-university collaboration conducted in a subset of academic disciplines associated with applied engineering. These studies focus on motivations, mechanisms, financial costs and financial benefits of collaborative research while paying little attention to the impact of collaborative research on academic productivity. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to compensate for some of these shortcomings. First, we present a survey which includes responses from academic researchers of all the scientific disciplines. Second, we take into account and compare the collaborative relationships between university researchers, between university researchers and industry, and between university researchers and other institutions, especially government agencies, local governments and organized interest groups. And third, we assess the impact of these collaborative activities on the academic productivity of the university researchers.The results of this paper show that collaboration, whether it be undertaken with universities, industries or institutions, may indeed increase researchers' productivity. We find this to be true whether or not such relationships begin early in a researcher's career. We also find this to be true whether or not the collaborators have an intellectual symmetry. The effect of collaboration on productivity varies according to both the scientists' geographical closeness to their partners and on their field of research. It was found that collaboration between researchers and industry had significantly more impact on productivity than collaborations between researchers and their peers or researchers and other institutions. Scientists in humanities were found to produce less materials in collaboration than scientists in other fields. And, scientists involved in collaboration aimed mostly at producing patented and unpatented products, scientific instruments, software and artistic production were also found to produce less.In sum, given that collaboration contributes to the increase of scientific productivity, government decision makers and university administrators ought to encourage researchers to forge collaborative relationships.     

The academic profession in North Macedonia: A never ending transition

The context of Macedonian higher education has changed dramatically in the last fifteen years. A rapid increase in the number of public and private institutions and a greater diversity of higher education degrees have not been associated with improvements in quality. The research output of academic staff is modest; academics contribute little to the society's development. Academia in North Macedonia is under pressure due to chronic underfinancing of higher education and research, and an underdeveloped system of quality assurance, as well as growing expectations for relevance and internationalisation. This article presents an original empirical study on academic staff. It examines how 388 faculty at higher education institutions in North Macedonia perceived changes in the environment of the academic profession, and how changes in their working conditions potentially influence their academic identity and wellbeing. The results are compared to European data. Findings show that about half of research participants believed that the overall conditions for work and the quality of teaching, learning and research have deteriorated in recent years. This contributes to a perception of the academic profession as stressful and unattractive which results in lower levels of overall academic wellbeing which constitutes a threat to academic identity amongst the staff. Consequently, we expect further decreases in motivation, work ethic and productivity in the academic profession, as well as an increase in the desire of academics to leave Macedonia.     

Measuring quality in universities: An approach to weighting research productivity

The aim of the study is to demonstrate, via the use of the discipline of Education, a procedure to identify and weight the importance of various indicators of research productivity which in turn have become significant components in determining quality within and between universities. The methodology allows for the identification of indicators that are most important, and ascertains if there are differences among academics as to the relative weighting of the various research indicators.Highly valued indicators of research productivity amongst the Education academics were refereed journal articles, peer reviewed books, and major competitive research grants. Refereeing was critical in the determination of quality in research productivity, and the findings generalized across many academics regardless of their own personal productivity. It is recommended that the methodology can serve to determine the tacit weights that academics within and across disciplines attach to various research products. At least, this method makes academics and administrators aware of the weightings they are actually using when making decisions about the quality of academic departments.     

Constructing academic identity in the changing Russian higher education context: preliminary perspectives

ABSTRACT

Currently, Russian academics are facing significant demands because of a new, urgent requirement to pursue their research in accordance with international standards. Until recently, these academics were used to working within a familiar community and communicating their research via the Russian language, but now, they are expected to move beyond that and function on a global level, which can challenge their academic identities. A qualitative study was carried out in a research-intensive Russian university. The aim was to explore academics’ experiences and perceptions of the dynamic changes in their academic work with a particular focus on the limitations and pressures they meet in their career path towards global research. The data were collected by means of reflective journals during a course on English for academic purposes. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The results showed that global trends turned out to be unachievable for Russian academics due to the lack of specific knowledge, attributes and skills required to do research globally. This might be the first study from Russia contributing to the literature on academic identity construction. The article provides insights into the experiences and perceptions of Russian academics and offers a research agenda for further investigation to bridge identity shifts in academia. In terms of practical purposes, the results will be used as a source of preliminary data within a broader research project aimed at supporting Russian academics in their research in an international English-speaking academic context.     

Describing and explaining research productivity

This article describes results from a study of academic productivity in Australian higher education. It estimates the output (in terms of quantity of publications) of individual staff and academic departments across different subject areas and types of institution. Concerning research productivity, Australian academics resemble their colleagues in other countries: the average is low, while the range of variation is high. Most papers are produced by few academic staff. Several potential correlates of productivity, including level of research activity, subject area, institutional type, gender, age, early interest in research, and satisfaction with the promotions system, are examined. A model linking departmental context to personal research performance through department and personal research activity is developed and tested. The results support the view that structural factors (such as how academic departments are managed and led) combine with personal variables (such as intrinsic interest in the subject matter of one's discipline) to determine levels of productivity. There is also evidence that research and teaching do not form a single dimension of academic performance.     

Government research evaluations and academic freedom: a UK and Australian comparison

Performance management systems have been an inevitable consequence of the development of government research evaluations (GREs) of university research, and have also inevitably affected the working life of academics. The aim of this paper is to track the development of GREs over the past 25 years, by critically evaluating their adoption in the UK and Australian higher education sector and their contribution to the commodification of academic labour, and to highlight the resultant tensions between GREs and academic freedom. The paper employs a literature-based analysis, relying on publicly available policy documents and academic studies over the period 1985–2010. GREs are a global phenomenon emanating from new public management reforms and while assessments of university research have been welcomed, they have attracted critique based on their design, the manner in which they have been applied, and the unintended consequences of their implementation on academic freedom in particular. Consistent with international research on the impact of GREs, Australian research assessments appear to be undoing the academic freedom that is central to successful research. Further empirical research on the impact of GREs on academics is urgently needed.     

The transformation of academic ideals: an Australian analysis

This article explores the role that universities play in shaping the relationship between academics and their work. Drawing on Miller and Rose's interpretation of our present era as being characterised by ‘Advanced Liberal’ governance, this article demonstrates how discourses seeking to govern academic labour enrol ideals about the academic and subjectify academic staff within strategies to govern their conduct. Entrepreneurial conceptions of ‘good’ academic conduct are valorised through such initiatives as performance evaluation, interdisciplinary research programmes and Graduate Certificates of university teaching and skills development. Drawing on the past literature and an analysis of three Australian public universities, this article proposes three ideals through which academics are enrolled into strategies to govern their conduct: ‘the career academic’, ‘the tribal academic’ and ‘the celebrity academic’. The centrality of an entrepreneurial sense of self within academic ideals contributes to the production of insidious effects within academic practices. The subjectification of academics, as entrepreneurial knowledge managers, may potentially produce strain within academics who fail to close the psychological distance between their self-perceptions and academic ideals. This article proposes that future investigations of the development of academic ideals and values should engage with an analysis of modes of self-government. The utility of self-government is explored in an analysis of the dynamic production of academic ideals within policies and programmes aimed at governing the behaviour of academic staff.     

Language (in)competency,communication strategies,and the development of an international academic teacher identity: becoming an audible minority

Despite universities’ enthusiasm for internationalization, international academic mobility requires considerable institutional and cultural adjustment in terms of teaching and supervision styles, research expectations, and departmental relationships. Although language competency underpins these practices, research on international academics has neglected the impact of language proficiency on professional identity. This article uses autoethnography to document conversations about language ability during my first two years as an academic in a French-language university. My responses to language-related comments evolved over time, reflecting how I positioned myself as a linguistic – or audible – minority, vis-à-vis the linguistic majority. Using cultural phenomenology, the findings highlight the interactional, unstable nature of international academic identities and the importance of positive collective support for international academics who shift from majority to minority linguistic status.     

Inbreds and non‐inbreds among Russian academics: Short‐term similarity and long‐term differences in productivity

This paper studies the publication productivity of inbreds and non‐inbreds among Russian academics. Existing literature provides ambiguous results on the relationship between inbred status and productivity. This may be explained by the use of different indicators for measuring publication productivity. We use data, which include indicators of both current publication productivity (at a certain point of time) and cumulative productivity (throughout the career) to identify whether inbreds and non‐inbreds differ in their productivity. We did not find any difference in current publication productivity of inbreds and non‐inbreds. We found, however, a difference in their cumulative publication productivity: non‐inbreds are being more productive on an individual level throughout their careers. Although the conclusions are based on the Russian data, the analysis provides an explanation for existing contradictory results on the relationship between academic inbreeding and productivity in general.     

Enhancing academic work through the synergy between teaching and research

In this paper we explore an approach to academic development that focuses on developing and using research as a means of understanding the complexity of teaching and learning within specific discipline environments. This approach shifts the attention of the academic developer from the enhancement of teaching using traditional methods such as workshops, formal courses, or in‐faculty curriculum and assessment advice, to encouraging and supporting participant research on learning and teaching, and disciplinary‐based research. Focusing on research development gives academics the opportunity to develop their teaching scholarship, prepare publishable work, and cultivate teaching and learning practices that are aligned with their specific discipline environments. We discuss the philosophy of this approach to the enhancement of academic work through the synergy between teaching and research. We illustrate our discussion with some recent examples in which we have used this approach successfully.     

Research Productivity and Social Capital in Australian Higher Education

This study investigates the role of social capital in raising research productivity in academic institutions. Social capital as a strategic resource embedded in social relationships can be utilised towards decreasing pressures from external environmental conditions, such as the global financial crisis. A survey was sent to academic staff in five universities in Victoria, to collect data regarding their frequency of communications and research productivity. The findings indicated that there is a significant and positive correlation between social interactions and research productivity. Regression analysis demonstrated that social interactions as an independent variable predict research productivity of academics.