Few issues have drawn such persistent and divisive debate in recent years as tobacco-industry funding of university research. Although a number of institutions have developed policies to prohibit such funding in the last few years, others have taken large grants from tobacco companies. Today, a number of prominent hospitals, medical schools, and…

During the past two decades, historians have been brought into legal cases in unprecedented numbers. As the courts have tried to adjudicate responsibility for environmental and occupational diseases, history and historians have played an increasingly central role in shaping decisions in the cases themselves as well as in related social policy. In…

The trend toward use of corporate language in campus management coincides with, and may correspond to, a decline in collegiality and the unique qualities of academic life. (MSE)

The academic department is viewed as a form of cartel, a model of monopolistic behavior characterized by control over a particular differentiated product. The development and operation of this academic cartel is explored. (MSE)

While colleges and universities are increasingly retreating to management models already considered counterproductive in industry, corporations are beginning to appreciate the principles of shared authority and are developing collegial-style cultures. (MSE)

Delays in publication of articles in economics are examined, drawing on a survey of researchers in the field. It is concluded that members of this and other disciplines are responsible for more efficient peer review. A restructured selection process, better communication with referees, and enhanced policing of reviewers are also recommended. (MSE)

The high price of subscribing to scientific journals threatens scientific communications. A coalition of universities, libraries, and learned societies, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), is using electronic publishing to reverse that trend and provide affordable alternatives to costly print publications.…

Nonpublishing concerns are absorbing publishing operations, redefining them into either components of information networks or entertainment centers. Pressures toward profitability subvert independent decision making and a free speech environment is eroded by profit goals. (MLW)

Management drive in both higher education and industry is to offer participation to employees but use such participation to increase management control through identifying weak links in a deliberately stressed work situation. Attacks on faculty unions or senates are all part of management's offensive against any control by labor, and also on…

The difficulty for an institution of finding a balance between traditional faculty compensation practices and free labor market practices that raise the salaries of faculty in high-demand disciplines in government, industry, and education is discussed. (MSE)

Examines three assumptions that underlie the argument that shared governance must be reformed, and based on the professional literature and experience, counters them. The assumptions are that the bureaucracy appropriate for industry is appropriate for a higher education institution, democratic decision making undermines effective college and…