This article supports Bérubé's conclusion regarding the intellectual health of humanities scholarship. However, it argues that the case of "contingent faculty"--or academics with short-term or casual contracts--is in many respects different in Australia to the situation he outlines for the US. Whilst a variety of funding pressures have…

In "The Corrosion of Character" Richard Sennett contends that the storied nature of human experience is stunted by "conditions of the new economy". He argues that individuals are unable to develop "coherent life narratives" in the absence of job security. Thus, continuous employment somehow provides coherence: at…

Seven key attitudes for career longevity are as follows: I am either growing or decaying; a chaotic organization is a great place to learn; I must be selective in what I learn; I can align what I, the organization, and the market want; I must push to the outer limits; I am a unique business; and there are many pathways to a professional vision.…

Discusses how individuals can ensure they will have a job during periods of layoff and recession. Recommendations include (1) develop employability skills and (2) update resume and worklife philosophy. (CH)

Five articles address the realities of coping with downsizing: "Living with Layoffs" (Nocera); "How Safe Is Your Job?" (Lieber); "Career Makeover" (Robinson); "Ma Bell's Orphans" (O'Reilly); and "Where Are They Now?" (Martin). (SK)

Insecurity haunts many working people as corporations restructure and remove the underpinnings of career-long employment that sustains workers' confidence in their future. Unless workers adapt to managing their own careers, they may see the future as a reign of terror rather than the dawn of a promising era. (Author/JOW)