This paper explores the ideological orientations of higher education (HE) researchers in the form of a visual map, including three principal 'islands' -- "Pragmatists Peninsula," "Reformists Rock" and "Dystopians Retreat." The development of the HE research field in general, illustrated by the last 40 years of…

The reinvention of the university as a research-focused institution has transformed the way in which research is defined in practice. It is now widely explained in terms of a narrow set of performative expectations. This paper draws on historical literature to trace the hollowing out of research from a broad, though often sceptical, conception…

Collaboration is a modern mantra of the neoliberal university and part of a discourse allied to research performativity quantitatively measured via co-authorship. Yet, beyond the metrics and the positive rhetoric collaboration is a complex and paradoxical concept. Academic staff are exhorted to collaborate, particularly in respect to research…