The university:union relationship is a vital but often underdeveloped and under-investigated dimension of higher education in the UK. But it is an essential feature of the landscape. These remain therefore extremely interesting times for universities and unions.

Our starting point was that university: union relationships matter. This project has reinforced that view immeasurably. They matter enormously to all involved in higher education. We hope that this report offers some assistance to those involved both directly and indirectly in university: union relations.

Contemporary academic life poses a number of challenges to new entrants in the humanities and social sciences, who are expected to balance the demands of research, teaching and management. Managing Your Academic Career draws on interviews with a cross-section of young academics entering the profession today to identify the predominant issues and concerns as they begin to juggle the various components of the job.

This book explores the origins of the quality assurance discourse in 20th Century higher education and argues that quality and standards are widely misunderstood concepts. This is manifested in the apparent enthusiasm for the adoption of industrial models of quality which are quite alien to education. The political context and justification for quality assurance are considered along with problems with language.