This thesis examines the relationship between status, mechanisms of control, and individual academic autonomy. It is a qualitative study which relies upon previous research in the field of academia in conjunction with data generated by semi-structured interviews of full time academics in the social sciences at McMaster University.
It is proposed in this thesis that the accumulation of status has come to play a critical role in the academic market economy which most universities entered as academia expanded during the post World War Two era.. It is suggested that the primary element in the realization of status is the publication of research, especially during the recessionary, no growth situation universities have been experiencing since the 1970's. Published research is viewed as a commodity, valued by both academics and those in positions of authority at the university. To ensure its production a number of controls are erected.
Although effective control is often associated with the rigidity of Tayloriam, such a prescription for academics is both ideologically unplalatable and unnecessary. The novitiate to the academic labour process is given little direction in terms of guidance, performance expectations, job description or how to allocate personal resources. When the above are coupled with an ambiguous, institutionally based evaluation format, the result is often the perception that academia is a prime example of occuaptional autonomy -as promoting independence of both thought and action. But perhaps it can also be a means of controlling academics through indirect external pressure, which also shapes the internal controls of academics. The end product of such a scenario may not be an independence for the academic that autonomy would by definition suggest, but a conformity which is ultimately consistent with accumulation of institutional status. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/15772 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Slaney, William Michael |
| Contributors | Rosenblum, Dr. G., Sociology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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