Introduction

The university system, however, is changing; adding new rules, new ways of working, and new ideas to its repertoire of operations. Many universities and academic institutions now have statements on academic integrity for students and staff, outlining procedures concerning discipline committees and hearings, and also courses. The ethics of engagement within academia is somewhat associated with the notion of ‘freedom’ and ‘liberation’ from oppression, management and ideology. Academics as individuals and collective communities may in parallel seek some freedom from the constraints universities can place upon them as intelligent and authoritative actors. Codified notions of research ethics are particularly prevalent in the university context along with stringent institutional regulation of the procedures surrounding ethics review of research proposals. Moreover, ethics review processes and attendant regulatory modes of control compound the construction of the student as a ‘permanent performer’ and the associated requirement for her to self-govern through risk management.