ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in subsequent chapters of this book. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mostly anonymous academics, at a glance Whackademia appeared to contain little that other university 'insiders' had not long been shouting from the rooftops. The book presents a rather drawn out account of working conditions within increasingly bureaucratized universities. Much time was taken detailing the 'drudgery' and excessive busyness associated with a world of inputs, targets, key performance indicators, performance management, unit costs, cost effectiveness, benchmarking, quality assurance and so on. While there is a need to explore the claims and counter-claims that surround higher education and digital technology, it is important to look beyond the hype and speculation that tend to pervade this area. It would be fair to conclude that dominant discourses around higher education and digital technology are largely positive and uncritical in tone certainly displaying more optimism than is usually apparent in other areas of educational debate.
