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This paper provides a critique of academic experiences of neoliberal economic reform at a New Zealand (NZ) university. The authors engaged in a collaborative inquiry that was based upon a developing theoretical perspective of the reform process and how this affected their academic lives. We were keen to develop an understanding of liberal educational philosophy and how neoliberalism impacts on this. In this context we examined the nature of compliance and an academic's role in society. We conclude that universities in NZ are historically liberal and that there are limits to the neoliberal project due to the relationship that individuals have with knowledge and the pressures that come from being part of a worldwide academic community that aspires to excellence in research and teaching. However, new compliance measures, such as Performance-based Research Funding, have changed academic work and made a broader societal role for academics more difficult. In serving society universities are required to accept a role as critic and conscience of society. We suggest that academics must be both critic and conscience and that this responsibility can be fulfilled through our conduct, empowerment and speaking on behalf of others.

Objectives: To investigate associations between occupational exposure to solvents and metals and fixed airflow obstruction using post-bronchodilator spirometry. Methods: From 1,335 participants in the 2002-2008 follow-up of the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TAHS) cohort who completed lung function testing and lifetime work history calendars. Ever exposure and cumulative-exposure-unit-years were calculated using the ALOHA+Job Exposure Matrix. Fixed AO was defined by post-bronchodilator FEV 1 / FVC<0.7 and FEV 1 /FVC

Previous studies based on recalled occupational histories have implicated metal and solvent exposure in the etiology of motor neuron disease (MND). We have used death certificates held in pension fund archives and linked unbiased historical occupational records to investigate the effects of occupational exposure to metals or solvents on the risk of death from MND in 22 cases and 206 controls from 22,526 past employees of a major UK engineering company. We found no evidence of increased risk of death from MND in individuals who had worked with either metals (adjusted odds ratio = 0.88, 95% CI 0.35–2.22) or solvents (odds ratio = 1.12, 95% CI 0.45–2.78), and no relation between disease risk and either duration or intensity of exposure. We conclude that metal and solvent exposures are unlikely to be involved in the etiology of MND.