"Australia's universities have one of the highest levels of private funding in the world and it's inevitable that corporate investors seek favourable research and publicity.

Our universities need support to fulfil their responsibility for advancing human knowledge; and scrutiny to ensure they don't degenerate into mouthpieces for their commercial sponsors."

Indeed. However as the old saw goes, "He who pays the piper calls the tune". For a compelling and enlightening insight into the power of Capital, read the very thorough explication by Clyde W Barrow of the ways and means employed by America's richest and most powerfull tycoons to silence dissent amongst academics. 'Universities and the Capitalist State: Corporate Liberalism and the Reconstruction of American Higher Education, 1894-1928. The University of Wisconsin Press 1990'

Thanks for this piece. Dan Greenberg, a writer on science policy published an important book, his third, on this subject recently and the details can be found here: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/306348.html.

Dan wrote an article outlining the main poits of the book in the 7 September 2007 issue of Science (www.sciencemag.org)

The reference Sowat gives sounds "right on the button" also.