{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T17:59:08Z","timestamp":1790704748791,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003815","name":"Huaqiao University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025TZYJ11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025TZYJ11"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003815","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study examines the academic career development context in China through a temporal lens. Based on questionnaire data collected from university faculty across 12 Chinese provinces and municipalities, the analysis reveals three core findings. First, undergraduate teaching constitutes a compulsory and high-priority time block for Chinese university academics. Second, while most faculty aspire to prioritize academic writing, administrative tasks consistently take precedence over research in practice\u2014a pattern rooted in the dominance of administrative power over academic authority in higher education institutions. Third, faculty\u2019s expected priority for research time significantly outweighs its actual operational priority in daily work. 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