Monthly Archives: August 2012

Open Access – what is the economic model?

Posted on 23 August 2012 by Sylvia McLain

I just had my first paper Open Access paper accepted to a bona fide Open Access Journal – PLOS One. On the plus side, I had really good and thoughtful reviews. They were sent (as requested) to three experts in … Continue reading →

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A look back at the future

Posted on 23 August 2012 by Frank Norman

I am indebted to Dr R.A.C. for bringing to my attention a spoof exam paper drawn up by J.B.

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In which we say goodbye

Posted on 23 August 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

Over the summer, our lab has been invaded by an exotic species with a dynamic life cycle and an all-too-brief half-life. No, I’m not talking about some new strain of uropathogenic E. coli or other variety of bad-assed bug.

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It Has Not Escaped Our Notice #1722

Posted on 22 August 2012 by Henry Gee

This notice found pasted to the door leading to the attic room in a gloriously higgledy-piggledy secondhand bookshop, recently. The final invocation imprecation instruction in particular is awfully suggestive of tales of gothick horror perhaps yet to condense from the … Continue reading →

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On message

Posted on 21 August 2012 by rpg

Back in September 2010, I’m not sure that any of us who answered Jenny’s call to action knew quite what to expect. Maybe not even pulling off a rally attended by over 2,000 scientists and supporters; perhaps not going to … Continue reading →

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I’M SORRY!!!

Posted on 21 August 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

This article suddenly made me feel just terrible about the many mutations I’ve introduced into all those poor genes and their promoters!  

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On Being Inefficient

Posted on 20 August 2012 by Athene Donald

Academia is a great place for being judged on outputs, and I’m not just referring to the kind of output relevant to the REF. But, be it papers written, worked examples provided, grants submitted or students tutored, we are expected … Continue reading →

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Sick of Impact Factors: Coda

Posted on 19 August 2012 by Stephen

My ‘Sick of Impact Factors‘ blog post seems to have struck much more of a chord than I anticipated. At the time of writing it has attracted over 12,900 page views and 460 tweets, far higher than my usual tallies. The … Continue reading →

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Expat: a musical in three acts

Posted on 19 August 2012 by Cath@VWXYNot?

Setting: Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom Act I: 54-40 (A whole room full of drunken Canadians is jumping up and down in ecstasy, singing along with every word of every song. Within the crowd is a group of friends, most of whom … Continue reading →

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Educating children: balancing the need for instilling security with knowledge of evil

Posted on 18 August 2012 by Steve Caplan

As I’ve probably noted too many times in these pages, I am an addicted bookworm, and always have been. The pages of my books have always been escape (albeit often to realities more difficult than my own), and in modern … Continue reading →

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