Monthly Archives: April 2015

Can we amend the laws of scholarly publication?

Posted on 29 April 2015 by Stephen

As part of its celebrations to mark the 350th anniversary of the publication of Philosophical Transactions, the world’s longest-running scientific journal, the Royal Society arnessas convened a meeting to examine ‘The Future of Scholarly Scientific Communication’. The first half of the meeting, … Continue reading →

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The Perils of Procrastination

Posted on 29 April 2015 by Athene Donald

Voter registration in the UK showed just how many people are good at procrastination, with nearly half a million people registering on the last possible day. My email inbox is also a good indicator of people’s expectation that we are … Continue reading →

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In which the small fish contemplates the bigger pond

Posted on 25 April 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

The wandering path of my unconventional scientific life is about to shift yet again. It’s with mixed feelings that I report another lab move – same Division, another new campus. The retro digs in Bloomsbury, with its polished hardwood trimmings, … Continue reading →

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The Myth of the ‘Myth of Women in Science’

Posted on 21 April 2015 by Athene Donald

If you skimmed through some articles about women in science recently, you’d be forgiven for thinking ‘problem solved’. A recent study by Cecil and Williams, published in no less august a publication than PNAS, claimed women actually had a 2:1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, hiring, microinequities, tenure track, Women in science | Comments Off on The Myth of the ‘Myth of Women in Science’

On the Need for Shiny New Facilities

Posted on 16 April 2015 by Athene Donald

I’m off to open a new block at Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College tomorrow. A shiny new building to provide fresh classrooms and additional study space, something many schools would dearly love to have. A decent working environment is … Continue reading →

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Leadership (Churchillian style) and Policy

Posted on 12 April 2015 by Athene Donald

Churchill is often seen as the supreme leader, a man whose very voice inspired a nation and who held the country’s nerve during the Battle of Britain. Less often discussed is his leadership and behaviour at other times, although increasingly … Continue reading →

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Paying for peer review? No thanks, I’m outta here…

Posted on 12 April 2015 by Steve Caplan

I spent Friday traveling west of Omaha to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, in of course, Kearney, Nebraska–about 3 hours west of Omaha. The University of Nebraska has 4 major campuses: 1) The University of Nebraska Medical Center (where … Continue reading →

Posted in compensation, editor, editorial board, editors, journals, nature, peer review, publishing, Research, review, rubriq, science, scientific reports | Comments Off on Paying for peer review? No thanks, I’m outta here…

Open access: a national licence is not the answer

Posted on 8 April 2015 by Stephen

“Open Access: Is a national licence the answer?” is a proposal by David Price and Sarah Chaytor of University College London for a mechanism to provide full access to everyone within the UK to all published research. It was published on 31 … Continue reading →

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Borrowing an Objective

Posted on 5 April 2015 by Athene Donald

Maybe it’s because I’m relaxed as it’s the Easter break, but when I received an email with ‘Borrowing an Objective‘ as its subject this week, my mind went into overdrive. I assumed someone was short of a goal, an aspiration … Continue reading →

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In which the forest emerges

Posted on 1 April 2015 by Jennifer Rohn

The clocks have gone forward, the crocuses wither, the tulips unfurl. The students have dispersed for Easter, full of dread about the immunology exam that will pounce on their return. Budding life forms I put one grant application to bed … Continue reading →

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