Monthly Archives: July 2018

Preprints in the news

I think Fiona Fox’s recent question about preprints and their impact on science news reporting deserves more consideration. She calls for more discussion of the issue and of possible solutions. Preprints – good I’ve invested quite a bit of time … Continue reading

Posted in Communicating Science, Preprints | Comments Off on Preprints in the news

Are universities finally moving towards their #MeToo moment?

I have been away from my computer for over a week, but while I was away a piece I wrote previously for the Guardian HE Network has appeared regarding sexism in academic science. So, for my latest thoughts on this … Continue reading

Posted in Geoff Marcy, Guardian, sexism, Women in science | Comments Off on Are universities finally moving towards their #MeToo moment?

Why open access makes sense

My colleagues in the Communications are looking pleased and exhausted today.  The Francis Crick Institute’s new website launched this morning. It’s had a complete overhaul of style, structure and content.  I’ve not been closely involved but I know enough to … Continue reading

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Judging on Potential (or Not)

I was trying to lay my hands on a quote I heard recently on the radio about creativity by Wolfgang von Goethe to kickstart this blogpost, and instead (amongst 100’s of others of his quotes) I came upon this: ‘Girls … Continue reading

Posted in Equality, Goethe, promotion, referees, Royal Society, Women in science | Comments Off on Judging on Potential (or Not)

DORA, the Leiden Manifesto & a university’s right to choose: a comment

The post below was written as a comment on Lizzie Gadd’s recent post explaining in some detail Loughborough University decision to base their approach to research assessment more on the Leiden Manifesto than DORA, the Declaration on Research Assessment. So you should … Continue reading

Posted in Academic publishing | Comments Off on DORA, the Leiden Manifesto & a university’s right to choose: a comment

An unusual source of inspiration

In the introductory project management course that we took at the start of our curriculum revision process, we learned about the importance of defining the boundaries of a project, and not succumbing to the ever-present temptation of project inflation. Up … Continue reading

Posted in education, Materials Science | Comments Off on An unusual source of inspiration

A Lifetime of Music

It is inevitable that as one gets older the deaths of people who have meant a great deal to you happen more and more often. I have written in the past years about the death of two key mentors of … Continue reading

Posted in Camden School for Girls, education, LSSO, Peter Morgan, viola | Comments Off on A Lifetime of Music

What does the Future Hold for Interdisciplinary Research Funding

UKRI has big shoes to fill. So far it has only just begun to signal its intentions regarding strategic directions: the ‘strategic prospectus’ it published in May was more a road map for developing its strategy than a strategy itself. … Continue reading

Posted in Interdisciplinary Science, refereeing, Science Funding, Strategic Priorities Fund, UKRI | Comments Off on What does the Future Hold for Interdisciplinary Research Funding

Summertime

I often, if not always, take my laptop with me on holiday. Ostensibly it’s to write (for pleasure, definitely not work), but always—but always—that never ends up happening and we just use it for looking at all the photos we’ve … Continue reading

Posted in A momentary lapse of reason, Holiday, Writing | Comments Off on Summertime

Ready-made citation distributions are a boost for responsible research assessment

Though a long-time critic of journal impact factors (JIFs), I was delighted when the latest batch was released by Clarivate last week. It’s not the JIFs themselves that I was glad to see (still alas quoted to a ridiculous level … Continue reading

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