Category Archives: Science Culture

How Not to Chair a Committee

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Athene Donald

Whether as a student or a professor (or indeed at any level in between) I would suspect there isn’t a reader of this blog who hasn’t had to sit through a meeting of some type or other where the Chair … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Politics, Policy and Nerves

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Athene Donald

Walking in to the Babbage Lecture Theatre in the centre of Cambridge last week took me straight back to what I suspect was the first lecture I ever attended (or should that be endured?) in Cambridge as an undergraduate. I’m … Continue reading →

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Drinking Habits of the Academic

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Athene Donald

Do we, poor misguided academics drink too much? I am sure many of us could do with drinking less but I was surprised to see the Guardian’s Academics Anonymous complaining that Russell group universities ply everyone with too much alcohol. … Continue reading →

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Permission Given

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Athene Donald

This is a post about professional anxiety and what might be done to alleviate it. Consider who asks questions after departmental seminars or conference talks: too often it is the usual suspects (although my impression is that this is getting … Continue reading →

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Confidence, Rebellion and Schools

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Athene Donald

‘A swot and a rebel’ was how Mary Beard described herself when I interviewed her last week for Churchill College (you can listen to the full interview here). She seemed to think this was a common pairing of terms but … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Science Culture | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments