Author Archives: Athene Donald

Building the Evidence

Posted on 3 March 2013 by Athene Donald

Evidence-based policy has become something of a catch phrase recently. My own MP, the scientist and my former departmental colleague Julian Huppert, used the phrase in his maiden speech, pledging  to support it, albeit other MPs may be less persuaded … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Mark Henderson, Mark Walport, randomised controlled trials, wellcome | Comments Off on Building the Evidence

Leadership Strategies for Dealing with Jerks

Posted on 25 February 2013 by Athene Donald

My last post about jerks in academia struck a chord with many but also raised questions – jerks abound, yes, but what should we do about them? What can we do to ‘out’ them and so to attempt to ameliorate … Continue reading →

Posted in administration, Athena Swan, head of department, promotion, Research, Science Culture | Comments Off on Leadership Strategies for Dealing with Jerks

Time to Eradicate the Academic Jerk?

Posted on 20 February 2013 by Athene Donald

There have been several articles/blogposts recently pointing out that scientists are just like everyone else. For instance, they have emotions (see this Observer article from last week detailing the ups and downs of research life); and they get stressed, as … Continue reading →

Posted in acadmia, good behaviour, leadership, Science Culture, Uta Frith | Comments Off on Time to Eradicate the Academic Jerk?

Fear of the Illogical

Posted on 15 February 2013 by Athene Donald

I’m on my way to Newcastle to talk to their Women’s Network about confidence, and it’s made me think a lot more about the phrase ‘Feel the Fear and Do it Anyhow’ – the title of a book I must … Continue reading →

Posted in fear, mentoring, promotion, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Fear of the Illogical

Let’s Get Stereotypes out of Science Education

Posted on 10 February 2013 by Athene Donald

Women are from Venus, like making cupcakes, like bright colours – particularly pink – and need to be told at frequent intervals that ‘math is meant to be hard’. That seems to be the verdict you could cull from many … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Equality, physics, stereotype threat, teachers, Women in science | Comments Off on Let’s Get Stereotypes out of Science Education

Confidence and Confidentiality

Posted on 7 February 2013 by Athene Donald

I have a couple of tasks ahead of me which I am currently mulling over. The first is a talk I’m going to give to Newcastle University’s Women’s Network on Building Confidence, in which I’ve been asked to build on … Continue reading →

Posted in anonymity, Blogging, Communicating Science, Science Culture, students | Comments Off on Confidence and Confidentiality

What’s the point of talking to yourself?

Posted on 1 February 2013 by Athene Donald

Some time ago I had the curious experience of being an observer at a series of decision-making meetings covering different disciplines.  As a mere observer I didn’t have to do any preparation myself, none of this producing scores for the … Continue reading →

Posted in committee work, decision-making, refereeing, Science Culture | Comments Off on What’s the point of talking to yourself?

Interviews and Expectations

Posted on 27 January 2013 by Athene Donald

Today I was very saddened to read a graphical account by a blogger writing under the name of Zinemin, of an interview for an academic post she really wanted that had gone horribly wrong. Her experience sounded appalling, and quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, job interviews, Science Culture, Unconscious bias | Comments Off on Interviews and Expectations

Raising Expectations: Funders Get Tough(ish)

Posted on 22 January 2013 by Athene Donald

About 18 months ago, Dame Sally Davies, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, unilaterally raised the bar for Medical Schools wanting to apply to future rounds of funding through the Biomedical Research Centre scheme, demanding (in essence) that they obtain an … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, Equality, funding, RCUK, Women in science | Comments Off on Raising Expectations: Funders Get Tough(ish)

Undue Influence?

Posted on 16 January 2013 by Athene Donald

If the newspapers are to be believed – and that’s a big if – then television has an awful lot to answer for when it comes to which university courses are over-subscribed. In quick succession last week, stories were run … Continue reading →

Posted in Brian Cox, careers, Careers advice, degree choice, education | Comments Off on Undue Influence?