Author Archives: Athene Donald

Fixing the Numbers (well maybe)

Posted on 19 March 2013 by Athene Donald

This week I read that the Labour party was attempting to redress the lack of women candidates by using all-women shortlists, as women aren’t faring well in open competition to get selected as Parliamentary candidates. In Europe, meanwhile, we see … Continue reading →

Posted in committees, ERC, grants, quotas, Science Funding, Women in science | Comments Off on Fixing the Numbers (well maybe)

It’s Time to Resist the Pressure

Posted on 14 March 2013 by Athene Donald

As part of my university’s preparation for the transition to open access, there is a project being run out of the University Library to look at how academics approach publishing. (Fellow OT blogger Stephen Curry has written much on the topic … Continue reading →

Posted in h factor, impact factor, promotion, Research, Science Culture, scientific misconduct | Comments Off on It’s Time to Resist the Pressure

Saying What You Mean to Say

Posted on 10 March 2013 by Athene Donald

Some years ago I came across a psychology paper which suggested that letters of reference are subtly (or even not-so-subtly) gendered. I had never thought about it before, but it made me think much harder about the adjectives and roles … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, gender, job applications, reference letter, Science Culture | Comments Off on Saying What You Mean to Say

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?