Author Archives: Athene Donald

Why Should She Do it All?

Posted on 19 September 2011 by Athene Donald

My recent article in the THE about cultural expectations being imposed on young girls (which also appeared as a post here) got a mixed reception in the online comments.  Several seemed to have failed to grasp the central point that … Continue reading →

Posted in Allison Pearson, children, Equality, maternity leave, Ottoline Leyser, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Why Should She Do it All?

How Do You Know How to Write a Thesis?

Posted on 15 September 2011 by Athene Donald

I wrote my PhD thesis so long ago it was typed for me by someone else based on my handwritten chapters; the diagrams were drawn laboriously and messily by me with a pen, ink and a fair number of smudges; … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, communication, examiners, PhD thesis, Research, Science Culture, viva | Comments Off on How Do You Know How to Write a Thesis?

Start of Year Shenanigans

Posted on 10 September 2011 by Athene Donald

Having returned from a few days of holiday, I am feeling frivolous. So here is a sketch representing the Start of the Academic Year at the Department of Paintballing The main characters in this sketch are described in a previous … Continue reading →

Posted in REF, Science Culture, staff meeting | Comments Off on Start of Year Shenanigans

Some Things Never Change

Posted on 5 September 2011 by Athene Donald

One of the enjoyable consequences of carrying out reading tasks for publishers, is that often one can be paid ‘in kind’ with a miscellaneous collection of books up to some market value considerably more than any cheque they might otherwise … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam Sedgwick, David Elliston Allen, History of Science, Life in Science, Science Culture, Thomas Huxley | Comments Off on Some Things Never Change

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Posted on 1 September 2011 by Athene Donald

This book review first appeared in Times Higher Education on September 1st 2011. Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World By Lisa Randall Bodley Head, 464pp, £20.00 ISBN 9781847920690 Published 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Science, Higgs Particle, Large Hadron Collider, Lisa Randall, Research | Comments Off on Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Where is Physics Barbie?

Posted on 25 August 2011 by Athene Donald

This article first appeared in Times Higher Education on 25th August 2011. The title is as it appears there. Diversity matters, be it in the make-up of Parliament, among our television presenters or in our boardrooms. It matters in science … Continue reading →

Posted in A level choices, career choices, cultural stereotypes, education, Equality, toys, Women in science | Comments Off on Where is Physics Barbie?

Funders get Tough

Posted on 16 August 2011 by Athene Donald

This post is not, as UK readers might think from the title, a tirade about one of our Research Councils’ shortsightedness.  On the contrary, it is a plaudit for a UK ministry, who are showing admirable steel on behalf of … Continue reading →

Posted in Athena Swan, Department of Health, Equality, Research, research funding, Science Funding, Women in science | Comments Off on Funders get Tough

Numeracy

Posted on 12 August 2011 by Athene Donald

Do we have a numerate workforce? I’m afraid it is far too obvious the answer is no. I’m not just talking about the relatively low numbers of students taking maths A level, as detailed here in the recent Royal Society … Continue reading →

Posted in ACME, education, maths education, primary school teachers, Vorderman report | Comments Off on Numeracy