Category Archives: bullying

The (Damaging) Power of Silence

Posted on 1 March 2024 by Athene Donald

There are many strategies for dealing with an overfull inbox, not all of which are helpful to the person who sent the email. I have weeks where I feel more or less on top of things and other weeks where … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, complicit, email, power imbalance, Science Culture | Comments Off on The (Damaging) Power of Silence

Not Letting the Bad Guys Win

Posted on 28 May 2023 by Athene Donald

An editorial in Nature this week highlighted the widespread failure of academic institutions to deal with reports of wrongdoing and its consequences, published alongside an extensive set of articles about the problems associated with poor mental health in research labs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, misogyny, Science Culture, speaking up, whistleblowing | Comments Off on Not Letting the Bad Guys Win

What does the Raab episode tell us about Academia?

Posted on 22 April 2023 by Athene Donald

The resignation of Dominic Raab in the latest Government bullying scandal, and the manner of it, demonstrates many of the challenges surrounding accusations of bullying in any sphere. Bullying is hard to define precisely; one person’s robust retort is another’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, Dominic Raab, Science Culture, toxicity | Comments Off on What does the Raab episode tell us about Academia?

The Humane Scientist

Posted on 3 January 2023 by Athene Donald

It was Philip Ball who drew my attention to the recent memoir by Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman. He said, over Twitter, that he thought it would resonate with me, and it certainly did. His … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, Dominic Raab, hierarchy, Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Peter Medawar, Science Culture | Comments Off on The Humane Scientist

Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

Posted on 3 November 2022 by Athene Donald

We are stuck in an academic world where the model of how science research is done appears not to have shifted much from that deemed appropriate fifty years ago. Back then (more or less when I set out, give or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, HEPI, Matthew Flinders, mentoring, Research, Science Culture, teams | Comments Off on Research Leadership: Are we Getting it Right?

Indications of Direction of Travel at UKRI

Posted on 21 March 2022 by Athene Donald

I have been reading the recent publication from UKRI, their strategy document for the next five years. In UKRI’s relatively brief history, this is the first such document it has produced, because it is only now that they have any … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, diversity, Excellence, porosity, precarity, Science Culture | Comments Off on Indications of Direction of Travel at UKRI

Name-calling, Favourites and Bystanders

Posted on 5 September 2021 by Athene Donald

Name-calling of any kind is painful. My first experience of it that I recall, dates back to primary school when the other kids used to call me teacher’s pet. Probably deserved as an appellation, in so far as I undoubtedly … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, Equality, insult, intervention, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Name-calling, Favourites and Bystanders

Getting Universities’ People and Culture Right

Posted on 27 August 2021 by Athene Donald

Regular readers of my blog will have noticed there has been nothing to read for some time, regularly or irregularly. As for so many of us, this has been a tough year culminating, for me, in a chest infection (non-Covid) … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Amanda Solloway, BEIS, bullying, ECRs, Equality, Science Culture | Comments Off on Getting Universities’ People and Culture Right

Who Has Authority Here?

Posted on 7 February 2021 by Athene Donald

Jackie Weaver may have become an internet sensation due to her calm handling of a bunch of unruly local councillors, but the behaviour manifest in the viral video is one that many a chair of an academic committee will recognize. … Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, chairing, committees, Science Culture | Comments Off on Who Has Authority Here?

Is Bigger Always Better?

Posted on 28 June 2020 by Athene Donald

Social distancing may have been reduced to 1(+)m – whatever that may mean – but that is still going to impose significant constraints on what a bench scientist can do. Fume cupboards in a line – how many of them … Continue reading →

Posted in bullying, careers, group size, pandemic, Science Culture, UKRI | Comments Off on Is Bigger Always Better?