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Category Archives: Science Culture
Choosing Your Image
We all know people who seem quintessentially comfortable in their own skins, who effortlessly fit in to whatever group they want to belong to and reign supreme in their world (at least socially). But, note my use of the word … Continue reading Continue reading
Is Ballroom Dancing like Academia?
One of my secret loves is watching each series of Strictly Come Dancing. It is a feel-good vibe we all need in these dark geopolitical days, however much I don’t care how many sequins are sewed on by hand. So, … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in demeaning, entitlement, equity, Science Culture, Shirley Ballas, Women in science
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How Much Does the Scientific Ecosystem Change over Time?
Desmond Bernal was an outstanding crystallographer. Not himself a Nobel Prize winner, he set the likes of Dorothy Hodgkin and Max Perutz on their own successful paths to that accolade. A Communist, he fell from grace during the 50’s and … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in CP Snow, deficit model, Desmond Bernal, Interdisciplinary Science, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Sage, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, The Social Function of Science, Unconscious bias, Universities
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Unreactive Audiences and Pertinent Questions
Given that it is now a decade or more since I was particularly involved in research, if I am asked to give a seminar – usually to students, sometimes undergraduates, sometimes and more commonly PhD students and early career research … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in careers, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, jerks, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, team players, Unconscious bias, Universities
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Praise and Possibility
Anyone who watched the final of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing will have heard words like ‘resilient’, ‘belief’ and ‘self-confidence’ thrown in the direction of the four finalists by the judges, with all contestants having been on a ‘journey’. It got … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in academic pyramid, careers, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, Londa Schiebinger, macho, PhD students, Project Implicit, resilience, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, Strictly Come Dancing, supervisors, Unconscious bias, Universities
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When to Say Yes
I’ve been writing this blog for more than fourteen years now, incredible though that sounds, at least to me. I rarely look back at what has gone before and if I do, it’s mainly to check I’m not repeating myself. … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in Athena Forum, careers, committees, deficit model, Interdisciplinary Science, learning, Londa Schiebinger, macho, Project Implicit, Science Culture, Science Funding, social media, Unconscious bias, Universities
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The Importance of Technicians
My last post discussed the ecosystem for those who consider themselves researchers and where it can go wrong if the incentives turn out to be perverse, however logical they seem on the surface. Today I turn to consider the technicians, … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in demographics, laboratory, pastoral care, Science Culture, Talent Commission, Technician Commitment
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The Dangers of Brilliance
As the detailed criteria of REF2029 are being worked through, the issue over the research culture part remains unclear. There are those who think research culture is an irrelevance in the pursuit of excellence, that it is a touchy-feely kind … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in economics, education, environment, Equality, philosophy, Science Culture, smart
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Can One Simplify the REF?
The REF is much in the news, with some feathers ruffled by UK Day One’s proposal to simplify the whole process, as detailed in their report Replacing the Research Excellence Framework. I am sure there are academics and administrators up … Continue reading Continue reading
Posted in grants, James Wilsdon, research culture, Science Culture, Science Funding, The Metric Tide
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