Latest posts

Masquerading Amongst the Literati

Posted on 1 June 2017 by Athene Donald

Things did not get off to a good start as I travelled to Hay-on-Wye this week. I arrived at Hereford railway station to be greeted by – nothing. No sign of the car meant to be picking me up to take me to Hay, only another woman looking equally anxious. A few minutes later the driver emerged from behind us in the station. Both us women had failed th Continue reading →

Posted in audiences, Communicating Science, Equality, gender, Hay Festival, lego, Women in science | Comments Off on Masquerading Amongst the Literati

On ending the myth of the Lost Cause

Posted on 29 May 2017 by Sylvia McLain

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During Reconstruction, that horrific impoverished period in the US South after the Civil War, the Cult of the Lost Cause (of the Confederacy) took its roots in the minds and attitudes of Southerners and indeed of the nation as a whole. Based in the idea that Southerners were somehow more noble, chivalrous and moral than the Federals in battle, ol Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War Statues, Confederacy, racism | Comments Off on On ending the myth of the Lost Cause

Writer’s Block

Posted on 28 May 2017 by Athene Donald

Regular readers of my blog will have noticed there has been nothing new to read for a while.  I guess this could be ascribed simply to the familiar problem of writer’s block, but it felt more like a complete loss of mental and creative energy. Whereas I have, over the past nearly seven years, found writing my blogposts a refreshing change from the Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Communicating Science, email, energy, inbox, Science Culture | Comments Off on Writer’s Block

On the removal of our Southern ‘heritage’

Posted on 27 May 2017 by Sylvia McLain

Bye Bye Robert E Lee

In the US South, in various places, confederate statues are being removed. In New Orleans Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, General Beauregard – all these relics of the Confederate past are being transported to a cobweb, pigeon-shit and dust legacy.

Continue reading →
Posted in Civil War Statues, Confederacy, New Orleans, racism | Comments Off on On the removal of our Southern ‘heritage’

Digital skills – how do we …

Posted on 22 May 2017 by Frank Norman

The concept of digital skills is a bit slippery.  The term has changed its meaning as the digital universe has expanded. Jisc is currently doing some work in this area, led by Caroline Ingram.

I attended an interesting workshop recently to look into the challenges of developing researchers’ digital skills. Continue reading →

Posted in digital, Information skills, Research data, roles, skills | Comments Off on Digital skills – how do we …

University rankings are fake news. How do we fix them?

Posted on 16 May 2017 by Stephen

tagThis post is based on a short presentation I gave as part of a panel at a meeting today on Understanding Global University Rankings: Their Data and Influence, organised by HESPA (Higher Education Strategic Planners Association).

HESPA University Rankings Panel - May 2017Yes, it’s a ‘manel’ (from the left: me, Johnny Rich, Rob Carthy). In our defence,  Sally Turnbull, who was chairing, s Continue reading →
Posted in metrics, science, Scientific Life, University League Tables, University Rankings | Comments Off on University rankings are fake news. How do we fix them?

The Cathedral on the Marsh

Posted on 13 May 2017 by Stephen

I’ve already shared this on Twitter and Facebook but wanted to post it here as a more permanent record. Two weeks ago i managed to fulfill the ambition, held since I had seen Nic Stacey’s and Jim Al-Khalili’s quite wonderful BBC documentary on thermodynamics, to visit the steam engines at the Crossness sewage pumping station. Thre Continue reading →

Posted in science | Comments Off on The Cathedral on the Marsh

Six questions about preprints

Posted on 9 May 2017 by Frank Norman

2017 is shaping up to be the year that preprints in biomedical sciences go mainstream.

At the beginning of the year MRC and Wellcome Trust both moved to accept preprints in grant applications and scientific reviews. Another major UK biomedical funder is likely to follow suit. In the USA the NIH has recently done the same. Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, peer review, Preprints | Comments Off on Six questions about preprints

In which we ride the imposter rollercoaster – again

Posted on 3 May 2017 by Jennifer Rohn

We often think of our personalities and tendencies as being immutable, fixed, typical. But the older I get, the better I know myself.

And what I know is that I’m often no more in control of my perceptions of self than that beetle in my three-year-old’s Pyrex specimen jar, being shaken and examined with a wide blue eye.

Continue reading →
Posted in careers, Research, staring into the abyss, Teaching, The profession of science | Comments Off on In which we ride the imposter rollercoaster – again

European Reflections from Padua

Posted on 27 April 2017 by Athene Donald

The ERC (European Research Council) last month celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Judging by the speeches and conversations on the day, ranging from  Commissioner Moedas and President Juncker to the ERC’s many grantees, it seems to be widely considered as rapidly to have become a success story and is highly regarded. Its philosophy is simple – and in Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Elena Piscopia, ERC, Science Culture, Science Funding, William Harvey | Comments Off on European Reflections from Padua