Researchers should be free from constraints that prevent them from the pursuit of scientific truth – this is an idea that universities all over the world like to pride themselves on. However, even the purest, most basic research is subject to pressures that are never exclusively scientific. Researchers are subject to a number of social […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: October 2016
How do you define yourself as an academic?
Five common customer service mistakes and how to avoid making them
If you work in the service industry, you’ll know what’s it’s like to deal with customers, their demands and the hoped for positive relationship between you both. You are responsible for the satisfaction of your customers and your whole working approach should be towards making them your priority. Consequently, you must make sure that the […] … learn more→
Do black students really need college to get high paying jobs?
The path from poverty to the middle class doesn’t have to go through college. Jonathan Johnson, a former teacher in New Orleans, thinks there’s a quicker way for more African-American youth to reach high paying jobs in this city of sharp racial and economic divides. That’s why he’s launching Rooted School, a high school that […] … learn more→
Australian University changes to academic contracts are threatening freedom of speech
Some universities are attempting to insert new clauses into their employment contracts that aim to limit academics’ ability to speak freely in public debate. All universities acknowledge the role that academics have in public engagement. The University of Sydney for example, states that staff “are encouraged to engage in debate on matters of public importance”. […] … learn more→
PhD to Start up?
After completing my PhD last year I was set on putting all the recommendations I had made into place. I wanted this research to make a real difference. And out into the world I went. I co-founded a business during my PhD that I started to grow, and was also working in local government in […] … learn more→
Studies show massage has greater benefits than you might think
Feeling achy? Stressed? Or just want to give yourself a treat after a long week of work? How often do you get a massage as a means of checking all those boxes? Once a year? Almost never? According to the American Massage Therapy Association, only 18 percent of Americans had a massage during 2014 to […] … learn more→
Worried your emails might be spied on? Here’s what you can do
We live in a post-Edward Snowden world, in which US tech companies have been accused of complicity in mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA). One recent allegation is the claim that Yahoo scanned hundreds of millions of emails at the NSA’s request. We don’t truly know how much or how often this […] … learn more→
Theresa May’s plans to relax faith school admissions will do nothing for social justice
With competition for school places set to intensify over the next decade, the government’s recent proposal to relax admissions rules for new faith schools has been met with mixed responses. While the move to allow new faith schools to select all of their pupils by religion has been welcomed by many religious schools, others have […] … learn more→
Academic advice: where to find it, and how to get the most out of it
Academia is a complex, challenging, highly competitive career and it is easy to feel lost. In the absence of a simple route from PhD to professor, we are forced to hunt for advice. The problem is how does one get good advice? There is certainly no shortage of it; advice can be found everywhere, from […] … learn more→
The Uber cheater economy
I’m no longer shocked with the cheating by students in higher education. There are many reasons for this, but foremost is how much higher education has changed. In times past, it was well known that higher education was about preparing a human being for more. It was literally written into the old rules of accreditation: […] … learn more→