Why Twitter is a friend to early-career researchers
Most readers here will already know about Twitter, the site where we condense the everyday minutiae of our lives into 140 characters interspersed with pictures of cats, food, and cats eating food. If...
View ArticleThinking about how girls think about themselves
Self-perception colours our choices, limits or drives our ambitions, and affects how we come across to others. So role models and cultural icons matter when it comes to the messages we give our...
View ArticleAn experiment in post-proposal peer review
I’m a huge fan of post-publication peer review (PPPR). It’s the future of scientific publishing and it’ll be de rigeur – rather than a novelty – for the next generation of scientists. Because if that...
View ArticleSo long, Sid
As we get older, one aspect of the festive season becomes increasingly evident, an issue that younger readers may not have considered. It concerns the Christmas cards that do not arrive. Or,...
View ArticleThe dark side of post-publication peer review
Peer review is a cornerstone of science: before work is published in a journal it is sent to an independent expert, who quickly and anonymously assesses its quality; if the work is up to scratch, it...
View ArticleMoving on – when it’s not your decision
Science is one of the most adventurous careers one can choose. There are so many opportunities for changing your field of study that it allows you to live the dream – having a job that will never get...
View ArticleFollow the leader?
I very much hope that a meeting I attended last week at the University of Cambridge will prove to be a key moment, and a major catalyst, in accelerating change in academia. Delivering Equality: Women...
View ArticleWhy a level playing field needs good leadership
Recently Philip Moriarty discussed on this blog both the importance of a recent Cambridge University event on what success means for women within the HE Sector and diversity issues more generally, but...
View ArticleStill not in the World University Rankings Top 50? Five sure-fire routes to...
Last time round I bemoaned the “inspirational leader” model of management that infests universities but promised that I’d be a little more constructive in my next post. In the meantime, this splendid...
View ArticleSure you’re not meant to take it seriously
It’s a little over two years since my first post for physicsfocus and I’m sad to say that this one is going to be my last. I found out last month from Chris White – the physicsfocus editor,...
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