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Universities are wrong to assume that they are entitled to use recordings of lecturers however they please, says Robert Cluley

Douglas Dowland considers the damage inflicted by the control freaks of the academy – and some of the ways he has found to keep his own inner control freak in line

We should not be apologising for the way the humanities have been used in the Trump era, but striving to harness their force, says Sara Guyer

A recent posting on bioRxiv may have been erroneous, but the mistakes were picked up within hours, notes Kristen Sadler

Moving overseas is often the best way to further an academic career, but the transition to a new system and culture can be painful. Six academics recount their experiences and offer their tips

Even women with identical performance ratings to men suffer large pay deficits. This must be fixed, say Ann Brower and Alex James

Removing biases in the system may not be enough to achieve a truly equal gender balance, says Sun Young Lee 

Canada’s excess of directive funding programmes risks hobbling scientific imagination and progress, says Jim Woodgett

Impersonating the Messiah is apparently a necessity for funding success – but it’s hell, says Piers Kelly

Mary Beard’s recent admission that she is a ‘mug’ who works 100 hours a week caused a Twitter storm. But how hard is it reasonable for academics to work? Who should decide? And should the mugs be obliged to keep quiet? Seven academics have their say

During his time as a graffiti writer, Stefano Bloch was chased by the police, threatened by gangsters and witnessed savage violence. He tells Jack Grove about how he has incorporated such experiences in a powerful memoir that also makes an important contribution to research on urban life

Long after they have finally landed a full-time job, many academics still find themselves feeling insecure and guilty, says Rachel Moss

Excessive criticism reflects a dearth of research funding and space in top journals. But peers needn’t play ball, says an anonymous academic

A feudal approach to intellectual property has turned the academy into a modern police state, says Steve Fuller

With careers riding on young scientists’ position in author lists, friction is all too common. A snowballing initiative to list authors’ contributions aims to make sure credit is always given where it is due. But will it be enough to ease the angst? Jack Grove is first author

As the UK finally leaves the European Union after years of turmoil, Simon Usherwood says it is time for remain-supporting academics to focus on the future. But Tanja Bueltmann says that for EU academics the scars are too deep

Impostor phenomenon is real, but its ubiquitous, misnamed cousin invites accusations that it is a fad or fantasy, says Theresa Simpkin

Reversing the relationship between authors and publishers would ease perverse incentives that impede progress, say Hilal Lashuel and Benjamin Stecher

Questioning the BBC’s agenda in highlighting the problem in Ghana and Nigeria does not make it any less serious, says Eric Fredua-Kwarteng

Overseeing an Athena SWAN application convinced an anonymous academic that if tasks cannot be properly resourced, they should not be attempted at all

In an era of anti-expert populism, it is more important than ever to stand up for scientific truth. But it is also harder, coming with a high risk of personal attack. Anna McKie speaks to those who have paid a high price for their advocacy, and draws out the lessons for those who want to take up the cause

Critics claim that only ‘congenial’ researchers get access to ride-hailing company’s data, while academic co-authors have potential conflicts of interest

Academics’ battles with impostor syndrome reflect the difficulty of becoming truly accepted into the cult of academia, says Michael Marinetto 

The season of goodwill is upon us once more. But in an era of hyper-competition, does academic kindness extend beyond passing round the nuts at the departmental Christmas party? Six scholars recount their own tales of collegiate benevolence

Irina Dumitrescu’s tips for ‘upward toxicity’ was THE’s most-read article of 2019. But it doesn’t have to be this way, says John Tregoning

Strikes notwithstanding, more pay restraint and greater pensions contributions from UK staff seem unavoidable, writes Bernard Casey

Reporting procedures were woefully inadequate, while senior managers frequently enabled intimidatory behaviour, says an anonymous UK academic

Study finds that overseas scholars in former communist countries work there not out of deliberate choice but often due to ‘happenstance’, love or to escape poor job prospects at home

Prince Andrew’s fall from grace a full decade after Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction underlines academia’s failure to probe modern power, says Jason Lee

Jonathan R. Goodman is wrong to blame bibliometrics for stifling academic debate, says Craig Aaen-Stockdale

In a fraught political climate, it is even more difficult than usual for researchers to grab the attention of ministers. Diana Beech imparts her insider’s tips

Association to Horizon Europe would also be positive, but hostile mood music over immigration still reverberates 

Colleagues may judge those with regional accents more harshly, but poorer students respond to lecturers from similar backgrounds, says Ryan Coogan

More account must be taken of pregnancy, assisted fertility and miscarriage, say Christina Hellmich and Marina Della Giusta

Such skills can be learned relatively easily and cheaply. Universities should develop expertise in fields essential to human flourishing, says Andrew Moore 

Announcement by new government given cautious welcome by academics – although questions remain over funding and political independence

Academics’ deep identification with their work means that the failure of a book proposal, grant application or promotion request can cut deeply. But in a competitive profession, such knock-backs are inevitable. Here, six academics recall their most traumatic rejection – and how they got over it

Academic lawyers have helped to resolve legal puzzles, but wider engagement can be demanding and ineffective, says Kenneth Armstrong

Ever since it emerged from English departments in the 1970s, media studies has been routinely dismissed as the archetypal ‘Mickey Mouse’ degree. But in an era of fake news and media hegemony, has this multifaceted subject finally found its place in the zeitgeist?

Improved citation performance amid falling funding is the result of gaming, say Alberto Baccini, Eugenio Petrovich and Giuseppe De Nicolao

Universities rightly make every effort to protect learners’ feelings. But what about teachers’ feelings, asks Alice Wickenden 

A new humanities-based major focused on how global commerce, businesses and societies shape one another points the way forward, says Karen E. Spierling

Using free online teaching materials instead of textbooks lessens student debt and sparks pedagogical innovation, says Steven Murphy

The pursuit of impact remains controversial, but it has opened doors to more varied careers, says Andrew McRae

Caitlin Zaloom considers how we can prevent escalating fees from tying students to their parents well into adulthood

Historic prompts on how to keep overbearing expectations at arm’s length should be taken up by modern academics, says Michael Marinetto

The current generation of students often come under fire for supposedly being excessively brittle and demanding. But does the reality bear that out, and what are the teaching techniques to which they respond best? Six scholars recount their own experiences and offer their tips

Individuals should be able to choose their own work-life balance depending on their life situation and level of ambition, says Lee Cronin

University campuses are microcosms of the universe and offer multiple opportunities to put abstract theory into action, says Peter Harper

Why are an ex-footballer’s views on the game worth so much while academic analysis of the news is worth nothing, asks Peter Wells

Those fired and imprisoned for signing a 2016 statement condemning Turkish military action still have a long struggle ahead, says Mehmet Ugur

Cultivating open-mindedness and intellectual humility is the best way to combat arrogance and insouciance, says Bethan Willis

Matthew Reisz considers the tools we need to explore the wilder shores of performance art

The ‘best’ scientists lack time for peer review, and academics should be rated for ‘worthy’ papers, argues Dan Shechtman

In the context of all the privations Palestinians suffer, international academic isolation is a terrible thing indeed, says David Palumbo-Liu

Summer is upon northern hemisphere academics. But its cherished traditional identity as a time for intensive research is being challenged by the increasing obligations around teaching and administration that often crowd out research entirely during term time. So is the 40/40/20 workload model still sustainable? Respondents to a THE survey suggest not. Nick Mayo hears why

Leiden University acted unlawfully, a court has ruled, in using anonymous letter to discredit an applicant for a professorship

Those lucky established academics who want to help precarious colleagues would do better to pay for their lunch, says Sarah Burton

Michael Kosterlitz tells THE how colour blindness shaped his career and why Nobel winners shouldn’t be taken too seriously

Justine Pila describes how men co-opt women in their academic agendas