Are personal tutors an anachronism?
As undergraduate numbers soar and student needs become increasingly complex, questions are being asked about whether a support model that relies on the conscientiousness of individual academics is...
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Hindsight’s hoard: What academics most wish they had known earlier
The acquisition of wisdom about life and career can be just as long and challenging a journey as any research project. Luckily, many wheels have already been invented. Here, seven academics offer the...
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Academic discretion must be allowed in integrity judgements
The pandemic has underlined the need for student assessment strategies to adapt to extraordinary circumstances, say Alexander Amigud and David J. Pell
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Francis Fukuyama: academia shares blame for demise of liberalism
Thirty years after his breakout book declared democracy to be an unstoppable force, the End of History author explains to Matthew Reisz why a new defence of liberal values is urgently needed, and why...
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Claws out: WorldCat sues Clarivate over plan for rival platform
World’s biggest bibliographic database claims MetaDoor is ‘misappropriating’ its catalogue to drive it out of business
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How can academics keep up with the literature?
Mounting workloads and mushrooming publication output are making the task of staying abreast of the latest developments in the literature ever more difficult for academics. Here, eight researchers...
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Let’s end the rocky marriage between academia and commercial publishers
High costs, opaque contracts and the difficulty of finding peer reviewers all point to the need for a divorce, says Robert Kaplan
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Is academic freedom really protected in South Africa?
Recent attacks on high-profile scholars by government and by a university executive should give us pause, say Christopher Vaughan and Daniel Ncayiyana
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What can be done to resolve academic authorship disputes?
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...
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Internal spam in academia is out of control
Friendly reminders about university events, deadlines and policies may seem harmless, but fielding these endless emails exacts a high price, says Frank LoSchiavo
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Alleged corruption in academic appointments highlights Cameroon’s PhD glut
Doctoral graduates’ occupation of Higher Education Ministry will do little by itself to solve a structural problem, says Kenneth Nsah
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Academic partnerships: perfect harmony
Some research disciplines have their very own ‘Simon and Garfunkel’. Matthew Reisz talks to some of those whose close and enduring collaborations have convinced them that two voices are better than...
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Let’s pay referees to flag mistakes
If authors had to find the money themselves, they would have a big incentive to check their sources thoroughly, says James Stacey Taylor
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Failing better: How to live with academic rejection
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...
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Where are the ethics in academic publishing?
Ronald Barnett offers suggestions on how to conduct journal reviews with integrity