Enigma variations
David Willetts wants more of them, but how much is really known about the UK's private providers? John Morgan uncovers a melange of institutions in a diverse and diversifying sector unbound by caps...
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Unplugged
A university does not need a charter or even walls - open minds are enough, argue groups whose challenges to convention have been invigorated by recent protest movements. Jack Grove reports
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Tribes & tribulations
Every discipline has quirks invisible to its insiders. Intrepid scholars who venture into a related field will discover a host of idiosyncrasies that shine new light on the oddities of one's own...
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Command performance
Professors should provide intellectual leadership, but some incumbents have other priorities or misunderstand their role. Bruce Macfarlane asserts that universities must find a way to get the best...
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Powered by the people
Independent 'citizen scientists' have always existed, says Darrel Ince, and our networked age of fast computing and open access is helping them to flourish - to the greater good of research
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Dead reckoning
It's neither ghoulish nor foolish to hold tutorials over one's own coffin, philosopher Peter Vardy insists. Students like to tackle the big questions in life - and none is bigger than death
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Black and white and dead all over?
While the public fixates on tabloid phone hacking, the real crisis threatening the survival of newspapers goes unnoticed despite its dire consequences for public affairs, says Tim Luckhurst
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Not by skills alone
In their haste to prepare students for a career, universities have lost sight of the true meaning of education, argues Steven Schwartz
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Signs and wonders
The narrow focus of 'profane' media studies on semiotics and consumption ignores the extent to which culture is rooted in our deep yearning for the sacred, argues Eduardo de la Fuente
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Ariel casts out Caliban
The concept of the 'killer-ape' offers a pessimistic reflection of humanity and its genesis, but the latest research shows that a primate species whose success is based on mutual aid and pleasure,...
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Failure is not an option
Reflexive claims for the US academy's greatness ring hollow, says John Summers, given elite institutions' tight links with economic and political power and lack of appetite for challenging ideas
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A weather eye on the US storm
As graduation rates shrink and tuition fees and student debts soar in the US, experts call on the UK sector to heed lessons from the world's academic powerhouse. Sarah Cunnane reports
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Turning on the leading lights
Too few academics are putting themselves forward for the top jobs. Amanda Goodall argues that we must nurture talent, value achievement and pay more if we want to fill the empty chairs
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There's more to a story than facts and figures
The Freedom of Information Act enables public access to scientists' research data, but can scientific knowledge really be extracted in this way? Scientists should engage with the public, but need to...
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My Dan Brown moment
The impact agenda came roaring to unruly life for a self-confessed shy bookworm when his work on Plato's 'musical code' drew the attention of the international media. Jay Kennedy tells the tale