tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post6951543289805156107..comments2024-02-09T16:44:57.026+00:00Comments on The Plashing Vole: Grimm's TaleThe Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-69324898882172258562015-12-16T12:42:48.546+00:002015-12-16T12:42:48.546+00:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01762494269487606696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-58901959355850244682014-12-24T02:59:18.183+00:002014-12-24T02:59:18.183+00:00Well selected title: a triple entendre speaking to...Well selected title: a triple entendre speaking to the person, the fairy tales and within them the dark world of the reality we must carry on in. <br /><br />Indeed, this makes quite clear why we don't have the information we really need from those "boring experiments" and instead are inundated with over hyped glamor publication claims that support their studies on the flimsy evidence from the very few "boring experiments" that have actually been done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15624094211388336280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-54409838612462797742014-12-13T11:04:19.412+00:002014-12-13T11:04:19.412+00:00This is not "sad"; it is real.
And it i...This is not "sad"; it is real.<br /><br />And it is increasingly very prevalent. <br /><br />The question is: How can one generate sincere concern among those who would prefer not to look, and who hope it will "go away"?<br /><br />As long as there is a queue of people wanting to fill vacancies within such a climate (and especially for the posts which implement them), tinpot Stalins can continue to eliminate as many potential (or imagined) opponents to their schemes as they choose. <br /><br />I was dismissed after 44+ years of serving my subject and my community as well as I possibly could - apparently because I was declared to be "an obstacle to the step change that is required". In other words, I was prepared to question, and to exercise judgement in ways that were seen as inconvenient. (This is my summary; the ~3000 pages submitted to the Employment Tribunal did not appear to offer any better explanation.)<br /><br />And as far as I can tell, every single senior academic who contributed actively to my destruction has since been promoted to far higher management posts: one to "VC & CEO" and several to PVC roles in other universities. <br /><br />The takeover by ciphers (many of whom have a weak academic credentials, but who seem to enjoy the challenge of being unnecessarily brutal - often with the active assistance of HR) may have gone too far to arrest peacefully.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-28874384019063568782014-12-12T09:49:02.589+00:002014-12-12T09:49:02.589+00:00Unfortunately this cancer is now in the whole of t...Unfortunately this cancer is now in the whole of the world. Politicians have turned into managers, hence the rise of all kinds of extreme political movements in Europe - there are no leaders any more. The universities have totally lost sight of their raison d'être. This is so depressing, pay, job security etc are all being deflated. We are obsessed by markets and KPIs, we are all running around achieving nothing, but clocking up numbers like levels in computer games. We are creating new elites of super rich people, ever increasing numbers of economically excluded people and in the sandwich are over worked, stressed out people whose quality of life is being eroded like sandcastles in the tideAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-39171268303170432032014-12-11T12:33:17.203+00:002014-12-11T12:33:17.203+00:00Sad indeed and all too common. In his PhD Dr. Bar...Sad indeed and all too common. In his PhD Dr. Barney Glaser (of Grounded Theory fame) generated the concept of "comparative failure" among academics. Here, academics, when they compare themselves to their peers often feel failure, because someone else has got a bigger grant, published more papers, or published in a more prestigious journal. This has been compounded from the move away from Newtonian ideas of a university.Tom Andrewsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-14272290477177460872014-12-11T12:23:19.547+00:002014-12-11T12:23:19.547+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kevin Cahillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09842322461531937209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-30401075094010561272014-12-09T17:27:51.161+00:002014-12-09T17:27:51.161+00:00This is a desperately sad story but it is not abou...This is a desperately sad story but it is not about Stefan Grimm who I think was a good hard-working scientist. It is about Imperial College, a once great college that is now run may administrators for their own benefit, who invite academics to walk the plank so that they can continue to live their comfortable lives. In a proper University this would not happen Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-67383537910475857472014-12-09T12:51:26.098+00:002014-12-09T12:51:26.098+00:00Not really an urban legend, Eisten's Annus M...Not really an urban legend, Eisten's Annus Mirabilis papers were never reviewed by external peers. They were just read and endorsed by the editors. According to the physicist and historian Daniel Kennefick, only a single paper of Einstein was subject to peer review, and Eisntein ended up retracting the submission, as he was quite upset with it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-50441557290687381482014-12-08T16:58:31.897+00:002014-12-08T16:58:31.897+00:00Soccer Dad - exemplifying the compassion and empat...Soccer Dad - exemplifying the compassion and empathy his country is famous for... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-58128915570993598412014-12-08T16:39:59.126+00:002014-12-08T16:39:59.126+00:00for 50 years academia has failed to deal with this...for 50 years academia has failed to deal with this<br />you can produce grad students faster then the economy grows<br /><br />and we are supposed to feel sorry for this guy ?<br /><br />PS; as a professional, looking at the 73 publications sorted by date, there has been a huge falloff in the quality of hte journals he is publishing in<br />early on, top journals; last few years, 3rd rate journals<br />perhpas his suicide was a common thing, midlife career crisis depression ?Soccer Dadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10745967553131454562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-25449904734753474632014-12-07T17:56:39.380+00:002014-12-07T17:56:39.380+00:00I totally concur with Judy. I gave my grant money ...I totally concur with Judy. I gave my grant money back and walked to no job rather than stay in the one I was in. You could never do enough. I'm still twitching on a Sunday morning thinking I should be doing some ridiculous admin/ teaching/ engagement/ research bla bla task. An additional problem is that too many huge labs are sucking up research money and creating a brand of supermarket science that is totally detrimental to research. If you run a small group you often have to engage in alliances with these labs just to get a chance of winning grant funding. Unfortunately, journals and grant committees are in thrall to them. We don't need loads of money to do research....but our universities are voracious cuckoos that need feeding. Superstar PIs....artificially created and maintained by patronage skew the metrics of what we are expected to achieve. Eventually they will suck up your lab. Ideas are, seemingly, worthless currency. Women are treated poorly in this feudal system and that became ever clearer during and post recession. Perhaps new thinking spaces are needed outside of university salt mines.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-72191611670289856022014-12-06T17:48:36.431+00:002014-12-06T17:48:36.431+00:00Thank you, vole. I've been a professor at two ...Thank you, vole. I've been a professor at two UK institutions, and an academic at various levels at more. I agree completely with what you said about long hours. It isn't long hours for the appearance of it, or long hours spent even on research. It's long hours spent on all the various elements of a post that has the demands, and job description (were it ever written down) of at least four roles in the non-academic world. I've now left, and am (with two partners) running a small and successful company. Before this, I worked in a creative agency (branding) in London in a senior role. It struck me straight away that it was OK in the commercial world to use a team - designers to design, writers to write, strategists to strategise, trainers to train. In academia, I was doing the whole thing myself: not only coming up with the course content, but designing the teaching, delivering the teaching, creating the visual aids, creating the course materials, creating the course descriptions and publicity, arguing for the strategy of the thing. So academics who can't design are sitting for hours with stupid packages like Word trying to come up with course booklets. That's the teaching job. Second is admin, committees, computing equipment, student welfare, research committee, every committee you could name, plus research reporting (back to the funders) and teaching reporting (back to the institution). You could add external examining and reviewing in there too. Third is research (this is in no particular order). A ridiculous competition to get funding at far, far worse odds, and with much, much more work per bid, than I've ever encountered in commercial work (and our contracts vary between 1K and 250K. There are never more than four competitors, so you know you have a chance). Fourth is knowledge transfer. This is a further requirement of the institution and increasingly the government to show the relevance of what you're doing by getting involved with your research users. I think this is, on the whole, a Good Thing, even if your research users are other academics (we can't all be at the front end, with the general public as users). What's not a Good Thing is that it's on top of all your other jobs, and largely without incentive, or being counted as part of your legitimate effort, except in terms of their being stick if you don't (and no carrot if you do). There's a lot to love about academia but I am very glad to be out of it. The black cloud of unfulfilled expectation that hangs over every evening off, every weekend, every holiday, is a 'habit of feeling' that I'm still struggling to lose. Whatever you do, you've never done enough. A lot of academics who've never been anywhere else think this is normal, or even part of their introspective personality. Now I'm out of it, I realise (even as a company director) that it's possible to go home, stop working, and feel fine about it.Judy Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-17816018220936565882014-12-06T11:30:52.165+00:002014-12-06T11:30:52.165+00:00A scary and sad tale.
Especially sad given that t...A scary and sad tale. <br />Especially sad given that there is no evidence that grant success is much more than random. Previous track record is about the only correlating factor - so, success leads to more success. Another case of accumulated advantage. <br />More views on the topic here: http://acadenema.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/the-myth-of-the-meritocratic-grant-system/Iain Woodhousehttp://acadenema.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-5681893351268613792014-12-06T10:41:52.841+00:002014-12-06T10:41:52.841+00:00Thanks for this important post.
One thing that p...Thanks for this important post. <br /><br />One thing that puzzles me: this approach to academic excellence is not even logical. Everyone cannot, practically, receive the level of external funding expected in such proposals. It cannot be universalised for all members, even in those disciplines where there are larger pots of funding. It's a self-defeating strategy. <br /><br />It simply doesn't make logical sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-15635728938761624422014-12-06T08:48:39.226+00:002014-12-06T08:48:39.226+00:00Anonymous commenter above you here. First, thanks ...Anonymous commenter above you here. First, thanks for the new hat, although i'm not a fan of the 'D' on the front. Second, i apologise if my comments weren't clear. Allow me to clarify.<br /><br />1. The long hours culture and everything which goes with it isn't 'perhaps a problem' it is demonstrably a problem. Just googling 'mental health of academics' reveals a long list of stories about it.<br /><br />2. I said nothing about Grimm's productivity. I was referring to the blog's author who said working until 10pm doesn't make them better, just anxious. If the only reason to work longer hours is to be seen to do so, there is something very wrong and we all need to act to stop it.<br /><br />3. Many people who devote their lives to their work do so not just because of some natural drive or passion, but because of the culture they developed in allows them to. Moreover, if devoting your life to work means working 50 hours a week when the norm is 38 is taking work away from others.<br /><br />4. Working your contract shouldn't result in losing your job, this is my point and that's why the expectation has to change! The only people who can do that is academics by saying no.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-21615411376667461732014-12-06T07:46:48.744+00:002014-12-06T07:46:48.744+00:00To the anonymous commenter above me: You are a dun...To the anonymous commenter above me: You are a dunce and your comment is insipid.<br /><br />People in academia are expected to work long hours, yes. This is perhaps a problem. However, the implication that people like Grimm don't manage to produce any more results from their hard work than they would if they were lazier is insulting to academics as a whole. The implication that we aren't more productive even though we put in more hours is ridiculous.<br /><br />First, you don't just tell people to "work less" on what is literally their life's work, stuff that they have devoted their lives to. Second, people who work reasonable hours in a culture where people are expected to work unreasonable hours will get fired. If you can make that choice, great. Other people have families, not to mention the fact that they're passionate about their research.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-10782970666565527902014-12-06T07:46:40.192+00:002014-12-06T07:46:40.192+00:00To the anonymous commenter above me: You are a dun...To the anonymous commenter above me: You are a dunce and your comment is insipid.<br /><br />People in academia are expected to work long hours, yes. This is perhaps a problem. However, the implication that people like Grimm don't manage to produce any more results from their hard work than they would if they were lazier is insulting to academics as a whole. The implication that we aren't more productive even though we put in more hours is ridiculous.<br /><br />First, you don't just tell people to "work less" on what is literally their life's work, stuff that they have devoted their lives to. Second, people who work reasonable hours in a culture where people are expected to work unreasonable hours will get fired. If you can make that choice, great. Other people have families, not to mention the fact that they're passionate about their research.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-28106860897938376902014-12-05T23:27:35.796+00:002014-12-05T23:27:35.796+00:00A familiar story. But if you find yourself working...A familiar story. But if you find yourself working late and it doesn't make you any better at your job, stop doing it. I'm fortunate enough to work in an institution which states the hours we're expected to work a week: 38. I try my hardest not to work beyond that. Working excessive hours puts pressure on colleagues to either be seen to do the same, or the extra work leads to more output and that becomes the level managers expect.<br /><br />We all need to stop working excessive hours, enjoy a good work-life balance and if management want more outputs, they can make some more jobs for other people. Naive, perhaps, but the alternative is to be complicit in the individualistic culture and reproduce the standards management demand.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-77448164198724685922014-12-05T15:52:29.833+00:002014-12-05T15:52:29.833+00:00Just to add to my note that the obsession of some ...Just to add to my note that the obsession of some managers with research income metrics rather than publication quality is a bit of a cancer in universities at present (and I do hit the £200,00/year target so this is not sour grapes). David Colquhon's blog on the Grimm affair has some useful links to this problem at true end http://www.dcscience.net/2014/12/01/publish-and-perish-at-imperial-college-london-the-death-of-stefan-grimm/profchriscooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14413479161943662975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-32543119227690974922014-12-05T14:55:53.331+00:002014-12-05T14:55:53.331+00:00This is clearly a tragic case and needs to be publ...This is clearly a tragic case and needs to be publicised. But you let yourself down by not fact checking a lot of what you write. Apart from the Einstein issue, although Higgs was not extensively published, he has many more than 4 papers on Google Scholar - it took my 1 minute to check this. When you use such intemperate language in your blog e.g. "deforming and frankly dumb priorities of the REF", it behoves you to ensure that your own work is well researched. In my opinion most of the issues with the REF are not the process itself. The vast majority of the REF is academics judging other academics' research as has happened pre REF (and will happen post REF). It is the games some University's play in their perception of what will affect the REF process outcomes that is the main problem (as evidenced by David Colquhoun's blogs for example). Grant income (university managers' current obsession) plays a trivial factor in the REF process at present. And we should all be careful, tempting though it is on our blogs, not to argue from the more extreme examples (Higgs, Einstein) to general rules of behaviour. That's how the case of Beethoven entered the abortion debate for example. profchriscooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14413479161943662975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-20861287611144561082014-12-05T10:10:50.201+00:002014-12-05T10:10:50.201+00:00This is a fabulous post, Voley. Well done and wel...This is a fabulous post, Voley. Well done and well said.Historian on the Edgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069934072719158780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-59539811899895134772014-12-04T18:03:11.365+00:002014-12-04T18:03:11.365+00:00About fifteen years ago, I began writing and publi...About fifteen years ago, I began writing and publishing articles and books about the evils of "performance indicators," the RAE, and other horrid manifestations of "the new management." My spell-check won't accept "managerialism"--so it, too, has to be put between inverted commas... All that published work was read by a few (probably not a great many) people, maybe because most of it was published in Canada ! At any rate, the managerialist juggernaut continued on its destructive way. Your blog about the Stefan Grimm case gives new hope, and new impetus to the case for a massive re-think-and-reform of university governance and administration. It will do MUCH more than my lengthy whines did (you can see them at https://ubc.academia.edu/WilliamBruneau/ ). Many thanks for this paper. Like other readers, I regret deeply the passing of Stefan Grimm. Bill Bruneau, Vancouver, CanadaWilliam Bruneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02239202448000392743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-13126013878278175812014-12-03T22:25:03.931+00:002014-12-03T22:25:03.931+00:00Thank you for this article! If early career academ...Thank you for this article! If early career academics such as myself have difficulties finding a job, academics already in academia are going through horrific experiences indeed. I am not directly involved with UCU but I know enough to know what corporatisation of HE has done to so many people's lives and careers. Who in the right mind thought of following management/business model for HE is beyond me! Haven't we see that perpetual corporatisation has led to some of the biggest problems (eg. economy, etc). My brother-in-law, an academic in the US, is getting out of his tenure-track position at a well-ranked 'Science school' precisely because of this. He likes spending time with his family and this unquenched demand from the university to keep producing work, he said, made him detest academia. <br /><br />I do think that as long as we have academics such as yourself and those in my department speak out about these issues, we have the potential to turn this around. It is what sustains me when I apply for any academic position.Rajalakshmi Nadadurnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-882638136770361232014-12-03T20:11:43.781+00:002014-12-03T20:11:43.781+00:00A great post.
You mentioned the issue of doping in...A great post.<br />You mentioned the issue of doping in cycling, doping in academia seems to be quite a taboo topic. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-71662634867048344582014-12-03T15:26:46.764+00:002014-12-03T15:26:46.764+00:00You took the words right out of my mouth...your se...You took the words right out of my mouth...your sentiments are shared by many. Thank you for putting it down for me to read and commiserate over.Andrew Singerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01209901224812497931noreply@blogger.com