Tag Archives: academic

Good academic conduct (Rousse)

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Dreamaticus

MS made us sit through a multimedia training video that covered topics such as the disappointing award of non-English (specifically not “non-British”) degrees to Chinese students, plagiarism, bribery, and the spending of departmental funds on whisky. JK played all the … Continue reading →

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Happy times at the Manor House (Rousse)

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Dreamaticus

TPR and I lived in two modest suites at the University’s of Birmingham’s Manor House. In the summer months we had the run of the building, but when term started in September we were more restricted. For example, it was … Continue reading →

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Glenn Close, knowledge management, and an over-committed academic (Rousse)

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Dreamaticus

“Glenn Close, of course” started the speaker. I was relieved that the programme was underway, even though I had no idea what Glenn Close had to do with knowledge management. “Have you any idea what time it is?” my sister … Continue reading →

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How not to peer review conference submissions (Rousse)

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Dreamaticus

AM reminded me why she would have very little time to herself next academic year: she was organising a conference in Leipzig. Apart from the idiotic behaviour of one of her colleagues, who refereed conference submissions by lining up yellow … Continue reading →

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Finals failure and longest hair competition win (Rousse)

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The University library was crammed with my final year colleagues, some of whom had apparently been revising there for the full academic year. I was yet to open a book, and with a gap of 28 years since we all … Continue reading →

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A false accusation of theft and underperforming academics (Rousse)

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Dreamaticus

As soon as I learnt that JC had been sacked, I went straight to SS to find out why. Although it could not be proven, SS was convinced that JC had been stealing the petty cash. I argued that this … Continue reading →

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Female academic name change dilemmas (Rousse)

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I’d just entered into a civil partnership, but couldn’t remember which of the three female candidates had been my bride. Could it be RT, the one I knew best of all? Or was it the woman with double-barrelled surname? I … Continue reading →

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Academics work through the night to cope with workload (Rousse)

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I was both amazed and appalled to discover an office full of colleagues on campus working at 02:00 in the morning. One was just about to pack up and go home to his wife and children, but would only manage … Continue reading →

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The chaos of rapid expansion in UK higher education (Rousse)

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Dreamaticus

The expansion of Queen Margaret University’s portfolio of courses was so rapid that its building could not cope with the additional student numbers. Indeed something had gone terribly wrong during the extra construction work and now many of the institution’s … Continue reading →

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Gay Australia news (Rousse)

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Dreamaticus

I observed in Australia that not only were academic gay couples the norm, but that it was also quite common for them to live with a third, slightly younger, lover.

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