Opinion

By continuing to undervalue and underfund the thing that makes UK higher education unique, we endanger our reputation

Sally Feldman says academics should talk to the media about their work

Geoffrey Crossick on the dialogue, evidence and strategy essential to preserving a world-class student experience

Gerontologist Malcolm Johnson once opposed assisted dying, but he now believes that the terminally ill should be given a choice

Gary Day on the disadvantages of age, the healing properties of literature and chasing hurricanes

Tara Brabazon gives supervisors her top tips for guiding doctoral candidates successfully to completion

When Gloria Monday caught a serial cheat presenting her own work back to her, she thought justice would be swift. But she found that institutional reputation counted for more than academic rigour

By forcing academics to do R&D for industry, ministers stifle the type of curiosity-driven work that delivers the biggest bangs

To maintain world-class research, we need a structure that ties pockets of excellence into elite teams, Phil Willis says

The naturalist's university days suggest that those who indulge their curiosity are not all headed for oblivion, Stephen Halliday says

Gary Day writes on David Attenborough versus God, Lord of the Flies Mark 2, and newspaper survival

Kevin Fong welcomes Obama's promise to restore the importance of science

Many academics have lived the migrant experience – heading into the unknown, feeling the chill of xenophobia and the vagaries of state power but also finding rewards. Tara Brabazon considers the personal and professional costs and benefits

A market-dominated culture fails to sustain social mobility, writes Alan Ryan

A tradition of dissent and self-rule among heretics and rebels makes Cambridge successful, says Ross Anderson

For his PhD, Daniel Bennett had built a unique set of faecal samples from a rare lizard. When it was destroyed, he really hit bottom

Gary Day wonders whether gratuitous cussing and killing are the keys to our evolutionary triumph

London Met has taken on the difficult job of widening access - it deserves support and backing in this tumultuous climate

Although we might like to think it, music never causes social change. However, an intelligent multimedia reissue of a classic live recording reminds us that it can bear witness to society, writes Tara Brabazon

Darwin’s insights have cast fresh light on staff meetings, writes Gloria Monday

International students may be called plagiarists because of flawed thinking and naive use of software, says Niall Hayes

To support excellent work however it is done, new AHRC fellowships will be more flexible than the leave scheme, says Shearer West

Hard work, creativity and luck are keys to accomplishment, says Tim Birkhead

An exploration of the credit crunch offers little consolation to those battling it, writes Gary Day

Academics and students alike can gain by breaking with old thinking and moving beyond the traditional assessment methods

It is important to recognise the original spark behind failures to stick to scholarly protocols, says Tara Brabazon

Both the academy and society will benefit if pockets of excellence identified by the RAE are funded, says Alice Hynes

The West believes China to be immutable and inscrutable, but in truth we are much more alike than we are different, says Peter Brady

Gary Day contemplates poverty, teenage pregnancy, the lives of elephants and unusual butchery

Privilege clings to wealth as mores change, says Felipe Fernández-Armesto

The increasing use of English in higher education across Europe could cost the UK a vital competitive advantage

Close and unobtrusive observations can reveal more to the open-minded researcher than focus groups and surveys, says Tara Brabazon

Duncan Wu takes a British view of Obama Day

The role of the corporate capitalist machine in the election of America’s first black President does not promise a more ‘liberal’ society, but other forces unleashed in the campaign just might, says Mike Cole

Sally Feldman urges partnerships with both Israel's and Palestine's academies

Preparing graduates for work does not mean abandoning the ideal of a liberal higher education, argues Eddie Blass

Sally Hunt says the UCU will do what it takes to get an equitable pay agreement with employers, if only they will come round and talk

Outrageous fortune runs through the worlds of darts, particle physics and Dad's Army, learns Gary Day

Keeping faith in the academy's core missions of research and education is the best way to serve students, society and the sector

Technology can facilitate scholarship, particularly when it is intuitive and user-friendly, argues Tara Brabazon

An overseas applicant’s woefully illiterate proposal on the feminine wiles of Olivia Cromwell nearly leads to civil war in the department. Gloria Monday rallies her fellow academics.

The passing of American singer, guitarist, songwriter and civil-rights activist Odetta reminds us of the power of music and the relevance of history, says Tara Brabazon

In a turbulent year, says Bill Wakeham, academic unions should join forces with institutions to survive the downturn

Insults toasting on an open flame test Kevin Fong's post-Christmas spirit

Soran Reader, a moral philosopher facing the prospect of losing her life, memory or thought, is outraged that the law bars living wills

Reincarnation is a theme of Gary Day's viewing over the new year, from former lives to world religions

Post-RAE, Bahram Bekhradnia calls for a renewed commitment to base public policy on evidence, not administrative convenience

It is not only academics who are snapped up by rival employers, but Jon Baldwin says strong organisations survive

Jonathan Adams says that even close scrutiny of the intriguing 2008 data gives no firm answers about who's better and who's best

Gary Day on the Time Lord's festive caper, Wallace and Gromit's latest escapade and the Nativity

Alan Ryan declares "Bah, Humbug!" to resolutions for university funding

The struggle for economic recovery will present the sector with opportunities - it must seize them and put them to good use

Managers have gone to work on the RAE figures, and now Gloria Monday does not know if her university has gone up, down or nowhere at all. But she knows she’s unlikely to be any better off