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subtext issue 117 6 March 2014 ***************************************************** 'Truth: lies open to all' ***************************************************** Every fortnight during term-time. All editorial correspondence to: subtext-editors@lancaster.ac.uk. Please delete as soon as possible after receipt. Back issues and subscription details can be found at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext. The editors welcome letters, comments, suggestions and opinions from readers. subtext reserves the right to edit submissions. subtext does not publish material that is submitted anonymously, but is willing to consider without obligation requests for publication with the name withheld. For tips to prevent subtext from getting swept up into your 'junk email folder', see http://www.lancs.ac.uk/subtext/dejunk/. If you're viewing this using Outlook, the formatting might look better if you click on the message at the top saying 'Extra line breaks in this message were removed', and select 'Restore line breaks'. CONTENTS: editorial, news in brief, costa conscience, unprincipaled, all greek to us, feedback, bookshelves, scan, recalibrate, links, letters ***************************************************** EDITORIAL 'Lancaster has confirmed its place among the world's elite institutions with 17 subjects featured in this year's QS World University Rankings' says the Lancaster University home page. Doing well in these rankings improves the University's image outside, so it should help Lancaster to recruit good students and staff, and it should raise internal morale. Achieving high ranks in these tables must be a good thing, mustn't it? Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said in 2010 that for the previous six years their rankings had been 'not good enough'. They had had 'serious weaknesses', and 'favoured the sciences over the humanities'. It brings to mind Nigel Farage recently disowning the 2010 manifesto of his UKIP party, saying it was 'drivel'. The THE rankings use different indicators and weightings from QS, but the techniques are similar. The data on which the rankings are based comes from large samples, so they are likely to be reliable in a statistical sense - but it is not entirely clear what the ranking scores mean. One criticism of the THE rankings is that, because they place heavy reliance on citations, universities that do not use English as their primary language are disadvantaged. Another is that, within the social sciences and humanities, the main tool for publication is books, which are only rarely covered by citation records. Yesterday evening (Wednesday 9.00pm GMT) the THE World Reputation rankings were announced in Tokyo (the time there was 6.00 am on Thursday). No one claims that these reputation rankings are objective. They are based on a huge survey of academic opinion from 'almost 60000 scholars across the world'. This is certainly a very big sample - but asking people's opinions about the reputation of others is likely to confirm existing views, and probably no more than that. It's hardly even worth mentioning that the top five universities for reputation, as announced in Tokyo, are Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge and Oxford. We are already yawning - and unlike the Japanese we haven’t been at work since 6.00am. University rankings and league tables are certainly useful as promotional tools for institutions that by effort, good luck or judgment have managed to secure good positions; but it is far from clear that they really mean very much. ***************************************************** NEWS IN BRIEF The Radical University dropped a banner off University House in support of free education and fair pay on 20 February - see http://radicaluniversity.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/press-release-for-immediate-release-banner-drop-at-lancaster-university/ ******* It's being a good year for crocuses. The crops at the entrance to the campus from the A6 are almost dazzling. Congratulations to the grounds staff in Facilities for nurturing them - let's delay the start of mowing at least until they have finished flowering. ******* Vice-Chancellors now get paid almost as much as, and in some cases more than, the Prime Minister (£190K). Thinking about how (however broadly) we can compare the relative worth of jobs, using criteria such as size of institution, importance of decisions measured by numbers affected, staff reporting, length of tenure, income generation, and lots of other criteria, what, one might wonder, is the equivalence here? On what metric does a VC measure up to a PM? Just askin'. ******* Also, this endless plaint about how we must pay top dollar for 'talent', in order to stop them going off to better paid jobs in the USA. If that is a valid argument, it must surely apply to all staff, no? But we seem to be paying VCs more to encourage them to pay everyone else less. Odd, that. ***************************************************** COSTA CONSCIENCE? subtext is taking a close interest in the ambitious plans for library refurbishment, with particular attention to the impact this will have on our stocks of those cumbersome, outdated, space-consuming objects known as 'books'. During the unavoidable period of disruption, the Conference Centre and nearby buildings will be affected. subtext has learned that the knock-on effects will also be felt in the FASS building, and among other changes the present refreshment area will be taken over by the well-known 'Costa Coffee' franchise. Some subscribers – particularly those located at the North end of the campus – might welcome the current profusion of caffeine provision. Others, though, might take the view that our cups are already overflowing in this respect – that it would be nice if the phrase 'Wake up and smell the coffee' could revert to being a cliché about facing reality rather than an invariable aspect of life. From a different perspective some might regret the tendency for major global brands to encroach on the campus. In the case of Costa Coffee, subtext can only assume that the longer-established traders, and those who have recently started business in the area of the FASS building, were warned in advance about the likely arrival of another competitor. ***************************************************** UNPRINCIPALED Strange goings-on at Bowland College. This is Bowland's 50th Anniversary year and for the last six years, the Principal Joe Thornberry has led Bowland College through a major transition of estate refurbishment, reallocation of space and expansion of college accommodation and student numbers. The College could have suffered tremendously as a result of the transformation but the reason it didn't is because Joe has successfully managed to keep the college, its core values and sense of community spirit, together and intact. Odd then that the University should seek to remove Joe as Principal – he has been an independent voice in Senate and undoubtedly ruffled a few feathers over the years but surely the University (or senior members of the University) could not be that vindictive? It is one thing for a search committee to recommend the appointment of a better candidate but subtext believes it is wholly unacceptable for the search committee to have interviewed candidates and NOT to make a recommendation to appoint anyone when the current College Principal, Joe Thornberry, is eligible for a further term of office; is willing to undertake that term of office; has the support of the search committee's college representatives to be re-appointed; and has received the majority of votes from the search committee to be re-appointed. An extraordinary meeting of Bowland Syndicate was held on Thursday 27th February 2014 to discuss the matter. The Syndicate comprises all the senior members of the college and JCR representatives. Syndicate is the governing body of the college and approves (or otherwise) the recommended appointment of a college principal before that recommendation then goes to University Council. It was noted that despite the Search Committee having met, no nominee had been brought forward for approval to Syndicate even though the current College Principal had stood for re-appointment. This was considered to be an unacceptable outcome for the College, and an implied slur on the capabilities of the current College Principal. Members expressed deep concern over the exceptional position which had been taken by the Search Committee and agreed that Joe had been, and would continue to be an excellent Principal for the College. The view of Syndicate was as follows: * Syndicate expressed overwhelming support and confidence in Joe Thornberry as Principal of Bowland College. * Syndicate was perplexed at the absence of a nomination, particularly as the current College Principal is eligible for re-appointment, is willing to serve a further term of office and has the support of the College and agreed that this message should be conveyed back to the search committee/senate/council. * Syndicate confirmed that had Joe's name been brought forward by the Search Committee for approval to Syndicate, this would have been approved. * Syndicate re-affirmed Joe's leadership as Principal of Bowland College and felt that there was, and is, no reason why this should not continue. * Syndicate seeks and supports the re-appointment of Joe Thornberry for a further term of office. ***************************************************** ALL GREEK TO US Colleagues who are living in fear of the dreadful summons to serve as Head of their department can relax. As they prepare for their new duties, they are given access to various sources of advice, including an online course which has been created specifically to guide them through the choppy waters ahead. This course has been designed by Epigeum, which describes itself as 'a spin-off company from Imperial College, London'. Apparently its material is used by 95% of Russell Group institutions, no less. Incoming HoDs don't have to complete the course, we gather, and we are confident that those who do so will benefit from the experience. However, we couldn't help thinking that the job of Head of Department varies considerably within (as well as between) institutions; so any attempt to establish something like a Platonic ideal for HoDship, equal to any challenge in all places, would seem a bit dubious. Talking of Plato, the subtext collective freely admits to the possession of 'small Latin and less Greek' – indeed, such is our ignorance that we thought Ben Jonson had written 'little Latin and less Greek' (hadn't he heard of alliteration?). Anyway, naturally we wondered what 'Epigeum' meant, and a brisk internet enquiry suggested that it isn't really a word at all (the nearest one, as any toddler knows, is 'epigene', meaning 'formed or originating on the earth's surface').
subtext believes that, as a globally-prominent scholarly institution, we have been missing a money-spinning trick here. Surely we have amongst us sufficient wit to accumulate a bank of meaningless but plausibly classical-sounding words, which could be sold to the highest bidder among either newly-founded companies or those hoping to relaunch themselves in the wake of some commercial mishap. Suggestions will be gratefully received, and the collective (soon to be rebranded as 'Corruptium') pledges to take no more than a 20% cut from the proceeds. ***************************************************** FEEDBACK Anonymous contribution Imagine if the University asked us for feedback in the same way that we do our students. What sort of response might they get, for example, if they used the National Student Survey as a model for evaluating the centralised Planning and Resource Allocation Process that was introduced this year to replace the Faculty process? Dear Head of Department or Unit - To help us evaluate the new Planning and Resource Allocation Process (PRAP), for each statement below, please show the extent of your agreement or disagreement by putting a cross in the box which best reflects your view. Alternatively, write your comment in the space provided. Kind regards, University Planning and Resources Group (UPRG) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1. The Senior Management Team is good at explaining things - Mostly agree. We had lots of nice meetings. 2. The SMT is enthusiastic about PRAP - Mostly agree. Sometimes I get the impression that the ardour is waning a bit, but they feel it's too late to go back so they're pressing on. 3. The SMT have made PRAP interesting - Do you mean 'interesting' in the sense of the old Chinese curse? Definitely agree. 4. The criteria used in assessing requests for resources have been clear in advance - Are you joking? It's been more like 'write your essay first and we'll work out the question and the marking criteria later'. So definitely disagree. 5. Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair and transparent - Er, no! Some people have already got their work back and been told they've won a prize. Come to think of it, perhaps the prize was given first, and that determined the grade, rather than the other way round. Definitely disagree. 6. Feedback on my work has been prompt - I handed it in on time and am still waiting. So no. Unless 'prompt' has some other meaning which eludes me. Can it also mean 'to remind someone to do something when they appear to have forgotten'? So I'm returning the favour and instituting a box-crossing boycott. 7. I have received detailed comments on my work - See above. 8. Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand - No comment. You give me my feedback and I'll give you your cross in a box, OK? 9. I received sufficient advice and support with my submission - No. A disgruntled Faculty has thrown its dolly out of the pram and departments are having to fend for themselves. 10. I have been able to contact staff when I needed to - The Planning Support Unit tried their best but I can scratch my own head, thanks - it doesn't help much to see other people scratching theirs. 11. The planning timetable worked efficiently as far as my activities are concerned - Definitely disagree. I'm having to plan next year's workload in advance of knowing who will be around to do it. 12. The planning process is well organised and is running smoothly - Definitely disagree. Is 'praply' a word? It is now. 13. The planning process has helped me to present myself with confidence - Stop your cruel teasing. 14. My communication skills have improved - Enough. 15. As a result of the course, I feel confident in tackling unfamiliar problems - OK, I am a wreck. Is that what you want to hear? 16. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the planning process - [illegible] 17. Looking back on the experience, are there any particularly positive or negative aspects of PRAP you would like to highlight? - I am cross and in a box. ***************************************************** THE IMPORTANCE OF BOOKSHELVES All academics need bookshelves: this hardly needs stating. But providing them can be a significant problem, apparently. A colleague has to move office within the Charles Carter Building, and requests that bookshelves be provided in the new room. The shelves are ordered. Four months and many email exchanges later, the shelves have not arrived. The shelves were in a van that was involved in an accident on the M25 which damaged the shelves but caused no other injury; the sales director of the University's preferred supplier is usually overseas, so the emails come in from the USA or Australia; the company has gone out of business; and so on. Now the sales director has left, taking the client base with him, and set up on his own not far from Lancaster; but the shelves have still not arrived. If this is a University preferred supplier, why does the University prefer them? They seem to charge high prices - higher than IKEA, for example - and fail to deliver items that one would expect to be held in stock. It would have saved the University both time and money to go to a different supplier; it would also have enable our colleague to get on with his job. ***************************************************** SCAN Scan, the LUSU paper of 'student comment and news', has in some past years been painful to read. The grammar was sometimes poor, there were numerous typos, the layout was a mess, and the articles just weren't very interesting. In recent years it has improved enormously. For a start, the layout is good, the paper is attractively designed and it's pretty well free from typos. It's topical and well up on the news. To achieve this, there is a good-sized team working on the paper: there are 16 names listed on page 2 of every issue, and more writers are named at the head of the articles inside the paper. They make good use of social media, particularly Facebook. This was very useful to them when gathering their team, apparently, and it helps them to find out what's going on. Scan has a good web site. The editor, Rachel May Quin, says she's fussy about proof-reading: she tries to read the whole paper herself before it goes out, so that she can pick up any typos - but she admits it's hard to keep up the necessary concentration for 64 pages. The team uses the Guardian Style Guide, and we can only presume the whole team are helping to maintain the high standard. The paper is printed by Trinity Mirror, which has given Scan a good deal on the price, and the printing is of good quality, with colour throughout and good photos. All these things are essential to a high-quality paper, but in the end it's the quality of the writing that marks out the best from the rest - and it is subtext's pleasure to report that Scan is currently well written too. The articles are interesting to read, and some of them explore topics in considerable depth. In 2013-14 Scan is a high-quality student paper which must be seen as an asset to the University. The last issue for this term has been published just this week, week 8. It's a good read. ***************************************************** RECALIBRATE AT THE PETER SCOTT AND STOREY GALLERIES This is an exhibition of works by the Taiwanese artist Wu Chi-Tsung, on show at split sites, part at the Storey Gallery in Lancaster and part at the Peter Scott Gallery on campus. His work is clearly influenced by Chinese painting. In the Scott Gallery, the first impression is of back-lit paintings of bonsai trees and orchids - but, as one studies a very beautiful picture, it changes slightly, and you realise that this is not a painting, nor even a photograph, but a video. The environment of the image is humid and misty: clouds move across the objects, sometimes obscuring them almost completely, at others lifting to show them in detail. Drops of water form, then fall; leaves spring into position. All is calm and peaceful; to experience one of the works completely the observer has to watch for maybe ten minutes or more. The exhibition is a wonderful antidote to the stresses of modern life. The major piece in the other part of the exhibition, at the Storey in Lancaster, is the newly-commissioned Crystal City 004. To see it, the observer must enter a cylindrical space, painted matt white internally. Projected on the white wall are images created by a single lamp shining through transparent models of buildings, all of which stand on the floor. They depict a modern city of skyscrapers and tall blocks. But again the viewer needs to take time - the lamp moves slowly on a circular track, so that the images gradually move and change shape. Watching this is like moving slowly through a city and seeing altering perspectives as you do so, but here the images themselves move whilst the observer can remain motionless. This silent, calm exhibition is very well worth a visit. In the Storey Gallery, Recalibrate continues until 15 March; the other part of the exhibition, in the Peter Scott Gallery, continues until 21 March. Catch it in both venues if you can. ***************************************************** LINKS John Holmwood on marketisation and management in universities: http://andreasbieler.blogspot.no/2014/02/when-markets-meet-central-planning-or.html The Guardian on Vice-Chancellors' pay (from 1 April 2010, but how much has changed?): http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/apr/01/university-vice-chancellors-pay-rise And another, from the Guardian's 'Comment is Free', more recently: ***************************************************** LETTERS Dear subtext It is good that you raised a question which has, I assume, been on many people's minds: what is the V-C's view of annual pay cuts for staff (with, it would seem, a few exceptions, himself included)? Being an empathetic sort of guy I have tried to put myself in the V-C's shoes: The HE sector is being transformed very quickly, being pushed towards a competitive market framework (though still bankrolled indirectly by the state). Something other than annual pay cuts for staff might be the right thing to offer, and I might worry that five years of deliberate pay cuts is not the kind of thing to warm my staff up for the alumni-chasing 50th anniversary 'celebrations'. But then I suddenly worry: these pay cuts help me keep a nice big surplus. In this new market a context I might think: 'If I can cut staff pay then I will have more resources for the tough competitive game ahead, I can use this to keep us afloat, or to stave off the threat from our expanding competitors'. Is this what he thinks? I do not know, but if it is part of his thinking it is problematic to say the least. The policy of annual pay cuts will favour larger universities with larger wage bills. As all our competitors are much larger—we are the 92nd biggest in the UK—annual pay cuts for staff involves bigger savings for our competitors. So, rationally and strategically, our V-C ought, perhaps, to be lobbying for pay rises across the board (which will hit our larger competitors harder). Neil C. Manson (PPR) ***************************************************** The editorial collective of subtext currently consists (in alphabetical order) of: Sam Clark, Mark Garnett, George Green, Ian Paylor, and Martin Widden. |