Pointless exercise
The National University of Ireland is lowering degree thresholds to 60 from 62 and from 55 to 50 per cent as the lower boundaries of 2:2 and 2:1 grades ("Irish looking to widen grading bands", THES...
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Strike balance on quality checks 1
It is a pity that Michael Loughlin is so unrelievedly cynical about quality reforms in higher education (Features, THES , March 22). True, there have been a succession of quality fads and a good deal...
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Strike balance on quality checks 2
You will not publish a more important article on the future of British higher education than Michael Loughlin's piece on the takeover of universities by management "science". I agree with his two...
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Hope in history
Ian McDonald encapsulates as many ambiguities as the Indian nation ("A nation on the brink?", THES , March 22). While the side-heading said "groups of young men could be relied on to kill their...
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Truth isn't out there 1
Calls for a legal ban on teaching certain ideas are often countered on the grounds that this is an admission of the paucity of effective rational counter-arguments. ("Why I believe debating science...
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Truth isn't out there 2
Besides formal courses in evolutionary biology, studies in archaeology provide a salutary perspective on creationism. In The Idea of Prehistory , Glyn Daniel points out that in the 17th century, the...
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Truth isn't out there 3
While asserting editorially that "postmodern relativism" helps creationism (Leader, THES , March 22) you also give space to Jonathan Ree saying that dogmatism about science hampers those who oppose...
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Findings: Bark reveals pollution level
The Darley Dale lead smelter has been recycling metal for years. It sits in the bottom of a glacial valley, yet the contour map published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring shows the plant at...
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Findings: Love-lorn hit by trauma
Breaking up is never easy. But a study by psychologists at Plymouth and Wolverhampton universities suggests that the broken-hearted can share common post-traumatic stress symptoms with air- crash...
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Who backs the bombers?
When George W. Bush meets Tony Blair this weekend, Iraq is likely to be on the agenda. Harriet Swain and Olga Wojtas talk to the experts about a strike on Saddam. As the situation in the...
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A whole host of answers to 'why should I bother?'
From September, students with disabilities will be able to take legal action against institutions that fail to meet their needs, and it is likely that universities will be named and shamed if they...
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A bunch of jolly good fellows or old cronies who don't deserve £25m a year?
Is the Royal Society elitist? Absolutely, but that is its purpose. On the eve of an inquiry into its merit, Geoff Watts looks at how it is trying to change with the times. Is the Royal Society...
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Classic sleuth with a tartan twist
His first book was described as Plato's Republic with a body count. Huw Richards talks to academic-turned-crime writer Paul Johnston. If Paul Johnston were the sort of person who sought scapegoats,...
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Fuelling the fight for a free nation
Raymond Suttner looks at intellectuals' role in the growth of the 90-year-old ANC. Although the African National Congress has not thrown up one dominant thinker - no Mao or Ho Chi Minh - over its 90-...
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Recreating Cape Town
Margo Russell talks to Robin Cohen about the changing face of Cape Town University The door to the dean's office stands open. Accessibility is one of Robin Cohen's strengths as the new dean of...