Researcher (senior)

Campaigners fear a huge increase in EU military research spending will lead to development of autonomous weapons

Book of the week: this careful analysis shows cognitive science can be a critical literary tool, writes Gail Marshall

Convincing universities to divest from fossil fuels and use only green energy is a better strategy, says Thomas Smith

There are now more women than men in higher education worldwide. While it would appear to be a victory for gender equality, this imbalance also highlights boys’ educational underachievement. Ellie Bothwell reports

Investigation discovers that three-quarters of advertised posts are filled by an internal candidate

Regional students and research facilities claim the spoils in a benign budget for universities

Women are less likely to become principal investigators than equally qualified male scientists, Yale University researchers claim

UK expertise pulls far ahead of Europe in terms of output, but collaboration will be vital if sectors are to remain competitive with US and Asia, experts say

Embracing immersive content would aid public engagement and bring research and teaching closer together, argue Vincent Tong, Sam Smidt and Matilda Katan 

Objections to the suppression of ‘sensitive’ articles should not be based on outmoded claims about consumption, says Michel Hockx

Relatively liberal eras cannot restrain subsequent authoritarian regimes, but we can teach societies to see through propaganda, writes Paul Jump

Submissions invited across 18 categories

Study suggests doctorates are now seen as a test of character rather than intellect

Maastricht study finds less hard-working students benefit when taught with more persistent peers

Indian lecturer joins with British colleagues to promote literature of those formerly called ‘untouchables’

But Grattan Institute report urges government, institutions to steer those unlikely to finish towards cost-saving early exit

Regional institutions, facing uncertain funding future, build case for more federal support ahead of budget

Hollywood legend’s backfiring legal action offers lessons for universities on essay mills, says researcher

Study reveals feedback on social media sites closely correlate to measures of quality such as England's TEF

Joe Moran enters another dimension, one marked by the absence of sound. Next stop, the quiet zone

A lyrical memoir of a writer and psychoanalyst’s romantic and intellectual relationship with Lacan shows that psychoanalysis is very much the art of the enigmatic vignette, says Benjamin Poore

Speakers at THE summit worry that structural funds have become ‘part of the problem’ for new member states

While one group of publishers takes academic network to court over copyright, another strikes deal

If the legislative requirements to respond to gender pay gaps are perceived as weak, the moral imperative for universities to act is strong, argues Anthony Forster 

Evidence from German Excellence Initiative suggests elite status rubs off on student perception – even if this is irrational

It’s time for students to step in and end the political stalemate on stopping gun violence on university campuses, says Sarah Kenny

NAS calls for US lawmakers to bring change also brings warning that crisis talk may ultimately ‘stifle frontier discoveries’

Efforts to reclaim imperial history from so-called ‘politically correct’ professors have little to do with genuine academic debate, argue James McDougall and Kim Wagner

Reluctance to shame those who breach editorial ethics has dented confidence in research integrity, argue Adam Cox, Russell Craig and Dennis Tourish

Antarctic scientist who studied survival in cold environments remembered

Sinophiles will find much to admire in this deeply learned treasure trove, writes Jonathan Mirsky

Shahidha Bari on an idiosyncratic book that attempts to understand the politics of textile culture

Joanna Lewis considers a work that follows the lineage of a British foreign policy that focused on promoting economic and cultural ties with other English-speaking nations

Growing up working class meant Michelle Deininger was more worried about money than academic aspirations, but after a second chance she managed to complete her PhD 

Concerns over cost and impact of proposals can be overcome, say scholars

Faculties without borders are the key to turning multidisciplinarity into more than a buzzword, says Duncan Ivison

The Cambridge Analytica controversy flags up the ethical perils of research with Big Data – especially when it has commercial potential, says John Holmwood 

Growing discontent among University and College Union members about leaders’ handling of negotiations

Academics at British institutions make one in four successful bids in 2017 funding round, underlining risks of Brexit

Constant emails from the likes of Academia.edu and ResearchGate keep Ron Iphofen in a state of anxiety over what he may be missing   

If elements of society feel they have no stake in humanities and social science research, their support for it will evaporate, warns Musa al-Gharbi

Elite Japanese universities are renowned for their strength in research, but does their reputation also reflect quality in teaching? Times Higher Education’s student-focused Japan University Rankings and student experience survey offer some fascinating insights

Professional doctorates offer a more useful, less stressful but no less rigorous alternative to the moribund PhD, says Richard Willis

Social scientists’ scepticism about research oversight also relates to the curiously bad press it gets in Western literature, writes Katarzyna Kaczmarska 

Pension cuts have been presented as a matter-of-fact and inevitable response to an enormous deficit, but this position has started to unravel, says Jan Machielsen

Parochialism makes sense from a career point of view, but is disastrous for public discourse, say Cynthia Miller-Idriss and Mitchell L. Stevens

With state intervention back in vogue, and publishers’ profit margins still sky-high, journals could be the next monopoly to come under scrutiny

Radical ideas required to cut research grant waste

Funding rises for fundamental science with be welcomed even if they fall short of some scholars’ expectations, says Creso Sá

Alexander Clark and Bailey Sousa urge academics to leave their ‘fixed mindsets’ behind if they want their careers to flourish

We answer some of your questions about the forthcoming Times Higher Education Innovation Rankings

THE survey reveals how work pressures shape researchers’ decisions around relationships and family

Books offer an experience, evidence trail and egalitarianism that could never be digitised, say Al Martinich and Tom Palaima

Accepting that your doctoral studies will sometimes take second place to family commitments is part of the journey of a PhD student mother, says Annabelle Workman

Simon Baker, THE’s data editor, charts some of the different strengths and weaknesses among Asian countries’ universities

Just as the ‘little red dot’ city state has made an indelible mark on the global stage, president of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Subra Suresh examines how his institution has garnered attention

China’s Southern University of Science and Technology puts an overriding emphasis on knitting together talented people from all regions and levels, says its president, Shiyi Chen

Futao Huang considers the five nations trying to compete with China, Asia’s higher education superpower

China has put itself atop the rankings and set the model that others seek to emulate, says Phil Baty

Ellie Bothwell compares two Beijing universities, Tsinghua and Peking, to explain the former’s rise