Today's news

Cambridge academic warned over abusive e-mail
A former Cambridge academic has been disciplined and warned about her behaviour after sending abusive e-mails to an investigative journalist. Dr Carol Scott, who was working in Cambridge University's department of psychiatry, sent a spate of messages to Brian Deer, who works for The Sunday Times, after he questioned the claimed link between the MMR jab and autism. He complained to the British Psychological Society, which told her her conduct was unacceptable and inappropriate.
The Daily Telegraph

Cut red tape and save universities £15m, says review
Universities could save at least £15 million if government bodies took a more coordinated approach to inspection and data collection, says a review group set up to cut red tape in higher education today. The Higher Education Regulation Review Group, chaired by Dame Patricia Hodgson, believes there are needless burdens on institutions caused by different funding bodies across government having developed their own reporting, data collection and inspection or audit requirements.
The Guardian

A levels doomed, says chief inspector
A levels and GCSEs are likely to be swept away despite the Government’s insistence that they are here to stay, the head of Ofsted predicted yesterday. David Bell said that Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, would face growing pressure from schools and colleges to abolish the qualifications in favour of a new diploma.
The Times

No top-up fees for Welsh students
Students living in Wales will be exempt from top-up fees at Welsh universities - but those living in England or Scotland will still have to pay, it emerged yesterday. A cross-party deal agreed in the Welsh assembly means English and Scottish students face paying £3,000 from 2007, while Welsh students in the same institutions would pay no more than the current flat-rate means-tested tuition fee of £1,200. Currently about half of Welsh students study at Welsh universities.
The Guardian, The Scotsman

FBI helps academic to solve mystery of T S Eliot's masterpiece
For students who have struggled for years with T S Eliot's modernist masterpiece The Waste Land, the findings of a two-year study into its genesis will come as no surprise. With the help of the FBI, an academic has discovered that the poet had no sense of purpose for the work, which he created retrospectively by stitching together 50 small drafts of the poem. The question of how The Waste Land, which charts the journey of the human soul as it seeks redemption, was put together has been a source of as much mystery in the 83 years since it was written as the 3,000-word epic itself.
The Independent

'Carrot or stick' charity dilemma puts academics at odds
Academics are at odds on whether the "carrot" or "stick" approach is the best way to encourage reluctant donors to give to charity, according to new research. Around a third of adults in the UK do not give any money to charity and appease their guilt by denying responsibility or believing they can’t sacrifice the funds. While the level of donations has remained constant over recent years, people give less in the UK than in other countries such as the United States. Researchers are now looking at whether non-givers are best targeted with aggressive marketing techniques, or appeals to their compassion.
The Scotsman

Families count cash penalty of staying together, says professor
Married couples with children are penalised by a tax and welfare system that "subsidises family break-up", the Centre for Policy Studies will claim today. The research, undertaken for the CPS by a Cambridge University economics professor, shows that many couples with children would be better off if they split up, rather than stayed together. Prof Bob Rowthorn, a fellow at King's College, Cambridge, said: "The long-term cost of subsidising family break-up is unsustainable.
The Daily Telegraph

Durham student finds early exam results online
An enterprising Durham business student sparked a security scare over the university's exam results last week when he stumbled across his results on an internal website. Exams bosses at the university admitted publishing incomplete marks for around 40 modules on the university's website after the student managed to locate a page with his results on three days before they were due to be published. The results were discovered on the website at midday on Friday, sparking a rush at the university's planning and assessment office to finalise the marks and publish them in full.
The Guardian

Has anyone seen our solar spacecraft?
A hunt began this morning for a solar-powered experimental spacecraft that lost contact - and might have crashed - shortly after its launch from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea. But American sponsors, the Planetary Society, reported several hours later that tracking stations in Siberia, Oceania and the Czech Republic had picked up weak signals from the craft. "Good news," said Bruce Murray, a former Nasa high-up who is a co-founder of the Planetary Society. "We are very likely in orbit ... we seem to have a live spacecraft. "The bad news is we don’t know where it is."
The Times

Letters
Regarding student debt widening the rich-poor divide.
The Daily Telegraph