John O’Conor defends academy expenses

“Pianist John O’Conor has defended the expenses he received as director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music, insisting his lavish spending was necessary to raise funds …” (more)

[Mark Hilliard, Sunday Tribune, 30 January]

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The(se) Kids are All Right: Interview with SmartlyEdu Founders

“I’ve presented papers at conferences over the years in which I’ve argued that design (definition: the marriage of aesthetics and functionality) is integral to high quality digital education; that ‘look and feel’ matters. To put it mildly, the response to this argument has been muted …” (more)

[Keith C Hampson, Higher Education Management Group, 30 January]

Scientific Misconduct in Management Research

“Fraudulent behavior in research is the ultimate academic gossip. It is hardly surprising that our post on Thomas Basbøll’s claim that management theory heavy-weight Karl Weick has engaged in plagiarism was one of O&M’s most popular posts in 2010 …” (more)

[Nicolai Foss, Organizations and Markets, 30 January]

More than a third of English universities ready to charge maximum fees

“Institutions intend to demand the top annual tuition charge of £9,000 despite new rules permitting this only in ‘exceptional circumstances’ …” (more)

[Richard Garner, Independent, 30 January]

Academia plays into the hands of the right

“The cuts in arts, humanities and social science courses can be seen as a self-inflicted wound …” (more)

[Nick Cohen, Observer, 30 January]

Academics make the best university leaders

“What makes a good university leader? Some people argue that what a university leader needs is primarily high managerial ability allied merely to some acceptable minimum level of technical ability. In contrast, my central argument is that where expert knowledge is the key factor that characterises an organisation’s core business, it is expert knowledge that should also be key in the selection of its leader …” (more)

[Amanda Goodall, University World News, 30 January]

Absent Students Want to Attend Traditional Classes via Webcam

“It was just 30 minutes before class when Thomas Nelson Laird, an assistant professor of higher education at Indiana University at Bloomington, got the e-mail from a student: ‘I can’t make it to class. Can you beam me in by Webcam?’ …” (more)

[Jeffrey R Young, Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 January]