Not accountable

... not accountable? A Professor at a reputable university and a recipient of the Brian Mercer Award for Innovation uses his PhD students to do work relating to the commercialisation of his invention but claims in the annual PhD reviews, sent to the Dean of the faculty, that the students did work of academic quality. He then asks one specialist researcher, towards the end of the PhD student's research, to act as a co-supervisor. This gives him the incentive to include the specialist researcher's own work in the PhD student's theses. He spreads the academic work done among the PhD students. An old story, No?!

Anonymous

Developments at the University of KwaZulu-Natal

I write to you to inform you of some developments at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and to ask for your support. I write to you as people who I believe share my concerns and have an interest in defending academic freedom.

Increasing numbers of UKZN staff believe that the University is close to collapse, threatened by the specific instance of disciplinary measures being taken against two staff members Associate Professor John van den Berg (Mathematics) and Associate Professor Nithaya Chetty (Physics). The process if far advanced and there is a fear that they will be dismissed when the disciplinary process begins with a 'trial' on 8 December. I am attaching Nithaya's CV here in the belief that it will establish his academic credentials. I should add that he was also a UDF activist in the days of apartheid and has been a tireless defender of democracy, non-violence and social justice.

John van den Berg has fearlessly sought to represent his constituency's interests in University processes. Almost alone, he has challenged the rights of the Vice Chancellor to do as he pleases in Senate and is now suffering the consequences. Apart from the emotional distress they have endured, both have now paid substantial sums in an attempt to defend the charges against them. The University, however, has deep pockets and a willingness to use its resources to the maximum in this matter.

I briefly describe the developments thus far.

1) A member of the university council, Professor Nithaya Chetty, and a university senator face dismissal on December 5 for discussing with the media and on a listserver their efforts to have an official Science Faculty proposal on Academic Freedom included in the Senate agenda. If you read the charges against them you will see that there was nothing inflammatory or destructive about their protests.

2) Chetty and van den Berg have agreed to submit to the recommendations of a mediating panel. The Vice Chancellor is insisting on carrying the matter to a disciplinary hearing where a team of advocates, instructing attorneys and a specially imported external judge -- all on University funds -- will decide the fate of the academics. The two professors must pay for their own defence out of their own funds. The University will spend something in the region of R500,000 prosecuting them.

3) On November 11 a group fifty academics in the Science Faculty appealed to their Dean, as stipulated in the Faculty constitution, to hold a special meeting to discuss the charges leveled against their representatives. The meeting was cancelled on the instruction of the Director of Human Resources.

4) A similar call for a special meeting of the Faculty of Humanities was also prohibited on November 12.

5) In recent correspondence between the Science academics the HR Director we have been told: "Employees are required to act in the interests of their employer at all times, and to show due respect. The matter of disciplinary action against employees is the employer's prerogative, and not that of the employee. Every employment relationship has boundaries, and perhaps if they are respected by all, it would not be necessary to have to implement disciplinary action."

Attached here are: the official charges against Chetty and van den Berg, a statement from NTESU (one of three trade unions representing staff at UKZN), a press statement by the South African National Editor's Forum and reports from the Mail and Guardian. The whole process is documented in detail on an archive at http://tux.humsci.ukzn.ac.za/pipermail/change

The issue here is really very simple: Academic freedom cannot survive at the university if the managers hold the threat of dismissal over the heads of its academic critics. Academic freedom must also include the right to discuss criticisms of the university managers, internally and with the press--UKZN is a public institution, funded publicly.

It is no exaggeration to say that this case has already done terrible reputational damage to the university -- dozens of the finest scholars have left or are making plans to do so. But the struggle is not yet lost, and I must please ask you to do what you can to help us. The destruction of this institution will be a loss felt far beyond South Africa .

Writing to the Chair of the University Council, Mr Mac Mia at macmia@saol.com may be the most direct way to influence the University executive.

I attach one example of letters already sent to the Chair of Council and the Vice Chancellor, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba (makgoba@ukzn.ac.za). Some writers have chosen to write to these individuals in an open way, including the change listserv in the list of addressees (<change@tux.humsci.ukzn.ac.za>).

The matter is urgent and anything you can do may help to stop this disaster from unfolding further.

Example of a letter already written:

Professor Malegapuru Magkoba

Vice Chancellor, UKZN

makgoba@ukzn.ac.za

Dear Vice Chancellor,

As international academics with a long history of involvement with the University of KwaZulu Natal we are most disturbed to learn that two senior members of staff at the University of KwaZulu Natal are facing a disciplinary hearing and possible dismissal for attempting to have an official Science Faculty proposal on Academic Freedom included in the Senate Agenda, and speaking to the media about it when they found their attempts blocked by the administration. From the evidence before us it would appear that neither were doing more than assert their rights to free speech and academic freedom as set out by UNESCO, and accepted in the democratic world.

Since freedom of speech is also enshrined in South Africa's constitution, these proceedings are surely extraordinary. That the administration should seek to take such action against two senior members of staff strikes at the free intellectual enquiry which is at the heart of the university and all academic work. It also seems to us a patent abuse of power and waste of public money.

There can be no doubt that the handling of this matter is already seriously damaging the reputation of the university both nationally and internationally, and it will make it increasingly difficult to recruit high calibre staff to UKZN and maintain its hitherto high standard of research in the future. We appeal to you in the hope that wiser counsels will prevail and the matter be taken to mediation, as has already suggested by the faculty and many of those with the interests of the university at heart.

Yours sincerely,
Shula Marks, Professor Emeritus, London, FBA,
Hon.D.Litt (UCT) Hon D. Soc.Sci. (Natal)
Alan Jeeves, Professor Emeritus, Queen's Univerity, Kingston, Ontario
Marcia Wright, Professor Emerita, Columbia University, New York

Stress and strain blamed on 'bullying culture'

A culture of strained working relationships is endemic in UK universities, according to a survey of almost 10,000 academics by the University and College Union (UCU).

One third of UCU members questioned agreed with the statement that "relationships at work are strained", and fewer than 3 per cent of respondents said that there was "never" any friction or anger between colleagues.

The UCU blamed a bullying culture in academe for the sense of discord, as more than half of a total of 9,700 respondents to the survey reported having been subjected to some form of bullying or personal harassment during their career.

Gill Evans, project leader for the Improving Dispute Resolution programme funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said that the results should not come as a surprise.

"The root of the problem is the shift from the old collegial assumption that academics were all essentially equals and free to express their view to (one of) top-down line management," she said.

"With line management you get patronage and mutual mistrust. Without old-fashioned tenure people can lose their jobs, so they try not to rock the boat. But then they feel resentment that they dared not say what they thought, and that poisons the atmosphere," she said.

Professor Evans said a collegial working environment "involves lots of discussion and it can make decision-making slow", but added that "speedy decision-making is not necessarily good decision-making".

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Good institutions are ones that are aware of the problem and (are) proactively trying to tackle it. Poor ones are those who refuse to accept there may be a problem or try to place the blame elsewhere."

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

Bad bosses may damage your heart

Inconsiderate bosses not only make work stressful, they may also increase the risk of heart disease for their employees, experts believe.

A Swedish team found a strong link between poor leadership and the risk of serious heart disease and heart attacks among more than 3,000 employed men. And the effect may be cumulative - the risk went up the longer an employee worked for the same company.

The study is published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Stressful environment

Experts said that feeling undervalued and unsupported at work can cause stress, which often fosters unhealthy behaviours, such as smoking, that can lead to heart disease.

Previous work has shown that unfair bosses can drive up their employees' blood pressure, and persistent high blood pressure can increase heart disease risk.

For the latest study, researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University tracked the heart health of the male employees, aged between 19 and 70 and working in the Stockholm area, over a period of nearly a decade.

During this time 74 cases of fatal and non-fatal heart attack or acute angina, or death from ischaemic heart disease, occurred.

All the participants were asked to rate the leadership style of their senior managers on competencies such as how clearly they set out goals for their staff and how good they were at communicating and giving feedback.

The staff who deemed their senior managers to be the least competent had a 25% higher risk of a serious heart problem. And those working for what was classed as a long time - four years or more - had a 64% higher risk.

The findings held true, regardless of educational attainment, social class, income, workload, lifestyle factors, such as smoking and exercise, and other risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

The researchers, which included experts from University College London in the UK and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said that if a direct cause and effect was confirmed, then managers' behaviour should be targeted in a bid to stave off serious heart disease among less senior employees.

They said managers should give employees clear work objectives and sufficient power in relation to their responsibilities.

Cathy Ross, cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, said: "This limited, male-only study suggests that a good, clear working relationship with your manager may help to protect against heart disease.

"Feeling undervalued and unsupported can cause stress, which often leads to unhealthy behaviours such as smoking, eating a poor diet, drinking too much alcohol and not getting enough exercise - adding to your risk of developing heart problems.

"Being fit and active can give you the double benefit of busting work stress and boosting your heart health at the same time."

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7745324.stm

A public enquiry into the working practices of universities

The question I would ask after my experiences in a prestigious research university is whether the public would agree that universities should continue to be autonomous bodies?

I would suggest a public enquiry... as a growing body of research and surveys (both internal and external) are raising very serious concerns about the state of affairs in our universities... with regard to working practices...

...there is a feeling that things are getting out of control...

Aphra Behn
---------------------
The only problem with this wish is that the government and bodies such as HEFCE will find out how much money is wasted... and they will have to hold some HEIs accountable... we can dream...

From the HEFCE web site - but please don't laugh (we are being sarcastic):

Our vision is that higher education institutions should have such excellent governance and management processes that they can easily demonstrate to their stakeholders, including HEFCE, proper accountability for the use of public funds... The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) distributes public money for teaching and research to universities and colleges. In doing so, it aims to promote high quality education and research, within a financially healthy sector. The Council also plays a key role in ensuring accountability and promoting good practice.

It is their 'vision'... we suspect that HEFCE is also part of the problem... after all, who runs HEFCE...

Members of the HEFCE board:

Alastair Balls, CB Chairman, Centre for Life
Rob Douglas, CBE Business Advisor, Douglas Associates Ltd.
Jackie Fisher, CBE Principal, Newcastle College
Dame Patricia Hodgson Principal, Newnham College, Cambridge
René Olivieri Former Chief Executive, Blackwell Publishing
Professor Peter Rubin Division of Therapeutics, University of Nottingham
Ed Smith Senior partner PricewaterhouseCoopers (retired)
Ann Tate Vice-Chancellor, University of Northampton
Professor Paul Wellings Vice-Chancellor, University of Lancaster
Professor Dianne Willcocks Vice-Chancellor, York St John University
Professor Tim Wilson Vice-Chancellor, University of Hertfordshire

We spoke with a friend last night... the prominent professor is having a breakdown because the prominent Uni is wasting a fortune on fighting him/her... this is after the prof. was excluded from RAE... the ritual continues... universities are not accountable to anybody... nobody... and so we fight on... it is high culture to expect anyone of these bastards to understand or comprehend the impact of workplace bullying upon the targets, to acknowledge the damage it causes...

Thank you for nothing...

Dear Mr XXXX

Thank you for your e-mail of XXXX, addressed to XXXX and copied to Bill Rammell, about the bullying of academics in Higher Education (HE). I do hope that you understand that due to the large amount of correspondence that Ministers receive they are, unfortunately, unable to answer all letters and e-mails personally. I have been asked to respond on this occasion.

I can assure you that the Government abhors any form of bullying in education and we would expect that HE institutions will have policies and procedures in place to address any allegations of this type of behaviour.

As you will be aware, universities are autonomous bodies who are responsible for determining their own administrative and academic affairs, including ensuring that their staff contracts and conditions of service comply with the law. The Department has no remit over staffing matters in HE. Staff will enjoy the protection of their contract of employment which will be drawn up in accordance with the general law and any specific provisions in the University’s Articles of Government.

As Government Ministers cannot be arbiters in staffing disputes between HE employers and their staff, I would suggest that you pursue your complaint with the University. I would also recommend that if you are a member of a HE union, you seek their advice, or legal advice on this matter if you feel that the University has not fulfilled its contractual obligations with regard to your employment.

I would hope that in your particular circumstances your difficult situation could be resolved to the satisfaction of the parties involved.

Yours sincerely

Department for Education and Skills

...They have done it again, and again, and again... and they keep doing it... bastards!

...They have done it again... they are doing it again and again... this time it was the prominent professor, the envy of his/her department... last time it was the academic who was a whistle blower... Ah... yes, the latter tried to kill herself five times after they fired her...

And so they have done it again... they did it to XX and he took them on after they fired him... the pattern is always the same, formulaic... and as Kenneth Westhues tells us, this happens to the good academics, the ones that are the pride of their department, the ones that the students love... it does not happen to the lazy ones, to the unproductive ones... no, they get away with everything, they are part of the cliques, they are part of the machine that appointed them, that approves their behaviours...

And so I found myself talking to a colleague last night... many hours... and I recognised the pattern again, the formula... it happens again, and again, and again... and the victim has to cope with the pressure, with the hostility, with the anguish, with the pain, while they take on Goliath, while they take on the crude, rough, vindictive letters of a posh, top 100 employment law company... the top lawyers that the employer has, the thousands upon thousands of pounds wasted to defend the indefensible, and so it happens again and again, and again...

Only the best are bullied, the incompetent are part of the mob... and the silent collaborators, they watch, they know, they participate... Members of the Secondary Mob have to secondary mob. It is their function. No Mob - No Job...

And some of these stories do come out, some brave souls have taken on the system... Ah, yes, we must not forget the useless and pathetic union and the union reps that fill a space, a space that goes only that far and not further for to go further for the union would be to take on the employer, now then why would a union want to do that? Also part of the formula, the part that says that unions are hopeless when it comes to workplace bullying... and so it happens again and again and again and again... and again...

The wasted millions, mean nothing... the taxpayer pays... HEFCE does not give a shit... the local MP at best will write a letter of support... and so it goes... The more tenure these bastards get, the less they keep their skills up, the less employable they are elsewhere, the more likely they are to be lord to the dark side... some of them have never taught, they would have no clue how to teach, they are paper-masters, slaves to regulations and procedures which they choose when to follow...

These are the stories we do hear about, what about the ones we never know about? Where does it end? Does it end? No, it does not, it goes on and on and on ... a well-predicted ritual, a well-formulated ritual... and so we chatted with her last night for hours and hours... and so the pattern evolved, unfolded, all very predictable... the nice letters the students wrote to the managers of the posh university... No, these bastards have closed eyes, have closed ears, are beyond human emotions... there is no remorse. The victim needs to be eliminated. The terror continues, the pain continues, the anguish continues... closure never comes, closure can never come for what they take away they can never give back to you...

These are the bastards who know as much about planning, budgeting, human relations, and conflict resolution as a pit bull...

Remember those that went public, they did so at huge personal cost... visit Skorupski's Law, visit Sir Peter Scott, visit the shenanigans at Wolverhampton University, check what happened to Prof Linda Archibald... check the bad apple bullies...

Never forgive and never forget the bastards that did this to you... hate with passion... yes, hate takes a lot of energy, it is an all-consuming feeling... it gives you as much pain if not more, it pre-occupies you forever... I did meet that teacher that never recovered, he was working in his garden while the bully got promoted and moved to another job, my dear unknown teacher never went back to work, never recovered from the bullying... and the ritual continues... I did meet that man holding his bundle in the Employment Tribunal and staring at the wall, his wife abandoned him when he lost his job, when they fired him... I did meet that academic who keeps talking about genocide, his wife lost the chance of becoming a mother when they fired him... Ah, our lovely colleague down there who deserved promotion and is bullied every day, they give her tasks that they hope she will not deliver, but she does...

My soul stand up, have power, take them on, fire... fire... expose the bastards for what they are... we are ruled by ignorance and arrogance... never forgive, never forget.

Σήκω ψυχή μου δώσε ρεύμα
βάλε στα ρούχα σου φωτιά
βάλε στα όργανα φωτιά
να τιναχτεί σαν μαύρο πνεύμα
η τρομερή μας η λαλιά...

What workplace mobbing means

If you understand the four quotations below, you already have an intuitive grasp of what workplace mobbing means:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

— William B. Yeats, 1920

---

And we also pray that we may be considered candidly and aright by the living sufferers as being then under the power of a strong and general delusion, utterly unacquainted with and not experienced in matters of that nature.

— The jurors of Salem, MA, in 1697, five years after finding 150 men and women guilty of witchcraft

---

You read your history and you'll see that from time to time people in every country have seemed to lose their good sense, got hysterical, and got off the beam. . . I don't know what gets into people.

— U.S. President Harry Truman, in M. Miller, Plain Speaking (Berkley Medallion 1974, p. 447).
There are strange games played,
and careers unmade,
In the quest for wisdom's pearl;
There are tales of power,
In the ivory tower,
That can make your toenails curl.

— pace Robert Service


From: http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/mobbing.htm

Quotes on Bullies

"Most organisations have a serial bully. It never ceases to amaze me how one person's divisive dysfunctional behaviour can permeate the entire organisation like a cancer."

"One would not expect a victim of rape to have to single-handedly identify, trace, catch, arrest, prosecute, convict and punish the person who raped her. Targets of bullying often find themselves doing all of these whilst those in positions of authority persistently abdicate and deny responsibility."

"The serial bully, who in my estimation accounts for about one person in thirty in society, is the single most important threat to the effectiveness of organisations, the profitability of industry, the performance of the economy, and the prosperity of society."

"Bullying consists of the least competent most aggressive employee projecting their incompetence on to the least aggressive most competent employee and winning."

"Nothing can prepare you for living or working with a sociopathic serial bully. It is the most devastating, draining, misunderstood, and ultimately futile experience imaginable."

"The best indicator of a sociopathic serial bully is not a clinical diagnosis but the trail of devastation and destruction of lives and livelihoods surrounding this individual throughout their life."

"I just want the bullying to stop. That is all I ever wanted. I used to love going to school. Now I hate it."

"Being bullied by a serial bully is equivalent to being stalked or being battered by a partner or being abused as a child and should be accorded the same gravity."

"The British education system is designed by and for physically strong, sports-oriented, academically-able, right-handed, heterosexual Caucasian males, supplemented recently by university-headed, academically-compliant, league-table-enhancing females. The only reason kids still get a good education is because of the many fine teachers who are unwilling to be subjugated by a procedurally-bound, Ofsted-straitjacketed, standards-limited, ticksheet-mentality education conveyor belt. Before they're half way through their career, this dedication results in the best teachers being stressed out, burnt out, or bullied out - often all three."

"Three points to remember if you're considering legal action:
1. The legal system has more in common with The National Lottery than a system of justice.
2. The legal system has more in common with The National Theatre than a system of justice.
3. In some countries, the legal system has more in common with The National Guard than a system of justice."

"Many children leave school with a hatred of an education system which breeds and sustains bullying and which isolates, ridicules, and excludes those who are in any way "different". The government's obsession with "standards" is a form of political institutionalised bullying which makes teachers as likely as their pupils to be bullied. Academic exam results devalue achievement and are one of the poorest indicators of potential [ More | More] rather than inspire individual achievement are more likely to sentence individuals to a life of middle-class mediocrity."

"Until there's a public commitment, and action to back that commitment, a policy is only words on paper."

"Recently there's been a trend to apply the term "bullying" to any kind of conflict at work, for example overwork and long hours. Although some bullying behaviours may be present in these issues, in my view this dilutes and devalues the term "workplace bullying" which should be used only for the more serious cases of conflict involving a serial bully. If there isn't a serial bully involved, it's probably not bullying you're dealing with."

"When bullying results in suicide (bullycide), the coroner usually records an open verdict. Unlike a physical injury or physical cause of death, a psychiatric injury cannot be studied and recorded after death. All the coroner has is (sometimes) the suicide letter and (always) the denial of everyone who contributed to the bullycide: the bullies, the witnesses of bullying, and those in authority who should have acted but didn’t. Invariably greater weight is attached to these denials than to the written and reported testimony of the deceased who has been tormented to death and to the deceased’s family who have lived through (and continue to live) the nightmare. An open verdict, which may be legally correct, is not going to relieve the suffering of the family or enable the perpetrators to be held accountable for their sins of commission and omission."

"The challenge of being a manager is to get the best out of everybody, not just the few who are clones of yourself."

"It is the lack of knowledge of, or the unwillingness to recognise, or the deliberate denial of the existence of the serial bully which is the most common reason for an unsatisfactory outcome for both employee and employer."

"Only the best are bullied."

"The vehemence with which a person denies the existence of the serial bully is directly proportional to the congruence of the person's behaviour with that of the serial bully."

"Bullies thrive wherever authority is weak."

"Why does the UK government ignore workplace bullying? Our system of democracy - government and law - is based on the adversarial model. To be successful in these fields, bullying behaviour is almost a prerequisite."

"The vehemence with which anyone opposes the Dignity at Work Bill is likely to be proportional to the extent to which that person's behaviour is congruent with the profile of the serial bully."

"Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and 'there's too much legislation already...' In no case has this line of reasoning ever been sustained."

"Today’s workplace has become heartless and soulless. Employees are seen as units of labour, automatons, functionaries, objects for achieving designated tasks, and as costs to be minimised."

"Whilst accidents and assaults injure and kill people quickly and spectacularly, bullying and consequent prolonged negative stress injure and kill people slowly and secretively. The outcome, though, is the same."

"Any anti-bullying scheme, initiative or policy which fails to mention accountability for the bullies is likely to meet with little, and often no, success."

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel but first you'll have to find the light switch and change the bulb before switching it on yourself. No problem, as targets of bullying are picked on for their competence and abilities."

"Good management and bullying have as much in common as great sex and rape."

From: http://allrelativelaw.blogspot.com/2008/11/quotes-on-bullies.html

Concerning the corruption of universities and how 'they' get away with it

Chapter 1: Dodgy PhDs (and other nefarious practices...) at the University of St Andrews.

Skorupski's Law: "The more vain one's ambition, the more redundant one's grasp of morality"