University of KwaZulu-Natal

We, friends of the University of KwaZulu-Natal,

Affirming our commitment

* to Academic Freedom as a freedom fundamental to the existence of Universities as institutions of critical research and learning, enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa
* to the transformation of universities in the context of post-apartheid South Africa;

Noting that

* the University management instituted disciplinary action against two Professors, Nithaya Chetty and John van den Berg, both highly valued academics, as a result of their publicly initiating a debate about academic freedom at UKZN
* on 11 November a constitutionally mandated Science and Agriculture Faculty general meeting to discuss this issue was cancelled after intervention by the University management
* the University has employed a team of advocates and attorneys, and an outside lawyer as adjudicator, using public funds to prosecute these staff members
* the normal legal costs of an internal disciplinary inquiry at UKZN would bankrupt any university employee;

Believing that

* this disciplinary action was unjustifiable, divisive, and immensely damaging to the reputation of the university
* Professor van den Berg has signed an apology which does not accord with our interpretation of what he is alleged to have done
* the cancelling of the Science and Agriculture faculty general meeting is an unprecedented attack on academic freedom at the University
* this cancellation of a meeting called in accordance with the constitution of the faculty appears to be in line with other attempts to silence members of our university community who are critical of the current climate at UKZN
* the UKZN management has enacted a concerted and long standing campaign to silence any opposition lodged against the University administration or leadership;

Call upon the University Management:

* to withdraw the charges against Professors Chetty and van den Berg
* to remove outside legal representation from the prosecution and adjudication of disciplinary inquiries
* to allow academics, students and other groups to freely meet and to freely express opinions and concerns
* to uphold the internationally accepted standards of academic freedom, the constitutional rights of South Africans for freedom of expression and affirm the role of academic freedom in fostering collegiality, and critical debate, within the university
* to recognize, in accord with the 1997 Unesco declaration on the rights of higher education teachers and the recent Chetty vs Adesino decision, that Academic Freedom must include the right to criticize the management of the University and to discuss these criticisms with the wider interested public and the media

AND

* call on our fellow academics and students, in South Africa and abroad, to support us in creating an open, active and responsive environment at UKZN.

SIGN THE PETITION

Also read: Newspaper Coverage

Workplace Bullying — State of the Science, 2008

Anybody seeking an overall picture in 2008, of research and scholarship on workplace bullying, mobbing, harassment and abuse, need look no further than the Sixth International Conference on these topics, held in Montreal, Quebec, in the first week of June. It was an extraordinary event, drawing major researchers from about thirty countries.

Have a look at the conference website.

Study the presentation titles on the conference program.

Read the following independent reports on the conference by three members of the research team on workplace mobbing at the University of Waterloo:

"Language Barriers and Bullying," by Hannah Masterman, Research Assistant;

"Theoretical Dialects and Conflicting Perceptions," by Rachel Morrison, Research Assistant; and

"The Birth of a Learned Society," by Kenneth Westhues, Professor of Sociology.

Learn from retrospectives on the conference by leaders of the anti-bullying movement in the United States:

"The WBI Report," by Gary and Ruth Namie, Workplace Bullying Institute, Bellingham, WA (external link);

"Immersion in the Twisted World of Abuse at Work," by David Yamada, Professor of Law, Suffolk University, Boston.

Even if you don't read Spanish, you will enjoy the pictorial record of the conference posted by the delegation from Mexico on the rich website of Marina Parés, Acoso Moral.

Ponder the provocative assessment of current research in Kenneth Westhues's presentation at the conference, "Critiques of the Anti-Bullying Movement and Responses to Them."

Study the outcomes of Court Cases on Moral Harassment in Japan, as reported by the Association Against Workplace Moral Harassment, half a dozen of whose members took part in the Montreal conference.

From: http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/mtlbullyingmain.htm

Coming soon...

All about Kingston University...

Coming soon, a few tales about a certain public official who could not tell the truth when asked a simple question by a reporter: - What did you know and when did you know it?

Anonymous

Fairy Tales...

During my studies for my M. Sc., there were rumours about my supervisor having published data obtained by one of his Ph. D. students without that student's knowledge or permission, let alone giving him credit.

During my thesis research, I read some papers written by that supervisor. He could have produced one excellent publication with the data he had but, instead, half of it went into one paper, half into another, and half the data from each of these papers went into a third. Amazing: three papers for the price of one!

The supervisor died a few years ago. His obituary described him in glowing terms, emphasizing his generosity and the sacrifices he made for his students. When I was his student, he was nothing of the sort. I knew him as a work-shy incompetent who freely exploited others to maintain his reputation. Either he underwent a miraculous transformation or somebody wrote fairy tales about him.

El Cid

Bosses admitting that there's a problem? Only in one's dreams

Bosses admitting that there's a problem? Only in one's dreams.

Most of my supervisors, both in industry and academe, saw themselves as perfect as only those who were perfect became supervisors.

At the place where I used to teach, my last supervisor and I had an on-going dispute which lasted several years, a dispute which *he* started and maintained. One year, he conducted a survey in our department about his management style. The questions were posed in such a way that the results could only portray him in the best terms. Mark Twain's observations on statistics were, thereby, verified.

El Cid

Survey of HR Professionals - Trends and Remedies

...When asked to identify the factors which impair their organisation's ability to deal effectively with bullying, the most commonly cited factors were management's unwillingness to acknowledge a problem and prevailing management style...

From: http://www.digitalopinion.co.uk/bullying-hrmanagers-remedies.html

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