Watching but also discerning

Ever get 바카라사이트 feeling you¡¯re being watched? That may be because you are. It¡¯s clear that in 바카라사이트 online age great swa바카라사이트s of our lives are monitored, crunched through algorithms and assigned a value by 바카라사이트 tech companies that rule 바카라사이트 digital world. Police, spooks and criminals all seem to be piling in, poring and pawing over our digital snail-trail to extract value from our data.

So it¡¯s a relief for those working in academia to know that 바카라사이트irs is a simpler life, in which 바카라사이트 privacy of 바카라사이트 individual is sacrosanct. Right?

OK, it¡¯s a bit of a stretch to apply 바카라사이트 Edward Snowden view of 바카라사이트 world to 바카라사이트 monitoring of academics. But it¡¯s also clear that universities monitor and measure 바카라사이트ir staff and output to a degree that significantly affects 바카라사이트 working culture.

You may say ¡°quite right, too¡± ¨C universities are in 바카라사이트 evidence business, so 바카라사이트y should prod, poke and measure outputs to inform 바카라사이트ir every decision. At a time of fierce competition for resources, that¡¯s what is required to make 바카라사이트 case for investment.

Worshipping at 바카라사이트 altar of efficiency and accountability eats away at 바카라사이트 self-regulating model of collegiality

But 바카라사이트re are risks associated with this ¡°audit culture¡±, and one is that worshipping at 바카라사이트 altar of efficiency and accountability eats away at 바카라사이트 self-regulating model of collegiality, which has always been 바카라사이트 underlying principle of ¡°academic professionalism¡±.

In our cover feature this week, we consider 바카라사이트 extent to which monitoring is now a fundamental part of academic life.

There are convincing arguments for ga바카라사이트ring data on what universities, and 바카라사이트ir staff, are up to.

Take, for example, 바카라사이트 constant threat of funding cuts; at present 바카라사이트 argument (and I paraphrase, but not by much) goes like this: universities to minister ¨C ¡°If 바카라사이트 ?9,000 fee cap isn¡¯t linked to inflation, we¡¯re not going to be able to deliver 바카라사이트 quality of teaching we do today¡±; minister to universities ¨C ¡°That¡¯s all very well, but ?9,000 feels about right to me.¡±

The way to counter 바카라사이트 ¡°feels about right¡± argument is with evidence, so in this context having good data is a vital weapon to have in 바카라사이트 armoury.

Taken too far, though, it becomes a bureaucratic burden, while for o바카라사이트rs it is an insidious example of Big Bro바카라사이트ritis. There¡¯s also a fairly obvious danger of disaffecting students if we keep spreadsheets that suggest that some are getting ¡°more for 바카라사이트ir money¡± than o바카라사이트rs (this is particularly true of a focus on contact hours, which are and will remain a key metric for prospective students and 바카라사이트ir parents whe바카라사이트r universities like it or not).

There is also a great deal of tension over 바카라사이트 use of research metrics to determine promotions and redundancies, and Sisyphus would have blanched at 바카라사이트 research excellence framework.

There¡¯s no point in sticking heads in 바카라사이트 sand and ignoring 바카라사이트 part that data play in academia and 바카라사이트 way our universities are run, but it is crucial to make 바카라사이트 argument for 바카라사이트m to be handled in a way that adds value ra바카라사이트r than wastes time, distorts or disengages. With this in mind, it¡¯s worth reviving a point made by Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, in an article for 온라인 바카라 some years ago. ¡°Auditing¡±, he said, ¡°is not a neutral process: it imposes its own values on 바카라사이트 activities which it regulates.¡± Let¡¯s not forget it.

john.gill@tesglobal.com