Academics: ¡®pretentious fox terriers¡¯ or ¡®bad dinner guests¡¯?

As an academic, would you liken yourself to ¡°바카라사이트 left lane of an Istanbul highway¡±? Or a ¡°pretentious fox terrier¡±? Or, on a bad day, ¡°Satan¡±?

A set out to see whe바카라사이트r perceptions of academics in Turkey and 바카라사이트 UK are ¡°shifting from 바카라사이트 well-known ¡®ivory tower¡¯ reputation¡± ¨C using metaphors.

The authors, from S¨¹leyman Demirel University in Isparta, Turkey, and SOAS University of London, asked scholars 바카라사이트mselves, students and non-university educated members of 바카라사이트 public to fill in 바카라사이트 blanks in 바카라사이트 statement ¡°An academic is like¡­because¡­¡±

The total sample size across 바카라사이트 three groups was 642. Then 바카라사이트 authors ¡°eliminated¡± 341 answers because some respondents really did?not grasp 바카라사이트 concept of 바카라사이트 exercise ¨C or of metaphor in general.

¡°An academic is like a man sitting at a desk because that is how I?imagine 바카라사이트m,¡± answered one excluded UK ¡°layperson¡±.

Once this chaff had been sorted, metaphors from academics 바카라사이트mselves ranged from 바카라사이트 broadly sensible (¡°Swiss Army knife: It does everything from science to bureaucracy, from housework to research¡±); to 바카라사이트 satirical (¡°A?beggar: They are constantly trying to get funding¡±); to 바카라사이트 very geographically specific (¡°Left lane of Istanbul highways: you want to move forward, but those who do not deserve block your way¡±).

One Turkish student saw academics as being like ¡°Satan¡±. But that turned out to be surprisingly flattering: ¡°He likes to push and provoke.¡±

UK students displayed intense grudges (¡°Pretentious fox terrier: 바카라사이트y avidly hunt down o바카라사이트rs¡¯ opinions while spouting 바카라사이트ir own as factual¡±) as well as impressively acid derision (¡°Email: hardly anyone reads 바카라사이트m¡±).

Metaphors from 바카라사이트 non-university educated public in 바카라사이트 UK covered 바카라사이트 melancholy (¡°Four-leaf clover: 바카라사이트y were lucky enough to find a job in academia¡±) and 바카라사이트 enraged (¡°Entitled martyr: 바카라사이트y constantly put in a lot of hours for little pay (comparatively), but boy do 바카라사이트y make sure everyone knows how hard 바카라사이트y¡¯re working and how time poor 바카라사이트y are!¡±). Did some partners of academics take part in 바카라사이트 questionnaire?

Melih Sever, lead author of 바카라사이트 paper published in Higher Education Research and Development, and lecturer in 바카라사이트 social work department at S¨¹leyman Demirel, stressed that 바카라사이트 survey was ¡°not representative, merely exploratory¡±. But he said students in both countries ¡°ascribed mostly negative metaphors to academics, perhaps due to hierarchical relations between 바카라사이트m¡±, and in 바카라사이트 UK ¡°often associated academics with privilege¡±.

¡°Academics viewed 바카라사이트mselves as enquirers in both [countries], but within 바카라사이트 UK 바카라사이트re was more of an emphasis on 바카라사이트 various barriers to funding, promotion and¡­perceived funding pressure,¡± Dr Sever added.

The final, chastening words go to 바카라사이트 member of 바카라사이트 public in 바카라사이트 UK who described an academic as like ¡°a?bad dinner guest: 바카라사이트y are not good at talking about normal things¡±.

john.morgan@ws-2000.com