Academic writing in old age: How retired academics can make considerable contributions to their institutions

James Hartley outlines two studies on academic writing in retirement and argues that many retired academics can contribute a good deal to research and practice

Three strikes and a blog: What to do with papers that are continually rejected

Getting your work published can be a frustrating process. Massive delays in publication and continual rejection may be all too common experiences but James Hartley argues this is no reason to let your scholarly work remain unseen. Blogs offer a great way to continue the momentum of your research and to find new audiences for work that may not appeal to the strict remit of academic publishers

Should authors strive to have a consistent and recognisable style of writing?

As academics look to write for different audiences and in more accessible ways, it is worth paying closer attention to the variety of styles across different genres. James Hartley asks, do writing styles change over time – or are they consistent – or do they vary for different kinds of writing? And if there are consistent writing styles, how are they acquired

Are academics working harder than they did before? Or just differently?

In this time of accountability and assessment, are academics working harder than they did before? And how might we tell? James Hartley reviews the literature and argues that while the data on this issue remain inconclusive, new technology may be responsible for distributing their efforts in more visible and differentiated ways

Modeling of transient heat pipe operations

An analysis of the steady, compressible, one-dimensional, laminar flow of sodium vapor is presented for a case of a flat plate-type heat pipe with asymmetrical boundary conditions. In addition, shear stress at the liquid-vapor interface, variations of vapor quality, and momentum and energy factors are considered. A similarity solution for a semiporous channel is used to provide the velocity profile at cross sections

Book review: publish or perish: perceived benefits versus unintended consequences by Imad A. Moosa

Academics today have to publish to succeed. In Publish or Perish: Perceived Benefits versus Unintended Consequences, Imad A. Moosa assesses the disastrous consequences of this view for academics, both personally and academically. Review by James Hartley

Development of an emulation-simulation thermal control model for space station application

Many features were added to the Thermal Control System (TCS) program to increase its user-friendliness. Several apparent inconsistencies were identified. In some instances, these have led to modifications to the source programs. With the summary line-sizing information, the user can more readily compare the TCS program results with other available data. Two mathematical models were completed: one deals with sizing and analysis of bus heat exchangers and the other provides a means of analyzing a variety of heat pipe radiator designs. A generic heat pipe model was added to the TCS Analysis Program

What can be done to prevent the proliferation of errors in academic publications?

Every now and again a paper is published on the number of errors made in academic articles. These papers document the frequency of conceptual errors, factual errors, errors in abstracts, errors in quotations, and errors in reference lists. James Hartley reports that the data are alarming, but suggests a possible way of reducing them. Perhaps in future there might be a single computer program that matches references in the text with correct (pre-stored) references as one writes the text

Experimental social psychology relies too heavily on sample findings from undergraduate students

The leading journals for experimental social psychology rely disproportionally on undergraduate students for their findings. James Hartley argues necessary steps need to be taken to widen the sample size to restore credibility to the studies and to the discipline as a whole. Digital communication methods and a firmer commitment to replication studies with different populations could help to improve the situation

Students can write: Making writing tasks relevant and personal can bring out hidden skills.

A common complaint about student writing is that it is often very poor. Students don’t understand grammar, don’t know how to spell, don’t know what paragraphs are for, don’t understand how to reference… and so on. James Hartley writes that all of this is often true – but that it needn’t be. In one experiment, students wrote much more clearly when the formal requirements of academic essay writing were lifted