M. Molly Backes

Abstract The assessment of research performance is widely seen as a vital tool in upholding the highest standards of quality, with selection and competition believed to drive progress. Academic institutions need to take critical decisions on hiring and promotion, while facing external pressure by also being subject to research assessment1,2,3,4.

In the middle of a busy day in early December, Angel Askins came out of a gas station to find someone waiting for her in the parking lot. “Are you Angel?” the woman asked. Askins had only popped inside to grab something to drink, but it was long enough for the stranger to park herself next to the blue van with the Angel’s Pet Funeral Home & Crematory logo on it. “Yes, I’m Angel,” Askins responded. The other woman started gushing. “I just wanted to say thank you.

Learning to see the geckos of Tulsa By M. Molly Backes The geckos around Tulsa are Hemidactylus turcicus, or Mediterranean house geckos, and will spend their entire lives in or around a single building. I spent the summer learning to see them. The first one I saw was relatively large—big enough that his own shadow called attention to him as he hung out in the middle of a wall under a bright orange light. A few weeks later, taking the dog for our evening walk, I saw another.