Timesa sHigher Education reports on a study by Chavan Kissoon and Terence Karran, both from the University of Lincoln, who surveyed more than 2,000 scholars for the UK University and College Union (UCU), with results that highlight growing unease over the digital tools commonly used in academia. They found that 82 per cent of staff said they felt digitally enabled performance management practices had reduced academic freedom over the past decade, with concerns focusing on tools such as virtual learning environments, online marking portals and research metric platforms. UCU general secretary Jo Grady says the findings show how universities are “increasingly using digital technologies to surveil, record and scrutinise staff, and that this is corroding academic freedom”