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The research assessment exercise has become a competitive game in which the better players (not necessarily the better researchers) win through blatant manipulation of data ("Staff lose out in wily bids for RAE cash," THES , July 6).

Surely we can implement a fairer system that rewards excellence in research, rather than excellence in gamesmanship? A more transparent system would be one that incl-uded all staff, including part-timers, and a fuller, more accurate picture would emerge.

We encourage our students to be open, honest and have integrity. It is a shame that we so readily abandon our principles when money is at stake.

Stephen Emmitt
School of the Built Environment
Leeds Metropolitan University