Few subjects generate as much controversy in England as grammar schools do. Advocates uphold them as “a driver of social mobility” with the belief they can provide a ladder of opportunity for poor but able children. Critics on the other hand, see them as socially divisive; the remnants of an outdated system that disproportionately benefits […] … learn more→

The American poet William Stafford was often asked by friends, readers, students and colleagues: When did you become a poet? The response he regularly offered was: “The question isn’t when I became a poet; the question is when other people stopped.” Stafford was articulating what many poets believe: that the roots of poetry (rhythm, form, […] … learn more→

Over a year ago, I began preparing to launch a podcast called “Research in Action” as part of my full-time job as the research director for Oregon State University Ecampus (it’s available in iTunes and on SoundCloud if you want to check it out). I had never hosted a podcast before, but I was, and […] … learn more→

Sexual minorities – people who identify as, among others, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer LGBTIQ+ – enjoy very few legal protection in Africa. In some countries, “homosexual acts” are criminalised and may even carry the death penalty. South Africa is the only country on the continent that has enshrined the rights of sexual […] … learn more→

A car can seem like a fantastic investment, but you’ll often find that it depreciates quickly in value after you’ve purchased it. Depreciation can cause headaches for owners who are looking to upgrade. You don’t want to have bought a vehicle a few years ago, only to find out that you can’t get any money […] … learn more→

Time and again I’ve covered how the kangaroo campus court system, incredibly vulnerable to corruption, has been corrupted. The vast bulk of the time when I’ve detailed what goes on in this grotesque simulacrum of a legitimate court system, I’ve shown how corrupt administration uses this system in one of two ways. The first way […] … learn more→

You may not know this, but a great deal of our data about the human mind is based on a relatively small but intensively studied population: first-year undergraduate university students. There has long been concern about the over-reliance on students as a source of data, particularly around lack of demographic diversity and limited sample sizes. […] … learn more→

People often ask me about the professional doctorate, what it’s about and whether it’s worth doing.  Here’s the beginning of an answer to that very big question… I need to come clean about my own prejudice about professional doctorates first of all. I think they are A Good Thing. You may have thought that I […] … learn more→

It’s pretty clear something’s up in the economy. The strip mining of our economic system has been going on for years. Only the tremendous wealth pouring in from the student loan scam has allowed the devastation which has hammered most every other job field to skip higher education. Now, if higher education were run by […] … learn more→

Young people today are constantly at risk of indoctrination – whether deliberate or inadvertent. This can be by advertisers, politicians, religious extremists or the media – and can make it hard for young people to get a handle on the world around them. But in this age of contradictory images and constant messages, I believe […] … learn more→