Should you cite yourself? Ever? Never? Sometimes, and if sometimes, when? And how much? When does sometimes become just too much altogether? There are mixed views on self-citation. Some people think that it’s quite unseemly to cite yourself at all – it’s nothing but ruthless self-promotion and bragging. And of course, there are people who do […] … learn more→

James Baldwin, the author, playwright and social critic, whose life is depicted in the remarkable 2016 film I Am Not Your Negro, once said: “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” Alongside Baldwin’s commentary, the work of Hannah Arendt teaches us about the […] … learn more→

“An Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living.” –Plato Studying higher education as much as I do, I have no choice but to question what I am doing. I see the massively rising student debt, I see the Poo Bahs raking in ever more money, see them crying about the lack of money in the system…and […] … learn more→

Many academics feel privileged to be working in a university. “Knowledge workers” like us, it is often said, are intrinsically motivated: driven by the internal rewards of their work. This contrasts with those who might be more motivated by extrinsic factors, such as pay or other awards. But, as we all know, even the most […] … learn more→

Exhausted and your assignment’s due date is near? That’s okay. We all have our good and bad days. All you need to do to complete that drag and boring assignment is to get a lot of motivation to do it. Seems really hard but lacking motivation to do things is completely normal and you can […] … learn more→

A new report from the Centre for Independent Studies described Gonski funding for schools as a “fantasy” and made three proposals for school funding: Hand over full control for school policy and funding to the states. Establish a school voucher system, which provides funding directly to students rather than schools. Create charter schools – these […] … learn more→

I have a large, ever growing, pile of books sent to me by publishers in the hope that I will review them. Smart publishers know that I have an interest in helping you make best use of your (probably limited) book buying budget. I’m even thought to have quite a lot of influence in the […] … learn more→

It’s no secret that our campuses no longer believe in free speech. Ok, that’s a bit hyperbolic, but the riots on campus whenever speakers with a certain point of view try to talk do seem to be a bit more common than in days past. One of the more recent riots (I’m hesitant to say […] … learn more→

The Trump administration wants to change the way the government taxes so-called pass-through entities. In a nutshell, the Trump proposal would dramatically lower the rates this category of filers pay. This would lead to very creative tax planning at best and outright evasion at worst, while prompting more companies to adopt this type of business […] … learn more→

There are various types of co-writing practices. Pretty well all of them involve you working on text that other people have written. This is a sensitive matter. Many people are anxious about their writing and do not enjoy the process of having their words erased and/or replaced. This may be the case with their own […] … learn more→