In his speech at the funeral of the Athenian Dead, Pericles famously said that the bravest are those who, while knowing the full strength of the forces ranged against them, still go out and face them. That they do not “faint beforehand with the meditation of future trouble”. Well, at least we now know what […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Hold fast to the values of global scholarship – they are needed more than ever
Making the most of your conference money
For an academic, participating in conferences is important for lots of reasons: sharing research and having it critiqued, building networks, identifying collaboration opportunities, and staying up to date with advances in the field. For PhD students there are additional advantages: you can use conferences to make your name known outside your immediate geographical area, potentially […] … learn more→
Teaching students to survive a zombie apocalypse with psychology
Playing games is ubiquitous across all cultures and time periods – mainly because most people like playing games. Games involve rules, points, systems, as well as a theme or storyline and can be massively fun and engaging. And there is an increasing body of research that shows “gamification” – where other activities are designed to […] … learn more→
Yale grad students’ hunger strike can’t turn the tide for labor
On April 24, graduate students at Yale University announced a hunger strike in support of Local 33 of Unite Here, a labor union that represents workers in a variety of industries (including higher education) in dozens of cities across North America. On May 22 – nearly a month later – more than 1,000 protesters joined […] … learn more→
Kangaroo-icide on Campus
The kangaroo campus court system is doing a fine job of wrecking lives; it has way too much power, and is devoid of anything resembling the checks and balances system necessary to anything resembling justice. Instead, our campus courts are merely reinforcing the totalitarian infantilism that has become the trademark of many of our universities. […] … learn more→
Supervisors are morally obliged to publish with their PhD students
Should PhD supervisors publish with their students? Should PhD students include their supervisors as co-authors on articles emanating from their PhD projects? To many academics, the answer seems, self-evidently, yes. But some – especially, in our experience, in the social sciences – remain adamantly unconvinced. We have worked in two universities where PhD supervisors publishing […] … learn more→
Australia: Programs that prepare students for university study may no longer be free
For the first time, students may have to pay up to A$3271 for “enabling” courses, designed to prepare students for university study. The change was announced as part of the government’s recent higher education reform package. Until now, university enabling programs have been subsidised by the government – and are therefore free for students. The […] … learn more→
A part-time and distance PhD
Earlier this month, I submitted my PhD in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at the University of New England Business School. I did my PhD part-time, while I worked full-time in the IT sector, and I did my PhD through distance, so my project had a few challenges along the way. I live in […] … learn more→
How internationalisation crushes national character
Last June, as I was leaving the polling station at which I had just voted in favour of the UK’s leaving the European Union, my eldest son was passing on his bicycle. He stopped to talk, but, on learning what I had done, he berated me, albeit jovially, mentioning in particular his difficulties in recruiting […] … learn more→
African universities must take a critical view of knowledge and how it’s made
Most universities boast “centres” or “institutes” designed to announce their strengths in a certain field. But there’s more to it than that: when a university establishes a new centre, it is making a statement of intent. It’s saying that it perceives a need for more work in that area, and that it intends to drive […] … learn more→
