Approximately two years ago, I was appointed as the vice-chancellor’s fellow for the public benefit of higher education at the University of Sheffield. This means it’s my job to research the public purpose of universities and advise my vice-chancellor on matters relating to the public value of higher education. When I took up this position, […] … learn more→

There is a common perception that children are more likely to read if it is on a device such as an iPad or Kindles. But new research shows that this is not necessarily the case. In a study of children in Year 4 and 6, those who had regular access to devices with eReading capability […] … learn more→

What is a good academic day? What happens to make you go home/leave the office and say to your partner or cat/dog/budgie – I had such a good day today. I’ve come to the rather obvious conclusion that my good academic day is one where I actually get to do “proper scholarship”. My good day […] … learn more→

With the recent news that more than £500m has been set aside by the UK government for new free schools – many of which could well become grammar schools – the selective schooling debate is firmly back on the table. This £500m includes a one-off payment of £320m which will be allocated to help set […] … learn more→

The feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon once argued that rape was not prohibited, but merely regulated. She was writing in 1989, four years before it became illegal to rape one’s spouse in all 50 states. At the time, rape was quite clearly regulated in some states: you could rape your spouse, just not anyone else. […] … learn more→

At a dinner party some time ago, an academic’s husband pointed out that there are many similarities between being an academic and running a small, not very profitable business. I laughed, but since I briefly ran a small business the comment struck a chord with me. After much thought, I think small business owners and […] … learn more→

Study after study after study…every day another study, because they’re so easy to do now. The modern world runs on computers, and computers are just awesome at collecting and storing numbers. Statistics is good at simplifying those numbers into easier-to-understand numbers. Nowadays, all a “study” is, is someone taking a few minutes to use statistics […] … learn more→

I completed my PhD after a pretty substantial professional career. Then, I went into an academic job and jumped straight into my own small research projects. Now, somewhat later,  I direct larger and longer research projects, often with a colleague and a small research team. This team almost always includes a new PhD, an early career researcher – and their […] … learn more→

I must commend the right-wing speakers for their courage. Despite living under the constant threat of violence, they still feel the need to try to spread their message, try to explain their point of view. I’ve written a few times of how these speakers are consistently removed from campus, because administration fears that their presence […] … learn more→

You might think comics are just packed full of superheroes, funny animals and silly jokes, and you wouldn’t be far wrong. But while the term “comic book” might also bring to mind something that is outdated and just for young kids, what you might not know is that comics are being used to great effect […] … learn more→