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→
Blog Archives
Ever thought of podcasting your research?
The Campus rape culture protects sportsball
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→
Psychology turns to online crowdsourcing to study the mind, but it’s not without its pitfalls
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→
Professional doctorates – what are they good for?
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→
ND rewriting Tenure to quickly terminate
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→
Why teaching philosophy could help combat extremism
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→
Behind bars: one academic’s experience of an Indian prison
In a review of my 2009 book, The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves, I’d been described as “a 21st-century Indiana Jones”, who travelled to “the remotest regions on Earth researching something many regard as mythical”. I liked that image of myself: an intrepid, adventurous academic. Indiana […] … learn more→
We should all be political, even if we’re not all partisan
Is it possible to be political and nonpartisan simultaneously? It’s a question likely as old as the Republican and Democratic parties themselves. The short answer is yes. According to Merriam Webster, one definition of political is “of, relating to, involving, or involved in politics and especially party politics”. To be political is to be involved […] … learn more→
How the new Administration will affect your student loan debt
With student loan debt on the rise and more borrowers struggling to make their monthly payments, many people are anxiously awaiting the direction President Trump’s administration will take on student loans. Those hopeful for the new administration’s approach to student loan debt look to campaign promises demonstrating favorable repayment plans and student loan forgiveness. Others […] … learn more→
Getting Spiritual with it?
You may not have thought about applying spiritual principles or practices to your dissertation or thesis. I can hear you snorting: “What! Academics and religion/spirituality, like ice cream and boiled kidney, don’t mix!” This is your right, of course. But . . . as you wrestle with your Major Work, do you crave less […] … learn more→
