Writing

Labour Exploitation in Academia

Is exploitation acceptable when it comes with the prestige of a PhD?

Unconventional Solutions

The Centre for Human Ecology is feeling the financial crunch that's squeezing all of higher education. Its response is to call upon its most valuable resource: its graduates.

Research Ethics

Ethics paperwork protects the rights of research participants... But is there more to ethics than paperwork?

Intellectual growth

Marking first-year essays has reminded me of where I started, and everything I've learned along the way.

Essay-writing

All British university students are required to write essays.... So why isn't essay-writing taught anywhere?

Tutoring and Technology

My first experiences with tutoring, and why technology can supplement real teaching -- not replace it.

Useful for whom?

Universities pursuing the advancement of society -- or the advancement of business interests?

Scotland’s Greenest MSc

The Centre for Human Ecology offers a radical, transformative MSc.... And its "green graduates" are changing the world. Published in the Scotsman.

Reflections on Technology

The technology that is indispensible to modern research, and low-tech solutions for the problems it creates.

Venture-Capitalism and Higher Education

In many sectors, we invest in the areas that promise the greatest short-term rewards. Is this an appropriate model for educational funding?

What the Old State House has Already Lost

The Old State House brought history to life for nearly a decade -- but poor management now leaves Connecticut's most important stories untold. Published in the Hartford Courant.

Fundraising and Pride

The reality of American universities' fundraising strategies.... Does Scotland really want to cultivate a "culture of giving?"

Funding

The politics of funding for international students: subsidising the wealthy and excluding the poor in a country that wants "fresh talent."

What's it for?

Reflections on the wider purposes of higher education, beyond vocational training.

Looking Ahead

Reflections at the start of my PhD.

Indentured Servitude: The Real Tragedy of Student Debt

My personal experience with student debt, and the wider politics it reveals. Published in WireTap Magazine, and on AlterNet.

Just Get a Job

On the politics of work and study.

Good Questions

Public services and the public good.

Tuition Fees Create a Debtor's Prison

The reality of student debt in America, its effects on wider society, and hard questions for Scotland. Published in the Scotsman.

The Reality Gap

Grant allocations, double standards, and student advice websites.

Learning to Lose Hope at the Futuredome

An exhbit teaches children that their actions have consequences.... Does it also disempower them?

Open letter to George W. Bush about Sex Education

Bush's sex education guidelines call for an exclusive abstinence-only message to prevent the spread of STDs, and I have a few suggestions on making that message even clearer. (parody!!)