I've been off for a few weeks and barely looking at the papers, but of course caught the news re A Level results yest (btw young people: ignore the begrudgers). Given the (comparatively v. weird) way uni offers work in the UK, there are going to be BIG first year cohorts. 1/?
As a result, lots of places are going to be hiring many people v quickly. Some of these jobs will be permanent but many (most?) will likely be fixed-term teaching-focused jobs with little or no research time built in, esp. if unis plan not to maintain this intake size. 2/?
Sep 25, 2020 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
This is awful and I just can't understad how we have come to this, but I have some thoughts... theguardian.com/education/2020…
First the obvious bit: the university sector has for decades been marketised & commercialised by government policy, made responsible for its own financial viability. As a result, it has built a (very profitable) infrastructure around a mode of delivery and 'student experience'.
Sep 18, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
A near-lockdown is starting to feel rather inevitable. I am so pleased that we were able to relocate to South Devon this week and work, walk, eat, relax here for a change of scenery. It's been a tonic, and we are sharply aware of how lucky we are to have been able to do it.
What surprised me was the deep melancholy I got this week. The scenery and walking are wonderful in their own way, but they are not the kind of holiday activities that fill me up and restore me. I need museums, galleries, busy streets, energy, exploring cities, deciphering menus.
Sep 18, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
"These were in many respects the bad old days, unworthy of anyone’s nostalgia. There was too little transparency, permitting countless small abuses...favouritism and prejudice...laissez-faire concealed unequal workloads and, in some cases, sheer indolence" lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/…
"...half of UK universities’ £40 billion annual income comes from fees...Academic heads of department...are set aspirational admissions targets which often prove unachievable due to the vicissitudes of an unstable market. The usual outcome... is misery over happiness"
Sep 18, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
"demanding a Christmas suspension of pandemic hostilities...attempt[s] to maintain the illusion that we’re in charge...I don’t want Christmas to be cancelled either, but...it’s not about Christmas, really. It’s about not wanting darkness to swallow us up" theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
On the idea of Christmas being 'cancelled': I increasingly feel like maybe Christmas, which will be different, might be more meaningful. No crazy shopping, scaled down meals, no big parties, no painful 'office parties'. Instead: quiet days, long walks, time together, TV movies.
Sep 10, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Oh. Oh dear. If we were writing formative feedback we might start with the killer phrase ‘I can see you have given this paper some thought, and there are some interesting ideas here, however....’
‘It would have been helpful had you paid closer attention to the differences between international legal obligations, and constitutionally permitted legislative action as a matter of domestic law’ etc
Sep 10, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
So much notice for all these enormous, complex institutions to receive, read, interpret, and implement the guidance in the next *checks calendar*...4-30 days (ish) before term time starts (depending on institution term dates).
"We hope this guidance gives you freedom within a practical framework to think about what you need to do to continue, or restart, operations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic."
Lads...we've been "thinking" about this since March...
Sep 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
If a government minister uses 'activist lawyers' as a slur, what do you think she thinks the law is for? Is it (a) to limit state action, or (b) to be their instrument in achieving political ends?
.@pritipatel is not the first Home Sec (or PM) to view law this way. This has been building for a long time. It is deeply corrosive of the rule of law, and must be resisted. Sometimes politicians are frustrated by law.
They Should Be.
Law limits political will. It's supposed to.
Aug 28, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
It's hard to escape the feeling that once we're talking about how to enforce regulations, rather than focusing on harnessing the power of collective, voluntary compliance, we're in trouble. Some people will never comply; some always will. The Q is what about everyone else? 1/4
It seems to me that for COVID to be suppressed in a sustainable, long-term way, we need the 'average person' comply because of a belief that it is the right thing to do, informed by sound science, part of a coherent approach, and promulgated by a legitimate authority. 2/4
Jul 17, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Anyone with any sense of the UKHE landscape can see where this will primarily land. Most 'elite' universities have reserves, assets, and recruitment sufficient to completely eschew this restructuring programme, so 'low value' courses will (again?) become the preserve of the elite
That a certain class of unis will be able to bail themselves out and avoid this is entirely predictable to anyone who knows the sector. There are a few 'elite' research-intensive comprehensive unis that I can imagine will opt in, but overall this programme isn't for us...
Jul 11, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Really smooth experience with @Irish_Ferries today. We boarded in Holyhead. Clear signalling on arrival. Strict social distancing on board. 30
Seconds to pick up cabin key. 3
Mins to get there. On arrival in Dublin we went to car decks by pre-assigned colour.
Constant reminders on tannoy and in signage to keep a 2m distance including on stairs. We were never anywhere near that close to another person. Frequent reminders to complete location form. Met at port by @gardainfo and handed over forms. Easy, reassuring, well organised.
Jul 8, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Do you know who could really do with £10 off their meal out Mon-Weds in August? Parents worn out entertaining and feeding kids at home who want a pizza & a rest; people who want to take their elderly parent (who's shielded for months) out for a treat but are strapped. I'm for it
And I can think of at least half a dozen restaurants where I live that already do prix fixe around £20 or less early weeks for whom this will help them stay open + keep people in work. I don't understand the sneering.
Jun 16, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I have been thinking all week about feeding a child for a week for £15. I think it can be done BUT with skill, time, and an oven. How many people don’t have that? Furthermore if a pint of milk is around 50p then around £3.50 of that is gone on milk for breakfast + one glass
So that leaves you with say £11.50 to feed the child. So forget about meat. Good vegetarian food takes considerably more skill to cook than meaty food so the impediments are greater again.
Jun 15, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
I see the PM has brought Cromwell into it now. I suppose at least he appears to have some basic awareness of the atrocities Cromwell perpetrated in Ireland... But it did remind me of this whopper of a column from last autumn. theweek.com/articles/86725…
Humdingers from 5 years in the UK incl:
* Well, can you really describe crop mismanagement as a famine?
* Why are you Irish trying to destroy our Brexit?
* Nobody would really mind if we lost Northern Ireland, but we'd hate to lose Scotland
* None of your names make any sense
Jun 11, 2020 • 37 tweets • 16 min read
Welcome to all tuning in to our virtual Convening on UN Counter-Terrorism + Human Rights eventbrite.com/e/high-level-v…
This brings together UN offices, member states, + civil society to assess the impact of UNCT on human rights, humanitarianism, peacebuilding + development #reformUNCT
The event has three parts: an opening plenary (2-3pm UK time), breakout sessions (3-4 pm UK time) on peacebuilding and humanitarianism, victims, and securitising COVID19, and a closing plenary (4-5 pm UK time) #reformUNCT
Sitting here in Birmingham I have been thinking these last few days about Joseph Chamberlain and his legacy. His belief in colonialism as a civilising enterprise is something the city of Birmingham and its institutions have not yet fully come to grips with. We must.
"In carrying out this work of civilisation we are fulfilling what I believe to be our national mission, and we are finding scope for the exercise of those faculties and qualities which have made of us a great governing race" -- speech to the Royal Colonial Institute, 1897.
Jun 5, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I really love this piece. Until recently I never really used my hands in cooking. In the last 3 months I have kneaded, massaged, touch-judged, and rolled more than in life until now, and it has made me a much better cook. heated.medium.com/your-hands-are…
I realise on reflection that the only things I really used my hands in were soda bread (a rare occurrence) and stuffing (even rarer)--both things I learned to cook from my grandmother, so also used to use her hands for this.
May 11, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Written evidence on human rights and the UK response to Covid-19, submitted by me, @DrAlanGreene and @NMavronicola to the @HumanRightsCtte, has now been published here: committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidenc…
The inquiry is prompting a lot of excellent responses; it's well worth perusing them.
We argue we need:
(a) Full compliance with IHRL incl. derogations & appropriate safeguards;
(b) Recognition and fulfilment of the state’s positive obligations;
(c) Independent oversight and review of the necessity, proportionality, and effectiveness of COVID-19 related measures.
May 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
No meaningful aid for the university sector most likely means that 'big and rich' universities will creak but be ok, while 'big and poor' and 'small and niche' may break. theguardian.com/education/2020…
The temporary 'cap' on recruitment of domestic students may provide some protection to smaller universities so that the really big unis can't gobble up the whole potential intake, but the protection seems pretty limited.
Apr 24, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
It’s #lesbianvisibilityweek and, as ever, I find myself thinking about how my visibility as a lesbian is so connected with that of many other women, especially butch women, lesbians of colour, transwomen who identify as lesbian, and non-binary people seen as lesbian.
I know and recognise that my ability to pass (should I ever wish to) is a product of my perceived distinction from those whose self-presentation puts them more immediately in a viewer’s definition of ‘lesbian’. The costs they bear can be considerable & I thank them for it.
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