‘Don’t frighten the students’: the crisis of academic freedom in the managed university

Academic Irregularities

This post appeared first on the Council for the Defence of British Universities (CDBU) blog on April 20th 2020.

When I started my blog, Academic Irregularities , in 2015, I intended to contribute to a conversation within the emerging discipline of critical university studies, which looks at the role of higher education in society, and in particular the power relations at play.

This seemed like a safe enough path to follow. After all, in the UK, academic freedom is guaranteed, and all higher education institutions registered with the Office for Students (OfS) must demonstrate provision for safeguarding it within their statutes of governance. A definition can be found in Section 202 of the Education Reform Act 1988. It states that academics enjoy ‘freedom within the law to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas and controversial and unpopular opinions, without placing themselves in jeopardy of losing…

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The Universal Right to Breathe

via The Universal Right to Breathe

Is This a Dress Rehearsal?

In the Moment

Bruno Latour

The unforeseen coincidence between a general confinement and the period of Lent is still quite welcome for those who have been asked, out of solidarity, to do nothing and to remain at a distance from the battle front. This obligatory fast, this secular and republican Ramadan can be a good opportunity for them to reflect on what is important and what is derisory. . . . It is as though the intervention of the virus could serve as a dress rehearsal for the next crisis, the one in which the reorientation of living conditions is going to be posed as a challenge to all of us, as will all the details of daily existence that we will have to learn to sort out carefully. I am advancing the hypothesis, as have many others, that the health crisis prepares, induces, incites us to prepare for climate change. This hypothesis…

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World-wide kindness towards doctoral writing during Covid 19 lockdown: shared resources

Doctoral support

DoctoralWriting

This post comes from Lyn Lavery, director of Academic Consulting in Auckland New Zealand. Lyn established Academic Consulting in 1999 following a successful career in the tertiary sector. Her 20+ years background in education, combined with a PhD which examined self-regulated learning at a tertiary level, and her extensive consultancy practice have equipped her with fingers on the pulse. She shares some valuable resources.

These times of uncertainty and disruption bring significant challenges for all of us. In addition to the more obvious issues of adjusting to life in self-isolation, there are several unique challenges for researchers. Access to software, resources and equipment has become more difficult, regular support networks (such as thesis supervisors) may have limited availability, and there are many researchers whose data collection plans will require a considerable rethink.

Given these challenges, I’ve been increasingly impressed and heartened by the generosity of many businesses and individuals in…

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NACCHO Aboriginal Health and #Smoking : Download the @RACGP Supporting #smokingcessation Guide : Smoking daily is three times as high in the lowest socioeconomic areas of Australia compared to the highest.

smoking guidelines 2020

NACCHO Aboriginal Health News Alerts

“The likelihood of smoking daily is three times as high in the lowest socioeconomic areas of Australia compared to the highest.

What this means is that smoking-related health problems disproportionately affect those least able to afford the medicines that are essential to helping them quit.

We have made massive inroads, now it’s time for the final, decisive push to reduce daily smoking levels.

These medicines work, we just need to do more to help get them into the hands of people who need them most and removing restrictions on prescribing will do just that.”

RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon said that the Government should act to assist those who struggle to afford the medicines that are proven to help people quit smoking.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

 ” Indigenous Australians are still more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous Australians to be current daily smokers.2 However, there has…

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NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Communities #CoronaVirus News Alerts March 13- 16 : Contributions from our CEO Pat Turner, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Dr Mark Wenitong, Dr Norman Swan and Marion Scrymgour

Indigenous well being Covid crises

NACCHO Aboriginal Health News Alerts

In this special Corona Virus edition

1.Pat Turner NACCHO Appearance on The Drum

2.Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s press conference

3.Department of Health download videos

4.Dr Norman Swan

5.DR Mark Wenitong

6.Marion Scrymgour CEO NLC

Read all previous Aboriginal Health and Corona Virus articles published by NACCHO since January

1.Pat Turner NACCHO Appearance on The Drum

” Pat Turner, CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), warned tonight that if the novel coronavirus gets into Aboriginal communities, “it will be absolute devastation without a doubt”.

In particular, she urged state and local governments to lift their games, but acknowledged that some local governments, like those in Alice Springs and Halls Creek, were acting.

Turner also called for action to address “the national disgrace” of inadequate Aboriginal housing given the implications for infection control, and for screening of communities in vulnerable areas, stating that the docking of a cruise…

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