Blogs

Late Spring is always difficult. It’s the end of the academic year, so that brings with it the Revenge of the Rubber Chicken Circuit -- a cascading series of evening events calculated specifically to defeat family time. Each event is worthwhile in its own right, of course, but the sheer number of them becomes wearing.

I read Why Nations Fail this month while traveling in South Korea. The book was much on my mind as I looked across the DMZ at North Korea on the 38th parallel. South Korea, a country of about 50 million people, enjoys a per capital PPP (purchasing power parity) GDP of around $32,000.

When doing research, sometimes it is easy to forget about the actual research project as you jump through all the hoops to get your IRB approved, find your subjects, honing in on your questions, etc. For those of us doing more qualitative work, there can be another huge layer of work involved interviewing subjects will be a part of your study. I wanted to look closely at some other factors that can help prepare interviewers beyond the simple adage of "don't ask close ended questions!"

Half of new bachelor’s degree grads are either unemployed or underemployed, according to the Associated Press. The market isn’t ready to absorb them.

Government policies from the late 1990s have stimulated competition between existing universities in England and lowered the barriers to entry for new providers. This process has been accelerated under the coalition government which took office in 2010 — its 2011 White Paper sets out a number of measures intended, apparently, to encourage greater private sector involvement in English higher education – for example, by making it easier to gain a university title, and to remove legal impediments to private companies buying existing universities.

jcpenney, formerly J.C. Penney, is generating a lot of buzz this year. Forbes reports that company officials are revising their pricing, changing their logo, and redesigning the inside of their stores. They are trying to remain competitive by reinventing their brand. Higher education institutions are doing this as well.

According to James A. Roberts, professor of marketing at Baylor, we have evolved into a nation of irresponsible spenders. The central thesis of Shiny Objects is that many of us have replaced traditional values of community, family, and hard work with those of thoughtless consumption.

Nalo Hopkinson's latest YA novel, The Chaos, is a moving and fantastical examination of race, gender, bullying, slut-shaming, and identity.