Student as Consumer: A Sign of a Global Pathology

The notion of ‘student as consumer’ represents a sign of a global pathology of finance eating itself and everything else it encounters. The process of transforming the world into products to be consumed is presenting itself as a global pathology. It is a kind of ‘locust economy’ initiated through unaccountable agents and algorithm driven stockmarkets which move through the world consuming everything for profit before moving on. We are evermore set up and posed as consumers as managerial echelons normalise the surreal imposition of new semiotics on our identities as human beings. Read more…

Class, Opportunity and the Lesser Minds Problem

This is an exploration of class, opportunity and how the Lesser Minds Problem of dehumanized perception affects relations in everyday life. What follows is an annotated and extended version of a paper which was accepted for publication in PRISM journal. PRISM is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that fosters innovative approaches to progressing critical thinking in all areas of teaching and learning. You can find the edition in which this paper is published by following THIS LINK.

Biases In Psychology Which Affect How People’s Intellectual Contribution Is Valued; Behavioural Reactions to Dissonance and Confirmation Bias

This is the final part of three essays examining how people can be dehumanised through everyday mechanisms of perception. The first part examined Prejudicial and Biased Reasoning as Illogical and Irrational; and the second part explored Implicit and Explicit Bias. In the third part we will examine Behavioural Reactions to Dissonance and Confirmation Bias.
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Podcast and Annotated Transcript: I Daniel Blake – The Benefit Cuts Debate with Jeane Freeman MSP Social Security Minister, Paul Laverty Screenwriter, and others

“I am not a client, a customer nor a service user. I am not a shirker, a scrounger, a beggar nor a thief. I am not a national insurance number, or blip on a screen. I have paid my dues, never a penny short, and proud to do so. I don’t tug the forelock, but look my neighbour in the eye and help him if I can. I don’t accept or seek charity. My name is Daniel Blake, I am a man, not a dog. As such, I demand my rights. I demand you treat me with respect. I Daniel Blake am a citizen, nothing more and nothing less. Thank you” Read more…

Podcast: Richard Murphy, Taxation, Secrecy Jurisdictions and the Joy of Tax

This article is a response to the presentation given by Richard Murphy on his new book ‘The Joy of Tax’ which was launched at the 20th Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair. He spoke on a panel with Lesley Riddoch and Andy Wightman, and you can listen to the audio recording of the event in the podcast below. Read more…

Corporate MOTing: Hints and Tips on Interpreting Business Reportage Part Three: SWOTS, PESTS, and CSR by Doreen Soutar

So welcome to part three. A quick recap on the first two parts: if you get a hold of the annual accounts of any given company, it can tell you a fair bit about what the company is like. We can make a stab at telling how the senior executive team wants the reader to view the company, and how the company makes their money. Read more…

Corporate MOTing: Hints and Tips on Interpreting Business Reportage: Part two: Show me the money by Doreen Soutar

Let me tell you about financial ratios. Financial ratios were developed in the dim and distant as a way of finding out whether a company was worth investing in. Theoretically, financial ratios can tell you how much profit the executive team are making out of every buck that is invested with the company, and whether they are likely to be able to keep on doing it. Read more…