I was at part of the Introduction to Academic Practice for new staff yesterday. Can't really say I learned much, but I suppose it was good to show my face for at least some of it.
One thing I disagree with though is the glossary of Oxford terms given out in the info pack, which says the week before 0th (nought-th) is -1th (minus one-th week). I think I might have heard that term but, in my experience, -1st (minus first) is more common as well as more natural.
Certainly -1st is what you currently see displayed on the DPIR website, although that shouldn't be taken as definitive since their IT bods either a) can't make the calendar update on Sunday or b) think the week starts on Monday.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Everton 0-2 Liverpool
It's hard to say whether we played well or Everton badly - I suspect it was at least in large part down to the latter - but for a derby this was a surprisingly comfortable game. True, Everton probably had the better chances of the first half - a Cahill air-kick from a corner and Carragher clearing off the line after Reina missed a cross - but they were isolated moments: the attacking play was almost all Liverpool, albeit without end product (just after half-time, my mate Tom predicted a 0-0 draw).
Thankfully, all changed in a five minute period. First Keane got on to a long pass and - doing well to keep it in - lobbed a rather hopeful looking cross into the box, over Kuyt (who'd dragged Lescott to the near post) only to fall invitingly for Torres to run onto and shoot into the net. Soon after, a second followed - this time, Kuyt was briefly given space in the box only for two defenders to slide in, the ball falling to Torres unmarked to slot home a second. I'm not sure whether it will last, but the Liverpool website is currently showing clips of both goals free.
Things could have got much worse for Everton as, over the next five or so minutes, we twice more had the ball in the net only to be ruled out. Kuyt's I think rightly, because the ball had clearly gone out of play and the defenders seemed to have stopped, but Torres was denied a hat-trick because Kuyt was adjudged to have fouled a defender, which I thought was rather harsh.
Still, things arguably even out when Cahill received straight red for a foul on Alonso after 79 minutes. It wasn't has bad as Pogatetz on Possebon, but somewhat similar in style - initially sliding with one foot, but also connecting with the trailing leg - so not too surprising to see it given red. Opinions are divided on whether it was harsh or deserved - personally, I'm sitting on the fence and saying that it was 'between red and yellow' (so couldn't complain much either way), but only a deluded fool would claim it affected the result: Reina didn't have to save a single goal-bound shot all match.
Overall, any derby win is good, but it was pleasing to see the 4-4-2 work better than against Stoke. Gerrard pulled some strings from deeper in midfield, while Kuyt and Keane got in the box - the latter showing some promise in creating the first goal - and, best of all, Torres is back to scoring form after his injury. In the first half, he looked a little petulant - even picking up an unnecessary booking - but as soon as he scored his body language changed. That's the way to answer critics. And I believe he already has more Premiership goals away from Anfield this season (3) than last (2).
Thankfully, all changed in a five minute period. First Keane got on to a long pass and - doing well to keep it in - lobbed a rather hopeful looking cross into the box, over Kuyt (who'd dragged Lescott to the near post) only to fall invitingly for Torres to run onto and shoot into the net. Soon after, a second followed - this time, Kuyt was briefly given space in the box only for two defenders to slide in, the ball falling to Torres unmarked to slot home a second. I'm not sure whether it will last, but the Liverpool website is currently showing clips of both goals free.
Things could have got much worse for Everton as, over the next five or so minutes, we twice more had the ball in the net only to be ruled out. Kuyt's I think rightly, because the ball had clearly gone out of play and the defenders seemed to have stopped, but Torres was denied a hat-trick because Kuyt was adjudged to have fouled a defender, which I thought was rather harsh.
Still, things arguably even out when Cahill received straight red for a foul on Alonso after 79 minutes. It wasn't has bad as Pogatetz on Possebon, but somewhat similar in style - initially sliding with one foot, but also connecting with the trailing leg - so not too surprising to see it given red. Opinions are divided on whether it was harsh or deserved - personally, I'm sitting on the fence and saying that it was 'between red and yellow' (so couldn't complain much either way), but only a deluded fool would claim it affected the result: Reina didn't have to save a single goal-bound shot all match.
Overall, any derby win is good, but it was pleasing to see the 4-4-2 work better than against Stoke. Gerrard pulled some strings from deeper in midfield, while Kuyt and Keane got in the box - the latter showing some promise in creating the first goal - and, best of all, Torres is back to scoring form after his injury. In the first half, he looked a little petulant - even picking up an unnecessary booking - but as soon as he scored his body language changed. That's the way to answer critics. And I believe he already has more Premiership goals away from Anfield this season (3) than last (2).
Serendipity
Last night, I went to the Royal Oak to celebrate a friend's viva (well done Rachele). Totally unplanned, I bumped into my old flatmate Ed (celebrating his last day 'in the lab'), my good friend Nick (no longer based in Oxford, but celebrating a friend's submission or viva) and another former Jesubite Rhydian (also no longer based on Oxford), all there totally independently. It is indeed a small world, and one of the nice things about Oxford that it's so easy to run into people you know (when you've been here 8 years...)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Censorship in Society
I've recently been having an exchange with my friend Rob, on this older post of mine about censorship in education. As he quite rightly points out, the example I use in that post is of a particular poem being removed from a GCSE anthology because of its bad influence, and this restriction of context is quite different in kind from a total ban on the poem itself.
Nonetheless, the point that I wanted to make is that we do care what we expose children to - controversy over 'Gollywogs' in Enid Blyton being another example - and, if this is our general concern, then there has to be a worry that context restriction will never be enough. (Of course, there's a balancing that goes on here: we may think that context restriction sufficiently limits harm with minimal loss of liberty, while a total ban - as Plato proposes - would be too great a price to pay to prevent undesirable influences).
Here, it seems, is an example where concern goes beyond mere context restriction. The controversy surrounds whether it is ok to use the term 'retard' in satire. That could be a matter of context, because there are some things that we think it ok to discuss but not make fun of; but as I read it, the suggestion is that the term - like, perhaps, 'nigger' (with the possible exception of between blacks) - should be taboo and not to be used at all, even in comedy (which is sometimes exempt from certain restrictions).
Note, in particular, the BBC headline: The path from cinema to playground. The concern is, in particular, the effect on the young, but the proposal is censorship far wider than school textbooks or even the school context. As Myles Burnyeat puts it, in his Tanner Lectures, "Plato’s insight is that if you are concerned about the souls of the young, it is no good simply laying down rules for parents and teachers, or agreeing to keep sex and violence off the TV screen until after 9:00 P.M. His conclusion: for the sake of the young, the entire culture must be purged" (p.47).
Nonetheless, the point that I wanted to make is that we do care what we expose children to - controversy over 'Gollywogs' in Enid Blyton being another example - and, if this is our general concern, then there has to be a worry that context restriction will never be enough. (Of course, there's a balancing that goes on here: we may think that context restriction sufficiently limits harm with minimal loss of liberty, while a total ban - as Plato proposes - would be too great a price to pay to prevent undesirable influences).
Here, it seems, is an example where concern goes beyond mere context restriction. The controversy surrounds whether it is ok to use the term 'retard' in satire. That could be a matter of context, because there are some things that we think it ok to discuss but not make fun of; but as I read it, the suggestion is that the term - like, perhaps, 'nigger' (with the possible exception of between blacks) - should be taboo and not to be used at all, even in comedy (which is sometimes exempt from certain restrictions).
Note, in particular, the BBC headline: The path from cinema to playground. The concern is, in particular, the effect on the young, but the proposal is censorship far wider than school textbooks or even the school context. As Myles Burnyeat puts it, in his Tanner Lectures, "Plato’s insight is that if you are concerned about the souls of the young, it is no good simply laying down rules for parents and teachers, or agreeing to keep sex and violence off the TV screen until after 9:00 P.M. His conclusion: for the sake of the young, the entire culture must be purged" (p.47).
Problems Solved
Whoever wins the American election (a matter discussed here) will face some tricky problems given that the country seems to be leading the world into recession. Luckily, Colin Farrelly has hit on the solution: magic fairies. (His post links to a report that 55% of Americans believe they have been protected by a Guardian Angel, which concludes "Americans live in an enchanted world"!)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Liverpool 2-1 Crewe
Too bad our young reserves aren't like Arsenal's; still, this was an opportunity for Benitez to name a completely(?) changed side, with only Babel really having a claim to be a first team regular (even if the 'fringe' players now include Pennant, Hyypia, etc). To be honest, I wonder whether the mix of players has something to do with the performance: maybe a full reserve side would have a better understanding from playing together.
Nonetheless, it apparently helps the likes of Insua, Plessis, El Zhar and Ngog to play alongside more established players and, while Crewe made them work for the win, they came through the test. Agger's opener was cancelled out, but Leiva restored the lead and - though we couldn't make the game safe, despite the introduction of Torres (who created several chances) - it was avaoiding a major scare or 'cupset' that mattered.
The main downside was finding that our new right back, Degen, is officially made of glass. I was surprised that Benitez named such a strong bench actually: surely a few senior players, in case the game needed 'rescuing', would have been caution enough, and he could've had some more youngsters in case we were coasting. Had he not named Carragher and Skrtel, for example, then not only could one of them have had a night off, but Darby could've got a chance too.
Anyway, let's hope to avoid Premiership opposition in the next round, and see what our second string can do there.
Nonetheless, it apparently helps the likes of Insua, Plessis, El Zhar and Ngog to play alongside more established players and, while Crewe made them work for the win, they came through the test. Agger's opener was cancelled out, but Leiva restored the lead and - though we couldn't make the game safe, despite the introduction of Torres (who created several chances) - it was avaoiding a major scare or 'cupset' that mattered.
The main downside was finding that our new right back, Degen, is officially made of glass. I was surprised that Benitez named such a strong bench actually: surely a few senior players, in case the game needed 'rescuing', would have been caution enough, and he could've had some more youngsters in case we were coasting. Had he not named Carragher and Skrtel, for example, then not only could one of them have had a night off, but Darby could've got a chance too.
Anyway, let's hope to avoid Premiership opposition in the next round, and see what our second string can do there.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Cycling
Today was the snappily-titled In Town Without My Car (ITWMC) day. I'm not quite sure what the scope of this initiative was, but the university provided a free breakfast and cycle check to members of staff at the University Club.
The breakfast was nothing special (one slice of toast, scrambled egg and orange juice), but the cycle doctor did fix my loose rear mudguard (too bad he couldn't do the front) - and getting there for 8:30 and having to wait until 11:30 meant I was able to get a solid couple of hours of reading done in the SSL.
Today is actually the first time I've cycled since my return to Oxford and, despite the large number of cyclists, I was struck by how the city isn't actually that cycle-friendly: I encountered unhelpful road signs/markings (places where I think something like 'no right turn, except cyclists' would be useful), broken glass, buses, pot-holes and one pedestrian who stepped out right in front of me without looking - in hindsight, perhaps I should have hit (or at least shouted at) her, to remind her not to do it again...
The breakfast was nothing special (one slice of toast, scrambled egg and orange juice), but the cycle doctor did fix my loose rear mudguard (too bad he couldn't do the front) - and getting there for 8:30 and having to wait until 11:30 meant I was able to get a solid couple of hours of reading done in the SSL.
Today is actually the first time I've cycled since my return to Oxford and, despite the large number of cyclists, I was struck by how the city isn't actually that cycle-friendly: I encountered unhelpful road signs/markings (places where I think something like 'no right turn, except cyclists' would be useful), broken glass, buses, pot-holes and one pedestrian who stepped out right in front of me without looking - in hindsight, perhaps I should have hit (or at least shouted at) her, to remind her not to do it again...
Toss For It
The BBC warns of a possible 'nightmare scenario' in the US election. They describe seven states as a "toss-up", but don't know what to do if the Electoral College vote is tied...
More seriously, the article does a good job of explaining some points about the electoral system and the fact that "The founding fathers centred the idea [of the state 'unit vote'] on the fact that the nation was a confederation of states rather than a pure democracy of individual voters".
More seriously, the article does a good job of explaining some points about the electoral system and the fact that "The founding fathers centred the idea [of the state 'unit vote'] on the fact that the nation was a confederation of states rather than a pure democracy of individual voters".
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Alumni Weekend
On Friday, I took part in an open day at Corpus Christi College - my first official work for my new employer (even though my contract doesn't technically start until 1st Oct). Also this weekend, as a member of staff, I got a free invite to selected activities in the Oxford Alumni Weekend, so I went to talks on 'Universities and Globalization', 'The International Student Experience' and 'Undergraduate Admissions', hoping that they might be useful to my new role.
I guess they were, as one thing that I learned this morning was that a separate application form and additional payment is no longer necessary for those applying to Oxford. Also, on Friday, I found that PPE candidates no longer have to submit written schoolwork (thanks, Scot). I still don't see why they can't have a lottery. I actually asked a related question in the admissions talk this morning, but I'm not sure the guy really got it: he simply stated the obvious, that we'd still need to make choices. I suppose I'd better get back to reading Gataker (annoyingly, cheaper on Amazon than the publisher's own site, or even their conference stand)...
I guess they were, as one thing that I learned this morning was that a separate application form and additional payment is no longer necessary for those applying to Oxford. Also, on Friday, I found that PPE candidates no longer have to submit written schoolwork (thanks, Scot). I still don't see why they can't have a lottery. I actually asked a related question in the admissions talk this morning, but I'm not sure the guy really got it: he simply stated the obvious, that we'd still need to make choices. I suppose I'd better get back to reading Gataker (annoyingly, cheaper on Amazon than the publisher's own site, or even their conference stand)...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Liverpool 0-0 Stoke
And so from a great win over United to a frustrating draw against the newly-promoted relegation favourites. This was never likely to be a stroll in the park but when it looked like Gerrard had put us in the lead after just two minutes I thought it could be comfortable. Unfortunately, so much depends on an early goal, and even the BBC commentators didn't really agree with the offside decision. Still, it certainly wasn't the worst decision of the day, and shouldn't have mattered, because we should have been able to score plenty more goals but - despite dominance (27 shots and 20 corners, compared to 3 and 3).
Sometimes matches like this happen, and not only to us: remember already this season we've season Arsenal lose to Fulham, Chelsea held by an out-of-sorts Spurs side and Man Utd get off to a poor start. The key is to remember it's a marathon, not a sprint, and make sure that these days don't happen too often. It's too bad we don't have some players like Crouch and Barry (or, as I predicted, Hyypia) then some of those corners may have been more dangerous. As it is, despite naming an attacking line-up, I don't think 4-4-2 really suits our players: Kuyt is not a wide midfielder and neither he nor Keane even looked like scoring.
Crewe next and hopefully we'll see a few young reserves (Ngog, El Zhar, Insua, Spearing), plus perhaps a chance for the likes of Degen and Agger to stake their claim for a place. Though I wouldn't be too surprised if Keane and/or Kuyt play, in the hope of scoring...
Sometimes matches like this happen, and not only to us: remember already this season we've season Arsenal lose to Fulham, Chelsea held by an out-of-sorts Spurs side and Man Utd get off to a poor start. The key is to remember it's a marathon, not a sprint, and make sure that these days don't happen too often. It's too bad we don't have some players like Crouch and Barry (or, as I predicted, Hyypia) then some of those corners may have been more dangerous. As it is, despite naming an attacking line-up, I don't think 4-4-2 really suits our players: Kuyt is not a wide midfielder and neither he nor Keane even looked like scoring.
Crewe next and hopefully we'll see a few young reserves (Ngog, El Zhar, Insua, Spearing), plus perhaps a chance for the likes of Degen and Agger to stake their claim for a place. Though I wouldn't be too surprised if Keane and/or Kuyt play, in the hope of scoring...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Marseille 1-2 Liverpool
Not quite last season's demolition but, despite the loss of Nasri and Cisse, it had been widely reported that Marseille had strengthened this year. On the subject of the latter, I must point out how Babel reminds me very much of Cisse, and I saw many of the worse points tonight. Ok, maybe he has more trickery once he's on the ball, but his game is based around pace and power and he lacks intelligence. Several times I saw him fail to close down or make runs, even when we were in possession. To his credit, it was a good bit of skill that won the penalty, and he had two good chances to score a third (the first blasted at the 'keeper, the second hit the post), but with the arrival of Riera he'll have to buck his ideas up. Too bad he doesn't have Benayoun's intelligence to match his natural ability.
Anyway, back to the game, it was a surprisingly open match, with plenty of end to end action (if not necessarily clear cut chances). By the time Marseille's pacy attack finally sprung our offside trap to open the scoring, it could already have been 2-2. Thankfully, it took just minutes for Torres and Kuyt to combine to set up Gerrard for an audacious equalizer. (I've seen numerous videos remvoed from YouTube but it's currently here. Worth watching if still available).
Not long after, Babel's trickery in the box drew a foul and won a penalty - which Gerrard did well to score twice, after having to re-take for encroachment. After that, the game continued to produce chances at both ends - with Marseille probably enjoying the better share - but there were no more goals. Credit in particular to Carragher and Reina, who pulled off two great saves just in injury time. At the end of the day though, we all know Liverpool couldn't possibly win without Gerrard...
Stoke next, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more rotation, possibly with Hyypia starting.
p.s. I wouldn't be so sure that this puts us in a 'commanding position' in the group. We're second, after Atletico Madrid made a mockery of their 4th seeding with a 3-0 away win over PSV. This could well be the 'group of death'.
Anyway, back to the game, it was a surprisingly open match, with plenty of end to end action (if not necessarily clear cut chances). By the time Marseille's pacy attack finally sprung our offside trap to open the scoring, it could already have been 2-2. Thankfully, it took just minutes for Torres and Kuyt to combine to set up Gerrard for an audacious equalizer. (I've seen numerous videos remvoed from YouTube but it's currently here. Worth watching if still available).
Not long after, Babel's trickery in the box drew a foul and won a penalty - which Gerrard did well to score twice, after having to re-take for encroachment. After that, the game continued to produce chances at both ends - with Marseille probably enjoying the better share - but there were no more goals. Credit in particular to Carragher and Reina, who pulled off two great saves just in injury time. At the end of the day though, we all know Liverpool couldn't possibly win without Gerrard...
Stoke next, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more rotation, possibly with Hyypia starting.
p.s. I wouldn't be so sure that this puts us in a 'commanding position' in the group. We're second, after Atletico Madrid made a mockery of their 4th seeding with a 3-0 away win over PSV. This could well be the 'group of death'.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Oxford Panoramic Photos
I've been quite enjoying daily photos of Oxford on this blog - which nicely illustrates the Perch before (Jan 2007) and after (May 2007) a fire, and now (Sept 2008) restored.
For those looking for something a little more permanent, my friend Seth is a keen photographer and sells wonderful Panoramic photos of the dreaming spires and has a new website: Oxford Panoramas. I must admit that I haven't bought one myself, but largely because I'm unsure which to get.
For those looking for something a little more permanent, my friend Seth is a keen photographer and sells wonderful Panoramic photos of the dreaming spires and has a new website: Oxford Panoramas. I must admit that I haven't bought one myself, but largely because I'm unsure which to get.
The Scourge
Over dinner in Manchester last week, conversation turned briefly to the morality of abortion and I was reminded of a paper by my friend Toby Ord in which he highlights the problem of spontaneous abortion. I see it's now been published:
Ord, T. 2008. The scourge: moral implications of natural embryo loss. American Journal of Bioethics 7(8): 12–19.
It's a 'target article', featuring no less than seven responses. Well done Toby! (via Colin).
Ord, T. 2008. The scourge: moral implications of natural embryo loss. American Journal of Bioethics 7(8): 12–19.
It's a 'target article', featuring no less than seven responses. Well done Toby! (via Colin).
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Another Attempt at Journal Ranking
Having just had my latest knock-back (though with some helpful comments), I'm still giving thought to where to send articles. Thom Brooks helpfully lists the results of another ranking here.
Personally, I'm somewhat surprised to see some that are ranked A* and to see the likes of JPP and ETMP in the same category (A). Thom does point out a few problems with the methodology, so perhaps - like all of these calculations - it's worth taking it with a pinch of salt, but hopefully triangulation will lead to some reliable results (and it's always worth knowing people's perceptions, even if there is an independent truth).
Personally, I'm somewhat surprised to see some that are ranked A* and to see the likes of JPP and ETMP in the same category (A). Thom does point out a few problems with the methodology, so perhaps - like all of these calculations - it's worth taking it with a pinch of salt, but hopefully triangulation will lead to some reliable results (and it's always worth knowing people's perceptions, even if there is an independent truth).
RIP Mr Bayes
I just, somewhat belatedly, heard about the death of my old English teacher, Roger Bayes. A personal obituary - covering his three main passions: English, cricket and alcohol - can be found here.
For my own part, I'd like to add that I was taught by Mr Bayes in year 7 (1993-4) and again in Sixth Form (1998-2000), where my memories of his passion for Remains of the Day will stay with me - even if I did once catch him out on a textual point. That and him literally hopping around, even redder than usual, during a particularly animated portrayal of Norman from Ayckbourn's Norman Conquests. Sadly, I haven't had as much time as I'd like for literature since leaving CRGS, but his enthusiasm was an inspiration. RIP.
[From the school website] There will be a service in the school hall in memory of Roger Bayes on Friday, 26 September at 4.30 pm. Former colleagues, students and parents are most welcome to attend but we would be most grateful if you would e-mail JHowlett [at] crgs.co.uk (or telephone 01206 509103) if you are coming along, so that we may make adequate seating arrangements.
For my own part, I'd like to add that I was taught by Mr Bayes in year 7 (1993-4) and again in Sixth Form (1998-2000), where my memories of his passion for Remains of the Day will stay with me - even if I did once catch him out on a textual point. That and him literally hopping around, even redder than usual, during a particularly animated portrayal of Norman from Ayckbourn's Norman Conquests. Sadly, I haven't had as much time as I'd like for literature since leaving CRGS, but his enthusiasm was an inspiration. RIP.
[From the school website] There will be a service in the school hall in memory of Roger Bayes on Friday, 26 September at 4.30 pm. Former colleagues, students and parents are most welcome to attend but we would be most grateful if you would e-mail JHowlett [at] crgs.co.uk (or telephone 01206 509103) if you are coming along, so that we may make adequate seating arrangements.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd
Last season, we took just four out of a possible 18 points against the other three top four clubs. Draws home and away to Arsenal and Chelsea meant that we didn't lose any ground against them but, had we won instead of losing our two games against Man Utd (a big IF, admittedly), we'd have finished ahead of them.
Although we beat Utd in the FA Cup, Benitez had yet to register a league win over them, even if most of the games had been very tight - with Utd sneaking a few that they didn't deserve to. As a Liverpool fan, I tend to think that every year will be different, only to be disappointed yet again. When Berbatov pulled back for Tevez to open the scoring after only 3 minutes, I feared that those hopes would be dashed yet again.
Although there was some fortune about our equalizer - when Van der Sar punched the ball into Brown, only to see it rebound into the net - there's no denying that we were dominating possession and chances, even with Gerrard and Torres confined to the bench. Although there were unsurprisingly some scary moments, such as a Giggs shot that Reina was forced to tip over, had we a striker more clinical than Kuyt or Keane we may have put the match to bed earlier. (Not that I'm faulting them - both worked tirelessly to close down from the front and harry Utd into mistakes).
Better was to come when Mascherano beat Giggs, the ball fell for Kuyt in the box and he squared for Babel to score. There were a few nervous moments after that, but Vidic's dismissal for two yellow cards - either of which could have been red - helped ease the pressure in the final moments. Having ground out victories over Sunderland and Middlesbrough without playing well, it was pleasing to produce our best performance of the season and have even Ferguson admitting that the best team won.
Last year, Benitez was criticized several times when he rested Gerrard and/or Torres against 'weaker' opposition, resulting in drawing games that we should have won - it was nice to see the rest of the team step up this time. Mascherano and Alonso won plenty of plaudits in midfield, while Riera looks a useful signing - even if he did cut inside quite often. Certainly, after the first five minutes, his debut out-shone Berbatov's.
On the subject of former Spurs strikers, a lot seems to have been made of the fact that Keane hasn't hit the net yet, but last season apparently it took him a while to get off the mark before going on to hit 23 goals (in all competitions). I think he was probably over-priced, and we've had a struggle to fit him into our system, but I would rather have him than Berbatov.
Although we beat Utd in the FA Cup, Benitez had yet to register a league win over them, even if most of the games had been very tight - with Utd sneaking a few that they didn't deserve to. As a Liverpool fan, I tend to think that every year will be different, only to be disappointed yet again. When Berbatov pulled back for Tevez to open the scoring after only 3 minutes, I feared that those hopes would be dashed yet again.
Although there was some fortune about our equalizer - when Van der Sar punched the ball into Brown, only to see it rebound into the net - there's no denying that we were dominating possession and chances, even with Gerrard and Torres confined to the bench. Although there were unsurprisingly some scary moments, such as a Giggs shot that Reina was forced to tip over, had we a striker more clinical than Kuyt or Keane we may have put the match to bed earlier. (Not that I'm faulting them - both worked tirelessly to close down from the front and harry Utd into mistakes).
Better was to come when Mascherano beat Giggs, the ball fell for Kuyt in the box and he squared for Babel to score. There were a few nervous moments after that, but Vidic's dismissal for two yellow cards - either of which could have been red - helped ease the pressure in the final moments. Having ground out victories over Sunderland and Middlesbrough without playing well, it was pleasing to produce our best performance of the season and have even Ferguson admitting that the best team won.
Last year, Benitez was criticized several times when he rested Gerrard and/or Torres against 'weaker' opposition, resulting in drawing games that we should have won - it was nice to see the rest of the team step up this time. Mascherano and Alonso won plenty of plaudits in midfield, while Riera looks a useful signing - even if he did cut inside quite often. Certainly, after the first five minutes, his debut out-shone Berbatov's.
On the subject of former Spurs strikers, a lot seems to have been made of the fact that Keane hasn't hit the net yet, but last season apparently it took him a while to get off the mark before going on to hit 23 goals (in all competitions). I think he was probably over-priced, and we've had a struggle to fit him into our system, but I would rather have him than Berbatov.
CFP: Stirling Grad Conference
CALL FOR PAPERS : LAW AND PHILOSOPHY 2008
Stirling 2nd Graduate Conference
Thursday 11 - Friday 12th December 2008
Department of Philosophy, University of Stirling, Scotland
Keynote Speakers:
Prof. John Horton (Keele University)
Prof. Leif Wenar (King's College)
Submission deadline: 10th October 2008
Following the success of last year's event, the Department of Philosophy at Stirling University is holding the 2nd Postgraduate Conference Law and Philosophy. This event aims at bringing together postgraduate students working on any area of Political and Legal Philosophy. The focus of this year's Conference will be particularly, but not exclusively, on issues of Political Obligation and Global Justice (e.g. State Legitimacy, Anarchism, Civil Disobedience, Distributive Justice, Nationalism/ Cosmopolitanism, Legal Positivism, Natural Law, etc.).
Contributions are invited from graduate students working on any topic in political and/or legal philosophy. Each postgraduate presentation should be max 30 minutes, and will be followed by a 10-minute reply, and by an open discussion. Each session will last 90 minutes. Abstract of max. 500 words should be sent via email to lawandphilosophy2008@stir.ac.uk by 10th October 2008. Selected participants will be required to send a full draft of their paper by 3rd November. Thanks to generous support from the Department of Philosophy of Stirling University, The Roberts Funds and The Scots Philosophical Club, there will be bursaries available for participant postgraduates. Inquiries should be sent to Ambrose Lee or Piero Moraro
(via Megan)
Stirling 2nd Graduate Conference
Thursday 11 - Friday 12th December 2008
Department of Philosophy, University of Stirling, Scotland
Keynote Speakers:
Prof. John Horton (Keele University)
Prof. Leif Wenar (King's College)
Submission deadline: 10th October 2008
Following the success of last year's event, the Department of Philosophy at Stirling University is holding the 2nd Postgraduate Conference Law and Philosophy. This event aims at bringing together postgraduate students working on any area of Political and Legal Philosophy. The focus of this year's Conference will be particularly, but not exclusively, on issues of Political Obligation and Global Justice (e.g. State Legitimacy, Anarchism, Civil Disobedience, Distributive Justice, Nationalism/ Cosmopolitanism, Legal Positivism, Natural Law, etc.).
Contributions are invited from graduate students working on any topic in political and/or legal philosophy. Each postgraduate presentation should be max 30 minutes, and will be followed by a 10-minute reply, and by an open discussion. Each session will last 90 minutes. Abstract of max. 500 words should be sent via email to lawandphilosophy2008@stir.ac.uk by 10th October 2008. Selected participants will be required to send a full draft of their paper by 3rd November. Thanks to generous support from the Department of Philosophy of Stirling University, The Roberts Funds and The Scots Philosophical Club, there will be bursaries available for participant postgraduates. Inquiries should be sent to Ambrose Lee or Piero Moraro
(via Megan)
Friday, September 12, 2008
Back in Oxford
This week's conference in Manchester was great fun. There weren't too many senior professors - it was mostly PhD students and junior faculty - but that seemed to facilitate egalitarian discussion, academic and social. It was partcularly pleasing for me to give a paper in the sortition panel, allowing me to meet several members of the kleroterian email list (run by Conall Boyle) which coincided with the launch of a new series of books from Imprint Academic.
I must in particular thank my friend Becca, who kindly hosted me in her flat (rather than halls). I'm back in Oxford now - and starting to prepare for the coming term.
I must in particular thank my friend Becca, who kindly hosted me in her flat (rather than halls). I'm back in Oxford now - and starting to prepare for the coming term.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Travel Plans
I'm returning to Oxford tomorrow, although it will only be a brief stop as on Tuesday I'm off to Manchester for this conference - will be back on Friday.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Censorship in Education
Plato is often criticized as totalitarian for his willingness to censor vast tracts of Greek poetry, including Homer, in his ideal city. Of course, it is important that he proposed total censorship, rather than merely restriction of context. Nonetheless, when it comes to educational contexts, his proposals seem to differ from modern practice only in degree rather than kind.
I previously has other examples, such as fuss over Gollywogs in Enid Blighton, but this BBC story brought my attention to the recent removal of a Carol Ann Duffy poem about knife violence, 'An Education in Leisure' from GCSE anthologies. The Guardian's report reproduces the poem, while there's an analysis of it here.
The Guardian report quotes Michael Rosen, the children's laureate [not the ex-Oxford philosopher], as saying: "By this same logic we would be banning Romeo and Juliet. That's about a group of sexually attractive males strutting round the streets, getting off with girls and stabbing each other."
I previously has other examples, such as fuss over Gollywogs in Enid Blighton, but this BBC story brought my attention to the recent removal of a Carol Ann Duffy poem about knife violence, 'An Education in Leisure' from GCSE anthologies. The Guardian's report reproduces the poem, while there's an analysis of it here.
The Guardian report quotes Michael Rosen, the children's laureate [not the ex-Oxford philosopher], as saying: "By this same logic we would be banning Romeo and Juliet. That's about a group of sexually attractive males strutting round the streets, getting off with girls and stabbing each other."
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool
Well, we may have lost our 100% winning record, but Villa Park is never an easy place to go, particularly missing Gerrard and then losing Torres to a hamstring injury within half an hour. Although it'd be nice if some of our other players could chip in with goals at moments like this - it was, after all, presumably part of why we paid £20m for Keane - I'd have settled for a draw without our two main match-winners.
It was notable that Mascherano and Lucas came straight back into the side and, as I expected, we reverted to a 4-2-3-1 (although I would have expected Keane to play centrally, in place of Lucas, with Babel or Benayoun on the left). Hopefully there will be a signing or two tomorrow to boost the squad: Riera is apparently still 'close' but, after hearing that Newcastle may sell Owen for £2m due to his refusal to sign a new contract, I wouldn't mind a cheeky bid to bring 'St Michael' back, even if some supporters haven't forgiven him for the way he left.
It was notable that Mascherano and Lucas came straight back into the side and, as I expected, we reverted to a 4-2-3-1 (although I would have expected Keane to play centrally, in place of Lucas, with Babel or Benayoun on the left). Hopefully there will be a signing or two tomorrow to boost the squad: Riera is apparently still 'close' but, after hearing that Newcastle may sell Owen for £2m due to his refusal to sign a new contract, I wouldn't mind a cheeky bid to bring 'St Michael' back, even if some supporters haven't forgiven him for the way he left.
Anyway, for now the good news is that we have an international break - so hopefully Gerrard and Torres will be back for our next match, against Man Utd (though it's touch and go). And, also, we're not the Liverpool Ladies, who've lost their first three matches to Chelsea (5-0), Arsenal (11-2) and Bristol (6-0)!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Our Survey Said
I didn't really learn much myself, but I was quite impressed at this attempt at public education by the BBC, teaching people to deal with damned lies and statistics. It's part of a series, the most recent of which explains why most people earn less than average. (Sadly, I can't find a way to link to the series as a whole - it doesn't appear to have its own page).
In a world where numbers are thrown around to make sensational headlines, and their meanign rarely scrutinized, this is a welcome development. Ironically, it comes at the same time as the BBC report this regional happiness survey, glossing over the admission "researchers stress that the variations between different places in Britain are not statistically significant".
Worse, they an attempt to infer causation from correlation, and probably get it back to front. "Another important factor in determining happiness was the length of time that a person spent living in a place. Staying in an area for five years or longer was an important indicator of well being, said the scientists." The scientists point out only that length of time is an indicator of well-being, which to me makes it sound more like the dependent variable (i.e. people stay because they're happy), rather than - as the BBC report - a 'factor determining happiness'.
While I repeat my admiration of their attempt at public education, this not the only recent example of shoddy reporting - I pointed out a contradiction in this other piece before (and I have seen errors in their football reporting too, even if they didn't actually do this). I'm certainly less impressed by and more critical of BBC reporting than I used to be.
In a world where numbers are thrown around to make sensational headlines, and their meanign rarely scrutinized, this is a welcome development. Ironically, it comes at the same time as the BBC report this regional happiness survey, glossing over the admission "researchers stress that the variations between different places in Britain are not statistically significant".
Worse, they an attempt to infer causation from correlation, and probably get it back to front. "Another important factor in determining happiness was the length of time that a person spent living in a place. Staying in an area for five years or longer was an important indicator of well being, said the scientists." The scientists point out only that length of time is an indicator of well-being, which to me makes it sound more like the dependent variable (i.e. people stay because they're happy), rather than - as the BBC report - a 'factor determining happiness'.
While I repeat my admiration of their attempt at public education, this not the only recent example of shoddy reporting - I pointed out a contradiction in this other piece before (and I have seen errors in their football reporting too, even if they didn't actually do this). I'm certainly less impressed by and more critical of BBC reporting than I used to be.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Liverpool 1-0 Standard Liege (AET)
Well, I think we knew after the first leg that this wouldn't be easy. I expected it would either go one of two ways - either they'd be over-awed, concede an early goal and fall apart (losing something like 3-0) or, more likely, it would go all the way, in which case I feared that - particularly with an away goal, they might nick it.
As it turned out, there was only a single goal in it (1-0, not 2-1: the mistake is LFC.tv's as the BBC site has it right) and it took 117 minutes on the night. We'd again had Reina to thank for a couple of good saves as, while we managed to dominate possession it was probably Liege who enjoyed most of the clearer chances.
Tonight we seemed devoid of shape and ideas, which has been something of a problem all season (not that that's very long). As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, I was reminded that we have yet to score in the first 80 minutes of any of our four competitive fixtures this season (though we have now scored four goals after that point!) In this game, things were a bit different because, although we pressed, the risk of an away goal made it too dangerous to throw everything forward: extra-time seemed safer.
Again, the commentators go on about our lack of width. It seems we're closing in on signing Riera, who at least should provide some natural width - I only hope he proves more effective than Nunez or Gonzales (and let's not forget we have another winger denied a work permit). I do think the return of Mascherano will help as well, giving us more balance in centre midfield and allowing the full-backs more licence to get forward.
Anyway, the goal when it finally game tonight involve Babel running at his full-back and then I thought the chance had gone as he had to cut back to cross with his right foot - nonetheless he was able to sent the ball over to the far post for Kuyt, playing his 100th game for the club, to slot home (when the full-back really should have cleared). It was no doubt a cruel blow for Liege, but whatever one might think was deserved over the previous 207 minutes of the tie, it's worth pointing out that we were denied what seemed a fairly clear penalty just moments before when El Zhar was felled in the box.
At the end of the day, we haven't always been convincing during CL qualifying (even in 2004-05 we only scraped through, beating Graz AK 3-2 on aggregate, before going on to win in Istanbul), but what matters is being in tomorrow's draw. Credit to Liege though - they're a side with plenty of good young players, and I'm sure bigger clubs will be after several of them after these two matches.
As it turned out, there was only a single goal in it (1-0, not 2-1: the mistake is LFC.tv's as the BBC site has it right) and it took 117 minutes on the night. We'd again had Reina to thank for a couple of good saves as, while we managed to dominate possession it was probably Liege who enjoyed most of the clearer chances.
Tonight we seemed devoid of shape and ideas, which has been something of a problem all season (not that that's very long). As the clock ticked towards 90 minutes, I was reminded that we have yet to score in the first 80 minutes of any of our four competitive fixtures this season (though we have now scored four goals after that point!) In this game, things were a bit different because, although we pressed, the risk of an away goal made it too dangerous to throw everything forward: extra-time seemed safer.
Again, the commentators go on about our lack of width. It seems we're closing in on signing Riera, who at least should provide some natural width - I only hope he proves more effective than Nunez or Gonzales (and let's not forget we have another winger denied a work permit). I do think the return of Mascherano will help as well, giving us more balance in centre midfield and allowing the full-backs more licence to get forward.
Anyway, the goal when it finally game tonight involve Babel running at his full-back and then I thought the chance had gone as he had to cut back to cross with his right foot - nonetheless he was able to sent the ball over to the far post for Kuyt, playing his 100th game for the club, to slot home (when the full-back really should have cleared). It was no doubt a cruel blow for Liege, but whatever one might think was deserved over the previous 207 minutes of the tie, it's worth pointing out that we were denied what seemed a fairly clear penalty just moments before when El Zhar was felled in the box.
At the end of the day, we haven't always been convincing during CL qualifying (even in 2004-05 we only scraped through, beating Graz AK 3-2 on aggregate, before going on to win in Istanbul), but what matters is being in tomorrow's draw. Credit to Liege though - they're a side with plenty of good young players, and I'm sure bigger clubs will be after several of them after these two matches.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
How Not to do How To
Phil Anon directs us to the so bad it's good WikiHow.
The entry 'How to Agree With a Majority' is particularly amusing.
Step 3 clearly provides a sufficient but not necessary condition: "If there are two thirds or more people siding with one topic, choose that one." It seems that the author may have been mislead by considering only one, six-person, example: "Make sure you do your math correctly. Three out of six is not a two thirds majority, four out of six is. Five out of six is also a majority."
The entry 'How to Agree With a Majority' is particularly amusing.
Step 3 clearly provides a sufficient but not necessary condition: "If there are two thirds or more people siding with one topic, choose that one." It seems that the author may have been mislead by considering only one, six-person, example: "Make sure you do your math correctly. Three out of six is not a two thirds majority, four out of six is. Five out of six is also a majority."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbrough
I said it once after our late winner against Lazio in pre-season, and Kuyt said it too after our late(ish) winner against Sunderland, and today could just confirm it - we may have that knack of playing poorly and nicking results.
After starting fairly brightly, but being denied by late replacement goalkeeper Turnbull, we failed to create many clear chances and it wasn't so surprising when Mido put the visitors ahead - threatening their first win at Anfield in 30-something years.
Thankfully, while our play didn't improve too much, our determination got us through. Carragher scored a rare goal (deflected off Pogatetz) to level the scores on 86 minutes and then, having already been denied by a fine save from a free kick in injury time, Gerrard got onto a knock down around the edge of the box and fired in a not-really-deserved winner.
Two wins out of two is a good start - after all, we could have done an Arsenal and lost - but we do need to play better before we run up against big teams. A lot of commentators are saying we need width, and while a new winger would be welcome they're like gold dust - I'd rather see Pennant re-instated to the squad than El Zhar, who doesn't fill me with much confidence coming off the bench. On the other hand, maybe it's the 4-4-2 system not working. It'll be nice to welcome Mascherano back from the Olympics (with his second gold medal) and interesting to see what happens. One possibility is reverting to something like last year's 4-2-3-1 (with Gerrard, Keane and Babel in the three supporting Torres), but another is that we stick with 4-4-2 with Gerrard on the right - you won't find many better players there...
p.s. We do really need to work on our attacking set-pieces though. I've long thought Alonso should take more (if only because I'd rather have Gerrard on the end), but he in particular was woeful today.
After starting fairly brightly, but being denied by late replacement goalkeeper Turnbull, we failed to create many clear chances and it wasn't so surprising when Mido put the visitors ahead - threatening their first win at Anfield in 30-something years.
Thankfully, while our play didn't improve too much, our determination got us through. Carragher scored a rare goal (deflected off Pogatetz) to level the scores on 86 minutes and then, having already been denied by a fine save from a free kick in injury time, Gerrard got onto a knock down around the edge of the box and fired in a not-really-deserved winner.
Two wins out of two is a good start - after all, we could have done an Arsenal and lost - but we do need to play better before we run up against big teams. A lot of commentators are saying we need width, and while a new winger would be welcome they're like gold dust - I'd rather see Pennant re-instated to the squad than El Zhar, who doesn't fill me with much confidence coming off the bench. On the other hand, maybe it's the 4-4-2 system not working. It'll be nice to welcome Mascherano back from the Olympics (with his second gold medal) and interesting to see what happens. One possibility is reverting to something like last year's 4-2-3-1 (with Gerrard, Keane and Babel in the three supporting Torres), but another is that we stick with 4-4-2 with Gerrard on the right - you won't find many better players there...
p.s. We do really need to work on our attacking set-pieces though. I've long thought Alonso should take more (if only because I'd rather have Gerrard on the end), but he in particular was woeful today.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Medal Orderings
Social choice concerns how to arrive at a social ordering of alternative policies or states of affairs based on individual preference orderings. Notoriously, Condorcet showed that majority voting over pairs of alternatives need not produce a transitive result - for instance, if there are three people (Alf, Betty and Charles) and three options (X, Y and Z) it may be that Alf ranks X, Y, Z; Betty ranks Y, Z, X; and Charles ranks Z, X, Y. In this case, X > Y (2:1), Y > Z (2:1), but Z > X (2:1)...
It has generally been assumed that we must make do with ordinal comparisons. That is, we only know the order in which each individual places the alternatives - we cannot say, for example, how much Alf prefers X to Z. The Borda count attempts to infer such cardinal information from the ranking of other laternatives (I've written about this here), but this method is notoriously vulnerable to manipulation. For example, if X seems the closest rival to Z then Charles may strategically misrepresent his preferences as Z, Y, X - giving Y more points at the expense of X, to ensure Z wins.
There's a lot of debate over whether there's any non-arbitrary way of ranking preferences, and I think it's interesting that something similar is exhibited in the Olympic medal tables - as brought out by this BBC feature.
The standard table exhibits what is known as 'lexical dominance', in which more golds trump any number of bronze and silver medals and more silvers trump any number of bronzes. This is sometimes compared to the ordering of words in a dictionary. AZZZZ comes before BAAAA because the first letter dominates the others. Another common instance is a football league table - points lexically dominate goal difference, since a superiority in the latter can never compensate for fewer points.
The Olympic table would therefore rank (1,0,0) ahead of (0,50,50), which seems distinctly suspect to me. I don't agree that one gold should make such a difference. (Even though, as pointed out in the BBC article, Britain's current success is largely based on golds - our nearest rivals have more silver/bronze).
On the other hand, it seems pretty silly to count all medals equally, as the totals in the first 'alternative' table do. (This puts Australia level with GB - unfortunately the BBC's story about this bet is contradictory as to whether what matter is the official table or total number of medals).
Perhaps a sensible compromise is to adopt something like the Borda count, as the BBC do in their second table. The question is, why rank gold = 3, silver = 2, bronze = 1. You may, for example, say points ought to extend beyond top three finishers or that, like in formula one, the increments ought to be spread out more - for instance, gold = 5, silver = 3 and bronze = 1.
Ultimately, it seems that any comparison is somewhat arbitrary. The problem is not simply one of measuring - for we know exactly how many golds, silvers and bronzes each country has - but one of how to compare gold to silver, or (10, 10, 10) to (9, 12, 9).
It has generally been assumed that we must make do with ordinal comparisons. That is, we only know the order in which each individual places the alternatives - we cannot say, for example, how much Alf prefers X to Z. The Borda count attempts to infer such cardinal information from the ranking of other laternatives (I've written about this here), but this method is notoriously vulnerable to manipulation. For example, if X seems the closest rival to Z then Charles may strategically misrepresent his preferences as Z, Y, X - giving Y more points at the expense of X, to ensure Z wins.
There's a lot of debate over whether there's any non-arbitrary way of ranking preferences, and I think it's interesting that something similar is exhibited in the Olympic medal tables - as brought out by this BBC feature.
The standard table exhibits what is known as 'lexical dominance', in which more golds trump any number of bronze and silver medals and more silvers trump any number of bronzes. This is sometimes compared to the ordering of words in a dictionary. AZZZZ comes before BAAAA because the first letter dominates the others. Another common instance is a football league table - points lexically dominate goal difference, since a superiority in the latter can never compensate for fewer points.
The Olympic table would therefore rank (1,0,0) ahead of (0,50,50), which seems distinctly suspect to me. I don't agree that one gold should make such a difference. (Even though, as pointed out in the BBC article, Britain's current success is largely based on golds - our nearest rivals have more silver/bronze).
On the other hand, it seems pretty silly to count all medals equally, as the totals in the first 'alternative' table do. (This puts Australia level with GB - unfortunately the BBC's story about this bet is contradictory as to whether what matter is the official table or total number of medals).
Perhaps a sensible compromise is to adopt something like the Borda count, as the BBC do in their second table. The question is, why rank gold = 3, silver = 2, bronze = 1. You may, for example, say points ought to extend beyond top three finishers or that, like in formula one, the increments ought to be spread out more - for instance, gold = 5, silver = 3 and bronze = 1.
Ultimately, it seems that any comparison is somewhat arbitrary. The problem is not simply one of measuring - for we know exactly how many golds, silvers and bronzes each country has - but one of how to compare gold to silver, or (10, 10, 10) to (9, 12, 9).
Haggling
Despite reports of a stagnant economy and lower consumer spending, I've been spending quite a lot over the last week - it's the usual preparing for return to Oxford routine, including an eye test and dentist's check up (£60! Ouch...) plus a substantial amount of new clothes.
I think my mum overestimates how smart academics typically do/need to look, although I should say she bought me a suit and shirts because she did for my brother when he started work.
We actually got some bargains in Asda, but perhaps it's a shame that we hadn't seen this article on haggling first. (Mr Saunders from Verdict Research is no relation, by the way). What really caught my eye, however, was the statement from Selfridges' press officer: "You pay the price on the ticket. Any department store would tell you that. Otherwise there would be anarchy." I'm not sure s/he really understands the meaning of anarchy... (Then again, we know what women shoppers can reputedly be like in sales!)
I think my mum overestimates how smart academics typically do/need to look, although I should say she bought me a suit and shirts because she did for my brother when he started work.
We actually got some bargains in Asda, but perhaps it's a shame that we hadn't seen this article on haggling first. (Mr Saunders from Verdict Research is no relation, by the way). What really caught my eye, however, was the statement from Selfridges' press officer: "You pay the price on the ticket. Any department store would tell you that. Otherwise there would be anarchy." I'm not sure s/he really understands the meaning of anarchy... (Then again, we know what women shoppers can reputedly be like in sales!)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Now That's Exposure
Compared to the Leiters and Crooked Timbers, or even PJMBs, of this world this blog doesn't get much traffic so a decent comment thread - like this recent one - is pretty rare.
My friend Milan's blog, however, has achieved national press coverage! (See here for his relevant post)
My friend Milan's blog, however, has achieved national press coverage! (See here for his relevant post)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Helicopter Parents
This piece on the BBC website is about increasing parental involvement in the lives of their children at university. Apparently universities and UCAS are now allowed to deal with parents directly rather than the students. I can understand parents wanting to be invovled, and coming to open days, but the idea of them actually coming to interviews - or even lectures - seems horrifying.
My comment was posted:
"I can understand parents coming with their children to open days and helping them makes choices - after all, not only is university a big choice, but many are still at school at the time and for many a lift with their parents may be the easiest way of getting to the university.
My comment was posted:
"I can understand parents coming with their children to open days and helping them makes choices - after all, not only is university a big choice, but many are still at school at the time and for many a lift with their parents may be the easiest way of getting to the university.
The idea that parents can be present at interviews and so forth seems to go a bit far, however. As for those that say they can't get information from their children - the answer is not to hand over a blank cheque. Make it plain that your financial support is conditional upon your involvement.
Ben Saunders, Oxford"
Philosopher Wins Silver Medal
Recent Oxford DPhil Acer Nethercott wins silver medal coxing the men's VIII in Beijing. (Via Leiter).
Despite liking academic cyclists, Chris is dismissive ("if you were that smart, it’s puzzling as to why you’d waste your time sitting in a boat").
Despite liking academic cyclists, Chris is dismissive ("if you were that smart, it’s puzzling as to why you’d waste your time sitting in a boat").
Monday, August 18, 2008
Brooks on Publishing Secrets
Thom Brooks founded his own journal (the Journal of Moral Philosophy), so he should know a thing or two about what it takes to get published - having both done it and having editorial power over others. He's already offered extensive publishing advice for grad students, but now he offers five secrets here. (Available free and without any SSRN log-in). (Via Thom's blog).
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool
Not a great performance, with Sunderland if anything having the better of the first-half, but then you'd expect them to be up for it. We restricted them to few chances, although without creating too many of our own. Sadly, Keane's most telling contribution was to block Torres' shot after both of them went for the same rebound. That's a partnership that needs more work...
Torres, however, proved that he's the type of player that can have a quiet game and then win it with one moment of brilliance (not that this was up with his best goals). Not pretty but first game of the season, away from home, I'll take a 1-0 win any way it comes. Maybe a little harsh on Sunderland, but then we were denied a penalty when Chimbonda bundled Benayoun off the ball in the first half (the ref bottled it and pulled play back for an earlier foul on Gerrard outside the area, despite seemingly having played advantage - and then allowed Diouf to encroach on and block the free kick).
Torres, however, proved that he's the type of player that can have a quiet game and then win it with one moment of brilliance (not that this was up with his best goals). Not pretty but first game of the season, away from home, I'll take a 1-0 win any way it comes. Maybe a little harsh on Sunderland, but then we were denied a penalty when Chimbonda bundled Benayoun off the ball in the first half (the ref bottled it and pulled play back for an earlier foul on Gerrard outside the area, despite seemingly having played advantage - and then allowed Diouf to encroach on and block the free kick).
Lectures
I was surprised to see that provisional lecture lists are already online for MT 08: Philosophy, Politics.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Minorities Rule
At least since Robert Dahl, it's often been said that democracy is not really rule of a monolithic majority but a coalition of minorities. The 'minorities rule' claims may be strengthened by the news that ethnic minorities are set to be a majority in the US by 2042.
Of course, this isn't decisive, because the point of the thesis is really to emphasize cross-cutting cleavages (others being, e.g., gender or class/wealth).
Of course, this isn't decisive, because the point of the thesis is really to emphasize cross-cutting cleavages (others being, e.g., gender or class/wealth).
A Level Results
It seems that just about everyone is getting A grades these days. One of these BBC case studies is coming up to Jesus, Oxford though.
UPDATE: Slightly US-centric piece on grade inflation on CT.
UPDATE: Slightly US-centric piece on grade inflation on CT.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Standard Liege 0-0 Liverpool
Something of an unknown quantity, but the Belgian champions were never going to be a pushover and we've seen in the past that the 3rd qualifying round can be tough. Before the game, I'd happily have taken a high-scoring draw with no injuries. As it is, we had to settle for a goalless stalemate and a number of players - Plessis, Alonso, Benayoun and Torres particularly - were given a tough time.
It could have been much worse for us though - Reina was by far the busier keeper, needing a great save to claw the ball off the line and saving a penalty (which shouldn't have been given anyway, Dossena handballing outside the box). I'd still say that we should win this game over two legs, but we'll need to raise our game at Anfield in a fortnight's time, knowing that to concede an away goal could be costly. Also with our squad already stretched, I worry that this wasn't ideal preparation for the start of the season at Sunderland.
It could have been much worse for us though - Reina was by far the busier keeper, needing a great save to claw the ball off the line and saving a penalty (which shouldn't have been given anyway, Dossena handballing outside the box). I'd still say that we should win this game over two legs, but we'll need to raise our game at Anfield in a fortnight's time, knowing that to concede an away goal could be costly. Also with our squad already stretched, I worry that this wasn't ideal preparation for the start of the season at Sunderland.
Simpsons do Local Democracy
I remember skim-reading a paper a while back (I think it was in the journal Politics) about the potential of The Simpsons for engaging students with democracy. Springfield holds regular New England-style town meetings, which often demonstrate shortcomings of deliberation and the danger of demagogues - perhaps most memorably (for me) the one where a singing salesman convinces the townspeople to spend a windfall on a monorail.
In tonight's episode (which featured a guest appearance from U2), Homer got into an argument with the refuse collectors which eventually led to him running for sanitation commissioner, being elected on the basis of 'crazy promises', spending his year's budget in a month and then making up the financial hole by filling another - letting other cities bury their rubbish in a disused mine under Springfield until rubbish was literally popping up out of the ground. A fine example of local demcoracy in action...
In tonight's episode (which featured a guest appearance from U2), Homer got into an argument with the refuse collectors which eventually led to him running for sanitation commissioner, being elected on the basis of 'crazy promises', spending his year's budget in a month and then making up the financial hole by filling another - letting other cities bury their rubbish in a disused mine under Springfield until rubbish was literally popping up out of the ground. A fine example of local demcoracy in action...
Post Code Lotteries on CT
We already know that what's discussed on CT soon becomes government (in waiting?) policy (see here). And now they've finally brought their attention to the pressing issue of so-called 'post code lotteries'.
I also see that Martin O'Neill has another piece in the latest Philosophy & Public Affairs (arguably the top ranked journal in our field). Congratulations to him. Sadly I missed him presenting an earlier version at the Nuffield workshop, due to a job interview, which is a shame as - going my his acknowledgements - it must have been a terrirific seminar.
I also see that Martin O'Neill has another piece in the latest Philosophy & Public Affairs (arguably the top ranked journal in our field). Congratulations to him. Sadly I missed him presenting an earlier version at the Nuffield workshop, due to a job interview, which is a shame as - going my his acknowledgements - it must have been a terrirific seminar.
Grim Up North
I always knew it was grim up north, but I didn't know we'd reached the point of abandoning ship. I, of course, agree with the principle of internal freedom of movement, but somehow I think the mass evacuation of former industrial cities with people flocking to London, Oxford and Cambridge will only increase over-crowding in the south - in what are already three of the msot expensive places to live in the country. I would welcome the building of more affordable houses though!
UPDATE: Cameron rubbishes the report, as does Chris.
UPDATE: Cameron rubbishes the report, as does Chris.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Journal Rankings
I am giving some thought to trying to publish this summer, although research is not so easy outside of Oxford. It's surprising how much time I'm spending looking for suitable venues. That's why I was happy to come across two discussion on CT - Harry on publishing for grad students and Ingrid on journal rankings for political theory (not philosophy).
I'm in reasonably close agreement with Jacob Levy:
I'm in reasonably close agreement with Jacob Levy:
A. Ethics, Political Theory, Journal of Political Philosophy, History of Political Thought, APSR
Review of Politics might be a close call between A and B. Ditto Political Studies, for Americans. (In the UK it would be A.)
B. Polity, Politics Philosophy and Economics, European Journal of Political Theory, CRISPP, Contemporary Political Theory, JOP, AJPS, Journal of Applied Philosophy [though AJPS just will be counted higher in American poli sci deparments, as it’s the 2nd-ranked overall journal in the discipline]
C. Nomos, Social Philosophy and Policy, Constellations, Social Research, Social Theory and Practice
And Chris Bertram:1st tier: Ethics and PPA
then JPP
then PPE
then PT (prestige-wise, though IMHO it tends to be half-full with BS of various kinds)
(History of Pol Thought in there somewhere too for the specialists).
then STP, Utilitas, EJPT etc with Res Publica, Imprints etc not far behind.
Of course, both still leave a lot uncovered, and there must be distinctions to be made between lower ranks (D, E, etc) even if no one's really familiar enough to judge.
One thing I do find surprising is that impact factors apparently often focus only on the last two years. I agree with Tom Hurka that this isn't really long enough given the time it takes to read something in print (less of a problem to those well-connected, of course), write a response and publish it. More to the point though, I wonder why there should be any limits?
I suppose that if one wants to know what a journal's up to now a shorter time-span is useful, but I'd say that it's relevant to the overall assessment of a journal if it's published classics still being cited now. Of course, this raises a practical problem given that some journals have been running a long time - which gives them more potential to be cited but, because rankigns are divided by number of articles, it might skew the figures somewhat. (Though presumably we'd have to count the old citations to old articles - which may be problematic if older material isn't online).
Monday, August 11, 2008
New Job Cycle
It seems like I only just completed the last round of applications, and already I'm seeing adverts for JRFs starting Sept/Oct 2009! There is some hope for those still searching at this late stage though: Keele are advertising a one year lectureship in political philosophy starting this September (deadline 14th Aug):
The successful candidate will hold (or be very near to completing) a postgraduate research degree in Philosophy. Applicants should have experience of, and a strong commitment to, teaching political philosophy at undergraduate degree level. A Learning and Teaching in Higher Education qualification would also be desirable.
UPDATE: Phil Anon has also picked up on the coming meat market.
The successful candidate will hold (or be very near to completing) a postgraduate research degree in Philosophy. Applicants should have experience of, and a strong commitment to, teaching political philosophy at undergraduate degree level. A Learning and Teaching in Higher Education qualification would also be desirable.
It is expected that teaching required (lecturing, tutorials and seminars) will be concentrated in our first, second and third year modules in Justice and Social Values (PIR-10024); Human and Moral Agency (PHI-10001); Political Concepts (PIR-20027) and Toleration (PHI-30014). An ability to contribute to other SPIRE modules would be desirable.
I expect that by now some people may have already accepted worse positions!UPDATE: Phil Anon has also picked up on the coming meat market.
Pedantry
This is one of my favourite XKCD comics. The irony is that apparently it's wrong. That someone would go to the bother of pointing this out - including Google hit stats and polling their friends - points to the deeper truth however.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
86 Wives
I'm amazed I haven't seen anyone pick up on this yet. A Nigerian man has 86 wives.
As one is quoted as saying: "I am now the happiest woman on earth. When you marry a man with 86 wives you know he knows how to look after them"!
As one is quoted as saying: "I am now the happiest woman on earth. When you marry a man with 86 wives you know he knows how to look after them"!
Friday, August 08, 2008
Liverpool 1-0 Lazio
Before the match, the closest prediction from the fans interviewed on TV was 3-1. I was actually expecting something closer, although I wasn't aware that Lazio only finished 12th in Seria A last year (having qualified for the Champions League the year before).
The Italian league doesn't start until after ours, so Lazio were probably a bit behind on fitness and this was a fairly typical preseason game - almost descending into farce due to the number of substitutions in the second half. (We did change our whole team, but generally 3 or 4 players at a time - whereas Lazio opted to make individual substitutions seemingly every two minutes).
It looked like it would remain at 0-0 until a nice bit of skill in injury time. Ngog broke down the left, but I wasn't hopeful when he cut back onto his right foot - and, sure enough, the cross was headed away - but only as far as Spearing, whose one touch lifted the ball back into the box for Voronin to turn and volley a first time shot past the 'keeper. It was a nicer move than our first XI had managed, unfortunately. (Kuyt and Keane need to score asap for confidence - hopefully they're merely saving their goals for the season proper).
Within minutes we almost had an equalizer, but though Lazio found the back of the net the offside flag was raised - so we held on for a win. Maybe we now have that knack of nicking 1-0 wins from games we don't really deserve to win?
The Italian league doesn't start until after ours, so Lazio were probably a bit behind on fitness and this was a fairly typical preseason game - almost descending into farce due to the number of substitutions in the second half. (We did change our whole team, but generally 3 or 4 players at a time - whereas Lazio opted to make individual substitutions seemingly every two minutes).
It looked like it would remain at 0-0 until a nice bit of skill in injury time. Ngog broke down the left, but I wasn't hopeful when he cut back onto his right foot - and, sure enough, the cross was headed away - but only as far as Spearing, whose one touch lifted the ball back into the box for Voronin to turn and volley a first time shot past the 'keeper. It was a nicer move than our first XI had managed, unfortunately. (Kuyt and Keane need to score asap for confidence - hopefully they're merely saving their goals for the season proper).
Within minutes we almost had an equalizer, but though Lazio found the back of the net the offside flag was raised - so we held on for a win. Maybe we now have that knack of nicking 1-0 wins from games we don't really deserve to win?
Maori Heads
This piece from the NY Times about return of Maori heads from France to New Zealand obviously raises a number of ethical issues. Also interesting in light of what I've been reading and thinking about recently though is the question whether they can be art.
Many tribal artifacts that were not intended as art, such as decorative shields intended to scare the enemy, are exhibited as art in Western galleries. Arguably their status is akin to Duchamp's readymades - i.e. they were not art until someone decided to exhibit them as such. Is this possible with human body parts?
I did have the idea that one could exhibit a human being (just a normal, living human - not doing anything special) with accompanied by Hamlet's "What piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world!" Would that be art?
Many tribal artifacts that were not intended as art, such as decorative shields intended to scare the enemy, are exhibited as art in Western galleries. Arguably their status is akin to Duchamp's readymades - i.e. they were not art until someone decided to exhibit them as such. Is this possible with human body parts?
I did have the idea that one could exhibit a human being (just a normal, living human - not doing anything special) with accompanied by Hamlet's "What piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world!" Would that be art?
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Storms
I've been practically home along this week. My mum and her partner are away on holiday, so I've been looking after the house (my brother's still here too, but commutes to London each day - leaving before I'm up and not getting home until 7:30).
Yesterday was actually quite productive on that front - I fed the fish (twice), mowed the front lawn, defrosted the freezer and - since it was the only day that hasn't rained so far - water the plants. I needn't have bothered with that given the storm that hit us that evening.
I thought it was quite impressive, but what I saw didn't live up to these photos on the BBC.
Yesterday was actually quite productive on that front - I fed the fish (twice), mowed the front lawn, defrosted the freezer and - since it was the only day that hasn't rained so far - water the plants. I needn't have bothered with that given the storm that hit us that evening.
I thought it was quite impressive, but what I saw didn't live up to these photos on the BBC.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Journal Refereeing
Currently I'm largely occupied by preparing teaching for next year, but I know that what I really need to be doing is sending chunks of my thesis off to journals (which, unfortunately, requires me to do considerable re-working of them, if I'm not just going to be wasting everyone's time).
It's hard to get a guage on what the expectations are on a young academic. The latest poll on the Brooks blog - actually, two polls (1), (2) - concerns how often people submit. It seems the vast majority submit papers more frequently than every 6 months (generally every 2-4 months), although it's not clear whether all of these are new papers. Someone could just have one paper than they keep submitting to new journals every 3 months as it gets continually rejected!
I'm also keeping a close eye on this Leiter thread. No comments as yet, but it's a question about reviewing from a young academic who's just started beign asked to do peer review. I suppose it's comforting if much that goes to journals isn't that good, assuming it's not my work s/he is talking about!
UPDATE: See also this on peer review (via).
It's hard to get a guage on what the expectations are on a young academic. The latest poll on the Brooks blog - actually, two polls (1), (2) - concerns how often people submit. It seems the vast majority submit papers more frequently than every 6 months (generally every 2-4 months), although it's not clear whether all of these are new papers. Someone could just have one paper than they keep submitting to new journals every 3 months as it gets continually rejected!
I'm also keeping a close eye on this Leiter thread. No comments as yet, but it's a question about reviewing from a young academic who's just started beign asked to do peer review. I suppose it's comforting if much that goes to journals isn't that good, assuming it's not my work s/he is talking about!
UPDATE: See also this on peer review (via).
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Valeranga 1-4 Liverpool
Another four goals, although the same scorers this time as last. The starting line up, with the exception of Reina for Cavalieri in goal, is probably what I'd expect against Sunderland at the start of the season, barring injuries or the possibility of Gareth Barry finally arriving/Alonso possibly departing.
Speaking of injuries, the one negative of course was seeing Gerrard walking off after 28 minutes. Our pre-season has been hampered by niggling injuries to Gerrard (this looks like a recurrence of the groin injury that forced him to miss our training camp), Finnan, Degen and Skrtel. The positive is that Alonso looked in good form and willing to get forward, although perhaps that's only because he was allowed time on the ball and his influence did wane after Spearing replaced Gerrard.
In any case, it was Alonso being further forward that allowed him to receive a lay off from Keane around the D and score the opener from 25 yards. That was all that separated the teams at the break. Things soon changed after the restart though - Reina and Hyypia had just come on for Liverpool, which perhaps contributed to some slightly disorganized defending and a quick equalizer (47 minutes).
Thankfully, this seemed to galvanize a team whose dominance had waned since Gerrard's departure. Within a minute, Torres restored the elad - it took a slightly fortuitous deflection off a defender in the build up, but there was no faulting his clinical finish. On the hour, Benayound scored another with a mazy run around the edge of the box and a sweet left-footed chip into the far corner of the net.
This gave Rafa the cushion necessary to make more changes and bring on the kids: by the end of the game, Hyypia, Reina and Agger were the only players over 21, and the youngsters acquitted themselves well. Hopefully those that aren't on loan will get the chance to play in the league cup, and a few may even feature as squad players when we're hit by injuries (particularly with the seven subs coming in).
Ngog, who scored a second goal in three part-appearances (after only one in 18 for PSG last year), looks like - as Rafa predicted - he could be ready for the first team. Some of the others aren't quite ready yet, such as the much-hyped Pacheco (still only 17). Perhaps, with Gerrard now side-lined for a week or so and Mascherano and Lucas at the Olympics, Plessis or Spearing may get a chance to play a couple of games in the usually very competitive centre midfield. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Darby either, as I think he's one of four players vying for probably the most open spot in our team at the moment (right back).
Speaking of injuries, the one negative of course was seeing Gerrard walking off after 28 minutes. Our pre-season has been hampered by niggling injuries to Gerrard (this looks like a recurrence of the groin injury that forced him to miss our training camp), Finnan, Degen and Skrtel. The positive is that Alonso looked in good form and willing to get forward, although perhaps that's only because he was allowed time on the ball and his influence did wane after Spearing replaced Gerrard.
In any case, it was Alonso being further forward that allowed him to receive a lay off from Keane around the D and score the opener from 25 yards. That was all that separated the teams at the break. Things soon changed after the restart though - Reina and Hyypia had just come on for Liverpool, which perhaps contributed to some slightly disorganized defending and a quick equalizer (47 minutes).
Thankfully, this seemed to galvanize a team whose dominance had waned since Gerrard's departure. Within a minute, Torres restored the elad - it took a slightly fortuitous deflection off a defender in the build up, but there was no faulting his clinical finish. On the hour, Benayound scored another with a mazy run around the edge of the box and a sweet left-footed chip into the far corner of the net.
This gave Rafa the cushion necessary to make more changes and bring on the kids: by the end of the game, Hyypia, Reina and Agger were the only players over 21, and the youngsters acquitted themselves well. Hopefully those that aren't on loan will get the chance to play in the league cup, and a few may even feature as squad players when we're hit by injuries (particularly with the seven subs coming in).
Ngog, who scored a second goal in three part-appearances (after only one in 18 for PSG last year), looks like - as Rafa predicted - he could be ready for the first team. Some of the others aren't quite ready yet, such as the much-hyped Pacheco (still only 17). Perhaps, with Gerrard now side-lined for a week or so and Mascherano and Lucas at the Olympics, Plessis or Spearing may get a chance to play a couple of games in the usually very competitive centre midfield. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Darby either, as I think he's one of four players vying for probably the most open spot in our team at the moment (right back).
Norrington Table
I've just seen the publication of an interim Norrington table (a semi-official ranking of Oxford colleges according to this year's undergraduate Finals results). It looks like my move from Jesus to Corpus Christi is a step down, from 8th to 11th based on this year's figures!
Monday, August 04, 2008
Fork Handles
I'm back in Essex for the summer - well, just over two months of it - and, though you might have thought nothing changed in Oxford, it seems the city will be almost unrecognizable when I return. Oxford now has a Weatherspoons.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Rangers 0-4 Liverpool
There had been some worry at only one goal scored in our last three friendlies, but this match went some way to silencing the doubters. Torres, in his first start (having only played 20 minutes of our previous friendlies) opened the affairs. Too bad Keane couldn't get off the mark but our other new striker Ngog did get his name on the scoresheet - which was welcome, as some had already been criticizing him on the LFC messageboards after only 45 minutes against Villareal! The rout was completed by Benayoun and Alonso, both goals made by Nemeth which was pleasing to see. There should be some competition between him and Ngog to break in to the first team this year...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Popular Culture and Philosophy
This post over at Philosophers Anonymous leads to two interesting links - one, two - on 'philosophy and X' series.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
RJPP Update
I mentioned when bringing news about my second publication that the RJPP unfortunately has a rather poor net presence. Things seem to have changed with this snazzy new site. You can browse tables of contents - it seems they actually managed two issues in volume 6, both in practice on the same subjects, though my paper is in issue 1 (which seems to be the 'official' special issue). It also seems as if they've already assembled volume 7! Good going!
Villareal 0-0 Liverpool
So debuts for two new strikers (Keane and Ngog), plus a return for Torres, and sadly another blank. Still we were playing decent opposition and the team are still gelling and returning to fitness so I suppose not much to complain about. The real shame is, that with the likes of Nemeth, Pacheco, Plessis and Darby playing here our reserves lost a cup final to Man Utd. Perhaps the most pleasing thing about the match was that it allowed Pepe Reina a hero's return to his old club.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Leiter Links
I guess what I should be doing, probably right now (though getting much done at home is difficult) and certainly over the next two years, is sending more stuff to journals. (Which will, unfortunately, require some substantial re-writing of bits of my thesis). Therefore this thread about single submissions and timeliness of reviews is of interest. (As is this Wiki).
Another, unrelated, thread on Leiter discusses whether senior professors have any obligations to retire to make room for 'new blood' is also very interesting. I didn't realise that tenure means no mandatory retirement age, as here in the UK. I wonder if anti-age discrimination laws mean that things will go the same way here?
Another, unrelated, thread on Leiter discusses whether senior professors have any obligations to retire to make room for 'new blood' is also very interesting. I didn't realise that tenure means no mandatory retirement age, as here in the UK. I wonder if anti-age discrimination laws mean that things will go the same way here?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Hertha Berlin 0-0 Liverpool
I only have LFC.tv's not necessarily impartial report to go on, but it sounds like tonight's performance was one of those that stops us really challenging - not too bad, just without creating too much. You know Man Utd or Chelsea will probably nick a late 1-0 win, whereas we tend to puff and puff away without result. Apparently the new full backs contributed well going forward, but we still didn't create much. I'm really worried by our lack of cutting edge without Torres (and I think that would be true even if we signed Keane - we need an out and out striker should Torres be rested, suspended or - hope it doesn't happen - injured).
Monday, July 21, 2008
Another Publication
I have a piece on 'Acts of Self-Harming Protest and the Definition of Terrorism' in the lastest issue of the Review Journal of Political Philosophy. (Sadly, minimal online presence, though table of contents here). Congratulations to my friend Rob, who's also represented in this special issue on terrorism, torture and the use of violence. And thanks again to Thom Brooks for bringing the CFP to my attention.
UPDATE: They have a new website (see my subsequent post).
UPDATE: They have a new website (see my subsequent post).
Sunday, July 20, 2008
PhD Studentship
It seems that I now get emails asking me to advertise stuff, so here it is:
*AHRC PhD Studentship in Political Philosophy at the University of Exeter*
We are looking to appoint to a fully-funded 3 year PhD studentship in Political Philosophy as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council project on luck-egalitarian and left-libertarian theories of justice. The project is being led by Dr. Keith Hyams and Dr. Robert Lamb in the Department of Politics, University of Exeter. It aims to investigate the moral foundations of luck-egalitarian and left-libertarian theories of justice, to consider their political implications, and to address questions about the nature of justice and moral justification in general.
The successful applicant will work on a doctoral thesis related to the project and will play a role in the organisation of annual workshops and a conference on these themes. Candidates should have:
- First Class or Upper Second Class Honours degree in an appropriate discipline.
- Masters degree in Political Philosophy or a related field (desirable but not essential).
- Background in Anglo-American political philosophy, with knowledge of and interest in contemporary egalitarian theories of justice.
The studentship will begin in October 2008 and *the closing date for applications is August 4th 2008*.
For further details, please follow this link:http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/politics/news_item.php?id=267<https://owa.ex.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://owa.ex.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/politics/news_item.php?id=267>
*AHRC PhD Studentship in Political Philosophy at the University of Exeter*
We are looking to appoint to a fully-funded 3 year PhD studentship in Political Philosophy as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council project on luck-egalitarian and left-libertarian theories of justice. The project is being led by Dr. Keith Hyams and Dr. Robert Lamb in the Department of Politics, University of Exeter. It aims to investigate the moral foundations of luck-egalitarian and left-libertarian theories of justice, to consider their political implications, and to address questions about the nature of justice and moral justification in general.
The successful applicant will work on a doctoral thesis related to the project and will play a role in the organisation of annual workshops and a conference on these themes. Candidates should have:
- First Class or Upper Second Class Honours degree in an appropriate discipline.
- Masters degree in Political Philosophy or a related field (desirable but not essential).
- Background in Anglo-American political philosophy, with knowledge of and interest in contemporary egalitarian theories of justice.
The studentship will begin in October 2008 and *the closing date for applications is August 4th 2008*.
For further details, please follow this link:http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/politics/news_item.php?id=267<https://owa.ex.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://owa.ex.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/politics/news_item.php?id=267>
Terrible news
Cases of systematic bias can now be referred to as lotteries. So much for lotteries as a solution to such!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Wislaw Krakow 1-1 Liverpool
This was Liverpool's sternest test of pre-season so far, against the current Polish champions (who, btw, played their first team and are only a week away from the start of their season proper).
It was pleasing to see a bit more of some fringe players, but I have to say that aside from Pacheco (and maybe Insua) none have really caught the eye while the new signings have yet to impress. Buying Cavalieri for £3m and selling Carson for £4m hardly strikes me as good business, even if the former will presumably be happier on the bench. Can't really comment on Dossena after one game (even Skrtel looked shaky at first), but with Degen ruled out tonight after a minor knock I think it was evident Derby and Hobbs offer less going forward but are more solid defensively. I wonder if Degen may get tried at right midfield, if we stick with 4-4-2 - or if Rafa is planning to try playing wingbacks again as we seem to have the players for it.
Leto's lack of final product is frustrating. Spending so much time on the sidelines probably hasn't helped his development but with his permit/passport problems apparently not yet solved I'd be tempted by the rumoured £1.3m offer from Olympiakos. I also hear that Voronin is attracting interest from Germany and, while he's looked quite good in pre-season (this his second goal), a bid of £3m for a player we signed on a free last summer does look good business - although we'll need another striker (at least) until Nemeth and Pacheco are ready to step up. The worrying thing is that players like Voronin and Benayoun have looked a class above most of those they're playing with so far, but they're not up to the standard we need.
So far, not too impressed with the summer's transfer business then, or on-going wrangling over Alonso, Barry and Keane, but there's still some time so room for hope I guess.
It was pleasing to see a bit more of some fringe players, but I have to say that aside from Pacheco (and maybe Insua) none have really caught the eye while the new signings have yet to impress. Buying Cavalieri for £3m and selling Carson for £4m hardly strikes me as good business, even if the former will presumably be happier on the bench. Can't really comment on Dossena after one game (even Skrtel looked shaky at first), but with Degen ruled out tonight after a minor knock I think it was evident Derby and Hobbs offer less going forward but are more solid defensively. I wonder if Degen may get tried at right midfield, if we stick with 4-4-2 - or if Rafa is planning to try playing wingbacks again as we seem to have the players for it.
Leto's lack of final product is frustrating. Spending so much time on the sidelines probably hasn't helped his development but with his permit/passport problems apparently not yet solved I'd be tempted by the rumoured £1.3m offer from Olympiakos. I also hear that Voronin is attracting interest from Germany and, while he's looked quite good in pre-season (this his second goal), a bid of £3m for a player we signed on a free last summer does look good business - although we'll need another striker (at least) until Nemeth and Pacheco are ready to step up. The worrying thing is that players like Voronin and Benayoun have looked a class above most of those they're playing with so far, but they're not up to the standard we need.
So far, not too impressed with the summer's transfer business then, or on-going wrangling over Alonso, Barry and Keane, but there's still some time so room for hope I guess.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
More Computer Problems
Lastweek I had a working PC with no internet, now the internet's fixed and the computer's given up the ghost. It's not my PC, thankfully, but the 'family' one - so I still have my work, but my PC isn't online here at home. Guess my internet access will continue to be a bit scarce.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Lucerne 1-2 Liverpool
I only got to see the first half, but things looked ok - Liverpool controlled the game, without quite carving the opposition open at will. Two good goals: one nice interplay from Pacheco and Leiva around the box and the second a sweet volley from Voronin. The goal conceded was disappointing, but I'll put it down to lack of communication between new teammates. Good to see Leto playing again after being sidelined by work permit problems too.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Parenting Incentives
I know a number of people who are advocates of basic incomes, whereby everyone would get paid something like a state pension, which would enable them to pursue whatever activities they wanted (whether it be working or education, care-giving, etc) without having to worry about covering basic needs. I've also proposed incentive payments for voting myself. Now it seems that in NYC they're paying disadvantaged parents to make sure they do basic parenting things, like taking children to the dentist.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tranmere 0-1 Liverpool
One advantage of being back home was I was able to watch this game live on TV. Good to see several young lads get a run out, although striking (pardon the pun) how short of strikers we are without Torres and Crouch. Mind you, Babel didn't feature (he's back in training I believe, but perhaps wasn't to be risked) and ditto Nemeth (playing in the U-19 Euros). I was planning a more detailed post on transfers, but for now I'll just leave it at we need another striker and a decent attacking midfield type.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Offline
Something's fouled up with our internet at home, so I won't be online much until we get it sorted.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Organ Sales on BBC 1
Long-running readers will probably remember the review I wrote of Fabre's Whose Body Is It Anyway? (see here). In the book, she tackles issues such as whether we have obligations of justice to donate organs and whether there are any objections to markets in organs. Readers interested in these issues, and with access to BBC 1, may be interested to know there's a documentary 'Buying Hope: Selling Illegal Organs' on BBC 1 at 22:45 (BST) tonight. Here's a link.
Markets, Stocks and Jobs
After yesterday's pointer to the ever-gloomy prospects of PhD candidates at the Philosophy Job Market Blog, I thought I should follow up by drawing attention to Brian Leiter's recent, equally pessimistic, forecast on the academic job market during recession.
Leiter predicts a market crash taking us to something like the early 1990s, when apparently there were 2.3 candidates per job advertised (as opposed to 1.4). His main piece of advice, for current PhDs, is to sit on their dissertation a bit longer and hope to wait out the recession, before going on the market later on when prospects are better. It's true that graduating can cut you off from support enjoyed at university, such as teaching opportunities offered to postgraduates, but this particular recommendation only really seems applicable in the US, where PhDs regularly take 5-7 years+ and involve considerable flexibility in when one actually finishes. Here in the UK, people are generally expected to finish in no more than 4 years, especially if they have funding bodies chasing up after them.
I'm not entirely sure economic recession will be as catastrophic here as Leiter predicts. Of course, that partly depends how bad it is, but universities aren't directly dependent on economic markets for much of their revenue and I'm not sure how many students would be put off going to university by recession - after all, for many it will probably seem more attractive to spend another three years studying and to hope that the economy improves in the meantime. Moreover, numerous people had told me this year that I was job-hunting at a bad time in the RAE cycle, so hopefully that means more UK universities will be looking for relatively junior hires over the next few years anyway, even if perhaps not quite as many as in more prosperous times.
I guess the best-case scenario, for me, is that in 18-24 months' time the signs of economic recovery and RAE cycle leave universities looking to hire, while house prices are still depressed enough to let me get on the property ladder. On the other hand, it could all go terribly wrong. One of the problems with the future is uncertainty, which makes temporary jobs all the more dangerous.
Leiter predicts a market crash taking us to something like the early 1990s, when apparently there were 2.3 candidates per job advertised (as opposed to 1.4). His main piece of advice, for current PhDs, is to sit on their dissertation a bit longer and hope to wait out the recession, before going on the market later on when prospects are better. It's true that graduating can cut you off from support enjoyed at university, such as teaching opportunities offered to postgraduates, but this particular recommendation only really seems applicable in the US, where PhDs regularly take 5-7 years+ and involve considerable flexibility in when one actually finishes. Here in the UK, people are generally expected to finish in no more than 4 years, especially if they have funding bodies chasing up after them.
I'm not entirely sure economic recession will be as catastrophic here as Leiter predicts. Of course, that partly depends how bad it is, but universities aren't directly dependent on economic markets for much of their revenue and I'm not sure how many students would be put off going to university by recession - after all, for many it will probably seem more attractive to spend another three years studying and to hope that the economy improves in the meantime. Moreover, numerous people had told me this year that I was job-hunting at a bad time in the RAE cycle, so hopefully that means more UK universities will be looking for relatively junior hires over the next few years anyway, even if perhaps not quite as many as in more prosperous times.
I guess the best-case scenario, for me, is that in 18-24 months' time the signs of economic recovery and RAE cycle leave universities looking to hire, while house prices are still depressed enough to let me get on the property ladder. On the other hand, it could all go terribly wrong. One of the problems with the future is uncertainty, which makes temporary jobs all the more dangerous.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Independent Scholarship
This comments thread over a PJMB has some interesting thoughts on the obstacles to independent scholarship.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Two Things from TV
I've previously gone on record as a fan of the Simpsons. Tonight's Channel 4 show (actually one I'd commented on before) was particularly educational - offering re-tellings of Homer's Odyssey, Joan of Arc and Hamlet. One glaring inaccuracy though, that needs to be pointed out, is groundskeeper Willie showing up in the Hundred Years War, between the French and English, and declaring himself a great English hero!
Afterwards, as I flicked through the channels - wondering what to watch without Wimbledon - I caught the end of the quiz show Eggheads, where the decisive final question was 'where was political theorist Machiavelli from? Florence, Rome or Milan'. Reminds me of the time I saw 'What was Wittgenstein's first name?' for £125,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionnaire? - if more quiz questions were about philosophers and political theorists, I could probably do them, but as it is I'd use up all my life-lines not knowing soap actors!
Afterwards, as I flicked through the channels - wondering what to watch without Wimbledon - I caught the end of the quiz show Eggheads, where the decisive final question was 'where was political theorist Machiavelli from? Florence, Rome or Milan'. Reminds me of the time I saw 'What was Wittgenstein's first name?' for £125,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionnaire? - if more quiz questions were about philosophers and political theorists, I could probably do them, but as it is I'd use up all my life-lines not knowing soap actors!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
In Print
Ben Saunders 'The Equality of Lotteries' Philosophy, Volume 83, Issue 03, July 2008, pp 359-372.
doi:10.1017/S0031819108000727, Published online by Cambridge University Press 01 Jul 2008. Direct link here (subscription required).
doi:10.1017/S0031819108000727, Published online by Cambridge University Press 01 Jul 2008. Direct link here (subscription required).
Is it Art?
I've been thinking a bit about aesthetics lately. There was one piece - that I remember being told about in lectures and that recently came up in conversation with a friend - where Michael Craig-Martin turned a glass of water into an oak tree with the sensible properties of a glass of water. It's in the Tate Modern, and you can read more about it here.
Just yesterday I read about another new exhibit at the Tate Britain, featuring people running about. The press release quotes artist Martin Creed as saying “I like running. I like seeing people run and I like running myself… running is the opposite of being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast is like the exact opposite of death: it’s an example of aliveness” - which doesn't sound like quite the deep, intellectual justification you might expect from someone like Duchamp.
I remember a fairly standard exam question being 'could X be art?' where X might be, say, natural scenery, graffiti or a faulty lightswitch. I suppose the answer are fairly formulaic: a run through problems defining art, Wittgenstein on language games, the institutional theory, and a vague conclusions - perhaps it could be.
Just yesterday I read about another new exhibit at the Tate Britain, featuring people running about. The press release quotes artist Martin Creed as saying “I like running. I like seeing people run and I like running myself… running is the opposite of being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast is like the exact opposite of death: it’s an example of aliveness” - which doesn't sound like quite the deep, intellectual justification you might expect from someone like Duchamp.
I remember a fairly standard exam question being 'could X be art?' where X might be, say, natural scenery, graffiti or a faulty lightswitch. I suppose the answer are fairly formulaic: a run through problems defining art, Wittgenstein on language games, the institutional theory, and a vague conclusions - perhaps it could be.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Brave New World
Today is the first day of the BNW conference in Manchester (blog here, schedule here). I'm not there, no longer being a grad student, and indeed I'm sorry to say I only ever went the once. I did have a really good time though, and heartily recommend it to any current grad students for next year.
I'd also like to point out that the annual Philosophy Faculty graduate conference in Oxford has a call for papers out.
I'd also like to point out that the annual Philosophy Faculty graduate conference in Oxford has a call for papers out.
Euro 2008
Because of yesterday's jaunt to Oxford, I still haven't got round to posting on Sunday's Euro 2008 final (which, thankfully, passed without further transmission breaks). Suffice to say, the better team - both on the night and throughout the tournament - won and I'm glad for the four Liverpool players involved, particularly Torres who rounded off a perhaps disappointing tournament with the goal that won it. Too bad they don't get much of a break - those players get 3 weeks, but Liverpool's first preseason friendly is on the 12th...
UPDATE: For more on Euro 2008, see Chris(!) and Thom.
UPDATE: For more on Euro 2008, see Chris(!) and Thom.
To Oxford and Back
Yesterday I paid a flying visit back to Oxford, taking advantage of my last day of free rail travel. I hope - fingers crossed - that I now have both accommodation and employment for next year sorted out (more details to follow). I was also able to catch up with several friends, including wishing my former housemate Pavel a happy birthday and congratulating Miriam on passing her viva. Sorry to those I missed, but hope to see you in September!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Rights Talk Gone Too Far?
We're already familiar with some dubious seeming human rights, such as that to paid holiday. Now it seems that not being invited to a classmate's birthday may be a violation of human rights! (Via BBC news)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
How is this a Lottery?
Lexus SUV crushes Porsche in car park. BBC headline 'Lexus rollover in parking lottery'. Is anything bad now called a lottery, or were they just desperate to use a rollover pun?
What Happened to Jones?
Those familiar with Scanlon will know that one of his famous examples, used against utilitarianism, is of Jones who falls into a TV transmitter during the world cup final. He's in fairly severe pain although not at risk of long-term damage or death. The only way to rescue him involves interrupting transmission. Scanlon says we should save him, regardless of how many are watching the match.
I mention this because although tonight's match was only a European championship semi-final, there were two disruptions to the BBC coverage, one of which included Klose's goal. (Since there was a replay later, presumably it was only the transmission rather than recording of pictures affected). They claim it was a world-wide picture loss caused by storms disrupting power in Vienna. Well, that's what they say - who knows whether they were really rescuing some unfortunate individual from the transmitter room...
Contrary to all expectations, it was a very entertaining match, which the Turks thoroughly deserved to win. The loss of pictures did make me wonder whether Scanlon's obviously right. It's not really clear how much pain Jones is in, and some of the many millions of viewers probably do care an awful lot about the result. Indeed, at the extreme, it's not unusual for people to suffer heart attacks during football matches - what if the break in transmission actually imposed a greater risk of death on at least some spectators (more nervous because not being able to see what's happening ruins the illusion of control)?
Anyway, the BBC's online commentary suggests a more practical solution:
2106: Don't worry people of the UK, we are not alone. The TV pictures have gone all around the world. They are still playing though - which is a bit selfish. Jens Lehmann collects Sabri's shot comfortably.
Why don't they just pause the game?
I mention this because although tonight's match was only a European championship semi-final, there were two disruptions to the BBC coverage, one of which included Klose's goal. (Since there was a replay later, presumably it was only the transmission rather than recording of pictures affected). They claim it was a world-wide picture loss caused by storms disrupting power in Vienna. Well, that's what they say - who knows whether they were really rescuing some unfortunate individual from the transmitter room...
Contrary to all expectations, it was a very entertaining match, which the Turks thoroughly deserved to win. The loss of pictures did make me wonder whether Scanlon's obviously right. It's not really clear how much pain Jones is in, and some of the many millions of viewers probably do care an awful lot about the result. Indeed, at the extreme, it's not unusual for people to suffer heart attacks during football matches - what if the break in transmission actually imposed a greater risk of death on at least some spectators (more nervous because not being able to see what's happening ruins the illusion of control)?
Anyway, the BBC's online commentary suggests a more practical solution:
2106: Don't worry people of the UK, we are not alone. The TV pictures have gone all around the world. They are still playing though - which is a bit selfish. Jens Lehmann collects Sabri's shot comfortably.
Why don't they just pause the game?
I Had A Dream
We're all familiar with what to do when 'raptors attack (if not, see here). This morning I woke up from a pretty weird dream in which a rhino somehow entered the house. Having had more time to think about potential escape routes, I now reckon the best responses would be either:
1) run into my brother's bedroom, from where I can attempt to climb out the window onto the conservatory roof - a potentially risky escape that would get me outside
or
2) if given time at the top of the stairs, climb into the loft, where I'm presumably out of reach but have nothing to do but sit and wait (either for help or the rhino to leave).
I'm not sure which strategy would be best, and I don't really want to waste time thinking about it - I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt me...
1) run into my brother's bedroom, from where I can attempt to climb out the window onto the conservatory roof - a potentially risky escape that would get me outside
or
2) if given time at the top of the stairs, climb into the loft, where I'm presumably out of reach but have nothing to do but sit and wait (either for help or the rhino to leave).
I'm not sure which strategy would be best, and I don't really want to waste time thinking about it - I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt me...
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
University Degrees in the News
Each summer we're used to another set of record A level (and GCSE) grades and the consequent media furore about whether or not the exams are getting easier. Just lately, however, the spotlight seems to have been on university degrees.
First, one 'whistle-blowing' academic admits that foreign students are awarded degrees - often at Masters level - without even a decent command of English. I'm guessing that may be easier in the natural sciences than for arts and social sciences, but in fact the allegation is that a blind eye is turned to plagiarism or even supervisor writing essays for their students!
I have to say I can think of one or two students I've known who seem to have struggled with the course - perhaps due only to their English being not up to scratch. My experience suggests the problem isn't as prevalent as made out, but then it's reasonable I suppose to assume that the students you see in seminars or down the pub are the ones with a reasonable grasp of English, and it's the people you never see that we should be worried about...
Now the QAA watchdog has apparently issued a warning that degree classifications are arbitrary. (Perhaps they should be assigned by lottery?). To a certain extent, this is an obvious and unavoidable problem. Not only does marking essays involve an amount of inherent subjectivity, calling for difficult adjudication as to whether students are wrong or merely arguing for something you personally disagree with, but the banding of all students into 1st, 2:i, 2:ii, 3rd, pass and fail is an attempt to divide a continuous spectrum into very few distinct groups. Of course the top 2:i will almost certainly be considerably closer to the bottom 1st than to the bottom 2:i.
Then, of course, there's variation between institutions, hinted at in the article. I'm sure that if any Oxbridge student went elsewhere and did a similar amount of work they could get a first, but can we give all students - or even the majority of them - firsts? The fact is a 2:i from Oxbridge isn't perceived to be equal to a 2:i from an ex-Poly red brick, and that's probably the reality in most cases too.
All this is complicated by rising fees that raise the question whether students are merely learners or customers. Faced with increased costs, they're increasingly required to see their degrees as investments and want to be sure of a return for their money - which means at least a decent degree and chance of profitable employability.
First, one 'whistle-blowing' academic admits that foreign students are awarded degrees - often at Masters level - without even a decent command of English. I'm guessing that may be easier in the natural sciences than for arts and social sciences, but in fact the allegation is that a blind eye is turned to plagiarism or even supervisor writing essays for their students!
I have to say I can think of one or two students I've known who seem to have struggled with the course - perhaps due only to their English being not up to scratch. My experience suggests the problem isn't as prevalent as made out, but then it's reasonable I suppose to assume that the students you see in seminars or down the pub are the ones with a reasonable grasp of English, and it's the people you never see that we should be worried about...
Now the QAA watchdog has apparently issued a warning that degree classifications are arbitrary. (Perhaps they should be assigned by lottery?). To a certain extent, this is an obvious and unavoidable problem. Not only does marking essays involve an amount of inherent subjectivity, calling for difficult adjudication as to whether students are wrong or merely arguing for something you personally disagree with, but the banding of all students into 1st, 2:i, 2:ii, 3rd, pass and fail is an attempt to divide a continuous spectrum into very few distinct groups. Of course the top 2:i will almost certainly be considerably closer to the bottom 1st than to the bottom 2:i.
Then, of course, there's variation between institutions, hinted at in the article. I'm sure that if any Oxbridge student went elsewhere and did a similar amount of work they could get a first, but can we give all students - or even the majority of them - firsts? The fact is a 2:i from Oxbridge isn't perceived to be equal to a 2:i from an ex-Poly red brick, and that's probably the reality in most cases too.
All this is complicated by rising fees that raise the question whether students are merely learners or customers. Faced with increased costs, they're increasingly required to see their degrees as investments and want to be sure of a return for their money - which means at least a decent degree and chance of profitable employability.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Croatia v Turkey
Last night was my last in Oxford before going home for the summer, so I went out for a drink with an old friend - someone who did a masters in my first year, but who I hadn't seen since - and missed the football. When I got home, I saw that it was half-way through extra time, so I decided to head into college to watch the likely penalty shoot-out. I turned the TV on just in time to see replays of the Croatia goal - which left me somewhat disappointed. Needless to say, I was pretty happy when the Turks - for the third time in four games - scored an injury time goal to send the game to penalties, which they won. I thought the outcome was pretty obvious, given the Croats thought they'd won and were clearly dealt a huge psychological blow. Bilic, however, claims penalties are a lottery. In some sense, I guess they are, but it's not like the match was decided by the toss of a coin.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Who Should Tell the President?
Over on his Dilbert blog, Scott Adams suggests that in the future bacteria may be able to convert rubbish into oil. This in itself would be great, but what caught my eye was his proposal for who should tell the President of Venezuala: "I fantasize that someday the United States will hold a national lottery to see who gets to tell the president of Venezuela that we no longer need his oil."
Abortions and Ageing
Rob briefly touches on abortion here. This comes at the same time as shocking figures about how many under 14s are having abortions. There's also a very interesting piece about ageing on Colin Farrelly's blog. If I understand him rightly, all those under 14s reproducing early are diminishing the effects of natural selection and thereby preventing humans living longer...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Eating More or Better?
I recently used my piece on J. S. Mill and higher/lower pleasures, currently under review, as a writing sample for a job. That's only of passing relevance to this interesting discussion of food portions on CT. Someone, way down at comment 82, however, makes the following point: American restaurants are just another example of Americans concern with quantity rather than quality. Quality requires taste and is considered elitist, but anyone can judge quantity. No wonder Mill is often considered elitist!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Oxford Grad Conference in Philosophy
Details of the 12th Annual Oxford Philosophy Graduate Conference are now online here. Selections are pretty tough, but they're usually rather light on political philosophy, so I'd encourage readers to apply if that's what they're interested in.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
More on Job Applications
I recently posted the BBC's discussion of interviews. More helpful, particularly for academics, are the following two threads on Crooked Timber:
1) The importance of a web presence. I hope that's fulfilled, between this blog and my academic page, which people occasionally find via searches.
2) Laying out a CV. There doesn't actually appear to be much consensus, merely personal preferences (e.g. whether to list papers under review and whether working papers should be separate from publications).
I wish this advice had come before, rather than after, most of this year's round of applications. Nonetheless, I now have three interviews lined up over the next two weeks - so maybe it's the interview advice I need...
Of course, there's always general job-related discussion here.
1) The importance of a web presence. I hope that's fulfilled, between this blog and my academic page, which people occasionally find via searches.
2) Laying out a CV. There doesn't actually appear to be much consensus, merely personal preferences (e.g. whether to list papers under review and whether working papers should be separate from publications).
I wish this advice had come before, rather than after, most of this year's round of applications. Nonetheless, I now have three interviews lined up over the next two weeks - so maybe it's the interview advice I need...
Of course, there's always general job-related discussion here.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Exams
Via CT, here's the ideal exam paper for any philosophy student. And, via their comments, here are some more funny (though sometimes well-known) stories about exams and answers.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Interviews
Since I'm still currently job-hunting, I thought this BBC article on interviews might be informative. As it was, it wasn't much help, but good for a laugh, or at least a bit of mild amusement. I note they couldn't resist mentioning Oxbridge admissions interviews, in light of today's news about how we're still failing to admit enough state school applicants.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
MPS Update
As I announced yesterday, I was giving a talk at the well-established Moral Philosophy Seminar in Oxford (where I've previously seen the likes of Scanlon, [Bernard] Williams, Pogge, Sen, Parfit, Raz, etc). I'm happy to say that my talk drew a fair-sized audience and good questions, particularly from Raz and Broome, who both pushed their point a bit. I'm grateful to all who attended.
After the seminar, I got taken to dinner at Cafe Zouk. I could get used to be a speaker and having meals (and drinks) bought for me, given the chance...
There is now a discussion thread up at Ethics-Etc (direct link to the paper here). Any further comments welcome.
(It's also apparent that this talk has led to people searching for me online)
After the seminar, I got taken to dinner at Cafe Zouk. I could get used to be a speaker and having meals (and drinks) bought for me, given the chance...
There is now a discussion thread up at Ethics-Etc (direct link to the paper here). Any further comments welcome.
(It's also apparent that this talk has led to people searching for me online)
Monday, June 02, 2008
Moral Philosophy Seminar
Today I present the main arguments of my thesis to the Moral Philosophy Seminar - 4:30 in the Philosophy Faculty. Here's an abstract:
This paper challenges the common assumption that democracy requires majority rule. I assume that we can adopt a contractualist approach to uncover the demands of political equality and argue that contractors would not necessarily accept majority rule to make decisions in their society. I first reject broadly consequentialist arguments, arguing that firstly no procedure guarantees ideally best outcomes, secondly that in cases of pluralism there is no need to suppose there is a uniquely best outcome, and thirdly that we need to be fair between different individuals. I develop this need for fairness into a case for weighted lotteries, drawing on the Taurek-Scanlon 'saving the greater number' debate. This leads to my conclusion that democratic ideals can be realized by selecting a random vote to determine the outcomes of decisions.
This paper challenges the common assumption that democracy requires majority rule. I assume that we can adopt a contractualist approach to uncover the demands of political equality and argue that contractors would not necessarily accept majority rule to make decisions in their society. I first reject broadly consequentialist arguments, arguing that firstly no procedure guarantees ideally best outcomes, secondly that in cases of pluralism there is no need to suppose there is a uniquely best outcome, and thirdly that we need to be fair between different individuals. I develop this need for fairness into a case for weighted lotteries, drawing on the Taurek-Scanlon 'saving the greater number' debate. This leads to my conclusion that democratic ideals can be realized by selecting a random vote to determine the outcomes of decisions.
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