Yeah, I used to work with an ex-employee of Westwood's and, and some of my in laws have sold their stuff in her shops, she does rip people off left right and centre; I just used a name I thought people would know, what with many of you being lab-coat wearing types! Maybe people like Husseyn Chalayan would be more trustworthy, and more in need of a bit of extra cash. It's true about the jobs thing, but my students were keen because they thought it would give them a much needed start in the industry. We'd been studying Bau Haus, the original art school model, which was meant to be commercial, they were inspired by that.

Yeah, I've thought we'd all benefit from less of the younger population entering Higher Education - you don't need a degree to do office work, but these days you do need one to get an interview for an office job.

But, like Walminskipea says, a return to the 1960s system would mean a return to a more rigid two tier society. My dad comes from a very poor family: hunger, overcrowding, extreme cold during the 1950s, and was destined to follow my grandad as a painter and decorator until he did very well in his final year at junior school (due to gettig some NHS specs); won a scholarship to a grammar school; and then took a sandwich degree in engineering. He went to the university which gave him the most money, not the best one he could. He was very lucky indeed, his brothers and sisters were not so, and have remained poor, and in careers which have given them little satisfaction, even though they are as bright as my dad. The fact that they are more than capable of better things, and so suited to academic work (we seem to be a family of natural academics) makes their situation difficult - they all won grammar school places, but the family couldn't afford to pay the fees.

I think some support accross the range of subjects is essential in HE for this reason, just to keep things open, and some kind of level playing field for university entrance. Not sure what that would be though!


Some of my design students came up with an interesting idea last year when I set them the task of decising a future arts school, with solutions to funding and fees issues. They suggested a design school in which third and final year students produced items for sale, at which guidance would be given by a famous designer. So you could get, say, the St Martin's range, endoursed by Vivienne Westwood, at TopShop. I thought that was pretty good - they also tied it with making and buying British.

Yes, it does emphasise the whole Alan Sugaring of HE - Alan Sugar doesn't seem to put much store in higher education at all. It's amazing to me that people manage to get degrees in their own subject, while studying the content of other people's degrees so closely, and at such length so as to be an expert in them. I'm not going to respond to any more of your comments Sneaks, you're digging yourself deeper.

I'm going to have to leave the forum for a while, not sure if I'll be back, which is a great shame because I am addicted to the forum. I really don't want to engage with a bunch of people who think my hard slog is not a 'proper' PhD, I may not agree with some of the research of other people, but I would not be so arrogant and rude as to say that their degrees were not 'proper' courses.

I'm actually really p'd off with that comment about film studies sneaks! I can only assume it was made in a level of ignorance I find shocking coming from a psychologist. My first degree was 50/50 Literature and Film, and my MA in art history, and all three disciplines contribute to essential elements of our culture. What do you mean by 'proper' courses? because the film studies element of my BA was far more difficult than the literature element, and I had to get much better A'level grades to get on the Film and Literature BA, than if I'd just gone for Literature - three As in fact. Are you suggesting we scrap all arts courses? or make them nigh on impossible to get without rich parents? Because that would lead to deep and damaging inbalance of culture in our country - it would leave poorer people out of the equation, and probably throw us back to pre-war quasi wildlife film style representation ala Chumly Warner on Harry Enfield. What do you think got us through the second world war without throwing ourselves off the white cliffs of Dover? Oh yes! the arts - cinema, music and other weapons in the arsenal of moral building/propaganda! I'm going now, to get on with my film studies research, with the clear knowledge that I do so in spite of such ignorance and opposition.

Hey Sneaks, I'm a film studies person! Why is it more of a waste of time than literature, or art history? Don't get that...

I agree that my reserach is not likely to save many lives, but where would we be without culture and art - there is scientific research which has proven that our capacity for art is ie sophisticated communication is what helped us human survive when other human like species did not. we need culture to retain our identities, bring in revenue, explore our experiences. My reserahc looks at national identity in British film, so it impacts on how the UK perceives itself as well as how our country is seen by the rest of the world.

As for psychology, I'd say that was pretty essential, and where would psychology be without the arts (Freud for example???)? Where would science be without science fiction? The arts are about possibilities, and cinema, television and the other arts are often where our culture explores its anxieties and dreams - we need them in order to advance.

In my opinion the complete wastes of money and time are in reserch into space travel and nuclear weaponry, but that's just my opinion.

Hi Sneaks,

I don't know about having it too easy! I don't get any funding at all.

I think if the government wants 50% of the population to be graduates then they have to facilitate it in some way financially, or create situations whereby students can afford to pay for themselves. More student debt, plus a massive mortgage will make having a family practically impossible: the government is pushing women to reproduce before they are 30! How on earth can they do that with masses of student debt and a whopping great deposit too save for?

The Uni funding situation does scare me though - I'm no economist or politician, so I don't have any great answers to this problem - but I hope someone comes up with something good and saves our universities - I have no idea how teaching could be cut any further, most people I know (in new universities) are literally having nervous breakdowns already.

This is a good thread, I'm looking forward to reading the other responses. A great way to procrastinate... usefully.

Rick - Likewise, just expressing my views, and answering your suggestions, ie being interactive: do not fear, I am not worried!

I just put some cat nip down in the far corner, so off you pop.

Hi Rick,

It sounds to me as if you're not very familiar with this forum. There are already rules about abusive postings, the very few - I think one or two - that I've seen in my two years of coming here have been moderated off very quickly. Likewise advertising - no advertising is allowed on this site. I think it is up to the individual how they respond to answers their threads generate - I wouldn't want to see conditions on starting threads here, all threads (which are left on by the moderators) benefit all of us, so that is payment enough for my answers, it's a collective thing.

I'm very happy with things as they are here.

I thinbk it would be a good idea if you to became more familiar with the forum before you suggest changes - many of th things you suggest are already in place.

As for fun threads - if that's something you want, then why don't you start one, or two, or three? There certainly isn't anything stopping you.

RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH...

oh Nooooooooooo! I thought it had been taken off, I couldn't find it it. :-(

But at least now I am winning again! And we still have our silly thread ;-)(up)

Rubyw: Yeah, I'm always really careful with my undergraduate teaching too, I think bad experiences can make you aware of the impact you can have on students' lives.

I'd like a postdoc forum to be in place when I finish the PhD, it sounds as if there are at least as many things to moan about then, as there are for PhD students, afterall, there is a forum for MAs; and maybe the idea of this forum being for PhDs puts postdocs off posting. It would be especially valuable now and in the near future because things are tightening up so much, and getting more difficult: it would be great to have forum support when we graduate too... hint, hint, hint - moderators etc, are you reading?

Hi Rubyw, re the postdoc question: I don't know about 'officially' the voice of the opposition, that's certainly not something I would say, as you suggest, boundaries are not that rigid.

I am thinking soecifically if the time when I had serious supervisor difficulties which were threatening my PhD, and received advice from a postdoc which went along the lines of 'just put up and shut up, you seem to be confusing PhD supervision with undergraduate teaching and are naive about the process, when you are in the position of a postdoc you will understand the pressures that lead to this misconduct and you ought to just get on with it'. I've also seen this kind of advice being given to other PhDs who are having serious supervisour problems. I, and many other people, come to this form in dire straits, when their PhDs, and often mental health, are in jeopardy because of serious supervisor issues and these kinds of voice of the opposition comments are destructive in that contexts, this is supposed to our place, where we can seek advice from peers, without the familiar excuses dodgy supervisors give for extreme bad practice.

Hi Rick, I hear what you are saying, do you mean that there should be some form of ettiquette at the forum?

Personally, I wouldn't want to make everyone feel they had to respond to a thread they began - we're not in a pub or a bar, this is a public form, so it carries a totally different set of expectations. I also think people do say if they object to a post, or if they have any strong feelings - if a thread takes a while to get a response, it just means no one has come up with a useful answer yet - it's often the way people communicate on forums, if everyone who read replied and said 'just thinking about that will get back to you later if I think of something', the forum would be clogged. Also, why would anyone need to know if their post had the approval of other forum users?

Yes it is nice to get PMs with thank yous in them, and ideally, people should thank those who have advised them, but I think sometimes posters are upset, or very busy, and they just disappear, or even have forgotten they've posted here. I guess the regulars have built up something of a relationship, so the non-cyber social conventions you describe apply more readily.

I miss the 'last one to post on this thread wins thread' I thought that made the forum more interactive and fun! Used to cheer me up that, why did it go?