Society Matters
Europe undermined by Teutonic virtue, not Hellenic vice
It’s unfair to blame Europe’s crisis on lazy Greeks, argues Alan Shipman. Industrious Germans are equally to blame. Rightly concerned that a crisis in the Eurozone could stifle any British economic recovery, David Cameron has been telling continental colleagues how to rebuild their economies. But his prescription – public spending cuts, pay freezes, less regulation and tougher welfare eligibility tests – has only worked in Europe’s smallest economies, with one...
The H-word
Meg Barker asks: should we open our minds to all emotional states, not just happiness, in order to have fulfilled lives? On Tuesday (22 May) the magazine DIVA and the mental health charity PACE are holding an evening event called The H-word. The H-word in question is happiness, and the plan is to have a discussion about happiness, health and well-being and about how people can support each other towards 'happier, more meaningful lives', with a particular focus...
Gay marriage and what really matters
Dr Donna Smith is dismayed by the Government’s vacillation over gay marriage in the face of mid-term electoral blues. When the Coalition Government announced it would hold a consultation on opening up marriage to include gay civil marriage, it suggested that one half of the Coalition, the Conservative Party, had become much more socially liberal since the Party’s opposition to many of Labour’s gay rights policies in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Conservative Prime...
Pupils who speak English as a second language outperform native speakers
An educational milestone which went largely unreported will soon be reflected in higher education, says Dick Skellington. We have recently passed an unparalleled landmark in English educational history. For the first time ever, pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) outperformed their English-speaking counterparts in GCSE achievement. Government data published in March revealed that 80.8 per cent of EAL pupils passed 5 A*-C graded GCSEs in 2011, compared to 80.4...
A stand-up Chancellor gets his timing wrong
As the UK lurches back into recession, Alan Shipman wonders if our Chancellor should follow his Estonian counterpart into a career in comedy. The finance minister of Estonia, Juergen Ligi, has already lined up a second job in case his political career falters: he is fast becoming the country’s best-known stand-up comedian. Comedy Estonia, which is developing the country’s comic export potential in case its electronics and shale-gas production prove inadequate...
Politicians and other dinosaurs
Dick Skellington reflects on hot air emissions during another wet bank holiday Monday There I sat on another dank Bank Holiday Monday reflecting on what a lot of hot air is emitted from politicians these days. It has been a remarkable week in which the Coalition was left hanging on the ropes following a miserable performance in the local elections, the French people knocked out President Sarkozy and returned a Socialist administration for the first time in 17 years, and the Greek electorate...
Self help or not self help? #2
In part two of her post on self help, Meg Barker examines the reasons why the best self-help books ask questions rather than provide answers Critical thinking is the key Scott Cherry's book is subtitled some simple steps and a dash of critical thinking. This is really the key for me. Most self-help books do not include much in the way of 'critical thinking', whereas that is what Rewriting the Rules is all about. I'm inviting the reader to think about what the messages are (...
Self help or not self help?
In the first of two posts on the self help industry Meg Barker considers a modern paradox. I recently read a great new book by my colleague, Scott Cherry, called How to Stop Reading Self-Help Books. As well as being an entertaining read it presents some serious problems with self-help books and the self-help industry more widely. The book ends with a programme for weaning oneself off self-help books, written in a self-help book style of course! But of course I am in a bit of a strange...
Europe’s all in this together – that’s the problem
Europe’s imposition of common, restrictive economic rules is draining the strength that arose from its structural diversity, argues Alan Shipman. Carlsberg recently found a new tactic for preventing a strike at its Lithuanian brewery. It persuaded a court that beer supply is an essential public service. Employees would therefore be breaking the law if they disrupted the flow of lager-fuelled lifeblood. A British union leader...
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
It seems that the seaside really does make us happy, writes Dick Skellington Different outdoor environments have different impacts on human psychology, according to the findings of a new study reported to the British Psychological Society. But the best environment of all seems to be the seaside. So make sure you pack up your bucket and spade for the summer – even if we appear to be experiencing the wettest drought in British meteorological history. Researchers...
About Society Matters
Provocative, relevant, current: for the last decade Society Matters magazine has been informing, engaging and annoying social sciences students in equal measure. Now, its move online has given us the chance to bring its lively mix of analysis and opinion to a wider audience.
Society Matters online started in October 2010 and has, so far, covered a wide range of issues and topics ranging from inequality and the big society to arms sales and foreign policy. All can be seen by scrolling down from the top of the Society Matters front page.
We have also illustrated many of these posts with the work of our two illustrators (see below). Serious analyses have been interspersed with posts on a less weighty issues which show both human folly and innovation.
Society Matters continues to be edited by its original creator, Dick Skellington. Dick, pictured above, was previously a programme manager in the social sciences faculty, walks the talk through an active involvement in the affairs of his home town of Stony Stratford, Bucks, and finds light relief through writing poetry and the occasional stage appearance in local productions.
Since many years at the coalface of journalism have taught us all that sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words Dick is aided and abetted by resident illustrators, Gary Edwards and Catherine Pain – both former OU students.
Catherine has drawn and painted all her life, and when she is not pillorying public figures for Society Matters paints animal portraits, works in stained glass and produces alphabet teaching posters for children. Her work is in several galleries in and around her current home in Cambridgeshire and her publications include an illustrated cookbook sold on behalf of the National Trust, a colouring book for small children, Alphabet for Colouring, and The Lost Children, a story for older children. Her website is at catherinepain.co.uk
Gary has written two best-selling books about his travels all over the world watching Leeds United FC, Paint it White and Leeds United - The Second Coat. His third title No Glossing Over will be published by Mainstream in September 2011. He has not missed a Leeds game anywhere in the world since February 1968 and married his wife Lesley at Elland Road.
Specialising in wall murals, Gary also holds diplomas from the London Art College, The Morris College of Journalism, has a Diploma in Freelance Cartooning and Illustration and is a contributing cartoonist for Speakeasy, an English-speaking magazine in Paris. During the 1970's and 1980's he collected hearses and is a long time member of the Official Flat Earth Society as well as the Clay Pigeon Preservation Society.
Please note: The opinions expressed in Society Matters posts are those of the individual authors, and do not represent the views of The Open University.
