At the end of our second term, all teaching was shifted to online delivery because of concerns relating to the novel coronavirus and the related illness. For me, this meant I had to deal with two new preps, one on a completely new topic, all in the course of a couple of weeks. This was…
Category: Academia
A brief introduction to computing security
I’ve been interested in computing and cybersecurity since I was fairly young.(1) I’ve noticed that this is a fairly uncommon, so I’ve listed here a few simple steps toward a more secure (and private) computing existence (these are also important considerations for mobile devices, like tablets and phones). Additional points can be found here. Software…
Two new publications
I’ve got two short peer-reviewed pieces out today, neither of which really constitutes research, but are more commentary on a couple of issues related to research. The first is a blogpost as part of Nature Human Behaviour’s ‘Is it publish or perish?’ series. My contribution focuses on political science/international relations and the UK academic job…
Preparing a UK PhD Application
Applying for a PhD in the UK? The process of applying for a PhD in British academia requires a lot of research and legwork by the applicant. The first step involves identifying top research departments, as these can often differ from the usual list of ‘top universities’. At the postgraduate level, the UK doesn’t seem…
Belt and Road Redux
Approaching belts and roads through better research design I’ve written previously about my concerns relating to the quality of BRI-related MSc dissertations.(1) To summarize, these projects tend to suffer from significant problems. These tend to stem from at least one of the following: Inability or unwillingness to separate hype/propaganda from actual policy and activities Poor…
PIPC 2019
This year’s Pacific International Politics Conference took place in Taipei. As was the case with last year’s conference, the environment was remarkably collegial and supportive. Lots of familiar faces returned from last year, along with a lot of new participants whom I hope will be returning in the future. At the end of the conference,…