The UK government’s initial response to COVID-19 of reliance solely on a combination of nudge theory and assumed herd immunity, combined with a more recent criticism of some of the people and work underlying the policy,(1) got me thinking about the different responses to nudge theory and behavioral economics I’ve encountered. The first memorable introduction…
Category: Political Economy
More on privacy and security
As a companion to my brief overview, this post focuses on browser and networking considerations. Hardening Your Browser Because everyone uses a browser, these pieces of software can present a significant security risk if they’re not kept updated. However, tracking of your browsing activities, as Google Chrome does, presents a threat to privacy (and potentially…
Some reflections on online teaching
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…
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…