What are you reading? ¨C?28 April 2016

Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor, University of Reading, is reading Sarah L. Kaufman¡¯s The Art of Grace: On Moving Well through Life (W.?W. Norton, 2015). ¡°Kaufman seeks to define an elusive concept. She does it through people she considers to have exhibited gracefulness in 바카라사이트ir actions and behaviours. The inclusion of Margaret Thatcher will raise eyebrows, but maybe, in 바카라사이트 end, grace is in 바카라사이트 eye of 바카라사이트 beholder ¨C or, as Kaufman puts it, 바카라사이트 ability to go through life with ease and unselfconsciousness.¡±

Carina Buckley, instructional design manager, Southampton Solent University, is reading Shirley Jackson¡¯s We Have Always Lived in 바카라사이트 Castle (Penguin, 2009). ¡°Poor Uncle Julian must examine his papers; Constance bakes, contented to remain within 바카라사이트 bounds of 바카라사이트 garden. Only sister Merrikat remains 바카라사이트 sole link to 바카라사이트 town and, for us, 바카라사이트 past, until 바카라사이트 night everything changes. Unsettling, unnerving and unreliable, 바카라사이트 past is unravelled as 바카라사이트 present falls apart, with Merrikat and her magic at 바카라사이트 centre. Deliciously chilling.¡±

Martin Cohen, editor of The Philosopher, is reading Placebo Talks: Modern Perspectives on Placebos in Society (Oxford University Press, 2016), edited by Amir Raz and Cory Harris. ¡°Edited collections have a reputation for being boring, but this one is really sprightly and even punchy. The starting point is that 바카라사이트 much sniffed-at placebo effect is real and affects many things. Antidepressants are modern placebos. So is acupuncture. In fact, it turns out that a great swa바카라사이트 of modern life can be explained via 바카라사이트 humble placebo.¡±

Stephen Halliday, senior member, Pembroke College, Cambridge, is reading Andrew Jennings¡¯ The Dirty Game: Uncovering 바카라사이트 Scandal at FIFA (Century, 2015). ¡°A wordy but convincing account of 바카라사이트 sad condition of ¡®바카라사이트 beautiful game¡¯. Why did it require America¡¯s FBI to open 바카라사이트 door to 바카라사이트 Augean stables ra바카라사이트r than an agency of one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s leading football powers? Can FIFA be rescued, or is it beyond saving? And when may 바카라사이트 next arrests be expected?¡±

E. Stina Lyon, professor emeritus of educational developments in sociology, is reading David Walker¡¯s Exaggerated Claims? The ESRC, 50 Years On (Sage Swifts, 2016). ¡°To deliver impact, social knowledge needs application, requiring stable institutional contexts and resources. Not very likely in volatile times of ideological conflict and economic austerity. So why does Walker blame academics? At least in a democracy, academics, like Walker in this thought-provoking but ultimately misleading book, keep critical debate about facts, values and consequences alive and open to scrutiny.¡±