What's the point in university?

So I just watched a documentary which investigated whether or not University is really worth it. It means different things to all people. Some people see it as a way to advance in their careers, some people do it because everyone else is going and others go for the love of a subject and a respect for learning.

In the past in the British education system university was free and only the chosen few were able to enjoy the highs and lows of higher education. Contrastingly, university has in the last 15-20 years something lots of people aspire to and can experience.

With the proposed massive hikes in tuition fees to nearly three times what they are currently will this discourage people from poorer backgrounds? The new coalition government in the UK has also scrapped maintenance grants for those who come from poorer backgrounds. With the series of student protests the government members of parliament still chose to potentially charge people thousands of pounds a year for higher education, which 25 years ago was free.

Therefore it is increasingly important that people chose their degrees carefully, how will it help you? University is not just about what you study, its about life skills, relationship building, networking and learning about yourself. Could you do an apprenticeship instead? Could you seek a scholarship to pay you're university fees. So look at alternative funding sources, make sure that the choice is right for you and make sure that your course is a return in your investment both literally and metaphorically.

Serial Podcast!

If you haven’t heard about this podcast called Serial, where have you been? Probably living your normal life, not overly investing in or obsessing over a random radio, non-fiction story. Serial is a 12-episode podcast about a murder case that occurred in 1999 in Baltimore. 


I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon of popular culture fads. I only just bought a Macbook, didn’t get a Netflix subscription till a couple of months ago and refused to read Twilight. I prefer to wait till I am good and ready to sample such things, when the hype dies down. Serial Podcast was no exception, I was told about it by my friend a couple of months ago, didn’t really understand the premise and it slipped my mind.

It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago when another friend talked about it that I downloaded an episode on my phone using her home WIFI (I don’t have unlimited data ok) before heading home on the tube. I was instantly hooked and had a great four days of getting to work being enthralled by the real life story. I listened to 11 episodes in four days of binging. The last episode was released last week.

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a downloadable broadcast that can be listened to on the go. This medium has been around for a while but since October 2014 This American Life (a weekly non fiction podcast) launched its spin off podcast show called Serial. This show has become the most popular podcast ever with over five million iTunes downloads.

What’s the story with serial?

Serial is based on a 1999 murder case of an 18-year-old High School Student, Hae Min Lee who was strangled allegedly by her ex boyfriend Adnan Syed. Syed now facing life imprisonment has always professed his innocence, with scanty to no forensic evidence linking him to the crime Sarah Koenig sets out to talk to as many people involved in the case as she can to find answers.

Koenig works with a team but is the narrator, reporter and producer to the 12-part series.  She tries to tell the tale from a variety of perspectives, has regular recorded telephone meetings with Syed, the star and only witness on the prosecution side - Jay, and other students who attended the Baltimore High school. Every episode focuses on a different aspect, the trial, Syed’s Lawyer, his alibi etc. Koenig and her team read reports and pore through evidence. This results in well researched, thoughtful and enlightening episodes. Listeners get the chance to be completely taken in, absorbed by the true life story and are invited try and find out who did it.

Newspaper Cutting

Similar to Orange is the New Black

Serial reminds me of Orange is the New Black, tenuous but stick with me.  Both are true stories about crime, both a very popular, both investigate the harsh realities system, possible injustices and the wide ranging consequences of it. OITNB released in the UK in May 2013 is based on the memoirs of Piper Kerman who spent a year in prison after being convicted of drug smuggling charges. However, the hit Netflix show is controlled in some part by the creator of the memoirs, Kerman herself. She wrote her story, was guilty of the crime and admitted it and is now well known for it. Kerman is in control of how the story is told and how she is portrayed. In contrast, those involved in the Baltimore murder case are not in control neither is the accused, Syed and his family and friends.

Criticisms of the show

While many have hailed Serial as a pioneering series, original reporting, a great narrative; many also have been critical of the show for various reasons.

1. The victim, Hae Lee is never really focused on. Not really Koening’s fault, she contacted her family several times to try and get their input into the show but to no avail. But I can understand why this is a sticking point.
2.  It’s a real, true life event that occurred. It is because this is real, things get a bit tricky, the friends and family of Hae and Adnan are exposed. This awful thing is being dragged up all over again and it must be frightening and upsetting. Some people may think it’s an example of some sort of misery porn, obsessing over a ‘who dunnit’.
3. It has racial stereotyping in it. Some people have criticised Koening’s musings saying that it has a lot of racial stereotyping. The good immigrants being Syed being described as too innocent looking to be a killer and Hae of Korean descent described as popular and intelligent. Jay – an African American Adnan’s acquaintance was described with a surprise, he liked alternative music, not hip-hop and even played Lacrosse! I think there is some evidence of this, but I don’t think this is an overall indictment of the show.
4.  Crazy fans. The fans of the show have gone crazy over it, flocking to the Best Buy shop which is where Syed allegedly called his friend Jay after the murder occurred. 

Conclusion

I think the series is incredible, instantly engaging and thoughtfully reported. Koening and her team have spent  over a year researching this case mainly because she believes that the accused is a nice guy. Having been approached by a family friend of Syed’s to investigate the case she tries her best to be impartial, fair and transparent. She openly is unapologetic for expressing her voice in her reporting, evidence of reflexivity is clear. The show encourages people to think about memories, friends, family and death. With the end of this series, goodness knows what I’m going to do with my time- I’ll probably get over it and reluctantly move on to the next fad.

Job review sites, useful or useless

The eggs are no longer just in the employers basket

Despite the recession of 2008 and a very high ratio of applicants to job roles,  employees still have a lot of power. Employer review sites such as glassdoor.com and jobcrowd.co.uk have become extremely popular among savvy graduates and curious job searchers who need advice in choosing an organisation to work for.

Employer review sites give people the ability to look at employee reviews of popular organisations,  giving them the ability to gain a unique insight into the organisation they may be working for. The ability to check this in the past was extremely limited. Often the only chance someone had to check the credibility of a potential employer was by finding a friend or a friend of a friend who had worked at said organisation before. Assuming that that person hasn't scared you half to death with tales of axe wielding line managers individuals were given a very limited view of the organisations'. Employer review sites give information on salaries, benefits, interviews and company backgrounds.

Individuals can vote with their feet and view a summary of company reviews. These sites give people  the chance to have more of an objective view companies. It gives people the opportunity to go into organisations a with their eyes a little more open.

Companies need to be aware of the importance of the candidate experience in attraction, selection, assessment and development of staff. These opinions and experiences with the advent of employee review sites can travel very far and have the potential to be damaging for organisations.

Stepping on top of people just for a bargain? Black Friday is here to stay

Black Friday is a long standing American tradition. But what is it and how did it get to the UK shores?

What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is a day of mass sales and consumerism in America, often charted as the start of the holiday shopping season. The event occurs on the Friday after Thanksgiving (which falls on the last Thursday of November). Bargain hunters go forth and seek out deals after stuffing their gobs with turkey. Retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart and online shops all slash their prices in the hope of cashing in and making large profits.

What is  behind it?
Black Friday has its roots in 1950s Philadelphia. Apparently local police officers started to use the term to describe the busy streets and the smog created by traffic of people flocking to watch a local Army vs Navy American Football game. In the 1980s television stations and advertisers used the day to attract shoppers out on this holiday and spend their cash.

Contrary to what has been circulating though social media recently the tradition has nothing to do with slavery and has nothing to do with slave traders selling slaves at discounted prices. Some believe the term has come from the time in the year that shops make profit and move from the red (loss making) to the black (profit making).

Why is it here?
Black Friday is characterised by long queues, early starts and sometimes scenes of hysteria and violence. Black Friday was brought to the UK by Amazon and Asda in 2010, since then more and more retailers have adopted the practice. The main reason why this has been absorbed by retailers across the pond is that businesses can smell the pound signs. 2013 saw the day come into its own in the UK, charting big sales for many retailers.

A downside to all of this bargain hunting is that it sometimes causes crazy scenes of not very British like queueing and madness. Some shops opened at 12 midnight with flocks of people lining up, literally stepping on and over each other to get that marked down plasma screen TV.

Getty Images

These scenes are not what people are used to in this country.  With reports of retailers like ASOS inflating their costs in the run up to the day and then offering 30% discounts, leaving prices sometimes higher than the original ones, some people are less than happy.

Who cares?
Some people feel that the day promotes mass consumerism and greed. I'm a lover of bargains myself however, queueing, fighting and loosing sleep over some apparent lower priced goods is not really how I like to spend my time. Jumping on the discount bandwagon doesn't really make sense to me especially when it hasn't been made relevant to this audience. As Brits don't celebrate Thanksgiving, having the day after it as some kind of sales paradise is slightly strange.

What's more, if retailers are seeing this as an excuse to hoodwink and trick consumers into thinking they are getting a bargain when they are not, then i'm definitely not a fan.  Unfortunately Black Friday does look like it's here to stay so lets hope next years affair is a bit more civilised? I doubt it.