Issue Eight: Autumn 2008
Editorial
Do not read this editorial. Why bother? The rest of this magazine contains far more insightful commentaries than are contained in this monologue...
Comment
cannabis culture
PROFESSOR RAJ PERSAUD explains the dangers of cannabis, and considers why users are uninhibited by the health risk
“Smoking cannabis is a lot closer to playing Russian roulette than many realise”
protection racket
DANNY KUSHLICK makes the case for drug legalisation
“who and what exactly is being protected by prohibition?”
a false start for sure
The government's Sure Start programme was a wasted opportunity, says PROFESSOR GARY CRAIG
“the treatment of ethnicity as a dimension of the work of Sure Start was fragmented, partial or lacking altogether”
back to school
DOUGLAS HAINES quizzes PATRICK CURRY on his Teach First experience
“every morning when I get up I feel what I'm doing is worth something”
British Parties
conservative blues
PETER HITCHENS contends that the Tory Party should be shoved down the plumbing and jumped on
“what and odd formula it is, by which we are granted the illusion of change while actually making sure it doesn't happen”
the future's yellow
Former Liberal Democrat councillor DR RICHARD HUZZEY sees a bright future for his party
“now, no laughing at the back: I hope to see a Liberal government before I die, and I think I just might”
labouring on
The Labour Party must strike a balance between continuity and change, says ALON OR-BACH
“Labour does not have the luxury of opposition and the ability to reinvent itself time and time again”
Immigration
counting points
DAMIAN GREEN MP argues the case for greater control over immigration
“immigration can only ever be a short-term answer to shortages in our own workforce”
a puzzling picture
MARIA GRASSO wonders why the immigration debate fails to capture the complexities of the issue
“the liberal left often prefers to silence critics of immigration rather than offering a progressive political alternative”
ada's story
TENELLE PORTER relates the story of a woman trafficked from Sierra Leone to London, and draws wider lessons for public policy
“she was beaten and held captive; armed guards threatened to kill her if she tried to escape”
open borders
TERESA HAYTER puts the case for the abolishment of immigration controls
“the reason for opposing controls on immigration should be that it is immoral to treat human beings in the way that migrants are being treated in Britain”
Branding
branded for life
NICHOLAS IND explores the nuances of image and advertising
“as marketing noise increases, the pressure is on to shout louder; to be noticed; to be heard”
a case in point
SARAH WILLIAMS discusses Deloitte's recent advertising campaign
“We do not own the brand - it's a set of perceptions and expectations that reside in the minds of our clients and other key stakeholders.”
the art of the brand
DANIELLE CHILDLOW describes the challenges of giving the National Gallery a modern image
“works of art necessarily influence the way in which galleries are perceived and their image presented”
labelling learning
FRANCES CAIRNCROSS asks whether Oxford should compete with American universities' brand awareness, and whether it can afford not to
“US universities treat you as a consumer of education, not as someone who would want to interact
Childhood
history child
What can the history of childhood agree on? PROFESSOR GEORGE ROUSSEAU finds out
“children of the affluent are being coerced by their parents and hypermanaged by means of league-tables while poorer children sulk, unable to share the spending sprees.”
hidden lives
DR EDIE FRIEDMAN exposes the UK government's failure to provide for underage refugees and asylum-seekers
“ 2,000 children each year are held in detention, some for considerable periods of time ”
Film
tour de force
Debunking some popular myths, BEN McCANN takes a closer look at French cinema
“the French still have strange cinematic tastes - Jerry Lewis is a star here, and Stallone films score big”
out of the shadows
LUCIAN ROBINSON discusses the tentative re-emergence of the auteur in modern cinema
“these people are working bloody hard trying to reinvigorate American independent cinema”
not so follywood
DR ANDREW SHAIL constructs a defence of Hollywood's cultural importance
“if Hollywood films now dominate UK cinemas, we did, literally and figuratively, ask for it”
your average joe
BOYD VAN HOEIJ reports from the frontlines of the war between Keira Knightley and Apichatpong Weerasethakul
“ Apichatpong Weerasethakul is the first god of cinema of this millennium - but then you knew that already”
no country for old men
CHRIS PILKINGTON discusses the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's thriller
“ Chigurh is the embodiment of the uneasy tension between fate and chance that exists in the film”
Culture
the arrival
NEEL MUKHERJEE introduces Shaun Tan's award-winning masterpiece
“Tan has created a book of such surpassing beauty that it stabs you with a kind of euphoric agony”
stagecraft
The director's art, human emotion and the role of the theatre in modern society: KATIE MITCHELL gives CLARE FISHER her take
“Katie's vision is a curious mix of idealism and a very human reality”
