Author Yaz Osho

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Dr Iyabo (Yaz) Osho has over ten years of research experience ranging from such diverse areas as academic, social, media to market, business and hospitality research. She is a skilled qualitative researcher with extensive experience in reaching hard to reach communities (e.g. the BME population) and researching sensitive issues, such as social exclusion and discrimination. Yaz has a PhD in Sociology from Goldsmiths College, London, having previously completed a MA in Transnational Communications and a BA (Hons.) in Sociology and Communications. Her Doctoral thesis entitled - 'Race, Capital and Enterprise: A Qualitative Study of Black Businesses and Organisations in London' was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Whilst at Goldsmiths College, Yaz taught undergraduate Sociology at the University of East London and Goldsmiths College. Most recently, Yaz has been working as a freelance research analyst and a lecturer in Sociology at the University of Westminster. 

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Black and ethnic minority university staff continue to face disadvantage

Apr 27, ’12 12:00 PM

Measures to promote race equality in higher education have had very “little impact”.

Speaking at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in April, Andrew Pilkington, professor of sociology at University of Northampton, said the impact of race equality initiatives in academic recruitment under the Labour government had been “short-lived”.

In an article by Times Higher Education, it is argued that diversity issues have “fallen down the agenda” in the last ten years. Priority has arguably been focused on gender equality rather than reducing racial disadvantage.

Professor Pilkington continues that, “evidence [pointed] to failures in data gathering and target setting, [which] suggests that many universities have not taken equal opportunities policies seriously”.

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£9,000… and the costs keep rising

Mar 27, ’12 8:00 AM

With the tuition fees price hike around the corner, thousands of students across the country have boycotted lectures in a campaign of action organised by the NUS. The protest is part of the NUS’s fight against the government’s higher education reforms.

The protest also aims to bring attention to the hidden costs of studying as the Guardian reports. Besides the obvious costs of going to university, students can expect to stump up the costs for anything from exam fees, Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks to lab coats, field trips and printing.

Critics have warns that costs such as these are inevitable and are usually disclosed by universities in their prospectuses. Nonetheless, the NUS urges for universities to provide greater transparency to students.

“We’re calling on universities and colleges to urgently commit to absorb essential costs… and provide complete transparency on all costs pre-application,” says the NUS.

Students protesting about the add-on costs included those at the University of Warwick and the King’s College London.

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Universities cashing in on library fines

Jan 13, ’12 8:00 AM

Universities across the UK have collected almost £50m from fining students for overdue library books in the past six years, the Guardian reports.

Some of the top universities, who have accrued the most money from overdue books, include Leeds University, Manchester University and the University of Wolverhampton. Exact figures for the top ten fine raising universities are as follows:

University of Leeds – £1,869,340

University of Manchester – £1,299,342

University of Wolverhampton – £1,252,253

King’s College London – £1,197,715

University of Hertfordshire – £1,147,238

University of Birmingham – £1,114,863

University of Plymouth – £1,058,777

University of Nottingham – £1,025,560

Kingston University – £1,020,753

University of Durham – £1,005,426

With university library fines as little as 10p for each day a book is overdue, it demonstrates the growing tendency for students to return books library books late. Worse still, many books are never returned – more than 300,000 university library books remain unaccounted for.

Some of the worst offenders include Bucks New University, Oxford University and the University of Kent. The top 10 universities with the most unaccounted for library books were:

Bucks New University – 30,540

University of Oxford – 20,923

University of Kent – 19,613

University of Sunderland – 17,650

University of Teesside – 15,815

Brunel University – 10,992

London South Bank – 9,725

London South Bank University – 9,725

University of Greenwich – 8,580

Southampton Solent University – 6,126

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Soft skills flourish with Graduates at Liverpool University

Nov 24, ’11 8:00 AM

With the latest figures showing graduate unemployment at a 15 year high, Liverpool alongside other universities believes that”soft skills” are more important than ever. Recent Higher Education Statistics Agency figures revealed that more than a quarter of graduates are without full-time work more than three years after graduating from university.

Completing a degree used to guarantee graduate employment but this is no longer the case. In the current economic climate, graduates are required to stand out from the crowd with transferable skills. In an article by the Guardian , Paul Redmond, head of the careers and employability service at Liverpool University said, “the competition for jobs is so intense, and often the differentiators are those so-called soft skills.”

Liverpool University’s career service has tackled this issue by running ‘graduate boot camps’. So far, 185 graduates have been trained on the 10-day Gradvantage programme. Of those who have been through the course, only 32 had graduated this year. “Once the credit crunch happened we thought ‘we’ve got to start doing different things for graduates’,” Redmond says.

The Gradvantage programme is not specifically aimed at graduates from less well-off families as anyone based in Merseyside, with a degree from any university, can participate. The programme’s aim is to be as hands-on as possible. Elements from the programme range from mock interviews, group presentations to securing a 14 hour a week (unpaid) work experience lasting 13 or 26 weeks.

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UCAs: Favours Rich Students – Confirmed

Nov 21, ’11 8:00 AM

Ucas – The British organisation, through which applications are processed for entry to higher education, has admitted in its review that its admission process favours the rich.

In a review of university admissions published at the end of October, UCAs admits that the current system gives an unfair advantage to students attending private schools. As a general rule, pupils at private schools are encouraged to apply early ahead of the official deadline, and in the case of some courses, applying earlier increases the chances of being offered a conditional place.

As the Guardian states, the current system also assists pupils whose schools employ tutors who are very familiar with the university application process who would be confident in phoning an admissions tutor and pleading the case of a prospective student.

In response to its review, Ucas is calling for the government to make the most radical overhaul of university admissions for 50 years.

Drastic measures could include teenagers sitting their A-Levels and equivalent exams 15 days earlier and exam boards publishing results at the end of the summer term, rather than in August. Students would then apply earlier to university with their results in July.

Another measure under consideration is to have a single date on which universities tell students whether they have been offered a place with the conditions. At present, students hear from universities on different dates up to the end of March. Ucas said the proposals could be in effect by 2016.

Ucas will be consulting on the plans between now and 20 January.

 

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Decrease in poorer students and women applying to university

Nov 18, ’11 8:00 AM

Early indications suggest that applications from female students and those from poorer backgrounds have fallen ahead of the higher tuition fees next year. According to the first round of Ucas application figures, applications from men were down by 7% compared with 10.5% by women. Worryingly still, the Guardian states that data available elsewhere provided indications that students from poorer areas are being deterred from applying to university by the higher fees.

Patterns in the data indicate that the application rate among mature students has fallen faster than among 17 to 18 year olds. Elsewhere, data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that the age of students on full time undergraduate courses over the age of 21 are more than 50% more likely to come from poorer neighbourhoods compared to those over 21.

Further data indicates regional variations with applications from candidates in the south-east down by 8% compared with 20% from candidates in the East Midlands and more than 17% in Yorkshire and Humber.

Professor Neil Shephard who is research director at Oxford-Man Institute, suggests that the differences in the application rates of young and mature students could be due to variations in the quality of information that they have received: “One might expect young people to be exposed to more information about how income contingent repayment will work than mature students, so they may be less put off than the mature. My own view is that behavioural effects (how we process information) have big short-run impacts and that rational considerations tend to emerge in the longer term (as we learn from the crowd)”.

 

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Predicted drop in students applying for university places

Nov 2, ’11 8:00 AM

The number of UK-born university applications for 2012 university entry has dropped by almost 12%. This figure is not surprising as September 2012 sees tuition fees rise to up to £9,000 a year.

The first set of statistics on applications for university entry next year, published by UCAs show that 52,321 applicants have applied from within the UK, compared with 59,413 this time last year.

Universities and politicians have shown concern that the tuition fees hike might deter students from disadvantaged backgrounds from pursuing a university education.

Wendy Platt, director general of the Russell Group, which represents 20 of the leading universities in the UK, including Oxbridge, LSE and the University of Warwick told the Guardian that “students should certainly not be put off university by the new fees and funding system. If you’re good enough to get in, you can afford to go”.

David Willetts, the universities minister, remarked that “going to university depends on ability not the ability to pay”.  This argument is debatable to say the very least.

Educational capital in the form of excellent qualifications might not be enough for students in a climate of cold hard cash. Time will tell if adequate financial provision will be made for talented students from disadvantaged groups to realise their potential by getting a university degree.

 

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Providing meaning: give a little bit of the Sociological Imagination….

Sep 13, ’11 8:00 AM

I was once asked by Mark Carrigan, editor of The Sociological Imagination, what I have learnt from studying Sociology, this was my brief response:

“In a nutshell, Sociology has given me specific tools that have become invaluable to me personally and professionally. I think it is a discipline which teaches the techniques and politics behind thinking critically and reflexively in a complex and multi-faceted world. It allows a space in which to develop ideas, theories and discursive understanding of people, practices, processes and institutions in a way in which conflict, bias, exploitation, discrimination (and other forms of prejudice, injustice, discrimination, subordination and control) can be critically analysed and questioned.”

I still agree with these comments I made months ago.

The Sociological Imagination, as Charles Wright Mills terms it, has never been so relevant in making sense of the world as we know it. So, briefly, what did Mills say about the Sociological Imagination? The following quote could be one place to begin:

“Nowadays people often feel that their private lives are a series of traps. They sense that within their everyday worlds, they cannot overcome their troubles, and in this feeling, they are often quite correct. What ordinary people are directly aware of and what they try to do are bounded by the private orbits in which they live; their visions and their powers are limited to the close-up scenes of job, family, neighborhood; in other milieux, they move vicariously and remain spectators. And the more aware they become, however vaguely, of ambitions and of threats which transcend their immediate locales, the more trapped they seem to feel.” (Mills 1959: 3)

There are some parallels in what Mills states above and the reactive action taken in the protests, riots and/or movements witnessed in Greece, North Africa and (arguably) the UK recently. Although causes for the unrest and mobilisation occurred for very different reasons, collectively the result is that ordinary people (that is, those outside the gates of power) have opted in diverse ways to get their voices heard. The parameters and constraints of society have been progressively chipped away through collective mobilisation and people are no longer strictly “bounded by the private orbits in which they live”. A ‘politics of recognition’ as Charles Taylor (1992) terms it, whereby groups in this instance, organise themselves by forming self-empowering collectives which through action receives recognition is relevant. Although Taylor originally uses the concept of recognition in reference to nationalist groups and multiculturalism, it can apply here – rightfully or wrongfully depending on perspective, (especially in the case of the 2011 Summer riots in the UK), globally people are continuing to demand recognition against all odds and costs. The process of demanding recognition, inclusion, political emancipation and equality is nothing new, but has been strengthened in its power through the use of new technology and social media.

With the dominance of Web 2.0 and the rise of Facebook, Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger, interactive blogs etc. protesters have been able to spread word of their action far and wide in real time to mobilise support to excellent effect. A prime example of this was reported in the London riots this summer. In general, protests happening across the globe appear closer and immediate through timeless time (Castells 1996), time space distanciation (Giddens 1991) and compression (Harvey 1989) caused by using new technologies.
Sociology has been long been concerned with the use of technologies and the impact it has had on collective action and mobilisation (for instance, Castells 2001, 2009, Seidman 1998), but this area of investigation has come into its own in recent years. Through the use of new technologies, personal troubles can instantly become public and global issues within the faceless flows of communication. In making sense of our surroundings, adopting a Sociological Imagination can therefore be useful:

“Know that many personal troubles cannot be solved merely as troubles, but must be understood in terms of public issues- and in terms of the problems of history-making. Know that the human meaning of public issues must be revealed by relating them to personal troubles – and to the problems of the individual life. Know that the problems of social science, when adequately formulated, must include both troubles and issues, both biography and history, and the range of their intricate relations. Within that range the life of the individual and the making of societies occur; and within that range the sociological imagination has its chance to make a difference in the quality of human life in our time.” (Mills 1959: 226)

In brief, the Sociological Imagination in personal reflection provides a critical and reflexive approach to personal and public issues. Adopting a Sociological Imagination can allow ample space to mindfully evaluate and critically explore important processes and practices happening around us: it can create meaning and continuously revise meaning.

Just how exactly this meaning translates into real world solutions in pushing for change is still yet concretely to be seen, but there is movement in the right direction. David Cameron’s call for a Sociological analysis of the 2011 Summer riots has prompted Sociologists across the UK to put forward explanations into the riots thus bringing sociology and the Sociological Imagination into the public glare.

Some sociologists have been criticised for their assumed position in explaining the 2011 Summer riots. In a series of articles by Sociologists published in the Guardian, some readers have responded with negativity, claiming such articles empathises or indeed, excuses the behaviour of some of the rioters. Nonetheless, it must be remembered that the Prime Minister called for a Sociological analysis of the riots which by definition should include some theoretical, causal and empirical considerations as to why the riots occurred. This in itself is not and should not be seen as a vehicle for excusing what was witnessed in Manchester, Birmingham, Salford, Brixton, Clapham, Hackney, Lewisham, Wood Green and Walworth this summer.

Whatever the core reasons for the riots – a response to Mark Duggan’s death in Tottenham by ‘reclaiming power’, an answer to widespread inequality, material deprivation, lack of opportunities, widespread anomie (Durkheim 1897), greed, opportunism etc. – one thing that is clear is the impact it has had on businesses, public sentiment and perception, racial politics – and – as a result, the Government.

In particular, the role that the riots have played on racial politics is still being felt one month on from the 2011 Summer riots. Historian, David Starkey’s claim on BBC’s Newsnight that “whites have become black”, thus blaming the influence of black people and black culture in causing the riots was unfortunately, a predictable response from sections of society. The use of riots as a racialised political football side-steps the diverse collective involved in the protests and implies that black ‘communities’ are homogeneous, uniform and inherently prone to violence, crime and all the negative things associated with such activities. Starkey’s arguments serve to offer a newsworthy soundbite which conflates the multifaceted reasons for the riots into a neat racialist argument furthering the interests of right-wing extremists groups.

In spite of the causes and reasons behind the UK riots and the public unrest globally – in a structural sense, hegemonic forces have no choice but to listen, digest, reflect and respond. Asking for a bit of a Sociological Imagination in the process, could indeed be something is beneficial in the long-run and should be encouraged to develop, not quashed.

References
Castells, Manuel (2001) The Internet Galaxy, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Castells, Manuel (2009) Communication Power, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Durkheim, Emile (1897) Suicide, The Free Press, New York
Giddens, Anthony (1991) The Consequences of Modernity, Polity Press, Cambridge
Harvey, David (1989) The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
Mills, Wright, Charles (1959) The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press: New York
Seidman, Steven (1998) Contested Knowledge, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
Taylor, Charles (1992) ‘The Politics of Recognition’, in Taylor. Charles & Gutmann, Amy (eds.) Multiculturalism and “The Politics of Recognition”, Princeton University Press, New Jersey

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Post 2012: Opening up Oxbridge and Russell Group Universities

Apr 19, ’11 8:00 AM

Previous research has shown that a large proportion of ethnic minorities in the Higher Education system are represented in undergraduate study in the new (post-1992) university sector.  More prestigious universities such as Oxbridge and universities under the Russell Group banner continuously show an under-representation of ethnic minorities in their universities.

The Race For Opportunity report published in 2010 by Business in the Community, uncovered with the exception of new universities, only the universities of Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Warwick draw in a representative proportion of all British ethnic groups.

Drawing on this lack of diversity in some of Britain’s universities, an article this week in The Guardian, highlights the experiences of under-represented black students at Oxford University.

The article draws on the prime minister’s comments on his alma matar, Brasenose, as having admissions figures for taking students from the lowest socio-economic groups as “disgraceful”.

In 2009, just one “black Caribbean” applicant from the UK out of the 25 “black Caribbean’s” who applied – was accepted for study at Oxford.

Highlighted elsewhere in Sociological Imagination, Oxbridge statistically tends to the choice of the nation’s elite and has an overwhelmingly high proportion of white upper and middle class students compared to other groups.

This is nothing new, but given the fact that Oxbridge and Russell Group universities have confirmed that they will be charging the maximum tuition fee, it will prove interesting to see how figures on admissions from lower socio-economic groups in these institutions might be affected in the future given that provision must now be made for these under-represented groups.

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English students forced to look further afield to escape higher tuition fees

Mar 22, ’11 9:49 AM

The well-documented and lamented Higher Education tuition fees rise has forced many English students to consider undertaking their studies at Irish and Scottish institutions as this article suggests.  Tuition fees in Ireland prove to be less costly than those in England following the forthcoming tuition fees hike.

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland looks likely to see an increase in applications from English students wishing to avoid next year’s higher tuition fees.

In Ireland, UK students can secure a top-class degree which would cost zero for tuition. Under EU rules, all students from EU countries who attend EU universities are treated the same as local applicants, who in Ireland, pay nothing. So, English students who wish to attend Trinity College Dublin, potentially, foot the bill only for living costs and an annual administration charge of €2,000 (£1,723) for student services and exams.

This prospect compares favourably with the prospect of facing up to £9,000 per year on tuition fees and potentially £27,000 worth of debt for a three-year degree programme.

Meanwhile, Scottish universities are also drawing-in English students looking for a cheaper but good quality education. An estimated 22,500 English students currently study at Scottish universities and pay annual fees of £1,820 for course typically lasting four years.

With a record 583,500 students applying to university this year, with no extra places created, many of them who are hoping to beat the tuition fees hike in 2012, are more likely than ever to fail to secure a place at university even with the prospect of cheaper tuition fees offered elsewhere.

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