Dr%20Philip%20Kirby: List of publications

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The popular culture of learning difficulties has gained increasing attention in recent years, especially autism and Asperger syndrome. As yet, the representation of dyslexia has gone unexplored. Here, the popular culture of dyslexia is analysed, using the Percy Jackson series as a point of reference. It is suggested that three key tropes characterise these popular cultures: dyslexia as gift, functional limitation and joke. Conceptually, the article seeks to explore the potential for accounts of the popular culture of disability to go beyond the positive/negative ethical binary. It does so by situating representations of dyslexia within dyslexia’s broader histories and cultures, drawing on interviews with people with dyslexia from the UK Dyslexia Archive, amongst other sources. The article suggests that, in the case of dyslexia’s popular culture, the positive/negative ethical binary does not always capture the full complexity of representations.Points of interest This account contributes to emerging work on learning difficulties and popular culture, focusing on dyslexia in western popular culture. This account of dyslexia and popular culture focuses, in particular, on one of the most popular representations to feature a character with dyslexia: Percy Jackson. Representations of dyslexia fall into three significant tropes: dyslexia as gift and/or functional limitation and/or joke. Representations of dyslexia often exceed straightforward conceptualisations as either ethically positive or negative. This account calls for future research on the representation of disability to move beyond the positive/negative ethical binary.

This research brief highlights how the academic attainment of disadvantaged pupils at 16 varies dramatically between different ethnic groups. It focuses on the outcomes for pupils eligible for free school meals at GCSE. White working class pupils achieve the lowest grades at GCSE of any main ethnic group, with just a quarter of boys and a third of girls achieving 5 good GCSEs. Disadvantaged Chinese pupils perform above the national average for all pupils, while Bangladeshi, Indian, black African and Pakistani pupils from poorer homes all perform well above the national average for disadvantaged pupils. Improvement in urban schools, stronger family aspirations and cultural attitudes are suggested as some of the key reasons why different groups achieve differently.

Over a decade ago, the Sutton Trust published its first report on the educational backgrounds of the UK’s professional elite, looking at the schools and universities attended by top solicitors, barristers and judges. Since then, we have published over ten updates on the educational backgrounds of people at the top of the professions, across a range of sectors. These include members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, leading news journalists, top medical professionals, FTSE 100 chief executives, university vice-chancellors, leading scientists and scholars and a selection of the most famous people in the arts.3 Across the years, these reports have shown the staying-power of the privately educated at the top of the UK’s professional hierarchy. Even when those with such backgrounds retire from the top of their field, they are frequently replaced by those with a similar educational past. In this report, these results are updated.

Levels of Success looks at the earning potential of apprenticeships versus degrees, finding that the very best apprenticeships (at level 5) result in greater lifetime earnings than degrees from non-Russell Group universities. But, significant reform of the system is needed. There are not enough of these best apprenticeships, with most being at level 2 (GCSE) and level 3 (A-level) standard.

© Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This paper explores the gender politics of the ‘Hunger Games’ filmseries. It suggests that the lead character of the series, KatnissEverdeen, represents a progressive portrayal of the female actionhero, contrary to much Hollywood fare. Theoretically and methodologically,the paper approaches the series through the rubric of‘popular geopolitics 2.0’ and suggests that, within this, opportunitiesexist for further alignment between feminist geopolitics and populargeopolitics. To support its analysis, the paper offers a critical reviewof coverage of the series on feminist online media. The paper finishesby assessing the progressive potential of the series, as well asfuture directions for feminist and popular geopolitics.