Jason Arday #2

[FrumpyCat]

Blimey - Will Self is really up himself isn't he.

 

[minimaz]

I think there is some evidence that JA completed the marathons, although challenging it would be feasible for a sporty fit young person to manage it

The crowds and the closed streets the broken leg were bull. If I had to make a guess the heroically completing the race dispute severe injuries was because he was embarrassed about how slow he was towards the end and, instead of saying he overestimated his abilities but was proud he had completed his challenge like anyone else would, he came up that stupid implusable story to save face.

The marathons happened in 2010, vlogging was a big thing by then but no one taped any of these marathon runs except for the end of the last one. I think theres a newspaper article saying he was going to do them but apart from the photos at the end that seems to be it.

As well if someones that into running, they would generally run at least 1 official marathon like the London marathon or have a profile on strava etc

 

[whatisityoucan'tface]

This lecturer in journalism is not only seemingly entirely ignorant of the guidelines around reporting suicide, but also very happy to openly state that whistleblowing students are 'culpable' for Arday's death.
View attachment 4092206

Well I guess Dr Overton's students now know that they are not allowed and must never complain about him: during, after, or in perpetuity.

 

[goldenrodshortbread]

It's disappointing that so few people seem bothered by the falling academic standards exposed here. Sociology and sociology adjacent isn't quite my academic experience but I assume the quality checks should be same as stem? Research proposals should go before and ethics committee, research methodology should be decided and justified before data collection, a viva should show your work was considered and fully justifiable and fulfils the research brief. For senior appointments you should have a substantial publication history, peer reviewed in reputable journals, you should be widely cited and experienced in your field and preferred methodologies. The most import thing though is being a grant writing, funding attracting machine. He didn't seem to be any of those things, lying about having those attributes to gain a post is fraud no? Background is irrelevant

Thank you! I’m sociology-adjacent and wrote on the first thread about how ludicrous this entire situation is. This is social science. It has rigour and standards, and is fiercely competitive. A man with no funding track record whatsoever, limited publications, a plagiarised PhD thesis with a typo in the title, no apparent teaching ability, no doctoral student completions, no contribution to knowledge, no outreach activity - just self-serving virtue-signalling partially-fabricated charitable endeavours which are all focused on furthering his name. I mean the man pretended to have written a book. To be handed a Chair at Cambridge on the basis of a fraudulent CV, and called “the best in the world” by Hilary Cremin… it’s grim.

The rest of us (largely female) have pushed and grafted and written lectures and marked 115 UG dissertations in a week and had our own original thoughts and birthed and raised our children knowing that this would directly disadvantage us in terms of promotion, produced high quality work that is correctly cited and in turn receives its own citations…

Spoiler: Me-rail

The vast majority of my work is single-authored, including three monographs, and a significant UKRI grant as PI. I am tenured and run a doctoral programme at a Russell Group University. Where’s my bleeping Chair, Cambridge? And my Black female colleagues who have worked twice as hard as me to reach the same level? Why are they losing out to the Ardays of this world?

That a man has tragically died does not detract from the heinousness of his fraud in academic terms.

 

[Jelly Bean]

Hope this link works!

You what mate?

I can't make head nor tail of most of it tbh. He's not very good at being concise is he? Tangents about Pharisees and Alfred Dreyfus and a lot of 'J'accuse' ing.

And how the hell war criminal Alastair Campbell has managed to pivot to elder statesman is utterly baffling. He's another one who said nothing about Jason Arday before but wishes he'd 'reached out' earlier. Because of course that would have helped

 

[Miscanthus]

I have to admit grifters fascinate me.

I suspect as with all Walter Mitty type people, there is a kernel of truth in some of Arday’s fantasy land. He probably did complete several marathons and raise money. He was probably a decent snooker player. He may have had selective mutism. People who lie fanatically and repeatedly often select ‘fantasies’ that align as close to the truth as possible so that duping others is easier.

The excerpts of the book (thank you @Valiofthedolls ) are excruciatingly painful reading and is very much reminiscent of old pal, Jack Monroe.

I feel very sorry for his children.

If she wasn't so complicit in this I would feel sorry for his ex wife. She raised two children at a relatively young age with him while studying herself, and then working to provide for them while he continued with his studies and lost them money too. She aided him in his job applications and probably completed a lot of his written course work while teaching him to read and write. No doubt she had to bolster his ego, tolerate his wild stories and ideas and do all the adulting too, while remaining slim and desirable to all other males but not outshine him.

 

[Hashtag Ad Hashtag Blesse]

If she wasn't so complicit in this I would feel sorry for his ex wife. She raised two children at a relatively young age with him while studying herself, and then working to provide for them while he continued with his studies and lost them money too. She aided him in his job applications and probably completed a lot of his written course work while teaching him to read and write. No doubt she had to bolster his ego, tolerate his wild stories and ideas and do all the adulting too, while remaining slim and desirable to all other males but not outshine him.

Do people believe she taught him to read and write? Given he went to a "normal" primary school I assumed that part was another lie

 

[TheStrawberryThief]

If his claims are true, why is no one coming out and saying that they were there and saw him do it?

Where are the people from his running group? His teachers? His friends from before he became an academic? People who played on the same football team?

The only evidence of his achievements is one page in 1 local newspaper. My local paper makes mistakes all the time, gets names and ages wrong and prints whatever they are told. No one actually checks a thing. It isn't the ' gotcha' people think it is.


When anyone writes an autobiography, people always end up discussing the claims someone makes. Remember when Harry publish Spare and everyone spent 2 weeks mocking him and trying to work out if it was true or just twisting the truth for sympathy? Or when people discussed if Lena Dunham was a child abuser? Or Brittany Spears talking about having an abortion and everyone piled on JT for not being supportive?

I hate all these media types wagging fingers at us and saying that we have no right to discuss something that someone decided to reveal of their own free will. How do they expect to police what people can discuss? And why is it okay for them to say whatever they want and then treat us like naughty children when we do the same.

 

[SunsetSmile]

[

Blimey - Will Self is really up himself isn't he.

Yes, there is an obscure word in every paragraph. I've read it twice now.

Interesting who he is seeking to blame & who he is attempting to exculpate.

Those who removed their names from the GLP campaign but are now leading the charge against the critical media are hypocrites.

It would surely have caused significantly more damage to be discarded by previous supporters!
Et tu Brute?

 

[VeniVidiVicki]

Blimey - Will Self is really up himself isn't he.

I honestly thought he died. Must have confused him with another pompous pontificating a

 

[Jelly Bean]

I hate all these media types wagging fingers at us and saying that we have no right to discuss something that someone decided to reveal of their own free will. How do they expect to police what people can discuss? And why is it okay for them to say whatever they want and then treat us like naughty children when we do the same.

Will Self J'accuses all of us.
Do you feel suitably chastised?

'Too much time online' Alright grandad. Calm down.

 

[hereforthechaos]

@goldenrodshortbread long may you continue to win funding and publish x

 

[Mogmog]

The marathons happened in 2010, vlogging was a big thing by then but no one taped any of these marathon runs except for the end of the last one. I think theres a newspaper article saying he was going to do them but apart from the photos at the end that seems to be it.

As well if someones that into running, they would generally run at least 1 official marathon like the London marathon or have a profile on strava etc

In his biography, doesn't he talk about everyone being in matching orange(?) tops saying "I'm with jason" while his own top said "I'm Jason"?

 

[SharkAttack]

It does seem high, but his wife and children have now lost out on the support from his (significant) earnings, so they may well struggle without that.
ETA: 200K would be about 2 years of his approximate current salary

He should never have been on that salary in the first place!

 

[goldenrodshortbread]

@goldenrodshortbread long may you continue to win funding and publish x

Thank you. I even plan to use all my own words!

Worth noting that an Oxbridge Chair pulls a salary of around £120k. Fellows/Lecturers/Associate Professors can earn as little as £40k. These are posts requiring doctoral qualification, teaching qualifications and often years of experience. Guess which job family has a higher percentage of women? *bursts into flame*

 

[HotesTilaire]

It's disappointing that so few people seem bothered by the falling academic standards exposed here. Sociology and sociology adjacent isn't quite my academic experience but I assume the quality checks should be same as stem? Research proposals should go before and ethics committee, research methodology should be decided and justified before data collection, a viva should show your work was considered and fully justifiable and fulfils the research brief. For senior appointments you should have a substantial publication history, peer reviewed in reputable journals, you should be widely cited and experienced in your field and preferred methodologies. The most import thing though is being a grant writing, funding attracting machine. He didn't seem to be any of those things, lying about having those attributes to gain a post is fraud no? Background is irrelevant

Well I’m seeing an absolute tit show in STEM so I’d guess it’s across the board. The pressure to publish is out of control, peer review seems to be useless, just write a paper, gather some data then ignore what it tells you and draw any conclusion you want, get it in a journal.

Even worse is humanities scholars writing about STEM subjects.

 

[hereforthechaos]

Thank you. I even plan to use all my own words!

Worth noting that an Oxbridge Chair pulls a salary of around £120k. Fellows/Lecturers/Associate Professors can earn as little as £40k. These are posts requiring doctoral qualification, teaching qualifications and often years of experience. Guess which job family has a higher percentage of women? *bursts into flame*

Assuming they have a full time contract and aren't trying to scrape a full time salary across 2 or more posts

 

[hereforthechaos]

Well I’m seeing an absolute tit show in STEM so I’d guess it’s across the board. The pressure to publish is out of control, peer review seems to be useless, just write a paper, gather some data then ignore what it tells you and draw any conclusion you want, get it in a journal.

Even worse is humanities scholars writing about STEM subjects.

That's disappointing to read

 

[SunsetSmile]

Thank you. I even plan to use all my own words!

Worth noting that an Oxbridge Chair pulls a salary of around £120k. Fellows/Lecturers/Associate Professors can earn as little as £40k. These are posts requiring doctoral qualification, teaching qualifications and often years of experience. Guess which job family has a higher percentage of women? *bursts into flame*

With 1/6 terms off for research!! It's incredible. Would there be any research targets for the sabattical?

Remember to be the watcher of your own flame.

 

[HotesTilaire]

That's disappointing to read

Would you like an example? Dr Cefai just published a doozy