Media studies

Book of the week: Shahidha Bari on our attachment to consumption and whether we might ever somehow escape it

New technology has changed how we approach the act of writing, finds John Gilbey

References to the university sector abound in an informative and lively study, says Gillian Youngs

Digital habits reveal the delicate dance between our public and private selves, says Tara Brabazon

Kate Macdonald on the publications that used humour to share the trauma of the First World War

Paul Bernal on the role of corporate lobbyists in manipulating politics and law to align internet policy with business interests

Like Gollum’s ring, gadgets are irresistible. Learn to turn off, tune out and log off, says John Gilbey

Paul Taylor shares a story of a life in a university that may not be far removed from today’s academy

Monthly sessions at Nottingham Trent University aim to prepare asylum seekers for higher education

David Revill on a provocative and insightful work that explores our creative and ambient sonic environment and how we perceive it

Australian academic Benjamin Habib reflects on the worst public embarrassment of his career

Organising and agitating online can be a powerful mover of change, Ivor Gaber finds

We are sleepwalking towards virtual transparency after an oversharing binge, discovers Paul Bernal

Major survey looks at experiences of 72,000 UK postgraduates

Was it beauty, race or rebelliousness that created a global icon? Joanna Lewis surveys the evidence

Cornish university offers an exceptionally realistic training environment for those wanting to work in the games industry

Marianne Franklin on a guide to help people escape the attentions of public and private bodies capturing and capitalising on our online actions

We talk Whitehall, tuition fees and Sunderland FC with the veteran Daily Mirror journalist

Institution’s School of Media, Arts and Design is 25 this year. Its current dean takes Times Higher Education through the reasons behind its success

Fred Inglis on the innumerable shows and figures from 50 years of popular culture

A study of the internet’s bullies and manipulators avoids the hard questions, says Tara Brabazon

Emma Rees on the social networking origins of a 21st-century political movement

Dress to impress if you want students in your corner, claims US study

Does your academic CV stand up to scrutiny? Chris Parr blogs about the case of Connie St Louis

Ashley M. L. Brown discovers that imagination is often perceived as the greatest threat of all

Tara Brabazon on an ethnographical study of the internet users who ‘swarm’ in order to cause maximum pain

A network of ‘smart systems’ to make our lives easier must be greeted with caution, says John Gilbey

John Gilbey is fascinated by the unseen fibre-optic communications cables that gird the globe

News of the death of the iconic disc has been greatly exaggerated, says Hillegonda C. Rietveld

Research tools have been revolutionised by the internet but, asks John Gilbey, are they reliable?

Sandra Leaton Gray on a chilling true story of the monetisation of the contents of academics’ heads

Fred Inglis finds much to savour in a shrewd and affectionate study of a cherished satirical sitcom

Paul Bernal finds much to admire in this compelling examination of the diverse events the group has been involved in

Paul Bernal admires an analysis of the sanctified ‘neutrality’ of the encyclopedia we all love to hate

Now that digitisation has revolutionised the media, what are we watching - and how? By Sharon Wheeler

A compelling argument for strong-arm tactics against those who perpetrate abuse on the net. By Helen Fenwick

Helen Keegan on a compelling account of the potential harms from intended and unintended self-disclosure

A lack of disciplinary expertise in digital cultures undermines this study, finds Tara Brabazon

An examination of viewing habits illuminates the lives of Arabic people who have made their home in Europe, finds Zahera Harb

Tara Brabazon on a study of the interface between education and technology

Peter Hutchings is spooked by a collection of horror broadcasts from the 1920s to the present day

Linnie Blake praises an exploration of the role rental outlets played in shaping the way a generation experienced film

Tara Brabazon on an attempt to capture and express the voice of young people

Jon Turney on an editor whose work with popular science writers helped to re-establish the genre

Steve Redhead finds a lack of sophistication in this analysis of the online gaming community

Christina Scharff on an exploration of the pleasure, curiosity and guilt that accompany this pastime

Tara Brabazon ponders an exploration of youth and new technology

Colin Higgins on a history of printed materials that have uses but no readers

Discussion of underground and emergent queer cultures are interesting, but Caroline Osella wishes for more insight from a respected scholar

A demonstration of the need for modern muckrakers also celebrates the best work journalism can do, finds Tim Luckhurst

Silicon Valley’s stars ceaselessly shape their image to a neoliberal ideal, Finola Kerrigan discovers

Search differently, says Sarah Ison

Sally Feldman on an alternative interpretation of the media reporting and government responses to the Ethiopian famine in 1984

Sandra Leaton Gray on healthier options for e-junkies

Gary Day enjoys the facts but would have appreciated some more analysis in a comprehensive review of all aspects of television

Arne Hintz welcomes a timely contribution to the post-Leveson debate

Ivor Gaber on how broadcasters report stories in which the status quo is under threat

Roza Tsagarousianou on an attempt to make sense of how the country has been subjected to international scrutiny

Daria Kuss is impressed with a series of interviews that shed light on the medicalisation of gaming problems

Tara Brabazon on building difference online