Doug Specht

The Student Guide to the Creative Studio in the Digital Age is now available #openaccess
Congratulations to authors Denitsa Petrova and @dougspecht.bsky.social!

Read or download for free at:
www-fulcrum-org.uow.idm.oclc.org/concern/mono...

#digitalcreativity #studiopractice #teachingandlearning

The rise of the ghost academic The academic conference no-show might feel like a minor inconvenience, but for Anne Tierney and Doug Specht it represents evidence a growing concern with CV padding over contributions to the field

The academic conference no-show might feel like a minor inconvenience, but it represents evidence a growing concern with CV padding over contributions to the field wonkhe.com/blogs/the-ri...

The peril of big tech in disaster response There are major technology lessons to be learned from the Türkiye-Syria quake, Doug Specht explains

There are major technology lessons to be learned from Google's failures during the 2023 Türkiye-Syria quake. New from me for Geographical Magazine. geographical.co.uk/news/the-per...

Really pleased to have been able to contribute to the Vogue Business climate finance glossary. www.voguebusiness.com/story/sustai...

The UK has published a ten-year industrial strategy to boost key sectors of the economy – here’s what the experts think The government hopes that by focusing on sectors that drive growth it will attract investment and boost prosperity.

The UK's new ten-year industrial strategy is ambitious and well-structured, but a reliance on nuclear rather than true renewables is seeking a quick win with high risks and high costs. theconversation.com/the-uk-has-p...

UK Report Warns Humanitarian Law Is Being ‘Hollowed Out’ Amid Rising Global Crises Cuts to aid and politicisation of relief undermine safety, access, and accountability in conflict zones The International Development Committee’s latest report, Protection Not Permission: The UK’s Rol...

My summary of the International Development Committee’s latest report on the UK’s Role in Upholding International Humanitarian Law and Supporting the Safe Delivery of Humanitarian Aid

geographical.co.uk/news/uk-repo...

Scotland's ecocide bill could set a global legal precedent Scotland’s proposed ecocide law could make mass environmental destruction a crime – and serve as a model for international legal reform

An important new ecocide bill is being discussed in the Scottish Parliament. Damien Short and I break it down here for Geographical geographical.co.uk/news/scotlan...

Digital cartography on trial: Mexico sues Google for ‘Gulf of America’ label Mexico sues Google over renaming the Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’, raising concerns about digital sovereignty and cartographic power

"The lines on our maps, and the names we give them, are not fixed truths but living artefacts of negotiation, memory and power"
@dougspecht.bsky.social on cartography, geopolitics & territorial sovereignty
@geographical.co.uk
geographical.co.uk/news/digital...

Course cancellations ‘inevitable’ after ‘body blow’ funding cuts Surprise reduction in funding for specialist provision will spark ‘brand new financial crisis brewed entirely in Whitehall’, critics warn

In today's THE, I comment on why the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, is slashing funding in all the wrong places! www.timeshighereducation.com/news/course-...

Digital cartography on trial: Mexico sues Google for ‘Gulf of America’ label Mexico sues Google over renaming the Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’, raising concerns about digital sovereignty and cartographic power

This argument is about more than naming rights – it reminds us of the extent to which maps don’t reflect but instead create and shape the world.

geographical.co.uk/news/digital...

This week we celebrate 50 years since the University of Westminster launched the first BA Media degree in the UK. Follow our anniversary event for colleagues, alumni and students on Wed 21, and our international academic conference on Thu 22 and Fri 23 May, through the hashtag #UoWMEDIA50

What Are US Taxpayers Getting in $6 Million Deal With Salvadoran Mega-Prison? | KQED The Trump administration has cut an unprecedented deal to send alleged gang members to El Salvador’s notorious prison, but it won’t provide the details about the arrangement. Here’s what to know.

I recently spoke with Sukey Lewis about what US taxpayers are getting from the $6 Million prison deal with a El Salvador.

www.kqed.org/news/1203887...

Why is El Salvador turning away from Bitcoin? El Salvador's attitudes to Bitcoin are changing. Doug Specht explores why and considers how other nations are sizing up cryptocurrency

This week I am looking at why El Salvador is turning away from Bitcoin - Me for Geographical

geographical.co.uk/news/why-is-...

How media has contributed to the rise of the AfD Doug Specht examines how forms of media - and public figures - have helped to bolster support for Germany's AfD party

How media has contributed to the rise of the AfD

geographical.co.uk/geopolitics/...

Really excited for this event with David Morley and Mike Duggan. 12th June at the University of Westminster. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/media-geog...

El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison - me for The SAIS Review of International Affairs saisreview.sais.jhu.edu/el-salvadors...

Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change? The low submission rate undermines the global commitment to climate action.

Is any nation serious about climate change? The days of collaboration appear to be over. Me for @theconversation.com

theconversation.com/only-15-coun...

Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change? The low submission rate undermines the global commitment to climate action.

Is any nation serious about climate change? The days of collaboration appear to be over. Me for @theconversation.com

theconversation.com/only-15-coun...

El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison - me for The SAIS Review of International Affairs saisreview.sais.jhu.edu/el-salvadors...

Really excited for this event with David Morley and Mike Duggan. 12th June at the University of Westminster. Tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/media-geog...

How media has contributed to the rise of the AfD Doug Specht examines how forms of media - and public figures - have helped to bolster support for Germany's AfD party

How media has contributed to the rise of the AfD

geographical.co.uk/geopolitics/...

Why is El Salvador turning away from Bitcoin? El Salvador's attitudes to Bitcoin are changing. Doug Specht explores why and considers how other nations are sizing up cryptocurrency

This week I am looking at why El Salvador is turning away from Bitcoin - Me for Geographical

geographical.co.uk/news/why-is-...

The global impact of Trump's foreign aid realignment Trump's executive order to halt much of the US's foreign aid is likely to have ripple effects across the world, as Dr Doug Specht explains

Trump’s recent executive order to ‘reevaluate and realign US foreign aid’ is unlikely to mark the end for US foreign development assistance being used to bring about coups, unrest, and regime change. New from me for Geographical Magazine geographical.co.uk/news/the-glo...

Westminster’s School of Media and Communications signed to be exclusive London partner of The TV Foundation

I am delighted to share that the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster is now the exclusive London partner of the TV Foundation. www.westminster.ac.uk/news/westmin...

The rise of firefighters-for-hire exposes the inequality of climate-driven disasters Private firefighters in affluent LA neighbourhoods are a sign of an increasingly privatised response to disasters.

Following on from last week's article, I take a look at how the privatisation of disaster response might make climate change even more difficult to combat. theconversation.com/the-rise-of-...

LA fires show the human cost of climate-driven ‘whiplash’ between wet and dry extremes By Doug Specht, University of Westminster This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. October to April is normally considered to b…

"LA fires show the human cost of climate-driven 'whiplash' between wet and dry extremes". @dougspecht.bsky.social

With slopes denunded of vegetation by fire heavy rain may result in landslides and soil loss.

blog.geographydirections.com/2025/01/16/l...

LA fires show the human cost of climate-driven ‘whiplash’ between wet and dry extremes The heath-related impacts of climate change will reach US$1 trillion a year by 2050.

LA fires show the human cost of climate-driven ‘whiplash’ between wet and dry extremes - new from me for @theconversation.com

theconversation.com/la-fires-sho...

There are just two days left to submit your abstract for the 51st IUT Conference hosted at the University of Westminster in July 2025 iutconference.com

How maps are used and abused in times of conflict Maps can shape how we see conflict.

"[T]he map risks turning life in Gaza into a "game of battleships” in which the flattening of any grid square is justified under the pretence that it is an empty space on a map."

Thanks to a student, I'm reading @dougspecht.bsky.social in @theconversation.com.