I was thinking back to a conference that took place some time ago on the theme of data capture, in particular to the presentations on wearable physical activity devices or trackers [1]. These were still fairly new at the time and I quickly picked up that the people in the audience, most of whom were… Continue reading Why do some people wear a Fitbit?
Hunting sound
I was researching technology and international exchange the other day and came across two stories in the history of technology which were new for me. The first concerned World Tape Pals [1]. This was an organisation set up in 1950 to encourage the sharing of news and perspectives from people around the world. A kind… Continue reading Hunting sound
Book of the year
I spend so much time picking apart books and articles that it is a release to look back and think about what I had enjoyed reading this year, not necessarily something published in 2019 but just something I happened to read. In respect to big ideas I went back again to Michael Polanyi’s ‘Personal knowledge’… Continue reading Book of the year
The ethics of social research
I teach research methods courses and when it comes to sessions on ethics we normally go over the classics: Milgram's experiments with obedience; the Stanford prison experiment; poor Alfred and the white rat [1]. All very startling but on the whole students do not get as excited as I do. I think this is first… Continue reading The ethics of social research
Academic writing retreats: are they worth it?
The university in which I work puts on two-day writing retreat events – these are not residential but just an opportunity to work on something in a dedicated space, in the presence of colleagues all doing their own writing. I try to go to these when I can, I find I can concentrate better in… Continue reading Academic writing retreats: are they worth it?
In praise of theorising
[This entry supports a recent talk on the subject to research students] Over the last couple of years I became interested in theory and theorising in social research. I have done this not because I started with a great deal of confidence, or indeed background knowledge, of theory as a concept but, quite the reverse,… Continue reading In praise of theorising
Is it few or less people?
I have to read a lot of essays and theses recently and notice that I am getting a obsessive about the 'correct' use of language. I don't like myself for it as I consider myself as flexible and tolerant about the way that language is used. More specifically, I think language rules should be descriptive… Continue reading Is it few or less people?
Hirsch and Education
In looking at intolerance in public debate I found several people recommending that we went out and took time to engage with ideas that we know, or think we know, we will disagree with. In this spirit I wanted to look at conservatives on education and I turned first to Hirsch. It was easy to… Continue reading Hirsch and Education
Does Virtual Reality work for education?
Back to more familiar territory: technology. The other week our research centre put on a morning event about virtual reality. Much of it was new for me but the questions it posed about what to do with new technology were familiar ones. So what is VR? One definition I liked came from Lavalle [1] for… Continue reading Does Virtual Reality work for education?
Do the drugs work?
I was struck the other day by the reporting in the press of an academic paper on antidepressants and their impact [1]. According to these reports antidepressants were now officially verified as very effective and should be taken by more people. But was this really what the study was saying? This is the story. In… Continue reading Do the drugs work?
Michael Hammond 
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