via @dougald “It’s not how big your society is, it’s what you do with it” http://newpublicthinkers.org/?p=44

whether we can have a society worth living in for the 21st century will depend on the rise of new forms of social production, outside of the domains of both state and market. In other words, people meeting their own and each other’s needs under circumstances not primarily driven by money or coercion. via newpublicthinkers.org … Continue reading via @dougald “It’s not how big your society is, it’s what you do with it” http://newpublicthinkers.org/?p=44

It matters what you drink: Diageo took scotch out of Scotland & tax out of our pocket

How drinks giants spirited away Johnnie Walker label from UK tax liabilities by a technique known as outward domestication via guardian.co.uk Despite my attention to occupational identity, we are still to a large extent what we consume - not just molecularly but also politically and economically. If you must (and why not?) drink whisky, stick … Continue reading It matters what you drink: Diageo took scotch out of Scotland & tax out of our pocket

The purpose of education is to increase empathy and equality – 500 words on #purpos/ed

I never did sign up for this, but, hey, the purpos/ed project is making a splash in our world and it is worth pitching in, even if my contributions are not timely, original or synthetic of what has gone before (see David Jennings, who took the synthesising route: http://alchemi.co.uk/archives/mis/purposed_whats_the_purpos.html). Cristina Costa neatly exposes a key … Continue reading The purpose of education is to increase empathy and equality – 500 words on #purpos/ed

Humanising the Real Wide Web – the mesh, widely distributed data and “Sensor-driven collective intelligence”

I wouldn't want to presume to have thought of something before Tim O'Reilly (cf. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/15/sxsw-2011-internet-online# ; http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/03/radar-roundup-sensors.html ; http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/schedule/detail/10194), but in 2007 I wrote about Web3. I called it mesh networks and widely distributed databases (http://my-world.typepad.com/rworld/2007/09/global-justice-.html http://my-world.typepad.com/rworld/2007/10/more-on-the-mes.html) and cited Dust Network's (http://www.dustnetworks.com/) sensors as part of the puzzle. Semantic language technologies are part of it, … Continue reading Humanising the Real Wide Web – the mesh, widely distributed data and “Sensor-driven collective intelligence”

Online & Neuromarketing: because you’re worth it! Wow. It can be worth reading comments.

COPPA has played a important role limiting the data collection practices of online advertisers targeting children under 13. It has been a very effective safeguard. Anyone who actually researches the online ad business recognizes that: once you are 13, online marketers treat everyone the same in terms of behavioral targeting and other applications that threaten … Continue reading Online & Neuromarketing: because you’re worth it! Wow. It can be worth reading comments.

Excellent, in-depth critique of nuclear power in light of Fukushima via The Automatic Earth

In my view, nuclear power represents an unjustified faith in the power of human societies to control extremely complex technologies over the very long term. Any activity requiring a great deal of complex and cooperative control will do badly in difficult economic times. Also, no human society has ever lasted for as long as nuclear … Continue reading Excellent, in-depth critique of nuclear power in light of Fukushima via The Automatic Earth

Teaching and research are correlated but the link is loose and highly nuanced by para-academic factors #pcthe

There has been an excellent discussion on the SEDA maillist on the links (or not) between teaching and research. Hunt it down in the February archive here: re: PhDs and Learning and Teaching https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=sedaMy contribution makes less sense out of context, but I want to post it for my own purposes: As a relatively recent … Continue reading Teaching and research are correlated but the link is loose and highly nuanced by para-academic factors #pcthe

Is an evidence-based knowledge economy such a good thing?

I used, occasionally, to travel in Russia during the 1990s. I had a few good friends there. Acquired a taste for spirits and saunas, but that is a later part of the story. In Russia in the 1990s it became clear to me that in Soviet times, access to middle class comforts must have depended … Continue reading Is an evidence-based knowledge economy such a good thing?

The Social Science Centre description #pcthe

The Social Science Centre will offer credit bearing courses in Sociology, Politics and Philosophy, programmes not currently available as part of the University of Lincoln’s portfolio. A key aspect of the Centre is that students would not pay any tuition fees. The Centre would be community based, utilising already existing public spaces in Lincoln, e.g., … Continue reading The Social Science Centre description #pcthe