The problem with studying the rich (well, one of many) is that access is hard. So you end up relying on leaks and whisteblowers. Both can be deeply problematic. But every so often the curtain DOES get pulled back. With Australia and climate change two great examples are a) the leaking of the minutes of... Continue Reading →
Sociotechnical transitions for beginners; of speed, stability and mixing it up
What’s a sociotechnical transition? Why should you care? What does history teach us? Why might it be a false teacher? All good questions and they received good (though sometimes, by necessity provisional) answers yesterday as Dr Florian Kern of University of Sussex spoke on ‘Governing Low Carbon Transitions’ (see foot of this post for the... Continue Reading →
Gender Slash Infrastructure, or “sewage thick as toothpaste”
What a great event. What an unexpected delight. At the sharp end of a PhD you find yourself going to very few ‘recreational’ seminars. And so often they’re the standard mix of chest-beating, data dumps from those too close to their “facts”, or conceptual hair-splitting from those too far from them. And those are the... Continue Reading →
Oil (and) slick: Of corporate citizens and the great energy transition.
Whose ego needs are being met? That, imho, is the key question, in almost any gathering, whether it dresses itself up as academic (aka 'intellectual'), activist, capitalist, whatever. If you ask that question (at least to yourself – it's a CLM to say what you think, after all), then a whole lot probably becomes clearer.... Continue Reading →
A PhD thesis explained via Woody Allen’s “Sleeper”
So, you slave through archives and papers and interviews and more papers and hard hard work. And you come up with a 20 thousand word chapter, full of the very hard-won anecdotes and quotes and... You have ten thousand words, TOPS. Which means you have to kill your darlings, doing away with stuff that cost... Continue Reading →
ABC Insiders 24 September 2017 – observations
Abc Insiders 24 September So, there was an 'extra' bit with Barrie Cassidy pondering the consequences of Abbott's behaviour for energy policy (compare coorey article on same topic in AFR). Programme itself opens with interview/intersplice with the headbutt guy in Hobart Sadly no music over the top of this- too controversial? Could have had “Can't... Continue Reading →
Activism: ffs, read this – Building Movements, Not Organizations
Building Movements, Not Organizations Creating a healthy, humane world will require more than new organizational designs. It will take rethinking the nature of organizations entirely.... What might be possible, therefore, if socially minded organizations and businesses acted more like movements than organizations? And what might that look like in practice? To answer those questions, consider... Continue Reading →
Oz at a distance #1; podcasts and Insiders
Minimal biog bit - I am from Adelaide. Just spent a lovely 7 weeks there bludging of my parents and doing research for The Thesis. One ritual we got into, mater and I, was watching 'The Insiders', an ABC TV show on a Sunday morning for politics junkies. The format's the same each time -... Continue Reading →
Max Weber nails it on politics, natch #stupidity
"Only he has the calling for politics who is sure that he will not crumble when the world from his point of view is too stupid or base for what he wants to offer." Reminds me of "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Albert... Continue Reading →
#WordsIDidntKnow – Gaman (‘endurance’)
One attribute highly prized in Japanese society is that of "gaman", or "endurance". Gaman is the quality of enduring what seems unbearable with dignity and grace. The idea basically that is that if there's something unpleasant around you, it's better to tough it out in an act of self-sacrifice rather than act immediately to change... Continue Reading →
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