Long-time case researcher Harry Wolcott wrote in his manual (1990). The critical task in qualitative research is not to accumulate all the data you can, but to “can” (i.e. get rid of) most of the data you accumulate. This requires constant winnowing. The trick is to discover essences and then to reveal those essences with... Continue Reading →
2019: How the #climate activists blew it, again #debacle #doomed
Imagine it's 2019. Imagine that "climate activists" get the perfect conditions handed to them on a plate. What would happen? Sometimes Mother Nature gives climate change activists a boost. She tried in the summer of 1988. She tried again in August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina bulls-eyed New Orleans. She tried again in the long... Continue Reading →
Neoliberalisms: Combative, Normative and Punitive
Neoliberalism, eh? That handy catch-all insult that helps mainstream liberals not say "capitalism", that helps radicals not have to think very hard about how to think or communicate. Nota bene, I am not saying it is not real, that it does not matter, that there is not a usefulness to the term. Just that we tend... Continue Reading →
“You might say that; I couldn’t possibly comment…”
A comment under this rather excellent review of a good sounding book about intellectual women (Arendt, Sontag, Didion and that crowd) and 'toughness/emotional labour." Heartless women and men—in academia, the professions, and life in general—appear cold, frightened and thus defensive, and often near panic. The very opposite of what one expects from a seasoned, focused,... Continue Reading →
“The making of a petrol station” #Afterthethesis
The making of a petrol station and the “on-the-move consumer”: Classification devices and the shaping of markets Frank Azimonta, , , Luis Araujob, Industrial Marketing Management Volume 39, Issue 6, August–September 2010, Pages 1010–1018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2010.06.020 Abstract This paper addresses the issue of classification devices and their role in shaping markets. We depart from the notion... Continue Reading →
“Concerned Markets”
"Geiger et al. (2014) use the term ‘‘concerned markets’’ to refer to situations in which controversies set in motion an ongoing dynamic of criticisms and justifications during which actors tap into different explanations or principles of justice and thereby negotiate the construction of a shared world." (Blanchet and Depeyre, 2016: 42) Blanchet, V. and Depeyre,... Continue Reading →
Mythical Mail Weight and Localness
For the benefit of those lucky enough not to know (living outside the UK), the Daily Mail is a particularly horrific tabloid newspaper. One of its many vile repertoires is to police the bodies of celebrities (mostly, but not entirely) the female ones. If a celebrity under the gaze of the Mail gains a couple... Continue Reading →
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
From page 19 of this excellent report of an intriguing-sounding event.
On the mental costs of case study research…
Here's something that can't go in my methodology chapter, cos it's too special-plea-dy. True nonetheless. “In actuality, the demands of a case study on a person’s intellect, ego, and emotions are far greater than those of any other research strategy. This is because the data collection procedures are not routinized.” (Yin, 1994:55)
“Confer”ence – the clue is in the name; excellent #transitions event in Lausanne
A brilliant event - the "2nd PhDs in Transitions Conference: Theory and Practice" - took place in Switzerland, last week. Organised by four enterprising PhD students, it was a 48 hour space for students at different stages of the process (from touching naive enthusiasm all the way through to night-sweat panic) to exchange ideas and... Continue Reading →
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