I often rant, sorry, "offer calm, considered and reasoned critiques" about academics who study nonsense badlystudy important things badlystudy important things well but write in turgid academese These things make me angry. But for once, I am angry after reading an academic paper, not about any of the above (because it is paper which studies... Continue Reading →
Hand (wringing) jobs to relieve stress/anxiety
I am to be an expert interviewee (I know, I know, I laughed too) in a project about climate change and "getting to net zero" barriers opportunities, blah blah. And reading over the project info they sent, and the sets of things I am supposed to pick as barriers, it occurs to me that this... Continue Reading →
Reflections on “Industrial decarbonisation where does it come from, where might it go?”
Last week I gave a seminar as part of the Sussex Energy Group’s seminar series. This was, for me, a Big Deal, because the Sussex Energy Group is a very cool collection of scholars, mostly from the Science Policy Research Unit but also from University of Sussex (the clue is in the name) more broadly.... Continue Reading →
Of goldfish bowls, being kind, and being appreciated…
Times are tough. Today I did something I'm proud of, something that helped other people in a couple of ways. This is a blog about that. As part of The Job, (a very good job, one I am grateful to have), I am doing a bit of seminar-conducting. One problem with seminars is that either... Continue Reading →
“Constructive” as a codeword for “I don’t want to address your points.” See also “praktisch”
Sorry if what follows is banal, but it was new to me. Ah, bless Facebook... The word "constructive," it occurs to me after more than half a century on t'planet, is deployed by people who don't want to engage with criticism of what their cherished organisation has (not) been doing. So, if I point out... Continue Reading →
Chaotic conceptions – what would a NON-chaotic conception look like? Or is all chaos? #Mysterions
Let's start with an under-rated tweet. https://twitter.com/marcsrhudson/status/1483901631615971345 Yeah, that's me half an hour ago and I would already struggle to tell you how I came across Sayer 1992. Oh, wait, it was the 2003 paper on Regional Development Agencies and Clusters (reading it for The Job). We are pattern-making machines. We see causation when there... Continue Reading →
“Our Extractive Age” – interview with the editors
There's a new edited volume, "Our Extractive Age: Expressions of Violence and Resistance," which I can heartily recommend (and thanks to Earthscan for sending me a hard copy). The wonderful New Books Network let me interview the editors as a podcast, and have also given permission for a transcript (which the interviewees have lightly edited/changed)... Continue Reading →
“TIS and six criticisms”
This paper is a response to six criticisms made of the authors' "baby" - the Technlogical Innovation Systems appraoch. Markard, J., Hekkert, M and Jacobsson, S. 2015. The technological innovation systems framework: Response to six criticisms. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 16, 76–86 They take each one in turn, give what seems to be to my inexpert... Continue Reading →
“The business of rapid transition”
Better get the full disclosure in here - Prof Newell was external examiner on my PhD, and also a referee for the job I am about to start. So if this were totally pants, I would be unlikely to say so. This is not totally pants. It's not even a little bit pants (but MRDA,... Continue Reading →
‘Treasury Control’ and the British Environmental State: The Political Economy of Green Development Strategy in UK Central Government
This was damned good Craig, M. 2020. ‘Treasury Control’ and the British Environmental State: The Political Economy of Green Development Strategy in UK Central Government New Political Economy. 25 (1) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13563467.2018.1526269 As the epigram wants you to understand, this is not new. “Treasury control is something that you live under, that you suffer from, that you profit by; and... Continue Reading →
Marc Hudson 