One of the clear themes which emerged for me when reading Merchants of Doubt, a detailed exploration of corporate propaganda by historians of science Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, concerns the politics of public engagement. What might in other circumstances seem like anodyne issues confined to the university, who talks about science […]
Many researchers are excited about the potential social media offers for making an impact with their work. However 500 million tweets per day, 3 million blog posts per day and over a billion websites poses an obvious challenge: how can you ensure you are heard above the din? How can […]
In recent weeks I’ve become fascinated by what I’ve thought of as the poetics of impact and engagement. What linguistic techniques can we identify in how ‘impact’ and ‘engagement’ are written about? What work do they do in terms of foregrounding and backgrounding the issues entailed by this paradigm shift […]
Source: http://www.europeanmovement.ie/ymip-conference-on-responsible-research-and-innovation/ Source: New Scientist
In the last couple of months, I’ve been thinking a lot about the poetics of impact. I’ve always been somewhat ambivalent about the impact agenda, initially suspecting that it might open up opportunities for valuable activity to be recognised within the increasingly restrictive confines of the accelerated academy. I wasn’t alone […]
A compilation from Colin Chandler on pg 7-8 of Achieving Impact in Research: To have impact is to have a strong effect, to make a difference. By impact we mean the ‘influence’ of research or its ‘effect on’ an individual, a community, the development of policy, or the creation of a […]
In advance of running my first impact and social media workshop on Tuesday in Ghent, I’ve been working through some of the literature on impact. One book that’s proving more thought-provoking than I expected is Achieving Impact in Research by Pam Denicolo. It’s an edited collection that emerged from a symposium in Warwick […]
I saw a great talk yesterday, at the ESRC’s North West DTC, from Teela Sanders and Ruth Patrick about how to make an impact with doctoral research. I particularly liked this slide near the end, in which they suggested an incredibly diverse range of ways in which doctoral researchers (and others) could […]
An interesting podcast produced at the Independent Social Research Foundation’s Workshop in Edinburgh earlier this year: https://soundcloud.com/isrf/2015-isrf-annual-workshop-social-science-as-communication (I can’t get it to embed it for some reason). I’m interviewed about social media a few minutes into the podcast.
I last saw this a couple of years ago but it really struck a nerve given decisions I’ve made over the past year. I want to do everything in my power to avoid being subject to these ridiculous systems:
It’s been ages since I last wrote an abstract and immediately found myself thinking “wow, I can’t wait to write this paper”: Surviving Life in the Accelerated Academy: The Potential and Pitfalls of Digital Scholarship In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the stress and anxiety of academic life. This […]
This article by John Holmwood is worth reading: There are few national systems of higher education that are immune from their effects, though their use is more extensive and systematic in some places, rather than others. They seem to have gone furthest in national systems with a high proportion of […]
This was the rather unlikely connection suggested in Jonathan Wolff’s Guardian article yesterday. I have massive respect for Wolff, who taught me as an undergraduate and is the only lecturer who has ever consistently held my attention, which left me taking this article more seriously than I otherwise might have. To be […]
Any feedback on this draft prezi for an upcoming talk would be much appreciated. Among other things I can’t decide if the background I’ve chosen is in bad taste or if it helps hammer home my point about the political context of both ‘impact’ and ‘social media’
This short position paper by John Brewer is really worth a read for anyone interested in these issues: Several years ago I described the impact debate as a sheep in wolves clothing – meaning that I never thought it was going to be the problem it appeared on the surface. […]
Social Science and the Politics of Public Engagement Tuesday, January 28, 2014 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Open University Camden Centre, 1 – 11 Hawley Crescent, Camden Town, London In recent years new technology has begun to facilitate ever more novel forms of research practice across the social sciences. […]
The higher education system is going through a period of profound change, with newfound opportunities opening up for the superstar professors to develop their brand through MOOCs, TV and cinema. Where will it all lead? Fortunately the renowned anthropologist Robin Dunbar has opted to show us the way through this minefield. In […]
Call for Presentations at SPA Workshop 2013: “Challenges and Innovation in Social Policy Research: Mixed Methodologies and Impact” 16th December 2013, Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics In recent years, the use of mixed methods and methodologies in Social Policy research has become increasingly popular. […]
An interesting post by Diane Coyle on the LSE Impact Blog offers a useful counterweight to those who engage in economist-bashing as a matter of reflex. Though I’m sure I’ve probably lapsed into this on occasion, it’s something which increasingly bothers me. The idea that ‘economics’ does nothing more than […]
