sluggerotoole--2020-11-07--ESRC Virtual Festival – Creating a label to help us make more sustainable food choices…

Recent years have been a remarkable increase in interest in our environment .
TV programmes such as The Blue Planet and Planet Earth have been credited as increasing our awareness of the environment and even changing our behaviour .
From cutting back on meat consumption to ditching single-use plastics , many of us have changed our lifestyles .
While there are many ways in which our behaviour affects the environment , the production and consumption of food and drink has a strong impact .
Some estimates state that food-related production accounts for 18-35 % of greenhouse gas emissions , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As well as direct environmental impacts , food and drink production and consumption also impacts other important areas such as animal welfare , fair trade , and worker ’ s safety and rights .
Together , these environmental , social , and economic issues are considered as ‘ sustainability ’ .
It is currently difficult to be mindful of the sustainability credentials of the food and drink that we are purchasing .
We can avoid plastic packaging and look for symbols relating to areas such as animal welfare and organic , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ payments ?
How can we compare products and make decisions ?
At the beginning of this year , a team of researchers from Queen ’ s University Belfast , Aarhus University , University of Hohenheim , University of Reading , and VTT Finland came together with the aim of making sustainability purchasing decisions easier .
In the TruSTFood ( Trust , Sustainability and Transparency in Food ) project the team are working to develop a consumer-friendly , holistic , sustainability label .
One of the first tasks of the project was to understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a label .
Experts generally agreed on the need for a consumer-friendly sustainability label , however , they also recognised the complexity and complications that may arise in attempting to measure and simplify multiple sustainability dimensions into a single label , and across multiple products .
The difficulty in matching the wants and needs of organisations such as industry and government was also mentioned .
Overall , the development of a consumer-friendly sustainability label is no small task .
With many possible sustainability aspects and so little space on packaging , prioritising which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a key task for the project .
Any label developed should not only be technically possible , but must also balance the ( sometimes very different ) needs of consumers , industry , and the government .
Ultimately , however , any findings will push forward research in this area and the development of a sustainability label , hopefully leading to a fairer and greener planet .
If you are interested in responsible food shopping , you can hear more from researchers at Queen ’ s who are looking into creating simple sustainability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the ESRC NI Festival of Social Science , you can join Dr Tony Benson to hear about the processes and challenges faced by industry and researchers in helping you discover the real cost of your weekly shop .
There will also be an opportunity to have your say via an interactive poll .
You can register for this event by clicking here , which takes place on Wednesday 11 November at 4pm .
Dr Tony Benson is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival .
Photo by dbreen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Recent years have been a remarkable increase in interest in our environment. TV programmes such as The Blue Planet and Planet Earth have been credited as increasing our awareness of the environment and even changing our behaviour. From cutting back on meat consumption to ditching single-use plastics, many of us have changed our lifestyles.
While there are many ways in which our behaviour affects the environment, the production and consumption of food and drink has a strong impact. Some estimates state that food-related production accounts for 18-35% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 48-70% of land and water use. As well as direct environmental impacts, food and drink production and consumption also impacts other important areas such as animal welfare, fair trade, and worker’s safety and rights. Together, these environmental, social, and economic issues are considered as ‘sustainability’.
It is currently difficult to be mindful of the sustainability credentials of the food and drink that we are purchasing. We can avoid plastic packaging and look for symbols relating to areas such as animal welfare and organic, but what about community engagement or responsible tax payments? How can we compare products and make decisions?
At the beginning of this year, a team of researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, Aarhus University, University of Hohenheim, University of Reading, and VTT Finland came together with the aim of making sustainability purchasing decisions easier. In the TruSTFood (Trust, Sustainability and Transparency in Food) project the team are working to develop a consumer-friendly, holistic, sustainability label.
One of the first tasks of the project was to understand key opportunities and challenges in developing such a label. Experts generally agreed on the need for a consumer-friendly sustainability label, however, they also recognised the complexity and complications that may arise in attempting to measure and simplify multiple sustainability dimensions into a single label, and across multiple products. The difficulty in matching the wants and needs of organisations such as industry and government was also mentioned.
Overall, the development of a consumer-friendly sustainability label is no small task. With many possible sustainability aspects and so little space on packaging, prioritising which measures to highlight in a label is a key task for the project. Any label developed should not only be technically possible, but must also balance the (sometimes very different) needs of consumers, industry, and the government. Ultimately, however, any findings will push forward research in this area and the development of a sustainability label, hopefully leading to a fairer and greener planet.
If you are interested in responsible food shopping, you can hear more from researchers at Queen’s who are looking into creating simple sustainability labels for food and drink. As part of the ESRC NI Festival of Social Science, you can join Dr Tony Benson to hear about the processes and challenges faced by industry and researchers in helping you discover the real cost of your weekly shop. There will also be an opportunity to have your say via an interactive poll.
You can register for this event by clicking here, which takes place on Wednesday 11 November at 4pm.
Dr Tony Benson is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast.
Click here to view all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival.
Photo by dbreen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-11-07--Confirmed: Biden beats Trump to take the Whitehouse…

Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States .
He is the oldest President and also only the @ @ @ @ @ post .
After winning Pennsylvania he has 274 electoral college votes with some states still @ @ @ @ @ also makes history by becoming the first female Vice President and woman of colour “ @ @ @ @ @ ekaden is licensed under CC BY-SA

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sluggerotoole--2020-11-08--But today I looked up and now I feel better, so I’m passing it on like a breeze through the leaves o

But today I looked up and now I feel better, so I’m passing it on like a breeze through the leaves of a sycamore tree…

A friend died last Sunday , a past neighbour , someone who was kind to us when we were impossibly young and new to married life .
He ’ d been ill and wasn ’ t going to get better , but still , the human brain finds death difficult to compute .
No matter the age or circumstance , it always feels too soon .
Sorrow cuts through the heart like a flesh wound .
We watched his coffin , with its effervescent floral haul , as it was lowered into the earth .
The brass handles shone in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , just as he deserved .
I tilted my head skywards and wondered when he ’ d last felt the warmth of the sun on his skin .
Nature can be a healer , or if not , can make the last days more bearable .
If I ever get sick I know the sight of my bees would make me feel better , even if all hope was lost .
His passing reminded us of our younger selves .
It made us pull over on the verge of married life and look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ ll keep him with us , if in our retirement , we become neighbours to a young couple we ’ ll pass on his kindness , through us , to them .
Autumn has its own beauty but it ’ s hard not to see it as a kind of death .
The light is fading , the last blooms are gone , trees are wooden skeletons all bare branches with no flesh .
The ground below the entrances to my hives are graveyards , thick with dead bee bodies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lift one up with the edge of my hive tool .
She is small , the size of a baby bee , curled in a foetal position with her nose touching her pointed end .
Her bee hair stands up on end , soft and delicate like pussy willow fur .
Her wings shoot up at an angle from her thorax , like miniature angel wings .
They ’ re impossibly small and fragile , yet I know she can travel up to thirty miles a day under the power of them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with her capability , of her connection with a third of the food I eat .
I ’ m dumbfounded knowing what she does .
This tiny bee , along with the rest of nature , is so much greater than anything else I know .
I wonder why she died .
Was she too small ?
Was she weak in some way ?
I tip her back into the grass to join the litter of bodies of her sisters .
We all end up back in nature .
We ’ re all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing .
The ground is a thick carpet of leaves now , the Virginia creeper at the front of the house has lost its rich ruby red coat .
Its bare branches spread upwards like spider legs .
We have a big sycamore tree on the boundary of our front garden , it stands between us and the road beyond .
Our bedroom window looks out directly towards it .
At night it ’ s the last thing I see before I pull the curtains .
It towers over the streetlights , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half leaving the top of it to spread out high against the navy sky in a sycamore silhouette .
I wonder if this light pollution is the reason no birds nest in the sycamore .
The comfort of thick darkness and the quiet of a trafficless night is something that it must miss .
On a Sunday morning I can lie in bed and look out the window and the top of the tree fills the view .
It ’ s main trunk divides into five thick branches and from those multiple branches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goddess pose .
I can watch as the branches sway in the wind , its rust leaves flittering like jazz hands .
It ’ s hypnotic .
Sometimes , I find it difficult to tear my eyes away from it .
I ’ ve recently learnt it ’ s because we ’ re programmed for this movement .
We are made to recognise fractal shapes ; meaning a self-repeating pattern of shape that varies in scale .
A tree is a perfect example of a fractal shape .
Scientists have studied the effects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have found that shapes with a fractal dimension – a snowflake , a seashell or a leaf encourage a relaxed but focused state that reduces stress levels .
We are programmed to recognise fractal shapes because the structure of the eye itself is fractal .
It turns out that watching the sycamore tree is an actual balm for my brain .
A balm that it ’ s been missing since my bees have retreated into their hive .
I asked my husband what age he thinks the tree is , he estimates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years .
That predates our house by one hundred years and the busy tarmac road that roars with traffic on the other side of the tree was probably only a dirt track , if that .
Perhaps its first fifty years were spent in the middle of an open green field .
I imagine it in a landscape two hundred years younger , with no houses , no cars , only the sound of nature and the wind whistling through its baby branches .
We ’ ve lived beside it for four years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years more , we ’ ll still only be a blip in the lifetime of the tree .
The hives have stood close to it for the past four years , I wonder did it enjoy the buzz of the bees , did it remind it of years gone by when the air was alive with insects and natural living things .
I ’ d love to have a conversation with it .
I ’ d ask it about the changes it has witnessed , the people that have walked beneath its boughs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it feels and if there ’ s anything I could do to make it feel better .
I ’ d ask it what it ’ s like to be two hundred years old , I ’ d ask it what ’ s it ’ s like to be so tall and what it can see from its highest branches .
I ’ d like to know what it feels like to have roots so deep and strong that nothing can move me .
I ’ d like to be as durable and steady @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roots that anchored me from within to where I ’ m meant to be .
I ’ d like to throw my arms around it and give it a hug .
This morning I stood on the pavement beside it and stared up .
I studied its gnarled and wrinkled bark that has weathered the passing of so many years .
I tipped my head back as far as my neck allowed and looked up into its rust coloured foliage .
I looked up for as long as I could before I got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my shoulder .
Most of the surrounding trees are bare , except for a few branches at their very top , like an arboretum comb-over .
But the sycamore has retained a bushy , golden autumnal covering .
I contemplated the simple exchange learnt in school thirty years ago ; trees absorb our exhaled carbon dioxide and in exchange provide us with oxygen to breathe .
Trees help us breathe , yet we are intent on cutting them down .
It could be the plot for a dystopian sci-fi movie , but instead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2020 .
Most days I ’ m like everybody else , I pass through life at eye-level and hardly notice the magnitude of the trees around me .
But today I looked up and now I feel better , so I ’ m passing it on like a breeze through the leaves of a sycamore tree .
Photo by 9883074 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

A friend died last Sunday, a past neighbour, someone who was kind to us when we were impossibly young and new to married life. He’d been ill and wasn’t going to get better, but still, the human brain finds death difficult to compute. No matter the age or circumstance, it always feels too soon. Sorrow cuts through the heart like a flesh wound. We watched his coffin, with its effervescent floral haul, as it was lowered into the earth. The brass handles shone in the autumn sun. Everything was golden, just as he deserved. I tilted my head skywards and wondered when he’d last felt the warmth of the sun on his skin. Nature can be a healer, or if not, can make the last days more bearable. If I ever get sick I know the sight of my bees would make me feel better, even if all hope was lost. His passing reminded us of our younger selves. It made us pull over on the verge of married life and look at how far we’ve travelled. We’ll keep him with us, if in our retirement, we become neighbours to a young couple we’ll pass on his kindness, through us, to them.
Autumn has its own beauty but it’s hard not to see it as a kind of death. The light is fading, the last blooms are gone, trees are wooden skeletons all bare branches with no flesh. The ground below the entrances to my hives are graveyards, thick with dead bee bodies. I poke around the grass and lift one up with the edge of my hive tool. She is small, the size of a baby bee, curled in a foetal position with her nose touching her pointed end. Her bee hair stands up on end, soft and delicate like pussy willow fur. Her wings shoot up at an angle from her thorax, like miniature angel wings. They’re impossibly small and fragile, yet I know she can travel up to thirty miles a day under the power of them. I stare. And stare. Astonished with her capability, of her connection with a third of the food I eat. I’m dumbfounded knowing what she does. This tiny bee, along with the rest of nature, is so much greater than anything else I know. I wonder why she died. Was she too small? Was she weak in some way? I tip her back into the grass to join the litter of bodies of her sisters. We all end up back in nature. We’re all part of the same small, big thing.
The ground is a thick carpet of leaves now, the Virginia creeper at the front of the house has lost its rich ruby red coat. Its bare branches spread upwards like spider legs. We have a big sycamore tree on the boundary of our front garden, it stands between us and the road beyond. Our bedroom window looks out directly towards it. At night it’s the last thing I see before I pull the curtains. It towers over the streetlights, they cast an orange illumination over its lower half leaving the top of it to spread out high against the navy sky in a sycamore silhouette. I wonder if this light pollution is the reason no birds nest in the sycamore. The comfort of thick darkness and the quiet of a trafficless night is something that it must miss.
On a Sunday morning I can lie in bed and look out the window and the top of the tree fills the view. It’s main trunk divides into five thick branches and from those multiple branches grow skyward holding themselves upwards in a Goddess pose. I can watch as the branches sway in the wind, its rust leaves flittering like jazz hands. It’s hypnotic. Sometimes, I find it difficult to tear my eyes away from it. I’ve recently learnt it’s because we’re programmed for this movement. We are made to recognise fractal shapes; meaning a self-repeating pattern of shape that varies in scale. A tree is a perfect example of a fractal shape. Scientists have studied the effects of brain activity while viewing different shapes and have found that shapes with a fractal dimension – a snowflake, a seashell or a leaf encourage a relaxed but focused state that reduces stress levels. We are programmed to recognise fractal shapes because the structure of the eye itself is fractal. It turns out that watching the sycamore tree is an actual balm for my brain. A balm that it’s been missing since my bees have retreated into their hive.
I asked my husband what age he thinks the tree is, he estimates two hundred years old. Two hundred years. That predates our house by one hundred years and the busy tarmac road that roars with traffic on the other side of the tree was probably only a dirt track, if that. Perhaps its first fifty years were spent in the middle of an open green field. I imagine it in a landscape two hundred years younger, with no houses, no cars, only the sound of nature and the wind whistling through its baby branches. We’ve lived beside it for four years, if we live here for twenty-five years more, we’ll still only be a blip in the lifetime of the tree. The hives have stood close to it for the past four years, I wonder did it enjoy the buzz of the bees, did it remind it of years gone by when the air was alive with insects and natural living things. I’d love to have a conversation with it. I’d ask it about the changes it has witnessed, the people that have walked beneath its boughs. I’d ask it how it feels and if there’s anything I could do to make it feel better. I’d ask it what it’s like to be two hundred years old, I’d ask it what’s it’s like to be so tall and what it can see from its highest branches. I’d like to know what it feels like to have roots so deep and strong that nothing can move me. I’d like to be as durable and steady as the sycamore tree, to have roots that anchored me from within to where I’m meant to be. I’d like to throw my arms around it and give it a hug.
This morning I stood on the pavement beside it and stared up. I studied its gnarled and wrinkled bark that has weathered the passing of so many years. I tipped my head back as far as my neck allowed and looked up into its rust coloured foliage. I looked up for as long as I could before I got a sharp crick at the top of my shoulder. Most of the surrounding trees are bare, except for a few branches at their very top, like an arboretum comb-over. But the sycamore has retained a bushy, golden autumnal covering. I contemplated the simple exchange learnt in school thirty years ago; trees absorb our exhaled carbon dioxide and in exchange provide us with oxygen to breathe. Trees help us breathe, yet we are intent on cutting them down. It could be the plot for a dystopian sci-fi movie, but instead it’s life on planet earth in 2020. Most days I’m like everybody else, I pass through life at eye-level and hardly notice the magnitude of the trees around me. But today I looked up and now I feel better, so I’m passing it on like a breeze through the leaves of a sycamore tree.
Photo by 9883074 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-11-08--What can we expect from Season Two of the Trump Show?

The Presidency of Donald J Trump only really makes sense if you look at it through the lens of a bizarre reality TV show come to life .
Like a real-life malevolent mashup of Curb Your Enthusiasm , The Thick of It and VEEP .
As must as I dislike a lot of his policies , Donald Trump was at least entertaining as he stumbled from one disaster to another – it will be a lot quieter when he leaves the Whitehouse .
The latest hilarious escapade from team Trump is some poor staffer booking the wrong Four Seasons which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference between a crematorium and an adult shop .
Armando Iannucci could not have written anything as hilarious .
Meanwhile , Rupert Murdoch tells Trump to quit his whining and pack his bags .
One of the most bizarre aspects of the Trump Presidency was that Fox News had a core audience of one .
Trump would watch it for hours every day and take direction and policy ideas directly from what he saw on TV .
Trump will not go quietly into the night , he loves the limelight too much .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Trump show ?
His own TV station ?
A Meet the Osbournes style reality show ?
We await in anticipation .
“ Donald Trump ” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA

The Presidency of Donald J Trump only really makes sense if you look at it through the lens of a bizarre reality TV show come to life. Like a real-life malevolent mashup of Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Thick of It and VEEP.
As must as I dislike a lot of his policies, Donald Trump was at least entertaining as he stumbled from one disaster to another – it will be a lot quieter when he leaves the Whitehouse.
The latest hilarious escapade from team Trump is some poor staffer booking the wrong Four Seasons which resulted in Rudy Giuliani giving a press conference between a crematorium and an adult shop. Armando Iannucci could not have written anything as hilarious.
I could write jokes for 800 years and I'd never think of something funnier than Trump booking the Four Seasons for his big presser, and it turning out to be the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot between a dildo store and a crematorium. pic.twitter.com/P45HV1daD9 — Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) November 8, 2020
Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch tells Trump to quit his whining and pack his bags. One of the most bizarre aspects of the Trump Presidency was that Fox News had a core audience of one. Trump would watch it for hours every day and take direction and policy ideas directly from what he saw on TV.
Laura Ingraham prepares her audience for the likely possibility that the President will lose the election pic.twitter.com/tG50EIHj60 — Acyn (@Acyn) November 7, 2020
Trump will not go quietly into the night, he loves the limelight too much. What can we expect from Season Two of the Trump show? His own TV station? A Meet the Osbournes style reality show? We await in anticipation.
“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-11-09--Biden may have won the election; but the divided states of America remains…

“ I pledge to be a president who does not see red or blue states , but United States.
” These are words President-elect Joe Biden used last night , in his victory speech in Wilmington , Delaware .
He pledged to be a President that would unify the country , and not divide it .
However , that will be much easier said than done .
This election has clearly shown the bitter divide that remains within its Democratic and Republican sides .
75 million people voted for Joe Biden , while 70 million voted for Donald Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the Impeachment ; those 70 million still decided to opt for Trump over Biden .
Hundreds of polls were predicting a Biden landslide , a prediction that was immensely wrong .
With Biden victories in key battleground states only being the tens of thousands , the opposition ’ s triumph against Trump could easily be seen as underwhelming .
This has been the case in Arizona , Georgia , Wisconsin and more .
What was also known as the Democratic ‘ Blue Wave ’ ; did not materialise .
This can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the U.S Senate and House election results .
Republicans look likely to maintain dominance of the Senate , pending on two Georgia run-off elections early next year .
As the polls predicted the Democrats would take the Senate with ease , we discover that the polls weren ’ t so accurate .
Republicans retention of the Senate could be a considerable roadblock in the path of Joe Biden , with much of his future legislation and appointments , dependent on how the chamber votes .
It was also predicted that Democrats wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House of Representatives , but the Republicans were able to flip five seats away from them .
Democrats will hold a majority in that chamber , with the results as they currently stand showing them having 215 seats , compared to 196 Republican seats .
In being a unifier ; Biden already has one up on Trump when it comes to his speech .
We ’ re unlikely to get any ill-intended threats , sentiments , or major political gaffes from Biden .
But it ’ s his future policy direction that will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially when it comes to being a uniter or a divider in his country .
If he lets his party push him towards enacting their more progressive , and radically liberal policies ; then it will prove very difficult to unite with the 70 million people who are still perturbed by their candidate ’ s loss .
Maybe with the Republicans in control of the Senate , that might prevent too much rocking of the boat .
Or maybe that could cause too much of a problem for Biden if he is unable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office .
After all , his legacy will be at stake .
Only time will tell .
“ 1280px-Joe_Biden_ ( 49405107506 ) ” by jlhervàs is licensed under CC BY

“I pledge to be a president who does not see red or blue states, but United States.”
These are words President-elect Joe Biden used last night, in his victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware. He pledged to be a President that would unify the country, and not divide it.
However, that will be much easier said than done.
This election has clearly shown the bitter divide that remains within its Democratic and Republican sides.
75 million people voted for Joe Biden, while 70 million voted for Donald Trump.
Even though the controversies, the investigations, and the Impeachment; those 70 million still decided to opt for Trump over Biden. Hundreds of polls were predicting a Biden landslide, a prediction that was immensely wrong.
With Biden victories in key battleground states only being the tens of thousands, the opposition’s triumph against Trump could easily be seen as underwhelming. This has been the case in Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and more.
What was also known as the Democratic ‘Blue Wave’; did not materialise.
This cannot be more clear than by looking at the U.S Senate and House election results.
Republicans look likely to maintain dominance of the Senate, pending on two Georgia run-off elections early next year. As the polls predicted the Democrats would take the Senate with ease, we discover that the polls weren’t so accurate.
Republicans retention of the Senate could be a considerable roadblock in the path of Joe Biden, with much of his future legislation and appointments, dependent on how the chamber votes.
It was also predicted that Democrats wouldn’t lose any seats in the House of Representatives, but the Republicans were able to flip five seats away from them.
Democrats will hold a majority in that chamber, with the results as they currently stand showing them having 215 seats, compared to 196 Republican seats.
In being a unifier; Biden already has one up on Trump when it comes to his speech.
We’re unlikely to get any ill-intended threats, sentiments, or major political gaffes from Biden.
But it’s his future policy direction that will be the main card in play; especially when it comes to being a uniter or a divider in his country.
If he lets his party push him towards enacting their more progressive, and radically liberal policies; then it will prove very difficult to unite with the 70 million people who are still perturbed by their candidate’s loss.
Maybe with the Republicans in control of the Senate, that might prevent too much rocking of the boat.
Or maybe that could cause too much of a problem for Biden if he is unable to achieve much during his time in office. After all, his legacy will be at stake.
Only time will tell.
“1280px-Joe_Biden_(49405107506)” by jlhervàs is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-11-09--ESRC Virtual Festival – The social power of language: mansplaining…

The neologism “ mansplaining ” generally describes a sexist behaviour whereby a man explains something to a woman in a patronising way , something which she already knows .
The term was coined over a decade ago and since then it has sparked numerous debates about what is and what isn ’ t mansplaining .
Some forms of sexist behaviour are relatively clear to spot and call out , like gendered adverts featuring women using cleaning products or cooking for their families , or institutionalised forms of sexism whereby a highly qualified woman is passed over for a managerial position @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Finnish prime minister is condemned for wearing a blazer for a photoshoot .
Others , like mansplaining , are fairly controversial because there isn ’ t a consensus on what mansplaining actually looks like .
This is where our research comes in – we collected real-life instances where the word “ mansplaining ” gets used to accuse a man of doing something wrong , and using a form of communication analysis called Conversation Analysis , we studied what lead to the word being used , and once it is used , how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Conversation Analysis we can study the very tiny details of language use , from micro-second pauses , and breathing to social actions , like offering someone a biscuit or inviting them to a socially distanced gathering .
These small details , though seemingly inconsequential , give us the full picture of how people actually , in their real-life conversations , use language .
Applying this to the word “ mansplaining ” therefore means we can view , in very great detail , precisely what gets a woman to accuse a man of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that accusation .
From our observations of real-life uses , we found that women use mansplaining in three ways : to expose a man ’ s patronising conduct ; to claim authority over gendered knowledge ; and to silence a man and undermine the credibility of his assertions .
The first way , where it exposes a man ’ s patronising conduct , resonates with the mainstream definition of mansplaining – here the accusation of mansplaining gets leveraged against a man who has treated a woman as knowing less , despite the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The second use of mansplaining regards gendered knowledge , for example , knowledge about reproductive healthcare or women ’ s bodies .
In our data we see these accusations being produced when men claim to have more or better knowledge of these issues than their women interlocutors .
Thirdly , we found instances where a woman has more access to some knowledge , but a man disputes this .
Ultimately , the accusation is used to silence him and insinuate that what he has said is not credible .
So what does this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how the term is actually used , and it expands our current understanding of mansplaining by identifying two new meanings that are grounded in individuals ’ practical use of the term .
More importantly , the study illuminates how mansplaining enables women to speak out and push back against invisible sexist behaviour .
Talking matters : the social power of language takes place on Tue , November 10 , 2020 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM .
Register for free here… Click here to view all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams is licensed under CC BY

The neologism “mansplaining” generally describes a sexist behaviour whereby a man explains something to a woman in a patronising way, something which she already knows. The term was coined over a decade ago and since then it has sparked numerous debates about what is and what isn’t mansplaining.
Some forms of sexist behaviour are relatively clear to spot and call out, like gendered adverts featuring women using cleaning products or cooking for their families, or institutionalised forms of sexism whereby a highly qualified woman is passed over for a managerial position, or this very recent example where the Finnish prime minister is condemned for wearing a blazer for a photoshoot. Others, like mansplaining, are fairly controversial because there isn’t a consensus on what mansplaining actually looks like.
This is where our research comes in – we collected real-life instances where the word “mansplaining” gets used to accuse a man of doing something wrong, and using a form of communication analysis called Conversation Analysis, we studied what lead to the word being used, and once it is used, how the man responds.
Using the method of Conversation Analysis we can study the very tiny details of language use, from micro-second pauses, and breathing to social actions, like offering someone a biscuit or inviting them to a socially distanced gathering. These small details, though seemingly inconsequential, give us the full picture of how people actually, in their real-life conversations, use language. Applying this to the word “mansplaining” therefore means we can view, in very great detail, precisely what gets a woman to accuse a man of mansplaining, and how a man responds to that accusation.
From our observations of real-life uses, we found that women use mansplaining in three ways: to expose a man’s patronising conduct; to claim authority over gendered knowledge; and to silence a man and undermine the credibility of his assertions.
The first way, where it exposes a man’s patronising conduct, resonates with the mainstream definition of mansplaining – here the accusation of mansplaining gets leveraged against a man who has treated a woman as knowing less, despite the woman having equal or greater knowledge.
The second use of mansplaining regards gendered knowledge, for example, knowledge about reproductive healthcare or women’s bodies. In our data we see these accusations being produced when men claim to have more or better knowledge of these issues than their women interlocutors.
Thirdly, we found instances where a woman has more access to some knowledge, but a man disputes this. Ultimately, the accusation is used to silence him and insinuate that what he has said is not credible.
So what does this mean? Altogether, the study demystifies how the term is actually used, and it expands our current understanding of mansplaining by identifying two new meanings that are grounded in individuals’ practical use of the term. More importantly, the study illuminates how mansplaining enables women to speak out and push back against invisible sexist behaviour.
Dr Jack B. Joyce
Postdoctoral Research Associate
School of Communication and Media
https://www.ulster.ac.uk/staff/j-joyce
@JackBJoyce
Talking matters: the social power of language takes place on Tue, November 10, 2020 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM. Register for free here…
Click here to view all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival.
“2017_02_080004 – Mansplaining” by Gwydion M. Williams is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-11-09--Joe Biden’s administration now needs to ask the obvious question: how do we fix this sh*t?

I have to start with a confession .
For most of this week , I have been completely absorbed in the minutiae of the US general election , to the extent that , out with the live blog I have barely had a chance to write anything for Slugger .
According to The Economist , it has burned $ 13.4 in campaign spending , but it has also brought out the highest proportion of voters since the fraught campaign of 1968 ( in the midst of the Vietnam War ) , which at the time of writing was 61.7 % @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US democracy to something more reminding of the geographic and demographic diversity of the US .
Time after time TV analysts deep dive into obscure counties ( the Parish in Irish parlance ) of the battleground states .
Absent the high-speed counting machines ( remember the hanging chad thing from 2000 was a punch card issue ) may ultimately salve the anger the speed of Twitter and other social media networks might otherwise have baked into a frenzy by now .
The humour on the slow speed of the Nevada count , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is Covid time .
Nothing happens quickly as Twitter ( or its populist beneficiaries ) would like anymore .
In an election in which legitimacy is questioned with casual abandon , Nevada was a real-time demonstration of what democracy actually means .
And as Biden also pulled inexorably away from Trump in Pennsylvania and Arizona , it seemed like the end of an often hysterical “ prepare for Mussolini but hope for Berlusconi ” era was nigh .
A far cry from the margins predicted in the polls , but still very real @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of voter fraud have fallen on the fertile ground he ’ s been preparing since 2016 .
But claims like Fintan O ’ Toole ’ s in the New York Review of Books that the US has become a Zombie democracy are surely exaggerated ?
When all votes are counted , we ’ ll see that Mr Trump lost because of who he alienated by mishandling the Covid emergency as much as who he brought out by his reflexive polarisation of the nation .
Kevin Cunningham ’ s guess is white college-educated men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comprise others who voted Trump in 2016 and then walked away this time , with the suggestion that they wanted fewer political thrills and more of what Chris Dillow calls ‘ an image of serious technocracy ’ .
Despite the US slump into circular ( and exit free ) culture war narratives , in a crisis , competence still matters , not least because large numbers of citizens are confronted with an overburdened sense of their own mortality .
And Democracy can intervene .
Last of the Baby Boomer Presidents ?
Trump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jovial claim yesterday from his Northern Irish envoy Ambassador Mick Mulvaney , I doubt he will run again in 2024 for two reasons : one the GOP will see him coming , and two he ’ s already proved his point .
A third is his age .
He may be younger than Biden ( the oldest man ever to be elected to the Whitehouse ) , but I suspect the US public may have had enough of a Baby Boomer generation which only lasted 18 years , but has been incumbent from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 1946 to 1964 and are often referred to as the ‘ pig in the snake ’ generation which alludes to the fact there are much more of them ( erm , us ) than either before or after .
The competition was keen and not everyone did well out of it .
But they missed out on WWII , benefited from a Keynesian expansion of the state in childhood , and supply-side reforms of the 80s that transformed many adult economic prospects , which eventually led to huge asset concentration among their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that wealth came more easily than either the generation before or those who have come after them : who now face a basket of unresolved issues from downward social mobility , to dropping health outcomes and climate change .
As it happens , Biden is a tail-ender from the generation before and will be 82 in four years time .
Generationally he probably has much more in common with the public service-minded George HW Bush than he has with either Clinton or Trump .
But the absence of Democratic success elsewhere begs a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ genuine turn in the road for the Democrats or just a modest ( if effective ) affordance from America ’ s electorate to loosen the grip of the wealthiest boomers .
Apparent failure to take the Senate shows an electorate capable of sending more than one message at a time , not a Zombified unthinking mass .
State House-level failure before the next census means the GOP retain hold over the gerrymandering of boundaries .
There was shock in Florida when the Democrats were reminded that not all Latinos think the same way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least because it is always changing .
Cubans and Venezuelans aren ’ t so hot on “ socialism ” as the NE liberal states .
The Ohio rustbelt continues a slow drift away from a party who last won there in 2012 , with 50.67 % ( and 52.9 % in 2008 ) .
And despite his distasteful utterances on racial matters , there was a significant percentage increase in black men voting Trump .
The GOP now has more women in Congress than at any point in history .
You might even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden has done the Republican party a bigger favour than he intended , by enabling them both to dump Trump and renew .
Biden does have the Whitehouse .
Not nothing , but on Tuesday Shane , Ruarai and myself considered whether the Dems would get a bare majority or a decent one .
In the event , it looks like we were misled by the polls .
Kathy Sheridan says : In their podcast , Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes highlight the scale of thr failure of polling by giving the example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina where the Democrats spent huge money on what the polls had told them were leads of up to 11 % .
That ’ s a catastrophic failure in the governance system of the bigger spending party in this election .
It suggests that in many places Democrat strategists were at best working off an incomplete picture of where the electorate was at any one time .
In addition , the media ’ s reliance on social media ( encouraged by President Trump ’ s mesmeric use of his own Twitter account @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it into mainstream coverage can not be characterised as a serious discourse of either left or right .
Monopolistic platforms like Twitter and Facebook now own the social graph and personal data of almost every voting-age citizen .
They operate on algorithms that favour their own profit and which happen to align with the most irritable , paranoid and tribalist .
Most of these platforms dispose almost entirely of contextual information allowing individuals to imply all manner of dark motives without being required in the least to provide corroborating evidence .
David Amerland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in which citizens are quietly coerced into our own paths of least resistance , which is generally to assume that you are right about almost everything and that anyone who disagrees with you is wrong .
This relates to the catastrophic loss of reliable qualitative data which local journalism once fed capillary-like into Westminster .
Regional hacks for Scottish and north of England titles once sat together in the press bar which no longer send anyone .
The Democrats are still out of signal with their base At the finish of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump hollered a loud “ I am your voice ” , addressing just the people who had once been core constituency of the US Democrat Party .
They don ’ t and they didn ’ t all vote for him , but many did .
In the Art of War by Sun Tzu , the sage Zhang Yu notes that as two of five key strategic considerations leadership and discipline come last because ‘ it is first necessary to look into the matter of whether you are trusted by your own people ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 11 mins in ) a few months ago Mark Blyth observed that the Democratic Party no longer has a direct line with which to talk to the 40 million strong white working-class males that have been key deliverers of Trump ’ s mandate .
Columnist Mark Shields captures the problem in plain language likely to resonate with that historical base , Democrats were once “ the shot and a pint party but now they have become the sauvignon blanc party ” .
Indeed , they have an Ivy League problem .
Listening was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( rightly ) the mainstream barely cares they exist .
If Trump ’ s economic measures had only modest success , but like most modern populists his primary virtue is his ability to reflect their concerns .
Half the problem the Democrats have is that they have allowed themselves to be distracted from the fact that much of the distress in the country arises from the failure of economics to deliver for ordinary people on the ground .
Chris Dillow notes : Farah Stockman has highlighted how the privileges of seniority that blue-collar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one firm over their working lives ( like doing less hard physical work or being consulted ) are wiped out when they move on .
Calling them stupid and racist for voting Trump not only won ’ t bring them back but is built on the misleading idea that separating their interests from those of other communities whose asset base is either diminishing or non-existent can win elections .
The Lexington column in the Economist this week highlights what many of the Sauvignon Blanc crew on the coast miss : Biden ( and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t ( or wouldn ’ t ) In one of my favourite reads of the year , Angrynomics , Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth note that regardless of whether we all agree on how we got here , “ tackling inequality in wealth is a challenge that will motivate and change people ’ s lives ” .
Harold Jarche cleanly renders the underlying problem ( for both the left and the right if they care about the nation , which of course , not everyone does ) : Culture war terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limiting because they only tackle part of the problem .
Of course , black lives matter , but a key factor in black American anger is that fifty years after Johnson ’ s good society reforms they ’ re marking time .
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published a survey recently which showed that… And yet , Trump attracted record numbers of minority groups ( black Americans , Hispanics , and even LGBT voters ) as well as retaining an outsized grip ( for a comfortable Billionaire ) on that 40 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Elsewhere Blyth talks about how centrist governments of both the left and the right have seen themselves as exercising responsible constraints on voter volatility : attempts which he believes are ultimately destined to fail .
Tax increases will be impossible to get through this Republican Senate .
Besides most capital is lightweight and international .
But there may be a willingness to use , as the Bank of England did last week , the negative interest rates available in the bond market .
Sovereign wealth funds have been the preserve of export @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Norway , but as Eric pointed out on Cargo Of Bricks , a national wealth fund aimed at future regeneration can be set up with bond market cash .
This is not old school nationalisation .
The assets can be traded on global exchanges in order to build up value .
As national assets ( like our too big to fail banks did back in 2008 ) , it means that states can get a proper return on their bailout investments .
The squeeze on lower age demographics means they are barely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who own over 80 % of U.S. household financial assets ) is still saving right up to age 80 .
That means we could have low-interest rates for a decade .
The new President needs an approach with a compelling bipartisan appeal .
Obama eventually ground a hostile GOP majority for six out of his eight years though unwarranted politeness and a huge focus on getting his hard-to-dismantle healthcare into law .
Biden ’ s candidacy settled an ideological maelstrom internally but the future is not clear .
As John McGuirk points out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are in danger of fighting each other to stand still , with a resulting loss of national legitimacy .
Democracy is not dead , but it does need renewal Trumpism ( let ’ s call it that since it already exists almost everywhere else ) prospers in the widening gaps between technocratic elites ( who have the resources and capacity to fix stuff ) and the people of the parish ( whose communities are increasingly broken ) .
It can ’ t be fixed with the same muddle of post-modern make-believe that has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but with a strong return to materialist focus on re-building that characterised the immediate post-war era .
Biden can at least still speak the language of the human parish , even if his machine can not .
That needs a qualitative fix in due course , as does financing the urgent arrest of climate change and the economic transition for the working and middle classes .
As for the all-too-easy conclusion that the jig is up already for democracy ?
Such fatalism is as dangerous ( if not more so ) as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As Biden said during last week ’ s long slow election count , “ the process is working ” .
Now his administration just needs to ask the question you might otherwise think was bleedin ’ obvious : how do we fix this shit ?
Photo by gvbsonic is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

I have to start with a confession. For most of this week, I have been completely absorbed in the minutiae of the US general election, to the extent that, out with the live blog I have barely had a chance to write anything for Slugger.
According to The Economist, it has burned $13.4 in campaign spending, but it has also brought out the highest proportion of voters since the fraught campaign of 1968 (in the midst of the Vietnam War), which at the time of writing was 61.7%.
The mail-in ballots have returned the US democracy to something more reminding of the geographic and demographic diversity of the US. Time after time TV analysts deep dive into obscure counties (the Parish in Irish parlance) of the battleground states.
Absent the high-speed counting machines (remember the hanging chad thing from 2000 was a punch card issue) may ultimately salve the anger the speed of Twitter and other social media networks might otherwise have baked into a frenzy by now.
The humour on the slow speed of the Nevada count, in particular, has been relentless…
The way NEVADA be counting votes! pic.twitter.com/Y8AJywXgUP — Demas Kiprono (@kipdemas) November 6, 2020
But this is Covid time. Nothing happens quickly as Twitter (or its populist beneficiaries) would like anymore. In an election in which legitimacy is questioned with casual abandon, Nevada was a real-time demonstration of what democracy actually means.
And as Biden also pulled inexorably away from Trump in Pennsylvania and Arizona, it seemed like the end of an often hysterical “prepare for Mussolini but hope for Berlusconi” era was nigh. A far cry from the margins predicted in the polls, but still very real.
The President’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud have fallen on the fertile ground he’s been preparing since 2016. But claims like Fintan O’Toole’s in the New York Review of Books that the US has become a Zombie democracy are surely exaggerated?
When all votes are counted, we’ll see that Mr Trump lost because of who he alienated by mishandling the Covid emergency as much as who he brought out by his reflexive polarisation of the nation. Kevin Cunningham’s guess is white college-educated men:
Perhaps the biggest shift in 2020 was among white college-educated men. Trump led by 14% in 2016, but Biden won them by 2%. I spoke to Trump-Biden switchers in the rust belt key states. A clear pattern emerged: Trump's mismanagement on Covid overshadowed economic competence. pic.twitter.com/yi8azi5AMA — Kevin Cunningham (@kevcunningham) November 4, 2020
Also, suburban women and independents comprise others who voted Trump in 2016 and then walked away this time, with the suggestion that they wanted fewer political thrills and more of what Chris Dillow calls ‘an image of serious technocracy’.
Despite the US slump into circular (and exit free) culture war narratives, in a crisis, competence still matters, not least because large numbers of citizens are confronted with an overburdened sense of their own mortality. And Democracy can intervene.
Last of the Baby Boomer Presidents?
Trump is not the Republican Party. Despite a jovial claim yesterday from his Northern Irish envoy Ambassador Mick Mulvaney, I doubt he will run again in 2024 for two reasons: one the GOP will see him coming, and two he’s already proved his point.
A third is his age. He may be younger than Biden (the oldest man ever to be elected to the Whitehouse), but I suspect the US public may have had enough of a Baby Boomer generation which only lasted 18 years, but has been incumbent from 1992 till now.
The Boomers run from 1946 to 1964 and are often referred to as the ‘pig in the snake’ generation which alludes to the fact there are much more of them (erm, us) than either before or after. The competition was keen and not everyone did well out of it.
But they missed out on WWII, benefited from a Keynesian expansion of the state in childhood, and supply-side reforms of the 80s that transformed many adult economic prospects, which eventually led to huge asset concentration among their top earners.
Relatively speaking access to that wealth came more easily than either the generation before or those who have come after them: who now face a basket of unresolved issues from downward social mobility, to dropping health outcomes and climate change.
As it happens, Biden is a tail-ender from the generation before and will be 82 in four years time. Generationally he probably has much more in common with the public service-minded George HW Bush than he has with either Clinton or Trump.
But the absence of Democratic success elsewhere begs a question as to whether this is a genuine turn in the road for the Democrats or just a modest (if effective) affordance from America’s electorate to loosen the grip of the wealthiest boomers.
Polling and America’s growing social cognition failure
Apparent failure to take the Senate shows an electorate capable of sending more than one message at a time, not a Zombified unthinking mass. State House-level failure before the next census means the GOP retain hold over the gerrymandering of boundaries.
There was shock in Florida when the Democrats were reminded that not all Latinos think the same way. Demography is not destiny, not least because it is always changing. Cubans and Venezuelans aren’t so hot on “socialism” as the NE liberal states.
The Ohio rustbelt continues a slow drift away from a party who last won there in 2012, with 50.67% (and 52.9% in 2008). And despite his distasteful utterances on racial matters, there was a significant percentage increase in black men voting Trump.
The GOP now has more women in Congress than at any point in history. You might even look at this outcome and think that Biden has done the Republican party a bigger favour than he intended, by enabling them both to dump Trump and renew.
Biden does have the Whitehouse. Not nothing, but on Tuesday Shane, Ruarai and myself considered whether the Dems would get a bare majority or a decent one. In the event, it looks like we were misled by the polls. Kathy Sheridan says:
…there was little scrutiny of how polls were conducted, even though much election analysis derived from polling data. More philosophical questions remain about the role played by polls in the democratic process. What exactly is their function and who do they serve?
In their podcast, Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes highlight the scale of thr failure of polling by giving the example of two Senatorial races in Maine and North Carolina where the Democrats spent huge money on what the polls had told them were leads of up to 11%.
That’s a catastrophic failure in the governance system of the bigger spending party in this election. It suggests that in many places Democrat strategists were at best working off an incomplete picture of where the electorate was at any one time.
In addition, the media’s reliance on social media (encouraged by President Trump’s mesmeric use of his own Twitter account) means that most of what makes it into mainstream coverage cannot be characterised as a serious discourse of either left or right.
Monopolistic platforms like Twitter and Facebook now own the social graph and personal data of almost every voting-age citizen. They operate on algorithms that favour their own profit and which happen to align with the most irritable, paranoid and tribalist.
Most of these platforms dispose almost entirely of contextual information allowing individuals to imply all manner of dark motives without being required in the least to provide corroborating evidence.
David Amerland calls this the Age of the Amoeba, in which citizens are quietly coerced into our own paths of least resistance, which is generally to assume that you are right about almost everything and that anyone who disagrees with you is wrong.
This relates to the catastrophic loss of reliable qualitative data which local journalism once fed capillary-like into Westminster. Regional hacks for Scottish and north of England titles once sat together in the press bar which no longer send anyone.
The Democrats are still out of signal with their base
At the finish of his 2016 acceptance speech to the Republican party Trump hollered a loud “I am your voice”, addressing just the people who had once been core constituency of the US Democrat Party. They don’t and they didn’t all vote for him, but many did.
In the Art of War by Sun Tzu, the sage Zhang Yu notes that as two of five key strategic considerations leadership and discipline come last because ‘it is first necessary to look into the matter of whether you are trusted by your own people”.
In an interview (from about 11 mins in) a few months ago Mark Blyth observed that the Democratic Party no longer has a direct line with which to talk to the 40 million strong white working-class males that have been key deliverers of Trump’s mandate.
Columnist Mark Shields captures the problem in plain language likely to resonate with that historical base, Democrats were once “the shot and a pint party but now they have become the sauvignon blanc party”. Indeed, they have an Ivy League problem.
Listening was enough for many Trump voters who believe (rightly) the mainstream barely cares they exist. If Trump’s economic measures had only modest success, but like most modern populists his primary virtue is his ability to reflect their concerns.
Half the problem the Democrats have is that they have allowed themselves to be distracted from the fact that much of the distress in the country arises from the failure of economics to deliver for ordinary people on the ground. Chris Dillow notes:
…the left must be in favour of economic growth – albeit as green as possible. The great thing about growth isn’t that it makes us richer so much as that it promotes tolerance and egalitarianism.
Farah Stockman has highlighted how the privileges of seniority that blue-collar workers can expect from their commitment to one firm over their working lives (like doing less hard physical work or being consulted) are wiped out when they move on.
Calling them stupid and racist for voting Trump not only won’t bring them back but is built on the misleading idea that separating their interests from those of other communities whose asset base is either diminishing or non-existent can win elections.
The Lexington column in the Economist this week highlights what many of the Sauvignon Blanc crew on the coast miss:
Mexican-Americans care less about Mr Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric than Democrats—in the face of much evidence to the contrary—persist in believing. A doggedly upwardly mobile community, Hispanics do not generally consider themselves to be the downtrodden minority the left refers to them as. The Democrats will not be a reliable alternative to right-wing populism unless they correct such errors and widen their appeal. [Emphasis added]
Biden (and Congress) must fix what Trump couldn’t (or wouldn’t)
In one of my favourite reads of the year, Angrynomics, Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth note that regardless of whether we all agree on how we got here, “tackling inequality in wealth is a challenge that will motivate and change people’s lives”.
Harold Jarche cleanly renders the underlying problem (for both the left and the right if they care about the nation, which of course, not everyone does):
We are the end of an economic period where people with little education & limited skills were able to have high-paying permanent jobs. The bottom has now dropped out, & those at the very top now take advantage of automation, cheap global labour, 0% interest & low corporate taxes https://t.co/75Ej3jug4i — Harold Jarche (@hjarche) November 8, 2020
Culture war terms of the kind Trump drew people into are limiting because they only tackle part of the problem. Of course, black lives matter, but a key factor in black American anger is that fifty years after Johnson’s good society reforms they’re marking time.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published a survey recently which showed that…
…white households have a median wealth of $247,500, Dominicans and U.S. blacks have a median wealth of close to zero. Of all nonwhite groups for which estimates could be made, Caribbean black households have the highest median wealth with $12,000.
And yet, Trump attracted record numbers of minority groups (black Americans, Hispanics, and even LGBT voters) as well as retaining an outsized grip (for a comfortable Billionaire) on that 40 million strong white working-class males who are struggling.
Elsewhere Blyth talks about how centrist governments of both the left and the right have seen themselves as exercising responsible constraints on voter volatility: attempts which he believes are ultimately destined to fail.
Tax increases will be impossible to get through this Republican Senate. Besides most capital is lightweight and international. But there may be a willingness to use, as the Bank of England did last week, the negative interest rates available in the bond market.
Sovereign wealth funds have been the preserve of export dominant nations like Singapore or oil producers like Norway, but as Eric pointed out on Cargo Of Bricks, a national wealth fund aimed at future regeneration can be set up with bond market cash.
This is not old school nationalisation. The assets can be traded on global exchanges in order to build up value. As national assets (as our too big to fail banks were post bail out back in 2008), it means that states can get a proper return on their bailout investments.
The squeeze on lower age demographics means they are barely saving, but top income quintile (who own over 80% of U.S. household financial assets) is still saving right up to age 80. That means we could have low-interest rates for a decade.
The new President needs an approach with a compelling bipartisan appeal. Obama eventually ground a hostile GOP majority for six out of his eight years though unwarranted politeness and a huge focus on getting his hard-to-dismantle healthcare into law.
Biden’s candidacy settled an ideological maelstrom internally but the future is not clear. As John McGuirk points out in this Twitter thread, both parties are in danger of fighting each other to stand still, with a resulting loss of national legitimacy.
Democracy is not dead, but it does need renewal
Trumpism (let’s call it that since it already exists almost everywhere else) prospers in the widening gaps between technocratic elites (who have the resources and capacity to fix stuff) and the people of the parish (whose communities are increasingly broken).
It can’t be fixed with the same muddle of post-modern make-believe that has bewildered the never-had it-so-good baby boomer winners, but with a strong return to materialist focus on re-building that characterised the immediate post-war era.
Biden can at least still speak the language of the human parish, even if his machine cannot. That needs a qualitative fix in due course, as does financing the urgent arrest of climate change and the economic transition for the working and middle classes.
As for the all-too-easy conclusion that the jig is up already for democracy? Such fatalism is as dangerous (if not more so) as the buffoonery of Trump and Berlusconi. As Biden said during last week’s long slow election count, “the process is working”.
Now his administration just needs to ask the question you might otherwise think was bleedin’ obvious: how do we fix this shit?
Photo by gvbsonic is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-11-10--Stupid cars ruin everything. Why we need to go back to the past and make our towns more people frien

Stupid cars ruin everything. Why we need to go back to the past and make our towns more people friendly…

You may have seen the photo above on social media .
It shows the old entrance to Queen ’ s University before it was removed to make the entrance suitable for cars .
Throughout the world , there are very few places that have been improved by building massive roads through them .
Here are some old photos of Donegal Street , Carlisle Circus and Clifton St before somebody had the bright idea to run the Westlink through them .
When you look at some of the terrible planning decision over the years it is hard not to think of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultural and societal terrorists .
I drive so I know we need good roads , but I also walk and cycle a lot so I see the issue from all perspectives .
The bottom line is areas that are walkable are more attractive to visitors and are economically more successful .
Belfast City Centre is getting the economic sh*t kicked out of it due to Covid-19 but I think it just accerated existing issues .
Belfast City Centre is not a nice place to visit especially with kids .
There is too much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quite harsh and unwelcoming .
We need more trees , pedestrian areas , cycle lanes , playparks , outdoor dining etc .
There are some bright spots on the horizon , the new playpark next to St Anne ’ s looks cool .
We need to remember things can change .
Now is the time to be thinking ahead and work out how we can make our towns and cities more people-friendly .
Derry is a town that could easily be pedestrianised in the city centre and it would transform its attractiveness .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the quality of life for its residents will be the ones that weather the coming economic storm and come out the other side better .
Not to mention the health benefits of getting people out of their cars and walking and cycling more .

You may have seen the photo above on social media. It shows the old entrance to Queen’s University before it was removed to make the entrance suitable for cars.
Throughout the world, there are very few places that have been improved by building massive roads through them. Here are some old photos of Donegal Street, Carlisle Circus and Clifton St before somebody had the bright idea to run the Westlink through them. When you look at some of the terrible planning decision over the years it is hard not to think of some urban planners as a form of cultural and societal terrorists.
I drive so I know we need good roads, but I also walk and cycle a lot so I see the issue from all perspectives. The bottom line is areas that are walkable are more attractive to visitors and are economically more successful. Belfast City Centre is getting the economic sh*t kicked out of it due to Covid-19 but I think it just accerated existing issues. Belfast City Centre is not a nice place to visit especially with kids. There is too much traffic, and the environment is generally quite harsh and unwelcoming. We need more trees, pedestrian areas, cycle lanes, playparks, outdoor dining etc. There are some bright spots on the horizon, the new playpark next to St Anne’s looks cool.
Run, jump, play tunes & balance on trippy 'shrooms. Or chill out in the sun on groovy seats. Take your pick. Cathedral Gardens is open! #urbanplay #acityforeveryone pic.twitter.com/V0CqC4lWfX — Citoyenne de Belfast (@calliepersic) August 28, 2020
We need to remember things can change. Now is the time to be thinking ahead and work out how we can make our towns and cities more people-friendly. Derry is a town that could easily be pedestrianised in the city centre and it would transform its attractiveness. The councils that are able to improve the quality of life for its residents will be the ones that weather the coming economic storm and come out the other side better. Not to mention the health benefits of getting people out of their cars and walking and cycling more.
It’s important not to oversimplify the complexity of cities, but a lot of our ability to transform streets & neighbourhoods for the better comes down to our willingness to rethink the space we’ve surrendered to cars. Vienna again illustrates this, via @Deputy Mayor @BirgitHebein. pic.twitter.com/Hp6OS1fRT3 — Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) September 11, 2020
Once upon a time, buses, vans and Ford Cortinas vroomed through Galway City centre. 20 years on from pedestrianisation of a few streets, we've bunting, safe strolling, thriving culture, and an abundance of coffee, cake and food adventures. More, please! pic.twitter.com/fWbdUtUKyp — Martina Callanan (@MartinaCallanan) June 21, 2020
Look at this transformation of one street in Utrecht! 1982 x 2020 😍🌳🌳🌳🌳 https://t.co/KN1wkyQr3v — American Fietser (@AmericanFietser) June 17, 2020
As part of a five year, £27-million 'Mini Holland' scheme, the London Borough of Waltham Forest removed through-traffic from its residential streets. The number of households exposed to illegal levels of NOx emissions has decreased from 70,000 to 6,500.https://t.co/4TgISpdtu2 pic.twitter.com/ScgsBYhvwd — Dutch Cycling Embassy (@Cycling_Embassy) September 11, 2020


sluggerotoole--2020-11-10--ESRC Virtual Festival – Museum without Walls: Access for All…

Equal access to cultural venues such as museums , heritage centres and arts galleries for people with disabilities has been declared a human right , and is being addressed across the world as venues endeavour to ensure equal access for visitors with varying abilities .
A three-year research project at Queen ’ s , in collaboration with Titanic Belfast and Royal National Institute of Blind People is investigating innovative access options for the blind and partially sighted ( BPS ) , using new technologies within diverse museum environments .
I have pioneered two technological approaches that combine a commitment to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience .
Firstly , I have developed the use of a smart map using laser cutting , touch , audio and software control that enable BPS visitors to explore independently Titanic ’ s fateful maiden voyage .
This map brings visitors on board the Titanic and they are able to use their fingers to trace the voyage routes , hear music of the locations , and hear the personal stories of the passengers using different voices .
Evaluation has shown that BPS visitors had significant emotional engagement through the smart map .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a move forward to improve accessibility for visually impaired people but also for sighted people as it can help visualize events on one route.
” Secondly , I have led the development of a prototype of a speech-driven audio guide for Titanic Belfast .
This audio guide uses text-to-speech technology and speech recognition to control the device .
The guide is able to provide Audio Description and information for BPS visitors , enabling them to enjoy a semi-structured guided tour of the galleries and navigate the museum facilities .
Our aim now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speech-driven audio guides might be useful in a museum accessibility context .
If all the museum ’ s expert knowledge could be stored in a specific database held by the museum and the development of our interactive audio guide could make this information accessible via a specialized search engine , then this could be a far more accessible and independent way for users to explore a museum .
Also , the interface is completely user-driven , so the user is in control of the dialogue .
We have already developed a prototype speech-driven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we are looking forward to evaluating it .
If you would like to know more about our project , there will be a free live event on this topic entitled “ Museum accessibility and challenges in the New Normal ” on 11th November 2020 at 10.00am .
It is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science in Northern Ireland 2020 .
Get your free tickets on Eventbrite .
Xi Wang is the lead researcher on this project involving the School of Arts , English and Languages and the School of Electronics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Queen ’ s University Belfast .
You can follow her on Twitter .

Equal access to cultural venues such as museums, heritage centres and arts galleries for people with disabilities has been declared a human right, and is being addressed across the world as venues endeavour to ensure equal access for visitors with varying abilities.
A three-year research project at Queen’s, in collaboration with Titanic Belfast and Royal National Institute of Blind People is investigating innovative access options for the blind and partially sighted (BPS), using new technologies within diverse museum environments. I have pioneered two technological approaches that combine a commitment to low-cost accessibility solutions and emotionally engaged visitor experience.
Firstly, I have developed the use of a smart map using laser cutting, touch, audio and software control that enable BPS visitors to explore independently Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage. This map brings visitors on board the Titanic and they are able to use their fingers to trace the voyage routes, hear music of the locations, and hear the personal stories of the passengers using different voices. Evaluation has shown that BPS visitors had significant emotional engagement through the smart map.
“A very positive move. It would be a move forward to improve accessibility for visually impaired people but also for sighted people as it can help visualize events on one route.”
Secondly, I have led the development of a prototype of a speech-driven audio guide for Titanic Belfast. This audio guide uses text-to-speech technology and speech recognition to control the device. The guide is able to provide Audio Description and information for BPS visitors, enabling them to enjoy a semi-structured guided tour of the galleries and navigate the museum facilities.
Our aim now is to investigate to what extent such speech-driven audio guides might be useful in a museum accessibility context. If all the museum’s expert knowledge could be stored in a specific database held by the museum and the development of our interactive audio guide could make this information accessible via a specialized search engine, then this could be a far more accessible and independent way for users to explore a museum. Also, the interface is completely user-driven, so the user is in control of the dialogue.
We have already developed a prototype speech-driven audio guide specifically for Titanic Belfast, and we are looking forward to evaluating it.
If you would like to know more about our project, there will be a free live event on this topic entitled “Museum accessibility and challenges in the New Normal” on 11th November 2020 at 10.00am. It is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science in Northern Ireland 2020. Get your free tickets on Eventbrite.
Xi Wang is the lead researcher on this project involving the School of Arts, English and Languages and the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast. You can follow her on Twitter.


sluggerotoole--2020-11-10--ESRC Virtual Festival – Music Creators’ Earnings in the Streaming Age…

Music makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and to the perception of the UK globally .
As of 2019 , UK music contributes £5.2 billion to the UK economy and is the world ’ s second biggest market .
But what is the music business without creators ?
Music creators are vital to the future of our cultural experience and the cultural economy , and so it is important to understand how they are financially rewarded , and the extent to which it is possible to build sustainable livings out of musical work .
Different groups see these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creators have been claiming that the revenue they receive from streaming is too small .
For some , this is because contracts with rights-holders ( such as record companies ) have not been sufficiently adjusted to reflect changes to the industry brought about by streaming .
Conversely , rights holders call for greater recognition of the investment they continue to make in artist development and marketing , arguing the focus should be on increasing the size of the overall pie , which could be achieved by filling the ‘ value gap ’ created @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the significance of the subject and the differences of opinion , there is a striking lack of evidence in this field .
In the absence of objective evidence , the discourse has been dominated by anecdotes .
For example , Zoe Keating , a Canadian-born cellist , shared regular updates on her earnings from different streaming music services .
Many media accounts have used her income as an example to depict the grim reality of the situation for many artists and suggests that the middle-class has become wiped out and streaming is unsustainable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a so-called ‘ pay-per-stream ’ rate is frequently used as a denominator to demonstrate the ‘ paltry , ’ ‘ negligible , ’ and ’ meagre ’ amount music creators receive from the millions of times their music has been streamed .
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has further amplified the arguments , highlighting the disparity between the money being made by intermediaries and the money being paid out to creators .
Income from live performance has long been an important source of income for music creators , balancing the relatively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 has severely limited the amount of live music performance that is possible .
In contrast to this , use of , and subscriptions to , music streaming services have increased during lock-down .
Spotify , the world ’ s biggest streaming music service , announced 14 % growth in Q3 and a 15 % rise in subscription revenues despite the pandemic .
In the wake of this crisis , musicians , songwriters and related organisations such as the Ivors Academy and Musicians Union ( MU ) have staged campaigns such as Keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bring these issues into a wider and more high profile public debate , calling for a range of changes in streaming royalty pay-out arrangements .
This debate has recently caught the attention of the UK Parliament ’ s Digital , Culture , Media and Sport ( DCMS ) Select Committee who have launched an inquiry into the economics of streaming , as well as the state of revenue distribution on streaming platforms .
The need to explore how music creators gain remuneration has never been greater .
However , the lack of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dominated by somewhat simplified arguments without consideration of the wider aspects of the music economy or the complexity involved in royalty distribution .
Moreover , the perceived lack of transparency , underlying issues involved in the management of music data , as well as the changing system of musical production and consumption centred on streaming music platforms rather than purchase of individual musical items such as CDs have so far prevented a better understanding of music creators ’ earnings in the streaming age .
Beginning in May 2020 , an independent academic team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , Prof. David Hesmondhalgh ( University of Leeds ) , and Dr. Richard Osborne ( Middlesex University ) have been undertaking research that seeks to provide objective evidence in this highly controversial area of research .
Funded by the UK Intellectual Property Office ( IPO ) , the project aims to facilitate a constructive debate .
The research team is still in the process of collecting data .
At the ESRC Social Science Festival NI , Dr Hyojung Sun will provide more details about the project and its background .
Dr Hyojung @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Faculty of Arts , Humanities and Social Sciences , Ulster University Recent book , Hyojung Sun ( 2018 ) Digital Revolution Tamed : The Case of the Recording Industry , Palgrave MacMillan ( https : //www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783319930213 ) Twitter : @ hyojungsun Music Creators ’ Earnings in the Streaming Age takes place on Wednesday , November 11 , 2020 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM .
Register for free here… Click here to view all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival .
Photo by FirmBee is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Music makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and to the perception of the UK globally. As of 2019, UK music contributes £5.2 billion to the UK economy and is the world’s second biggest market. But what is the music business without creators? Music creators are vital to the future of our cultural experience and the cultural economy, and so it is important to understand how they are financially rewarded, and the extent to which it is possible to build sustainable livings out of musical work.
Different groups see these issues in different terms. Many music creators have been claiming that the revenue they receive from streaming is too small. For some, this is because contracts with rights-holders (such as record companies) have not been sufficiently adjusted to reflect changes to the industry brought about by streaming. Conversely, rights holders call for greater recognition of the investment they continue to make in artist development and marketing, arguing the focus should be on increasing the size of the overall pie, which could be achieved by filling the ‘value gap’ created by video platforms as YouTube.
Despite the significance of the subject and the differences of opinion, there is a striking lack of evidence in this field. In the absence of objective evidence, the discourse has been dominated by anecdotes. For example, Zoe Keating, a Canadian-born cellist, shared regular updates on her earnings from different streaming music services. Many media accounts have used her income as an example to depict the grim reality of the situation for many artists and suggests that the middle-class has become wiped out and streaming is unsustainable for many musicians. In this discussion, a so-called ‘pay-per-stream’ rate is frequently used as a denominator to demonstrate the ‘paltry,’ ‘negligible,’ and ’meagre’ amount music creators receive from the millions of times their music has been streamed.
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has further amplified the arguments, highlighting the disparity between the money being made by intermediaries and the money being paid out to creators. Income from live performance has long been an important source of income for music creators, balancing the relatively low amounts of money from streaming. Covid-19 has severely limited the amount of live music performance that is possible. In contrast to this, use of, and subscriptions to, music streaming services have increased during lock-down. Spotify, the world’s biggest streaming music service, announced 14% growth in Q3 and a 15% rise in subscription revenues despite the pandemic.
In the wake of this crisis, musicians, songwriters and related organisations such as the Ivors Academy and Musicians Union (MU) have staged campaigns such as Keep Music Alive and the Broken Record Campaign to bring these issues into a wider and more high profile public debate, calling for a range of changes in streaming royalty pay-out arrangements. This debate has recently caught the attention of the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee who have launched an inquiry into the economics of streaming, as well as the state of revenue distribution on streaming platforms.
The need to explore how music creators gain remuneration has never been greater. However, the lack of evidence has led to a polarised view dominated by somewhat simplified arguments without consideration of the wider aspects of the music economy or the complexity involved in royalty distribution. Moreover, the perceived lack of transparency, underlying issues involved in the management of music data, as well as the changing system of musical production and consumption centred on streaming music platforms rather than purchase of individual musical items such as CDs have so far prevented a better understanding of music creators’ earnings in the streaming age.
Beginning in May 2020, an independent academic team of Dr. Hyojung Sun (Ulster University), Prof. David Hesmondhalgh (University of Leeds), and Dr. Richard Osborne (Middlesex University) have been undertaking research that seeks to provide objective evidence in this highly controversial area of research. Funded by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the project aims to facilitate a constructive debate. The research team is still in the process of collecting data. At the ESRC Social Science Festival NI, Dr Hyojung Sun will provide more details about the project and its background.
Dr Hyojung Sun
Research Associate in Creative Industries, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Ulster University
Recent book, Hyojung Sun (2018) Digital Revolution Tamed: The Case of the Recording Industry, Palgrave MacMillan (https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783319930213)
Twitter: @hyojungsun
Music Creators’ Earnings in the Streaming Age takes place on Wednesday, November 11, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM. Register for free here…
Click here to view all events in the ESRC Virtual Festival.
Photo by FirmBee is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-11-10--Bizarre dispute over “Golfgate” breaks out between southern judges

Not sure what they ’ re putting in the water in the Four Courts these days , but the latest row in Dublin is over the so-called Golfgate controversy after the Chief Justice Frank Clarke put correspondence in the public domain between himself and Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe into the public domain… I ’ m no legal expert , but it seems to me that this is just another in a series of phantom crises .
Patrick O ’ Brien from Oxford Brooke ’ s University on RTÉ ’ s Drivetime Programme ( about 45 mins ) seems to capture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : If clear that Mr Justice Woulfe was not willing to resign I ’ m not really sure that much benefit has come from saying publicly that the Chief Justice thought that he should resign .
Either the matter is serious enough for him to be dismissed , ie , impeached by the Oireachtas , or it isn ’ t .
As Mr Justice Woulf says in his part of the correspondence : I intensely dislike having to comment further on these matters in this way as my objective is to avoid or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can not see that this already protracted correspondence can be good for either of us or for the Court or the public interest , let alone its publication .
I think , though I might be wrong , that that ’ s the top and tail of the matter… “ Four Courts , Dublin , Ireland , Europe ” by Giuseppe Milo ( www.pixael.com ) is licensed under CC BY

Not sure what they’re putting in the water in the Four Courts these days, but the latest row in Dublin is over the so-called Golfgate controversy after the Chief Justice Frank Clarke put correspondence in the public domain between himself and Mr Justice Seamus Woulfe into the public domain…
I’m no legal expert, but it seems to me that this is just another in a series of phantom crises. Patrick O’Brien from Oxford Brooke’s University on RTÉ’s Drivetime Programme (about 45 mins) seems to capture the sheer strangeness of the whole thing:
If clear that Mr Justice Woulfe was not willing to resign I’m not really sure that much benefit has come from saying publicly that the Chief Justice thought that he should resign. Either the matter is serious enough for him to be dismissed, ie, impeached by the Oireachtas, or it isn’t.
As Mr Justice Woulf says in his part of the correspondence:
I intensely dislike having to comment further on these matters in this way as my objective is to avoid or minimise issues of disagreement, and I cannot see that this already protracted correspondence can be good for either of us or for the Court or the public interest, let alone its publication.
I think, though I might be wrong, that that’s the top and tail of the matter…
“Four Courts, Dublin, Ireland, Europe” by Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com) is licensed under CC BY