May 2020 round-up

Earlier this month, during one of my runs, I spotted a beautiful mirror, in a skip, outside the flower shop. I took a photo for my “Today’s run” series. But, then, I remembered Denise Agosto’s beautiful post about an abandoned coin on the pavement. In the post, she reflects on how the fear of the Sars-Cov-2 virus is shaping our routines as well as the ways we celebrate significant milestones. So, I decided to go back, and pick up the mirror from the skip. It was my small way of fighting the fear caused by this disease.

On the writing front, I submitted the paper that I was revising last month, while co-authors finished their contributions on two other papers and submitted them. I also submitted an entry for a workshop. Moreover, I had an idea for a special issue, which I mentioned to a colleague. She liked it, and we are now putting together a proposal. In addition, another colleague suggested working on a paper together. To balance things out, I got a paper rejection, and I decided to abandon a paper idea.

On the research front, I now have a plan to adapt one of the grant projects that I mentioned last month, to the social distancing reality. I also secured funding for two small projects related to Covid-19: one, on UK’s contact tracing app, and the other on perceptions of cleanliness among travellers.

I also participated in two webinars this month. The first webinar was about the impact of COVID-19 on the mortgage market, and how that creates consumer vulnerability. The second webinar was about the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, and how hotels should approach strategy development during this time.

In addition to delivering these two webinars, I have been attending numerous others, and I am finding some advantages in this format. First, it is now possible for me to join events that I wouldn’t be able to attend in person because they were in another town or country, because of the travel time required, or because the event would be sold out. Second, the chat function is a much better way to hear multiple voices during Q&A (vs. one or two persons monopolising the limited time available with long monologues).

Teaching wise, I had exam marking and coursework moderations. I had dissertation supervision meetings, and I supported one of my doctoral students in his review. I also attended training on online teaching, as it is now certain that next year’s teaching will include an important component of online activities.

My admin role (as divisional lead) kept me very busy last month. This included welcoming a new colleague, and holding various meetings to decide on changes that need to be made to our programmes as a result of COVID-19.

On the home front, the teen and I took part in this research project for the University of Oxford, related to the presence of COVID-19 in the community.

In June, the UK will see some easing of lockdown measures. So, I will stop braiding my lockdown bracelets (I made one each Saturday that we were in lockdown). Hooray.

How did May treat you? Did/do you have some sort of ritual to mark the passage of time?