Author: anacanhoto

May 2017 round-up

My heart broke twice, this month: when I woke up to news of the attack targeting children and young people at Ariana Grande’s concert; and when I learned that some dear friends are facing a very difficult challenge.   Both these news immediately put my personal ‘problems’ into perspective (swiftly downgrading them to mere inconveniences), … Continue reading May 2017 round-up

Day in the Life of an Academic #7: exams and viva

Got up at 6 am, as usual. However, instead, of squeezing in a bit of writing, as I usually do, I squeezed in a bit of marking. You see, I am in the middle of exam marking season, and I need to go through this particular pile and pass it on for second marking by tomorrow. … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #7: exams and viva

Fake missing persons appeals

After the Manchester terror attack, there were some amazing displays of humanity, online and offline. But there was also a phenomenon that is, at the very least, bizarre, if not just plain cruel: people tweeting fake appeals for missing ones.   For instance, someone used the image of a girl who had been murdered, in a … Continue reading Fake missing persons appeals

The teen with no phone number

Last weekend, the teen had a friend over who has a smartphone. Well, what teen does not have one, these days, right? The reason I am mentioning this is that said friend’s smartphone did not have a sim. Initially, I thought that they meant that the sim was malfunctioning. But, no. What they meant was … Continue reading The teen with no phone number

The murky link between customer satisfaction and loyalty

Intuitively, it is easy to accept the claim that customer satisfaction leads to repeat purchases. After all, if you have a choice, why would you abandon a brand that has surpassed your expectations1; and why would you keep buying from a brand that has disappointed you?   Happy customers buy again. Unhappy customers, move on. … Continue reading The murky link between customer satisfaction and loyalty

6 steps to promote your work on social media – a guide for academics and other researchers

Let’s face it: social media can be overwhelming for new comers. There are so many different platforms that it is difficult to know where to start. Yet, social media are firmly part of mainstream culture, and can really help extend the reach and impact of research.   With that in mind, I developed a 6-step … Continue reading 6 steps to promote your work on social media – a guide for academics and other researchers

Smartphone manufacturing costs vs retail prices

Statistics company, Statista, published this chart showing the manufacturing costs of leading smartphone brands:   Focusing on phones launched in 2016, only, we can see that Huawei uses the cheapest components, and Google Pixel the most expensive. And that Samsung phones use more expensive hardware components than their Apple counterpart: Phone model Manufacturing cost $ … Continue reading Smartphone manufacturing costs vs retail prices

What makes a campaign go around and around and around?

This advert made its way to my Twitter feed, last week.   The kiddo asked me, expectantly: Is it good marketing, mummy?   It is, yes. It is great, actually, I said.   First, because it clearly depicts the product’s benefit. And, fortunately for the brand, no one actually managed to break the unbreakable glass … Continue reading What makes a campaign go around and around and around?

News on Facebook create the illusion of knowledge and reduce motivation to search for information

Facebook, which has been heavily criticised (and is facing the threat of heavy fines) for failing to stop the publication of fake news on its platform, is now trying to educate its users on how to spot fake news. The company published a list of ten tips directing users to look for specific elements such … Continue reading News on Facebook create the illusion of knowledge and reduce motivation to search for information