Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

It’s time to offer you a peak into yet another facet of an academic’s life, with another “Day in the Life” post. This time, a post looking at Wednesday, October 30th: a day that was full of meetings. I woke up at 5ish, and got ready to go to work: I have a meeting in … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #9: All sorts of meetings

What it feels like when the computer knows more than you

I have been thinking and talking about artificial intelligence a lot, this past week. For instance, on Wednesday, I went to the Parliament with two other colleagues from Brunel, to talk about the impact of AI on workers, work and the workplace; and, on Thursday, with those same colleagues, we hosted a workshop to examine … Continue reading What it feels like when the computer knows more than you

[Miscellany] On the importance of questions, and different types of answer, plus what I am reading

The best predictor of good grades? Several people in my Twitter timeline have been talking about this journal paper (paid access, only). The authors of the paper analysed the extent to which various variables could be used to predict student’s grades, and concluded that: “These relationships make class attendance a better predictor of college grades than … Continue reading [Miscellany] On the importance of questions, and different types of answer, plus what I am reading

[Miscellany] ebay podcast, welcoming complaints, and new life stage

ebay: more about b2c than c2c If I say ‘ebay’, what image comes to your mind? A place to offload items that you no longer need, or even that unwanted Christmas gift? Or, perhaps, the opportunity to buy nearly new items that other people outgrew, or fell out of love with? If, like me, … Continue reading [Miscellany] ebay podcast, welcoming complaints, and new life stage

[Miscellany] Marketing online, confusing adverts and podcast recommendation

Online marketing vs. marketing online Preparing materials for a new semester of teaching, and this blog post from Seth Godin came to mind: Too much going on There is so much going on in this advert... A snack that is meant to be for lunch. A can that fits in a pocket but is meant … Continue reading [Miscellany] Marketing online, confusing adverts and podcast recommendation

[Miscellany] AI survey, AI summit and AI Workshop

This week, a collection of miscellaneous notes related to Artificial Intelligence. 1. AI survey The Artificial Intelligence Research Centre, at Brunel Business School, is looking at the impact of AI on the nature of work and the relationship between workers and their employers (my branch of work concerns on the consequences of these changes … Continue reading [Miscellany] AI survey, AI summit and AI Workshop

[Miscellany] Time tracking, refreshing my teaching examples, and new reading

September is for rebooting Ah, August... I always end it feeling a little bit frustrated that I didn’t do everything that I needed / wanted to get done (including not having as much fun or rest as I was expecting or was expected to). September, on the contrary, feels like it’s full of potential. It’s … Continue reading [Miscellany] Time tracking, refreshing my teaching examples, and new reading

[Miscellany] LinkedIn as a research tool, tips for writing non-fiction, and reading at the dinner table

LinkedIn as a research tool and source of insight Much has been written about the value of Twitter, Facebook and review platforms (e.g., Trip Advisor) as sources of insight (for instance, about customers and their habits). Yet, LinkedIn is not usually thought of in the same pool of useful research tools. LinkedIn can be … Continue reading [Miscellany] LinkedIn as a research tool, tips for writing non-fiction, and reading at the dinner table

[Miscellany] Customer reviews, GDPR fines and musings on graduation

Stick the film, then post a photo I have recently ordered some black out film for a window that lets in too much light during the night. There are 12 steps in the instructions, starting with cleaning the window, all the way down to… taking a photo and posting it with a review, online. … Continue reading [Miscellany] Customer reviews, GDPR fines and musings on graduation

Life update: bad days make good stories

Child 2, who is turning out to be a musicophile, showed me this tune about someone who is grateful for the sour grapes in their life. The lyrics include the following verses: We had to work a bit more hard Only just to get a little bit less far We could laugh about it all … Continue reading Life update: bad days make good stories