Day in the Life of an Academic #6: new job

This is quite an unusual 'day in the life of an academic' blogpost, as it focuses on the first day at my new job and, admittedly, changing jobs is not something that I do frequently. This is what I got up to last Wednesday, November 16th. I got up at 6am, as usual. … Continue reading Day in the Life of an Academic #6: new job

Should gyms be fun or hardwork?

I am quite annoyed with myself. You see, I usually pride myself of seeing through tempting packaging or sales deals, and base my purchase decisions on the product and its value for me, more than anything else. Yet, here I am, very foolishly mourning the fact that the gym that I usually … Continue reading Should gyms be fun or hardwork?

June 2016 round up

Brexit. That’s what dominated my June 2016 – first, the worry about it; then, the feeling of despair at the outcome. Which is a shame, because there were many good things happening this month, too, such as the graduation ceremonies. Moving on… Here are my highlights from June. Tell me yours, in the comments … Continue reading June 2016 round up

May 2016 round-up

Well, I may ready for warm weather; but the warm weather is not ready for me. While we had some nice days here and there, it is now early June and I still need my duvet! In May, I did my first race – it was a last minute decision; there was no preparation and … Continue reading May 2016 round-up

Consumer education: how can we make salt’s harm visible?

Earlier this month, the British Association of Dermatologists published a press release with the highlights from a survey of Britain’s sun protection habits. The highlights included: 80% don’t apply sunscreen before going out in the sun and then shortly afterwards; 70% fail to reapply sunscreen every two hours as recommended; 35% would only seek shade … Continue reading Consumer education: how can we make salt’s harm visible?

Oh, don’t you love the smell of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline?

Today, a marketing lesson from the kiddo: What he is talking about, here, is the role of smell as a stimulus. Smell (and other stimuli like colour, temperature, or sounds) can create an affective response in shoppers. This can either be a direct emotional reaction to the stimulus (e.g., the smell makes us feel hungry); or … Continue reading Oh, don’t you love the smell of 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline?

April 2016 round-up

It’s Spring, there are flowers peeking everywhere… ... and snow. That’s right. It snowed. At least it melted quickly. I am so ready for warm weather… Here are my highlights for April. Tell me yours, in the comments below. Researching The panel proposal that I was working on last month was rejected. But … Continue reading April 2016 round-up

Tay, the Turing test, and us

Yesterday (March 24th, 2016), Microsoft launched Tay, an artificial intelligent chat bot developed by Microsoft's Technology and Research and Bing teams to experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding. Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation. The more you chat with … Continue reading Tay, the Turing test, and us

10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter

Twitter turned 10 years old, and I, like many others, have been reflecting on what it means to me. Twitter tells me that I joined it in July 2008. I remember the day, vividly. I was following a thread on an online forum, where academics were sharing experiences of using Second Life, Facebook, Twitter, … Continue reading 10 amazing tweeps I met in 10 years of Twitter