Young children’s use of tablets and mobile apps

The University of Sheffield has released the early findings from an ongoing study looking at the use of tablets and apps by children aged up to 5 years old. You can learn more about the project, and download the report, here. Some aspects of the study are debatable (e.g., the classification of the apps mixes … Continue reading Young children’s use of tablets and mobile apps

Consumer Data and the ‘War on Terror’

The book that I co-authored with Kirstie Ball, Elizabeth Daniel, Sally Dibb, Maureen Meadows and Keith Spiller, has been featured in 'Research Reporter', the research newsletter of the Faculty of Business at Oxford Brookes University. The original article is here. Transcript below in case the link does not work for you. Surveillance, consumer data and … Continue reading Consumer Data and the ‘War on Terror’

Of tea and serendipity

Today, over tea, I was talking with someone about how the way that others see us can be so different from how we see ourselves. The focus of the conversation was national identity, and what place we call ‘home’. That conversation reminded me of an article that I wrote nearly 10 years ago, where I … Continue reading Of tea and serendipity

Breaking through the filter bubble with social media

The blog has been very quiet for the past 2-3 weeks because I was travelling. It was a mixture of work and holidays, in the US. I had hoped to keep writing during this period. However, it proved frustratingly difficult to have access to fast, reliable and inexpensive Wi-Fi. In the end, I just gave … Continue reading Breaking through the filter bubble with social media

Electronic surveillance: Minority Report minus the precogs

Details are emerging about the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA) secret surveillance programme to collect and analyse data from computer and telephone networks. It is hardly a surprise that the North American government has a surveillance programme. Rather, it is the secretiveness, the extent and the intrusiveness of the programme that is causing shockwaves. The … Continue reading Electronic surveillance: Minority Report minus the precogs

What I am reading: Speculative Security

Given that money is either the outcome or the enabler or most human activity, studying the records of financial transactions can tell us many things about who we are, who we associate with and what we do. The potential of such information has not escaped the attention of governments. Nowadays, financial intelligence is a key … Continue reading What I am reading: Speculative Security

One of a kind, please

At my eye appointment, today, the optometrist was intrigued by my surname and asked where I was from, originally. When I replied 'Portuguese', he said 'Ah, yes, Portuguese people...' and he proceeded to list a number of characteristics he thought Portuguese people had. Strangely, I was quite put off by that conversation and have … Continue reading One of a kind, please

‘Minority Report’: the future vs. the present of profiling

It has been 10 years since the release of the film Minority Report. It depicts a future where police can predict (and, thus, prevent) crime. When I went grocery shopping recently, I saw the DVD on sale and couldn’t resist getting a copy. In my mind, this film is very much related to my own … Continue reading ‘Minority Report’: the future vs. the present of profiling