The New Morality 2.0
Back in 2013 we identified a trend called the ‘The New Morality’. The trend was boosted both by the financial crisis and the litany of business and institutional scandals of recent years. In no...
View ArticleTurnout: why didn’t young adults vote in the first #socialmediaelection?
Polling has been in short supply since the exit poll on May 7th provided the first indication that our expectations for the outcome – beaten into shape by the daily polling throughout the previous...
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FIFA and the Decline of Deference
What a week it has been for FIFA. Not only have a number of the organisations’ executives been investigated by a cornucopia of national and supranational crime fighting organisations, the last seven...
View ArticleIdentity – being different but the same
A recent article in the Financial Times – the coffee connoisseur’s conundrum (£) – about our need to differentiate ourselves from others (in this instance through demonstrating one’s expertise and...
View ArticleWhat’s happening with Uber?
This week’s news about Uber and whether its drivers are contractors or employees is raising alarm bells about prospects for the “sharing economy”. Love or hate them, Uber and the rest of the sharing...
View ArticleWe’re all going on a summer holiday…
…but also, quite possibly, to a cheaper supermarket The latest wave of VisitEngland’s Staycation Monitor provides some fascinating pointers to current and future consumer spending priorities. Among...
View ArticleThe Future will soon be a Thing of the Past
We all know the truism that those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat the same mistakes. To which wisdom we might add the qualification (immortalized in a Belfast mural) that those (a...
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Technology: Power & Peril
Disaster struck Trajectory Towers this week; a full-blown communications failure saw both our internet and our telephones rendered useless. Unable to call reception and inform them of our plight, we...
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When the tourists get going the locals get rough (and the threat to the...
Regular readers of my blog will know that I spend quite a bit of time in Barcelona and I’ve noticed how the number of tourists visiting the Catalan capital has exploded in the last five years. Being a...
View ArticleWedding Bells
Switch on the TV this summer and you’ll find a multitude of weddings to enjoy or cringe through depending on whether you are watching “Married at First Sight” (voyeuristic but lovely – catch up on All4...
View ArticleClarkson: On Demand
The news that Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are to be back on our TV screens in the not too distant future will have been met with joy in some quarters and indifference in others. But...
View Article“Its 6-15, you’re listening to Today, and now some ill-informed technophobia”
On a routine weekday morning I set my alarm for 6-15 to wake up in time for the business bulletin on Radio 4’s Today Programme. I’m a big fan of this 10 minute slot, especially when presented by the...
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The Daily Show: Political Engagement, Activity, and Currency
Last week saw the curtain fall on Jon Stewart’s tenure as the host of The Daily Show, and with it the end of an era of political satire. 16 years, two wars, four presidential elections, 19 Emmys and 2...
View ArticlePublic Vice and Private Virtue
This week has seen the latest instalment of the Ashley Madison saga, which has been steadily rumbling on for the last month. The stories of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Julian Assange mean that...
View ArticleTrust is a two way street
Cheating in sport has been front page news this summer, from Seb Coe as President of the IAAF saying it is rife in athletics, to Mo Farah having to fight unsubstantiated accusations – cheating is often...
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Millennials: The Self-loathing Generation
Hi, I’m Ruairi and I’m a millennial. I’m unpatriotic, irresponsible, unwilling to sacrifice, and immoral. I’m not hard working, religious, compassionate or politically active. This, according to...
View ArticleOn ageing and immigration – why we shouldn’t worry about either
A regular feature of this blog is debunking popular myths and the misleading use of statistics. Where to begin; a couple of weeks ago was another scare story about ageing and health. Oh and then...
View ArticleOld and New Media: Any Space for Ads?
The end of the free web is nigh, according to some, and the release this week of Apple’s new iOS, with its new acceptance of adblocking software is an indication of the changing times. Within a day of...
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An Englishman’s Castle: his rented flat?
Another week, and the housing crisis has intensified a little further, as demand for (and no doubt the cost of) housing in the UK rises. In the 1960s, only around 45% of people owned their home –...
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VW Emissions Scandal
Since the US Environmental Protection Agency released their findings earlier this month relating to the “defeat device” installed in Volkswagen diesel cars that allowed them to cheat emissions tests,...
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