An insight of the sociology of consumer society from Veblen onwards is the way modern societies turn free time into a zone of performance, status and economic activity. Digital platforms put rockets on that. Our eyeballs become commodities. That might be part of the explanation for the current political polarisation …
‘For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living‘ Mark, 12: 44, KJV. It’s not about the money, but then again, it really, really is. At my old church the tradition was to pass …
Yes, absolutely, all the time, 100%, this is what you are here for, you must be prepared to do this and you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t. Don’t pretend that you do not, and that you do not secretly think you know better than the people you …
I used to teach my students that they had to get the unit of analysis right and everything in their research design would flow from that. It is always important to avoid category errors but especially here. The example I used was if the unit of analysis was opinion. Institutions …
Crimetech is a catch all for the technology developed by criminal enterprises to further their aims. It is the set of botnets, hacking tools, bulletproof hosting and interfaces that join up criminal intent with their victims. (There is a company selling various bits kit for forensics called ‘CrimeTech’. They are …
Voice messaging sends prerecorded audio messages via messaging apps. Users can mix and match audio messages with other media such as text or visual. Voice messaging allows people to get around the flatness of textual communication, adding tone and nuance. It requires greater intensity of engagement at the other end. …
Just adding to the rash of ‘stop thinking disinformation is the problem’ takes out there. The high cultural capital crew like to imagine there to be a bright line between illegal and illegal, organised and opportunistic, rational and emotional. And also that they know which side of the line they …
If you see the ‘No user serviceable parts inside’ notice as a challenge, I am with you. I am in the class of people most open to the right to repair movement so I want to introduce some reflection on what it means and whether it is the right way …
I often say to students ‘describe, then analyse’. Well, how do you know which one you are doing and what the difference between them is? And while we’re about it, what’s the difference between method and methodology, hmmm? There is really no fundamental difference. Description always involves a choice of …
Computer security is the culmination of a series of subversions. Just as policing evolves in response to crime, so computer systems evolve in response to threats. When it comes to malware, while the code is clever, the social engineering is more persistent, and more depressing. Malware designers evolve their products …
