Reflections of an agonistic blogger

That's correct...although I've let the domain name...

2008-09-08T10:40:00.000+08:00

That's correct...although I've let the domain name for that site lapse.

So does that mean you are still with melbourne IT?...

2008-09-07T18:35:00.000+08:00

So does that mean you are still with melbourne IT?

Hi Peter,I've been guessing what happened to Bridg...

2008-06-30T19:22:00.000+08:00

Hi Peter,

I've been guessing what happened to Bridges.org as the site seems not to be updated since March 2006.

Now I found, by chance, that you were joining the team on November 2007.

Did you?

Is the organization working on e-readiness still?

I'm really interested in your/their work. Please feel free to contact me directly through my e-mail.

Best,

ismael
ictlogy.net

I must say that's comforting to hear. I'm hoping t...

2008-06-27T12:01:00.000+08:00

I must say that's comforting to hear. I'm hoping to get a first class but it's going to come down to how well I do in my thesis. I've written 1299 words so far. Flying!

I don't remember exactly what was written on my ho...

2008-06-27T11:49:00.000+08:00

I don't remember exactly what was written on my honours thesis mark sheets, but I do know that both of my examiners used a word I'd never heard before to describe my writing (and I can't for the life of me remember what it is, right now), which I found quite strange. Another thing was that I later found out that one of my examiners was a lecturer who'd failed me twice for essays at undergraduate level (admittedly, it was during my "I hate my Arts degree" phase). Yet another thing was that they both favoured my final chapter as the strongest of the three. It was written in the two days before the paper was due - I spent about three months on my first, a month on my second, and two days on the third. What gives?

Marks don't mean all that much. It's nice to get first class honours and all... but as I learnt, that's not the be all and end all. I got first class and still missed out on a scholarship the first time round. Also, I'm not sure what Curtin is like compared to UWA at honours level, but it seems like getting a really, REALLY good mark for your thesis is quite easy - which makes up for not-so-good marks earlier on in the honours year :)

I have to wonder what kind of world we live in whe...

2008-06-27T11:43:00.000+08:00

I have to wonder what kind of world we live in where an opinion can sentence you to fifteen months in jail.

I also have to wonder what kind of world we live in when governments really see bloggers as that big of a threat. Are the bloggers powerful, or are the governments paranoid as a result of actually having something to hide?

I often wonder whether my life would be different ...

2008-06-27T11:37:00.000+08:00

I often wonder whether my life would be different had I found a "niche" for my blog. I know I've got my academic blog which kind of fits into a certain category, but it's not my primary blog (which would undoubtedly fit into the "my life and experiences" field of blogging.

But what if I'd had the inclination to blog about one particular topic, like 1000 Tiny Things I Hate (a blog I discovered last night and quite like)? Or what if I blogged about teapots and ONLY teapots, or something? Would I be obsessed with teapots in real life? Would I be more observant of teapots, just as I am currently more observant of generally everything, just so I have something to blog about?

Thanks for the link to the PEW report, by the way (yeh, I'm only just getting around to looking at it now! Past month has been hectic!). Some reading for me this afternoon, I thinks.

"the candidate is to be commended on her fine, sop...

2008-06-25T22:24:00.000+08:00

"the candidate is to be commended on her fine, sophisticated, engaging and conceptually-challenging presentation...she has indicated a very solid grounding and extensive research in the subject..this is a very promising and original project"
vs
"whilst the candidate demonstrates a clear understanding of the conceptual material at hand,I have a feeling that she is not as far advanced in the study as she perhaps ought to be. This is simply my hunch"

You're right; I should build a bridge and all that :P

Oh goody, sharing time!I recieved some contradicto...

2008-06-25T22:17:00.000+08:00

Oh goody, sharing time!

I recieved some contradictory remarks too, eg:

"the critical argument is sound and was deployed exceptionally well"
vs
"the candidate sometimes reverted to generalities which led the argument astray"

"the candidate demonstrated a mastery of the difficult and dense conceptual ideas of Hegel and Kant and supported her conjectures thoroughly by way of thorough and relevant substantiating evidence"
vs
"I would expect a lot more substantiating evidence"

Sometimes the silence is deafening but then again ...

2008-06-12T16:21:00.000+08:00

Sometimes the silence is deafening but then again ripples on a pond don't make a sound until they reach the shore.

I didn't know anyone actually read my post.

2008-06-12T16:18:00.000+08:00

I didn't know anyone actually read my post.

Thanks Nathan

2008-06-10T17:31:00.000+08:00

Thanks Nathan

Whilst I haven't commented on anything until now, ...

2008-06-10T17:10:00.000+08:00

Whilst I haven't commented on anything until now, I am enjoying reading your posts. Good luck with your thesis.

And you do it so well.

2008-06-10T16:12:00.000+08:00

And you do it so well.

No worries Peter.I like this "being a part of an a...

2008-06-10T16:06:00.000+08:00

No worries Peter.

I like this "being a part of an academic community" caper.

Dear Peter,Thanks for engaging in this, which I th...

2008-06-04T11:32:00.000+08:00

Dear Peter,

Thanks for engaging in this, which I think is a very interesting discussion. Your comments are appreciated, although I would like to provoke you some more on this topic.

While I understand the point you are making regarding sitting and theorising and conceptualising rather than taking action, I am sure you would agree that climate change is an enormously complex issue that pivots around our current development paradigm, which you yourself note by your comments about Burma is highly inequitable, corrupt, power hungry, and designed to keep the poor in poverty (see Ben Wisner’s RADIX website for some good fodder on that: http://www.radixonline.org/).

Surely you wouldn’t suggest moving ahead without thinking carefully about the various factors that influence this. One of the most dangerous consequences could be maladaptation – i.e. taking action without thinking through what exactly it is that is the reason behind why people are adversely affected by climate change and eventually ending up with a situation where more people are more vulnerable. This is what my paper tries to address, and the target audience is really the mainstream of adaptation scientists who propose focusing only on the impacts of climate change and not the underlying vulnerability.

By the way, I wouldn’t suggest that my paper relies heavily on McEntire’s. His invulnerable development concept is useful for understanding what needs to be achieved to ensure that climate change and hazards do not destroy development progress, but I believe I cite him once only. The works that have been much more influential for me are Blaikie et al 1994 (Wisner et al 2004 in the second edition), Barry Smit’s work, Terry Cannon’s work, Ian Burton’s work, Allan Lavell’s work, Susanna Davies’ work and Tony Oliver-Smith’s work.

If you are eager to read any of these papers, let me know and I can share them with you. I have just prepared a Reader on Adaptation for Earthscan and in the process put together what I think are some of the most seminal papers on this topic. Also, I recommend IPCC WG2 Chapter 17 to give you an idea of what the whole mess is about (and why I felt my paper was a necessary contribution).

Sincerely,

Lisa

Hi Lisa. Firstly it is an unexpected honour to rec...

2008-06-03T21:51:00.000+08:00

Hi Lisa. Firstly it is an unexpected honour to receive your comment on what, for me, is a loosely structured research journal.

In response I can say that I have not had the opportunity to read other adaptation scholars, save for a cursory reading of McEntire's Sustainability or invulnerable
development?, a work on which your own work relies heavily.

The frustration evident in my post is one that was undoubtedly also evident in the living rooms of many throughout the world as reports emerged of the Burmese junta denying NGO's access in order to provide much needed humanitarian aid following the devastation of cyclone Nargis. While the generals bickered and postured, thousands died for want of basic and immanently available food, clothing, and shelter. These are images that are both sickening and saddening; and I know that you would share my frustration and annoyance that more was not done.

The matter of climate change though is not, I would argue, of the same immanent threat as the problems caused by cyclone Nargis; or at least that's what the behaviour of scholars and policy would have me believe. As you point out, the over-abundance of definitions of the concept of adaptation has created problems of interpretation for policy makers. In turn, this confusion of meaning slows down the policy development process, hence slowing the world's response to a threat that, if not treated as immanent, will become so within the life-time of most young people.

My suggestion therefore, is for climate change academics to urgently move beyond potentially dangerous self-referentiality and the confines contained within their own discourse, and look for that which puts them on the same side of the problem as those most at risk. Rather than arguing the pros and cons of invulnerable development as opposed to sustainable development, let us immediately find those threads of the argument that create unity and begin a discourse of urgent political imperative built around this unity. Once we have the ship pointing away from the rocks then, and only then, should we argue the toss about finer directional adjustments.

Hi Peter. I just came across your comments on my p...

2008-05-31T00:16:00.000+08:00

Hi Peter. I just came across your comments on my paper. I was curious whether you felt that other adaptation scholars had managed to do better in talking about adaptation theory, and also what suggestions you have for easing the transition from theory to policy on adaptation? You have my paper so you know where to find me.

Hi Peter, Just popping in to say hi. I'm looking f...

2008-05-09T18:27:00.000+08:00

Hi Peter,

Just popping in to say hi. I'm looking forward to reading through your blog, hopefully I'll gain a bit of inspiration - I've been struggling lately!

Ciao

Erin (from Michele's office)

Yeah, sorry about the sense of scrutiny - the inte...

2008-04-25T01:18:00.000+08:00

Yeah, sorry about the sense of scrutiny - the intention was not meant to be threatening but with 1 comment since a 10k list got word on this competition, it appears it looks that way.

That's an interesting phenomena in itself.

On your thesis, I think its a great idea and am very interested in what you write. I'm just a little anti-establishment (part of the appeal of Foucault for me) and the inaccessible nature of academic writing smells of that knowledge-power dynamic (mind you Foucault seems not too concerned with accessible writing).

You might of heard of Bourdieu, he was sort of Foucault's nemesis (like Lex Luther). He believed things like the obscurity of modern art (decoded only by those in the know) exists as badges of honour or as he calls it "marks of class". Its not unlike Foucault's exclusivity of knowledge helps retain social / power structures.

I've had to retrain the way I write - after years of academia, so I prefer to simplfy things.

But maybe I got your statement wrong. I figured you want to know if an employee's blog content is influenced by the employee / boss power relationship.

So I put this in the most straight forward way I could. That was my thinking behind it anyway.

And thanks for you comments. I replied to it.

Well I'm sure looking forward to the possible priz...

2008-04-22T20:09:00.000+08:00

Well I'm sure looking forward to the possible prize. Writing knowing that something is under the micro-scope sure makes things that much more difficult. In terms of the question I'll have to sleep on it. My first response would be "what if they are?". What would flow from them being subjective? Hmmm. Thanks for your comment.

I'm writing a work related personal blog - you lef...

2008-04-22T20:01:00.000+08:00

I'm writing a work related personal blog - you left a comment on it (you might even win a prize for that - seriously!)

Reading your thesis statement makes me glad I'm not writing with a lecturer over my shoulder (I think that genre also stifles a little subjectivity).

I'll try to be more productive with my comment...

Can you turn it into a question?

i.e.

Are work-related personal blogs subjective?

Re, pressuring bloggers to stop blogging etc, are ...

2008-04-11T19:54:00.000+08:00

Re, pressuring bloggers to stop blogging etc, are you aware of this case? :

http://thizndat.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-am-kathleen-freedom-of-speech.html

Thanks Tauel, that's a wonderful lead. I started t...

2008-03-14T16:20:00.000+09:00

Thanks Tauel, that's a wonderful lead. I started to read Arendt but found it hard going. Maybe now that I'm getting more practice I'll find it easier going. Appreciate your help.

Hey Peter - read your blog with interest and think...

2008-03-14T14:01:00.000+09:00

Hey Peter - read your blog with interest and think your honours project sounds tops. I'd recommend you have a gander at Kristeva's 'Life is a Narrative'. Has a lot in there about Hannah Arendt and the emancipatory potential of telling stories about your life... Of course Arendt's 'Human Condition' is also a good place to start (if a little more impenetrable, it's a cinch compared to Deleuze!)