After reading an excerpt from EM Forster's The Machine Stops written in 1909 I'm left wondering if I live in a machine or at least according to the machines and what if these machines stop?
When I became a Scrivner devotee recently I read an article by 'The Thesis Whisperer' (http://thesiswhisperer.com/2011/01/13/is-your-computer-domesticating-you/) called 'Is your computer domesticating you?'
I didn't realise I was 'in the machine' until the Whisperer pointed it out. I've been a slave to Word for ever and not realised how bloody crap it is. Now I'm using Scrivner and I'm liberated, or am I.
In Forster's story people live in a post apocalyptic world underground where is it safe from the mess made above ground by people in the previous generation.
Airships fly people between underground worlds where they live in 'splendid isolation' using pneumatic post and a form of telepresence to communicate. They talk in half-baked, second-hand ideas that feel spookily incomplete and fear visceral communication above all.
They are the old school hikikimori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori). They are sort of me and very much a lot of the younger people I know.
Tonight I had two things delivered that I bought online - a bag to hold the machine (a lap top) and a food dehydrator. Technically now I could exist in isolation if I begin dehydrating the figs and vegetables in my backyard.
I also shopped for a door online, received two phone calls from family members, sent and received multiple texts, submitted an online task for a class, checked the weather for tomorrow to decide if I would ride my bike or take the tram.
Why go outside? Why seek out people in person?
I guess it is for that nuanced emotion that Forster's character Kuno feels and seeks and to practice real human contact and empathy. Because I like my friends and the fresh air and ultimately because I'm afraid of that empty feeling becoming normal.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Grounded theory - cop out or legitimate approach
After a discussion with my supervisor it seems I'm using something fairly akin to a Grounded Theory approach. This is something I've always read in academic papers - "this research uses a grounded approach with allows the meaning to emerge from the data" - and wondered if it's just a way to meander on into a topic without much thought.
I am pretty sure I've changed my mind about this now.
After wrestling with the idea of using Bourdieu to understand my data I've come back to the notion of not using any big 'T' theories to enter into my subject.
For a lovely look at the character and work of Bourdieu see the YouTube clip "Sociology is a Martial Art" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csbu08SqAuc (note, there are multiple parts to this clip).
I've realised the point of using a grounded approach. It allows me to collect my data using open ended questioning and see what the data reveals in terms of theoretical understandings and concepts. Perhaps it will show up ideas around Bourdieu's habitus, distinction and fields of capital, but perhaps it won't and if I'm looking for evidence of these notions I will surely find them.
Konecki points out hat in allowing the findings to emerge from the data we therefore allow for serendipity, or accidental findings to occur which may not have happened had we used a more structured approach to analysing the data.
Grounded theory also uses theoretical memos which are designed to encourage the researcher to reflect on their own engagement with the data and the process of grounded theory.
From these ideas then I would suggest it is important to have a broad idea of the possible emergent qualities of the data. If I've only read a couple of papers on my topic I can only recognise those concepts in my data, where as if I understand multiple theories and a breadth of concepts around my topic many more things might 'emerge'. The role of the supervisor must be crucial in this as they can surely recognise many more things that the student in the data.
Konecki, Krzysztof Tomasz. "Grounded Theory and Serendipity. Natural History of a Research." Qualitative Sociology Review 4.1 (2008): n/a. Print.
More information on Grounded Theory: http://www.cprjournal.com/documents/groundedTheory.pdf
I am pretty sure I've changed my mind about this now.
After wrestling with the idea of using Bourdieu to understand my data I've come back to the notion of not using any big 'T' theories to enter into my subject.
For a lovely look at the character and work of Bourdieu see the YouTube clip "Sociology is a Martial Art" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csbu08SqAuc (note, there are multiple parts to this clip).
I've realised the point of using a grounded approach. It allows me to collect my data using open ended questioning and see what the data reveals in terms of theoretical understandings and concepts. Perhaps it will show up ideas around Bourdieu's habitus, distinction and fields of capital, but perhaps it won't and if I'm looking for evidence of these notions I will surely find them.
Konecki points out hat in allowing the findings to emerge from the data we therefore allow for serendipity, or accidental findings to occur which may not have happened had we used a more structured approach to analysing the data.
Grounded theory also uses theoretical memos which are designed to encourage the researcher to reflect on their own engagement with the data and the process of grounded theory.
From these ideas then I would suggest it is important to have a broad idea of the possible emergent qualities of the data. If I've only read a couple of papers on my topic I can only recognise those concepts in my data, where as if I understand multiple theories and a breadth of concepts around my topic many more things might 'emerge'. The role of the supervisor must be crucial in this as they can surely recognise many more things that the student in the data.
Konecki, Krzysztof Tomasz. "Grounded Theory and Serendipity. Natural History of a Research." Qualitative Sociology Review 4.1 (2008): n/a. Print.
More information on Grounded Theory: http://www.cprjournal.com/documents/groundedTheory.pdf
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Just waiting for the perfect conditions in which to write my blog. First, clean the bathroom, then make coffee, then I really should read an article on my topic, surely that will help me to 'get inspired'.
Feeling completely freaked out by my topic - better not write on that, it wouldn't be a good look.
Nope can't think of anything to write. This must mean I'm officially a student again. Might go get the washing of the line.
Feeling completely freaked out by my topic - better not write on that, it wouldn't be a good look.
Nope can't think of anything to write. This must mean I'm officially a student again. Might go get the washing of the line.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Upcycled blog
Adrian (course coordinator and subject lecturer) has asked that we set up a blog.
Despite being a partial Luddite I am happy to report that I already had one - a long abandoned page whose name will need to be upcycled for its new purpose. While once 'Sustain the Wander' was more literal - how long can I keep going across countries before returning home to Australia - this title is now metaphoric. The wander is now some kind of cerebral wandering and sustaining this requires constant practice and improvement - both things that will help me coast along to a finished and totally awesome thesis. Smooth transition right!
Adrian told us in class that the very act of blogging obliges us to write in a way that makes sense to others and now that I'm back in this space I can see that. I am, of course, writing in draft first to avoid sounding crap. My fear in keeping my reflections in one neat space is that the lines will blur and I'll forget about the public nature of blogging and I'll sound crap.
Despite being a partial Luddite I am happy to report that I already had one - a long abandoned page whose name will need to be upcycled for its new purpose. While once 'Sustain the Wander' was more literal - how long can I keep going across countries before returning home to Australia - this title is now metaphoric. The wander is now some kind of cerebral wandering and sustaining this requires constant practice and improvement - both things that will help me coast along to a finished and totally awesome thesis. Smooth transition right!
Adrian told us in class that the very act of blogging obliges us to write in a way that makes sense to others and now that I'm back in this space I can see that. I am, of course, writing in draft first to avoid sounding crap. My fear in keeping my reflections in one neat space is that the lines will blur and I'll forget about the public nature of blogging and I'll sound crap.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Trafford Eco House, our visit
This morning I visited the Trafford Eco House, a home in suburban Manchester where Andrew lives with his family.
They have moved from Brisbane to Manchester to be nearer their family and have been in the house since July 2009. In that time the house has gone from being an average home with a large garden to an extraordinary beginning in self-sufficiency (see the picture of the garden, right).
The garden has been the primary focus of the family's time and resources so far and now contains fruit trees, garden beds, composting and most impressively a polytunnel that houses an aquaponics system.
Aquaponics is a balanced system of food production that utilises a nutrient cycle (see picture of nitrogen cycle, below).
This picture is sourced from Backyard Aquaponics.
What this looks like practically is a one or more grow beds connected to a fish tank via pipes that circulate water with a timed pump.
The scale can vary in size and complexity depending on the space and resources available. A balcony system might have a small tank with gold fish and a small herb garden while a system like Andrew's has a large tank for edible fish and many grow beds for herbs and vegetables that will feed the family of four. (See picture, left, for an example of a basic system - sourced from Backyard Aquaponics).
The grow beds contain media such as expanded clay or river gravel to hold the plants in place and the nutrient rich water from the fish tank then floods this bed at timed intervals to feed the plants, thereby cleaning the water to put back into the fish tank (Note, there are variations on the flood and drain methods such as continuous flow or floating raft. See websites below for more information).
Andrew hopes that eventually his system of grow beds and fish tanks will provide the family with all of their non-root vegetables and much of their protein. The family aims to close the loop in this system by feeding the fish using both what they grow and the worms and fly larvae that are naturally attracted to their compost. This is impressive from a sustainability perspective because it avoids the pitfalls of large scale commercial fish farms that often use wild fish to feed to the farmed ones thereby depleting the overall stocks and causing a dangerous imbalance in the ecosystem.
The Trafford Eco House system, a little more complex than a basic
one, has 6000 litres of water in circulation. The 3000 litre fish tank will eventually grow Rainbow Trout and three smaller tanks act as sumps. When water is pumped from the sump into the fish tank it causes the water level to rise and the overflow to be channelled via pipes at the top of the fish tank into the grow beds.
There are three large grow beds down the middle of the polytunnel and five or six smaller ones along each side wall all using expanded clay (see picture, right). Once these are filled their overflow system drains the water, now cleaned of fish effluent, into the sump to wait for the next cycle.
At the moment the system is cycling water once per hour in order to build up the bacteria necessary to the nutrient cycle and to adjust the flows to each grow bed. Once this is complete the fish can be added and vegetables planted, either as seeds or seedlings. Andrew has planted some rocket seeds as an experiment and they are beginning to sprout (see picture ,left).
Andrew's experience of setting up this system over the past six months has provided the following valuable lessons:
I now understand that this technique can be made as simple or as complex as you like but it still remains low maintenance and low impact in terms of food production techniques. I can also see why this system has been so successful in Australia - in many areas of the country a polytunnel is not necessary because there is less temperature variation than somewhere like Manchester. A simple cover from the rain is all that might be required. And we can grow Baramundi because it is native (yum).
For me Aquaponics should be part of our eating future in Australia. I definitely want to make it part of mine.
Websites with useful information:
Huge thanks to Andrew and his family at the Trafford Eco House who so generously took the time to show Maureen and I around their home and garden.
Also, thanks to Charlie and Rebecca, who run Aquaponics UK out of Stirling University, for chatting to us back in January about their experience of aquaponics.
They have moved from Brisbane to Manchester to be nearer their family and have been in the house since July 2009. In that time the house has gone from being an average home with a large garden to an extraordinary beginning in self-sufficiency (see the picture of the garden, right).
The garden has been the primary focus of the family's time and resources so far and now contains fruit trees, garden beds, composting and most impressively a polytunnel that houses an aquaponics system.
Aquaponics is a balanced system of food production that utilises a nutrient cycle (see picture of nitrogen cycle, below).
This picture is sourced from Backyard Aquaponics.
What this looks like practically is a one or more grow beds connected to a fish tank via pipes that circulate water with a timed pump.The scale can vary in size and complexity depending on the space and resources available. A balcony system might have a small tank with gold fish and a small herb garden while a system like Andrew's has a large tank for edible fish and many grow beds for herbs and vegetables that will feed the family of four. (See picture, left, for an example of a basic system - sourced from Backyard Aquaponics).
The grow beds contain media such as expanded clay or river gravel to hold the plants in place and the nutrient rich water from the fish tank then floods this bed at timed intervals to feed the plants, thereby cleaning the water to put back into the fish tank (Note, there are variations on the flood and drain methods such as continuous flow or floating raft. See websites below for more information).
Andrew hopes that eventually his system of grow beds and fish tanks will provide the family with all of their non-root vegetables and much of their protein. The family aims to close the loop in this system by feeding the fish using both what they grow and the worms and fly larvae that are naturally attracted to their compost. This is impressive from a sustainability perspective because it avoids the pitfalls of large scale commercial fish farms that often use wild fish to feed to the farmed ones thereby depleting the overall stocks and causing a dangerous imbalance in the ecosystem.
The Trafford Eco House system, a little more complex than a basic
one, has 6000 litres of water in circulation. The 3000 litre fish tank will eventually grow Rainbow Trout and three smaller tanks act as sumps. When water is pumped from the sump into the fish tank it causes the water level to rise and the overflow to be channelled via pipes at the top of the fish tank into the grow beds.There are three large grow beds down the middle of the polytunnel and five or six smaller ones along each side wall all using expanded clay (see picture, right). Once these are filled their overflow system drains the water, now cleaned of fish effluent, into the sump to wait for the next cycle.
At the moment the system is cycling water once per hour in order to build up the bacteria necessary to the nutrient cycle and to adjust the flows to each grow bed. Once this is complete the fish can be added and vegetables planted, either as seeds or seedlings. Andrew has planted some rocket seeds as an experiment and they are beginning to sprout (see picture ,left).Andrew's experience of setting up this system over the past six months has provided the following valuable lessons:
- Using large grow beds rather than many small ones requires less resources such as piping and the time spend installing it.
- Plastic tanks will buckle under the weight and pressure of water so need a good wooden frame around them. Andrew would consider using just a wooden frame and a plastic lining for a fish tank if he were to repeat the process.
- The foundations that the whole system is build on must be solid. Andrew has spent extra time and money on reinforcing the ground under the weight of the tanks and grow beds after they began to sink.
- The use of just one pump in the entire system is preferable. If many smaller pumps are used to pump water through the system and one fails this can cause flooding.
- Expanded clay is very effective at retaining moisture and the necessary bacteria but smaller bits can block pipes.
- Engaging local council in your activities can greatly expand the network of people who may show interest in this system and provide assistance in the future. The council promotes the Trafford Eco House and Andrew holds workshops on site.
I now understand that this technique can be made as simple or as complex as you like but it still remains low maintenance and low impact in terms of food production techniques. I can also see why this system has been so successful in Australia - in many areas of the country a polytunnel is not necessary because there is less temperature variation than somewhere like Manchester. A simple cover from the rain is all that might be required. And we can grow Baramundi because it is native (yum).
For me Aquaponics should be part of our eating future in Australia. I definitely want to make it part of mine.
Websites with useful information:
- http://www.aquaponics.com.au/ (Commercial, New South Wales based)
- http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/ (Commercial, Western Australia based)
- http://www.aquaponics.net.au/ (Commercial, Queensland based)
- http://traffordecohouse.wordpress.com/ (non-commercial)
- http://aquaponics.org.uk/ (non profit)
- http://www.uvi.edu/sites/uvi/Pages/Research.aspx?s=RE (University of Virgin Islands, Research based)
Huge thanks to Andrew and his family at the Trafford Eco House who so generously took the time to show Maureen and I around their home and garden.
Also, thanks to Charlie and Rebecca, who run Aquaponics UK out of Stirling University, for chatting to us back in January about their experience of aquaponics.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Maternal waif inspires shoppers
Is anyone else slightly disturbed by the 'look' of this mannequin?
This photo was taken at a major clothing store in Manchester.
Women are expected to part with £20 of their hard earned cash for this t-shirt - that comes in sizes 8 to 18 - based on a size 6 mannequin that has been stuffed with two plastic balls for breasts and another plastic ball for the 'bump'.
Nobody on staff had bothered to do her size 6 jeans up and her plastic bump was humiliatingly revealed. Shoppers were laughing at her and I took her photo.
I'm inclined to think that if a clothing brand has gone to the trouble to design and manufacture maternity wear they could at least show some respect to the women who have to purchase and wear the clothes by using a decent looking mannequin.
I found a much more realistic maternity mannequin online for only £49. Fair enough she has no head but at least her bump and breasts are genuine parts of her.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Off we chug again
After drinking approximately 300 cups of tea and surviving on a diet of carbs alongside more carbs my wee Scots lassie and I are driving off into the cold and pink sunset tonight.
We are Edinburgh bound - a whole 30 minute drive. After being in the UK for about three months I have got the hang of misinterpreting distance. The other night Moz's uncle referred to Cornwall as the end of the earth. This leaves little doubt that we will not be seeing them in Australia in a hurry. And this is despite me selling the halfway point (somewhere in south east Asia) as a weekend shopping stop.
After a weekend in Edinburgh we plan to head down to the borders (the area that unsurprisingly hosts the border of England and Scotland) and onto Newcastle for some walking and a catch up with Moz's old university friend. Then it's off to the Lake District for more walking then to see the fabulous Matt in Manchester.
Not that I've been a super wonderful regular and reliable blogger but I predict a proper lack of action in this space until we are back in London selling Vincent the van in a few months time.
Until then....
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