Blog Archives
Understanding How The Pakistani Community in Blackburn Relates To Public And Private Institutions
Blackburn on a Saturday afternoon… and an invitation to join discussions with business, mosque and council leaders from the Pakistani community, as the Insight Out project comes to an end, with dedicated time to face outwards and engage additional concerned citizens. It was a wide-ranging, open-hearted debate about what Pakistani heritage Blackburn residents might do to improve the outlook for both their own and their neighbours’ communities. The move towards real action, I sensed, has begun.
To read more of this article and to comment, please visit Hilary’s professional website here.
Sociology, Democracy And The Economic Crisis
Aditya Chakrabortty of The Guardian has just (8 May 2012) published his second commentary about ‘the dearth of sociologists and other non-economists analysing how we got into’ the current economic crisis. This silence, he says, is in vivid contrast to the (dramatic but ineffectual) protests of academic social scientists when monetarists reigned supreme whilst Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. But, sadly older and wiser, this time we need to focus on a more encompassing agenda of transaction, impact and meaning.
To read more of this article and to comment, please visit Hilary’s professional website here.
Liverpool Economic Forum 2012
The Liverpool Economic Forum 2012, hosted on 15 May at Radisson Blu Hotel by North West Business Insider, offered important pointers to the future. Positively, a lot now hinges on new City Major Joe Anderson’s delivering his pledges to bring investment, cruise liners and much else to Liverpool. More problematically, whilst all agree the city now punches above its weight, concerns remain about whether Liverpool can deliver a coherent offer to potential investors. And still discussion of real sustainability and inclusion is absent.
To read more of this article and to comment, please visit Hilary’s professional website here.
Can Meat Be Eco (Or Even Zero Carbon)?
Recent advice is that, to ‘save’ the planet, we in the developed nations should eat meat at most four times a week; but we should also recognise the current fundamental economic centrality of meat in many parts of the developing world.
Discussion of these recommendations has produced some interesting ideas about what might constitute almost zero carbon food, even zero carbon meat. Hill grazing sheep, jellied eels and lobster aquaculture are amongst the food items and techniques proposed.
Food, Facts And Factoids: What Do We Need To Know?
Food is rising rapidly up the agenda. Allotments, biofuels, calories, customs, eating disorders, famine, farming, fats, fibre, foodmiles, GM, health, organic, packaging, processing, salt, seasonal, security, sell-by, sustainability, vitamins, water…. Where do we begin with what to eat and drink?
Dreaming Realist 