So, what is the purpose of these blogs?
Well, I guess that everyone has their own personal or professional reason for blogging.
For me, I spend a lot of time involved in research projects and also supervising others in their research endeavours. I am starting to find that a lot of what I am writing about here reflects issues that I usually chat about on a regular basis – mostly in relation to research supervision and with co-authors.
A very real reason for blogging is that, like most academic researchers, I get frustrated when I feel that I am not getting time to “write”. So, being able to blog about certain things allows me to keep writing, albeit smaller pieces, that may eventually add up and get further developed at some stage in the future.
I feel that it is important as a researcher to not only report on the solid facts and subsequent interpretation that is a “must” in terms of scientific research and reporting. I feel that it is also critically important to take time and space to think about the “what if” questions in life and society. Before now, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and pondering these types of questions, and being frustrated about not having an outlet for the thinking and consideration of these issues. There is no traditional way that we, as academics and researchers, can publish such musings. I am extremely grateful for the arrival of blogging, wikis, etc. I can now “work through” my frustrations and publish these thoughts and ideas here and in other blogs.
Sometimes little thoughts work well and create discussion points further down the line. For example, l presented a conference paper in 1999 with my good colleagues, Prof. Christopher Alan Lewis and Prof. Mark Shevlin, on the emerging notion of EQ (emotional intelligence) in the workplace. We questioned the authenticity of the concept, as it was being marketed to business, and posited that “the emperor was wearing no clothes”, and that what was really being sold was just “soft skills” re-heated and packaged in shiny wrappers by an industry struggling to sell their wares.
And, with the ability to “write-on-the-move” by using my smartphone, l can write anywhere and at any time. This is great. So far, so good.
Conor 🙂
Posted on 13th May, 2015. Copyright Conor Mc Guckin.
