What is the probablity that a 178cm man is tall (or that many items will cost between one pound and two pounds)? Vagueness is a besetting problem in quantitative risk assessment and it's often overlooked or ignored in the attempt to find one metric (probability) by which to measure uncertainty. Clearly it's inappropriate to use … Continue reading Being Vague about Risk Assessment
Month: February 2010
New uses for classic theories – Mary Douglas in 2010
There have been some fascinating and diverse applications of the social theories of Mary Douglas in the media lately. Douglas was an anthropologist, best known for her work on risk, on purity and on the grid-group typology which this website explores. This month alone Mary Douglas has been quoted in relation to the following: food … Continue reading New uses for classic theories – Mary Douglas in 2010
Putting an End to Endianism: the feud you probably never noticed but take part in every day
An Fourcultures investigation into the so-called Endian holy war in computer architecture.
Mutualism: Flavour of the month
As predicted this time last year, mutualism is the new favourite political idea. It has been so ignored by policy makers over many decades that it has temporarily lost its left/right label and the Tories are also talking about it. But it shouldn't be thought that mutualism is a way of making money grow on … Continue reading Mutualism: Flavour of the month
On the Death of Colin Ward
The Child in the City, Anarchy in Action and Welcome Thinner City are three of the most influential books for the shape of my adult life. I'm mourning the death of writer and activist, 'giant of social commentary', Colin Ward. Ward's claim in Anarchy in Action (1973) that the international postal system was a perfect … Continue reading On the Death of Colin Ward
The Google Dilemma Part 3
In this short series of posts on the dilemma Google finds itself in with Chinese censorship, I have attempted to question the idea that it's all about a clash of national cultures. In particular, the very idea of a national culture has been called to account for itself. I've argued that Grid-group cultural theory offers … Continue reading The Google Dilemma Part 3
Cultural Theory in the NYT
There's a cultural theory analysis of climate in the New York Times, by David Ropeik. Thanks to Howard Silverman of People & Place for pointing this out.
The Google Dilemma, Part 2
More on the Google-China argument and the concept of national differences, engaging with Cross-Cultural Theory and with Grid-Group Cultural Theory as two alternative ways of understanding cultural disagreement.
Are the guardians of national boundaries beginning to look pathetic?
Commenting on the post about the Google Dilemma, The Other Gardener said: "There is very little that can be said to be “essential about national boundaries” now that the genie is out of the lamp. I think the guardians of these boundaries, including the academics, will always lag behind. They are already beginning to look … Continue reading Are the guardians of national boundaries beginning to look pathetic?
The Google Dilemma. National Differences and Cross-Cultural Theory
"Good enough for our transatlantic friends ... but unworthy of the attentions of practical or scientific men." Good enough for our transatlantic friends? This was the verdict of a British Parliamentary Committee , on the implications of Thomas Edison's new electric lamp, which had been patented in the US in 1879. In the gloom of … Continue reading The Google Dilemma. National Differences and Cross-Cultural Theory
Four Cultures 