This is an example of a post written on my ‘work blog’. It shows how a post can be syndicated through wp-o-matic for subsequent translation.

Trying once again to see if the full syndication of these feeds works.

Still not working

I’ve just been reading Chapter 1 of Sage’s latest report ‘British Social Attitudes’. It’s entitled ‘Is there an English backlash? Reactions to devolution’ and definitely worth a read as we begin to look at questions of national identity with a focus on Britishness. The first question the report tries to answer is:

Is there any evidence that people in England are becoming more aware of having a distinctive sense of ‘Englishness’ that they might feel sets them apart from the rest of the UK, and which they might want recognised through distinctive political institutions?

The answers come from various data collected through questionnaires/interviews.

Here’s one question they used. Try it yourselves and see what results we get back in.

Here’s the data set that the researchers from the study compiled:

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I wonder how many Cubans are using blogs for this purpose?

‘En este blog publico crónicas, relatos y anécdotas que me envía mi papá. Él vive en La Habana, Cuba. Los comentarios se los copio en emails y por la misma vía él los responde, cuando puede. ¡Es tan difícil imaginarse cómo funciona un blog o saber lo que es sin haber visto ninguno! Mi viejo no tiene acceso a Internet.’

So writes Aguaya on the blog she keeps for her father in Havana. Not only does he not have access to the internet, he doesn’t know what a blog is. Yet, as a tool for communication it’s working via someone who sends an email to someone who blogs; from someone who comments to someone who sends the email to someone who delivers that email by hand.

Aguaya keeps her own blog at Desarraigo Provocados.

Finding My . . . A Story of Female Identity — Mackie 15 (2): 324 — Qualitative Inquiry

This piece delves into an identity shaped by and a history filled with sexual violence. It was created from a performance script, various journal entries, and field notes, using the process of systematic sociological introspection¹ to write through emotional experience. It also takes the form of autoethnographic ² research, where I use self-reflection, connecting personal experience to a larger social context of violence against women. “Finding my . . . ” embodies gender identity and uses voice/telling to show the move into a more confident “self.” While I attempt to make sense out of and share my experiences, I hope to encourage further conversation on this topic and reduce the stigma and shame that accompanies these encounters.

Key Words: Autoethnography • identity • femininity • sexual abuse • storytelling

From: PR! A Social History of Spin (1996) by Stewart Ewen

From: The Image (1961) by Daniel Boorstein

Trustworthiness in the Fourth and Fifth Estates by Richard Collins

International Journal of Communication 2 (2009), 61-86

• Discusses ‘trust’ in sociological literature and links to discussions of social capital
• Examines trust and the mainstream media/How trustworthy is the media?
• Looks at the ways a dialogic, web 2.o media landscape can meet criteria of trustworthyness
• Gives examples of such media in the UK

Useful article, good links and bibliography. But doesn’t have the insiders bite of Nick Davies.

Continuidad y ruptura · ELPAÍS.com

La juventud no se caracteriza por tener mucha paciencia, pero sabe que tiene tiempo. Por muy longevo y saludable que sea un timonel, tarde o temprano tendrá que soltar el gobierno de la nave que conduce. Lo primero que rectificarán aquellos que logren entrar a la cerrada cabina será el rumbo, y es muy probable que también arranquen las páginas de la bitácora. Esa secuencia de pliegos falseados que cuentan las heroicas peripecias de la antigua tripulación, esa que ?en medio siglo? nos hizo creer que el barco le pertenecía. Ver para creer.

Cuba: Apartheid de nuevo cuño

En el hotel, la empleada de la carpeta ratificó que se trataba de una resolución dictada recientemente por el gobierno, que niega el acceso a Internet en los hoteles a los nacionales. La directora del complejo, Yipsi Plana, no estaba allí. La secretaria, Olga Lidia, atribuyó la medida a una directiva de Carlos Lage, Vicepresidente del Consejo de Estado. Otras explicaciones contradictorias surgieron posteriormente, aunque nadie supo precisar el origen de la restricción.