Is there only so far that a trade group can go before it has to reinvent itself? I think so, mainly on the back of conversations that I have been having over the last few weeks as I continue to try and develop the Dynamo cyber work stream. What is bothering me is that I … Continue reading Trading groups
Corporate Social Responsibility
‘We never use the phrase Corporate Social Responsibility, or the initials CSR at Ringtons.’ said Richard from the Newcastle based tea and beverages company. ‘It sounds too much like a crime. Instead we focus on our business doing good things in the community.’ I was at Muckle LLP for a breakfast event as part of … Continue reading Corporate Social Responsibility
I am an artist
What is art? Not that old chestnut again. Such open questions are almost impossible to answer. Even artists themselves have been struggling for millennia to come up with an explanation and in the end usually resort to saying ‘if I need to explain it to you then you won’t understand.’ Allan Kaprow put it that … Continue reading I am an artist
Zero hours
Zero hours contracts have had a hard time of late and quite rightly so. They are the scourge of the gig economy with the employer having the upper hand in the relationship with their workers. Turn up and there might be work for you but if not you will just have to go home again … Continue reading Zero hours
Unproportional representation
Proportional representation is a an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them, rather than our first past the post system where the individual with the most votes, irrespective of the number in relation to the size of the electorate gets into power. It has always … Continue reading Unproportional representation
A Nokia person
Someone once described themselves as a Nokia person. I think it was Chaditsa at the CyberFest event in Teesside University. Everyone laughed as they understood what she meant. She was not at the bleeding edge of technical innovation and was more comfortable with the simpler user interfaces that we used to enjoy. I realised that … Continue reading A Nokia person
North East Fraud Forum
I went to my first North East Fraud Forum event last week. There is such an overlap between fraud, cyber crime and business ethics that it was a natural fit with many of the other things that I am involved in. It was also the first time that I had been inside the Virgin Money … Continue reading North East Fraud Forum
Oh no! NHS targets again.
I think it was as far back as 2013 that I last wrote about targets in the NHS. Not that they have ever been very far away but once again they are all over the news. Apparently, nearly one in five NHS hospital services has failed to hit any key national waiting-time targets in the … Continue reading Oh no! NHS targets again.
Bitcoin free fall
Bitcoin is in free fall. Within a few minutes its price dropped by over 15%. Over the last month or so its value had been fairly stable at between £4,700 and £5,000. Not now, the last time I looked it was heading towards the £4,200 mark. It’s price may go up, it may go down … Continue reading Bitcoin free fall
Say R
My head is still hurting. I have spent all morning in an introductory session to R, the open source statistical computing and graphics package. Now, I am no programmer and much of what was shown to us went over my head but I am blown away by the power of the tool set. It gives … Continue reading Say R
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 