The troublesome concept of “technological affordances”

Nice one!

Mediated thoughts

The word “affordance” is frequently used in writings about new technology. For example, danah boyd has stated that the “affordances” of “networked publics” include things like the persistence of information within them, and the ease by which information can be reproduced and transmitted far beyond its initial context of production.

The simple (but not quite accurate) understanding of the term is that it describes the possible uses that humans can make use of specific technologies. As such, it can sometimes be construed as an example of that great Bugbear of the social studies of technology: technological determinism. Technological determinism is the naive belief that technology is some sort of abstract force which influences society to some degree, but is not itself the product of social forces of any form. Technological determinism comes in several forms – the most common distinction is between “hard” and “soft” determinism, with “softer” versions viewing…

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Community gardening project resources

Click to access the_cornerstones_of_incredible_edible_edited_0.pdf

Click to access 2203624.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-for-food-growing-a-guide

But “Destroy All Astromen” is better

Messer Chups

Re Election: To Labour or Not To Labour

http://www.fabians.org.uk/labour-party-membership-is-shifting-and-it-matters/

The Labour Party: changing faces, shifting bases

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=n_eSDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&dq=shift+labour+party+membership+address&source=bl&ots=yGv9dcWnCR&sig=fPbdNeNyy-hz0MUNFmaN304I7CM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8ktD_krPTAhWkK8AKHbi4D34Q6AEIRjAF#v=onepage&q=shift%20labour%20party%20membership%20address&f=false

Clelia O. Rodríguez “HOW ACADEMIA USES POVERTY, OPPRESSION, AND PAIN FOR INTELLECTUAL MASTURBATION”

How academia uses poverty, oppression, and pain for intellectual masturbation

The pros and cons of different research methods

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/schools/developing-young-researchers/how-to-choose-your-research-methods/

How to design a robust research project

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/schools/developing-young-researchers/how-to-design-a-robust-research-project/

Some notes on self-aggrandisement in the Neoliberal University

Book Review: Academic Conferences as Neoliberal Commodities by Donald J. Nicolson

Garden Buildings Direct Sales Rep lied to me about FSC Certification

So I’m buying a wooden garden shed, because I’ve reached that stage of life where one buys a wooden shed. I want it to be made from timber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. I know FSC Certification is not perfect or a panacea for what humans are doing to forests (and their inhabitants) across the world. But I think it probably still makes sense to buy FSC Certified timber where possible.

I saw a shed I liked, for sale by Garden Buildings Direct, a brand name of Kybotech Ltd. On their website it doesn’t mention FSC Certification so I called them to ask. Their Sales Rep (based in the Philippines) told me they are FSC Certified. The FSC website disagrees:

I then tried to ask the same question in their online customer support chat, and got no answer:

Garden Buildings Direct/Kybotech Ltd. aren’t getting my money. I bought from ShedsDirect.co.uk instead.

(Apologies for the poor quality photos.)

Incidentally, there is an organisation called What Shed? that reviews companies that sell garden sheds. Niche market, right? Which would make you think that their reviews would comment on aspects that are specific to sheds, which are almost always made from wood. But reviews by What Shed? make no mention of FSC Certification at all. Here is their review for Garden Buildings Direct, which is very positive.

Coincidentally, today I also got a quote for repairing sash windows. I asked if the wood used was FSC Certified. The guy giving me the quote said “Now you’re getting all technical on me. What’s FSC?”

Finally, here are some thoughts on this story, shared by a friend on Facebook (where I posted a link to this blogpost):

i’m loving this: As one of the largest manufacturing company’s in this sector they [Garden Buildings Direct] are a specialist in selling high volumes of products at very competitive prices. As such please take this into account when dealing with them. By this we mean they are very focused on a lean operation so they have a company owned customer service center in the Philippians [???] and they offer many options to help you customise your building to the specification that is right for your budget. As such if you are expecting the level of customer service and product quality you would expect from Roles Royce all from a UK based call center then this company might not be right for you.

so basically, please stop having Rolls Royce level expectations from uneducated, third-world folk…. also according to the reviewers “On this page you should find everything you could ever possibly want to know about Garden Buildings Direct”
ergo, FSCs are not the sort of thing you need to know about before buying a shed.

I replied:

Or, alternatively, “On this page you should find everything you could ever possibly want to know about Garden Buildings Direct” means “We are assuming you want to be as happy as possible with the product you buy. We are also assuming that if you know that their FSC certification has been suspended, you will be less happy than if you don’t know this. Therefore, logically, this is not something you could possibly want to know about the manufacturer. So we won’t tell you.”

The moral of the story: don’t go round making assumptions.