http://www.hilaryburrage.com/ Knowledge : Regeneration : Sustainability : Public Policy : Science : Enterprise : Culture : Inclusion : Liverpool : London en Copyright 2009 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:56:11 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Princes Boulevard in Toxteth, Liverpool, was once a bustling avenue, the home of wealthy merchants and many townspeople. Then local fortunes took a desperate downturn, the nadir being the Toxteth riots in 1981. But more recently things have begun to look up, as demonstrated for instance by The Gathering of May 2008, and today's Big Lunch in this historic setting.]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/a_gathering_and_a_big_lunch_in.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/a_gathering_and_a_big_lunch_in.php Liverpool & Merseyside Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:56:11 +0000 Sonia Sotomayor is the lawyer and judge who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the vacancy on the bench of the American Supreme Court. This week Judge Sotomayor has been grilled at a senate hearing about her suitability for the post. She is also Hispanic and a woman. This it seems gives rise to fears by interrogating Senators that her judgements may differ from those made previously.]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/judge_sonia_sotomayor_not_whit.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/judge_sonia_sotomayor_not_whit.php Social Inclusion & Diversity Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:16:50 +0000 How do 'evidence' and 'policy' fit together? It's one thing to hope the evidence will tell us what to do; it's another to persuade everyone else that the logic of how to resolve a given situation is so compelling. Evidence-based policies are a great idea; but different people ask for different sorts of evidence. And policy makers can only deliver what electors will accept. There's a dialogue challenge here somewhere. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/where_should_we_put_the_eviden.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/where_should_we_put_the_eviden.php Political Process & Democracy Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:26:04 +0000 Well, I've taken the plunge. From today I'm no longer a Sole Trader, but, rather, a Private Limited Company. It's a sensible move in business terms, but it's also definitely a stepping stone towards a way of working which even three or four years ago I never thought would be for me. In part, this is because my circumstances have changed through happenstance, and in part it's a changed mode of professional functioning which has developed its own logic over the past few years. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/hilary_burrage_ltd.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/hilary_burrage_ltd.php Pre-History / HerStory (1950-) Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:11:00 +0000 Liverpool Edge Hill was the location, along with its Manchester, Liverpool Road counterpart, of the first public railway station, opening on 15 September 1830. For some years more recently this historic site was marked by a large mural or relief of the 'Rocket' steam engine invented by George Stephenson (1781-1848) - an interesting vision in the grim context of our own contemporary Edge Lane access route into the city.]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/the_stephenson_rocket_mural_in.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/07/the_stephenson_rocket_mural_in.php Liverpool & Merseyside Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:52:00 +0000 The Lowry arts centre has this week stated its opposition to current plans for the Palace Theatre in Manchester to host all elements of a proposed Royal Opera House development in that city. The arguments on both sides seem however to miss some critical points: firstly, this is a regional not a sub-regional issue; and secondly the infrastructure and the local provisions should have been sorted years ago. Some other opportunities to develop the regional cultural offer have already been shunned; and now it looks as though this may happen yet again. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/the_lowry_manchester_royal_opera_house_plans.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/the_lowry_manchester_royal_opera_house_plans.php Arts Organisations Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:20:30 +0000 Sociology as a discipline in the UK was shaping up during the 1960s; but there was still an air of mystery about the whole thing when I chose to study it. There was no clear role model on which to base expectations. The discipline has however served me well ever since. For most of my working life I've been what might be called a Jobbing Sociologist. This is a version of the account I gave of my interwoven personal and professional experience, writing for the British Sociological Association's 'Sociologists Outside Academia' newsletter, published today.]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/1968_and_all_that_the_tale_of.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/1968_and_all_that_the_tale_of.php Pre-History / HerStory (1950-) Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:49:00 +0000 Sustainable development is a challenge for us all. If we don't engage everyone, future generations will soon begin to pay for our neglect. For this reason, there are in the UK Sustainable Development bodies with national, regional and more local focuses. But what should these groups actually do? Here are some of the ideas which I as one individual have thought about as a member of a sustainable development group with a regional remit. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/regional_sustainable_developme.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/regional_sustainable_developme.php Sustainability As If People Mattered Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:25:26 +0000 Fifteen years ago today, this time capsule was 'planted' in Ness Gardens on the Wirral; and now we see sitting by it a little person who will be 35 years old when the capsule is opened. What will her world be like? Will we have made it a good and safe place for her and her own children to live in? And are we moving in the right direction, now, to ensure this will happen? Do we now understand what 'sustainable' living entails? Can we ensure that future generations - not the ones who felt obliged to 'apologise' in the time capsule letters - will manage to live sustainably and well?]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/world_environment_day_19942044.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/world_environment_day_19942044.php Sustainability As If People Mattered Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:23:08 +0000 The 2009 European Elections on June 4 are no ordinary political exercise; this time it's about fundamental democracy, not 'just' party politics. There is a real danger the BNP will gain seats, unless everyone gets out and votes strategically - especially in the NW of England, where the BNP are focusing much attention. European Parliamentary seats are allocated proportionally, so the BNP will probably gain a NW seat unless Labour receives enough support for three candidates to be successful. Essentially that means it's Theresa Griffin (Labour) versus N. Griffin (BNP leader)...]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/critical_choices_4_june_09_eur_1.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/critical_choices_4_june_09_eur_1.php Political Process & Democracy Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point of mainland Britain, is not the first place most of us would look to find the dramatic Shenandoah 'Red Hot Poker' or 'Torch Lily' in bloom; after all, the Kniphofia group of plants to which Torch Lilies belong originated in Africa. But the remote north-west UK location around Loch Sunart has been showing these spectacular flowers off in profusion during the amazingly hot (up to 24 degrees C) first weekend of June this year. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/flaming_june_in_ardnamurchan.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/06/flaming_june_in_ardnamurchan.php Camera & Calendar Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:38:44 +0000 What will be the fundamental 'currencies' of the future? What, if we are serious about global sustainability in all its forms, should these currencies comprise now? It's likely, if we collectively are ever going to achieve a level of long-term viability for the human race, that we will have to shift the emphasis from money (or the gold standard) to the really basic requirements for life on earth - carbon, water and nitrogen, plus knowledge of all sorts to keep the whole show on the road. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/future_currencies_carbon_water.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/future_currencies_carbon_water.php Knowledge Economy Sun, 17 May 2009 19:48:15 +0000 C.P. Snow introduced the idea of the Two Cultures in the annual Rede Lecture in Cambridge of 7 May 1959. Himself both an eminent scientist and contemporary historian of science, and a novelist, in that lecture he lamented the gulf between scientists and 'literary intellectuals', arguing that the quality of education in the world is on the decline. Now fifty years later (as on the fortieth anniversary) a range of commentators continues to debate this claim. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/c_p_snows_two_cultures_is_fift_1.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/c_p_snows_two_cultures_is_fift_1.php Science & Technology Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:01 +0000 In the garden in early May last year, a broken piece of ivy jutting out from the hedge caught our attention.
Then a thrush darted into the greenery, and we realised this was in all probability the site of a nest - as indeed it turned out to be, a neatly solid little structure with three beautiful blue eggs in it.
Waiting patiently, carefully positioning the camera well away and using a zoom lens, this is what we then saw emerging, almost at our back door.... ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/a_happy_hatching_in_the_hedge.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/05/a_happy_hatching_in_the_hedge.php Camera & Calendar Fri, 01 May 2009 20:02:29 +0000 Earth Day, the annual event on 22 April, was devised in 1970 by a US Senator from Wisconsin. Today the Earth Day Network has a global reach. 2009 marks the start of The Green Generation Campaign, leading to 2010, the fortieth anniversary of this important day. A billion people already participate in Earth Day activities, now the largest secular civic event in the world. It's time for us all to take the Green Generation route to the future. ]]> http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/04/earth_day_the_green_generation_campaign.php http://www.hilaryburrage.com/2009/04/earth_day_the_green_generation_campaign.php Sustainability As If People Mattered Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:24:19 +0000