Rob Smith

Among our growing list of “other duties” in our job spec, it seems we’re now supposed to be part of the marketing department.
We understand the shifting recruitment landscape, but it’s yet another problem we’re expected to solve by ourselves.
Not to mention the risks that come with the exposure.

Congratulations, Antti! Great news!

2.5 million people with HIV have lost access to life-saving treatment as a result of Trump’s cuts to the global HIV programme.
It’s estimated that this has already resulted in an additional 100,000 AIDS deaths this year.

Awesome talk from Dr Patricia Jimenez at the EMCA Doctoral Network. Patricia did an amazing job at penetrating the question of why we do membership categorisation analysis and how it can help us understand members' situated sense-making practices.

Great data on classrooms and lay definitions of AI

Image of Patricia sat at a table, presenting in front of a PowerPoint screen.

Dr Patricia Jimenez presenting on the uses and troubles with MCA across her projects on members’ sense-making practices. Questions of producing adequate descriptions of occasioned patternings of categorial orders.

#EMCA
#MCA

It’s probably not what you had in mind at all, but McHoul’s PhD/book Telling How Texts Talk is worth a look.

We’re going to get 20 people to do a commentary at the same time

I meant publications from that exact project. They’re very good!

There have been some nice papers from this!

Four handbooks for the Intro to MCA course, fanned out, with WGSSS logo

Close up of schedule featuring a “walk to the food market” (a play on Hester and Francis’ “walk to the supermarket” paper)

All set for three days of Intro to MCA (sponsored by the WGSSS) and a meeting of the EMCA Doctoral Network. Huge thanks to Patrik Dahl for his organisational prowess.

Schedule includes bonus pun for the MCA heads.

#EMCA
#MCA

A great write up on the life and liveliness of the “Manchester” EM Reading Group. As Phil says, it’s rare to find space to really talk and think in modern academia.

I don’t get to go as often as I’d like, but like any favourite place that one has, knowing it’s there makes things a little better.

Via https://www.linkedin.com/posts/spencer-hazel-0941983a_positivereframing-crisismanagement-communication-share-7400921481251082240-W-co?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAPAF-EBGhyjfCnhrAC15qIiuzpKaH4Js_k

Via https://www.linkedin.com/posts/spencer-hazel-0941983a_positivereframing-crisismanagement-communication-share-7400921481251082240-W-co?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAPAF-EBGhyjfCnhrAC15qIiuzpKaH4Js_k

Link to BBC story about under-threat language courses https://bbc.com/news/articles/c8e9d73lwkro

Words matter. Language matters. Languages matter.

@spencerhazel.bsky.social on how universities cut their language degrees, AND stress the importance of language, AND use language poorly and offensively in communicating their decisions ("marketing-infused slop").

#AcademicSky #Universities

Reading What is Not There: Ethnomethodological Analysis of the Membership Category, Action, and Reason in Novels and Short Stories - Human Studies This paper investigates how the reader of prose fiction fills in the blanks regarding a fictional character’s membership category, action, and reason for the action. Aligning with an ethnomethodologic...

Like this?

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

I learnt so much from this project, the reviewers, contributors and especially from @robinjsmith.bsky.social. Thank you all!

@dollyeldritch.bsky.social
@emma-richardson.bsky.social @lizstokoe.bsky.social @daniellarafaely.bsky.social
@laalaajenkins.bsky.social

#EMCA

Yes, but let’s not skip over the presuppositions of the stupid question and what that indexes too quickly…

📢 Job opportunity #EMCA: 2 postdocs (80%) + 1 research assistant (50%) for a 4-year @snsf.ch project at HES-SO Valais-Wallis on AI in medical education and clinical decision-making. Start on 1 March (or as agreed), place of work Sierre (Switzerland).
Apply by 31 December.
Info: jakub.mlynar@hevs.ch

Bo and I wrote a little piece on Jeff Coulter for The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social

And a shout to @francescaorfw.bsky.social for helping to bring this project together in the first place!

Lovely summary from @akorbut.bsky.social (of course!). I try and teach it with the idea that order is built for the “nth member” - the next driver, the next person in the queue, or the conversation etc

The (Re)Production, Negotiation, and Navigation of Social Asymmetries‐in‐Action: An Introduction to the Special Issue This article reconsiders, and argues for, the contribution of ethnomethodological and conversation analytic research (EM/CA) to the understanding of social asymmetries in action. As well as highlight....

The introduction to our special issue on the (re)production of asymmetries-in-action. It’s been a pleasure working with @cathtam.bsky.social and our contributors in demonstrating EM/CA approaches to various “isms” and some of sociology’s “Big” concerns.
#emca

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Finally, I know of at least one case where the letter writer, deep into an episode of AI-induced psychosis, asked the LLM why scientists were not responding. The machine suggested that perhaps the scientists were trying to steal his discovery.

This will get someone killed sooner or later.

This! If you’ve spent any time with “most students” (which seems to be the operative category for management), you’d know this to be the case.

It’s one thing to be throwing stones from the shore, but quite another to be throwing them when you could be rowing.

“The boat has no bottom”

PBS homepage screenshot https://www.lse.ac.uk/pbs

Come and work with my wonderful colleagues @lsepbs.bsky.social!

Assistant Professor in Social #Psychology / Environmental Psychology

#AcademicSky

jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Happy birthday, Timothy

A great opportunity to work with a great bunch of people on a very interesting project in Oulu!

We're hiring! Research Fellow role focused on institutional ethnography and helping us to develop the lived and living experience hub. Applications open until 17th November!

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Membership categorisation, sociological description and role prompt engineering with ChatGPT #EMCA

In this paper (OA) we use Membership Categorisation Analysis to interrogate prompt engineering and the use of ‘natural’ sociological description - and lots more.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Harvey Sacks and Ethnomethodology: The Prospect of an Alternate and Adequate Sociology Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis have made major inroads into the disciplines that make up the social sciences. Although commonly run together under the title of EMCA, what their relationshi...

You can get this from your local, independent bookshop next week!
www.routledge.com/Harvey-Sacks...