Caroline McCalman

Green places

Those places where nature is more vitally present have been the happiest places.

What is good about having a pet? We adopted a cat about a week before my father died this year. It wasn’t really the right time, because of course I then spent some time away with my mother and a new feline addition to the household needs stability. But, frankly, if you wait for theContinue reading “Joy, and Joyness”

Begin it Now

Begin it Now

Nations & nationalities are not inherent categories

What’s something you believe everyone should know. They’re constructions of approximately the last 200 years. Much of the conflict we see globally can be traced back to entirely arbitrary geographical boundaries being drawn up by what are now former imperial powers. Of course humans naturally form groups, communities and societies, but the nation states ofContinue reading “Nations & nationalities are not inherent categories”

Happy Accomplice or Hapless Stooge? Research Independence in the UK

I was recently challenged by a participant with regards to research integrity and my capability (real or imagined) of publishing “awkward” findings. I have some thoughts.

Prophecy, failure, and [covert] surveillance

Great data does not make up for a lack of research ethics…

Surviving First Contact (aka., beginning data collection)

Many moons ago, my thesis supervisor uttered words of great wisdom, which I have carried with me and shall endeavor to pass on to any unsuspecting research student who doesn’t run away fast enough. “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” He was speaking in the aftermath of my first foray into data collection.Continue reading “Surviving First Contact (aka., beginning data collection)”

Achieving Personal Coherence

One of the first things a sociology or human geography student will be taught is that none of us have just one identity: we have many.

Moving the Overton Window

Who was Overton? What is his window? Why and how does it move? I came across the concept of the ‘Overton Window’ when I was in the early stages of my PhD. At the time, it didn’t seem to have much ‘traction’ in the academic circles I was, well, circling and no-one else seemed atContinue reading “Moving the Overton Window”

Evangelism vs. Environmentalism: paper review & discussion

Johnson, A. L., & Franklin, R. G. (2022). The Influence of Evangelical Religiosity on Environmentalism. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 009164712211220. https://doi.org/10.1177/00916471221122039 This paper came up on my Google Scholar recommendations – obviously some Silicon Valley bot is keeping tabs on my interests… Nevertheless! This was an interesting read. As a scholar whose focus isContinue reading “Evangelism vs. Environmentalism: paper review & discussion”