Robert Dingwall
@rwjdingwall.bsky.social
Consulting sociologist, researcher, writer and entrepreneur. Medical sociology; sociology of law; STS; ethnomethodology; CA. Re-post does not imply endorsement.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Because people *still* don’t understand that overseas students subsidise home students. This is punishing everyone involved.
With Rachel Reeves reportedly set to apply a new tax on tuition fees paid by overseas students, most Britons support such a move at the previously mooted level of 6%
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
November 25, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Because people *still* don’t understand that overseas students subsidise home students. This is punishing everyone involved.
For all those wondering about the origin and robustness of the Covid Inquiry's assertion that 23K deaths could have been avoided by different actions....
trusttheevidence.substack.com/p/the-contra...
trusttheevidence.substack.com/p/the-contra...
The Contradiction in the Covid Inquiries’ use of modelling
23,000 deaths and the Covid Inquiry - Part 1
trusttheevidence.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:35 AM
For all those wondering about the origin and robustness of the Covid Inquiry's assertion that 23K deaths could have been avoided by different actions....
trusttheevidence.substack.com/p/the-contra...
trusttheevidence.substack.com/p/the-contra...
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
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/...
#emca
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:45 AM
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/...
#emca
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Over at the Daily Telegraph, they're scratching their heads as to why the former mining and steel producinv city of Gliwice in Poland is now 45% more prosperous than Darlington... and why it has new shiny infrastructure... without mentioning EU funds for urban and regional development...
November 24, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Over at the Daily Telegraph, they're scratching their heads as to why the former mining and steel producinv city of Gliwice in Poland is now 45% more prosperous than Darlington... and why it has new shiny infrastructure... without mentioning EU funds for urban and regional development...
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 4:13 PM
My hot take is that over the next 10 years, we're going to see more emphasis on and investment in the humanities at Ivy League and other fancy schools just as state schools and small privates continue to decimate and even eliminate the humanities.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
November 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
Vaccination: A Child’s Right? Are US children well-served by an obsession with exclusive parental rights to control choices like vaccination given the foreseeable risk to their lives, health and well-being?
www.socialsciencespace.com/2025/11/vacc...
www.socialsciencespace.com/2025/11/vacc...
Vaccination: A Child’s Right? - Social Science Space
One of the big cultural differences between the US and most of Europe is the nature of the legal relationship between parents […]
www.socialsciencespace.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Vaccination: A Child’s Right? Are US children well-served by an obsession with exclusive parental rights to control choices like vaccination given the foreseeable risk to their lives, health and well-being?
www.socialsciencespace.com/2025/11/vacc...
www.socialsciencespace.com/2025/11/vacc...
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
A brief day of sunshine in Nottingham!
November 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
A brief day of sunshine in Nottingham!
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Just because DNA is "colloquially known" as "the blueprint of life" does one have to use that outdated metaphor, with all its deterministic connotations? (see @philipcball.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Should Hitler's DNA have been studied?
Ground-breaking research has made some fascinating discoveries on the dictator, from his ancestry to possible neurological disorders.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Just because DNA is "colloquially known" as "the blueprint of life" does one have to use that outdated metaphor, with all its deterministic connotations? (see @philipcball.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Society was always better 20 years ago - so says every generation at least back to the 1840s... See G. Pearson, 'Hooligan', Macmillan, 1983...
November 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Society was always better 20 years ago - so says every generation at least back to the 1840s... See G. Pearson, 'Hooligan', Macmillan, 1983...
Sad news from the US. Erikson made important contributions to the interactionist sociology of deviance before his brilliant work on disasters. His first book, Wayward Puritans, also had a huge influence. He remains the ony sociologist to win the ASA best book award twice.
The great sociologist Kai Erikson has died at 94. Kai is known for his pioneering research on the impact of disasters on communities. His book, *Everything in its Path,* remains a landmark contribution to social science and a model to all of us who work to understand the human costs of crises. RIP
November 11, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Sad news from the US. Erikson made important contributions to the interactionist sociology of deviance before his brilliant work on disasters. His first book, Wayward Puritans, also had a huge influence. He remains the ony sociologist to win the ASA best book award twice.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
"In preparation for this session, I spoke to one academic at a research-intensive university, who even argued: ‘TRAC is a piece of fiction to conceal how much teaching subsidises research.’" 1/2
New test tubes or shiny buildings? The choice facing policymakers when it comes to funding research - HEPI
Let me start with a vignette. Back in 2017, we published a brilliant award-winning report on TRAC written by a young intern. This looked specifically at cross-subsidies in universities from Teaching (...
www.hepi.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
"In preparation for this session, I spoke to one academic at a research-intensive university, who even argued: ‘TRAC is a piece of fiction to conceal how much teaching subsidises research.’" 1/2
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
He was a key figure in setting up the Human Genome Project, which had a terrible organizational structure and failed to deliver on the hype.
I interviewed one of the main funders who said they felt it was a waste of money (but did generate useful research tools).
2
I interviewed one of the main funders who said they felt it was a waste of money (but did generate useful research tools).
2
November 10, 2025 at 9:44 AM
He was a key figure in setting up the Human Genome Project, which had a terrible organizational structure and failed to deliver on the hype.
I interviewed one of the main funders who said they felt it was a waste of money (but did generate useful research tools).
2
I interviewed one of the main funders who said they felt it was a waste of money (but did generate useful research tools).
2
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Governments and transport secretaries come and go. But Treasury Brain is timeless and eternal
November 9, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Governments and transport secretaries come and go. But Treasury Brain is timeless and eternal
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 AM
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
This weeks post is a sort of obituary for the BBC World Service Programme 'Science in Action' (@peaseroland.bsky.social) #scicomm makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/07/s...
‘Science in Action’ is ending. Here is why that matters
The year is coming to an end and with it a radio programme that was a staple of science communication around the world: the BBC World Service’s ‘Science in Action’. This is rather symbolic, as scie…
makingsciencepublic.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:23 AM
This weeks post is a sort of obituary for the BBC World Service Programme 'Science in Action' (@peaseroland.bsky.social) #scicomm makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/07/s...
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Updated thread on The Lost King film:
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
October 31, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Updated thread on The Lost King film:
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
I’m digging over old ground but I have to challenge Steve Coogan's line. He claims it’s all true (as has Philippa Langley): Langley will be celebrated for her achievement, Richard Taylor & his personal gripes will be forgotten
So what’s the real story? 1/15
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Despite its ideals, science cannot escape its social embedding,When science becomes entangled with state power or social movements that prioritize hierarchy, nationalism, or exclusion, it can be mobilized in support of authoritarian ideologies, including fascism.
November 1, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Despite its ideals, science cannot escape its social embedding,When science becomes entangled with state power or social movements that prioritize hierarchy, nationalism, or exclusion, it can be mobilized in support of authoritarian ideologies, including fascism.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
On further reflection, handing operation of our Universities over to a professional administrative class with no personal investment in the educational mission of the university or the creation and maintenance of knowledge might have been somewhat in error.
October 31, 2025 at 4:42 PM
On further reflection, handing operation of our Universities over to a professional administrative class with no personal investment in the educational mission of the university or the creation and maintenance of knowledge might have been somewhat in error.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
BREAKING: economist discovers “second shift,” a concept coined by sociologists almost 50 years ago; gives it new, stupider, and less explicitly labor-oriented name
October 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
BREAKING: economist discovers “second shift,” a concept coined by sociologists almost 50 years ago; gives it new, stupider, and less explicitly labor-oriented name
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Come across Conversation Analysis and want to know more?
Loughborough University's annual online CA for Beginners workshop is on Jan. 15, 2026.
Talks, group work & data sessions with experts.
Registration (£45 or £90) is now open.
More information here
emcawiki.net/CA_for_Begin...
#EMCA
Loughborough University's annual online CA for Beginners workshop is on Jan. 15, 2026.
Talks, group work & data sessions with experts.
Registration (£45 or £90) is now open.
More information here
emcawiki.net/CA_for_Begin...
#EMCA
CA for Beginners January 2026 - emcawiki
emcawiki.net
October 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Come across Conversation Analysis and want to know more?
Loughborough University's annual online CA for Beginners workshop is on Jan. 15, 2026.
Talks, group work & data sessions with experts.
Registration (£45 or £90) is now open.
More information here
emcawiki.net/CA_for_Begin...
#EMCA
Loughborough University's annual online CA for Beginners workshop is on Jan. 15, 2026.
Talks, group work & data sessions with experts.
Registration (£45 or £90) is now open.
More information here
emcawiki.net/CA_for_Begin...
#EMCA
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Ah the challenges of a modern world and digital exclusion.
Age Concern is campaigning for a more accessible world & we have written about it...
The cartoon 👇 may be funny, the reality not.
Age Concern is campaigning for a more accessible world & we have written about it...
The cartoon 👇 may be funny, the reality not.
October 22, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Ah the challenges of a modern world and digital exclusion.
Age Concern is campaigning for a more accessible world & we have written about it...
The cartoon 👇 may be funny, the reality not.
Age Concern is campaigning for a more accessible world & we have written about it...
The cartoon 👇 may be funny, the reality not.
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
When I was your age we would read books made out of paper and the professor would just sit on the desk at the front of the room and talk to us
October 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
When I was your age we would read books made out of paper and the professor would just sit on the desk at the front of the room and talk to us
Reposted by Robert Dingwall
Today's post is a a bit of a conceptual Odyssey around the epic lands of 'enshittification' - a word for our times #linguistics #AI makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/17/e...
Enshittification: A word for our times
On 9 October Jack Stilgoe posted a question on Bluesky: “Has Cory Doctorow done a piece on the enshittification of enshittification yet?” Ken Tindall replied: “The word enshittification has turned …
makingsciencepublic.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Today's post is a a bit of a conceptual Odyssey around the epic lands of 'enshittification' - a word for our times #linguistics #AI makingsciencepublic.com/2025/10/17/e...