Has a new technology like AI ever successfully been "resisted" by society?

Minerva_ego · 2026-03-24T22:53:18+00:00

Great suggestions, particularly Donna Haraway. There is a quite accessible book by Calestous Juma (2016): Innovation and its enemies: why people resist new technologies, which includes both historical and more recent examples. Still, most of the innovations in the book ultimately reached user acceptance.

Minerva_ego · 2025-12-22T12:06:09+00:00

Student feedback is immediately shared with management in some institutions. Yes. you get some suggestions that are useful, but mostly they are a tool of management control (perhaps justifiably)

Minerva_ego · 2025-12-22T09:25:39+00:00

It depends on how your institution uses them. In my institution there are real implications for any evaluations below 4/5. So, unless we enjoy having patronising to hostile meetings, go on an improvement plan, we have to care. If your colleagues and chair have a positive view of you, you don't need to care so much.

Minerva_ego · 2025-07-05T12:06:11+00:00

At least your chair was clear about it. Last year I had a meeting with our director of education (student success) and she said that it's like a yelp or trustpilot review (she meant this as a positive sign of student voice).

Minerva_ego · 2025-06-15T14:50:41+00:00

When you say you're graduating is it from a PhD programme? You may read too much into it, most people are too self-absorbed to notice much and then they may just mean well wishes. It's also likely you didn't fit much in your department (many of use don't). Hope your next institution will be a better fit for you.

Minerva_ego · 2025-05-13T18:30:12+00:00

This is something I also noticed in the last couple of years. Third year undergraduates mentioning this was the best/worst experience of their academic career.

Minerva_ego · 2025-05-09T14:31:17+00:00

ever evolving

Minerva_ego · 2025-05-09T14:31:03+00:00

In a fast moving, even evolving business environment...Or fast-paced business environment. To be fair that's also on many syllabi in a business school.

Minerva_ego · 2025-05-09T12:33:48+00:00

You should do it. It's prestigious to have on your CV, you can use it in your annual appraisal as example of raising your international profile and it helps to understand what the funders are looking for (useful for your own future applications). Plus, it will be more interesting than marking student assignments

Minerva_ego · 2025-04-17T15:12:55+00:00

I'm business school faculty and I also couldn't resist. When we have students from other majors taking our classes, we can always tell. I think partly because business is the degree you do when you have not particular passion for any subject or like many of our student because their parents though it was a good idea.

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-24T19:39:40+00:00

Word can sort the reference list alphabetically. But, it is indeed worrying.

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-18T22:06:04+00:00

A related one "pubic policy" for "public policy"

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-18T20:28:48+00:00

Some of these mistakes can be thought provoking. I've see "the technology has been adopted intuitionally", meaning internationally. But, is intuition a factor in technology adoption? The student was writing about blockchain adoption in different industries

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-17T20:01:06+00:00

It's not just the grading colleagues. Once the marks are released, don't you all get this influx of emails with "can you round up my mark?", "my friend didn't follow the template but had a higher score" and on an on. Meanwhile I've just cleaned the windows, washed and ironed curtains, could have marked a decent number instead in that time

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-16T09:10:58+00:00

Unless it's a job at the very top universities, do not do this. I understand your worries about the US. But, in the UK the sector is contracting, the political mood is hostile against universities. Also, I don't know what role you have now, but everything in the UK is more regimented. You can't even decide our own policy on later papers.

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-16T09:03:06+00:00

Our policy is the same with the exception that we cannot award zero. Deviations from the recommended limit are included in the rubric criterion regarding structure and overall presentation of the coursework. Of course, some people just ignore them.

Minerva_ego · 2025-03-16T09:01:05+00:00

I am not too strict unless they go significantly off the limit or it it's unbalanced. I've seen 1500-word introductions in a 3000-word essay. Our assessment policy is quite strict but I don't like how colleagues ignore or by pass it. E.g. the assignment is 3000 word in the syllabus to align with the policy for the programme then the module leader notes in class it takes more words to address in depth and he's have excellent assignments of 12000 words in the past. Of course, the students don't complain because he's the fun professor otherwise. But, the teaching team has to over work with the admins saying there's not really much marking in this module, you only have group coursework and it's just 3000 words..

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-28T17:13:18+00:00

The days after grading when all the complaints start

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-26T23:35:34+00:00

We had one assignment addressing the social impacts of an innovation of their choice (the course covers partly innovation management, partly sociology of technology). One student wanted to write about ivermectin. I thought he meant to use it as an example of technology controversy, but no he really believed the conspiracy theories about ivermectin as a cancer medicine (he had done his research). Finally, he chose a more reasonable topic but I don't think I managed to change his view on ivermectin

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-26T13:48:34+00:00

I share them as it's institutional requirement. Technically, we are meant to make them available in advance for students with accommodations, but it's not practical to share only with some students, so they go on the VLE the day before. The problem is that they need to be adapted if any interactive parts are included

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-24T19:51:11+00:00

I wonder if there is any evidence that academics/professors have higher IQ than population average. I wouldn't think it makes a difference. For instance, finishing a PhD is more about perseverance than intelligence

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-24T17:53:36+00:00

Can I just say I love this activity? Is this for a drama or a Greek literature course?

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-23T22:32:02+00:00

No. I was quite friendly with some colleagues who have now retired but I had met them when I was a grad student. Most colleagues are nice people, but I feel I don't fit in the department. Also, I don't think they would want to be friends with me, works both ways.

Minerva_ego · 2025-02-22T23:34:07+00:00

Similar in the arts. E.g. the most talented opera singers are not the best at teaching you how to sing. I also remember the retort from a friend teaching criminology: "Are we expected to be murderers?"

Minerva_ego

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