Duncan O'Leary
Duncan works on projects looking at public services, skills and work.
- It's good to talk Talking to the public about science can be a controversial matter. Really controversial, sometimes. But it seems the Conserative Party has decided that it's not such a bad idea: launching the Tories' energy review Alan Duncan says:"The review will invite contributions from the public as well as scientific experts, consumer and environmental groups, business users and energy providers."Engaging the public in direct participation and public deliberation is something that Demos has long been... continue reading on 14th February 2006 Comments (1)
- Commenting on the Greenhouse You've never had it so bad. Sorry if you've been trying to comment on the greenhouse recently - we're having a few technical problems which hopefully should be resolved soon. In the meantime, if you'd like to post a comment but are having problems just drop me an email and i'll paste it in for you. continue reading on 9th February 2006
- Drinking humble pie The Guardian carries a story today on the fall of serious/violent crime since the liberalisation of drinking laws at the end of last year. It's clearly too early to say what the long-term results will be, but i had thought (and hoped) that despite all the hysteria this would be a case where the government had got it right. The article suggests that part of the success story was:"?2.5m to boost a range of specialist operations, including issuing fixed penalty notices for alcohol related... continue reading on 9th February 2006
- Taking the debate upmarket The temptation is to be either support or oppose greater freedoms for schools, but the danger is that ?freedom? or ?control? become ends in themselves, where more or less of either automatically becomes a good or a bad thing. As I tried to point out with my posting on HSBC banning customers from rival banks, the devil (and the politics) really is in the detail.As Julian Le Grand points out in January?s Prospect, the way in which government structures the competition is vital to the types of... continue reading on 8th February 2006
- Spot the Difference The challenge that Cameron set himself, I think, was the right one:?Having defined ourselves for many years as the anti-socialist Party, how were we to define ourselves once full-blooded socialism had disappeared from the political landscape??The question was in the past tense, but it clearly looms behind the policy reviews that Cameron has set in train. Yesterday Cameron signalled his intention to move away from ?one dimensional thinking? and ?easy answers? ? and it will be interesting to see... continue reading on 31st January 2006
- McFamilies Interesting news - McDonald's is introducing a pilot scheme which will allow two members of the same family to cover each other's shifts without having to give any prior notice to management. Apparently, if the pilots are successful (which apparently they have been so far), it may be extended to beyond families to friends working in the same place.This is the kind of thing that happens in people's personal lives the whole time - 'would you mind doing the shopping/picking the kids up today?'... continue reading on 26th January 2006
- Wiki-d Contintuing the theme of the take-up new ideas/technology, I meant to write a post the other day about my brother getting panned by his tutor at university for referencing wikipedia in one of his essays. He was told that anyone can write on it and it's insufficuently regulated, so you never know whether it's accurate or not (despite recent evidence to the suggesting the opposite). I wonder if/when it will become acceptable to use it in academic circles..? continue reading on 20th January 2006
- What's all the skype about...? You may have noticed that we're getting excited about Skype at the moment at Demos (i say 'we', i'm still holding out). Turns out we knew about it about a year-and-a-half ago, so why is everyone suddenly wearing headphones in the office in January 2006? It's not cheaper now and as far as i know the technology hasn't changed all that much. Well, i've asked a couple of people here and they reckon the real difference was that someone actually signed up for it - making it worth while for other... continue reading on 20th January 2006
- Getting it wrong Digby Jones (who is Chair of HTI for this year) was typically strong on this ? arguing that we are producing a generation of young people that is risk averse, and which will hold businesses back as they seek to innovate to compete in the global market. Similarly, the SSE make it clear to people on their courses that they don?t mind them making mistakes ? that?s how you learn after all. Trying something, getting it wrong, and then finding a better solution helps equip people with strategies for... continue reading on 19th January 2006
- Political incorrectness gone mad Amongst his list of criticisms of the ?PC Brigade? he writes, ?Giving employment rights to women that aren?t given to men encourages employers to discriminate against them?. Which reminded me of David Cameron?s comment in an interview at the weekend that, ?The suggestion for the massive extension of paternity leave owes a bit more to political correctness than the realities of life.?The two positions ? on the same issue ? seem to be entirely different, but both dismiss the alternative as... continue reading on 4th January 2006