I’m a Disability Activist Because I Have to Be, But Not Always Because I Want to Be:
Activism is not a hobby for a disabled person like me; activism is the only way I can access the world and live the life I want.
Really powerful blog from Shona Louise, a UK based freelance writer, disability and theatre blogger and disability activist about the cost of outsourcing enforcement of disability rights to disabled people. Her story about disabled seating at the back of the dress circle for a singalong theatre show in 2019 really hit home for me.
On the theme of building back better: two pieces from the Institute for Fiscal Studies
- How the crisis in lost learning calls for a massive national policy response.
- Inequality: the IFS Deaton Review: A wide ranging five year research project looking at inequality
We see inequalities all the time, whether at the school gates, the hospital, when travelling round the country – or even a single town – or when turning on the news. But at any moment we typically encounter, or hear about, one specific type of inequality, a specific alleged cause of it, or a specific proposed solution. Inequalities are too pervasive and too complex for us to stop at that. We need to step back and ask: how are different kinds of inequality related, which matter most, what are the big forces that combine to create them, and what is the right mix of policies to tackle them?
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
A truly beautiful, inspiring, and comforting book by Charlie Mackesy. His illustrated tweets are also a delight.
Unintended Consequences and Goodhart’s Law
As many people are reviewing this financial year and contemplating planning for the next it seemed timely to mention Goodhart’s Law.
Goodhart’s Law is expressed simply as: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” In other words, when we set one specific goal, people will tend to optimize for that objective regardless of the consequences.
The Covid Conundrum
Reflections on the shifting work practices caused as a result of the pandemic and what might come next. The article warns that impacts of working at home has had an unequal impact and there is potential for creating a two tier workforce in future where men return to the workplace and women continue to work from home.
[During the recent lockdowns] one-third of women said job satisfaction decreased compared to less than one-quarter of men. It seems that working from home has knocked the confidence out of women and there’s a decrease in the sense of feeling valued.
A Lament for Power
I found this film thought provoking, moving and really thoughtful. The discussion between David Blandy and Larry Achiampong hosted by Wysing Arts is well worth watching when it’s posted on the Wysing Broadcasts channel
‘A Lament for Power’ is available to watch on the Art Exchange website here and until 28 February 2021 is also on the Focal Point Gallery website and Big Screen Southend.