Thoughts and Ideas
This section is a space for me to consider issues within society and contemporary culture.
Here, I’ll introduce and further develop ideas I like to work with, explain and expand on issues that stem from previous projects, as well as consider immersive research and developing practices.
Study a PhD with Dr. Christopher R. Matthews
I specialise in conducting and supervising immersive research, but I’m keen to discuss various projects and research methods with prospective students as well.
Exploring drugs and doping with Dr. Paul Dimeo
Paul is a Reader at the University of Stirling and he’s a leader in the field of drug use in sport. Here, we discuss a bunch of issues connected to drug use, doping regulations and various logical inconsistencies regarding the ‘war on drugs’. We explore a range of examples and compare how drug use and users were, and are treated in very different ways to what has become normalised in the world of elite, and now sub-elite sport.
Synthesising theory with Dr. Alex Channon
Dr. Alex Channon of the University of Brighton and I talk through key ideas in the sociology of deviancy in sport. The goal was to outline the importance of theoretical synthesis, or as I term it; ‘bringing academic ideas together’ in order to frame our understanding of complex social issues.
Structuring an analysis of complex problems
In this video I propose the idea of a complex of ideas, rather than complex ideas. This means we can bring together simple ways of thinking about a topic and structuring them in a way that helps us explain a complex issue.
In this regard, we’re talking about a complex (different things that are connected in some way) rather something being complex (confusing and hard to understand).
We need to talk about the worst bits of the ‘best fights’
“What a fight for the fans here in Houston… An absolute classic… The stock of both women goes up with that performance tonight”. That was UFC commentator Jon Anik’s description of the fight between Angela Hill and Jessica Andrade at the recent UFC fight night 104.
It was great to watch these two perform in such a powerful and skilful manner, creating what Jack Slack has called the best strawweight bout to date. And to top it all off with great shows of respect and appreciation for one another at the end of the fight was excellent.
Why do people explain learned behaviours using ideas connected to sex hormones?
This article is based on some extracts from one of my first academic papers. It uses key academic ideas to explain why people rely on often overly simplistic ideas about sex hormones as explanations for socially learned behaviours.
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