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Friday 25 September 2020

David M Howie BSc, BA (Hons) PPE (Open)


The rationale, underlying this blog is threefold.  Primarily it is a tool with which David can develop the “societal triangle.” theory. Secondly, this blog is about self-management. As am sure the reader can understand, growing up with the side effect of a childhood brain tumour/stroke was and is, not easy. The final reason for this blog is to challenge some of the miss communication and misconceptions which society has about disabled people. However, this blog will also challenge the misconceptions disabled people have about their relationship with the broader community.

     As the reader would have noticed, David has spent a good part of his adult life in further and higher education. Two years further, to achieve my HND in information and media technology. Five years full-time in higher education, comprised in the calculations of the Five years full-time, are Six years part-time study with the Open University. Highlighting educational achievements is not intended as an egotistical method to further my career. However, admittedly career development is a fringe of this blog. Primarily the reasoning behind highlighting educational achievements provides the opportunity to convey to the reader that education was David’s self-management coping mechanism.     

          To the reader, David recommends finding your coping mechanism. Education worked for David because it provided a subjective inclusion in a shared activity. Finding an activity which connects ‘the self’ – the reader as an individual – to broader society, David argues is what provides wellbeing. The reader will see this theme expressed across the blog.


navigation


The navigation of this blog links to David’s choice of a blogging platform.  Admittedly at first blogger appears to be an odd choice. However, what blogger provides is quick access to reader feedback. David hopes the readers will interact with the content and provide feedforward. David is hoping to collaborate as often as possible with the readers. If anyone has any ideas about how to achieve this interaction, please comment below.   

     The layout of the blog for reader accessibility has segregated into four sections: societal triangle, education & the self, Topical posts and reader topics & feedforward. Topical posts will come from Non-governmental organisations from whom David receives weekly emails. However, if readers want to provide topical subjects, David will consider the request to publish an article on the topical suggestion. Note this blog is apolitical and will not criticise political parties directly. However, David will be critical of government policy. David is tremendously interested to see where the development of the reader topics takes the blog, therefore please provide comments below.   

     The Abstracts below provide an overview of each area of the blog. On concluding the abstract, the go-to link at the end of each abstract will take the reader to the page of interest. Additionally, If another page is available in the subject area, the next read link will take the reader to the next page. Alternatively, the home button at the top of each page shall bring the reader back to this post. Navigation of this blog is also available from the page drop-down menu on the right-hand side.     

   

   Societal triangle  

The Societal triangle, as far as David is aware, is an original theory. At a minimum, how David arrived at the idea is original. David, like other disabled people, see society a little different from people who society classes as non-disabled. Therefore, David’s mind works outside the social norms of society. David would argue and will argue that communities require people who think differently, who don’t think inside the box of social norms.  

     Perhaps the societal triangle will fail as a theory. Here, however, is the problem the UK political world has. Social norms provided Brexit, an inappropriate response to COVID-19, vast inequality, child poverty, health inequalities and protectionism. Is it not time to start thinking outside the box? Is it not time to bring disabled people into the workplace? Is it not time to try the Societal triangle theory?        

to read more of this section click here                    



Education & the self

Education and lived experiences shaped my personal and professional identity. It only took the book Reflection in Learning & Professional Development by Jennifer, A, Moon for me to recognise that my lived experiences where a constant struggle to find “the self”.  I should add the class in Applied professional practices helped me acknowledge that my long term conditions shaped my lived experiences in part. I have spent all of my adult life trying to shift the label of disability. I was wrong to do so. I should have been challenging the social norms which highlight disability negatively. Having a disability is not harmful; it is positive. It is the social norms and communications which are detrimental. Social norms and communications segregate and isolate anyone which society views differently. In this section, I will show that being different can be empowering.              

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To read more of this section, click here.


  

Topical issues 

Topical issues, similarly to topics chosen by the reader, will have a current, timely schedule. What David is looking to achieve in this section is to look at election manifestos’. Not just political parties manifesto’s, but also third sector organisations manifestos’.

    In this section, the objective is to have a collaborative based approach to analysing election manifestos’. David, as suggested above, sees his personal & professional identity as been T-shaped. The advantage of the T shaped individual is numerous contacts from within the funnel become part of the network. David will reach out to his contacts and ask for guest bloggers.

    Even if the readers don’t become frustrated with hearing Davids thoughts every week, David surely will. Therefore all and any intervention is warmly welcomed.      

to read more of this section click here  


Topics of readers choice                                 

Topics of readers choice shall provide some prime quality issues, David is sure. David has no problems with local and national matters having a publication in this section. However, David has a network of international colleagues. Therefore David wants to achieve a discussion around the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), and International relations feel to this section if possible. 


        social media/podcast  



                   

 


  

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