Skip to main content

The Latest Bulletin

Seth Godin’s blog – The dominant culture

Seth Godin’s blog – The dominant culture

One of the great cartoons involves two goldfish in a tank talking to one another. One responds in surprise, “wait, there’s water?” When we don’t see the water, it’s a sign we’re benefitting from being part of the dominant culture. And since we’re not fish, we can learn to see the water and figure out how it is affecting us and the people around us. Visit a country where they don’t speak English and you’ll probably remind yourself all day that you speak English, something you didn’t have to think about last week. You’ll have to work overtime to understand and communicate. Back home, that stress disappears. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
June 23, 2020
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Look for reasons not causes

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Look for reasons not causes

People commonly talk about what causes a particular behaviour or reaction. However, as it is people we are talking about, it makes more sense to talk about reasons, rather than causes. Human beings exist in a social context that is very powerful in its wide range of influences and we are, of course, subject to certain biological forces and constraints. But none of this removes human ‘agency’, to use the technical term, the ability to make choices. If we are looking for causes not reasons, we can be neglecting some key aspects of how a situation arose or how it is likely to unfold. Of course, it would be naïve not to recognize that we do not have complete control…
Dr Neil Thompson
June 9, 2020
50 Women for 50 Years project

50 Women for 50 Years project

The 50 women for 50 years project aims to share the stories of 50 women from a diverse range of sectors, backgrounds, age and experiences to highlight the ongoing challenges facing women in work, opportunities and pay. Friday 29th May 2020 marks 50 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act 1970; the landmark legislation which made equal pay for equal work a legal right for all. But 50 years on, pay inequality is still rife and the vast majority of UK companies still pay women less on average. Equal pay is possible, but we need your help to make the legislation a reality for women across the UK. Find out what you can to do support The Equality…
Dr Neil Thompson
June 9, 2020
Making up with the Joneses: How Covid-19 has brought neighbours closer

Making up with the Joneses: How Covid-19 has brought neighbours closer

In the 10 years he has lived in his house in Wavertree in Liverpool, Greg Schofield is not sure he had ever gone into the alleyway behind his rear garden, an unlovely strip of weed-strewn cobbles where some neighbours kept their bins. Though he and his wife are close to their immediate neighbours on one side, there were only two other families in the street they knew to say hello to. Come lockdown, however, something changed. Someone set up a WhatsApp group and a couple of neighbours asked if anyone was up for tidying the alley. After most of the 14 households in the block turned up, each clearing their immediate patch, “It got people quite excited,” says Schofield. “People…
Dr Neil Thompson
June 9, 2020
Action for Children – What we do

Action for Children – What we do

“Without Action for Children, I don’t know where I’d be. Me and my children would have been homeless. But my support worker, she helped us in so many ways. I am so grateful.” Our vision is that every child and young person in the UK has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. We do this by working closely with children and their families, from before they’re born until their twenties. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
June 9, 2020
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – I-Thou, not I-it

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – I-Thou, not I-it

This distinction comes from the work of Buber, a theologian. I-Thou refers to interactions that are premised on dignity and mutual respect. These can be enriching and humanizing for both parties. I-it interactions, by contrast, are purely instrumental, purely about getting the job done with the minimum of human connection – not necessarily rude or discourteous, but with no warmth or feeling. These interactions can be dehumanizing not only for the person on the receiving end of such an approach, but also the person who initiates this type of interaction. Some people rely on I-it interactions because they have no motivation to rise above simply getting the job done. However, even people who are committed to I-Thou interactions and the…
Dr Neil Thompson
May 28, 2020