Research Notes is where I develop ideas in public.
These notes explore people, technology, work, learning and change. Some begin from research and reading. Others begin from everyday experience, workplace observation, personal reflection or questions that stay with me over time.
The purpose of these notes is not to present finished answers. It is to think carefully, ask better questions and trace how ideas develop.
This page gathers my ongoing reflections from A Thinking System. Over time, these notes will form a growing archive of ideas about how people live, work, learn and adapt in a changing technological world.
Current Themes
-
Doctoral researchers need more than methods training — they need space to find their research voice
Doctoral education equips researchers to design studies, engage critically with literature, address ethical questions and apply appropriate research methods. These foundations are essential. But becoming a researcher also involves something less easily captured through formal training: developing the confidence and language to explain what your research means and why it matters. Universities increasingly recognise that…
-
Never Understood
I stood at the waterfront and tried to peek ahead while the water washed towards my feet. Such a beautiful view. Little me, and so many thoughts flying through. Never understood. Maybe that is such an acronym for a life well lived. Or perhaps a life spent trying to understand and desperately wanting to be…
-
The Stories We Are Afraid to Ask About
I woke up that morning knowing I had taken leave from work for adoption training. It was a three-day training, and before it began, I did not fully know what to expect. I thought I understood adoption in a simple way. A child needs a home. A family wants a child. Love enters the story.…
-
What Is on Your List Today?
I was reading a piece by Bill Gates about the best things he had read, listened to and watched, and one idea stayed with me. A list. Not just a reading list. Not just a list of books, podcasts or films. But the kind of list that quietly tells us what matters to us. Then…
-
When Yesterday’s Map No Longer Works
The day after I arrived in the UK, I set out to walk to Huddersfield train station. It wasn’t far — just a few streets from where I was staying. But thirty minutes later, I was still walking in circles. My phone battery had died, and without Google Maps, every street looked the same. Eventually,…
-
The Morning After the World Changes
Yesterday I found myself sitting with a question that would not leave me. Not politics.Not technology.Not even war. Something quieter. How does an ordinary person wake up in a world that has changed? Imagine going to sleep with the confidence that tomorrow will look like yesterday. The same streets. The same body. The same work.…
-
Before the World Wakes
There are moments in life that don’t happen in crowded rooms or busy meetings. They happen quietly, before the world wakes. A few mornings ago, I found myself reading through old WhatsApp messages. They weren’t polished conversations or carefully chosen words. They were honest. Raw. The kind of messages people write when they’re carrying something…
-
When Was the Last Time You Really Listened?
When was the last time you truly listened? Not because you did not know what to say. Not because you were waiting for your turn to speak. But because you genuinely wanted to understand. When your son or daughter was talking, were you listening to their words, or were you already preparing your response? When…
-
My Research Story: Does it make sense?
There comes a point in every doctoral journey when research stops feeling like a collection of theories, methods and papers, and starts becoming a way of thinking. For me, that moment happened recently. For months, I have been reading about Generative Artificial Intelligence, Organisational change, sense making, organisational imprinting, techno stress and techno – eustress.…
-
WHAT DO OTHERS EXPERIENCE
Research often begins with curiosity, but sometimes it begins with uncertainty. When I started a new role, much of the work involved using Excel and managing large amounts of data. Although I was excited about the opportunity, I was also anxious. I was unsure of what was expected of me and worried about whether I…
People and Technology
Reflections on how people experience, interpret and adapt to digital technologies, artificial intelligence and new systems.
Work and Change
Notes on how work changes, how people respond, and how organisations can support more human-centred transformation.
Learning and Sensemaking
Reflections on how people understand new situations, build confidence and make meaning from uncertainty.
The Research Journey
Thoughts on reading, writing, doctoral learning, uncertainty, confidence and becoming a researcher.
Human-Centred Technology
Ideas about how technology can be designed, introduced and used in ways that remain attentive to people, care, meaning and experience.
Notes from a Thinking System
Selected research notes will also shape my newsletter, Notes from a Thinking System. The newsletter will share shorter reflections on research, work, technology, learning and human change.