Welcome to Technology in Context

This blog is here to let me develop ideas that fall between my day job in IT at the University of Sussex and my Psychology studies. There's some great work out there in Human Computer Interaction and UX, but there's a lot less that puts technological changes in wider social context.

I'm going to write about how the constantly changing tools, gadgets and techniques available to use change the way we live our lives on both an everyday and grand scale. However, I will do this from a sceptical point of view; both the benefits of new technology and any effects identified need to be treated with caution.

Some of the possible upcoming topics are:

• 'Digital natives' in education and work - "email is for old people"
• Does privacy matter in the age of the cloud?
• The effect of ubiquitous recording devices on the way we behave and experience life
• Conway's Law and collaborative tools at work
• Online secrecy, Wikileaks, PRISM and the oversight of the intelligence services 

Part of the purpose of this blog is to develop my own ideas, so I'd welcome comment and feedback. Let me know if there are any topics that you think might be worth a post about.

 - Matthew, September 2013