Dr Chris Whitaker
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christheowl.bsky.social
Dr Chris Whitaker
@christheowl.bsky.social
800 followers 990 following 200 posts
Works in disability with my own company Purple Advantage www.purpleadvantage.com. Particularly interested in making the world a more inclusive place for everyone. Loves studying (now: Exec MBA:writing publications on disability employment) sport and music.
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christheowl.bsky.social
Research update!
Happy to share with you that I submitted my disability employment research last night. The Individual Project, ‘Get (disabled) Britain Working: A Critical Analysis’ will now be assessed. The research makes an important contribution to the evidence base by including the views of disabled people themselves. Disabled people are so often talked about in relation to employment, and yet their voices are rarely heard. The headline findings are that: -Conventional approaches to employment don’t work for disabled people, who continue to experience high levels of discrimination and lack of opportunity. 71% of the 124 people who completed the survey said that they had experienced discrimination. -To close the disability employment gap, more flexible, person centred approaches to employment are needed.
March 6, 2025 at 10:39 AM
christheowl.bsky.social
Love is…when your wife understands how much you love books and gets you a trolly to compliment your office library 😊
A library trolly with books in Cambridge light blue
February 17, 2025 at 9:13 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
Doing my data analysis..and this data. This is a snippet from a coding memo..
This data is awfully powerful and it moves me. Time and time and time again the story is coming out that the world isn't, won't, or can't be accessible. The abudance of medical model stuff in here is beyond what I expected. In a different version of this i'd like to be more conceptually sophisticated and my commitment to this data is such that I will go back and pick out the nuances. At the moment I just want to scream that it is society is the issue and unless we get serious about genuinely making society a more inclusive safe and accepting place then further change is unlikely.
January 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
“No”, says the cat, with an air of defiance. “I will not allow you to work on your thesis on a Friday evening…”
Picture shows my cat curling up against the laptop. Her paws resting on this in a closed position as if to stop me opening the laptop up
January 17, 2025 at 6:57 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
What a day! Superbly looked after by @sheffielduni.bsky.social from start to finish at an emotional ceremony as I was delighted to receive my honorary Doctor of Letters degree. Thank you to everyone involved and congratulations to all the new Sheffield graduates this week.
Chris in his doctor of letters gown. Wearing a black bonnet with a gold tassel. A hood of red and gold and a gown of red and green. Chris is wearing a green suit with a university tie on. He is smiling.
January 13, 2025 at 8:55 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
Thanks Dr Emma! I did find a paper from Harvard Business Review in the end that had a useful and rather poetic insight
Quote which reads "a working life without endings is like a story without punctuation: The more it goes on, the less it makes sense. If we are to be more flexible in the workplace, if we are indeed going to be perpetual beginners, then we need to become much better at endings"
December 30, 2024 at 6:54 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
I’m still doing research into the experiences of disabled people looking for employment. I’d be grateful if you could share this survey with people it might be of interest to. The survey is at:

cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

#Disability #AcademicSky
Thank you
Information Sheet Disability Employment: Perspectives of Disabled People Before you decide to take part in this study it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. A member of the team can be contacted if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part. Purpose of the study The study aims to find out more about the experiences of disabled people when they are looking for employment. The study is focussed on people who are physically disabled. It is recognised that people may have multiple impairments. Why have I been chosen? You have been approached as you may have experiences that you wish to share on finding employment as a disabled person. Do I have to take part? Taking part is entirely voluntary and that refusal or withdrawal will involve no penalty or loss, now or in the future. What do I have to do? There will be a survey with questions on finding employment as a disabled person which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Are there possible disadvantages and/or risks in taking part? The survey asks about experiences of finding employment. It is understood that finding work may be a difficult process. The survey also asks you to talk about any experiences of discrimination that you may have had, and barriers that you may have experienced in finding work. Each question is entirely voluntary, and it is important to keep yourself safe if you choose to complete the survey. Only complete the questions that you feel able to. What are the possible benefits of taking part? There are no intended benefits of taking part. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential? All data will be identified only by a code, with personal details kept in a locked file or secure computer with access only by the immediate research team. The following link is general information about how the University uses personal data: https://www.information- compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/research-participant-data. What will happen to the results of the research project? Results will be presented at conferences and written up in journals. Results are normally presented in terms of groups of individuals. If any individual data are presented, the data will be totally anonymous, without any means of identifying the individuals involved. The data collected during the project might be used for additional or subsequent research. The results of this study will be available in Spring 2025, and participants can request a copy of the research project. Who is organising and funding the research? This research is being organised by Dr Chris Whitaker for part of his Executive Masters in Business Administration. It does not have any external funding. Contact for further information The researcher, Chris Whitaker can be contacted at cmw55@jbs.cam.ac.uk, or their supervisor j.martin@jbs.cam.ac.uk at any time. Additional sources of support Further information and support with disability employment is available via the following links: -ACAS- Disability at Work - https://www.acas.org.uk/disability-at- work -EHRC - Information on disability discrimination - https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act- 2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/disability-discrimination
December 27, 2024 at 11:53 AM
christheowl.bsky.social
I’m doing research into the experiences of disabled people looking for employment. I’d be grateful if you could share this survey with people it might be of interest to. The survey is at:

cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

#Disability #AcademicSky
Thank you
Information Sheet Disability Employment: Perspectives of Disabled People Before you decide to take part in this study it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. A member of the team can be contacted if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part. Purpose of the study The study aims to find out more about the experiences of disabled people when they are looking for employment. The study is focussed on people who are physically disabled. It is recognised that people may have multiple impairments. Why have I been chosen? You have been approached as you may have experiences that you wish to share on finding employment as a disabled person. Do I have to take part? Taking part is entirely voluntary and that refusal or withdrawal will involve no penalty or loss, now or in the future. What do I have to do? There will be a survey with questions on finding employment as a disabled person which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Are there possible disadvantages and/or risks in taking part? The survey asks about experiences of finding employment. It is understood that finding work may be a difficult process. The survey also asks you to talk about any experiences of discrimination that you may have had, and barriers that you may have experienced in finding work. Each question is entirely voluntary, and it is important to keep yourself safe if you choose to complete the survey. Only complete the questions that you feel able to. What are the possible benefits of taking part? There are no intended benefits of taking part. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential? All data will be identified only by a code, with personal details kept in a locked file or secure computer with access only by the immediate research team. The following link is general information about how the University uses personal data: https://www.information- compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/research-participant-data. What will happen to the results of the research project? Results will be presented at conferences and written up in journals. Results are normally presented in terms of groups of individuals. If any individual data are presented, the data will be totally anonymous, without any means of identifying the individuals involved. The data collected during the project might be used for additional or subsequent research. The results of this study will be available in Spring 2025, and participants can request a copy of the research project. Who is organising and funding the research? This research is being organised by Dr Chris Whitaker for part of his Executive Masters in Business Administration. It does not have any external funding. Contact for further information The researcher, Chris Whitaker can be contacted at cmw55@jbs.cam.ac.uk, or their supervisor j.martin@jbs.cam.ac.uk at any time. Additional sources of support Further information and support with disability employment is available via the following links: -ACAS- Disability at Work - https://www.acas.org.uk/disability-at- work -EHRC - Information on disability discrimination - https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act- 2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/disability-discrimination
December 22, 2024 at 12:08 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
I am researching the experiences of disabled people finding work. I'm focussing on people who, like me, have a physical impairment.

Please consider participating or sharing. The survey link is below and further information is attached. Thank you.

cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Information Sheet Disability Employment: Perspectives of Disabled People Before you decide to take part in this study it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and discuss it with others if you wish. A member of the team can be contacted if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not you wish to take part. Purpose of the study The study aims to find out more about the experiences of disabled people when they are looking for employment. The study is focussed on people who are physically disabled. It is recognised that people may have multiple impairments. Why have I been chosen? You have been approached as you may have experiences that you wish to share on finding employment as a disabled person. Do I have to take part? Taking part is entirely voluntary and that refusal or withdrawal will involve no penalty or loss, now or in the future. What do I have to do? There will be a survey with questions on finding employment as a disabled person which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Are there possible disadvantages and/or risks in taking part? The survey asks about experiences of finding employment. It is understood that finding work may be a difficult process. The survey also asks you to talk about any experiences of discrimination that you may have had, and barriers that you may have experienced in finding work. Each question is entirely voluntary, and it is important to keep yourself safe if you choose to complete the survey. Only complete the questions that you feel able to. What are the possible benefits of taking part? There are no intended benefits of taking part. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential? All data will be identified only by a code, with personal details kept in a locked file or secure computer with access only by the immediate research team. The following link is general information about how the University uses personal data: https://www.information- compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/research-participant-data. What will happen to the results of the research project? Results will be presented at conferences and written up in journals. Results are normally presented in terms of groups of individuals. If any individual data are presented, the data will be totally anonymous, without any means of identifying the individuals involved. The data collected during the project might be used for additional or subsequent research. The results of this study will be available in Spring 2025, and participants can request a copy of the research project. Who is organising and funding the research? This research is being organised by Dr Chris Whitaker for part of his Executive Masters in Business Administration. It does not have any external funding. Contact for further information The researcher, Chris Whitaker can be contacted at cmw55@jbs.cam.ac.uk, or their supervisor j.martin@jbs.cam.ac.uk at any time. Additional sources of support Further information and support with disability employment is available via the following links: -ACAS- Disability at Work - https://www.acas.org.uk/disability-at- work -EHRC - Information on disability discrimination - https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act- 2010/your-rights-under-equality-act-2010/disability-discrimination
December 19, 2024 at 11:44 AM
christheowl.bsky.social
Cat supervision continues, as does my essay writing. She’s highly interested in Strategic Management so it seems. She has also worked out that by not sitting on my hands, I won’t move her. Always so supportive… #academicsky
Picture of my cat curled up on the desk by my laptop
December 17, 2024 at 6:56 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
Cat update: I’m still working on my essays today so the cat has switched allegiances, preferring Frans company to mine…
Picture shows the cat curled up on the sofa next to Fran
December 15, 2024 at 4:53 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
Work slightly interrupted by the cat. She thinks I should be finished for Christmas. Little does she know that I have 3 essays to write…#Academicsky
Cat curled up in front of my computer sitting on my hands meaning I can’t work
December 14, 2024 at 12:01 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
People can sometimes think planning for accessibility is hard. On the contrary, it is about doing basic things well.

This is a response to an accessibility query. The clear, thoughtful description of what will happen and how was really helpful and reassuring.

The result? Priceless reassurance
Text of an email reading: Hi Chris, We do have a mobility lift at the side of the stage for access and departure. For the procession you will walk around the hall with the Officers and then as you approach the stage you will be guided to the left hand side where we have the lift available. This is also the same case for departure. On the day you will get a full briefing from the deputy marshall who will also be on hand to assist you on to the platform.
November 21, 2024 at 2:12 PM
christheowl.bsky.social
Tell me why so many people are leaving Twitter, without telling me why so many people are leaving Twitter…
A picture of a sour looking KT Hopkins with a target on her forehead with the caption ‘this is what it feels to be a white conservative women’
November 20, 2024 at 5:58 PM