David A Ellis
Based in the School of Psychology at the University of Glasgow, my doctoral research examines people's everyday relationship with time.
I am also interested in sleep and social interaction.
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About
- David A Ellis M.A MSc AHEA MBPsSDavid is a third year PhD candidate with a primary research interest in peoples' everyday relationship with time. Using a range of experimental and data mining techniques, his work often highlights the important differences between physical and psychological time. Understanding these differences may in turn help organizations save time and money.In addition to his own research, David has also had spells working in the public and private sectors including a recent ESRC internship placement at The Scottish Government. An active Twitter user, he lectures on the value of communicating science online and has presented his own work at various public events including The British Science Festival. These experiences led to him designing and organising Glasgow University's first impact driven conference for research students entitled 'Changing the World'.He currently holds an MA and MSc in psychology from the University of Glasgow and is an associate member of The Higher Education Academy.
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My Research
- How often have you been late or lost track of time?Lateness cost British businesses £1.8 billion last year, but struggling with time can also be emotionally expensive. Life is full of temptation and the decision to do something now or later is often resolved by focusing on a past, present or future time zone. For example, you may choose to save some money for a rainy day in the future or instead spend everything now, enjoy all the benefits in the present, but risk subsequent financial hardship.Psychologists typically study human thought processes by focusing on when they go wrong and despite its importance, our ability to perceive and understand time is surprisingly liable. For example, during threatening events, such as car accidents and robberies, many people report that events seem to pass in slow motion.My PhD explores these systematic errors and associations during peoples' everyday experience of time. Using a range of experimental techniques, the results often highlight the important differences between physical and psychological time. Understanding these differences may in turn help us save time and money.
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- SummaryDavid is a third year PhD candidate with a primary research interest in peoples' everyday relationship with time. Using a range of experimental and data mining techniques, his work often highlights the important differences between physical and psychological time. Understanding these differences may in turn help organizations save time and money.
In addition to his own research, David has also had spells working in the public and private sectors including a recent ESRC internship placement at The Scottish Government. An active Twitter user, he lectures on the value of communicating science online and has presented his own work at various public events including The British Science Festival. These experiences led to him designing and organising Glasgow Universities first impact driven conference for research students entitled 'Changing the World'.
He currently holds an MA and MSc in psychology from the University of Glasgow and is an associate member of The Higher Education Academy.Specialties: psychological research methods, primary and secondary data analysis, public communicator/engagerExperience- Oct 2009 - PresentPhD Student (psychology) / University of Glasgow
- Oct 2008 - PresentPostgraduate Teaching Assistant / University of GlasgowUndergraduate Teaching (University of Glasgow) -1st year tutorial facilitator (topics covered include individual differences and report writing) -Lab demonstrator -Lecturer on introducing psychology, clinical/diagnostic applications and statistics -Co-ordinator for junior honours professional skills module -Senior honours statistics workshop facilitator -Joint supervisor for final year projects and summer research students Postgraduate Teaching (University of Glasgow) -Lecturer on communicating science and website development
- Mar 2011 - Jun 2011ESRC Internship Analyst / The Scottish Government
- Jun 2010 - Aug 2010Visiting Researcher / University of Essex
- Jun 2007 - Oct 2007Research Assistant / re-find the future®
- Sept 2005 - Sept 2006Clerical Assistant/Assistant Technician / Argyll and Bute Council
Education-
2008 - 2009The University of GlasgowM.Sc. in Research Methods of Psychological Science (distinction)
Activities: Glasgow University Squash Team -
2004 - 2008The University of GlasgowM.A. (Hons) in Psychology (1st)
Activities: Psychology Society: President 07-08, School of Psychology: Level 3 Class Representative 07-08, Students' Representative Council: General Representative 05-06
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:2011: EPS Grindley Grant Glasgow University Research Initiatives Grant ESRC Internship Award 2010: PsyPAG Oral Presentation Conference Award Glasgow University Mac Robertson Scholarship 2008: ESRC 1+3 Quota Studentship 2007: Charles and Barbara Tyre Trust Grant Glasgow University Psychology Society: President Glasgow University Chancellor's Fund Scholarship 2004: Lochgilphead High School: Head Boy and various other academic prizes.
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Interests:running, squash, photography, golf
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Tweets
- What statistics might mean to Alan Partridge http://t.co/7iGAVn25
- Finally got my hands on Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails = 'industrial-strength noise over a pop framework'
- I have a feeling that psychologists have been telling governments to teach a second language earlier for many years http://t.co/sD5qEjGc
- Can anyone recommend a couple of decent reference books to help writing code in Java and/or Objective C?
- Blog entry from The Curious Neuron on a recent Science Communication Conference (which I also presented at) http://t.co/V8aQYAKC
- Present from a student = a good day http://t.co/w0MRCfqk
- Would love to ask Mr Zhou why he thinks democracy is dangerous. http://t.co/DIxLgmDw
- Had an office spring clean yesterday! http://t.co/6SGBWhxo
- Regarding The Scottish Govs proposed minimum price for alcohol - see this meta-analysis out in Addiction from 2009 http://t.co/mdAqfiEV
- The world number 1 on why London 2012 would have been fantastic for squash. The IOC had other plans unfortunately.May 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- On why gadgets keep breaking. http://t.co/iXMDMqD2May 12, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Certificate from a science communication course run by the NSCL in York. I thoroughly recommend it:) http://t.co/HRS7184P
- For some amazing album artwork (the music isn't bad either btw) - visit Geographic North http://t.co/nFpmm4u6
- Writing PhD on the train. Surprisingly few distractions - except Twitter of course.May 10, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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Posts
- Apr 19, 12
When studying for exams, I was given three bits of advice:
(1) Get plenty of sleep
(2) Exercise
(3) Eat plenty of fruit and veg.
This advice should seem fairly obvious. All of the above has been shown time and time again to to maximize cognitive function.
Yet what actually happens is the complete opposite - even amongst psychology students who should know better! The library has begun to fill with a large number of people who spend all day everyday glued to their books. The gym has emptied. Healthy food is usually off the menu.
I have a theory, which remains totally untested!
As an exam gets closer, anxiety levels rise accordingly. For many, this anxiety will increase when they remove themselves from their standard studying environment. This becomes a reinforcer and as studying becomes habitual, little time is made for anything else.
Once the deadline or exam passes, life returns to normal.
This may apply to other stressful deadlines throughout life, which often cause a dramatic behaviour change that is counter productive to the final goal. It is not the quantity of effort - anyone can sit down and stare at some notes for 12 hours a day and pretend to study.
Actually understanding what those notes mean will require some reflection away from them! Anyway, to all those students who I have taught or spoken to in some capacity this year - Good Luck!! - Mar 12, 12Daniel Bor's latest blog entry discusses problems with weak statistics in neuroimaging papers, but the issues raised are relevant to any area of research that relies on inferential statistics. For example, as behavioural scientists move towards collecting larger data sets, the risk of finding false-positives increases accordingly.Statistics also play an important role in any psychology degree. Gaps in statistical knowledge quickly become apparent when students are asked to critically review other's work or carry out their own research. One wonders if these early misconceptions could contribute to poor research practices further down the line.In my somewhat limited experience, psychology students generally know what numbers they need to report, but often fail to understand what goes into making those numbers a reality. This common misunderstanding can be split into three distinctive areas where undergraduates may benefit from additional support:(a) Any introductory statistics course needs to emphasise the importance of data visualisation (like the graph below for example).
(b) Teaching needs to reinforce some of the basic mathematical principles behind inferential tests.
(c) Students need to appreciate the importance of assumptions that data must adhere to before accepting the output of any parametric test.I often ask students, 'Can you tell me what numbers go into calculate the value of t as part of an independent t-test?' Worryingly, many students are unable to answer this question. They are however, able to run this test in SPSS and correctly report the results.
A genuine result can only be confirmed if the assumptions of normality are met, but this is rarely mentioned in most published research. If data is not normally distributed then it must be transformed. Non-parametric tests provide a valuable alternative. My point is that if students are going to be taught the importance of data adhering to normality when using parametric statistics, then this should also be given careful consideration in published research. But I'll save that for another post
Introductory courses in statistics need to change.
There is a tendency to introduce concepts like p-values and degrees of freedom early-on without actually explaining where they come from. Phrases like 'p is a measure of how likely the result was obtained by chance' are unhelpful. As an undergraduate, I had no idea how this was possible. A chance of what? The chance that is was raining outside? The chance that I made a mistake in the calculation? How could this p-value tell me how likely the result was down to chance when all that went into the test was my own data?
This causes many students (including myself at one point) much distress. These confusions stem from the fact that bare-bones explanations offer an incomplete picture. This builds up a sort of bleak mystique around the numbers as if they have somehow been plucked out of thin air.
Students need to be clear what inferential tests are actually doing from the outset and this understanding will be further strengthened by the critical appraisal of others work. If these misconceptions can be ironed out quickly, then other statistical tests will become easier to digest.
There is no point sugarcoating concepts just because they cause students to ask a lot of questions. The complete truth will make life easier in the long run, produce better research and better psychology graduates. - Jan 13, 12Out of 28,000 teachers who qualified in 2010, just three individuals had a computer-related degree. This makes me wonder just how tech-savvy a lot of 10 to 15 year olds really are.When I was 10 in 1996, my parents purchased our first ever home computer. It had the latest Intel Pentium processor that clocked in at a whopping 120Mhz. To put that in perspective, most iPhones today run at ten times this speed.Things were tricky at first. Windows 95 took awhile to get used to and most video game developers still preferred MS-DOS as a platform because it provided a more stable environment. Direct X was in its infancy and the Xbox was over a decade away. Microsofts idea of Plug and Play technology rarely applied and/or worked.Fifa 96 was a Christmas present that year, but due to MS-DOS being unable to correctly identify the computers CD-ROM drive or sound card, I didn't get to play it until February 1997.When attempting to run the game, instead of giving me specifics, the computer produced three words:'read file error'.A RAM upgrade and 2 months spent ensuring that MS-DOS was in fact aware that the computer had a CD-ROM drive resulted in me falling behind with my homework. More importantly however, I could now play Fifa 96!The experience taught me several valuable lessons. I had a better grasp of how to use a command line operating system and understood the basic relationship between software and hardware. It probably did a lot to improve my problem solving skills. At the same time, my classmates at school would share their stories of MS-DOS over a packet of crisps at lunchtime. A group of us were looking forward to studying computing as a stand alone subject. Unfortunately, computing at high-school involved very low level tasks that nearly everyone in the class could complete with relative ease. The closest we got to solving problems of any interest was the occasional bit of tricky programming.But it wasn't enough.A lot has changed since 1996. Microsoft is no longer cool and I no longer feel compelled to play video games. A growing number of people do most of their work on a small computer that will rarely go wrong. About 90% of software works straight out the box and hardware really has become a simple plug and play process. Provided a PC meets the minimum requirements for a game, today's 10 year old is unlikely to run into the same problems I did in 1996. Even living room electronics are relatively straightforward to use in comparison to the now redundant VCR, which had to be programmed as if it might land a man on the moon. Even the programmers from NASA lost sleep after missing the last ten minutes of The Cosby Show!Children today will never experience the true joy of showing their parents how to correctly programme their VCR although they can probably teach them a thing or two about their smartphone.I recently purchased an AV Amp for my living room. It basically takes in all your video and audio sources and sends these out to your TV and speakers. Now unlike most other bits of kit for your living room, it is a tad more complicated to set-up. Sad to say I have actually really struggled to get this up and running. I was out of practice when it came to using a bit of tech that doesn't 'just work'. The ten year old me might have been more successful, but how would a 'tech-savvy' ten year old in 2012 cope?There is a lot of talk on why children need to become digitally literate, but are we really sure what digital literacy means? Being able to understand how computers work and how to fix them should be an essential part of any 21st century curriculum. Is that digital literacy? Any 10 year old can learn how to use PowerPoint, Facebook and a smartphone without any adult guidance. Is that digital literacy?To me, an education in real digital literacy would teach children about the nuts and bolts that make up a piece of technology by experimentation. This would more closely mirror how it is taught at university level.As everyday technology has become more reliable, what I would term 'real digital literacy' has taken a back seat. That isn't going to produce the next generation of British software developers. People of my age and older had to deal with computers that were relatively unreliable. In 1996, everyday software and the rise of the internet was constantly spurring on hardware development. People often upgraded their old machines as RAM was a cheap (ish) way of enhancing performance. In 2012, a modest laptop can do pretty much everything the average user needs with little intervention. I do like the idea of schools going back to basics when it comes to teaching computer science. Graphical limitations mean that students would be forced to internally visualise the problem.Computer science curriculums are undergoing a revamp at present, but given the rate at which technology changes, why has this taken so long? A quick glance at last years Scottish Computing Standard Grade paper reveals that little has changed since I sat the very same exam in 2001.
- Nov 01, 11People often remark that buying into the latest technology now provides better value for money. Now old tech has certainly become more affordable. Televisions and CD players can all be bought for a fraction of what they cost 20 years ago. But these don't come under the same bracket as the latest and greatest must have new gadgets.Gaming has supposedly become more affordable than ever. Or has it? Lets compare the launch price of some consoles from 1990-2007.Prices corrected for inflation until 2009 using http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/
After correcting for inflation, prices have actually remained relatively static and appear to fluctuate as a console embraces a significant new technology. For example, CD based systems show a spike as do those that were early adopters of Blu-Ray. I appreciate that this doesn't take into account how prices change over a consoles lifetime, but it gives a better measure of how much cash someone would have to part with if they wanted the latest bit of kit.
If you apply a linear trend line to this data, you also find that there has actually been a gradual increase in the cost. On the plus side, buying a console today means you also inherit a DVD and/or Blu-Ray player so a increase in cost can easily be justified.Yet software often drives hardware and I don't need a graph to illustrate that video games have actually become cheaper and represent better value for money than they did 20 years ago. It is a myth that gaming has become more expensive and that's before you include downloadable games that cost considerable less than physical media. Prices and availability are also made clear from the outset. It is easy enough to check how much games will cost before choosing a console. This seems fair to me. If you want this, pay x up front and if you want more here is what it will cost you. Anyone can make an informed decision quickly.
Unfortunately for consumers, some areas of everyday technology have become a confusing and somewhat delayed expense that offers comparatively poor value for money. Nowhere has this become more prevalent than in the marketing and selling of mobile phone contracts.
Phones are often free at the point of sale, but data costs and a lack of contract flexibility are pushing up the total end price. The average contract has become longer and that's fine if it reflects good value for money. It doesn't. Customers are often tricked into paying for data plans they will never use simply to get a free phone. These data plans also don't take into account that 3G reception in the UK is far from perfect. This coupled with a lack of decent competition from the mobile networks means that customers are stuck paying for something that results in a net loss.It's a nice bit of marketing. The customer probably feels like they are getting a better deal at the time and will leave the shop feeling happy. The truth is that they will either not use most of their data allowance or be unable to do so due to network limitations. This is before you get into the large percentage of phones that are easily damaged or stolen. Many of us are walking around with something that costs more than a games console, but remains extremely fragile and rarely insured.
I'm sure there are several experiments hidden in this. Find out peoples' actual mobile phone usage and then see what deal they are most likely to plump for off the bat. Odds are that most people opt for a deal that far exceeds their actual data usage, but gives them a nice new free phone up front. This clearly happens all the time, but I wonder what individual factors might account for those who opt for the big early reward or wait and save money further down the line?I would also love to see a measure of how much data use peaks when an individual purchases a new phone and measure how many weeks it takes for data use to settle down to an average that is practically zero. Like games consoles, smart phones are a considerable advancement from what we had 20 years ago, but mobile operators should be more upfront with their costs. Their should be a total contract cost next to each monthly tariff. Customers would then be able to compare deals directly without a calcualtor. It would quickly become apparant what deal offeres the best value in the long run. Network operators should also make it clear to customers what their average data usage has looked like over the previous year.
Of course, maybe that would make no difference. Those who see the free phone as the main pull are likley to ignore this and forfeit any long term gain. - Sep 28, 11Open call for papers and postersThe aim of this conference is to facilitate discussion and raise awareness of the wide variety of research going on at Glasgow. Those presenting will gain valuable experience in communicating their work to a non-expert audience. Fingers crossed this may even result in some new friendships and new collaborations.Other universities already host local conferences like this and we felt that it was about time Glasgow had a similar event.Postgraduates and post-docs based at Glasgow University are invited to submit empirical and theoretical papers from across the full spectrum of science and the humanities . We would particularly encourage contributions that reflect on the impact your work may have, even if you are at an early stage of your research.This event is supported by Vitae (http://www.vitae.ac.uk/), Glasgow University Postgraduates Society and a Glasgow University Research Initiatives Grant.To submit an abstract, visit https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_GB&formkey=dDNuV3B6T3VOOGYzT2k2VDBoc1VLUGc6MQ#gid=0For further details contact David Ellis (d.ellis@psy.gla.ac.uk<mailto:d.ellis@psy.gla.ac.uk>) or Michael Comerford (comerm@dcs.gla.ac.uk<mailto:comerm@dcs.gla.ac.uk>)Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/237203432986025/
- Aug 19, 11Vinyl sales have increased by a *whopping 55% this year.Collecting vinyl brings with it a whole new collection of problems. Dust, interference, cartridge replacement and the calibration of a record table are the historical equivalent of buying a decent pair of headphones to go with your new iPhone.So are we seeing a split between consumers who are sticking with the physical and shun the digital?Well, no. Vinyl remains a niche format, but it nevertheless refuses to go away. What interestes me however, are the potential changes in peoples' listening habits as they gradually move away from physical to invisible digital formats. For example, are people connecting with music emotionally in the same way that my parents generation supposedly did?Records typically force the listener to sit down and pay attention to the music. You can't skip tracks without getting up and the album becomes more like a novel. As an undergraduate who completely ran out of money on several occasions, I was forced to sell some prize possessions, but one thing that I refused to let go of was my meagre record collection. Presumably this reluctance hints at a deeper level of attachment!Digital media on the other hand, allows music to become a soundtrack rather than an experience in itself. Decent headphones certainly improve the experience, but given the limitations of human attention, I can't help but feel that the record and the humble hi-fi provide an experience that goes beyond the iPod.So can any physical format survive another 20 years?Teenagers are soon going to grow up without ever having to buy books, music or film as a physical entity so presumably they are all doomed. The reality is that this simply isn't happening. Yes, CD sales are down, but not everyone appears to want the convenience of Spotify or iTunes even if they have been brought up knowing little else. Vinyl is the most inconvenient thing on the planet yet it's increased sales are fuelled by those in their late teens and mid-20s.So will there always be a place for the physical format?I have no idea. I hope so. At least until we get to the stage where brain implants can pipe 7.1 channels of sound into my auditory cortex. It's difficult to see a time in the near future where CD's and DVD's will disappear completely. Backwards compatibility with Blu-Ray players has almost certainly helped secure their short term future.The future of digital delivery is going to depend on the internet's ability to stream the next generation of content. If quadruple high-definition becomes a reality, it's difficult to see how anything but a physical format will be able to deliver that content reliably until everyone is experiencing a faster internet service.Of course some formats have completely disappeared. When was the last time you saw an audio cassette for example? The novelty factor here completely out weights the inconvenience. But in 50 years time, will people still buy classic petrol cars when a cheaper and more efficient alternative is readily available? Probably.As cloud computing becomes a reality, it's reassuring to know that some things don't actually change that quickly. Despite their technological limitations and huge inconvenience, people see something in being able to hold their CD, their LP, or their book in their hand. The central idea of ownership becomes rather blurred when everything is held on a virtual cloud and I'm not sure that everyone is ready or comfortable with the idea of an empty bookcase. Not yet anyway.Maybe the idea of an empty bookcase is something I will just have to get used to, but if I do digitize everything, I can always turn my records into abstract art.*Note: This figure doesn't include the second hand market.
- Aug 03, 11In the beginning, I had an inactive Twitter account. Now I have some followers and sometimes worry that I have nothing interesting to say. Does Twitter help me with anything or just delay everything?In other words, can regular Twitter use help focus the mind and improve other aspects of cognition? This might seem like a bit of a long shot, but there is some evidence to suggest that journaling or diary keeping can help aid decision-making and reduce stress. However, Twitter is a very different beast, not least because it involves 140 characters and social interaction.A second question. Could the use of social media cause intellectual harm? If there is a positive effect on thinking and communicating, can this be reversed by excessive use? Given the growing number of people who actively engage with some form of social media, the issue probably merits further investigation.Wouldn't it be nice if all that time spent on Twitter wasn't just helping people network and share ideas, but also raised their IQ by a couple of points too!The possibility remains that regular Twitter use may have absolutely no effect on an individual’s personality, cognition or subsequent behavior. Anecdotally however, people always tell me how all that time spent on Twitter was really productive and thought provoking. This may well be true, but it's also a symptom of cognitive dissonance.As for me, I am undecided, but if anyone is interested in researching this issue further, please get in touch.
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- University of Glasgow, 58 Hillhead St, Glasgow, Glasgow City G12 8, UK
