Thinking Allowed - 25/11/2009

Barack Obama famously used new technologies in his 2008 election campaign. Could those same techniques be used to reinvigorate the next UK general elction in the same way it did for Obama's Web 2.0 campaign? From MySpace and Facebook, text messages to email, will new media transform the election in the same way it did for America? Or is the UK too party political for digital technology to have the same impact? Laurie Taylor discusses with Rachel Gibson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. Also, how musicians performing can give new insights into negotiation, learning and decision making. Howard S Becker, professional jazz player and acclaimed sociologist, joins Laurie to discuss what jazz and music can teach the rest of the world.