My conviction
The inferior product wins more often than it should. Understanding why is the actual job.
I’ve spent twenty years watching objectively worse products beat better ones. The difference is almost never in the product. It’s in how the choice is framed, what the buyer is actually deciding, and what the brand understands about how people behave. Everything I do starts there.
Selected work
View all work [ -> ]
Jan·12·2026
Dec·16·2025
Oct·06·2025
Meet the NOTESLAB®
We invite researchers, community organizations, and public agencies to collaborate. Contact us to use or share datasets and protocols or to discuss joint projects.
Acknowledgements
NOTESLAB® is supported by a mix of institutional and project-based funding. Partner and funder acknowledgements are listed on relevant project and resource pages.
We’re open to collaboration.
Latest Notes
View Archive [ -> ]
-
Why is canceling a subscription so hard? Inside the dark patterns, the SiriusXM case, and the failed click-to-cancel rule, and… Read more.
11–16 minutes -
Why do we idolize public figures, then destroy them overnight? Inside Indonesia’s idol cycle — the splitting psychology that turns… Read more.
13–20 minutes
Meet the people behind
the NOTESLAB®
Dr. Samira Ortiz
Principal Investigator
Urban heat, Field methods, Open data
Ciarán Walsh
Research Assistant
Sensors, Data cleaning, Field logistics
Daniel Okeke
MSc Student
Environmental justice, Interviews, Mapping
Niamh O’Sullivan
PhD Researcher
Water access, Community research, GIS
Amina El-Khoury
Postdoctoral Fellow
Coastal change, Risk, Mixed methods
Visiting Collaborators
Network
Partnerships, Coauthorship, Shared datasets
Funding & Partners
NotesLab® is supported by:
In collaboration with:
F.A.Q.
What’s the difference between Field Notes and Publications?
Field Notes are working-facing posts—method notes, reflections, and updates written for readability and practical reuse. Publications are formal research outputs (journal articles, reports, and working papers) with citation details and official links.
Can I reuse your datasets, protocols, or templates?
Often, yes. Each resource lists its license and any access conditions. If a dataset is restricted (e.g., sensitive locations or participant privacy), we’ll note how to request access.
How should I cite something from this site?
Use the citation information on the relevant page when available (publication citation, dataset version, or post date).
When in doubt, cite the page title, NotesLab®, the year, and the URL.
How do I collaborate or request access to restricted materials?
Email noteslab@dier.ie with a short description of your project and what you need (e.g., dataset version, intended use, timeline). We typically respond within 3–5 working days.