Sean Wallis

Operation raise the colours: 🧵

1/12

2 mini-islands on my road now painted to be Saint George's flags.

I don't think quoting legislation about what the council does or doesn't allow in terms of flag poles etc is an adequate or even helpful response to what is going on in the UK at the moment.

More UChicago Ph.D. Programs Will Pause Admissions The Arts and Humanities dean said “nearly all” faculty leaders preferred “a broader pause for the division.” Some social sciences programs also aren't accepting new students.

I don’t think I had fully metabolized the news that CHICAGO is pausing PhD admissions in HISTORY OF SCIENCE? www.insidehighered.com/news/admissi...

After the mishandling of the University’s Recovery Plan and the awful attempts to justify it yesterday, we welcome Prof Seaton being invited to give evidence.

Gazan students fear for future as path to UK remains blocked Dozens face ‘heartbreak’ of missing out on university places, after battling against the odds to apply

'The students are guided by...the belief that higher education is a truly transformational opportunity. Majd noted that higher education in Gaza has been all but destroyed amid the fighting, and said supporting Gazan students to access education “benefits entire communities, not just themselves”.'

63% of people think net migration rose in the last 12 months
8% of people think it fell

Yet it fell by 400,000 in 2024 vs 2023
[It is falling further in 2025]

Public service broadcasters are doing a core part of their job on this topic badly if that 8% is not closer to 30% at least

For the EU, this should be a very urgent matter of national security. All EU member states should build on Denmark's wise strategy to phase out Microsoft products

This was the super-secret intelligence Yvette Cooper had on her desk but which she couldn't possibly tell the general public about which meant she had to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group, by the way, in case that wasn't already clear.

the nazis also made a big point of displaying and jeering at art they deemed degenerate while pushing for its removal, its literally just the same ideology

Solidarity to all on the streets today defending our communities against the billionaire funded, grifter led far right. & especially all being targeted.

Expecting canals to be empty of barges if the Black Country lot are successful in stated aim of “stopping the boats” - 100 miles from the sea.

'Good practice' does a lot of heavy lifting here.

‘Guard rails needed’ as big tech targets students with AI tutors Fears raised over ‘culturally encouraged introversion’ but could study assistants help bridge gap between universities and Silicon Valley?

'Publishers are also increasingly adding AI features to academic papers and textbooks. Oxford University Press recently introduced an “AI Study Assistant” to its “Law Trove” online archive of law textbooks.' 1/3

A photo of people at a rally with signs that say "UCU says NO compulsory redundancies"

Today was the last day at the University for so many of our colleagues taking voluntary redundancy, with even more leaving in October.

We appreciate all of you and will miss you dearly. We will continue to fight so that others aren't forced into making the same difficult choice

Solidarity with our East Midlands colleagues. We are also experiencing this loss at present, with more to come.

UK HE is in a terrible state and some urgent action is needed.

Text Reads: “I was informed by HR that they are following the recent interim guidelines, which don't allow transgender people to use the toilets of their gender, and they would instead be modifying two cubicle toilets on the other side of the building into gender neutral toilets for transgender people to use instead. These toilets are about a 5 minute walk away from my desk, despite there being perfectly fine toilets in my work area. I am only out to a few people, and so this change will forcibly out me to the rest of the workforce, violating my privacy and putting me at risk of harassment from those who are transphobic. It made me feel absolutely humiliated, degraded, violated and dehumanised.” -White trans woman who faced issues at work in Wales. tinyurl.com/trans-segregation-in-practice Image of front cover of the trans segregation in practice report report on pink background

A new report from TransActual shows that trans and cisgender people face job loss, violence, vigilantism and wholesale exclusion following the Supreme Court Ruling and EHRC guidance.

Read the report at: tinyurl.com/trans-segreg...

#Trans #Transgender #Nonbinary #EqualityAct #EHRC #TransRights

Friends of mine are posting photos of Chicago to counter the Trump disinformation that it's a hellhole in need of his "rescue." I, for one, am about to play tennis in Chicago, and will try to lob the ball over the heads of any bicycle-chain-wielding gangs that invade the court.

Excellent post by @matthewbarnard.phd which includes this insightful point about UKHE's 'hostility towards intellectualism' 👇

Thank you for writing the piece @matthewbarnard.phd

Heatwaves are making people age faster, study suggests Exposure to high temperatures could result in long-lasting damage to health of billions of people, scientists warn

And the original research is here, in Nature Climate Change: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

UK gender pay gap understated for past two decades, report finds Office for National Statistics already under scrutiny over quality of its figures

ONS statistics under fire again.

The underpinning research is: discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10...

The havoc that external consultancies wreck on #UKHE: they're inherently lacking in transparency (for "commercial sensitivity" reasons...) and have priorities that are alien to the sector.

Sure, some specific projects need some external input. But a manager needs to be sufficiently wise to steer...

ANU expected to appoint investigator to investigate itself, releases self-assurance report | Region Canberra The ANU is expected to announce a new independent investigation into several allegations made against executive members during a Senate…

“I find particularly offensive the attempt to gaslight staff by citing letters and votes of no confidence as evidence of staff not being afraid to voice their concerns,”

Senator @davidpocock.bsky.social, ANU staff could not agree with you more!

region.com.au/anu-expected...

These Russell Group unis are letting in way more students - and other unis aren't happy One London uni is accepting 65 per cent more students than it did five years ago

And the winner is …. UCL that increased its u/g offers by 65%. Where are you going to put all these students, UCL?!

This was an inevitable consequence of the students as consumers model. Even a very academically enthusiastic 18 year old doesn't have the context to judge by teaching & research, but they know whether a place looks prestigious or not.

χ² summation: a fresh look 1. Introduction  In preparation for the forthcoming second edition of my book, I took the opportunity to review my book chapter on separability tests. These are meta-tests which compare repetitions of a particular test. The idea is simple. Suppose you and I have performed a similar study with different data and obtained numerically different results. Such a result is unsurprising: it would be strange indeed if our results were identical!

χ² summation: a fresh look

1. Introduction  In preparation for the forthcoming second edition of my book, I took the opportunity to review my book chapter on separability tests. These are meta-tests which compare repetitions of a particular test. The idea is simple. Suppose you and I have…

FYI: Futurism has now made (and is making further) significant edits here to call out my work, which I very much appreciate.

How to become archaeologist for the day at dig near Oldham The Big Dig 3.0 is taking place in Rochdale this month, where people can help excavate the town centre's lost artefacts

Fancy trying your hand at #archaeology? Well, if you live near Rochdale, you can, and it's free!

Tareq Baconi · Short Cuts: Gaza under Siege Humanitarian aid has long served as cover for Israeli crimes. Under the Geneva Conventions, an occupying force is...

‘“What can be done?” the European diplomat might ask me today.

For a start, call a spade a spade. This is an apartheid regime carrying out a genocide on a captive population. End military assistance. Suspend arms exports to Israel.’

Tareq Baconi on Gaza: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

What Actually Counts as Interdisciplinary Research? A data-driven look at which funders support knowledge integration

Interesting bit of research from @ersatzben.bsky.social suggesting QR funding is really critical for supporting interdisciplinary research
johnsonb.substack.com/p/what-actua...

ANU would be wrong to stop the music The school of music is a Canberra Institution, not just part of the ANU.

“To suggest, as the current generation of ANU leaders has done, that developing the full potential of highly talented individuals … is no longer within the institution's remit because it is not cost-effective is an absurd non sequitur.”

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/901244...

“The inconvenient truth is that UK higher education as a whole is pretty good, and remains so despite the efforts and fervent wishes of many.”

• Discontinue the idea of introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students. • Reduce visa costs to ensure they are at least as competitive in cost as other leading science nations, and preferably have a target to become the mos competitive in the G7. • Provide immediate clarity that the current time length for Indefinite Leave to Remain is kept in place for current and future Global Talent visa holders and their dependents.

We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...