Ruth Francis

I enjoyed looking into this. What can we do about the growing challenges around research integrity?

I quite enjoyed digging into this topic. Peer review: Can AI help with reviewer overload and research integrity? 🧐

A brutalist building with an unlit neon sign saying 'the future' with blue sky behind it. A white caption reads: What to expect in scholarly communications in 2026 Or what AI believes could occur... Scholarly Futures Scholarlyfutures.substack.com

Lots of predictions out there about the year ahead, so we asked AIs what they thought would happen in scholarly communications in 2026. AI predicts more AI! Do you agree?
open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...
@roobina.bsky.social @sarahgreaves18.bsky.social @jontreadway.bsky.social @grnr25.bsky.social

White text on a red background on the top half of the image. The bottom half is a light bulb. Text reads: Innovation with receipts. What can we infer from the winners of The Vesalius Innovation Award about developments in the research workflow and ecosystem over the six years since the annual award was first given?

Latest post by @jontreadway.bsky.social explores what the shortlist and winners of the Vesalius Innovation Award say about changes in the research workflow system.
open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...

Another interesting post from my colleague @sarahgreaves18.bsky.social @scholarlyfutures.bsky.social This week on AI and it's impact on Publish, Read, Curate as a model.

The last large acquisition before big tech brings big change? The recent announcement that OUP is acquiring Karger heralds yet more consolidation in an industry where there have been growing concerns about market concentration, monetisation and monopolies.

How much further can consolidation go in scholarly publishing, and could winds of change blow in from elsewhere to reshape the market, perhaps even ‘disrupt’ the way things are done? Latest by @roobina.bsky.social 👇
open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...

Broadcaster and writer Afua Hirsch explaining how Tim Davie the now former BBC Director-General looked her in the eye and said Black staff supporting anti-racism “breached impartiality” www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4fxa6...

A neon sign on a modern street. White text over the top of the image reads: Quick updates on research security. News from the European Commission and Science Europe.

To round off the week, we bring this quick update on research security, since our post on Tuesday. Written by @roobina.bsky.social about an announcement from the @ec.europa.eu and a report by @scienceeurope.org
open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...

This is very sad. It has been widely listened to and trusted around the world. Terrible news.

Another one bites the dust. When I expressed my professional concerns at issues in the science unit and where it was headed, I was quickly terminated. Public service broadcasters have a remit; we should hold them to it

My first post for @scholarlyfutures.bsky.social takes a look at what's happening with research security and where it rubs up against open science and open data.

White text over an image of a large building at night with a neon 1st sign. Text reads: AI-first publishing - what would it look like and when might we see it? What might it mean to publish research with no human in the loop? Digital-first publishing offers some parallels, but the AI transition will likely be different and deeper.

What might it mean to publish research with no human in the loop? @jontreadway.bsky.social post investigates four possible avenues and explores which seem more likely: open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...

Viewed over the shoulder of a lady looking at a phone with LLM and a logo on the screen

The arrival of AI and the speed it is changing our working lives is astonishing. @sarahgreaves18.bsky.social investigates the adoption of AI tools into academic publisher workflows, attitudes towards them & lessons from book publishing.
open.substack.com/pub/scholarl...

Launch of Scholarly Futures Join us as we try to work out which futures are worth discussing

A new substack from @jontreadway.bsky.social @roobina.bsky.social Sarah Greaves and @pgarner.bsky.social

I've already subscribed and you should too.

scholarlyfutures.substack.com/p/launch-of-...

This is a new thing that I’m trying out for a few months with some very smart people. We would love it if you would come along, tell us what you think and say hi.

A new space to consider the various directions that scholarly comms, research practices and academic publishing are traveling, by me, @sarahgreaves18.bsky.social @jontreadway.bsky.social & @grnr25.bsky.social
Welcome post below, first proper post tomorrow... Enjoy 😊

Dogs name toys while elephants name each other. Animal language is more complex than we imagine | Helen Pilcher If we really want to grasp what animals are ‘saying’, we need to understand their communication on their terms, not ours, says science writer Helen Pilcher

Lovely article here by Helen Pilcher in @theguardian.com about how animals communicate and how reductive we can be when we think about how animals communicate.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Blue sky with clouds and text reading “Mayor of London. Great news. London has met legal air quality limits 184 years earlier than predicted.”

NEW: London has achieved the historic milestone of meeting the legal limits for nitrogen dioxide for the first time in 2024 - 184 years earlier than experts predicted.

My island of strangers: a poem | Michael Rosen The prime minister warns that immigration could turn Britain into an ‘island of strangers’. Author and poet Michael Rosen responds

This. Just this.
"If ever you’re in need as I was
may you have an island of strangers
like I had."
Thank you Michael Rosen ❤️
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Today we launched a report on UK journalists: who they are, how they work and what they think. Edited by @neilthurman.bsky.social @imkehenkel.bsky.social Sina Thäsler-Kordonouri & @richardfletcher.bsky.social, it's based on a 2023 representative survey

📱Read it
buff.ly/gIBRL1f
🧵Findings in thread

Aaaah, hope the conference went well this year!

Changing your clock? Scientists are only just beginning to understand what this does to us | Ruth Ogden Our research in October showed that ‘falling back’ had a negative impact on women, especially mothers. Do we need to shift the way we think about time, asks professor of the psychology of time Ruth Og...

'Disrupted bedtimes and difficulty getting them ready on time in the morning added additional stress to family life.' Ruth Ogden @ljmuofficial.bsky.social on stress of changing clocks.
My 4yo, 9pm last night, jumping on the bed shouting: It's my time to shine!!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

It's likely most of us are still digesting everything we learned at Stempra's Press Officer Training Day yesterday - so we'll keep this update quick and cheerful. We partnered with KMGS Photography to immortalise the day, and the photos are IN ✨

Happy Friday, and happy faces at #POTD2025

@shanecan.bsky.social sorry I forgot to tag you. I'm out of practice with these ere social networks 🙄🤭

A woman and a man pose in a photo frame for Stempra press officer training day 2025

If you're at #potd2025 do grab yourselves a photo in the break! We look forward to seeing your happy faces! @stempra.bsky.social

Welcome, Shane! Always an early adopter 😉

Here we are, just about to begin - remember to tag your #POTD2025 posts!

Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread - KFF Health News Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations mo...

🚨Texas measles outbreak nears 100 cases, w/16 hospitalizations. Officials suspect it's spilled just across the border to New Mexico.

Low vax rates+undetected infections mean it will grow.

“This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better”

My latest kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

In 2019 Nigel Farage's Brexit Party voted against plans to tackle Russian propaganda, calling claims of Russian interference "scare stories"

One of his MEPs was Nathan Gill, who has just been accused in court of taking bribes in exchange for defending Russia in the European Parliament

We're still taking applications for the @broadinstitute.org #scicomm internship! The deadline is *THIS FRIDAY* (2/28) at 11:59pm ET. Don't delay!