Leo McCann
@leomc76.bsky.social
š¤ 184
š„ 326
š 87
Academic
@york.ac.uk
Sociology of Professions / Critical Management Studies / History
pinned post!
Thinking of using
#ChatGPT
for 'help' with assessments? Think again.
#university
#AI
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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How AI is undermining learning and teaching in universities | Letter
Letter: Prof Leo McCann and Prof Simon Sweeney say student misuse of generative artificial intelligence is widespread and we must be sceptical of its usefulness
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/16/how-ai-is-undermining-learning-and-teaching-in-universities
6 months ago
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Leo McCann
Jacqueline L. Hazelton
2 days ago
@warren.senate.gov
@markey.senate.gov
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It's a beautiful day! Let's go and see what's out there.
#cats
#springtime
2 days ago
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Leo McCann
Karen Gregory
2 days ago
Has anyone written a review of the restructuring going on across UK HE? Trying to understand what is common across institutions: large, team-taught courses, centralised workload models, limited to no research time, promotion directly tied to grant income. How many consultancy firms are pushing this?
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Ronald Hartz
3 months ago
As we note in 'Shaping for Mediocrity': "Framing resistance in terms of negative emotions ... undermines the validity of any critique and denies the legitimacy of any alternative vision for the university. Everyone must move on ā to the stages of acceptance and integration."
#HigherEd
add a skeleton here at some point
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Video Assistant Referees have been a total failure. If you dislike VAR as much as me (and every football fan I've come across), please have your say in this FSA survey! Someone might listen one day, you never know.
#VAR
thefsa.org.uk/news/var-sur...
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VAR survey - have your say! - Football Supporters' Association
Weāre launching our second national VAR survey to gather the opinions of supporters in the Premier League about the continued implementation of the technology.
https://thefsa.org.uk/news/var-survey-have-your-say/
5 days ago
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Leo McCann
21 Group
7 days ago
Staff at Sheffield Hallam University joined an āAll staffā call & were told the university must save Ā£26.6m by August after disastrous London property venture Blameworthy Vice Chancellor Chris Husbands has since moved into consultancy/advisory roles in HE
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/sheffield-ha...
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Hallam bet big on London. Now itās cutting jobs in Sheffield.
With no-one to run it and millions spent on a state-of-the-art building, is the Brent Cross campus at the heart of the current crisis?
https://www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/sheffield-hallam-london-campus-brent-cross-27-million-cuts-pensions/
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Leo McCann
QM_UCU
4 months ago
The consultancy Nous takes hundreds of thousands of pounds from universities, leaves the exact same path of destruction everywhere, and keeps trying to avoid transparent contracts. Weāre urgently need control over consultancy spent in
#UKHE
,
@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
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āNousferatuā: the notorious consultancy advising Edinburgh uni amid 'huge' cuts
Scotlandās largest university has turned to Nous Group at the same time as it is making savings that could lead to nearly 2,000 job losses. Staff say they were misled about the extent of its work.
https://www.theferret.scot/consultancy-advising-edinburgh-huge-cuts/
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Leo McCann
OldRailwayAccidents
11 days ago
A stark reminder of the bureaucratic logic of work & how we're all just so much productive efficiency ... until we're not. Nice to know that he was good on his time-keeping though. Presumably until he was dead. From an LNWR employment record, 1920s.
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www.timeshighereducation.com/uk-universit...
Times Higher has not always been a friend of universities given the league tables, rankings, etc. But it might be worth completing this survey to help publicise the widespread redundancies and terrible standards of management and leadership in UK HE.
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UK university staff: a final chance to tell us your feelings about the redundancy wave
Whether you have direct experience of redundancies or not, and whatever your role is (or was) in the university, we are still keen to hear your views
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/uk-university-staff-final-chance-tell-us-your-feelings-about-redundancy-wave
21 days ago
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www.newscientist.com/article/2516...
GenAI is a study buddy. A cutting-edge employability tool.
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AIs canāt stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations
Leading AIs from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google opted to use nuclear weapons in simulated war games in 95 per cent of cases
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2516885-ais-cant-stop-recommending-nuclear-strikes-in-war-game-simulations/
24 days ago
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Very interesting blog from Cliff Bacon of University of Salford. Summarises and builds on the ethnographic work he did for his PhD.
bscpolicingnetwork.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/u...
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Unintended Consequences of the Re-Professionalisation of Policing in the UK
Dr Cliff Bacon A centralised attempt to professionalise policing has been in operation for over a decade. The mechanism of change management to facilitate this, has, I argue, strained the relationsā¦
https://bscpolicingnetwork.wordpress.com/2026/02/18/unintended-consequences-of-the-re-professionalisation-of-policing-in-the-uk/
29 days ago
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Cate Denial
about 1 month ago
New blog post: How I'm teaching about Generative AI.
catherinedenial.org/blog/uncateg...
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Leo McCann
David Harvie
about 1 month ago
"When we ask what is at stake if academic freedom is not protected, the answer is not only vital knowledge and democracy itself. The untruthful language marking universities as we know them, might be a precursor to the demise of academia itself." Distressing but important piece by Susanne Taüber.
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Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13505084251392946
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Leo McCann
David Harvie
9 months ago
Now published! Universities Degraded, by
@beccaeharrison.bsky.social
& me, reveals the scale of job losses in UK universities, exposes employer practices & shares testimonies of those made redundant & their colleagues. Warning: some of the content is distressing.
zenodo.org/records/1563...
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Leo McCann
Jacqueline L. Hazelton
about 1 month ago
@wearehighered.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
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Leo McCann
Ronald Hartz
about 1 month ago
"One of the defining qualities of contemporary academic research concerns its built-in obsolescence." (Marinetto, 2018) In contrast, Marinetto suggests to prioritise: - Being read over being published - Thinking over productivity - Broad over narrow reading
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
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Fast Food Research in the Era of Unplanned Obsolescence
Click on the article title to read more.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joms.12338
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Leo McCann
Ronald Hartz
about 1 month ago
"The untruthful language marking universities as we know them, might be a precursor to the demise of academia itself." (Susanne TƤuber, 2026) An important, powerful essay about attacks on academic freedom and the erasure of critical scholarship.
#HigherEd
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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Erasing critical scholarship: How attacks on academic freedom undermine democracy - Susanne TƤuber, 2026
Building on a number of case studies, this essay examines the role of university management for ensuring academic freedom in the European context. The emerging ...
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13505084251392946
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Leo McCann
Mr. Fahrenheit
about 1 month ago
Using X is not harmless. Just by logging in, you pad Elonās metrics. He gets paid every time you scroll past an ad. And you normalize him just by staying. Because if what heās done isnāt a dealbreaker for you, why should it be for anyone else?
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Dump Your Toxic Ex
This Valentine's Day, choose love instead of hate.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ctrlaltrightdelete/p/dump-your-toxic-ex?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
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Northumbria University attacking its staff's pensions. Please consider signing this petition:
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no...
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Northumbria Pay and Pension Petition: Stop the Steal!
If Northumbria does this, other universities will too. These cuts will harm thousands of people, their students, families, and their local communities now and into the future.
https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/northumbria-pay-and-pension-petition-stop-the-steal?source=bluesky&utm_source=bluesky&share=2c2edd18-a4ae-494f-a343-4a3c8c0c641a
about 1 month ago
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www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ...
Times Higher hasn't been such a good friend of HE, with all the rankings garbage. But this survey is surely worth completing
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UK university staff: please complete our survey about redundancies
Whether you are an academic or professional services staff member, employed or unemployed, we areĀ keen to hear yourĀ views
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-university-staff-please-complete-our-survey-about-redundancies
about 1 month ago
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'The Goffman Nobody Knows.' Really enjoyed this book review from
@jerolmack.bsky.social
. The book sounds fabulous.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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The Goffman Nobody Knows
Click on the article title to read more.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/symb.70038
about 1 month ago
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Leo McCann
Forbes
about 1 month ago
Airline bookings to the U.S. in advance of the World Cup are soft, calling into question whether the high-profile tournament will deliver the boon U.S. tourism officials are expecting.
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Fewer Europeans Are Heading To The U.S. This SummerāHereās What That Could Mean For The World Cup
Airline bookings to the U.S. in advance of the World Cup are soft, calling into question whether the high-profile tournament will deliver the boon U.S. tourism officials are expecting.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2026/02/05/fewer-europeans-travel-summer-world-cup/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
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Ronald Hartz
about 1 month ago
"[V]iolating academic freedom becomes an essential requisite for entrenching and sustaining the specific illiberal mindset that the erosion agents pursue." Interesting new study about the erosion of
#AcademicFreedom
in Hungary and Poland.
#HigherEd
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
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The sequencing of academic freedom violations during democratic erosion: Comparing the cases of Hungary and Poland - Ellen Bos, Marianne Kneuer, 2026
This paper addresses the widely accepted but still little elaborated observation that democratic erosion evolves in a sequential manner. We argue that the viola...
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01925121251396565
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An excellent video from
@ucu.org.uk
highlighting the continued destruction of higher education in this country. We need urgent change to how the entire sector is funded, led and governed. Please,
@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
, can this Labour government do something?
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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Week zero of the semester and life is hectic. Looking forward to getting back in the classroom but the amount of things swirling around... Let's just say this fog feels appropriate. Hope everyone is well and feeling some sunshine soon! āļø
about 1 month ago
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Leo McCann
Petra Boynton
about 2 months ago
The phrases used to avoid saying 'redundancy' and to sanitise the brutality of laying staff off are really something. "Adapting for continued success" here. What others have you heard?
add a skeleton here at some point
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Leo McCann
Charles Keener
about 2 months ago
orinocotribune.com/calls-mount-...
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Calls Mount for FIFA World Cup Boycott Amid US Rights Abuses
By Camila EscalanteĀ -Ā Jan 29, 2026 At least 15 nations scheduled to participate in the World Cup face U.S. travel bans and visa restrictions, as ICE abductions, disappearances and killings continue....
https://orinocotribune.com/calls-mount-for-fifa-world-cup-boycott-amid-us-rights-abuses/
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Leo McCann
Margot Finn
about 2 months ago
'We likely require fewer academics with research in their remit, but those that do need greater time allocated, and must be subject to a strategic research management regime'. I remain very sceptical/negative about the medium- and long-turn impacts of separating research and teaching. 1/2
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For Everything to Stay the Same, Everything Must Change
... a riposte to academic nostalgia
https://profserious.substack.com/p/for-everything-to-stay-the-same-everything
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Leo McCann
Neon Genesis Ewangelion
about 2 months ago
*hisses like a cat* BAD
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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UK loses measles elimination status
Decision made after outbreaks in 2024, when there were nearly 3,000 cases in England and Wales.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjw0xegxglo
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Olga Nesterova
about 2 months ago
France announced today itās phasing out Teams, Zoom, etc. to be replaced with a French/European solution called Visio. The data is hosted on Outscale. Transcripts and subtitles are also handled by French providers. The target is set on 2027 for government agencies.
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A boycott of the World Cup absolutely needs doing. But I very much doubt anyone else will suggest it. Few in sport or politics have the gumption or courage.
www.bbc.com/sport/footba...
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German FA official wants 2026 World Cup boycott talks
A German football association official believes it is time to consider a boycott of the 2026 World Cup in the wake of United States President Donald Trump's actions.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c87r5y70r82o
about 2 months ago
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Please consider supporting striking staff at University of Sheffield. Please sign:
www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no...
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No lockout for University of Sheffield staff
UCU members have been standing up against the continual cutting and restructuring of the last several years which has significantly damaged the Universityās international standing, the quality of educ...
https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no-lockout-for-university-of-sheffield-staff?source=bluesky&utm_source=bluesky&share=22cc5622-eb08-4628-829a-88e39a434ace
about 2 months ago
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Margot Finn
about 2 months ago
Kent, Essex and apparently Sussex all decline to be gouged by Elsevier Read & Publish deals. Others may well follow. 1/2
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Three major research universities opt out of new Elsevier deal
Complaints over āprice increasesā and open access models spur UKĀ institutions to walk away from offer from publishing giant, despite nationally negotiated agreement
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-major-research-universities-opt-out-new-elsevier-deal
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Leo McCann
Ian Moody
about 2 months ago
Trump claims world āricher, saferā than year ago at launch of his āboard of peaceā. US president repeats claims to have stopped eight wars as he hosts signing ceremony at World Economic Forum.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
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Trump claims world āricher, saferā than year ago at launch of his āboard of peaceā
US president repeats claims to have stopped eight wars as he hosts signing ceremony at World Economic Forum
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/22/trump-board-of-peace-launch-davos
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Margot Finn
about 2 months ago
'To speak of the ādemiseā of the UK university is not to suggest its disappearance, but its transformation into something increasingly unrecognisable.' Wise words, these. 1/3
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Why are UK universities failing? - LSE Impact
The HE sector in the UK faces the prospect of a university going into administration. How have universities fallen so low and is change possible?
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2026/01/19/why-are-uk-universities-failing/
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Leo McCann
Aaron Rupar
about 2 months ago
Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley: "We're hearing people being stopped with no cause & being demanded to show paperwork to determine if they're here legally. We started hearing from our police officers the same complaints. Every one of these individuals is a person of color... it has to stop"
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Genuine question: Does 'theft of railway signalling cables' actually happen in countries outside the UK, or is it just something we do really well here?
vimeo.com/1155503192?f...
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0117 St Albans City
This is "0117 St Albans City" by National Rail on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
https://vimeo.com/1155503192?fl=pl&fe=ti
2 months ago
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Margot Finn
2 months ago
'this reflects on the media organisations too. Surely you shouldnāt splash about a report being published if (a) youāve not seen the report and (b) donāt have a guarantee that the report will actually be published. Otherwise it might be that the report doesnāt exist'. 1/2
add a skeleton here at some point
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OlĆŗfįŗ¹Ģmi O. TĆ”Ćwò
2 months ago
"Iām going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato." surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
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Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
https://dailynous.com/2026/01/06/texas-am-bans-plato/
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Margot Finn
2 months ago
'Despite all their difficulties, universities remain an enormous and irreplaceable national asset. As well as educating millions of people, they generate about Ā£24bn in export earnings, which is about 1% of GDP ā more than aircraft manufacturing and legal services combined'. 1/2
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The Guardian view on universities: Labour needs a clearer plan | Editorial
Editorial: Ministers promised a āchange of approachā, but their new tax could tip weaker institutions over the edge
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/06/the-guardian-view-on-universities-labour-needs-a-clearer-plan
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'Moral evaluation' in the 'besieged fortress'. I really enjoyed Marius Wamsiedel's ethnography of emergency departments in Romania. See my review in 'Symbolic Interaction'. (If you hit a paywall, please get in touch!)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/symb.70037
2 months ago
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Leo McCann
Vivek Thuppil
3 months ago
A "Labour" government awarded honours to a person who pushed through devastating redundancies of
@ucu.org.uk
members at his university, including redundancies that were found to be illegal at tribunal. This is a slap in the face for the labour movement.
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academi...
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Academics made redundant by Leicester āunfairly dismissedā
Three business school researchers who lost their jobs after their research was seen as not meeting strategic priorities win employment case
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academics-made-redundant-leicester-unfairly-dismissed
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Leo McCann
Margot Finn
3 months ago
'Record numbers of Swedish retirees are enrolling in a university run āby pensioners for pensionersā amid increased loneliness and a growing appetite for learning and in-person interactions.' 1/2
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āKeeps your mind alertā: older Swedes reap the benefits of learning for pleasure
Retirees with āfantastic hunger for educationā taking part in university organised events in record numbers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/26/older-swedes-reap-benefits-late-life-education
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www.chronicle.com/article/were...
Does academic tenure still exist in the States? I was under the impression it was quite widespread, but I guess I'm wrong?
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āWeāre Being DOGE-edā: Sweeping Buyout Plan Rattles the New Schoolās Faculty
Leaders say cuts are necessary to close a $48-million budget hole.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/were-being-doge-ed-sweeping-buyout-plan-rattles-the-new-schools-faculty
3 months ago
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Leo McCann
Margot Finn
3 months ago
'An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the Russell Group university ādoes not have appropriate arrangements in placeā for managing workplace stress and was unable to demonstrate that it is managing the risks associated with excessive workloads.' 1/2
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Birmingham reprimanded over its management of work-related stress
Investigation by Health and Safety Executive found institution ādoes not have appropriate arrangements in placeā to manage burnout among staff
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/birmingham-reprimanded-over-its-management-work-related-stress
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Leo McCann
Byline Times
3 months ago
"What is emerging about Nigel Farage is not a single stupid comment or heated moment. Former classmates are describing a pattern of behaviour. Not just a bully, but a racist bully of the ugliest kind, directing hatred at black and Jewish pupils as a kind of sport."
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/10/n...
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'If Nigel Farage's Racism Is Forgotten It Will Give Him Permission for Far Worse'
When someone tells you who they are, over and over again, it is wise to listen, argues Clive Lewis MP
https://bylinetimes.com/2025/12/10/nigel-farage-racism-antisemitism-allegations-reform-clive-lewis-labour-mp/
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Leo McCann
Anna Kornbluh
3 months ago
"I am up front, embarrassingly earnest probably, about the fact that I believe what weāre doing is very serious, and why I think that the use of LLMs is incompatible with that pursuit." you too can give an O Captain speech and then have a great class!
against-a-i.com/first-day-sp...
add a skeleton here at some point
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Leo McCann
Rob Dale
3 months ago
Who wants to live in a world where we let the computers do all the reading? We write for a human readers not chips and algorithms. Football fans wouldn't put up with matches replaced with simulations, so why does the "republic of letters" for want of a better world have to put up with it?
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Leo McCann
steve the skeptic
4 months ago
www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/im...
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Improving performance means investing in managers
A new report argues that professionalising NHS management is essential for delivering the government's 10-Year Health Plan, as public satisfaction hits record lows and workforce strain intensifies across the service
https://www.hsj.co.uk/workforce/improving-performance-means-investing-in-managers/7040511.article
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Leo McCann
MichaÅ Wieczorek
4 months ago
What do The Matrix and educational AI have in common? Unfortunately way too much, as they promote very narrow ideas of what education should be. Instead, Alberto Romele and I highlight better sci-fi inspirations in this new paper in Educational Theory:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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How to Imagine Educational AI: The Filling of a Pail or the Lighting of a Fire?
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning, generative AI) have led to increased interest in its application in educational settings. AI companies hope to revolutionize teachi...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/edth.70070
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