I am *delighted* to have a new article in @spectrum.ieee.org - this one is all about Assoc Prof Te Taka Keegan's work. He's developing sovereign AI to aid in the protection and revitalisation of specific dialects of Te reo Māori spectrum.ieee.org/indigenous-a...

Good

It is pretty hard to get funding to study stars. But like stars, I am illuminating. I will use the resources I have to shed light on the universe and enrich my surroundings when they are spent. 🔭🧪

It is pretty hard to get funding to study words. But like words, I am enduring. I am ready and waiting for the right opportunity to be heard. #HistoricalEcology #EnvironmentalHumanities #Conservation 🧪

Come and work with me at @universityofotago.bsky.social Review of apps begins 21 May www.linkedin.com/posts/te-pun...

It’s remarkable in this day and age to hear a politician anywhere say the following: “Support for a diverse, rigorous and accessible body of historical scholarship should be a much greater priority for democratic governments even at a time of stretched budgets.“

A psychological landscape of curiosity. Beautiful post.

Call me a pedant but pride is an emotion not a value as I understand it. Manaakitanga is a value. Also pretty sure what ACT mean by pride is not how I understand it.

Excited to be hosting the NZ Ento Soc conference in Kirikiriroa this September alongside @barnesecodiv.bsky.social Registrations & abstract submissions are now open! We've got 3 fab plenary speakers as well as a free sci illustration workshop & social for students. ento.org.nz/conferences/

Come and work with me at @universityofotago.bsky.social Review of apps begins 21 May www.linkedin.com/posts/te-pun...

We live in an academic world where impact matters. Email ppl and let them know when you use their work so they can report outcomes to funders & for promotion. Chuffed this week to learn my work is being taught at another uni - because a student told me!

A repost 🧵 about a (mostly) fun collaborative piece of work. Ups and downs, to get it out in the world.

I had a small part in writing OUR LAND, Orban Wallace’s brilliant new film about land access in England, feat. @guyshrubsole.bsky.social et al. “We’ve found that [with access] people really do care for the land…We all belong to the land, it doesn’t belong to us.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Always good to hear that others find your work fascinating! 😄

'Ongo mei he fonua – Sounds of soil (contamination)', the artwork created by our inaugural guest artist Sione Faletau, is on display at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua until 19 July → pataka.org.nz/whats-on/exh...

NOTE: "women with comparable scientific capital to men face a 35% higher risk of leaving academia, a disparity that cannot be explained by differences in parenthood, career stage, productivity, or academic recognition."

Comment from Auckland University: A science system focused only on outcomes risks becoming a Christmas tree with no roots – pretty to look at, but destined not to last.

Melinda is a stellar archaeologist who has a deep knowledge of Pacific ecosystems.

Designing poll questions isn't trivial, but everyone likes to think it is. This is the kind of damage that can result. If you want polls to mean something, work with an expert!

An excellent article on (incredibly) badly worded survey questions that illustrate exactly why social science expertise is valuable. These polls need extremely careful reporting.

DNA is not the same as kinship. Our perspective paper argues that treating genetics as the ultimate proof of identity or family can: • erase community-defined relationships • reinforce Western biases • and even cause real harm in policy + research Special Issue: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Citizenship on the basis of wealth needs re- thinking imo.

2 years is a odd time period to use, as it was well before the 2024 US election. But if you are wanting to measure the level of not-going to the US since that election, I would rate Denmark (via available US I-94 entry data). Canada in my graph is all entries, not just car.

A great read on NZ’s current science strategy.

Honestly now wishing I could be an octopus #BetterWorkSolutions 😂

I know this isn’t LinkedIn, but I did kind of enjoy this interview I did recently with Nature Communications Chemistry… It’s partly about being a scientist, but even more about how we DO science, and I think it is ever more important that we talk about that. CW: may contain nuts 🥜🤷‍♀️

#30DayChartChallenge 2026 – day 09- Distributions | Wealth. Tool: #rstats Life expectancy in AoNZ by deprivation quintile. The easiest explanation of deprivation index is it is how well off is the neighbourhood of residence of the person.

A wonderful summary of inequality, corruption, and the American Dream by YouTuber #johnnyharris. Without ever having actually to use the word corruption youtube.com/watch?v=J4qq...

I feel seen.

Oh hey, the PMSITAC report is out and the short version is 'let's take money from literally every other area of research in AoNZ to put into tech'. That's the plan. Underfund everything else *even more than it already is* over the next three years. 🧪

Bringing together the humanities and sciences creates magic.

People don’t realize the level of decimation in higher education that is on-going right now *everywhere*. Those who persist pay an enormous cost right now.

Our research does not exist separately from the world around us. It is ethically problematic for many researchers globally to travel to the USA at this time #NoKings.

Oh my god, the alt text is a gift. 😹

Becoming a parent is much more detrimental to women’s academic careers than it is to men’s, lowering their chances of getting university jobs, tenure and reducing their publication output, finds a large analysis of academics in Denmark. go.nature.com/4tcO2Em

Currently on France TV, the new mayor of Paris Grégoire celebrating his victory by biking around on a bike share. He’s now taking an interview while riding.

Like, you should use alt text, always, and especially for screenshots of literal text, first and foremost as an acces issue, but it's also, after that, 2000 extra characters of flavour text, if you want it. Just sayin.

Academic folks- what did you do on your sabbatical? What worked? I’m a conservation biologist / historical ecologist based in NZ and haven’t taken one before (switched to university from government research mid- career). Funds a bit tight -fellowships would help.

Here's the (free, online) course that Jevin and I developed for first-year college students. thebullshitmachines.com

4. As Jevin West and I have been saying for several years now, because a seemingly credible message no longer implies a human sender, LLMs will push us toward more emphasis on reputation and status — and as such serve as an anti-egalitarian force in all aspects of society, science included.

If you’re wondering what the big deal is about Jürgen Habermas (who died yesterday), or if you’ve never heard of him until now, you’re not going to learn much from the short newspaper obituaries, which are focusing on more on what he said about current events than his philosophy. 1/

And this is why we have the Centre for Sustainability Research at @universityofotago.bsky.social. Because when it comes to biodiversity and climate, we can’t fu*k around.

Me vs government policy on research 🧪 Tūī (also known as kōkō) are endemic, sexually dimorphic #NZ #birds that love a bit of territoriality and dominance. Also pretty sweet-tongued and good as mimics.

A fantastic thread - why make a poster? Also, conference organisers: how to do a poster session better 🧪

I'm just a social scientist, once again asking the people of the world to consult one of us before deploying survey instruments. 🤦🏻‍♀️🫠

3-year Independent Post-doc in Animal Behavior based at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama! Three positions, each including salary & a research budget. Applications due April, 15th. DM if you are interesting in developing a project with us! stri.si.edu/academic-pro...

Here's an awesome natural history humanities PhD opportunity, working with Cambridge University Library & our insect & archive collections here at @zoologymuseum.bsky.social, exploring the links between entomology, life writing & environmental change. Please share! www.ccc.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/...

Awesome work here. And so many heritage languages here in #Aotearoa

What do floods, droughts, heatwaves and compound events actually do to river ecosystems? My latest post walks through nine real-world impact pathways — from reaching physiological limits to cascading network‑wide effects. A guided tour of a rapidly changing reality.