Question for the hive mind... Do you know when to use 'less' and when to use 'fewer'? And do you care if you see the incorrect one used? (I know and it makes me cringe but I would not, for example, dive into someone's feed to correct either used incorrectly. I just wondered if anyone else cared).

Excellent list of resources - thank you.

That lovely feeling of finding that you have already read and commented on something you thought still needed to be read and commented on...

Ok, so, AI. Do I use it? A bit. I tell students never to use it for the 'thinky' bits, though. I will use apps for literature searching - to *find* literature I might otherwise miss. I would not use the results as anything other than a starting point - going to find articles.

'Tis the season for some festive science songs. If you've ever wanted to hear someone sing about a dimunitive tyranosaur then now is your chance

#ShowMeYourKnits brights? I rather like brights... The baby jumper is the Baby J pattern and it's a wonderful pattern. The chicken ... I made one for my head of dept who decided the department needed one, as well. Que emails of 'I need the chicken!'

A note to authors... esp. new ones. The thing about AI making up papers? Yes, it does. But about once a year, I get a notification that someone has cited a paper of mine - that did exist for a little while but is no longer available - it was an interim report, replaced by the final one.

It appears to be a thing. How was your 2025?

#showmeyourknits I don't often knit in white but if off white counts...

Just a reminder that this isn't a wonderful time of year for everyone. Kindness goes a long way. So do donations to charity, if you can - but a smile is also a really important part of human interaction.

I have a note on my ms that '3 goes here'. I often do this - add paragraphs etc. But.. can I find 3? No, I cannot. It's not on any of the papers I have with the MS. I am... confused.

My co-author is not enthused about the literature review…

For anyone looking for something in the festive vein, but who really doesn't want to hear about Santa all that often, could I recommend the Ultimate Christmas Album by the Medieval Baebes? Their music got me through my thesis and I'm still enjoying it.... www.mediaevalbaebes.com

#ShowMeYourKnits I have lost count of how many baby surprise jackets I've made....

German photographer Christian Vieler captures the hilarious moments when dogs try to catch treats mid-air. [📹 vieler. photography] #FridayVibes #FridayFun

I am so glad to work in Wales. In case you've not seen them, these are the purposes given for schooling by Welsh Gov - that young people should be: ambitious, capable learners, enterprising, creative contributors... ethical, informed citizens healthy, confident individuals

This. So much this. Moreover, if you got through the year without making that year worse for anyone else, that's a HUGE accomplishment.

More stashbusting - diagonal scarf

“The decision was made to exclude me from the filmed production of Swan Lake because I was told my brown skin would disrupt the aesthetic.” ~ Misty Copeland When folks gripe about DEI, remind them who benefited from shutting out dancers like Copeland. That pattern runs through our whole history.

Following on from another post ... What's the phrase/question that comes up when people find out what you do, that irks you the most/amuses the most? Easy: 'You know what's wrong with schools today, what's wrong is... What's yours?

Knit two at a time, they said. That way, you don't have to count stripes, they said. It'll be fine, they said. Ok, so the stripes line up but the TANGLE - they didn't mention the tangle. I feel betrayed....

Moving on from hats - mittens for December....

In partnership with the University of Sheffield, The Brilliant Club has now launched Barnsley Parent Power in the Dearne Valley area... ...with the aim of empowering parents and carers to support their children by tackling barriers to education, particularly around accessing higher education. 👏

This is for someone's birthday who I don't know so I should probably butt out, but it might be the funniest thing I've seen all week.

Black Friday reminder: You can support independent bookstores and get great deals without lining the pockets of billionaires 😌

📢Calling all Midwives We have an exciting opportunity for you to join the MAGENTA bank of midwives! Be part of an innovative and supportive team and contribute to vital maternal and child health research!👶 For more info and to apply👇 www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swan... @swanseauni.bsky.social

I know there are conferences soon... Some suggestions: * Comments are not questions - comments go with coffee * If you are senior, don't be mean to jr colleagues/students * If you see someone doing the above, step in if you can There's enough wrong with the world - don't make academia a bad place.

Earlier today I saw a very good short video ad warning parents about sharing too much information about their children online. Now, of course, I cannot find it. Help?

I get very happy when someone hums this when I introduce the concept of 'phenomenology'... (to all those who teach that and had not made the connection - you're welcome).

Excellent work from @andrewjamdavies.bsky.social and colleagues!

Another paper from our ESRC Project - open access paper about parental mediation of very young children's use of digital devices www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Yesterday, I got a flyer in the mail that said that Wales needed Reform (the party). I think... not? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today, women in the UK effectively stop being paid because of the 10.9% gender pay gap.if you are a woman, use this calculator to see what you might be earning, were you a man: gender-pay-gap-calculator.vercel.app?mc_cid=e1b46... courtesy of the Fawcett Society

We have no heat - it's a boiler issue and will be sorted by tomorrow. In the mean time, I have tea (thank you, husband), a small but powerful heater going behind me, a knitted shawl (because, knitter) and a heated throw blanket over my knees. Oh, and a cat who likes all but the first of the above

If you are reading this in a warm home - please consider those who are not. Donations to Shelter Wales from here: sheltercymru.org.uk/donate/ @sheltercharity.bsky.social

“Since 1998, independent researchers have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies involving over 5.6 million people. The conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism." -Dr. Susan Kressly, AAP President on recent changes to the CDC's website

It is estimated by the national charity Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) that, for every day the two-child limit remains in place, a further 109 children are pulled into poverty across the country.

Just a thought - but perhaps we could seek to tackle the causes of disadvantage because equity is a good thing - rather than in view of arbitrary, imposed and challenged targets? A moral rather than a transactional reason?

And this is why we might use AI for things like searching the literature, but we don't use it for *understanding* the literature... (click on AI in the link for AI's explanation) www.tylervigen.com/spurious/cor...

📢We're hiring a Research Officer & Data Scientist! Be part of the Cancer Data Driven (CD3) Programme - a multi-institutional strategic programme using data to transform our understanding of cancer risk and support early interception. 👉 www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swan... @ashleyakbari.bsky.social

"We have become the destination of choice in Europe" according to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Data from Eurostat & the Home Office shows the UK had the fifth largest number of claims of the EU/UK area in 2025, at 108,000... assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691ae0...

I have just written to my MP @torstenbell.bsky.social to express my concerns about the new immigration plans. It's clear that they are based on incorrect information, cruel and unnecessary. The idea of appealing to the hard right should not take precedence over what is *morally* right.

The Home Secretary says "we have become the destination of choice in Europe, clearly visible to every people smuggler and would-be illegal migrant across the world" That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims

We’ve joined 100+ others in calling for the government to fully scrap the two-child limit. Every child deserves the best start in life. By fully scrapping the two-child limit the government can deliver a decisive shift in children’s opportunities, and in the UK's potential.

In case you haven't been following along - this is the haul of knitting since early November - they will end up with charities.

There is a particular academic joy in finding - finally - the paper that really does what you need for your literature review....

It took me an hour to connect my printer to the wifi. No idea why it had to be done again - it was working fine last week... (Yes, I turned it off and on again - and turning the router off as well was the magic touch). 'Dealing with hard/software' needs to be a line in workload models!

Dear self, You know very, very well that you should NEVER have two versions of a paper on the go at once. So why did you do it again?! Bad academic - no cookie. If you need me, I'm over here with version control as my friend...

Issues are *systemic*. We cannot deal with absenteeism in schools, and the achievement gap, unless we deal with poverty, and the issues arising therefrom. Scholarship has been making this clear for *decades*. Scholars have been telling politicians this for *decades*. And yet, here we are....