Amtrak is clearly not as good as British railways except for one important respect which is that they just announced firmly that if you are making a call or watching a TikTok video on your phone you MUST BE WEARING HEADPHONES.

After winning a huge legal claim against a Harvard University cancer centre, @eugenie-reich.bsky.social tells
@jgro-the.bsky.social about the impact of the case, how universities ‘stonewall’ fraud allegations and why she quit journalism to help whistleblowers in science #research #fraud

A UK research council criticised for cutting support for postdoctoral researchers is releasing “top-up funding” to allow for further early career appointments, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #researchfunding #STFC
https://ow.ly/mI7R50YJ45m

Brian Cox attacks ‘devastating’ STFC cuts as postdocs slashed, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #AcademicSky #physics #cuts
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/brian-cox-attacks-d...

Excellent article from @jgro-the.bsky.social on the current "carnage" that theoretical physics and PPAN science in general are facing.

#UKRI must react and propose a solution. If not, the government and the SITC must step in.

Concerns abound that authors who publish on a weekly basis are cutting corners – with AI likely to make matters worse. But if incentives are misaligned, what can be done? And is the moral panic exaggerated? @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #AcademicSky
https://ow.ly/EgOw50YyyBk

Most jokes attempted during scientific talks ‘fall flat’ Female scientists less likely to use humour in conference presentations, finds study that highlights ‘absence of humour’ the norm

Most jokes attempted during scientific talks fall flat or earn "mostly quiet chuckles" - but male researchers are more likely to use humour, and more likely to get a laugh, reflecting "broader social dynamics" in academia - study www.timeshighereducation.com/news/most-jo... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Hiring established scholars to junior Oxbridge roles imperils disciplines As lay-offs continue elsewhere, postdocs’ inability to land permanent roles will block the pipeline of future faculty, Cambridge academics argue

Raises some important issues but also ignores the fact that many Humanities staff outside the magic circle are facing redundancy. They are naturally willing, indeed desperate, to apply for entry-level Oxbridge posts. The situation is grim. 1/2

Hiring established scholars to junior Oxbridge roles imperils disciplines As lay-offs continue elsewhere, postdocs’ inability to land permanent roles will block the pipeline of future faculty, Cambridge academics argue

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/hiri...

(def not defending the positions the authors here take so much as noting it’s hard to have a balanced conversation about this)

Will UKRI’s funding buckets shore up UK research’s sandcastle? Academics’ concerns are mounting as news drips out of the research councils about cuts and freezes ahead of a major funding restructuring intended to promote interdisciplinarity and transparency. But ...

Will UKRI’s funding buckets shore up UK research’s sandcastle? Excellent long read from @jgro-the.bsky.social on the future shape of UK research funding www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/will-u...

Will UKRI’s funding buckets shore up UK research’s sandcastle? Academics’ concerns are mounting as news drips out of the research councils about cuts and freezes ahead of a major funding restructuring intended to promote interdisciplinarity and transparency. But ...

'The biggest concern, for many, centres on the £2 billion annual allocation of quality-related (QR) funding in England, and its equivalents elsewhere in the UK. This has been assigned entirely to the curiosity-led bucket one'. 1/3

UCL axes ‘utopian’ Institute of Advanced Studies Interdisciplinary research hub focused on arts and humanities will shut in July amid financial sustainability issues

UCL will close its Institute of Advanced Studies this summer, stating the interdisciplinary research centre is no longer financially sustainable, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ucl-axes-utopian-in...

The mathematician lifting the lid on Trump’s ‘attacks’ Scientist behind Trump Action Tracker uses skills in data collection to look for patterns in president’s seemingly scattergun approach

Great to see my friend Christina Pagel featured in the THE for her work on tracking Trump's authoritarian actions.
"Scientist behind Trump Action Tracker uses skills in data collection to look for patterns in president’s seemingly scattergun approach"

Sussex calls OfS fine ‘irrational’ as High Court case begins University argues regulator’s record fine was ‘unfair’, in case being closely watched across the sector

University of Sussex High Court fight against £585K fine imposed by OfS for allegedly failing to uphold free speech in Kathleen Stock case starts today - it will attack regulator's decision as "irrational and procedurally unfair" www.timeshighereducation.com/news/sussex-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

‘Give PhD archive attention it deserves,’ British Library urged Scholars criticise lack of progress on restoring repository of 600,000 PhD theses more than two years after it was felled by cyberattack

A metadata-only version of the British Library’s sorely missed PhD thesis repository will be a pale imitation of the service that disappeared more than two years ago after a cyberattack, experts have warned. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky
ow.ly/H01r50Y4VAb

‘Give PhD archive attention it deserves,’ British Library urged Scholars criticise lack of progress on restoring repository of 600,000 PhD theses more than two years after it was felled by cyberattack

'A metadata-only version of the British Library’s sorely missed PhD thesis repository will be a pale imitation of the service that disappeared more than two years ago after a cyberattack, experts have warned.' 1/2

Three major research universities opt out of new Elsevier deal Complaints over ‘price increases’ and open access models spur UK institutions to walk away from offer from publishing giant, despite nationally negotiated agreement

And in news that surprises exactly no-one...

Three major research universities opt out of new Elsevier deal Complaints over ‘price increases’ and open access models spur UK institutions to walk away from offer from publishing giant, despite nationally negotiated agreement

Kent, Essex and Sussex say they won’t renew Elsevier journal subscriptions amid concern about cost of nationally agreed deal www.timeshighereducation.com/news/three-m... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Three UK research-intensive universities have revealed they will not be renewing subscriptions to Elsevier journals amid concerns over the cost of a nationally agreed deal, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social #academicsky
https://ow.ly/Aaw750Y0I1u

Universities should face tougher penalties in national and international rankings if researchers lose papers due to suspected misconduct, the founder of an influential research integrity watchdog has argued. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky
https://ow.ly/xFhw50XWLCQ

‘Bizarre’ linguistics paper on water retracted by Springer Nature Jordanian professor’s free-wheeling study is pulled and an editorial board member sacked after linguists criticised ‘extremely strange’ article

“Bizarre” linguistics paper claiming ancient Greeks forbade reference to water as “H₂O” retracted by Springer Nature journal amid disbelief “rambling” and “methodologically weak” article was ever published www.timeshighereducation.com/news/bizarre... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

‘Beware trade-offs’ of removing REF funding for 3* outputs Review of formula used to allocate £2 billion QR funding could downgrade or withdraw money for ‘internationally excellent’ research, some fear

Eliminating funding for 3* research in next Research Excellence Framework would benefit Russell Group institutions by about £50 million a year, suggests modelling www.timeshighereducation.com/news/beware-... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

A British professor who has turned his latest book into a Europop dance album is hoping his genre of “academic trance” will engage new audiences with scholarly research, reports @jgro-the.bsky.social
https://ow.ly/MyOU50XLvvj

Very sad to hear Dr Paul Ayris has passed away. He was a great champion of libraries and open access, hugely influential, and very supportive of us at #ebookSOS. A great loss to the library and research communities.

www.leru.org/news/in-memo...

UK reclaims top spot for mid-career ERC grants Success in securing ‘consolidator’ awards continues Britain’s resurgence since rejoining Horizon research initiative

UK reclaims top spot for mid-career ERC grants www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-recl...

My thoughts on how UKRI might use the REF (QR funding) and grants to drive universities to specialise more - via @timeshighered.bsky.social @jgro-the.bsky.social

I'm sticking to my guns on not examining PhD theses when the fee is ridiculously low, but it really does feel crap having to reply to the query if you'll be an examiner with a coded version of "will this pay less than the minimum wage?"

The pause in the Research Excellence Framework should be used to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky #REF www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref...

Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars Breaking the link between researchers and their outputs harms academic mobility and disciplinary excellence, argue professors

Use REF pause to review non-portability of outputs, urge scholars including @jennyrichards.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/use-ref... via @jgro-the.bsky.social

Universities failing on research culture could lose funding Research England to use REF pause to consider whether institutions must meet baseline performance measures as a condition of receiving funds

Another bombshell REF announcement: radical change of direction at UKRI re research funding seems on the cards www.timeshighereducation.com/news/univers...