1/n The #socialMedia work of some #public #organisations is often a tragedy. Be it lack of resources or ignorance, one account typically does everything so beautifully wrong that I take it to illustrate my thesis. I don't want to shame in public, therefore, I don't name the account but it's a world renowned #scientific organisation.

Since two years they are on #Mastodon but posted under 200 posts, and reached under 150 followers. On their website they

Hey, Glasgow-local people, want to do an experiment? Come into my lab and have your eyes tracked while I study how you process sound and syntax, predict meaning, and encode memory!

One hour, and I pay £15 cash in hand.

Boosts welcome (especially people on Glasgow/Scotland-related servers!)

Edited to add link: Sign up here: https://forms.office.com/e/46AtS0ikaj

'Make it short! Time is running', reminds the hour glass holding skeleton symbolizing Death all academics that start on conferences with a "This is rather a comment than a question..." #academicchatter

I wrote an article earlier in the week arguing that we need to give junior researchers more independence earlier, and this should be our focus, not moonshot mega projects led by senior researchers.

https://www.thetransmitter.org/funding/neuroscience-needs-to-empower-early-career-researchers-not-fund-moon-shots/

I was surprised how much agreement I'm seeing.

So next question: how do we do this?

FROs are an interesting idea but I'm worried about relying on private capital.

Can public funding mechanisms do this? What are the obstacles? How did we get to a world where scientists are gaining independence only in their forties? And how can we shift this earlier?

In January, I submitted an article for an edited volume to one of the editors. They said they'd get back to me within a week or so. They never did. Yesterday, they sent me the proofs for my article, asked me to proof-read them but only for minor changes as the layout could not be altered. I am to submit the proofs by 9 June. No word of explanation or apology. What to do? #AcademicChatter

I'm trying to find a book on computational chemistry and dft, that had practical exercises in each chapter, meant to make small programs. But I can't remember the name. Anyone knows which book it could be? It's from around 2000-2010 I believe. Thanks! #academicchatter #compchem #chemsky

I just returned to the US from Granada, Spain, where I presented my work at the annual Islamophobia conference. Below is a short write up about the event. #academia #academicchatter #islam #islamophobia #philosophy #habermas #FrankfurtSchool #sociology #religion #university
https://dustinjbyrd.org/2025/05/27/islamophobia-in-granada-spain/

I just got done being part of a panel about federated social media with @couldrynick and @eilah_tan. We talked about 'big tech,' the fediverse, and a bit about Bluesky. There were really great questions!

The talk (which was hosted by LSE) was recorded, but in the meantime, my slides are here:

https://robertwgehl.org/presentations/LSE_RWG_presentation.html

and the text of my presentation is here:

https://robertwgehl.org/presentations/LSE_RWG_presentationText.html

The #DefendResearch team, through the efforts of @petersuber , is maintaining a list of public statements supporting research & higher education against threats from the Trump administration. Please submit any that are missing. #AcademicChatter https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y5_fjGPNh4_1Hgc0Q68Hr2vJhVIOK1Qc-KynfIG6fZI/edit?tab=t.0

Yes, think twice before you use the word "predatory" for a journal or publisher that is not one of the large parasitic corporations:

"Predatory journal? How the publishing elite weaponise vocabulary "

https://www.researchinformation.info/analysis-opinion/predatory-journal-how-the-publishing-elite-weaponise-vocabulary/

I just reviewed two state-of-the-art papers in my field. The authors show a total lack of critical thinking and the papers are mostly a blank copy of individual papers’ conclusions without any overarching conclusions. These papers should show trends in research and include some critical evaluation.

Why is the field moving in that direction? Why are some designs popular? Is this the right parameter to focus on? What are some unanswered questions?

There's certain jobs that I've always done when publishing with more senior colleagues (like formatting the references or tables, checking for consistency) and I thought "well obviously". But now that I'm mostly publishing with more junior colleagues I'm *still* doing those jobs, so I've come to think it's probably just a combination of a certain level of skills + obsession #academicChatter
(ignoring the gender issue for now which may contribute to making "housekeeping" my job?!)

If a starting date is mentioned in an academic job posting, and if the job involves teaching, which customarily follows a specific calendar, I’d have thought that it’s rather obvious that there are reasons for this particular starting date.

Of course, you can always ask, but it’s typically not possible to move the semester to accommodate you.

Wer will, wer will, wer hat noch nicht? Wir suchen eine:n Doktorand:in für das #PollenNet Projekt unserer Arbeitsgruppe! Komm ins #TeamFlora!

https://www.mpg.de/24786626/doktorand-in-mit-themenschwerpunkt-phaenologie-und-pollenvorhersage-basierend-auf-citizen-science-daten-m-w-d
#FloraIncognita #Promotion #Stellenangebot #Academia #PhD #academicchatter #academicmastodon

TFW you've spent ages trying to solve a tricky problem and it. just. does. not. work. You take a break, come back, try something new, nope still nothi... Wait! It's there, there it is! That's the data...

That is why we love doing #science and in an increasingly packed day, the opportunity to work away uninterrupted* on a focused problem is increasingly rare. *That's* why I love fieldwork...

Details in a #FieldDiary soon.

*Uninterrupted time helped today by failure of all internet + phone communication in Qaanaaq..

Yes, why not add two days of university cloud storage outage (due to transfer from owncloud to nextcloud) and a holiday (plus bridge day) between me and my "end of May" deadlines?! #academicChatter

It’s the last week of courses… Lets see how many students will attend the last sessions of my courses today and tomorrow…

Supervising someone's thesis is a huge responsibility. You don't have to be perfect, but you should be aware that someone is trusting you. Someone might look up to you. You can hurt them and this can take years to heal. It's a responsibility and a privilege.

@academicchatter #academicchatter #academia