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Reposted by Alex Usher

Nick Ashdown @nickashdown.bsky.social · 47m

For my first Substack post, I wrote about the noxious rhetoric and virulent political atmosphere following the Charlie Kirk assassination, and how it reminds me of my time living and reporting through a very bleak period in Turkey.

They

On dehumanizing rhetoric in Trump's America and Erdoğan's Turkey

open.substack.com

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 45m

I might have to fight you on this. I am pretty it was fully aware about its dopeyness.

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Brendan Cantwell @cantb.bsky.social · 1h

Does MIT’s Compact rejection change the calculus for other universities? Probably more for the other privates than for the publics. The language MIT uses does put the onus on all universities that accept to explain how they are not surrendering academic freedom and institutional independence.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 1h

We have had some of that. Not linked to culture wars in the same way, though. No, what is going on here is not so much trashing specific fields of study as it is only evincing interest in certain fields (heath, trades). Absolute silence on everything else, might as well not exist.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 1h

Re: no.1, yes, though it was remarkable how little attention that got in the US at the time

Re: no.2 - you guys had an interest in Nursing?

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 1h

The new Canadian Consensus on Post-Secondary Education (CCPSE), which is subscribed to by every party in every province, goes like this:

1) $ to sudents = good $ to institutions = no way
2) PSE is only useful to the extent it produces new a) nurses b) workers in the contruction trades.

Not a fan.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 1h

The UCP specifically chose not to address the issue of system growth when it gave the committee it terms of reference. Committee decided to address it anyway.

Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 2h

The Alberta post-secondary review is out. For the most part this is a very sensible set of recommendations. I would hazard a guess that it is not quite what the provincial government was expecting.

Alberta panel suggests new post-secondary funding model, institutional neutrality | CBC News

A panel that studied Alberta's post-secondary institutions has released its recommendations, which include replacing the funding framework, providing more assistance like grants and scholarships to st...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Alex Usher

Daniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 2h

MIT President Sally Kornbluth’s full letter is worth reading. Strong and succinct.

orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 2h

The final recommendation on EDI (which is carefully defined in such a way as to include indigenization, which is implicty a Better Thing thank EDI) is written carefully so as to let politicians say there is more to do to stop wokeness while institutions claim they are already in full compliance.

Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 2h

It's written in a very Canadian style, bigger on principles than on specifics (Possibly because the price tags on the specifics would fry politicians's brains). But the principles basically are all good.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 2h

The Alberta post-secondary review is out. For the most part this is a very sensible set of recommendations. I would hazard a guess that it is not quite what the provincial government was expecting.

Alberta panel suggests new post-secondary funding model, institutional neutrality | CBC News

A panel that studied Alberta's post-secondary institutions has released its recommendations, which include replacing the funding framework, providing more assistance like grants and scholarships to st...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Alex Usher

Jennifer Robson 🇨🇦 @jrobson.bsky.social · 3h

Announcement from PM Carney moments ago and this is good news. I've been working on this issue with @saulschwartz.bsky.social and @agenestgregoire.bsky.social for years. We've documented how many Canadians don't file and miss out on or loose benefits, .. 1/3

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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 14h

Fleabag season 3 writes itself

Lindsay Beyerstein @beyerstein.bsky.social · 16h

Of all the clerics they could have popped, those ICE idiots had to hit Hot Priest.

Presbyterian minister David Black on CNN, who was shot with pepper balls while praying outside an ICE facility.

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James Vizzard @jwvizzard.bsky.social · 6h

The left taking back frog symbols from the groypers.

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 13h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 5h

And final take, real change in public expenditure on higher education 2018-2023. As you can see the lens you choose to look at change over time really does matter. Note that the fall in Argentina is all *before* Milei took office. That's how bad inflation was.

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Alexandre Afonso @alexandreafonso.bsky.social · 6h

Big coup for Uni. Zurich and Switzerland, one of the few European countries that can compete with US academic salaries.

Department of Economics @Universität Zürich 🇨🇭 @econ.uzh.ch · 7h

We are thrilled to welcome Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee as the new Lemann Foundation Professors to our department, beginning in the summer of 2026.

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FujiiPonta @fujiiponta.bsky.social · 8h

Japan's ruling coalition broke up on Friday (10 October), with junior partner Komeito (公明党) rebelling against the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)’s new hardline leader Sanae Takaichi in a move that casts doubt over her premiership bid.

FujiiPonta @fujiiponta.bsky.social · 8h

Japan's ruling coalition splits, throwing Takaichi's Prime Minister bid into doubt (Reuters)
www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/ja...

Japan's ruling coalition splits, throwing Takaichi's PM bid into doubt

Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito told party members that the partnership had broken down over an "inadequate" explanation by the Liberal Democratic Party of its handling of a political funding scandal.

www.channelnewsasia.com

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 19h

Same data, Real change in public expenditures on higher education, only charting the difference over a shorter period of time, 2013 to 2023. UK is still godawful. Korea looks amazing. The idea that India has expanded enrolment by 50% (+16M students) on a mere 8% growth in funding is...wild.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 19h

Real change in public expenditures on higher education, 2008 to 2023, selected countries that actually publish the damn data. UK is worst here, but note this does not include RAB (projected future loan forgiveness, basically). If RAB is included...UK would still be last.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 19h

100%.

Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 19h

I'm not sure what I find the sillier - the proposed name, or the fact that info science and data science were in different units to begin with.

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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 20h

On the podcast today, Johns Hopkins' Joshua Travis Brown, talking about his really excellent new book "Capitalizing on College

Capitalizing on College: Mission, Money, and Survival in Higher Ed with Joshua Travis Brown | HESA

The economics of higher education are tricky. It’s a labour-intensive industry, and generally speaking the cost of producing labour-intensive goods … Continued

higheredstrategy.com

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Luke Kawa @ljkawa.bsky.social · 21h

The three-month correlation between the daily change in Morgan Stanley’s “US AI tech beneficiaries” basket and $PSP (global listed private equity ETF) is at its weakest level since the AI boom started

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Bryan Edward Stone (שָׁלוֹם) @bestonetx.bsky.social · 23h

Democrats: We follow the science.

Republicans: The science follows us.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 1d

The number of student visa applications for UK courses over a 12-month period has risen for the first time in almost two years, official figures show. Patrick Jack reports #academicsky #edusky #visas https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-student-visa-applications-10-cent-last-year

UK student visa applications up 10 per cent on last year

UK bounces back in crucial month for enrolments, with policy uncertainty elsewhere helping fuel first rise in 12-month figures for nearly two years

www.timeshighereducation.com

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