Dana McKay
@danachatter.bsky.social
230 followers 85 following 150 posts
Academic, in the nexus of HCI and information science. Feminist, Reader, Thinker. Opinions vociferously my own. Loves cats, crafting, music, books and exercise.
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danachatter.bsky.social
In your daily reminder that academia isn't a neutral space, and that racism, lip service to reconciliation, and misogyny are still prevalent: this looks like a great add to your reading list
apihtawikosisan.bsky.social
This is a must-read for anyone in academia. While it focuses on administrative positions in certain parts, it's such an excellent resource with stats and critiques of all the indigenization/reconciliation rhetoric that it's got something for everyone. Highly recommend.
The cover of Tricky Grounds: Indigenous Women's Experiences in Canadian University Administration by Candace Brunette-Debiassige. A woman in a ribbon skirt faces away from us, on a piece of land, her braid connects to forests seen in the distance and she has her right arm raised holding a feather.
danachatter.bsky.social
...and for a moment I forget to worry
danachatter.bsky.social
Oh Glasgow, you are lovely
danachatter.bsky.social
Cò leis thu welcome to #CoLIS2025
danachatter.bsky.social
Please note, the US isn't the whole world.
nytimes.com
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

“Across the world, we’ve seen democracy in retreat,” writes A.G. Sulzberger, the publisher of The New York Times. “This anti-press playbook is now being used here in this country — and it could not come at a more difficult time for the American press.”
Opinion | A.G. Sulzberger: A Free People Need a Free Press
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Dana McKay
evpok.love
i keep saying it but if you think that scientists given the means to work will slack off, you haven't met a scientist
perfors.net
This is a great post about the magic mixture that made Bell labs work. I especially like this bit because it accords very strongly with something I've always believed.

"Why would you expect information theory from someone who needs a babysitter?"
Reportedly, Kelly and others would hand people problems and then check in a few years later. Most founders and executives I know balk at this idea. After all, "what's stopping someone from just slacking off?" Kelly would contend that's the wrong question to ask. The right question is, "Why would you expect information theory from someone who needs a babysitter?"
danachatter.bsky.social
Love studying how people use, abuse, find and manage information? Want to visit Montreal in the summer? The call for papers for Information Seeking In Context is out: www.mcgill.ca/isic2026/cal.... Please don't make your paper too good, though, because I want to go!
Call for Papers
ISIC: The Information Behaviour Conference 1-4 June 2026, Montréal, Canada As ISIC 2026 is the sixteenth ISIC conference and the conference’s 30th anniversary, we especially encourage authors to refle...
www.mcgill.ca
danachatter.bsky.social
At #thewebcobf25 hearing a range of great talks about how we can make the Web safer for women
danachatter.bsky.social
Australia, watch and learn. The solution to a broken health system IS NOT to privatise it #auspol. See also: New Zealand
stevev68.bsky.social
This is beyond a rockstar rebuttal. What a national treasure, from start to finish eviscerating American ignorance. Love it. #cdnpoli #elbowsup
peipolitical.bsky.social
Canadian physician, Dr. Danielle Martin owns the Americans!
#cdnpoli
danachatter.bsky.social
It's April fools in Australia :)
danachatter.bsky.social
so my own work, two years of it, has been warped into an excuse for racist attacks on my students' work.
danachatter.bsky.social
Many of my personal writing conventions (use of the word delve, correct use of the em dash) are now being taken as "signs" of AI writing. Meaning work that I edit for my students, whose names aren't Smith, Jones, or McKay, is being criticised for having AI input. 2/3
danachatter.bsky.social
The LibGen database contains 35 of my publications. At a conservative estimate that is 3500 hours of my work allowing for data collection, but accounting for co-authorship. Two years of work. That they just took "because it was there". 1/2

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
danachatter.bsky.social
Australia is missing. Maybe after the election. Bot the countries of which I am a citizen are on this list.
charlotteclymer.bsky.social
Countries that have issued a travel advisory this year warning their citizens about visiting the United States:

Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Netherlands
New Zealand
United Kingdom
danachatter.bsky.social
Great opening keynote at #chiir25 from @antmandan.bsky.social. What does data donation mean for the future of studying humans, and how do we respect and protect donors?
danachatter.bsky.social
...being sent back ONCE, from anywhere, for even a reason that is later dropped means you have to tick any 'denied entry' boxes on forms for every country you may enter in the future. It is time to reconsider your travel plans, if you have opinions you may ever have expressed.
danachatter.bsky.social
Right academia, it's time to think about your travel plans. An academic was just detained at the US border, charged with terrorism, and sent back for having personal opinions on Trump in their email. This might seem like one trip gone wrong, but.... 1/2 www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
French researcher denied entry to US for 'expressing personal opinion' on Trump policies
France's research minister expressed 'concern' on Wednesday at this decision by the US authorities. The researcher underwent a random check on arrival, before his computer and phone were searched, a s...
www.lemonde.fr
danachatter.bsky.social
We're not Amsterdam because we choose not to be.
antmandan.bsky.social
Brisbane folks will recognise this picture as Stanley St or Coronation Dve. It's going to be embarrassing when the world sees how choked up with cars we are when 2032 rolls around.
brenttoderian.bsky.social
Remember this picture, & others like it, every time you hear someone in your city say "we're not Amsterdam."

This was #Amsterdam in the 1970s.

Many of the cities we admire made better choices regarding cars in the past. and are still making better choices today.

Better choices instead of excuses.
danachatter.bsky.social
This should have the whole world on notice, but it is also eerie how much Trump's treatment of the US echoes an abusive partner's slow erosion of boundaries
danachatter.bsky.social
Once again, I want to point out that entering career interruption data often requires those of us doing it to think about the worst times in our careers. This response to losing it is therefore doubly callous.
arc-tracker.bsky.social
Update:

ARC just sent this email to applicants confirming that all previously-entered career interruption info is gone. Has to be re-entered.

This can only be entered by each individual CI & PI.

Such an ARC response. "Gotta problem? Shoulda thought-a that when you entered info in da first place!"
Black text on grey background. Copy of an email from the ARC to Centres of Excellence applicants saying that all career interruption data has to be re-entered into RMS by applicants.
danachatter.bsky.social
Many of you will know I am a bit of an AI skeptic, but this is a use I can really get behind. Esafety does important but emotionally gruelling work. Limiting exposure is a really, really good thing.

The underlying horror though? They had to have enough images to train the models.
joshtaylor.bsky.social
Interesting in esafety's AI transparency statement, they're using AI to give staff a heads up about what the images they're about to review are. Makes sense. Would be intense.

www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/cor...
Image processing
Due to the nature of the imagery and digital media that eSafety staff are exposed to, and to protect the wellbeing of eSafety personnel, eSafety is exploring the use of Al image analysis to determine the content of images and help limit the need for unnecessary repeat exposure to harmful content.
danachatter.bsky.social
I cried with laughter reading this thread. I also learned a lot, that one day in some pub quiz somewhere, will be useful
perfors.net
This whole thread has been the highlight of my day so far.
nome.bsky.social
So that means that any attempt to neuter a hippo is:

A) Exploratory Surgery
B) Done under "best guess" conditions
C) Where the drugs are *going* to wear off
D) On an animal that weighs more than a Ford F150
E) All of which is muscle
F) On testicles that are hiding from you
G) And it is mad about it