Margot Finn
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

Historian of Britain and colonialism, material culture, the EIC. Also works on equalities, museums, open access & research policy. Download the EIC @ Home open access volume here: https://www.uclpress.co.uk/products/88277 (or individual chapters via JSTOR) .. more

Margot C. Finn is a British historian and academic who specialises in Britain and the British colonial world during the long nineteenth century. She has been Professor of Modern British History at the University College, London (UCL) since 2012. Finn was previously the President of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum. .. more

Political science 31%
Economics 26%

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

People are making covers of Springsteen's Streets of Minneapolis and I like this one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4o0...
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Irish Folk Version)
YouTube video by Ethan Gontar
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Mrinank Sharma, who led the safeguards research team at Anthropic, shared his resignation letter on X, which quickly garnered nearly 1 million views.
Anthropic AI Safety Researcher Warns Of World ‘In Peril’ In Resignation
Mrinank Sharma, who led the safeguards research team at Anthropic, shared his resignation letter on X, which quickly garnered nearly 1 million views.
www.forbes.com

From special relationship to extra special amnesia.

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Art+Feminism in partnership with Wikimedia Botswana invites you to join us on 20 February. Learn how Wikidata can be used to document women artists, feminist movements, and cultural contributions that are often underrepresented online by editing on your mobile device. 👉 Register: bit.ly/4qvbXx0

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Breaking: The government has pledged write off 90 per cent of councils’ historic SEND deficits – estimated to be worth £5 billion

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/government-to-write-off-90-of-councils-send-deficits/
Government to write of 90% of councils' SEND deficits
Local authorities will get a grant to cover all but 10% of deficits accrued by the end of 2025-26
schoolsweek.co.uk

'Language and area studies has fallen 38 per cent over the decade (against 29 per cent UK-wide), concentrated in a single small provider – Aberystwyth, which accounts for 920 of 4,760 enrolments.' 3/3

Very comprehensive and well worth reading. 3/3

'At subject level, the domicile data shows up something closer to an identity crisis. In economics, only 15 per cent of UCAS acceptances to Welsh providers are Welsh domiciles. In biosciences it’s 23 per cent, chemistry 24 per cent, geography 23 per cent, languages and area studies 23 per cent.' 2/3

'Overall enrolments grew 14 per cent over the past decade, which sounds healthy until you note that the UK figure was 25 per cent. Wales is growing more slowly than the system it sits within, and the gap is widening in several subject areas that matter.' 1/3
Wales needs a plan. Don’t we all
Jim Dickinson reviews a Welsh HE system too concentrated geographically, too thin in subject breadth, and too dependent on English demand to serve the students it's supposed to be for Jim Dickinson re...
wonkhe.com

'Meanwhile, new data published by BAE Systems, a defence company that is one of the country’s largest apprenticeship providers, found almost two-thirds of parents (63 per cent) would prefer their child to pursue an apprenticeship'.

Do they still think this when they compare completion rates? 2/2

'Universities “recognise that we must continue to evolve to meet the country’s needs and to play our full part…in building long term prosperity,” said Malcolm Press, president of UUK.'

Maybe start by explaining what we already do on this front, how, why and what the results have been to date? 1/2
Universities ramp up employer engagement as criticisms intensify
UUK announces new business engagement initiative as data suggests most young people see apprenticeships as viable alternative to higher education
www.timeshighereducation.com

Loving the fact that we've been told off for months for not collaborating enough in UK research, but are now threatened with being excluded from the collaborative Horizon pillar. Well, actually, not loving it at all.

'A large layer of planking is missing from the vessel's interior, which indicates the remains have been buried in sand since the 1630s, according to the National Trust.' 2/2

'Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University believe it forms a missing piece of the Swash Channel wreck that was first discovered in the 1990s in a key shipping approach to Poole Harbour.' 1/2 #Skystorins
Timbers from 17th Century shipwreck appear on Dorset beach
Experts believe timbers found at Studland Beach form a missing piece of the Swash Channel wreck from 1631.
www.bbc.co.uk

'Meanwhile, staff at the University of Essex will begin seven days of strike action on 12 February over plans the UCU says could put 400 jobs at risk.

Staff will also begin action short of a strike'. 3/3

'Elsewhere, staff at Southampton Solent University walked out on 9 February over proposed changes to pension benefits...At Northumbria University, 10 days of strike action spread over three weeks will begin on 12 February, also as part of a dispute over pension provision'. 2/3

'The Durham branch of the University and College Union said on 9 February that 63 per cent of participants in a ballot had backed strike action in a row over working conditions and job security. Turnout in the vote was 54 per cent.' 1/3

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Durham staff vote to strike as action begins at three universities.

University and College Union takes action in disputes over job security and pensions provision.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Durham staff vote to strike as action begins at three universities - Research Professional News
University and College Union takes action in disputes over job security and pensions provision
www.researchprofessionalnews.com

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

UKRI's chief executive said recently that the UK "may wish to explore" paring back its association to the EU's research programme, to make it partial.

That would be a "profound strategic error", critics now warn.

By @clanicholson.bsky.social

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...
Any UK plan for partial Horizon association ‘a profound error’ - Research Professional News
Academic leaders warn against UK abandoning participation in collaborative part of EU R&I programme
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
"TikTok’s Terms of Service now explicitly include tracking of location and citizenship status (among other identity markers, such as sex)." newrepublic.com/article/2059...
How TikTok 2.0 Became a Weapon for ICE
In just one week, the company has gone from being Gen Z’s preferred social media platform to a tool for spying on Americans and the suppression of information.
newrepublic.com
Please do share this doctoral opportunity with MA/MSt students - four years of AHRC funding to work on the history of children's play in Wales, supervised by me and the lovely and brilliant Dr Jacky Tyrie. Any questions get in touch! www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
History: Serious about Play: Childhood, Play and Policymaking in Wales, 1945 to the present (RS936) - Swansea University
We offer a wide range of funded and fully funded research scholarships in all subject areas. Explore your options and apply now.
www.swansea.ac.uk
Not at all surprised to learn that Bad Bunny has a historical adviser. His halftime show was a reminder that our history and culture are deeply intertwined with the rest of the western hemisphere. We should think of his performance as part of #America250. #SuperBowl
news.wisc.edu/pop-star-bad...
Pop star Bad Bunny needed a Puerto Rican history scholar. UW–Madison had just the one.
Bad Bunny collaborated with UW–Madison history professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo on Puerto Rican narratives that accompany the new album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.”
news.wisc.edu
We’ve been made aware of individuals receiving emails claiming to be from the OBC, requesting fees from authors. To be clear: OBC does not charge individuals, book clubs, or authors for meetings/events. We're a collective funding model that channels library support to OA publishers & infrastructure.

Grindcore: the new misogyny. Discuss, preferably intersectionally.
AI gold rush sees tech firms embracing 72-hour weeks
In the race for AI, tech firms are asking for their staff to work long hours. But there are risks, experts say.
www.bbc.co.uk

'Once the public are in the arena politicians will do things to try and win their votes. The communication challenge is to inform this debate. Avoiding politics is to remove key context on how decisions are made and why.'

This is smart, important and readable during a very quick coffee break.
Why research communications needs more politics
James Coe unpacks how more attention to political communications can make the whole research funding debate better
wonkhe.com

Prof Miles Ogborn, Queen Mary University of London
Who was Granville? Questions from the archive of the 1831-32 uprising in Jamaica
5-7 PM | SR24 | English Faculty Building, Cambridge University
Faculty of English
www.english.cam.ac.uk

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

The Stuart Hall Archive Project Readings Seminars provide an opportunity to read and listen to a selection of Stuart Hall’s unpublished lectures, interviews, and letters, discussing his life and work and our own times.
3. Wed 11 February Education: Maximising Difference
buytickets.at/stuarthallar...

Leading to lower volume measure for REF and thus less QR. Vicious circle. Emphasis on vicious.

That will be going well for them, what with the pause in MRC funding...