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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 24

Ok fair enough, hesa stats seem to indicate different. The article does seem to conflate going into he which would poss include apprenticeship and going to university. But happy to stand corrected.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 24

Blair never said 50% to uni, it was 50% get an experience of HE - which included apprenticeship block release. The figure at uni never got above 40% including he in fe. Yes some were dissatisfied, the loans horrible, and some post 92 were bad. But it changed 100,000s lives for the better, inc mine.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 23

#academicsky I like you more when you cited me... Peer reviewers more likely to approve articles that cite their own work share.google/xouO1hcLquRp...

Peer reviewers more likely to approve articles that cite their own work

Preprint examines how citations can influence the review process.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 20

#academicsky journal publishers don't seem aware of the perilous state of UK HE finances & refuse to lower prices (and seem to be trying to extract max profit) could lead to some serious problems. ‘Business-as-usual’ offers from publishers raise walk away fears share.google/RrvI8PrJpDCB...

‘Business-as-usual’ offers from publishers raise walk-away fears

Disappointing offers which ‘miss financial reality’ faced by UK higher education have heightened speculation that institutions will ditch proposed deals

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 17

#academicsky a thoughtfully piece on academic fraud: Crossed Wires: Academic retractions explode as scientific swindles mushroom share.google/2IzerTjAmR5D...

Crossed Wires: Academic retractions explode as scientific swindles mushroom

Scientific fraud was rare before the internet. In 1990, only 50 papers were retracted across the academic spectrum. In 2023-24, there were 45,000 retractions.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 6

#academicsky reported elsewhere - this story has enough 'newsworthyness' to hit popular media as well as academic sources. Tragic that the story itself seems to be adding to the anti 'cant trust science' agenda as well as reporting the initial fraudulent activity share.google/7jeR973WhRvt...

Researchers expose organised scientific fraud network

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 5

It seems to be a very widespread problem.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 5

Just plain old windows I'm afraid.

Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 3

He did well to get that! So many students desperate to find somewhere to live. I guess this will influence where people can go to - limited to within travelling distance if parental homes.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 3

I am very pro open source but afraid I really don't feel the love for zotero having tried to use it for the past year or so. Not sure if it's me but found it rather glitchy and a few rough edges in terms of usability. I get the advantages but not sold on it as yet...

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Aug 3

#academicsky accommodation crisis for students. Students at many universities based towns now far this problem in ireland. Is it the same in other countries? Not mentioned is the impact on studies and disproportionate impact on economically disadvantaged students share.google/QWrvg2y5V5Wj...

'Just impossible' - Students on accommodation shortage

The University of Galway has sent out 40,000 fliers asking people in the city to make accommodation available for students ahead of the new semester.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 30

#academicsky funding system makes little difference in participation unless you want to reach students in countries with high participation, then it helps to get to the 'hard to reach' students link.springer.com/article/10.1...

More funding, more students? Student funding policies and tertiary education enrolment ratios in 32 high-participation countries - Higher Education

Participation in tertiary education has grown dramatically in recent decades, and the distribution of the costs for degrees between students, families and states has consequently become an intensely d...

link.springer.com

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 29

#academicsky This looks to be promising... www.timeshighereducation.com/news/anz-uni...

ANZ universities adopt ‘unified position’ on open access

Simpler ‘publish-as-a-service’ agreements in the frame as sector eyes ‘pivotal year’ for removal of research paywalls

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 22

#academicsky some interesting numbers here - diversifying journal reviewers a way forward... Is there a strain on peer review? – It’s more complicated than you think - Impact of Social Sciences share.google/NukP0Yx7TD6j...

Is there a strain on peer review? – It’s more complicated than you think - Impact of Social Sciences

The significant growth of academic publishing in recent years has led some to argue the system is reaching a breaking point, but is it this simple?

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 18

#academicsky come to Ireland!Ireland targets world-class researchers with new initiative www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/i...

Ireland targets world-class researchers with new initiative

Today Minister Lawless has launched the Global Talent Ireland initiative which aims to attract the best and brightest researchers to Ireland.

www.siliconrepublic.com

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 7

#academicsky possibly 13.5% of academic biomed paper abstracts published in 2024 indexed in pubmed 'processed' using AI. Massive study detects AI fingerprints in millions of scientific papers share.google/eIuadvWN33Ci...

Massive study detects AI fingerprints in millions of scientific papers

Chances are that you have unknowingly encountered compelling online content that was created, either wholly or in part, by some version of a Large Language Model (LLM). As these AI resources, like Cha...

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 6

Thanks, some great ideas. But I'd add that just because it's a great paper doesn't mean it will get cited. Unfortunately many excellent papers never get on the seemingly "magic lists" of those papers that get cited as a matter of course for certain fields. Add in green vs gold vs diamond models...

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 6

#academicsky The coalition Irish govt announced an increase (or reversion to pre cost of living reduction) to student fees back to 3k euro per year but an at least partial u turn and perm reduction now looks increasingly likely. share.google/8zAat2mvdGXW...

Students in line for permanent fee cut as Coalition parties move on to budget battle over welfare payments

Third-level students are in line to see hundreds of euro permanently cut off their college fees, in a move that will be seen as a concession by Fianna Fáil.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 6

#academicsky impact of doge cuts on NSFW funding. Truly an own goal. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Scientists warn US will lose a generation of talent because of Trump cuts

Political interference and chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants at the National Science Foundation are producing ‘devastating consequences’

www.theguardian.com

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 5

Thanks.

Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 5

Has the list of which 10 universities will be included been released yet?

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jul 5

#academicsky the ai arms race continues - ai prompts hidden in papers for perry review www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07...

Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity

The discovery raises serious concerns about the integrity of the research in the papers and highlights flaws in academic publishing.

www.japantimes.co.jp

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jun 21

I'm not so sure, many eu countries are actively rejecting this approach. There is lots of funding going into certain areas of education. The uk is currently adjusting to a post brexit environment and it's general standard of living is declining. But it won't go this way forever hopefully.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jun 21

It's very sad - I'm not sure it's ideological and I appreciate there is no money but the long term impact of this may be hard to undo when finances are restored.

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Marcus Leaning @marcusleaning.bsky.social · Jun 21

Some good news for arts practitioners in Ireland though its a little prescriptive in what counts as arts practice. Artists to receive an extra €8,450 as Basic Income for the Arts scheme extended until next year share.google/xxYv09M5bBQM...

Artists to receive an extra €8,450 as Basic Income for the Arts scheme extended until next year

The National Campaign for the Arts has called for the funding scheme for Irish artists to be made permanent.

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