Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 6d

COVID is all over the place, folks, and while it might be less immediately lethal than it was, there are still significant long term effects of even mild COVID.

(in case anyone is wondering why I still mask indoors, over five years later)

Still COVIDing Canada @stillcovidingca.bsky.social · 7d

[Translated from French]

COVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study

Radio-Canada
October 2, 2025
By Marie-Pier Mercier

stillcoviding.ca/en/news/la-c...

#COVID #CovidIsNotOver #research

COVID ages women’s blood vessels, according to a study

stillcoviding.ca

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 15d

in which I write about fine-tooth-combing when I should actually *be* fine-tooth-combing....

Dear Mr. Smallwood is out in November 2025 and I can't wait!

www.storiedselves.ca/blog/fine-to...

fine-tooth-combing — storied selves

I’m in the depths of fine-tooth-combing through my forthcoming book manuscript . This particular project, an edited collection of letters, reflections, and essays about Joey Smallwood, the first prem...

www.storiedselves.ca

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 16d

800 detainees are missing after being held in Alligator Alcatraz in July, showing no record of their location in ICE’s database.

Other detainees have been mistakenly deported or sent to detention centers thousands of miles away.

The cruelty is the point.

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 16d

I went from having no e-books to having five holds come in at the same time - an embarrassment of riches! I love my public library.

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Ernesto Priego @ernestopriego.com · 23d

Simply astonishing. Maybe Lecturer A should not have to mark over 100 essays in a two-week window in the first place? Invest in qualified staff and reduce impossible workloads FFS www.kcl.ac.uk/about/strate...

Screenshot. King's College London page. Examples of effective practice

The following scenarios follow the above guidelines and offer insights into ways that academic staff can use AI transparently and in an assistive capacity, always ensuring human oversight and judgment remain central.
Scenario A – Scaling feedback while maintaining quality

Lecturer A is responsible for marking over 100 essays within a two-week window.

Conscious of the limitations this workload places on the depth of individual feedback, they adopt a hybrid approach using their university’s approved or supported LLM tool, Copilot.

Without ever uploading student work directly, Lecturer A composes an anonymised summary for each student, noting which marking criteria were met and the approximate percentage achieved for each. They input this summary alongside the official rubric into Copilot, prompting it to generate supportive, criterion-referenced feedback. This feedback is then carefully reviewed, adapted, and personalised before being uploaded to the marking platform.

Students are made aware of this process in advance and shown a demonstration, reinforcing transparency and trust.

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 24d

No, Adobe Acrobat, I don't want to create an AI-created summary of the 510-page proof of our forthcoming book. I want to read the whole book. And all the contributions by all 35 contributors. Because reading is what a book is for. FFS.

A screenshot of a message in Adobe Acrobat that reads: "This appears to be a long document. Save time by reading a summary."

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Ashley Fitzpatrick @ashleyfitznl.bsky.social · 27d

So on the NL Education plan errors... The fact no one has yet said exactly when these fake citations were introduced (there is a process and there are drafts) screams lack of accountability.

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 28d

According to this report, one of the immediate suggestions for transforming postsec education in NL is to "embrace AI." It seems the authors did just that. Ugh. Appalling. Poor. Infuriating. Embarrassing. Just a few of the adjectives flying out of my mouth this morning.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

N.L.'s 10-year education action plan cites sources that don't exist | CBC News

A major report on modernizing the education system in Newfoundland and Labrador is peppered with fake sources some educators say were likely fabricated by generative artificial intelligence.

www.cbc.ca

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 28d

it's a great and really diverse lineup!

Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 28d

also, excuse my blue thumbnail. I was gel printing and I tend to get ink all over (including on my foot - how did it get there??)

Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 28d

@jnp709.bsky.social @julialaite.bsky.social

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · 28d

A full page ad for Dear Mr. Smallwood that includes the names of all 35 contributors! We're two months out now - can't wait!

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 29

Surround voters and citizens with propaganda in every part of their lives - it's all part of that fascist playbook.

LorennaCleary.bsky.social @lorennacleary.bsky.social · Jul 29

No one likes finding out their measuring cup is fascist.

But that’s exactly what’s happened.

Part 1/2

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Nicki Washington, Ph.D. @drnickiw.bsky.social · Jul 24

Emmett Till would be 84 today.

Not 114. Not 104.

84.

He would be my uncle. Not great-great or great uncle. One of my parents' siblings. This is why we remember.

Black and white image of Emmett Till in hat, white shirt, and tie.

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David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · Jul 27

DHS has arrested two medical personnel at a surgical center in California for demanding that the officers trespassing in their building identify themselves & provide a warrant, accusing them of another.... wait for it... ASSAULT. The case shows how DHS lies relentlessly to violate the Constitution

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · Jul 26

French President Emmanuel Macron had been pushing for France and its G7 allies, the UK and Canada, to recognise Palestinian statehood. But London and Ottawa “did not want to face the wrath of the United States”, reports Reuters.

🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/qep46z

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HuffPost @huffpost.com · Jul 26

A new COVID variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made landfall in the United States, and it's more transmissible than other variants.

A New COVID Variant Is Here, And It's More Transmissible — Here Are The Signs And Symptoms

A new COVID variant, known as NB.1.8.1, has made landfall in the United States, and it's more transmissible than other variants.

www.huffpost.com

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Melanie A. Kiechle @melaniekiechle.bsky.social · Jul 23

While I would prefer that my historical research have less relevance, please read and consider what it was like to fall ill and die before germ theory. #histmed 🗃️ nursingclio.org/2025/07/21/d...

Dying Before Germ Theory

As RFK questions germ theory, and measles ravages unvaccinated children, Americans need to know what is at risk. Americans died at higher rates and younger ages before the introduction of germ theo…

nursingclio.org

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Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · Jul 20

Study finds A.I. LLMs advise women to ask for lower salaries than men. When prompted w/ a user profile of same education, experience & job role, differing only by gender, ChatGPT advised the female applicant to request $280K salary; Male applicant=$400K.
thenextweb.com/news/chatgpt...

ChatGPT advises women to ask for lower salaries, study finds

A new study has found that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT consistently advise women to ask for lower salaries than men.

thenextweb.com

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 21

It does look interesting! And in an interesting connection, the first generation of suffragists in Newfoundland had a magazine they called The Water Lily (not just the Lily) and it was also a temperance magazine. collections.mun.ca/digital/coll...

Cover

The Water Lily, vol. 01, no. 01 (January 1892)

collections.mun.ca

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 11

also, other people to talk to might include Michelle Porter and Fiona Polack, both in the English department!

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 11

obvs you're going to talk to @oceanleaving.bsky.social? Also - you can often watch fog fingers moving in and out of the harbour from Signal Hill. Port Union if you haven't already been. Grates Cove is a place I just love to visit and wander the trails (up to the big hill & around the cove trails).

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Suzanne Rent @suzannerent.bsky.social · Jul 11

Finally, my story on Thursday's debate on Coun. Sam Austin's motion on strong mayor powers.

‘This is bigger than any of us’: Council votes in favour of Sam Austin’s strong mayor motion

www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/c...

'This is bigger than any of us': Council votes in favour of Sam Austin's strong mayor motion - Halifax Examiner

Mayor Andy Fillmore was the only no vote on Coun. Sam Austin's motion.

www.halifaxexaminer.ca

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 9

in the realm of we've known this for an awfully long time but it still persists and persists and persists.

Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · Jul 7

In a study of professors, women got 378 new work requests over 4 weeks vs 118 for men. Women spent more time on service, advising & teaching; men on research. Orgs should track who is taking extra duties & ensure they are rewarded and distributed fairly. www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...

Being Too Helpful At Work Can Hurt Your Career—Here’s How To Say No

Women are more likely to take on behind-the-scenes duties at work—extra tasks like onboarding or event planning—and it's hurting their careers. Here's how to say no.

www.forbes.com

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Sonja Boon @storiedselves.bsky.social · Jul 6

can't 'heart' this. Can only 😡 this.

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