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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · 1d

So true! Great that you could join the fun!

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · 18d

Looking forward to seeing this cool new building take shape, joining the wild architectural mash-up at the top of my street.

Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 19d

Somerville College’s proposed new Ratan Tata Building, in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, has been given planning permission by Oxford City Council. The building will be mostly teaching and learning space with tutor offices, study space and seminar rooms.

Artists' impression of the Ratan Tata Building

Artists' impression of the Ratan Tata Building seen from Walton Street

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · 23d

I have often wished there was a way to track reviewing - also as a way to reward thoughtful reviewing. Not too optimistic. ... But I tend to regard invitations as an editor's request for alternate suggestions. I often can't do the review myself, but I can point them to people they're not aware of.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Sep 6

Y’all do such good reporting. Why debase yourselves with this (repeat) slop? Oxford is a great place to walk! But the measure used here is not much related to what folks mean by “walkable city”.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Aug 22

Yes, the detail is fabulous! The version at the National Library of Scotland is even better. Not only can you zoom way in, and also use a nifty side-by-side view to align with current satellite maps. maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/...

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

maps.nls.uk

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Aug 8

This is great ... and it feels like the seed for another series like Housing Week. Why can't the trains to Banbury run as often as the trains to Ely? Why (the heck) are different authorities handling the east and west sides of the station building? And so on.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 29

Another department I work in uses letters very differently. They’re used as a source of often helpful “contextual data”. They’re rarely decisive for applicants who already have lots of advantages. But they often flag potential that might otherwise get overlooked. So, it matters how they’re used.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 29

On further reflection, it makes a big difference how they’re used. One department I work in basically does a rough sentiment analysis on the letters and translates those vibes into a number for a scoring rubric. I think that’s a good use of letters at all!

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 29

My experience, from reading thousands of letters over nearly 30 years, in different countries, is that the vast majority of writers have integrity, and are not good at faking. Empty fluff certainly exists, but it is obvious to see, and easily ignored.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 29

This seems to be a currently popular view. But it’s peer review. It’s what we use all the time in our professions. Why should it be uniquely ineffective when we are giving assessments of our students? Letters aren’t perfect. Nothing is. But they’re another useful tool.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 28

We totally read the letters for applicants to our masters programmes. Some don’t know how to write informative letters. But the ones that do really help. We’re in a field where students come from very diverse backgrounds. That may make letters more useful.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 28

What’s the status of the £7M in funding that your earlier article said would expire in March ‘25?

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 23

So, if there is a potential red flag that you think is explainable, that's where your external expertise is most helpful. E.g., it's pretty normal for people starting an electrophysiology lab to have a publication gap, due to long lead times. I'll often contextualize things like that.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 23

In most cases, it doesn't much matter where the endorsement sits on the scale from positive to glowing. Committees don't take the average temperature of the external letters. They won't say, "All were positive, just not positive enough." They give most attention to potential red flags.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 23

Two easy ways to make this point.

(1) Say they would get this promotion at your own institution, ideally with real life comps.

(2) Say "This person compares favorably to X and Y, who were recently promoted to this level at institutions A and B (which the candidate's institution sees as a peer).

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 23

Thanks for this thread! A couple of my own takes.

If it's a straightforward positive case, your job is just to provide one or two pull quotes for the summary report. No need to overcomplicate. Committees want evidence that disciplinary standards are upheld, relative to institutions they respect.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 23

Seems like we have shared history as lapsed believers with close family ties to Christian rock music. Though I wouldn't pretend for a moment to be a hipster. Gotta compare notes some time.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 5

It’s interesting how the university is trying to wring as much publicity from this as possible. But uprooting one’s life is hard. And few will be able to move. The real action may be in the decisions of younger, less established, more mobile scholars. Less flashy. Bigger long term impact.

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 4

More postdoc opportunities in Oxford! 3-year British Academy Fellowships, for start in 2026. For work in any area of linguistics. Expressions of Interest (brief!) for internal competition due July 28. www.ling-phil.ox.ac.uk/news/2025/06...

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 2

£10 million at £2/night amounts to 13,700 overnight stays per day, 365 days per year. That’s about 5 times the hotel inventory in Oxford. Something doesn’t add up.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jul 2

Some of my younger colleagues stay in college rooms a couple of nights per week, as they can’t afford to live locally. Would they face a tourist tax?

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jun 29

You do great reporting at The Clarion. So why cite rankings based on dumb measures? “The 5 top attractions are close” doesn’t fit most people’s idea of “most walkable”. Oxford really is walkable. But not for that reason!

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jun 26

I tried out the County Council survey. A remarkably leading set of questions. If they are doing this to show that they are listening to residents, that plan might just backfire.

Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jun 14

I *so* needed this for a talk that I gave earlier today!

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Colin Phillips @colinphillips.bsky.social · Jun 3

Yet another open-rank position in language in Oxford! This one is in Applied Linguistics. You get to join Oxford's excellent Dept of Education, and also be my colleague at the fabulous @somervillecollege.bsky.social , which I cannot recommend too highly. Details: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

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