My latest post for @LSEImpactBlog and one of my last here as I will be elsewhere (see bio for links).
If ‘academic X’ is sinking, where are research organisations going?
I have compiled a spreadsheet (that can be updated) includes over 250 of them 1/12

blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocial… My spreadsheet can be viewed online
It details over 250 research and academic funders, learned societies, charities, open research orgs, publishers etc. All are on @X most on @LinkedInUK and various numbers on @bluesky @joinmastodon and Threads. 2/12bit.ly/4ecQPWo

I asked #ChatGPT 'Can you provide 10 tips as to how an academic could make their research more visible to society?'.
The answer was pretty good and though it lacked nuance I can see it largely checked the boxes (although no mention of podcasts and Mendeley citation). 1. Write for a general audience: Instead of writing research papers filled with technical jargon, try to write articles, blog posts, or op-eds in a language that is easy for the public to understand.

I think the trend is clear that researchers, research teams, organisations, funders et al, see communicating research openly is increasingly important. I'm not entirely sure that ambition is matched with investment. 1/8 blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocial… There is however, a disparity in that a minority of research does invest in proper research communications. When I say proper communications, I mean going beyond a few Tweets and a press release but actually trying to build campaigns with genuine Open Access artefacts. 2/8

Just running my latest writing boot camp online and I talked about the idea of flipping your day round. I do this on occasion in the summer and winter months and find it very beneficial. Of course I am very lucky I can do this as many working elsewhere cannot. So what is this? I like hiking and seeing friends and family when I can, but in the winter months it can be very hard. It is dark before 4pm and finishing work in the dark can feel a bit depressing. So every so often I flip my day to ensure I get some exercise, vitamin D and sometimes see friends

At times you have to question what qualifications you need to write this kind of headline - 'UK builders go WOKE: Study finds three quarters of tradesmen discuss their feelings with colleagues while two thirds shun the fried breakfasts and nearly half say they are history buffs' So let me get this right? When suicide is a HUGE problem for men, it is 'Woke' to discuss your feelings. When obesity is a HUGE problem it is a problem to turn down friend breakfasts. Poor, poor spun journalism.

Less than 24 hours after buying Twitter, various banned accounts are back on the platform (Tommy Robinson, Britain First with new accounts and Tucker Carlson re-instated). The latter shows that they are back to stay, so it's fair to say that others will be back. 1/5 No doubt many accounts will be back, emboldened and probably looking to stir things up. I'm sure as a result many will consider quitting Twitter or already have. This just gives up the platform to unevidenced voices and those peddling hate. 2/5

Christmas is coming and many of us are going to get a little bit over indulgent over the next few weeks. So here is a serious thread about licorice which I have been meaning to write. If you eat it regularly, or know older people who indulge in eating it - then please read on... Earlier this year I discovered by accident that I had dangerously high blood pressure - Systolic blood pressure scores of over 200. I was naturally quite shocked, especially as I felt fine. I was regularly getting scores of about 190/110

Just a few thoughts for home-schooling parents as a parent who has had a 12-13 year old daughter out of mainstream school for most of the last 18 months. I appreciate that this won't help everyone (maybe just one person) but hope it brings comfort. Our daughter has been in and out of mainstream school since October 2018 due to an ongoing medical condition she’s being treated for. The first few months were hard as she completely fell between the cracks of education and health care. She had no education for about 3-4 months

I've been running several online writing retreats with staff and PGRs since the start of Lock Down and thought it might be useful to share a few insights. I wanted to make an impact and help colleagues and students adversely affected by not being on campus. I run these sessions for my @ScHARRSheffield colleagues and students but it is open to all @sheffielduni staff and PGRs. As the more people attend, the better the session becomes. It creates a feeling of being connected on campus virtually and breaks academic isolation