Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Thousands of homes with botched eco insulation 'must be fixed'

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 1d

Unintended consequences strike again. Yet another scandal of the unregulated economy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Insulation programmes costing billions of pounds have led to widespread problems with damp and mould.

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 2d

What Adam says…

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · Sep 2

Are you young, highly educated and driven, and want to contribute to our stagnant economy with its aging population and low productivity? Well out you go

Making Sense of Construction Improvement

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 2d

Delighted to finally get my hands on The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales by @drtobydriver.bsky.social Blimey, it’s a handsome book. No sticky fingers allowed…

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 3d

Book currently on offer at £38.39 direct from publisher. Bargain. www.routledge.com/Making-Sense...

Making Sense of Construction Improvement provides a critical evaluation of the construction improvement debate from the end of the Second World War through to the modern era. The book offers unique in...

www.routledge.com

Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 5d

And now the UK university funding crisis makes the lead headline on BBC news. Please be sure this is not just about higher education, it’s also about the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem. The situation gets worse every month with no end in sight.

University workers will vote on national strike action this month over a 1.4% pay offer made in the summer.

Sussex housing projects halted as firm files for administration

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 5d

If a contractor files for administration midway through a project the client ends up with a big problem. If a modular contractor files for administration the client ends up with a massive problem. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Boutique Modern is the contractor on housing projects in areas including Lancing and Eastbourne.

www.bbc.com

Starmer to unveil digital ID cards in plan set to ignite civil liberties row

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 8d

Further to my recent post from the British Library, here’s a follow-up from Birmingham Central Library. Any excuse to visit a library is good enough for me…

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 13d

I defy anyone to watch this video and not feel a little bit happier #FestiniogRailway

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 19d

For sectors such as construction the apparent assumption that the labour market is characterised by standard forms of employment is at best misplaced. There are many good reasons for reforming the gig economy. But this has been true for decades.

‘Brit card’ already facing opposition from privacy campaigners as government looks for ways to tackle illegal immigration

Every adult in Britain to require new ‘Brit Card’ ID

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 19d

Yes, it would be easier. But Tier 1 contractors employ very few workers on major construction sites. So would they police employment practices throughout the supply chain? This would be a massive overnight change with many knock-on consequences. If we don’t ask them to do this what’s the point?

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 19d

So will Tier 1 contractors be expected to check the digital ID cards of all those working on major construction sites? Unregistered workers will be driven even further into the twilight zone. The risk of unintended consequences is high. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

The prime minister will announce his backing for the scheme in a speech on Friday

www.independent.co.uk

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 19d

One of the best things about doing research is I get to hang out in cool places like the British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 20d

Errr…every university ‘boss’ in Scotland is calling for the same thing.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

University boss calls for major review of Scottish higher education

Sir Anton Muscatelli calls for a review of the future funding and shape of higher education.

University of Bristol gives out free condoms to help prevent STIs

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 20d

Are they absolutely sure it’s not a gimmick?

The University of Bristol is also offering tampons and STI testing kits to students free of charge.

Quarter of UK university physics departments at risk of closing, survey finds

Reposted by Stuart Green

Trees for Life @treesforlife.bsky.social · 24d

The large and long-lived tree: #Scots pine 🌲

A keystone species of the #CaledonianForest - watch to explore how this remarkable tree connects nature, history and heritage.

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 25d

Another day, another crisis. Expect more such headlines tomorrow, and again the day after. Such is the reality of the UK’s university sector…

Four out of five making staff cuts as physicists say findings are ‘great concern’ for UK’s leadership in important areas

Drone images show demolition of former Berkshire council HQ

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 26d

Another brutalist monument to municipality bites the dust. Whatever happened to the circular economy? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The home of Berkshire County Council from 1981 until 1998 is being destroyed.

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 27d

Main Turbine Hall, Tate Modern

UK public has paid £200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation – study

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 29d

Rip-off Britain

Analysis reveals ‘privatisation premium’ of £250 per household per year paid to owners of water, rail, bus, energy and mail services since 2010

Banks tighten debt terms as squeezed UK universities refinance loans

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · 29d

The financialisation of the UK university sector is ongoing and gathering pace. Its continued acceleration seems inevitable

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 29d

Banks tighten debt terms as squeezed UK universities refinance loans on.ft.com/41Vxsxt

Almost half of the sector’s providers run a deficit, as some institutions secure funding against campus sites

on.ft.com

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · Sep 15

There is a right enshrined in law to roam over just 8% of England, which includes mountains, moorland, the coastal path and common land.

Right to swim and wild camp in England should be enshrined in law, Labour MPs say

Report from group of MPs calls for broader access to rivers, woodlands and fields to improve connection with nature

Magical systems thinking - Works in Progress Magazine

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · Sep 14

This is worth a read for those interested in systems thinking worksinprogress.co/issue/magica...

Systems thinking promises to give us a toolkit to design complex systems that work from the ground up. It fails because it ignores that systems fight back.

worksinprogress.co

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Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · Sep 10

The first of many more mergers to come? Maybe, but it doesn’t solve any of the sector’s long term funding problems www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Greenwich and Kent announce merger to form 'super-university'

Universities are facing ongoing financial worries, with the regulator saying other mergers could follow.

Stuart Green @stuartgreen.bsky.social · Sep 8

Cambridge city centre is so affluent it seems almost opulent. It’s difficult to believe it’s in the same country as Burnley (my hometown). Whatever happened to regional policy?