Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Claire Field

Language on the Move @languageonthemove.bsky.social · 4h

Sydney-based teachers needed for short survey about language brokering in schools - when children serve as interpreters for their parents

www.languageonthemove.com/language-bro...

Language brokering in schools

Are you a Sydney-based teacher who needs to communicate with parents who do not speak English or do not speak it well? Do you sometimes have to ask students to translate for you to communicate with…

www.languageonthemove.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

marque lawyers @marquelawyers.com.au · 3d

Our client Dr Nick Riemer on the 18C case against him and his colleague Prof John Keane

Anti-Zionism on trial - ABC listen

University of Sydney academics Dr Nick Riemer and Professor John Keane will be facing the Federal Court on Monday 13th October after university colleagues made a complaint of anti-Semitism against the...

www.abc.net.au

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 1d

Agree - it's brilliant! Well done @ccguerilla.bsky.social 👏👏

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 1d

Sadly only 2 Australian speakers and neither are on the main stage - & the conference has more than 200,000 delegates!

Lots of discussion on equity, energy, risks, security and “education, education, education” - not academic integrity issues but educating for an AI future

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 1d

I'm attending GITEXGlobal in Dubai and yesterday heard from policymakers from across the globe (so much to think about). Today the discussion is moving into AI sovereignty and AI in the public service - 1 example - the Abu Dhabi govt delivers 1,100 government services in 90 languages in 1 app TAMM 🤯

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 1d

2026 public uni international student caps have been released. Federation Uni & Charles Sturt Uni will be very pleased by their increases, while 5 unis chose not to apply for an increase. Student accommodation places & SE Asia links were criteria for higher caps
www.education.gov.au/download/197...

Comparison of 2025 and 2026 caps - for each university the first number is their 2025 cap, the 2nd number is their 2026 cap, and the % figure is the annual increase
Federation University Australia 1,100 1,800 64%
Charles Sturt University 1,000 1,600 60%
The University of Newcastle 1,600 2,050 28%
Charles Darwin University (CDU) 2,200 2,650 20%
University of Canberra 1,500 1,800 20%
The University of Western Australia 3,000 3,550 18%
Western Sydney University 3,400 4,000 18%
Curtin University 3,500 4,100 17%
La Trobe University 4,100 4,800 17%
Macquarie University 4,500 5,250 17%
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology 6,600 7,700 17%
Southern Cross University 1,300 1,500 15%
Deakin University (Deakin) 5,700 6,550 15%
The University of Notre Dame Australia 700 800 14%
The University of Queensland 7,050 8,050 14%
The University of Melbourne 9,300 10,500 13%
University of the Sunshine Coast 1,200 1,350 13%
Victoria University** 3,600 4,050 13%
Australian Catholic University 1,700 1,900 12%
University of Technology Sydney 4,800 5,350 11%
Murdoch University 3,500 3,900 11%
Australian National University 3,400 3,750 10%
Griffith University 3,600 3,950 10%
The University of New South Wales 9,500 10,350 9%
Adelaide University 6,750 7,350 9%
Monash University 10,390 11,300 9%
Queensland University of Technology 4,500 4,750 6%
Central Queensland University 3,000 3,150 5%
University of Southern Queensland** 1,000 1,050 5%
Edith Cowan University 3,600 3,700 3%
University of Wollongong 3,600 3,700 3%
University of Tasmania (UTas) 2,200 2,250 2%
Flinders University 3,000 3,000 0%
James Cook University 2,200 2,200 0%
Swinburne University of Technology 4,500 4,500 0%
The University of Sydney 11,900 11,900 0%
University of New England 700 700 0%
Total 145,190 160,850 11%

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 1d

Australian higher ed has some serious governance issues. On the latest episode of the podcast Keith Dowding & @marijataflaga.bsky.social discuss their recent paper (with @francismarkham.bsky.social) on the solutions we need.

Out now in your podcast feed or: whatnowwhatnext.buzzsprout.com

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 2d

Really looking forward to attending #GITEXGLOBAL in Dubai this week - including these sessions 👇

www.gitex.com

Session: “From early adoption to AI-native societies: envisioning the next era of intelligence” Peng Xiao, G42; Sam Altman, OpenAI

Session: “From research to power: Building deeptech and AI that redefine markets and nations” Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commission; Najwa Aaraj, Technology Innovation Institute; David Rowan, WIRED

Session: “Connecting continents: AI-enabled economic transformation” His Excellency Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Minister of Industry and Technology, Turkiye; Olivia Kingshorst, Ex-CNN & Forbes Switzerland

Session: “Responsible by design: Governing intelligence in AI native societies” Andrew Jackson, G42; Amanda Drury, CNBC

Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 2d

3 recent podcast guests share insights on what’s happening in Australian tertiary education: tackling disadvantage, use of AI, and much more
- TAFE Gippsland’s Transitions Manager, Shae McGregor
- Uni of New England’s VC, Prof Chris Moran
- TAFE NSW teacher, Bala Subra
whatnowwhatnext.buzzsprout.com

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 2d

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Thousands join pro-Palestinian rallies in towns and cities amid ceasefire

The rallies in cities and towns dubbed the Nationwide Rally for Palestine come less than a week after the second anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack.

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Claire Field

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 3d

this is a great piece and it absolutely sucks that the outlet went for the ambiguous headline rather.

The idea that you can remain on X and "influence opinion" is equally true for creating a new Stormfront account, or a 4Chan account, or a TruthSocial account.

Our job is to kills its influence.

Did the centre-left bit of UK politics Twitter make an error in decamping en masse to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Twitter? The old site, now remade as X, remains significantly larger than the new, and much of the political class have failed to make the jump. Did those of us who went let our desire for a comforting liberal bubble undermine our actual influence?

Well – no. Bluesky may or may not be, as one centre-right friend who felt unwelcome put it, “self-righteous island”. But the idea that’s why we went is nonsense. That I’ve largely stopped posting on a site that’s done more to shape my career and social circle than the rest of the internet combined is less about avoiding rival opinions (I love arguing with people who are wrong!) than with the fact the site simply became unusable. It stopped generating the things (good jokes, interesting debate, clicks) I wanted; it became extremely good at generating the things (racists, pornbots, racist pornbots) I did not.

The story of social media in the last few years is not one of a self-righteous liberal flounce, but of fragmentation: network effects are a thing, and if most of the people you like to talk to switch platforms, there feels little point in remaining behind. If we have lost influence, that’s at least partly down to the government’s reluctance to use its convening power to reshape the information environment, and its odd commitment to a site owned by someone who wants Keir Starmer in prison.

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Reposted by Claire Field

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 3d

This is such a clever idea on taking kids to museums/galleries
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Nadia from London has an idea that sounds such fun you'll be booking a day out asap.
"I've always loved museums," she says,
"but they can be overwhelming for children. For decades now, I've done something called 'playing postcards'
We do
the museum backwards, visiting the gift shop first. Each child gets to choose three postcards. Then they take it in turns to find that particular artwork in the museum and give us a little information about the piece from the details on the postcard, or from any gallery plaque. At the end of this treasure-hunt-style activity, we vote for our favourite in the cafe."

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Reposted by Claire Field

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 3d

Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.

www.cbsnews.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

Alan Dettlaff @alandettlaff.com · 3d

Yesterday I was told that the class I’m scheduled to teach this month, Confronting Oppression & Injustice, is no longer part of our curriculum. This is a required class yet there was no discussion, no faculty vote, just an email saying the class no longer exists. This is what it’s like in Texas now.

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Reposted by Claire Field

Verbatorium @verbatorium.bsky.social · 3d

Platypus vanish from river where Charles Darwin pondered evolution www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Platypus vanish from river where Charles Darwin pondered evolution

Almost 190 years on, in the place where Charles Darwin first spotted a platypus, the egg-laying mammal seems to have disappeared.

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Claire Field

Jeff Greene @jeffgreene.bsky.social · 4d

Imagine spotting struggling students before the midterm just by reading their digital patterns. That’s the promise of validated learning analytics. 🚀

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Reposted by Claire Field

Matthew Doran @matthewdoran1.bsky.social · 4d

In August we reported on the story of 12 year old Huda, suffering extreme malnutrition. Her hair was falling out, and she didn't have enough energy to get out of bed.

We're hearing reports that Huda died in recent days.

Here's our story from August:
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Malnourished Huda needs treatment outside of Gaza — but she can't leave

Hospitals in Gaza are having to divert resources to treating surging cases of malnutrition as starvation takes hold across the strip. Meanwhile, children who need treatment are waiting to be evacuated...

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Claire Field

Associate Professor Mark A. Bassett @drmarkbassett.bsky.social · 4d

The preprint of 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣, 𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚: 𝘼𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 is now available on EdArXiv.

The paper presents a definitive academic critique of AI detectors.

doi.org/10.35542/osf...

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Reposted by Claire Field

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 8d

International student arrivals to the US dropped 19% this year, the biggest drop on record aside from the 2020 pandemic low.

The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 9d

The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August

The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

The Cathy Wilcox @cathywilcox.bsky.social · 6d

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

When you first heard me speak against this genocide, you heard my words as betrayal. But they were meant as love | Sarah Schwartz

Not speaking would go against everything I was taught to honour: the righteous among the nations – those who refused to be bystanders to injustice

www.theguardian.com

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Claire Field @clairefield.bsky.social · 6d

“UK higher education sometimes feels as though it’s trying to work out how to make horses go faster, rather than exploring more counterintuitive, behaviourally informed research methods to improve and innovate the experience.” A very interesting read

Neil Mosley @neilmosley.bsky.social · 6d

"There is a certain orthodoxy in how the sector builds a case for doing something new or different, and it tends to be overly reliant on user (student) research focused on asking people what they want."

Is it time for the UK to develop split-mode undergraduate degrees? — Neil Mosley Consulting

A look at why online undergraduate education has developed so differently in the US and UK, and whether it’s time for UK universities to explore split-mode degrees.

www.neilmosley.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

Neil Mosley @neilmosley.bsky.social · 6d

"There is a certain orthodoxy in how the sector builds a case for doing something new or different, and it tends to be overly reliant on user (student) research focused on asking people what they want."

Is it time for the UK to develop split-mode undergraduate degrees? — Neil Mosley Consulting

A look at why online undergraduate education has developed so differently in the US and UK, and whether it’s time for UK universities to explore split-mode degrees.

www.neilmosley.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 6d

Japan has an ‘enshortification’ problem - @urbandirt.bsky.social here on the country's shortages of practitioners with some examples here www.ft.com/content/de6a...

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Reposted by Claire Field

The Conversation AUNZ @aunz.theconversation.com · 7d

Paul Brereton’s ongoing conflict of interest woes threaten public trust in the National Anti-Corruption Commission. He urgently needs to change tack.

Australia’s anti-corruption commissioner has a trust problem. He needs to change course to fix it

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Claire Field

Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 9d

Meanwhile in Australia, the so-called National Press Club cancels decorated journalist, Chris Hedges, who was to speak on the "amplification of Israeli lies in the press, which most reporters know are lies, betraying Palestinian colleagues who are slandered, targeted and killed by Israel"

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