Prof Debby Cotton
@profdcotton.bsky.social
Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange at Plymouth Marjon University, UK. Interested in all things HE. Sustainability education and behaviour change researcher. Accidental AI expert. NTF.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
Politician 1: Your Party believes that ...
Politician 2: Sorry - Your Party or my party?
Politician 1: Not my party, Your Party.
Continue ad inf ...
Politician 2: Sorry - Your Party or my party?
Politician 1: Not my party, Your Party.
Continue ad inf ...
BREAKING: Your Party members have chosen to officially keep the name Your Party
November 30, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Politician 1: Your Party believes that ...
Politician 2: Sorry - Your Party or my party?
Politician 1: Not my party, Your Party.
Continue ad inf ...
Politician 2: Sorry - Your Party or my party?
Politician 1: Not my party, Your Party.
Continue ad inf ...
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
November 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
This is the most alarming story I’ve read today. Giving up the fight before it’s started
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
'We have historically high welfare spending.' No we don't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
November 29, 2025 at 5:08 PM
'We have historically high welfare spending.' No we don't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
My health insurance premiums will more than double in January. I pay a little less than $500/month for my current silver plan.
I just reapplied and my new premium will be $1062/month.
And don’t forget: I still have a co-pay for every visit and pay for prescriptions.
I just reapplied and my new premium will be $1062/month.
And don’t forget: I still have a co-pay for every visit and pay for prescriptions.
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 PM
I so want to read this! 😆
I was given an absolutely spectacular gift tonight. I'll post excerpts as I read it but for now, please enjoy these insane adverts
November 29, 2025 at 10:21 PM
I so want to read this! 😆
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
Disgraceful! A patriotic flag shagger who dedicated his time to illegally putting up 64 flags is being charged £2,300 for the cost of taking them down. If it wasn't so funny I'd be furious.
November 29, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Disgraceful! A patriotic flag shagger who dedicated his time to illegally putting up 64 flags is being charged £2,300 for the cost of taking them down. If it wasn't so funny I'd be furious.
Love Arcadia.. sad news
I imagine the obits will talk about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Leopoldstadt and Shakespeare in Love, God help us. But for my money Arcadia was his best play: elegant, profound, intelligent, humane and deeply moving. There really was no one else operating at his level.
November 29, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Love Arcadia.. sad news
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
God I'm gutted to hear about Tom Stoppard. He was such an immense figure, a titan of ideas.
November 29, 2025 at 8:35 PM
God I'm gutted to hear about Tom Stoppard. He was such an immense figure, a titan of ideas.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
The Telegraph, ladies and gentlemen.
November 29, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The Telegraph, ladies and gentlemen.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
November 29, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
For more than a decade now the government’s answer to how to fund universities has been to make money from overseas students.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 7:43 AM
For more than a decade now the government’s answer to how to fund universities has been to make money from overseas students.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
The last lot then tried to discourage students from coming here.
This lot just want the money back.
But then how do we fund ourselves?
Crazy.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
“Trump & Brexit are not 2 different things. They‘re the same thing. Same companies. Same data. Same Facebook. Same Russians. Same Cambridge Analytica. Same Robert Mercer. Same Steve Bannon. Same Breitbart. Same Alexander Nix. Same Donald Trump. Same Farage” Carole Cadwalladr 👇
November 11, 2025 at 5:17 PM
“Trump & Brexit are not 2 different things. They‘re the same thing. Same companies. Same data. Same Facebook. Same Russians. Same Cambridge Analytica. Same Robert Mercer. Same Steve Bannon. Same Breitbart. Same Alexander Nix. Same Donald Trump. Same Farage” Carole Cadwalladr 👇
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
🚨#History #envhist Job Alert: My Department is hiring an Assistant Professor in Environmental History.
🗃️
Come work with us at Warwick. You'll get both excellent colleagues and great students!
See details below... And do not hesitate to spread the word...
👇👇👇
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK289/a...
🗃️
Come work with us at Warwick. You'll get both excellent colleagues and great students!
See details below... And do not hesitate to spread the word...
👇👇👇
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK289/a...
Assistant Professor in Environmental History (111009-1125) at University of Warwick
Explore an exciting academic career as a Assistant Professor in Environmental History (111009-1125). Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 12, 2025 at 12:15 PM
🚨#History #envhist Job Alert: My Department is hiring an Assistant Professor in Environmental History.
🗃️
Come work with us at Warwick. You'll get both excellent colleagues and great students!
See details below... And do not hesitate to spread the word...
👇👇👇
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK289/a...
🗃️
Come work with us at Warwick. You'll get both excellent colleagues and great students!
See details below... And do not hesitate to spread the word...
👇👇👇
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPK289/a...
Another good read for Saturday morning : https://isrf.org/blog/labours-white-paper-fails-higher-education #UKHE
Labour’s White Paper Fails Higher Education
isrf.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Another good read for Saturday morning : https://isrf.org/blog/labours-white-paper-fails-higher-education #UKHE
This is a brilliant piece of writing. A very good start to Saturday morning…
Bit late to this but it's such a clever piece of AI criticism, developing a literary critique of Sam Altman's auto-metafiction story as a way to explore the grave threats to the "intellectual infrastructure" of the humanities - and HE more broadly - posed by AI lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
lareviewofbooks.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:08 AM
This is a brilliant piece of writing. A very good start to Saturday morning…
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
Here’s where it gets personal for me. When I was 9, I started experiencing suicidal ideation … disinterested in living, and at least some of the time contemplating death and how it might happen … It’s easy to imagine how I would have used programs like these chatbots.
Perry: How can AI be used ethically when it’s been linked to suicide?
"It’s not on us, on you and me, to use AI ethically or responsibly. It’s on the companies to build safe, reliable, ethical products," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Here’s where it gets personal for me. When I was 9, I started experiencing suicidal ideation … disinterested in living, and at least some of the time contemplating death and how it might happen … It’s easy to imagine how I would have used programs like these chatbots.
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
“Our findings show that ChatGPT not only fails to recognise retracted articles but often evaluates them as high-quality research and claims that their discredited claims are true.”
"Relying on LLMs for literature summaries without independent verification could lead to the unknowing citation and perpetuation of false information."
#AcWri #SciComm
#AcWri #SciComm
ChatGPT is blind to bad science - Impact of Social Sciences
A new study finds ChatGPT fails to take into account retraction notices across a wide range of research.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
October 26, 2025 at 2:40 PM
“Our findings show that ChatGPT not only fails to recognise retracted articles but often evaluates them as high-quality research and claims that their discredited claims are true.”
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
So I've been reading the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. There's some good things in there. But when it comes to universities there's very little to cheer. The situation is very tough and will get worse. The last chance to preserve what we've got has passed. Let me explain why. (1/?)
October 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
So I've been reading the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. There's some good things in there. But when it comes to universities there's very little to cheer. The situation is very tough and will get worse. The last chance to preserve what we've got has passed. Let me explain why. (1/?)
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
'Artificial intelligence (AI) models are 50% more sycophantic than humans, an analysis published this month has found.'
Another reason why human tutors matter (and why 'Rate My Professor' type evaluations of them are problematic).
Another reason why human tutors matter (and why 'Rate My Professor' type evaluations of them are problematic).
AI chatbots are sycophants — researchers say it’s harming science
Nature asked researchers who use artificial intelligence how its propensity for people-pleasing affects their work — and what they are doing to mitigate it.
www.nature.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:29 AM
'Artificial intelligence (AI) models are 50% more sycophantic than humans, an analysis published this month has found.'
Another reason why human tutors matter (and why 'Rate My Professor' type evaluations of them are problematic).
Another reason why human tutors matter (and why 'Rate My Professor' type evaluations of them are problematic).
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
Because some damn fool asked, here's a thread about Baxter.
This was taken on the day I brought home Baxter and threw away all hope of an easy life.
Look at him. Absolutely irresistible.
And that's how they get you, the utter bastards
This was taken on the day I brought home Baxter and threw away all hope of an easy life.
Look at him. Absolutely irresistible.
And that's how they get you, the utter bastards
November 20, 2024 at 2:48 PM
Because some damn fool asked, here's a thread about Baxter.
This was taken on the day I brought home Baxter and threw away all hope of an easy life.
Look at him. Absolutely irresistible.
And that's how they get you, the utter bastards
This was taken on the day I brought home Baxter and threw away all hope of an easy life.
Look at him. Absolutely irresistible.
And that's how they get you, the utter bastards
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
Reform UK Councils
Council Tax increases
Durham: 4.9%
Worcestershire: 5-10%
Warwickshire: ~5%
Leicestershire: 3%
Kent: 5%
Lincolnshire: 2%+
Staffordshire: ~5%
West Northamptonshire: 5%
Derbyshire: 4.9%
North Northamptonshire: amount TBD
Nottinghamshire: amount TBD
Lancashire: amount TBD
Council Tax increases
Durham: 4.9%
Worcestershire: 5-10%
Warwickshire: ~5%
Leicestershire: 3%
Kent: 5%
Lincolnshire: 2%+
Staffordshire: ~5%
West Northamptonshire: 5%
Derbyshire: 4.9%
North Northamptonshire: amount TBD
Nottinghamshire: amount TBD
Lancashire: amount TBD
October 25, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Reform UK Councils
Council Tax increases
Durham: 4.9%
Worcestershire: 5-10%
Warwickshire: ~5%
Leicestershire: 3%
Kent: 5%
Lincolnshire: 2%+
Staffordshire: ~5%
West Northamptonshire: 5%
Derbyshire: 4.9%
North Northamptonshire: amount TBD
Nottinghamshire: amount TBD
Lancashire: amount TBD
Council Tax increases
Durham: 4.9%
Worcestershire: 5-10%
Warwickshire: ~5%
Leicestershire: 3%
Kent: 5%
Lincolnshire: 2%+
Staffordshire: ~5%
West Northamptonshire: 5%
Derbyshire: 4.9%
North Northamptonshire: amount TBD
Nottinghamshire: amount TBD
Lancashire: amount TBD
Oh yes, I remember. Sometimes think I have been in #UKHE too long!
Anyone remember the TQA (teaching quality assessment) of the mid-1990s? And what it found out about the quality of teaching in UK universities? Not to mention what it cost in terms of staff time, external assessors' fees, admin costs?
October 25, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Oh yes, I remember. Sometimes think I have been in #UKHE too long!
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
I think what Phillipson *meant* to say was "charging full fees is justified on the basis of *high quality teaching across UK universities, in the face of unprecedented under-funding*”
“University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026” www.bbc.com/news/article...
“University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026” www.bbc.com/news/article...
University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026
Bridget Phillipson confirmed the plans for the next two years, with fees to increase automatically after that.
www.bbc.com
October 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
I think what Phillipson *meant* to say was "charging full fees is justified on the basis of *high quality teaching across UK universities, in the face of unprecedented under-funding*”
“University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026” www.bbc.com/news/article...
“University tuition fees in England to rise with inflation every year from 2026” www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Prof Debby Cotton
It doesn't matter how many grant writing workshops you put on, or how much pressure you put on academics to apply - if the money isn't there, the money simply isn't there.
After submitting a FOIA request UKRI, I obtained success rates by three grant call scheme and I can only say that I am disheartened by the results:
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
- AHRC Responsive Mode 2025: 2%
- ESRC New Investigator Grant 2025: 1%
- ESRC Research Grant Round 2025: 1%
October 23, 2025 at 12:20 PM
It doesn't matter how many grant writing workshops you put on, or how much pressure you put on academics to apply - if the money isn't there, the money simply isn't there.