Richard Shaw
@richardshaw.bsky.social
Researcher @ University of Glasgow, UK. Epidemiologist interested in mental-health and wellbeing, health inequalities, administrative data, education.
Trying to learn Italian and Spanish.
Trying to learn Italian and Spanish.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
One of the biggest challenges in public health & environment-related fields is the miscommunication of population-scale results to the individual-level
This is often caused by the desire to formulate “action” relevant to people’s lives but ends up blaming individuals for things not in their control
This is often caused by the desire to formulate “action” relevant to people’s lives but ends up blaming individuals for things not in their control
November 25, 2025 at 9:10 AM
One of the biggest challenges in public health & environment-related fields is the miscommunication of population-scale results to the individual-level
This is often caused by the desire to formulate “action” relevant to people’s lives but ends up blaming individuals for things not in their control
This is often caused by the desire to formulate “action” relevant to people’s lives but ends up blaming individuals for things not in their control
Reposted by Richard Shaw
Important new report out on precarious working conditions in Geography in UK HE. Sadly the nature and scale of the findings are grim but unsurprising. www.rgs.org/research/hig...
States of precarity in UK Higher Education geography
Findings from a discipline-focused research project exploring the lived realities of precarious academic work within UK Higher Education geography.
www.rgs.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Important new report out on precarious working conditions in Geography in UK HE. Sadly the nature and scale of the findings are grim but unsurprising. www.rgs.org/research/hig...
Reposted by Richard Shaw
⚠️ Closing tomorrow!
We're hiring a Senior Quantitative Researcher!
Can you turn data into creative, high-quality analysis and visualisation?
Experienced with applied quantitative methods and national survey datasets?
We'd love to hear from you.
Don't miss out - apply now 🔽
bit.ly/3LqTdzQ
We're hiring a Senior Quantitative Researcher!
Can you turn data into creative, high-quality analysis and visualisation?
Experienced with applied quantitative methods and national survey datasets?
We'd love to hear from you.
Don't miss out - apply now 🔽
bit.ly/3LqTdzQ
Octo Candidates - Application Form - Vacancy Details
bit.ly
November 20, 2025 at 3:36 PM
⚠️ Closing tomorrow!
We're hiring a Senior Quantitative Researcher!
Can you turn data into creative, high-quality analysis and visualisation?
Experienced with applied quantitative methods and national survey datasets?
We'd love to hear from you.
Don't miss out - apply now 🔽
bit.ly/3LqTdzQ
We're hiring a Senior Quantitative Researcher!
Can you turn data into creative, high-quality analysis and visualisation?
Experienced with applied quantitative methods and national survey datasets?
We'd love to hear from you.
Don't miss out - apply now 🔽
bit.ly/3LqTdzQ
Can somebody explain to me why a person whose avatar is Dr Strangelove is being taken seriously?
How more obvious can trolling be than a satirical Nazi war criminal who starts a nuclear war?
The world has enough problems without people putting trolls on pedestals only so they can be knocked down.
How more obvious can trolling be than a satirical Nazi war criminal who starts a nuclear war?
The world has enough problems without people putting trolls on pedestals only so they can be knocked down.
November 19, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Can somebody explain to me why a person whose avatar is Dr Strangelove is being taken seriously?
How more obvious can trolling be than a satirical Nazi war criminal who starts a nuclear war?
The world has enough problems without people putting trolls on pedestals only so they can be knocked down.
How more obvious can trolling be than a satirical Nazi war criminal who starts a nuclear war?
The world has enough problems without people putting trolls on pedestals only so they can be knocked down.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
I feel it's more a case of 'what can you do to prevent context collapse?' Phone ins live streamed to video that can be watched back are very clippable. Same with most rolling news and broadcast telly now, too. If it's clippable it's context strippable. We are swimming in people's idea of' good bits'
One way to take some of the heat out of politics, which is within the BBC's control, is to drop phone-ins and vox pops.
November 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
I feel it's more a case of 'what can you do to prevent context collapse?' Phone ins live streamed to video that can be watched back are very clippable. Same with most rolling news and broadcast telly now, too. If it's clippable it's context strippable. We are swimming in people's idea of' good bits'
Reposted by Richard Shaw
Arguments for why social care isn't just for older people, a thread.
November 16, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Arguments for why social care isn't just for older people, a thread.
Many of my research colleagues over the years have taken early retirement due to their contracts ending. Retirement is much more attractive than having to compete in a hyper-competitive labour market rife with ageism.
Stop making people redundant if you want them to say in work.
Stop making people redundant if you want them to say in work.
Half of UK workers aged 50–65 leave work before retirement. How can we change that?
Join FPH, SOM & Centre for Ageing Better for an online webinar on enabling older workers to stay and return to work.
Find out more and register www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
Join FPH, SOM & Centre for Ageing Better for an online webinar on enabling older workers to stay and return to work.
Find out more and register www.fph.org.uk/events-cours...
Enabling older workers to stay and return to work – Society of Occupational Medicine supported by the Centre for Ageing Better
The UK Economy needs older workers, yet half the workforce aged 50-65 leave before retirement. Current local delivery of programmes to reduce inactivity due to ill health often ignores this key group,...
www.fph.org.uk
November 11, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Many of my research colleagues over the years have taken early retirement due to their contracts ending. Retirement is much more attractive than having to compete in a hyper-competitive labour market rife with ageism.
Stop making people redundant if you want them to say in work.
Stop making people redundant if you want them to say in work.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
May be accepting Jeremy Hunt's tax cuts and promising not to put up Income Tax and VAT was in the long run a very bad idea.
After Liz Truss's mini-budget, just 15 per cent of people felt the Tories were the best party at handling the economy
Today, the equivalent figure for Labour is 12 per cent
www.thetimes.com/article/470f...
Today, the equivalent figure for Labour is 12 per cent
www.thetimes.com/article/470f...
November 10, 2025 at 10:45 AM
May be accepting Jeremy Hunt's tax cuts and promising not to put up Income Tax and VAT was in the long run a very bad idea.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
The impossible dream some people on the British right are chasing is that you can have a BBC News operation that retreats from detail and expertise, that takes dictation from the government, but this will only create incompetence and failure when it suits you:
To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash
Corporation fails to learn from criticism, while politicians have consciously reduced its scope for quality journalism
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM
The impossible dream some people on the British right are chasing is that you can have a BBC News operation that retreats from detail and expertise, that takes dictation from the government, but this will only create incompetence and failure when it suits you:
Reposted by Richard Shaw
"Universities teach us to ask questions without tidy answers. They train us to look for truths we didn’t know existed and to challenge assumptions we didn’t realise we held. At their best, they remind us that intellect isn’t about having opinions, it’s about earning them."
November 10, 2025 at 7:38 AM
"Universities teach us to ask questions without tidy answers. They train us to look for truths we didn’t know existed and to challenge assumptions we didn’t realise we held. At their best, they remind us that intellect isn’t about having opinions, it’s about earning them."
Reposted by Richard Shaw
New publication in BMC Public Health:
Incidence of reported cases of euthanasia adjusted for demographic composition: a study of ten years of Belgian administrative data (2014–2023)
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
With @healthsociety.bsky.social
Incidence of reported cases of euthanasia adjusted for demographic composition: a study of ten years of Belgian administrative data (2014–2023)
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
With @healthsociety.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 2:44 PM
New publication in BMC Public Health:
Incidence of reported cases of euthanasia adjusted for demographic composition: a study of ten years of Belgian administrative data (2014–2023)
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
With @healthsociety.bsky.social
Incidence of reported cases of euthanasia adjusted for demographic composition: a study of ten years of Belgian administrative data (2014–2023)
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
With @healthsociety.bsky.social
A lot of my feed is some variation of the following.
Person A: X is rubbish and needs fixing.
Person A some months later: People tyring to fix X are evil and making things worse.
Person A: X is rubbish and needs fixing.
Person A some months later: People tyring to fix X are evil and making things worse.
November 7, 2025 at 10:59 AM
A lot of my feed is some variation of the following.
Person A: X is rubbish and needs fixing.
Person A some months later: People tyring to fix X are evil and making things worse.
Person A: X is rubbish and needs fixing.
Person A some months later: People tyring to fix X are evil and making things worse.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
It's that day I know you've all been waiting for with great anticipation.
That's right, it's NEW INDICES OF DEPRIVATION day!
www.gov.uk/government/s...
That's right, it's NEW INDICES OF DEPRIVATION day!
www.gov.uk/government/s...
English indices of deprivation 2025: frequently asked questions
www.gov.uk
October 31, 2025 at 9:07 AM
It's that day I know you've all been waiting for with great anticipation.
That's right, it's NEW INDICES OF DEPRIVATION day!
www.gov.uk/government/s...
That's right, it's NEW INDICES OF DEPRIVATION day!
www.gov.uk/government/s...
I am studying for a PGCert in Academic Practice and I am getting the impression that qualitative social science has a very unhealthy relationship with UK academia.
October 30, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I am studying for a PGCert in Academic Practice and I am getting the impression that qualitative social science has a very unhealthy relationship with UK academia.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
The two child limit and benefit cap are "economically inefficient" because [they] "undermine public health, early years development and educational outcomes.... This in turn increases pressure on local services, including schools, health and housing." www.lbc.co.uk/article/grou...
Group of 40 economists & academics tell Chancellor ending two-child benefit cap will help grow economy | LBC
With less than a month to go before the Budget, the group have written to Rachel Reeves to warn that more than half of larger families could fall into poverty as a direct result of the cap.
www.lbc.co.uk
October 29, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The two child limit and benefit cap are "economically inefficient" because [they] "undermine public health, early years development and educational outcomes.... This in turn increases pressure on local services, including schools, health and housing." www.lbc.co.uk/article/grou...
Most researchers are effectively on fixed contracts and very few get into positions where they are eligible for the REF. I don’t necessarily agree with Ottoline Leyser’s approach but I genuinely believe that she is trying to improve things.
REF must ditch focus on individuals, says Ottoline Leyser.
Former UKRI head also echoes previous calls for universities to do less research.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Former UKRI head also echoes previous calls for universities to do less research.
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
REF must ditch focus on individuals, says Ottoline Leyser - Research Professional News
Former UKRI head also echoes previous calls for universities to do less research
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Most researchers are effectively on fixed contracts and very few get into positions where they are eligible for the REF. I don’t necessarily agree with Ottoline Leyser’s approach but I genuinely believe that she is trying to improve things.
Somebody please tell Microsoft that spell checkers were perfectly adequate ten years ago when they just checked for spelling. Now AI is analysing the context to suggest "better word choices" the whole process is become much slower and annoying.
October 26, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Somebody please tell Microsoft that spell checkers were perfectly adequate ten years ago when they just checked for spelling. Now AI is analysing the context to suggest "better word choices" the whole process is become much slower and annoying.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
"I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good" - Martin Luther King Jr. 💛 #PowerForGood
October 26, 2025 at 12:15 PM
"I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good" - Martin Luther King Jr. 💛 #PowerForGood
Causal Inference is Not Just a Statistics Problem.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
An introductory article including a primer on causal inference and DAGS , and accompanied by an r package containing simulated data to help explain concepts.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
An introductory article including a primer on causal inference and DAGS , and accompanied by an r package containing simulated data to help explain concepts.
www.tandfonline.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Causal Inference is Not Just a Statistics Problem.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
An introductory article including a primer on causal inference and DAGS , and accompanied by an r package containing simulated data to help explain concepts.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
An introductory article including a primer on causal inference and DAGS , and accompanied by an r package containing simulated data to help explain concepts.
Academics what you do on annual leave, weekends etc is your own business. So if you want to write a book or paper because you love your work that is fine. But please avoid sending emails requesting people do additional work for you if you can. Giving people additional work is not a healthy hobby.
October 24, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Academics what you do on annual leave, weekends etc is your own business. So if you want to write a book or paper because you love your work that is fine. But please avoid sending emails requesting people do additional work for you if you can. Giving people additional work is not a healthy hobby.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
Next year the basic rate of benefits will be £98pw for a single person.
Logically you'd expect this rate to be linked to the cost of a basket of essentials. It is not.
It's why we need an independent process to advise on a rate that enables people to cover life’s essentials
Logically you'd expect this rate to be linked to the cost of a basket of essentials. It is not.
It's why we need an independent process to advise on a rate that enables people to cover life’s essentials
October 22, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Next year the basic rate of benefits will be £98pw for a single person.
Logically you'd expect this rate to be linked to the cost of a basket of essentials. It is not.
It's why we need an independent process to advise on a rate that enables people to cover life’s essentials
Logically you'd expect this rate to be linked to the cost of a basket of essentials. It is not.
It's why we need an independent process to advise on a rate that enables people to cover life’s essentials
One of the more annoying aspects of Bluesky is the disproportionate number of people who post headlines from a newspaper with standard digital subscription of £468 a year.
October 21, 2025 at 8:36 AM
One of the more annoying aspects of Bluesky is the disproportionate number of people who post headlines from a newspaper with standard digital subscription of £468 a year.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
🧠 Midlife is a mental peak, not a decline
A new study finds overall psychological functioning peaks between ages 55–60, when reasoning, emotional balance, and judgement combine at their best.
🔗 doi.org/10.64628/AA....
#Psychology #SciComm 🧪
A new study finds overall psychological functioning peaks between ages 55–60, when reasoning, emotional balance, and judgement combine at their best.
🔗 doi.org/10.64628/AA....
#Psychology #SciComm 🧪
Worried about turning 60? Science says that’s when many of us actually peak
Perhaps it’s time we stopped treating midlife as a countdown and started recognising it as a peak.
doi.org
October 17, 2025 at 6:30 AM
🧠 Midlife is a mental peak, not a decline
A new study finds overall psychological functioning peaks between ages 55–60, when reasoning, emotional balance, and judgement combine at their best.
🔗 doi.org/10.64628/AA....
#Psychology #SciComm 🧪
A new study finds overall psychological functioning peaks between ages 55–60, when reasoning, emotional balance, and judgement combine at their best.
🔗 doi.org/10.64628/AA....
#Psychology #SciComm 🧪
Reposted by Richard Shaw
The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.
The BBC is a partisan battleground – why does Japan’s public broadcaster escape the same fate?
The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.
tcnv.link
October 16, 2025 at 8:15 PM
The BBC commands middling levels of trust overall, but those levels are deeply polarised.