Julia M. Wright
banner
juliamwright.bsky.social
Julia M. Wright
@juliamwright.bsky.social

FRSC Professor in Halifax🍁. Member of @dalfaculty.bsky.social . Locked out for 30 days in 2025. Views here mine only. Rebleats≠agreement.

"it is not Air / That from a thousand Lungs reeks back to thine" (Armstrong 1744). Silence=Spread🦠 #COVIDisAirborne .. more

Julia Margaret Wright is a professor in the Department of English and University Research Professor at Dalhousie University. Wright is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. .. more

History 22%
Political science 18%
Pinned
As #cdnpse institutions compete for domestic students after decades of funding cuts and new limits on int'l enrolment, I'm curious to see if we get recruitment campaigns based on pandemic safety: e.g., "Breathe Easier: We Know Your Health Matters to Your Success." theconversation.com/we-can-and-m...
We can, and must, do more to protect students in higher education from the risks of post-COVID condition
Postsecondary students are particularly vulnerable to repeated COVID-19 infections, putting them at risk for post-COVID condition, or long COVID. Campuses can take action to protect them.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Another actuarial report from June 2025 concerning excess mortality.

"The analysis of excess mortality offers valuable insights into the Covid pandemic. Excess mortality was originally attributed to the Covid pandemic; however, it has persisted beyond the height of the Covid pandemic,

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Policy on health is clearly broken - politicized, out of touch, reactive and slow. My recent keynote at the Canadian Biosafety Symposium took a big-picture look at how and why that's happening, and how we can turn things around.

Here's a general-audience version, recorded at the Deep River library.
Inquiring Minds 03: Mark Ungrin - Science, Pseudoscience and Public Policy
YouTube video by Deep River Public Library
www.youtube.com
I kind of like this whole “We won’t buy your liquor but we will air your state-suppressed news stories” niche that Canada’s apparently carved out.

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

NVC test shows significant microvascular damage in #LongCovid patients vs matched healthy controls. Dilated capillaries, microhaemorrhages, abnormal shapes and reduced capillary density are still detectable in LC 12 months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection

rmdopen.bmj.com/content/11/2...
Multicentre retrospective detection of nailfold videocapillaroscopy abnormalities in long covid patients
Background SARS-CoV-2 induces acute non-specific endothelial/microvascular alterations that have been identified by nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC). Details on NVC abnormalities in long covid (LC) ...
rmdopen.bmj.com

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

One of the things about my anthology that I am both excited and extremely humbled by is the fact that Samuel Delany sent @broadviewpress.bsky.social a newly edited version of his story “Among the Blobs” for me to use, complete with some relevant images, new notes, and a new introduction! #SFF
Google Gemini Pro: please generate a map of the western united states showing cities of over 250K population

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

After the devastating loss of the 3 children in Ottawa, it was urgent to get info out re the additional ways avail to protect one’s loved ones from serious illness as we enter the holidays…

and to remind young fams this amt of sickness ISN’T normal.

#VaccinePlus

ottawa.citynews.ca/2025/12/21/s...
Schools have become cesspools for cold and flu, but they don't have to be: Ontario School Safety
The volunteer organization Ontario School Safety is calling on the provincial government to improve air quality in schools as flu spreads.
ottawa.citynews.ca
One of the reasons why I go so hard on science misinformation/disinformation, is that as a working scientist it is frustrating to see your research misreported to push an agenda.

For example, consider this piece of right-wing propaganda from The Telegraph that was just published

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Lucid commentary by Drs. Ashley and Mackay.
"A resilient Nova Scotia needs both universities and community colleges. But collapsing their missions into a single, labour market-driven framework risks weakening them both."

www.halifaxexaminer.ca/commentary/w...
Why we still need ivory towers - Halifax Examiner
When universities are pushed to align themselves too closely with political priorities or labour market needs, their ability to nurture democratic capacities is weakened.
www.halifaxexaminer.ca

So, they have to pay $1.5bn for using authors’ work without permission to train their AI, and their AI can’t even order snacks?
Sincerely one of the funniest things the WSJ has ever written or done.

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...
Sincerely one of the funniest things the WSJ has ever written or done.

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

'John Muir, co-founder of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation, a UK charity campaigning for the improvement of clean indoor air, said any investment in the devices was well worth the money'.

There's a poll in this article - please vote.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/educati...
Education bosses ‘missing a trick’ by failing to roll out air cleaners in schools
Northern Ireland is “missing a trick” by not rolling out air cleaners across its school estate, an industry expert has said.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Effective December 18, Nova Scotia Health is requiring everyone to wear a mask in their facilities. 👏👏👏

Please protect yourselves and others during this season of illness by wearing a mask, staying home when sick, getting vaccinated, and increasing ventilation & filtration.

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Congrats to Julia M. Wright, DFA Member! She received the CAUT Dedicated Service Award in 2023. Last night, DFA held its first in-person social event in more than 2 years, and finally presented Julia with her award. Thanks, Julia, for your continued dedication to DFA and our members. #KeepDalStrong

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Congrats to DFA Members Jason Haslam, Kiran Banerjee and Kassandra Luciuk for receiving the 2025 CAUT Dedicated Service Award! Their commitment, focus and energy during DFA's recent month-long lockout was outstanding. Awards presented at the DFA Solidarity Party held last night. #keepdalstrong

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

4/ Ventilation saves lives. Clean indoor air, through ventilation or filtration, dramatically cuts the spread of respiratory infections. It’s time to treat air quality like food hygiene: a basic public health requirement.

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

If you are advising a graduate student in Irish Studies at a North American institution, please encourage them to apply for the Larkin Interdisciplinary Fellowship for research support from the American Conference for Irish Studies acisweb.org/larkin-inter...
Larkin Interdisciplinary Fellowship | American Conference for Irish Studies – An Chomhdháil Mheiriceánach do Léann na hÉireann
Recognizing increased interdisciplinary connections in Irish Studies, we are pleased to fund graduate research that may not fit easily into the pre-existing categories of other ACIS fellowships.
acisweb.org

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

"Along with improving indoor air quality and avoiding crowded, underventilated places, [masks, e.g. N95s] provide the best way to avoid catching a respiratory infection." www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
a man and a woman wearing face masks with the man 's mask having a letter o on it
Alt: a man and a woman wearing N95 respirators
media.tenor.com

Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which an admin can reverse.

For I have known the MF Authentications:
Have known the lockouts, resets, sign-ins...

Great to see this volume published last week! Fabulous work by the editors, Paul Foley and Jennifer J. Silver. www.routledge.com/Routledge-Ha...
Routledge Handbook of Critical Ocean Studies
This handbook provides a path-breaking overview of the rapidly developing field of critical ocean studies. It is the first cross-disciplinary and in-depth account of critical ocean studies. While the ...
www.routledge.com
Dan Izzo @izzos.us ¡ 14d
We all know Clarke's "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

Well we have corollary:

I am increasingly worried not only about AI shortcuts undermining evidence-based policy and action but also about the growing contamination of the infosphere. Reports such as this get used for other reports etc., as well as mined by AI for other prompts, letting errors spread widely.

Reposted by Julia M. Wright

Covid vaccines released last fall sharply decreased the risk of ER and urgent care visits in children, according to new data released by the CDC — providing a striking counterpoint to Trump administration rhetoric about the shots

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/h...
Covid Vaccines Reduced Children’s Likelihood of E.R. and Urgent Care Visits, the C.D.C. Reported
www.nytimes.com
NDP says Ontario report on intimate partner violence partly AI-generated, includes non-existent sources
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
NDP says Ontario report on intimate partner violence partly AI-generated, includes non-existent sources
The 877-page study was introduced into the legislature on Tuesday
www.theglobeandmail.com
Requiring temporary visitors to surrender five years of social media to the U.S. sends the message that the American commitment to free speech is pretense. This simply is not the behavior of a country confident in its freedoms.

It's a threat to free speech around the world and must be opposed.
Foreign tourists could be required to disclose 5 years of social media histories under Trump administration plan
The Customs and Border Protection proposal would apply even to countries that don't require visas to enter.
www.nbcnews.com

I use LibreOffice now—I’ve always used Thunderbird (before that, Eudora) for email. Teams is unavoidable at Dal but I only use it online, not least to avoid its cache choking my computer. LibreOffice for me has pretty much been seamless—even saving a presentation as a ppt and using it in class.