Donna Yates
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drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates
@drdonnayates.bsky.social
1.3K followers 150 following 160 posts

I'm an archaeologist, a criminologist, and an unqualified dinosaur lawyer. I study passion and deviance related to fossils & antiquities, art crime, heritage, and culture from the Faculty of Law at Maastricht University. Arty stuff and related curiosities. .. more

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Donna Yates is an archaeologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Maastricht University. Her research considers transnational illicit trade in cultural objects, art and heritage crime including Looted art and the Antiquities trade, and white collar crime. .. more

Environmental science 22%
Art 15%
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drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Mar 25
I get a lot of emails asking me about opportunities in art crime/provenance/art law research. I can't send out individual emails , so I set up an email list! Once or twice a month I send out conference, job, publishing, or other opportunities. Sign up: www.anonymousswisscollector.com/opportunities

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Aug 13
Through the narratives of violence and control in auction sales of Pacific cultural objects, I consider consumer desire: "Marketing, Narratives, and Consumer Desire within Auction Catalogs of Cultural Objects" out now, Open Access, in Advances in Archaeological Practice. doi.org/10.1017/aap....
Marketing, Narratives, and Consumer Desire within Auction Catalogs of Cultural Objects | Advances in Archaeological Practice | Cambridge Core
Marketing, Narratives, and Consumer Desire within Auction Catalogs of Cultural Objects - Volume 13 Issue 1
doi.org

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · May 19
Colleagues at Maastricht University. I'm running for University Council. I would truly appreciate your vote. Take a moment and vote here: elections.maastrichtuniversity.nl and if you would like to see the platform I'm running on, here: leadmaastricht.nl

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
I'm sitting here thinking "What is a summer salary?" Like...if you don't get a grant one's summer is just not paid? The university doesn't pay research time...but gets credit for that research?

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
About 20 years ago I was going to a club in Germany and the bouncer was sitting there reading that book. I told him "OH! I'm from there!". He looked at me with some degree of horror. "I used to work at the theater that Baby got shot outside of, it's a real place..."

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
A film that takes place where you’re from

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
Frankly I'm surprised that I didn't know about this already. Also, this is not what I am supposed to be writing about this afternoon...

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
The internet tells me that "Rexy" is a thing for Coach. If anyone knows of something written about Coach's association with T. rex, please share! I need to read this.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
Hi @tetzoo.bsky.social, did you take these photos? Would you mind if I saved them for my research? I can check with you/cite you if I would like to publish them. I've been writing about T. rex at high end auctions and art fairs, now they are at the luxury handbag shop...

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
Holy heck, and this is being used to sell luxury handbags? This is very my research times a million.
tetzoo.bsky.social Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · Apr 17
Very weird tyrannosaur model in Regent's Street shop. Looks based on #JurassicWorld one, ugh
Life-sized T. rex in shop window, people walking past. Head of life-sized T. rex in shop window. Head of life-sized T. rex in shop window.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 17
Well I've just submitted my application to create a new UNESCO chair in Global Heritage and Emerging Crime. Let's see what they think!

Reposted by Donna Yates

tetzoo.bsky.social
Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · Apr 17
Very weird tyrannosaur model in Regent's Street shop. Looks based on #JurassicWorld one, ugh
Life-sized T. rex in shop window, people walking past. Head of life-sized T. rex in shop window. Head of life-sized T. rex in shop window.

Reposted by Donna Yates

ischi94.bsky.social
Gregor Mathes @ischi94.bsky.social · Apr 17
I’m looking to hire a postdoc (100%, 22 months, salary significantly above the standard postdoc in Austria or Germany). The position is set to begin on 1 June 2025.
The project explores how biases in the fossil record affect our ability to use past biodiversity data for modern conservation. 1/3

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 16
Today, I'm on strike.
maastrichtu.bsky.social Maastricht University @maastrichtu.bsky.social · Apr 16
Today UM strikes! 🟥

Staff & students pause work to protest education cuts. Over 2,500 concerned citizens and academics signed a solidarity letter. ✊

Follow the liveblog 👉 edu.nl/xaa3q & share your solidarity on social media platforms using #WOinActie

Or follow the strike live on this channel!

Reposted by Donna Yates

maastrichtu.bsky.social
Maastricht University @maastrichtu.bsky.social · Apr 16
Today is not just about UM but also about Limburg and education in NL!

You are still in time to convince colleagues and students to join. Does somebody need convincing? That is why WOinActie created a video series addressing the key questions. Visit the video series here: edu.nl/paw8e

#WoinActie

Reposted by Donna Yates

maastrichtu.bsky.social
Maastricht University @maastrichtu.bsky.social · Apr 16
The strike in Maastricht is on, come and join us! 🟥 Organised by FNV, AOb & MOSA. Here's the plan:

🕛 12:00 Meet & walk to Vrijthof
🎶 12:30 Music + free fries
📢 13:00 Speeches & music
🚶‍♀️ 14:00 March through city
🛍️ 14:45 Strike market

Full info & updates 👉 edu.nl/xaa3q #WOinActie

Reposted by Donna Yates

maastrichtu.bsky.social
Maastricht University @maastrichtu.bsky.social · Apr 16
Today UM strikes! 🟥

Staff & students pause work to protest education cuts. Over 2,500 concerned citizens and academics signed a solidarity letter. ✊

Follow the liveblog 👉 edu.nl/xaa3q & share your solidarity on social media platforms using #WOinActie

Or follow the strike live on this channel!

Reposted by Donna Yates

woinactielimburg.bsky.social
WOinActie Limburg🟥 @woinactielimburg.bsky.social · Apr 16
🟥 Maastricht University is on strike today to protest devastating cuts in higher ed 🟥

👉 Show up @ Vrijthof @ 12:30!
👉 Bring your colleagues!
👉 Post your photos & tag us!
👉 Help us to spread the word - share this post!

#WOinACTIE #DefendMaastrichtUniversity #KabinetSlooptHogerOnderwijs #StakingHO

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
Wow, look at that rant. I guess I'm even more put out about this than I thought. Every poor paper I have to peer review is time that I can't get back, and it is time that I'm not writing about these postmodern agentic fossil teeth.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
And look, I'm no saint. My papers are crazy. I pity the people who have to peer review what I am writing now (I'm wading through Deluzean assemblages of megalodon teeth towards scarcity signals and buyer desire). But I always believe that there is a (bonkers) value to what I submit. I stand by them.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
This means that I mostly know who wasted my time by submitting a poor paper that I had to spend time to look at as a peer reviewer. It is hard to fight off that bad impression.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
I guess one more dark aspect of being in a small field is that even with double blind peer review reviewers can usually tell who (or what project) produced the paper at hand. I find myself quite put out by these weak papers (especially ones riddled with deep errors and mischaracterisations).

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
I can imagine someone now saying "the editors should be stepping in", but editors are not experts in all things: they can't always see what I see (i.e. that this is regurgitated or lacks rigor in my field). I guess I wonder, did people just not submit before? Did some social pressure hold them back?

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
Meanwhile we are in a "peer review crisis" where journals struggle to find adequate reviewers willing to look at any paper, be it strong or weak. And who can blame the peer reviewers? They aren't compensated for their time and these papers make you feel like your time has been wasted.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
The resulting publication is useless and will never be cited or read by anyone, but it doesn't exist to be read, it exists to tick the funder's box during the midterm and final reviews.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
The other issue: 2. the number of EU-funded consortia projects that have something like "8 peer reviewed academic papers" as a deliverable. To tick the box, it seems, the projects might be tempted to package and repackage junk and try it on at journals until one publishes.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
And it's true: it is hard to get a job post PhD without a publication history. But on the other hand, I look at the publications of everyone I consider hiring and read them: bad publications would ensure you aren't hired by me. So...why isn't the supervisor helping? Where are they?

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
Maybe this isn't an uptick for anyone but me (I could be being asked to review more), but I wonder if this connects to two things. 1: a growing belief that PhDs and even MAs must *publish*, and a weakness on the part of their supervisors to tell them whatever they wrote isn't publication worthy.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
I tend to see these as a peer reviewer, and I do my job in that respect, but those that I and other reject just end up farmed to somewhere else eventually with no changes. I once was asked by three difference journals sequentially to review the same weak, unchanged paper.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
I've also been upset by what feels like an increase in papers on antiquities trafficking/looting/markets submitted to journals that are no rigorous, are unaware of past (or the most recent) research on the topic, that lack coherent focus or purpose, and that uncritically repeat fallacious claims.

drdonnayates.bsky.social
Donna Yates @drdonnayates.bsky.social · Apr 15
People interested in antiquities trafficking research, take a moment to read "In Want of Methodological Rigor: A Critique of Suber et al. (2022)" by Michelle Fabiani and @dremilinesmith.bsky.social. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
In Want of Methodological Rigor: A Critique of Suber et al. (2022) | International Journal of Cultural Property | Cambridge Core
In Want of Methodological Rigor: A Critique of Suber et al. (2022)
www.cambridge.org