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.
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.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
The impact of PhD studies on mental health - A longitudinal population study
PhDs can be and some would likely argue, should be hard.
But surely not *this* hard?
#AcademicSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
PhDs can be and some would likely argue, should be hard.
But surely not *this* hard?
#AcademicSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The impact of PhD studies on mental health—a longitudinal population study
Recent self-reported and cross-sectional survey evidence documents high levels of mental health problems among PhD students. We study the relationship…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:18 PM
The impact of PhD studies on mental health - A longitudinal population study
PhDs can be and some would likely argue, should be hard.
But surely not *this* hard?
#AcademicSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
PhDs can be and some would likely argue, should be hard.
But surely not *this* hard?
#AcademicSky
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Richard Shaw
"Radical Mundanity" Explanation of the Fermi Paradox
"If aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally better than ours. And having explored their cosmic neighbourhood for a while, they simply got bored and stopped bothering, making it difficult to detect them."
🧪
"If aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally better than ours. And having explored their cosmic neighbourhood for a while, they simply got bored and stopped bothering, making it difficult to detect them."
🧪
‘Bored aliens’: has intelligent life stopped bothering trying to contact Earth?
Astrophysicist proposes a ‘radically mundane’ theory for why humans have yet to encounter extraterrestrials
www.theguardian.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:55 AM
"Radical Mundanity" Explanation of the Fermi Paradox
"If aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally better than ours. And having explored their cosmic neighbourhood for a while, they simply got bored and stopped bothering, making it difficult to detect them."
🧪
"If aliens exist, their technology may be only marginally better than ours. And having explored their cosmic neighbourhood for a while, they simply got bored and stopped bothering, making it difficult to detect them."
🧪
One thing that rapidly becomes obvious in public health is that behaviour change is dependent on more than knowledge and education.
Yet social media is full of "experts" in public health who completely ignore this and constantly stating that the solution is more training and education.
Yet social media is full of "experts" in public health who completely ignore this and constantly stating that the solution is more training and education.
October 14, 2025 at 7:46 AM
One thing that rapidly becomes obvious in public health is that behaviour change is dependent on more than knowledge and education.
Yet social media is full of "experts" in public health who completely ignore this and constantly stating that the solution is more training and education.
Yet social media is full of "experts" in public health who completely ignore this and constantly stating that the solution is more training and education.
Reposted by Richard Shaw
Join us next week for our #PublicHealth seminar on using casual inference in #epidemiology research for asthma & kidney disease #HealthData
🗓️ Tuesday 14 October, 12:50 BST
📍 LSHTM | Online
Details ⬇️
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...
🗓️ Tuesday 14 October, 12:50 BST
📍 LSHTM | Online
Details ⬇️
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...
October 9, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Join us next week for our #PublicHealth seminar on using casual inference in #epidemiology research for asthma & kidney disease #HealthData
🗓️ Tuesday 14 October, 12:50 BST
📍 LSHTM | Online
Details ⬇️
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...
🗓️ Tuesday 14 October, 12:50 BST
📍 LSHTM | Online
Details ⬇️
www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/e...
The European Commission has cancelled all NGO operating grants for 2025. EUPHA was receiving around 400,000 euros a year and has been left with nothing. @eupha.bsky.social have started a solidarity campaign to address the short fall. whydonate.com/fundraising/...
Fundraiser by EUPHA European Public Health Association | U* are Public Health - Stand up for Science
EUPHA European Public Health Association Needs Your Help | U* are Public Health Stand with us to protect science, equity, and public health in Europe. Public health is under attack — but together we c...
whydonate.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The European Commission has cancelled all NGO operating grants for 2025. EUPHA was receiving around 400,000 euros a year and has been left with nothing. @eupha.bsky.social have started a solidarity campaign to address the short fall. whydonate.com/fundraising/...
There are more equitable ways of raising money from international students. The wealthier ones are consuming more luxuries and taking holidays, perhaps raise taxes in these areas? Others are struggling financially and having to work to support themselves while studying.
Using the proposed levy on international students towards maintenance grants doesn't make the levy any more sensible as a funding instrument.
And if Govt is bringing back maintenance grants, let's have them cover all arts, humanites & social sciences
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/respons...
And if Govt is bringing back maintenance grants, let's have them cover all arts, humanites & social sciences
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/respons...
British Academy responds to government announcement on university maintenance grants
The British Academy has issued a response to the government's announcement on using a proposed levy on international students to fund maintenance grants.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
October 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
There are more equitable ways of raising money from international students. The wealthier ones are consuming more luxuries and taking holidays, perhaps raise taxes in these areas? Others are struggling financially and having to work to support themselves while studying.