On the 25 June edition, an editorial calling Europe to lead on free and open science, while boosting industrial consequences. (By the way, Japan just joined Horizon Europe! While the UK will rejoin Erasmus in 2027, under the headline “Brexit tore apart European science — now the research rifts are healing“, mentioning the financial and visa unsolved issues.) A news article continuing the investigation of how AI impacts or will impact mathematical research, with a FirstProof test evaluating AIs solving new, research-level, maths problems. (But missing Claude Mythos and Google’s Aletheia.) A “comment” from a Chinese academic that science needs humanities, at a time when universities in the UK are closing some humanities departments. And a discussion of the exceptional discovery of a whale necropolis, 7km deep, with fossil remains dating back to 5M years mixed with recent ones. Plus another exciting 10 page paper about genetic sleuthing on population changes at the collapse of the Roman empire, in the Danube-Isar and Rhein-Main areas of present-day Germany. (The attached picture representing posterior estimates of life expectancies of some individuals, obtained by MCMC.) In the Carreers section, a story from a geography researcher whose job offer was rescinded at the last moment, a scary thing that is alas not so rare.
Archive for Brexit
Nature tidbits
Posted in Books, Statistics, University life with tags AI, Brexit, Britain, Danube, fossils, Genetics, Germany, Horizon Europe, humanities, Isar, Japan, LLMs, Main, MCMC, Nature, Rhein, Roman Empire, whales on August 29, 2026 by xi'an[fa]rage against the mankind
Posted in Books, Kids, Statistics, Travel with tags anti-immigrant mob, Brexit, Brexit Party, Britain, councillors, England, Enoch Powell, Europe, far-right, far-right ideology, local elections, Nigel Farage, rage against the machine, The Guardian, UK, UK politics, UKIP, xenophobia on May 11, 2026 by xi'an
banKrUpt, franc’route
Posted in Kids, pictures, Travel, University life with tags bankruptcy, Brexit, college ranking, Coventry, COVID-19, foreign students, French government, French politics, inflation, Labour, Le Monde, Nature, PhD course, Russian invasion, Scotland, Shanghai ranking, student fees, tuition fees, UK Government, UK politics, UK universities, Université Paris Dauphine, University of Coventry, University of Warwick on November 14, 2024 by xi'anRead in both Le Monde (Sept) and Nature (26 Sept) concerning articles about the poor financial state of many higher education institutions in the UK, if not the most prestigious ones… (Warwick being so far preserved from that issue, if not the neighbouring University of Coventry.) Up to 80% of French universities—prestigious and less prestigious alike—are also facing repeated deficits, for several years in a row, if mostly for different reasons besides the after-effects of COVID and the economical crisis amplified by the Russian invasion.
The main difference (between France and Britain—minus bonnie Scotland!) is in the UK government not providing direct support to higher education institutions, treating them as businesses that must make a profit on average to survive. To add insult to injury, the short-sighted Sunak Government has strongly reduced the number of foreign students (that they considered immigrants) when those are a key component of the universities business models since they pay much higher fees compared with the capped fees for UK nationals. Surprisingly (to me), the new Labour government does not intend to change either policy. The more surprising (to me) when the first institutions to fail will be (are?) those concentrating students from less privileged backgrounds. Quite paradoxical for a party with social ideals and socialist roots. Besides, repeated reductions of the attractivity of Britain for higher education may reach a no-return point in terms of its (World first-tier) scientific productivity.
France is financing its universities for 60% of their budget, while tuition fees in national universities (that do no include Paris Dauphine) are nominal for EU students (and special cases like PhD programs). Progressive cuts have led to tighter budgets, more deficit, with limited alternative sources of financing, since raising students fees is completely taboo. Added to academic positions being little attractive (for offering comparatively low salaries), this abides poorly for France keeping being part of top higher education countries. (It already figures very rarely in the country comparisons produced by Nature on an almost weekly basis.) The new higher education minister is known for pushing towards more “autonomy” (read less financing) of universities and the current State deficit may prove the tipping point for cutting further State support for public higher education institutions at large and fundamental research.
RNnti EUropean
Posted in Kids, Statistics, Travel with tags Brexit, economy, Europe, Europe Day, European elections, European Parliament, European Union, extreme-right, federalism, French politics, Frexit, immigration, National Front, nationalism, Ukraine on May 9, 2024 by xi'an
Þe terrifying prospect of an extreme-right wave swamping the European Parliament next June has never been more likely! Current projections give their parliamentary groups close to 25% of the seats… It alas particularly true in France with the (formerly) Nazional Front (now called RN) almost certain to get the highest percentage of the votes among all French parties, while keeping their anti-EU discourse, if vaguely stated but definitely around a disguised “Frexit”
- against more “federalism” and further expansion (as with the RN opposing Ukraine’s application)
- against European parliamentarism with accusations of promoting open markets, “punishing” ecology, (aka “anthropomorphic erasure“!) and organising mass immigration (with the former and controversial Head of Frontex being present in the RN European list)
- against European political structures, favouring and threatening a return to a much weaker “Europe of Nations”(alisms)
In the previous legislatures, the RN European deputies have proved an inertia and passive factor, being rarely present and even less active in the Parliament but voting against most parliamentary proposals and resolutions, esp. those on ecology, gender rights, reproductive rights, migrations, and Ukraine…
air shame [cover]
Posted in Mountains, pictures, Travel with tags Amnesty International, asylum, Brexit, Conservatives, cover, deportation, flight, Human Rights, immigration, Libé, Parliament, Refugee Convention, Rwanda, UK, UK politics on April 25, 2024 by xi'an
