Joseph Ward

I hadn't seen this before. This is pretty remarkable. Earth and Moon in one NASA photo. ht @astrokatie.com

Last push in our ballot this weekend and into next week 💪 If you haven't already, get that vote posted! If you've posted it make sure you've let us know! (Google Form in our latest member emails) 📣Job cuts are a choice, not a necessity 📣 bsky.app/profile/jwar...

The new V-Dem report was released today. There are dramatic declines in democracy in the US. Much worse than during Trump I.

Though I'm still feeling the impact of 16 days strike action +3 weeks lockout, I've just posted my ballot in our dispute @sheffielducu.bsky.social We can't let management get away with strike breaking tactics and unnecessary attacks on the learning/working conditions of staff and students!

A rare thing: *four* three-year hums/soc-sci posts in animal studies, on the Multispecies Mutualisms project at UoSheffield - with @rosaleenduffy.bsky.social, me, Robert McKay and Alasdair Cochrane; see here for a video explainer: digitalmedia.sheffield.ac.uk/media/Multis...

Jim Ratcliffe is best known as the unpopular Manchester United owner and today he has been in the news for saying that 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants'. We need to understand Ratcliffe's as an energy billionaire who made his power and money by closing workplaces and opposing unions 🧵

The wonderful @maltelaub.bsky.social and I are hosting a workshop on the theme of Austerity Militarism at EWIS 2026 in Izmir! If you are working on these themes then please consider submitting an abstract! We'd love to see you there. The link to submit is here: eisa-net.org/ewis-2026/ab...

Returning to work this week after 3 weeks of lockout has been stressful to say the least! Please support us @sheffielducu.bsky.social to challenge Sheffield Uni's punitive approach before it becomes more widespread across the sector. Link here: linktr.ee/SheffieldUCU

‘The faces were familiar, the food was familiar, but we had missed it for so long. The smell took me back years, to a time before all the times I had risked my life to get bread, vegetables or chicken for my family.’ Hassan Ayman Herzallah eats shawarma in Gaza City. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...

Staff ,supporters and students gathered outside Firth Court today in solidarity with colleagues locked out and facing withheld pay after lawful strike action at @sheffielducu Punishment is not negotiation. ✊

Lockout at University of Sheffield! Yesterday, @sheffielduni.bsky.social members were told we'll lose 100% pay for the foreseeable as we refuse to replace teaching scheduled during strike action. They've docked pay once for this, now they're at it again! Donate here support us! gofund.me/ac2b3adcb

'The ghost of the industrial revolution haunts Britain. The language of today’s politicians, of unlocking and unleashing the industrial heartlands, is the language of a séance promising communication with an era that...can be summoned back if the right steps are taken' www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

As things wind down for the holidays, @sheffielducu.bsky.social members are facing a threat of 100% pay deductions from January, thanks to our Scrooge-like management. We’ve now set up a fundraiser to bolster our local solidarity fund. If you can spare some change, please do! gofund.me/ac2b3adcb

Sign this petition to support staff threatened with lockout at the University of Sheffield! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/no...

"Of the 1,022 members of the university community who took part in the vote, 983 (96.2 per cent) voted that they have “No Confidence” in Professor Canagarajah. Meanwhile, 39 (3.8 per cent) expressed confidence in his leadership." www.leicester.news/leicester-un...

Great to see media coverage of the hostile and punitive approach taken by management at @sheffielduni.bsky.social towards @sheffielducu.bsky.social staff striking to protect jobs. Threats and intimidation won't work. We're out until we win! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Day four! We're standing strong and we'll be here until management take us seriously. No to redundancies, no to restructures, no to higher workloads and stress! @sheffielduni.bsky.social

On strike again to fight back against the relentless pursuit of damaging cuts and restructures by the appalling management at @sheffielduni.bsky.social We won't stand idly by while they continue to drive this institution into the ground! @sheffielducu.bsky.social

UK must fix ‘systemic R&D weakness’ or lose big projects, report warns - on.ft.com/4oFNNiy via @FT

Both Labour and the Conservatives were stronger, more intellectually vigorous & commanded a larger share of the vote when they were broad churches, able to contain different strands of opinion. Recently they've developed a taste for purges, loyalty tests & expulsions. How's that going for them? 🧵

Solidarity with members at our sister branch at Sheffield Hallam that have a rally tomorrow (24th Sept) - 11:45 meeting outside the Langsett Building at City Campus - Walk up to Hallam Square outside the Owen building for speakers at 12 noon. Get down there and show your support!

Great day to post a ballot (when isn't it?!) The announcement of more potential restructures during the ballot period shows just how shameless Uni of Sheffield management is! It's so important everyone votes in our local dispute to save jobs @sheffielducu.bsky.social

Desalination: the costly solution for a thirsty world - on.ft.com/459bvvI via @FT

jacobin.com/2025/05/germ...

Great article from @sheffielducu.bsky.social on how, despite what university leadership might suggest, the data clearly shows any financial issues at the institution are not a result of 'sector-wide' problems, but a result of their mismanagement. Please read! ucu.group.shef.ac.uk/campaigns/st...

Sending solidarity and a donation to the hardship fund of @newcastleucu.bsky.social on the day they are hosting a national @ucu.org.uk demo. They are an inspiration for the action we all need to take to resist this vandalism of the higher education sector #stopthecuts.

Standing strong at The Wave and Elmfield today. We're on strike for the most fundamental reason - to protect colleagues jobs from management vandalism #UCUstrikes @sheffielducu.bsky.social

New article w/ @liamstanley.bsky.social and @dillonwamsley.bsky.social in British Politics. Using the tools of British political economy, we situate the interlocking crises of fiscal capacity, territorial integrity and decarbonisation in the UK in deeper historical context. doi.org/10.1057/s412...