iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As part of my job, I regularly make benefits claims based around disability for clients, which need fit notes (what used to be called sick notes) from their GPs, and am experiencing a massive uptick in GP receptionists telling me or support staff “we don’t do this” about a statutory contracted duty.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Less than 1% of major party nominees for Congress are working class. It is one of the most fundamental ways that Congress is not representative. And their views, e.g. on unregulated gambling websites, are apt to be different. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

bloomberg.com

Why Working-Class Candidates Are Almost Never on the Ballot

Less than 1% of major-party candidates competing for a seat in the US Congress have a background in manual trades or service industries.

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Laura K. Nelson @lauraknelson.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Re-reading Sam Lucas who has for his entire career insisted that non-probability samples are useless at best for understanding the social world. The vast majority of studies I read do not use probability samples. With big data etc., where are we with sampling theory? Do folks still teach it or nah?

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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Manchester City cheated Premier League rules, the Commission found. Did it also cheat HMRC? We've examined the decision and leaked Mancini documents. We think City likely failed to pay £12m in tax. There should be a criminal investigation. Thread:

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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

And, let's be honest, the barbarians are at the gates. Not really a time to split hairs if the broad thrust can work.

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lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is my favourite Borges story.

The Witness by Borges and translated by ANTHONY KERRIGAN

In a stable lying almost in the shadow of the new stone church, a man with
gray eyes and a gray beard, stretched on the ground amidst the animal
odors, meekly seeks death like someone seeking sleep. The day, faithful to
vast secret laws, continuously displaces and confounds the shadows in the
wretched stable. Outside stretch the tilled fields, a deep ditch filled up with
dead leaves, and the tracks of a wolf in the black mud where the woods
begin. The man sleeps and dreams, forgotten. The bells calling to prayer
awake him. In the kingdoms of England, the sound of the bells is already
one of the customs of the afternoon, but the man, while still a boy, had
seen the face of Woden, had seen holy dread and exultation, had seen the
rude wooden idol weighed down with Roman coins and heavy vestments,
seen the sacrifice of horses, dogs, and prisoners. Before dawn he would be
dead and with him would die, never to return, the last firsthand images of
the pagan rites. The world would be poorer when this Saxon was no more.
We may well be astonished by space-filling acts which come to an end
when someone dies, and yet something, or an infinite number of things,
die in each death—unless there is a universal memory, as the theosophists
have conjectured. There was a day in time when the last eyes to see Christ
were closed forever. The battle of Junín and the love of Helen died with
the death of some one man. What will die with me when I die? What
pathetic or frail form will the world lose? Perhaps the voice of Macedonio
Fernandez, the image of a horse in the vacant space at Serrano and
Charcas, a bar of sulfur in the drawer of a mahogany desk?

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Pedro Magalhães @pcmagalhaes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The Atlas of Social Attitudes is now live: www.atlasofsocialattitudes.eu What is it, what can you do with it, and why did we build it? A short🧵. (1)

atlasofsocialattitudes.eu

Atlas of Social Attitudes

Explore comprehensive public opinion data from the European Social Survey and the European Values Survey. Discover insights across topics, countries, an...

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Iain Porter @iainkporter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The first benefit cap stats have been published since the 2-child limit was scrapped. 165,000 families - containing over 370,000 children - are now hit by the benefit cap. That’s 50,000 more families than before. 1/4

Chart from the DWP showing the number of benefit capped households in Great Britain over time. It shows that 164,000 families receiving Universal Credit were affected by the benefit cap in May 2026, up from 115,000 families in February 2026. (These figures are slightly different from those quoted in this post because we have added the separate benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland into the DWP’s statistics for Great Britain.)

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

AI is screwing up journal papers: Journal editor asks authors of 10 submitted papers to meet and discuss their paper. Of the 7 that showed up, 3 were unable to answer basic questions about the paper and 3 had difficulty when asked further questions on technical details… medium.com/@TmlrOrg/ask...

medium.com

Asking Authors About Their Own Papers

By Nihar B. Shah

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Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:

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Sarah O'Connor @sarahoconnorft.ft.com · 14/09/2026

In both China and the west, the gig economy has become a sort of safety net/labour market shock absorber. But automation is coming for a lot of this work. Which means the biggest impact of AI/robots might unfold in the dark, in the part of the economy hardest to track. www.ft.com/content/a2c3...

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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

aleximas.substack.com/p/will-ai-so... The best blog ever written on AI and growth, by a clear margin. By @aleximas.bsky.social

aleximas.substack.com

Will AI soon lead to double-digit growth?

Probably not. Here is why.

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Rob de Vries @rob-devries.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

BBC article is probably the best summary of mine and @benbgeiger.bsky.social's BSA chapter. Includes the important point that non-pensioner welfare spending **has not** been rising (as a % of GDP) chahttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4grdk95vgno

bbc.co.uk

Public opposed to disability benefit cuts, major survey suggests

Around 7% of those polled wanted disability benefit cuts, according to the latest British social attitudes survey.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.

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Rob de Vries @rob-devries.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

@benbgeiger.bsky.social and my report for BSA on attitudes to disabiltiy benefits is out today. Basic message: politicians shouldn't assume that there is a strong public appetite for cuts to disability benefits natcen.ac.uk/publications...

natcen.ac.uk

BSA 43 | Attitudes to welfare | National Centre for Social Research

This chapter analyses public attitudes towards spending on disability benefits and relevant trends in attitudes to welfare spending more broadly.

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 27/08/2026

As we said late last year, local housing allowance rates and market rents should be relinked annually to prevent this constant cost of living squeeze for low-income renters. This should be a top priority for any new Government. Full details here ⬇️ buff.ly/jYw8YaA

buff.ly

Housing Outlook Q4 2025 • Resolution Foundation

In 2012, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) levels were linked to the 30th percentile of local rents and automatically revised to reflect market changes. However, since the systematic link with market…

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 27/08/2026

The gap between the support low-income private tenants can get and market rents in their area has now reached 21%. It's approaching the record gap of 23% when support was last increased in 2024, but the government has given no plans to increase support until 2030.

Chart showing gap between support provided to lower income private tenants and the estimated percentile level

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Inclusion London @inclusionlondon.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The Timms review is hosting 15 national workshops online and in person to shape the recommendations that form part of its final report. We want Disabled people to be part of shaping these recommendations. There are 300 participant places available. Register as a participant here: buff.ly/ZtlUstR

buff.ly

Timms Review: register your interest in a shaping recommendations workshop

We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

@lmicharlie.bsky.social That's interesting - have you got a reference for the bit on sickness rates?

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The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 22/07/2026

This could very well be the most important story in politics for the last decade and a half. Please read and share this equally harrowing and illuminating account by @carolecadwalla.bsky.social of just how dark the money in politics pit really goes. Absolutely mind blowing.

thenerve.news

Farage, the money launderer and me: a decade of denial

The Reform leader’s relationship with the UK media has enabled him to operate with impunity for years. This past fortnight, that impunity finally appeared to be coming to an end. Carole Cadwalladr, wh...

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JosimarFootball @josimarfootball.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

New! Ny! Every World Cup is meant to have a legacy, this one could be the moment when the process of reclaiming and reforming the governance of football begins. By @davidgoldblatt.bsky.social josimarfootball.com/2026/07/14/d...

josimarfootball.com

Dystopia - josimarfootball.com

Every World Cup is meant to have a legacy, this one could be the moment when the process of reclaiming and reforming the governance of football begins.

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

New post: **On “What’s really going on with mental health?” in the FT** ...following-up @jburnmurdoch.ft.com piece about our research over the weekend, based on research with @chrishenking.bsky.social inequalities.substack.com/p/on-whats-r...

Graph showing trends in different measures of mental health - GHQ caseness and MH limitations (a little) going up, but MH longstanding illness going up more

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

The Timms Review steering group - which I'm one of 15 members of - has published its interim report into PIP, available from www.gov.uk/government/p... The Review has found that while PIP is valued, it is not fit for purpose. The steering group will make their final recommendations in autumn.

The Timms Review Interim Report on Personal Independence Payment includes findings from over 38,000 Call for Evidence responses. It finds PIP is valued but not fit for purpose. The final recommendations of the Review will be provided in the autumn.

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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

What if Andy Burnham could raise £15bn – without a tax rise? There's one catch. He'd need to solve the UK’s biggest and least-discussed tax problem. Almost half of all small business corporation tax isn't being paid - and nobody knows why. Thread:

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 23/06/2026

How much power do workers in precarious sectors feel they have to shape their working conditions? They told us, not a lot ⤵️

I phoned in sick one shift. Then two weeks after, there was an extra shift, I tried to pick it up.

My manager messaged me directly and said 'we found someone else to do it, you're too unreliable because you rang in sick'.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

This is very good and, I think, persuasive:

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Ruth Curtice @ruthcurtice.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Since defence spending’s recent peak in the mid-80s non-pensioner welfare has grown from around 4.8.% of GDP to 5.1% now. Importantly, non-pensioner welfare is now about the level of the mid-90s, below its global financial crisis peak, but has seen some rise from its level immediately pre-pandemic.

chart showing that ince defence spending’s recent peak in the mid-80s, non-pensioner welfare has grown from around 4.8.% of GDP to 5.1% now. Importantly, non-pensioner welfare is now about the level of the mid-90s, below its GFC peak, but has seen some rise from its level immediately pre-pandemic.

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Ruth Curtice @ruthcurtice.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

The chart focused on working-age welfare. But it contained two mistakes. First, it focused only on benefits delivered by DWP but that means it appears that spending rises as the administration of some benefits changed from HMRC to DWP (with the switch from tax credits to UC this matters a lot).

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Ruth Curtice @ruthcurtice.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

As debates rage about where to get the money for higher defence spending, it’s important we have a clear picture of how we spent the peace dividend while it was around. Thread 🧵⤵️

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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

If anyone had any doubt about what kind of publisher Frontiers is, this is a shocking whistleblower account

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Manasvini Singh @vinisingh.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

New WP, just in time for #ASHEcon26! What started off as a project to learn LLM use for text analysis turned accidentally into a paper about stigma. [1/n]

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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 03/06/2026

Falling payroll jobs in the latest ONS stats, alongside a growing population mean the employment rate must be falling. We estimate a 16+ unemployment rate in February of 60.8 per cent, substantially down on the 2023 high point of 62.0 per cent. More in our Substack ➡️ buff.ly/rBt8UM1

The figure shows RF’s estimate of the employment rate, which is based on administrative data in the tax system and ONS population estimates. We estimate a 16+ unemployment rate in February of 60.8 per cent, substantially down on the 2023 high point of 62.0 per cent.

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Anna Dent @annadent.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

They seem to be constructing an actual deep state - a parallel digital infrastructure with no transparency or accountability.

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

slate.com

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

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Paul Bivand @paulbivand.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Looking at the same data over the whole period we have data, new job starts have fallen a lot since covid reopening, and are now well below pre-covid patterns. Job leavers (including to new jobs) have been much more stable. To split out whether job starters or leavers are job changers needs LFS. 2/

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Susannah Walker @susannahwalker.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

In response to my rant yesterday, I was asked how we can make better parks and other public places for teenage girls? What do they want? I have answers to this, so now a positive 🧵. Starting in Sweden, where this was co-designed by teenage girls.

Frizon shelter - a curved space with seats like swings and lovely coloured perspex in the roof and a view of the city of Umeå at dusk. Two teenage girls sit in one of the swing seats having a chat.

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

***How to get disability statistics you can trust*** New post on Inequalities: My last post described the 'disability statistics disaster' - now I explain how to fix it inequalities.substack.com/p/disability...

inequalities.substack.com

How to get disability statistics you can trust

My last post described the 'disability statistics disaster' - now I explain how to fix it

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Brilliant public service in figuring out why the headline doing the rounds is complete nonsense

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Emma Monk @monkemma.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Well, that Express headline was always going to raise a few eyebrows!😳 Starmer is responsible for embracing polygamy to appease Muslims, and so he's increasing their benefits?? That's the implication. After all, this "started in April", right? Wrong! 🧵1/25

Express Headline:

DWP increases benefits for husbands with 2 or more wives - Started in April

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Paul Hünermund @p-hunermund.com · 11/05/2026

From now on, I'm going to write papers where I take an arbitrary performance metric, restrict the sample to top performers on that metric, and then hunt for negative correlations with everything else in the truncated sample. I'm at a business school, so this should be extremely lucrative.

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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

What can we learn from automating an entire quantitative social science paper, from prompt to finished product? Thread about ongoing work with @natewilmers.bsky.social 1/12 Paper: osf.io/preprints/so...

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UCL Social Research Institute @sriucl.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Happening today

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

The international HLE stuff is slightly different, and uses some really complex modelling from GBD, and suffers from being almost impossible to explain to anyone

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Ah, should have said - the mortality data is robust, but the UK stuff on HLE combines that with self reported general health, which is even less trustworthy as a measure of morbidity trends

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Ben Baumberg Geiger @benbgeiger.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

***The Disability Statistics Disaster*** I don't trust the official UK statistics on trends in the disability employment gap, and neither should you... -> New blog post at inequalities.substack.com/p/the-disabi...

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