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Brian Hughes

@bmhughes.bsky.social
4.9K followers 1.5K following 791 posts

Prof Psych • Writer • Galway • he/him New book 'Psychology's Quiet Conservatism': link.springer.com/book/9783032077233 Blog: thesciencebit.net Bio: brianmhughes.com 📷 briantakes.photos

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Reposted by Brian Hughes
Astrid Meyer-Knutsen @astridmeyerknutsen.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Wise words: -"I’d like to hear more conversations about the injustices that are at the root of modern-day stress and the actions that will counter them, like joining a union, voting for political parties with progressive policies, or engaging with others who want to change the world for the better,”
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Yours truly, quoted here, being woke again #psychology #stress www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/he...
irishexaminer.com
How to recognise symptoms of stress — and how to reduce them
In week two of our summer wellbeing series, we ask what we can do to reduce our stress.
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yaoi gagarin @mel.bzky.team · 02/07/2026
quick question what does the T stand for and whats currently happening to them in the UK
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
These two sentences alone raise serious questions regarding this review. e.g. If no causation was established, then what was the recommendation based on? And: Given the name they chose for themselves ('ADDICT'), were the research team perhaps a tad biased? www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Extract from Guardian article:

'The review, conducted by researchers from four UK universities known as the Action on Digital Device Immersive Conditions Team, did not establish causal links between screen use and specific developmental conditions. However, it was emphatic that “no under-twos should receive regular intentional screen time.'
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
UK social media ban could cut lifeline for disabled children, campaigners warn www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
UK social media ban could cut lifeline for disabled children, campaigners warn
Activists say blanket ban could prevent teenagers from finding peers and role models with similar conditions
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
A lot of the “kids online safety” proponents actually are anti-LGBTQ extremists and fundamentalists who want kids to have less freedom and don’t care if that actually makes them tremendously less safe too
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Long Covid Advocacy @longcovidadvoc.com · 15/06/2026
In light of the Long Covid presentations at #RCPsychIC today it is worth sharing this from the £3.25 million genetic study on ME & Long Covid about the lack of genetic overlap with depression & mental illness. From Prof Chris Ponting who led the study:
An image with a yellow border at the top and bottom, featuring text under the bold heading "Is ME a mental illness?".
The text reads:
"One of the great strengths of genetics is that we can ask questions without bias. One of the questions we asked was whether the genetic markers for ME overlap with those for other diseases. We found one overlap – with chronic pain. But we found no overlap with diseases such as diabetes or mental health conditions such as depression or schizophrenia."
"Based on the current evidence, we can say that ME appears to be a distinct disease – with its own genetic profile. We have not seen any genetic overlap with mental health conditions. That may change, but for now, there is no evidence of a genetic link with mental health conditions."
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Throwback to 2018 when one of my university colleagues posted a homophobic tweet during Pride Month but it was okay because he did so "in a personal capacity" 😂😂😂 I believe the same person is now running as a candidate for the university's governing authority... A reformed character, no doubt
gcn.ie
NUI Galway Says Lecturer's Homophobic Tweets Were Made In Personal Capacity
Galway University Says It Considers Case of Lecturer who Tweeted Homophobia Closed
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Rob Kitchin @robkitchin.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
My letter to Minister Lawless about Research Ireland's decision to devolve the awarding of doctoral scholarships & postdoctoral fellowships to universities. A disastrous move. Please consider raising this issue in your own institutions and with elected representatives and the media.
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Andrew Coogan @cooganlab.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
"Beatings to continue until morale improves" etc.
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Elaine Burke @elaineburke.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The leaders of Ireland's new Rinn national research network. I can only assume from this line-up that women in STEM initiatives are failing to produce results.
A photograph of directors of Ireland's new Rinn research centres in front of the stage at the RDS. There are nine men and one woman in the line-up. Another woman (not a centre director) presents from the podium on stage.
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Family of #Belfast stabbing victim: "We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome... "We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work"
rte.ie
Family of stabbing victim say 'unrest is not welcome'
Family of Belfast stabbing victim warn against 'division and hostility'The family of Belfast stabbing attack victim Stephen Ogilvie have thanked the emergency services and people who stepped in to sto...
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Andrew Coogan @cooganlab.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
“The principles of collegiality include academic freedom, shared responsibility, the policy of participation of all concerned in internal decision making structures and practices, and the development of consultative mechanisms.” www.unesco.org/en/legal-aff...
unesco.org
Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching
PreambleThe General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), meeting in Paris from 21 October to 12 November 1997, at its 29th session,Conscious of
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
This is such incredible bullshit. I am alive, thriving, and writing books on health policy/politics thanks to antidepressants. Antidepressants aren't for everyone, but they can be literal lifesavers. Attacking their prescribing & use is stigmatizing and dangerous. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/s...
nytimes.com
Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
The courts found the OfS displayed "bias and predetermination" in what was supposed to be an objective investigation. Perhaps they could deal with the Cass Report next?
theguardian.com
Office for Students’ University of Sussex humiliation is a symptom of deeper failings
England’s higher education regulator must rebuild trust with troubled sector after series of blunders under previous leadership
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Sussex University has overturned a £585,000 fine by England’s higher education watchdog after the high court rejected claims the university had breached free speech regulations involving its former professor Kathleen Stock
theguardian.com
Sussex University overturns £585,000 fine as high court rejects free speech breach claim
Ruling is blow to Office for Students after it issued record fine for allegations over professor’s trans rights views
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 26/04/2026
The anti-trans playbook is being wheeled out against neurodivergent kids more and more in UK papers [Saturday Times]
Overdiagnosis of children is getting dangerous
When a doctor suggested our three-year-old might have ‘sensory processing disorder’ I began to fear for all youngsters
Laura Freeman

Laura Freeman
At teatime on Holy Saturday, when we should have been toasting hot cross buns, we were instead bundling our three-year-old into the car and driving her to hospital. A&E sent us to urgent care, where we were seen by a nurse and a doctor.

Iris was admitted with pneumonia and installed in a bed on the children’s ward within an hour. The care she received over the weekend was exemplary and I have nothing but admiration for the nurses and their limitless supply of stickers, badges, cuddly toys, Easter eggs and bunny ears. The doctors, day and night shift, were reassuring and resourceful, but the doctor who discharged us made a speculative diagnosis that rattled me at the time and has bothered me since. It had nothing to do with Iris’s lungs.

My daughter was not an easy patient. When we arrived, she’d had two nights of tossing and turning and a fever of 106. We hadn’t been able to persuade her to eat anything for more than 24 hours. She hated the steroids — “fairy dust” — administered through a mask and hated the strap on the oxygen mask even more. She hated the taste of the antibiotics, and she hated the pulse oximeter being put on her toe. She really, really hated the nasal cannula.

She was distressed, confused and desperate to go home.

When we were released, the doctor gave us two prescriptions, a nebuliser and an assessment. Had we heard of sensory processing disorder? She thought Iris might have it. Children with SPD have difficulty processing sensory signals.

They may become hypersensitive or hyposensitive to certain stimuli. SPD often goes along with autism and a range of other neurodivergent conditions. Children with SPD may have difficulty fitting in. They may need to attend special schools.

‘The world,’ the doctor told me, ‘isn’t made for people like them’
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Quinn Slobodian @quinnslobodian.com · 24/04/2026
"A history professor course could not allocate instructional time to the Stonewall riots or the gay rights movement. If a U.S. history textbook includes a chapter on the AIDS crisis, the professor must skip it." www.erininthemorning.com/p/texas-tech...
erininthemorning.com
Texas Tech Issues Ban On Students Writing On LGBTQ+ Topics
The ban applies to theses and dissertations, and is expected to begin going into effect on a rolling basis.
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Teresa Collins @queen-crafty.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Once d headmaster (our teacher) was telling us a story. He cracked some joke &we all laughed. A traveller boy laughed along too, & as the teacher passed him he hit the boy a huge punch in the side of his head. The boy never saw it coming. The teacher never broke his stride. #Spéirghorm
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Saspasici @saspasici.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"Une étude menée par l'University College Cork et une organisation éducative de Cork destinée aux enfants des gens du voyage a révélé que la discrimination, l'exclusion et les inégalités structurelles à l'encontre de ces enfants sont profondément ancrées dans le système éducatif irlandais. ..."
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"a stain on Mandela's legacy" The Nelson Mandela Foundation is conducting a review into the use of Mandela's name by the University of Galway, citing its responsibility to protect Mandela's reputation. From 7lá on TG4 Full vid available via @cagcoalition on IG: www.instagram.com/reel/DXd9KBq...
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
The details here sound *exactly* the same as what I recall from my own primary and secondary schools in the 1970s and 1980s. Nothing ever changes... RTÉ: Anti-Traveller discrimination embedded in schools - study
rte.ie
Anti-Traveller discrimination embedded in schools - study
Discrimination, exclusion and structural inequalities against Traveller children are embedded within the Irish education system, research carried out by UCD and a Cork Traveller education organisation...
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Tim Byrne @tbyrne75.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Zhang Shan won the gold medal for the mixed skeet shooting event in the 1992 Olympics. The International Shooting Union *immediately* banned women from competing against men.
Zhang Shan holding a rifle.
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ME/CFS Science @mecfsscience.org · 21/04/2026
6) That seems to be the most crucial line in the whole review. At least the authors are upfront with it! We disagree and think it likely is a fatal flaw. For more info on why blinding is important, see this brief history that we wrote about it here:
mecfsscience.org
Turning a blind eye to blinding - ME/CFS Science
Blinding is the process of keeping key persons involved in the conduct of a clinical trial unaware of group assignment.
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Nelson Mandela Foundation reviewing ties with University of Galway over links to Israeli institution
independent.ie
Nelson Mandela Foundation reviewing ties with University of Galway over links to Israeli institution
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is reviewing the use of Nelson Mandela’s name by the University of Galway following controversy surrounding the university’s ongoing links with an Israeli institution.
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 13/04/2026
Uh, whoa: *Sean Feucht* — a conservative and controversial Christian activist who has long been a part of the broader MAGA religious coalition and lead worship music at the White House — comes out against the image Trump posted. This…is rare.
Sean Feucht
@seanfeucht
This should be deleted immediately. 

There’s no context where this is acceptable.
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Anthony Zacharzewski @anthonyzach.be · 12/04/2026
A friend in the democracy movement in Hungary texts “landslide victory”. I don’t want to allow myself to believe yet … but …
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Kelly Fincham @kellyfincham.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Last line really captures the entire problem.
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Donncha O’Connell @donnchalaw.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
How Ireland's far-right movement got involved in the fuel protests and tried to hijack them www.thejournal.ie/ireland-fuel...
thejournal.ie
How Ireland's far-right movement got involved in the fuel protests and tried to hijack them
While many are protesting fuel costs, far-right actors and international figures are using the movement to push anti-immigrant narratives.
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Peter Barabas @peterbarabas.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
There have been and still are people who thought that "holding back Covid until a vaccine at the expense of individual freedoms" and then "pushing vaccinations" were ammoral. In essence, they prioritise individual's freedom to infect others over the right of individuals to not get infected.
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Some very creative accounting was needed to greenlight the Galway ring road...
thejournal.ie
Some very creative accounting was needed to greenlight the Galway ring road
Deeming this project climate-compliant is untenable, argues architect and transport planner Ciarán Ferrie.
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Ben Walsh @bwalsh.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Hey @sinn-fein.bsky.social are you still saying we need to negotiate with this individual?
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John Barrington @johnbarrington.eurosky.social · 10/04/2026
I present Christopher Duffy
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Úna-Minh's ✨ Open to Work ✨ @unaminh.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Here are some publicly available posts from one of the key organisers, James Geoghegan.
Text from James Geoghegan reads: "Ah as poor Simon says these are all people coming from a war area, wake up Simon your inviting it convicts to kill and run riot" There is a picture post of various people of colour underneath the text. tEXT from James reads: "This is scary, it’s what happens when you allow IPAs centres into your town." IPAS = International Protection Accommodation ServicesText reads: "Look at this lovely migrant who Simon Harris invited into Ireland , this is in Facebook headquarters today, nice mess for them in the morning , the dirty scumbag."Transphobic comment from James: "This type of rubbish is what’s wrong with our country , men competing against ladies .  Time to ban this filth." There's a picture of athletes on podiums.
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Additional 36 infant remains recovered at Tuam Mother and Baby Home site. Brings the total number of infant remains forensically recovered from the location so far to 69
rte.ie
Additional 36 infant remains recovered at Tuam site
An additional 36 infant remains have been recovered from the site of the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam in Co Galway, as excavations continue.
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Siobhán Dowling @siobhandowling.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Meanwhile, a very different protest is happening:
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Maynooth University @maynoothuniversity.ie · 08/04/2026
Only half of the published research findings in economics, psychology and education can be replicated by others according to new findings reported in Nature by Dr Dermot Lynott from @mupsychology.bsky.social, in collaboration with international colleagues. www.maynoothuniversity.ie/news-events/...
maynoothuniversity.ie
MU collaborates on study calling for changes to maintain public trust
Only half of the published research findings in economics, psychology and education can be replicated by others according to new findings reported in Nature by Dr Dermot Lynott from the Department of
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
A terrific appointment. Congratulations to my colleague Prof Donncha O'Connell @donnchalaw.bsky.social A fantastic personal milestone for him, but more importantly the country, and all of us, will benefit hugely from his decency and expertise
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Cool new office door sticker, kindly donated by a fellow enthusiast
Sticker featuring adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants with mascara, lipstick, a moustache, eyebrows, and long red fingernails
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Adam Smith @adamndsmith.com · 09/03/2026
If I had a nickel for every time Franz Ferdinand was involved in the precursor events of a world war, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice
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Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera @pantibliss.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
I feel like the deathly dangers of using a knife to get a piece of toast out of the toaster have been somewhat exaggerated
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alyson “october” greaves @badambulist.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Cis people have had their chance to run Britain, and I think we can all agree they’ve made a right pig’s ear of it. It’s time for them to step aside and let someone else have a go.
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Granite Man @granitedhuine.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Some of you have never been to Boogie Wonderland, and it shows.
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Hierophant Shelley B Woke - Living Saint of Purity🏳️‍⚧️🖤💜🤍 💛 @shelleybwoke.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
The subhead says it all.
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Yuri Vorontsov 🐬☀️⛵️ @kwispel.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
"Only one of Einstein’s papers was ever peer-reviewed, by the way, and he was so surprised and upset that he published his paper in a different journal instead..." A great article on peer-review. #scientificpublishing
experimental-history.com
The rise and fall of peer review
Why the greatest scientific experiment in history failed, and why that's a great thing
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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 03/03/2026
“By Hegseth’s standard, any country having any advanced defensive weaponry of any kind can be labeled an imminent threat.” trib.al/7Q6ZGAX
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Taylor Lorenz @taylorlorenz.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health
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traceyburgess.bsky.social @traceyburgess.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Some electrical wiring, added into the mix, for an extra bonus.🔌
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Brian Hughes @bmhughes.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
My workspace this Monday morning. I guess this is what "connecting up our distinctive strengths in new and transformational ways" looks like (when it rains)
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