Alex Parry, Ph.D.
@safetyworkhstm.bsky.social
Historian of home injuries, public health, and product safety at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Former Ph.D. student and graduate worker organizer at Johns Hopkins. Still frustrated and/or over-caffeinated.
Ron Daniels contributing to this self-destructive nonsense is no surprise. At the height of the COVID pandemic, he couldn’t fathom why historians and anthropologists couldn’t access archival records or conduct fieldwork at home.
Jacob T. Levy@jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 2d agoFour university presidents, "Andrew Martin at Washington University in St. Louis, Michael Crow at Arizona State University, Douglas Girod at the University of Kansas, & Ronald Daniels at the Johns Hopkins University" collaborated in the latest attack on higher ed. www.chronicle.com/liveblog/her...
Sometimes teaching is one of the best jobs out there.
The same goes for product safety. If you’ve never read about injuries involving wringer washers, glass storm doors, gas space heaters, or lawnmowers before the @cpsc.gov, there are some hard lessons to learn about industry self-regulation.
Will Borger@edgarallanbro.bsky.social · last wk.I worked at Disney a while ago. Do you know why theme parks are so safe? Because OOSHA reps can walk the track on any ride at any time and any safety violation they see is a $10,000 fine. Each. Theme parks are not safe because the company cares. They're safe because it's cheaper to comply.
Our long-running suspicion is that people who follow CPSC on social media are really learning about safety and it's why we think every social media platform should give us 350 million followers.
Lauren the Flute@laurentheflute.bsky.social · last wk.I saw someone on here casually mention "don't let friends deep-fry turkeys indoors" the other day You did that! You made that happen! Good job.
Many of these features are also characteristic of AI-supported undergraduate research. Few primary sources, almost no direct quotations, and no argument beyond “applying” or “synthesizing” existing literature.
Ben Williamson@benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 3w agoThe anatomy of an AI-supported academic article is becoming more apparent. I desk reviewed ~70 manuscripts this week for our journal. Reckon 20ish had significant AI assistance. On top of hundreds of others recently I'm starting to see patterns. Are other editors are seeing the same or similar? 1/
On my way home from #SSHM and #HSS. It was a privilege to present some new research on safety equipment and fraud and to hold a roundtable with the Injury Studies Network on interdisciplinary approaches to injuries. If you haven’t already, check out our essay on this exciting new field!
Injury Studies: Setting the Agenda for a Critical Medical Humanities Approach to the Control, Perception, Representation, and Experience of Injuries - Journal of Medical Humanities
This article describes a new and expanding field in the health humanities: injury studies. Following a recent international conference sponsored by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities, the ...
link.springer.com
My expression at the airport.
hookland.bsky.social@hookland.bsky.social · 3w agoThose guardian grotesques who live high on churches often seem closer to God than we who look up at them. Whether Woodwose or Maned-man, monsters living wild in our imaginations are wise to the terror which is man. Their grimaces show they know us well. – #CLNolan
The thing about doing archival research is that you read documents that exist and you can precisely reference where in the archive they were at the moment that you looked at them, and then report that to others through citation. Yes, collections get reorganized but something is there or it isn’t.
CFP: Global Childhood (s) and Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine, Leeds 16-18 November. Keynote by Dr Sebastián Gil-Riañ. Deadline for submissions June 22nd hpsleeds.wordpress.com/2026/06/02/c...
Every single conference is filled with academics talking about how this period of UK higher education is the worst they've ever seen. The entire industry is collapsing and no one is doing anything. Union is dead, politicians don't give a shit, public still think we're all rich
not sure how many of us from the special issue are on bluesky, but here's alex on home accidents!
Alex Parry, Ph.D.@safetyworkhstm.bsky.social · 3mo agoInjuries receive less attention from health professionals and historians than acute and chronic diseases. My new article uses the history of home accident prevention to explain why public health failed to prioritize injury control and what made home accidents especially intractable. #HistSTM #STS
the special issue, on data and disease in historical perspective, was organized by the epidemy lab at the university of edinburgh. we all gathered online in the summer of 2023, then in edinburgh in december 2023, and the papers are all going to be so good
Alex Parry, Ph.D.@safetyworkhstm.bsky.social · 2mo agoExcited to read this new article from @sarambsimon.bsky.social on electronic death registration! This piece, and several others, are currently available online from Medical History and will be part of a forthcoming collection on data and disease. #STS #HistSTM
Excited to read this new article from @sarambsimon.bsky.social on electronic death registration! This piece, and several others, are currently available online from Medical History and will be part of a forthcoming collection on data and disease. #STS #HistSTM
‘Reengineering’ U.S. death data collection: the technology and labour behind electronic death registration | Medical History | Cambridge Core
‘Reengineering’ U.S. death data collection: the technology and labour behind electronic death registration
cambridge.org
I agree w/ @shobitap.org that lamenting the politicization of "science" and the health professions is both nonsensical and strategically problematic. The enterprise of science -- basic, clinical, and any other variety -- is fundamentally political in +++ ways. I've written about this here: 1/
Against the Very Idea of the Politicization of Public Health Policy | AJPH | Vol. 102 Issue 1
I criticize the concern over the politicization of public health policy as a justification for preferring a narrow to a broad model of public health. My critique proceeds along 2 lines. First, the fac...
ajph.aphapublications.org
Really enjoyed seeing folks at #AAHM this year! For those who weren’t able to attend the Education and Outreach Committee workshop on op-eds, here are some useful resources on public-facing writing:
if it's safe for you to work in the USA then the Uni of Oklahoma is looking for a potential senior hire in #histSTM with a specialisation in women & science 🗃️ networks.h-net.org/jobs/70051/u...
University of Oklahoma - Norman - Open Rank - History of Science, Technology, and Medicine - History of Women and Science | H-Net
A Ph. D. in History, History of Science, History of Medicine, or a related field is required.
networks.h-net.org
"UK universities have shed more than 30,000 jobs in the past three years..." Why is every sector worthy of governmental concern except ours? Even pretend concern? www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/i-dont...
‘I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be in the same room as former colleagues’
The results of Times Higher Education’s UK University Redundancy Survey vividly illustrate the deep human impact of the redundancy crisis on those who have lost their jobs. But respondents are torn ab...
timeshighereducation.com
I am not trying to dunk here and also if library workers had been truly listened to in the last 10-15 years or so, the libraries being in danger would not be coming as a surprise to so many academics. Perhaps they would not be in as much danger, even.
Tobias Wilson-Bates@phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · 2mo agoI think in some senses libraries have not been protected bc it seemed fundamentally insane that they should ever be in danger. The idea of a university without a fully functioning research library is like designing a car without an engine.
I am heartbroken that Muhlenberg announced this week "the non-renewal of 13 faculty positions, as well as the elimination of 9 currently filled staff positions.” We are losing incredible faculty and staff with no clear justification for the criteria used. Students are rightly demanding transparency.
Sign the Petition
Demand Muhlenberg’s Board of Trustees Explain the Silent Termination of Faculty and Staff
change.org
It must be emphasized that we need powerful, robust ACADEMIC history IN universities to sustain history OUTSIDE universities. If we can’t employ people in higher ed to train future generations of public historians, we will not have future generations of public historians. 🗃️
American Historical Association@historians.org · 3mo agoThe AHA’s report on academic hiring in history for the 2024–25 cycle is now available. Read more in #AHAPerspectives.
Injuries receive less attention from health professionals and historians than acute and chronic diseases. My new article uses the history of home accident prevention to explain why public health failed to prioritize injury control and what made home accidents especially intractable. #HistSTM #STS
The epidemiology of accidents: U.S. home safety and the slippages between methods, data, and applications, 1940–1980 | Medical History | Cambridge Core
The epidemiology of accidents: U.S. home safety and the slippages between methods, data, and applications, 1940–1980
cambridge.org
What can historical methods add to present-day public health research and practice? Check out my new article with PhD candidate Emily Kumpf on drunk driving prevention, behavioral health, and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program! #HistMed #HistSTM #InjuryStudies
Behavioral health and drunk driving prevention: The history and policy implications of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP)
Since its establishment in 1983, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) has tried to decrease the costs of drunk driving and underage drinking…
sciencedirect.com
Most histories of drunk driving focus on MADD and other victim advocacy groups. My latest article with PhD student Emily Kumpf looks at the alternative approach of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program and its model for public health efforts to control risky behavior.
Behavioral health and drunk driving prevention: The history and policy implications of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP)
Since its establishment in 1983, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) has tried to decrease the costs of drunk driving and underage drinking…
sciencedirect.com
A completely fair assessment, but it’s definitely “damned if we do, damned if we don’t.” If the humanities are cheap, then we “don’t need resources” to function. If we’re expensive, then we “don’t have the same ROI” as STEM. Our work matters on its own terms and should be funded as such.
Asheesh Kapur Siddique@asheeshks.org · 3mo agoA common rhetorical strategy for asking for more investment / hires in humanities cites the relative inexpensiveness of our scholarship compared to STEM: "the humanities are cheap, they don't need labs," hence less expensive to hire us. I am not sure that this line of argument has actually worked.
A student who sets out to write a research paper will now encounter chatbots who will offer to do their work in their word document, in their learning management system, in their email, in their web browser, and in certain library database interfaces.
Academics are, on the whole, dedicated teachers, researchers, and community members who not only prop up regional economies but also care about knowledge and the public good. The demonization of faculty and grad students at all ranks is a travesty.
Ted McCormick@tedmccormick.bsky.social · 3mo agothe Dem tendency to malign academics as a cheap and lazy populist gesture, at a moment when Republicans are destroying academia while deploying cheap and lazy populist rhetoric, and while the main discernible Dem promise is not being Republicans, is neither great messaging nor great substance