Melanie Rimmer
Woman of a certain age. PhD researcher exploring discourse around learning disabilities. Open University Associate Lecturer passionate about inclusion and lifelong learning. Building knowledge & advocating for respectful representation
- We're still recruiting for this study: Are you neurodivergent & have done, or considered, a PhD? We’re researching how doctoral study works (or doesn’t) for neurodivergent people. Take our 30min survey: forms.office.com/e/ft9jyWsPUW Questions? Email lindsay.odell@open.ac.uk #PhD #Neurodivergent
- Are you neurodivergent & have done, or considered, a PhD? We’re researching how doctoral study works (or doesn’t) for neurodivergent people. Take our 30min survey & help make academia more inclusive forms.office.com/e/ft9jyWsPUW Questions? Email lindsay.odell@open.ac.uk #PhD #Neurodivergent
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerWelfare cuts are a political choice. 685,500 Britons (1%) have wealth of £2.8trn. 48m (70%) have £2.4trn. Richest four have more wealth than 20m people combined. Govt could have taxed the rich, chose to cut benefits of the disabled/poor. Not acceptable. Tell your MP to oppose the cuts.
- Improve a first line by substituting Mrs Dalloway: “Last night I dreamed Mrs Dalloway went to Manderley again”
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerI keep seeing the press describe benefits cuts as a 'crackdown'. Other crackdowns we hear about usually reference crime or anti-social behaviour. What does that imply about benefit claimants? Claiming the benefits you're entitled to isn't a crime - these are cuts, not a crackdown
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerWhat we wear can be a projection of how we want to be percieved. In my series for Wellcome Collection Stories Sinéad Burke shares why she is so passionate about the fashion and why the industry can be a transformative space for disability justice. wellcomecollection.org/stories/fash...
- Reposted by Melanie Rimmer“If you are reliant on Pip, it is truly terrifying to witness, but it should terrify all of us, because a government that can front out this kind of denial is one that is not listening, not curious, not realistic and not humane.” @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerMeanwhile, staff stress is skyrocketing and all the OU has done is to offer senior managers a training course and ask the rest of us if we feel better yet?
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerHey folks a lot of you are sharing big blocks of text on coloured backgrounds with all sorts of big claims/news and yet providing no link to any actual source. This is how propaganda & disinformation spreads. Provide sources. It's absolutely critical And alt text because almost none of you are.
- Reposted by Melanie Rimmer“Every time you see a headline on “the cost of the benefits bill”, what you are really reading is “the cost of disabled people”. My col. on Labour’s reported benefit cuts and the toxic narrative of the “moral” virtue of work. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerGovernment wants more people to return to work, but at the same time, is consciously eliminating the jobs that offer the best paths back into work:
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerRelevant to the 'disabled people need to work' discussions: A contact of mine applied for a job. They asked for one small cost-free 'reasonable adjustment'. The employer promptly told them they couldn't have this. No discussion. It's Not The Disabled People Who Are The 'Problem', #Labour Party.
- I was supposed to write from 7am - 9am this morning, but was on a roll so didn't stop until 9:40. Wrote 750 words. It's part of my literature review for my PhD - writing about different models of disability (I've identified 14) and how they shape discourse
- Writing is so anxiety-inducing. I start to write something & then I think "Where did I find that idea from?" & search for an article/book to cite. Then I realise I never read the whole article or book, I read about it in a "...for beginners" title, or I read a review of it, or something I read
- cited it. & then I think "I can't cite that if I haven't read it" & I get the feeling that I haven't read enough to authoritatively write anything. So I stop writing and start reading the article/chapter/book so that I feel I understand it properly & won't be mispresenting it in my writing, or
- or misrepresent myself as having read things I haven't. But while I'm reading I feel anxiety because I'm supposed to be writing, not reading, this isn't getting any writing done. & if I have to read a whole article or book or chapter for every sentence I write, it will take me 100 years to write a
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View full threadI recognise I'll never finish reading. By the time I've read everything relevant written to date, other people will have written more. People in my field are writing RIGHT NOW. Bastards. I hate them. STOP! I need to catch up!
- I persuaded my partner, who gets up by 7 on weekdays, to bring me a coffee every morning so I can get a couple of hours writing done in bed before I start "work" work. 364 words this morning. I love this plan.
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerOral health and learning disability: common conditions made complex
- Got up early to do some writing on my Lit Review. Endnote had a massive tantrum and needs to be reinstalled. Thinking about just going back to bed
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerThere is an urgent need for equality and improvement of clinical care for people with a learning disability in Northern Ireland, delegates at a conference have heard.
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerI'm not sure which of you need to hear this, but: If you push yourself to your limits and burn out for a company, you are trading years of your future productivity for minor gains in the present. Burning out will _fuck you up_, it's like brain fog or depression, and it takes years to recover
- Kasibba spent 45 wrongly locked up in a mental health hospital. Hundreds of other autistic people and people with learning disabilities are still wrongly detained. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerIf you are a fellow ADHDer, I highly recommend Dusty’s offerings. I’m going to do her Bootcamp this time- join me!
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerKnowledge is never knowing the answer. It’s knowing the territory.
- I've pre-ordered this. Looks like essential reading
- History, culture, philosophy, politics. HUMAN BEINGS. Couldn't be happier that this is coming out on June 5th published by Wildfire. Available for preorder now on Amazon. @wildfirebooks.bsky.social
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerPoor NHS admin is harmful to people with a learning disability
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerShocking statistics #LearningDisabilities
- An easy way for social science undergraduates to write much better essays by changing how they think about paragraphs at the planning stage: Make Points, not Topics. new study skills video at youtu.be/C42cX_uO428
- Seeking asylum is legal. As a child I learned about Jewish refugees in Britain in WW2 and the Kindertransport. I was taught to be proud of how Britain helped people fleeing dangerous places and gave them somewhere safer to live. I was taught it was a good thing to do.
- This is not only morally reprehensible, but a breach of the UN Refugee Convention. No refugee should be discriminated against on the basis of how they entered the country www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerIf you work directly with people who draw on care and support, or have lived experience yourself, we'd love to hear from you. Your insights will help develop a new well-led theme for Making It Real, and influence how leadership is assessed by the Care Quality Commission. Sign up now bit.ly/4aStMzK
- How can psychology enhance high-performance sports coaching? This PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social, in collaboration with UK Sport Institute, explores coach development and performance psychology. Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- How can behavioural science address health and social inequalities for women in North Yorkshire? This PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social explores the social determinants of health and interventions for change. Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- How do multifaith chaplains support university communities after a student death? This PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social explores chaplaincy’s role in bereavement support for students, staff, and families in higher education. Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- How does loneliness affect the brain? This PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social explores the neural and subjective experiences of loneliness and belonging in young adults using brain activity tracking and psychological methods. Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social explores how walking on melting Icelandic glaciers impacts perceptions and behaviors on sustainability. Study the psychology of climate change through geoscience, tourism, and education. Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- Interested in researching community resilience to extreme weather and mental health? This PhD at Sheffield Hallam @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social explores how UK communities experience and adapt to climate events like floods and heatwaves. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
- Today’s PhD reading location - a quiet area in the University of Manchester while my son is in his lectures. Later we’ll get lunch together
- Every now and then you read a paper and think "I wish I'd written that" (not that I could have). Thank you for saying what needed to be said. Maybe someone will listen. Maybe.
- 🏆𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰.... 📝Research Paper from 3 #neurodivergent authors on being #disabled in #academia: "stranger than fiction: that lying, conniving, disabled snitch … burn, burn, burn the witch!" ⬇️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... #EDI #DEI #Neurodiverse
- Helen @hbowescatton.bsky.social you should read this paper. You'll like it and it may be useful too.
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerDisabled man self-harms in public & dies after losing PIP, but DWP silent on 30 years of safeguarding failures - @johnpring.bsky.social www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disabled-man...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerDisabled MP asks health and safety watchdog why it has never investigated DWP’s links to hundreds of deaths buff.ly/42RIAfU @wendychambld.bsky.social @disrightsuk.bsky.social @salbrinton.bsky.social @gmhazardscentre.bsky.social @marisharay.bsky.social @johnpring.bsky.social
- Fully funded PhDs in Aural Diversity at University of Salford: laura.salford.ac.uk Aural Diversity explores how hearing, listening & responses to sound vary across individuals and groups. £20,780 stipend, no tuition fees, research funding. Apply by 28 Feb for Oct 2025 entry. @salforduni.bsky.social
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerCambridge is looking for an Assistant Prof in the History of International Political Thought 👇 #HistIR www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLU018/a...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerPlease could #AcademicSky folks bring this to the attention of final yr UGs/MA students in criminology, sociology and pol sci (etc.) please? The PhD studentship is to study the extent of electoral fraud in Britain, working with BMG Research, Dr Siim Trumm and myself. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLL511/p...
- Today’s PhD reading location - a cafe in a Tesco superstore. Free parking and I can grab a few essentials on my way out.
- Today’s PhD reading location - a cosy corner of my home
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerIn the light of rapid and alarming changes in universities and with research funders lots of people are understandably asking 'am I allowed to......?' Stop asking for permission. Seek legal advice as needed, but make your own decisions. Care for yourself and others.
- The Government Social Research (GSR) Research Officer Graduate Scheme is now open. A great opportunity for final-year students to build a career in government social research. Apply by 27 Feb. Eligibility & details: www.gov.uk/guidance/gsr...
- 15 fully funded PhD positions in the Marie Curie Doctoral Network Co-construction in the field of social welfare (COCOSO). Each PhD includes collaboration with a social service. Start Sept 2025, apply by 2 March. Details: cref.parisnanterre.fr/accueil/coco....
- Fully funded PhD studentship (UK Home students) at MMU @manmetuni.bsky.social : Too much touch? Examining the use of touch in dementia care through conversation analysis. Start Oct 2025, UKRI stipend. Apply by 14 March. Details: www.mmu.ac.uk/study/postgr....
- Today’s PhD reading spot - Cafe Juniper. Daughter accompanying me again
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerWe are pleased to announce 2 exciting funded PhD studentships at the Centre for Children’s Rights. 1. Deaf children and young people’s rights shorturl.at/NL6lt 2. Developing a child-led measure of poverty: see here:https://shorturl.at/lzamB Application deadline for both is 31st March 2025.
- Congratulations, Michael. What a wonderful recognition of your life's work.
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerParticipants needed! 📣 My dissertation student is running an interview study that aims to find out more about what it's like to be both #ADHD and #PMDD - as there is next to no research out there on this! Click below for more info: qualtricsxmzn93vbtyk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
- On the way home from reading in a cafe I bought ingredients to make jerky in the dehydrator. Still juggling my PhD with my latest hyper fixation - dehydrating things.
- Today’s PhD reading spot - Cafe Azul, with my daughter for breakfast and reading.
- I’m reading a textbook about qualitative research methods. She’s reading Dracula.
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerVery brilliant that @cmic-uk.bsky.social just got the go ahead to create a training microbrewery for adults with learning disabilities, so here's a reminder of @beckyrwhin.bsky.social's words in @communitylivingmagazine.com a year ago. #LearningDisability communitylivingmagazine.com/there-was-a-...
- Reposted by Melanie RimmerYou don't need experience of the issues to see why health check targets for patients who have a learning disability might be useful. I'm sharing this piece again after reports this is among the goals to be scrapped (by the party of social justice). #healthcare bylinetimes.com/2024/10/21/t...
- Today’s reading spot. I’ve got a lot of reading to do so I’m finding nice spots to do it.
