Monthly Archives: October 2013

Do you really believe what you are writing?

I often make my doctoral students cry, but I hasten to add it’s not because I am mean. The supervision work I do is emotionally intense because I seem to have (accidentally) become a specialist in helping people who have had difficult candidatures for one reason or another. Gina Wisker calls these people ‘doctoral orphans‘ […] … learn more→

2013 to be record year for offshore wind

Offshore wind power installations are on track to hit a seventh consecutive annual record in 2013. Developers added 1,080 megawatts of generating capacity in the first half of the year, expanding the world total by 20 percent in just six months. Fifteen countries host some 6,500 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. Before the year is […] … learn more→

Almost no one is actually a Luddite anymore

I have written a number of posts expressing great skepticism about MOOCs, the for-profit online universities, and, more broadly, the view that technology can be used to make education more affordable by simply replacing educators. In several responses to my posts and more often in references to my posts on other sites, I have been […] … learn more→

The chalkboard meets the motherboard: Combining online education and the traditional classroom

Nearly one-third of all students in higher education are taking at least one course online, according to Babson Survey Research Group, and this number represents a consistent increase for nine years in a row. There\’s an ongoing debate in education about whether online education measures up to the traditional classroom experience. Some say yes, some […] … learn more→

The economy does not depend on Higher Education

The presumption that a shortage of educated people is responsible for a stagnant economy has been repeated frequently, especially since the onset of the recession, in 2008. A commission sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges concluded that the nation\’s fiscal problems were accentuated by the fact that 59 percent of all employees needed […] … learn more→

The ramifications of the media focus on the immediate

Our media has conditioned us to focus on the moment, on the immediate situation. It is very seldom that the media encourages us to take a longer perspective. And in those few instances in which a longer view is attempted, very often the immediate situation is simply projected outward–multiplied as if the current conditions will […] … learn more→

Exercise can cut desire for high-kilojoule foods

Physical activity is promoted for its benefit on fitness and helping burn up excess kilojoules. Now scientists are beginning to unravel secondary benefits it could have by dampening activation of brain regions that drive our desire for less-healthy high-kilojoule foods. Physical activity has many health benefits and is a cornerstone of lifestyle advice to help […] … learn more→

What would a more literate world look like?

Let us suppose for a moment that there is a magic bullet for curing illiteracy. In fact, what if we were able to take the global literacy rate from 84% worldwide to something closer to 90% or even 99%? What difference would it make? And what might the world look like? Literacy at home Here […] … learn more→

On the Issues: “Pay It Forward”

The Oregon legislature recently passed a law requiring the state to study a “Pay It Forward” model for higher education. Under the plan, students could attend college with no upfront costs but with a payback over 24 years amounting to 3% of their annual earnings. The state would then use that money to fund costs […] … learn more→