Earlier this week, Robert Quinn, the executive director of Scholars at Risk, an international network of higher education institutions in 39 countries with headquarters at New York University, published an op-ed piece in the Washington Post entitled “The War on Education.” The attack last week at Pakistan’s Bacha Khan University that killed 22 and wounded dozens more […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: January 2016

The global war on academic freedom

How a centuries-old poem hints at Shakespeare’s herbal ‘muse’
Material unearthed from William Shakespeare’s garden and hometown suggests that the famed British playwright smoked cannabis. Now a 400-year-old poem offers literary evidence to support this hypothesis. The person behind the poem is a “John Taylor”. British engraver George Vertue spoke of a person named John Taylor, whom he described as an actor and painter […] … learn more→

Profs agree: GPA worthless
“If I get a B in this course, I will die.” –20+ years ago, I’d get a student like this every semester, but it’s been years since I’ve had even one. Mostly this is because of grade inflation—in most courses, getting an A means you showed up, if that much. It’s no secret grade inflation […] … learn more→

How American businesses and individuals navigate their complex tax systems
The American tax system is complicated, convoluted, and in a constant state of change. Employees pay taxes on their incomes, the goods and services they use, and even their utilities. Companies do likewise. There is an endless stream of taxes at the local, state, and federal level, most of which are very tightly enforced. Some […] … learn more→

Graduation rates up = Standards down
“Let’s Use Graduation Rates As A Measure Of School Success!” The above is a typical suggestion about we can tell if a school is doing well. At first glance it sounds like a good idea. It’s certainly reasonable, up to a point. For example, a school with a 0.6% graduation rate probably is a terrible […] … learn more→

Suicide of Dalit student sparks rage over caste discrimination in Indian universities
The suicide of a Dalit PhD student at Hyderabad Central University in mid January has shone a nasty spotlight on the social and economic exclusion still produced by India’s caste system. Rohith Vemula killed himself after being expelled from the university following a complaint made by one of the leaders of India’s ruling Bharatiya Jananta […] … learn more→

Things to do during the PhD – publish articles on the side
To be honest, it was completely random that I ended up publishing papers while writing my dissertation. It started like this: I was taking a course through the excellent Nordic PhD school for candidates in archaeology called Dialogues with the Past. As a requirement, all doctoral candidates attending courses with this school prepare papers based […] … learn more→

Busy academics: 8 tricks to ensure you always clock off at 5pm
1. I take my laptop with me everywhere. If I’m sat waiting for someone, I can get back to writing that conference abstract. If I’m in a meeting and an item doesn’t concern me (often most of the agenda) I can prevent an email backlog. If I’m attending a talk that doesn’t actually interest me, […] … learn more→

Why opt for armed or unarmed security guard training courses
The profession of armed security guards as well as unarmed security guards are gaining momentum lately amid fear of terror attacks and domestic violence. The segment in the human resource industry is attracting more and more job seekers who lovers to be honored while protecting people and property. If you are one of such youths […] … learn more→

School curriculum continues to whitewash Britain’s imperial past
The Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford campaign has drawn attention to the way Britain continues to live with the legacies of its empire – and the failure to confront the history of its imperial exploits. Media attention on the campaign has focused primarily on a group of students’ attempt to remove a statue of the […] … learn more→