Like any new technology, artificial intelligence is the subject of both hopes and fears and what it covers today presents major challenges (Villani et al., 2018). It also raises profound questions about our own humanity. Will the machine exceed the intelligence of the humans who conceived it? What will be the relation between what are […] … learn more→

This is one of a very occasional set of posts about some of my own academic work that you might find useful. A colleague and I have just undertaken what is called in the (academic) trade a Rapid Evidence Review. Or, as I have come to think of it, Quick Lit. An RER is a form […] … learn more→

There has been quite a lot of discussion in the Times Higher Education over the last few weeks questioning the purpose of lectures at university. As my contribution, I would like to advance a rather unfashionable view, but before doing so let me say what I don’t think they are for. Robert Reid argued that “the ‘sage on the […] … learn more→

Early childhood is an important and instrumental part of a child’s life, with these years seeing a tremendous amount of growth in toddlers. From birth until about eight years old, a child undergoes many physical and psychological changes, and many of these revolve around their cognitive development. So much of this time relies heavily on […] … learn more→

I hardly know where to begin today. Anyone watching the news knows that basically everything you say, everything you do, is now recorded somewhere. Anyone reading the news knows that if you’re in the crosshairs of the powers that be…everything you’ve said and done will be scoured (and possibly twisted) for something that is “wrong,” […] … learn more→

For Vietnamese, the “Made in Vietnam” stamp holds little cachet. That goes double for higher education as the country’s stretched-thin universities struggle with talent shortages – a minority of lecturers hold PhDs and few publish research in international outlets – and decaying facilities. Stop a random Vietnamese parent on the street and ask where they […] … learn more→

Whatever salary the science teacher at your local public school makes per year, subtract US$450. That’s how much money the typical middle and high school science teacher spends out of pocket each year on science lab materials. The $450 figure is based on a study we recently conducted to determine if science teachers have adequate funding to […] … learn more→

A new study on second language learning has recently taken the mediaby storm. A range of headlines – from the BBC to the Daily Mail and The Guardian – all trumpeted the depressing message that it’s impossible to become fluent in a foreign language after around age ten. All of these reports dramatically misrepresented the findings from the study, and the message they sent […] … learn more→

According to a recent study, the rates of suicide among students in the UK has reached record levels. The international study, by Raymond Kwok and colleagues at Hong Kong University’s Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, provides further evidence that large numbers of students attending UK universities are struggling to maintain their mental health. The study […] … learn more→

As the deadline for applications for mid-year admission to university approaches, prospective students face two important choices: what to study, and at which university. If past experience is any guide, places at the Group of Eight (Go8) universities will be in high demand. In 2017, the Go8 universities attracted the largest share of undergraduate applications and rejected more applications than any […] … learn more→