My kind readers often give me “hints” on what to write about, and I had several point me in the direction of a strange-looking course, via ZeroHedge. First let’s address the course by dissecting the course description: QUEER ECOLOGIES FALL 2018 TAUGHT BY: HEATHER DAVIS SECTION: A CRN: 7681 Credits: 4 The professor is Heather […] … learn more→

When somebody can juggle lots of things at the same time, we often say that they are good “multitaskers.” All of us multitask once in a while. But psychologists have been warning us about it for decades. Some say it’s harmful to productivity and others say you can’t do it at all. For example, talking on the phone while […] … learn more→

Sexual harassment is widespread and affects the lives of women and girls, in particular, every day. In the face of calls to tackle sexual harassment and violence, the UK government committed to carry out a review to see if misogyny should be treated as a hate crime. This review is a welcome and important step, but studies we conducted […] … learn more→

The student loan scam has destroyed many lives in this country, and people are finally starting to balk at letting their kids take out ridiculously huge loans, particularly for degrees which offer little hope of paying back the loan…these days, that’s most degrees. Eager to snatch up more students, and knowing that loans just aren’t […] … learn more→

As you begin reading this article, you may be wondering how a mere mortal dares to ask a question like the title. Because you think that the evolution of the rules governing the use of French is the sole responsibility of immortals sheltered under the dome of the French Academy. But, as the Academy rightly […] … learn more→

Yesterday the shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, announcedLabor plans to invest an additional A$174 million in the higher education sector if there’s a change of government at the next election. This extra funding would be to give first in family students, students from outer suburbs and the country, Indigenous students, and students with a disability a […] … learn more→

Gender equality – and the unconscious biases that challenge it – is now a mainstream concern in academic life. Codes of conduct are drawn up in efforts to support dignity at work and at study. Efforts are made to free senior academic appointments from gender bias. Many believe there is a long way yet to […] … learn more→

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 13·5% of the global population but less than 1% of global research output. In 2008, Africa produced 27 000 published papers – the same number as the Netherlands. There are some areas of improvement. A 2014 World Bank study showed that the quantity and quality of sub-Saharan Africa’s research had increased substantially in the previous 20 years. It more […] … learn more→

Schools are often where children’s and adolescents’ mental health problems are identified. While there is ever growing demand for mental health support for pupils, such as in-school counselling and mentoring, the focus now – just like for any health problem – should be more on prevention than intervention. Prevention makes sense financially, given that specialist mental health services for […] … learn more→

Back when I taught at a predominantly white, selective liberal arts college, I came across a book called “Acting White? Rethinking Race in ‘Post-Racial’ America.” In the book, legal scholars Devon Carbado and Mitu Gulati argue that in the “post-racial” era, white-controlled organizations prefer to hire “‘good blacks’ who will think of themselves as people first […] … learn more→