Monthly Archives: November 2018

Why battery-powered vehicles stack up better than hydrogen

Why battery-powered vehicles stack up better than hydrogen

Low energy efficiency is already a major problem for petrol and diesel vehicles. Typically, only 20% of the overall well-to-wheel energy is actually used to power these vehicles. The other 80% is lost through oil extraction, refinement, transport, evaporation, and engine heat. This low energy efficiency is the primary reason why fossil fuel vehicles are emissions-intensive, and […] … learn more→

Gender in science in Indonesia: why important gaps are lowered

Gender in science in Indonesia: why important gaps are lowered

Last August, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated that the opportunity for schools for women and men in Indonesia was almost equal. But gender equality has fallen by 50% when women enter the workforce because of gender bias in various occupations, so that only 30% of women work in the fields of science, technology and mathematics. In addition, the […] … learn more→

Community College as road to nowhere

Community College as road to nowhere

“Come to the community college! We’re cheap!” –typical promotion for a CC Unlike universities, community colleges can spring up very quickly. You don’t need departments, you barely even need faculty. All you need are some administrators to hire cheap adjuncts, cut-and-paste the curriculum used at a nearby legitimate school…and you’re basically set. This simple set […] … learn more→

Betsy DeVos has little to show after 2 years in office

Betsy DeVos has little to show after 2 years in office

Despite widespread fear that U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would dismantle the public system of education, she has failed to accomplish much of what she set out to do. That is my assessment as an educational policy researcher who has followed Secretary DeVos since she took the helm of the U.S. Department of Education in February 2017. DeVos’ objective has been similar […] … learn more→

How you can invest in your education to help further your career

How you can invest in your education to help further your career

Those in the professional world should continually try to improve themselves and never discontinue learning new things. The business world is constantly evolving which makes the ability to self-educate as important as ever. Companies do not want a person that gets a job then stops improving themselves in a personal and professional capacity. Many employers […] … learn more→

Test prep is a rite of passage for many Asian-Americans

Test prep is a rite of passage for many Asian-Americans

When ACT released its latest test scores this past October, the results showed that average scores took a dip for every racial group in the United States except one – Asian-Americans. A similar situation played out with the SAT. Asian-Americans experienced a gain over the prior year – 42 points on a 1600-point scale – whereas other groups had more […] … learn more→

PhD therapy animals

PhD therapy animals

Academics and writers have known about the therapeutic benefits of animals for many years. Mark Twain was regularly photographed with several cats draped over him, and a personal favourite image is of E.B. White sitting at his typewriter while his dog Minnie looks on. Contemporary academics and PhD students have adapted the trend for the […] … learn more→

Narrative of ideas

Narrative of ideas

I’ve just been reading a Fellowship application. The applicant is brilliant. She has a great project idea that is urgently needed, and had excellent potential to lead to both theoretical developments and real changes in practice. I was excited to read her application, because she has done great stuff in the past. She has an […] … learn more→