Tech companies are always in the news, usually touting the next big thing. However, the tech news cycle recently hasn’t been dominated by the latest gadget or innovation. Instead, layoffs are in the headlines. In the last year, more than 70,000 people globally have been laid off by Big Tech companies – and that doesn’t count […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: January 2023
Big Tech is firing employees by the thousands. Why? And how worried should we be?
Why labour strife at universities should concern us all
Universities are important public institutions. The education of students and the research undertaken on campuses have a broad impact throughout our economy and society. In Canada, a significant portion of university budgets also comes from government. In smaller cities and towns, universities are often among the largest employers in addition to serving as important community […] … learn more→
Fighting Anti-Semitism: Teaching the Holocaust in the Age of Twitter and TikTok
In the age of the Internet, anti-Semitic remarks and Holocaust denial speech no longer circulate only in marginal hate groups but are exposed to everyone on social networks. High-profile figures like Ye – formerly known as Kayne West – or NBA player Kyrie Irving have echoed anti-Semitic ideas on their online accounts recently. Beyond these media figures , worrying survey results also […] … learn more→
ChatGPT: Chatbots can help us rediscover the rich history of dialogue
It is time to take human-AI dialogue seriously again. With the release of sophisticated chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, effective human-AI dialogue has become interesting and accessible to everyone. Even to students writing essays, which has led to some academic concerns. How will we know if what we read was written by an AI and why is that […] … learn more→
How conflict between parents affects children
Disagreements and conflicts are inherent in human relationships and are therefore common in the family environment. In the collective imagination, the concept of conflict has negative connotations. Yet, disagreeing and having different opinions on any issue can be an opportunity to learn, grow or improve situations and, therefore, have constructive and rewarding consequences. For this, it […] … learn more→
Free online courses could be a path to higher education in African countries but awareness is low
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the largest regions in the world and has the lowest rates of participation in higher education anywhere in the world. The World Bank reported in 2020 that only 9.4% of the region’s tertiary education age group is enrolled. The global average ratio is 38%. Education is a key catalyst of economic emancipation. Open […] … learn more→
Are car accident Lawyers worth it?
Many people often get into car accidents and don’t seek help from car accident lawyers. With 1.3 million fatal car accidents occurring every year, millions more leading to injuries, and still more leading to damages, it’s important to understand just how critical hiring a car accident lawyer is. Below are some of the many ways a car accident […] … learn more→
Online racial harassment leads to lower academic confidence for Black and Hispanic students
Online racial discrimination or harassment has a negative effect on the academic and emotional well-being of students of color. That is the key finding from a study I published recently in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. For the study, I surveyed 356 Black and Hispanic teens across the U.S. I analyzed their responses to questions about […] … learn more→
How spatial thinking could help children learn maths – and go on to use it in their careers
Do you struggle to visualise how to rotate your shoes so that they nest together in a shoe box? How are you with flat-packed furniture? Are you good at giving directions? These everyday activities require spatial thinking. Spatial thinking is important for mathematics, and it is what we use to understand the properties of objects, […] … learn more→
Lots of people believe in Bigfoot and other pseudoscience claims – this course examines why
Title of course “Psychology of Pseudoscience” What prompted the idea for the course? While teaching a course on research methods at the United States Air Force Academy, I concluded that the course needed a bigger emphasis on broad scientific reasoning skills. So I incorporated material about the difference between science – the systematic process of evidence-based […] … learn more→