Late last year, a PhD student named Yuekang Li was refused a study visa to enter Canada. Why? Canada’s Federal Court was concerned he could be “targeted and coerced into providing information that would be detrimental to Canada”. Li wasn’t the only one. Earlier this month, Iranian computer engineering student Reza Jahantigh was denied a visa to study his PhD in […] … learn more→

A Kenyan vice-chancellor recently went public about the scarcity of university professors. There are fewer than 1,000 professors for the country’s 68 universities and 562,925 students. That is an average of around 563 students per professor. South Africa has around 4,034 professors and 1,112,439 students – around 275 students per professor. Professors occupy the highest teaching rank in the university. They […] … learn more→

Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as rewarding when you are hungry and water as rewarding when you are thirsty. But addictive substances like alcohol and drugs of abuse can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in intolerable cravings and reduced impulse control. A popular misconception is […] … learn more→

Imagine you’ve gone out to café and you ask for a salad. What arrives is a chopping board, a knife, a bowl, a lettuce, a tomato, a carrot, a bundle of random herbs, a mystery fruit and sundry bottles and jars. You are surprised. This wasn’t what you were expecting. And you really don’t know what […] … learn more→

The stereotypes surrounding very intelligent people have evolved over the years. Two images predominate in the collective imagination. In the first, people with high abilities are excellent in all areas of their lives. The second view is related to the myth of the maladaptive and problematic genius, especially in socio-emotional areas. About two-thirds of the population have this second […] … learn more→

Look.  I don’t really want to start the new year off with a rant. But I just can’t sit on this any longer. I’m climbing onto my soap box now, taking up my megaphone and shouting. THERE ARE NO RULES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING. THERE ARE CONVENTIONS. THERE ARE EXPECTATIONS. AND YES. THERE ARE THINGS WE NEED […] … learn more→

Let’s imagine that we hear the alert on our mobile phone: we have received a message. When we open it, we read: “Hey, bro, I’m telling my mother that I’m going out like I’m going to the street calmly, that yesterday I was going three-phase even though that place was crazy as it is, but some […] … learn more→

Cyber-skulduggery is becoming the bane of modern life. Australia’s prime minister has called it a “scourge”, and he is correct. In 2022–23, nearly 94,000 cyber crimes were reported in Australia, up 23% on the previous year. In the latest high-profile attack, around 15,000 customers of alcohol retailer Dan Murphy, Mexican restaurant chain Guzman y Gomez, Event Cinemas, and […] … learn more→

When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with heightened levels of anxiety, stress and emotional need. But as school officials seek to put resources toward student well-being, another school population is possibly being overlooked: teachers. Teachers are experiencing high levels of stress, […] … learn more→

  Misinformation is the number one risk facing society over the next two years, according to the World Economic Forum. With key elections due in the US, UK and many other nations this year, an onslaught of political misinformation can be expected. Some of this material is distributed through paid advertising on social media, like the […] … learn more→