In May, a multibillion-dollar UK-based multinational called Informa announced in a trading update that it had signed a deal with Microsoft involving “access to advanced learning content and data, and a partnership to explore AI expert applications”. Informa is the parent company of Taylor & Francis, which publishes a wide range of academic and technical books and journals, […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
An academic publisher has struck an AI data deal with Microsoft – without their authors’ knowledge
Is your child’s photo on their school Facebook page? What does this mean for their privacy?
If you search most primary or high school websites, you will likely find a images of happy, smiling children. Students images are also used publicly for school newsletters, social media accounts and other school publications like annual reports. Parents could reasonably expect schools and educations departments have conducted thorough checks and evaluations to do this. […] … learn more→
It’s hard to reach out to old friends, but doing so may help alleviate loneliness
Millions of Canadians are lonely. This is worrisome because loneliness, defined by the World Health Organization as “the social pain of not feeling connected,” predicts both lower mental and physical health. Research shows that lacking a sense of social connection can pose an equivalent health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. To combat loneliness, people are […] … learn more→
The challenges of the fight against doping in Paris 2024
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will bring together more than 10,000 athletes competing in 32 different sports, all of whom will be subject to the rules set out in the World Anti-Doping Code . The International Testing Agency (ITA) will be responsible for organising and managing all the controls at this major sporting event, which is returning to […] … learn more→
Sports in extreme heat: How high school athletes can safely prepare for the start of practice, and the warning signs of heat illness
High school sports teams start practices soon in what has been an extremely hot summer in much of the country. Now, before they hit the field, is the time for athletes to start slowly and safely building up strength and stamina. Studies have found that the greatest risk of heat illness occurs in the first two weeks of team […] … learn more→
What does mathematics really say about reality?
“This immense book that always stands open before our eyes, I mean the Universe […] is written in the language of mathematics ,” wrote Galileo, the founding figure of modern science. The aim of this article is to question this tenacious presupposition in science, according to which the notions of reality, language and truth maintain robust and […] … learn more→
Meditation can be harmful – and can even make mental health problems worse
Since mindfulness it’s something you can practice at home for free, it often sounds like the perfect tonic for stress and mental health issues. Mindfulness is a type of Buddhist-based meditation in which you focus on being aware of what you’re sensing, thinking and feeling in the present moment. The first recorded evidence for this, […] … learn more→
What if we are neither science nor humanities experts? What multiple intelligences tell us
Surely on more than one occasion we have had to answer the question of whether we are “science or humanities” as if there were no other way to classify ourselves. Or we have resorted to the explanation: “It’s that I am a science (or humanities) person” to get around an uncomfortable situation or justify our […] … learn more→
Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’ is just the latest action plan from a group with an over 50-year history of steering GOP lawmaking
As the 2024 presidential election heats up, some people are hearing about the Heritage Foundation for the first time. The conservative think tank has a new, ambitious and controversial policy plan, Project 2025, which calls for an overhaul of American public policy and government. Project 2025 lays out many standard conservative ideas – like prioritizing energy production over environmental and […] … learn more→
After more than 40 years, the federal right to free education for immigrant students finds itself in the crosshairs of conservatives
Texas once had a law that allowed public schools to charge tuition for undocumented immigrant families to send their children to school. The rationale was that taxpayer dollars should not be spent educating children whose families were not in the U.S. legally. When the Supreme Court struck down the law in 1982, it held that young […] … learn more→
