The University of California’s recent negotiations with Elsevier achieved a better deal for researchers than was initially given to them when they walked away in 2018. After a two-year standoff, during which academics at the multi-campus system had no direct access to paywalled Elsevier content, the publisher largely bowed to California’s demand to cut overall costs while allowing California […] … learn more→
Academics must become more engaged in the open access struggle
Stress management: six lessons parents can take from pandemic homeschooling
Now that children in the UK are back to school, parents have the opportunity to reflect on what can be learned from lockdown homeschooling. Or as some rightly took to calling it, crisis schooling. New research we have conducted examines parents’ experiences of homeschooling – and what made their stress better or worse – during the first lockdown […] … learn more→
Universities need to look disaster resilience in the eye
Climate change is irreversible. While it is important for universities to reduce their carbon footprints to prevent further damage to the environment, this will do little to mitigate current and ongoing threats – including to their own estate. Each year, universities suffer from extreme weather events that are increasing in frequency and intensity as a […] … learn more→
Six books to rediscover the universe of Roald Dahl
With the exception of Charles Dickens in the XIX th century and JK Rowling at the end of the XX th century, few British children’s literature writers whose works have enjoyed a reception as enthusiastic in their lifetime than that been reserved for the works of Roald Dahl. And the author’s success continues today and goes beyond the boundaries of […] … learn more→
To school you have to walk and with friends
Covid-19 has shown that the world we know can change at any moment. The stress caused by economic, political and social insecurity can lead us to think that planning for the future, even the near and simple one, may seem impossible. For many people, these situations have only compounded the growing sense of insecurity. Although these are […] … learn more→
The benefits of studying in Canada
Canada’s education system is known for being one of the best in the world. Young people travel from all over the world to study at Canada’s well-known universities, such as the University of Toronto, or prestigious colleges such as the Centennial College. There are many benefits of studying in Canada. Multiculturalism is something Canada stands […] … learn more→
Do the Courts favor mothers in custody battles?
Divorce can be exceptionally difficult for families with children. While the mother used to be favored in custody battles, that is no longer the case and there are several considerations that have to be factored into a court decision. The most important consideration is the child’s best interest, but the relationships between each parent and […] … learn more→
A religious symbol, not a knife: at the heart of the NSW kirpan ban is a battle to define secularism
The New South Wales government has put a temporary ban on Sikh students carrying a kirpan in public schools. The kirpan is a ceremonial dagger baptised Sikhs carry to symbolise their duty to stand up against injustice. The ban was put in place after a 14-year-old boy used a kirpan to stab a 16-year-old at a high school in […] … learn more→
Universities should not swat the public intellectual gadfly
I have been in the academic equivalent of the Priory detox clinic for some time now. The turning point came when I came across The Last Intellectuals by American historian Russell Jacoby. Published in 1987, this sharp, sometimes ironic and often scornful paean to the disappearing public intellectual not only changed my scholarly interests but […] … learn more→
To what extent are we are ruled by unconscious forces?
Sometimes when I ask myself why I’ve made a certain choice, I realise I don’t actually know. To what extent we are ruled by things we aren’t conscious of? – Paul, 43, London Why did you buy your car? Why did you fall in love with your partner? When we start to examine the basis […] … learn more→