The traces left by individuals on the internet and social media constitute a considerable source of digital data, known as big data. Some predicted the death of the social sciences with the emergence of this massive data set. On the contrary, it seems that the social sciences are transforming and refining their research methods thanks […] … learn more→

I wake up in the morning and the first thing I do is check my phone. I snooze my alarm, and after it snoozes, I get up. While I get organized for the day, I check social media, email, and digital newspapers from the same device. All before I’ve even had breakfast. On my way […] … learn more→

Why modern therapy is the most crucial part of your recovery We’ve been there. You finally hit rock bottom and take that first step into treatment. You’re tired of living in a haze, of letting drugs or alcohol control your life. The good news? Recovery is possible. But what most people don’t realize is that […] … learn more→

Still reading. This month it’s Schmit, John S (2022)The sociolinguistics of written identity, Constructing a self. Cham, Switzerland: PalgraveMacmillan. Schmit is a writing and linguistics professor. His book examines how students develop written identities in academic settings and the complex relationship between language, power, and social class in educational settings. I found it interesting- well, I always […] … learn more→

Disney celebrated the 75th anniversary of Cinderella in February this year, with the message that she didn’t just believe in dreams, but did something about them by going to the palace to get Prince Charming. The message emphasizes individual persistence for a happy ending, and projects popular ideas often entrenched in how undergraduate students learn about economics — […] … learn more→

People are now routinely using chatbots to write computer code, summarize articles and books, or solicit advice. But these chatbots are also employed to quickly generate text from scratch, with some users passing off the words as their own. This has, not surprisingly, created headaches for teachers tasked with evaluating their students’ written work. It’s also created issues for people seeking advice […] … learn more→

Beyond the media hype, what do child-free tourism options really represent? Beyond the marketing rhetoric of some and the outrage of others, the situation and motivations are more complex than the fantasized image. While they call into question the place of children in our society, these new offerings also reveal fundamental social problems. We can […] … learn more→

“Earning a humanities degree was not only life changing, in terms of opening up a world of knowledge otherwise beyond my reach, it also turns out to have been enormously productive – for me and many, many people around me,” said Tim Winton this week. “My little arts degree has created jobs and cultural value for over […] … learn more→

According to Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes against Jews rose by 82 per cent in 2023. In the months following Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza, university campuses across Canada became sites of tension, protest and divisions. Jewish students and faculty increasingly reported feeling alone, excluded and targeted. As our research has examined, despite these urgent realities, Jewish identity and antisemitism […] … learn more→

As a molecular biologist, talking to the public about my work with DNA has often felt like trying to translate a foreign language. This got me thinking: could these scientific ideas be presented in an artistic way, to help people engage with them? The intersection of science and art is important for a few reasons. […] … learn more→