When the state of California cut funding to the University of California system by US$619.3 million, or 19%, in the wake of the 2008-09 recession, the leaders of the UC system tried to spread the resulting economic pain to its employees in a fair way. More specifically, employees with bigger salaries took on larger cuts – […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
A way to make COVID-19 college furloughs more fair
More than 10,000 job losses, billions in lost revenue: coronavirus will hit Australia’s research capacity harder than the GFC
Australia’s researchers have answered the call to help with urgent pandemic clinical trials and other research needs, placing other work on hold. Experts across a broad range of disciplines are crucial to our health, mental health and economic well-being. And yet the COVID-19 pandemic has posed one of the most significant threats in history to […] … learn more→
Gulp – deadlines despite lockdown
Be kind to others and to yourself. Do what you can do. Make small daily goals. Be realistic. Celebrate every victory. Don’t be hard on yourself. These are extraordinary times. These are the messages that I and a lot of others have been spreading during lockdown. And I stand by those sentiments. However, seven weeks in […] … learn more→
A more holistic approach to knowledge will help prevent future pandemics
Human knowledge of viruses and human bodies has reached the molecular and even atomic scale, yet the past few months has revealed how vulnerable we remain to pandemics. This, in turn, illustrates that for all of humanity’s progress in understanding nature and humanity itself over the past centuries, some of the scientific problems and global […] … learn more→
For parents of colour, schooling at home can be an act of resistance
My 6-year-old hates the British. To be more specific, the British Empire that ruled over up to a quarter of the world’s land by the early 1900s. Hates that one of the biggest diamonds in the world, found in India over 1,000 years ago, now sits in the queen’s set of crown jewels. Hates that they drew up borders quickly and […] … learn more→
Look at 5 eCommerce trends that will fulfill your customer needs
It’s the survival of the fittest. You know that since to beat the fierce eCommerce competition adopting marketing trends is a must thing to do. Change is inevitable sometimes it can be in the form of a fad while other times it turns out to be a seismic shift. The following post will focus on […] … learn more→
This year’s ATAR could be even less predictive of student success than usual
With Covid-19 now under control in Australia, it is likely that most secondary schools will reopen in term two. This is good news as there has been much concern about the impact of the shutdown on students’ year 11 and 12 studies and their transition to university or college. There are eight different school systems […] … learn more→
At the time of Covid-19 , these fathers who make internet users laugh
In these times when families live withdrawn into their homes, fathers around the world are making headlines on social networks or video sharing platforms. Enough to provide an antidote to the anxiety generated by the Covid-19 epidemic. In their forties, some have proven their percussion skills with kitchen cupboards, in reference to the famous drums solo by Phil […] … learn more→
Teaching in the time of the coronavirus
This week, I’ve taught quantum mechanics to one of my dear students in quarantine in Shanghai. It is not the first time that I have talked about science to someone in a distant land, but it was nevertheless a heady event. It made me think about all my colleagues in universities and colleges around the […] … learn more→
Universities need a new compact with society and these should be the priorities
We recently argued in an essay in Fast Company that the many aftershocks emanating from the coronavirus pandemic will prevent any return to “normal”. Instead, we must plan for the new directions civilisation will take. Education, broadly understood, is one of humanity’s oldest institutions and a pillar of our collective civilisation. For the sake of […] … learn more→
