“Plagiarism” is the name of the collective neurosis of academic life – and it’s only getting worse. Academics worry endlessly about both being plagiarised and being accused of plagiarism. The concern has even extended to self-plagiarism, which in a saner world would be regarded as an ordinary exercise of the author’s copyright. Moreover, the neurosis […] … learn more→

As Australian students start university, failure is probably the last thing they want to think about. But university failure is depressingly common. Our study in a large Australian university found up to 52% of students in education, civil engineering, nursing and commerce failed at least one unit during their degree. Failure is painful and costly for students, […] … learn more→

You might have heard that Australia caught fire this summer. Almost 5 million hectares have been burned – an area larger than Denmark – and the scale and ferocity of the megafires focused global news coverage Down Under for several weeks around Christmas. Even those in the northern hemisphere might have felt the smoke at the […] … learn more→

Welcome to 2020! I hope you managed a break of some form because we know that rest and recuperation matter. For me, it was good to kick back and disconnect from the work-a-day load and anxieties, and focus on recharging in my own way – here’s how I went. Seeing the year out in 2019 with a […] … learn more→

Essays are a part of the college life. As a matter of fact, they are a huge portion of the college life. Students out there will be all too familiar with the essay process – unless you find a professional essay writing service – by the time they graduate and will likely hope to never […] … learn more→

During the last couple of decades, new types of parents have emerged. From the anxiously involved helicopter parents to the pushy tiger mums, these differing styles all have one thing in common: they tend to involve over-parenting. This is where parents micromanage their children’s lives – giving them little autonomy, putting too much pressure on them to achieve […] … learn more→

Microsoft’s recent announcement that it would end support for users of its Windows 7 operating system had stress written all over it. The company advised that important day-to-day tasks such as personal banking and online shopping would no longer be safe on users’ now out-of-date and hacker-friendly Windows computers. It’s hard to know how many people are […] … learn more→

I’m working away from my desk, as my out of office assistant puts it. But I’m still very much working. I’m writing out of place. I don’t have my usual working set up. And not just for a couple of days but actually for quite a lengthy period of time. I’m writing on a netbook […] … learn more→

Since January 22, high school students who want to continue their studies in higher education can register their wishes on the Parcoursup site . Bringing together the majority of post-baccalaureate training, this platform succeeded the Post-Bac Admission system, known as APB, which was subject to multiple criticisms – certain high-voltage fields had decided between candidates by lot in 2017. With Parcoursup, […] … learn more→

Every disease outbreak brings an accompanying outbreak of fear. Already we’re seeing coverage on the spread of coronavirus fear which leads to misinformation, an effect on the economy and, perhaps the most alarming, xenophobia . Social stigmatisation and xenophobia are, unfortunately, well known features of disease outbreaks. And there is potential for xenophobic sentiment to build in Australian schools. In an outbreak situation, xenophobia does not feel like […] … learn more→