Subscription publishers’ responses to last week’s landmark announcement on open access by a dozen major European research funders was nothing if not predictable. Doom and gloom forecasts abounded about the end of quality science publishing, coupled with protestations that funders have no right to mandate author choices. All this is recycled nonsense. The funders – […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
Open access will curtail profits but not quality or freedom
Dhaka: how speeding bus drivers sparked a student insurrection
Traffic jams – or “janjot”, as locals call them – are a fundamental part of life in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Sometimes the slowness of the traffic can give you a sense of claustrophobia, as you’re trapped between vehicles that have become immovable objects. It’s easy to see why there is a growing ride-sharing business […] … learn more→
Lessons from White House disinformation a century ago: ‘It’s dangerous to believe your own propaganda
One hundred years ago, the U.S. government published documents that fueled the mounting Red Scare, helped justify the American military invasion of Russia and poisoned American-Russian relations for years to come. Newspapers across the United States began to publish the fake papers on Sept. 15, 1918. Unbeknownst to the government, the documents were forgeries. They were created by Russian […] … learn more→
The essay is failing us. Discuss
The suggestion that we should ditch assessed essays would once have been decried as heresy. Essays have been the mainstay of higher education assessment for many years, especially in the humanities, and have traditionally been thought of as the best way to assess a student’s ability to digest the literature on the topic in question […] … learn more→
Let’s teach students why math matters in the real world
“When will I ever use this?” It’s a question math and science teachers hear all the time from their high school students. Teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills is more important than ever, but it’s often difficult for students to understand the practical applications of such fundamental learning and how it will help […] … learn more→
What college rankings really measure – hint: It’s not quality or value
Each year various magazines and newspapers publish college rankings in an attempt to inform parents and prospective students which colleges are supposedly the best. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” – perhaps the most influential of these rankings – first appeared in 1983. Since then, many other rankings have emerged, assessing colleges and universities on cost, […] … learn more→
Christians stand up to University bullying
As schools become converged, taken over by this bizarre hate ideology, they remove everyone who doesn’t agree to it. They’ve already locked down the faculty on campus, but that was easy to do: faculty are only too happy to write and talk about their beliefs…those who didn’t virtue signal with sufficient sycophancy were easily identified […] … learn more→
Short-term contracts harm the ‘common good’ mission of universities
A new report from the Canadian Association of University Teachers has found that instead of the “attractive flexibility” university administrators use as a justification for hiring academics on short-term contracts, the reality of such contracts is that they are “discouraging and demoralizing”. Contract academics (CAS) are treated as though they do not belong in the […] … learn more→
Finishing a PhD … and starting a Masters degree?
In 2012 I was working in an independent medical research institute. Senior colleagues thought I was capable of a PhD. That level of academic achievement was somewhat mythical to me (my father never finished primary school), but it was an irresistible idea. I could spend hours with data and be called Dr. at the end […] … learn more→
Reasons to choose hotel management for a successful career
Hotel management is a career which is in high demand today. In a different part of the world, the most prestigious and world-class hotels like dhow cruise Dubai Marina or Mardan Palace Hotel needs staff to manage its services and here are the top reasons to choose hotel management as a career. Early responsibility Hotel […] … learn more→
