When colleges and universities began to make the SAT an optional part of the admissions process, the hope was that it would expand access to the nation’s most selective institutions to groups that had historically been shut out. The reality is – at least at selective liberal arts colleges – the decision by a growing number of […] … learn more→

Making publication criteria a key requirement for academic promotion in Pakistan was always going to throw up problems. First, it took its inevitable toll on teaching, with ambitious scholars becoming more intent on churning out papers. The biggest rewards are reserved for those who publish in so-called high-impact international journals. Such a policy has well-known […] … learn more→

Imagine making one of the biggest purchases in your life and having no idea what the price is. You walk into a car dealership, for example, excited to purchase a new car. You test drive a few cars and select the one that you think is the best fit, but instead of then being told […] … learn more→

Students are normally considered to be among the most politically active sectors of society, often campaigning for such idealistic goals as equality and social justice. At the other end of the spectrum are the autocrats who sustain their regimes with the mantra of stability, whether that be linked to conservatism or modernisation. One of the […] … learn more→

How often do you, outside the requirements of an assignment, ponder things like the workings of a distant star, the innards of your phone camera, or the number and layout of petals on a flower? Maybe a little bit, maybe never. Too often, people regard science as sitting outside the general culture: A specialized, difficult […] … learn more→

Following our annual Christmas overindulgence, many of us have set ambitious goals for the year ahead. But eating healthy shouldn’t just mean cutting down on snacks; given the environmental impact of food production, a more sustainable diet should feature high on everyone’s list of New Year’s resolutions. Australians have one of the largest per capita dietary environmental […] … learn more→

Arguments about “screen time” are likely to crop up in many households with children these holidays. As one of the best-selling digital games of all time, Minecraft will be a likely culprit. In a recent survey of Australian adults, excessive “screen time” was rated as the top child health concern, but current time limit guidelines […] … learn more→

Dual immersion programs are on the rise across the U.S. While the exact number of schools offering dual immersion is unknown, the latest estimates suggest that there are more than 2000 schools (and this number continues to grow) where content area instruction is delivered in English and an additional language throughout the day. This growth […] … learn more→

The world is so dramatically different from what it was 20 years ago, it’s shocking. It used to be a big deal to have a cell phone back then, but nowadays not only does everyone have a cell phone (except me, when not travelling), but these phones have literally all the information of humanity available. […] … learn more→

We all know what bloat is. If something is bloated it is swollen, puffed up, flabby, distended, enlarged. Right now, we probably associate bloat with eating too much over the festive season. But bloat also happens in academic writing. A lot of academic writing is on the bloated side. You can pick up almost any […] … learn more→