Air pollution has been found to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths every year around the world. As a result, there has been growing public concern about the health impacts of roadside air pollution – especially in the wake of the 2016 Volkswagen scandal, when investigations found that almost a million tonnes of excess pollution […] … learn more→

There are growing calls for a debate about the role of post-school in society, both in Australia and overseas. After 30 years of constant expansion, some complain that universities have become too vocational in nature – too focused on jobs, not enough on the art of inquiry. At the same time, the vocational education sector […] … learn more→

Making small talk with someone who’s just given a talk, whether at a conference or at a colloquium or invited talk, can feel intimidating, especially if you’re a student or early in your academic career. But as someone who’s currently spending a lot of time on the opposite side of that divide, I’ve realized that […] … learn more→

Earlier this month the 11th annual CrossFit Games took place in the US. While the event has come a long way from humble beginnings, the prizemoney and fame now attached to it have led to concerns that competitors may be doping to gain an unfair advantage. CrossFit is a fitness regime practised by people all […] … learn more→

I know my title is unsurprising on two levels, since administration lies about everything, always, and it’s well known that conservative thinkers aren’t allowed to speak on our campuses now…but the title says so much all the same. Even if conservatism is fundamentally wrong, fundamentally flawed, the worst thing that ever happened to humanity…conservatives should […] … learn more→

I am often asked about the ways in which I use blogs for research purposes. I take this question to mean I should talk about something other than the usual blogging that I do. So here goes. I have played around with various research-related blogging strategies. Here are two that seem to have worked fairly […] … learn more→

Students at universities are not the only ones who suffer from mental ill-health. While in recent years they have arguably received more attention, particularly in the UK, academic staff at universities and other higher education institutions require support too. In fact, the recent suicide of a professor in the US has sparked renewed discussions about supporting the mental health […] … learn more→

Doing background reading, undertaking leading-edge research, and analysing the results may seem like the hard part. In fact, they may well be hard, but these elements are often the aspects of research that, as a PhD student, you find easier to carry out. It’s the research process, and you must have been good at it in […] … learn more→

The heads of more than 100 of the world’s top artificial intelligence companies are very alarmed about the development of “killer robots”. In an open letter to the UN, these business leaders – including Tesla’s Elon Musk and the founders of Google’s DeepMind AI firm – warned that autonomous weapon technology could be misused by […] … learn more→

In this era of instant global transfer of information, accessible international travel and rapid technological advances, young people necessarily have the potential to be global citizens. Universities set themselves the aim of providing a truly international experience for their students and staff. I am a profound believer in the merits of globalisation and the moral […] … learn more→