For the Golden State of California, 1960 was a golden year: It was a time of rapid development, when the state chose to use its tax revenues to fund magnificent freeways and other infrastructure. Part of this massive development was a system of public higher education – a model that put California center stage in the American […] … learn more→
Author Archives: Kevin
California’s higher education: From American dream to dilemma
Revised data shows Community Colleges have been underappreciated
A college degree is the key to unlocking many of the best careers in the modern labor market. But more than 20 million working-age adults in the United States are college dropouts, failed in some way by institutions that collectively receive hundreds of billions of dollars in public funding every year. For the last few decades, the […] … learn more→
More bad news for female teachers
I post in forums, and it’s so weird when politicized topics come up. For example, I mentioned how Google modifies its search engine to steer searches away from information detrimental to Hillary Clinton (this was during the last election, although what Amazon is doing with Hillary’s book today is no different. I’m called a conspiracy theorist […] … learn more→
South Africa can’t afford to see its universities pitch over the precipice
For the past two years the actions of government and protesting studentshave slowly started squeezing South Africa’s universities into a shadow of their former selves. In his book “As by Fire” prominent educationalist Jonathan Jansen argues that South Africa is witnessing the end of its universities. He explains that this doesn’t mean the doors will close. Registration will […] … learn more→
The month of hell (TM)
I first saw the film of David Mamet’s play Glengarry Glen Ross(1992), as an undergraduate pursuing a degree in literature and film, around 2004. It chimed with my ideas about the sort of working future I didn’t want to have, and the meaninglessness of labour under capitalism, but otherwise I thought little more about it – […] … learn more→
Why it’s time to lay the stereotype of the ‘teen brain’ to rest
A deficit in the development of the teenage brain has been blamed for teens’ behavior in recent years, but it may be time to lay the stereotype of the wild teenage brain to rest. Brain deficits don’t make teens do risky things; lack of experience and a drive to explore the world are the real […] … learn more→
An AI professor explains: three concerns about granting citizenship to robot Sophia
I was surprised to hear that a robot named Sophia was granted citizenship by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The announcement last week followed the Kingdom’s commitment of US$500 billion to build a new city – Neom powered by robotics and renewables. One of the most honourable concepts for a human being, to be a citizen and all that […] … learn more→
8 Benefits of gaming rely on scientific research!
Nowadays, it’s easy to access video games because the gaming industry is growing fast as well as having a variety of devices that support the user. In particular, mobile games are a new trend in the world. There are many types of games, and this article will talk about games that can help you reduce […] … learn more→
The problem with “taking offense”
The notion that college student protesters are reacting to “offensive” speech has held outsized influence in national debates about free speech and student unrest on campus. The right’s preoccupation with the idea of the “offended” student—the “crybully,” the “snowflake,” the “little fascist”—is so integral to conservative political identity in the Trump era that it’s elevated […] … learn more→
How should Australia respond to China’s influence in our universities?
The federal government is concerned about Chinese influence in Australia, particularly on universities. While we don’t know exactly how deep this influence runs, we do know quite a bit. Financially, many Australian universities depend on international students from mainland China. It was recently suggested that 16% of the University of Sydney’s revenue comes from these students. Over the past two decades, this […] … learn more→
