The aging of the population is an undeniable global trend with a social impact at all levels to the point that, as stated in the United Nations World Population Outlook Report (2017) , it is one of the social transformations most significant of the 21st century with consequences on services, health, education, family structure, forms of coexistence […] … learn more→

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is the 20th Etonian to become prime minister of the UK. Most of his cabinet is composed of privileged, privately educated people, with two-thirds of his ministers among the 7% of the population who went to fee-paying schools. With more than half of Britain’s senior judges, top civil servants and diplomats also privately educated […] … learn more→

Before cities there were swamps. Wetlands and swamps globally have been sacrificed to pave the way for housing, agriculture and industry. Urban developers and dwellers have largely overlooked the vital role that swamps play in buffering storms, capturing carbon, fostering life and filtering water. One of the biggest threats to swamps today is a lack of […] … learn more→

According to tech entrepreneur Patrick Collison and economist Tyler Cowen, academia needs a new discipline called “progress studies.” But their proposal overlooks two crucial facts: human progress has been an object of study for centuries, and innovators ignorant of that scholarship have had devastating effects on the planet and society. When Collison and Cowen write that “progress […] … learn more→

There’s a huge debate about homework and whether it helps kids learn during the school year. But everyone agrees that homework can take lots of time. The most commonly accepted guidelines recommend one hour for middle school and two hours for high school. However, I think this amount of time on homework every day can be too much. The […] … learn more→

For many students, pressure and expectation are just another part of the school experience. There is pressure to perform certain tasks, conform to uniform standards and to achieve one’s full potential. Then there are the expectations – that students will do their homework, turn up on time, and perform to the best of their ability. Pressure is even higher […] … learn more→

I don’t go to American Thinker often, but a recent post there from an “old white professor” has some good advice…though I have a bit to add. Advice to the College-Bound from the Old, White Professor While the advice is good, the professor here doesn’t realize that most battles are decided before the first drop […] … learn more→

When we talk about historical research, several concepts such as the past, history and a series of images and notions about what, supposedly, happened long ago, come to mind. This linear, rigid, objective and monolithic perception of history that is often confused with the past is the introduction to this article. And we say this since the past is not understood […] … learn more→

Graduation is over. The banners have been folded up for another year, the tide of new graduates has ebbed from the campus, along with frenetic waves of proud parents. Stoical folk from hospitality are retrieving the last of the wine glasses from their resting places around the public statuary, while pigeons pick tentatively at the […] … learn more→

How do you help and support your precariat colleagues? At Research Whisperer, we engage a lot with issues of precarity and casualisation. We think it’s a huge issue that needs urgent address in academia, and it’s a global problem. We were recently invited to speak to casuals at an NTEU Victoria event where I talked […] … learn more→