Thousands of high school students across the nation left their classesMarch 14 precisely at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes. The walkout served two purposes: to honor the 17 people – including 14 students – killed exactly one month ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and to call for stronger gun control laws. Organized by a Women’s March unit called […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
What the National school walkout says about schools and free speech
Teaching students how to dissent is part of democracy
In scenes unprecedented in previous school shootings, the past few weeks have been marked by students taking to the streets, to the media, to corporations and elected officials in protest over gun practices and policies. Responses to these teens have been mixed. Some have celebrated their passion. Some concluded that the students are immature and don’t yet fully grasp longstanding issues with […] … learn more→
International Women’s Day: there is no female version of the ‘old boys’ network’
As a young academic, I can say with a certain level of confidence that my gender will stifle my career progression. Most probably, I will become just another droplet leaking out of the academic pipeline. Although as a culture we value separating our private and professional lives, the #MeToo phenomenon forces us to think about sexual […] … learn more→
7 Healthcare concerns in 2018
The first year of President Trump’s administration has been strife with a lot of debatable policies. One of the topics of debate that’s dominated the headlines in 2017 is the Affordable Care Act and the future of the American healthcare system. Robert I. Field, a professor of law and healthcare management at Drexel University, pointed […] … learn more→
Combatting online bullying is different for girls and boys: here’s why
Demands for improving online safety continue to capture headlines, often for the worst reasons.. While this outcry has signalled renewed interest in “stamping out” cyberbullying and reinvigorated health and wellbeing protocols for young people, interventions continue to fall behind the fast-paced development of communication devices and the take-up of new social media by teenagers. The […] … learn more→
Why Altered Carbon is not about the future – and nor is any other science fiction
The hopes and dreams of the technological movement known as “transhumanism” have been brought into the media spotlight thanks to Netflix’s new science fiction series, Altered Carbon (based on Richard Morgan’s 2001 novel). Transhumanists believe that our species will soon undergo a technological evolution into a new and superior form. While there is no single template for transhumanism’s imagined future, […] … learn more→
Pizzagate rabbithole: Who feeds the pigs?
A recent “suicide” leads me to write again of things besides higher education, and see as it’s Friday, let’s have a little thought experimet: Mark Salling committed suicide and his cause of death was asphyxia by hanging, coroner’s report reveals This is the second Glee actor to commit suicide. This particular guy was under investigation […] … learn more→
The history of philosophy
Philosophy has deep roots, with a clear historical evolution. It is about knowledge, and the argument for why (and how) we exist in the first place. Western Philosophy is considered by many to be the foundation of philosophy in our modern times. Early philosophers before Socrates focused hypotheses on metaphysics, or the Study of Existence […] … learn more→
Why there need to be more autistic characters in children’s books
The children’s writer Michael Morpurgo has written a new novel inspired by his autistic grandson, which is set to be published later this year. Flamingo Boy is set in the Camargue in the south of France during World War II and features a boy who “sees the world differently”. Morpurgo explained how it didn’t occur […] … learn more→
Tech diplomacy: cities drive a new era of digital policy and innovation
France recently appointed a tech ambassador to the Silicon Valley. French President Emmanuel Macron named David Martinon as “ambassador for digital affairs”, with jurisdiction over the digital issues that the foreign affairs ministry deals with. This includes digital governance, international negotiations and support for digital companies’ export operations. The appointment is part of France’s international digital […] … learn more→