From Iraq to Afghanistan to the US, basic freedoms for women are being eroded as governments start rolling back existing laws. Just a few months ago a ban on Afghan women speaking in public was the latest measure introduced by the Taliban, who took back control of the country in 2021. From August the ban included singing, […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
How women’s basic rights and freedoms are being eroded all over the world
Friends on WhatsApp: How do they influence adolescence?
Brands are after them, users are chasing them, everyone wants them, and for some teens, it can become an obsession or a risk: they are the “likes” on Instagram, or the followers, subscribers, and friends on YouTube and TikTok. In other words, approvals and comments help teens of the “Alpha” generation (aged 12 to 17) […] … learn more→
Racism is such a touchy topic that many US educators avoid it – we are college professors who tackled that challenge head on
It is not easy to teach about race in today’s political and social climate. One hundred and sixty years after the United States abolished slavery, racial differences continue to spark pervasive misunderstanding, engender social separation and drive political and economic disparities. American educators are naturally intimidated and, at times, discouraged by the huge task before them. Yet race […] … learn more→
Parents face bullying
Discovering that your child is a victim or perpetrator of bullying can place a parent in a situation of failure, reactivate childhood wounds and transform family relationships. How can trust be restored? With the law aimed at combating school bullying and the freedom of speech on these situations, the taboo that weighed on this violence between students […] … learn more→
How do children learn good manners?
Ensuring kids have manners is a perennial preoccupation for parents and caregivers. How, then, do you teach good manners to children? Modelling good manners around the home and in your own interaction with others is obviously crucial. But there’s a clear uniting theme when it comes to manners in Australia: in Australian English, good manners centre on honouring personal […] … learn more→
A new ‘race science’ network is linked to a history of eugenics that never fully left academia
The Guardian and anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate have revealed the existence of a new network of far-right intellectuals and activists in an undercover investigation. Called the Human Diversity Foundation (HDF), this group advocates scientific racism and eugenics. Although it presents itself as having a scientific purpose, some of its figureheads have political ambitions in Germany and elsewhere. Research shows […] … learn more→
What are the limits of free speech? We may have arrived at them
Political operatives on the far right have long spoken about their ambition to shift the “Overton window”. The aim is to “mainstream” ideas long considered unthinkable, through gradual, step-by-step radicalisation and repetition – especially on hot-button issues such as immigration, sexuality, race and identity. If challenged, commentators respond by appealing to “free speech”, accusing their critics of […] … learn more→
How foreign operations are manipulating social media to influence your views
Foreign influence campaigns, or information operations, have been widespread in the run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Influence campaigns are large-scale efforts to shift public opinion, push false narratives or change behaviors among a target population. Russia, China, Iran, Israel and other nations have run these campaigns by exploiting social bots, influencers, media companies and generative AI. At the Indiana University Observatory on Social Media, my colleagues and […] … learn more→
Some online conspiracy-spreaders don’t even believe the lies they’re spewing
There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don’t believe their own content. They are opportunists. These people share conspiracy theories to […] … learn more→
Gen Z’s language might seem incomprehensible but slang has always sounded that way – just look at these five Victorian sayings
All Gen Z slang might sound like “skibidi” to older generations, but every era has had its own confusing slang. For every “gyatt” today (originally a variation of “god damn”, now referring to a curvy woman) there was a “dog my cats” or “od’s fish” in the Victorian era (both also meant something like “god […] … learn more→
