Cultural attitudes are crucial for Australia in this Asian Century, specifically, the cultural attitudes of Australian young people. More...22 avril 2019
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Cultural attitudes are crucial for Australia in this Asian Century, specifically, the cultural attitudes of Australian young people. More...Learning experience: let’s take consciousness in from the cold
Until 20 years ago, scientists interested in empirical work on consciousness – our private subjective experiences – hid it by minimising or eliminating the “c-word”, the use of which was a career-limiting (or at least fund-limiting) move. More...Lost professors: we won’t need academics in 60 years
The University of Melbourne was founded in 1885 with five professors teaching 15 students. In 1952, at the start of the post-war tertiary boom, there were around 3,000 Australian academics teaching 30,000 students across eight Universities. More...Teaching the nature of science (and keeping students engaged)
Declining student engagement has been a source of angst for scientists and educators for some time, and has resulted in no end of solutions being offered by no end of well-meaning individuals – solutions that include streamlining the entry of practising scientists into schools, paying science teachers more than those of other subjects and improving pre-service teacher education. More...Why do female academics give up on becoming professors?
Australian higher education is often seen as a female-friendly industry, with overall numbers of both female students and academic staff outnumbering men. Yet women remain a minority as senior academics. More...A vice-chancellor’s defence of academic freedom
Among the report’s recommendations is the establishment of a new body to oversee the media. Some regard this as an attack on freedom of the press – even freedom of speech itself. More...Teaching kids to think critically about climate
The NSW Year 7-10 science syllabus reflects the accepted scientific view: “students will learn about waste from resource use and identify excessive use of fossil fuels as a contributing factor to a greenhouse effect”. The new Australian Curriculum: Science includes similar content: “explaining the causes and effects of the greenhouse effect” and “investigating the effect of climate change on sea levels and biodiversity”. More...Universities can’t all be the same – it’s time we embraced diversity
The university “brand” has been developed over some eight centuries. There have been many changes in that time, with much regional variation. For example, in the 19th century British universities were largely teaching institutions while German universities took leadership in research. More...High impact: how the story of research can be told better
When it comes to engaging with industry, government and the broader community, there is one secret weapon that is often overlooked in the university sector – the humble story. The art of storytelling is not one the sector is particularly proficient at, and nowhere is that more evident than in the world of university research. More...Particles and persecution: why we should care about Iranian physicists
On a given day, your typical physicist is mainly preoccupied with trying to understand the intimate secrets of the universe. As with most academics, we get to visit one another in parts of the world to discuss our ideas. And as long as our curiosity continues to produce valuable contributions, we’re given the freedom and resources to pursue our academic endeavours.That is, unless you’re a physicist in Iran. On January 12 2010, as he left for work, Professor Masoud Alimohammadi was assassinated by the blast from a motorcycle bomb detonated outside his car. More...
