By Mohammed Estaiteyeh, Assistant Professor of Digital Pedagogies and Technology Literacies, Faculty of Education, Brock University
Rahul Kumar, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Brock University
Distance learning far precedes the digital age. Before online courses, people relied on print materials (and later radio and other technologies) to support formal education when the teacher and learner were physically separated.
Today, there are varied ways of supporting distance learning with digital communication. With “asynchronous” online courses, teaching does not occur live. Students access course materials on the learning management system and complete assignments at their own pace.…
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By Jessalynn Keller, Associate Professor in Critical Media Studies, University of Calgary
Aimee Koristka, Media Researcher at the University of Calgary, University of Calgary
Shena Kaul, PhD Candidate in Communication and Media Studies, University of Calgary
On Oct. 3, pop superstar and cultural icon Taylor Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, to much public anticipation. But when the reviews came in, they were mixed.
While Rolling Stone feted the album as featuring “new, exciting sonic turns,” The Guardian slammed it as “dull…
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By Steve Lorteau, Long-Term Appointment Law Professor, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Should cyclists be allowed to treat stop signs as yield signs? This rule from Idaho is divisive, but the scientific data is surprising.
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By Anna Marie Brennan, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Waikato
As access to space becomes easier, terrorism is now a tangible threat. The world needs clear rules to avoid turning the final frontier into the next battlefield.
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By Franziska Weinmar, PhD Candidate, Women's Mental Health & Brain Function, University of Tübingen
Around one in five mothers experience perinatal depression. This condition involves depressive episodes during pregnancy or just after birth – often with lasting effects on both mother and child.
Yet despite its prevalence, identifying who is at risk of experiencing perinatal depression remains one…
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By Giulia Sciorati, LSE Fellow in International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science
Protests erupted in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in October 2020 following disputed parliamentary elections. Only four political parties out of 16 had passed the threshold for entry into parliament. Three of these had close ties to the country’s then-president, Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Kyrgyzstan’s powerful neighbour, China, responded to the unrest with restraint – but in a way that implied democracy can cause political upheaval. Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said:…
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By Bran Nicol, Professor of English, University of Surrey
Emmanuelle Fantin, Maîtresse de conférences en sciences de l'information et de la communication, Sorbonne Université
Some writers appear so accurate in their assessment of where society and technology is taking us that they have attracted the label “prophet”. Think of J. G. Ballard, Octavia E. Butler, Marshall McLuhan, or Donna Haraway.
One of the most important members of this enlightened club is the philosopher Jean Baudrillard – even though his reputation over the past couple of decades has diminished to an association with a now bygone era when fellow French theorists such as Roland…
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By Steven David Pickering, Honorary Professor, International Relations, Brunel University of London
New survey evidence from the UK and Japan shows people are open to MPs using AI as a tool, but deeply resistant to handing over democratic decisions to machines.
Artificial intelligence is creeping into every corner of life and is beginning to become a feature of politics. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat recently criticised colleagues for using ChatGPT to draft their parliamentary speeches, warning that elected representatives should not outsource their judgment to machines. His comments capture a wider unease. Should AI have a place in democratic decision-making?
Supporters…
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By Diane A. Rodgers, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and Media & Communication, Sheffield Hallam University
“Three parapsychologists lose their university funding” sounds like the beginning of a terrible joke, rather than a premise for one of the most successful films of the 1980s. Nonetheless, this is how the story of Ghostbusters (1984) begins, with a trio of unlikely professors.
Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) cares more about flirting than research, Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) bounces around like an excitable puppy, while nerdy Egon Spengler’s (Harold Ramis) hobby is to “collect spores, moulds and fungus”. It’s no wonder the credibility of their research is called into question, after they attest…
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By Benjamin Neimark, Senior Lecturer, School of Business Management, Queen Mary University of London
Kate Mackintosh, Executive Director of the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, University of California, Los Angeles
International law is starting to reflect a growing global consensus on the need to recognise the climate effects of armed conflicts.
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