News and Updates

The Economist has a piece last week on academic journal publishing: It begins, AT THE beginning of April, Research Councils UK, a conduit through which the government transmits taxpayers’ money to academic researchers, changed the rules on how the results...

That's 400 ppm of atmospheric CO2, of course as a symbolic (though hardly milestone) level is reached, and exceeded.  The 400.03 ppm figure was reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] on May 10th.  For the record, these...

The ever-reliable Learn from Nature alerts me to a recent piece in the Guardian which I somehow missed.  This reveals – SHOCK –  that one secretary of state (Davy) has written a private letter to another (Gove) about the need...

Being confused about English school curriculum aims (statutory, voluntary or otherwise), I recently asked the DfE this; If you go to: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/b00199676/aims-values-and-purposes/aims ... you find three aims for the national curriculum set out.  On the right, there is a link...

Houston, Wednesday 1st May The All American Association for Affirmative Action for Dis-Ablebodied Animals [ AAAAAD-AA ] has called for less discrimination by wildlife charities in their treatment of animals, and criticised the continual portrayal of stereotypical images of fit...

As I noted yesterday, I signed a letter that the Sunday Times published on 14th April.  In association with this, I was contacted by the Sunday Times last Thursday evening.  They said: "We also want to publish a news story...

This is the text of a letter that the Sunday Times published today, April 14th.  It was timed to fit with the approaching deadline for commenting on the government's national curriculum revision proposals.  Specifically, this addressed unnecessary and quite inexplicable changes...

I was not one of the 100 or so professors (or so) who wrote to the Telegraph the other week taking Mr Gove to task on his curriculum reforms, largely because I wasn't significant enough to be invited.  As such,...

There has been much fuss recently about the 'removal' of climate change from the English national curriculum, and the evils that will result.  I have already touched on this in respect of geography teaching, and feel likely  [Add heavy heart...

Hefce has just pressed £5m into the NUS palm c/o its Catalyst Fund.  Here are the outline details from the funding council ... The funding will help students to engage with their universities and colleges on sustainable development, and to...