Profit and loss are sharply contrasted in business, so investments must be loss‑proof, and only very select items can be loss‑leaders. These principles are in fact very old, hence the use of lossful in the 17th century, recorded in a ...
More »Award-winning teacher’s equation for success
Dr Kevin Larkin can no longer claim to be an ordinary teacher. The Senior Lecturer (Mathematics Education) at Griffith University has just scooped the title of 2018 Australian University Teacher of the Year. As one of the 13 winners at the Australian ...
More »You would believe what academics say
Is there a funnier university-related Twitter account than 'Shit Academics Say'? Sarcasm even seeps into its bio disclaimer: Retweets are not endorsements. They are performative engagement markers that intentionally confound direct alignment with ironic promotion, ambivalent reflection, or personal brand ...
More »Strictly speaking: gaslighting
The American dictionary website, www.merriam-webster.com, regularly features words that are trending in dictionary searches. One recent example was gaslighting – not in the sense of the outdated mode of illuminating our city streets, but in the more recent definition of ...
More »Taking stock of emotional intelligence in a higher education career
How often do I react rather than pausing and reflecting? What are the positive and negative things I do in the workplace? Can you give me feedback about my leadership style? These are examples of questions Ben Foote, chief executive ...
More »On the move: November
Davis moves on after 14 years Australia’s longest-serving VC, Professor Glyn Davis, has left his post at the University of Melbourne. Davis, UniMelb’s 19th VC, took the job in 2005 after a stint as Griffith VC and president. Davis will ...
More »Strictly speaking: unicorns and zebras
We think of unicorns as imaginary, mythical creatures, so you may be surprised to learn they actually exist. In the world of business, it’s the name given to startup companies valued at more than US$1 billion. Venture capitalist Aileen Lee coined ...
More »An ANU Associate Professor on the traps of success
It began – as the cliché goes – with a list on a napkin. Associate Professor Inger Mewburn, director of research training at ANU and founder of blog The Thesis Whisperer, was lunching with a colleague when the discussion turned to ...
More »Strictly speaking: capitals
Capital letters create alternative forms for each character in the Roman alphabet. They help to mark the particular functions of certain words: those that start a sentence or identify proper nouns for persons (e.g. Quentin Bryce) or places (e.g. Australia), ...
More »On the move: September
Retiring after 67 years at UQ The University of Queensland’s Emeritus Professor Edward White, better known as Ted, from the School of Chemical Engineering, is about to hang up his academic gown. Ted has been a fixture of UQ for a ...
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