This article was originally published in the Conversation Canada on August 9, 2021. Art has the power to provoke enhanced awareness of social issues that can lead to social change — not only publicly commissioned works, but graffiti-esque street art too. Two of the best examples of what’s known as “artivism” are the sometimes whimsical, […]
On August 9, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report, telling us again what should already be quite clear: human actions have caused irreversible changes to our global climate, and many of those changes have already begun causing widespread harm, destruction, and death. In other words, it is too late to prevent […]
Given the macabre (some might even say evil) nature of my research topics, I’ve long said that I hope my work is never relevant to the news. That hope has been in vain, but in the best way possible. A lovely TikTok about a behaviour manipulating wasp (well, mostly about its host) recently grabbed many […]
Organized Crime, and crime more generally, increasingly transcends national borders. As discussed in my last blog, globalization and technological advances have generated vast opportunities for Organized Crime. Nowadays, the victim of a crime can be in a different jurisdiction than both the criminals and their means for committing the crime. Meanwhile, the abilities of domestic […]
“You can educate people and you can tell them about it, but until they experience it, they won’t know…you have to have been out there in the trenches to know what reality is. It’s real that you are a major decision maker. It’s not real that the doctor is always right.” – Quote from Catherine […]
I was reminded this past month of Grant Curtis’ April blog, for I too felt something like “head-splitting cognitive dissonance” as I followed the drama of the billionaire space race. For those living under a rock the past month — well, first let me say I envy you, but secondly let me fill you in. […]
For part 3 of my “It’s a Generational Thing” series, I interview a South Korean-Canadian about their perspective on alcohol use in their culture. It was interesting to see them mention a bragging culture around how much alcohol a person can drink, as this came up in my previous interview with a Ugandan-Canadian elder. This […]
If you are new to this area of positive psychology, check out my previous blog on the “Psychology of Self-Compassion.” Positive psychology, defined as the “scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive,” has recently exploded into popularity. Think: mindfulness or meditation, among other buzzwords we use for self-care. Similarly, another […]
On the possibility of an active ‘design’ behind evolution, Darwin said “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent & omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidæ [parasitic wasps] with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars…” Wasps are insects in the same order as ants and bees, and an […]
Ethical dilemmas arise in healthcare every day; they can even occur multiple times within the span of a few hours. As a bioethics student and a fellow healthcare worker, some days I find myself taking stock of ethical challenges throughout the entirety of my shift. Many of these challenges are the same old issues I […]