Can science communicators be apolitical and effective? In mid-February famed evolutionary biologist and science communicator Professor Richard Dawkins was once again the centre of a virtual maelstrom, after tweeting that theoretically selective breedin…
Annually since 1995, we commemorate Freedom Day which marks the first South African non-racial, democratic elections held on 27 February 1994. The first democratic president, President Nelson Mandela is quoted as saying ‘for to be f…
What educational policy lessons can we learn from the 1918 Global flu pandemic to help in our current COVID-19 crisis? The world is currently experiencing a global event that will no doubt cement its place in the history books. A time when most countri…
Can ignorance be cured? The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global panic, unfortunately, during these trying times many people have suddenly become ‘medical experts’. It was alarming for me when I received a WhatsApp text message claiming …
By Prof Benita Olivier On Monday evening, 23 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa broke the shocking, nonetheless expected news: South Africa will be under lockdown as of Thursday, 26 March 2020, at midnight. At that time, many practical challenges raced t…
In a Neoliberal world, what really constitutes a citizen? Citizenship is a hotly debated (and currently loaded) topic worldwide. Related to this idea of citizenship is the Trumpesque phenomena which is sweeping across the globe and which seems to have …
by Prof Willie Chinyamurindi (Repost by The Conversation https://theconversation.com/five-ways-academics-can-manage-covid-19-shutdowns-133947) The COVID-19 pandemic has begun affecting a range of African countries where infection rates have b…
Is the most sustainable option always as it appears? I think a lot about waste. I suspect it’s because of all the cleaning up I had to do caring for the menagerie of animals I kept when I was younger. As a society we have a complex relationship with wa…
by Prof Benita Olivier Are you in the process of writing your very first academic manuscript? I remember the many drafts of that first paper I sent to my supervisors. Luckily, the ink of “track changes” never gets depleted, because I used up a lot of i…
What is food safety and how is it linked to food security? A quick scan of the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security will demonstrate how inextricably food safety and food security are linked. Food safety is firmly located w…
