That Diane Keaton advert for some cream or other drives me insane. You know the one: ?Oh, I believe in aging . . . authentically.? Yeah, right. My handy well-used dictionary defines ?authentic? as ?true? and ?genuine.? I’m not sure when plastic surgery and hair dye became true and genuine, but maybe I’m just being… Read more »
Michelle Bonnier In this week’s profile, we meet Michelle Bonnier, a student in Athabasca University’s Bachelor of Science (Human Science) program. Michelle, a ?traditional? student age-wise, chose AU because of the focus of its biology program. She discusses the additional benefits She’s discovered in distance education, and tells what She’s using as motivation to keep… Read more »
Peter Tretter This week’s profile focuses on an AU student who hasn’t let his health problems get in the way of earning his degree. Peter Tretter, who is enroled in AU’s Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program, explains how he’s turned his health issues into a studying advantage. He also tells why distance education works… Read more »
Well, December has arrived and my well-laid plans to have all three courses finished by the end of this month are on wobbly ground right now. The joys of being able to study in my jammies, curl up on the couch with a good novel and call it ?studying,? and not finish the assignment this… Read more »
How do drugs affect the human body? What makes addictive compounds ?addictive?? What about hallucinogens? Why do neurodegenerative diseases elicit their particular symptoms? AU’s Centre for Psychology recently released a new course, PSYC 450 (Drugs and Behaviour), which, as its name implies, explores the relationships between pharmacological agents, human physiology, and human behaviour. Course professor… Read more »
When my mother died, my father was 71. She’d suffered a brain injury and he’d been her primary caregiver 24/7 for the previous 15 years. When she died, he was lost. Then he found computers. This was back in 1996, when the Internet was really starting to take off and the 386 personal computer was… Read more »
Athabasca University’s Centre for Language and Literature recently launched a new course to complement their ESL program: English for Business (ENGL 189). This course, which is a major revision of the former ENGL 187, is destined to give students insight into the language styles and writing common to the commerce world. Although ENGL 189 might… Read more »
The phrase ?my brain hurts? originated with the Monty Python comedy team and featured a fictional Mr. Gumby looking for a brain specialist. Those of you not familiar with the sketch are obviously not over 50. But for me, although a confirmed Python fan from the days of watching them on television in the 60s… Read more »
Milca Sheney In this week’s profile we meet Milca Sheney, a Bachelor of Arts student living in northern Ontario. In addition to studying, Milca runs a home business and cares full-time for her 21-month-old daughter. She shares how planning and prioritizing allow her to manage her studies, family needs, and business contracts, while still leaving… Read more »
LEK and TEK: Invaluable Local Conservation Expertise–and the Ethical Complexities of Knowledge Sharing When thinking about the act of conservation, many of us tend to picture professionals (maybe biologists, ecologists, physical geographers) out in the field collecting data, processing samples, and crunching numbers in their labs, plugging info into computer simulation models, and coming up… Read more »