The gender pay gap demagoguery goes on in Western countries

Lately, I have seen again many news media reports and also elite university newsletters talking about the still existing gender pay gap!

As far as Western countries are concerned, the gender pay gap is mostly primitive demagoguery and ideology! A red herring! At best a mirage!

Then there are lies, damned lies, and statistics! How do you measure the gender pay gap? As a snapshot or cross section in time or across the lifetime of employees? There are other questions about the measurement!

Fact is that women and men choose different jobs, work at different times in their lives, have different educational backgrounds, make different career decisions or personal choices and much more that influence the amount of remuneration for labor. This is the supply side of a free market economy.

Then there is the demand side in a free market economy. Consumer and buyers also have a very significant influence on wages and salaries, which may also impact gender pay differences.

As proponents of classical liberalism like Friedrich Hayek have argued eloquently and convincingly (gender) equality of rights and freedoms, but not of economic outcomes! Equality of outcomes is one of those terrible socialist deceits (see e.g. !

This is part of the battle of the sexes. Supporters of a matriarchy want to reverse the gender pay gap not closing it! Men watch out!

For a free society it is impossible to have or realize gender pay equality! How will gender pay equality even be defined? Only an authoritarian dictatorship can make this happen! That is what socialists of the world want anyway!

This famous book by Hayek was first published in 1988

A new preprint server welcomes papers written and reviewed by AI

Good news! Maybe AI will do a better job to filter/prevent junk or low quality  science to be published in premier journals!

"At most scientific publications, papers co-authored by artificial intelligence (AI) are not welcome. At a new open platform called aiXiv [do not confuse with arxiv], they are embraced. The platform goes all in on AI: It accepts both AI- and human-authored work, uses built-in AI reviewers for baseline quality screening, and guides authors through revisions based on the chatbots’ feedback. “AI-generated knowledge shouldn’t be treated differently,” says Guowei Huang, one of aiXiv’s creators and a Ph.D. candidate specializing in AI and business at the University of Manchester. “We should only care about quality—not who produced it.” ..."

A new preprint server welcomes papers written and reviewed by AI | Science | AAAS "With human peer review struggling to keep pace with machine-generated science, aiXiv enlists bots to help"

https://aixiv.science/ "Next-Gen Research/aiXiv is a free, AI- or human-peer-reviewed preprint archive for research authored by Human, Robot and AI Scientists across all scientific fields."

Why Indian Students Are Facing Record Visa Rejections in e.g. Canada, the US, and Australia

Recommendable! Apparently, there were some, serious fraudulent activities involved on part of Indian students.

Leere Uni-Hörsäle: Wir brauchen eine Anwesenheitspflicht! Wirklich!

So ein Blödsinn! Wer braucht im 21igsten Jahrhundert noch Hörsäle!

Einer der beiden Autoren ist Professor für Sozialwissenschaften! Wirklich!

Leere Uni-Hörsäle: Wir brauchen eine Anwesenheitspflicht! | FAZ (behind paywall) "In vielen Hörsälen herrscht gähnende Leere. So kann es nicht weitergehen. Es braucht eine Renaissance der Präsenzkultur [???] – auch über die Studien- und Prüfungsordnungen."

Imported Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech in the US or the risks of selling higher education abroad

Food for thought! This subject or similar subjects have been exposed in Western countries for decades (e.g. during the Cold War).

When appeasement becomes weakness! When ignorance becomes intolerable!

Beware The Open Society and Its Enemies (by Karl Popper, published in 1945) are everywhere!

Caveat: I have not read McLaughlin's book nor the article, but I believe I am somewhat familiar with the subject.

"... You could probably guess what a lot of these cases were about. Speech about abortion, guns, race, and Israel—the standard starting points of censorship and controversy. But over time, I began hearing more and more about people who felt like they couldn’t speak freely about foreign authoritarian governments. Most often, the Chinese government, but there were also problems arising from universities’ relationships with the Gulf States.

When an industry becomes global, it also becomes vulnerable to pressure from foreign governments. Viewers have probably seen stories about the sometimes-outlandish apologies that companies have issued to the Chinese government because they accidentally mentioned Tibet or Hong Kong. But when higher education is a global industry, there are really unique concerns that emerge. ..."

"A revealing exposé on how foreign authoritarian influence is undermining freedom and integrity within American higher education institutions.

In an era of globalized education, where ideals of freedom and inquiry should thrive, an alarming trend has emerged: foreign authoritarian regimes infiltrating American academia. In Authoritarians in the Academy, Sarah McLaughlin exposes how higher education institutions, long considered bastions of free thought, are compromising their values for financial gain and global partnerships.

This groundbreaking investigation reveals the subtle yet sweeping influence of authoritarian governments. University leaders are allowing censorship to flourish on campus, putting pressure on faculty, and silencing international student voices, all in the name of appeasing foreign powers. McLaughlin exposes the troubling reality where university leaders prioritize expansion and profit over the principles of free expression. The book describes incidents in classrooms where professors hesitate to discuss controversial topics and in boardrooms where administrators weigh the costs of offending oppressive regimes. McLaughlin offers a sobering look at how the compromises made in American academia reflect broader societal patterns seen in industries like tech, sports, and entertainment." (Source)

Authoritarian Threats to Campus Free Speech

Sarah McLaughlin (Source)

Islamisten setzen sich durch | Susanne Schröter

Empfehlenswert! Ziemlich übel!

Hinweis: Ich habe nicht das ganze interview angesehen.

Proportion of US students taking chemistry significantly fails to keep pace with other science disciplines

Don't despair! Let machine learning & AI help out here!

"... In 2023, US higher education institutions awarded more than 11,900 PhD degrees in engineering and nearly 9,000 in the biological sciences, compared to about 3,100 in chemistry. ..."

Proportion of US students taking chemistry fails to keep pace with other science disciplines | News | Chemistry World

Annoyances: University websites search function

It is incredible how many university websites around the world are missing a sort function (e.g. sort search results by date). Very annoying, useless and very primitive!

E.g. Search the Queen Mary University of London website

Hulk Hogan unraveled worker solidarity by preventing a labor union of wrestlers. Really!

Another example of a nutty professor from a US university! Maybe this professor should have tried professional wrestling himself! 😊

Had Hulk Hogan and his colleagues succeeded to establish a labor union for their profession, then professional wrestling most likely would not have become a very successful business.

Second, nobody is forced to become a professional wrestler. It is an individual choice! Any professional wrestler is also free to leave his profession at any time.

"... Despite the staged nature of its combat, professional wrestling is a notoriously dangerous career. Studies rank it among the riskiest professions. Wikipedia even maintains a comprehensive list of premature wrestler deaths.

The reasons for professional wrestling’s dangers are largely tied up in the industry’s working conditions. And part of Hogan’s legacy may be his complicity in those conditions. In 1986, he allegedly played a key role in undercutting a unionization effort – arguably the closest pro wrestling has come to unionizing. ..."

Hulk Hogan and the unraveling of worker solidarity

The nutty professor Brian Jansen, Assistant Professor, Department of English & Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine.

His preferred pronouns: "(he/him/his)"

Authoritarian rulers (Trump) aren’t new – here’s what Herodotus, an early Greek historian, wrote about them. Really!

A piece written by a nutty professor with Trump Derangement Syndrome! Or maybe she has just written another ghost story (see book cover below)! 😊

Does this professor of classics not know that democratically elected leaders based on a constitution and the rule of law did not exist during the time of Herodotus! So what is her comparison about?

Thus authoritarian leader were the rule back then!

Maybe the University of Massachusetts, Amherst should consider firing such an incompetent professor! Trumpian way! This professor does not even have a user profile on Google Scholar!

Caveat: I did not read the entire article.

"“No Kings” rallies. “Good Trouble” protests. “Rage against the Regime” uprisings. These events in the first seven months of President Donald Trump’s second term, along with public opinion polls, show that many Americans are concerned about Trump’s expansive use of executive power. ...

As a professor of classics, I know that concerns about authoritarianism go back thousands of years. One early discussion appears in the work of the fifth-century B.C.E. Greek writer Herodotus, whose “History” ..."

Authoritarian rulers aren’t new – here’s what Herodotus, an early Greek historian, wrote about them

The nutty professor Debbie Felton, Professor of Classics, UMass Amherst

One of her books (published 1999)

Scholars and Schemers: How the Left Ruined Higher Education

Recommendable! The oft repeated story of communist Antonio Gramsci and his influence.

Scholars and Schemers: How the Left Ruined Higher Education | Mises Institute

The hidden mental health cost of climate distress | Stanford Report

Yes, the daily propaganda and demagoguery of climate change is very stressful!

The hidden mental health cost of climate distress | Stanford Report "New research reveals that Bangladeshi adolescents in flood-prone areas are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, with girls disproportionately impacted."

In STEM education: Is diversity and equity inclusionary or exclusionary? Really!

The ivory tower (or the AAAS) can not let go of their ephemeral obsessions!

Diversity is an ideology exalting skin color based racism! E.g. it obviously flies in the face of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" (content of their character).

To study indoctrinated "students, faculty, and staff at a public university" about diversity and equity is a strong indication of junk science (aka confirmation bias)!

"Two competing views of diversity exist in the US [???]: that diversity creates an inclusive culture and that diversity creates an exclusionary culture. As higher education faces an enrollment cliff, it is critical to understand the role of diversity in attracting and retaining students. Brown et al. investigated the implications of diversity on sense of belonging [???], an important component of retention and recruitment. Their results show that for faculty and students at a public university, feelings of belonging were positively associated with perceptions that the university valued diversity, supporting the inclusive view of diversity. As the US debates diversity, public institutions should consider that valuing diversity is associated with individuals expressing more belonging and, by extension, more motivation to stay at the university."

From the abstract:

"There are two schools of thought about how diversity and equity are related to inclusion.

The first argues that diversity and equity foster inclusion.

The second argues that diversity and equity engender exclusion.

The present research investigated the implications of diversity and equity’s relationship on a component of inclusion, the feeling of belonging, as it is critical for organizational retention and recruitment.

Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that for students, faculty, and staff at a public university, feelings of belonging were positively associated with perceptions that the university valued diversity, which was related to campus environmental cues. Study 3 demonstrated that interns’ intentions to convert to a fulltime position were related to feeling like they belonged at their employer, which was related to the extent to which they perceived the employer fostered equity.

We discuss the implications of these findings for organizational retention and recruitment, especially as they relate to perceptions that the organization values diversity and equity."

In Other Journals | Science

Feeling a sense of belonging is associated with more motivation within organizations that value diversity and equity (open access)

George Mason university launches Virginia’s first robotics PhD

When will the first robots earn a PhD?

George Mason launches Virginia’s first robotics PhD | George Mason University "George Mason University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering is leading the way in robotics with the approval of Virginia’s first PhD program in robotics that will launch in fall 2025. On July 10, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) officially approved the trailblazing program that will educate future leaders in the growing field."

Researcher Missy Cummings will direct the PhD in robotics program.

California Professor Accused of Throwing Tear Gas Canister at ICE Agents During Raid on a marijuana farm

Some professors are nuttier than others! A few professors are even  physically dangerous! Some professors just waste your mind and so on.

The university of this professor, i.e. California State University Channel Islands, does not seem to publish a photo of this professor (here is the link to his directory entry). Even the news releases about his arrest by this university are without any photo of this professor (see e.g. here)

This professor does not have a Google Scholar profile as of 7/16/2025.

"An affidavit obtained by Ojai Valley News said “dozens of protestors attempt to obstruct the execution of the high-risk search warrant.” Caravello “ran towards the canister, picked it up, and threw the canister overhand back at [border patrol] agents.” The canister “came within approximately several feet above law enforcement’s heads.” ..."

"California State University Channel Islands is aware of reports that Professor Jonathan Anthony Caravello of CSU Channel Islands, a legal U.S. citizen, was taken into federal custody during a protest at Glass House Farms in Camarillo.

We are currently gathering additional information to fully understand the circumstances of the incident. At this time, it is our understanding that Professor Caravello was peacefully participating in a protest—an act protected under the First Amendment and a right guaranteed to all Americans. If confirmed, we stand with elected officials and community leaders calling for his immediate release. ..."

California Professor Accused of Throwing Tear Gas Canister at ICE Agents During Raid | National Review

An important notification from CSU Channel Islands

Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI

Most likely some of the traditional, conventional ways of testing university students (e.g. essay writing) do not work anymore!

Maybe students need to be tested now how well they are able to interact with large AI models to achieve a certain objective etc.

Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI | Higher education | The Guardian "Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg"

Credits: Techcrunch newsletter

NCAA will pay $2.8 billion to its current and former college athletes in an agreement that will transform college sports

Good news, I suppose! NCAA = National Collegiate Athletic Association

"The business of college sports was upended after a federal judge approved a settlement between the NCAA and former college athletes on June 6, 2025.

After a lengthy litigation process, the NCAA has agreed to provide US$2.8 billion in back pay to former and current college athletes, while allowing schools to directly pay athletes for the first time. ...

In 2020, roughly 14,000 current and former college athletes filed a class action lawsuit, House v. NCAA, seeking damages for past restrictions on their ability to earn money. ..."

NCAA will pay its current and former athletes in an agreement that will transform college sports

The official logo of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), used since 2000

Liverpool University to open campus in Bengaluru, India

Good news! Other universities will follow!

Tel Aviv University Receives $125 Million Donation from Blackstone President Jonathan Gray and his wife

Good news! The world will be healthier!

"In a monumental act of philanthropy, Jonathan Gray, president of the global investment firm Blackstone, and his wife, Mindy, have donated $125 million to Tel Aviv University’s School of Medicine the largest gift in the university’s history and one of the most significant ever made to any Israeli institution of higher education.

The unprecedented contribution will fund the expansion of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, which will now be renamed the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in honor of the donors. The funds will support scholarships, cutting-edge research facilities, and the construction of dormitories for 600 students, with a mission to both strengthen Israel’s health system and ensure the inclusion of students from all sectors of society. ...

The donation also represents a symbolic renewal. In 2023, the university removed the Sackler name from its medical faculty due to the family’s role in the opioid crisis. ..."

Tel Aviv University Receives $125 Million Donation from Blackstone President "Jonathan and Mindy Gray’s historic gift to Israel’s largest medical faculty aims to address doctor shortage, boost diversity, and advance national health."

Jonathan and Mindy Gray

University of Utah pleads with faculty not to violate state pride flag ban on campus. Really!

What a headline! Food for thought!

What kind of insignia or symbols are allowed to be shown on campus? Why is it that that some groups/communities have a stronger tendency to show their symbols in public?

When is it necessary to ban the display of specific symbols in public (e.g. Swastika v. Pride Flag)? 

How benign the Pride Flag? Why is it shown so often? Are they trying to dominate public discourse? There is no doubt that the Pride Flag has become a propaganda instrument!

The Salt Lake Tribune newsletter

University of Utah pleads that faculty not violate Legislature’s pride flag ban "Professors will still be able to have pride flags in their private offices, as long as they are not publicly visible from a window."