Alek Golijanin is an Athabasca University alum. He has represented Athabasca University at a number of competitions both at the Provincial and International level. Alek’s articles revolve around his passion for learning and innovation, as he summarizes research and presents it in ways that compels readers and continues the tradition of life-long learning, and some of the articles are even inspired by investigative journalism shows like CTV’s W5, CBC’s The Fifth Estate and Marketplace, and CBS’ 60 Minutes.
“Every now and then a man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 1858.
Everyone wants to get ahead in life, but the question is how. Wheeling and dealing is often thought of as the act of making a profit or getting an advantage by deceiving people or breaking the rules. Pop culture music and films reaffirm that the road to riches is paved on the far side of… Read more »
Humans sit atop the food chain due to our cognitive capabilities and our advanced ability to communicate with one another. With everything we know about the cognitive and communication sciences, it might lead some to assume that non-domesticated cross-species collaboration is impossible. It should not be possible for birds and crocodiles or spiders and frogs… Read more »
Every year, people around the world spend over $500 billion on beauty products. We find ourselves living during a time where appearance seems to be everything. The advertisers and marketers want to convince you that their expensive products will make you look younger, but I say save your money. The key to looking younger longer… Read more »
To me, combat sports are the pinnacle of all sports, yet somehow the IOC decided to remove wrestling from the Olympics. In some sports, like basketball and soccer, you will sometimes see players blaming judges when they lose. One thing that irritates me to the core is constant complaining, whether it is in the sports… Read more »
There are around 50 tribes of indigenous peoples across Canada and over 500 federally recognized tribes across The United States of America. While I find all indigenous peoples’ history fascinating, the tribe that sticks out the most to me are the Comanches. The Comanches are a lesser known tribe, known for their ferocity, and during… Read more »
In the world of anthropology, the term “Indigenous” encapsulates much more than the traditional meaning of earliest known inhabitants of an area. It explores the earliest ways of group life, the methods of survival across areas and the interactions with those environments. Mankind’s history is cruel; in the past 150 years we have seen many… Read more »
The word Swami is a title that is awarded to masters and spiritual teachers, and the Sanskrit meaning of the word is “he who is one with his self.” In the early 1970’s a famous Yogi by the name of Swami Rama left a group of American scientists speechless as he proceeded to do the… Read more »
People do not approach situations neutrally. We tend to have our own preconceived beliefs towards life, and those beliefs vary depending onyour life experience. But if you really want to get a better idea of why people are the way they are, for better or for worse, you should start with the social determinants of… Read more »
The ripples of trauma are like the ripples of tsunamis: they both eventually recede, but not without creating long-lasting damage. In humans, these ripples are the lived experiences, particularly the traumatic ones, of our ancestors, and it may have contributed to some of our psychological and behavioral dispositions. Research indicates that trauma can be inherited… Read more »
In elementary school I was taught that we are stuck with the genes we are born with. Since that time, science breakthroughs indicate that my elementary school science teachers may have been wrong and that we have more control over our genes then we were led to believe. This new branch of genetics is called… Read more »