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.
Alek considers himself a gentleman first, a scholar second, and a combat sports fanatic third. In that order.
This past week I was going through my mail, and I opened a letter from EcoJustice about a new pesticide that was ordered to be phased out in Canada over a three-year period—despite the European Union and United States having already banned it. The pesticide in question is Chlorpyrifos. When I first read the word,… Read more »
When Dave Chapelle announced that he was back from pop culture isolation and was about to return to comedy, I knew he was going to ruffle some feathers. As someone who has followed Dave since the Chapelle Show on Comedy Central from around the time I started high school, I was familiar with the nature… Read more »
How important can having a positive or curious mindset really be? According to Chris Voss, a retired FBI hostage negotiator with over 20 years of experience and who now trains other professionals while also teaching at Harvard, it is critical. Chris quotes research that has shown that a positive mindset and the positive emotions associated… Read more »
If you have followed the news over the past 10 years you may have realized a rise in the prevalence of individuals becoming “foreign fighters” and leaving peaceful countries for warzones. While every individual will have their own personal reasons for ‘volunteering’ to fight in wars, it always starts with an ideology—regardless of which side… Read more »
In 2020, I watched Netflix’s Tiger King and I thought nothing would surpass that level of real-life ridiculousness, but I was wrong. I live in Ottawa, and the events that transpired around Parliament Hill with the trucker convoy over the past month rivals any Hollywood comedy. I say that while recognizing that there were people… Read more »
The debate on guns is a heated one in Canada but the conversation rarely gets beyond the idea of banning guns. I am not arguing for pro or anti-gun legislation, but I am saying that 3D printers allow criminals to build guns that would otherwise be unavailable for purchase in Canada. The potential for 3D… Read more »
Earth’s greatest challenges have historically been pollution, whether in the form of greenhouse gasses or waste disposal, but tech leaders are leading that fight and may have us on a path to a fully sustainable world. From the mass introduction of electric-powered vehicles to ocean clean-up systems, technology has contributed to an increasing quality of… Read more »
Racist. Discrimination. These are words that get slapped on to artificial intelligence programs that are identified as being biased in their outcomes against different groups. In the tech world, the term used for these outcomes is machine learning bias and it is defined as a phenomenon that occurs when an algorithm produces results that are… Read more »
Potential is defined as the differing qualities and abilities that determine what an individual can achieve in the future. The label “high potential” gets thrown around on everyone from children to athletes when trying to quantify their likelihood for future success. However, being able to realize potential may have more to do with how educators… Read more »
Imagine a world where people were as capable and eager of de-escalating situations as they are taking out their phones to film conflict—hoping their video will go viral. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has been flooded with these viral videos where people are acting out upon each other, much to the amusement of the… Read more »