Religion and Ethics Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Nearly Sane on February 09, 2018, 03:33:44 PM

Title: Australia not a country
Post by: Nearly Sane on February 09, 2018, 03:33:44 PM

According to one professor


http://www.careerspot.com.au/global-news/education-australia-not-a-country-according-to-us-prof
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Gordon on February 09, 2018, 04:05:51 PM
I suspect this Prof is perhaps a graduate of the Sir Les Patterson University.
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Humph Warden Bennett on February 09, 2018, 04:21:33 PM
Possibly he has confused Oz with Ant?
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Harrowby Hall on February 09, 2018, 05:28:59 PM
I suspect this Prof is perhaps a graduate of the Sir Les Patterson University.

But she is an American professor working in an American university. It is more likely that she graduated from the Trump University - which was a real organisation!


ETA - Professor's sex amended.
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Walter on February 09, 2018, 06:05:51 PM
According to one professor


http://www.careerspot.com.au/global-news/education-australia-not-a-country-according-to-us-prof
country or continent? It still smarts a bit when your plane crashes into it !
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: jeremyp on February 12, 2018, 08:45:17 PM
I suspect this Prof is perhaps a graduate of the Sir Les Patterson University.
I seriously doubt it as she doesn't know Australia is a country.
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Steve H on February 15, 2018, 01:34:15 PM
country or continent?
What is the difference between an island and a continent? Why aren't Africa, Europe and Asia considered a giant island? I believe that opinion is divided about whether Australia is one or the other. If it's a continent, it's the only single-country one, although Western Australia came close to seceeding in the 30s.
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Humph Warden Bennett on February 15, 2018, 02:50:32 PM
What is the difference between an island and a continent? Why aren't Africa, Europe and Asia considered a giant island? I believe that opinion is divided about whether Australia is one or the other. If it's a continent, it's the only single-country one, although Western Australia came close to seceeding in the 30s.

I think it is a question of whether it dominates a continental plate or not? There are sometimes references to "Afroeurasia", but they are usually considered to be continents who are currently, but temporarily (in the long term sense of the history of the planet) joined together.

Western Oz seceding? That is a new one on me, my understanding is that Western Oz is the City of Perth,and what a female backpacker described to me as "Thousands of miles of bumfuck nothing".
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Spud on February 15, 2018, 02:51:56 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia#/media/File:LocationAustralasia.png

Australia is a country in Australasia... One of the things they teach at big school
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Humph Warden Bennett on February 15, 2018, 03:04:54 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia#/media/File:LocationAustralasia.png

Australia is a country in Australasia... One of the things they teach at big school

I thought it was Oceania?
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Humph Warden Bennett on February 15, 2018, 03:10:43 PM
An interesting piece of useless info.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealandia
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Steve H on February 15, 2018, 09:56:12 PM

Western Oz seceding? That is a new one on me, my understanding is that Western Oz is the City of Perth,and what a female backpacker described to me as "Thousands of miles of bumfuck nothing".
That's what i read somewhere - it was on the internet, so it must be true.
Title: Re: Australia not a country
Post by: Harrowby Hall on February 16, 2018, 02:00:30 PM
Update

It would seem (if a question on Quora is correct) that the professor involved has been sacked. One response is as follows:

Quote
The female professor with PhD in philosophy, whose name is being kept private, was still not convinced, however, and said she needed to conduct “some independent research on the continent/country issue.” After reviewing Arnold’s paper the professor gave her a new grade of a B+, but never apologized, merely acknowledging that she had a “misunderstanding about the difference between Australia as a country and a continent.”

Shocked by the lecturer’s reasoning, the student filed a report with the university, which eventually resulted in the professor’s termination and a formal apology to Arnold – and all Australians.

It should be remembered that the title "professor" in the American HE context does not carry the prestige that the title does in the British HE context. Practically anyone who has a teaching role in the USA is called "professor" whilst in the UK the title is usually given to a senior academics with an impressive research and publication record - and possibly a head of department. In this instance the woman was an "adjunct professor" which in the British context would possibly be a "demonstrator".