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November 3, 2025

Adult ADHD is diagnosed when you are ‘functionally impaired’. But what does that mean?

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By David Coghill, Financial Markets Foundation Chair of Developmental Mental Health, The University of Melbourne

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects around 2.5% of adults and 7% of children. It causes difficulties with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.

If unrecognised and untreated, ADHD can significantly impact educational and work achievements, and social and emotional wellbeing. It can also increase the risks of serious accidents and injuries, offending, mental illness and substance abuse.

When accurately identified and appropriately treated, these negative outcomes can be significantly reduced.

But as a recent article in the Medical Journal of Australia highlights, some people struggle to access and afford diagnoses and treatment the disorder.

Meanwhile, some popular social media channels that provide online “tests” for ADHD are sponsored by private clinics that, once you have screened positive, direct you to their sites for an online assessment. This has raised concern about potential over-diagnosis.

So, what is ADHD diagnosis actually based on? A key component is functional impairment. Let’s take a look at what that means.

Why a brief assessment isn’t enough

In Australia, there are reports of business models where clinics are charging several thousand dollars for a quick, brief online assessment and diagnosis.

These brief assessments don’t comply with evidence-based guidelines and are problematic because they:

focus solely on ADHD and don’t attempt to assess other aspects of a person’s difficulties
rely heavily on information from the person being assessed and don’t seek the opinions of significant others
rely heavily on information about symptoms, gathered through questionnaires, and don’t assess their impact on day-to-day functioning.

This is important because a core requirement for a diagnosis of ADHD is evidence that the:

symptoms must interfere significantly with social, academic, or occupational functioning.

No matter how many symptoms you have, if they’re not having an impact on your day-to-day life, a diagnosis of ADHD shouldn’t be made.

So what is a comprehensive assessment?

To make an accurate diagnosis of ADHD, a comprehensive assessment is needed. This includes a clinical interview to evaluate the current and past presence (or absence) of each of the 18 core ADHD symptoms and associated impairment.

While there are scales such as the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale and the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule that can aid assessment, these are best used as conversation starters rather than stand-alone tools.

A comprehensive assessment also includes a broader assessment for current mental and physical health problems, developmental history, personal and family mental health, substance use, addiction and, where appropriate, interactions with the justice system.

This interview shouldn’t be conducted as a simple tick-box exercise, with yes and no answers. A detailed interview is needed to explore and identify symptoms, and evaluate their impact on functioning.

It’s also strongly recommended the clinician hears from one or more people who can speak to the person’s childhood and current functioning.

What counts as ‘functional impairment’ is very individual

The diagnostic manuals don’t give detailed accounts of what counts as significant enough impairment to be diagnosed with ADHD.

This has led some commentators to complain that lack of a standardised definition could lead to over-diagnosis.

But the impacts of ADHD are so broad it would be very difficult to formulate a clear, comprehensive and encompassing list of valid impairments.

Such a list would also fail to capture the very personalised nature of these impairments. What is impairing for me may not be for you and vice versa.

So a rigid definition would likely result in missed as well as mis-diagnoses.

How do clinicians determine if someone is impaired?

Clinicians are very used to assessing the impact of symptoms on functioning. They do so for many other mental and physical health conditions, including depression and anxiety.

Research has identified several common themes in ADHD:

impaired romantic, peer and professional relationships
parenting problems
impaired educational and occupational achievements
increased accidents and unintentional injuries
driving offences
broader offending
substance use and abuse
risky sexual behaviours.

ADHD symptoms are often associated with:

emotional dysregulation
exhausting levels of mental and physical restlessness
low self-esteem
fatigue
high stress levels.

One caveat is that some people are receiving a lot of support and scaffolding or have found ways to compensate for their difficulties. Whether or not this should count as impairment depends on the circumstances and requires considerable thought.

However, ADHD shouldn’t be ruled out on the basis of high levels of achievement in certain aspects of life like school or work. A person may be under-achieving relative to their potential, or having to put in extreme levels of effort to keep afloat.

An adult with ADHD, for example, may be excelling at work but by the end of the workday is too exhausted to do anything but sleep. They may also be experiencing impairments in other aspects of their lives that aren’t obvious unless specifically asked about.

Others will present multiple impacts that, when explored, aren’t true functional impairments.

So it’s crucial clinicians drill down into the details until they’re confident that it is or isn’t a genuine impairment related to the core ADHD symptoms.

Clinician training is essential

The skill of accurately assessing impairments in ADHD is not difficult to train or learn. This is done by observing experienced clinicians and practising with structured protocols.

Newly trained clinicians quickly become confident in assessing impairment and there is generally close agreement between different professionals about whether an ADHD diagnosis should be made.

However, few health professionals currently get high-quality training in ADHD either during their core or more advanced training. This must change if we’re going to improve the accuracy of assessment and reduce missed and mis-diagnoses.

David Coghill has received honoraria from Medice, Novartis, Takeda and Servier and royalties from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. He receives research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Australian Medical Research Futures Fund, and the Financial Markets Foundation for Children. He is the President and a director of the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association.

– ref. Adult ADHD is diagnosed when you are ‘functionally impaired’. But what does that mean? – https://theconversation.com/adult-adhd-is-diagnosed-when-you-are-functionally-impaired-but-what-does-that-mean-268092

November 3, 2025

Is it aliens? Why that’s the least important question about interstellar objects

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Laura Nicole Driessen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Radio Astronomy, University of Sydney

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured on July 21 2025. NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

On October 29, Comet 3I/ATLAS reached its closest point to the Sun.

This point, known as perihelion, was around 210 million kilometres from the Sun, or 1.4 times the distance between the Sun and Earth, and it was on the opposite side of the Sun to Earth. This means the Sun has been blocking the comet from our view (from Earth). There are already reports it’s been detected again using ground-based telescopes.

The comet is the third interstellar object (hence the “3I”) we’ve detected flying through our Solar System.

When it was first detected on July 1 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial Last Alert System (or “ATLAS”), one of the first questions people asked was “but is it aliens?”.

This isn’t the first time the alien question has come up in the context of a new astronomical discovery. But although it might be fun, it can also detract from the real (and very cool) science, and fuel misinformation.

A long history of speculation

Similar alien speculation arose when the first two interstellar objects were discovered: 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov.

And it doesn’t just happen for interstellar objects.

In 2019, I wrote my first public article about a discovery I made as a PhD student. I had found radio light coming from a binary star system, the first object found by the MeerKAT telescope to be changing brightness over time. Even though this had nothing to do with aliens, the editor asked me to include speculation about them.

In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, then a PhD student, discovered a rapidly repeating flash of radio light.

As a joke, she labelled it LGM 1 for “Little Green Men”, but the astronomers working on it did not really believe they had discovered aliens. They were, however, concerned about the possibility that alien-related media coverage would sensationalise the discovery and hinder their scientific investigations.

A 7 billion-year-old visitor

This concern remains for astronomers today.

Comet 3I/ATLAS is possibly the oldest thing we’ve ever seen in our Solar System. Our Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago, while recent research points to Comet 3I/ATLAS possibly being more than 7 billion years old.

It has spent a lot of that time zipping through the universe just to spend a few months in our Solar System. When the comet reached perihelion, that’s probably the closest it’s been to a star in at least millions of years.

Research has shown the comet has more carbon dioxide in its outer layers than has been seen in most comets in our Solar System. It also has a higher ratio of nickel to other elements than has been seen in local comets.

These chemical signatures give us a unique insight into the chemical composition of the cloud of gas that formed the solar system where the comet came from.

This is one of the key reasons why we should only be asking about aliens when all other possibilities are exhausted. When we talk about aliens first, we might miss all this amazing information.

As astronomer Carl Sagan said (in his rewording of a principle by French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace), “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. It’s true we can’t completely explain every detail of the comet yet, but not knowing everything is not evidence of aliens.

Embrace the uncertainties

Talking about aliens also leaves room for misinformation to spread.

For example, there have been claims of things such as trajectory shifts and Comet 3I/ATLAS “hiding” behind the Sun. Despite no evidence to support this, I received many questions along these lines when I spoke about the comet online. This demonstrates how easy it is for misinformation to be generated and spread when we’re talking about “aliens”.

There are ways to see the comet while it’s on the other side of the Sun. For example, the European Space Agency plans to observe the comet using the Mars Express, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer.

And if you’d like to see the trajectory of Comet 3I/ATLAS and find out where it is right now, you can.

There might be something to be learned from poets here. Romantic poet John Keats wrote about something he called “negative capability”. It’s a strange name, but the concept is about being able to sit with “uncertainties, mysteries and doubts” and be content with not knowing.

There’s a lot we don’t know about Comet 3I/ATLAS and about the universe. It wouldn’t be much fun to be an astronomer if we knew everything already. But when there’s something unknown, we humans like to fill that gap.

For astronomy mysteries, the gap tends to be filled with aliens. However, not knowing all the answers is not proof of aliens. It just means that we have work to do.

Laura Nicole Driessen is an ambassador for the Orbit Centre of Imagination at the Rise and Shine Kindergarten, in Sydney’s Inner West.

– ref. Is it aliens? Why that’s the least important question about interstellar objects – https://theconversation.com/is-it-aliens-why-thats-the-least-important-question-about-interstellar-objects-268665

November 2, 2025

The anguish of losing: The Blue Jay fan’s guide to dealing with feelings of despair

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Craig Greenham, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, University of Windsor

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. This tidy maxim has been used for years to describe sports outcomes.

This polarized expression, however, oversimplifies fan reaction to events like the Blue Jays’ World Series loss, ignores the complicated emotional terrain of fandom and fails to recognize the psycho-social forces at work.

So, why are many Canadians so deeply invested in the Blue Jays?

Fans develop parasocial relationships with players, teams and even broadcasters — evident in the outpouring of emotion surrounding Jays’ announcer Buck Martinez’s cancer journey — through repeated media exposure.

Over time, these constant encounters foster a sense of familiarity and emotional intimacy, as if a genuine personal relationship exists. In a way, it makes sense: over the course of a long season, many Blue Jays fans see and hear more from slugger George Springer than from some of their real-life friends.

Personal pain

Jays losses therefore feel personal — and so, too, does the team’s success. This connection is captured by the concept of what’s known as BIRGing — basking in the reflected glory — when fans feel a sense of personal triumph when their team performs well, as though there’s a twinning of fates.

The phenomenon was playfully illustrated in a 2024 A&W promotion — “Blue Jays Win, You Win” — that offered free or discounted food after each victory, literally tying fan rewards to team success.

Of course, the opposite is true too. When the Jays fall short, fans feel lacerated. The more crucial the game, the deeper the cut. Given this emotional investment, it’s no surprise that Blue Jays fans felt like a bundle of nerves heading into Game 7 and were devastated by the result.

The nature of the Game 7 loss inflames the emotions further — a game the Jays were leading until the ninth inning. There were opportunities to increase that lead that went maddeningly unrealized, embattled relievers yielded home runs to Dodger lesser lights, there were near-collisions in the outfield that could have jarred loose a key run from an outfielder’s glove, and a play at home plate that required frame-by-frame analysis to determine an outcome ultimately unfavourable to the Jays.

Canadians understand the description “sudden death” as a hockey term, but there’s no denying that Game 7 created a similar profound sense of loss, not just in Toronto but across the country.

In the sports realm, the ninth inning events resembled a funeral for Jays fans. The finality and closure was symbolized by the final out; the loss of routine and community created a void and disconnection for fans; feelings of mourning a dream amid the vanquished hope as the team fell just short of the ultimate World Series goal; and an unknown future that brings with it the anxiety of not knowing which players will return and an understanding these opportunities are rare.

Players and fans have to navigate and negotiate their way through the loss. The tears on the field and in the clubhouse mirrored those in the stands and living rooms across the country, a vivid reminder that fandom is as much about emotional commitment as the scoreboard.

Haunted by the Maple Leafs

Of course, Blue Jays fandom isn’t siloed — especially for those in Ontario. Many of the club’s loyal supporters are equally passionate about the forlorn Toronto Maple Leafs, who have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

The hockey club has put the fan base through the proverbial wringer with prolonged periods of ineptitude, mixed with inexplicable collapses and controversial playoff defeats.

The fragility of this fan base is palpable — excited in hope, but also braced for doom because of its frequent visits. Toronto sports fans aren’t used to being favoured by fortune. That’s why moments like the Joe Carter World Series home run in 1993 or the Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater baseline jumper in the 2019 NBA playoffs have been immortalized.

Kawhi Leonard’s iconic buzzer beater in 2019. (NBA)

They’re outliers, those precious times when the fan base evaded the grim reaper’s scythe and grasped the greater glory.

The rarity of these victories elevates them to mythic moments — reminders that even in a history full of sports heartbreak, there are flashes of transcendent jubilation that justify the fan’s emotional investment.

Five stages of grief

Sports fans are nothing if not resilient, however, and Blue Jays fans are working themselves through the classic five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

What has likely expedited the process and softened the blow for some is the fact that the Blue Jays weren’t expected to challenge for the World Series at all in 2025. The club finished last in its division in 2024 and surprised the baseball world with its rise to prominence.

This process is called framing and it explains how people interpret and give meaning to events. It’s the lens. So instead of focusing on the anguish of Game 7, diehard fans emphasize team growth, memorable moments and optimism for next season.

Naturally, nothing in baseball is guaranteed and a Blue Jays return to the World Series in 2026 will require the personnel, performance, health and luck necessary to have success. Fans, meantime, will use the off-season to emotionally steel themselves for, potentially, another wild ride. Spring, after all, is the season of hope when anything seems possible.

Craig Greenham does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. The anguish of losing: The Blue Jay fan’s guide to dealing with feelings of despair – https://theconversation.com/the-anguish-of-losing-the-blue-jay-fans-guide-to-dealing-with-feelings-of-despair-268756

November 2, 2025

Dix ans après, quel bilan pour l’accord de Paris ?

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Christian de Perthuis, Professeur d’économie, fondateur de la chaire « Économie du climat », Université Paris Dauphine – PSL

Que reste-t-il de l’accord de Paris, dix ans après sa signature, au moment de l’ouverture de la COP30 au Brésil, dans un contexte de tensions géopolitiques et de « backlash » climatique mené par les États-Unis ? Des signaux encourageants subsistent malgré tout, notamment l’accélération des transitions énergétiques dans les pays émergents. De quoi garder entrouverte une fenêtre, certes bien étroite, sur la voie de la stabilisation de la température mondiale.

Lors de son adoption en 2015, l’accord de Paris a généré beaucoup d’espoirs, car il embarquait l’ensemble des signataires. De par son caractère universel, il allait donner une tout autre dimension à la lutte contre le réchauffement planétaire.

Changement d’ambiance, dix ans après, à l’ouverture de la COP30 sur le climat à Belém au Brésil, qui doit se tenir du 10 au 21 novembre 2025. En 2024, le thermomètre a affiché un réchauffement de 1,5 °C, les émissions mondiales de CO₂ ont continué d’augmenter et sa concentration dans l’atmosphère a battu tous ses records. Avec la défection des États-Unis après la réélection de Donald Trump, l’universalisme de l’accord en a pris un sérieux coup.

Ni tout rose ni tout noir, notre bilan de dix années d’application de l’accord de Paris s’écarte d’une telle vision simpliste suggérant que rien n’a bougé durant les dix dernières années. Depuis 2015, des progrès substantiels ont été réalisés.

« Les émissions mondiales ne cessent d’augmenter ». Oui, mais…

Le premier bilan global des émissions de gaz à effet de serre discuté à la COP de Dubaï en 2023 a certes rappelé que les émissions mondiales de gaz à effet de serre n’étaient pas encore stabilisées. Diagnostic confirmé en 2024, mais qui reste insuffisant à ce stade pour analyser l’impact de l’accord de Paris sur le régime des émissions.

On peut également relever que :

Au cours de la dernière décennie, le rythme de croissance des émissions mondiales de CO₂, le principal gaz à effet de serre d’origine anthropique, a été divisé par trois relativement à la décennie précédente.
Cette inflexion majeure s’explique par le déploiement, bien plus rapide qu’escompté, des capacités de production d’énergie solaire et éolienne.

La transition d’un système économique reposant sur les énergies de stock (fossile et biomasse) vers des énergies de flux (soleil, vent, hydraulique…) a donc été bel et bien amorcée durant les dix premières années de l’accord. Elle semble désormais irréversible, car ces énergies sont devenues bien moins coûteuses pour les sociétés que l’énergie fossile.

De plus, on ne saurait jauger de l’efficacité de l’accord à partir du seul rétroviseur. Il faut également se projeter dans le futur.

Les principaux émetteurs de CO₂ dans le monde.
Fourni par l’auteur

Du fait de ses investissements massifs dans la production et l’utilisation d’énergie renouvelable, la Chine est en train de franchir son pic d’émissions, pour des rejets de CO₂ de l’ordre de 9 tonnes par habitant, quand les États-Unis ont passé leur pic à 20 tonnes, et l’Europe à 11 tonnes. L’Inde pourrait d’ici une dizaine d’années franchir le sien à environ 4 tonnes.

Le fait que ces pics d’émissions soient substantiellement plus bas que ceux des vieux pays industrialisés est une information importante. Les pays moins avancés peuvent désormais construire des stratégies de développement sautant la case fossile. Ceci laisse une fenêtre entrouverte pour limiter le réchauffement planétaire en dessous de 2 °C.

Des objectifs de température désormais inatteignables ?

L’Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM) a indiqué que le thermomètre avait franchi 1,5 °C en 2025, soit la cible de réchauffement la plus ambitieuse de l’accord. Cette poussée du thermomètre reflète en partie la variabilité à court terme du climat (épisode El Niño, par exemple). Elle résulte également de dangereuses rétroactions : le réchauffement altère la capacité des puits de carbone naturels (forêts et océan) à séquestrer le CO₂ de l’atmosphère.

Faut-il pour autant en conclure que les objectifs sont désormais inatteignables, au risque d’ouvrir un peu plus les vannes du backlash climatique ?

L’alerte de 2024 confirme ce qui était déjà apparu dans les scénarios prospectifs du 6ᵉ rapport d’évaluation du Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (Giec). Du fait de l’inertie du stock de CO₂ déjà présent dans l’atmosphère, la cible de 1,5 °C est en réalité dépassée avant 2035 dans la majorité des scénarios.

Cela n’exclut pas qu’on puisse limiter le réchauffement en dessous de 2 °C, l’autre cible de l’accord de Paris, à condition de réduire massivement les émissions de CO₂ une fois le pic d’émission atteint. D’après le Global Carbon Budget, le budget carbone résiduel pour limiter le réchauffement à 2 °C s’établit à environ vingt-cinq années au rythme actuel d’émissions.

Et pour viser 1,5 °C ? Il faut alors passer en régime d’émissions nettes négatives durant la seconde partie du siècle. Dans ces scénarios dits du « dépassement » (overshooting), les puits de carbone séquestrent plus de CO₂ qu’il n’en est émis, ce qui permet de faire redescendre le thermomètre après le franchissement du seuil. Ce serait toutefois aller au-delà de l’accord de Paris, qui se contente de fixer un objectif de zéro émission nette.

Comment financer une transition juste ?

L’accord de Paris stipule que les financements climatiques internationaux à la charge des pays développés doivent atteindre au minimum 100 milliards de dollars (86,4 milliards d’euros) par an à partir de 2020, puis être fortement réévalués.

Le bilan est ici en demi-teinte :

La barre des 100 milliards de dollars (86,4 milliards d’euros) n’a été franchie qu’en 2022, avec trois ans de retard.
À la COP29 de Bakou, un nouvel objectif de 300 milliards de dollars (259,2 milliards d’euros) par an à atteindre d’ici 2030 a été acté. Un tel triplement, s’il est effectif, ne permettra de couvrir qu’une partie des besoins de financement, au titre de l’adaptation au changement climatique, et des pertes et dommages.

Durant les dix premières années de mise en œuvre de l’accord, il n’y a toutefois guère eu d’avancée sur les instruments financiers à utiliser. En particulier, les dispositions de l’article 6 ouvrant la possibilité d’appliquer la tarification carbone n’ont pas été traduites dans un cadre opérationnel permettant leur montée en puissance.

Manque également à l’appel un accord plus précis sur qui paye quoi en matière de financement climatique. Ce flou artistique quant à qui sont les bailleurs de fonds et à hauteur de combien chacun doit contribuer fragilise la portée réelle de l’engament financier.

Il reste donc beaucoup de chemin à parcourir pour traduire la promesse de 300 milliards de dollars (259,2 milliards d’euros) par an en engagements crédibles.

Les COP sur le climat, l’énergie fossile et le jeu des lobbies

Pas plus que la Convention climat datant de 1992, l’accord de Paris ne mentionne la question de la sortie des énergies fossiles, le terme lui-même n’étant nulle part utilisé.

En 2021, la décision finale de la COP26 mentionnait pour la première fois le nécessaire abandon du charbon ; celle de la COP28 à Dubaï élargissait la focale à l’ensemble des énergies fossiles. C’est un progrès, tant la marche vers le net zéro est indissociable de la sortie accélérée des énergies fossiles.

Paradoxalement, depuis que les COP ont inscrit la question de l’énergie fossile à leur ordre du jour, la présence des lobbies pétrogaziers s’y fait de plus en plus pesante.

Elle est visible dans les multiples évènements qui se tiennent parallèlement aux sessions de négociation, et plus discrète au sein des délégations officielles conduisant les négociations. Une situation régulièrement dénoncée par les ONG qui réclament plus de transparence et une gouvernance prévenant les conflits d’intérêts lorsque le pays hôte de la COP est un pays pétrolier, comme cela a été le cas à Dubaï (2023) et à Bakou (2024).

En réalité, l’accord de Paris n’a pas accru l’influence des lobbies proénergie fossile : ces derniers s’appliquent à freiner les avancées de la négociation climatique depuis ses débuts. Il n’a pas non plus réduit leur pouvoir de nuisance, qui résulte de la prise de décision au consensus, qui donne un poids disproportionné aux minorités de blocage. Pas plus qu’il ne prévoit de mécanisme retenant ou pénalisant ceux qui font défection.

Un « backlash » climatique impulsé par l’Amérique trumpienne

Parmi les décrets signés par Donald Trump le premier jour de sa présidence figurait celui annonçant le retrait des États-Unis de l’accord de Paris sur le climat. Une façon particulière de souffler la dixième bougie d’anniversaire.

Si la sortie lors du premier mandat avait été un non-événement, il en fut autrement cette fois-ci. En quittant l’accord, l’Amérique trumpienne ne s’est nullement mise en retrait. L’offensive engagée au plan interne par l’administration républicaine contre toute forme de politique climatique s’est doublée d’une diplomatie anti-climat agressive, comme l’a illustré le torpillage en règle de l’accord sur la décarbonation du transport maritime de l’Organisation maritime internationale.

Cette diplomatie repose sur les mêmes fondements que la nouvelle politique étrangère du pays : la défense de ses intérêts commerciaux, à commencer par ceux des énergies fossiles, à l’exclusion de toute autre considération portant sur les normes internationales en matière de droits humains, de défense de l’environnement ou de lutte contre le réchauffement planétaire.

Cette offensive anti-climat peut-elle sonner le glas de l’accord de Paris ? Les États-Unis disposent d’alliés parmi les grands exportateurs d’énergie fossile et leur idéologie anti-climat se diffuse insidieusement au-delà de leurs frontières. S’ils faisaient trop d’émules, l’accord de Paris perdrait rapidement de sa consistance.

Un autre scénario peut encore s’écrire : celui d’un front commun entre la Chine, l’Union européenne et l’ensemble des pays réaffirmant leurs engagements climatiques. Un tel jeu d’alliance serait inédit et pas facile à construire. Il sera peut-être rendu possible par la démesure de l’offensive anti-climat de l’Amérique trumpienne. Le premier acte se jouera à la COP de Belém, dès novembre prochain.

Christian de Perthuis ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

– ref. Dix ans après, quel bilan pour l’accord de Paris ? – https://theconversation.com/dix-ans-apres-quel-bilan-pour-laccord-de-paris-268532

November 2, 2025

Aliments sans gluten : qui les achète et pourquoi ? quels ingrédients inattendus contiennent-ils ?

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Marie-Françoise Samson, Chercheuse en biochimie alimentaire, Inrae

Celles et ceux qui privilégient les aliments sans gluten font souvent ce choix car ces produits sont perçus comme plus sains. Mais certaines recettes incorporent une longue liste d’ingrédients (agents de texture, protéines, matières grasses, sucres et autres additifs) et… beaucoup d’eau. C’est ce que révèlent Dominique Desclaux et Marie-Françoise Samson, de l’Inrae, dans « Gluten, alimentation et santé » (éditions Quae).

La proportion de gens qui évitent/bannissent le gluten de leur alimentation est variable. En 2013 par exemple, 30 % des Américains se déclaraient intéressés par un régime sans gluten. Soixante-cinq pour cent pensent aussi que ce régime est plus sain et 27 % le choisissent pour perdre du poids (Jones, 2017).

En France, selon des données de l’enquête Nutrinet collectées en 2016, sur un peu plus de 20 000 personnes, 10,31 % d’entre elles éviteraient le gluten et 1,65 % de façon stricte. Selon une autre enquête réalisée en Angleterre en 2019, parmi les personnes qui évitent le gluten, 76 % le font parce qu’elles ont la maladie cœliaque, 8 % parce qu’elles sont intolérantes au gluten, 10 % parce qu’elles vivent avec une personne cœliaque et seulement 6 % pour d’autres raisons (Vriesekoop et al., 2020).

Parmi ces autres raisons vient en tête la perception que le régime sans gluten est plus sain, qu’il peut procurer un bien-être et un confort physique immédiats et sur le long terme. Vient ensuite la volonté de perdre du poids. Parmi ces consommateurs, on retrouve beaucoup de femmes, plutôt jeunes.

En France et dans différents pays, les consommateurs qui font le choix d’une alimentation sans gluten pour des raisons liées au bien-être ont recours à d’autres pratiques qui, pour eux, vont dans le même sens : plus de fruits et légumes, moins d’alcool et de produits gras et sucrés, mais aussi moins de produits laitiers. Ces mêmes personnes privilégient les produits issus de l’agriculture biologique, les circuits courts et évitent les aliments ultratransformés.

Une liste d’ingrédients longue comme un jour sans pain

Soixante-dix pour cent des aliments consommés par les Français contiendraient du gluten. On rappelle que, dans les produits à base de blé, comme le pain ou les gâteaux, le réseau de gluten se développe lors du pétrissage et de la formation de la pâte. Une structure protéique tridimensionnelle est créée, qui apporte de l’élasticité au mélange. Ce réseau piège aussi le gaz carbonique (CO₂) produit lors de la fermentation, dans le cas du pain, ou généré par la levure chimique dans le cas des gâteaux. Les bulles de gaz formées vont alors s’expanser tout en étant contenues par le réseau et provoquer la levée de la pâte. Lors de la cuisson, le réseau se fige, contribuant ainsi à la stabilité du produit.

Ces propriétés uniques rendent le gluten presque indispensable à la formulation de produits tels que le pain ou les gâteaux. Dans le cas des produits type « pain sans gluten », la fabrication est un défi, car rien ne peut rivaliser avec les protéines du blé, mais des formulations complexes vont permettre de s’en approcher.

Si la liste des ingrédients est restreinte dans un pain de tradition française – une farine de blé panifiable, de l’eau, du sel, un levain ou une levure, et éventuellement d’autres farines (farines de fève 2 % max., farine de soja 0,5 % max., farine de blé malté 0,3 % max.) –, il n’en va pas de même pour leurs analogues sans gluten vendus dans le commerce. Parfois, une vingtaine d’ingrédients sont nécessaires pour obtenir un pain.

Quelles farines pour du sans-gluten ?

Se passer de gluten nécessite d’avoir recours à d’autres céréales et d’autres ingrédients ou additifs. L’élément principal est le plus souvent un amidon, comme dans les pains à base de blé (l’amidon est le constituant majeur de la farine de blé). Celui du maïs est l’ingrédient principal dans environ 60 % des recettes (Roman et al., 2019). Il est très souvent associé à une farine de riz blanc (dans 30 % des formulations). L’amidon de maïs donne des pains avec un volume important, mais avec une texture plutôt sèche et friable.

D’autres types d’amidon sont parfois incorporés dans des proportions plus faibles, comme le tapioca, la fécule de pommes de terre ou des amidons modifiés. D’autres farines peuvent venir compléter la liste des ingrédients de base, comme des farines de riz complet ou de sarrasin.

Ces ingrédients de base sont une réalité commerciale, mais la littérature scientifique fait état d’essais avec des farines de céréales autres que le riz ou le maïs : sorgho, millet, teff ; de pseudo-céréales : amarante, quinoa, chia ; de légumineuses (pois chiches, pois, soja) ; ou encore de châtaignes. Les légumineuses sont intéressantes sur le plan nutritionnel (teneur en protéines plus élevée et composition en acides aminés différente et complémentaire de celle des céréales), mais, si elles sont utilisées en proportions trop importantes, les études sensorielles révèlent qu’elles apportent de l’amertume ou des goûts inhabituels mal perçus par les jurys et les consommateurs.

Comment épaissir et retenir l’eau ?

Des agents de texture (hydrocolloïdes) sont incorporés dans plus de 80 % des recettes pour leurs propriétés épaississantes et leur forte capacité à retenir l’eau. Ils permettent aussi d’augmenter la viscosité du mélange, afin de mieux retenir les gaz de fermentation et la levée de la pâte. Le plus fréquemment utilisé est l’hydroxypropyl méthylcellulose (HPMC). Les gommes de xanthane, de guar ou de caroube sont aussi utilisées, car elles présentent une meilleure capacité de rétention d’eau. Des pectines sont parfois ajoutées, mais moins fréquemment que le psyllium (plantain des Indes), reconnu aussi pour ses effets bénéfiques sur la santé (traitement des diarrhées et de la constipation, régulation de la glycémie et de la lipidémie).

Quelles protéines rajouter ?

À côté de l’amidon et des ingrédients structurants, les protéines les plus fréquemment incorporées proviennent de l’œuf, entier ou blanc, ou du soja. On peut citer aussi les protéines de pois, de lupin ou de lait. L’ajout de protéines permet en outre de développer des arômes lors de la cuisson, par le biais de la réaction de Maillard.

Pourquoi rajouter du sucre ?

La plupart des pains sans gluten contiennent des sucres ajoutés : saccharose le plus souvent, glucose, fructose, sirops d’origines diverses (betterave, canne à sucre, sirop de maïs, de riz ou d’agave). Les sucres sont ajoutés pour servir de « carburant » aux levures et amener le développement d’arômes et de la coloration lors de la cuisson, toujours par le biais de la réaction de Maillard.

Certains rajoutent aussi du gras…

Des huiles et des matières grasses sont également incorporées afin de renforcer la sensation d’humidité en bouche, d’améliorer la texture (pains moins durs, mie plus souple) ainsi que la durée de conservation, très souvent jugée décevante. Les huiles de colza/canola, tournesol et soja sont les plus utilisées devant l’huile d’olive, la margarine ou l’huile de palme.

… et encore de nombreux additifs

Parmi les ingrédients mineurs, on retrouve :

des émulsifiants utilisés pour stabiliser les bulles et les uniformiser dans la pâte, ou encore pour limiter les pertes en eau au cours du temps. Parmi les plus employés, on trouve les mon – -o- et diglycérides d’acides gras et les lécithines ;
les conservateurs comme l’acide propionique, le glycérol, les sorbates ;
des agents levants, naturels comme les levures et les levains, ou chimiques comme le bicarbonate de sodium ;
des acides pour améliorer la conservation en diminuant le pH et pour produire du CO₂ avec le bicarbonate ;
des arômes ;
des graines entières ou broyées de lin, tournesol, sésame, pavot, chia ou courge qui vont apporter des oméga-3 et des oméga-6 et masquer certains goûts désagréables ;
des fibres en plus des hydrocolloïdes, pour enrichir les pains sur le plan nutritionnel et pour augmenter la capacité de rétention d’eau (inuline, fibres de pomme ou de betterave) ;
des enzymes pour former des liaisons entre les polymères entrant dans la composition du pain ou pour produire des sucres pour les levures ;
du sel…

Et de l’eau, dont la proportion varie, selon les ingrédients ajoutés, de 50 à 220 %.

Les pâtes et biscuits sans gluten : moins d’additifs ?

Contrairement au pain, les pâtes alimentaires et les biscuits ont des listes d’ingrédients beaucoup plus courtes. Dans le cas des pâtes alimentaires, la substitution du blé dur par 100 % de légumineuses (pois chiches, lentilles) est maintenant fréquente. Cependant, la grande majorité des pâtes sont élaborées à partir de farine de riz ou de maïs ou encore de mélanges des deux. Dans quelques cas, on retrouve des émulsifiants (mono – et diglycérides d’acides gras). La composition des biscuits est également plus « légère », dans la mesure où la pâte n’est pas levée. Là encore, les ingrédients de base sont l’amidon de maïs et la farine de riz, additionnés de sucre, de matières grasses, de levure chimique et de sel.

Les produits sans gluten sont-ils ultratransformés ?

Sur le plan organoleptique, des efforts ont été réalisés par les industriels pour améliorer les propriétés des produits sans gluten. À propos du pain, les critiques les plus fréquentes portent sur la texture qualifiée de dure et de friable, sur l’aspect des alvéoles parfois très grosses, sur le goût qualifié de fade ou de « carton ». Les reproches concernent aussi sa conservation. Les pâtes alimentaires sont, pour leur part, jugées plus proches, voire équivalentes aux analogues contenant du gluten.

Sur le plan nutritionnel, les produits sans gluten apparaissent de qualité inférieure à celle des équivalents qui en contiennent (pains, pâtes, biscuits, gâteaux, snacks, pizza).

Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.

– ref. Aliments sans gluten : qui les achète et pourquoi ? quels ingrédients inattendus contiennent-ils ? – https://theconversation.com/aliments-sans-gluten-qui-les-achete-et-pourquoi-quels-ingredients-inattendus-contiennent-ils-268619

November 2, 2025

Trump’s squeeze of Venezuela goes beyond ‘Monroe doctrine’ – in ideology, intent and scale, it’s unprecedented

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Alan McPherson, Professor of History, Temple University

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro points at a map in September 2025. AP Photo/Jesus Vargas

A massive military buildup in the Caribbean has sparked speculation that the U.S. is now engaged in its latest chapter of direct intervention in Latin America.

For now, at least, President Donald Trump has walked back suggestions that Washington is eyeing strikes inside Venezuela, seemingly content with attacking numerous naval vessels under the guise of a counter-narcotics operation. But nonetheless, U.S. presence in the region will enlarge further in the coming weeks with the arrival of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford.

As a scholar of U.S.-Latin American relations, I know the actions of the current U.S. administration smack of a long history of interventions in the region. Should escalation develop from attacks on ships into direct military confrontation with Venezuela, such aggression would appear to be par for the course in inter-American relations.

And certainly, governments across Latin America – in and out of Venezuela – will place it in this historical context.

But while it does hearken back to some quasi-piratical practices of the U.S. Navy, the military buildup now is in key respects both unprecedented and shocking. It could also damage U.S. relations with the rest of the hemisphere for a generation to come.

A history of intervention

In the most obvious way, deploying a flotilla of warships to the southern Caribbean evokes dark echoes of “gunboat diplomacy” – the unilateral dispatch of marines or soldiers to strong-arm foreign governments that was especially prevalent in Latin America. One reliable account tallies 41 of these in the region from 1898 to 1994.

Of these, 17 were direct U.S. cases of aggression against sovereign nations and 24 were U.S. forces supporting Latin American dictators or military regimes. Many ended in the overthrow of democratic governments and the deaths of thousands. From 1915 to 1934, for example, the U.S. invaded and then occupied Haiti and may have killed as many as 11,500 people.

A man demonstrates at a rally. — A Venezuelan supporter of Maduro takes part in a rally against U.S. military activity in the Caribbean.
Federico Parra/AFP via Getty Images

During World War II and the Cold War, Washington continued to dictate Latin America’s politics, showing an eagerness to respond to any perceived threat to U.S. investments or markets and backing pro-Washington dictatorships such as Augusto Pinochet’s rule over Chile from 1973 to 1990.

Latin Americans have, by and large, chafed at such naked displays of Washington’s power. This opposition from Latin American governments was the main reason that President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave up interventions with his “Good Neighbor” policy in the 1930s. Intervention continued, though, throughout the Cold War, with moves against leftist governments in Nicaragua and Grenada in the 1980s.

The end of the Cold War did not quite end military interventions. Some U.S. armed forces still operated in the hemisphere, but, since 1994, they had done so as part of multilateral forces, as in Haiti, or responding to invitations or collaborated with host nations, for instance in anti-narcotics operations in the Andes and Central America.

Showing respect for national sovereignty and non-intervention – both sacred principles in the hemisphere – especially in the context of rising drug violence, has largely quieted the resistance to the presence of U.S. troops in the largest nations in the hemisphere, such as Mexico and Brazil.

No mere Monroe Doctrine reboot

So is Trump merely reviving a long-abandoned stance on the U.S. role in the region?

Not even close. In two key ways, aggression against Venezuela or any other Latin American country now – rationalized by Washington as a response to insufficient law enforcement against drug-running – would be dangerously unprecedented.

First, it would blow out of the water the age-old justification for U.S. armed intervention called the Monroe Doctrine.

Since 1823, when President James Monroe announced it, the U.S. has aimed to keep outside powers out of the republics of the hemisphere.

Once a Latin American people won its independence, Washington believed, it had the right to keep it, and the U.S. Navy helped in any way it could.

By the early 20th century, that purported help took on the look of a policeman patrolling the Caribbean Sea on a beat, wielding what then-U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called a “big stick” and keeping Europeans from landing and, say, collecting debts. Sometimes this was done by having the Marines land first and move a country’s gold to Wall Street.

An old political cartoon shows a map of people looking at naval vessels. — A 1904 cartoon in the New York Herald shows European leaders observing American naval power under the Monroe Doctrine.
Bettmann/Getty Images

An expansion of the Panama precedent

Even during the Cold War, the Monroe Doctrine could be logically invoked to keep the Soviets out of the hemisphere – whether in Guatemala in 1954, Cuba in 1961, the Dominican Republic in 1965 or Grenada in 1983.

Often, as in Guatemala, the Soviet link was weak, even nonexistent. But there was still a thin thread of keeping out a “foreign ideology” that seemed to keep Monroe relevant.

The doctrine died a surer death with the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove its rogue leader, Manuel Noriega, convicted of drug-running and guilty of trouncing his country’s democracy. No one fingered an extra-hemispheric accomplice.

Noriega’s removal by about 26,000 U.S. troops might be the closest parallel to Trump’s targeting of alleged drugs boats in the Caribbean. Trump has already – and repeatedly – alleged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is, like Noriega, not the head of state of his own country and therefore indictable. More fantastically, he has alleged that the Venezuelan leader is the head of the Tren de Aragua gang that has been designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by U.S. authorities. It is not too big a leap from there to calling for – and participating in – the overthrow of Maduro on the grounds of removing an international “narco-terrorist.”

But even there, the parallel with Panama diverges in a crucial way: A U.S. attack on Venezuela would be far different in scale and geography. Maduro’s country is 12 times larger, with about six times the population. Its active troops number at least 100,000.

A photo of a bombed out vehicle. — A 1989 photo of the bombed out Panamanian Defense Forces Headquarters after being destroyed in the American invasion of Panama.
AP Photo/Matias Recar

Another Iraq?

In all of the U.S. invasions and occupations of Latin America, none has occurred in South America or in a large country.

To be sure, troops from “the colossus of the north” invaded Mexico several times, beginning in 1846, but never did they hold the entire country. In the Mexican War, U.S. troops soon retreated after 1848. In 1914, they occupied a single city, Veracruz, and in 1916, they chased around a bandit in the Punitive Expedition.

In all these episodes, it found taking parts of Mexico expensive and unproductive.

And a U.S.-provoked regime change in a sovereign country today, such as in Venezuela, would likely trigger a massive resistance not only from its military but throughout the country.

Maduro’s threat of a “republic in arms” should the U.S. invade might be bluster. But it might not. Many experts predict that such an invasion would meet with disaster. Maduro has already asked for military assistance from Russia, China and even Iran. Even without such help, the mobilization of U.S. assets in the Caribbean is no guarantee of success.

And while many governments in the rest of the hemisphere would no doubt love to see Maduro gone, they would dislike more the method of his going. The presidents of Colombia and Mexico have criticized the attacks, and others have warned of the resentment in the hemisphere were an intervention to follow.

In part, this is informed by the U.S. interventionist past in Latin America, but it also comes from a place of self-preservation, particularly among the left-leaning governments who have already drawn Trump’s ire. As President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil said, “If this becomes a trend, if each one thinks they can invade another’s territory to do whatever they want, where is the respect for the sovereignty of nations?”

Venezuela is, contrary to the White House’s statements, not much of a producer or trans-shipment point of narcotics. What if Trump turned his sights on other government even more compromised by drug corruption, such as Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru?

The concern there will be over becoming the next domino in line.

Alan McPherson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Trump’s squeeze of Venezuela goes beyond ‘Monroe doctrine’ – in ideology, intent and scale, it’s unprecedented – https://theconversation.com/trumps-squeeze-of-venezuela-goes-beyond-monroe-doctrine-in-ideology-intent-and-scale-its-unprecedented-268845

November 2, 2025

Lasting peace and recovery in Gaza depends on local participation, not just ceasefires

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mahmood Fayazi, Assistant Professor and Head of Disaster and Emergency Management Program, Royal Roads University

Two years into the Israeli war in Gaza, world leaders recently gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to deliberate on a long-awaited peace plan to end the conflict.

As part of this plan, both Israel and Hamas agreed to another ceasefire agreement — the latest in a series of truces that have repeatedly collapsed since the war began in late 2023.

The meeting, involving Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States, marks the most concerted diplomatic effort yet to halt a conflict that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and at least 1,200 Israelis, according to Israel. It’s also displaced nearly 400,000 Palestinians.

Yet even if the fighting does stop, fundamental questions persist: how, when and by whom will Gaza be rebuilt? The recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will undoubtedly be an immense and complex undertaking, but the history of past conflicts sheds light on the way forward.

The scale of destruction

A February report from the World Bank estimated that recovery and reconstruction needs in Gaza and the West Bank will cost US$53.2 billion. Around US$20 billion of this is required to restore essential services, rebuild infrastructure and revitalize the economy — an amount exceeding the annual GDP of Belarus and Slovenia.

The scale of devastation is staggering. An estimated 84 per cent of the Gaza Strip and up to 92 per cent of Gaza City has been destroyed, with satellite data showing 292,904 homes destroyed or damaged. More than 60 million tonnes of debris — equivalent to 24,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — is awaiting removal.

The conflict has devastated Gaza’s economic sectors. Up to 96 per cent of agricultural assets and 82 per cent of businesses were damaged or destroyed, halting production and eliminating key income sources.

Years of Israel’s blockade on Gaza — which predates Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel — have further restricted the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza, severing access to international markets and vital raw materials. As a result, there has been near-total economic collapse and the private sector faces complete paralysis.

Beyond the physical and economic devastation, Gaza’s population faces severe psychological trauma. High rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, coupled with displacement and community breakdown, risk creating an intergenerational cycle of suffering through the psychological and epigenetic transmission of trauma.

Trump’s controversial peace plan

In an attempt to jump-start Gaza’s recovery, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a 20-point peace plan envisioning interim governance by a committee of Palestinian technocrats under a “Board of Peace.” Authority would later be transferred to the Palestinian Authority following institutional reforms.

The plan outlines an economic development program to be designed by experts who “helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East.” It also includes the creation of a “special economic zone” and temporary security provided by International Stabilization Forces made up of U.S., Arab and international partners.

Under the proposal, Hamas, which has governed Gaza for nearly two decades, would be expected to disarm, accept amnesty and transfer control to international forces. Yet even if Hamas disarms, experts estimate up to 100,000 members could remain in Gaza’s political landscape and reconstitute under new forms to maintain influence.

While the peace plan outlines a framework for recovery, past post-conflict settings shows that externally designed plans rarely succeed without active local engagement.

Learning from past failures

As an expert in disaster and emergency management, I am conducting an ongoing systematic literature review (not yet published) analyzing recovery processes across post-war settings in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan demonstrate that it’s naive to assume economic, administrative and security frameworks can succeed without genuinely engaging the local population.

This research shows that externally driven recovery plans often fail, and underscores the importance of adapting lessons from places where recovery has been effective.

My developing review suggests several critical factors for sustainable recovery:

Developing local capacities
Building strong and transparent institutions
Implementing gradual and sequenced reforms
Ensuring there is a deliberate transition from external to local leadership

Conversely, over-relying on external powers, neglecting capacity-building and failing to address social exclusion and power imbalances can undermine long-term outcomes.

Rebuilding hope through local participation

A common theme across nearly all the studies I looked at is the importance of restoring household livelihoods. This can be done by revitalizing economic production, supporting small businesses and implementing reforms that empower communities and restore hope.

After financing more than US$6.2 billion across 157 post-conflict operations in 18 countries, the World Bank concluded in 1997 that “without economic hope, we will not have peace.” This underscores the central role of economic recovery and livelihood restoration in post-war reconstruction.

An analysis of 36 post-civil war peace episodes (1990–2014) highlights the need for co-ordinated international efforts focused on administrative restructuring, judicial reform and local government elections.

Successfully integrating diverse political voices in post-war governance promotes transparency, accountability and local ownership, while helping to restore hope among populations affected by war.

In contrast, top-down reforms implemented without local engagement, as seen in Cambodia and Pakistan, can deepen divisions and undermine peace and development.

Toward a people-centred reconstruction

Although each post-war context is unique and requires its own approach, research consistently shows that actively including survivors in recovery efforts is essential.

Gaza’s reconstruction will only succeed if its people regain hope and play a central role in shaping a safe, peaceful and prosperous future for themselves and their communities.

Any international coalition or political initiatives aimed at rebuilding Gaza must recognize that survivors are not passive victims. They are central agents of their own recovery, whose voices must guide the reconstruction process.

Once immediate humanitarian needs are met through international support, all subsequent decisions about Gaza’s long-term development must be made through inclusive, democratic processes.

Fair and transparent elections must follow the urgent restoration of security, food, clean water, health care and education. Only through such an inclusive and locally grounded process can Gaza move toward genuine recovery, lasting peace and sustainable development.

Mahmood Fayazi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Lasting peace and recovery in Gaza depends on local participation, not just ceasefires – https://theconversation.com/lasting-peace-and-recovery-in-gaza-depends-on-local-participation-not-just-ceasefires-268176

November 2, 2025

What’s the No. 1 MBA? Why business deans invest in rankings, knowing they miss a lot

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Catherine Heggerud, Associate Professor (Teaching), Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

When Harvard Business School tumbled to sixth place in the U.S. News MBA rankings in 2020, the reaction was swift. Critics questioned the methodology, picking up on earlier critiques of rankings.

Some ranking skeptics continue to point to low response rates — for example, in 2025, U.S. News disclosed that approximately only half of the ranked schools participated in peer assessment surveys, which gauge how top administrators regard other institutions.

Yet behind closed doors, business school deans across North America have nuanced conversations about rankings — ones that reveal an uncomfortable truth about how rankings shape their institutions.

I interviewed four Canadian business school deans about the influence of MBA rankings on strategic planning during 2021-22, using semi-structured questions. These deans represent about a quarter of management schools from research-intensive universities in Canada. I discovered something striking: these leaders simultaneously dismiss rankings as flawed measures, while dedicating significant institutional resources to improving them.

The ranking obsession is real

Despite their public skepticism about rankings, every dean I interviewed could point to concrete ways their schools invest in them.

One noted that “all the data collection happened within the school” and identified a dedicated data analyst whose job centres on ranking submissions. Another described having “a senior staff member who is in charge of gathering the data” and co-ordinates with media relations teams.

The contradiction becomes starker when you examine what deans say versus what they do. In interviews, I heard statements like “we can never rank so it’s a waste of our time” and “the ranking itself, if that aligned with your mission, who cares?” Yet these same leaders described conducting internal “education campaigns” to help stakeholders understand rankings and carefully select which ranking systems to participate in based on where their programs might perform well.

A person in front of a screen showing various metrics indicators. — Deans described different ways of investing energy and resources in rankings.
(Ruthson Zimmerman/Unsplash)

What rankings miss

The deans’ skepticism is founded. Current MBA ranking methodologies have significant blind spots that leaders recognize but feel powerless to address.

Take the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking, which heavily emphasizes post-graduation salary data and international diversity. Or QS World University Rankings that weighs “thought leadership” through media mentions and research publications. These metrics favour certain types of programs while potentially disadvantaging schools serving different missions or regional economies.

One dean told me bluntly: “The faculty that understand the rankings care less.” This observation cuts to the heart of the problem — those closest to the educational mission see rankings as measuring the wrong things.

Rankings measure what’s easy to count, not what matters. Teaching quality, mentorship, curriculum innovation — none show up in the formulas. Neither does information on whether graduates become ethical leaders or build meaningful careers over decades rather than months.

As the Rockefeller Institute found, when schools chase rankings, they end up “working toward improving their performance as measured by ranking factors rather than toward actual improvement of the academics and educational experience.”

Academic research shows ranking systems distort institutional behaviour, while studies of business schools demonstrate rankings “blindly follow the money,” ignoring social impact and educational quality.

The financial pressure driving the paradox

So why do deans continue playing a game if they know it’s flawed?

Canadian universities increasingly depend on international student tuition as government funding has declined. Between 2000 and 2021, tuition revenue at Canadian universities grew from 14.4 per cent to 25.6 per cent of total revenue.

For MBA programs, while program costs vary, international students pay significantly more than domestic students: for example, at Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, domestic students pay around $70,000 while international students pay around $109,000.

As one dean explained to me: “By accepting international students, we are helping domestic students from the funding cuts.” Another noted that “rankings are mostly important for international students” who use them as key decision-making tools when evaluating programs from abroad.

This creates a compelling justification: pursue better rankings to attract international students, whose higher tuition subsidizes domestic students and program quality. It’s a rationale that allows academic leaders to reconcile their intellectual skepticism with market reality.

As deans make sense of the landscape where they lead, they interpret the ranking landscape — while also shaping how stakeholders understand it. This reflects a broader paradox: deans must simultaneously embrace contradictory demands — dismissing rankings publicly while investing privately. A dynamic tension persists.

What this means for the future

Rankings have transformed from a strategic choice into an operational necessity. What began as optional marketing has become embedded in how business schools function and communicate.

For prospective MBA students: treat rankings as one data point among many. Review official employment reports, which detail hiring companies and placement rates. Connect with alumni through LinkedIn or school events to hear about actual experiences. Investigate which companies recruit at different schools and which program culture matches your preferences.

For business education more broadly, the ranking paradox reveals a system increasingly shaped by external accountability measures that may not align with core educational missions.

Until ranking methodologies evolve to better capture what makes business education valuable — or until institutions find ways to communicate quality that don’t depend on rankings — deans will continue walking this tightrope, publicly dismissing what they privately work hard to improve.

Catherine Heggerud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What’s the No. 1 MBA? Why business deans invest in rankings, knowing they miss a lot – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-no-1-mba-why-business-deans-invest-in-rankings-knowing-they-miss-a-lot-266556

November 2, 2025

Why DEI needs depth, not death

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Marycarmen Lara Villanueva, PhD Candidate, Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

The Conservative Party of Canada and leader Pierre Poilievre have begun circulating a petition calling for the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and the reinstatement of “the merit principle,” arguing DEI spending and government waste “need to die.” The petition echoes Elon Musk’s infamous “DEI must DIE” social media post two years ago.

Similarly, in 2024, Conservative MP Jamil Jivani launched a petition to end DEI and focus on affordability, without acknowledging that inequity and unaffordability are deeply connected. Building on this momentum, Jivani has since launched his Restore the North Tour, which seems like a Canadian version of Charlie Kirk’s movement, given its aim to appeal to disaffected young men.

Inevitably, commentary on these measures has cast them as Canada’s version of America’s culture wars. While there are obvious parallels, this framing obscures Canada’s own history of injustice.

Systemic inequality

DEI initiatives, like all frameworks for social change, are not perfect. Pointing to their perceived limitations to revive the illusion of meritocracy and historical denial is hardly new. But these criticisms are being weaponized at a moment when equity work is needed most.

Recent portrayals of DEI as “anti-merit and anti-individual,” “hollow signalling” or “flawed and illiberal” are textbook examples of what the late American philosopher Charles Mills described as “white ignorance” — a deliberate and organized refusal to see how systemic inequality works.

The late Charles Mills delivers a speech on racial injustice and liberalism in 2012 (Stony Brook University).

They suggest a refusal to acknowledge well-documented histories of Indigenous dispossession, gendered and racial injustice, institutional racism and generations of what geographer Ruth Wilson Gilmore terms “organized abandonment” — when the state and capital abandon communities through neglect, privatization and degradation of the environment.

In other words, these criticisms do not represent an innocent ignorance, but a dangerous refusal to know.

Economics versus equity

The Conservative petition claims that $1.049 billion was wasted in DEI funding. This claim conceals a deeper truth about the way public money actually circulates.

In 2023, the total operating budget for all police services was $19.7 billion, an increase of six per cent from the previous year. Policing in Canada has a long history of surveillance and criminalization, from Indigenous land defenders to Muslims and pro-Palestinian supporters.

Fatal encounters with police also disproportionately affect Black and racialized people and continue to rise.

Other forms of public spending go almost unquestioned — from billions in fossil fuel subsidies to the steady expansion of border surveillance — resulting in environmental injustice and border violence, respectively.

In contrast, DEI’s $1.049-billion price tag was spent over several years. The claim of wasteful equity spending reflects a broader pattern of scapegoating DEI for systemic economic failures. What is deemed a waste may reveal who, and what, our society values.

Racial capitalism

What’s known as racial capitalism — a system where racial inequality is built into how wealth and power are produced and shared — sheds light on how class exploitation and racial domination are interconnected. As Black radical theorist Cedric Robinson explained, capitalism did not emerge separate from racial hierarchy, but through it.

Understanding racial capitalism helps explain why equity work must extend beyond representation and inclusion. British-American race scholar Arun Kundnani has argued that DEI programs focusing on unconscious bias, racial awareness training and increasing representation do not tackle the economic and institutional root causes of inequity.

DEI programs therefore need to address racial capitalism; if they don’t, they may end up supporting it by using racialized people as resources and judging success only by numbers.

In other words, the economy cannot be “fixed” without unraveling the racial, classist, ableist and gendered hierarchies that it requires to function. Inequality is not really a flaw in the system but its organizing principle.

Sharper DEI

Policymakers should work to defend DEI initiatives from far-right attacks, Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and economic scapegoating. But DEI measures also need to be critiqued and improved in ways that honour their historical trajectory and acknowledge their limitations.

Doing so requires confronting and untangling the deep layers of injustice and exploitation that are the foundation of many organizations and institutions.

Anti-DEI rhetoric can be considered an expression of anti-Blackness and, by extension, other forms of racism. It is also bound up with sexism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia and classism.

Instead of abandoning DEI, Canada should strengthen and reshape it to better promote the structural equity our communities deserve.

The future of equity in Canada depends on moving beyond simply counting racialized people in power and must instead examine how power works, upholds injustice and can be collectively transformed for real systemic change.

Marycarmen Lara Villanueva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Why DEI needs depth, not death – https://theconversation.com/why-dei-needs-depth-not-death-268136

November 2, 2025

How the physics of baseball explains Blue Jay Kevin Gausman’s signature pitch

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Patrick Clancy, Assistant Professor, Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University

There are few sports more exciting than playoff baseball, but behind every pitch there is also a fascinating story of physics. From gravity to spin, the science shaping the game can be just as compelling as the action on the field.

When the World Series returned to Toronto for Game 6, right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman took the mound for the first six innings. Gausman’s best pitch is the splitter, an off-speed pitch that looks like a conventional fastball but travels more slowly and drops more sharply before it crosses the plate.

Physicists consider the flight of a baseball as an example of projectile motion. The trajectory of the ball depends on several forces: the force of gravity (pulling the ball downwards), the drag force (slowing the ball as it moves through the air), and the Magnus force (which causes the ball to curve if it spins as it travels).

Why splitters are so hard to hit

So why is the splitter so difficult to hit? Start with speed. The average speed of Gausman’s fastball is 95 miles per hour (or 42.5 meters a second). Since the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate is 18.4 meters, this means that it takes 430 milliseconds, or less than half a second, for Gausman’s fastball to reach the batter.

In contrast, the splitter, which travels at an average speed of 85 mph (or 38.0 m/s), takes 490 milliseconds. That 60 millisecond-difference may seem small, but it can be enough to separate a strike from a base hit.

For context, a typical swing for a major league batter takes approximately 150 milliseconds. This includes time for the batter’s eye to form a picture of the ball leaving the pitcher’s hand, for their brain to process this information and send signals to the muscles in their arms, legs and torso, and for their muscles to respond and swing the bat.

This means a batter has roughly a quarter of a second to judge the trajectory of a pitch and decide whether to swing. Considering that it takes approximately 100 milliseconds for a blink of the human eye, it’s remarkable that batters can hit any major league pitch at all.

The importance of the drop

The second secret to the splitter is the drop. All baseball pitches drop as they travel towards home plate due to the force of gravity, which causes a baseball (or any object in freefall) to accelerate downwards.

If there were no other forces acting on the ball, this would cause Gausman’s fastball to drop by about 92 centimetres on the way to home plate, and his splitter to drop by approximately 115 centimetres.

In practice, however, there is another important force that acts on the ball to oppose the effect of gravity — the Magnus force. The Magnus force arises from the rotation or spin of an object (like a baseball) as it passes through a fluid (like air).

The ball’s rotation makes air move faster over one side than the other. On the side spinning in the same direction as the airflow, air speed increases; on the opposite side, it slows down. This difference in air speed creates a pressure imbalance, generating a force that acts perpendicular to the ball’s path.

This is an example of Bernoulli’s Principle, the same phenomenon that generates lift as air passes around the wing of an airplane.

In the case of a fastball, the pitcher creates a strong backspin by pulling back with their index and middle fingers as they release the ball. This rotation results in an upwards force, which causes the ball to drop far less than it would under the effect of gravity alone. The faster the rotation, the stronger this lift force becomes.

Gausman’s signature pitch

Gausman’s fastball typically drops 25 to 30 centimetres on the way to home plate — less than one third of the drop experienced by a “dead ball” without spin.

On the splitter, he changes his grip to dramatically reduce the amount of backspin, weakening the Magnus force and allowing the ball to fall much farther, about 50 to 75 centimetres, before it hits the plate. The result is a pitch that doesn’t reach the batter when or where they expect it to be.

Kevin Gausman explains the art of the splitter. (Toronto Blue Jays)

While the Blue Jays failed to win a third World Series title, Gausman’s splitter offered an example of how physics can shape performance in elite sport. Understanding the science behind the pitch offers a new way to appreciate the game.

Patrick Clancy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How the physics of baseball explains Blue Jay Kevin Gausman’s signature pitch – https://theconversation.com/how-the-physics-of-baseball-explains-blue-jay-kevin-gausmans-signature-pitch-268732