The academic plagiarism saga of Jason Arday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Wikipedia page says that Jason Arday was appointed as a professor of Sociology of Education at Cambridge University in March 2023. In April 2026 he gave a keynote speech at the seventy-fifth anniversary conference of the British Sociological Association that was titled Wanted Dead or Alive: The Playbook. It was discussed in an article by Lanre Bakare at The Guardian on August 1, 2026 titled Playbooks, plagiarism and a pig’s head: new claims surrounding a star Cambridge professor. That article described that Arday had plagiarized his 2015 PhD thesis from one six years earlier by Paula Zwozdiak-Myers.

 

A second article by Caitlin Doherty at BBC News on August 5, 2026 is titled Cambridge professor at centre of plagiarism row resigns. A third article by Danica Kirka at the Associated Press [The Hill] on August 6, 2026 is titled Youngest Black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism.

 

His memoir Great and Unfortunate Things just was published. Yet another article by Rikki Schlott at the New York Post on August 10, 2026 is titled Plagiarist prof Jason Arday’s life story is published tomorrow, and it gets more unbelievable by the page.

 

I first saw the professor mentioned in still another article by Edzard Ernst on August 10, 2026 titled The Jason Arday saga – a “vile campaign to undermine his credibility”???.

 

The grasping hand image came from Wikimedia Commons.  

 

 

Idaho’s Wassmuth Center for Human Rights celebrates its thirtieth anniversary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An article by Valentin Termite at the Idaho Capital Sun on June 18, 2026 is titled Believing in the goodness of people: Idaho human rights center celebrates 30-year anniversary. It links to their web page on Wassmuth Powerful Practices, which briefly are titled (and then also explained in detail):

 

Collect Joy

Design for Belonging

Listen Deeply

Stay Curious

Notice and Name Bright Spots

Align Actions with Values

 

To collect joy you should:

 

“Notice, savor, and share moments of connection, warmth, and delight as expressions of human dignity and belonging. Paying attention to what is life-giving cultivates hope and sustains commitment to building a better world for all.” 

 

And, to listen deeply you should:

 

“Offer your full presence to another person without interruption, judgment, or trying to fix. Seeking to understand feelings, perspectives, and needs affirms that every person matters.” 

 

On October 27, 2024 I blogged about A new building at Boise’s Wassmuth Center for Human Rights with quotations carved in stone.

 

The border for the thirtieth came from OpenClipArt.

 

 

Polystyrene foam revealed by a demonstration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

There is an interesting article by Joe Schwarcz at the McGill Office for Science and Society on June 9, 2026 titled The Case of the Missing Coffee Cup. He describes a demonstration:

 

“It is a demonstration that never fails to draw oohs and ahhs from students. Pour a small amount of acetone into the bottom of a beaker and drop in a foamed plastic coffee cup. It instantly seems to melt into the liquid and within seconds just vanishes.

Of course, matter cannot just vanish, but it can change from one form into another. Like sugar dissolving in water, the plastic dissolves in the acetone. How can so much plastic dissolve so quickly in so little acetone? Because there is actually very little plastic in that coffee cup.

Yet that little plastic has been expanded by being filled with gas bubbles, much like blowing up a balloon. As the plastic dissolves, the air is released, and we have an apparent magical effect.”

I repeated it using a cubical sample of polystyrene foam insulation placed in a glass custard cup as shown above. When acetone was added, it became just a small puddle. That got even smaller after the acetone evaporated.

A Wikipedia page for Polystyrene has a section on Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) – commonly known as Styrofoam.

 

 

 

 

Toastmasters International went back in time by reviving their Competent Communication manual

 

 

 

 

 

In July 2020 Toastmasters International discontinued use of their hard-copy Competent Communication manual, and the 15 Advanced Communication manuals described here at District 5. There is an online-only one-page news article by Paul Sterman in the October 2025 Toastmaster magazine titled Pathways Additions Arrive that includes:

 

“Vintage Paths: Two vintage paths are scheduled to be released in 2026, including one featuring foundational content designed by Toastmasters founder Dr. Ralph C. Smedley. One path will include the Basic Training Manual with original content from Smedley. The manual will be available on Base Camp with its original vintage look. The other path will consist of the Competent Communication manual and two Advanced Communication manuals, also accessed on Base Camp. The vintage paths will give members additional flexibility in the Pathways program while providing a window to the organization’s past.”

 

More detail is mentioned at the Pathways Updates web page:

 

April 2026 – Vintage Paths

 

“Two new Pathways paths are now available, allowing members to step into Toastmasters history. Basic Training for Toastmasters features a version of Toastmasters content first introduced by Ralph C. Smedley in 1943. The Communication Series: Entertaining + Storytelling includes the beloved Competent Communication manual along with The Entertaining Speaker and Storytelling Advanced Communication manuals. Both paths are available for purchase in English on the Choose a Path page after the completion of Level 1 in any other path. Members working on a vintage path will access the classic content on Base Camp, where they can navigate through the manual on Base Camp or download and print a copy. Members will earn Distinguished Club Program credit, along with new credentials and badges for every level in these paths.”

 

The revival reminds me of this song shown in a four-minute YouTube video titled The Rocky Horror Picture Show “Time Warp” (1975).

 

 

Giving a speech or doing a demonstration at a 4-H club day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-H is a national youth development program administered by the Cooperative Extension System under the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The name refers to a focus on personal qualities of Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. 4-H clubs provide youth opportunities related to agriculture, civic engagement, healthy living and STEM.

 

Back on August 19, 2012 I had blogged about watching A 4-H speech at the Western Idaho Fair. 4-H clubs have speech contests for teenagers (and younger children). State (or provincial) university extension services responsible for 4-H clubs have detailed instructional materials about giving presentations, which are useful for all teenagers. Here are some examples:

 

California

There is a 58-page pdf article from the University of California revised on January 28, 2021 and titled 4-H Presentation Manual.

 

Kansas

There is an 11-page pdf article from Kansas State University – Extension Harper County titled Thinking of doing a Talk or Demonstration at 4-H Day? WHY NOT! Here are some helpful hints! Another 6-page pdf article from July 2019 is titled Kansas 4-H Preparing and Using Visual Aids – Fact Sheet 7.0.

 

Maryland

A 26-page pdf article from February 2021 is titled the Maryland 4-H Public Speaking Guide.

 

Montana

A 64-page pdf article from the Montana State University Extension in 2016 is titled Montana 4-H Clover Communications.

 

North Carolina

A 18-page pdf article from May 2019 is titled North Carolina 4-H Presentations.

 

Orgeon

A 16-page pdf article from Oregon Cooperative Extension in January 2017 is titled 4-H Presentation Guide.

 

South Dakota

A 22-page pdf article from May 2019 is titled the South Dakota 4-H Public Presentation Guideline.

 

Texas

A 21-page pdf article from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service on June 1999 is titled Public Speaking…4-H Style. Another 16-page pdfarticle by Iris Kalich from the Texas Agricultural Extension Service is titled 4-H Public Presentation Guide: Method demonstrations & Illustrated Talks. And a 61-page pdf article from Texas A & M Agrilife EXTENSION is titled Explore Public Speaking Project.

 

Wisconsin

A 16-page pdf article from the University of Wisconsin Extension: 4-H Youth Development on December 2023 is titled A Parent’s Guide to Public Speaking.

 

Alberta

A 22-page pdf article from 4-H Alberta on September 2005 is titled Speaking Your Way to Success. And another massive 142-page pdf articleby Hugh Phillips from 4-H Alberta on October 2005 is titled 4-H Speak Pack – Communicating Effectively….the 4-H Way.

 

The 4-H emblem came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Steeped in an excellent metaphor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a very serious, 9-page pdf article by Pragnesh Parmar and Gunvanti Rathod at Academic Forensic Pathology on January 13, 2026 titled The Tea-Steeping Metaphor: Origin, Application, Advantages, Disadvantages, and Impact on Forensic Medicine Teaching. I found it by searching PubMed Central. The article describes how:

 

“The ‘tea-steeping metaphor’ originates from a universally familiar process—brewing tea—where the infusion of flavor, color, and aroma is directly influenced by the duration of steeping and the conditions in which it occurs. This analogy has been increasingly embraced in educational literature to illustrate the pedagogical necessity of allowing learners adequate time and appropriate contexts to achieve deep, meaningful learning. The metaphor emphasizes that just as tea leaves gradually infuse water to create a robust brew, learners too require sustained engagement within conducive environments to fully internalize, reflect upon, and apply new knowledge.”

 

Four paragraphs describe advantages, which are:

Encourages Deep Learning

Supports Patience and Persistence

Promotes Reflective Practice

High Adaptability Across Contexts

 

And another three paragraphs describe disadvantages, which are:

Time-Intensive Nature

Risk of Over-Saturation

Dependence on Optimal Learning Conditions

 

On April 19, 2022 I blogged about How to do a better job of researching medical and health articles. In that post I mentioned PubMed Central, which is a database with 11.6 million articles compiled by the U. S.  National Library of Medicine.

 

The image of a tea bag came from here at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Does the design of slides for medical lectures follow the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course not! There is a very recent and serious article by Rajin Le Blanc and Nicola Cooper at Clinical Teaching on December 10, 2025 which is titled Investigating Death by PowerPoint: Do Medical Lecturers Adhere to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning in Their Slide Design? They examined 52 lectures presented at the University of Nottingham. And they found that:

 

“Students were exposed to text‐heavy slides 84.4% of the time, an approach that CTML [Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning] shows impairs learning through violating the minimal text principle. In addition, the mean word count per slide was 38.2 – significantly more than the ‘few words’ suggested by the principle. Lecturers did however use images relatively frequently at 59.9% of the time.”

 

Counting its title, my slide example modified from Section 2.1 (and shown above) has 85 words, more than twice the 38.2 average.

 

There is another succinct four-page pdf article by Jacob B. Waxman and Sue J. Goldie from the Center for Health Decision Science at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health titled Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. That theory is also described by Richard E. Mayer in the 2020 third edition of his book, Multimedia Learning.

 

Give people a picture to teach them about health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a brief and useful article by Pernilla Garmy in the Journal of Research in Nursing on October 23, 2025 titled Reaching beyond words: supporting self-care through visual health education. She says that:

 

“From my own experience as a nurse and educator, I know that there is no single educational format that works for all patients. Some people benefit from verbal dialogue, others prefer detailed written materials. But for many, visual aids are a crucial complement. Pictures can clarify, engage and motivate – especially when literacy is limited or when energy and focus are low due to illness, stress, or comorbidities.

The fact that this resource is printed – not digital – also matters. A physical object can be held, browsed at one’s own pace, and brought along to consultations. It does not require a smartphone, internet access, or digital skills; which may be barriers for some groups. At the same time, digital tools may be more effective in other contexts. The point is: healthcare professionals need a flexible set of educational tools, adapted to the needs, abilities, and preferences of each individual.”

 My PowerPoint cartoon was assembled from those of a nurse and a pain scale at OpenClipArt.  

 

 

What experts know that you don’t

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a useful ten-minute YouTube video by Jim Cathcart on May 4, 2025 titled What Top 1% Experts Know That You Don’t. He shows a sketchy flipchart with Do (Doing) on the horizontal axis and Know (Knowing) on the vertical axis. And he mentions both can either be low or high.

 

We can divide things into a 2x2 table, which I have redrawn as a slick color version using PowerPoint, as is shown above. If both what you Know and what you Do is low, then you just are a Passenger (someone sitting in the back of the airplane). If what you Know is high but what you Do is low, then you are a Critic. If what you Know is low and what you Do is high, then now you are a Competitor. Finally, if both what you Know and what you Do is high, then you are a Leader (an Expert).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, as shown above, there are six levels of expertise (in increasing order):

 

Competent

Excellent

Expert

Leading Authority

Celebrity

Star

 

 

A half-dozen brief YouTube videos from TED-Ed teaching essential communication and presentation skills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a blog post from TED-Ed on August 21, 2025 titled Public Speaking 101 launched to teach essential communication and presentation skills. It says they plan a series with eleven YouTube videos. So far they have released the first six, which you can watch in less than 45 minutes:

 

1]  What happens when you share an idea? [5:29]

 

2]  How to uncover your best ideas [4:00]

 

3]  How to communicate clearly [7:11]

 

4]  What’s the best way to give a presentation? [8:06]

 

5]  How to speak with meaning [10:23]

 

6]  5 ways to connect with people [8:08 ]

 

Here is a transcript of the first one, What happens when you share an idea?:

 

"Great public speaking is like magic. Whether it’s a presentation for school, a talk for your community, or a video message for family and friends, a good talk can electrify and audience and even change the world.

 

It all starts with an idea. Ideas change everything. They bring people together, spark curiosity, and inspire action. The right idea can ripple across the planet at the speed of light.

 

But what is an idea, exactly? Your number one mission as a speaker is to take something that matters deeply to you and rebuild it in the minds of your listeners. That something is an idea. Think of it like a gift you give your audience; something they can walk away with, value, and be changed by.

 

Your idea doesn’t need to be a scientific discovery or a genius invention to be great. You can share instructions for a special skill you have. Or a story from your life and the lessons it taught you. Or a vision you have for the future. Or just a reminder of the things that matter most.

 

An idea is anything that can change how people see the world. If you can conjure up an exciting idea in someone’s mind, you have done something wondrous. A little piece of you has become part of them. In March 2015, a scientist named Sophie Scott gave a TED Talk [titled Why we laugh].

 

‘What I’m going to do now is just play some examples of real human beings laughing. And I want you just to think about the sounds people make and how odd that can be, and in fact how primitive laughter is as a sound. It’s much more like an animal call than it is like speech.

 

So here we’ve got some laughter for you – the first one is pretty joyful.’ Within minutes, Sophie had the entire audience cracking up. She’s one of the leading researchers on laughter. She was showing the audience just how weird a phenomenon laughter is.

 

‘Now, this next guy, I need him to breathe. There’s a point in this when I’m like you’ve got to get some air in there, because he just sounds like he’s berathing out. This hasn’t been edited, this is him.’

 

‘More like an animal call than speech,’ as Sophie put it. Sophie’s talk was a lot of fun to listen to, but she gave her audience something more than just a good time. She changed the way they think about laughter. Sophie’s core idea is that laughter exists as a way human beings form bonds with one another. Her research shows that laughing strengthens relationships.

 

Nobody who listened to Sophie’s talk will ever hear laughter the same way again. A laugh isn’t just a silly sound in reaction to a joke – it’s a biological process through which we can connect with one another. Sophie gave her audience a gift. She gave them an idea that will be part of them forever.

 

In order for an audience to receive the gift of an idea, a speaker has to deliver the idea in a way that the audience can understand. How does a speaker do that? Well, it can be helpful to think of a talk as a journey that a speaker and an audience take together. You, the speaker, are the trusty tour guide. To be a good tour guide, a speaker must start where the audience is, and must be careful not to lose anyone by rushing ahead or constantly changing direction. The goal is to lead the audience to a beautiful new place, step by step.

 

And this is done by using language. Language is a very powerful tool. Let’s prove it. Imagine an elephant with its trunk painted bright red, waving the trunk to and fro in sync with the shuffling steps of a giant orange parrot, dancing on the elephant’s head and shrieking over and over: ‘let’s do the fandango!’ You have just formed in your mind an image of something that has never existed in history, except in the minds of people who have heard that sentence. A single sentence can do that.

 

The fact that we can transfer ideas in this way is why speaking skills are so important. Language builds our world. Our ideas make us who we are. And speakers who have figured out how to spread their ideas into others’ minds have the power to make an incredible impact. Do you have ideas that deserve a wider audience? Focusing on what gift you would like to give your audience, or what journey you might lead them on, are two great ways to start preparing your talk."  

 

The cartoon was adapted from this one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

 

In his 2025 commencement address at the University of Maryland Kermit the Frog says to “leap together”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On May 22, 2025 the famous puppet Kermit the Frog spoke. (His creator, Jim Henson, was an alumnus of that university) He’s the ultimate speech prop! An article from The Associated Press at npr on May 23, 2025 is titled ‘Leap together,’ Kermit the Frog says in address at the University of Maryland graduation. His three main points are about:

 

1] Finding your people

2] Taking the leap together

3] Making connections

 

You can watch a fifteen-minute Youtube video at PBS NewsHour titled WATCH LIVE: Kermit the Frog delivers commencement speech at University of Maryland. And on May 23, 2025 The Baltimore Sun has another article titled Transcript: Read Kermit the Frog’s University of Maryland commencement speech.

 

Kermit is voiced by Matt Vogel, as described on June 6, 2023 in a nineteen-minute Youtube video at Webster University titled Matt Vogel | Webster University Commencement Speech |2023.

 

Is everyone really welcome here?

 

 

 

 

Recently in the Boise area there has been a continuing story regarding Sarah Inama, a 35-year-old world civilization teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian. She was told to take down posters which have been hanging in her class since she started working there four years ago. The story also was discussed in a nine-minute YouTube video from Chris Hayes at MSNBC on March 19, 2025 titled Idaho teacher fights back after order to remove ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ poster.

 

The story was discussed in two articles by Brian Holmes at KTVB7 – one on March 11, 2025 titled West Ada School District teacher ordered to remove inclusive signs from classroom and another on March 12, 2025 titled West Ada issues sports analogy response to teacher told to remove ‘everyone is welcome here’ poster.

 

There also have been a series of brief YouTube videos at KTVB7. One on March 10, 2025 is titled Idaho teacher ordered to remove “Everyone is welcome here” sign from classroom. A second on March 12, 2025 is titled Idaho school district issues memo regarding teacher told to remove “Everyone Is Welcome Here” poster. A third on March 13, 2025 is titled Idaho school district responds after telling teacher to remove inclusive signage from classroom. A fourth on March 20, 2025 is titled ‘Everyone Is Welcome Here’ shirts made by the thousands opposing West Ada’s decision.

 

 

UPDATE March 23, 2025

 

I missed a fifth video from KTVB7 on March 17, 2025 titled “Everyone is welcome here’: Idaho organizations join Wassmuth Center campaign. On October 27, 2024 I blogged about A new building at Boise’s Wassmuth Center for Human Rights with quotations carved in stone.

 

Making thinking visible is powerful

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visible thinking is a powerful cognitive process whereby a person’s thoughts are represented externally to support further thought and communication. It is a three-step process: 1) Develop an internal thought; 2) Externally represent that internal thought; 3) Couple those external representations with ongoing internal thoughts to support further thoughts.

 

I have been looking at a 2020 book by Ron Ritchhart and Mark Church titled The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to engage and empower all learners. There is a preview at Google Books.

 

An earlier article by Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins at Educational Leadership on February 2008, pages 57 to 61 that is titled Making Thinking Visible describes this topic, and includes the Compass Points routine that I have shown above via a PowerPoint graphic. There is a detailed collection from Project Zero of PZ’s Thinking Routines Toolbox.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 108 of the 2020 book shows another more detailed routine, Peeling the Fruit, which I have illustrated above via another colorful PowerPoint graphic.

 

Whose Bible should we use in Idaho schools?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Idaho Statesman on November 27, 2024 there is a guest opinion from Blaine Conzatti of the Idaho Family Policy Center (repeated from their web site) titled The Bible should be read in Idaho’s public schools. History and tradition support it.

 

Then, on November 29, 2024 there was a reply from The Rev. Joseph Farne titled Episcopal rector: Which Bible will we put in Idaho classrooms? They aren’t the same | Opinion. As shown above, there are three Deuterocanonical books included in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox versions which were left out of the Protestant one.

 

Trumpists likely would tell us to use the Protestant God Bless the U.S.A. Bible, also known as the Trump Bible (King James version) which, of course, poses a major problem – it being from a foreign state religion (Church of England). Catholics will feel left out. And what about the quarter or so of the Idaho population who are LDS, and thus might want us to also read from the Book of Mormon?

 

UPDATE: December 27, 2024

 

There is a guest opinion by Rowan Astra in the Idaho Statesman on December 27, 2024 titled Idaho’s government is supposed to protect religious freedom, not promote a religion. It says the Idaho Family Policy Center wants student to have to listen to twenty verses a day from the King James version.   

 

A free 52-page e-book on How to Give a Great Speech or Presentation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the web site for the Association of Fundraising Professionals there is a useful and free 52-page e-book from 2019 by Wayne Olson on How to Give a Great Speech or Presentation. Its ten sections are:

 

To Speak Well – page 1

Elements of a Great Speech – page 7

Prepare for Success – Page 19

The Point in PowerPoint – Page 23

Putting It Together – Page 27

Appendix A [Sample Speaker Biography] – Page 29

Appendix B [Speechwriting Checklist] – Page 33

Appendix C [Day-of-Speech Checklist] – Page 35

Appendix D [PowerPoint (Keynote) Checklist] – Page 37

Bibliography and Sources for Further Reading – Page 39

 

The image was adapted from one at Openclipart.