The federal government wants to boost productivity. Science can help
By: Deanna D’Alessandro, Professor & Director, Net Zero Institute, University of Sydney and Kate Harrison Brennan, Director, Sydney Policy Lab, University of Sydney In the wake of Labor’s resounding victory in Australia’s federal election earlier this month, there has been much talk about flailing productivity in Australia. In fact, last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer […]
Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work
By: Kimberly Przeszlowski, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Quinnipiac University In 2021, a driver in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ran a red light, striking and killing a 7-year-old and injuring his father. The suspect fled the scene and eventually escaped to Mexico. Using camera footage and cellphone data, the Albuquerque Police Department’s real-time crime center played a crucial […]
The public service has a much smaller gender pay gap than the private sector. It’s a big achievement
By: Leonora Risse, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Canberra After two years of publishing the gender pay gaps of Australia’s private-sector companies, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has released public-sector employer data for the first time. The report shows a stark contrast between the private and public sectors. The Commonwealth public sector has a […]
Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how
By: Colleen Tolan, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Center for Women in Business, Rutgers University Lisa Kaplowitz, Associate Professor & Executive Director, Center for Women in Business, Rutgers University Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans believe women are thriving, over […]
We analyzed racial justice statements from the 500 largest US companies and found that DEI officials really did have an influence
By: Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Employment Equity, UMass Amherst Jorge Quesada Velazco, Ph.D. in Economics, UMass Amherst Kevin L. Young, Professor of Economics, UMass Amherst In 2020, American businesses responded to an unprecedented wave of racial justice protests with an equally unprecedented surge in corporate commitments. Even as President Donald […]
Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects
By: Maria Lungu, Postdoctoral Researcher of Law and Public Administration, University of Virginia The 2002 sci-fi thriller “Minority Report” depicted a dystopian future where a specialized police unit was tasked with arresting people for crimes they had not yet committed. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the […]
Educators find creative work-arounds to new laws that restrict what they can teach
By: Riley Drake, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stout Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has attempted to bar teachers from discussing racism and sexism in K-12 schools and order all schools that receive federal funding to recognize only two gender identities – male and female – potentially barring teachers from acknowledging the existence of nonbinary, gender queer and transgender […]
The sudden dismissal of public records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability
By: Reshma Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Yale University Mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services are continuing as the agency makes good on its intention, announced on March 27, 2025, to shrink its workforce by 20,000 people. Among workers dismissed in early April were several teams responsible for fulfilling requests for […]
23andMe is potentially selling more than just genetic data – the personal survey info it collected is just as much a privacy problem
By: Kayte Spector-Bagdady, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan As soon as the genetic testing company 23andMe filed for bankruptcy on March 23, 2025, concerns about what would happen to the personal information contained in its massive genetic and health information database were swift and widespread. A few days after, a U.S. judge ruled […]
More than just chips: Chinese threats and Trump tariffs could disrupt lots of ‘made in Taiwan’ imports − disappointing US builders, cyclists and golfers alike
By: Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor Questrom School of Business, Boston University What would the United States stand to lose economically if its current access to the Taiwanese market were upended or totally restricted? This seemingly theoretical question about the longtime U.S. trading partner has taken on more relevance in the past several weeks. […]