Maxwell School News and Commentary
Filtered by: Commentary
Benanav Talks to CNBC About AI and the Future of Work
“I think about academics having to write grants all the time,” says Aaron Benanav, assistant professor of sociology, as an example. Those can be formulaic and would take far less time with the help of a machine. In programming, it’s helping engineers “write up basic outlines of code or sometimes like whole sections of code,” he says.
See related: Autonomous Systems, United States
McFate Speaks with USA Today About the War in Ukraine
"Things are going nowhere for Ukraine," says Sean McFate, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington Programs. "Wars are no longer won like World War II by taking the enemy’s land, killing their troops and flying your flag over their capital."
See related: Conflict, Defense & Security, Government, International Affairs, Russia, Ukraine, United States
Hammond Discusses New Book, “Placing Islam,” in UC Press Blog and in Jadaliyya Article
"One initial impetus for the book was my desire to bring geography’s concepts and insights into better conversation with topics in Middle East area studies," says Timur Hammond, assistant professor of geography and the environment. "Although over a decade has passed since I started research on this topic, expanding the disciplinary connections between geography and Middle East area studies continues to be a core goal."
See related: Middle East & North Africa, Religion
Kurien Quoted in Texas Standard Article on Immigrant Churches in Diaspora Network, US Church Growth
Prema Kurien, professor of sociology, says there is a logical reason why immigrant groups exhibit higher rates of religiosity. “Immigration and relocation from a familiar context to something completely unfamiliar is a theologizing experience,” Kurien says. “It raises existential questions—things that people don’t think about when they are in their home country with a familiar community.”
See related: Religion, U.S. Immigration, United States
Faricy Comments on the State of Negotiations on Funding the Government in Spectrum News Article
“There are enough moderate Republicans in the House, along with Democrats in the House, to pass a spending bill out of the House that they know the Senate Democrats, which control the Senate, would agree to,” says Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science. “But in doing that, you risk a backlash from the Freedom Caucus.”
See related: Congress, Federal, Political Parties, United States
Bendix Speaks to the Washington Post About the Maui Wildfires
Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and the environment, says the grasses provided “fine fuels that ignite easily” due to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, dense growth patterns and height.
See related: Government, United States, Wildfires
Mallon Andrews Talks to Science News About Climate Change and the Color of Seawater
Some colors can affect divers’ physical and mental health, says Kyrstin Mallon Andrews, assistant professor of anthropology. For instance, because yellow water clouds the water’s surface, the fishermen must dive continually to see fish, an exhausting process. Yellow water also causes skin rashes and debilitating ear infections, along with “sort of generalized angst,” she says.
See related: Climate Change, Latin America & the Caribbean, Water
McDowell Discusses BRICS, the Dollar and Risks to US Global Power in Financial Times, Foreign Policy
Talk of a BRICS common currency is “really a reflection of a desire among some segments of the world to have some counterweight to the U.S., the U.S. economy, the dollar,” says Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science. But “I think most of this is just in fantasy land, because I don’t see any world in which it is really going to emerge in the way some people might hope.”
Taylor Speaks with CBC News, International Business Times About the Prigozhin Plane Crash
Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says that he believes Prigozhin is dead and he agrees with Biden. "Putin made clear at the time he saw the mutiny as 'treason' and 'a stab in the back,' which he was unlikely to forget or forgive," he says.
See related: Conflict, Government, International Affairs, Russia
Coffel Quoted in Bloomberg Article on Biden’s Climate Bill
"If we want to meet timelines to reduce emissions, we have to build wind and solar at a totally unprecedented rate,” says Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography and the environment.
See related: Climate Change, Congress, Energy, Federal, United States