A&S scholars sharing their expertise in the media this week

From the self-image of Canadians regarding their country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the United States, to paid sick leave for Ontario workers not currently afforded the benefit, scholars from a range of disciplines across the Faculty of Arts & Science are sharing their expertise on a variety of issues in the media.

Here’s some of what they had to say this week.

April 16, 2021

• Randy Boyagoda, a professor in the Department of English and vice-dean, undergraduate of the Faculty of Arts & Science, and Department of Political Science professor Nelson Wiseman comment in Christian Science Monitor on the self-image of Canadians regarding their country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the United States.
• Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies PhD student Erick Laming speaks in a TVO story examining the removal of the Ontario Provincial Police from the northern Ontario community of Pikangikum First Nation.
• Steven Denney, a postdoctoral fellow at the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, comments in the Calgary Herald on the impact of efforts to support research and innovation in Canada by Navdeep Bains, former minister of innovation, science and economic development.

April 17, 2021

• Lynette Ong, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the Asian Institute at the Munk School, comments in a CTV News story examining efforts by China and Russia to gain influence with countries in Southeast Asia by providing COVID-19 vaccines.
• A new report on the use of solitary confinement in Canadian prisons co-authored by Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies professor emeritus Anthony Doob is cited in a Globe and Mail review of a book recounting the 1971 riot inside the Kingston Penitentiary.
• Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations associate professor Mary-Ann Pouls Wegner comments in Live Science on the fondness for cats among ancient Egyptians.
• A recent study led by Department of Political Science and Munk School professor Peter Loewen is cited in a Slate story about COVID-19 vaccine preferences among North Americans.

April 18, 2021

• Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources associate professor and acting director Dionne Pohler comments in the Hindustan Times on the likelihood of the introduction of a universal basic income program in Canada.

April 19, 2021

• Department of Political Science and School of the Environment associate professor Jessica Green speaks in The Guardian about Canada’s challenges with reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Department of Earth Sciences professor Miriam Diamond comments in Best Health on the risks to fertility as a result of ongoing exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals in everyday products.
• Marlène Koffi, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, writes an op-ed in the Globe and Mail examining inequities in high-speed internet access across Canada and the impacts on both the individual and national levels.

April 20, 2021

• Department of Political Science and Munk School professor Linda White comments in the Globe and Mail on the Canadian government’s proposal of a national child-care program in its latest budget.
• Dimitry Anastakis, a professor in the Department of History and the Rotman School of Management, speaks in the Financial Post about the resurgence of a long-standing rivalry between Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway due to the former’s efforts to best the latter in the bid to acquire the Kansas City Southern rail company.
• Department of Geography & Planning and School of the Environment senior lecturer emeritus Beth Savan explains in a TVO story how increased cycling infrastructure could boost the Ontario economy.

April 21, 2021

• Philip Lipscy, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and director of the Centre for the Study of Global Japan at the Munk School, comments in the Japan Times on a meeting between American president Joe Biden and Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga to discuss climate change.
• Department of Earth Sciences PhD candidate Samantha Athey speaks in the New York Times’s Wirecutter blog about solutions to reduce the amount of microfibres from clothing released into the environment by washing machines.
• Erick Laming comments in a CityNews Toronto story examining the practice of releasing video footage captured by body cameras worn by Toronto police officers.
• Past research led by Department of Psychology professor Geoff MacDonald and associate professor Elizabeth Page-Gould is cited in a Readers Digest story examining why individuals in romantic relationships get back together after breaking up.
• The Globe and Mail notes Department of Political Science professor Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School, and Department of Philosophy professor Joseph Heath among the nominees for the Donner Prize, which recognizes books on public policy written by Canadians.

April 22, 2021

• Andres Kasekamp, a professor in the Department of History and the Munk School, comments in Global News on increased aggression by Russia towards Ukraine and the response from the United States.
• Daniel Konikoff, a PhD student at the Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, is cited in a Toronto Star story about the arrest of a Toronto man on suspicion of murder despite the absence of the deceased’s body.
• Jessica Green comments in a CBC News story about climate change activism and efforts by young Canadians to urge governments to take greater action.
• Munk School associate professor Raji Jayaraman comments in Global News on the need for paid sick leave for Ontario workers not currently afforded the benefit.