January 6, 2023 by
A&S News
From the future of democracy to the legacy of the late Pope Benedict XVI, 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.
December 30, 2022
- Victoria College Academic Programs Director Ira Wells writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) about the defeats of autocratic regimes in 2022, and how events in Russia, China and Iran show that democracy may not be on the decline after all.
- Department of Philosophy Professor Mark Kingwell argues in The Globe and Mail (paywall) that the nature of democracy is one of shared vulnerability.
- Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies Professor Emeritus Anthony Doob tells CBC News online that many people in Canada’s jails are held in custody awaiting trial.
December 31, 2022
- Lamiya Mowla, Dunlap Fellow at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, shares insights with the National Post (paywall) and Nature about how the James Webb Space Telescope revolutionized astronomy in 2022, including her and her colleagues’ discovery of the universe’s oldest star clusters.
- Department of Economics and School of Cities Professor Michelle Alexopoulos tells The Globe and Mail (paywall) that the vocal tones and facial expressions of U.S. Federal Reserve chairs influence stock prices and market volatility.
January 1, 2023
- Department of Geography & Planning Professor and Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities Director Matti Siemiatycki comments for Global News online about the benefits of prefab homes. Later in the week he comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on Ontario’s new affordable housing bill, and for CTV News online about pedestrian fatalities in Toronto and managing derelict buildings in Northern Ontario.
January 3, 2023
- Department of Psychology Professor and Acting Chair Geoff Macdonald and Psychology PhD graduate Yoobin Park – now conducting postdoctoral research at the University of California –share with Psychology Today new research, finding that single people can be happy if their sexual and romantic needs can be met without a regular partner.
- Mel Cappe, Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, tells The Globe and Mail (paywall) that the current home residence for Canada’s Prime Minister is unsuitable.
January 4, 2023
- The Guardian notes that researchers at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s Citizen Lab believe that Downing Street was targeted by spyware from the Emirates.
- Department of Computer Science University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton is mentioned in The Washington Post (paywall) with regard to the lack of public awareness around notable thinkers in science as opposed to the humanities.
- Department of English Professor and Vice-Dean, Undergraduate of the Faculty of Arts & Science Randy Boyagoda writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) about an unexpected facet of the late Pope Benedict XVI.
January 5, 2023
- Helen Ketema, project lead at the School of Cities Infrastructure Institute shares with North York Mirror a report that finds critical Black social infrastructure lacking in Toronto.
- John Scott-Railton, a senior Citizen Lab researcher, comments for CNN online about the seriousness of a Twitter security breach where hackers leaked email addresses linked to 200 million accounts.