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

From the benefits of enduring pain and unhappiness to family feuds at Canadian corporations to the human rights obligations of Facebook, 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.

November 5, 2021

• Paul Bloom, a professor in the Department of Psychology, writes an op-ed in the Globe and Mail exploring the benefits of pain, screaming and enduring unhappiness to make future pleasures seem more enjoyable.
• An op-ed in the Globe and Mail co-authored by Wendy Wong, a professor in the Department of Political Science and research lead at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, and Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies PhD student Jamie Duncan argues for the application of a human rights-based framework in the course of regulating social media and emerging digital technologies.
• Christopher Parsons, a senior research associate with the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, comments in the Globe and Mail on the privacy implications of the desire by the RCMP to use artificial-intelligence technology to obtain digital passwords in order to decrypt data seized during criminal investigations.
• Department of Geography & Planning associate professor Jane Liu explains in New Scientist and Science News research that shows the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere — known as the troposphere — has been steadily expanding over the past 40 years due to warming caused by greenhouse gases.

November 6, 2021

• Anil Verma, a professor emeritus at the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources and the Rotman School of Management, comments in CBC News on the various ways the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the relationships many Canadians have with their employment.

November 7, 2021

• Lynette Ong, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the Asian Institute at the Munk School, speaks in the Toronto Star about the Canadian government’s policy on relations with China.

November 8, 2021

• In an op-ed first published in The Conversation and reprinted in the National Post, Wendy Wong calls for recognition of Facebook as a global infrastructure that operates beyond national borders, and that it must protect and respect human rights.
• A Toronto Star story reports on the confirmation by researchers at the Citizen Lab of the discovery of spyware on mobile devices belonging to several Palestinian human rights activists.

November 9, 2021

• Dimitry Anastakis, a professor in the Department of History and the Rotman School of Management, writes an op-ed first published in The Conversation and reprinted in the National Post examining the history of family feuds at Canadian corporations.
• Paul Bloom speaks in the Financial Post about the benefits of suffering and struggling through difficulty on the job if the work is rewarding overall.

November 11, 2021

• The book, War: How conflict shaped us, by Department of History professor emeritus Margaret MacMillan, is among the Remembrance Day must-reads according to CBC News.
• In tributes in CBC News and the Toronto Star (paywall), Lee Maracle, who taught at the Centre for Indigenous Studies and who passed away on Nov. 11, is remembered as an inspirational instructor, adviser, activist and mentor to students.