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Zero Mile – From Nothing to Something

September 27, 2017

Nick Tippens, a Digital Media master’s student in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and Ali Yildirim, a History, Technology, and Society major in the School of History and Sociology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, were the subject of the Atlanta Loop September 27 article “Zero Mile – From Nothing to Something.” The School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and the School of History and Sociology are units of the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

“Came From Nothing: The Story of Benjamin ‘Big Mouth Ben’ Graham” started as a classroom project, but it turned into something much more.

I sat down with Nick Tippens, a Digital Media master’s student, and Ali Yildirim, a History, Technology, and Society major to discuss their film, Atlanta, music, the unique paths to friendship.

Yildirim grew up just north of Atlanta in a suburban house filled with classical music. He liked rap.

Tippens was from even further out in Winder, Ga. Though perceived as homogenous, rural areas have their own rhythm.

“It’s a weird mix. Chicken farmers, black people, Hispanics, racial tolerance,” he says. The neighborhood was integrated. The kids in his high school lived in the same neighborhoods. Towns like Winder sometimes end up being less segregated than the larger urban areas because there is less self-segregation, especially in blue collar neighborhoods.

To read the full article “Zero Mile – From Nothing to Something” visit the Atlanta Loop website.

Published in: The Atlanta Loop
Deep U.S.-Russia malaise calls for a liaison between Trump and Congress

September 19, 2017

Former Senator Sam Nunn, distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and Ernest J. Moniz, CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, wrote an article titled “Deep U.S.- Russia malaise calls for a liaison between Trump and Congress” for the Washington Post.

Excerpt:

With both the White House and Congress having a hand on the steering wheel for Russia policy, perspective at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is crucial. Congress must organize itself to be a constructive player, and the Trump administration must acknowledge this reality by reaching out.

A liaison group, which could include the chairs and ranking minority-party members of key committees from both houses of Congress, should be appointed by congressional leadership to work closely with the administration to receive briefings and offer constructive feedback.

Continue reading the article here.

Published in: Washington Post
‘Faustian Bargain’: Defense Fears over Australian University’s $100m China Partnership

September 19, 2017

Margaret Kosal, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, was quoted in The Guardian September 19 article “‘Faustian Bargain’: Defense Fears over Australian University’s $100m China Partnership.”

Excerpt:

A central concern of many experts is the potential military application of technologies being developed in partnership with foreign companies. They caution that emerging technologies are often so complicated that scientists can’t forecast how their work will be used, including whether it might have so-called “dual use” civilian/military applications. The monitoring of the development and use of cutting-edge technologies is a particularly thorny issue, given the level of specialization required to understand the implications of such research, and the complexities of attempting to control constantly evolving technologies.

“These are highlighting some of the real challenges of the 21st century, when what is military research and what is civilian research don’t really have meaningful distinctions,” says Margaret Kosal, from the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, who conducts research on potential proliferation threats of nanotechnology.

For the full article on “‘Faustian Bargain’: Defense Fears over Australian University’s $100m China Partnership” visit The Guardian website.

Published in: The Guardian
World Hunger Is on the Rise Again Due to Climate Change and War

September 15, 2017

Peter Brecke was quoted in the New Scientist September 15 article “World Hunger Is on the Rise Again Due to Climate Change and War.” Brecke is a professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

Excerpt:

“The emphasis on making communities more resilient in conflict situations, while laudable, avoids the key problem,” says Peter Brecke at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, who has also explored climate change’s historical impacts on conflict. “That problem is the inability of political institutions to resolve competing political demands, leaving groups believing that conflict is the only viable alternative.”

For the full article on “World Hunger Is on the Rise Again due to Climate Change and War,” visit the New Scientist website.

Published in: New Scientist
Retired Admiral: Americans Shouldn’t Panic over North Korea Threat

September 5, 2017

An interview with James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld Jr. on CBS News was quoted in “Retired Admiral: Americans Shouldn’t Panic over North Korea Threat.” Winnefeld is distinguished professor and CISTP senior fellow in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

Excerpt:

While the U.S. is pushing for “the strongest possible” sanctions against North Korea after that country’s sixth and largest nuclear test Sunday, North Korea is reportedly moving what appears to be another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward a launch pad. As tensions between U.S. allies and the North [Korea] continue to rise, retired Adm. James “Sandy” Winnefeld (Georgia Tech), who was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2011 to 2015, said “the last thing” Kim wants “is a war right now.” “I don’t think that Americans should be panicking over this at all,” said Winnefeld, a CBS News military and homeland security analyst. “We have a very good nuclear deterrent. Even though Kim Jong Un will probably never give up his nuclear weapons, he will not use them as long as his regime is not perceived to be at risk. So I would encourage everybody take a deep breath and let’s let this play its course.”

For the full article on “Retired Admiral: Americans Shouldn't Panic over North Korea Threat” visit the CBS News website.

Published in: CBS News
Tweets on Academic Papers ‘Mechanical and Devoid of Original Thought’

September 2, 2017

Research by a Georgia Tech team led by Nicolas Robinson-Garcia, a postdoctoral researcher in the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, was featured in the article “Tweets on Academic Papers ‘Mechanical and Devoid of Original Thought’” in The Times Higher Education, September 2. The team examined the content of 8,200 tweets from 2,200 U.S,-based Twitter accounts on the subject of 4,350 dental research papers.

Excerpt:

But so far little research has looked at whether tweet counts can act as a measure of engagement with scientific literature. So a group of researchers led by Nicolas Robinson-Garcia, a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, looked at the content of 8,200 tweets from 2,200 U.S.-based Twitter accounts on the subject of 4,350 dental research papers.

They found that the most tweeted paper, about acetaminophen (paracetamol), accumulated 264 tweets, putting it in the top 5 percent of research outputs scored by Altmetric. The researchers found that almost 75 percent of the tweets came from the same account, which linked to the paper 65 times in a repeated tweet that said just “paracetamol research” and a further 33 times in another tweet that offered just repetitions of the same wording referring to the safety of acetaminophen in pregnancy.

The full article on “Tweets on Academic Papers ‘Mechanical and Devoid of Original Thought’” can be found on the Times Higher Education website.”

Published in: Times Higher Education
Opinion: A Case for Completing Plant Vogtle

September 1, 2017

Marilyn A. Brown, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, wrote the September 1 article “Opinion: A Case for Completing Plant Vogtle” that appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The School of Public Policy is a unit in the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

Mega-projects are always risky, and the stakes riding on the new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle couldn’t be higher. With the cancellation of VC Summer’s nuclear construction project in South Carolina on July 31, Georgia’s plant Vogtle is now the only nuclear plant under construction in the U.S. Since about 2007 natural gas prices have plummeted as a result of “fracking.” The cost of wind and solar power has also declined remarkably, and eliminating the wasteful ways we use electricity continues to be a vast and cheap energy resource. So, if the original decision to build two new reactors were made today, Georgians would not be debating two new units at plant Vogtle. But with so much construction already accomplished and with Georgia Power’s $4.5 billion estimated cost-to-complete, the “go” decision now is clear…the project should be finished. It is the least-cost option, and it will add significant reliable baseload generation.

For the full article on “Opinion: A Case for Completing Plant Vogtle,” visit Atlanta Journal Constitution’s website.

Published in: Atlanta Journal Constitution
Deggendorf, and the Long History of Its Destructive Myth

August 31, 2017

Richard Utz, professor and chair in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology, wrote the August 31 article “Deggendorf, and the Long History of Its Destructive Myth” that appeared in The Public Medievalist. The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit in the Georgia Tech Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Excerpt:

In 1968, the Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Graber, made a momentous decision. He found himself in the position to shape the future of the College of Catholic Theology at the newly founded University of Regensburg, in southeastern Germany. As one of his decisions, he changed the plan to create a professorship in Judaic Studies; instead, he created one in Dogmatic Theology. The call to fill this professorship was accepted by a brilliant theologian from the University of Tübingen: Joseph Ratzinger. Ratzinger would then become first Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the successor to the Roman Inquisition, in 1982. And, of course, he would become Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. However, Graber’s decision to change the professorship’s focus from Judaic Studies to Dogmatic Theology may also have had another, less-well-known consequence.

For the full article on “Deggendorf, and the Long History of Its Destructive Myth,” visit The Public Medievalist’s website.

Published in: The Public Medievalist
Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science

August 30, 2017

Jenna Jordan, assistant professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, was quoted in the Vox August 28 story, “Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science.”

Excerpt:

Game of Throne's seventh season, one defined by the show’s most central characters all coming into conflict for the first time, is over. Daenerys, Jon, Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, and all the rest spent the entire season struggling with one another for power and control over Westeros, each employing different strategies to strengthen their faction and accomplish their objectives.

Which makes the season’s end a perfect time to take stock: to assess each player’s strategy, and judge which character did the best with the tools they had available. Who played the Game of Thrones best?

This tracks with real-world statistical evidence that decapitation — meaning killing an opponent’s leader — can effectively weaken its entire force under certain circumstances. One such situation, Georgia Tech’s Jenna Jordan argues, is when the enemy has a “charismatic” leadership structure. This means that the enemy is held together by one or a handful of powerful leaders, and functions because of that person’s leadership rather than any kind of bureaucratic structure or ideological bonds.

For the full article on “Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science,” visit Vox’s website.

Published in: Vox
“Hamlet on the Holodeck,” Twenty Years Later

August 30, 2017

Janet Murray’s seminal book “Hamlet on the Holodeck” was evaluated retrospectively in The New Yorker 's August 30 article ““Hamlet on the Holodeck,” Twenty Years Later.” Murray is professor in the Ivan Allen College School of Literature, Media, and Communication.

Excerpt:

When the media scholar Janet H. Murray was asked to write a new preface to “Hamlet on the Holodeck,” her influential book, from 1997, about digital narrative, she was tempted to make it three words long: “I was right!” Depending on how generous you want to be, you could say that she predicted the constructive pleasures of Minecraft, the frustrations of Apple’s Siri, and the social story-worlds of massive multi-player online role-playing games (M.M.O.R.P.G.s). Her over-all argument was simple: though there is a tendency to think of the computer as “the enemy of the book,” it is in fact “the child of print culture,” a powerful representational medium of its own that promises to continue the evolution of storytelling and “reshape the spectrum of narrative expression.” Books are good at delivering essentially linear stories, she insists, while computers are good at telling stories of a different kind: procedural, participatory, encyclopedic, and spatial.

For the full article on ““Hamlet on the Holodeck,” Twenty Years Later”, visit The New Yorker's website.

Published in: The New Yorker
Retired Admiral: Basic Training, Maintenance “Stretched” on U.S. Warships Overseas

August 28, 2017

An interview with James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr. on CBS’s Face the Nation was quoted in “Retired Admiral: Basic Training, Maintenance Stretched on U.S. Warships Overseas” in The Hill. Winnefeld is distinguished professor and CISTP senior fellow in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech,

Excerpt:

Retired Adm. James Winnefeld said Sunday that basic training and maintenance is "stretched" on U.S. warships overseas.

During an interview on CBS's “Face The Nation,” he was asked about a memo that said two recent deadly naval collisions in the region are “not limited occurrences, but part of a disturbing trend of mishaps involving U.S. warships.”

“In the Pacific, it's a very unique situation. These are some of the most high-leverage naval forces that we have in the country,” he said.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: CBS News
Ret. Admiral James Winnefeld Says Trump Afghanistan Plan a “Reasonable Way Forward”

August 28, 2017

Admiral James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr., USN (Ret.), Georgia Tech alumnus and distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was interviewed on CBS This Morning. The interview and the story “Ret. Admiral James Winnefeld Says Trump Afghanistan Plan a ‘Reasonable Way Forward” was posted on cbsnews.com.

Excerpt:

Winnefeld said he would not advocate a full withdrawal from the region, and he said the president was clear in his speech that "our ends, ways, means, balance of strategy remain intact there" and that Mr. Trump recognized it's "very clear those threats still exist" in the region.

“There really is no crisply defined end state which we as Americans love to have,” said Winnefeld, saying Americans would like to hope for a sustainable Afghan government free from the threat of terrorists.

Watch the complete interview with Admiral Winnefeld

Published in: CBS NEWS
As China and India Tussle in South Asia, a Pristine Mountain Kingdom Is Caught in the Middle

August 28, 2017

John Garver, an expert on Chinese foreign policy and professor emeritus in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, was interviewed for the Los Angeles Times August 28 article “As China and India Tussle in South Asia, a Pristine Mountain Kingdom is Caught in the Middle.”

Excerpt:

Tucked like a jewel into the mighty Himalayas, the mountain kingdom of Bhutan has rarely commanded the world’s gaze, its hillside monasteries and emerald valleys long known only to select travelers seeking adventure or enlightenment. But for two months, this quiet Buddhist monarchy found itself at the center of a bitter military standoff involving the world’s two most populous countries, each jockeying for primacy in South Asia… “What Beijing is saying to Bhutan is, ‘How’s that special relationship with India working out for you? Can India really protect you?’” said John Garver, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

For the full article on “As China and India Tussle in South Asia, a Pristine Mountain Kingdom is Caught in the Middle,” visit Los Angeles Times’s website.

Published in: The Los Angeles Times
Detente in U.S.-North Korea Crisis May Not Last Long, Give-and-Take Welcome

August 18, 2017

Margaret Kosal, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, was quoted in “Detente in U.S.-North Korea Crisis May Not Last Long, Give-And-Take Welcome” for Sputnik International.

Excerpt:

Doctor Margaret Kosal, an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, agreed that the situation appeared quite typical to those who had long studied North Korea.

“They pursue a provocative action with a dramatic show of escalatory rhetoric, and then they back down. It’s a well-established pattern,” Kosal told Sputnik.

The expert stressed that Pyongyang’s actions should not be discarded despite the repetitive nature, “because of the potential implications for millions of people living in the region if there is a miscalculation.”

For the full article, read here.

Published in: Sputnik International
Solar Eclipses Have Been a Science Fiction Theme for Thousands of Years

August 18, 2017

LMC Professor Lisa Yaszek’s insights about solar eclipses in science, fiction, and culture were the focus of the article of “Solar Eclipses Have Been a Science Fiction Theme for Thousands of Years: How Storytellers throughout History Have Used the Phenomenon to Portray Terror, Emotional Stakes, and More” in Vox Media.

Excerpt:

As millions of Americans prepare to witness the first total solar eclipse in the U.S .in 38 years, I turned to Lisa Yaszek, a professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech University and former president of the Science Fiction Research Association, to discuss the history, meanings, and accuracy of eclipses in fiction. Here’s what I learned.

The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Fictional representations of solar eclipses are often used to underline a specific plot point.

Abbey White

What are the key scientific aspects of a solar eclipse that must be present for an accurate depiction?

Liza Yaszek

In the case of a solar eclipse on Earth, authors and directors want to make sure they get all the heavenly objects in question lined up, and that it’s clear the moon is between the sun and the Earth. They also want to make sure they’ve got a duration that makes sense. Solar eclipses usually last just a few minutes, while lunar eclipses can go on for hours.

Read full article

Published in: Vox Media
The Best Anti-Racism Teacher? Hip-Hop.

August 18, 2017

Joycelyn Wilson is an associate professor in the Ivan Allen College's School of Literature, Media, and Communication. Her insights about the role that Hip-Hop culture studies can play in the deconstruction of white-supremacist viewpoints were the focus of her article in The Bitter Southerner titled The Best Anti-Racism Teacher? Hip-Hop.

Excerpt:

Hip-hop culture, and the way I emphasize its humanistic value propositions, is a tool for building social justice, enhancing cultural respect, and dismantling racism. Its ideal of authenticity to self, society, and others is in direct contrast to an imaginary fear of replacement. White boys like these who march against other people, but who party to rap in their frat houses, are trapped by the grips of hate, fear, and violence toward others. The trap music they turn up to isn't for entertainment purposes only.

It can also serve to wipe the boo-boo from these guys’ brains, as Andre 3000 said on Outkast’s “Myintrotoletuknow.” Besides, I know no person of color who wants to be white or replace white people. The people I know who migrated to America embrace everything that comes with being their ethnic selves and are committed to eradicating societal burdens like racism and class inequality. A hip-hop lifestyle teaches this, among other lessons.

Essentially, what I'm outlining here is an anti-racist, anti-supremacist curriculum built on the sensibilities of hip-hop. Such a curriculum could rid the bogus stuff from the minds of these white men who think so highly of themselves.

Read full article.

Published in: The Bitter Southerner
Where Will Trump And Kim's Nuclear Brinkmanship Lead?

August 14, 2017

James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr., USN (Ret.), distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, was quoted in “Where Will Trump And Kim's Nuclear Brinkmanship Lead?” for CBS News:

Excerpt:

Before he retired, Admiral James Winnefeld was the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the number two man in uniform, during the Obama Administration. He knows that one submarine like the USS Kentucky can by itself carry enough nuclear weapons to annihilate North Korea.

When asked to compare America's nuclear forces to Korean nuclear forces, Adm. Winnefeld replied, “Well, there's just no comparison whatsoever.”

Martin asked, “Were Kim Jong Un, for whatever reason, to launch a nuclear weapon against the United States, would he, in essence, be committing suicide?”

“Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, there is just no question that we would undertake a proportional response,” Adm. Winnefeld replied. “But in the case of a nuclear weapon, that proportional response would be overwhelming and would probably mean the end of the Kim regime -- and he knows it.”

Read the article here.

Published in: CBS News
Sam Nunn Talks North Korea and Russia

August 14, 2017

Sam Nunn, distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, was interviewed in “Sam Nunn Talks North Korea and Russia” by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Excerpt:

Well I think, first of all, when you're dealing with North Korea, I think statements we make ought to be very carefully framed. I prefer the approach that Mattis, Secretary of Defense, took this morning with a very carefully worded statement that was very appropriate and gave the kind of warning without causing great alarm around the world and possible reactions that we don't want in North Korea and other places. In fairness to President Trump, he is trying to deter conflict by North Korea and this behavior by conflict. But saying that we were going to respond to North Korean threats, which basically occur probably every month, North Korea, always wants to get attention. And they always have extreme rhetoric and they're always making threats. Mattis basically framed his statement to talk about North Korean actions and that is the way it ought to be framed.

But one of the things that I would add is that we’ve got to be careful about South Korea. We can't give the impression to South Korea, our ally, and also this applies to Japan -- that we care only about threats against America. We are sworn to help protect the South Koreans. And we need to keep that in mind because we do not want to see a split between the United States and the South Koreans based on their fear of some of our own language.

Listen to full interview here

Published in: Georgia Public Broadcasting
Adm. James Winnefeld: N. Korea Sees Nuclear Weapons as “Survival Mechanism”

August 11, 2017

James A. “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr., USN (Ret.), distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, was interviewed in “Adm. James Winnefeld: N. Korea Sees Nuclear Weapons as “Survival Mechanism”” for CBS News.

Excerpt:

Despite escalating rhetoric and North Korea's threat to strike Guam, retired Navy Adm. James Winnefeld Jr. told "CBS This Morning" Wednesday that he doesn't believe the isolated country wants to use nuclear weapons against the U.S.

Winnefeld, who served as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Obama, said North Korea is using the nuclear threat as a "survival mechanism."

"I think we really just need to let them stew in their own juice, leave them alone. They will never use these weapons or give them up as long as we don't provoke them into using them," Winnefeld said.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: CBS News
Books and the ‘Boredom Boom’

August 11, 2017

Ian Bogost, professor in the Georgia Tech School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was mentioned in an article in New York Times “Books and the ‘Boredom Boom’”

Excerpt:

Mr. Bogost, a professor of interactive computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, waxes more ruminative. His thoughtful book “Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games” (266 pages, Basic Books, $26.99) makes the point that life’s limitations — as with the limitations of a game such as soccer or Tetris — are not impediments to our enjoyment, but rather, what make life or the game fun in the first place. It’s a similar point to the one that Mr. Miller made in his preface, but this time around, instead of welling up, I nodded my head a lot. Yes, yes: so true.

For the full article, read here.

Published in: New York Times

Recent Press Coverage

Zero Mile – From Nothing to Something

Deep U.S.-Russia malaise calls for a liaison between Trump and Congress

‘Faustian Bargain’: Defense Fears over Australian University’s $100m China Partnership

World Hunger Is on the Rise Again Due to Climate Change and War

Retired Admiral: Americans Shouldn’t Panic over North Korea Threat

Tweets on Academic Papers ‘Mechanical and Devoid of Original Thought’

Opinion: A Case for Completing Plant Vogtle

Deggendorf, and the Long History of Its Destructive Myth

Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science

“Hamlet on the Holodeck,” Twenty Years Later

Retired Admiral: Basic Training, Maintenance “Stretched” on U.S. Warships Overseas

Ret. Admiral James Winnefeld Says Trump Afghanistan Plan a “Reasonable Way Forward”

As China and India Tussle in South Asia, a Pristine Mountain Kingdom Is Caught in the Middle

Detente in U.S.-North Korea Crisis May Not Last Long, Give-and-Take Welcome

Solar Eclipses Have Been a Science Fiction Theme for Thousands of Years

Fictional representations of solar eclipses are often used to underline a specific plot point.

Abbey White

Liza Yaszek

The Best Anti-Racism Teacher? Hip-Hop.

Where Will Trump And Kim's Nuclear Brinkmanship Lead?

Sam Nunn Talks North Korea and Russia

Adm. James Winnefeld: N. Korea Sees Nuclear Weapons as “Survival Mechanism”

Books and the ‘Boredom Boom’

Georgia Institute of Technology

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