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After 63 Years, China Rethinks Strict Residency Rules

March 5, 2021

Fei-Ling Wang, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was quoted in the article "After 63 Years, China Rethinks Strict Residency Rules," published March 5, 2021 in Voice of America.

The article explores policy changes in China that loosen the restrictions imposed upon residents that wanted to move from rural to urban areas. Wang, who has studied the "hukou" policy extensively, spoke to the change's potential impact on the labor market.

Excerpt:

Fei-Ling Wang, a professor of international affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology and the author of “Organization Through Division and Exclusion: China’s Hukou System,” told Sixth Tone, a state-owned English-language online magazine based in Shanghai, that the removal of settlement restrictions was “a bold step in the right direction to ease restrictions of labor mobility.”

“It is very much in line with the general trend of localization of the hukou administration, signaling a progressive relaxation of the control of domestic migration and a welcome effort of reducing the urban-rural barriers, at least within a province,” he said.

Full article.

Published in: Voice of America
Georgians Unlikely to See Six Figure Utility Bills, But Freak Weather Could Still Bring Surprises

February 25, 2021

Marilyn Brown, Regents and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems and interim chair of the School of Public Policy, was interviewed about Georgia's electricity rate structure and the potential for "sticker shock" seen recently after the winter storms in Texas on WABE 90.1's "All Things Considered" on Feb. 24, 2021.

Brown spoke to the dynamics induced by "demand-side billing," which can reduce electricity use and emissions by tying a consumer's bill to their consumption at the peak period. However, that plan is structured in a manner that allows consumers to control their bills better than Texans would have been able to during the storms and accompanying deep freezes. Furthermore, Georgia is less likely to experience the supply shortages that also contributed to skyrocketing prices in Texas.

Excerpt from Brown's segment:

"The lessons that I think both Texas and Georgia can learn are how to better manage the demand side of the equation. I'm not sure anyone has talked about that. The ability to manage demand so the customers can reduce their consumption and still meet critical needs can help both Georgia and Texas ride through events like they've just experienced."

Full story here (Brown's segment starts at 2:57).

Published in: WABE 90.1
Is Georgia susceptible to rolling blackouts during extreme cold weather? Here’s what experts say

February 18, 2021

Marilyn Brown, Regents and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School of Public Policy, was quoted in the piece "Is Georgia susceptible to rolling blackouts during extreme cold weather? Here’s what experts say," broadcast Tuesday, Feb. 16 on WSB-TV.

Brown, a former member of the Tennessee Valley Authority board and a renowned expert on sustainable energy systems, spoke to the factors that may have precipitated the widespread blackouts taking place in Texas in the midst of a deep cold snap in the state.

Excerpt:

In Texas, the state’s electric grid operator opted not to prepare its system for extreme cold.

“You got to have thermal management practices in place. So Texas did not because it’s such a rare event,” said Dr. Marilyn Brown with Georgia Tech.

Full article.

Published in: WSB-TV
Severe weather, blackouts show the grid's biggest problem is infrastructure, not renewables

February 15, 2021

Emily Grubert, an assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering who also holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Public Policy, was mentioned in the article "Severe weather, blackouts show the grid's biggest problem is infrastructure, not renewables," published Feb. 15, 2021 in TechCrunch.

A tweet from Gruber commenting on recent blackouts resulting from a winter storm in the Midwest was featured in the story from author Jonathan Shieber, which explored issues with the power infrastructure that contributed to the blackouts.

Excerpt:

As Dr. Emily Grubert, an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and, by courtesy, of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, noted, the problem is more of a total systems issue than one associated with renewable power.

"Let us be absolutely clear: if there are grid failures today, it shows the existing (largely fossil-based) system cannot handle these conditions either," Grubert wrote on Twitter. "These are scary, climate change-affected conditions that pose extreme challenges to the grid. We are likely to continue to see situations like this where our existing system cannot easily handle them. Any electricity system needs to make massive adaptive improvements."

Full story.

Published in: TechCrunch
SEPADPod: The Biden Administration in the MENA

February 4, 2021

Lawrence Rubin, associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was featured on the Feb. 4, 2021 edition of the podcast "SEPADPod," produced by the Richardson Institute.

During the appearance, Rubin spoke about his thoughts and expectations on the Biden administration's tactics regarding policy and diplomacy towards the Middle East.

Listen to the podcast here.

Published in: Richardson Institute
Lockhart says trading frenzy a ‘concern,’ but doubts likelihood of regulatory action

February 4, 2021

Dennis Lockhart, distinguished professor of the practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, was interviewed in "Ex-Fed official says trading frenzy a ‘concern,’ but doubts likelihood of regulatory action” by Fox Business.

Find an excerpt:

'One, the integrity of our markets is fundamental to our economic system. And secondly, they always have their eye on something that might trigger a financial event of some kind of systemic event that harms everyone.'

Watch the interview on Fox Business.

Published in: Fox Business
Biden’s Challenge: Continuing Progress in Eastern Europe Despite Russian Adventurism

February 3, 2021

General Phil Breedlove, USAF (Ret.), distinguished professor of the practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, has written "Biden’s Challenge: Continuing Progress in Eastern Europe Despite Russian Adventurism." The article written with lulia-Sabina Joja, senior fellow for the Frontier Europe Initiative and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. was published by the Middle East Institute.

Find an excerpt:

The West’s response to Russia’s 2014 occupation and annexation of Crimea has long been perceived as insufficient, especially in the Black Sea region. Following the 2016 NATO Warsaw summit, a significant military force was deployed in the Baltic Sea states to deter Russia. However, the southern front of the Alliance’s eastern flank, where Russia has created a series of frozen conflicts and carried out invasions in both 2008 and 2014, remains challenged. Russia’s blockade of the Sea of Azov in 2018 has also been met with limited response. The West must do more to deter Russia’s increasingly aggressive Anti-Access/Area Denial efforts in the Black Sea.

Full article.

Published in: Middle East Institute
Meet the Creative Class Making Atlanta the New Epicenter of American Arts

February 3, 2021

Joycelyn Wilson, assistant professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communications, was featured in the article "Meet the Creative Class Making Atlanta the New Epicenter of American Arts," published Feb. 3, 2021 in Instyle.

Wilson, who helps lead LMC's Black Media Studies program and whose research focuses on hip hop culture in particular, gave her perspective in the article on the factors contributing to the ascendence of the city's arts scene.

Excerpt:

What makes Atlanta so sacred? It's long been a hub for anything and everything that matters — music, art, films, and certainly, as recent current events will attest, politics. But now, perhaps due to the spotlight on politics, people are paying attention to the city's unlimited potential and the supremely talented people who live there.

One such person is Dr. Joycelyn Wilson, the assistant professor of hip-hop studies and digital media at Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College, who wrote an essay for March issue describing Atlanta's rich history and cultural significance, especially for the Black community. "Atlanta, like Wakanda, is a special place for Black Americans," she writes. "The difference is there are parts of the mecca mythology that actually exist. First, it's the birthplace of Dr. King — whose noble actions turned Atlanta into one of the most culturally resilient cities in the American South. Second, Atlanta has repeatedly applied its secret sauce for mixing music, culture, and business with progressive Democratic politics to keep the city blue and, more recently, help flip a traditionally red state."

Full article.

Published in: InStyle
At-home COVID-19 tests could be game changer in fight against virus, researchers say

February 2, 2021

Sarah Farmer, research scientist in the Center for Advanced Communications Policy, was quoted in the story "At-home COVID-19 tests could be game changer in fight against virus, researchers say," published and broadcast Feb. 2, 2021 on WSB-TV.

Farmer, who has conducted research regarding the usability of at-home medical technologies, spoke to the potential impact of the approval and wider use of Covid-19 tests that could be performed in homes, rather than at testing sites.

Excerpt:

For months, Georgia Tech researchers have been studying usability and accuracy of most home tests seeking FDA approval.

That includes the one from the Australian company Ellume. The U.S. just announced a $231 million deal with Ellume to buy 8.5 million tests by the end of the year.

“It’s the convenience, it’s the turnaround time. Hopefully there will be more widespread testing. People will maybe be able to test themselves more frequently,” Farmer said.

Full article.

Published in: WSB-TV
Power of a post: democracy in a digital age

January 31, 2021

Kaye Husbands Fealing, Dean and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, was quoted in the article "Power of a post: democracy in a digital age," published Jan. 31, 2021 in Technique.

In the article, which recapped a discussion between Husbands Fealing and Peter Swire, professor of law and ethics in the Scheller College of Business, on January 20, when Joe Biden was inaugurated as president.

Excerpt:

The idea of this act was to cut new technology companies a break so they could grow. Now however, a new question has begun to arise — at what point should online platforms be liable?

Swire offered his opinion.

“I do think the companies should have better procedures to address disinformation and fraud and these problems,” Swire said. “… They should have transparency about the terms of service. They have to have algorithms to try to help human judgment.”

[Husbands] Fealing pointed out that algorithms still have issues.

“I think you’re hinting at the term of artificial intelligence methodologies that can be used here, which also have sometimes some biases built in one way or another,” Fealing said. “… I think the technologists need to get at this, but also the social scientists and as you said as well the legal sector as well, in terms of developing some practical solutions.”

Full article.

Published in: Technique
How Biden climate policy might impact Georgia

January 28, 2021

Marilyn Brown, Regents and Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School of Public Policy, was quoted in the article "How Biden climate policy might impact Georgia," published Jan. 28, 2021 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Brown, who led the groundbreaking Drawdown Georgia project and has extensively researched the interaction of systems contributing to global emissions and climate change, spoke to the aggressive executive action that President Joe Biden's administration has taken so far on the issue.

Excerpt:

With the ambitious goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, President Joe Biden, in one week, signed a series of executive orders prioritizing climate change and giving the country an urgent push toward eliminating the emissions that have led to global warming.

Though many of those orders are far-reaching, addressing issues of national and international concern, many will also have significant impacts on Georgia.

“A lot of the executive orders are far from Georgia, but they signal a commitment to move away from fossil fuels and that in general has significant repercussions in Georgia,” said Marilyn Brown, professor in the school of public policy at Georgia Tech. “We will be seeing a move to more renewables in our power sector and an uptick of electric vehicles in our transportation sector.”

Full article.

Published in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is the U.S. Holdup of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Justified?

January 28, 2021

Scott Ganz, assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, co-authored the article “Is the U.S. Holdup of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Justified?” for The Dispatch on Jan. 25, 2021.

Ganz and co-author James Capretta explored the factors guiding the approval process of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and researchers at the University of Oxford, which could be approved for use in the United States soon but has faced more difficulties in the process than the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

Excerpt:

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has advantages that make it an attractive possibility. It can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures, and its price is low relative to its competitors. Public health experts have long targeted it as ideal for use in lower and moderate-income countries because of these features.

The problem is that its U.S. Phase III trial was delayed because of an adverse event investigation in the fall, and the data from the international trials used by the U.K. government are difficult to interpret due to unplanned modifications to dosing levels. The sponsoring organizations have explained that the clinical trial sites accidentally gave a half dose as a first shot to a portion of the trial participants, followed by a full dose at a longer-than-planned interval. All other trial participants in the vaccine arm received two full doses of the vaccine. Unexpectedly, the trial data showed the half-dose/full-dose combination was more efficacious (90 percent) than giving two full doses spaced a month apart (62 percent). The combined efficacy of the two dosing regimens was 70.4 percent – well below the documented efficacy of the mRNA vaccines.

Full article here.

Published in: The Dispatch
Georgia Tech honors Anthony Fauci with social courage award

January 25, 2021

The Georgia Institute of Technology's decision to award Dr. Anthony Fauci with the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage was detailed in "Georgia Tech honors Anthony Fauci with social courage award," published Jan. 25, 2021 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The prize, which has been given out each year since 2011, will be presented in a ceremony on March 15, 2021.

Excerpt:

Tech chose Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the president, because he was “a steadfast voice of science, facts, and medical best practice during one of the most significant public health challenges in U.S. history.”

Full article.

Published in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia grads working in Biden administration

January 21, 2021

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Distinguished Professor of the Practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Strategic Energy Institute, was mentioned in the article "Georgia grads working in Biden administration," published Jan. 21, 2021 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sherwood-Randall, who served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy during the Obama administration, is set to serve as Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor under President Joe Biden.

Subscription required.

Published in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pharrell Williams, Georgia Tech & Amazon partner on education project

January 20, 2021

EarSketch, a project co-led by Brian Magerko, professor of digital media in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, was mentioned in the article "Pharrell Williams, Georgia Tech & Amazon partner on education project," published Jan. 20, 2021 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Subscription required.

Published in: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The True History Behind 'One Night in MIami'

January 15, 2021

Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X , written by Johnny Smith, the Julius C. "Bud" Shaw Professor of Sports History in the School of History and Sociology, was mentioned in the article, "The True History Behind ‘One Night in Miami," published Jan. 15, in Smithsonian Magazine.

Excerpt:

As Malcolm saw it, write Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith in Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, Clay’s victory had been preordained by Allah. With this win—and Clay’s subsequent elevation in status—the civil rights leader believed his protégé was ready to move on to what was, in his view, a more pressing calling: politics.

“Well, Brown,” Malcolm reportedly asked the football star that night, “don’t you think it’s time for this young man to stop spouting off and get serious?” Brown, for his part, also felt that Clay’s new heavyweight title “was not an end in itself [but] … a platform from which to advance far more urgent matters,” per Blood Brothers.

Read the full article

Published in: Smithsonian
Big Tech's uneasy balance of capitalism, censorship

January 14, 2021

School of Public Policy Professor Milton Mueller and Associate Professor Hans Klein were quoted in the article, "Big Tech's uneasy balance of capitalism, censorship," published Jan. 14 in Tech Target.

Excerpt:

Not everyone agrees that Section 230 should be modified to prevent the kind of speech that led to the events of Jan. 6.

"If I post something that's illegal, like libel or child pornography, the company is not responsible, I am," said Milton Mueller, program director for Cybersecurity Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Common communications carriers like telephone companies are not subject to speech patrol, and social media shouldn't be either, Mueller said.

Hans Klein, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said allowing the government to regulate speech online will narrow the content on social media to what the government finds acceptable. He added that he fears this will, in turn, stifle dissent.

Read the full article.

Published in: Tech Target
Biden to Restore Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Aides to Senior White House Posts

January 13, 2021

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Distinguished Professor of the Practice in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and Senior Fellow at the Strategic Energy Institute, was mentioned in the article "Biden to Restore Homeland Security and Cybersecurity Aides to Senior White House Posts," published Jan. 13 in the New York Times.

Excerpt:

The White House homeland security adviser will be Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, according to transition officials. She is a longtime aide to Mr. Biden who served under President Barack Obama as senior director for Europe and then deputy secretary of energy, where she oversaw the modernization of the nuclear arsenal.

Read the full article

Published in: The New York Times
Experts Hope Pent-Up Demand Will Revive Pandemic-Hit Industries

January 8, 2021

NPR interviewed Johnny Smith, Julius C. "Bud" Shaw Professor of Sports History in the School of History and Sociology, for a story Jan. 8 on Morning Edition.

Excerpt:

1918 should have been a great year for baseball. A young player named Babe Ruth started the year as a pitcher but began morphing into a home run-hitting powerhouse.

JOHNNY SMITH: And here, what we see is the transformation of Babe Ruth from a dominant pitcher to a slugger just beginning to happen.

ROSALSKY: That's Johnny Smith, a historian at Georgia Tech who recently co-wrote a book that tells this story. It's called War Fever: Boston, Baseball, And America In The Shadow Of The Great War.

Read the full transcript

Published in: NPR
Eviction moratoriums not enough to protect family and child wellbeing

January 4, 2021

Research by Lindsey Bullinger (SPP) and Kelley Fong (HSOC) was cited in "Eviction moratoriums not enough to protect family and child well-being,” published Jan. 4 in the Connecticut Mirror.

Excerpt:

The study sheds light on an alarming facet of economic uncertainty in Connecticut: the link between increasing eviction filings and reports of child maltreatment.

Using data collected by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) and state court records of evictions, the researchers found that with every additional eviction filing for every 100 occupied homes, there is a 2 percent increase in reports of child maltreatment. These increases were higher in neighborhoods with more low-income households, people of color, and households with children.

Read the full article

Published in: Connecticut Mirror