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Education, Business, & Law
The best books for young readers of 2020
The sixth annual list of books, chosen by Penn GSE’s Humanizing Stories team, highlights stories of love, joy, loss, strength, and resilience.
Whatever happened to the right to petition?
Maggie Blackhawk of the Law School discusses the First Amendment’s right to petition, how the right was exercised historically, what it looks like in its current form, and why it changed.
Black borrowers are hit hardest by the student debt crisis
Released by the NAACP, a report by Penn GSE’s Jalil Mustaffa Bishop argues for the cancellation of student debt and reinvesting in institutions that serve the most Black students.
Academic freedom in an age of global digital delivery
During a virtual forum, Penn experts across disciplines discussed specific implications online learning can present for international students and their freedom of expression.
Penn scholars record lectures for AP students
Lecturers and staff contributed video lectures that aid AP students in their ongoing studies during the pandemic.
If pandemic productivity is up, why is innovation slowing down?
A new study finds that productivity has remained stable or even increased for many companies that shifted to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic. However, innovation has taken a hit as both leaders and employees feel more distant from each other.
Breaking classroom barriers over Zoom
When Professor Lori Rosenkopf’s course on the culture of tech went virtual, she set out to make a more interactive learning experience. Her efforts have seen some unexpected results.
An analysis of President-elect Biden’s tax proposals
The Penn Wharton Budget Model takes a post-election look at the platform of President-elect Joe Biden and forecasts its potential effects on the economy.
‘Workplace Diversity, Culture, and Leadership’
In the second of 13 conversations in the preceptorial course Racism and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America, a discussion on “The Economic System: Workplace Diversity, Culture, and Leadership.”
How Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles improve game technology
Marking the launch of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, Penn professors and lecturers explain the significance of the new console hardware hitting the market this holiday.
In the News
Democrats have a new tool to undo Trump's 'midnight rule-making.' But there's a catch
Cary Coglianese of the Law School spoke about the seldom-used Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn federal rules with a simple majority and prohibit federal agencies from reissuing similar rules without their approval. “If there’s a type of rule that the incoming administration would really like to ensure never gets adopted again, the CRA is a good way to do that,” Coglianese said.
FULL STORY →
Parler sues Amazon, asks court to reinstate platform
David Hoffman of the Law School said Parler’s lawsuit against Amazon has been weakened because Amazon had warned the social media platform about violating the terms of their agreement prior to terminating the account. “There have been repeated warnings over time about Parler’s failure to comply with Amazon’s terms of use,” Hoffman said. “Given those repeated warnings over time, it’s sort of rich to say, ‘You didn’t give us enough time.’”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia police increases presence in parts of city again following storming of US Capitol
Claire Finkelstein of the Law School said President Trump may have committed a crime by encouraging his supporters to breach the U.S. Capitol building. “The question is whether or not the president was intentionally trying to interfere with the peaceful transition of power and trying to launch an attack using his supporters as weapons against the U.S. government,” Finkelstein said. “If we were to find out additional facts that suggested some intentionality on the part of the president, then I believe he could be guilty of sedition.”
FULL STORY →
Congress expected to certify Biden’s win this week—despite GOP push to subvert the vote
Kermit Roosevelt of the Law School attributed efforts to call into question the results of the presidential election to longer term political objectives. “I’m afraid that it’s going to make the next four years a lot more difficult—not that they were going to be easy, anyway,” he said. “To the extent that we’re in an era of people living in different realities, this exacerbates that.”
FULL STORY →
8 Pa. House GOP members to oppose Biden’s electoral votes
Seth Kreimer of the Law School spoke about challenges to the results of the 2020 presidential election. “I have taught constitutional law for almost four decades, and I do not believe I have ever before seen American officials reject the outcome of an election with such brazenness,” he said.
FULL STORY →