4.23
Education, Business, & Law
How companies are redefining gender at work
As more Americans identify as transgender, workplaces lack precedent for policies and accommodations, but are coming around to setting new norms.
Can Venezuela recover from its crisis?
Penn’s Dorothy Kronick discusses potential solutions to Venezuela’s deepening crisis, and asks whether sanctions are a good strategy.
The future of learning is digital
Penn GSE’s Yasmin Kafai, a learning scientist who has designed tools and communities to promote coding, crafting, and creativity, believes we need to change how we think about teaching and learning, while making sure every child has a chance to develop these vital skills.
New contracts rewrite the rules of digital fine print
In an article in the University of Chicago Law Review, Penn Law professor Dave Hoffman challenges widely held notions about the purpose and function of digital fine print.
An old-school green deal
A major public lands package passed the U.S. Senate Feb. 12 with massive bipartisan support and is expected to pass the House later this month. Cary Coglianese shares insights into the bill’s contents—which entail the largest expansion of wilderness area in a decade.
Eleventh state enacts law to protect victims of child sex abuse
Marci Hamilton, a professor of practice and founder and CEO of the nonprofit think tank CHILD USA, helped draft the original New York legislation more than 15 years ago and has been working ever since to push it through.
Retail’s big mistake: Why slashing payroll cuts into profits
Retailers need to recognize that employees are their most valuable asset in an era of online competition, according to Wharton professors Marshall Fisher, Serguei Netessine, and Santiago Gallino.
Why a 70 percent top tax rate will miss its mark
Penn Wharton Budget Model’s Richard Prisinzano discusses the idea of raising the top marginal tax rate to as high as 70 percent on income over $10 million.
Wharton scholar talks workplace diversity
Stephanie Creary of the Department of Management studies diversity, identity, and organizational practices.
The presidential authority of treaty withdrawal
In a Q&A, Penn Law Professor Jean Galbraith examines the presidential authority to withdraw from and rejoin international agreements.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Trump-friendly Newsmax bundled into Comcast’s Xfinity service
The Annenberg School for Communication’s Victor Pickard discussed conservative news channel Newsmax and its recent deal with Comcast. If Comcast is “feeling the heat from the right, it will make sense to appease some of those critics,” said Pickard.
FULL STORY →
Boston Globe
Boxes, pouches, cartons, and envelopes — oh my!
Eric Orts of the Wharton School spoke about the environmental impact of packaging waste. “Lots of it will still go into a landfill, for no really good reason,” said Orts. “If you look at something like the distribution system of Amazon, it doesn’t seem that hard to shift this.”
FULL STORY →
NPR
What can a personality test tell us about who we are?
Adam Grant of the Wharton School spoke about his concerns with the Myers-Briggs test, when used by companies to make staffing decisions. “It’s a great way to weed out diversity,” Grant said.
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
California eyes risk pool as it struggles with costly fires
The Wharton School’s Carolyn Kousky said California is at such high risk for wildfire that even risk pools and catastrophe bonds don’t appeal to investors.
FULL STORY →
Bloomberg
Lyft’s tumbling stock is a worrying sign for other unicorns
When prices for Lyft’s stocks dropped on its second day of trading, the Wharton School’s David Erickson “was surprised that it blew through the IPO price so quickly. While there was a lot of enthusiasm on Friday, it’s obviously been dampened today, and it’s hard to recreate that moment once you lose it.”
FULL STORY →