In The News

Diagnosing at a Distance

Margot Cohen September 10, 2008
The poor are often the last to benefit from technological leaps in health care. But trained physicians and technological advances combined with the presence of a large number of poor dispersed throughout the Indian countryside could usher in changes for health-care delivery. Rapidly declining costs of satellite and internet connections allow caregivers to use telemedicine and reach more patients...

The Controversial Search for the God Particle

September 10, 2008
Throughout history, science has inspired awe in some and fear from others; skeptics scoffed at Galileo Galilei for pointing out that the earth rotates the sun, Charles Darwin for offering a theory on evolution, and NASA for putting men on the moon. A large hadron collider, switched on in Geneva today, entailing the work of thousands of scientists from 80 countries, draws similar fear and even...

Outsourcing at Crux of Boeing Strike

J. Lynn Lunsford September 9, 2008
Job security used to mean workers didn’t have to worry much about competition. But a strike at Boeing has redefined the notion of job security, with striking workers pleading for the chance to compete for company projects. The aerospace industry has adopted outsourcing supply methods of the automobile industry, and suppliers around the globe increasingly contribute more to Boeing products. “In...

Globalization Draws Green Activist Attention

Joe Leahy September 9, 2008
As companies or individuals expand and accrue more power, they attract scrutiny from activists. Members of Greenpeace purchased shares in Indian companies like Tata Steel or Vedanta Resources to speak out at annual meetings about environmental problems, including port development that could interfere with breeding habits of turtles or mining projects that desecrate sacred sites. Greenpeace “still...

America and the World Into a New Era – Part III

Klaus Naumann September 8, 2008
The 21st century poses new dangers on many fronts for democratic nations – terrorism, organized crime, cyber warfar, nuclear proliferation and failing states. Those dangers divide rather than unite the 26 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes European democracies, Canada and the US. In the final article of this three-part series on US relations with the world,...

Massive Canada Arctic Ice Shelf Breaks Away

David Ljunggren September 8, 2008
A huge Arctic ice shelf breaking away in Canada signals rapid ice melt in the region. Arctic temperatures have risen faster than the global average in recent decades, report researchers. Researchers express alarm about the speed and irreversibility of melting ice. “The rapid melting of ice in the Canadian Arctic archipelago worries Ottawa, which fears foreign ships might try to sail through the...

Banking on Neo-Confician Capitalism

Ho Kwon Ping September 5, 2008
Low interest rates and easy loan terms encouraged people and businesses around the globe to live beyond their means. Those loans were based on assets that have since plummeted in value, explains Ho Kwon Ping, chairman of the board of trustees for Singapore Management University. Investment banking and speculation create instant winners and losers, increasing income inequality. He explains that “...