News Updates

“Our commercial partners are challenging us to be more agile, think differently, buy smarter and develop more efficiently,” NASA’s administrator told the Washington Post, and many observers hope the agency’s evolution will spark the kind of innovation necessary to make spaceflight more routine. Seeing this trend developing, an analyst recently explained in Issues how more private companies, as well as more countries, were expanding their activities in space, and how this would require the US government to adapt its regulatory thinking to capitalize on increased collaboration.

As the United States and Mexico moved closer to adopting final revisions to the North American Free Trade Agreement, President Trump suggested he was open to dumping Canada from the trilateral pact, according to a New York Times report. But this might miss a rich opportunity. In Issues a while back, a policy analyst who examined the benefits derived from NAFTA proposed that the three nations might gain even more by working together as an economic alliance to engage the global community on trade issues.

Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts linked to Russia and Iran for malicious political behavior ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections. Microsoft has taken down six Russia-linked websites targeting the US Senate and several Washington think tanks that promote democracy or investigate Russian corruption. New evidence shows that prior to the US presidential election in 2016, Russian internet trolls hurled insults at both advocates and critics of vaccines solely to raise the national level of hostility. What’s going on? In Issues, a scholar recently examined how advanced information technologies are adding a new dimension to regional and global conflict, particularly the use of “weaponized narratives” to undermine an adversary’s institutions, identity, and civilization.

Fewer than half of people in the United States now believe that self-driving cars will make roadways safer—a drop from a clear majority only two years ago, seemingly influenced by recent high-profile accidents involving autonomous vehicles, says a new study by Cox Automotive. If companies ignore such worries and push this technology too fast, the public might come to “fixate on any technological failures to the detriment of the long-term viability of this movement to address unsafe driving,” an analyst cautions in Issues, adding that a “slow-but-sure strategy to commercialization makes the most sense for now.”

This summer’s scorching heat speaks to a clear climate trend, as 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001, yet the New York Times says the world remains largely unprepared for life at higher temperatures. Issues recently offered a blueprint for action, with a pair of forward-thinking analysts detailing specific steps—led by governments, but also involving businesses, universities, and communities—to prepare for and adapt to global warming. The authors also discussed their ideas at the launch event for the Summer Issues in Washington, DC.

Asian American women face a double bind in the workplace as they encounter negative stereotyping for both their ethnicity and gender, says an account from the Better Life Lab. In an early examination in Issues, two scholars presented national data showing this to be especially true for leadership positions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—the STEM fields—in industry and academia, adding that this “merits greater attention, more targeted programmatic efforts, and inclusion in the national discussion of the STEM workforce.”

China is rapidly emerging as a technological powerhouse, at least in part because of its use of illicit political and business practices, the president of MIT says, calling for the United States to develop an aggressive and forward-looking action plan. In Issues, a longtime technology and policy hand recently proposed just such a strategy by which the United States can offset China’s unfair practices and, most importantly, promote and extend US leadership in science and innovation.

The United States is expected to see ever more openings for middle-skill jobs—positions that require more than a high school diploma but typically not a bachelor’s degree—and a technology-and-policy group says new ways are needed to help workers gain skills and associated credentials that will open employment doors. In a deeper look, Issues recently explored the importance of these jobs; the skills they require, particularly in health care; and how expanded access to better data on labor markets can aid both workers and policy-makers looking for productive options.