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Features September 29, 2015
WooCast: Behind the Scenes of the Princeton-Fung Global Forum
Resolving epidemics like the Ebola crisis requires a multidisciplinary approach –involving not only public health and medical knowledge but an understanding of its economic, environmental, political and historical roots and consequences.This is why Princeton University is gathering together some of the world's leading academic, public health experts and more at this year's Princeton-Fung Global Forum, "Modern Plagues: Lessons Learned from the Ebola Crisis."This year's conference will bring together multiple perspectives in the hopes of identifying methods for avoiding future global health crises.In this WooCast, we take a behind-the-scenes look at the…
Features September 24, 2015
Q&A: The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power
Is China a rival super power to the U.S.? Is its rise a threat to U.S. leadership in Asia and beyond?In his new book, Thomas J. Christensen, the William P. Boswell Professor of World Politics of Peace and War and director of Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, describes a new paradigm in which the real challenge lies in dissuading China from regional aggression while encouraging the country to contribute to the global order.Drawing on decades of scholarship and experience as a senior diplomat, Christensen offers a new assessment of U.S.-China relations.Christensen explores the…
Features September 24, 2015
Economist Currie Investigates the Building Blocks of Children's Success
Trained as a labor economist at Princeton, Janet Currie wrote her dissertation on strikes and arbitration. But as she began her academic career in the late 1980s, she shifted her focus to examining the building blocks of success for children, as well as the stumbling blocks that can get in their way.While the topics are very different, Currie said both benefit from research by economists. "I realized that economics is really more of a method, or a way of thinking, than a set of topics, and I have implemented that by working on issues that can benefit from the tools of economics research," Currie said.Over the nearly three decades since, Currie has…
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Features September 18, 2015
New Faculty Join the Wilson School
Three new professors joined the faculty at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at the start of the 2015-16 year. Melissa Lee is an assistant professor of politics and international affairs at the Wilson School and the Department of Politics. Her research focuses on international relations and comparative politics, specializing in the study of the international politics of sovereignty and authority, the causes and consequences of political underdevelopment, state-building and foreign aid. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. This fall semester, Lee is teaching WWS 571A, “Topics in Development:…
Features September 16, 2015
Behind the Bomb: What About Plutonium Separation?
The Iran nuclear deal proposes limiting Iran's production of enriched uranium and plutonium – the two fissile materials used to build nuclear weapons – in exchange for the end of international oil and financial sanctions. So far, negotiations have primarily focused on Iran's capacity to produce enriched uranium. But the world’s stockpiles of separated plutonium has grown enormously over the decades.Today, there is enough separated plutonium – which is extracted from highly radioative spent fuel produced by nuclear reactors – to produce 30,000 nuclear bombs, according to metrics provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency.*In this WooCast, we…
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Features September 16, 2015
Welcome Students!
Hello and welcome back to this year's new and returning Woos!
Features September 15, 2015
WWS Reacts: Hungary Declares a State of Migration Emergency
A law passed by the Hungarian parliament last week gave the government the right to declare a state of migration emergency to cope with the tens of thousands of refugees crossing the border. The law, which took effect today, Sept. 15, could have irreparable effects on Hungary and the European Union, according to Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the University Center for Human Values. We discussed the new law with Scheppele, whose work focuses on the intersection of constitutional and international law,…
Features September 14, 2015
Inequality Grows as Economies Develop, Regardless of Technology
While technological progress favoring skilled workers is one of the main drivers behind inequality in America, the chasm between the rich and poor also grows naturally as an economy develops, according to a study led by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.When economies grow and individuals become richer, demands for high-skilled workers increase. This is because consumers shift their spending toward sectors that use high-skill workers more intensively, like education and healthcare.A paper published in the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that these demands account for about 30 percent of the…
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Features September 08, 2015
Princeton's Online Portal to Global Health
After a visit to Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Richard Horton wrote that in Princeton, he found "a university not at all relaxed about its present or its future," but rather "an institution anxious to make an impact."With its latest addition — a new, fully revamped online portal connecting all things global health — Princeton is showing just how much it aims to be, as Horton says, "a leading voice in global health affairs."The Global Health Program website, developed by Kristina Graff, director of global health programs and associate director at Princeton's Center for…
Features September 03, 2015
How to Curb Emissions? Put a Price on Carbon
Literally putting a price on carbon pollution and other greenhouse gasses is the best approach for nurturing the rapid growth of renewable energy and reducing emissions.While prospects for a comprehensive carbon price are dim, especially in the U.S., many other policy approaches can spur the renewables revolution, according to a new policy article published in Nature.The current price of carbon – which is below zero, once fossil-fuel subsidies are taken into account – is far too low given the hidden environmental, health and societal costs of burning coal and oil.The authors – which include Princeton University's Michael Oppenheimer, Albert G. Milbank…
Features August 28, 2015
Political Challenges, Not Just Scientific Ones, Shape Response to Epidemics
The fight against epidemics like Ebola is waged by health care workers on the ground and by researchers in the lab. But it is also fought by public officials and politicians, from community elders to national leaders to the heads of international organizations.Understanding the role of government and politics before, during and after health emergencies is one step toward improving preparedness, response efforts, and saving lives, according to Princeton University researchers who will discuss "The Politics of Plagues" at the Princeton-Fung Global Forum. The forum, an annual international conference sponsored by the University, will address "Modern…
Features August 21, 2015
WWS Reacts: Why Is Hungary Building a Fence on the Serbian Border?
A border fence intended to halt migrants from traveling to Hungary through Serbia will be finished by the end of August. The border, located in Southern Hungary, has become a popular crossing point for thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa hoping to flee from the poverty and war in their home countries. A host of legal implications are wrapped up in these migration patterns and the building of this fence. We discussed these issues with Kim Lane Scheppele, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the University…
Features August 20, 2015
Cellphone Data Can Track Infectious Diseases
Tracking mobile phone data is often associated with privacy issues, but these vast datasets could be the key to understanding how infectious diseases are spread seasonally, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Princeton University and Harvard University researchers used anonymous mobile phone records for more than 15 million people to track the spread of rubella in Kenya and were able to quantitatively show for the first time that mobile phone data can predict seasonal disease patterns.Harnessing cellphone data in this way could help policymakers guide and evaluate health interventions like the timing…
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Features August 05, 2015
Class Snapshot: “Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education in South Africa”
Class: “Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education in South Africa”Location: Cape Town, South AfricaDescription: This undergraduate task force focused on issues in the South African education system, from early childhood education to secondary school and vocational training. Education is an integral factor in overcoming the country’s poverty issues and ensuring its economic future. Students examined challenges within each sector of the system, such as its potential for growth when students face the challenge of being taught in any one of 11 languages. Students concluded the course with a report offering recommendations that could help the South…
Features August 05, 2015
Twitter Chat Focuses on Reporting a Global Health Crisis
Pam Belluck, an alumna of Princeton University and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times, participated in a live Twitter chat on Wednesday, July 29, to discuss her real-time coverage of the Ebola crisis.Belluck, a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, discussed the media's role in a health crisis. She answered questions from both the Princeton community and the public.Belluck is a moderator at the upcoming Princeton-Fung Global Forum on "Modern Plagues: Lessons Learned from the Ebola Crisis." Register for the conference here. View a transcript of the chat below.[View the story "As it Happens: Reporting a Global Health Crisis"…