Ken Stier
Ken Stier got started as a reporter at community newspapers, independent film and television industry publications and in public affairs TV in New York in the 1980s. After attending Columbia's School of International Affairs, he moved to Southeast Asia in time for the final Vietnamese troop withdrawal from Cambodia. From bases in Bangkok, Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur, he worked for wire services, newspapers and magazines, including Time and Newsweek. Until recently, he was a features writer at CNBC.com, covering energy and the financial crisis that got him laid off. He now freelances from New York, where he has covered and worked inside the United Nations, written policy papers for think tanks, conducted proprietary research for boutique consultancies, and taught at university.
If LSU Cuts Football, Academia Can Panic
Regarding the crisis in American research universities, Louisiana State University System President John V. Lombardi argues that when athletics are on the cutting block, he’ll see that as a sign of disaster.
Innovation Must Get in Line for Academic Funding
In a Q&A session, computer scientist Francine Berman, vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, explains how funding decisions made in Washington help or hinder innovation at universities.
States Prove Weak Link in Supporting Research Universities
In a Q&A, historian Robert M. Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities, (since retired) describes how fiscal pressures at the state level undermine research universities already battered by the recession.
Retaining Excellence in U.S. Research Universities
In a series of upcoming Q&A sessions, academics and other observers will review the fiscal and competitive challenges facing U.S. research institutions and what might solve them.
When Bad Things Happen to Good Rogues
A century and a half after defective mules prompted a law on false claims, the federal government is still working kinks out of the process.
Solving the World’s Problems With a Joystick
The people behind the burgeoning field of serious games aim both to get people to care about solving world problems while learning that all answers have their consequences.
Pakistan, Captain America’s On the Phone
The United States has dumped billions of dollars into Pakistan as it has sailed closer than ever to becoming a nuclear-armed failed state. Where do both nations go from here?
Re-Arranging Pakistan’s Deck Chairs
As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits India, we look at its neighbor and enemy Pakistan, America’s oldest friend in the Subcontinent. The United States has dumped billions of dollars into Pakistan as it has sailed closer than ever to becoming a nuclear-armed failed state. Where does it go from here, our Ken Stier asks in the first of a two-part analysis.
A Flower Grows in West Africa
Are Liberia’s new steel and rubber concessions a sign of reform — or the exception that proves corruption still rules in resource-rich countries?
Top-Notch Lawyers Create a Sort of Attorneys Sans Frontières
Attorneys who put the ‘pro’ in pro bono start girdling the globe to offer free help for countries struggling to implement the rule of law.
Americans Log Into Hermit Kingdom
In a deft bit of science diplomacy, Syracuse University has been engaging with a North Korean counterpart to bring a bit of knowledge — and some trust — to the Hermit Kingdom.
Robert Shiller Is Running for the Entrances
The Yale economist known as a bubble-popper extraordinaire is bullish on tomorrow, even if that tomorrow may be a decade away.
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from the source
Gender Wage Gap Skewed By Survey Flaws
The wage gap between the sexes in America has been closing much faster than anyone realized, but that’s tempered by learning it’s been much wider than measurements had shown.
‘Orcas as Slaves’ Argument Sinks
An effort to identify five performing orcas as slaves failed in part, argues one scholar, because there’s no legal precedent establishing them as persons.
The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
New research finds listeners judge symphonic music differently when they’re told the conductor is a woman.
House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire
Transportation used to be one of the few guaranteed areas of agreement when ideology trumped pragmatism in D.C. But that’s no longer the case.
Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity
New research suggests less-creative people do more innovative thinking when they are told individualism is the norm, and instructed to conform.
Better Super Bowl Makes for Better Ads
A lot of people say they watch the Super Bowl mostly for the ads. But it turns out a good game surrounding those ads makes them seem better.
Overseas Troops Finally Get Fair Shot at Voting
After decades of obstacles hindering the voting process, new laws will allow overseas and military voters to submit their votes in time for the 2012 election.
Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected No More?
World health leaders announce coordinated push to eradicate or control neglected tropical diseases.
Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.
Traffic Solution: Make Drivers Less Lonely
Rather than moaning about too many cars on the road, the Ridesharing Institute says the real key to battling traffic congestion and pollution is filling empty passenger seats.
