Karla Schumaci, a Northeastern pharmacy major, discovered a passion for public health while working on co-op at a community health center in South Africa.
Articles
3Qs: Evaluating Europe’s economic crisis
Amid the economic crisis plaguing Europe, the prime ministers of Greece (George Papandreou) and Italy (Silvio Berlusconi) resigned last week. They have since been replaced with the appointments of Lucas Papademos in Greece and Mario Monti in Italy — men with backgrounds in banking and economics. We asked Northeastern University communications studies professor Richard Katula, an expert on Greek culture and European affairs, to analyze the economic and political turmoil in Greece and Italy and its impact on the European Union.
3Qs: Is America’s transportation network on the right track?
Transportation spending is a hot-button issue in Congress. House Republications have proposed a six-year, $230 billion extension of the surface transportation bill to fund projects including roads, bridges and public transit. In the Senate, Democrats have pushed back with their own two-year, $109 billion bill, arguing that the Republican proposal would cut transportation spending across the board. We asked business professor and infrastructure authority Joseph Giglio to examine the state of America’s infrastructure.
3Qs: What is next for Libya?
Former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi met a violent death at the hands of revolutionary forces last Thursday in his hometown of Sirte, less than a year after he vowed to perish rather than concede defeat to a popular uprising. We asked Kimberly Jones, a faculty associate in Northeastern University’s Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, to analyze the impact of Gadhafi’s death on the nation of Libya and its potential effect on global perceptions of the Arab Spring.
3Qs: Looking ahead as U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq behind
On Friday, President Obama announced the United States would withdraw all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year, ending the war in Iraq that lasted nearly nine years. We asked political science professor Denis Sullivan, director of Northeastern’s Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, to offer insight on what factors may have influenced this turn of events and the potential global impact of this final withdrawal.
3Qs: A deeper analysis of U.S.-Iran relations
Last week, federal authorities disrupted an alleged plot involving the assassination of Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S., as well as subsequent attacks on Saudi and Israeli embassies. Officials claimed the plot was conceived in Iran. We asked Kimberly Jones, a faculty associate in Northeastern University’s Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development, to explain how these allegations may affect international relations.
3Qs: Considering the death penalty’s future
Spotlight blurb: Last week, death-row inmate Troy Davis was executed following a highly controversial trial and conviction for the murder of an off-duty Savannah, Ga., police officer in 1989. The case gained national attention because eyewitnesses who testified against Davis later recanted. We asked Michael Meltsner, the George J. and Kathleen Waters Matthews Distinguished University Professor in the School of Law, to provide some context on Davis’ case and capital punishment.
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3Qs: The ‘arms race’ for patents
The months-long legal battle that has been raging between Samsung and Apple over patent infringement on Apple’s iPad is just one example of the patent wars being waged throughout the technology industry lately. Last month, Google acquired Motorola Mobility largely to obtain its slew of patents. We asked Susan Barbieri Montgomery, executive professor of law and business in Northeastern’s School of Law and College of Business Administration, to explain why these tech giants are so determined to build a “war chest” of patents.
3Qs: You’ve got mail (for now)
As Americans’ daily correspondence continues shifting from mailboxes to inboxes, the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) financial woes have grown more severe. The agency may report a loss as high as $10 billion this fiscal year, and Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe is lobbying Congress for the authority to take drastic cost-cutting measures — laying off 120,000 employees, closing up to 3,700 branches and eliminating Saturday mail service. We asked finance professor Harlan Platt to explain how the USPS arrived here.
3Qs: On the road to job recovery?
Addressing both houses of Congress on Thursday night, President Obama introduced the “American Jobs Act,” a plan to help stimulate the troubled U.S. economy and encourage job creation. Obama urged Congress to act quickly to pass the bill and made an effort to include programs that have been supported by both parties. We asked William Crotty, the Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Public Life and professor of political science, to provide his perspective on the jobs plan and what role politics might play in its success or failure.
3Qs: Censorship’s impact on Chinese culture
China’s Ministry of Culture recently mandated removing 100 songs by Asian, and some American, artists from websites across the country in an effort to preserve China’s “national cultural security.” The ministry claims the banned songs weren’t submitted for screening and haven’t been approved for distribution. We asked Hua Dong, a faculty member in Northeastern’s Asian Studies Program and an expert on Chinese pop culture, to analyze government censorship and its impact on Chinese culture.
