AI Expands Potential for Discovery in Physics

The long-standing interplay between artificial intelligence and the evolution of physics played a pivotal role in awarding the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics to two AI trailblazers. “AI for physics and physics for AI are concepts you hear,” said Matteo Cremonesi(opens in new window), an assistant professor of physics at…

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The Fall of Barnier: Farewell to Macronism or Return of Napoleon III?

The terrifying context of a likely war of the EU against Russia for the Ukraine with French troops being sent on the Russian front is less a danger than an option to the French Europeanist tyrant: he can use it as a tool to unite the French political system around…

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Court of Appeal declares that India is not immune from the Devas investors’ enforcement efforts and reinstates IATA seizure

The evolving landscape of state immunity in award-enforcement proceedings in Canada The rise of investor-state disputes, which has taken place globally over the last two decades, has led to a growing number of recognition and enforcement proceedings of foreign arbitral awards before Canadian courts by award creditors seeking to execute…

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Disruptive forces & critical success factors for the consumer packaged goods industry

Executives in the consumer packaged goods industry face a complex landscape marked by increased competition, evolving consumer behaviours and the need for sustainability. Although inflation is expected to stabilise, ongoing shifts in consumer expectations and market dynamics demand innovative strategies to preserve profitability and enhance resilience. As interest rates begin…

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Alternatives-2024: Results of the Valdai Discussion Club Expert Programme

In 2024, Valdai Club continued its cooperation with colleagues from Pakistan, which has been actively developing for several years. In April, 2024, the Club held a Russian-Pakistani conference on strategic stability, a topic that is becoming extremely acute amid the current geopolitical conditions. Pakistan, as a nuclear power, has its…

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From Then to Now: The History of Loyalty Retail Programs 

In today’s consumer landscape, loyalty retail programs are seamlessly woven into both traditional brick-and-mortar stores and the digital realm of eCommerce. They serve as powerful tools to enhance customer retention, and to truly understand their significance and growth, we break down the history of loyalty retail programs below.  18th to…

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Federal District Court Dismisses Another 401(k) Forfeitures Suit

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Since September 2023, there have been at least 25 lawsuits filed claiming the ability to choose between using 401(k) forfeitures to reduce plan expenses or the plan sponsor’s contributions is a fiduciary choice, and that choosing to reduce the plan sponsor’s contributions constitutes a violation of ERISA’s fiduciary…

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The EU Steps Up the Fight Against Sanctions Evasion

The EU’s coercive measures no longer act as an alternative to secondary sanctions. On the contrary, administrative and criminal prosecution can be combined with the use of secondary restrictions, which creates additional risks for European businesses still working with Russian partners, writes Polina Chupriyanova, Program Coordinator at the Russian International…

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Five Tune-Ups Your Company Needs in 2025

subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Here at MIT Sloan Management Review, we’re lucky to have a growing number of columnists — true experts who write on their topics regularly — to share the latest lessons and trends that they’re seeing in their fields. Our columnists are…

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Olympic Sized Wages: LA City Council Takes Next Steps on “Olympic Wage” Ordinance

Seyfarth Synopsis: The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is already bringing change to the city. On December 11, 2024, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-3 to approve a draft ordinance to amend the Living Wage Ordinance and the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance in 2025.  If the City Council approves…

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Keeping Your Ducks in H-1B Row: Compliance Strategies for Employers

With an incoming administration vocal about its stance on immigration enforcement and safeguarding U.S. workers, employers who hire foreign workers on H-1B visas should make certain that they are maintaining compliance with U.S. immigration regulations. To avoid potential fines, penalties, or jeopardizing the status and work authorization of H-1B employees,…

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Additional Protections for Seattle App-Based Workers Take Effect On January 1, 2025

Seattle continues to expand protections for app-based workers (sometimes referred to as “gig workers”) working within the City of Seattle with its new App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance.  Overview of the New Ordinance Effective January 1, 2025, the City of Seattle’s “Ordinance relating to app-based worker labor standards; establishing labor…

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Stanford art museums welcome visitors over the holidays

While the campus is closed for winter break from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3, Stanford’s art museums will remain open during regular hours, and campus visitors are welcome to explore the outdoor public art collection. The Anderson Collection’s 10th-anniversary exhibitions celebrate the museum’s roots and what it means to live with…

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Fifth Circuit Court Stays Nationwide Injunction on CTA Enforcement – BOI Reporting Requirements Resume

On December 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an order temporarily staying the nationwide preliminary injunction previously granted in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al. While the Fifth Circuit’s temporary stay is not the final word on the fate…

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(Smart)Watch Out! The EEOC’s Take on Wearable Tech

By: Taylor Iaculla, Yoon-Woo Nam, and Andrew L. Scroggins Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 19, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published a new fact sheet titled “Wearables in the Workplace: Using Wearable Technologies Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws.” The fact sheet describes some of the technologies employees may be…

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Indonesia With BRICS, A Bridge to the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

Indonesia’s unique opportunity with BRICS emphasises how it can navigate the new multipolar order while preserving its non-aligned and democratic values. As Indonesia considers joining BRICS, it stands at a crossroads, where aligning with emerging powers could unlock new growth while also challenging its traditional diplomatic principles, taking public benefits…

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New book explores poet W.H. Auden’s life between two world wars

For many contemporary readers, their first introduction to the poetry of W.H. Auden came not in a course on English literature, but from a more mainstream source: the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, in which a character recites Auden’s 1937 poem Funeral Blues during the titular funeral.“It’s incredibly touching that…

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Driving social change in 2024 with the Q5 Foundation

Reflecting on a year of meaningful impact 2024 was an amazing year for the Q5 Foundation, as we deepened our commitment to social impact and supported over 30 charities and community organisations globally. Together, we achieved remarkable milestones that demonstrate the power of collaboration, expertise, and passion. Reading time: 6…

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EPA-pocalypse Now!

Seyfarth Synopsis: A second Trump administration is likely to bring sweeping changes to environmental regulatory and enforcement agendas. During the first Trump term, his administration focused on significant deregulation in the environmental sector, including budget cuts and staff reductions at USEPA, and the rollback of key policies from the Obama…

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DHS Finalizes H-2 Program Regulations, Expanding Worker Protections and Employer Hiring Options

Quick Hits DHS’s new final rule expands DHS’s authority to conduct site visits and impose penalties on employers that fail to follow the requirements of the program. The final rule expands H-2 worker flexibility and portability, includes expanded grace periods at the beginning and end of the H-2 petition validity…

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FTC Posts $20 Million Settlement With Dealer Group For Alleged Deceptive Practices

On Thursday, December 19, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Illinois Attorney General announced a massive $20 million settlement with Leader Automotive Group, the operator of 10 dealerships in and around Bloomington, Illinois, for alleged unfair and deceptive acts and practices in connection with the sale of motor vehicles…

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New Illinois Law Prohibiting Employment Discrimination Against Caregivers to Take Effect January 1, 2025

Quick Hits Illinois enacted a law prohibiting discrimination against employees who must care for family members at home. The law will not require employers to make accommodations or modifications to reasonable workplace rules and policies to allow employees to fulfill their caregiving responsibilities. The law will take effect on January…

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Reflecting on Season 3 of Learning Through Experience

Thank you for tuning in this season on the Learning Through Experience podcast! In this season 3 reflection episode, I take a step back to reflect on the key themes, conversations, and experiences that shaped the show. This season featured several insightful and impactful conversations. I highlight discussions with guests…

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Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, November 2024

Economies continue to face a range of geopolitical, climatic, and inflation-led challenges, with some also feeling the effects of structural issues. Against this backdrop, China, India, and the US are outperforming other surveyed economies. Among developed economies, US GDP continues to eclipse European output. Real GDP in the US increased…

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The Prospect of Regaining Strategic Stability

Of course, in order for every country to focus on its own national economic development, a peaceful environment and the security of its borders are a prerequisite and of utmost importance. This requires all countries to respect the security concerns of others instead of pushing their own interests regardless. That…

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Students help Stanford archivists preserve the past

In an office on the third floor of Green Library, senior Bradley Strauss sifts through a box of files donated to Stanford University Archives by Cathy Haas, a lecturer in the School of Humanities & Sciences."}">svg]:su-mt-3 md:[&>svg]:su--mt-2 lg:[&>svg]:su-mt-4 [&>svg]:su-w-41 [&>svg]:su-h-43 md:[&>svg]:su-w-[97px] md:[&>svg]:su-h-[102px] su-mr-8 lg:su-mr-19">nIn an office on the third floor…

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Leading with others: Embracing a new era of leadership

The landscape of leadership is evolving as newer generations challenge traditional hierarchies. Outdated practices, focused on a top-down power dynamic, have fostered an “us vs. them” mentality, stifling collaboration, slowing innovation, and hindering sustained growth. In response, Future Relevant Organizations are adopting “next practices” that recognize and celebrate contributions, influence,…

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Mexico’s ‘Chair Law’ (‘Ley Silla’) Set to Take Effect in 2025: What Employers Need to Know

Quick Hits Under Mexico’s Chair Law, the main obligations for employers are: (i) having enough seats with a backrest for employees’ use, and (ii) avoiding prohibiting employees from taking seated breaks when the nature of the works allow it. Noncompliance with the Chair Law could trigger fines. The Chair Law’s…

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Owning a home linked to longer life in the US

Dr Casey Breen, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, conducted the study, published in Demography. The study found that homeownership was associated with 0.36 years of additional life expectancy for Black male Americans who were born in the early twentieth…

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Five books to help you disagree productively in 2025

Even in a time of sharp division, people can learn how to have more open, empathetic, and constructive dialogue in disagreements.Norman W. Spaulding, the Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor in Law, helps people do just that through ePluribus Stanford, an initiative that seeks to cultivate constructive dialogue…

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FTC Cracks Down on Use of No-Hire Agreements As Anti-Competitive

On December 4, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) ordered building services contractor Guardian Industries, Inc. (“Guardian”) to cease enforcement of no-hire provisions it included in customer service agreements with residential building owners and building management companies, prohibiting the hire of Guardian’s employees. Guardian, which operates in New York and…

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The case for human-centered AI

Over the past two years, generative AI (gen AI) has been a rapidly evolving trend that has touched the lives of many around the globe. Which is why the design of these formidable systems must include experts from diverse backgrounds, says James Landay, a professor of computer science at Stanford…

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New study reveals the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on other causes of death

Researchers from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, Australian National University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, analysed cause-of-death data for 24 countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.The researchers found that life expectancy declined in 2020 for all but four of the 24 included countries, with…

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Scaling a niche start-up into a necessary one: Insights from Arbol

Climate change is challenging the limits of traditional insurance by creating new risks and exacerbating old ones at an unprecedented scale. As weather events increase in frequency and severity, many businesses find themselves underinsured or unable to secure coverage. Arbol addresses these growing protection gaps with parametric insurance, which quickly…

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Researchers develop a way to test the ability of red blood cells to deliver oxygen by measuring their shape

FlowScore - a formula developed at Oxford University in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant - predicts how quickly red blood cells release their oxygen. This process is important for oxygenating the body’s tissues, including organs and muscles, particularly in people receiving large transfusions.Healthy fresh red blood cells have a…

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Students take nuclear strategy ideas to the White House

Nuclear energy is poised to become the future of energy, and the global race to lead this industry is intensifying. But how can the United States compete and invigorate its nuclear energy industry, particularly amid the explosive growth of artificial intelligence? Stanford students Mandy Alevra, Nuri Capanoglu, Elena Kopstein, and…

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Writing For Yourself and Writing to be Read

Writing has the power to transport us to the depths of the human experience – to illuminate the joys, sorrows and complexities that make us who we are. In this captivating final episode of Learning Through Experience Season Three, Amy Bloom and I explore the transformative power of the written…

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Georgia on a Small Chessboard: Geopolitics and Self-Awareness

The nomination of Mikheil Kavelashvili, a family man with traditional values, for the presidency after Salome Zurabishvili, an ardent supporter of radical pro-Westernism is not a turn towards Russia, as many would like to claim, but a turn towards the majority of the Georgian population, which wants to be part…

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Here We Go Again? Government Shutdown and Impacts on Immigration

An all too familiar countdown once again as we wait to hear the fate of the latest temporary extension to continue funding the government after midnight on Friday, December 20th. Employers should be aware that a shutdown will likely impact processing of immigration cases. During a shutdown, all but “essential”…

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