Community

If cities tweaked their regulations to make it easier to start a business, it might lead to more minority business ownership, according to an economist who analyzed a new Arizona State University dataset.

“I wanted to see, ‘Is there something we can put our finger on when it comes to the ease of doing business, and if we relax this barrier, will we see more minority business ownership?’ ” said Alicia Plemmons, an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

A time-honored tradition at Arizona State University, Homecoming is back this fall after a pandemic pause, bringing together students, parents, alumni and the ASU community to celebrate their Sun Devil spirit.

The university will celebrate Homecoming this year with multiple events Oct. 24–30, culminating in a football game against Washington State at noon Oct. 30.

“During the seven days that mark Homecoming, students can expect a week full of celebrations on every campus,” said Sage Vu, student Homecoming director.

Judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, has been named the seventh recipient of the O’Connor Justice Prize. She was the first female professor at the University of Costa Rica Law School, founded the Human Rights Institute of Costa Rica and has served as the minister of justice of Costa Rica and as a judge on three international tribunals.

As students began returning in person to school this fall, educators faced a greater likelihood of encountering children who had been abused at home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The introduction of a new mathematics journal would not ordinarily make big news. However, the new flagship journal of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM), La Matematica, is different.

The spirit of Halloween is creeping into neighborhoods across the country. This year in particular, there’s not only an appetite for candy and treats, but the opportunity to party like it’s 2019, pre-pandemic. An estimated 65% of Americans are planning to celebrate or participate in Halloween activities, up from 58% last year, according to the National Retail Federation. And Halloween spending is expected to reach an all-time high.

Thursday, Oct. 21, is International ShakeOut Day, an annual event where millions of people worldwide practice how to be safer during earthquakes, update their emergency plans and supplies, and secure their space to prevent damage and injuries.

ShakeOut began in California in 2008 as a drill to help educate the public in earthquake preparedness. Since then, ShakeOut has expanded across the globe with over 18.7 million participants. 

Community health workers impact the lives of residents of underserved areas where basic health services are often scarce. Over the next five years, Arizona State University’s School of Social Work will train hundreds of workers from all over the country, teaching skills designed to improve the health and welfare of thousands of children and families.

Traditional therapy doesn’t often include basketball or badminton. But for several veterans at the Phoenix VA medical center, meeting twice a week at Arizona State University to shoot hoops and hit shuttlecocks has helped them feel better physically and mentally.

Faculty members at ASU’s School of Community Resources and Development collaborated with the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center to bring the students from the school and veterans together.

Every consumer who has seen empty grocery store shelves or waited extra weeks for an online purchase over the past 18 months is aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain.

An Arizona State University professor has studied another disruptive disaster – the 2011 tsunami in Japan – to see how automotive supply chains coped, and he sees parallels to what’s happening now.