Category Archives: Authors

Authors A-H, Healthcare

Bendy bodies, you are not alone – by Kate Hall

My Aunt lives alone, an energetic and fantastically sharp witted lady who just turned 81. She recently fell while getting out of the shower; it was bad, but could have been a lot worse.

The family recently visited with Aunt and got good ideas of what to do.  She made copies of her house keys and gave them to us, made sure we have her garage door code. Shared phone numbers of neighbors and have plans in place in case of emergency. She is going to try and get a prescription from her doctor for the life alert system that is free for low income seniors. Her doctor reminded her of the importance of building leg strength and balance. Her fall was a sobering reminder that these things can happen when you least expect it and it pays to be prepared. She spoke with friends from her church and about starting a senior yoga class, since many of them have a healthy fear of falling and know how balance and leg strength help prevent falls.

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Authors A-H, Tech & AI

Not Scared of Technology as Much as Technocrats’ Intent– by Meena Chopra

Human Good, Technological Power and the Civilizational Question We’re Not Asking:  Who gave technocrats the authority to decide humanity’s future? 

Who holds them accountable when the technologies they create threaten human autonomy? When they speak of empowering humanity, whose power are they actually expanding? And when private corporations acquire control over the infrastructure, intelligence and communications on which societies depend, should we accept their assurances of benevolent intent—or examine the interests behind them? These are not questions about whether technology is good or bad. They are questions about power, hypocrisy and the future of human civilization. I am not scared of technology as much as I am of the intent of technocrats. 

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Advisors, Authors A-H, Of Men

15 questions for men in 2026 – by Terry Howard

What does it mean to be a man today? Before we answer, perhaps we should ask how willing are we to examine the assumptions we carry about women, relationships, and about ourselves.

Three things prompted me to revisit these questions: a recent article I wrote about male complicity related to the sexual-assault allegation at Cornell University, a challenge from my friend “Bernard,” a column by Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts Jr. about manhood and a “15 Questions for Men” piece I published years ago. 

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Advisors, Authors A-H

Renewing Diversity Part 18: Considering the Diversity Principle – by Carlos Cortés

For the 2025 ADR issue on economics I wrote about three colleagues – R. Roosevelt Thomas, Louise Wilkinson, and Marc Brenman — who, in different ways, influenced my thinking about diversity and economics.  Now let me add one more influencer, someone whom I have never met: David B. Oppenheimer.  I just read and reviewed his new book, The Diversity Principle: The Story of a Transformative Idea, for the Journal of Hate Studies.  .

At first glance, Oppenheimer’s basic thesis seems simple.  He proposes and defines the diversity principle as follows:  “the idea that diversity contributes to better learning and teaching, better thinking, better science, better business practices, and better democratic engagement  (p.4).”   In support of his thesis, he presents a historical narrative that incorporates the ideas of Wilhelm von Humboldt (head of the Prussian Ministry of Education), the contributions of John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, and South African scholarship supporting diversity admissions at the University of Cape Town.  He then links these foreign influences to the development of American jurisprudence and institutions, mainly academic. 

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Authors A-H, Politics

Can President Trump Steal the Midterm Elections? – by David Grinberg

With the midterm elections fast approaching, we should expect President Trump to meddle with the results. 

While Democrats are looking poised to regain majorities in Congress, Trump and Republicans are looking into the political abyss. Historical precedent shows that the party out of power typically gains 25 to 30 seats in midterm elections, as voters seek a check on the sitting president. A true wave election nets 40 to 60 seats, and a rare tsunami wave can shift 60 to 80 seats. 

For context, Republicans gained 63 seats in the 2010 midterm elections under President Barack Obama. This time under Trump, the Republican Party is deeply underwater on overall job approval and major policy areas. On the closely watched generic congressional ballot, Democrats maintain a commanding lead.

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Advisors, Authors A-H, Healthcare

Renewing Diversity Part 17: Rethinking Patient-Centered Approaches to Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés

I’m sometimes amazed at how thoroughly my thinking about health equity has changed since I became part-time co-director of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism curriculum a little more than six years ago in July, 2020.

Throughout several decades prior to that appointment I had given numerous talks and workshops about cultural competence in health care, including at such places as M. D. Anderson in Houston.  On my own campus, I had been delivering an annual required cultural competence lecture for first-year medical students, augmented by a smattering of faculty.  So when I said yes to the dean’s invitation, I felt reasonably confident, particularly since I was teamed up with one of the school’s clinical professors of pediatrics.

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Advisors, Authors A-H, Gender

Hey complicit men, if the shoe fits, wear it! – by Terry Howard

Warning readers!  This piece, written out of disgust, takes an unapologetic yet necessary swing at a deeply entrenched cultural double standard: victim-blaming of women accompanied by lack of accountability and general silence by way too many men. That said, understand that I’m going to be direct and will pull no punches about the hypocrisy of asking what a woman was wearing, drinking, or doing instead of holding perpetrators of her abuse accountable for their barbaric behaviors. 

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Authors A-H, Healthcare

Healthcare Systems: After Treatment Ends – by Andrew Drasen

For many individuals, completing a treatment program is a milestone filled with hope, relief, and anticipation. Residential programs, intensive outpatient services, and structured recovery tracks provide a framework for learning new skills, managing triggers, and building a foundation for change. Yet the moment a person leaves structured care is also the moment the safety net thins, and many find themselves navigating complex social, familial, and environmental pressures without the scaffolding that previously supported them.

Healthcare systems and programs designed to address substance use or mental health challenges often focus on stopping harmful behaviors and managing relapse risks. These approaches are critical. They teach clients to recognize triggers, practice coping strategies, and adhere to care plans. However, behavior-focused programs address only one side of a larger equation. Without guidance on who they are becoming beyond the behavior, individuals often struggle to sustain change once the structured environment is removed. Old patterns can resurface, not because the person intends to fail, but because they lack a coherent framework for their evolving identity.

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Advisors, Authors A-H, Of Men

For (some) men “quit” is a 4-letter word – by Terry Howard

Except for temperature approaching 90 degrees, there was nothing new that day or out of the ordinary when I pulled into the mall parking lot to begin my daily one-mile walk. So, I took a swig of water, stuffed my keys and phone into my pockets and got started. 

About a third of my way around the mall, I looked over my shoulder and noticed that two women were walking some 20-30 yards behind me. Well, no big deal I thought. But within minutes the two women had caught up with and eventually passed me even though I never slowed down my pace. 

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

The Static Now Is a Net – by Donley Ferguson

Our Differences Create the Capacity to Break Free

Diversity that cannot change the system is diversity that the system has learned to contain without converting it into adaptive capacity.

We often measure diversity by counting those who are not the majority. We measure how many were hired, who was invited, who was given a seat, and who was allowed to speak. Those things matter. Yet the statistics do not tell us what happened to the organization because those people entered it.

An organization can become more diverse without changing. It can welcome unfamiliar faces and remain unable to see what those faces reveal. It can listen to new voices and remain deaf to what those voices know. It can collect experiences and display them as evidence of inclusion while its assumptions, decisions, processes, and responses remain the same.

The group does not have to reject diversity. It may have learned how to contain it. I call this The Static Now.

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