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What’s the business potential of the metaverse?
Robert Brunner is the associate dean for innovation and chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Brunner spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the transformative potential of the metaverse, an immersive 3D environment that seeks to blend the physical and online worlds. […]

Paper: Regional public universities increase access, social mobility for nearby residents
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By broadening access to higher education in their local geographic area, regional public universities increase the economic and social mobility of the residents in their counties, says new research co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign economists. As the backbone of the U.S. higher education system, regional public universities enroll […]

Paper: Established employees need adjustment period with new work colleagues
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Businesses often invest significant time and money to onboard new hires at work and help them adjust to their new environment, but it remains largely unclear how team insiders navigate the same period of adjustment with their new co-workers, especially those who may be different from them. According to a new paper […]

Paper: Job-quality indicator points to mixed bag for Illinois workers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —A team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign labor experts has developed a metric for measuring the quality of jobs throughout the state of Illinois. The findings are a mix of positive and negative news for Illinois workers. Called the “Employment Quality of Illinois,” the indicator was based on research comparing data collected from […]

What were the underlying issues of the railroad labor dispute?
Michael LeRoy is an expert in labor law and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. LeRoy, who advised the Council of Economic Advisers for President George W. Bush during an emergency labor dispute in 2001, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the averted strike with railroad unions that […]

What explains ‘quiet quitting’ in the workplace?
YoungAh Park is a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies work stress and recovery. Park spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about “quiet quitting” at work. Is “quiet quitting” any different than work withdrawal or employee disengagement? Scholars have studied work withdrawal as […]

Paper: Older workers seeking federal disability benefits during recessions are healthier
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — It’s a well-established pattern that poor economic conditions lead to increased admissions into Social Security Disability Insurance, the federal safety net program for individuals who suffer permanent work-limiting disabilities. But according to a new paper co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scholars, individuals who entered the disability program when […]

How will the Inflation Reduction Act affect US environmental policy?
Don Fullerton is the Gutgsell Professor of Finance at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a senior scholar at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Fullerton, an expert in energy and environmental policy, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the environmental impact of […]

Will pre-pandemic office life ever make a comeback?
Amit Kramer is a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies the relationship between work, family and health. Kramer spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the future of office work. As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs, remote work is gradually turning into hybrid work […]

What’s the potential of blockchain technology?
Robert Brunner is the associate dean for innovation and chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he helped spearhead efforts to create iBlock, the first blockchain created by a business school. Brunner spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the potential of […]

What explains the cryptocurrency crash?
Robert Brunner is the associate dean for innovation and chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he helped spearhead efforts to create iBlock, the first blockchain created by a business school. Brunner spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about turbulence in the […]

Private investment in California’s solar energy industry increases climate vulnerabilities, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — California is a national leader in renewable energy development. But energy systems development is driven more by financial considerations than environmental ones, leaving customers more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researcher determined. Sean Kennedy is a professor in urban and regional planning whose research interests […]