In the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, the political parties in many states are working to redefine their congressional district maps to gain every possible edge. From California and Texas to Tennessee and Virginia, redistricting efforts have taken center stage. The Supreme Court has sanctioned partisan gerrymandering, and the system has evolved to one in which state legislature majorities get to determine who is most likely to fill those seats in Congress.
In short, gerrymandering has become a central feature of the system, not a bug. But what if we rethink the structure entirely?
A study published in Management Science finds that the industry’s standard approach of matching video game players against opponents with similar skill levels is not necessarily the most effective way to keep people engaged. Instead, researchers show that more sophisticated matchmaking systems—ones that account for how players respond to recent wins, losses and competitive experiences over time—can significantly increase player retention.
Gendered differences may impact how medical students rank their preferred schools when matching for residency, according to study data published in Organization Science.
Across two studies, the data show that men and women navigate the Main Residency Match differently and highlight the need for improved education on the process, according to Samuel E. Skowronek, PhD, assistant professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, and Joyce C. He, PhD, assistant professor of management and organizations at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
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Analysts say that the ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine will further drive up U.S. food prices. And because Russia is a main producer of fertilizer, the war could affect what is grown on American soil.
BALTIMORE, MD, March 21, 2022 –The recent crisis in Ukraine is reigniting the discussion of the appropriate mix of assistance for refugees. According to the UN Refugee Agency, six million refugees already lived in camps in 2021 due to multiple armed conflicts worldwide. Humanitarian organizations (HOs) are working to help people struggling because of regulations that impede integration into host countries. Cash assistance is one way that HOs are helping in addition to providing in-kind assistance in the form of food and non-food items. The intention of the cash assistance is to provide refugees with spending flexibility, restore their dignity and improve the wealth of the host community. However, cash assistance brings its own challenges. New research in the INFORMS journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management identifies a way to provide incentives for the retailer to voluntarily reduce prices while causing no harm to refugees or host communities.
Every business has been affected by the pandemic, but few industries have been as thoroughly disrupted as air travel. As Covid-19 has waxed and waned, airlines have suffered thousands of canceled flights, plummeting ticket prices, and a federal mask mandate that catalyzed a wave of violent incidents on planes.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and sanctions imposed on it for doing so and new pandemic-related shutdowns in China are the latest events to rock global supply chains. Combined with the China-U.S. trade war and other pandemic- and climate-related disruptions, it is certain to accelerate the movement by Western companies to reduce their dependency on China for components and finished goods and on Russia for transportation and raw materials and to lead to more localized, or regional, sourcing strategies. If China decides to back Russia in the Ukraine conflict, it would only fuel that movement.
Time to overthink almost every game and use the stats, nuggets and goodies I've compiled below to help you gleefully fill out your bracket(s).
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