Leah Wing was elected Vice President of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution. Leah is a founding board member of the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution. She heads the Ethical Principles for Online Dispute Resolution initiative of NCTDR and serves on the ABA Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Standards Taskforce and the ABA Committee on Technology and Dispute Resolution. Leah has taught dispute resolution since 1993 and served as a researcher on early experiments in online dispute resolution. Leah serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution and of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, served two terms on the Association of Conflict Resolution Board of Directors, and is on the advisory board of ODREurope. Leah is the founding director of the Social Justice Mediation Institute. (NCTDR, 5/11/2021)

As Earth Day 2021 approached, a peculiar object began to take shape on the campus of UMass Amherst. The timing was apt, as the structure, a 24-foot-diameter art installation called Earth! One, is also a message about the imminent dangers of climate change and the hope it can inspire to combat it. A multidisciplinary effort, Earth! One brought together students from the Department of Theater in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts; the School of Public Policy; the Department of Political Science; the Department of Environmental Conservation; and the School of Earth & Sustainability– students who may not normally collaborate on academic projects. “Having Professor Charlie’s class come in and say what if we do it this way, what if we represent it this way, has been a breath of fresh air,” said Tomasz Dvorak, a political science major. (UMass News, 5/6/2021; Video)

The law in computation: What machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data mean for law and society scholarship. 
Abstract: Computational systems, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, are not only inescapable parts of social life but are also reshaping the contours of law and legal practice. We propose turning more law and social science (LSS) attention to new technological developments through the study of “law in computation,” that is, computational systems’ integration with regulatory and administrative procedures, the sociotechnical infrastructures that support them, and their impact on how individuals and populations are interpellated through the law. We present a range of cases in three areas of inquiry - algorithmic governance, jurisdiction and agency - on issues such as immigration enforcement, data sovereignty, algorithmic warfare, biometric identity regimes, and gig economies, for which examining law in computation illuminates how new technological systems’ integration with legal processes pushes the distinction between “law on the books” and “law in action” into new domains. We then propose future directions and methods for research. As computational systems become ever more sophisticated, understanding the law in computation is critical not only for LSS scholarship, but also for everyday civics. (DoCarmo T, Rea S, Conaway E, Emery J, Raval N. Law & Policy. 2021;1–30)

Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the UMass Poll at UMass Amherst, will moderate a virtual discussion on Biden’s first 100 days as President, featuring NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, as part of the Springfield Public Forum’s Spring Speaker Series on Thursday, May 6. (MassLive, 5/2/21)