In the wake of recent events such as the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s electoral victory, John Rennie Short explores why there has been widespread resistance to economic, political, and cultural globalization in a new article in The Conversation.

Short, a professor of public policy, traces the origins of globalization back to the end of World War II when the Allied countries set up a new order focused on free markets and trade, coupled with the establishment of international organizations with the idea that it would curb economic nationalism.

He then explains how this later led to money moving more freely around the world, with eventual global shifts in manufacturing and a loosening of trade restrictions.

“As a result, there was a global redistribution of wealth. In the West as factories shuttered, mechanized or moved overseas, the living standards of the working class declined. Meanwhile, in China prosperity grew, with the poverty rate falling from 84 percent in 1981 to only 12 percent by 2010,” Short writes, adding, “the backlash against economic globalization is most marked in those countries such as the U.S. where economic dislocation unfolds with weak safety nets and limited government investment in job retraining or continuing and lifetime education.”

Professor Short analyzes how expanding free markets, with the creation of institutions such as the European Union, along with cultural backlash to globalization seen across the world, have all contributed in recent decades to the widespread resistance to globalization.

“The globalization project contains much that was desirable: improvements in living conditions through global trade, reducing conflict and threat of war through political globalization and encouraging cultural diversity in a widening cultural globalization,” explains Short. “The question now, in my view, is not whether we should accept or reject globalization but how we shape and guide it to these more progressive goals.”

Read the full article in The Conversation. It has also been re-published with the below news outlets.

Why there’s a globalization backlash (U.S. News and World Report) 
Globalization and its discontents (The Millennium Post)     
Globalization and its discontents: Why there’s a backlash and how it needs to change (SF Gate) 

Image: John Rennie Short in his office. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. 

A thought-provoking memoir about love, loss, and survival published earlier this year by Nancy Rankie Shelton has received a 2016 Best Book Award. Shelton, a professor of education, is the author of 5-13: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Survival (Garn Press, 2016), a book that has made significant contributions to the growing body of literature on living and dying well.

The i310 Media Group announced the 2016 Best Book Awardsearlier this month, which included more than 2,000 entries from mainstream and independent publishers. Shelton’s book received the Best Book Award in the Health: Death and Dying category.

The book encourages readers to overcome fears of cancer, remain loving and strong, survive the death of a loved one, and continue living. The story traces Shelton’s husband Jack’s fight with lung cancer and the stress and confusion of managing his treatment. The book reflects on the 35 years the couple was together and the family’s relationships with others over the years.

In a review posted earlier this year on the Garn Press website, the reviewer notes, “Nancy Rankie Shelton’s 5-13, A Memoir of Love, Loss and Survival is a breathtaking read. It is work of great courage but also a literary triumph. Like an uncut diamond it is rough reading in places and then the light fractures and you feel the surge of an enduring human spirit who is not frightened to love, face death, and then reimagine her life.”

In a press release announcing the 2016 Best Book Award winners, Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of i310 Media Group, stated that “the 2016 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States,” adding, “our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”

Professor Shelton is the author of 23 publications appearing in prominent academic journals and leading publishing companies specializing in literacy research and/or education policy. Her teaching areas focus on reading and language arts, literacy/culture and composition theory/practice. Her research interests include children’s writing development, effects of mandated instruction on elementary literacy development, literacy/art connections, and children’s literature. Read more about her work on the education department website.

Image: Nancy Rankie Shelton. Garn Press photo. \

This story, by Max Cole, originally appeared here. 

What Is The New FLSA Overtime Rule?

• The rule extends overtime protections to 4.2 million workers who are not currently eligible under federal law.
• Workers who do not earn at least $47,476 a year ($913 a week) will have to be paid overtime, even if they're classified as a manager or professional.
• The Department of Labor will increase the salary threshold every three years. Based on current projections, the salary threshold is expected to rise to more than $51,000 with its first update on January 1, 2020.
• Employers must comply with the new regulations by December 1, 2016 (NOTE: This has been delayed as a federal judge reviews the rule).
• Full Coverage: Overtime Rule Issued; Increase Every Three Years Included
• Read the full text of the FLSA overtime rule.