USC’s Jonathan Taplin, a former rock tour manager and film producer turned academic specializing in digital media, is taking on what he sees as tech companies’ greed and arrogance.

Roboticist Maja Matarić and her USC colleagues are designing robots that tap into human social dynamics to help seniors help themselves.

Individuals from working-class backgrounds view their role in society as interdependent, write USC’s Sarah Townsend and a colleague, while those who come from middle- and upper-class families view themselves as independent and unique.

USC experts in manufacturing, technology, labor, education and business discuss the continued growing pains for work and society in the age of automation.

An imbalance in social support — whether someone provides more than they receive or vice versa — is associated with worse psychological health, according to a USC study.

Handling written classified information is generally straightforward, writes USC’s Jeffrey Fields, who handled “top secret” material as an analyst at the State and Defense departments. But it can be more to remember whether things heard in meetings or oral briefings are classified.

Why does a celebrity announcement have such a profound effect on people’s health care? According to USC’s Jon-Patrick Allem, it’s because people tend to identify with individuals, not statistics.

This year’s rollout of students projects from the USC Games program played out like a tiny scale E3, and the games presented at the Advanced Games Projects event gave a snapshot of what excites the next generation of game designers.

The programs have been life-changing for students like Jorge Campos, who was homeless at the start of high school but will be attending Harvard in the fall.