Defence of dogs. Picasso bestseller. Life with autism. Pokemon comeback. Cirque future. Rebellions reexamined. Master of abstention.

Concordia faculty and researchers are regularly asked to offer expert, informed opinions on many of today's most pressing problems. Read some of the latest news items about Concordians:

• Theresa Bianco, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, writes an opinion piece in the Montreal Gazette about a recent incident where two pit bull terriers attacked and injured a woman. The dogs were euthanized and the dogs' owner sentenced to 18 months in jail. Bianco argues for dog owners to be more responsible for their animals' behaviour and against branding particular dog breeds as biters.
• Clarence Epstein, senior director of Urban and Cultural Affairs, is interviewed on CBC radio's Homerun about yesterday's auction of the Pablo Picasso painting Women of Algiers by Christie's in New York. The painting was sold at a record final price of $179.3-million USD, including Christie's 12% commission. The buyer or buyers were not identified. The Epstein interview is found through the link: "Picasso painting to become world's bestseller". Epstein was also quoted in the business report featured on afternoon shows across the CBC radio network.
• Huffington Post is the latest to reprise an opinion piece by Simone de Beauvoir Institute research associate Kathleen O'Grady in which she recounts her experiences trying to organize a birthday party for her autistic son. The piece originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune, last December.
• Marc Steinberg, associate professor of film studies in the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, is quoted in an article in La Presse + about a revival of Pokemon collectible playing cards. 
• FT Chinese reprises an earlier article from the Financial Times that quotes Patrick Leroux, associate professor in the Department of English and the Département d'études françaises, in an article about the future of Cirque Du Soleil following its recent sale. 
• Karl Hele, associate professor and director of the First Peoples Studies program, writes an opinion piece in the Sault Star about the 1837-1838 rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. Hele argues that while Canadians view the rebellions as a turning point in the country's political development, they spelled hardship for First Nations people.
• Jim Pfaus, professor in the Department of Psychology, is quoted throughout an article in Vice about the benefits of not masturbating.

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