The Conversation

Will recent political instability affect Haiti's earthquake response? We ask an expert

Written by Louise K. Comfort, Professor of Public and International Affairs, former Director of the Center for Disaster Management, University of Pittsburgh

Natural disasters are not uncommon in Haiti; neither is political instability.Reginald Louissaint JR/AFP via Getty Images

Parts of Haiti were reduced to rubble by a powerful earthquake that hit the impoverished nation on Aug. 14, 2021, resulting in a death toll that has climbed rapidly to nearly 1,500 with many more bodies expected to be recovered...

America's moral responsibility for the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan

Written by Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington

Thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul's airport trying to flee the country as the Taliban seized power.Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images

Chaotic scenes in Kabul accompanied the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The fundamentalist Islamic group was able to retake power after President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw the...

Climate change is relentless: Seemingly small shifts have big consequences

Written by Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Scholar, National Center for Atmospheric Research

Excess energy has warmed the oceans, building up fuel for cyclones.NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens

Climate change has been accumulating slowly but relentlessly for decades. The changes might sound small when you hear about them – another tenth of a degree warmer, another centimeter of sea level rise – but seemingly small changes...

Nursing home residents and staff are traumatized from the pandemic - collaborative care can help with recovery

Written by Nancy Kusmaul, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Trauma-informed care ensures that both patients and staff feel supported in their care decisions.Owen Franken/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

For older adults, social isolation may have dredged up past traumas that are difficult to come back from. And for those living in nursing homes that have been the center of outbreaks throughout the...

Organic food has become mainstream but still has room to grow

Written by Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Arizona State University

Organic vegetables at the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, Goleta, Calif.Citizen of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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Organic food once was viewed as a niche category for health nuts and hippies, but today it’s a routine choice for millions of Americans. For years following passage of...

The story of Nearest Green, America's first known Black master distiller

Written by Stefanie Benjamin, Assistant Professor of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, University of Tennessee

George Green – the son of distiller Nathan 'Nearest' Green – was one of seven generations of the Green family who worked for the Jack Daniel's distillery.Wikimedia Commons

When you hear the name Jack Daniel, whiskey probably comes to mind.

But what about the name Nathan “Uncle Nearest” Green?

In 2016, The New York Times publi...

An AI expert explains why it's hard to give computers something you take for granted: Common sense

Written by Mayank Kejriwal, Research Assistant Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California

Common sense includes an intuitive understanding of basic physics – something computers lack.d3sign/Moment via Getty Images

Imagine you’re having friends over for lunch and plan to order a pepperoni pizza. You recall Amy mentioning that Susie had stopped eating meat. You try calling Susie, but when she doesn’t pick up, you decide...

When the NCAA permitted colleges to pay stipends to student-athletes, the colleges also raised their estimated expenses

Written by Willis A. Jones, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of Miami

Giving personal expense stipends to student-athletes may lead to higher costs of attendance for college students overall.Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

When colleges with big-time sports programs began to offer living expense stipends to their student-athletes back in 2015, the...

As Colorado River Basin states confront water shortages, it's time to focus on reducing demand

Written by Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona

Water flows into a canal that feeds farms in Casa Grande, Ariz.AP Photo/Darryl Webb

The U.S. government announced its first-ever water shortage declaration for the Colorado River on Aug. 16, 2021, triggering future cuts in the amount of water states will be allowed to draw from the river. The Tier 1 shortage declaration followed the U.S. Bureau of...

Afghans' lives and livelihoods upended even more as US occupation ends

Written by Abdulkader Sinno, Associate Professor of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, Indiana University

Forced from their homes by fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, thousands of families seek refuge in a Kabul park.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The United States invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 with the goal of destroying al-Qaida and its Taliban hosts and, supposedly, establishing a democratic Afghan state a...