The Conversation

Palestinians want to choose their own leaders – a year of war has distanced them further from this democratic goal

Written by Maha Nassar, Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Arizona

A Palestinian university student casts a ballot in Gaza City in 2006.Abid Katib/Getty Images

Over the summer as Israel continued to bombard Gaza, representatives from 14 Palestinian factions, including the two main parties – Hamas and Fatah – met in China. Following the most inclusive talks in years, all the parties agreed to a future...

A year of escalating conflict in the Middle East has ushered in a new era of regional displacement

Written by Nicholas R. Micinski, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, University of Maine

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing into civil war-torn Syria from Lebanon.Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images

A year of conflict has ushered in a new era of mass displacement in the Middle East.

Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent sustained Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Israel has expanded its operations...

Dockworkers pause strike after Biden administration’s appeal to patriotism hits the mark

Written by Anna Nagurney, Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies, UMass Amherst

Port Everglades dockworkers walk a picket line while on strike on Oct. 3, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A dockworkers strike that froze operations at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports for 2½ days was paused on Oct. 3, 2024. The Conversation U.S. asked Anna Nagurney, a scholar of supply chains, to assess the extent of...

A year after Hamas attack, more continuity than change for the Palestinians and Israel

Written by Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, Associate Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies, Suffolk University

The rapid pace of unfolding events between Israel and the Palestinians, and more broadly in the Middle East, can make people think change is inevitable.

Political scientists like me sometimes see significant and disruptive events, such as the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and their aftermath as drivers of heightened uncertainty with the po...

Some online conspiracy-spreaders don’t even believe the lies they’re spewing

Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Research Professor of Social Psychology, Louisiana State University

When people spread lies online, they may know they're sharing falsehoods.Timucin Taka/500 px via Getty Images

There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies...

Trees’ own beneficial microbiome could lead to discovery of new treatments to fight citrus greening disease

Written by Kateel G. Shetty, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environment, Florida International University

Citrus is still big business in Florida, but the industry has taken a massive hit in recent decades.Joe Raedle/via Getty Images

Citrus trees showing natural tolerance to citrus greening disease host bacteria that produce novel antimicrobials that can be used to fight off the disease, our recent study shows. We found the trees at an organic farm in...

Nuclear rockets could travel to Mars in half the time − but designing the reactors that would power them isn’t easy

Written by Dan Kotlyar, Associate Professor of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Nuclear-powered rockets could one day enable faster space travel. NASA

NASA plans to send crewed missions to Mars over the next decade – but the 140 million-mile (225 million-kilometer) journey to the red planet could take several months to years round trip.

This relatively long transit time is a result of the use of traditional chemical...

Low pay, high staff turnover and employee burnout took a toll on social service nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic − new research

Written by Susan Neely-Barnes, Professor of Social Work, University of Memphis

Professional caregivers do essential work but often earn low wages.FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

Social service nonprofits had high rates of staff turnover and a hard time filling vacant positions in 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic was ending.

Low salaries, inadequate benefits, staff burnout and a shortage of qualified job applicants were largely to...

As Yelp turns 20, online reviews continue to confound and confuse shoppers

Written by Ann Kronrod, Associate Professor of Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, UMass Lowell

People have a tough time discerning a fake review from a real one.Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

For the past 20 years, Yelp has been providing a platform for people to share their experiences at businesses ranging from bars to barbershops. According to the company, in that time the platform has published 287 million...

Kamala Harris illustrates how complex identity is − and the pressure many multiracial people feel to put themselves in one ‘box’

Written by Wilson K. Okello, Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Black Study in Education Lab, Penn State

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is often asked questions about her multiracial identity.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

People sometimes feel pressured to choose one identity over another. Kamala Harris, who is multiracial – her mother is from India and her father is a Black immigrant from Jamaica –...