The Conversation

Schools should heed calls to do lockdown drills without traumatizing kids instead of abolishing them

Written by Jaclyn Schildkraut, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, State University of New York Oswego

Do kids need to practice how to do this?Phil Mislinski/Getty Images

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, an advocacy group, has joined with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Educators Association, the nation’s two biggest teachers unions, to produce a report on lockdown drills in schools. The report calls for drastic...

Hackers could shut down satellites – or turn them into weapons

Written by William Akoto, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Denver

Two CubeSats, part of a constellation built and operated by Planet Labs Inc. to take images of Earth, were launched from the International Space Station on May 17, 2016.NASA

Last month, SpaceX became the operator of the world’s largest active satellite constellation. As of the end of January, the company had 242 satellites orbiting the planet...

Candidates say they want to build momentum with voters – but what is that actually worth?

Written by Daniel Palazzolo, Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond

Before the primary, Buttigieg said his campaign had the 'strongest momentum.'AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

“We are the campaign with the strongest momentum in the state of New Hampshire,” Pete Buttigieg told a crowd in Nashua last week.

“I’ve got the ‘Big Mo,’” said George H. Bush after winning the Iowa caucuses in...

A 4-step maintenance plan to help keep your relationship going strong

Written by Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Professor of Psychology, Monmouth University

There's a little work involved in happily ever after.Désirée Fawn/Unsplash, CC BY

Early on, relationships are easy. Everything is new and exciting. You go on dates, take trips, spend time together and intentionally cultivate experiences that allow your relationship to grow.

Then, somewhere along the way, life happens.

One study on...

How the T-Mobile-Sprint merger will increase inequality

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

The lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 13 colleagues was the last roadblock to the merger. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A federal judge gave his blessing to the US$26.5 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint on Feb. 11, several months after the deal got final antitrust approval from the U.S. government.

A group of...

How China does Valentine's Day

Written by Wei Li, Associate Professor of Sociology, Frostburg State University

Couples get romantic on Qixi, a lovers' festival similar to Valentine's Day.Visual China Group via Getty Images

Americans celebrate love on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day — a holiday named for Saint Valentine, a third-century Roman clergyman who secretly performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry under Emperor Claudius II.

But other...

Climate change impacts in Bangladesh show how geography, wealth and culture affect vulnerability

Written by Saleh Ahmed, Assistant Professor, School of Public Service, Boise State University

River erosion in Bangladesh, Sept. 12, 2019. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Unpredictable weather and climate patterns recently prompted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman to proclaim in January 2020 that “Apocalypse will become the new normal.”

Extreme storms, tides and other awful surprises the world...

Women in Arab countries find themselves torn between opportunity and tradition

Written by Alainna Liloia, Ph.D. Student, University of Arizona

In an effort to increase tourism, Saudi Arabia recently eased its strict dress code for foreign women, allowing them to go without the body-shrouding abaya robe still mandatory for Saudi women. FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Arab women, long relegated to the private sphere by law and social custom, are gaining new access to public life.

All...

The silent threat of the coronavirus: America's dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals

Written by Christine Crudo Blackburn, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University

A police officer in Beijing adjusts his face mask, which millions in China are using in hopes of preventing coronavirus infection, on Feb. 9, 2020. The virus is causing major disruptions.AP Photo/Andy Wong

As the new coronavirus, called 2019-nCoV, spreads rapidly around the globe, the international community is scrambling to keep up. Scientists...

'Stolen' elections open wounds that may never heal

Written by Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

Election fraud is not usually as obvious as this.Victor Moussa/Shutterstock.com

Allegations are flying left and right about potential – or actual – efforts to unfairly and secretly influence the outcome of the 2020 election. It’s a time when political scientists and constitutional scholars like to look back on other times when the...