The Conversation

Combatting stereotypes about Appalachian dialects

Written by Kirk Hazen, Professor of Linguistics, West Virginia University

The small city of Hazard, Kentucky, rests in the heart of Appalachia.AP Photo/David Stephenson

During the 2016 presidential election, broad support for Donald Trump came from most communities in Appalachia, where he received 63 percent of the vote. A great deal of national attention was directed to the people of this region, which spans from...

Is a healthy environment a human right? Testing the idea in Appalachia

Written by Nicholas F. Stump, Library Faculty Member, West Virginia University

Demonstrators at a rally in Frankfort, Kentucky, Feb. 13, 2013, protest against mountaintop removal coal mining. AP Photo/James Crisp

Do we have a fundamental right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and eat safe food? The idea of environmental human rights is receiving growing attention worldwide, driven by our global ecological crisis....

Why health savings accounts are a bust for the poor but a boost for the privileged

Written by Simon Haeder, Assistant Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University

North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber, accompanied by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas, left, as activists, many with the clergy, are taken into custody by U.S. Capitol Police on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 13, 2017, after protesting against the Republican health care bill.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

When Senate Majority Leader...

Why some are applauding Donald Trump Jr's 'win at all costs' attitude

Written by Daniel M. Shea, Professor of Government, Colby College

When offered intelligence from a foreign government, Donald Trump Jr. said 'I love it.'AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

To many, the revelation that Donald Trump Jr. was anxious to get dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russians will not come as a surprise. It is but the latest example of the take-no-prisoners, anything-goes politics of our day. Sure,...

The next step in sustainable design: Bringing the weather indoors

Written by Kevin Nute, Professor of Architecture, University of Oregon

Dancing sunlight patterns reflected onto an interior ceiling from a wind-disturbed external water surface.Kevin Nute, CC BY-NC-ND

A building’s primary purpose may be to keep the weather out, but most do such an effective job of this that they also inadvertently deprive us of contact with two key requirements for our well-being and...

Race, cyberbullying and intimate partner violence

Written by Roderick S. Graham, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Old Dominion University

Though popular culture might suggest otherwise, cyberbullying isn't just a white problem.tommaso79/shutterstock.com

Over the past two decades, cyberbullying has become a major focus for parents, educators and researchers. Stopbullying.gov lists several effects of cyberbullying, including depression, anxiety and decreased academic achievement.

Judging...

How the Catholic Church's hierarchy makes it difficult to punish sexual abusers

Written by Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross

Cardinal George Pell, a top adviser to Pope Francis, returned to his native Australia July 10 to face criminal charges related to sexual assault. While the specific allegations and names of the accusers have not been made public, Cardinal Pell maintains that he has been a victim of “character assassination.” His case will be decided...

Cherishing stuff with a photo can help you let go of it

Written by Karen Winterich, Associate Professor of Marketing, Frank and Mary Smeal Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University

Years from now, she'll probably be ready to part with her photo assistant.Angela Waye/Shutterstock.com

Picture your favorite childhood stuffed animal. Are you clinging to it even though neither you nor anyone else in your household has played with that creature in years?

If so, you’re not alone. Parting with possessions we don’t need is...

America's public housing crisis may worsen with Trump budget

Written by Lawrence Vale, Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A resident of New York City Housing Authority's Chelsea-Elliot Houses.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

The loss of more than 80 lives in London’s Grenfell Tower fire on June 14 was tragic and wholly preventable.

It is no coincidence, though, that it happened in subsidized low-income housing.

As someone who has spent 25 years researching and writing...

The 5 faulty beliefs that have led to Republican dysfunction on health care

Written by JB Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Case Western Reserve University

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, shown here in June, 2017, is the architect of the new version of the Senate health care bill released today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Now that the new version of the Senate health care bill is available, an outside observer might think that Congress is just dysfunctional, lurching from one extreme to...