The Conversation

Bouncing between war-torn countries: Displacement in Lebanon and Syria highlights cyclical nature of cross-border refuge

Written by Jasmin Lilian Diab, Assistant Professor of Migration Studies; Director of the Institute for Migration Studies, Lebanese American University

Displaced people crossing a hole on the road caused by an Israeli airstrike near the Masnaa crossing.Bilal Jawich/Xinhua via Getty Images

The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah since September 2024, and Israel’s bombing of civilian areas across Lebanon, have unleashed a profound humanitarian disaster.

The mass displacement...

What is Chabad-Lubavitch? A Jewish studies scholar explains

Written by Schneur Zalman Newfield, Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies, Hunter College

Lubavitchers have put up leaflets, posters and even murals of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson around the world, with many proclaiming him the messiah. Nizzan Cohen via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

If you live anywhere near New York – or anywhere in the world, really – you may have seen a picture of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson....

Overseas US voters get ignored by political campaigns − but could be crucial supporters

Written by Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, Honorary Reader in MIgration and Politics, University of Kent

Election workers prepare to mail absentee ballots to Americans, including those living overseas.Allison Joyce/Getty Images

One group of American voters is being largely ignored in the closely watched polling leading up to the Nov. 5 elections: U.S. citizens living abroad, whether as civilians or as members of the military. We know from governmental...

Philly hospitals test new strategy for ‘tranq dope’ withdrawal – and it keeps patients from walking out before their treatment is done

Written by Kory London, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University

Patients suffering withdrawal from fentanyl and xylazine can require intensive care.SDI Productions/E+ Collection via Getty Images

Unimaginable pain and restlessness. Vomiting so frequent and forceful that it can perforate the esophagus. Blood pressure and heart rate so high that they damage the heart. Sweating that drenches clothing and sheets....

How to be a boss at giving performance reviews

Written by Kip Holderness, Associate Professor of Forensic and Fraud Examination and Accounting, West Virginia University

When you’re a manager, delivering feedback can feel like walking a tightrope. Whether you’re praising an employee’s accomplishments or addressing a shortfall, how you communicate can have a big impact on how your words are received and acted upon.

As business school professors, we’ve done research into how to make the...

Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding − entirely caused by humans

Written by Philip M. Orton, Research Associate Professor in Ocean Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology

A consequence of dredging deep channels is that water also enters more easily with tides and storm surge.Google Earth

Centuries ago, estuaries around the world were teeming with birds and turbulent with schools of fish, their marshlands and endless tracts of channels melting into the gray-blue horizon.

Fast-forward to today, and in estuaries such as...

What is Temporary Protected Status? A global migration expert explains why the US offers some foreign nationals temporary protection

Written by Karen Jacobsen, Henry J. Leir Chair in Global Migration, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University

Haitian students use mobile phones to record an exercise during an English class in Springfield, Ohio, on Sept. 13, 2024. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance, have criticized the Biden administration’s decision to allow Haitian nationals who are in the U.S. to apply for...

4 ways AI can be used and abused in the 2024 election, from deepfakes to foreign interference

Written by Barbara A. Trish, Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College

The American public is on alert about artificial intelligence and the 2024 election.

A September 2024 poll by the Pew Research Center found that well over half of Americans worry that artificial intelligence – or AI, computer technology mimicking the processes and products of human intelligence – will be used to generate and spread...

Presidential elections provide opportunities to teach about power, proportions and percentages

Written by Liza Bondurant, Associate Professor of Secondary Math Education, Mississippi State University

The complex voting system in the U.S. requires a sophisticated understanding of math.bamlou/DigitalVision Vectors

To American voters, the process of electing a president and other officials may be difficult to explain and understand. For America’s math teachers, the system represents a gold mine for real-life lessons on ratios, statistics and...

Socially distanced layout of the world’s oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

Written by R. Alexander Bentley, Professor of Anthropology, University of Tennessee

Excavations at Çatalhöyük show how closely people lived before the settlement collapsed.Mark Nesbitt/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

In my research focused on early farmers of Europe, I have often wondered about a curious pattern through time: Farmers lived in large dense villages, then dispersed for centuries, then later formed cities...