The Conversation

The unique harm of sexual abuse in the black community

Written by Jennifer M. Gómez, Postdoctoral Fellow in Trauma Psychology, Wayne State University

Anita Hill in Beverly Hills, California, Dec. 8, 2017.Willy Sanjuna/Invision/AP

What makes R. Kelly’s alleged sexual abuse of black girls different than that of other big-name alleged perpetrators, like Woody Allen?

What are the different pressures faced by Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford regarding their testimonies of alleged sexual and...

How cryptocurrency scams work

Written by Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

Don't end up like this person.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Millions of cryptocurrency investors have been scammed out of massive sums of real money. In 2018, losses from cryptocurrency-related crimes amounted to US$1.7 billion. The criminals use both old-fashioned and new-technology tactics to swindle their marks in schemes based on digital currencies...

Truth, justice and declassification: Secret archives show US helped Argentine military wage 'dirty war' that killed 30,000

Written by Rut Diamint, Political Science Profesor, Torcuato di Tella University

History books may never tell the full story of the dictatorship that terrorized Argentina from 1976 to 1984.

But newly declassified United States military and intelligence documents recently delivered to Argentina offer new details about the country’s brutal military junta.

The archival documents were the fourth and final batch of 43,000...

What happens when a raindrop hits a puddle?

Written by Nate Barlow, Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology

The math of raindrops.Stefan Holm/shutterstock.com

Have you ever taken a walk through the rain on a warm spring day and seen that perfect puddle? You know, the one where the raindrops seem to touch down at just the right pace, causing a dance of vanishing circles?

Even before I entered the field of fluid flow research nearly 15 years ago, I was...

The black Muslim female fashion trailblazers who came before model Halima Aden

Written by Kayla Renée Wheeler, Assistant Professor of Area & Global Studies and Digital Studies, Grand Valley State University

Halima Aden, the first Muslim model to wear a hijab and burkini on the cover of the swimsuit edition of the Sports Illustrated.Yu Tsai

Media reports have celebrated Halima Aden becoming the first woman to be featured in the Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit edition wearing a hijab or a burkini. In the past, she has appeared on the covers of...

Activists want a San Francisco high school mural removed, saying its impact today should overshadow the artist's intentions

Written by Amna Khalid, Associate Professor of History, Carleton College

One of the objectionable panels depicts a dead Native American.Dick Evans, CC BY

For nearly a century, a massive mural by painter Victor Arnautoff titled “The Life of Washington” has lined the hallways of San Francisco’s George Washington High School.

It may not be there much longer.

The mural “glorifies slavery, genocide,...

How Uber and other digital platforms could trick us using behavioral science – unless we act fast

Written by Abbey Stemler, Assistant Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University

Your location isn't all it knows.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Uber’s business model is incredibly simple: It’s a platform that facilitates exchanges between people. And Uber’s been incredibly successful at it, almost eliminating the transaction costs of doing business in everything from shuttling people around town to delivering food.

T...

Road to measles elimination is predictable, but can be rocky

Written by Matthew Ferrari, Associate Professor of Biology, Pennsylvania State University

A 6-month-old who is infected with measles in Madagascar, March 2019.AP Photo/Laetitia Bezain

The United States has seen more measles cases so far in 2019 than in any year since elimination was declared in 2000 – meaning the disease is no longer endemic in the country, spreading constantly throughout the year. This year’s American...

Colorado shooting eerily recalls Columbine massacre

Written by Jillian Peterson, Professor of Criminal Justice, Hamline University

Parents gather in a circle to pray at a recreation center where students were reunited with their parents after a shooting at a suburban Denver middle school May 7.David Zalubowski/AP

Columbine. Contagion. Clusters.

These are the culprits to consider as the nation reels from yet another school shooting.

This one took place on May 7 at the STEM...

US 'foreign terrorist' designation is more punishment than threat detector

Written by Eric Fleury, Visiting Assistant Professor, College of the Holy Cross

The Trump administration in April designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, a branch of Iran’s military and intelligence services, as a terrorist group. Any groups designated this way are cut off from potential U.S. funding, communications with Americans, travel to the U.S. and other American “material support.”

Th...