The Conversation

People don't trust blockchain systems – is regulation a way to help?

Written by Kevin Werbach, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Using blockchain technology can feel like falling and hoping someone will catch you.Nicoleta Raftu/Shutterstock.com

Blockchain technology isn’t as widely used as it could be, largely because blockchain users don’t trust each other, as research shows. Business leaders and regular people are also slow to adopt blockchain-based systems...

Yellow vest protests erupt in Iraq, Bulgaria and beyond – but don't expect a 'yellow wave'

Written by Dawn Brancati, Visiting Scholar, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University

Protesters in Iraq have been wearing yellow vests since December.AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani

Protesters wearing reflective safety vests have unsettled France for months, halting traffic, chanting slogans and at times clashing violently with police.

Promises by President Emmanuel Macron to raise worker pay and cut taxes have not quelled the French...

Stem cell treatments for arthritic knees are unproven, expensive and potentially dangerous

Written by Mark Miller, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia

An X-ray of both knees reveals a narrow space between joints caused by loss of cartilage. Puwadol Jaturawutthichai/Shutterstock.com

Twelve patients who tried injections of stem cells were hospitalized with infections, according to a report in The New York Times that should cause patients concern. More important is that they should investigate stem...

Dying while black: Perpetual gaps exist in health care for African-Americans

Written by Yolonda Wilson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Howard University

An African American man in a hospital bed. Studies show that pain in African American patients is often not addressed. pixelheadphoto/digitalskillet

Several years ago, MapQuest directed me on a 10-hour drive to visit my father in a Florida hospital. Complications from diabetes, including blindness, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, and a...

Restorative practices may not be the solution, but neither are suspensions

Written by F. Chris Curran, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

School experiments with new ways to discipline students without suspending them show mixed results.Africa Studio / www.shutterstock.com

Proponents of restorative justice suffered a blow recently with the late 2018 release of a much anticipated RAND study of restorative practices in Pittsburgh schools. The study’s results showed restorative...

African-Americans' economic setbacks from the Great Recession are ongoing – and could be repeated

Written by Vincent Adejumo, Lecturer of African American Studies, University of Florida

The financial crisis of 2009, the worst since the Great Depression, was hard on all Americans. But arguably no group felt its sting more than African-Americans, who were already the most economically and financially vulnerable segment of the population going into it.

Even today, a decade since the Great Recession hit, blacks still haven’t...

Why do so many Americans now support legalizing marijuana?

Written by Amy Adamczyk, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, City University of New York

A man holds up a joint during a 2017 rally to support the legalization of marijuana in Washington, D.C.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

American views on marijuana have shifted incredibly rapidly. Thirty years ago, marijuana legalization seemed like a lost cause. In 1988, only 24 percent of Americans supported legalization.

But steadily, the nation began to...

A nuclear treaty between Russia and the US is falling apart – can it be saved?

Written by Jeffrey Fields, Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Feb. 1 that the United States would withdraw from its nuclear weapons treaty with Russia.

Since the Obama administration, the U.S. has accused Russia of being in violation of...

The real problem with posting about your kids online

Written by Priya C. Kumar, PhD Candidate in Information Studies, University of Maryland

'Say cheese so I can show all my friends how cute you are – and unwittingly show corporations your age, race and gender!'Fancy Studio/Shutterstock.com

In a recent essay published in The Washington Post, a mother explained her decision to continue writing essays and blog posts about her daughter even after the girl had protested. The woman...

Look out for the 'Skutnik' during Trump's State of the Union

Written by Anthony F. Arrigo, Associate Professor, Writing Rhetoric and Communication, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Lennie Skutnik, center front, at Reagan's State of the Union address.AP Photo/File

On a bitterly cold and snowy day in January 1982, Air Florida flight 90 took off from Washington D.C. heading to Tampa, Florida.

Immediately after takeoff the plane began experiencing problems from the ice that had formed on its wings. It plummeted, skipping off...