The Conversation

Physical therapy could lower need for opioids, but lack of money and time are hurdles

Written by Mark Bishop, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, University of Florida

Physical therapists Steven Hunter and Laura Hayes teach an unidentified patient lumbar stabilization exercises at the Equal Access Clinic in Gainesville, FloridaMaria Belen Farias, UF Health Photography, CC BY-SA

Physical therapists help people walk again after a stroke and recover after injury or surgery, but did you know they also prevent...

The Bezos-Buffett-Dimon health care venture: Eliminate the middlemen

Written by J.B. Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Weatherhead School of Management & School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase created a health venture in January.AP File Photos.

The new health care venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced June 20 that Harvard professor and well-known author Atul Gawande would be the company’s CEO. The idea...

China cannot spend its way to soccer greatness

Written by Mary Gallagher, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is one of the most powerful people on the planet.

He is also a soccer fan.

Since taking office in 2013, Xi has put soccer squarely at the center of his ambitious plan to turn China into a wealthy superpower. Xi has a “World Cup dream.” He wants China to qualify for, host and eventually win the World...

Preventing crimes against humanity in the US

Written by Nadia Rubaii, Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, and Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Immigrant rights advocates speak against Trump's policies in New Mexico.AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File

There are those who say that comparing President Donald Trump’s rhetoric to that of Adolf Hitler is alarmist, unfair and counterproductive.

And yet, there has been no dearth of such comparisons nearly one and a half years into his term.

Man...

The 3 stages of giving: Deference, arrogance and inquiry

Written by Jennifer A. Jones, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Management and Leadership, University of Florida

Great minds don't always think alike.Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

If you had US$1 million to give to charities aiming to eradicate poverty, how would you do it?

Would you support a soup kitchen? A financial literacy program? Educational scholarships? Organizations pressing for policy changes?

I worked for nonprofits for many years before realizing...

Making art 'should be uncomfortable' – a conversation with visual artist Lorna Simpson

Written by Christina Sharpe, Professor of English, Tufts University

Visual artist Lorna Simpson speaks at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts Medal Gala in May 2018.Paul Rutherford/Tufts University, CC BY

Lorna Simpson, a pioneering visual and conceptual artist whose striking work on race, gender and identity has placed her among the leading artists of her generation, was recently honored by the School...

It's time for a new approach to travel

Written by Randy Malamud, Regents' Professor of English, Georgia State University

As Mark Twain once said, 'Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.'Jake Simonds-Malamud, CC BY-SA

When I overcame a flying phobia, I resolved to make up for lost time by visiting as much of the world as I could.

So in the course of a decade, I logged over 300,000 miles, flying everywhere from Buenos Aires to Dubai.

I knew...

A sudden and lasting separation from a parent can permanently alter brain development

Written by Jacek Debiec, Assistant Professor / Department of Psychiatry; Assistant Research Professor / Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan

A boy stares out of a heavily tinted bus window leaving a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay

At birth, the brain is the most underdeveloped organ in our body. It takes up until our mid-20s for our brains to fully mature. Any serious and prolonged adversity, such as a sudden,...

Corporate CEOs' political voice growing louder as they criticize Trump policies like separating migrant children

Written by Jerry Davis, Professor of Management and Sociology, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Children wait at a private charity after being released by Customs and Border Protection.AP Photo/Eric Gay

America’s CEOs have become increasingly active on political issues that they would have shunned in prior years.

The latest example came in response to the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” border enforcement policy...

Why our brains see the world as 'us' versus 'them'

Written by Leslie Henderson, Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology, Dean of Faculty Affairs, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College

What are your in-groups and out-groups?ksenia_bravo/Shutterstock.com

Anti-immigrant policies, race-related demonstrations, Title IX disputes, affirmative action court cases, same-sex marriage litigation.

These issues are continually in the headlines. But even thoughtful articles on these subjects seem always to devolve to pitting warring factions...