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Why social media may not be so good for democracy

  • Written by Gordon Hull, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of North Carolina – Charlotte
imageSome of the Facebook and Instagram ads used in 2016 election released by members of the U.S. House Intelligence committee. AP Photo/Jon Elswick

Recent revelations about how Russian agents inserted ads on Facebook, in an attempt to influence the 2016 election, present a troubling question: Is Facebook bad for democracy?

As a scholar of the social...

Read more: Why social media may not be so good for democracy

Academic journal publishing is headed for a day of reckoning

  • Written by Patrick Burns, Dean of Libraries and Vice President for Information Technology, Colorado State University
imageLocking articles away behind a paywall stifles access.Elizabeth, CC BY-NC-ND

Imagine a researcher working under deadline on a funding proposal for a new project. This is the day she’s dedicated to literature review – pulling examples from existing research in published journals to provide evidence for her great idea. Creating an...

Read more: Academic journal publishing is headed for a day of reckoning

How citizen investigators can collaborate on crowdsourced fact-checking

  • Written by Ricky J. Sethi, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Fitchburg State University
imagePeople can work together to help tell truth from falsehood.waraut60/Shutterstock.com

It can be hard to know what is true online. Propaganda and misinformation have a much longer history than the internet, of course. But the rapid proliferation of “fake news” on social media, and its tendency to extend into mainstream news coverage, can...

Read more: How citizen investigators can collaborate on crowdsourced fact-checking

Maria will fundamentally change US policy toward Puerto Rico

  • Written by Pedro Caban, Professor of Latin American, Caribbean and U.S. Latino Studies, University at Albany, State University of New York

In the last 90 years, three catastrophic hurricanes have struck Puerto Rico.

San Felipe II in 1928 and San Ciprían in 1932 triggered political and economic changes in America’s largest colony that endured for generations. However, Puerto Rico remains an unincorporated territorial possession of the United States, subject to the plenary...

Read more: Maria will fundamentally change US policy toward Puerto Rico

The curious relationship between altitude and suicide

  • Written by Hoehun Ha, Assistant Professor of Geography, Auburn University at Montgomery
imageDoes living at a higher altitude affect your mental health?VAndreas/shutterstock.com

Suicide is one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. In the next 20 years, it’s expected to cause more than 2 million deaths per year worldwide, ranking 14th in the world as a cause of death.

There are many factors known to affect an individual’s...

Read more: The curious relationship between altitude and suicide

How burnout is plaguing doctors and harming patients

  • Written by Jay Desai, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California
imageExhaustion and burnout among physicians are growing problems. wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com

The presidential symposium at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society of America in early October in Kansas City raised many eyebrows. The first presentation of this symposium focused on burnout rates among neurologists around the...

Read more: How burnout is plaguing doctors and harming patients

'Voodoo economics' makes a comeback in Republican tax plan enriching the rich

  • Written by Christian Weller, Professor of Public Policy and Public Affairs, University of Massachusetts Boston
imageVoodoo doll or an illustration of the Republican tax plan on income inequality?Rainer Fuhrmann/Shutterstock.com

Republicans in Congress recently released more details of their tax plan, which they say would boost economic growth and lower the burden on middle-income households. They hope to pass a bill into law by Christmas.

The reality is that the...

Read more: 'Voodoo economics' makes a comeback in Republican tax plan enriching the rich

As wildfires expand, fire science needs to keep up

  • Written by Albert Simeoni, Professor of Fire Protection Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
imageWildfire threatens a home near Possum Kingdom, Texas, April 19, 2011.State Farm, CC BY

In the month of October nearly 250,000 acres, more than 8,000 homes and over 40 people fell victim to fast-moving wildfires in Northern California, the deadliest and one of the costliest outbreaks in state history. Now is the time to wrestle with hard questions....

Read more: As wildfires expand, fire science needs to keep up

How does an oppressive government celebrate a revolution?

  • Written by Cynthia Hooper, Associate Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross
imageA worker cleans a statue of Vladimir Lenin in St. Petersburg. But how much Russian history gets whitewashed today?Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo

“And what, exactly, is there to be celebrating?” snapped Vladimir Putin’s press secretary on Oct. 25, a little more than a week before the 100th anniversary of what, in Soviet times, was lauded...

Read more: How does an oppressive government celebrate a revolution?

How does an authoritarian regime celebrate a revolution?

  • Written by Cynthia Hooper, Associate Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross
imageA worker cleans a statue of Vladimir Lenin in St. Petersburg. But how much Russian history gets whitewashed today?Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo

“And what, exactly, is there to be celebrating?” snapped Vladimir Putin’s press secretary on Oct. 25, a little more than a week before the 100th anniversary of what, in Soviet times, was lauded...

Read more: How does an authoritarian regime celebrate a revolution?

More Articles ...

  1. To stop the opioid epidemic, the White House should embrace prevention
  2. How dogs and cats can get their day in court
  3. It's mostly mothers who pass on mitochondria – and a new theory says it's due to the first sexual conflict
  4. In Brazil, religious gang leaders say they're waging a holy war
  5. On-board computers and sensors could stop the next car-based attack
  6. Trump names 'safe' choice to lead the Federal Reserve: 5 questions answered
  7. Trump picks 'safe' choice to lead the Federal Reserve: 5 questions answered
  8. In America's sandwiches, the story of a nation
  9. Brain science should be making prisons better, not trying to prove innocence
  10. How the crisis in Catalonia is helping Rajoy consolidate power
  11. What the history of iconoclasm tells us about the Confederate statue controversy
  12. Is daylight saving time worth the trouble? Research says no
  13. Venezuela's opposition is on the verge of collapse
  14. Stop doing companies' digital busywork for free
  15. How donors can help make nonprofits more accountable
  16. US shouldn't give up benefits of 'green card lottery' over low risk of terrorism
  17. What draws 'lone wolves' to the Islamic State?
  18. After months of feuding, Ecuador's president is ousted by his party
  19. What ancient cultures teach us about grief, mourning and continuity of life
  20. Surprise! How Obamacare is beginning to look a lot like Medicaid
  21. Guyana, one of South America's poorest countries, struck oil. Will it go boom or bust?
  22. Why tax cuts make us less happy
  23. Beyond October: Things to be aware of all year about breast cancer
  24. In scandal after scandal, NCAA takes fall for complicit colleges
  25. Real security requires strong encryption – even if investigators get blocked
  26. California's higher education: From American dream to dilemma
  27. Imagining the 'California Dream'
  28. What public transit can learn from Uber and Lyft
  29. After tax cuts derailed the 'California dream,' is the state getting back on track?
  30. Synthetic sex in yeast promises safer medicines for people
  31. What Chinese philosophers can teach us about dealing with our own grief
  32. How Lincoln's embrace of embalming birthed the American funeral industry
  33. How has air quality been affected by the US fracking boom?
  34. How has the US fracking boom affected air pollution in shale areas?
  35. What the charges against Manafort, Gates and Papadopoulos could mean for Trump
  36. Will wildfires leave lasting economic scars on California's vital wine country?
  37. How the dead danced with the living in medieval society
  38. Measuring the implicit biases we may not even be aware we have
  39. The misguided campaign to remove a Thomas Hart Benton mural
  40. Why it's time to lay the stereotype of the 'teen brain' to rest
  41. Don't rely on China: North Korea won't kowtow to Beijing
  42. Will the iPhone X be a hit beyond Apple diehards? 3 questions answered
  43. What works in workplace giving
  44. Life after death: Americans are embracing new ways to leave their remains
  45. Understanding Chinese President Xi’s anti-corruption campaign
  46. Want to prevent sexual harassment and assault? Start by teaching kids
  47. Will the AI jobs revolution bring about human revolt, too?
  48. Why were California's wine country fires so destructive?
  49. Soy bibliotecaria en Puerto Rico y sobreviví al Huracán María. Esta es mi historia.
  50. I'm a librarian in Puerto Rico, and this is my Hurricane Maria survival story