The Conversation

When the media cover mass shootings, would depicting the carnage make a difference?

Written by Nicole Smith Dahmen, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon

Some argue that news coverage of shootings is too sanitized.puriri/Shutterstock.com

Since 20 children were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, we’ve seen public calls for the release of crime scene photos – the idea being that the visceral horror evoked by images of young, brutalized bodies could spur some sort...

College students may not be as heart-healthy as they think

Written by Wendy DeYoung, Instructor of Exercise Physiology, Colorado State University

College is a fun time for young adults, but it can also become an unhealthy time.oneinchpunch/Shutterstock.com

For many young adults, the college years are filled with excitement, as students gain independence and establish new adult identities and behaviors. However, not all behaviors are healthy. Typical changes in college student behavior...

How Billy Graham's legacy lives on in American life

Written by David Mislin, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University

Evangelist Billy Graham.AP Photo/Nell Redmond

On Feb. 21, Billy Graham, the evangelical Christian minister who was widely regarded as “America’s pastor,” died at the age of 99.

Graham is best known for his global “crusades” – rallies that attracted crowds in the millions – and for the spiritual counsel he...

Why school leaders fake academic success

Written by Stephanie Jones, Assistant Professor of Education, Grinnell College

Several school systems have become engulfed in cheating scandals as of late. Is the pressure to boost school performance becoming too much?Lightspring/Shutterstock

At the beginning of each school year, before the students arrived, teachers from every school in the Atlanta Public Schools district were placed on school buses and taken to the old...

How airplane crash investigations can improve cybersecurity

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

Detailed digital forensics could help make everyone safer online.Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

While some countries struggle with safety, U.S. airplane travel has lately had a remarkable safety record. In fact, from 2014 through 2017, there were no fatal commercial airline crashes in the U.S.

But those years were fraught with other kinds of...

Why is there so little research on guns in the US? 6 questions answered

Written by Lacey Wallace, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University

A lack of federal funds stymies gun violence researchers.Alan English CPA, CC BY-NC

On Valentine’s Day, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He killed 17 students and teachers and injured at least a dozen others. The Parkland shooting is currently the ninth deadliest single-day...

To slow climate change, the US needs to address nuclear power's dismal economics

Written by Tim Profeta, Director, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Associate Professor of Practice, Duke University

Construction at Plant Vogtle, Georgia, Dec. 1, 2014.USNRC, CC BY

In late December 2017, the Georgia Public Service Commission faced a major decision: whether to cancel construction of two nuclear power reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, which had been plagued by delays and escalating costs.

Earlier in the year, utilities in South Carolina ab...

What cybersecurity investigators can learn from airplane crashes

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

Detailed digital forensics could help make everyone safer online.Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

While some countries struggle with safety, U.S. airplane travel has lately had a remarkable safety record. In fact, from 2014 through 2017, there were no fatal commercial airline crashes in the U.S.

But those years were fraught with other kinds of...

The way humans point isn't as universal as you might think

Written by Kensy Cooperrider, Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychology, University of Chicago

The universal sign for 'Look over there!' isn't so common in some cultures.Helena Ohman/Shutterstock.com

Octopuses have long arms and plenty of smarts, but they don’t point. Nor do chimps, gorillas or other apes, at least not in the wild.

Humans, on the other hand, are prodigious pointers. Infants use the gesture before they can talk, often...

Trump's protectionism continues long history of US rejection of free trade

Written by Giulio Gallarotti, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Trump has made pushing protectionism since the campaign.AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Free traders have vilified President Donald Trump as a pernicious protectionist because of policies such as hiking tariffs, abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership and saying he’s prepared to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

They fear his...