The Conversation

Suicide isn't just a 'white people thing'

Written by Kimya N. Dennis, Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Studies; Creator and Coordinator of Criminal Studies program, Salem College

Research suggests that suicides by racial and ethnic minorities are undercounted. Joseph Sohm/shutterstock.com

As a sociologist and criminologist, I often do community outreach on mental health prevention. I urge organizations and programs to avoid “one size fits all” approaches. There are many ways that mental health issues can impact...

What's the difference between sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape?

Written by Sarah L. Cook, Professor & Associate Dean, Georgia State University

The terms “sexual abuse,” “sexual assault,” “sexual harassment” – and even “rape” – crop up daily in the news. We are likely to see these terms more as the #MeToo movement continues.

Many people want to understand these behaviors and work to prevent them. It helps if we are consistent and...

Are traffic-clogged US cities ready for congestion pricing?

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Times Square traffic jam.bk, CC BY-SA

New York is the latest city to contemplate congestion pricing as a way to deal with traffic problems. This strategy, which requires motorists to pay fees for driving into city centers during busy periods, is a rarity in urban public policy: a measure that works and is cost-effective.

Properly used, congestion...

The Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo isn't going away anytime soon

Written by Kelly Michael Young, Associate Professor of Communication, Wayne State University

Though Chief Wahoo won't appear on uniforms, there's no reason to think that the mascot won't endure on signs, clothing and memorabilia. Arturo Pardavila III, CC BY

At the end of January, the Cleveland Indians announced that their mascot, Chief Wahoo, will no longer appear on players’ jerseys beginning with the 2019 Major League Baseball...

How childhood experiences contribute to the education-health link

Written by Shanta R. Dube, Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Georgia State University

A teen looking out of a window. Research shows that traumatic events in childhood can affect children as they mature and limit their education, which in turn can harm their health.Jan Andersen/Shutterstock.com

The interconnection between education and health is well established.

Take, for example, smoking. Smoking continues to be the leading cause...

Black Americans mostly left behind by progress since Dr. King's death

Written by Sharon Austin, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of African American Studies, University of Florida

How much has really improved for black people in the U.S. since 1968?Ted Eytan, CC BY-SA

On Apr. 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, while assisting striking sanitation workers.

That was almost 50 years ago. Back then, the wholesale racial integration required by the 1964 Civil Rights Act was just beginning...

If football is so deadly, why did 103 million people watch the Super Bowl?

Written by John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, Pennsylvania State University

A hit from Malcom Jenkins sidelined the Patriots' Brandin Cooks for the night.AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

During the second quarter of Super Bowl LII, the party stopped, if just for a second.

Tom Brady found Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks downfield with a 23-yard completion. Cooks spun around then got laid out by the Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins,...

Why the global stock market crash doesn't really matter

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

Another jittery day on Wall Street. Reuters/Brendan McDermid

Stocks, which only recently were hitting a new record practically every other day, suddenly seem to be in free fall. Or at least on a very wild ride.

Global stock markets plunged on Feb. 5, continuing the already precipitous decline from the week before. The Dow Jones industrial average,...

Your mobile phone can give away your location, even if you tell it not to

Written by Guevara Noubir, Professor of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University

Fitness trackers report their location and map the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.Screenshot of Strava Heat Map

U.S. military officials were recently caught off guard by revelations that servicemembers’ digital fitness trackers were storing the locations of their workouts – including at or near military bases and clandestine...

How one state bridged the cultural divide on climate change to prepare for a stormier future

Written by Cameron Wake, Josephine A Lamprey Professor in Climate and Sustainability, University of New Hampshire

Coastal municipalities need to prepare for higher chances of storms and rising sea levels.AP Photo/Jim Cole

The year 2017 painted a grim picture of coastal storms in the eastern United States. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria were deadly and destructive harbingers of how climate change contributes to bigger storms with stronger winds, greater...