The Conversation

The long history of separating families in the US and how the trauma lingers

Written by Jessica Pryce, Executive Director, The Florida Institute for Child Welfare, Florida State University

Immigrant children play inside the Catholic Charities RGV in Texas. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

During the last few weeks, hundreds of families have been separated, following the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy towards illegal immigrants. Even though the separations have reportedly stopped, it is not clear when the...

Supreme Court ruling adds privacy protection for the digital age

Written by Jonathan Weinberg, Professor of Law, Wayne State University

Your phone knows where you've been.LightAndShare/Shutterstock.com

The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark privacy decision in a case about cellphone location data, suggesting there should be stronger protections against government searches for the increasing amount of private information that’s stored online.

The case relates to location...

Bitcoin price manipulation puts trust in cryptocurrencies at risk

Written by Neil Gandal, Professor of Economics, Tel Aviv University

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have grown in popularity in large part because they can be bought and sold without a government or other third party overseeing everything. But there’s a flipside: Unlike in markets for other assets such as stocks or bonds, it makes it much harder to uncover price manipulation and fraud.

But that’s what the...

New data shows US hate crimes continued to rise in 2017

Written by Brian Levin, Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Director, Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, California State University San Bernardino

Hate crimes increased in many major cities in 2016 and 2017.Christopher Penler/shutterstock

Published FBI data currently covers hate crimes only up to 2016, when totals increased across the nation for the second year in a row.

Our team of academic researchers specialize in analyzing and forecasting hate crime trends. We have collected new police...

A new world is dawning, and the US will no longer lead it

Written by Gordon Adams, Professor Emeritus, American University School of International Service

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the contentious G7 Leaders Summit in Canada in June. AP/Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government

From pulling out of treaties to denigrating allies to starting trade wars, the impulsive actions of President Donald Trump are upending the international order that has...

Treating pain in children can teach us about treating pain in adults

Written by Hilary A. Marusak, Postdoctoral research fellow, Wayne State University

Instructor Sensei Giuseppe of Kids Kicking Cancer Italy, teaching a young cancer patient in Bergamo, Italy, on June 6, 2018. Elimelech Goldberg/Kids Kicking Cancer Italy , CC BY-SA

The U.S. government declared a national public health emergency in October 2017 to address the opioid addiction crisis. More than six months later, the country is still...

Growth mindset interventions yield impressive results

Written by Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

Growth mindset interventions are becoming increasingly popular in schools.Lightspring/www.shutterstock.com

A growth mindset is the belief that intellectual abilities are not fixed, but can be developed. Do students who are taught a growth mindset earn higher grades and test scores?

Brooke Macnamara and her colleagues, who conducted a meta-analysis...

Schools are buying 'growth mindset' interventions despite scant evidence that they work well

Written by Brooke Macnamara, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University

Millions of dollars have been spent on 'growth mindset' initiatives. Do they work?Sergey Nivens/www.shutterstock.com

Ten years ago, after over two decades of research on this topic, Carol Dweck – the Stanford University developer of “mindset theory” – concluded, “what students believe about their brains – whether...

Why it's time to curb widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides

Written by John F. Tooker, Associate Professor of Entomology and Extension Specialist, Pennsylvania State University

Soybean seeds treated with neonicotinoids (blue) and treated corn seeds (red) versus untreated seeds.Ian Grettenberger/PennState University, CC BY-ND

Planting season for corn and soybeans across the U.S. corn belt is drawing to a close. As they plant, farmers are participating in what is likely to be one of the largest deployments of insecticides...

For many immigrant families, the fight for reunification is just beginning

Written by Marcia Zug, Professor of Family Law, University of South Carolina

President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 20 purporting to end immigrant family separations at U.S. border with Mexico. Four days later, the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services announced a plan to reunite approximately 2,000 children who were taken from their parents at the border between April and the time...