The Conversation

From bad to worse? 5 things 2018 will bring to the Middle East

Written by James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles

Syrian Democratic Forces looking toward the northern town of Tabqa, Syria.Syrian Democratic Forces, via AP

It’s always dangerous to make predictions about the Middle East.

After all, few experts foresaw Anwar al-Sadat’s trip to Jerusalem in 1977, which led to the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, nor did they predict...

Trump's offshore oil drilling plans ignore the lessons of BP Deepwater Horizon

Written by Donald Boesch, Professor of Marine Science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

Skimming oil in the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon spill, May 29, 2010.NOAA , CC BY

The Trump Administration is proposing to ease regulations that were adopted to make offshore oil and gas drilling operations safer after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. This event was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Eleven workers died in the...

The fallout of police violence is killing black women like Erica Garner

Written by Christen A. Smith, Associate professor, University of Texas at Austin

Erica Garner takes part in a candlelight vigil.REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The sting of the premature death of 27-year-old Erica Garner, daughter of Eric Garner, is still fresh.

On Christmas Eve, Erica Garner suffered a massive heart attack which caused extensive brain damage. She died on Dec. 30. This latest loss emphasizes something we have known:...

When charities let telemarketers gouge donors

Written by Brian Mittendorf, Fisher College of Business Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Accounting & Management Information Systems (MIS), The Ohio State University

Some telemarketers retain nearly all of the charitable dollars they solicit.Gajus/Shutterstock.com

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine recently called Ohio Cops for Kids a “purported charity” when he sued the group for allegedly defrauding donors in his state.

The complaint claims that the group spent merely 2 percent of the money raised...

Architecture in 2018: Look to the streets, not the sky

Written by Sean Weiss, Assistant Professor of Architecture, City College of New York

In Los Angeles, the architecture firm KTGY is repurposing shipping containers to build a transitional apartment complex for the homeless.KTGY

A decade after the global economic collapse, urban development is booming.

This is good news for architects. Indeed, 2018 promises to be a favorable year for the profession: A spectacular array of sleek...

Did far-right extremist violence really spike in 2017?

Written by William Parkin, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Seattle University

White nationalist demonstrators guard the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va.AP Photo/Steve Helber, File

Intense media coverage of a so-called “alt-right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned deadly last August fueled the notion that far-right violent extremism in the U.S. in 2017 was a growing and severe threat.

But...

The hidden homelessness among America's high school students

Written by Stacey Havlik, Assistant Professor of Education and Counseling, Villanova University

In 2016, James Edwards, right, poses with fellow residents at the Plymouth Crossroads youth homeless residence in Lancaster, N.Y., as he prepares to leave for college. Edwards finished high school while homeless. AP/Carolyn Thompson

One in 30.

That’s what a new first-of-its-kind study found was the number of students ages 13 to 17 who have...

Should military men draft our nation's security strategy?

Written by Ingo Trauschweizer, Associate Professor of History; Director, Contemporary History Institute, Ohio University

Trump with National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, left, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, center.AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

President Donald Trump greeted the new year with an angry tweet about U.S. ally Pakistan.

Among other things, the tweet accuses Pakistan of giving “safe haven to terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan.” The...

Allowing mentally ill people to access firearms is not fueling mass shootings

Written by Miranda Lynne Baumann, Doctoral Candidate, Georgia State University

On a quiet Sunday last November, a young man wielding an assault-style weapon took aim at a church in rural Texas, killing 26 people.

In so doing, Devin Patrick Kelley added his name to an ever-growing list of American mass killers and forced the nation to grapple, once again, with gun violence. Kelley’s well-documented history of violence w...

Trust in digital technology will be the internet's next frontier, for 2018 and beyond

Written by Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean, International Business & Finance, Tufts University

Trust in online systems varies around the world.Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com

After decades of unbridled enthusiasm – bordering on addiction – about all things digital, the public may be losing trust in technology. Online information isn’t reliable, whether it appears in the form of news, search results or user reviews. Social...