The Conversation

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...

For richer or poorer: 4 economists ponder what 2018 has in store

Written by Greg Wright, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Merced

At least one economist worries we'll be mostly poorer. AP Photo/Go Nakamura

Editor’s note: We asked four economists to offer their thoughts and insights on what they expect to be a key theme or issue in 2018.

The Gilded Age returns

Greg Wright, assistant professor of economics, University of California, Merced

Income and wealth inequality are...

Can road salt and other pollutants disrupt our circadian rhythms?

Written by Jennifer Marie Hurley, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Salting streets in Milwaukee.Michael Pereckas, CC BY-SA

Every winter, local governments across the United States apply millions of tons of road salt to keep streets navigable during snow and ice storms. Runoff from melting snow carries road salt into streams and lakes, and causes many bodies of water to have extraordinarily high salinity.

At...

Nikola Tesla: The extraordinary life of a modern Prometheus

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

The inventor at rest, with a Tesla coil (thanks to a double exposure).Dickenson V. Alley, Wellcome Collection, CC BY

Match the following figures – Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Guglielmo Marconi, Alfred Nobel and Nikola Tesla – with these biographical facts:

Spoke eight languages
Produced the first motor that ran on AC current
Developed...