The Conversation

Will religiously unaffiliated Americans increase support for liberal policies, in 2018 and beyond?

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

Nearly one of every four people in the US is religiously unaffiliated.Prazis Images via www.shutterstock.com

Last fall, the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute noted the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans: Nearly one of every four people is unaffiliated – a threefold increase since the 1980s.

Often called “n...

Universities must prepare for a technology-enabled future

Written by Subhash Kak, Regents Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Oklahoma State University

A professor teaches an online class with students from around the world.AP Photo/Gretchen Ertl

Automation and artificial intelligence technologies are transforming manufacturing, corporate work and the retail business, providing new opportunities for companies to explore and posing major threats to those that don’t adapt to the times. Equally...

Young doctors struggle to learn robotic surgery – so they are practicing in the shadows

Written by Matt Beane, Project Scientist, University of California, Santa Barbara

Surgeons in Switzerland use the robot da Vinci to aid a hernia operation. Over a third of US hospitals have at least one surgical robot.AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi

Artificial intelligence and robotics spell massive changes to the world of work. These technologies can automate new tasks, and we are making more of them, faster, better and...

Why Iran's protests matter this time

Written by Nader Habibi, Henry J. Leir Professor of Practice in Economics of the Middle East, Brandeis University

University students attend a protest inside Tehran University as anti-riot Iranian police prevent them from joining other protesters.AP Photo

A series of urban uprisings in Iran that began on Dec. 28 in its second-largest city shocked the country’s Islamic regime, as well as much of the world.

Although the Mashhad protests were spearheaded by...

Why states may get away with creative income tax maneuvers

Written by Daniel Hemel, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Chicago

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo vows he will fight to protect his state from fallout from the new tax law.AP Photo/Hans Pennink

Fearing that the new tax law will make it harder for them to raise enough revenue for public schools and other vital services, high-tax states such as California, New Jersey and New York are wasting no time in fighting back.

Oth...

How does assisting with suicide affect physicians?

Written by Ronald W. Pies, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts University

Art_Photo via www. Shutterstock.com

When my mother was in her final months, suffering from a heart failure and other problems, she called me to her bedside with a pained expression. She took my hand and asked plaintively, “How do I get out of this mess?”

As a physician, I dreaded the question that might follow: Would I help her end her...

Abortion freedom of speech battle heading to the Supreme Court

Written by Robert A. Sedler, Distinguished Professor of Law, Wayne State University

Protesters outside the Supreme Court await a court decision in June 2016. Rena Schild/shutterstock.com

Whether you’re for abortion or against – can the state force you to say anything about it? What about posting a notice with information for the other side? This year, the U.S. Supreme Court must decide.

A 2015 California law, the...

Driverless cars might follow the rules of the road, but what about the language of driving?

Written by Abdesalam Soudi, Sociolinguist, University of Pittsburgh

In cities and countries around the world, drivers use a range of hand signals to communicate with other drivers.Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

Recently, while on my way to the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, I made a quick “Pittsburgh left” – taking a left turn just as the light turns green – while facing a driverless...

Scientist at work: I've dived in hundreds of underwater caves hunting for new forms of life

Written by Tom Iliffe, Professor of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University

Author Tom Iliffe leads scientists on a cave dive.Jill Heinerth , CC BY-ND

Maybe when you picture a university professor doing research it involves test tubes and beakers, or perhaps poring over musty manuscripts in a dimly lit library, or maybe going out into the field to examine new crop-growing techniques or animal-breeding methods. All of...

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...