Author: TheConversation

By Kerri Evans, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Ishara Casellas Connors, Assistant Professor, Public Service and Administration, Texas A&M University; and Lisa Unangst, Assistant Professor, SUNY Empire State College Pursuing higher education is often a pathway to higher income and overall better well-being. College graduates are less likely to rely on public benefits. Therefore, it’s beneficial for education leaders and policymakers to help newcomers – including asylum-seekers and refugees – to access higher education in the U.S., whether it be community college, taking advanced English courses, obtaining a certificate through training programs or going to a four-year...

By Clay Marsh, Chancellor and Executive Dean for Health Sciences, West Virginia University A national health advisory issued by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on May 3, 2023, shed light on the urgent public health issues of loneliness and isolation. The report reflected Dr. Murthy’s personal and professional experience with the damaging health impacts of loneliness. As surprising as it sounds, social isolation and loneliness have the same effect on human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which is to say, it can shorten life span by up to 15 years. I am a leader in academic and...

By Doug Jacobson, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University These days, cars are computer centers on wheels. Today’s vehicles can contain over 100 computers and millions of lines of software code. These computers are all networked together and can operate all aspects of your vehicle. It is not surprising, then, that car theft has also become high-tech. The computers in a vehicle can be divided into four categories. Many computers are dedicated to operating the vehicle’s drive train, including controlling the fuel, battery or both, monitoring emissions and operating cruise control. The second category is dedicated...

By John Rennie Short, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County The hollowing out of U.S. cities’ office and commercial cores is a national trend with serious consequences for millions of Americans. As more people have stayed home following the COVID-19 pandemic, foot traffic has fallen. Major retail chains are closing stores, and even prestigious properties are having a hard time retaining tenants. The shuttering of a Whole Foods market after only a year in downtown San Francisco in May 2023 received widespread coverage. Even more telling was the high-end department store Nordstrom’s decision to close...

By Raymond Scheppach, Professor of Public Policy, University of Virginia Many people believe governors make good presidents. In fact, a 2016 Gallup Poll found that almost 74% of people say that governing a state provides excellent or good preparation for someone to be an effective president. As a result, many political commentators have tried to explain why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is stumbling in his campaign for president. Some say it is because he is stiff or awkward on the campaign trail, or his path to the nomination is not really to the political right of former President Donald...