Author: TheConversation

Unable to reduce waste: Recycling lags behind as plastic production grows exponentially worldwide

By Sarah J. Morath, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs, Wake Forest University Plastic pollution has spread to Earth’s farthest reaches, with widespread effects on wildlife, the environment and human health. To curb this problem, U.N. member countries are negotiating a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution, which they aim to complete by the end of 2024. That effort is well underway. In September 2023, the U.N. Environment Programme released the so-called zero draft – a first iteration of ideas and goals that emerged from the first two rounds of negotiations. And in November 2023, the...

Read More

Posting politics: Why public approval of toxic social media messages builds communities of hate

By Joseph B. Walther, Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, Distinguished Professor of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara The rampant increase of hate messages on social media is a scourge in today’s technology-infused society. Racism, homophobia, xenophobia and even personal attacks on people who have the audacity to disagree with someone else’s political opinion – these and other forms of online hate present an ugly side of humanity. The derision on social media appears in vile and profane terms for all to see. Obviously, the sole purpose of posting online hate is to harass and harm one’s victims, right?...

Read More

An attack on private property: Why the destruction of tea changed the course of American history

By Eliga Gould, Professor of History, University of New Hampshire On the evening of December 16, 1773, a crowd of armed men, some allegedly wearing costumes meant to disguise them as Native American warriors, boarded three ships docked at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston. In the vessels’ holds were 340 chests containing 92,000 pounds of tea, the most popular drink in America. With support from the patriot group known as the Sons of Liberty, the intruders methodically searched the ships and dumped their tea into Boston Harbor. According to the British East India Company, whose proprietors owned the destroyed cargo,...

Read More

Destigmatizing suicide: Why medical students are still not adequately trained to treat suicidal patients

Rodolfo Bonnin, Assistant Dean for Institutional Knowledge Management and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Florida International University Leonard M. Gralnik, Chief of Education and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Florida International University Nathaly Shoua-Desmarais, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Well-Being and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Florida International University Suicide in the U.S. is a societal epidemic and a staggering public health crisis that demands attention from medical experts. In 2021, someone in the U.S. died by suicide every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That rate equates to nearly...

Read More

How flawed science has changed with the times to justify opposition of transgender health care

By G. Samantha Rosenthal, Associate Professor of History, Roanoke College In the past century, there have been three waves of opposition to transgender health care. In 1933, when the Nazis rose to power, they cracked down on transgender medical research and clinical practice in Europe. In 1979, a research report critical of transgender medicine led to the closure of the most well-respected clinics in the United States. And since 2021, when Arkansas became the first U.S. state among now at least 21 other states banning gender-affirming care for minors, we have been living in a third wave. In my...

Read More

A community obligation: Why people who live near nonprofit hospitals often see little benefit

By Jonathan Wynn, Department Chair and Professor of Sociology, UMass Amherst; Daniel Skinner, Associate Professor of Health Policy, Ohio University Have you ever asked if living near a hospital make you more likely to get the health care you need? Even though the federal government requires nonprofit hospitals to regularly assess the health needs of their surrounding communities and publicly post a plan to address those concerns, many people living nearby struggle to get basic health care. We are a political scientist and an urban sociologist who study how hospitals interact with and shape the communities in which they...

Read More