Author: TheConversation

A dire shortage of mental health providers is preventing youth from getting urgent help

By Steven Berkowitz, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus The hospital where I practice recently admitted a 14-year-old girl with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, to our outpatient program. She was referred to us six months earlier, in October 2022, but at the time we were at capacity. Although we tried to refer her to several other hospitals, they too were full. During that six-month wait, she attempted suicide. Unfortunately, this is an all-too-common story for young people with mental health issues. A 2021 survey of 88 children’s hospitals reported that they admit, on average, four...

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Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News legacy is one of lies, little accountability, and political plunder

By Lorna Grisby, Politics & Society Editor, The Conversation Rupert Murdoch, 92, one of the world’s most influential modern media figures, announced on September 21, 2023, that he was stepping down as chair of Fox Corp. and executive chairman of News Corp. By mid-November, he will no longer be at the helm of the multibillion-dollar media empire that has stirred so much controversy over decades. Through Fox News, Murdoch is leaving a lasting impression on American journalism and politics. It just may not be what most people think. So-called journalists can lie with near total impunity Following the 2020...

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Research shows how social media algorithms warp the process people use to learn from each other

By William Brady, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University People’s daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation, my colleagues and I have found. People are increasingly interacting with others in social media environments where algorithms control the flow of social information they see. Algorithms determine in part which messages, which people and which ideas social media users see. On social media platforms, algorithms are mainly designed to amplify information that sustains engagement, meaning they keep people clicking on content and coming...

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Economic countermeasures: How China has responded to U.S. sanctions with policy of blocking laws

By Bashar Malkawi, Professor of Law, University of Arizona After a recent meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and officials in Beijing, China released a statement demanding “practical action” over the issue of sanctions. The implication was that the punitive measures, imposed by the U.S. government on hundreds of Chinese individuals and entities over the past few years, impede any alleviation of the strained relations between the two economic giants. The statement followed a testy encounter in May 2023 in which Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to meet his American counterpart because of sanctions. Clearly, the economic...

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Diagnosing adult ADHD: Targeted advertisements are part of a striking new trend pushing medications

By Margaret Sibley, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington As a woman in my 30s who was constantly typing “ADHD” into my computer, I had something interesting happen to me in 2021. I started receiving a wave of advertisements beckoning me to get online help for ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. One was a free, one-minute assessment to find out if I had the disorder, another an offer for a digital game that could help “rewire” my brain. Yet another ad asked me if I was “delivering” but still not moving up at work....

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Occupying Taiwan: Opinions remain divided over what lessons China is learning from Russia’s failures

By Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University U.S. defense strategists warn that China may use the distraction of the war in Ukraine to launch military action against Taiwan. They believe Chinese President Xi Jinping is determined to gain control over the breakaway province, which has been beyond Beijing’s control since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, before he leaves office. In response to these concerns, in July 2023, the U.S. announced a US$345 million military aid package for Taiwan. For the first time, arms are being delivered to Taiwan from U.S. stockpiles under presidential...

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