Category: Academic Reportage

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University The current phase of the war in Ukraine continues unabated into its fourth year, with grinding offences and strikes against civilian infrastructure increasingly the norm. It is, for Ukraine, arguably…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gerard Di Trolio, PhD candidate, Labour Studies, McMaster University Air Canada flight attendants say they will continue to defy a government back-to-work order after the federal labour relations board declared the strike “unlawful.” The walkout, which began early on Aug. 16, grounded hundreds of flights and…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Donald Heflin, Executive Director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice, The Fletcher School, Tufts University U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave at the conclusion of a press conference on Aug. 15, 2025 in Alaska. Andrew…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Simon Blanchette, Lecturer, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University Since 2024, pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has gathered momentum across North America. This year, that retreat has taken on a new form: the rebranding of “equity” with softer, less contentious terms like “belonging” or…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Africa (2) – By Seth Asare Okyere, Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburg and Adjunct Associate Professor, Osaka University, University of Pittsburgh Droughts are a familiar hardship in Ghana’s semi-arid north, where rainfall is erratic and agriculture is the mainstay of rural economies. The economic and environmental effects of…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Gail Low, Associate Professor, Chair International Health, MacEwan University Fifty-somethings are getting caught between helping younger generations and tending to their own growth. (Shutterstock) Late midlife adults are one of Canada’s largest yet most under-recognized and over-extended resources. They quietly tend to the health and well-being…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rama Shankar Singh, Professor (Emeritus) of Biology, McMaster University In 1871, Charles Darwin introduced his theory of sexual selection by female choice in The Descent of Man. He suggested females of a species would exhibit a preference for beauty and ornamentation when choosing mates, leading to…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Massumeh H. Toosi, PhD Student in Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University Iranian Shiite mourners during Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram, on July 6, 2025, in Tehran. Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Twelver Shiism is the largest branch within Shiism – one of the two major…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Margaret Levenstein, Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Many U.S. government agencies collect data and make it publicly available. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images People rely on data from federal agencies every day – often without realizing it. Rural residents use groundwater…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Germán Reyes, Assistant Professor of Economics, Middlebury Students have quickly incorporated the likes of ChatGPT into their work, but little research is available on how they’re using generative AI. Photo by Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images Over 80% of Middlebury College students use…