Year: 2018

United States (ITO) – To look at international exams and results from various tests, one would think that America’s children are dimwits. Only a quarter of high school seniors are proficient in math. Thirty-seven percent of them are proficient in reading. And in science, only 22 percent make the grade. But while these stats make our children look somewhat dense, new research suggests that they are likely not the problem. In fact, they are more than up to the challenge to do great things academically… they just don’t get the chance. According to a new…

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World Wide (Conversation) – One of the great things about computer games is that anything is possible in the almost endless array of situations on offer, whether they are realistic or fantasy worlds. But it has been reported that gamers are boycotting Total War: Rome II on the grounds of historical accuracy after developers introduced women generals, apparently to please “feminists”. But while it’s true that the Romans would not have had female soldiers in their armies, they certainly encountered women in battle – and when they did it created…

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United States (Conversation) – As the debate about the treatment of women rages across the United States, one Supreme Court nominee arrived at her confirmation hearing widely acknowledged as a trailblazer in establishing women’s rights. When he nominated Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, President Bill Clinton compared her legal work on behalf of women to the epochal work of Thurgood Marshall on behalf of African-Americans. The comparison was entirely appropriate: As Marshall oversaw the legal strategy that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case…

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(Conversation) – Motivated in part by President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about women and the numerous claims that he committed sexual assault, American women are running for state and national office in historic numbers. At least 255 women are on the ballot as major party congressional candidates in the November general election. The surge includes a record number of women of color, many of whom say their candidacies reflect a personal concern about America’s increasingly hostile, even violent, racial dynamics. In addition to the 59 black female congressional candidates, Georgia’s…

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United States (HRW) – A satellite image taken on September 13, 2018, shows substantial growth in the tent city the US government is using to detain migrant children located in the desert in Tornillo, Texas. Image source Human Rights Watch The tent city was originally used to house children separated from parents this summer, when the Trump administration was aggressively prosecuting parents traveling with children for illegal entry to the US. The US Department of Health and Human Services has stated that the new growth in the number of tents is necessary in order to…

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Palestine (GPA) – Thousands of protesters in Gaza marched towards the Gazan border Friday, under the theme of “Al-Aqsa Friday.” Yesterday marked the 27th week of protests since the Great Return March demonstrations began six months ago on March 30. Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) killed seven Palestinians and injured at least 520 more by firing live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets at the protestors. Among those killed included Iyad Khalil Shaer, Mohammad Ali Inshasi, and Mohammad Ali Inshasi — all 18 years old — as well as Mohammad Walid Haniya and Mohammad…

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United States (Conversation) – In 1991, Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Thomas was nonetheless confirmed. Now, as Brett Kavanaugh faces an allegation of sexual assault, observers are saying that “things have changed since Anita Hill.” Have they? As a scholar who studies gender dynamics in organizations, I believe the question of whether the #MeToo, #TimesUp and related movements have ushered in significant change is intertwined with three other questions, for which there has been some research: Are sexual harassment and sexual assault still as…

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