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Opinion and analysis
Recent opinion and analysis pieces written by UW-affiliated experts. See The Conversation for only the analysis pieces.
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Full archive of opinion and analysis stories
- Analysis: Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next | The Conversation1 day ago
The Conversation turned to Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history at the UW, to explain what the war has cost and where it could turn now. - Analysis: The enduring power of the Omoro Sōshi | Northwest Asian Weekly1 day ago
"Songs are not mere entertainment if we consider the case of Japan. There, they can be the very essence of life itself," writes Davinder Bhowmik, a UW associate professor of Asian languages and literature. - Opinion: Don't take scientific progress for granted | Baltimore Sun2 days ago
"Pauses in funding, communication freezes, reductions in funds to research institutions and the dismissal of scientists at federal agencies threaten American science. While some may support such actions in the quest for efficiency, understanding what is at stake requires a historical perspective," co-writes Dr. Ferric Fang, professor of laboratory medicine and pathology in the UW School of Medicine. - Analysis: What are AI hallucinations? Why AIs sometimes make things up | The Conversation5 days ago
"When someone sees something that isn’t there, people often refer to the experience as a hallucination. Hallucinations occur when your sensory perception does not correspond to external stimuli," co-writes Katelyn X. Mei, a doctoral student in the UW Information School. - Opinion: Why insect farming is no silver bullet in drive to wean the world off meat | Reuters6 days ago
"In some regions of the world, wild-caught insects have been a valuable source of protein for centuries. However, the mass farming of insects for food and feed is a modern practice. Over the last decade, the insect farming industry has been hailed as a silver bullet for many of our food system’s problems," writes Dustin Crummett, affiliate instructor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at UW Tacoma. - Opinion: Schumer and the shutdown about-face | The New York Times1 week ago
"The executive order punishing law firms for representing presidentially disapproved clients threatens a core value of our legal system: assuring the availability of professional service to all," writes William Andersen, professor emeritus of law at the UW, in a letter to the editor. - Analysis: US-Ukraine deal highlights Ukraine’s wealth of critical minerals, but extracting them isn’t so simple | The Conversation2 weeks ago
"Ukraine’s mineral wealth has been a key factor in its negotiations with the U.S. as the two countries work out details for a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine’s war with Russia," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Analysis: The world regulated sulfur in ship fuels — and the lightning stopped | The Conversation2 weeks ago
"If you look at a map of lightning near the Port of Singapore, you’ll notice an odd streak of intense lightning activity right over the busiest shipping lane in the world. As it turns out, the lightning really is responding to the ships, or rather the tiny particles they emit," writes Chris Wright, a doctoral student of atmospheric sciences at the UW. - Opinion: Denied mental health care? HB 1432 could change that | Wenatchee World4 weeks ago
"More than half of commercially insured individuals with a mental health condition went without needed care last year. The barriers aren’t new, but they remain devastating: restrictive prior authorizations, denial of needed services, ghost networks of unavailable providers and reimbursement rates so low that many clinicians stop accepting insurance altogether," writes London Breedlove, associate clinical health professor of family medicine in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: The Department of Education's history shows it is essential | TIME1 month ago
"Why has support for federal education become such a political target? The Department of Education was created primarily to distribute funding — particularly for disadvantaged students — and enforce civil rights laws in schools," writes Mallory Hutchings-Tryon, instructor of education at the UW. - Analysis: A guide to taking better breaks at work | Harvard Business Review1 month ago
"Sabbaticals can be life-changing opportunities. They offer the chance to explore the world, reconnect with family, or tackle that long-dreamed-of project. However, for many people, such extended departures aren’t possible due to employers’ policies or economic circumstances," Kira Schabram, assistant professor of management at the UW and Chris Barnes, associate professor of management at the UW, write. - Analysis: Enzymes are the engines of life − machine learning tools could help scientists design new ones to tackle disease and climate change | The Conversation1 month ago
"Enzymes are molecular machines that carry out the chemical reactions that sustain all life, an ability that has captured the attention of scientists like me," writes Sam Pellock, postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Protein Design. - Opinion: Washington lawmakers can address revenue shortfall without cutting important services | The Spokesman-Review1 month ago
"I’ve written extensively about how taxes pay for the services that improve our neighborhoods – from parks to public transportation to roads and bridges. State tax dollars are also critical to help address the kinds of challenges that communities in eastern Washington and across the state are facing, like lack of affordable housing and underfunded schools." The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public is mentioned. - Editorial: Grant hearing for bill to make hiring of university presidents transparent | The Seattle Times1 month ago
"When the boards of regents at Washington State University and the University of Washington unveiled their new presidents earlier this month, it went just as planned by the boards. Both hired new leaders and managed to shield the candidates from any public scrutiny and vetting till after the deals were done," writes the Seattle Times editorial board. - Analysis: A boycott campaign fuels tension between Black shoppers and Black-owned brands – evoking the long struggle for ‘consumer citizenship’ | The Conversation1 month ago
"In my research on marketing campaigns aimed at Black women, I’ve examined how the struggle for consumer citizenship complicated the dynamic between Black entrepreneurs and consumers. On the one hand, businesses have long leveraged Black ownership as a unique selling proposition in and of itself, urging shoppers to view Black brand loyalty as a path to collective racial progress," writes Timeka Tounsel, assistant professor of Black studies in communication at the UW. - Opinion: The effects of bragging about sleep deprivation on status | Psychology Today1 month ago
"A few years ago, I came across a puzzle. I had published a paper showing evidence that when leaders brag about their sleep deprivation, it not only undermines the sleep of their subordinates, but it also ultimately leads to unethical behavior in their subordinates. As someone who researches the relationship between sleep and work, this was not the surprise. The puzzling part is that despite these harmful effects, bragging about sleep deprivation is still very prevalent," writes Christopher Barnes, professor of management at the UW. Elijah Wee, assistant professor of management at the UW, is mentioned. - Opinion: What China's DeepSeek breakthrough means for the future of AI | Los Angeles Times2 months ago
"At first glance, reducing model-training expenses in this way might seem to undermine the trillion-dollar 'AI arms race' involving data centers, semiconductors and cloud infrastructure. But as history shows, cheaper technology often fuels greater usage," writes Victor Menaldo, professor of political science at the UW. - Opinion: Wear a helmet, don’t drink and ride: the preventable perils of e-scooters | The Seattle Times2 months ago
"There’s no question the use of e-scooters comes with significant safety risks, especially when it comes to head injuries. Unfortunately, helmet use has been almost nonexistent. As their use has soared, e-scooter-related injuries continue to rise," writes Dr. Beth Ebel, professor of pediatrics in the UW School of Medicine. Xinyao De Grauw, research scientist in the UW School of Medicine, is mentioned. - Opinion: Seattle innovation hub will help get climate tech off the ground | The Seattle Times2 months ago
"Seattle’s infrastructure, aerospace and tech workforce, clean energy grid mix, climate policy and geographic location make it the ideal place for climate tech and clean energy technology companies to locate and grow," co-writes François Baneyx, UW vice provost for innovation and director of CoMotion. - Analysis: How constitutional guardrails have always contained presidential ambitions | The Conversation2 months ago
"As Donald Trump’s second inauguration fast approaches, concerns he threatens American democracy are rising yet again. Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine or malign institutions meant to constrain any president, and a combative style that strives to stretch executive power as far as possible," writes Victor Menaldo, professor of political science at the UW. - Analysis: 4 reasons why the US might want to buy Greenland — if it were for sale, which it isn’t | The Conversation2 months ago
"Whether or not Trump has actual plans this time around to advance any attempt in Washington to own Greenland is far from clear. But given the incoming president’s repeated statements and invocation of national security, it’s worth considering what strategic value Greenland might actually have from the perspective of the U.S.’s geopolitical priorities," writes Scott Montgomery, lecturer of international studies at the UW. - Opinion: Frustrated by medical bills and phone trees? AI might help | The Seattle Times3 months ago
"We are missing a window of opportunity to address the very real barriers patients face at every step of care, costing them significant time and money," writes Bianca Frogner, professor of family medicine in the UW School of Medicine. - Analysis: What if you could rank food by ‘healthiness’ as you shopped? Nutrient profiling systems use algorithms to simplify picking healthy groceries | The Conversation3 months ago
"Imagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists," writes Dr. Christopher Damman, clinical associate professor of gastroenterology in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: Arctic tundra changes are a dire warning for us all | The Guardian3 months ago
Phoebe Barnard, affiliate professor of interdisciplinary arts and sciences at UW Bothell, and Liliana Karesh say we are at a crossroads of humanity, and governments around the world need to draft new constitutions to navigate the future more wisely. - Analysis: Blood tests are currently one-size-fits-all — machine learning can pinpoint what’s truly ‘normal’ for each patient | The Conversation4 months ago
"(D)espite (complete blood count's) ubiquity, the way clinicians interpret and use it in the clinic is often less precise than ideal. Currently, blood test readings are based on one-size-fits-all reference intervals that don’t account for individual differences," writes Brody Foy, assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathology in the UW School of Medicine. - Opinion: Climate advocates finally won in WA — how? By not talking about climate | The Seattle Times4 months ago
For the past decade or so, Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, has been teaching a course on climate politics in the UW’s political science department. During that time, there have been three climate change initiatives on the ballot here. He’s had a front row seat for how policymakers, activists and campaigners have sought to frame and spin one of the toughest issues in politics. - Analysis: How right-wing media is like improv theater | The Conversation4 months ago
"If you’ve ever wondered how the right-wing media ecosystem operates and why it’s effective, try viewing it as a form of improvisational theater or improv," write the UW's Kate Starbird, professor of human centered design and engineering and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public, and Danielle Lee Tomson, research manager at the CIP. - Analysis: 208 million Americans are classified as obese or overweight, according to new study synthesizing 132 data sources | The Conversation4 months ago
"Nearly half of adolescents and three-quarters of adults in the U.S. were classified as being clinically overweight or obese in 2021. The rates have more than doubled compared with 1990," writes Marie Ng, affiliate associate professor of health metric sciences at the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. - Opinion: Bomb cyclones, electricity outages and climate resilience | Forbes4 months ago
"Climate policy should not become associated with halted mobility, dark and cold buildings, and spoiled food in refrigerators. An important collective (as opposed to household) level response to outages is to strengthen grid resilience via undergrounding power lines," write the UW's Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science. - Analysis: New maps show high-risk zones for whale-ship collisions − vessel speed limits and rerouting can reduce the toll | The Conversation4 months ago
"Imagine you are a blue whale swimming up the California coast, as you do every spring. You are searching for krill in the Santa Barbara Channel, a zone that teems with fish, kelp forests, seagrass beds and other undersea life, but also vibrates with noise from ship traffic. Suddenly, the noise gets louder," writes Anna Nisi, a postdoctoral scholar of biology at the UW.
