May 26, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Ocean going ships, are occasionally in danger of hitting an iceberg. If the vessel hits an iceberg, not only can the ship’s vital components like its propeller or rudders be impaired, thus negatively effecting the ship’s maneuverability, navigation systems, and propulsion, but…

May 20, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Graffiti and street art has a longstanding connection with political and social issues. Not only do we see this kind of activity proliferate when controversial issues are contested in urban public spaces, but we typically witness graffiti and street art when a…

May 13, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Unless you have direct experience with incarceration, many people think that all correctional facilities and systems in the United States are the same. The reality, however, is that there’s considerable variety among the places and systems that manage the approximate 2.1 million…

May 5, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. The United States is known around the world for lots of great things. Often referred to as the land of opportunity, America is blessed with spectacular wilderness areas replete with natural beauty, well-respected educational and medical institutions, generally friendly people, and Disneyland…

April 28, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Numerous films focusing on Japanese cooking or chefs have been released to Western audiences. One of the more recent iconic and celebrated is David Gelb’s 2011 documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The movie reviews the work (and to a lesser extent the…

April 20, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Over the past 13 years a number of on-line review platforms like Google Maps, TripAdvisor, and Yelp have been launched that enable individuals to make decisions about restaurants to patronize. Although the results produced by these relatively convenient user-generated content websites and…

April 13, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Big cities suffer from numerous problems. One intractable and long-standing challenge has been a failure to provide residents, commuters, and tourists with adequate places to go to the bathroom. From mothers with children in tow, to the burgeoning homeless population, this state…

April 6, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. I periodically ask myself what are the top 10 books, movies, songs, pieces of visual art, television series, etc. that have influenced me and why? This exercise forces me to reexamine these items more closely, critically answer why I thought they were…

March 30, 2023 by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. Over the past half century, not only has there been an increase in the amount and types of graffiti and street art appearing in large urban centers, but so too has attention paid to this type of urban public art. One of…