The Conversation

China looms large as President Biden and Japan's PM Kishida sit down to discuss defense shift, regional tensions

Written by Mary M. McCarthy, Professor of Political Science, Drake University

Biden and Kishida: A relationship far from flagging.Eugene Hoshiko/Getty Images

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to sit down with President Joe Biden at the White House on Jan. 13, 2023.

The bilateral meeting in the U.S. is the final stop for Kishida in a five-day tour of allies that has also seen him visit France, Italy, the U.K. and...

Consumers often can't detect fake reviews – and underestimate how many negative reviews might be fakes

Written by Shabnam Azimi, Assistant Professor, Loyola University Chicago

Fake reviews of products and services are rampant online – and are often hard to pick out from the real ones.anyaberkut/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Consumers who have a personality that scores high in terms of openness – such as being open to...

What is racial battle fatigue? A school psychologist explains

Written by Geremy Grant, Assistant Professor of School Psychology, Alfred University

Racial stress can seriously threaten a person's well-being.John M Lund Photography Inc via Getty Images

When William A. Smith, a scholar of education and culture, introduced the term “racial battle fatigue” in 2003, he used it to describe the cumulative effects of racial hostility that Black people – specifically faculty and...

AI and the future of work: 5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers

Written by Lynne Parker, Associate Vice Chancellor, University of Tennessee

Could AI be your next colleague – or replacement?PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images

From steam power and electricity to computers and the internet, technological advancements have always disrupted labor markets, pushing out some jobs while creating others. Artificial intelligence remains something of a misnomer – the smartest...

5 types of threat – how those who want to divide us use language to stoke violence

Written by H. Colleen Sinclair, Associate Research Professor of Social Psychology, Louisiana State University

Military police clash with supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro after an invasion to Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. Sergio Lima/AFP via Getty Images

Events like the riots in Brazil, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection two years before it and the mass shooting at the Colorado LGBTQ nightclub each occurred...

What the FDA's rule changes allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be dispensed by pharmacies mean in practice – 5 questions answered

Written by Grace Shih, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington

The rule change has little to no effect in states where abortion is banned or restricted.LaylaBird/E+ via Getty Images

In early January 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration modified its rules for mifepristone, a drug used for medication abortion, allowing it to be offered with a prescription by certified pharmacies. Before this rule change,...

Triggering cancer cells to become normal cells – how stem cell therapies can provide new ways to stop tumors from spreading or growing back

Written by Huanhuan Joyce Chen, Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

This image shows pancreatic cancer cells (blue) growing, encased within membranes (red).Min Yu/Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC via NIH/Flickr, CC BY-NC

How cells become cancerous is a process researchers are still trying to fully understand. Generally, normal cells grow and multiply through...

College students who work more hours are less likely to graduate

Written by Walter G. Ecton, Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Florida State University

Nearly half of all full-time college students also work.SDI Productions via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Students who work while enrolled in college are about 20% less likely to complete their degrees than similar peers who don’t work, a large and meaningful decrease in predicted...

2022's billion-dollar disasters: Climate change helped make it US's 3rd most expensive year on record

Written by Stacy Morford, Environment + Climate Editor

Several areas were hit with 1,000-year floods in 2022.Leandro Lozada/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. weather disasters are getting costlier as more people move into vulnerable areas and climate change raises the risks of extreme heat and rainfall, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials warned as they released their annual...

Global economy 2023: COVID-19 turned global supply chains upside down – 3 ways the pandemic forced companies to rethink and transform how they source their products

Written by Nada R. Sanders, Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management, Northeastern University

Companies are remaking their supply chains to rely less on China and the massive container ships steaming across the oceans.AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton

This is the sixth and final installment in our series on where the global economy is heading in 2023. It follows recent articles on industrial action, inflation, energy, food and the cost of living.

Th...