The Conversation

Imposing penalties can deter rule breakers – but the timing needs to be right

Written by Amandine Ody-Brasier, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Yale University

Members of book clubs can impose rules through penalties.Hill Street Studios/Stone via Getty Images

Many people participate in small groups like book clubs, community service associations or runners groups. These groups can be wonderful outlets for making friends. To ensure their smooth functioning, however, even informal and fun groups need to set...

Migration to the US is on the rise again – but it's unlikely to be fully addressed during the Summit of the Americas, or anytime soon

Written by Jack Maguire, Ph. D Candidate, Florida International University

Migrants from Latin America are traveling through Mexico as part of a caravan heading to the U.S. Isaac Guzman/AFP via Getty Images

An estimated 6,000 Latin American migrants are traveling together through Mexico to reach the U.S. by foot and car, marking the largest caravan yet in 2022 of migrants traveling to the U.S. border.

Their journey...

Nations are pledging to create ocean preserves – how do those promises add up?

Written by Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Associate Professor, Oregon State University

Corals and fish in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, San Pedro, Belize.Andre Seale/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Billions of people around the world rely on the ocean for food, income and cultural identity. But climate change, overfishing and habitat destruction are unraveling ocean ecosystems.

As a marine ecologist, I study ways to...

ADHD: Medication alone doesn't improve classroom learning for children – new research

Written by William E. Pelham, Jr., Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Florida International University

Children with ADHD struggle academically.Upyanose / Getty Images

For decades, many physicians, parents and teachers have believed that stimulant medications help children with ADHD learn because they are able to focus and behave better when medicated.

After all, an estimated 6.1 million children in the U.S. are diagnosed with...

'Jurassic World' scientists still haven't learned that just because you can doesn't mean you should – real-world genetic engineers can learn from the cautionary tale

Written by Andrew Maynard, Professor of Responsible Innovation, Arizona State University

While resurrecting dinosaurs may not be on the docket just yet, gene drives have the power to alter entire species. Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images

“Jurassic World: Dominion” is hyperbolic Hollywood entertainment at its best, with an action-packed storyline that refuses to let reality get in the way of a good story. Yet...

People overestimate groups they find threatening – when 'sizing up' others, bias sneaks in

Written by Jacqueline Rifkin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Missouri-Kansas City

You might make a quick and exaggerated judgment about what kind of neighborhood you’re in based on the people or flags you see.David Levingstone/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Places are not just physical, but also social.

For instance, around the North Carolina campus where we met, we knew certain bars based on the students who frequented...

Did the assault weapons ban of 1994 bring down mass shootings? Here's what the data tells us

Written by Michael J. Klein, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, New York University

The Clinton-era ban on assault weapons ushered in a period of fewer mass shooting deaths.AP Photo/Dennis Cook

A spate of high-profile mass shootings in the U.S. has sparked calls for Congress to look at imposing a ban on so-called assault weapons – covering the types of guns used in both the recent Buffalo grocery attack and that on an element...

Conservative Supreme Court justices disagree about how to read the law

Written by Jeb Barnes, Professor of Political Science, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The current Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

With a 6-3 majority, conservative justices on the Supreme Court may appear poised to hand down decisions that the Republican presidents who appointed them would applaud.

As a political scientist who has published several...

How your race, class and gender influence your dreams for the future

Written by Karen A. Cerulo, Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University

Emile Bernard's 1888 painting 'Madeleine in the Bois d'Amour.'The Print Collector/Getty Images

In Disney’s “Pinocchio,” Jiminy Cricket famously sings, “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.”

But Jiminy Cricket got it wrong.

We’re often taught...

No, Latinos don't actually have less heart disease – a new large study refutes the longstanding 'Latino paradox'

Written by Olveen Carrasquillo, Professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences, University of Miami

For at least three decades, studies have shown that Latinos have better heart health than other people, but new research calls that into question. The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Latinos may have higher rates of heart disease than previously thought,...