The Conversation

Why having fewer OSHA inspectors matters

Written by David Weil, Dean of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

Some U.S. workplaces can be dangerous.Olivier Le Queinec/Shutterstock.comCC BY-ND

In many industries, such as construction, transportation, warehousing and health care, the workplace is dangerous. In 2018 alone, 5,250 workers died on the job.

In an effort to protect workers from death or injury, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health...

How to stop using food to reward and punish your kids

Written by Stephanie Meyers, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist, Boston University

Ice cream cones can convey joy and love.YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.com

At one time or another, just about every parent uses food to reward their kids for good behavior and achievements – or to console them when they’re sad or disappointed.

When children make honor roll, win a big game or persevere through a struggle, a parent...

How women dress for other women

Written by Jaimie Arona Krems, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

Wardrobe choices can be part of a delicate social dance.Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com

“If you can’t be better than your competition,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour once said, “just dress better.”

Indeed, new research suggests that women don’t just dress to be fashionable, or to outdo one another when it comes to...

Autonomous vehicles can be fooled to 'see' nonexistent obstacles

Written by Yulong Cao, Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

LiDAR helps an autonomous vehicle 'visualize' what's around it.Yulong Can with data from Baidu Apollo, CC BY-ND

Nothing is more important to an autonomous vehicle than sensing what’s happening around it. Like human drivers, autonomous vehicles need the ability to make instantaneous decisions.

Today, most autonomous vehicles rely on multiple...

Coronavirus fears put a halt to the Muslim pilgrimage of umrah – but not yet the hajj

Written by Ken Chitwood, Lecturer, Concordia College New York | Journalist-fellow, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, Concordia College New York

Umrah pilgrims pray near the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File

Due to concerns over the global spread of the coronavirus – especially in nearby Iran – Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended travel to its holy sites. Millions of Muslims visit the Saudi kingdom around the year for pilgrimage.

The current travel...

Love in the time of the coronavirus: Do you turn your back when someone offers you a hand, a kiss or a hug?

Written by Brian Labus, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, right, bumps elbows with a worker at the seafood counter March 3, 2020, in Seattle's International District.AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Editor’s note: The toll of the coronavirus grows, with California under a state of emergency, and more than 150 cases and 11 deaths reported in the U.S.. Also, more than 300 million...

Why it took Congress 40 years to pass a bill acknowledging the Armenian genocide

Written by Eldad Ben Aharon, Lecturer, Leiden University

Thousands of Armenian-Americans gather to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Los Angeles, California on April 24, 2018. Ronen Tivony/Nur via Getty Images

Between 1914 and 1921, the Ottoman Empire carried out an extended campaign to expel or kill the Armenians living in Turkey and its border regions. From massacres to death...

Americans still trust doctors and scientists during a public health crisis

Written by Ellen Peters, Director, Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon

Microbiologist Xiugen Zhang working at the Connecticut State Public Health Laboratory.AP Photo/Jessica Hill

The coronavirus epidemic is a health crisis that threatens Americans’ quality of life. Who do Americans trust to lead them through it?

The public opinion firm YouGov has reported that public trust of scientists fell from 2013 to 2017....

What The Satanic Temple is and why it's opening a debate about religion

Written by Joseph P. Laycock, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Texas State University

The Satanic Temple unveils a statue of Baphomet, a winged-goat creature, at a rally for the First Amendment in Little Rock, Arkansas, in August 2018.AP Photo/Hannah Grabenstein

A group called The Satanic Temple went to court in their lawsuit against the city of Scottsdale, Arizona, for religious discrimination in January 2020.

The city’s...

Do wasps have a queen like bees do?

Written by Caralyn Zehnder, Lecturer in Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Some wasps are social insects, meaning they live in groups and have a queen.umsiedlungen/Pixabay.com), CC BY-SA

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Is there a queen wasp? - Gabriel H., age 7, Providence, Rhode Island

That’s...