The Conversation

Chile has a growing Muslim community – but few know about it

Written by Michael Vicente Perez, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Memphis

Chilean Muslims reflect significant diversity. The Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufis, a global Sufi order that originated in Central Asia, are among them.John Albert, CC BY

Nora is a rare sight at the Universidad de Chile. Dressed in a long abaya, or Islamic robe, that covers all but her hands and face, her outfit distinguishes her from other students on...

A new platform lets you buy shares of blue-chip paintings – but is art a wise investment?

Written by Kathryn Graddy, Dean, Brandeis International Business School and Fred and Rita Richman Distinguished Professor in Economics, Brandeis University

For as little as $20, you can now own a tiny piece of a valuable work of art.Yasuko Inoue/iStock via Getty Images

In the fall of 2018, a Banksy work, “Love is in the Bin,” sold for US$1.4 million.

Now the original buyer has put the work up for sale, and it’s expected to fetch over $5 million – that would amount to a return of...

Apple's plan to scan your phone raises the stakes on a key question: Can you trust Big Tech?

Written by Laurin Weissinger, Lecturer in Cybersecurity, Tufts University

Apple has developed the means to scan images on your phone. Can you trust the company to protect your privacy?Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Apple’s plan to scan customers’ phones and other devices for images depicting child sexual abuse generated a backlash over privacy concerns, which led the company to announc...

Perilous situation for Afghan allies left behind shows a refugee system that's not up to the job

Written by Shelley Inglis, Executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Center, University of Dayton

Hundreds of people who want to flee the country gathered outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 17, 2021AP photo

President Joe Biden has hailed the end of the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan as a historic achievement, with 120,000 people evacuated by air. Behind the widely viewed scenes of chaos at the Hamid Karzai...

Food production generates more than a third of manmade greenhouse gas emissions – a new framework tells us how much comes from crops, countries and regions

Written by Xiaoming Xu, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

A farmer walks through a rice paddy in India's northeastern state of Assam. Buu Boro /AFP via Getty Images

Producing enough food for a growing world population is an urgent global challenge. And it’s complicated by the fact that climate change is warming the Earth and making farming harder in many places.

Food production is a big contributor...

Black, Hispanic and Asian American donors give more to social and racial justice causes as well as strangers in need – new survey

Written by Wendy Chen, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Texas Tech University

People of color tend to give differently than white donors.FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

More than a year after protesters around the world responded to the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other people of color, U.S. donors of all backgrounds are still responding to calls for an end to deep-rooted racial inequities.

T...

Who are the Hazara of Afghanistan? An expert on Islam explains

Written by Iqbal Akhtar, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University

The Hazara have long been targeted in Afghanistan, and many fear violence will intensify with the Taliban in power.Dimitris Lampropoulos/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The land we now call Afghanistan has been a place of constant migration through its mountainous passes. Its linguistic, cultural and religious diversity is a result of millennia of trade...

What happens when your foot falls asleep?

Written by Zachary Gillen, Assistant Professor of Exercise Physiology, Mississippi State University

That pins-and-needles feeling can come from sitting in the same position for a while.Westend61 via Getty Images

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.

What happens when your foot falls asleep? – Helen E., age 8, Somerville,...

6 big changes in standardized tests – including less focus on grading students and more on learning

Written by Stephen Sireci, Professor of Psychometrics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Today's tests have more potential to facilitate student learning, rather than just monitor it.Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register via Getty Images

The standardized tests given to children in schools today are a lot different from those their parents might remember.

For example, students today might take a standardized test at home on a laptop or...

Western fires are burning higher in the mountains and at unprecedented rates as the climate warms

Written by Mojtaba Sadegh, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Boise State University

Heat and dryness are leaving high mountain areas more vulnerable to forest fires. David McNew/Getty Images

The Western U.S. is experiencing another severe fire season, and a recent study shows that even high mountain areas once considered too wet to burn are at increasing risk as the climate warms.

With more than 5 million acres already burned by...