The Conversation

Pew's new global survey of climate change attitudes finds promising trends but deep divides

Written by Kate T. Luong, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, George Mason University

Global views on climate change are shifting, but there is still a strong progressive-conservative divide.Stephen Leonardi/Unsplash, CC BY

People’s views about climate change, from how worried they are about it affecting them to how willing they are to do something about it, have shifted in developed countries around the world in recent years,...

Who's covered by a vaccine mandate? Here's a quick guide to America's patchwork of COVID-19 shot requirements

Written by Debbie Kaminer, Professor of Law, Baruch College, CUNY

Tyson Foods is one of the companies that already said it would require workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. John Konstantaras/AP Images for Tyson Foods

President Joe Biden’s orders requiring vaccinations for about two-thirds of the U.S. workforce add to a patchwork of vaccine mandates aimed at pushing more people to get their...

What are microschools? 5 questions answered

Written by Barnett Berry, Reseach Professor of Education and founding director, ALL4SC, University of South Carolina

Microschools gained in appeal to some parents during the pandemic.Complexio/E+ via Getty Images

Since COVID-19, some parents in search of educational alternatives for their children have turned to microschools. Here, Barnett Berry, a research professor in education at the University of South Carolina, explains what makes microschools distinct from...

More education for Mexican Americans may mean less diabetes

Written by Lindsay Fernández-Rhodes, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State

Programs that promote more education could also improve longterm health. Genaro Molina/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Latino adults who obtain a higher level of education than their parents are less likely to have Type 2 diabetes than those who obtain the same...

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...