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Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?

  • Written by Denisa Gandara, Assistant Professor, Southern Methodist University, Southern Methodist University
Colleges are increasingly being judged on how many students graduate. But is tying funding to graduation rates the way to go?George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: Performance-based funding – a policy where a portion of state funding for public colleges and universities is based on how well they perform – is gaining in...

Read more: Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?

Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working from home?

  • Written by Mohja Rhoads, Research Consultant and Lecturer in Policy, Planning and Development, California State University, Dominguez Hills
More workers are demanding the flexibility to work out of the office.AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

More Americans are using flexible workplace practices – including telecommuting, co-working and off-peak start times – to add flexibility to their lives and eliminate or improve their commute.

One motivation? Rush hour traffic is getting...

Read more: Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working...

Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved

  • Written by Kristen S. Morrow, PhD Student in Anthropology and Integrative Conservation, University of Georgia
A capuchin monkey in Brazil hoists a stone tool to crack open nuts.Luca Antonio Marino, CC BY-ND

Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites....

Read more: Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved

Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance

  • Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
President Donald Trump speaks from the White House on January 08, 2020 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump took a tough line in his address to the nation Jan. 8 in response to the Iranian airstrikes on two U.S. bases in Iraq.

Trump announced that he would impose more sanctions on Iran. He said he believed that...

Read more: Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance

What happens when community college is made free

  • Written by Bruce Sacerdote, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College
Free community college proposals are gaining attention. But do they work? And if so, for whom?MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

Policymakers and presidential hopefuls are having a spirited debate over whether the U.S. should offer free community college, free public college in general or additional college subsidies...

Read more: What happens when community college is made free

For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun

  • Written by Reed Blaylock, PhD candidate in Linguistics, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The American Dialect Society chose 'they' as its 'Word of the Decade.'abstract_art7/Shutterstock.com

On Jan. 3, the American Dialect Society held its 30th annual “Word of the Year” vote, which this year also included a vote for “Word of the Decade.”

It was the year – and the decade – of the pronoun.

In a nod to...

Read more: For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun

Moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado won't be good for public lands

  • Written by John Freemuth, Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Chair for Environment and Public Lands and University Distinguished Professor, Boise State University
Sheep grazing on BLM land near Shoshone, Idaho.BLM/Flickr, CC BY

The Trump administration has pursued many controversial goals in managing U.S. public lands, including shrinking national monuments and cutting back protection for threatened species. Its latest disruptive move targets the government employees who oversee these resources.

The...

Read more: Moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado won't be good for public lands

What did the Romans do in the year 0? A fake theologian explains

  • Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
Theologians deal with some serious questions. Here is Saint Augustine, a Christian theologian and philosopher.German Vizulis/Shutterstock

Over the centuries, theologians have wrestled with many knotty questions, such as: Does God exist? What is the purpose of life? And why do innocent people suffer?

A layperson might suppose theology, the study of...

Read more: What did the Romans do in the year 0? A fake theologian explains

I'm an OB/GYN who attended thousands of deliveries before wondering why Americans give birth in bed

  • Written by Neel Shah, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School
Not always the best position for childbirth. BSIP / Contributor / 151036972

A few years ago I visited Dar a Luz, the only free-standing birth center in New Mexico. It looks nothing like the towering urban hospitals I have spent my career working in. Nestled into a valley at the outskirts of Albuquerque, Dar a Luz is more like an earthy homestead....

Read more: I'm an OB/GYN who attended thousands of deliveries before wondering why Americans give birth in bed

AI can now read emotions – should it?

  • Written by Christoffer Heckman, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder
Emotion recognition technology, an outgrowth of facial recognition technology, continues to advance quickly.Steve Jurvetson/flickr, CC BY-SA

In its annual report, the AI Now Institute, an interdisciplinary research center studying the societal implications of artificial intelligence, called for a ban on technology designed to recognize...

Read more: AI can now read emotions – should it?

More Articles ...

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  2. Coyotes are poised to enter South America for the first time
  3. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends who you ask
  4. Congressional Republicans abandon constitutional heritage and Watergate precedents in defense of Trump
  5. How a Chilean dog ended up as a face of the New York City subway protests
  6. Could Iran-US tensions mean troubled waters ahead in the Strait of Hormuz?
  7. If Democrats nominate a woman for president, don't try to make predictions about how she'll do
  8. EPA's proposed 'secret science' rule directly threatens children's health
  9. Universal coverage, single-payer, 'Medicare for All': What does it all mean for you?
  10. The dark side of supportive relationships
  11. Unemployment pushes more men to take on female-dominated jobs
  12. Trump's Twitter threat to destroy Iran's cultural sites is a historic mistake
  13. An Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of a nearby star
  14. In Iran showdown, conflict could explode quickly – and disastrously
  15. China can still salvage 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong – here's how
  16. Asians are good at math? Why dressing up racism as a compliment just doesn't add up
  17. The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it
  18. A new way to identify a rare type of earthquake in time to issue lifesaving tsunami warnings
  19. How to write better pet adoption ads
  20. Building a digital archive for decaying paper documents, preserving centuries of records about enslaved people
  21. With the US and Iran on the brink of war, the dangers of Trump's policy of going it alone become clear
  22. Why there's a separate World Chess Championship for women
  23. Lawyers are trying to scare you with Facebook ads
  24. Buyers should beware of organic labels on nonfood products
  25. Unrest in Latin America makes authoritarianism look more appealing to some
  26. Want to know what will happen in 2020? Look to state polls for the answer
  27. 5 things you can do to make your microbiome healthier
  28. How to use habit science to help you keep your New Year's resolution
  29. What everyone should know about Reconstruction 150 years after the 15th Amendment's ratification
  30. America's love affair with the single-family house is cooling, but it won't be a quick breakup
  31. 3 big ways that the US will change over the next decade
  32. Why your New Year's resolution to go to the gym will fail
  33. A new way to give an old TB vaccine proves highly effective in monkeys
  34. Countries to watch in 2020, from Chile to Afghanistan: 5 essential reads
  35. How putting purpose into your New Year’s resolutions can bring meaning and results
  36. Higher education in America's prisons: 4 essential reads
  37. Why the race for the presidency begins with the Iowa caucus
  38. Deaf Christians often struggle to hear God's word, but some find meaning in the richness of who they are
  39. What do kids really think about Santa?
  40. Washington's perilous Christmas night crossing of the Delaware: Health hazards worse than war
  41. Lemurs are the world's most endangered mammals, but planting trees can help save them
  42. Hate exercise? Small increases in physical activity can make a big difference
  43. Archaeological discoveries are happening faster than ever before, helping refine the human story
  44. 3 internet language trends from 2019, explained
  45. Statistic of the decade: The massive deforestation of the Amazon
  46. Why some people distrust atheists
  47. Mormons and money: An unorthodox and messy history of church finances
  48. Hangovers happen as your body tries to protect itself from alcohol's toxic effects
  49. How undoing 'Obamacare' would harm more than the health of Americans
  50. From Vietnam to Afghanistan, all US governments lie