The Conversation

How Facebook – the Wal-Mart of the internet – dismantled online subcultures

Written by Jessa Lingel, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Pennsylvania

In the mid-1990s, body modification enthusiasts – a long-ostracized subculture – created an online community that incorporated blogs, dating and wikis.philippe leroyer/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Before the internet, people interested in body modification – not just tattoo and piercing enthusiasts, but those drawn to more unusual...

Educating children in Guatemala before they decide to migrate to the US border

Written by Carmen Monico, Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies, Elon University

On March 8, 40 girls were killed in a fire at a home for abused youth in Guatemala. More than 800 children and adolescents were living in the home.

In Guatemala, youth are at high risk of becoming victims and perpetrators of crime and violence. This insecurity is a primary factor pushing thousands of young Central Americans to leave their homes and...

What history tells us about Boy Scouts and inclusion

Written by Benjamin Rene Jordan, Associate Professor of American History, Christian Brothers University

From the Honolulu Advertiser (May 26, 1922), a photo of a multiethnic Boy Scout troop called the 'Queen's own.'Honolulu Advertiser

In the last two decades, a tense debate has risen over membership policies of the Boy Scouts of America. The organization moved to allow openly gay Scouts in 2013 and troop leaders in 2015. And just this year, a new tran...

Did medical Darwinism doom the GOP health plan?

Written by Michael L. Millenson, Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

House Speaker Paul Ryan announced March 24 that he was pulling his proposed health care bill from consideration. Scott Applewhite/AP

“We are now contemplating, Heaven save the mark, a bill that would tax the well for the benefit of the ill.”

Although that quote reads like it could be part of the Republican repeal-and-replace assault...

Study: 60 percent of rural millennials lack access to a political life

Written by Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement in the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University

A rural highway in Ottumwa, Iowa on Jan. 27, 2017.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Like older voters, young ones were divided by the 2016 presidential election.

A recent study of millennial voters by Tufts University found that young people had starkly different opinions about politics and civic institutions based on race, gender and social class.

One...

Better locker rooms: It's not just a transgender thing

Written by George B. Cunningham, Professor of Sport Management and Director, Laboratory for Diversity in Sport, Texas A&M University

Mack Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender boy, made national headlines when he won the Texas state wrestling title in the girls' division.AP Photo

Several cases working their way through the legal system have placed a national spotlight on the issue of transgender access to bathrooms. While some states have taken steps to allow access based on gender...

Momentum isn't magic – vindicating the hot hand with the mathematics of streaks

Written by Joshua Miller, Affiliate at IGIER and Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences, Bocconi University

When a player's on fire, is it hot hands?Basketball image via www.shutterstock.com.

It’s NCAA basketball tournament season, known for its magical moments and the “March Madness” it can produce. Many fans remember Stephen Curry’s superhuman 2008 performance where he led underdog Davidson College to victory while nearly...

How did celibacy become mandatory for priests?

Written by Kim Haines-Eitzen, Professor of Early Christianity, Cornell University

Cardinals, bishops and priests renew their vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience with Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, April 9, 1998.AP Photo/Plinio Lepri

Priestly celibacy, or rather the lack of it, is in the news. There have been allegations of sex orgies, prostitution and pornography against Catholic clerics...

Restaurants pledged to make kids’ meals healthier – but the data show not much has changed

Written by Alyssa Moran, Sc.D. candidate in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University

An All-American meal.Cropped from firsttubedotcom/flickr, CC BY

Chain restaurants are not known for serving up healthy kids’ meals. Most entrees on a kids’ menu are either fried, breaded or doused in cheese. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rare side dish options, and French fries abound.

Looking at nutritional content alone, some drinks...

Pay people to stop smoking? It works, especially in vulnerable groups

Written by Stephen Higgins, Professor, Director of the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health, University of Vermont

A file photo from 2013 shows a woman smoking a cigaretteDave Martin/AP Photo

Cigarette smoking in the U.S. has dropped dramatically since the landmark publication of the 1964 U.S. Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health. This has led to improved health for millions of Americans.

Those reductions, however, are unevenly distributed....