The Conversation

The Amish live simply, but don't confuse them with environmentalists

Written by David McConnell, Professor of Anthropology, The College of Wooster

An Amish girl chases a cow from the outfield during a baseball game in Bergholz, Ohio, April 9, 2013. AP Photo/Scott R. Galvin

In recent decades, many popular myths about the Amish – that they are dying out, or are a homogeneous community of technophobes, or are “stuck in the past” – have been convincingly dispelled. Yet the...

Beating breast cancer only to die of opioid use – a sad Appalachian story

Written by Rajesh Balkrishnan, Professor, Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia

Pain medication such as oxycodone often helps cancer patients deal with intense pain after treatment, but it also can lead to abuse.Steve Heal/Shutterstock.com

The availability of life-prolonging treatments such as hormonal therapies and other targeted chemotherapy has led to a sharp decline in breast cancer deaths in the United States.

But despite...

4 reasons gerrymandering is getting worse

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

November’s midterm elections are some of the most eagerly awaited, closely watched and hyperpartisan for many years.

But the results for many congressional House seats are already known because the election will occur at a time of rampant gerrymandering.

Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District.

For example, Maryland’s 3rd...

Can Seabiscuit's DNA explain his elite racing ability?

Written by Steven Tammariello, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Director of the Institute for Equine Genomics, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Eighty years ago, Seabiscuit trounced Triple Crown winner War Admiral. AP Photo

Seabiscuit was not an impressive-looking horse. He was considered quite lazy, preferring to eat and sleep in his stall rather than exercise. He’d been written off by most of the racing industry after losing his first 17 races. But Seabiscuit eventually became...

Bolsonaro wins Brazil election, promises to purge leftists from country

Written by Helder Ferreira do Vale, Associate Professor, Graduate School of International and Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Bolsonaro supporters celebrate outside his home in Rio de Janeiro after exit polls on Oct. 28 declared him the preliminary winner of Brazil's 2018 presidential election.AP Photo/Leo Correa

After the most polarized and divisive campaign in its modern history, Brazil has elected as its next president a right-wing politician who openly disdains human...

Terror isn't always a weapon of the weak -- it can also support the powerful

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell

A memorial vigil for the victims of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue where a shooter killed 11 and wounding six on Oct. 27, 2018. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

People often believe that terrorism is the weapon of the weak.

In other words, terrorism is practiced by marginalized groups that cannot influence government’s policies through...

Why has Halloween become so popular among adults?

Written by Linus Owens, Associate Professor of Sociology, Middlebury College

Halloween used to be kid stuff. To quit dressing up was an important rite of passage. It meant you were one step closer to becoming an adult.

Not anymore. Today adults have become avid Halloween revelers, especially young adults.

By 2005, just over half of adults celebrated Halloween. Today, that number has grown to over 70 percent. Those between...

¿Pintor o robot? AICAN es una máquina que funciona como artista autónomo

Written by Ahmed Elgammal, Professor, Director of the Art & AI Lab, Rutgers University

Psicodélico, una imagen creada por el algoritmo AICAN.Ahmed Elgammal, Author provided

En las ocasiones en las que se ha utilizado la inteligencia artificial para crear obras de arte, siempre ha habido un artista humano ejerciendo un importante grado de control sobre el proceso creativo.

Pero ¿qué pasaría si una...

As digital threats grow, will cyber insurance take off?

Written by Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

Do people need insurance against hacking?ra2studio/Shutterstock.com

Cyberattacks cost the world more than natural disasters – US$3 trillion in 2015, a price that may climb to $6 trillion annually by 2021 if present trends continue. But most people – and even most businesses – don’t have insurance to protect themselves...

Roundup weed killer lawsuit hits a snag, but Monsanto is not off the hook

Written by Richard G. "Bugs" Stevens, Professor, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut

Bottles of Monsanto's Roundup weed killer in the United Kingdom, relabelled by activists to highlight the World Health Organization's judgment that its main ingredient is a probable carcinogen.Global Justice Now, CC BY

On Aug. 10, 2018, a San Francisco jury handed down a US$289 million award to Dewayne Johnson, a groundskeeper who is dying of...