The Conversation

Serena Williams' catsuit controversy evokes the battle over women wearing shorts

Written by Deirdre Clemente, Associate Professor of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Serena Williams – wearing her controversial catsuit – returns a shot during the first round of the French Open in May 2018.AP Photo/Michel Euler

At the French Open, Serena Williams wore a custom-made black catsuit. On August 24, the president of the French Tennis Federation said the outfit “wouldn’t be back.” It...

Drones to track one of the largest dam removals on the Eastern Seaboard

Written by Matthew E. Baker, Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Bloede Dam (ca. 2016) near Ilchester, MarylandMatthew Baker/UMBC, CC BY-SA

This month, the Bloede Dam will be removed from the Lower Patapsco River near Ilchester, Maryland.

The restoration is a one-of-a-kind natural experiment that will help test how relatively inexpensive drones can help scientists like me understand the integrity of streams and...

Asking customers to donate when they buy stuff may be good for business

Written by Benjamin Lawrence, Aziz Hashim Professor of Franchise Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Hospitality, Georgia State University

Do you want to make a donation with that?Shutterstock.com/Jacob Lund

Cashiers asking customers to donate small sums to charity while they’re at cash registers, known as checkout charity, is becoming a big business.

All that spare change, taken together with donations solicited through e-commerce, collectively raised at least US$440 billion in...

How slot machines work – and why you should think twice before playing them

Written by Anthony Frederick Lucas, Professor of Casino Management, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

A night at the slots. CC BY-SA

The gaming industry is big business in the U.S., contributing an estimated US$240 billion to the economy each year, while generating $38 billion in tax revenues and supporting 17 million jobs.

What people may not realize is that slot machines, video poker machines and other electronic gaming devices make up the bulk...

Campaign season is moving into high gear – your vote may not count as much as you think

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

Primary voter in New Hampshire, 2016AP/David Goldman

As we enter the traditional, post-Labor Day sprint in the campaign season, voters may want to consider how much their vote really counts. In the United States, the difference between the popular will and political representation is growing and some votes count more than others.

When voters wield...

UN report documents genocide against Rohingya: What now?

Written by Max Pensky, Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Binghamton University, State University of New York

The United Nations has released a searing report that details Myanmar’s state violence against an ethnic and religious minority in that country known as the Rohingya.

The report demands that top leadership in Myanmar’s powerful military be held accountable for genocide and other international crimes.

As co-directors of the Institute for...

How views on priestly celibacy changed in Christian history

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

New priests being ordained during a ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, when they take vows, including to remain celibate.AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

The recent report of widespread sexual abuse by priests in Pennsylvania has fueled increasing turmoil within the leadership of the Catholic Church. In July this year, Ca...

Black student activists face penalty in college admissions

Written by Ted Thornhill, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Florida Gulf Coast University

Black students who express an interest in racial justice are less likely to get a response from predominantly white, private liberal arts colleges, new research shows.AshTproductions/www.shutterstock.com

Back when I taught at a predominantly white, selective liberal arts college, I came across a book called “Acting White? Rethinking Race in...

Propaganda-spewing Russian trolls act differently online from regular people

Written by Savvas Zannettou, Ph.D. Student in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Informatics, Technological University of Cyprus

They may look similar, but online trolls act differently.Daren Woodward/Shutterstock.com

As information warfare becomes more common, agents of various governments are manipulating social media – and therefore people’s thinking, political actions and democracy. Regular people need to know a lot more about what information warriors are...

Happy midterms! Here's a rundown of the best political zingers in history

Written by Chris Lamb, Professor of Journalism, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

President Ronald Reagan during a 1984 debate.AP Photo

Labor Day marks the beginning of the decisive, final stretch of the U.S. political campaign season, when candidates prepare to debate one another by practicing their ad-libs or “zingers,” as they’re called, hoping to have the last word with voters.

I dedicated my book, “I&r...