The cost of academic journals has increased steeply over the past few decades and continues to climb. Academic libraries, already caught in an economic squeeze, are finding it difficult to acquire new journal subscriptions or, in the worst case, are even canceling existing subscriptions.

Eit...

Naypyidaw, Myanmar, is one of the strangest capital cities in the world. The city, only a decade old, is a sprawling maze of 20-lane highways, government compounds and pastel condominiums.

One visitor described it as “an eerie picture of post-apocalypse suburban America.” Another was more blunt, calling it “the most awful place...

Seasonal influenza is a major global health concern. Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics result in three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths. In industrialized countries, most deaths associated with influenza occur among people age 65 or older, who...

The banana is the world’s most popular fruit crop, with over 100 million metric tons produced annually in over 130 tropical and subtropical countries. Edible bananas are the result of a genetic accident in nature that created the seedless fruit we enjoy today. Virtually all the...

Celebrity involvement in presidential politics in 2016 has deviated from tradition in one big way.

Donald Trump cruised to the Republican nomination on the strength of his own celebrity status. He parlayed his celebrity status, insult-comic debate skills and Twitter tirades into an estimated US$2 billion worth of free media.

In contrast, Ronald...

During the debates, fact-checkers like CNN and Politifact focus on evaluating the truthfulness of what each candidate said.

While it is important to get the facts straight, focusing on the truth of the candidates’ statements is not nearly enough to evaluate the actual impact of the debate on the audience. How candidates say things matters...

It was on Oct. 21, 2014 that The Conversation US was launched from a small office on the Boston University campus. We were following in the successful footsteps of our colleagues in Australia and the United Kingdom, but there was, inevitably, a bit of apprehension as to how this new model for journalism, written by academics and edited by...

Elections normally decide who is to govern. This upcoming election is about the very legitimacy of the system.

At the final presidential debate, Republican candidate Donald Trump made the remarkable statement that he might not accept the outcome of the election. Even putting this rancorous and divisive presidential election aside, trust in the...

Any time a new technology is introduced, it disrupts values, routines and behaviors. This goes back well before the printing press replaced oral histories or the telephone replaced face-to-face conversations, but is evident...

If a doctor has a substance abuse issue (or is suspected of having one) or needs mental health care, he or she is often referred to something called a Physician Health Program (PHP). In principle, these programs are intended to help doctors with substance abuse disorders and...