The Conversation

Skip fights about digital devices over the holidays – instead, let them bring your family together

Written by Shelia R. Cotten, Professor of Media and Information, Michigan State University

Rather than conflict, seek togetherness.Diego Cervo/Shutterstock.com

Holidays are a time for family and friends to come together, to celebrate and to enjoy each other’s company. Older adults, who are often lonely and socially isolated, can particularly look forward to reconnecting with family and friends. However, when technology enters the...

Why the Republican tax plan can help put American youths back to work

Written by Randall Olsen, Director of the Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University

House Speaker Paul Ryan talks about the GOP tax plan.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Republican lawmakers are set to vote this week on their tax plan after reconciling differences between the Senate and House versions and appear likely to meet their Christmas deadline of turning it into law.

During the ongoing debate over its merits, many have focused on...

The travel industry has sparked a backlash against tourists by stressing quantity over quality

Written by Carter A. Hunt, Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, and Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University

The view of Cartagena, Colombia from Tierra Bomba. Despite being one of the most visited cities in South America, Tierra Bomba remains highly impoverished. Why doesn't large-scale tourism benefit such a community?Carter Hunt, CC BY-ND

Travel is a major global industry, but in 2017 it attracted unprecedented resentment and retaliation towards...

Black voters won Alabama for the Dems. Here's what they need in return

Written by Sharon Austin, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of African American Studies, University of Florida

As a scholar of African-American and Southern politics for the last 25 years, I’ve witnessed a lot of election upsets and surprises. None has been more interesting than the Democrat Doug Jones’ election to the U.S. Senate in a Dec. 12 special election against Republican Roy Moore.

I’m not talking here about the controversy...

Some new nonprofits take off, others flop – and nobody knows why

Written by Fredrik O. Andersson, Assistant Professor, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

It's easier to appear destined for greatness on the drawing board than in real life.Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

Wayne Gretzky’s observation that you will always miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take holds true for charitable donors. They cannot expect great things to happen, or new innovations to take root, unless they are...

An archaeological dig in Israel provides clues to how feasting became an important ritual

Written by Natalie Munro, Professor, University of Connecticut

LightField Studios/Shutterstock.com

This holiday season millions of families will come together to celebrate their respective festivals and engage in myriad rituals. These may include exchanging gifts, singing songs, giving thanks, and most importantly, preparing and consuming the holiday feast.

Archaeological evidence shows that such communally...

When cringeworthy gifts are worse than inconsiderate

Written by Deborah Y. Cohn, Associate Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of Technology

Sometimes a gift that might seem reasonable is no nicer than a stocking full of coal. Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.com

Ever wondered why your mom bought you that inexplicable thing? You’re not alone.

I have spent years doing consumer research related to gift giving. In my field, conventional wisdom surmises that when gifts fail to please...

What Doug Jones's win means for Mitch McConnell, Steve Bannon and the Democrats

Written by David C. Barker, Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, American University

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calls for Roy Moore to step aside. He later said "let the voters decide."AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Here’s the thing about selling your soul: The devil had better deliver. It’s one thing to be damned; it’s another to be a damned loser.

This is the difficult lesson that the Republican...

Can math predict what you’ll do next?

Written by Daniel J. Denis, Associate Professor of Quantitative Psychology, The University of Montana

Big data makes it a bit easier to guess your next move.blackboard1965/shutterstock.com

Good scientists are not only able to uncover patterns in the things they study, but to use this information to predict the future.

Meteorologists study atmospheric pressure and wind speed to predict the trajectories of future storms. A biologist may predict the...

Mercury from industrialized nations is polluting the Arctic – here's how it gets there

Written by Daniel Obrist, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska. Plants on the Arctic tundra absorb mercury from the air, then transfer it to soil when they die.Paxson Woelber, CC BY

Scientists have long understood that the Arctic is affected by mercury pollution, but know less about how it happens. Remote, cold and seemingly pristine, why is such an idyllic landscape...