The Conversation

There’s a financial literacy gender gap − and older women are eager for education that meets their needs

Written by Lila Rabinovich, Social scientist, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Knowledge is power − especially where money is concerned.Rockaa/E+/Getty Images

Every day, families across the U.S. have to make difficult decisions about budgeting, spending, insurance, investments, savings, retirement and on and on. When faced with these choices, financial literacy – that is, knowing how to make informed decisions...

3 ways AI can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern agriculture

Written by Joe Hollis, PhD student in Rural Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University

Farming today is as much about data as hardware.AP Photo/Nati Harnik

For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI, and doomsday scenarios of superintelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has enormous potential to benefit humanity.

In agriculture, farmers...

US food insecurity surveys aren't getting accurate data regarding Latino families

Written by Cassandra M. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Texas State University

It's hard to divulge an inability to put food on the table.Shestock/Tetra images via Getty Images

The federal government has conducted the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module for more than 25 years. The data collected annually from about 50,000 U.S. households helps form estimates of the scale of food insecurity – not having access to...

People who experienced childhood adversity had poorer COVID-19 outcomes, new study shows

Written by Jamie Hanson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

The study demonstrated that adverse childhood experiences can have lasting affects.andreswd/E+ via Getty Images

Adults who faced adversity during childhood were significantly more likely to die from or be hospitalized because of COVID-19. That’s the key finding of my team’s recent study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and...

Gentle parenting can be really hard on parents, new research suggests

Written by Annie Pezalla, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Macalester College

Gentle parents often feel overwhelmed and alone, researchers found. Jamie Grill/The Image Bank/Getty Images

Are you a gentle parent? If so, chances are good that, just like your children, you may need a nap.

The idea of gentle parenting has been around since the 1930s but received increased attention over the past few years on social media and blogs,...

LGTBQIA+ sanctuary declarations help cities take a stand to defend rights -- but may not have much actual legal impact

Written by John E. Finn, Professor Emeritus of Government, Wesleyan University

Minnesotans hold a rally at the state capitol in St. Paul to support trans kids in March 2022. Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Several cities and towns, mostly in the American Midwest and South, are responding to a surge of proposed and approved legislation that restricts gay and transgender people’s rights by...

MicroRNA is the master regulator of the genome − researchers are learning how to treat disease by harnessing the way it controls genes

Written by Andrea Kasinski, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

RNA is more than just a transitional state between DNA and protein.Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

The Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, and life less than a billion years after that. Although life as we know it is dependent on four major macromolecules – DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids – only one is thought to have...

Stoicism and spirituality: A philosopher explains how more Americans' search for meaning is turning them toward the classics

Written by Sandra Woien, Associate Teaching Professor, Arizona State University

Web communities have helped the ancient philosophy of Stoicism find fans in a new generation.utah778/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Stoicism may be having a renaissance. For centuries, the ancient philosophy that originated in Greece and spread across the Roman Empire was more or less treated as extinct – with the word “stoic”...

A brief history of the US-Israel 'special relationship' shows how connections have shifted since long before the 1948 founding of the Jewish state

Written by Fayez Hammad, Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

U.S. President Harry Truman holds a Torah given to him by Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel, in May 1948.Bettmann via Getty Images

In his first remarks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, President Joe Biden affirmed the United States offered “rock solid and unwavering” support to Israel, “just as we have...

Merriam-Webster's word of the year – authentic – reflects growing concerns over AI's ability to deceive and dehumanize

Written by Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

According to the publisher’s editor-at-large, 2023 represented 'a kind of crisis of authenticity.'lambada/E+ via Getty Images

When Merriam-Webster announced that its word of the year for 2023 was “authentic,” it did so with over a month to go in the calendar year.

Even then, the dictionary publisher was late to the game.

In a...