The Conversation

How deadly is the coronavirus? The true fatality rate is tricky to find, but researchers are getting closer

Written by Justin Silverman, Assistant Professor of Information Science and Technology, Pennsylvania State University

Infection fatality rate is simply the number of deaths divided by the number of infections, but finding those numbers is harder than it might seem.AP Photo/John Minchillo

Early reports from January painted a grim picture about just how deadly the coronavirus was. Initially, the World Health Organization estimated that the percentage of infected...

The Electoral College is surprisingly vulnerable to popular vote changes

Written by Steven Heilman, Assistant Professor RTPC of Mathematics, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Staff of the House of Representatives review Illinois' Electoral College vote report in January 2017.Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, changing just 269 votes in Florida from George W. Bush to Al Gore would have changed the outcome of the entire national election. Similarly narrow results have happened...

Personality can predict who's a rule-follower and who flouts COVID-19 social distancing guidelines

Written by James M. Honeycutt, Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University; Lecturer in Executive Education, University of Texas at Dallas

Who will wait on the checkout line footprints and who will rage against them?Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

As states struggle to get the COVID-19 balance right – between eased restrictions and rising infection rates – it falls to individuals to abide by mask-wearing rules and to maintain six feet of distance between...

The Fed's independence helped it save the US economy in 2008 – the CDC needs the same authority today

Written by Mitchel Y. Abolafia, Professor Of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York

Trump with two of his top health advisers in May. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The image of scientists standing beside governors, mayors or the president has become common during the pandemic. Even the most cynical politician knows this public health emergency cannot be properly addressed without relying on the scientific knowledge possessed by these...

With kids spending more waking hours on screens than ever, here's what parents need to worry about

Written by James M. Lang, Professor of English and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Assumption College

Today's children are getting way more screen time than usual.Isabel Pavia/Moment collection via Getty Images

Millions of working parents have spent months largely trapped in their homes with their children. Many are trying to get their jobs done remotely in the constant presence of their kids, and they are desperate for some peace and quiet.

Many...

Kids' school schedules have never matched parents' work obligations and the pandemic is making things worse

Written by Taryn Morrissey, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy, American University School of Public Affairs

Logging into school on the couch can make homelife more topsy-turvy.Cavan Images/Getty Images

Whether I’m looking at the question of why it has always been hard to be a working parent in the United States as a mother with two children under 7, or as a scholar of child and family policy, one reason stands out. The hours employers demand and pub...

How effective does a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine need to be to stop the pandemic? A new study has answers

Written by Bruce Y. Lee, Professor of Health Policy and Management, City University of New York

The lower the vaccine's effectiveness, the more likely social distancing in some form may still be necessary.Gopixa via Getty Images

The U.S. is pinning its hopes on a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, but will a vaccine alone be enough to stop the pandemic and allow life to return to normal?

The answer depends on a how “good” the vaccine...

Federal spending covers only 8% of public school budgets

Written by David S. Knight, Assistant Professor of Education Finance and Policy, University of Washington

The White House is threatening to cut funds to school districts that don't resume daily in-person instruction.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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State and local tax dollars cover the bulk of U.S. public school funding.

The federal government spends just under US$55 billion per year on K-12 education, in addition to outlays for early childhood...

Through protest and resistance, Lumbees seek to reconcile past with present

Written by Jessica R. Locklear, History Ph.D. Student, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Lumbee Reverend Dr. Mike Cummings, center with his back to the camera, prays for protesters in Pembroke, North Carolina.Krista Davis, CC BY-ND

It may not have seemed unusual when a protest in support of Black lives and against police brutality moved through the town of Pembroke, North Carolina, in late June and faced off with counterprotesters.

But...

A restart of nuclear testing offers little scientific value to the US and would benefit other countries

Written by Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress, Scientist-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor, Middlebury

Hundreds of nuclear weapons have been tested by the U.S. since WWII, but newer science has replaced the need for live detonations. Galerie Bilderwelt / Hulton Archive via Getty Images

July 15, 2020 marks 75 years since the detonation of the first nuclear bomb. The Trinity Test, in New Mexico’s Jornada del Muerto desert, proved that the design...