The Conversation

When hurricanes temporarily halt fishing, marine food webs recover quickly

Written by Lee Smee, Assistant Professor of Marine Science, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Hurricane Harvey set up a rare natural experiment to study the effects of fishing.NOAA via Wikipedia

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Fishing has a strong impact on coastal marine food webs, but it’s a hard effect to measure. When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in 2017, it temporarily halted fishing...

Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners – who get paid as little as 14 cents an hour despite dangers

Written by J. Carlee Purdum, Research Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University

Prisoners clearing vegetation to prevent the spread of a wildfire in Yucaipa, CaliforniaDavid McNew/AFP via Getty Images

Efforts to beat back wildfires ravaging Western states in the U.S. have been hampered this year by depleted numbers of “orange angels” – incarcerated workers deployed as firefighters.

Their lower numbers coincide...

Charlie Hebdo shootings served as an extreme example of the history of attacks on satirists

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

A painting made by French street artist Christian Guemy in tribute to the members of those killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015.AP Photo/Michel Euler

As the trial of alleged accomplices to the attack on Charlie Hebdo recently got underway in Paris, the magazine republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed.

It was a...

Family and friends can be key to helping end domestic violence, study suggests

Written by Krista M. Chronister, Professor, psychology, University of Oregon

A family poses after the Not One Less protest in Missori Square in Milan on June 26. Family and friends are important allies against domestic violence.Valeria Ferraro/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic and strategies to prevent its spread, such as self-quarantine and travel restrictions, have isolated families and intensi...

The numbers behind America's 180 on athlete activism

Written by Michael Serazio, Associate Professor of Communication, Boston College

It has always been folly to believe that sports were separate from power and politics.AP Photo/Terrance Williams

CC BY-ND

For 50 dormant years – roughly, the period between Muhammad Ali’s heyday and the Miami Heat donning hoodies after Trayvon Martin’s murder – athletes, as a general rule, steered clear of politics.

Teams...

DeVos vows to require standardized tests again: 4 questions answered

Written by Nicholas Tampio, Professor of Political Science, Fordham University

Is the government's plan feasible?Alex Wong/Getty Images

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced on Sept. 3 that the government intended to enforce federal rules that require all states to administer standardized tests at K-12 public schools during the 2020-2021 school year. Nicholas Tampio, a Fordham University political scientist who researches...

When someone dies, what happens to the body?

Written by Mark Evely, Program Director and Assistant Professor of Mortuary Science, Wayne State University

When a life ends, those who remain deal with the body.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Upwards of 2.8 million people die every year in the United States. As a funeral director who heads a university mortuary science program, I can tell you that while each individual’s life experiences are unique, what happens to a body after death follows a...

Vinculan el racismo con el deterioro cognitivo en mujeres afroamericanas

Written by Lynn Rosenberg, Professor of Epidemiology, Boston University

Para las mujeres afroamericanas, el racismo puede contribuir a una variedad de problemas de salud. Getty Images / monkeybusinessimages

Los afroamericanos tienen tasas más elevadas de demencia y Alzheimer que los estadounidenses blancos. El estrés crónico, asociado con el deterioro cognitivo y la reducción del volumen...

Who formally declares the winner of the U.S. presidential election?

Written by Amy Dacey, Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University

With rare exceptions, like the 2000 presidential election, the winning candidate usually declares victory on election night. But the win isn't actually certified until January. ranklin McMahon/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

With the U.S. presidential election rapidly approaching at a time of extraordinary political and social disruption, the...

What is a hurricane storm surge, and why is it so dangerous?

Written by Anthony C. Didlake Jr., Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University

Storm surge can push water levels well above normal sea level during a hurricane.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast. It can sweep homes off their foundations, flood riverside communities miles inland, and break up dunes and levees that normally...