The Conversation

Global tourism industry may shrink by more than 50% due to the pandemic

Written by Faizan Ali, Assistant Professor, University of South Florida

Mothballed Delta Air Lines planes parked at Kansas City International Airport in Missouri.AP Photo/Charlie RiedelCC BY-SA

Due to the coronavirus, people around the world have canceled their travel plans. Governments and health officials have warned the public to avoid boarding cruise ships and long flights. Major events like conferences, trade...

States are putting prisoners to work manufacturing coronavirus supplies

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

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, introduces a hand sanitizer manufactured by the state of New York.AP Photo/Marina Villeneuve

Under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, states are turning to prisoners for support.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on March 9 that the state prison system’s industrial arm, Corcraft, would help produce...

4 good practices for anyone caring for quarantined kids

Written by Erika Bocknek, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Wayne State University

All families need to establish a new normal.Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

About 55 million U.S. schoolchildren attend schools that have been closed or are being directly affected by the new coronavirus social distancing rules. Erika London Bocknek, a family therapist who studies early childhood development, parenting and family...

Coronavirus closes in on Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh's cramped, unprepared camps

Written by Saleh Ahmed, Assistant Professor, School of Public Service, Boise State University

Nary a mask in sight at a market area in Bangladesh's Kutupalong refugee camp for Rohingya, Ukhia, March 24, 2020. Suzauddin Rubel/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus is spreading quickly in densely populated Bangladesh, despite a nationwide shutdown put in place a month ago.

This preventive measure has proven challenging to implement due to lack of...

Why did women vote for Hitler? Long-forgotten essays hold some answers

Written by Sarah R. Warren, Ph.D. student, Florida State University

Adolf Hitler surrounded by German supporters in 1937. De Agostini Editorial

The rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party in the 1930s came on the back of votes from millions of ordinary Germans – both men and women.

But aside from a few high-profile figures, such as concentration camp guard Irma Grese and “concentration camp murderess” Ils...

Coronavirus quarantine could provide lessons for future space travel on how regular people weather isolation

Written by Inga Popovaite, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, University of Iowa

A researcher in a spacesuit on "Mars" outside the Mars Society Desert Research Station in Utah.David Howells/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

I was supposed to travel to “Mars” this month. The plan was to stay two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station – actually in the Utah desert – to simulate human operations on the...

Replacing workers has many costs

Written by Cheryl Carleton, Assistant Professor of Economics, Villanova University

Replacing an employee means taking time and resources to train someone new.djrandco/Shutterstock.com

The labor market is changing rapidly with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Many organizations are laying off almost all of their workers, while others are considering which workers to lay off, which to furlough and which to keep. Alternatively,...

We're measuring online conversation to track the social and mental health issues surfacing during the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Amit Sheth, Founding Director, Artificial Intelligence Institute, University of South Carolina

The pandemic is driving up a litany of social ills.Bundit Binsuk/EyeEm via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Social media posts and news reports are rich sources of data about people’s attitudes and behaviors. Using artificial intelligence techniques, it’s possible to sift...

Hand-washing and distancing don't have tangible benefits – so keeping up these protective behaviors for months will be tricky

Written by Gretchen Chapman, Professor of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

Don't forget to wash your hands.Moyo Studio/Getty Images

In recent weeks, Americans in many states appear to have successfully begun to “flatten the curve” by following prescribed behavior.

People have been washing their hands frequently, maintaining physical distance from others, wearing face masks and even sanitizing door knobs and...

Trump wants sports back – but fans aren't so sure

Written by Murray Edelman, Survey Methodology Consultant for the Seton Hall Sports Poll, Seton Hall University

The parking lot of Citifield, the home of the New York Mets, sits empty.AP Photo/John MinchilloCC BY-ND

Some politicians, media figures and business leaders are clamoring for sectors of the economy to re-open in the near future, and President Trump, on April 14, specifically mentioned America’s professional sports leagues.

“We have to...