The Conversation

Neighborhood-based friendships making a comeback for kids in the age of coronavirus

Written by Julie Wargo Aikins, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Wayne State University

A new social world for children may be right outside their front door.Martin Novak/Movement via Getty Images

As the weather has warmed in my Midwestern town, my neighborhood is full of children on bicycles pretending to be riding through the Wild West. I can’t walk down the sidewalk without stepping on chalk drawings or hopscotch boards....

Is it safe to stay in a hotel, cabin or rental home yet?

Written by Elizabeth Marder, Instructor, Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis

Grandparents are eager to spend time with their grandchildren, and many are also eager to travel. There are many things to consider to ensure safety when going to hotels and overnight accommodations. FG Trade/Getty Images

After nearly three months of quarantine, millions of Americans are ready to travel – an overnight trip, a weekend getaway,...

Adding women to corporate boards improves decisions about medical product safety

Written by Corinne Post, Professor of Management, Lehigh University

Corporate boards with women on them are more likely to recall dangerous products.Image Source/Getty Images

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

The big idea

Medical supply companies with boards that included at least two women recalled life-threatening products almost a month sooner than those with all-male boards, accor...

Going online due to COVID-19 this fall could hurt colleges' future

Written by Christopher Newfield, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara

California State University schools have ruled out in-person classes for this fall.FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

When the California State University system decided to conduct all of its classes online this coming fall, administrators said it was to avoid the health risks associated with COVID-19. Many other colleges are making similar...

Globalization really started 1,000 years ago

Written by Valerie Hansen, Professor of History, Yale University

'The Meeting of Two Worlds,' a sculpture at L'Anse aux Meadows, commemorates the meeting of Vikings and Native Americans around the year 1000.D. Gordon E. Robertson/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Viking ships touched down on the Canadian island of Newfoundland around the year 1000, at what is now the archaeological site known as L'Anse aux Meadows.

For...

Globalization really started 1,000 years ago

Written by Valerie Hansen, Professor of History, Yale University

'The Meeting of Two Worlds,' a sculpture at L'Anse aux Meadows, commemorates the meeting of Vikings and Native Americans around the year 1000.D. Gordon E. Robertson/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Viking ships touched down on the Canadian island of Newfoundland around the year 1000, at what is now the archaeological site known as L'Anse aux Meadows.

For...

State prosecutors and voters – not the feds – can hold corrupt officials accountable

Written by Stanley M. Brand, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Government, Pennsylvania State University

Bridget Kelly, one of two aides to Gov. Chris Christie whose convictions in the Bridgegate scandal were reversed. Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Two high-ranking officials with ties to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie hatched a plot in 2013 to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, a town adjacent to the George Washington Bridge – the...

First space tourists will face big risks, as private companies gear up for paid suborbital flights

Written by Sara M. Langston, Assistant Professor of Spaceflight Operations, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Ready to take your suborbital selfie?EvgeniyShkolenko

On May 30, 2020, millions of Americans watched the inaugural SpaceX Crew Dragon launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. This mission marked two significant events: First, the return of launch to orbit capability for human spaceflight from the United States. Secondly, it success...

Life on welfare isn't what most people think it is

Written by Tom Mould, Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, Butler University

Public assistance programs are intended to help people up – but that's not always how recipients experience the aid.Ascent/PKS Media Inc./Getty

When Americans talk about people receiving public assistance – food stamps, disability, unemployment payments and other government help – they often have stereotypes and inaccurate...

City compost programs turn garbage into 'black gold' that boosts food security and social justice

Written by Kristen DeAngelis, Associate Professor of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Compost awaiting distribution at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District's Rancho Las Virgenes compost facility, Calabasas, Calif.Brian Vander Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many Americans’ relationships with food. To relieve some of the stress associated with shopping safely...