The Conversation

Hoarding during the coronavirus isn't just unnecessary, it's ethically wrong

Written by Jaime Ahlberg, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Florida

Long lines at a grocery store in Spring, Texas, as people rush to stockpile.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

As people rush to stockpile provisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, stores have placed restrictions on the purchase of basic goods and medicines.

When supply chains are vulnerable to spikes in demand, one person’s stockpiling can...

Striking Amazon, Instacart employees reveal how a basic economic principle could derail our ability to combat the coronavirus

Written by Leigh Osofsky, Professor of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Samuel Diaz, a delivery worker for Amazon Prime, loads his vehicle with groceries from Whole Foods in Miami.AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

A series of recent protests by the workers preparing and delivering our essential foods and other goods highlights a key risk to our ability to combat the coronavirus.

Some employees at an Amazon warehouse and Instacart...

6 ways to build motivation to do your schoolwork now that you're forced to learn online at home

Written by Ryan Korstange, Assistant Professor of University Studies, Middle Tennessee State University

Breaking down big projects into smaller tasks helps.PhotoAlto/Michele Constantini/Getty Images

Even in normal circumstances, it can be hard to get motivated to do your schoolwork. But these are not normal circumstances.

The switch to remote instruction caused by COVID-19 has been unsettling. Patterns have changed. Habits have been disrupted. Remote...

A world without sports

Written by Lars Dzikus, Associate Professor in Sport Studies, University of Tennessee

The Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals, sits empty. AP Photo/Nick Wass

Baseball’s opening day came and went. The Olympics have been postponed. Football in the fall? Don’t count on it.

With COVID-19 infections and deaths rising each day, the cancellation of live sporting events might seem like an afterthought. But in the...

Crops could face double trouble from insects and a warming climate

Written by Gregg Howe, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University

In the heat, tomato plants can't fight off the hungry tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. From www.shutterstock.com

For millennia, insects and the plants they feed on have been engaged in a co-evolutionary battle: to eat or not be eaten. Until recently, the two antagonistic sides have maintained a stalemate of sorts. With climate change, however,...

Coronavirus versus democracy: 5 countries where emergency powers risk abuse

Written by Ramya Vijaya, Professor of Economics, Stockton University

Hungarian police officers check cars at the closed Austria-Hungary border, March 18, 2020.Alex Halada/AFP via Getty Images

Editor’s note: Emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic set the conditions for political leaders to use expansive powers. They are, as a result, a test of the government’s commitment to human rights and civil...

Democratic governors are quicker in responding to the coronavirus than Republicans

Written by Luke Fowler, Associate Professor and MPA Director, Boise State University

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who did not issue a stay-at-home order for his state until April 1, 2020.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

While the coronavirus pandemic is a national and international concern, state and local officials find themselves on the front lines of the public health battle.

Governors, in particular, have been in the spotlight...

Why Latino citizens are worrying more about deportation

Written by Asad L. Asad, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Stanford University

Rosa Gutierrez Lopez from El Salvador has been living in sanctuary in a church for a year due to a deportation order.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

“You can’t deport a U.S. citizen,” said a friend recently. My friend is correct on the law.

But that doesn’t stop millions of U.S. citizens from fearing deportation anyway.

In a study p...

The CDC now recommends wearing a mask in some cases – a physician explains why and when to wear one

Written by Thomas Perls, Professor of Medicine, Boston University

The change in CDC guidance comes in response to new research on how the new coronavirus can spread. Peter Denovo/Shutterstock.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed its policy and is now advising everyone, whether or not they have symptoms of COVID-19, to cover their face with a mask or cloth covering whenever social...

Doctors are making life-and-death choices over coronavirus patients – it could have long-term consequences for them

Written by Neil Shortland, Director, Center for Terrorism and Security Studies; Assistant Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Doctors are facing difficult choices in the coronavirus pandemic.Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP

As the coronavirus spreads and demand for medical gear far outstrips the supplies, doctors in the U.S. may have to choose who among their patients lives and who dies. Doctors in Italy have already been forced to make such moral choices.

In a recent article in...