The Conversation

Jessie Simmons: How a schoolteacher became an unsung hero of the civil rights movement

Written by Valerie Hill-Jackson, Clinical Professor of Educator Preparation and Director, Educator Preparation and School Partnerships, Texas A&M University

Jessie Dean Gipson Simmons, shown top center about age 37, c. 1961 [Clockwise: daughter Angela, sons Obadiah Jerone, Jr. and Carl, and husband Obadiah Jerone, Sr.; daughters Carolyn and Quendelyn are not pictured]Simmons family archives, Author provided

Jessie Dean Gipson Simmons was full of optimism when she and her family moved from an apartment...

For a flooded Midwest, climate forecasts offer little comfort

Written by Shuang-Ye Wu, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Dayton

Historic flooding in the Midwest, including this farm in Nebraska, has caused widespread damage.DroneBase via AP

Flooding in the Midwest, triggered by an intense “bomb cyclone,” has devastated parts of the region, which has been plagued by flood events in recent decades.

Floods are triggered by extreme rainfall events, often combined...

Want to fix gerrymandering? Then the Supreme Court needs to listen to mathematicians

Written by Manil Suri, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Activists at the Supreme Court opposed to partisan gerrymandering hold up representations of congressional districts from North Carolina, left, and Maryland, right.AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

“Are we in Maryland’s third congressional district?” Karen asked on a recent visit to the UMBC campus. Despite zooming into the district’s...

What Oklahoma's opioid settlement means for other states, cities and counties suing Purdue Pharma

Written by Andrew Pollis, Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter recently announced that the state had reached a US$270 million settlement with Purdue Pharma, the largest manufacturer of prescription opioids. The settlement resolves the state’s claims against Purdue over costs incurred in addressing the opioid crisis and allows Purdue to avoid a trial that was...

Why pay transparency alone won't eliminate the persistent wage gap between men and women

Written by Nancy Modesitt, Associate Professor of Law, University of Baltimore

The gender pay gap has proved difficult to close. Ian johnston/shutterstock.com

No matter how you slice the data, women in the U.S. earn a lot less than men.

A typical woman working full-time makes 81 cents for every dollar a man earns, little more than the 77 cents she got a decade ago. Within careers, it can vary widely, with female physicians...

How single women are driving gentrification in Hong Kong and elsewhere

Written by Igor Vojnovic, Professor and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Urban Affairs, Michigan State University

The share of households in Hong Kong led by single women has soared in recent decades. Dorason/Shutterstock.com

Gentrification is reshaping urban areas all around the world, displacing large segments of the population and making cities increasingly unaffordable.

In San Francisco, only 12 percent of households can afford a median priced home, which...

Net price calculators were supposed to make it easier to understand the cost of college – instead, many are making it more difficult

Written by Laura Perna, Professor of Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania

New research uncovers problems with a 'calculator' that colleges must put online to make it easier for prospective students to understand the cost of college.Tina Gutierrez from www.shutterstock.com

Ever since 2011, colleges that get federal student aid have been required to post net price calculators on their websites. These calculators are...

Do you have a moral duty to pay taxes?

Written by Brookes Brown, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Law, Liberty, & Justice Program., Clemson University

What can philosophers tell you about paying taxes? RomanR/Shutterstock.com

It’s tax season. Americans will pay an average of US$10,489 in personal taxes – about 14 percent of the average household’s total income.

Most will do so because they think it is their civic duty. Many believe they are morally obliged to obey the law and...

Nonprofits that scrimp on overhead aren't necessarily better than those spending more

Written by Jason Alix Coupet, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, North Carolina State University

Americans are obsessed with doing more with less. So it may not surprise you to hear that when donors, foundations and watchdog organizations choose causes to support, they often focus on overhead ratios – or how much charities spend on expenses such as information technology and office space.

But this measuring stick has drawbacks.

Getting...

When Ebola and other epidemics strike, a dysfunctional 'outbreak culture' hinders adequate response

Written by Lara Salahi, Assistant Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism, Endicott College

During high-stress deadly epidemics, even well-trained responders can get caught up in behaviors that are more harmful than helpful.AP Photo/Olivier Matthys

When a deadly infectious disease takes hold in a population, outbreak responders do their best to save lives and stamp out the contagion. No matter the disease or the location – whether...