The Conversation

Think you're bad at math? You may suffer from 'math trauma'

Written by Jennifer Ruef, Assistant Professor of Education Studies, University of Oregon

Even some teachers suffer from anxiety about math.Undrey/shutterstock.com

I teach people how to teach math, and I’ve been working in this field for 30 years. Across those decades, I’ve met many people who suffer from varying degrees of math trauma – a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to doing mathematics.

When...

A vaccine to stop lung cancer? It's made from tobacco taxes and legislation

Written by Robert McMillen, Professor & Associate Director of the Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University

Anti-smoking ads such as this one can help curb smoking, but studies are suggesting that raising the tax on cigarettes may be most effective to help deter poor people.California Department of Public Health, CC BY-SA

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the country, and almost 90 percent of deaths from this disease are directly attributable...

Democrats' struggle over masculinity in an election 50 years ago is still playing out today

Written by Aram Goudsouzian, Professor of History, University of Memphis

Hubert Humphrey, left, and Lyndon Johnson, right.AP Photo/Charles Harrity, File

Donald Trump sells himself as a man’s man.

When Trump projects old-fashioned male power full of aggression and swagger, he gratifies his culturally conservative base, both men and women.

Democratic politicians, by contrast, rarely discuss masculinity. That might...

Numbers in the news? Make sure you don't fall for these 3 statistical tricks

Written by Liberty Vittert, Visiting Assistant Professor in Statistics, Washington University in St Louis

If it seems too good to be true, maybe it is.szefei/Shutterstock.com

“Handy bit of research finds sexuality can be determined by the lengths of people’s fingers” was one recent headline based on a peer-reviewed study by well-respected researchers at the University of Essex published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, the leading...

Female candidates running in record numbers for the midterms — just not in California

Written by Christina Bellantoni, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the Media Center, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

California's Katie Porter, seen here with Democratic candidates and former president Barack Obama, is one of just three first-time female congressional candidates in California.AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu

The midterm elections are widely expected to usher in this century’s “year of the woman” – an explosion of women entering...

Hate speech is still easy to find on social media

Written by Jennifer Grygiel, Assistant Professor of Communications, Syracuse University

Online hate still rages, often in plain sight.maxicam/Shutterstock.com

Shortly after the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, I noticed that the word “Jews” was trending on Twitter. As a social media researcher and educator, I became concerned that the violence would spread online, as it has in the past.

The alleged synagogue...

Las remesas podrían mantener viva a la insurgencia en Nicaragua

Written by Benjamin Waddell, Associate Professor of Sociology, Fort Lewis College

Manifestarse ya es ilegal en Nicaragua, según el presidente Daniel Ortega.

El país centroamericano ha estado envuelto en una tormenta política fatal durante meses. Las manifestaciones que comenzaron en abril en contra de una impopular reforma de seguridad social pronto se transformaron en un movimiento más amplio con el...

The unimaginable costs of sexual assault

Written by Sarah L. Cook, Professor of Psychology & Associate Dean, Georgia State University

A woman walks past Robert Graham's sculpture, 'Dance Door,' in Los Angeles, 2015. AP Photo/Nick Ut

What is the cost of sexual assault? The answer depends on whom you ask.

Social and behavioral scientists like me measure the consequences of sexual assault in terms of mental health, physical health and educational outcomes. We know that post-traumatic...

Extreme political polarization weakens democracy – can the US avoid that fate?

Written by Jennifer Lynn McCoy, Distinguished University Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

A protester is arrested by Capitol Hill Police during the Kavanaugh nomination.AP/Alex Brandon

The midterm elections are approaching during one of the most polarized moments in recent American politics.

A collaborative research project I led on polarized democracies around the world examines the processes by which societies divide into political...

Ideologically motivated far-right extremists have killed close to 500 people since 1990 – and 10 percent were targeted based on religion

Written by Jeff Gruenewald, Associate Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh exemplifies an increasingly deadly form of domestic terrorism committed by far-right extremists: the targeting of institutions and individuals due to their religious affiliation.

Unfortunately, it’s not new for far-right extremists to vilify non-white, non-Anglo-Saxon and...