The Conversation

Why trade deficits aren't so bad

Written by William D. Lastrapes, Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

The trade deficit, and how much a country exports or imports, is only part of the story. AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Most Americans seem to think international trade deficits are a bad thing.

A March poll, for example, showed that more than two-thirds think the U.S. should take steps to reduce the trade deficit with China, even if a resulting trade war...

Does a man's social class have anything to do with the likelihood he'll commit sexual assault?

Written by Jamie L. Small, Assistant Professor, University of Dayton

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, arrives in the East Room of the White House, July 9, 2018. AP/Alex Brandon

Defending his reputation against Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault, Judge Brett Kavanaugh worked hard, and angrily, to present himself as a respectable man in his statement...

Controversial young adult novel offers insight into Kavanaugh hearings, sexual assault

Written by Kelly Roberts, Associate Professor of English; Program Coordinator, 6-9 and 9-12 licensure programs in English, Meredith College

Young adult fiction books on display at an independent bookstore.Andrew Cline/www.shutterstock.com

The confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should remind educators of the vital need to talk to young people about sexual assault, consent, underage drinking – and how the choices they make as teenagers can affect the rest...

Think journalism's a tough field today? Try being a reporter in the Gilded Age

Written by Randall S. Sumpter, Associate Professor of Communication, Texas A&M University

An 1899 photograph of the pressroom of the Planet, a newspaper in Richmond, Va.Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com

The internet has upended the journalism industry – and not in a good way.

Over the past decade, over 100,000 journalism jobs have been shed, while advertising revenue has fallen US$30 billion since 2004.

Nobel goes to chemists who learned to 'hack' evolution in the lab

Written by Brian Bachmann, Professor of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University

Scientists are now using evolution to create designer proteins for therapies and industrial processes.Johan Jarnestad / The Royal Academy of Sciences, CC BY-SA

The three 2018 Nobel Prize winners for chemistry were recognized for inventing fast and reliable methods for “hacking” evolution – techniques that have transformed...

Success of immunotherapy stimulates future pigment cell and melanoma research

Written by Fabian V. Filipp, Assistant Professor of Systems Biology and Cancer Metabolism, University of California, Merced

Professor Fabian V. Filipp lectures on the biology of malignant melanoma and pigmentation disease. The color of skin is due to the presence of a pigment called melanin, which can absorb cancer-causing sunlight.Photo by Systems Biology and Cancer Metabolism Laboratory, Fabian V. Filipp. Used with permission. CC BY-SA., CC BY-SA

Our skin is not only...

A proposed tax break for the masses designed to spur giving

Written by Alyssa A. DiRusso, Professor of Law, Samford University

Fewer Americans fund nonprofits these days.Pavel Ignatov/Shutterstock.com

More than half of Americans give money to charity.

But the number of donors who donate has declined in recent years and could fall further because millions of U.S. taxpayers who make donations are now losing a built-in incentive for charitable giving. The tax code overhaul that...

Interruptions at Supreme Court confirmation hearings have been rising since the 1980s

Written by Paul M. Collins, Jr., Professor and Director of Legal Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Judge Brett Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27.Saul Loeb/Pool Image via AP

Depending on who you ask, the American people saw very different things in the riveting testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

To some, Kavanaugh’s behavior was the self-indulgent...

New materials are powering the battery revolution

Written by Veronica Augustyn, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University

Research is finding better ways to make batteries both big and small.Romaset/Shutterstock.com

There are more mobile phones in the world than there are people. Nearly all of them are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are the single most important component enabling the portable electronics revolution of the past few decades. None...

Sexism, racism drive black women to run for office in both Brazil and US

Written by Kia Lilly Caldwell, Professor, African, African American, and Diaspora Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Black women in Brazil protest presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro, who is known for his disparaging remarks about women, on Sept. 29, 2018.AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo

Motivated in part by President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about women and the numerous claims that he committed sexual assault, American women are running for state...