The Conversation

Through role play and simulation, this course teaches strategic ways to strike business deals that do more than just make money

Written by Shirli Kopelman, Professor of Management & Organizations, University of Michigan

Business deals can focus on much more than profits.Hinterhaus Productions via Getty Images

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

“Negotiation Strategy: Fostering Collaborative Dynamics in Competitive Environments”

What prompted the idea for...

Israel's judicial reform efforts could complicate its relationship with US – but the countries have faced other bumps along the road

Written by Boaz Dvir, Assistant Professor in Journalism, Penn State

The United States and Israel are close allies, but their alliance has had ups and downs over the years.iStock/Getty Images Plus

President Joe Biden startled many Americans and Israelis when he recently asked the Jewish state’s new far-right government to make its controversial attempts to reform the judicial system disappear like leavened...

4 ways that AI can help students

Written by W. Ian O'Byrne, Associate Professor of Literacy Education, College of Charleston

AI creates potential for more personalized learning.Marilyn Nieves via Getty Images

As artificial intelligence systems play a bigger role in everyday life, they’re changing the world of education, too.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing and Google’s Bard all come with both risks and opportunities.

I am a literacy educator and...

Why more and more Americans are painting their lawns

Written by Ted Steinberg, Professor of History, Case Western Reserve University

Americans – especially those living in areas affected by drought – are turning to paint to give their grass that perfect green sheen.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

To paint or not to paint?

That is the question that many homeowners are facing as their dreams for perfect turf are battered – whether it’s from inflation pushing...

What causes motion sickness? Here's how to reconcile the mismatch in what your senses are telling your brain

Written by James Phillips, Research Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Director of UW Medicine’s Dizziness and Balance Center, University of Washington

When your inner ears and your eyes perceive conflicting motion, you might be in trouble.ozgurcankaya/E+ via Getty Images

My first experience with motion sickness was as a college student, standing on the back of a marine research vessel looking at interesting things dredged from the seafloor off the California coast. It was a day trip, the weather...

Anyone can claim to be a journalist or a news organization, and publish lies with almost total impunity

Written by John C. Watson, Associate Professor of Journalism, American University

There are no standards for what it takes to be a journalist.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

Headlines in early March 2023 implied Fox News mogul Rupert Murdoch had made a damning confession. He had affirmed that some of his most important journalists were reporting that the 2020 presidential election was a fraud – even though they...

Defying the Holocaust didn't just mean uprising and revolt: Remembering Jews' everyday resistance on Yom HaShoah and year-round

Written by Chad Gibbs, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, College of Charleston

Samuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the Treblinka uprising, poses for a picture at his art studio in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2010. AP Photo/Oded Balilty

Richard Glazar insisted that no one survived the Holocaust without help. To this Prague-born Jewish survivor, who endured Nazi imprisonment at Treblinka and Theresienstadt, plus years in hiding,...

Looming behind antibiotic resistance is another bacterial threat – antibiotic tolerance

Written by Megan Keller, Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, Cornell University

Tolerant bacteria are dormant until an antibiotic threat has passed, then reemerge to conduct business as usual.Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Have you ever had a nasty infection that just won’t seem to go away? Or a runny nose that keeps coming back? You may have been dealing with a bacterium that is tolerant of,...

Jupiter's moons hide giant subsurface oceans – two missions are sending spacecraft to see if these moons could support life

Written by Mike Sori, Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, Purdue University

The surface of Europa – one of Jupiter's moons – is a thick layer of solid ice.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute, CC BY-SA

On April 13, 2023, the European Space Agency launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft destined for Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer – or JUICE – will spend at least three years on Jupiter’s...

Hangry bacteria in your gut microbiome are linked to chronic disease – feeding them what they need could lead to happier cells and a healthier body

Written by Christopher Damman, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, University of Washington

The gut microbiome may play a role in regulating the body's appetite, cognition and immune responses. nopparit/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Diet-related chronic diseases have reached a critical juncture in the U.S.

Nearly half the population has prediabetes or diabetes. Over 40% are overweight or obese. One in nine people over the age of 65 has...