The Conversation

The allure of the ad-lib: New research identifies why people prefer spontaneity in entertainment

Written by Jacqueline Rifkin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Cornell University

What makes improvised stage patter more appealing than a canned script?FangXiaNuo/E+ via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Audiences love to see athletes and entertainers behaving spontaneously, according to our recent research, because ad-libbed lines, spectacular catches, improvised set...

Moldova is trying to join the EU, but it will have a hard time breaking away from Russia's orbit

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida

People take part in a pro-European Union rally in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, on May 21, 2023.Elena Covalenco/AFP via Getty Images

Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, straddles Ukraine to its east and European Union countries to its west – placing it in an arguably vulnerable position in the ongoing war between Ukraine...

Work requirements don't work for domestic violence survivors – but Michigan data shows they rarely get waivers they should receive for cash assistance

Written by Kristina Nikolova, Research Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Windsor, and Adjunct Professor of Social Work, Wayne State University

Denying waivers to survivors of domestic violence can hinder their independence from their abusers. Alvaro Medina Jurado/Moment via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Very few people who have survived domestic violence are getting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) waivers from...

How do credit scores work? 2 finance professors explain how lenders choose who gets loans and at what interest rate

Written by D. Brian Blank, Assistant Professor of Finance, Mississippi State University

One way to get a good credit score is to pay bills on time every month.tolgart/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With the cost of borrowing money to buy a home or a car inching ever higher, understanding who gets access to credit, and at what interest rate, is more important for borrowers’ financial health than ever. Lenders base those decisions...

How teachers can stay true to history without breaking new laws that restrict what they can teach about racism

Written by W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

A growing number of states have passed laws that restrict what teachers can teach about racism.FangXiaNuo via Getty Images

When it comes to America’s latest “history war,” one of the biggest consequences is that it has made many K-12 educators scared and confused about what they can and can’t say in their classrooms.

Since...

New anti-transgender laws will hurt Indigenous peoples’ rights and religious expression

Written by Rosalyn R. LaPier, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Travis Goldtooth, a member of the Navajo Nation, was the reigning Miss Montana Two-Spirit in 2019.Katherine Davis-Young for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Montana’s Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte became the latest to sign several new anti-transgender laws, including one that will prevent gender-affirming medical care for minors.

One...

Governments and environmental groups are turning to international courts to address the impacts of climate change — podcast

Written by Daniel Merino, Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation

Can international courts help address the costs and causes of climate change?(Shutterstock), Author provided

This year, the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the world’s highest court — is hearing its first argument about climate commitments.

In an effort to make sure countries and corporations follow existing...

I study migrants traveling through Mexico to the US, and saw how they follow news of dangers – but are not deterred

Written by Angel Alfonso Escamilla García, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cornell University

Haitian migrants wait in a line to receive food in Coahuila state, Mexico, in 2021. Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

The world awoke one morning in late March 2023 to the news that at least 38 Central and South American migrants had died in a fire in a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

A widely circulated video from the...

Getting Social Security on a more stable path is hard but essential – 2 experts suggest a way forward

Written by Andrew Rettenmaier, Executive Associate Director of the Private Enterprise Research Center, Texas A&M University

No big Social Security reforms have taken effect since the Reagan administration.David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

Social Security is in trouble.

The retirement and disability program has been running a cash-flow deficit since 2010. Its trust fund, which holds US$2.7 trillion, is rapidly diminishing. Social Security’s trustees, a group that...

Invasive lionfish have spread south from the Caribbean to Brazil, threatening ecosystems and livelihoods

Written by Osmar J. Luiz, Senior Research Fellow in Aquatic Ecology, Charles Darwin University

An invasive lionfish at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico.G. P. Schmahl/NOAA, CC BY

Brazil’s coastal waters teem with a rich array of species that paint a living tapestry beneath the waves. This underwater world is particularly special because many of its species are endemic – they are found nowhere...