The Conversation

Is your state ready to handle the influx of federal funds for expanding broadband?

Written by Brian Whitacre, Professor and Neustadt Chair, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University

Expanding access to broadband internet in rural communities has long been a challenge.AP Photo/Charles Krupa

The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding broadband internet access. But it’s at the state level where the financial rubber meets the fiber-optic road. History suggests some states are ahead of the game while...

How a Supreme Court decision limiting access to abortion could harm the economy and women's well-being

Written by Michele Gilman, Venable Professor of Law, University of Baltimore

The Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a Mississippi law severely restricting abortion.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021, heard oral arguments in a case that may result in a ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade.

But reproductive health isn’t just about abortions, despite all the attention the procedures get. It’s...

Why COVID-19 must be included in safer sex messaging on college campuses

Written by Tamra Burns Loeb, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

Little information is available to college students on stopping the spread of COVID-19 within an intimate relationship.DisobeyArt/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With college students back on campus, and COVID-19 with us for the foreseeable future, it has become increasingly clear that educators need to develop a new definition of safer sex.

Although...

Use of HIV prevention treatments is very low among Southern Black gay men

Written by Oluwafemi Atanda Adeagbo, Research fellow, University of South Carolina

Black men who have sex with men in Southern states have a low rate of using HIV prevention treatments. yacobchuk/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Use of antiretroviral treatments to prevent HIV infection – called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP – is...

Sea otters demonstrate that there is more to muscle than just movement – it can also bring the heat

Written by Traver Wright, Research Assistant Professor of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University

Sea otters are born with a supercharged metabolism. Adria Photography/Moment via Getty Images

Life in the cold can be difficult for animals. As the body chills, organs including the brain and muscles slow down.

The body temperature of animals such as reptiles and amphibians mostly depends on the temperature of their environment – but...

Female faculty of color do extra diversity work for no extra reward – here's how to fix that

Written by Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Time spent mentoring students is often ignored when it comes to faculty salary and promotion decisions. Peathegee Inc via Getty Images

College faculty members are critical in helping American colleges become more diverse, inclusive and equitable. Professors and instructors not only teach and advise students, they also help institutions make...

School shootings are at a record high this year – but they can be prevented

Written by James Densley, Professor of Criminal Justice, Metropolitan State University

So far, there have been 222 school shootings in 2021.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Whenever a school shooting takes place like the one at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit on November 30, 2021, it is typically followed by a familiar chorus of questions.

How could such a thing happen? Why doesn’t the government do more to stop these shootings...

Victims of domestic abuse find no haven in family courts

Written by Joan Meier, Professor of Law, George Washington University

Women's reports of domestic violence are widely rejected by family courts.The Image Bank/Getty Images

The #MeToo movement may have shifted the balance of credibility on sexual abuse and harassment at work more toward victims and away from alleged perpetrators. But the same cannot be said regarding men’s violence and abuse at home: In fact,...

The US biofuel mandate helps farmers, but does little for energy security and harms the environment

Written by John DeCicco, Research Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan

Surplus corn piled outside a farmer's co-op storage facility in Paoli, Colorado.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

If you’ve pumped gas at a U.S. service station over the past decade, you’ve put biofuel in your tank. Thanks to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, almost all gasoline sold nationwide is required to contain 10%...

Supreme Court signals shift on abortion – but will it strike down Roe or leave it to states to decide when 'personhood' occurs?

Written by Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Will Justices give a green light to states to decide on abortion?Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court justices signaled a potential major shift on abortion law on Dec. 1, 2021. Hearing arguments in a case that could fundamentally alter abortion rights and regulations throughout the nation, the six conservative justices who hold the...