The Conversation

What is pay-as-you-throw? A waste expert explains

Written by Lily Baum Pollans, Assistant Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College

When people have to pay for every bag of trash they throw out, they produce less waste.Mint Images RF via Getty Images

Pay-as-you-throw is a policy that charges people for the amount of trash they toss out. It’s also sometimes called variable-rate pricing or pay-as-you-waste.

Many cities and towns around the world, including over 7,000 in the...

Future engineers need to understand their work's human impact – here's how my classes prepare students to tackle problems like climate change

Written by Gordon D. Hoople, Assistant Professor of Engineering, University of San Diego

Engineering classes at the University of San Diego have started integrating discussions of the social impact of technology like drones.Gordon Hoople

Engineers spend much of their time absorbed in the technical aspects of problems, whether they’re designing the next generation of smartphones or building a subway.

As recent news stories attest,...

Zoos and aquariums shift to a new standard of 'animal welfare' that depends on deeper understanding of animals' lives

Written by Michael J. Renner, Professor of Biology, Psychology, and Environmental Science & Sustainability, and director of the program in Zoo & Conservation Science, Drake University

Climbers must climb, diggers must dig and runners must run. Doris Rudd Designs, Photography/Moment via Getty Images

In 1980 I visited the zoo in a major U.S. city and found row after row of bare concrete boxes with jailhouse-style bars occupied by animals from around the world. The animals appeared to be in good physical condition, but many were...

'Dataraising' – when you're asked to chip in with data instead of money

Written by Lucy Bernholz, Senior Research Scholar of Philanthropy and Civil Society, Stanford University

Volunteers across the U.S. tag and count monarchs during the insects' annual migrations. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Fundraising appeals are part of everyday life, both online and off.

Requests for financial donations arrive by snail mail, email, social media and text messages. Cashiers at chain stores and supermarkets ask if you want to chip in for...

How changing parental beliefs can build stronger vocabulary and math skills for young children

Written by Julie Pernaudet, Research Associate in Economics, University of Chicago

Parents nurture their child's development when they tell stories and have conversations with them.FG Trade/E+ Collection via Getty Images

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

The big idea

The key to improving young children’s vocabulary and math skills may lie in changing their parents’ beliefs. We describe...

American support for conspiracy theories and armed rebellion isn't new – we just didn't believe it before the Capitol insurrection

Written by Amanda J. Crawford, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Connecticut

Rioters are tear-gassed as they storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Americans had to confront a new reality when an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021: Some of their fellow citizens were in the grips of a false reality and had resorted to violence to support it.

Conspiracy...

The 'sore loser effect': Rejecting election results can destabilize democracy and drive terrorism

Written by James Piazza, Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science, Penn State

The Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol offers an example of how refusing to accept election results can lead to violence. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

An attendee at an October 2021 political rally hosted by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk asked: “How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?&r...

Not all polarization is bad, but the US could be in trouble

Written by Robert B. Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

Protesters and counter-protesters face off at a political rally in September 2021.AP Photo/Nathan Howard

For the first time, the United States has been classified as a “backsliding democracy” in a global assessment of democratic societies by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an intergovernmental...

Why can’t we throw all our trash into a volcano and burn it up?

Written by Emily Johnson, Research Geologist, US Geological Survey

Lava flows from a fissure in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, May 22, 2018. Andrew Richard Hara/Ena Media Hawaii via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Why can’t we...

Rifts between older mothers and their adult children usually endure – even through divorce, illness and death

Written by Megan Gilligan, Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University

Relationships among family members can be tough.vm/ iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

At the start of every new year, individuals often make resolutions to change aspects of their lives that they find undesirable. For some, these promises to themselves may involve trying to mend broken family relationships.

Well-meaning friends and family...