The Conversation

What is the Fed taper? An economist explains how the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus from the economy

Written by Edouard Wemy, Assistant Professor of Economics, Clark University

What goes up must come down.iStock/Getty Images Plus

Tapering refers to the Federal Reserve policy of unwinding the massive purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities it’s been making to shore up the economy during the pandemic.

The unconventional monetary policy of buying assets is commonly known as quantitative easing. The...

COVID-19 vaccines for children: How parents are influenced by misinformation, and how they can counter it

Written by Jaime Sidani, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Health care providers are just one trusted source of information for parents on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for children. Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

Since COVID-19 vaccines became available for children ages 5 to 11 in early November 2021, many families have been lining up to get their school-age kids vaccinated prior to holiday travel...

How the Native American population in the US increased 87% says more about whiteness than about demographics

Written by Circe Sturm, Professor of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

The Native American population in the U.S. grew by a staggering 86.5% between 2010 and 2020, according to the latest U.S. Census – a rate demographers say is impossible to achieve without immigration.

Birth rates among Native Americans don’t explain the massive rise in numbers. And there certainly is no evidence of an influx of Native...

I'm a Black woman and the metaverse scares me – here’s how to make the next iteration of the internet inclusive

Written by Breigha Adeyemo, Doctoral Candidate in Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago

Black women have been harassed and censored on social media. What will they face in the metaverse?Photo by Carlos Costa/AFP via Getty Images

Marginalized people often suffer the most harm from unintended consequences of new technologies. For example, the algorithms that automatically make decisions about who gets to see what content or how images...

Cellphone bans in the workplace are legal and more common among blue-collar jobs – they also might be a safety risk

Written by Richard Carlson, Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston

Six died as a tornado tore through an Amazon fulfillment center in Edwardsville, Illinois.AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Cellphones in the workplace can be a distraction – but they could also save your life.

In the aftermath of a devastating tornado ripping through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, on Dec. 10, 2021 – killing six...

To tree, or not to tree? How Jewish-Christian families navigate the 'December Dilemma'

Written by Samira Mehta, Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies & Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Lots of families wrestle with how – and whether – to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas.Brianna Soukup/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Traditionally, for Christian-Jewish families – or at least in writing about them – the month of December is referred to as a “dilemma.” This time of year brings...

How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women's rights

Written by Maura Ives, Professor of English, Texas A&M University

Why did she do all the work while Santa got all the glory? What would happen if she delivered the toys?Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” redefined Christmas in America. As historian Steven Nissenbaum explains in “The...

Mourning after mass shootings isn't enough – a sociologist argues that society's messages about masculinity need to change

Written by Darcie Vandegrift, Professor, Sociology, Drake University

People attend a vigil for the victims of a school shooting that occurred in Oxford, Michigan, on Nov. 30, 2021. AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Today, Dec. 14, marks the anniversary of the tragic loss of children and teachers at Sandy Hook.

After any mass shooting, Americans hear politicians make the ritualistic call for “thoughts and prayers.”...

Pandemic, war and environmental disaster push scientists to deliver quick answers – here's what it takes to do good science under pressure

Written by Fiona Greenland, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia

A crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic lends urgency to scientific research, putting researchers under pressure to produce.janiecbros/E+ via Getty Images

How can you know that science done quickly during a crisis is good science?

This question has taken on new relevance with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Researchers developed vaccines in under a year &...

2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions, extreme events and global connections

Written by Matthew Druckenmiller, Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder

Community members from Utqiagvik, Alaska, look to open water from the edge of shorefast sea ice. Matthew Druckenmiller

The Arctic has long been portrayed as a distant end-of-the-Earth place, disconnected from everyday common experience. But as the planet rapidly warms, what happens in this icy region, where temperatures are rising twice as fast as...