The Conversation

Your sense of privacy evolved over millennia – that puts you at risk today but could improve technology tomorrow

Written by Laura Brandimarte, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems, University of Arizona

People are good at avoiding prying eyes, but avoiding online snoops – not so much.Donald Iain Smith/Moment via Getty Images

Many people think of privacy as a modern invention, an anomaly made possible by the rise of urbanization. If that were the case, then acquiescing to the current erosion of privacy might not be particularly alarming.

As cal...

4 ways to help STEM majors stay the course

Written by Esohe G. Irabor, Ph.D. Candidate in Biology, Howard University

Minority STEM majors are more likely than their white peers to switch fields.andresr/E+ via Getty Images

Black and Latino students who start out majoring in STEM – or science, technology, engineering or mathematics – are more likely than their white peers to switch fields or leave without a degree.

Some students leave because they feel...

This god shoots love darts – but no, it's not Cupid

Written by Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College

The love god Kamadeva prepares to shoot Shiva with a love dart.British Museum/Wikimedia Commons

With the coming of Valentine’s Day, images of a chubby Cupid aiming his arrows of love at unwary humans’ hearts seem to be everywhere.

The Cupid that Americans see splashed across greeting cards and chocolate boxes began life as a Roman God of...

Supreme Court's ruling on Alabama voting map could open the door to a new Wild West of state redistricting

Written by Henry L. Chambers Jr., Professor of Law, University of Richmond

Not every vote is counted equal.Joshua Lott/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court’s order allowing Alabama to use a congressional map that critics say disadvantages Black voters has voting rights advocates worried – and understandably so.

On the surface, the stay issued Feb. 7, 2022, in Merrill v. Milligan was procedural. In a 5-4...

Puerto Rico has a plan to recover from bankruptcy — but the deal won't ease people's daily struggles

Written by Carlos A Suárez Carrasquillo, Senior Lecturer in Political Science, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy problem is complicated — but the various ways the crisis hurts most Puerto Ricans is unmistakable.

Since Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy in 2017, it’s become harder for people to decide where they can afford to live and where their children can enroll in school.

The island declared a form of bankruptcy in...

The advantages of museum philanthropy that builds staff diversity rather than new wings and galleries

Written by Lisa M. Strong, Director of the Art and Museum Studies MA Program and Professor of the Practice, Georgetown University

What's wrong with this picture?Tetra Images/Getty Images

Retired financier Oscar Tang, along with his wife, Agnes Hsu-Tang, are giving the Metropolitan Museum of Art US$125 million. Their gift, announced in November 2021, will help pay for a long-planned renovation of the New York City museum’s Modern and Contemporary Art wing.

The gift was...

What the mythical Cupid can teach us about the meaning of love and desire

Written by Joel Christensen, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University

A part of the fresco "Triumph of Galatea," created by Raphael around 1512 for the Villa Farnesina in Rome.Art Images via Getty Images

Each Valentine’s Day, when I see images of the chubby winged god Cupid taking aim with his bow and arrow at his unsuspecting victims, I take refuge in my training as a scholar of early Greek poetry and myth to...

The risk of concussion lurks at the Super Bowl – and in all other sports

Written by Steven P. Broglio, Professor of Kinesiology, Neurology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan

Over the past two decades, researchers have gained a great deal of insight into the risks surrounding concussions – some of which has led to sweeping policy changes.Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Sports via Getty Images

An estimated 90 million to 100 million Americans will tune in to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday. Unlikely to be mentioned...

Heat waves hit the poor hardest – a new study calculates the rising impact on those least able to adapt to the warming climate

Written by Mojtaba Sadegh, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Boise State University

Banana plantation workers in Panama find shade under a vehicle during a break.Jan Sochor/Latincontent/Getty Images

Spend time in a developing country during a heat wave and it quickly becomes clear why poorer nations face some of the greatest risks from climate change. Most homes don’t have air conditioning, and even health clinics can get...

How raising interest rates curbs inflation – and what could possibly go wrong

Written by Rodney Ramcharan, Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics, University of Southern California

The price of used cars has soared during the pandemic. AP Photo/Matt Rourke

After about three decades of relatively low inflation, consumer prices are skyrocketing again.

The price of gasoline, for example, was up 40% in January 2022 from a year earlier, while used cars and trucks jumped 41%, according to data released on Feb. 10, 2022. Other...