The Conversation

Your chances of getting rid of student loan debt depend on who you are

Written by Kelsey Lynne Hess, Ph.D. Candidate in Legal Psychology, Florida International University

Single mothers are more likely than single fathers to have their debts discharged in court. Heide Benser/Getty Images

To get rid of student loan debt through bankruptcy, you must prove to the court that paying back your student loans would cause an “undue hardship.” But in our peer-reviewed study of nearly 700 student loan discharge...

How a nondescript box has been saving lives during the pandemic – and revealing the power of grassroots innovation

Written by Douglas Hannah, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Innovation, Boston University

A do-it-yourself air purifier in use in a classroom.Douglas Hannah, CC BY-ND

One afternoon, a dozen Arizona State University students gathered to spend the morning cutting cardboard, taping fans and assembling filters in an effort to build 125 portable air purifiers for local schools. That same morning, staff members at a homeless shelter in Los...

3 reasons Belarus is helping Russia wage war against Ukraine

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Assistant Professor of instruction at School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute on Russia, University of South Florida

Russia is attacking Ukraine, but Belarus, a neighboring country, is “the other aggressor in this war,” European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said on Feb. 27, 2022.

One politician, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled Belarus with a draconian hand for the last 28 years, with no interruption in power. And now, Lukashenko is supporting...

Military action in radioactive Chernobyl could be dangerous for people and the environment

Written by Timothy A. Mousseau, Professor of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina

Much of the region around Chernobyl has been untouched by people since the nuclear disaster in 1986.Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in northern Ukraine has been surrounded for more than three decades by a 1,000-square-mile (2,600-square-kilometer) exclusion zone that keeps people...

Infants need lots of active movement and play – and there are simple ways to help them get it

Written by Danae Dinkel, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Nebraska Omaha

Experts believe that infants should get some interactive floor-based physical activity two to three times a day.Sam Edwards/OJO Images via Getty Images

When people set personal fitness goals and establish their physical exercise routines, there’s a group of cuddly individuals that is often left out – infants!

Historically, infant active...

Surprise – your kids may be nervous about ditching the mask

Written by Elizabeth Englander, Professor of Psychology, Bridgewater State University

Some school-age children may not even remember what it was like to go to school without masks. Kali9/E+ via Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new COVID-19 guidelines on Feb. 25, 2022, to help inform people’s individual decisions about wearing masks. The new guidance recommends masks be worn indoors only in...

What's behind the obsession over whether Elizabeth Holmes intentionally lowered her voice?

Written by Kathryn Cunningham, Assistant Professor of Theatre, University of Tennessee

Was the way she spoke another strand of deception in the web of fraud spun by the former Theranos CEO?Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images

There is a scene in Hulu’s new series, “The Dropout,” where Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, wearing a white blouse, stands in front of a mirror and practices saying,...

FIFA's suspension of Russia is a rarity – but one that strips bare the idea that sport can be apolitical

Written by Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of Michigan

Facing penalties.AP Photo/Petr David Josek

The decision by FIFA on Feb. 28, 2022, to suspend Russia from international competition – a move that could see the national team excluded from the 2022 FIFA World Cup – breaks with a tradition of inaction by soccer’s world governing body over the ethical failings of member states.

Other...

Students with disabilities are not getting help to address lost opportunities

Written by John McKenna, Associate Professor of Special Education, UMass Lowell

Many students with disabilities struggled when forced to learn virtually from home during the pandemic.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Even before the pandemic hit, 98% of U.S. school districts said they didn’t have enough special education teachers to serve all the students who needed their help. During the pandemic, short-handed school districts were...

Shell, BP and ExxonMobil have done business in Russia for decades – here's why they're leaving now

Written by Yan Anthea Zhang, Professor of Strategic Management, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University

Pumps at a Shell fueling station in Tatarstan, Russia, Nov. 20, 2017.Yegor Aleyev\TASS via Getty Images

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, British energy giant BP announced on Feb. 27, 2022, that it will sell its nearly 20% ownership in Russian state-owned energy giant Rosneft. BP’s rival Shell is also pulling out of all of...