The Conversation

Police and civilians disagree on when body camera footage should be made public

Written by Dan Bromberg, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Political Science, University of New Hampshire

When should the public be able to see what this camera captures?AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Many police chiefs and regular American civilians agree that officers’ body camera footage should be released to the public after police shoot someone dead.

They differ, though, on when the images should be made public. This complicates achieving...

The pandemic recession has pushed a further 9.8 million Americans into food insecurity

Written by Craig Gundersen, Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Lines outside food distribution centers have become a common scene.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

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The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed hardship on millions of vulnerable Americans through unemployment and reduced work hours. And this has increased food insecurity across the nation.

There is no official figure yet for how many more...

Context influences the decisions you make – whether you're a homebuyer, a juror or a physician

Written by Jennifer Trueblood, Associate Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

How might a house that comes on the market today affect what you think of this one?fstop123/E+ via Getty Images

When my husband and I purchased a new home last year, the house we ultimately bought was one we had at first ruled out. While the house had many positives, including being affordable, it also had several negatives, so we’d kept...

How effective is the first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine?

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

UPS employees roll out first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the UPS hub in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 13, 2020. Michael Clevenger/Getty Images

As the COVID-19 vaccines reach more people across the country, some people have asked: Could we delay the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to allow more people to be vaccinated more quickly? And,...

Closed borders, travel bans and halted immigration: 5 ways COVID-19 changed how – and where – people move around the world

Written by Mary A. Shiraef, Ph.D. Student in Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Most countries closed their borders, at least partially, at some point last year. But the world is starting to reopenCOVID Border Accountability Project, CC BY-SA

Trips canceled: 2.93 billion. International border closures: 1,299. Lives interrupted: Countless.

After the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, most countries in the...

3 ways employers could help fight vaccine skepticism

Written by Rita Men, Associate Professor of Public Relations, University of Florida

Monterey Mushrooms, an agricultural employer in California, teamed up with its union and the local county to get its workers vaccinated. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Ending the pandemic depends on achieving herd immunity, estimated at 70% or even 80% to 90% of a population. With some 30% of Americans telling pollsters they have no interest in getting...

Losing cultural context in emergency communication can be a matter of life and death

Written by Amer Hamad Issa Abukhalaf, Research Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida

Migrant workers in a Florida community hit hard by Hurricane Irma line up for donated supplies.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Can a butterfly in Chicago cause a tornado in Hong Kong? A metaphorical concept called the “butterfly effect” describes the sensitivity of a system to minor changes. The use of this concept has grown significantly in...

Jesus, Paul and the border debate – why cherry-picking Bible passages misses the immigrant experience in ancient Rome

Written by Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III, Adjunct Assistant Professor of the New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

The Bible contains many stories of migration, including that of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Immigration reform is back on the agenda, with Congress taking up major legislation that could usher in a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the U.S. without legal status.

This,...

Catholic opinions on Johnson Johnson vaccine highlight debate between hardliners on abortion and others in the church

Written by Steven P. Millies, Associate Professor of Public Theology and Director of The Bernardin Center, Catholic Theological Union

What is behind the confusion about Catholics taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty images

Questions about whether the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is morally acceptable to observant Catholics due to concerns over use of fetal stem cells in its development have brought the deep divisions within the Catholic...

Most couples still make decisions together when they give money to charity – but it's becoming less common

Written by Jacqueline Ackerman, Associate Director of Research, Women's Philanthropy Institute, IUPUI

'Honey, how about we give $200 to our local food bank?'Zinkevych/iStock via Getty Images Plus

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

The big idea

While most U.S. couples make charitable giving decisions together, the share of joint decision-makers is declining, according to a study we published March 16. About 62% of...