The Conversation

Election polls in 2020 produced 'error of unusual magnitude,' expert panel finds, without pinpointing cause

Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication

A voter exits a polling location on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images

More than eight months after the acute polling embarrassment in the 2020 U.S. elections – that produced the sharpest discrepancy between the polls and popular vote outcome since 1980 – survey experts examining what went...

For some craft beer drinkers, less can mean more

Written by Colleen C. Myles, Associate Professor of Geography, Texas State University

For years, the market was inundated with heavy IPAs. Now drinkers are starting to push back.Bruce Milton Miller/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

My prepandemic summers were always packed with travel – trips to Europe for work and play, and, most recently, a road trip across the American West. At the end of a sweltering day of activities,...

World's coral scientists warn action is needed now to save even a few reefs from climate change

Written by Sam Purkis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Miami

Corals are made of hundreds to thousands of tiny living polyps.Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

The Chagos Archipelago is one of the most remote, seemingly idyllic places on Earth. Coconut-covered sandy beaches with incredible bird life rim tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from any continent. Just below the waves,...

Coral reef scientists raise alarm as climate change decimates ocean ecosystems vital to fish and humans

Written by Sam Purkis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Miami

Corals are made of hundreds to thousands of tiny living polyps.Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation

Why livestreamers should sell their products with a poker face – not a smile

Written by Michel Ballings, Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, University of Tennessee

That smile may hurt sales. Screenshot, CC BY-NC-SA

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

The big idea

Smiling or exhibiting other positive emotional displays while selling a product over live video – known as livestreaming – makes people less likely to buy it, we found in new research published in the Journal...

Calls to cancel Chaucer ignore his defense of women and the innocent – and assume all his characters’ opinions are his

Written by Jennifer Wollock, Professor of English, Texas A&M University

Was Chaucer a toxic misogynist, or a staunch women's ally?Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Spying is a risky profession. For the 14th-century English undercover agent-turned-poet Geoffrey Chaucer, the dangers – at least to his reputation – continue to surface centuries after his death.

In his July 2021 essay for the Times...

Why conservatorships like the one controlling Britney Spears can lead to abuse

Written by Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Britney Spears has continued to perform around the world and record albums even while under a strict conservatorship. AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying

“I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” Britney Spears told a California court on July 14, 2021. She said that he was ruining her life, and in previous...

Who owns the beach? It depends on state law and tide lines

Written by Thomas Ankersen, Legal Skills Professor and Director, Conservation Clinic, University of Florida College of Law, University of Florida

If you want to stroll the shoreline, know your rights. Normanack/Flickr, CC BY

As Americans flock to beaches this summer, their toes are sinking into some of the most hotly contested real estate in the United States.

It wasn’t always this way. Through the mid-20th century, when the U.S. population was smaller and the coast was still something...

Evangelical support for Israel is neither permanent nor inevitable

Written by Walker Robins, Lecturer in History, Merrimack College

President Trump's evangelical supporters cheered the 2018 move of of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Ariel Schalit/AP

Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, made waves in May 2021 when he publicly suggested that Israel should prioritize its relationship with American evangelicals over American Jews.

Dermer...

New COVID-19 vaccine warnings don't mean it's unsafe – they mean the system to report side effects is working

Written by Justin Vesser, Manager of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services, University of Virginia

Put into context, the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks of rare adverse events.PenWin/iStock via Getty Images Plus

While the COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S. have been proved to be safe and effective, recent reports of rare adverse events, or side effects, have raised concerns. On July 12, 2021, the Food and Drug...