The Conversation

Why shifting regulatory power to the states won't improve the environment

Written by Michael A. Livermore, Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia

To comply with air pollution laws, midwest energy companies built tall smokestacks to displace pollutants. This one at Indiana's Rockport Generating Station is 1,038 feet high, just 25 feet shorter than the Eiffel Tower.Don Sniegowski, CC BY-NC-SA

President Trump and his appointees, particularly Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott...

How welfare's work requirements can deepen and prolong poverty: Rose's story

Written by Kristin Seefeldt, Assistant Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Losing welfare benefits when they're between jobs can plunge nursing home aides into extreme economic hardship.GagliardiImages/Shutterstock.com

After “Rose” lost her low-wage job in a southeast Michigan nursing home, the single mother of four sought Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits.

People who are eligible for this...

Why the creators of '13 Reasons Why' should pay attention to the spike in suicide-related Google searches

Written by Jon-Patrick Allem, Research Scientist, University of Southern California

As the show's popularity surged, interest in suicide also grew.Nick Lehr/The Conversation via www.shutterstock.com, CC BY-NC-SA

Does it matter that people seem to have become more interested in suicide – expressing more suicidal thoughts, while becoming more likely to research ways to commit or prevent suicide – in the wake of the...

Soundscapes in the past: Adding a new dimension to our archaeological picture of ancient cultures

Written by Kristy E. Primeau, Registered Professional Archaeologist, PhD Candidate, University at Albany, State University of New York

What sounds did the people of Chaco Canyon hear during daily life?David E. Witt, CC BY-NC-ND

Picture an archaeological site, what comes to mind? Sandstone walls, standing in the desert heat? Stonehenge, watching over a grassy field?

When thinking about archaeological sites, we tend to conceive of them as dead silent – empty ruins left by past...

How hot weather – and climate change – affect airline flights

Written by Ethan Coffel, Ph.D. Student in Earth & Environmental Sciences, Columbia University

When is it too hot to fly?Dmitri Fedorov/Shutterstock.com

Hot weather has forced dozens of commercial flights to be canceled at airports in the Southwest this summer. This flight-disrupting heat is a warning sign. Climate change is projected to have far-reaching repercussions – including sea level rise inundating cities and shifting weather...

Inside the fight against malware attacks

Written by Christoph Csallner, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Texas Arlington

Taking a much closer look at what's going on inside malware.MuchMania/Shutterstock.com

When malicious software attacks, computer scientists and security researchers want to know how the attackers got into what was supposed to be a secure system, and what they’re actually doing that’s causing problems for users. It’s a growing...

This math puzzle will help you plan your next party

Written by Gary Chartrand, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Western Michigan University

Mapping connections at your next shindig.unclibraries_commons

Let’s say you’re planning your next party and agonizing over the guest list. To whom should you send invitations? What combination of friends and strangers is the right mix?

It turns out mathematicians have been working on a version of this problem for nearly a century....

The true failure of foreign language instruction

Written by Catherine Snow, Professor of Education, Harvard University

Far fewer Americans speak a second language than in most other developed countries – and the problem starts in the classroom.Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

A recent report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences calls for more attention to language teaching in the U.S. The report notes that U.S. students have much less access to...

A trans soldier in the ancient Roman army?

Written by Tom Sapsford, Lecturer, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The Roman army at the Battle of Cannae. The painting depicts the death of Roman consul Paulus Aemilius.John Trumbull (The Athenaeum / Yale University Art Gallery), via Wikimedia Commons

In a series of recent tweets, Donald Trump proposed to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. This proposal would reverse the inclusive policies...

Henry David Thoreau’s views of 19th-century media resonate today

Written by Mark Canada, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Indiana University

A statue of Henry David Thoreau in front of a replica of his cabin in Concord, Massachusetts.Chris Devers, CC BY-NC-ND

The world knows Henry David Thoreau as a writer whose perspectives on nature and society remain relevant today.

This summer, Thoreau would have turned 200 years old. What would he say about the media itself, now that Americans must...