The Conversation

Is daylight saving time worth the trouble? Research says no

Written by Laura Grant, Assistant Professor of Economics, Claremont McKenna College

Falling back or staying put?Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock.com

Today the sun is shining during my commute home from work. But this weekend, public service announcements will remind us to “fall back,” ending daylight saving time by setting our clocks an hour earlier on Sunday, Nov. 5. On Nov. 6, many of us will commute home in the dark.

This...

Venezuela's opposition is on the verge of collapse

Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business, St Mary's College of California

It’s been a bittersweet couple of weeks for the Venezuelan opposition, which for six months this year staged daily protests against the authoritarian-leaning regime of president Nicolás Maduro.

On Oct. 26, the alliance – which began working together in 2008 to counterbalance Hugo Chávez’s “Chavista”...

Stop doing companies' digital busywork for free

Written by Jordan Kraemer, Visiting Scholar in Anthropology, New York University

How much time and energy do people spend rating, reviewing and answering surveys?Ditty_about_summer/Shutterstock.com

Over the past year, I stopped responding to customer surveys, providing user feedback or, mostly, contributing product reviews. Sometimes I feel obligated – even eager – to provide this information. Who doesn’t like...

How donors can help make nonprofits more accountable

Written by Aseem Prakash, Walker Family Professor and Founding Director, Center for Environmental Politics, University of Washington

Wasteful and fake charities are usually harder to spot than this. jefftakespics2/Shutterstock.com

As the devastating 2017 hurricane season got underway, the Internal Revenue Service warned Americans to watch out for scammers asking for donations to nonexistent charities.

But, especially as fundraising pitches pile up in their inboxes and mailboxes...

US shouldn't give up benefits of 'green card lottery' over low risk of terrorism

Written by Ethan Lewis, Associate Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College

The Statue of Liberty casts a wary eye at the bike path that runs along the western edge of Manhattan, where the Oct. 31 attack occurred. Songquan Deng/Shutterstock.com

After a man barreled down a New York City bike path on Oct. 31, killing eight, President Donald Trump reacted by calling for an end to the “green card lottery” program...

What draws 'lone wolves' to the Islamic State?

Written by James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Los Angeles

Police work near a damaged Home Depot truck on Nov. 1, 2017, after a motorist drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial. AP Photo/Andres Kudacki

The recent attack on a bike path in lower Manhattan once again compels us to ask: Why do people pledge allegiance to the Islamic State?

Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the attack, isn&rsquo...

After months of feuding, Ecuador's president is ousted by his party

Written by Soledad Stoessel, Postdoctoral Researcher, Latin American Political Processes, National University of La Plata

After months of internal dissent and public feuding, Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, has been kicked out of his party, the Alianza Pais. He will remain in office, though, and the decision – technically justified by Moreno’s absence from several meetings – is being hotly contested within the party.

Moreno served as vice...

What ancient cultures teach us about grief, mourning and continuity of life

Written by Daniel Wojcik, Professor, English and Folklore Studies, University of Oregon, University of Oregon

Day of the dead at a Mexican cemetery. © Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

At this time of the year, Mexican and Mexican-American communities observe “Día de los Muertos” (the Day of the Dead), a three-day celebration that welcomes the dead temporarily back...

Surprise! How Obamacare is beginning to look a lot like Medicaid

Written by J.B. Silvers, Professor of Health Finance, Weatherhead School of Management & School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

A computer screen showing the Healthcare.gov website for this year's open enrollment.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a great irony, the Republicans, who promised to eliminate the Affordable Care Act and roll back Medicaid expansions, are in essence about to do the reverse – at a huge cost to the U.S. Treasury. This year Obamacare will become what...

Guyana, one of South America's poorest countries, struck oil. Will it go boom or bust?

Written by Anthony T. Bryan, Professor of International Relations, The University of the West Indies: St. Augustine Campus

Today, Guyana is one of South America’s poorest countries, with an average per capita annual income of around US$4,000.

But within the decade, it could be among the richest. In 2015, ExxonMobil and its international partners discovered vast oil reserves off the Caribbean coast of this small country. By 2018, five new wells will be pumping out...