The Conversation

Customers like diversity from brands − but can smell hypocrisy a mile away

Written by Pankhuri Malhotra, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Oklahoma

Companies are increasingly highlighting their support for diversity, but that can backfire if consumers sense tokenism, a recent analysis from my team found.

I’m an assistant professor of marketing who specializes in digital platforms and consumer behavior. My recent research focuses on DEI initiatives by brands on social media. I’m...

Sri Lankans throw out old guard in election upset: What nation’s new Marxist-leaning leader means for economy, IMF loans

Written by Vidhura S. Tennekoon, Assistant Professor of Economics, Indiana University

Anura Kumara Dissanayake's celebrates his vote.Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Sri Lankans voted for a new direction in leadership on Sept. 22, 2024, electing a leftist anti-poverty campaigner as president of the South Asian nation.

The ascent of Anura Kumara Dissanayake marks a break with the past and from the establishment parties and...

Can you trust companies that say their plastic products are recyclable? US regulators may crack down on deceptive claims

Written by Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law Emeritus, Vermont Law & Graduate School

Keurig, maker of K-Cup single-use coffee pods, was recently fined for claiming the pods were recyclable.Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post, via Getty Images

Plastic is a fast-growing segment of U.S. municipal solid waste, and most of it ends up in the environment. Just 9% of plastic collected in municipal solid waste was recycled as of 2018,...

Mixed emotions – neuroscience is exploring how your brain lets you experience two opposite feelings at once

Written by Anthony Gianni Vaccaro, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Can you hold a positive emotion simultaneously with a negative one?Dimitri Otis/Stone via Getty Images

Countless parents across the country recently dropped their kids off at college for the first time. This transition can stir a whirlwind of feelings: the heartache of parting, sadness over a permanently changed family dynamic, the uncertainty of...

View politics critically but charitably and with good old common sense: cowboy commentator Will Rogers’ wisdom for 2024

Written by Steven Watts, Professor of History, University of Missouri-Columbia

Will Rogers made a career out of making fun of politics and politicians − with a generous spirit.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

For those trying to come to terms with a particularly tumultuous election year full of deep divisions, ideological invective and personal insults, guidance can come from a historical figure whose insights...

Gun violence in Philadelphia plummeted in 2024 − researchers aren’t sure why, but here are 3 factors at play

Written by Carla Lewandowski, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Rowan University

Philadelphia had 563 homicides in 2021 -- the deadliest year on record. Alex Potemkin/E+ Collection via Getty Images

Philadelphia experienced a surge in shootings and homicides during the COVID-19 years that disproportionately affected young Black and Latino men in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with drug markets.

In 2020, Philadelphia had...

How sheriffs define law and order for their counties depends a lot on their views − and most are white Republican men

Written by Mirya Holman, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Houston

A sheriff gestures.Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Many Americans will find on their November 2024 ballot a space to vote for an important office: local sheriff. While there are exceptions, sheriffs have a long history of using their power to maintain a particular, unequal balance of power in society, often along racial and class lines.

A recent...

Here’s how to maintain healthy smartphone habits

Written by Shelia R. Cotten, Provost's Distinuished Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice and Communication, Clemson University

Do you have a healthy relationship with your phone?Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

What is the first thing you do in the morning after you awaken? Many people immediately check their phones for notifications of messages, alerts and social media updates by their social ties.

Ninety-seven percent of U.S. adults report owning a cellphone,...

Sharks and rays leap out of the water for many reasons, including feeding, courtship and communication

Written by A. Peter Klimley, Adjunct Associate Professor of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis

Manta rays breaching in waters off Costa Rica.Peter Loring, iStock/Getty Images

Many sharks and rays are known to breach, leaping fully or partly out of the water. In a recent study, colleagues and I reviewed research on breaching and ranked the most commonly hypothesized functions for it.

We found that removal of external parasites was the most...

Climate change is a pollution problem, and countries know how to deal with pollution threats – think DDT and acid rain

Written by Alexander E. Gates, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Rutgers University - Newark

Adding scrubbers in coal-fired power plants helped reduce acid rain, but they continued to fuel climate change.Drums600 via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

Climate change can seem like an insurmountable challenge. However, if you look closely at its causes, you’ll realize that history is filled with similar health and environmental threats that humanity...