Author: TheConversation

By Rohan Kapitany, Lecturer in Psychology, Keele University Warning: this article contains Christmas spoilers. Many of us tell our children about a rotund, bearded man in red, who lives in the icy tundra at the top of the world. He is tasked with judging the moral worth of children everywhere. He has a list. He has checked it twice. And there is no court of appeals. We promise our children that, on a known date and under the cover of darkness, he will sneak into our homes. Here, his judgment will be delivered. In preparation, it is customary to...

By Richard Gunderman, Chancellor’s Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, IUPUI; and David C. Stevens, Resident, Radiology, IUPUI Libraries are increasingly a sanctuary for people who are homeless or mentally ill, putting them on the front lines of providing social services that the institution was never intended for. On any given night, over half a million people in the United States found themselves without a home. While the majority of these people (69%) secured shelter for the night, many shelters do not provide daytime accommodations for their patrons. This leaves many in search of daytime activity and protection...

By Hunt Allcott, Associate Professor of Economics, New York University; Jean-Pierre Dubé, Sigmund E. Edelstone Professor of Marketing, University of Chicago; and Molly Schnell, Assistant Professor of Economics, Northwestern University Research has show that wealthy people tend to eat a lot healthier than poor people, and that has a big impact on individuals and their community. Because poor diets cause obesity, Type II diabetes and other diseases, this nutritional inequality contributes to unequal health outcomes. The richest Americans can expect to live 10-15 years longer than the poorest. Many think that a key cause of nutritional inequality is food...

By Roscoe Scarborough, Assistant Professor of Sociology, College of Coastal Georgia Freddie Gray. Eric Garner. Michael Brown. The deaths of black youth and men at the hands of police have sparked a nationwide conversation on discriminatory policing practices. Media and the public often look to psychological explanations for discriminatory behavior, such as obvious prejudices and implicit biases. However, in my view as a sociologist, policymakers and organizational leaders should focus less on the psychology of public servants and more on institutional culture. From 2012 to 2015, I served as a volunteer firefighter in a busy suburban department to understand...

By Dan Romer, Research Director, Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania For years, the media have reported that more suicides occur during the holidays than at any other time. Many of these stories, no doubt, are meant to help people cope with the melancholy and nostalgia that some people experience at this time. Some of them include the voices of professionals, such as police or mental health providers, who claim to have experienced a rise in suicide deaths during the holidays. What is notable about these claims is that, if anything, the last two months of the year...

By Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Historically, the U.S. advanced from a position of isolationism to one of reluctant intervenor, to global policeman. Based on my research since 2001, I believe that the U.S. has transformed itself into what many others view as a global bully. I do not use the word lightly. But if, by definition, a bully is someone who seeks to intimidate or harm those it perceives as vulnerable, then that is an apt descriptor of...