tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/quick-reads-37963/articlesQuick reads – The Conversation2024-03-29T12:46:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2266002024-03-29T12:46:13Z2024-03-29T12:46:13ZWhat is Volt Typhoon? A cybersecurity expert explains the Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584605/original/file-20240326-28-gal7hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3737%2C2489&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S.-China antagonism is particularly acute in the realm of hacking and cybersecurity.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/USChinaHacking/fce5dff827b14fb4808fd837fd5584e0/photo">AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa24-038a">Volt Typhoon</a> is a Chinese state-sponsored hacker group. The United States government and its primary global intelligence partners, known as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nato-isnt-the-only-alliance-that-countries-are-eager-to-join-a-brief-history-of-the-five-eyes-209763">Five Eyes</a>, <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity-actions-critical-infrastructure-leaders">issued a warning</a> on March 19, 2024, about the group’s activity targeting critical infrastructure.</p>
<p>The warning echoes analyses by the cybersecurity community about Chinese state-sponsored hacking in recent years. As with many cyberattacks and attackers, Volt Typhoon has many aliases and also is known as Vanguard Panda, Bronze Silhouette, Dev-0391, UNC3236, Voltzite and Insidious Taurus. Following these latest warnings, China again <a href="https://www.scmp.com/video/china/3256907/china-denies-accusations-state-sponsored-hacking-us-uk-and-new-zealand">denied that it engages in offensive cyberespionage</a>.</p>
<p>Volt Typhoon has compromised thousands of devices around the world since it was publicly <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/24/volt-typhoon-targets-us-critical-infrastructure-with-living-off-the-land-techniques/">identified by security analysts at Microsoft</a> in May 2023. However, some analysts in both the government and cybersecurity community believe the group has been targeting infrastructure since mid-2021, and <a href="https://cyberscoop.com/feds-chinese-hacking-operations-have-been-in-critical-infrastructure-networks-for-five-years/">possibly much longer</a>.</p>
<p>Volt Typhoon uses malicious software that penetrates internet-connected systems by exploiting vulnerabilities such as weak administrator passwords, factory default logins and devices that haven’t been updated regularly. The hackers have targeted communications, energy, transportation, water and wastewater systems in the U.S. and its territories, such as Guam.</p>
<p>In many ways, Volt Typhoon functions similarly to <a href="https://cybernews.com/malware/what-is-a-botnet/">traditional botnet</a> operators that have plagued the internet for decades. It takes control of vulnerable internet devices such as routers and security cameras to hide and establish a beachhead in advance of using that system to launch future attacks. </p>
<p>Operating this way makes it difficult for cybersecurity defenders to accurately identify the source of an attack. Worse, defenders could accidentally retaliate against a third party who is unaware that they are caught up in Volt Typhoon’s botnet. </p>
<h2>Why Volt Typhoon matters</h2>
<p>Disrupting critical infrastructure has the potential to cause economic harm around the world. Volt Typhoon’s operation also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/us/politics/china-malware-us-military-bases-taiwan.html">poses a threat to the U.S. military</a> by potentially disrupting power and water to military facilities and critical supply chains. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">FBI Director Christopher Wray testified at a congressional hearing on Jan. 31, 2024, about Chinese hackers targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.</span></figcaption>
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<p><a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/24/volt-typhoon-targets-us-critical-infrastructure-with-living-off-the-land-techniques/">Microsoft’s 2023 report</a> noted that Volt Typhoon could “disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises.” The <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity-actions-critical-infrastructure-leaders">March 2024 report</a>, published in the U.S. by the <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/">Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a>, likewise warned that the botnet could lead to “disruption or destruction of critical services in the event of increased geopolitical tensions and/or military conflict with the United States and its allies.”</p>
<p>Volt Typhoon’s existence and the escalating tensions between China and the U.S., particularly over Taiwan, underscore the latest connection between global events and cybersecurity.</p>
<h2>Defending against Volt Typhoon</h2>
<p>The FBI reported on Jan. 31, 2024, that it had disrupted Volt Typhoon’s operations by <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-government-disrupts-botnet-peoples-republic-china-used-conceal-hacking-critical">removing the group’s malware</a> from hundreds of small office/home office routers. However, the U.S. is <a href="https://therecord.media/china-hacking-volt-typhoon-response-nsa-rob-joyce">still determining</a> the extent of the group’s infiltration of America’s critical infrastructure.</p>
<p>On March 25, 2024, the U.S. and U.K. announced that they had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/us/politics/china-hacking-us-sanctions.html">imposed sanctions on Chinese hackers</a> involved in compromising their infrastructures. And other countries, including New Zealand, have revealed <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-zealand-china-cyber-security-hacking-e0515ff0b4218b077d62de401f23b5b1">cyberattacks traced back to China</a> in recent years.</p>
<p>All organizations, especially infrastructure providers, must practice time-tested safe computing centered on preparation, detection and response. They must ensure that their information systems and smart devices are properly configured and patched, and that they can log activity. And they should identify and replace any devices at the edges of their networks, such as routers and firewalls, that no longer are supported by their vendor. </p>
<p>Organizations can also implement strong user-authentication measures such as <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/MFA-Fact-Sheet-Jan22-508.pdf">multifactor authentication</a> to make it more difficult for attackers like Volt Typhoon to compromise systems and devices. More broadly, the comprehensive <a href="https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework">NIST Cybersecurity Framework</a> can help these organizations develop stronger cybersecurity postures to defend against Volt Typhoon and other attackers.</p>
<p>Individuals, too, can take steps to protect themselves and their employers by ensuring their devices are properly updated, enabling multifactor authentication, never reusing passwords, and otherwise remaining vigilant to suspicious activity on their accounts, devices and networks.</p>
<p>For cybersecurity practitioners and society generally, attacks like Volt Typhoon can represent an enormous geopolitical cybersecurity threat. They are a reminder for everyone to monitor what’s going on in the world and consider how current events can affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all things digital.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226600/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Forno has received research funding related to cybersecurity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) during his academic career.</span></em></p>Chinese state-sponsored hackers are targeting critical infrastructure. Here’s what they’re doing, how the US government is responding and how you can help.Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226892024-03-29T12:45:47Z2024-03-29T12:45:47ZCompetitive workplaces don’t work for gender equality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584523/original/file-20240326-24-25vphy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=43%2C0%2C5748%2C3812&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not famously laid-back. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FinancialMarketsWallStreet/12747cf8a46d43f1a935595940ce876a/photo?Query=%22Wall%20Street%22%20%22sign%22&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1629&currentItemNo=15">Mary Altaffer/AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ultra-competitive workplaces – places where employees battle against each other for rank, bonuses and promotions – are common in many high-status fields, including <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59211933-5494-4b35-b3e5-a0a791b1fd18">law</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-wall-streets-culture-is-contributing-to-the-loneliness-crisis-2023-11">finance</a>. But while having a highly competitive culture is, on its face, gender-neutral, it actually worsens gender inequality. </p>
<p>That’s the key finding of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939231223178">our new study</a> with colleague <a href="https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/economics/profile/ragan-petrie/">Ragan Petrie</a>, published in the most recent issue of the ILR Review. As economists who study workplace diversity and career-family conflicts for women, we wanted to investigate how competition at work plays out in people’s lives. We couldn’t just compare people with more and less competitive jobs, because they differ in a lot of other ways as well. So we set up a few experiments.</p>
<p>In our first experiment, which took place at a college library, we hired more than 200 people for a one-time research assistant job to be performed over a single hourlong session for a $25 payment. When workers arrived, we divided them into groups of four – each with two men and two women – and set them to work testing a computer program that was designed to be used in economics research.</p>
<p>During their training, we told workers they would be paid the $25 salary as long as they worked for at least 10 minutes – but we also asked them to work as long and hard as they could. We explained the purpose of the job was to measure how well people can perform the task over time, so the longer the workers stayed, the more useful their work would be. </p>
<p>In some randomly selected sessions, we also offered our main treatment: a competitive, high-stakes bonus of $30 paid to the worker in that group who earned the most points. Workers accumulated points by clicking on squares that periodically appeared on their screens. The only way to earn more points was by staying longer and trying harder. </p>
<p>Although we found that <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400883172-005/html">social and intrinsic motivations</a> were enough to get most workers to stay beyond the required work time, offering the $30 bonus prize induced people to work for much longer. More than half of the bonus-eligible workers stayed on task for 40 minutes, the maximum time permitted, and work times increased by 83% overall. </p>
<p>Because these bonus payments reduced the costs of extracting effort by a third, they would have been very profitable to a real employer. </p>
<p>We also found that the high-stakes prize created gender gaps in effort (work time), output (points earned) and pay that weren’t present in other conditions. This result shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-111809-125122">gender differences</a> found in limited-time contests are also present when people can choose how long to work. </p>
<p>In our second experiment, we told more than 700 applicants for a job testing the same computer program about the possibility of a bonus, and we asked them to choose between a fixed overtime wage rate and tournaments with varying prize levels. Men and women were both increasingly likely to opt into the tournament at higher prize levels, but men responded much more than women to rising prize levels. </p>
<p>In other words, as the stakes rose, the gender gap in tournament entry grew.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Our research suggests that highly competitive workplaces worsen gender inequality in two ways. The first is that women are less willing to enter and persist in high-stakes tournaments. Our findings here are consistent with previous research showing that women are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.122.3.1067">less attracted</a> than men to competitive work environments and tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530360698496">perform worse</a> in them.</p>
<p>Our finding that workplace competition increases work hours across the board suggests a second, indirect way that it stymies women’s careers. The fact that women <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?queryid=54757">do more unpaid caretaking and household work</a> than men means they are less able to devote the long hours needed to outperform co-workers. This suggests that competition produces the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html">greedy</a>” jobs that demand <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/soin.12029">undivided commitment</a> from workers recently highlighted by <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2023/press-release/">Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin</a> as a major barrier to gender equality. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>While researchers are getting a better understanding of the problem, solutions remain elusive. Our research shows that workplace competition can be a great profit driver for employers and is attractive to some workers. That means fixing the problem will be difficult. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that remote-work technologies may not be <a href="http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.4.1091">as effective as hoped</a> at eliminating long work hours – and the resulting gender pay gaps – at elite jobs. They also suggest that encouraging women <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2108337118">to enter</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvy036">and persist</a> in competitive occupations, while important, isn’t enough to ensure they succeed.</p>
<p>Assuming that workplace competition remains a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.3.195">central feature of elite jobs</a>, making more equitable workplaces won’t be easy. But maybe we don’t need to make that assumption in the first place. It may be worthwhile for employers to consider noncompetitive alternatives for motivating workers – for example, using performance measures that aren’t <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/07/06/the-management-approach-guaranteed-to-wreck-your-best-people/?sh=578609485743">based on rank order comparisons</a>, when possible. We encourage researchers to investigate these alternatives.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wall Street and big law firms are famous for their hard-charging, cutthroat work cultures. Here’s one reason they should reconsider.Amalia Rebecca Miller, Georgia S. Bankard Professor of Economics, University of VirginiaCarmit Segal, Professor of Managerial Economics, University of ZurichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2262942024-03-29T12:45:00Z2024-03-29T12:45:00ZMany travel nurses opt for temporary assignments because of the autonomy and opportunities − not just the big boost in pay<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.374">Travel nurses</a> take short-term contracts that can require long commutes or temporarily living away from home. Time and again, they have to get used to new co-workers, new protocols and new workplaces.</p>
<p>So why would staff nurses quit their stable jobs to become travel nurses?</p>
<p>Well, for one, <a href="https://nurse.org/articles/how-to-make-the-most-money-as-a-travel-nurse/">they get bigger paychecks</a>. But U.S. nurses have other rationales besides making more money, according to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2324204">study I conducted</a>.</p>
<p>To do this research, I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2024.2324204">interviewed 27 registered nurses</a> based in different places.</p>
<p>Many of the people I interviewed disclosed that they left permanent positions to combat burnout. Although they welcomed the bump in pay, travel nursing also gave them the autonomy to decide when and where to work. That autonomy allowed them to pursue personal and professional interests that were meaningful to them, and it made some of the other hassles, such as long commutes, worth it.</p>
<p>On top of earning more money, travel nursing “gives you an opportunity to explore different areas,” said a nurse I’ll call Cynthia, because research rules require anonymity. “When you actually live there for three months, it gives you a chance to really immerse yourself in the area and really get to know not just the touristy stuff, but really hang out with the locals and really be exposed to that area.” </p>
<p>Other study participants said they enjoyed the novelty and educational opportunities.</p>
<p>“You don’t get bored or stuck in a routine,” Michelle said. “You’re always trying to learn new policies at the new hospital that you’re in, learning about the new doctors, nursing staff, new ways of doing things, where things are located. That helps keep me from feeling burned out so quickly.” </p>
<p>Said Patricia: “I want to see how other operating rooms across the country do things and how they do things differently. I do learn a lot of things going from place to place.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C276%2C6487%2C3352&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in scrubs looks out the window with some trepidation in his eyes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C276%2C6487%2C3352&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584564/original/file-20240326-22-96ka45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Travel nurses move around a lot but also find upsides to that mobility.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alex-stow-a-travel-icu-registered-nurse-poses-for-a-news-photo/1237281657?adppopup=true">Elaine Cromie/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>A growing number of U.S. nurses were <a href="https://nurse.org/articles/why-travel-nursing/">obtaining temporary assignments before</a> the COVID-19 pandemic began.</p>
<p>But travel nursing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nurses-are-quitting-staff-jobs-to-become-travel-nurses-2022-9">became much more widespread</a> in 2020, when hospitals were scrambling to <a href="https://theconversation.com/nurses-are-leaving-the-profession-and-replacing-them-wont-be-easy-166325">keep their staffing levels high enough</a> as millions of Americans were becoming infected with the coronavirus, straining capacity in many communities.</p>
<p>While compensation varies widely, the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm">median pay of registered nurses in 2022 was US$81,220</a>, about 35% less than the <a href="https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-RN-Travel-Nurse-Salary-by-State">$110,000 that registered nurses who traveled earned</a>.</p>
<p>At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel nurses could earn <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/02/11/1077687493/for-travel-nurses-jobs-at-home-cant-come-close-to-pay-they-get-on-the-road">an even bigger premium</a>. Many <a href="https://19thnews.org/2022/02/travel-nursing-covid-salary-pay-cap-investigation/">were paid twice</a> as much as staff nurses.</p>
<p>Once the number of Americans with severe symptoms fell, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/28/with-travel-nurses-making-150-an-hour-hospital-systems-innovate.html">that premium declined too</a>. But there are still over <a href="https://www.zippia.com/traveling-nurse-jobs/trends/">1.7 million travel nurses</a> in the U.S. Hiring them is one of the main ways that hospitals cope with a <a href="https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-data/fact-sheets/nursing-shortage">long-term shortage of nurses</a>.</p>
<p>But nurses with permanent jobs can get aggravated by this arrangement when they learn how much more travel nurses earn for doing the same work, as I found through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12939">another research project</a>.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Research supports a widely reported trend: More Americans have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793918820008">temporary jobs and freelance employment</a> than in the past.</p>
<p>While travel nurses can help hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices meet staffing needs, there are signs that <a href="https://nursejournal.org/articles/travel-nurses-patient-care">patients don’t always fare as well</a> with their care.</p>
<p>And a Canadian study found that when hospitals let staff nurses work part time and offer other alternative arrangements, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.07.017">their retention rates may rise</a>.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ivan Gan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study found that temporary assignments in new places reignited nurses’ passion to help others and helped them rediscover the meaningfulness of their work.Ivan Gan, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, University of Houston-DowntownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207592024-03-28T12:51:11Z2024-03-28T12:51:11ZTweaking US trade policy could hold the key to reducing migration from Central America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584593/original/file-20240326-28-qixbyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C53%2C2995%2C1940&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employees at the K.P. Textil textile plant in Guatemala City.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/workers-wear-face-masks-as-a-preventive-measure-against-the-news-photo/1226220586?adppopup=true">Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Small changes to U.S. trade policy <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4376016">could significantly reduce the number of migrants</a> arriving at the southern border, according to our peer-reviewed study, which was recently published in The World Economy.</p>
<p>Our research delved into the effectiveness of existing trade agreements in creating jobs in migrant-sending countries, with a focus on Central America. We analyzed the impact that the <a href="https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/cafta-dr-dominican-republic-central-america-fta">Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement</a>, or CAFTA-DR, has had on apparel exports and jobs since being ratified by the U.S. and six countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic – from 2005 to 2009.</p>
<p>CAFTA-DR was aimed at encouraging trade and investment ties. But restrictive provisions, particularly its <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/roi_e/roi_info_e.htm">rules of origin</a>, have hindered the region’s ability to benefit fully from the agreement. Under a “triple transformation” clause, only garments assembled in one of the countries from fabrics and constituent fibers originating from the region qualify for free-trade benefits.</p>
<p>This significantly limits the scope for trade expansion because of the limited range of fabrics produced in the region compared with the global market. For example, it means that <a href="https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-mills/global-denim-market-105089/">many modern fabrics</a>, like the kinds used in some stretchy jeans, do not qualify.</p>
<p>Loosening the rules to allow for new fabrics would not only attract investment and create more jobs for Central Americans, it could also reduce immigration from the region by as much as 67%, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4376016">according to our estimates</a>. </p>
<p><iframe id="zk9rV" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zk9rV/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>At present, about <a href="https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/research/article/ftas/central-american-emigration/">500,000 people work in the apparel industry</a> in Central America. It is labor-intensive, and expanding exports would increase employment. Our research shows that loosening the rules of origin to include new fabrics from outside the region would create about 120,000 direct jobs. </p>
<p>If a stronger relationship between exports and employment is assumed, this figure could even rise to about 257,500 jobs, our figures show. </p>
<p>And these jobs would be boosted by additional indirect employment around the expanding factories in Central America needed to accommodate the increased trade.</p>
<p>If would-be migrants in Central America instead chose the new apparel jobs in their home countries, we estimate that migration from Central America to the U.S. could fall by 30% to 67%.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The migration crisis has taken <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-border-immigration-election-c37b1596ecf27d208e94bef592e7e616">center stage in U.S. political discourse</a>, with Republicans in Congress holding up legislation, including aid to Ukraine, over their demands that tougher border security measures be included as part of any package.</p>
<p>In December 2023, the number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/15/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-hit-a-record-high-at-the-end-of-2023/">hit a record high</a> of almost 250,000, and it <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-january-2024-monthly-update">remained high</a> during the first few months of 2024.</p>
<p>While human rights violations, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3825251">security issues</a> <a href="https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/assets/uploads/helpdesk/Literature_review_corruption_and_migrations.pdf">and corruption</a> in migrant-sending countries are often cited as driving factors, in many cases, immigrants are <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/09/08/migrants-work-permits-adams-asylum">seeking job opportunities</a> that are unavailable in their home countries. </p>
<p>But despite the increased political attention on immigration, trade policy – which could be used to address the scarcity of secure, well-paying jobs in Central American countries with heavy migrant outflows – has largely been absent from either party’s strategy to address the “root causes” of migration.</p>
<p>We believe addressing the root causes of the current border crisis requires creating good jobs in migrant-sending countries. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We looked only at one industry – apparel – in Central America and the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean nation.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10290-014-0188-3">Academic reviews suggest</a> that as many as half of all trade agreements have no significant effect on trade flows, and only about one-quarter of them increase trade. In fact, trade agreements may even create barriers to trade by adding additional clauses that are complicated or too restrictive.</p>
<p>The key question is how to make all trade agreements more effective at creating jobs in migrant-sending countries. Identifying and relaxing barriers within trade agreements is, we believe, an important first step toward reducing emigration. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220759/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In 2021, the Mosbacher Institute received funding for Bush School student research from the American Apparel and Footwear Association while Raymond Robertson was the director. The AAFA provided neither funding nor any other form of support, including any direct or indirect support, for the research described in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaleb Girma Abreha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Relaxing ‘rules of origin’ restrictions in an existing trade deal could add tens of thousands of jobs in Central America.Raymond Robertson, Professor of Economics and Government, Texas A&M UniversityKaleb Girma Abreha, Assistant Research Scientist, Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263552024-03-28T12:50:10Z2024-03-28T12:50:10Z69% of US Muslims always give to charities during Ramadan, fulfilling a religious obligation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583547/original/file-20240321-28-vegr40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C988%2C5620%2C4421&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the Muslim community gather for the first Taraweeh prayer of Ramadan in New York City in 2024.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-muslim-community-gather-for-the-first-news-photo/2066798836">Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/items/ecaeeffb-5441-4b96-a2f6-ea8220571f22">Nearly 70% of Muslim Americans</a> say they always <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-zakat-a-scholar-of-islam-explains-170756">give zakat</a>, a yearly donation of 2.5% of one’s wealth that Islam encourages, during Ramadan according to a new study I worked on.</p>
<p>Ramadan is a month-long period of fasting and spiritual growth during which Muslims refrain from all food, beverages and sexual activity from dawn to dusk.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://lakeinstitute.org/research/muslim-philanthropy-initiative/">Muslim Philanthropy Initiative</a> research team at Indiana University surveyed 1,136 Muslims across the country in 2023 to assess the connection between Ramadan and zakat. We also looked into demographic differences in Muslim giving <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-ramadan-is-called-ramadan-6-questions-answered-77291">tied to Ramadan</a>.</p>
<p>We found that women, married couples, those who consider themselves to be very religious, people with incomes in the US$50,000-$75,000 range, people in their 30s, and those who are registered to vote are most likely to give the bulk of their zakat during Ramadan.</p>
<p><iframe id="Byain" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Byain/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Billions of Muslims across the world observe Ramadan.</p>
<p>Zakat, one of the <a href="https://crestresearch.ac.uk/comment/islam-five-pillars">five pillars of Islam</a>, is aimed at redistributing wealth and alleviating poverty within the Muslim community. Muslims can give to the poor, people who owe big debts, stranded travelers and those <a href="https://www.zakat.org/zakat-foundations-ceo-wins-lincoln-anti-slavery-award">seeking to free people from slavery or captivity</a> to meet the requirements of zakat.</p>
<p>Muslims often offer zakat during Ramadan through fundraising at <a href="https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/iftar-eftari-iftar-iftor-and-its-socio-cultural-traditions-01984">iftars</a>, which are gatherings held at sunset where people break their fast together.</p>
<p>Nonprofits that are not led by Muslims tend to focus their fundraising efforts on <a href="https://neonone.com/resources/blog/year-end-giving-statistics/">giving in December</a> and important secular days for campaigns, such as <a href="https://missionwired.com/insights/giving-tuesday-2023-final-report-11-takeaways/">Giving Tuesday</a>. But if these organizations don’t do outreach to Muslims during Ramadan they are less likely to raise money effectively from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-muslims-gave-more-to-charity-than-other-americans-in-2020-170689">small but generous population</a>.</p>
<p>Muslim-led U.S. nonprofits do spend a significant amount of time and money on fundraising during Ramadan. But they may not realize the importance of stepping up their efforts to seek zakat from Muslims in their 30s, women, married couples, active voters and those who regularly pray at a mosque.</p>
<p>In previous research projects, we’ve found that <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29947">U.S. Muslims support both Muslim and non-Muslim nonprofits</a>, donating at least $4.3 billion in 2021, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-muslims-gave-more-to-charity-than-other-americans-in-2020-170689">including about $1.8 billion in zakat</a>. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We are partnering with <a href="https://irusa.org/O">Islamic Relief USA</a>, the largest Muslim-led humanitarian charity in the United States which serves people in the United States and internationally, and our colleagues at Indiana University’s <a href="https://philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/institutes/lake-institute/index.html">Lake Institute on Faith and Giving</a> to conduct annual surveys of Muslims in the United States to better understand Muslim giving starting in 2024.</p>
<p>We’re also conducting surveys and focus groups across the world to have a global understanding of Muslim giving. We aim to release data from Pakistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Bangladesh and India, in addition to the United States by the end of 2025.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Additional research is needed to better understand what motivates these donors to give during Ramadan, how much money U.S. Muslims give to charity during Ramadan and the best ways for nonprofits led by Muslims and non-Muslims to engage donors who are moved to support charitable causes during Ramadan.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226355/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shariq Siddiqui receives funding from The John Templeton Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts, Pillars Fund, Proteus Fund, Islamic Relief USA, Zakat Foundation of America, PennyAppeal USA, Mirza Family Foundation, Helping Hand Relief and Development, Nama Foundation and WF Fund. This research study was funded by Islamic Relief USA.</span></em></p>During the month-long period of fasting, the obligation of zakat takes on heightened significance.Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor & Director of the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223642024-03-26T12:48:40Z2024-03-26T12:48:40ZNot having job flexibility or security can leave workers feeling depressed, anxious and hopeless<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581106/original/file-20240311-22-aqasrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C20%2C6934%2C4637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Warehouse employees frequently lack control over their own schedules.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/exhausted-warehouse-worker-royalty-free-image/1413866834">Andres Oliveira/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When employees don’t have control over their work schedules, it’s not just morale that suffers – mental health takes a hit too. That’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.3439">what my colleagues and I discovered</a> in a study recently published in the medical journal JAMA Network Open.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sph/profile/monica-wang/">public health expert</a>, I know that the way our jobs are designed can affect our well-being. Research has shown that flexibility, security and autonomy in the workplace are strong <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.15">determinants of health</a>.</p>
<p>To understand how powerful they are, my colleagues and I looked at the 2021 <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm">National Health Interview Survey</a>, a major data collection initiative run out of the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/index.htm">National Center for Health Statistics</a>. We analyzed responses from 18,144 working adults across the U.S., teasing out how job flexibility and security may be linked with mental health.</p>
<p>The respondents were asked how easily they could change their work schedule to do things important to them or their family, whether their work schedule changed on a regular basis, and how far in advance they usually knew their schedules. They also rated their perceived risk of losing their job in the next 12 months.</p>
<p>We found that workers who had more flexible work arrangements were less likely to report feelings of depression, hopelessness and anxiety. Similarly, those with greater job security were at lower risk of mental health challenges. We also found that higher job security was linked with fewer instances of missing work over the past year.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The average full-time worker dedicates <a href="https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=79db7b34-630c-4f49-ad32-4ab9ea48e72b">a third</a> of their lifetime waking hours to work. Given that fact, understanding how job design affects mental health is key to developing policies that bolster well-being.</p>
<p>It’s clear why employers should care: When workers aren’t feeling well mentally, they’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40258-022-00761-w">less productive</a> and more likely to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/00043764-200104000-00010">miss work</a>. Their <a href="https://www.betterup.com/blog/mental-health-impedes-creativity">creativity</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1304463">collaboration</a> and ability to <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work#">meet job demands</a> also suffer, hurting the entire organization.</p>
<p>The impact of job-related stress extends beyond the workplace, affecting families, communities and health care systems. People grappling with work-related mental health challenges often require <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-14-131">multiple forms of support</a>, such as access to counseling, medication and social services. Not addressing these needs comprehensively can cause <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.3535">serious long-term consequences</a>, including reduced quality of life and increased health care costs.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01284-9">worsened mental health disparities</a> and that individuals in lower-wage positions, front-line workers and people in marginalized communities continue to face <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14136">additional challenges</a>. In this context, understanding exactly how job and work design can affect people’s mental health is all the more important.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>My research team plans to examine how race and gender affect the links between job flexibility, job security and mental health.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0034016">Previous research</a> suggests that women and people of color experience <a href="http://doi.org/10.1037/a0034016">unique workplace stressors</a> that harm their mental well-being. For instance, women continue to face <a href="https://sgff-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sgff_r1eHetbDYb/Women+in+the+Workplace+2023_+Designed+Report.pdf">barriers to career advancement</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/gender-pay-gap-statistics/#">unequal pay</a> and a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x">higher burden</a> of unpaid care work.</p>
<p>Similarly, employees of color often experience <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/328394/one-four-black-workers-report-discrimination-work.aspx">discrimination</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2022/05/research-the-real-time-impact-of-microaggressions">microaggressions</a> and <a href="https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/104761/racial-equity-and-job-quality.pdf">limited opportunities for professional growth</a> at work, all of which can harm <a href="https://milkeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/racialequitybrief.pdf">mental health</a>. Understanding gender and racial differences will help researchers and organizations develop targeted interventions and policy recommendations.</p>
<p>Mental health challenges are far from rare: More than 50 million Americans, or nearly <a href="https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness">1 in 5 adults</a>, live with mental illness. By creating workplaces that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171241233398">prioritize employee well-being</a> – through flexible work arrangements, supportive policies and access to mental health resources – organizations can help build a healthier society. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222364/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Wang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way jobs are structured affects employee mental health, an analysis of more than 18,000 workers shows.Monica Wang, Associate Professor of Public Health, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2251572024-03-26T12:39:27Z2024-03-26T12:39:27ZHelping children eat healthier foods may begin with getting parents to do the same, research suggests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580459/original/file-20240307-24-3kjt9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=241%2C160%2C6186%2C4255&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Everyone agrees kids should eat healthy foods. But parents are often left out of that message.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-american-mother-feeding-her-happy-son-with-royalty-free-image/1126065782?phrase=parent%20feeding%20child">skynesher/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most parents, educators and policymakers agree that children should eat healthy foods. However, our peer-reviewed paper suggests the strategy adults often use to achieve that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437231184830">can sometimes backfire</a>. Fortunately, there’s an easy fix.</p>
<p><a href="https://kelley.iu.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/profile.html?id=KGULLO">We</a>, <a href="https://business.pitt.edu/professors/peggy-liu/">along</a> with fellow marketing scholars <a href="https://www.hkubs.hku.hk/people/lingrui-zhou/">Lingrui Zhou</a> and <a href="https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/faculty/gavan-fitzsimons">Gavan Fitzsimons</a>, conducted five experiments with over 3,800 parents as well as 10 in-depth interviews. We found that parents tend to choose unhealthy foods for themselves after choosing a healthy meal for their young children. This happens because parents said they are uncertain whether their child will eat their healthy dishes, and so they use their own meal as backup to share to ensure that their child at least eats something. </p>
<p>This dynamic is not ideal. For one, it could result in parents eating unhealthier foods, and children may also end up eating unhealthily if they eat mostly from their parent’s plate. Additionally, it does not set a good example of healthy eating.</p>
<p>How, then, to change this dynamic?</p>
<p>After testing several interventions, one stood out as particularly simple and effective: nudging parents to think of their meals as their own, rather than backup options for their kids.</p>
<p>We partnered with a nursery school that was interested in promoting healthier eating among children. Parents associated with the school were offered a free family dinner. Parents first chose a meal for their child from a healthy kid’s menu. They then chose a meal for themselves from a menu that had a mix of healthy and unhealthy options. Half of the parents – randomly assigned – saw a menu that prompted them to think of their own meal as “for you and only you!” The other half did not see this additional prompt to think of their own meal as only for them. </p>
<p>This intervention was successful: By encouraging parents to think of their meal as their own, it made about a third more likely to choose the healthy option for themselves.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest policymakers and schools may want to consider the role parents – and their food choices – play in efforts to encourage healthy eating among children. As for parents, we suggest nixing the backup plan and making sure both they and their children are eating nutritiously.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelley Gullo Wight receives funding from the Duke-Ipsos Research Center & Think Tank.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peggy Liu receives funding from the Duke-Ipsos Research Center & Think Tank.</span></em></p>Not knowing whether their children will eat the healthy food put on their plates, parents may prepare a less healthy dish for themselves to serve as backup for the kids too.Kelley Gullo Wight, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Indiana UniversityPeggy Liu, Ben L. Fryrear Chair in Marketing and Associate Professor of Business Administration, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2168922024-03-21T12:23:49Z2024-03-21T12:23:49ZNew studies suggest millions with mild cognitive impairment go undiagnosed, often until it’s too late<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579473/original/file-20240304-18-x3o3fj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mild cognitive impairment can be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-women-lost-in-thoughts-in-wheel-chair-royalty-free-image/677895828?phrase=mild+cognitive+impairment+&adppopup=true">ivanastar/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mild cognitive impairment – an early stage of dementia – is widely underdiagnosed in people 65 and older. That is the key takeaway of two recent studies from our team. </p>
<p>In the first study, we used Medicare data for about 40 million beneficiaries age 65 and older from 2015 to 2019 to estimate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in that population and to identify what proportion of them had actually been diagnosed. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-023-01272-z">finding was sobering</a>: A mere 8% of the number of cases with mild cognitive impairment that we expected based on a statistical model had actually been diagnosed. Scaled up to the general population 65 and older, this means that approximately 7.4 million cases across the country remain undiagnosed. </p>
<p>In the second study, we analyzed data for 226,756 primary care clinicians and found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2023.131">over 99% of them underdiagnosed mild cognitive impairment</a> in this population. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Mild cognitive impairment is an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.2000">about half of cases</a> and progresses to dementia <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/mild-cognitive-impairment">at a rate of 10% to 15% per year</a>. It includes symptoms such as losing the ability to remember recent events and appointments, make sound decisions and master complex tasks. Failure to detect it might deprive patients of an opportunity to get treated and to slow down disease progression. </p>
<p>Mild cognitive impairment can sometimes be caused by easily addressable factors, such as medication side effects, thyroid dysfunction or <a href="https://theconversation.com/vitamin-b12-deficiency-is-a-common-health-problem-that-can-have-serious-consequences-but-doctors-often-overlook-it-192714">vitamin B12 deficiency</a>. Since mild cognitive impairment has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjopharm.2008.06.004">the same risk factors as cardiovascular disease</a>, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, medication management of these risks combined with diet and exercise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60461-5">can reduce the risk of progression</a>.</p>
<p>In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-converts-novel-alzheimers-disease-treatment-traditional-approval">approved the drug lecanemab</a> as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-fdas-accelerated-approval-of-a-new-alzheimers-drug-could-mean-for-those-with-the-disease-5-questions-answered-about-lecanemab-197460">first disease-modifying treatment</a> <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-causes-and-risk-factors/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease">for Alzheimer’s disease</a>, the most common cause of mild cognitive impairment. In contrast to previous drugs, which can temporarily improve symptoms of the disease, such as memory loss and agitation, this new treatment addresses the underlying cause of the disease. </p>
<p>Lecanemab, a monoclonal antibody, <a href="https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Amyloid-Plaques.aspx#">reduces amyloid plaques</a> in the brain, which are toxic protein clumps that are believed to contribute to the progression of the disease. In a large clinical trial, lecanemab was able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2212948">reduce the progression</a> of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. A similar drug, donanemab, also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.13239">succeeded in a clinical trial</a> and is expected to be <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fda-delays-approval-of-alzheimers-drug-donanemab-what-experts-think">approved sometime in 2024</a>. </p>
<p>However, these drugs must be used in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, ideally when a patient has only mild cognitive impairment, as there is <a href="https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/treatments/lecanemab-leqembi#">no evidence that they are effective in advanced stages</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">An earlier diagnosis leads to early treatment and better outcomes.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Many factors contribute to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13051">lack of timely detection</a>. But researchers don’t have a good understanding of the relative importance of those individual factors or how to reduce the high rate of underdiagnosis.</p>
<p>While distinct, symptoms are subtle and their slow progression means that they can be overlooked or misinterpreted as normal aging. A neurologist in China told our research team that diagnosis rates spike in China after the New Year’s holiday, when children who haven’t seen their parents for a year notice changes that are harder to pick up when interacting with someone daily. </p>
<p>Doctors also commonly discount memory concerns as normal aging and doubt that much can be done about it. While cognitive tests to distinguish mild cognitive impairment from pathologic decline do exist, they take about 15 minutes, which can be hard to come by during the limited time of a doctor’s visit and may require a follow-up appointment. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>People, particularly those in their 60s and beyond, as well as their families and friends need to be vigilant about cognitive decline, bring it up during doctor’s appointments and insist on a formal assessment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/yearly-wellness-visits">Medicare yearly “wellness” visit</a> is an opportunity to explore such concerns, but only about half of beneficiaries <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01795">take advantage of it</a>. </p>
<p>Just as physicians ask patients about unexplained weight loss and take those concerns seriously, we believe questions that explore a patient’s cognitive state need to become the norm. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216892/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Soeren Mattke receives funding from Alzheon, Biogen, C2N, Eisai, Lilly and Roche/Genentech through the University of Southern California. He consults to Biogen, C2N, Eisai, Novartis, Novo Nordisk and Roche/Genentech. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ying Liu receives funding from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, through the University of Southern California. </span></em></p>Medicare covers an annual well-check visit that could potentially identify cognitive issues, but only about half of beneficiaries take advantage of them.Soeren Mattke, Director of the USC Dornsife Brain Health Observatory, University of Southern CaliforniaYing Liu, Research Scientist, Center for Economic and Social Research, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2248352024-03-15T12:11:11Z2024-03-15T12:11:11ZWhat is the ‘great replacement theory’? A scholar of race relations explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581774/original/file-20240313-22-a4q7ya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=107%2C16%2C5406%2C3653&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of a white supremacist group demonstrate near the National Archives in Washington on Jan. 21, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PatriotFront/3caaaf6fe498443da3305b2b4ffc7b94/photo?Query=2024%20white%20nationalists&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=748&digitizationType=Digitized&currentItemNo=NaN&vs=true&vs=true">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.immigrationresearch.org/system/files/The%20%E2%80%98Great%20Replacement%E2%80%99%20Theory%2C%20Explained.pdf">“great replacement theory</a>,” whose origins date back to the late 19th century, argues that Jews and some Western elites are conspiring to replace white Americans and Europeans with people of non-European descent, particularly Asians and Africans.</p>
<p>The conspiracy evolved from a series of false ideas that, over time, stoked the fears of white people: In 1892, British-Australian author and politician Charles Pearson <a href="https://archive.org/details/nationallifeandc015071mbp">warned that white people</a> would “wake to find ourselves elbowed and hustled, and perhaps even thrust aside by people whom we looked down.” The massive influx of immigrants into Europe at the time fostered some of these fears and resulted in “white extinction anxiety.” In the U.S., it resulted in policies <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act">targeting immigration</a> in the late 19th and early 20th century. </p>
<p>In France, journalist Édouard Drumont, leader of an antisemitic movement, wrote articles in the late 19th century imagining how <a href="https://www.marxists.org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/drumont.htm">Jews would destroy French culture</a>. In 1909, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, an Italian poet and supporter of Benito Mussolini, argued that war and fascism <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/renaud-camus-great-replacement-brenton-tarrant/">were the only cure for the world</a>. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/12/these-are-the-three-reasons-that-fascism-spread-in-1930s-america-and-might-spread-again-today/">Fascism</a>, then and now, worked to ensure white dominance. </p>
<p>This was followed by the <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/">eugenics movement</a>, an erroneous and racist theory that supported forced sterilization of Black people, the mentally ill and other marginalized groups, who were all deemed “unfit.” </p>
<p>The 1978 book entitled “<a href="https://archive.org/details/the-turner-diaries-andrew-mac-donald-william-pierce">The Turner Diaries</a>,” a fictional futuristic account of the overthrow of the United States government, further contributed to white nationalist ideas. </p>
<p>Collectively, these gave rise to a global movement that attracted a wide range of <a href="https://archive.org/details/passingofgreatra00granuoft">white supremacist, xenophobic and anti-immigration conspiracy theories</a>. These theories were formally codified <a href="https://archive.org/details/le-grand-remplacement-renaud-camus">in the work of Frenchman Renaud Camus</a>, first in his 2010 book “L'Abécédaire de l'in-nocence” and elaborated in his 2011 book “<a href="https://archive.org/details/le-grand-remplacement-renaud-camus">Le Grand Remplacement</a>.” </p>
<p>Camus argued that ethnic French and white Europeans were being replaced physically, culturally and politically by nonwhite people. He believed that liberal immigration policies and the dramatic decline in white birth rates were threatening European civilization and traditions. </p>
<h2>Why this conspiracy theory matters</h2>
<p>These false ideas promulgated the spread of white supremacy, which has <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/05/17/racist-great-replacement-conspiracy-theory-explained?">contributed to terrorist attacks</a>, state violence and propaganda campaigns in the U.S and parts of Europe. </p>
<p>On Aug. 11, 2017, during a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/us/white-nationalists-rally-charlottesville-virginia.html">white nationalists chanted</a> “You will not replace us” and “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/16/charlottesville-neo-nazis-vice-news-hbo">Jews will not replace us</a>.” In spring 2019, Belgian politician Dries Van Langenhove repeatedly posted on social media, “<a href="https://time.com/5627494/we-analyzed-how-the-great-replacement-and-far-right-ideas-spread-online-the-trends-reveal-deep-concerns/">We are being replaced</a>.”</p>
<p>In recent years, <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/diversity/education/stress-and-trauma/undocumented-immigrants">nonwhite immigrants</a> have been the target of xenophobia. Migrants, especially from Mexico, are accused of <a href="https://immigrantjustice.org/research-items/report-legacy-injustice-us-criminalization-migration">bringing criminal activities</a> to American cities. Immigrants have also been falsely accused of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118271910/many-americans-falsely-think-migrants-are-bringing-most-of-the-fentanyl-entering">smuggling fentanyl</a> into the U.S. The reality is that immigrants commit <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find">far fewer crimes than those born in the U.S</a>. </p>
<h2>Impact of the theory and spread of hate</h2>
<p>In less than two decades, the theory has become a major idea, with as many <a href="https://www.rmx.news/france/france-poll-reveals-vast-majority-worried-about-great-replacement/">as 60% of the French population</a> believing some aspects of it. According to that survey, they are worried or at least concerned that they might be replaced. In the U.K. <a href="https://www.umass.edu/news/article/new-national-umass-amherst-poll-issues-finds-one-third-americans-believe-great">and the U.S.</a>, close to <a href="https://unherd.com/newsroom/one-in-three-brits-believe-in-great-replacement-theory/">one-third of those polled</a> believe that white people are systematically being replaced by nonwhite immigrants. Some in the U.S. fear that America might lose its culture and identity as a result. </p>
<p>Being aware of conspiracy theories and standing up to hatred, I argue, can help societies deal with the continuing fallout of extreme xenophobia, racist rants, the rise of white supremacy and the victimization of innocent people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rodney Coates does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>False ideas about the extinction of the white race, spread around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gave rise to xenophobic and anti-immigration conspiracy theories.Rodney Coates, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2258572024-03-15T12:10:30Z2024-03-15T12:10:30ZWhy do airlines charge so much for checked bags? This obscure rule helps explain why<p>Five out of the six <a href="https://www.oag.com/blog/biggest-airlines-in-the-us">biggest U.S. airlines</a> have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/05/delta-is-the-latest-airline-to-raise-its-checked-bag-fee.html">raised their checked bag fees</a> since January 2024.</p>
<p>Take American Airlines. In 2023, it cost US$30 to check a standard bag in with the airline; <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/02/20/american-airlines-bag-fees-mileage-earning/72669245007/">today, as of March 2024, it costs $40</a> at a U.S. airport – a whopping 33% increase.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/">business school</a> <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/jay-zagorsky/">professor who studies travel</a>, I’m often asked why airlines alienate their customers with baggage fees instead of bundling all charges together. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/4/16/8431465/airlines-carry-on-bags">There are</a> <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/2023/06/21/bag-fees-will-stay-a-while-cruising-altitude/70338849007/">many reasons</a>, but an important, often overlooked cause is buried in the U.S. tax code.</p>
<h2>A tax-law loophole</h2>
<p>Airlines pay the federal government <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D">7.5% of the ticket price</a> when <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/tax/library/aircraft-club-nov-2023-air-transport-excise-tax-rates-for-2024.html">flying people domestically, alongside other fees</a>. The airlines dislike these charges, with their <a href="https://www.airlines.org/dataset/government-imposed-taxes-on-air-transportation/">trade association arguing</a> that they boost the cost to the consumer of a typical air ticket by around one-fifth.</p>
<p>However, the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D/section-49.4261-8">specifically excludes baggage</a> from the 7.5% transportation tax as long as “the charge is separable from the payment for the transportation of a person and is shown in the exact amount.”</p>
<p>This means if an airline charges a combined $300 to fly you and a bag round-trip within the U.S., it owes $22.50 in tax. If the airline charges $220 to fly you plus separately charges $40 each way for the bag, then your total cost is the same — but the airline only owes the government $16.50 in taxes. Splitting out baggage charges saves the airline $6.</p>
<p>Now $6 might not seem like much, but it can add up. Last year, passengers took <a href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/Data_Elements.aspx?Data=1">more than 800 million trips on major airlines</a>. Even if only a fraction of them check their bags, that means large savings for the industry.</p>
<p>How large? The government has <a href="https://www.bts.dot.gov/topics/airlines-and-airports/baggage-fees-airline-2023">tracked revenue from bag fees</a> for decades. In 2002, airlines charged passengers a total of $180 million to check bags, which worked out to around 33 cents per passenger. </p>
<p>Today, as any flyer can attest, bag fees are a lot higher. Airlines collected over 40 times more money in bag fees last year than they did in 2002.</p>
<p>When the full data is in for 2023, <a href="https://www.bts.dot.gov/baggage-fees">total bag fees</a> will likely top $7 billion, which is about $9 for the average domestic passenger. <a href="https://viewfromthewing.com/the-real-reason-airlines-charge-checked-bag-fees-and-its-not-what-you-think">By splitting out the cost of bags</a>, airlines avoided paying about half a billion dollars in taxes just last year.</p>
<p>In the two decades since 2002, flyers paid a total of about $70 billion in bag fees. This means separately charging for bags saved airlines about $5 billion in taxes.</p>
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<p>It seems clear to me that tax savings are one driver of the unbundling of baggage fees because of a quirk in the law.</p>
<p>The U.S. government doesn’t apply the 7.5% tax to <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D/section-49.4261-3">international flights that go more than 225 miles</a> beyond the nation’s borders. Instead, there are fixed <a href="https://www.airlines.org/dataset/government-imposed-taxes-on-air-transportation">international departure and arrival taxes</a>. This is why major airlines charge $35 to $40 <a href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/checked-baggage-policy.jsp">for bags if you’re flying domestically</a>, but don’t charge a bag fee when you’re flying to Europe or Asia.</p>
<h2>Do travelers get anything for that money?</h2>
<p>This system raises an interesting question: Do baggage fees force airlines to be more careful with bags, since customers who pay more expect better service? To find out, I checked with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which has been <a href="https://www.bts.gov/content/mishandled-baggage-reports-filed-passengers-largest-us-air-carriersa">tracking lost luggage for decades</a>. </p>
<p>For many years, it calculated the number of mishandled-baggage reports per thousand airline passengers. The government’s data showed mishandled bags peaked in 2007 with about seven reports of lost or damaged luggage for every thousand passengers. That means you could expect your luggage to go on a different trip than the one you are taking about once every 140 or so flights. By 2018, that estimate had fallen to once every 350 flights.</p>
<p>In 2019, the government <a href="https://www.bts.gov/topics/airlines-and-airports/number-30a-technical-directive-mishandled-baggage-amended-effective-jan">changed how it tracks</a> mishandled bags, calculating figures based on the total number of bags checked, rather than the total number of passengers. The new data show about six bags per thousand checked get lost or damaged, which is less than 1% of checked bags. Unfortunately, the data doesn’t show improvement since 2019.</p>
<p>Is there anything that you can do about higher bag fees? Complaining to politicians probably won’t help. In 2010, two senators <a href="https://www.nj.com/business/2010/04/us_senators_present_bill_to_ba.html">tried to ban bag fees</a>, and their bill went nowhere.</p>
<p>Given that congressional action failed, there’s a simple way to avoid higher bag fees: <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/packing-expert-travel-world-handbag/index.html">travel light</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/08/opinion/carry-on-packing-airlines-lost-luggage.html">don’t check any luggage</a>. It may sound tough not to have all your belongings when traveling, but it might be the best option as bag fees take off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The answer lies in the tax code.Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2243192024-03-15T12:10:14Z2024-03-15T12:10:14ZThe hostility Black women face in higher education carries dire consequences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581998/original/file-20240314-24-v5d9s0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2110%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Isolation can make opportunities elusive. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-woman-holding-a-highlighter-and-reading-a-royalty-free-image/1446120435?adppopup=true">fotostorm via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Isolated. Abused. Overworked. </p>
<p>These are the themes that emerged when I invited nine Black women to chronicle their professional experiences and relationships with colleagues as they earned their Ph.D.s at a public university in the Midwest. I featured their writings in <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/3150/AYA_THIS.pdf?1710504520">the dissertation I wrote</a> to get my Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction. </p>
<p>The women spoke of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01177.x">being silenced</a>.</p>
<p>“It’s not just the beating me down that is hard,” one participant told me about constantly having her intelligence questioned. “It is the fact that it feels like I’m villainized and made out to be the problem for trying to advocate for myself.”</p>
<p>The women told me they did not feel like they belonged. They spoke of routinely being isolated by peers and potential mentors. </p>
<p>One participant told me she felt that peer community, faculty mentorship and cultural affinity spaces were lacking.</p>
<p>Because of the isolation, participants often felt that they were missing out on various opportunities, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2388">funding and opportunities to get their work published</a>.</p>
<p>Participants also discussed the ways they felt they were duped into taking on more than their fair share of work.</p>
<p>“I realized I had been tricked into handling a two- to four-person job entirely by myself,” one participant said of her paid graduate position. “This happened just about a month before the pandemic occurred so it very quickly got swept under the rug.” </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The hostility that Black women face in higher education can be hazardous to their health. The women in my study told me they were struggling with depression, had thought about suicide and felt physically ill when they had to go to campus.</p>
<p>Other studies have found similar outcomes. For instance, a 2020 study of 220 U.S. Black college women ages 18-48 found that even though being seen as a strong Black woman came with its benefits – such as being thought of as resilient, hardworking, independent and nurturing – it also came at a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01170-w">cost to their mental and physical health</a>. </p>
<p>These kinds of experiences can take a toll on women’s bodies and can result in <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-weeds/24079547/weathering-black-health-outcomes-women-dr-uche-blackstock">poor maternal health, cancer, shorter life expectancy</a> and other symptoms that impair their ability to be well.</p>
<p>I believe my research takes on greater urgency in light of the recent death of <a href="https://www.highereddive.com/news/lincoln-university-candia-bailey-death-investigation/705101/">Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey</a>, who was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/lincoln-university-president-paid-leave-days-vp-student-affairs-dies-s-rcna133723">vice president of student affairs</a> at Lincoln University. Before she <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/education/lincoln-university-students-vp-dies-by-suicide/">died by suicide</a>, she reportedly wrote that she felt she was suffering abuse and that the university <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/28/antoinette-candia-bailey-lincoln-university-death">wasn’t taking her mental health concerns seriously</a>.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done</h2>
<p>Several anthologies examine the negative experiences that Black women experience in academia. They include education scholars Venus Evans-Winters and Bettina Love’s edited volume, “<a href="https://www.peterlang.com/document/1118277">Black Feminism in Education</a>,” which examines how Black women navigate what it means to be a scholar in a “white supremacist patriarchal society.” Gender and sexuality studies scholar <a href="https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813032689">Stephanie Evans</a> analyzes the barriers that Black women faced in accessing higher education from 1850 to 1954. In “<a href="https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506489834/Black-Women-Ivory-Tower">Black Women, Ivory Tower</a>,” African American studies professor Jasmine Harris recounts her own traumatic experiences in the world of higher education.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>In addition to publishing the findings of my research study, I plan to continue exploring the depths of Black women’s experiences in academia, expanding my research to include undergraduate students, as well as faculty and staff. </p>
<p>I believe this research will strengthen this field of study and enable people who work in higher education to develop and implement more comprehensive solutions.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ebony Aya received funding from the Black Collective Foundation in 2022 to support the work of the Aya Collective. </span></em></p>9 Black women who were working on or recently earned their PhDs told a researcher they felt isolated and shut out.Ebony Aya, Program Manager at the Jan Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching, Macalester CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229722024-03-11T12:25:42Z2024-03-11T12:25:42ZWhy do trees need sunlight? An environmental scientist explains photosynthesis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578432/original/file-20240227-20-s7p24d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2048%2C1364&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The reason trees need sunlight is the same reason their leaves are green.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottb211/10108377914/"> Scottb211/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why do trees need sunlight? – Tillman, age 9, Asheville, North Carolina</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Trees need sunlight for the same reason you need food. The energy from the Sun’s rays is a crucial ingredient in how plants make their own food that helps them power all their cells. Since trees don’t harvest or hunt food, they have to produce their own. The way they make their food is a unique and important chemical process called photosynthesis.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="honey-comb pattern of rings each containing many small green spheres" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574698/original/file-20240209-30-3fr5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chlorophyll is what makes leaves green.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plagiomnium_affine_laminazellen.jpeg">Kristian Peters-Fabelfroh/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is photosynthesis?</h2>
<p>The cells in plants and all other living things have microscopic components called <a href="https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Organelle">organelles</a>. One type of organelle in plant cells is the chloroplast, and it contains the <a href="https://www.kidzone.ws/science/lessons/pigments.html">pigment</a> chlorophyll, which is what makes leaves green. When chlorophyll receives sunlight, it starts the <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> reaction.</p>
<p>The name photosynthesis comes from the ancient Greek words “photo,” which means light, and “synthesis,” which means to make. During this food-making process, plants take carbon dioxide from the air and water from the ground, and with the energy from sunlight, make glucose. Glucose is a very simple type of sugar. Because it is a simple compound, it is simple to make.</p>
<p>Most of the time, photosynthesis occurs in leaves, and leaves take in sunlight to make food. There are some special plants, though, that actually absorb sunlight on their stems. Some of these include cactuses like the balloon-shaped <a href="https://www.gardenia.net/plant/echinocactus-grusonii-golden-barrel-cactus">golden barrel cactus</a>, the spiky <a href="https://huntington.org/educators/learning-resources/spotlight/cylindropuntia-munzii">Munz’s Cholla</a> and the paddle-shaped <a href="https://huntington.org/educators/learning-resources/spotlight/opuntia-ficus-indica">prickly pear</a>. Some plants even have roots that can photosynthesize, like the rare palm <em><a href="https://huntington.org/educators/learning-resources/spotlight/cryosophila-albida">Cryosophila albida</a></em>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graphic diagram of a plant showing sun, soil, roots, leaves and a flower" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579708/original/file-20240304-28-wxa438.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sunlight gives plants the energy to turn water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates – the food their cells need to live and grow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photosynthesis_en.svg">At09kg/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Photosynthesis is billions of years old</h2>
<p>Photosynthesis evolved more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1104%2Fpp.110.161687">3.5 billion years ago</a>. Initially, only single-celled organisms, kind of like today’s algae, could make sugar this way. Oxygen is a waste product from the photosynthesis process, and over time, these single-celled organisms released enough oxygen to change the Earth’s atmosphere. Ultimately, we and all other animals needed this to happen to be able to live and breathe. </p>
<p>Over time, aquatic plants developed, and gradually plants <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat3642">moved to land</a> around 500 million years ago to better access their most vital resource: sunlight. Plants eventually got taller by around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar2986">350 million years ago</a>. This is when the first tree evolved, which grew up to 150 feet tall. These trees looked like the evergreen trees we see today – sort of like pines, firs and spruce. And about 125 million years ago, trees that looked like the maples, oaks and beech trees we see today shared the landscape when <a href="https://new.nsf.gov/news/dinosaur-age-fossils-provide-new-insights-origin">dinosaurs ruled the Earth</a>.</p>
<h2>Not just good for plants</h2>
<p>The Sun provides energy for the Earth. However, we humans are not capable of taking in the sun directly and using it to power our bodies. So how do we make use of the Sun’s energy? Plants do it for us.</p>
<p>Plants take in that energy and make food for us and other animals to eat and oxygen for us to breathe. We wouldn’t exist without plants and photosynthesis.</p>
<p>Like the ancient tiny single-celled organisms from 3.5 billion years ago, some microorganisms today use photosynthesis. Specifically, the algae that you might see living on top of lakes and the ocean do. Chlorophyll is why algae is green. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://news.asu.edu/20191114-asu-study-shows-some-aquatic-plants-depend-landscape-photosynthesis">aquatic plants</a> that use sunlight to grow. They typically make use of less sunlight because sunlight does not travel well through water.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="yellowish green grass-like plants underwater" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578425/original/file-20240227-30-2rnnkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some plants can do photosynthesis underwater, where there is less sunlight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chesbayprogram/32446887586/">Chesapeake Bay Program/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, there are a very few animals that can photosynthesize. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2012.11214">pea aphid</a> uses pigment to harvest sunlight to make energy. The <a href="https://phys.org/news/2011-01-physicists-outer-shell-hornet-harvest.html">Oriental hornet</a> uses a pigment in its exoskeleton to make energy from sunlight. The <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/solar-powered-photosynthetic-sea-slugs-in-decline-news">emerald-green sea slug</a> eats algae and then incorporates chlorophyll from the algae into its body to photosynthesize. Because of this strategy, the sea slug can go nine months without eating. </p>
<p>So the answer to this question – why do trees need sunlight – is to make their food. And thanks to trees and other plants turning sunlight into their food, most of the rest of the living things on Earth get to eat, too!</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222972/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebekah Stein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trees – and all plants – harvest sunlight to gain the energy they need to live and grow.Rebekah Stein, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Quinnipiac UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229672024-03-11T12:24:32Z2024-03-11T12:24:32ZAncient Rome successfully fought against voter intimidation − a political story told on a coin that resonates today<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576049/original/file-20240215-17705-r7jti2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Democracy was enshrined in Roman currency.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://numismatics.org/collection/1937.158.2?lang=en">American Numismatic Society</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This silver denarius, minted <a href="https://numismatics.org/crro/id/rrc-292.1">over 2,000 years ago</a>, is hardly the most attractive Roman coin. And yet, the coin is vital evidence for the early stages of a political struggle that culminated in Caesar’s assassination and the fall of the Roman Republic.</p>
<p>I first encountered this coin while <a href="https://history.iastate.edu/directory/david-hollander/">studying Roman history</a> in graduate school. Its unusual design gave me pause – this one depicted figures walking across a narrow bridge and dropping something into a box. I moved on after learning it depicted voting, reasoning that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah06338">Roman mint officials</a> occasionally made idiosyncratic choices.</p>
<p>But as voting access evolves in the U.S., the political importance of this centuries-old coin seems more compelling. It turns out that efforts to regulate voting access go way back.</p>
<h2>Roman voting</h2>
<p>Voting was a core feature of the Roman Republic and a <a href="https://archive.org/details/worldofcitizenin0000nico">regular activity for politically active citizens</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah18141">Men, and only men</a>, could vote in multiple elections and legislative assemblies each year. So why would P. Licinius Nerva, the official responsible for this coin, choose to depict such a banal activity? </p>
<p>The answer lies in voting procedures that sometimes heavily favored elites.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Panoramic view of ancient Roman columns and buildings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=218&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579986/original/file-20240305-18-i1uwnl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Roman Forum was a common site of political activities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forum_romanum_6k_(5760x2097).jpg">BeBo86/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20037.pub2">comitia centuriata</a>, the assembly that elected Rome’s chief magistrates, each citizen was a member of a voting unit based on wealth. Unit members voted to decide which candidates they collectively supported, like U.S. presidential elections where it’s not the popular vote but the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-the-electoral-college-exist-and-how-does-it-work-5-essential-reads-149502">number of Electoral College votes</a> that determines the winner. </p>
<p>The wealthiest Romans controlled more than half of the voting units in this assembly. The poorest citizens had just one voting unit; since they voted last, and only during uncertain outcomes, they might not vote at all. </p>
<p>Furthermore, citizens voted orally and openly. Elites could directly observe and potentially intimidate poorer voters.</p>
<h2>Regulating Roman electioneering</h2>
<p>That all began to change in 139 BCE when the Roman politician <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi044.perseus-lat1:3.35">Aulus Gabinius passed a law</a> mandating written ballots for elections. Two further laws, <a href="https://archive.org/details/romanvotingassem0000tayl">both passed in the 130s</a>, extended the use of written ballots to legislative voting and most trial juries.</p>
<p>These written ballots made it more difficult for elites to influence voting but not impossible. Each unit formed its own line leading to a bridge where voters received ballots to mark and <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb01565.0001.001">place in a basket</a>. Elites could station themselves or their allies on the bridge to encourage people to vote the “right” way.</p>
<p>The reverse of Nerva’s coin depicts the reception and deposit of the ballot, the first and last moments of a voter’s time on the bridge. The absence of nonvoter figures on the coin, apart from a poll worker, is key to understanding its message.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2018%2C1951&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bronzed silver coin with one figure receiving a ballot from another figure while another deposits a ballot in a box" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2018%2C1951&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576033/original/file-20240215-20-qncuxa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reverse of a Roman silver coin minted by P. Nerva, circa 113 BCE.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://numismatics.org/collection/1937.158.2?lang=en">American Numismatic Society</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 119 BCE, a young politician named Gaius Marius <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg031.perseus-eng1:4.2">passed a law</a> that <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/marcus_tullius_cicero-de_legibus/1928/pb_LCL213.505.xml">narrowed voting bridge widths</a>, allowing voters to mark their ballots without elites looking over their shoulders. Nerva’s coin, minted six or seven years later, almost certainly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511584015">refers back to this law</a>. By showing only voters on the bridge, Nerva was celebrating an important voting rights victory and announcing his allegiance to Marius.</p>
<p>The aristocrats never managed to repeal the voting laws and were <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi044.perseus-lat1:3.33">still grumbling about them</a> even as the Republic collapsed.</p>
<p>The long Roman struggle over voting procedures provides a useful and perhaps even comforting reminder. <a href="https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/">Changing state voting laws</a> and <a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/">election lawsuits</a> are nothing new. The fight over voter access to the ballot is an inevitable side effect of democracy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222967/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David B. Hollander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fighting for voter access is an inevitable part of any democracy, from ancient Rome to the US today. Roman legislators were able to thwart elite political sway by introducing written ballots.David B. Hollander, Professor of History, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232592024-03-11T12:23:54Z2024-03-11T12:23:54ZHow ‘hometown associations’ help immigrants support their communities in the US and back in their homelands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580317/original/file-20240307-26-6881fx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=84%2C53%2C5028%2C3119&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many Mexican immigrants stay connected to communities in their country of origin.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/merged-flags-of-usa-and-mexico-painted-on-concrete-royalty-free-image/640127588?adppopup=true">ronniechua/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24357864">Hometown associations</a>,” also known as migrant clubs, are nonprofits formed by immigrants who are originally from the same place in their country of origin. They serve as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2024.2313386">channels through which immigrants make charitable gifts</a> that help people settle in their new country while also aiding communities back in their homelands. Many <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/mexican-hometown-associations-in-chicagoacan/9780813564920/">were created in the 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>Mexican hometown associations are the most widely established. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2006.00130.x">Turkish</a>, <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/cmgdev/wp11-03aagarwala-india-report-march-2011.pdf.html">Indian</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13691830500178147">Filipino, Guatemalan, Salvadoran</a>, <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-global-ethiopian-diaspora-shimelis-bonsa-gulema/1144167013">Ethiopian</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.871492">Bolivian</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/9781782387350-005">Colombian and Dominican</a> immigrants, among others, have created them too. </p>
<h2>Why hometown associations matter</h2>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=a8EwKzoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholar of philanthropy</a> who has recently studied the Mexican hometown associations that support causes on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2024.2313386">both sides of the U.S. southern border</a>.</p>
<p>In particular, I researched the associations that make up the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FederacionZacatecanaEnIllinois/?locale=es_LA">Federación de Clubes Unidos Zacatecanos en Illinois</a>. </p>
<p>This federation, formed by immigrants from towns in the Mexican state of Zacatecas who moved to Illinois, includes 15 active associations. Each has between 20 and 500 members.</p>
<p>Since 1995, these nonprofits have helped newly arrived Mexican immigrants in the communities where they now live and residents of their original Zacatecan hometowns. For example, they help Mexican American students in Illinois pay for college, as well as chip in to cover some higher-ed costs for Mexican students back in Zacatecas.</p>
<p>The associations also contribute to projects that benefit their communities back in Zacatecas. Examples include paving roads, establishing athletic fields, installing electricity, increasing access to clean water and building everything from churches to health clinics. </p>
<p>The groups raise money by holding member breakfasts, mariachi concerts, raffles and other events in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FederacionZacatecanaEnIllinois/videos/rifa-fcuzi/248498930146336/?locale=es_LA">Their fundraisers can generate</a> anywhere from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands annually. </p>
<p>Many of these groups have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.1958">informal origins</a>. Some got their start when immigrants were gathering for other reasons, such as <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=anon%7Ec73a92bc&id=GALE%7CA282581052&v=2.1&it=r&sid=googleScholar&asid=86ff5d91">taking part in local soccer and baseball games</a>. Today, most hometown associations remain led by volunteers. </p>
<p>Even with volunteer leadership, in the Mexican case, these associations have adopted more formal approaches to their operations over the years. They gather in local community centers, which they often own. </p>
<h2>Collective remittances</h2>
<p>Hometown associations are an example of what’s known as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0012-155X.2004.00380.x">collective remittances</a>, the technical term for immigrants pooling money earned abroad and sending it back to their homelands.</p>
<p>All told, immigrants around the world <a href="https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/remittances">send about US$860 billion</a> back to their homelands every year through remittances. This money flows directly to family and friends, helping them pay for housing, food and other expenses.</p>
<p>This estimate leaves out collective philanthropy, including the money that hometown associations send back to their homelands. I’ve never found a reliable estimate of the scale of hometown associations’ charitable contributions. Even the number of associations across immigrant groups is not fully determined, making estimates of their collective donations hard to calculate. </p>
<p>But what I have observed is how the members of hometown associations team up to serve their communities in ways that don’t involve only money. They voluntarily devote their time, labor and knowledge to help their countries of origin for the public good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223259/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Appe's research was supported by the U.S. Fulbright Program and The U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational Exchange (COMEXUS).</span></em></p>Mexican groups are the most common, but immigrants from Turkey, Bolivia and many more countries have formed their own.Susan Appe, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2219392024-03-08T13:38:13Z2024-03-08T13:38:13ZTeenagers often know when their parents are having money problems − and that knowledge is linked to mental health challenges, new research finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576103/original/file-20240216-28-neuioj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=120%2C77%2C5609%2C3736&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teens are more clued in to family finances than many people think.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/single-working-mother-and-her-teenage-girl-talking-royalty-free-image/1457103190">Olga Rolenko/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When parents try to shield their kids from financial hardship, they may be doing them a favor: Teens’ views about their families’ economic challenges are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579423001451">connected to their mental health and behavior</a>.</p>
<p>That’s the main finding of a study into household income and child development that I recently conducted with my colleagues.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&oi=ao&user=--zcHSQAAAAJ">professor of psychology</a>, I know there’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01210-4">a good deal of research</a> showing that young people who experience more household economic hardship <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-019-00833-y">tend to have more behavioral problems</a>.</p>
<p>But most studies on this issue rely heavily on caregiver reports – that is, what adults say about their kids. Fewer researchers have asked young people themselves. </p>
<p>To fill this gap, my colleagues and I asked more than 100 Pittsburgh-area teenagers, as well as their parents, about their family income, their views about their financial challenges, and their mental health. We checked in with them multiple times over nine months. </p>
<p>Doing this, we found a few important things. First, we found that many families’ economic situations varied over time – they were doing fine with money in some months and struggling during others. And second, we found that when teenagers said they and their family were experiencing hardship, those teens had more behavioral problems.</p>
<p>For example, many teens said that they couldn’t afford school supplies or that their caregivers worried because they lacked money for necessities. In the months when teens reported experiencing these hardships, they were more likely to feel depressed and get in trouble at school.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Other researchers have found that economic hardship is related to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00986.x">differences in parenting</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/children9070981">academic achievement</a> and many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106400">other developmental outcomes</a> – but prior studies haven’t always captured the complexities and challenges that struggling families face. </p>
<p>For example, researchers studying links between economic hardship and youth behavioral development have historically looked at family income on a yearly basis. But bills come due weekly or monthly. Our work shows that looking at the annual data alone risks missing an important part of the story: Many families experience brief spells of financial instability.</p>
<p>Our work also shows that teens are acutely affected by economic conditions in their daily lives and understand their families’ circumstances. This has important implications for research. Given that adolescence is a time of major emotional and cognitive changes, our team believes that researchers should center on the perspectives of young people directly affected by economic challenges. For example, we have previously found that how young people view stress and support in their lives may have <a href="https://theconversation.com/positive-parenting-can-help-protect-against-the-effects-of-stress-in-childhood-and-adolescence-new-study-shows-208268">implications for their brain development</a>.</p>
<p>This work also has important implications for public policy. For example, lawmakers assume that economic hardship is fairly stable and set anti-poverty policies accordingly. Our research offers fresh evidence that many people see <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/31/business/31-volatility.html">large income swings throughout the year</a>. This kind of economic instability has been found to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0181-5">affect child development</a>, especially when families <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419001494">lose large amounts of income</a>. To lessen the impact of poverty, policymakers may need to think about economic hardship more dynamically.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Our research team wants to continue putting young people’s voices front and center. We’re also interested in more complex ways to make sense of socioeconomic status. While we know that income matters for families, we’re increasingly focused on household wealth, which is a household’s assets minus its debts. Wealth may influence child development in ways that are different from income. We’re just starting to collect data for a new project examining how both of these factors <a href="https://sanford.duke.edu/story/nichd-awards-grant-sanford-partnership-focused-adolescent-wellness-factors/">affect teen mental health</a>.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Hanson and his colleagues receive funding from the National Institutes of Health. Hanson is also a board member of the Pittsburgh Non-Profit, Project Destiny.</span></em></p>A study of more than 100 teens and their caregivers showed a unique link between hardship and behavior problems.Jamie Hanson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2232672024-03-08T13:36:46Z2024-03-08T13:36:46ZRare access to hammerhead shark embryos reveals secrets of its unique head development<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575205/original/file-20240213-26-2257zy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=558%2C0%2C9359%2C6223&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The characteristic hammer-shaped head is just becoming visible in this image of an embryonic bonnethead shark. Scale bar = 1 cm.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Byrum and Gareth Fraser, Department of Biology, University of Florida</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientists very rarely get access to most sharks, the development of their young or the nursery grounds where they grow. So seeing a <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/sphyrna-tiburo/">hammerhead shark</a> (<em>Sphyrna tiburo</em>) embryo, halfway through its five-month development, is very unusual.</p>
<p>Access to growing embryos is key for <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=J5qu-2gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">developmental biologists like me</a> as we try to understand the diversity of animals on Earth. Usually the fishes I study, including other shark species, lay eggs, which allows us to easily watch development in real time.</p>
<p>Hammerhead sharks don’t lay eggs, though. They gestate their pups in utero. A pregnant shark carries up to 16 embryos, each nourished by an umbilical cord, just like human embryos are. Then the mother gives birth to live young, and these babies are self-sufficient with teeth and jaws, ready to survive on their own.</p>
<p>Access to a hammerhead embryo is very rare, which is what makes this image so special.</p>
<h2>Access to a very rare resource</h2>
<p>In order to make this image, my colleagues and I salvaged embryos from adult female sharks that had been caught as part of population surveys off both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida. Usually these sharks are tagged and released. But a small number die during this process and are then studied for insights about diet, age, growth, reproduction and toxicology. No sharks were sacrificed just for our study. The embryos would have otherwise been wasted when the mothers died.</p>
<p>For this work, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GAE2Hi8AAAAJ&hl=en">Steven Byrum</a>, a graduate student <a href="https://www.fraser-lab.net/">in my lab</a>, was able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dvdy.658">document the entire set of developmental stages</a> using a total of 177 bonnethead shark embryos.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="composite image of six shark embryos at advancing stages of development" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579899/original/file-20240305-20-2yce7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Images of embryos of different ages reveal how the sharks develop in utero.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Byrum and Gareth Fraser, Department of Biology, University of Florida</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were able to assemble a kind of visual growth chart, from the earliest embryos – they look nothing like hammerheads – to the specific point in development when the hammerhead takes shape, through the rest of development before birth. No scientists had ever before charted the development of hammerhead sharks in this way.</p>
<p>This research allows us to study crucial stages in hammerhead development and, importantly, the precise moments – like this one pictured – when the embryo develops the characteristic head shape.</p>
<h2>Adding to what’s known about hammerheads</h2>
<p>Hammerheads are a peculiar group of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.037">only eight species of sharks</a> that uniquely develop a hammer-shaped head known as a cephalofoil, named for its hydrodynamic design used for <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1446449">quick turns and pinning down prey</a>. This particular species is known as the bonnethead because of its relatively small, rounded “hammer.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="view from above of grayish fish swimming just above sandy seafloor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579876/original/file-20240305-28-sk4tsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A grown bonnethead shark has sensory advantages from its hammer-shaped head.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bonnethead-shark-underwater-bahamas-west-indies-royalty-free-image/200351925-001">Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists think the wide, flattened head shape with eyes on each side evolved to enhance the animals’ senses. Wide positioning of the eyes allows for an increased field of vision, and wide, expanded nasal capsules provide enhanced olfactory capability.</p>
<p>The hammer-shaped heads are covered with expanded electric detector organs that support the sharks’ “sixth sense.” They can detect even the smallest electrical signals, such as the pulses from a prey fish’s heartbeat, or the Earth’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2004.0021">magnetic fields, which they can use to navigate</a> during migration.</p>
<p>Access to these amazing shark pup embryos allows us to compare their development with other regular-headed sharks and ask how and why hammerheads grow these wonderful noggins.</p>
<p>The ocean hides a wealth of weird and wonderful fishes, most of which are inaccessible, and studies of their development are impossible. My lab continues to uncover insights into the evolution of life on Earth thanks to these fortuitous opportunities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth J. Fraser receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Because hammerhead sharks give birth to live young, studying their embryonic development is much more complicated than harvesting some eggs and watching them develop in real time.Gareth J. Fraser, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224722024-03-05T13:59:14Z2024-03-05T13:59:14ZCan witches fly? A historian unpacks the medieval invention − and skepticism − of the witch on a broomstick<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578977/original/file-20240229-24-sr8g1w.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1417%2C1009&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of the earliest depictions of flying witches is in a 15th-century text entitled "Le champion des dames," or "The Defender of Ladies."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Champion_des_dames_Vaudoises.JPG">Martin Le Franc/W. Schild. Die Maleficia der Hexenleut' via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The image of a witch flying on a broomstick is iconic, but it is not nearly as old as the idea of witchcraft itself, which dates to the <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300238679/the-witch/">earliest days of humankind</a>.</p>
<p>Several theologians, church inquisitors, secular magistrates and other authorities first wrote about such flight in the early 1400s. The earliest known visual depiction of flying witches appears in a 1451 manuscript copy of one such text, “<a href="https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-trial-of-womankind/">Le champion des dames</a>” (“The Defender of Ladies”), by the French poet Martin Le Franc.</p>
<p>Witchcraft accusations at this time were increasingly <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/39656">focused on women</a>. The clothing of the figures in <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/49030810/">Le Franc’s text</a> depicts them as coming from non-elite ranks of medieval society. So do the implements on which they fly. Staffs and brooms were tools for ordinary housework.</p>
<p>The notion that witches could fly served to support the idea that they gathered in large groups <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08910-2.html">called sabbaths</a>. These gatherings, in turn, heightened the supposed threat witches posed to Christian society. </p>
<p>Even after the idea of witches flying on brooms was introduced to European society, it was not readily accepted. Many who wrote about witchcraft at this time, including Le Franc, were quite skeptical about the reality of flying witches.</p>
<p>As it turned out, however, authorities could still perceive a threat even if they believed witches’ flight was imaginary. </p>
<h2>The scope of skepticism</h2>
<p>In my work as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E0RaQ-oAAAAJ&hl=en">scholar of medieval European history</a>, I have researched texts describing <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08910-2.html">witchcraft in the early 1400s</a>. </p>
<p>Some texts fully accepted the idea that witches flew, often on brooms or staffs. One described witches traveling to sabbaths on staffs anointed with a magical ointment and flying into the mountains to gather ice to cause hailstorms.</p>
<p>Other texts, however, were not sure that such flight was real. One noted that accused witches claimed to fly from mountaintop to mountaintop on chairs, but it also hinted that demons might have tricked them into thinking they did. Another text stated that accused witches who claimed to fly were “deluded” by the devil. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of witch in a red dress flying on a staff, from the 'Champion des dames'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=586&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574238/original/file-20240207-24-dtpy1k.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Witches were often depicted flying on household implements such as brooms and staffs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Champion_des_dames_Vaudoises.JPG">Martin Le Franc/W. Schild. Die Maleficia der Hexenleut' via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Skepticism about flying witches drew on an early 10th-century church law about women who claimed to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2021.0009">ride at night on “certain beasts</a>” in the train of the pagan goddess Diana, whom Christian authorities understood to be a demon in disguise. The law declared that such flight was not real, and anyone who thought so had been “seduced by illusions and phantasms of demons.” It prescribed no direct punishment but mandated priests <a href="https://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Witchcraft%20and%20Grimoires/canon.html">preach against such “infidels</a>.”</p>
<p>Skeptics of magical flight were quite specific in their doubts. Le Franc, for example, declared that anyone who thought that witches could fly <a href="https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-trial-of-womankind/">lacked “common sense</a>.” On the other hand, he fully accepted that magicians, who were generally male, could conjure demons and that “magic arts” had been practiced as far back as ancient Persia.</p>
<p>The story, however, is not so simple as male authorities accepting the reality of magic practiced by men but doubting that women flew on brooms. These same authorities were, in general, taking other aspects of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/ems.2003.0002">witchcraft more seriously</a>.</p>
<h2>Imagining flight</h2>
<p>Did women accused of witchcraft really insist that they flew on brooms? </p>
<p>Scholars have speculated that the ointments often mentioned in accounts of such flight might have functioned as hallucinogens, producing sensations of flying. The most thorough study of these accounts, however, finds that such references <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2016.0008">rarely appear in voluntary testimony</a>. They come instead from authorities recording, and often reshaping, what accused witches said.</p>
<p>In the end, allegations of flight and dismissal of its reality may have sprung entirely from the minds of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-invention-of-satanic-witchcraft-by-medieval-authorities-was-initially-met-with-skepticism-140809">legal and religious authorities</a> who codified and condemned the idea of witchcraft. </p>
<p>Their skepticism hardly mattered. Courts could execute convicted witches regardless of whether they believed they could fly. </p>
<p>Although witch-hunting ended – at least in Europe and North America – <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Witch-Hunt-in-Early-Modern-Europe/Levack/p/book/9781138808102">in the 18th century</a>, the image of witches flying on brooms endures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael D. Bailey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The iconic image of a witch on a broomstick has apocryphal origins. But whether they could actually fly didn’t stop Christian society from persecuting them.Michael D. Bailey, Professor of History, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2229702024-02-27T12:30:24Z2024-02-27T12:30:24ZOmega-3 fatty acids are linked to better lung health, particularly in patients with pulmonary fibrosis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577659/original/file-20240223-30-2mxmmk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Your diet may play a role in maintaining lung health.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/human-respiratory-system-lungs-anatomy-royalty-free-image/1249730889">magicmine/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Omega-3 fatty acids have garnered significant interest among patients and clinicians for their potential <a href="https://doi.org/10.3945/an.111.000893">protective health effects</a>, including lung health. In our recently published research, my colleagues and I found that higher dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2023.09.035">better lung function and longer survival</a> in patients with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic respiratory disease.</p>
<p>Found in foods such as fish and nuts and in some supplements, <a href="https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Willamette_University/WU%3A_Chem_199_-_Better_Living_Through_Chemistry/01%3A_Chemicals_in_Food/1.04%3A_Macro-_and_Micronutrients/1.4.02%3A_Fats_and_Cholesterol">omega-3 fatty acids</a> are polyunsaturated fats that are essential nutrients for people. They serve several important functions in the body, such as providing structure to cells and regulating inflammation.</p>
<p>Researchers believe two omega-3 fatty acids, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1042/bst20160474">docosahexaenoic and eicosapentaenoic acids, or DHA and EPA</a>, are the most beneficial to overall health. When the body breaks them down, their byproducts have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2020.11.018">anti-inflammatory effects</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chemical structure of EPA and DHA" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577668/original/file-20240223-26-i1nth6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=637&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">EPA and DHA are two omega-3 fatty acids particularly linked to health benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://med.libretexts.org/Courses/Allan_Hancock_College/Introduction_to_Nutrition_Science_(Bisson_et._al)/07%3A_Lipids/7.04%3A_Fatty_Acid_Types_and_Food_Sources">Minutemen/Wikimedia Commons via LibreTexts</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>I <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QeKA8ZoAAAAJ&hl=en">am a pulmonologist</a> at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and my research team and I are working to identify risk factors that may contribute to the development of <a href="https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pulmonary-fibrosis/introduction#">pulmonary fibrosis</a>. In this disease, scarred lung tissue can lead to respiratory failure and death.</p>
<p>We examined whether higher levels of DHA and EPA in the blood of patients with pulmonary fibrosis in different groups of research participants in the U.S. were linked to disease progression. We found that patients with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood had a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2023.09.035">slower decline in lung function and longer survival</a>. Notably, these findings persisted even after we accounted for other factors such as age and co-occurring diseases. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Currently, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/crj.13466">very few treatments</a> available for pulmonary fibrosis. Those that do exist have significant side effects. Our findings suggest that increasing omega-3 fatty acids in a patient’s diet may slow the progression of this devastating disease.</p>
<p>Researchers have investigated the role of nutrition in many other diseases, but it remains understudied in chronic lung diseases, including pulmonary fibrosis. Our study, along with other published research, suggests <a href="https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00262-2023">dietary modifications</a> may influence the trajectory of this disease and improve a patient’s ability to tolerate treatment.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQt4_KQUCnk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Scarring in lung tissue makes it more difficult to breathe.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Furthermore, other studies using mice have shed light on how omega-3 fatty acids may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2466-14-64">protect against pulmonary fibrosis</a> by regulating the activity of inflammatory cells and slowing buildup of scar tissue in the lungs. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Since we were able to measure omega-3 fatty acid levels in the blood at only one point in time, we could not determine whether changing levels over time correlates with changes in pulmonary fibrosis. </p>
<p>Crucially, it remains unknown whether increasing omega-3 fatty acid levels in the blood will have a meaningful effect on the lives of patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood might not directly affect pulmonary fibrosis and may simply reflect healthier lifestyles and diets. </p>
<p>Clinical trials are necessary to actually determine whether omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for patients with respiratory diseases.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We plan to continue researching whether omega-3 fatty acids have a protective effect against pulmonary fibrosis. </p>
<p>Specifically, we hope to determine the mechanism by which omega-3-enriched interventions affect the lungs of patients with pulmonary fibrosis. </p>
<p>These will be important steps to identify patients who may be particularly responsive to omega-3 therapies and move these treatments toward clinical testing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Kim receives funding from the National Institute of Health and Chest Foundation. </span></em></p>Essential fats found in fish and nuts are tied to many protective health benefits. Researchers found they may also slow decline of lung function and prolong the lives of pulmonary fibrosis patients.John Kim, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2222662024-02-26T13:37:32Z2024-02-26T13:37:32Z‘Swarm of one’ robot is a single machine made up of independent modules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575061/original/file-20240212-16-ex7r9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This robot mimics simple life forms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10342118">Trevor Smith</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>My colleagues and I have built a robot composed of many building blocks like the cells of a multicellular organism. Without a “brain” or a central controller in the system, our robot, dubbed Loopy, relies on the collective behavior of all of its cells to interact with the world. </p>
<p>In this sense, we call Loopy a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/JPROC.2021.3072740">robotic swarm</a>. But Loopy can also be seen as a single robot since all the cells are connected; therefore, Loopy is also “a swarm of one.” This research could lead to adaptive robots that tailor their shapes and movements to their environments – for example, in environmental cleanup applications.</p>
<p>Loopy is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10342118">primitive form of multicellular robot</a> that is made of a ring of 36 cells. Each cell has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHOH-bYjR4k">rotary servo</a> – an electric motor that rotates a shaft with precise controlled angle of rotation – and sensors. Each cell reacts on its own without input from any of the others except for its two immediate neighbors. As the servos move, the angles between the cells determine Loopy’s overall shape.</p>
<p>Loopy is free to morph into various shapes and exhibit a range of motions. But random shapes and motions are not useful. We were hoping something interesting would emerge from self-organization; that is, the spontaneous creation of order from disorder, without us telling Loopy what to do directly. It turned out that Loopy forms stable shapes that recover after Loopy bumps into obstacles.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Loopy exhibiting spontaneous shapes and motions.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Famed mathematician <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing">Alan Turing</a> was interested in the idea of self-organization back in 1952. He even envisioned <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1952.0012">a ring of cells</a>. Turing hypothesized the existence of chemicals that diffuse and react with each other, leading to the creation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-animals-get-their-skin-patterns-is-a-matter-of-physics-new-research-clarifying-how-could-improve-medical-diagnostics-and-synthetic-materials-217035">patterns in nature</a> like those on bird’s feathers and seashells. This self-organization approach using simulated chemicals enabled Loopy to form and transition between various lobed shapes spontaneously. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Engineered systems, and robots in particular, are predominantly designed with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10514-007-9080-5">top-down approach</a>, where human designers anticipate the conditions the system may encounter and plan ahead through hardware designs, software programs or both. The problem is, the designers are not likely be there when the robot encounters an unanticipated situation. </p>
<p>This micromanagement approach in robot design is like giving kids a detailed manual when sending them to school the first day. A better way of parenting would be to provide general guidelines and feedback, and expect the kids to solve problems on their own. Similarly, a key motivation of developing Loopy is to unleash the power of <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-79629-6_11">bottom-up collective “intelligence</a>” so Loopy can find new solutions on its own when a new situation arises; for example, finding the right shape for self to adapt to the environment.</p>
<h2>What other research is being done?</h2>
<p>The vision of programmable matter has been around for decades, yet tangible examples have been scarce. While researchers have explored complex shape formation through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-022-00034-3">self-assembly</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-022-00034-3">reconfigurable robotic systems</a>, these often depend on predetermined shapes. </p>
<p>Similar to Loopy, researchers have applied Turing’s self-organization concept to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aau9178">swarms of robots</a>, such as the small, simple, autonomous <a href="https://ssr.seas.harvard.edu/kilobots">Kilobots</a>, leading to the emergence of complex shapes. However, unlike Loopy, the physical forces between “cells” are not used to influence the final shape and behavior of the collective.</p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>We would like Loopy to develop more lifelike traits, such as navigating unforeseen situations, seeking out better conditions, acquiring resources and mitigating threats. This vision extends to eventually enabling Loopy to perform tasks assigned by people, thereby bridging the gap between the open-ended creativity of self-organization and human guidance.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yu Gu works for West Virginia University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trevor Smith works for West Virginia University.</span></em></p>‘Loopy’ is a multicellular robot inspired by biology and designed to react to its environment without instructions on how to do so.Yu Gu, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia UniversityTrevor Smith, PhD Candidate in Mechanical Engineering, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228312024-02-21T13:18:19Z2024-02-21T13:18:19ZMaking it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could help reduce political polarization<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576054/original/file-20240215-28-zbjze5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1720%2C1732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thinking about issues’ impact on their own lives can help people envision more common ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/polarization-in-the-united-states-royalty-free-image/1436162554?phrase=political+polarization&adppopup=true">wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Political polarization can be reduced when people are told to think about the personal relevance of issues they might not care about at first glance.</p>
<p>We, <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/Rebecca-Dyer">a social psychologist</a> and <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/our-faculty/directory/faculty-detail/keelah-williams">an evolutionary psychologist</a>, decided to investigate this issue with two of our undergraduate students, and recently published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">our results</a> in the science journal PLOS One.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015141">Previous research</a> has found that conservatives tend to judge “disrespecting an elder” to be more morally objectionable behavior than liberals do. But when we had liberals think about how “disrespecting an elder” could be personally relevant to them – for example, someone being mean to their own grandmother – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">their immorality assessments increased</a>, becoming no different than conservatives’.</p>
<p>When people consider how an issue relates to them personally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000567">an otherwise neutral event seems more threatening</a>. This, in turn, increases someone’s perception of how morally objectionable that behavior is.</p>
<p>The pattern was different with conservative participants, however. When conservatives considered the personal relevance of what is typically considered a more “liberal” issue – a company lying about how much it is contributing to pollution – their judgments of how immoral that issue is did not significantly change. </p>
<p>Contrary to what we expected, both conservatives and liberals cared relatively equally about this threat even without thinking about its personal relevance. While some people did focus on the environmental aspect of the threat, as we intended, others focused more on the deception involved, which is less politically polarized. </p>
<p>All participants, no matter their politics, consistently rated more personally relevant threats as more immoral. The closer any threat feels, the bigger – and more wrong – someone considers it to be.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>In the United States today, it can feel like conservatives and liberals are <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/political-divide-america-beyond-polarization-tribalism-secularism">living in different realities</a>. Our research speaks to a possible pathway for narrowing this gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two rows of seated people, seen from the back, listen to four people speaking as they face the audience." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576815/original/file-20240220-22-4q8cod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thinking about issues as closer to your own life – happening sooner, nearer or to people you care about – can change how you view them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/rear-view-photo-of-audience-listening-to-panel-royalty-free-image/1179025358?phrase=%22town+hall%22+meeting&adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>People often think of moral beliefs as relatively fixed and stable: Moral values feel ingrained in who you are. Yet our study suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296177">moral beliefs may be more flexible</a> than once thought, at least under certain circumstances. </p>
<p>To the extent that people can appreciate how important issues – like climate change – could affect them personally, that may lead to greater agreement from people across the political spectrum.</p>
<p>From a broader perspective, personal relevance is just one dimension of something called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018963">psychological distance</a>.” People may perceive objects or events as close to or far away from their lives in a variety of ways: for example, whether an event occurred recently or a long time ago, and whether it is real or hypothetical.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that psychological distance could be an important variable to consider in all kinds of decision-making, including financial decisions, deciding where to go to college or what job to take. Thinking more abstractly or concretely about what is at stake might lead people to different conclusions and improve the quality of their decisions.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Several important questions remain. One relates to the differing pattern that we observed with conservative participants, whose assessments of a stereotypically “liberal” threat did not change much when they considered its relevance to their own lives. Would a different threat – maybe gun violence or mounting student loan debt – lead to a different pattern? Alternatively, perhaps conservatives tend to be more rigid in their beliefs than liberals, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000446">as some studies have suggested</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, how might these findings contribute to actual problem-solving? Is increasing the personal relevance of otherwise-neutral threats the best way to help people see eye to eye?</p>
<p>Another possibility might be to push things in the opposite direction. Making potential threats seem less personally relevant, not more, might be an effective way to bring people together to work toward a realistic solution.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Changing the ‘psychological distance’ someone feels toward an issue can shift their attitudes in ways that might help people on opposite sides of an issue see more eye to eye.Rebecca Dyer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Hamilton CollegeKeelah Williams, Associate Professor of Psychology, Hamilton CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231592024-02-16T13:19:19Z2024-02-16T13:19:19ZWhat’s behind the astonishing rise in LGBTQ+ romance literature?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575427/original/file-20240213-24-vujzz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C9%2C6000%2C3991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">America's biggest book publishers originally viewed LGBTQ+ romance as a niche market.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/lesbian-couple-relaxing-and-reading-in-couch-royalty-free-image/857306488?phrase=gay+couple+reading&adppopup=true">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graphic reading 'Significant Figures: 40% - Sales growth of LGBTQ+ romance books from 2022 to 2023 – the largest increase in any genre.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576001/original/file-20240215-26-fctqzr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>A major transformation is underway in Romancelandia. </p>
<p>Once upon a time, romance novels from major U.S. publishers featured only heterosexual couples. Today, the five biggest publishers regularly release same-sex love stories.</p>
<p>From May 2022 to May 2023, <a href="https://www.circana.com/intelligence/press-releases/2023/soaring-sales-of-lgbtq-fiction-defy-book-bans-and-showcase-diversity-in-storytelling">sales of LGBTQ+ romance grew by 40%</a>, with the next biggest jump in this period occurring for general adult fiction, which grew just 17%.</p>
<p>The data from 2023 extends a boom that began in 2016: In the five years from May 2016 to May 2021, sales of LGBTQ+ romance grew <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/books/lgbtq-romance-novels.html">by a jaw-dropping 740%</a>.</p>
<p>It’s tempting to see this trend as a sign of the times. </p>
<p>After all, same-sex couples now populate TV shows, commercials and even <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/opinion/hallmark-lgbtq-christmas-movies-gay-lesbian-couples-rcna130407">Hallmark Christmas movies</a>. </p>
<p>Surely it was only natural for books such as Casey McQuiston’s “<a href="https://www.caseymcquiston.com/red-white-royal-blue">Red, White & Royal Blue</a>,” Lana Harper’s “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672445/paybacks-a-witch-by-lana-harper/">Payback’s a Witch</a>” and Cat Sebastian’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15171247.Cat_Sebastian">sparkling same-sex historical romance novels</a> to eventually find their way onto bestseller lists. </p>
<p>But it turns out that this rise in LGBTQ+ romance was far from inevitable.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231218991">recent paper</a>, based on interviews with romance editors and authors, shows that America’s biggest book publishers originally viewed LGBTQ+ romance as a niche market, tweaking their approach only after witnessing the huge success of independently published LGBTQ+ e-books. </p>
<h2>The business of romance</h2>
<p>Book publishing, like most of the entertainment industry, has traditionally operated under what <a href="https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2013/12/the-way-of-the-blockbuster">Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse</a> calls the blockbuster strategy: Publishers invest huge sums into acquiring and promoting surefire bestsellers, such as Prince Harry’s “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/books/prince-harry-spare-review.html#:%7E:text=The%20prince%20claims%20to%20have,who's%20leaking%20what%20and%20why.">Spare</a>,” which earned <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9805467/A-book-Harry-written-Meghan-Royals-brace-20m-Megxit-memoir.html">a US$20 million advance</a>. </p>
<p>It’s simply more efficient for publishers to pursue a “one-to-many” business model – that is, to sell one book to a mass audience – than a “many-to-many” business model, selling a wider variety of books to many more small markets. </p>
<p>Historically, publishers assumed that same-sex romance would draw relatively small niche audiences, making them a riskier investment. As a result, for decades, LGBTQ+ love stories were left to small gay or lesbian presses.</p>
<p>Starting around 2010, however, digital romance publishing – both from self-published authors and small digital-only publishers like <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/57460-patty-marks-sex-romance-and-erotic-bestsellers.html">Ellora’s Cave</a> and <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/69517-samhain-publishing-to-shut-down-operations.html">Samhain</a> – revealed a vast, untapped appetite for more varied romance. The “<a href="https://bookscouter.com/blog/big-five-publishing-houses/">Big Five</a>” publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster – realized their go-to strategy was leaving money on the table.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crowds of people browse the HarperCollins exhibition at a book fair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575437/original/file-20240213-28-hkrvur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">HarperCollins is one of the ‘Big Five’ publishing houses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-harper-collins-stand-during-the-first-day-of-the-london-news-photo/1251977849?adppopup=true">Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Initially, big publishers tried to shoehorn digital romance authors into the blockbuster model by acquiring their books and issuing them in print. </p>
<p>That worked for E.L James’ “<a href="https://www.eljamesauthor.com/books/fifty-shades-of-grey/">Fifty Shades of Grey</a>,” which started out as fan fiction, was later released by a tiny online publisher and was eventually published by Penguin.</p>
<p>But for LGBTQ+ romance authors, the economics of high overhead, big print runs and a yearlong production schedule simply didn’t work for books geared for presumably smaller audience segments. </p>
<p>As romance readers abandoned mass-market paperbacks for a wider, fresher range of stories, romance editors at large and medium-sized publishers realized they needed to become more like digital presses.</p>
<h2>Making love pay</h2>
<p>How did they do this? </p>
<p>First, they hired new editors who had cut their teeth at tiny digital publishers with a history of releasing same-sex romance. For our paper, we interviewed several of these editors, including <a href="https://read.sourcebooks.com/editorial-mary-altman.html">Sourcebooks’ Mary Altman</a> and <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/22629-james-tabbed-to-run-harlequin-s-e-book-only-carina-press.html">Angela James</a>, founder of Harlequin’s Carina Press. Harlequin has been owned by HarperCollins since 2014.</p>
<p>James, formerly at Samhain, broke sacred publishing rules when she launched Carina, the first digital-only imprint at a traditional publisher. Carina lowered production and distribution costs by publishing only e-books and by offering authors higher royalties but no advances.</p>
<p>The lower-overhead strategy worked so well that in 2020 the imprint created <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/82161-harlequin-s-carina-press-to-launch-queer-romance-line.html">Carina Adores</a>, an e-book and print line dedicated to LGBTQ+ romance. </p>
<p>Altman, who had been accustomed to acquiring same-sex romance during her tenure at Ellora’s Cave, continued to do so at Sourcebooks, a mid-sized publisher partly owned by Penguin Random House. In 2020, she released the breakout LGBTQ+ bestseller “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Boyfriend-Material-Alexis-Hall/dp/1728206146">Boyfriend Material</a>” by Alexis Hall. Sourcebooks also launched a new imprint, <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/91686-dominique-raccah-does-it-her-way.html">Bloom Books</a>, in 2021, which sped up publishing schedules to meet the demands of self-published and other entrepreneurial authors.</p>
<p>These structural changes made romance imprints at large publishers nimbler, more innovative and more open to all kinds of couples.</p>
<p>Ironically, many of these more inclusive stories ended up appealing to mass audiences after all. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://read.sourcebooks.com/fiction/9781728206141-boyfriend-material-tp.html">Boyfriend Material</a>” dominated Best Romance of the Year lists in 2020. Adriana Herrera, Alyssa Cole, K.J. Charles and dozens of other authors of LGBTQ+ romance now regularly appear on such lists. “Red White and Royal Blue” is now an Amazon Original movie. </p>
<p>It’s important to note that LGBTQ+ romances still represent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/books/lgbtq-romance-novels.html">only 4% of the print book romance market</a>. Meanwhile, other diverse voices, including Black authors, <a href="https://www.therippedbodicela.com/state-racial-diversity-romance-publishing-report">are still underrepresented</a>. As a whole, the Big Five publishing houses are still adhering to the blockbuster strategy. Nonetheless, the structural changes they’ve made in romance imprints have fostered an outpouring of more diverse love stories. </p>
<p>At a time when other institutions, including universities and businesses, are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/12/27/dei-affirmative-action-legal-challenges-corporate-america/">dismantling programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion</a>, the LGBTQ+ romance boom serves as a reminder that inclusion doesn’t “just happen.” </p>
<p>Ongoing social and cultural change requires new systems, processes and structures. Without institutional support, many people won’t get their happy ending.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s tempting to see this trend as a sign of the times. But the biggest book publishers started changing their approach only once they realized they were leaving money on the table.Christine Larson, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado BoulderAshley Carter, PhD Student in Journalism, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159982024-02-14T13:24:03Z2024-02-14T13:24:03ZDon’t let ‘FDA-approved’ or ‘patented’ in ads give you a false sense of security<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557351/original/file-20231102-29-y77wkb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C7156%2C4764&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is that really a stamp of approval?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/approved-concept-rubber-stamp-with-fda-and-pills-on-royalty-free-image/1186545957">iStock/Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever reached for a bottle of moisturizer labeled “patented” or “FDA approved,” you might want to think twice. In a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4366900">recent study</a> of hundreds of advertisements, I found that supplements and beauty products often misleadingly use these terms to suggest safety or efficacy.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://law.indiana.edu/about/people/details/mattioli-michael.html">law professor</a>, I suspect this is confusing for consumers, maybe even dangerous. Having a patent means only that you can stop others from making, using, selling or importing your invention. It doesn’t mean the invention works or that it won’t blow up in your face.</p>
<p>“FDA approved,” meanwhile, means <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/development-approval-process-drugs">a product’s benefits have been found to outweigh its risks</a> for a specific purpose – not that it’s of high quality or low risk in general.</p>
<h2>Led astray by the label</h2>
<p>I wanted to know whether companies exploit these sorts of misunderstandings, so I analyzed hundreds of ads from print, television and social media that mention patents or FDA approval. I found that advertisers throw these terms around in confusing ways. </p>
<p>For example, I found an ad for a probiotic supplement stating, “The proof is in the patent”; an ad for an earwax removal product stating its “patented formula is safe, effective, and clinically proven”; and an ad for a headache remedy that made the words “FDA approved” a bold visual focal point. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1312044681551917058"}"></div></p>
<p>Here’s the concerning part: I looked at all kinds of products and found that these terms appear most often in ads for things you eat or rub onto your skin, such as supplements, insecticides, toothpaste and lotions. </p>
<p>That’s probably no coincidence. Products like this aren’t tightly regulated, yet consumers want to know they’re safe. It seems likely that advertisers are name-dropping the government to make people think just that.</p>
<h2>Risks to consumers − and to innovation</h2>
<p>One danger is clear: Ads with vague references to government authorities could dupe consumers into thinking products are safer or more effective than they actually are. In fact, there’s some evidence <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2011.396">this is already happening</a>.</p>
<p>Another risk is that this creates perverse incentives for business. Companies could chose to forgo actual innovation, focusing instead on securing dubious patents or regulatory nods to <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/how-patents-became-the-beauty-industrys-secret-weapon">keep up in the advertising race</a>. </p>
<p>These practices could distort competition, burden government agencies with frivolous patent applications and deter new entrants from competing in markets where they can’t employ similar advertising tactics. </p>
<h2>Questions remain</h2>
<p>Even though my study has shed light on how often these tricky advertising methods are used, it leaves some big questions unanswered. What exactly makes consumers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2016.1179367">respond so favorably</a> to terms like “patented” or “FDA approved”? And who is most likely to be confused by these tactics? </p>
<p>As a next step, I plan to conduct comprehensive surveys of consumers, along with in-depth interviews, to explore how these labels resonate emotionally. I hope to coordinate with researchers from psychology and media studies. Research along these lines could offer policymakers the robust evidence they need to make changes to the law.</p>
<p>What might those changes look like? For one thing, the law could make it easier for groups of consumers to sue in federal courts over misleading ads. The Federal Trade Commission could also place more of a burden on companies to prove their ads are honest. These changes could make a big difference in ensuring companies persuade shoppers without confusing them. </p>
<p>At a time when ads are everywhere and Americans are losing trust in institutions – and each other – the stakes for truthful product claims are high.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Mattioli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most people don’t know what these labels really mean − and advertisers take advantage of that fact.Michael Mattioli, Professor of Law and Louis F. Niezer Faculty Fellow, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225802024-02-13T20:22:20Z2024-02-13T20:22:20ZImmigrants do work that might not otherwise get done – bolstering the US economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574706/original/file-20240209-22-8e58kg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C303%2C6889%2C4215&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hundreds protested peacefully in Immokalee, Fla., against a state law enacted in 2023 that imposes restrictions on undocumented immigrants.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Florida%20Day%20Without%20Immigrants/f748660925de4eb49e9de66ebcb24178?Query=immigrant%20workers&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=1114&currentItemNo=9">AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Although Congress is failing to pass laws to restrict the number of migrants arriving in the U.S., a majority of Americans – about 6 in 10 – <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3889">believe there’s an immigration crisis</a> along the Mexico-U.S. border. Politicians who want fewer people to move here often cast those arriving without prior authorization as a <a href="https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/lawmakers-push-north-star-act-in-effort-to-make-minnesota-sanctuary-state-republicans-warn-of-economic-burden/">burden on the economy</a>.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://stockton.academia.edu/RamyaVIjaya">economist who has researched immigration and employment</a>, I’m <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-02/59710-Outlook-2024.pdf">confident that economic trends</a> and research findings contradict those arguments.</p>
<p>The U.S. is <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage">experiencing a labor market shortage</a> that is likely to last well into the future as the U.S.-born population gets older overall, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2023/article/labor-force-and-macroeconomic-projections.htm">slowing growth in the number of workers</a>.</p>
<p>Rather than a drain on the economy, an uptick in immigration presents an opportunity to alleviate this shortage. Data from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2020.1759815">my own research</a> and studies conducted by other scholars show that immigrant workers in the U.S. are more likely to be active in the labor market – either employed or looking for work – and tend to <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-immigrant-workforce-supports-millions-of-u-s-jobs/">work in professions with</a> the most unmet demand.</p>
<h2>Help really wanted</h2>
<p>The U.S. had <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf">9 million job openings</a> in December 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government agency also found that there were <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">6.1 million unemployed people</a> actively seeking paid work.</p>
<p>Economists generally compare the two numbers to calculate the labor shortage. It currently stands at nearly 3 million workers, and the bureau expects this gap to grow as <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecopro.pdf">the population ages and people have fewer children</a> over the next decade.</p>
<p>In other words, the U.S. faces a long-term shortage of people looking for employment.</p>
<p>That shortfall would be much bigger without foreign-born workers, who accounted for a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/foreign-born-workers-were-a-record-high-18-1-percent-of-the-u-s-civilian-labor-force-in-2022.htm">record high of 18.1%</a> of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p>
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<h2>More likely to be active in the workforce</h2>
<p>Another reason why immigrants can help fill that big hole in the U.S. labor market is that so many of them tend to be employed or are looking for work. </p>
<p>About <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/forbrn.pdf">65.9% of all people who were born elsewhere</a> were either employed or actively looking for work as of 2022, in comparison to 61.5% of people born in the U.S. </p>
<p>This difference has been <a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2022/11/the-foreign-born-labor-force-of-the-united-states">consistent since 2007</a>, according to research by the Peterson Foundation, a think tank that focuses on long-term budget problems.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2020.1759815">study I conducted a few years ago</a>, I found that immigrants who arrive in the United States as refugees fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries are eventually more likely to be employed or looking for work than people who are born in the U.S.</p>
<h2>More home health aides and janitors</h2>
<p>Some of the labor market’s biggest shortages are especially acute in professions that tend to attract immigrants, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-daunting-economics-of-elder-care-are-about-to-get-much-worse-83123">such as home health aides</a>.</p>
<p>The health care and social services sector as a whole has about <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.a.htm">1.8 million</a> open jobs, the largest number of job openings currently available.</p>
<p>This is followed by professional and business services with 1.7 million open jobs. This <a href="https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag60.htm">category encompasses everything from legal services to janitorial work</a>, including cleaning and grounds maintenance.</p>
<p>Currently, about <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/forbrn.pdf">22% of employed immigrants work</a> in one of those two high-demand categories or another service occupation.</p>
<h2>Making it easier to age in place</h2>
<p>A team of economists has found that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/roie.12607">cost of home health care and support services is lower</a> than average in places with large numbers of immigrant service workers. This in turn makes it more likely that older adults can avoid institutionalization and stay in their own homes. </p>
<p>But, to be sure, immigrant workers providing these vital community support services often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/amajethics.2022.890">endure exploitative</a> working conditions. </p>
<p>The labor market data not only makes it clear that the U.S. economy can absorb large numbers of immigrants, but it shows that these newcomers could be a much-needed solution to a labor supply crisis.</p>
<p>And yet people arriving in the U.S. as political asylum applicants are enduring <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/23/one-answer-to-the-migration-crisis-jobs/54096526-f974-11ed-bafc-bf50205661da_story.html">backlogs and facing hurdles in securing employment authorization</a>, which is delaying their entry into the workforce.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t it make more sense for Congress to expand pathways for legal employment access for migrants? From an economic perspective, that seems to be the most prudent course of action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramya Devan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite widespread fears about immigrants being a burden, even those arriving as asylum applicants are more likely to work than the US-born population.Ramya Devan, Professor of Economics, Stockton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223702024-02-08T13:39:16Z2024-02-08T13:39:16ZThe Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573295/original/file-20240204-21-h057fn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=499%2C7%2C3408%2C2468&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Billions of dollars are being bet on the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/signage-for-super-bowl-lviii-is-displayed-on-a-pedestrian-news-photo/1974137455?adppopup=true">Ethan Miller/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
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<p>A record 67.8 million American adults are expected to bet US$23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII, <a href="https://www.americangaming.org/new/record-68-million-americans-to-wager-23-1b-on-super-bowl-lviii/">according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Gaming Association</a>. The estimated number of bettors has increased 35% from the previous Super Bowl, while the total amount being bet is estimated to have shot up from $16 billion in 2023. </p>
<p>Both figures would represent records – fitting for a Super Bowl held in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the U.S.</p>
<p>For the NFL, partnering with sportsbooks <a href="https://www.espn.com/sports-betting/story/_/id/38338437/nearly-735m-american-adults-bet-nfl-season-survey-says">has been a boon for business</a>. The relationship appears to be a natural one: Though sports betting was illegal in most of the country until 2018, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gambling-built-baseball-and-then-almost-destroyed-it-123254">it’s always been a part of sports fandom</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tcvNTxMAAAAJ&hl=en">But as a sports media scholar</a>, I find the league’s embrace of gambling so striking because for most of its history, the NFL had pushed the government for stricter regulations, not more lenient ones.</p>
<p>Particularly in its early days, the NFL wanted to avoid the stain of bookies, bets, fixed games and the gambling crises <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-gambling-built-baseball-and-then-almost-destroyed-it-123254">that had befallen other professional sports leagues</a>.</p>
<h2>Staunch opposition</h2>
<p>In 1963, just as the NFL was starting to become profitable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_on_television_in_the_1960s">thanks to broadcasting deals</a>, a gambling scandal threatened the league’s growing popularity. </p>
<p>Commissioner Pete Rozelle <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/18/archives/football-stars-banned-for-bets-hornung-and-karras-are-suspended-by.html">suspended two of the league’s stars</a>, the Green Bay Packers’ <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HornPa00.htm">Paul Hornung</a> and <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KarrAl00.htm">Alex Karras</a> of the Detroit Lions, for a full season after both players admitted to placing bets on NFL games.</p>
<p>“This sport has grown so quickly and gained so much of the approval of the American public,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2021/08/31/nfl-sportsbook-deals-decades-long-hypocrisy-gambling/5655252001/">Rozelle told Sports Illustrated at the time</a>, “that the only way it can be hurt is through gambling.” </p>
<p>But football and gambling eventually resumed their delicate dance. In 1976, CBS hired bookmaker and newspaper columnist James “Jimmy the Greek” Snyder <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1976/09/03/archives/a-star-is-born-by-8-points-sports-of-the-times.html">to join the cast of its flagship pregame program</a>, “The NFL Today.” CBS Sports president Bob Wussler knew that millions of viewers wanted to know the betting lines for upcoming games. It was Snyder’s job to communicate them. </p>
<p>The NFL’s leadership, however, remained adamantly opposed to its broadcasting partners explicitly encouraging gambling. So Snyder communicated the lines by predicting the final score, <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/radical-history-review/article/2016/125/159/22306/Race-Economics-and-the-Shifting-Politics-of-Sport">thereby allowing careful listeners to learn a point spread</a>. The routine lasted until 1988, when Snyder suggested that slavery had made Black players better athletes. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/01/17/jimmy-the-greek-fired-by-cbs-for-his-remarks/27536e46-3031-40c2-bb2b-f912ec518f80/">He was fired the next day</a>.</p>
<p>In 1992, the NFL and other major sports leagues <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/474/text">lobbied for the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act</a>, which would severely restrict sports gambling, allowing it only in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. Rozelle’s successor, Paul Tagliabue, testified in favor of the bill, telling Congress: “We do not want our games to be used as bait to sell gambling. We have to make it clear to the athletes, the fans and the public, gambling is not a part of sport, period.” The measure passed.</p>
<p>In 2017, current NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league’s stance. Speaking in the wake of the owners’ decision to allow the Oakland Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas, <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/goodell">he insisted</a>: “We still strongly oppose … legalized sports gambling. The integrity of our game is No. 1. We will not compromise on that.”</p>
<h2>More money, more problems?</h2>
<p>Everything changed a year later, when the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/05/14/supreme-court-sports-betting-paspa-law-new-jersey/440710002/">declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional</a>, which left the decision to allow sports gambling to the states. Since then, <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/u-s-sports-betting-here-is-where-all-50-states-currently-stand-on-legalizing-online-sports-betting-sites/">more than 30 states have legalized sports gambling</a>.</p>
<p>Despite its historical opposition to sports gambling, the NFL moved quickly to take advantage of the new legal landscape.</p>
<p>In 2021, <a href="https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/nfl-sports-betting-sponsorship-betmgm-pointsbet-wynnbet-tv-advertising/?zephr_sso_ott=6Qvsdy">the league announced seven companies</a>, including BetMGM, Draft Kings and Caesars, as the league’s official gambling partners. Two years later, ESPN, one of the league’s major partners – <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/espn-nfl-journalism/">and one in which the league may soon buy a stake</a> – announced the formation of <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/38897700/what-espn-bet-how-do-use-where-legal">ESPN BET</a>, a sportsbook partnership with Penn Entertainment. ESPN immediately began promoting its new venture on its television and web platforms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Caesar's Palace video screen advertising Super Bowl matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573296/original/file-20240204-19-nqnfp6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gambling and football have become two peas in a pod.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-marquee-at-caesars-palace-displays-super-bowl-lviii-news-photo/1984286077?adppopup=true">Ethan Miller/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>By embracing sports gambling, the NFL has unleashed new profit streams. Even casual fans can’t miss the surge in gambling advertisements that now air during the games, all of which buttress the value of media rights. Meanwhile, the NFL’s official sportsbook partners will fork over <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-inks-nearly-1-billion-212312677.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACW45R03fmohhc_B1ZlWpY7_zcvqe5EV5sh9G1SgB7Vt_g9Xpu0ghK4RC7rVNpXCRtLUe0jtLvMKCSXNafnOuM4ZlKFd1nD9s2zqyLhninUA3cFZQRqqA6ZAwHrOYhC27SJZ3rV7SjQLXzycbVwXxSCqKsLek1dHNpXL6ZzSro4t">more than $1 billion</a> to the league over the course of the five-year contract. </p>
<p>But this infusion of extra cash comes with a substantial social cost. Gambling addictions <a href="https://money.com/gambling-addiction-all-time-high/">are at an all-time high</a>, likely spurred by the ease with which people can place bets from their phones. <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-treat-people-with-gambling-disorder-and-im-starting-to-see-more-and-more-young-men-who-are-betting-on-sports-198285">Young men seem to be especially vulnerable</a>.</p>
<p>Ten NFL players <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-gambling-suspensions-0c31c118f637efa159fad75e7b949418">have been suspended for gambling on sports</a> since 2022. Several former athletes have come forward <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/calvin-ridley-nfl-football-jacksonville-jaguars">to share stories of their struggles with sports betting</a>.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the league continues to promote gambling sites to its fan base. The gambling prohibitions for players have not substantially changed, but the environment in which they work and live <a href="https://www.mlive.com/sports/2024/01/nfl-wide-receiver-accused-of-making-thousands-of-illegal-bets-while-starring-at-lsu.html">has made the temptation far more difficult to avoid</a>.</p>
<p>Goodell has cast the league’s partnerships with sportsbooks as a no-brainer for the bottom line: “We have to be in that space,” <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/goodell">he plainly stated in a September 2023 interview</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the potential costs – for the league and for its fans – are a bit harder to see, at least right away. But to anti-gambling advocates, they’re no less pernicious.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222370/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Oates does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What makes the NFL’s embrace of gambling so striking is that for most of its history, the league had pushed the government for stricter regulations – not more lenient ones.Thomas Oates, Associate Professor of Sport Media, University of IowaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207572024-02-06T13:29:09Z2024-02-06T13:29:09ZAI helps students skip right to the good stuff in this intro programming course<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572925/original/file-20240201-19-gfnaj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5294%2C3960&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Letting AI do the dirty work of programming frees students to work on problem-solving.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/an-ai-robot-and-a-human-hand-engage-in-a-futuristic-royalty-free-image/1496700152">Issarawat Tattong/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499014/original/file-20221205-17-kcwec8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/uncommon-courses-130908">Uncommon Courses</a> is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.</em> </p>
<h2>Title of course:</h2>
<p>“Learn AI-Assisted Python Programming”</p>
<h2>What prompted the idea for the course?</h2>
<p>Generative AI is <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/unleashing-developer-productivity-with-generative-ai">really good at computer programming</a> – to the point where the way we teach and assess students who are learning to program must change.</p>
<p>We used to give students dozens or hundreds of small targeted programming tasks, drilling each aspect of the syntax – the words and symbols – of programming. That worked well as a starting point, except now generative AI tools can solve all of these problems. Educators can try to ban these tools (good luck with that!), or embrace them. We chose to embrace them in our new course, where students learn to program – supported by a generative AI assistant.</p>
<h2>What does the course explore?</h2>
<p>The course re-imagines what learning to program means now that generative AI is available to handle more of the low-level syntax issues that have historically slowed down and frustrated students. The more students struggle with finicky syntax details, the less time and energy they have to accomplish their programming-related goals like starting a business, writing apps for social good, or contributing to projects that are meaningful to them.</p>
<p>Generative AI clears the decks for us to focus on more valuable, high-level skills that students need to become effective programmers. For example, generative AI struggles to solve large problems; we still need humans to divide those problems into bite-sized chunks – a process known as problem decomposition – each of which AI can solve well. People are still needed to test code to ensure it’s doing what was intended, and to ensure that the code is used to help, not harm, society and its vulnerable groups.</p>
<h2>Why is this course relevant now?</h2>
<p>Professional programmers in droves have already adopted generative AI tools and are using them to be more efficient in their daily work. If the goal is to prepare students for these jobs, teachers need to train them in how to use these new tools.</p>
<p>Perhaps more importantly, what students can do in introductory courses changes. With a more powerful tool comes an ability <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100147">to work at higher, more efficient levels</a>. These tools save people time. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">AI code assistants are changing what it means to do computer programming.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>What’s a critical lesson from the course?</h2>
<p>A critical lesson is that generative AI is impressive, but that it is fallible. You cannot simply ask it for code and assume that the code it gives you is perfect. It may not do the right thing. It <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/fast-forward-power-danger-ai-generated-code/">may produce errors</a>, or bugs. It may cause security concerns. It may exclude underrepresented groups or discourses. You need to critically examine the code that you get from generative AI. </p>
<h2>What materials does the course feature?</h2>
<p>The course is built on our new book “<a href="https://www.manning.com/books/learn-ai-assisted-python-programming">Learn AI-Assisted Python Programming</a>.” The book reconceptualizes an introductory programming course in the context of generative AI tools. </p>
<p>The main tool used in the book and in our course is called <a href="https://docs.github.com/en/copilot">GitHub Copilot</a>, which is like ChatGPT for programmers. Students use Copilot from day one. They build complete apps: apps to automate tedious, error-prone tasks; computer games; even an app to guess who wrote a novel whose author may be unknown. To ensure that students are still learning fundamentals, the book teaches them how to understand the code that the generative AI is creating. </p>
<h2>What will the course prepare students to do?</h2>
<p>Some students take an intro programming course to start their computer science major. For those students, we continue to teach evergreen skills like code reading and code testing, but now also introduce the higher-level skill of problem decomposition so students can solve larger tasks than ever before. </p>
<p>The majority of students in the course, though, are studying other disciplines like sociology, psychology, business, engineering and science. The course prepares those students to use generative AI to boost their careers through programming.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220757/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leo Porter receives compensation for sales of the book "Learn AI-Assisted Python Programming."</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Zingaro receives compensation for sales of the book "Learn AI-Assisted Python Programming." He also consults on books for Manning Publications.
</span></em></p>Learning to program requires mastering the nitty-gritty of code syntax. Generative AI turns out to be good at that. Adding AI to intro programming courses frees students to focus on problem-solving.Leo Porter, Teaching Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San DiegoDaniel Zingaro, Associate Professor of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.