The problem of waste management has become persistent. It is a challenge that is growing in bounds and depths as the world’s population surges. Are we at our wits’ end? Waste management would need a radical change. According to Beatrice Obule-Abila’s doctoral dissertation at the University of Vaasa, Finland, this change could be achieved through...
Just one month before an election in which climate change may be a key issue, new survey results show that climate change may be less politically polarizing than many might expect. Climate Insights 2020: Partisan Divide–the fourth installment in a series of survey reports by researchers at Stanford University, Resources for the Future, and ReconMR–illustrates...
Using smartphone check-ins twice a day for two weeks, sociologists in a national study have found a link between individuals’ daily spiritual experiences and overall well-being, say researchers from Baylor University and Harvard University. While other studies have found such a connection between spirituality and positive emotions, the new study is significant because frequent texting...
Imagine you and your friend are at a party and someone orders pizza. You’re starving. You put a couple of slices on your plate and sit down at the table. Before you start eating, you excuse yourself to wash your hands. On your way back from the bathroom, you look across the room just in...
The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned an infodemic, a vast and complicated mix of information, misinformation and disinformation. In this environment, false narratives – the virus was “planned,” that it originated as a bioweapon, that COVID-19 symptoms are caused by 5G wireless communications technology – have spread like wildfire across social media and other communication platforms....
Many factors determine happiness, but one has stirred considerable controversy over the years: money. While the old adage says that money can’t buy happiness, several studies have determined that the more your income increases, the happier you are, up until US$75,000 a year. After hitting that threshold, more income doesn’t make a difference. But in...
We all can describe our ideal partner. Perhaps they are funny, attractive and inquisitive. Or maybe they are down-to-earth, intelligent and thoughtful. But do we actually have special insight into ourselves, or are we just describing positive qualities that everyone likes? New research coming out of the University of California, Davis, suggests that people’s ideal...
Though race and racism are at the top of Americans’ public discussion, most white parents don’t talk about those issues with their kids. Research on how white parents discuss race with their children is sparse. However, past research has shown that conversations about race, much less racism, are rare, even when these issues are highly...
As a professor of medieval Europe, I’ve taught the bubonic plague, and how it contributed to the English Peasant Revolt of 1381. Now that America is experiencing widespread unrest in the midst of its own pandemic, I see some interesting similarities to the 14th-century uprising. The death of George Floyd has sparked protests fueled by...
In June 1348, people in England began reporting mysterious symptoms. They started off as mild and vague: headaches, aches, and nausea. This was followed by painful black lumps, or buboes, growing in the armpits and groin, which gave the disease its name: bubonic plague. The last stage was a high fever, and then death. Originating...
