Category: Academic Reportage

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charlotte Oliver, Extension Associate Professor, Colorado State University Colorado’s $3.9 billion wine industry is threatened by a tiny aphid. Courtesy of Charlotte Oliver Grape phylloxera, or Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, is an aphidlike insect that attacks grapevines with devastating effects. In Colorado, where wine is an estimated US$3.9…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Tesla Monson, Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University Hobbits are exceptions to the rule that older ancient humans had proportionally larger wisdom teeth and smaller brains. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Until Homo floresiensis was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Jennifer L. Steele, Professor of Education, American University Amid a complicated federal financial aid system, Pell Grants are the largest source of federal support for university students. iStock/Getty Images Plus As an education researcher who has studied the economic returns of higher education, I know…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University Will Congress keep the government running? Phil Roeder/Getty Images Congress faces a deadline of Oct. 1 to adopt a spending measure to keep the federal government open. Various reporters will be interviewing serious people saying serious…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Liv Yoon, Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia In June 2021, British Columbia experienced an extreme climate event. A heat dome trapped hot air over the province, pushing temperatures to record highs for several days, killing more than 600 people. A closer look…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Rylan Graham, Assistant Professor, University of Northern British Columbia Mid-sized Canadian cities, like Regina, aim to curb urban sprawl by revitalizing downtowns — with mixed success. (28thegreat/Wikimedia Commons), CC BY Canada’s mid-sized cities — those with populations between 50,000 to 500,000 — have long been characterized…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sophia Melanson Ricciardone, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University Have you ever felt fired up with moral indignation after reading a controversial tweet, or after watching a YouTube video about a political topic? Not only are you not alone, but these experiences…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sean Carleton, Associate Professor, Departments of History and Indigenous Studies, University of Manitoba In May 2021, when the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced preliminary results of their search for unmarked burials of children at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (IRS), Canada was forced to reckon…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Masha Remskar, Psychologist and Postdoctoral Researcher in Behavioral Science, Arizona State University Meditation exists on a spectrum, from mindful moments and bursts of mindfulness to building up to a formal meditative practice. d3sign/Moment via Getty Images Most people know roughly what kind of lifestyle they…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics, UMass Amherst When companies file hundreds of patents for a single drug, affordable versions can remain out of reach for years. pilli/iStock via Getty Images Plus Pharmaceutical innovation saves lives. But not every “new” drug is…