Author: TheConversation

By Jeremy David Engels, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State; and Elaine Hsieh, Professor, Communication, University of Oklahoma Families and friends traditionally gather to express gratitude during this time of year. Many also participate in acts of service and charity as a way of giving back to their local communities. As communication scholars who study intercultural communication, we have studied how the many languages around the world have their own unique words and expressions for saying “thank you.” In turn, these expressions reveal very different assumptions about how human beings relate to one another and about the...

By Kevin Ketels, Lecturer, Global Supply Chain Management, Wayne State University Walk into any U.S. store these days and empty shelves are likely to be seen. Shortages of virtually every type of product, from toilet paper and sneakers to pickup trucks and chicken, are showing up across the country. Looking for a book, bicycle, baby crib or boat? You may have to wait weeks or months longer than usual to get your hands on it. This may seem a little odd to some Americans given the U.S. has been living with the COVID-19 pandemic for over 19 months. Shouldn’t...

By Ian O. Williamson, Dean of the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine Finding good employees has always been a challenge, but these days it is harder than ever. And it is unlikely to improve anytime soon. The so-called quit rate, the share of workers who voluntarily leave their jobs, hit a new record of 3% in September 2021, according to the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The rate was highest in the leisure and hospitality sector, where 6.4% of workers quit their jobs in September. In all, 20.2 million workers...

By Mia Bloom, Evidence Based Cyber Security Program, Georgia State University Police have yet to confirm what caused a driver to plow a red SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha on November 21, killing at least five people and injuring scores more. But one thing is clear, vehicles can be a deadly weapon, whether used deliberately or unintentionally. The suspect, identified as Darrell Brooks Jr., is expected to face charges including five counts of intentional homicide. It has emerged that Brooks was previously arrested earlier in November after being accused of hitting the mother of child with his...

By Henry T. Puls, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Mеrcy Kаnsаs City, University of Mіssourі-Kаnsаs City; and Paul J. Chung, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles Financial investments by States in public benefit programs for low-income families are associated with less child abuse and neglect, also known as maltreatment. These investments are also associated with less need for foster care and maltreatment-related deaths, according to our recent publication in the journal Pediatrics. Our research team included the two of us – Hank Puls, a pediatrician who conducts research on the prevention...

By Ronald Sullivan, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School In a two-week trial that reignited debate over self-defense laws across the nation, a Wisconsin jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting three people, two fatally, during a racial justice protest in Kenosha. The Wisconsin jury believed Rittenhouse’s claims that he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after he drove about 20 miles from his home in Antioch, Illinois – picking up an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle in Kenosha – in what he claimed was an effort to protect property during violent protests. The lakeside city of 100,000 was the...