Author: TheConversation

By Xiaoming Xu, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Atul Jain, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Producing enough food for a growing world population is an urgent global challenge. And it is complicated by the fact that climate change is warming the Earth and making farming harder in many places. Food production is a big contributor to climate change, so it is critically important to be able to measure greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector accurately. In a new study, we show that the food system generates about...

By Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis During an interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown on October 2, NBC sportscaster Kelli Stavast made a curious observation. She reported that Talladega Superspeedway spectators were chanting “Let’s go Brandon” to celebrate the racing driver’s first Xfinity Series win. In reality, however, the crowd was shouting a very different phrase: “F–k Joe Biden,” a taunt that had become popular at college football games earlier in the fall. The deliberate misinterpretation of the crowd’s chant was a deft bit of verbal legerdemain on Stavast’s part. Although she...

By Dawn Pittman, PhD Student, Nursing, Memorial University of Newfoundland Older adults, especially those who live in rural areas, are affected by their isolation. In Newfoundland, 22 per cent of residents are over the age of 65. These older adults live in the sparsely populated coastal communities or in the small number of more urban centers that are scattered throughout the province. Social isolation and loneliness negatively influence the quality of life of older adults. Rurality of threatens older adults’ ability to engage with peers, their community and the health-care system. Arts-based programming The combination of an aging population...

By Peter C. Mancall, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences This year marks the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving in New England. Remembered and retold as an allegory for perseverance and cooperation, the story of that first Thanksgiving has become an important part of how Americans think about the founding of their country. But what happened four months later, starting in March 1622 about 600 miles south of Plymouth, is, I believe, far more reflective of the country’s origins – a story not of peaceful coexistence but of distrust,...