IMPACT

The Downside To ‘Springing Forward’
IMPACT, TOP FOUR

The Downside To ‘Springing Forward’

Could the days of ‘springing forward’ be numbered? A neurologist and sleep expert explains the downside to that borrowed hour of daylight. As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 10, 2024, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About one-third of Americans say they don’t look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. And nearly two-thirds would like to eliminate them completely, compared with 17% who aren’t sure and 21% who would like to keep moving their clocks back and forth. But the effects go beyond simple inconvenience. Researchers are discovering that “springing ahead” each March is connected with serious negative...
The Impact Of Saving The News Media On Society
IMPACT, TOP FOUR

The Impact Of Saving The News Media On Society

Saving the news media means moving beyond the benevolence of billionaires. For the journalism industry, 2024 is off to a brutal start. Most spectacularly, the Los Angeles Times recently slashed more than 20% of its newsroom. Though trouble had long been brewing, the layoffs were particularly disheartening because many employees and readers hoped the Times’ billionaire owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, would stay the course in good times and bad – that he would be a steward less interested in turning a profit and more concerned with ensuring the storied publication could serve the public. According to the LA Times, Soon-Shiong explained that the cuts were necessary because the paper “could no longer lose $30 million to $40 million a year.” As one X user pointed out, Soon-Shiong could weather US$4...
Emerging Across The US — Nitazenes, A Powerful Class Of Street Drugs
HEALTH & WELLNESS, IMPACT, TOP FOUR

Emerging Across The US — Nitazenes, A Powerful Class Of Street Drugs

Nitazenes are a powerful class of street drugs emerging across the US. Two deaths in Boulder County, Colorado, in 2023 are the latest in the U.S. to be blamed on the powerful class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes. Most health systems cannot detect nitazenes, so the exact number of overdoses is unknown, but they’re implicated in more than 200 deaths in Europe and North America since 2019, including . One of the two Boulder County deaths is linked to a new formulation called N-Desethyl etonitazene, which was identified by a national laboratory, and is thought to be the first related death. The Conversation interviewed Dr. Christopher Holstege, professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and director of the Blue Ridge Poison Center, wh...
An American Insult Shaped By Political Corruption
IMPACT, POLITICS, TOP FOUR

An American Insult Shaped By Political Corruption

Sellout! How political corruption shaped an American insult. If you follow politics, sports, Hollywood or the arts, you’ve no doubt heard the insult “sellout” thrown around to describe someone perceived to have betrayed a core principle or shared value in their pursuit of personal gain. The term has recently been hurled at a range of well-known targets: Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows for cooperating with a special counsel investigating election fraud in 2020; Kim Kardashian for advertising her personal brands as a form of women’s empowerment; even former NFL great Deion Sanders, for leaving Jackson State, a historically Black university, to coach at the University of Colorado. Most people, I find, are familiar with this accusation. But few people really know the full sto...
What It’s Like To Be A Judge In A High-Profile Trial Like Those Involving Donald Trump’s Criminal Charges
IMPACT, POLITICS, TOP FOUR

What It’s Like To Be A Judge In A High-Profile Trial Like Those Involving Donald Trump’s Criminal Charges

A former federal judge explains what it’s like to be on the bench in a high-profile trial like those involving Donald Trump’s criminal charges. Former President Donald Trump is expected to make many court appearances in the coming months, most in connection with the 91 criminal charges against him in four cases in both federal and state courts. The judges in these cases are under intense public and legal scrutiny, and several have been subjected to violent threats even before the trials begin. To learn about what judges think and experience in these situations, The Conversation U.S. spoke with John E. Jones III, the president of Dickinson College, who is a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2002. During his time on th...
A Closer Look At Leaveism And Presenteeism
IMPACT

A Closer Look At Leaveism And Presenteeism

‘Leaveism’ and ‘presenteeism’ continue even when employers are more flexible – here’s how to be happier at work. Way back in February 2020, before most of us really knew anything about COVID, we wrote an article for The Conversation about “leaveism” and its impact on flexible working. Barely a month later, the world was bracing for a pandemic that would inadvertently create the largest (forced) working experiment of all time. This was a great opportunity for researchers like us to watch how working from home solved or exacerbated the workload problems that employees and managers had been dealing with face to face in the years before COVID. For many, the “workplace” was now the kitchen table or spare bedroom. The difference was there was no supervisory physical presence. So, when the pandem...
So Few People Are Born On Christmas, New Year’s And Other Holidays, Why?
IMPACT, TOP FOUR

So Few People Are Born On Christmas, New Year’s And Other Holidays, Why?

Christmas and New Year’s are days of celebration in many parts of the world when people gather with family and friends. One thing many typically don’t celebrate on those days is a birthday. That’s because Dec. 25 is the least popular day in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand to give birth. In England, Wales and Ireland, it’s the second-least popular, behind Dec. 26, when Brits celebrate Boxing Day. So why do people have fewer babies on holidays like Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s – the second-least popular birthday in the U.S.? I am personally interested in the question because my wife was a New Year’s Day baby. And as an economist, I find these data puzzles fascinating. Least and most popular birthdays All of the least-favored days in the U.S. are tied to holidays, whether it’s Ch...
What The Heck Is Navel-Gazing?
IMPACT, TOP FOUR

What The Heck Is Navel-Gazing?

Think therapy is navel-gazing? Think again. Midway through a recent lecture about my psychology research, a bright graduate student voiced a familiar question. “I have heard psychotherapy makes people more self-absorbed,” they said. “So how can you encourage a practice that has such a negative social impact?” I am often struck by these negative stereotypes, despite growing demand for counseling – particularly amid the pandemic. The well-entrenched image seems to be that psychotherapy is an indulgent, narcissistic cocoon where therapists enable patients to “navel-gaze” and blame others for their problems. Full disclosure: I have seen examples of this during my 27 years in practice. But most patients are genuinely trying to improve close relationships, recover a sense of meaning and purpose ...
Based On Your Zodiac Sign Where’s The Best Places To Travel
ADVICE, IMPACT, TOP FOUR

Based On Your Zodiac Sign Where’s The Best Places To Travel

Where To Travel Based On Your Zodiac Sign. The furthest distance most of us are traveling is from our bed to our couch. But between Netflix marathons and sourdough baking attempts, we can daydream about where we’ll travel next! Once safe, non-essential international travel resumes, narrowing down a perfect destination may feel a little overwhelming. So why not let the stars play your travel agent and choose your next travel destination based on your Zodiac sign!? Aries Chances are you’re adventurous, thrill-seeking, and spontaneous. As the first sign of the zodiac, you love to be physically active and are usually up for a challenge. A relaxing beach vacation may be too boring for you, especially after the year we’ve spent cooped up inside! Try Chile, which boasts the driest place on ear...
Coffee Or A Nap? — Why There’s No Substitute For Shut-Eye
HEALTH & WELLNESS, IMPACT

Coffee Or A Nap? — Why There’s No Substitute For Shut-Eye

Can coffee or a nap make up for sleep deprivation? A psychologist explains why there’s no substitute for shut-eye. There is no denying the importance of sleep. Everyone feels better after a good night of sleep, and lack of sleep can have profoundly negative effects on both the body and the brain. So what can be done to substitute for a lack of sleep? Put another way, how can you get less sleep and still perform at your peak? As a psychologist who studies the ways in which sleep benefits memory, I’m also interested in how sleep deprivation harms memory and cognition. After some initial research on sleep deprivation and false confessions, my students at Michigan State University’s Sleep and Learning Lab and I wanted to see what interventions could reverse the negative effects of sleep depri...