SOCIETY

The Impact Of Community-Based Entrepreneurs Solving The Local News Crisis
SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

The Impact Of Community-Based Entrepreneurs Solving The Local News Crisis

Community-based entrepreneurs are leading the way in solving the local news crisis. The local news crisis has led to no end of policy proposals, funding initiatives and angry denunciations of the harm done to journalism by the likes of Craigslist, Google and Facebook. Ideas for responding to the crisis include paying recent journalism school graduates with state tax revenues to cover underserved communities, as in California; mandating that state agencies direct half of their spending on advertising to community media, as has been proposed in Illinois; and creating tax credits that would benefit subscribers, advertisers and publishers, the subject of several federal and state initiatives. And those are just a few. Though all of these have some merit, they share a fundamental flaw: They...
Where Did The Time Go?
CULTURE, SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

Where Did The Time Go?

Why is free time still so elusive? There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century. So why are people still working so hard for so long? Output per worker increased by almost 300% between 1950 and 2018 in the U.S. The standard American workweek, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, at about 40 hours. This paradox is especially notable in the U.S., where the average work year is 1,767 hours compared with 1,354 in Germany, a difference largely due to Americans’ lack of vacation time. Some might argue that Americans are just more hardworking. But shouldn’t more productive work be rewarded with more time free from work? This is the central theme of my new book, “Free Time: The History of an Elusive Ideal.” Keynes misses the mark Many economists see the status quo mostly as ...
The Unintended Impact Of Redundancies For All Employees
SOCIETY, TOP FOUR, WORK

The Unintended Impact Of Redundancies For All Employees

Redundancies have unintended consequences for all employees, even those who keep their jobs. Tech giants including X (then known as Twitter) and Facebook owner Meta announced thousands of job cuts globally in 2022 and 2023, as did other firms like entertainment company Disney, consultancy firm KPMG and phone company Vodafone. And let’s not forget those making redundancies as a result of company collapses such as UK retailer Wilko. In the UK alone, the number of planned redundancies by companies increased by 54% over the last year, from 153,635 to 237,017. This is likely to continue. Businesses are dealing with sharp rises in borrowing costs and continued wage growth, at the same as consumer spending is falling, affecting industries like advertising and retail. Of course, such news has a ve...
Uncovering The Reasons Why Fathers Thrive In Careers While Mothers Are More Likely To Work Worse Jobs
SOCIETY, TOP IMAGE, WORK

Uncovering The Reasons Why Fathers Thrive In Careers While Mothers Are More Likely To Work Worse Jobs

Mothers are more likely to work worse jobs – while fathers thrive in careers. Having a child is bad for a woman’s earnings. This is not only in the immediate period after the birth, but across her lifetime – as shown in research by recent economics Nobel prize-winner Claudia Goldin. On the other hand, men who become fathers are perceived as self-reliant and decisive. And they are often rewarded at work with opportunities and pay. Campaigns by groups like Pregnant Then Screwed make explicit that, in the UK, this “motherhood penalty” extends to pregnancy discrimination, the extortionate costs of childcare and ineffective flexible working policies. Yet we still know little about how it extends to job quality. Together with colleagues, I have carried out research to explore this “motherhood pe...
Adolescent Girls Have Been Pushed Toward Diet Pills That May Do More Harm Than Good
HEALTH & WELLNESS, SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

Adolescent Girls Have Been Pushed Toward Diet Pills That May Do More Harm Than Good

‘It’s not surprising’: Nearly 1 in 10 teenagers have turned to pills for weight loss, research shows. Nearly 1 in 10 adolescent girls have used non-prescription pills to lose weight, according to new research. The report, an analysis of English-language research, noted that teenage girls in North America were the most likely group to have used these so-called weight loss aids, and pointed out that these tendencies — and the mindset driving them — raise the risks for eating disorders and overall harm to physical and mental health. Diet pills and supplements were the most commonly used non-prescription weight loss aid, followed by laxatives and then diuretics. The report—  published in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open — found that 6.1 percent of teens in the United State...
The Tale Of A Disorienting Experience
LGBTQ, SOCIETY

The Tale Of A Disorienting Experience

A night they can't remember, at one of the country's most popular LGBTQ+ bars. Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault and druggings. One of the reporters who worked on this investigation had a disorienting experience at The Abbey years ago.  One of her last clear memories of that night was of a barback handing something to the bartender. Yvette Lopez recalled looking to her right before taking the first sip of her drink. Another barback was sitting there with a plastic cup with a lid on it. “He cheers me and we had the drink, and I don’t remember anything after that,” Lopez testified in a deposition. The next thing she remembered was being doubled over in an alley. Lopez heard a man say to her, “Don’t throw up,” according to her police report. She then blacked o...
Who Are The Most Likely Workers To Get Hurt, Those In Their Teens And Early 20s Or Older Employees?
SOCIETY, VIDEO REELS

Who Are The Most Likely Workers To Get Hurt, Those In Their Teens And Early 20s Or Older Employees?

Workers in their teens and early 20s are more likely to get hurt than older employees. Think about your first job. Maybe it was delivering pizza, bagging groceries, busing tables or doing landscaping work. Did you get enough training to avoid potential injuries? Chances are, you didn’t – and your boss or supervisor just told you to get to work. Employing young people helps them in many ways. They can learn a trade, develop job skills, become more responsible and earn money. But there’s danger, too: Americans between 15 and 24 years old are up to 2.3 times more likely to get injured on the job than workers who are 25 and over. In 2021, 398 workers under 25 died after getting injured on the job. In my research about the unique occupational safety hazards young workers face, I’ve identified t...
What Can Police Officers Do To Prevent Domestic Violence Killings?
SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

What Can Police Officers Do To Prevent Domestic Violence Killings?

Police officers can help prevent domestic violence killings by asking the right questions, research shows. For help, call 800-799-7233, or text “START” to 88788 for the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline. Last week, Andreae Lloyd’s family marked the second anniversary of her death. Just after midnight on December 7, 2021, police say, Xavier Johnson, Lloyd’s boyfriend, knocked on the door of the Miami-area group home she managed, where she was working an overnight shift alone. A surveillance camera captured what police say happened next: Johnson beat her, dragged her into his white Honda Civic and drove away. Police say he confessed to the crime. His trial begins in January. Intimate partner violence and domestic violence killings are a serious public health problem, according to the ...
Botanizing Is A Great Way To Engage With Life Around You, So Take A Break From Your Screen And Look At Plants
SOCIETY, TOP FOUR

Botanizing Is A Great Way To Engage With Life Around You, So Take A Break From Your Screen And Look At Plants

Take a break from your screen and look at plants − botanizing is a great way to engage with life around you. When you hear about the abundance of life on Earth, what do you picture? For many people, it’s animals – but awareness of plant diversity is growing rapidly. Our planet has nearly 300,000 species of flowering plants. Among animals, only beetles can compete with that number. There are more species of ferns than birds, more mints than mammals, and more beans than butterflies. Measured in total mass, plants make up 82% of all life on land across the globe. We are plant scientists and co-founders of Let’s Botanize, an educational nonprofit that uses plant life to teach about ecology, evolution and biodiversity. In the past several years we have witnessed a botanical boom, with partici...
Bourbon’s Distinctive Taste And Color — The Complex Chemistry Behind America’s Spirit
JOURNALISMS, LIFESTYLE, SOCIETY

Bourbon’s Distinctive Taste And Color — The Complex Chemistry Behind America’s Spirit

The complex chemistry behind America’s spirit – how bourbon gets its distinctive taste and color. Few beverages have as rich a heritage and as complicated a chemistry as bourbon whiskey, often called “America’s spirit.” Known for its deep amber hue and robust flavors, bourbon has captured the hearts of enthusiasts across the country. But for a whiskey to be called a bourbon, it has to adhere to very specific rules. For one, it needs to be made in the U.S. or a U.S. territory – although almost all is made in Kentucky. The other rules have more to do with the steps to make it – how much corn is in the grain mixture, the aging process and the alcohol proof. I’m a bourbon researcher and chemistry professor who teaches classes on fermentation, and I’m a bourbon connoisseur myself. The complex...