Edition: US - Today's top story: How should we teach our kids to use digital media? [Click here to view this message in your browser].
Edition: US
21 October 2016
[[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]
Editor's note
It takes time for society to fully understand and adapt to new technologies – and the American Academy of Pediatrics is no exception. The group that used to recommend no screen time for young children has now come out with more nuanced information for parents. The lead author of the new guidelines is Jenny Radesky, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Michigan Medical School. She explains [what science and medicine now understand] about healthy – and unhealthy – ways kids can use digital media.
Jeff Inglis
Editor, Science + Technology
Top story
Parents should be involved in their children’s use of electronic devices. Parent and child with tablet via shutterstock.com
[How should we teach our kids to use digital media?]
Jenny Radesky, University of Michigan
The lead author of a new American Academy of Pediatrics statement summarizes important guidelines for children's use of electronic devices.
Health + Medicine
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[What do we know about marijuana's medical benefits? Two experts explain the evidence]
Steven Kinsey, West Virginia University; Divya Ramesh, University of Connecticut
With restrictions to cannabis loosening at the state level, research is badly needed to get the facts in order.
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[Digital health devices are great, but their prices are widening the health gap]
Quianta Moore, Rice University; Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University
Digital devices can make a real difference in treating chronic diseases. But many who have these conditions are poor, and they often cannot afford the devices.
Politics + Society
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[What Ted Nugent and Demi Lovato can do for Trump and Clinton]
David Jackson, Bowling Green State University
When a celebrity runs for president, do celebrity endorsements matter? A survey of likely voters shows how tricky it can be to mix celebrity and politics.
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[The 'legitimation' crisis in the US: Why have Americans lost trust in government?]
John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The painful effects of globalization and political corruption have decayed Americans' trust in the federal government.
Science + Technology
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[Securing the voting process: Four essential reads]
Jeff Inglis, The Conversation
While voter fraud - despite recent allegations - is rare, how do we ensure the ballots we cast are counted accurately? If so, how? Our experts offer background and insight.
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[How many genes does it take to make a person?]
Sean Nee, Pennsylvania State University
The answer – fewer than are in a banana – has implications for the study of human health and raises questions about what generates complexity anyway.
Economy + Business
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[Why inequality is the most important economic challenge facing the next president]
Steven Pressman, Colorado State University
Finding a way to reduce inequality is key not only to solving a host of other problems but also to rescuing America's fast-disappearing middle class.
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[Corporate America’s old boys’ club is dead – and that’s why Big Business couldn’t stop Trump]
Johan Chu, University of Chicago; Jerry Davis, University of Michigan
While few would bemoan its end, the club fostered strong ties among the titans of Corporate America and ensured moderate candidates and policies. Its death has led to more extremism.
Arts + Culture
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[How the Ouija board got its sinister reputation]
Joseph P. Laycock, Texas State University
The Oujia board's origins were anything but evil. It emerged, in part, out of a longing to communicate with loved ones who had died during the Civil War.
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[How was French cuisine toppled as the king of fine dining?]
Paul Freedman, Yale University
In the story of Manhattan's Le Pavillon and its irascible manager, a food historian sees the rise and fall of French cuisine in America.
Election 2016
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[Evangelical Christians are on the left too]
Timothy J. Williams, University of Oregon
The Christian left has played a strong role in America's history. In this election too, it is not silent.
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[Why is the US Green Party so irrelevant?]
Per Urlaub, University of Texas at Austin
While Green Party candidates win elections and make policy in Germany, here the Green Party barely registers. Why? Contrasting electoral systems, and the fact that U.S. Greens run as purists, not as politicians.
Education
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[Clinton and Trump proposals on student debt explained]
Robert Kelchen, Seton Hall University
How far will Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's proposals on student loans benefit their college-going voters?
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[America's Nobel success is the story of immigrants]
Adil Najam, Boston University
Immigrants have contributed to America's great success at the Nobel. Of the 350 Nobel winners from the United States, more than 100 have been immigrants.
Environment + Energy
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[Clinton says the 'clean energy economy' will create millions of jobs. Can it?]
Heidi Garrett-Peltier, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Will government policy to promote clean energy be disastrous or a boon? A close look at the 2009 stimulus, which plowed $90 billion into energy, can tell us a lot.
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[Thousands of people didn't evacuate before Hurricane Matthew. Why not?]
Jennifer Horney, Texas A&M University
Why do some people evacuate ahead of disasters while others stay put? The rising death toll from Hurricane Matthew shows that often the poor and vulnerable are least able to move.
Rest of the World
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United Kingdom
[Why Trump’s male chauvinism appeals to some voters more than others]
Lynn Prince Cooke, University of Bath
Donald Trump's popularity despite his chauvinism is an ugly reminder that economic inequality and gender inequality go hand-in-hand.
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Africa
[Withdrawal from the ICC: A sad day for South Africa and Africa]
Magnus Killander, University of Pretoria
The South African government's decision to withdraw from the ICC should not be seen in isolation. The African Union has called on its member states to withdraw from the court.
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Australia
[Australia is at risk of losing migrants who are vital to the health of our economy]
Chris F. Wright, University of Sydney and Stephen Clibborn, University of Sydney
The government needs to change conditions for migrant workers to secure Australia's economic future, a new report finds.
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