|
|
|
|
How many times a day do you check the election polls? I do it at least four times. Note the “at least.” Yes, I know I’m a political journalist, but these days it seems many Americans have the latest polls at RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight.com bookmarked.
American University School of Communications scholar Joe Campbell has written several stories for us on the history of presidential election polls and how spectacularly wrong they can be. In his latest, Campbell looks at Americans’ love affair with polls and asks why we can’t look away – despite all the “flubs, fiascoes and miscalls.”
Also today:
|
Naomi Schalit
Senior Editor, Politics + Society
|
|
|
Supporters on election night 2016 at a Hillary Clinton party, when it became clear poll-based forecasts had been off target.
Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images
W. Joseph Campbell, American University School of Communication
Polling is an imperfect attempt at providing insight and explanation. But the public's desire for insight and explanation about elections never ends, so polls endure despite their flaws and failures.
|
Health
|
-
Michael S. Jaffee, University of Florida
That extra hour of sleep you'll be getting comes with a price. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recently said the changes are bad for our sleep.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Michael Gurven, University of California Santa Barbara; Thomas Kraft, University of California Santa Barbara
'Normal' body temperature has declined in urban, industrialized settings like the US and UK. Anthropologists find the trend extends to Indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon – but why?
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Aaron Duncan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
False premises, fear-based reasoning and mob thinking are baked into the platform, allowing misinformation to thrive.
|
|
Politics/Election '20
|
-
Emilio Ferrara, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Twitter bots amplify conspiracy theories, including the so-called 'collective delusion' that is QAnon, making them appear more popular and able to reach more real humans.
-
Scott Jasper, Naval Postgraduate School
As Election Day approaches, Americans would do well to remember they are targets of disinformation campaigns. Here's what they could look like, and what's being done about them.
-
Regina Bateson, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Women and people of color continue to appear on ballots less often than white men, and that, in part, is due to concerns by American voters that others will not view these candidates as electable.
|
|
Education
|
-
Akito Y. Kawahara, University of Florida; Megan Ennes, University of Florida
Insects are plentiful and inexpensive. Even when children aren't attending school in person, they can learn from the encounters they have with insects outside.
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi, Universidad Nacional de Rio Negro; Claire Kremen, University of British Columbia; Erle C. Ellis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Sandra Díaz, Universidad de Córdoba (Argentina)
The Earth is losing plants and animals at rates not seen in millions of years. Ecologists explain how protecting habitat on working lands – farms, forests and ranches – can help conserve species.
|
|
Economy + Business
|
-
Hemant K. Bhargava, University of California, Davis
Google pays Apple to make its search engine the default on its devices, but the iPhone maker actually has more market power in the relationship.
-
Juliet B. Schor, Boston College
Workers say they love the freedom of platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit but find it hard to earn a livable wage. Cooperatives that give worker-owners a voice in how they are run offer a solution.
|
|
Video
|
-
Jan Nijman, Georgia State University
Suburbs are more racially and economically diverse than ever, making them key battlegrounds for the election.
|
|
Ethics + Religion
|
-
Helen Berger, Brandeis University
For members of the minority religion of Wicca and witchcraft – part of contemporary paganism – Halloween is not just a children's holiday: It is both a celebration and acceptance of death.
|
|
Trending on Site
|
-
Bill Sullivan, Indiana University
Who knew that black licorice had a dark side? A scientist explains when this treat becomes a threat.
-
Hebah H. Farrag, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Ann Gleig, University of Central Florida
BLM has been accused of being 'Godless' and operating in a 'demonic realm.' But scholars of religion see a deep spirituality at work in the movement.
-
D. Antonio Cantù, Bradley University
Cities are stepping up to provide free Wi-Fi for families in need in order to close the digital divide in education. But will those efforts make a difference where it counts?
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
