Category: Academic Reportage

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Kelly Ritter, Professor of Writing and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology

What do Americans think of when they hear the words “general education”?

By definition, general education covers introductory college courses in arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics. It has different names, including core curriculum or distribution requirements, depending on the college or university.

It is also sometimes called liberal education, including by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, which describes it as providing “a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills.”

The liberal label can be fodder for conservative groups who argue that today’s general education is part of an indoctrination into higher education’s purported left-leaning belief systems. Some other conservatives support general education as a concept but want more emphasis on so-called traditional values and less on cross-cultural understanding. These initiatives position general education and college as a space for ideological battles.

As a scholar of historical connections between literacy and social class, I know that general education was designed to provide opportunity for all students without regard for their political preferences.

An education for all

Eighty years ago, a group of Harvard University faculty created what many colleges and universities still follow as a template for general education. This plan was outlined in the book “General Education in a Free Society.”

Harvard’s plan was meant for all students, including veterans studying under the GI Bill, and others we today refer to as first generation, where neither parent had a college degree.

General education made college more accessible to students who were not becoming doctors or lawyers but who also wanted careers outside the vocational trades. It helped make college a place for educating all citizens, not just students of socioeconomic privilege.

Expanding access to higher education was central to the 1947 special report Higher Education for American Democracy, commissioned by President Harry Truman. The goal was to provide a foundational education for all, especially in math and science. But the report, commonly known as the Truman Commission Report, also included disciplines that help students understand the world – such as writing and communication, literature, psychology and history.

The purposes of general education are central to two competing views of college today, views that I also hear expressed by students and parents I’ve met in my 28 years as a professor.

One view of college is of an on-campus experience steeped in the liberal arts that holistically prepares students to live in a functioning democracy. These benefits are seen as worth the time and costs.

The other view is of college as a sum of career-focused credentials that can begin and end anywhere, not specific to one college campus. These benefits are completely financial, to be gained via the cheapest, quickest means.

Both of these views are informed by national perspectives that further divide citizens on higher education as a whole, such as Vice President JD Vance’s 2021 statement that “there was a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40, 50 years ago. He said, and I quote, ‘The professors are the enemy.’”

Both these groups of Americans, however, hope that obtaining a college degree will pay off for graduates who find employment and reach a standard of living better than their parents’ generation.

For the first group, general education is critical to developing the whole student for jobs and life. For the latter, it is an expensive obstacle to it.

Not surprisingly, these views on education and college often correspond to political party identification and whether a person attended college themselves.

A July 2023 Lumina Foundation and Gallup Poll showed that only 36% of Americans have a “great deal” of confidence in higher education, with significant partisan differences between the 20% of Republicans who have this confidence, the 56% of Democrats and the 35% of independents who have it. There are also measurable differences between those who have earned a postgraduate degree and those who have not.

Questioning value

As college costs continue to rise in 2025, families are struggling – even taking on payment plans for everyday purchases, also known as phantom debt – to make ends meet.

General education represents about a third of the requirements of a bachelor’s degree and most of an associate degree.

For those who see college as a waste of money, general education courses are a calculable loss on future income. In the past two decades, this – and the increasingly competitive admissions process for college – has contributed to a tenfold increase in low-income students who take Advanced Placement courses and a 50% increase since 2021 in the number of students in dual-credit coursework. Both programs allow students to complete general education-equivalent courses for free while still in high school.

Complete College America, a nonprofit advocacy group that works with states to increase college completion rates, supports these moves by students and parents, classifying general education under “gateway courses” to be completed “as soon as possible.”

Other groups promote stackable units of credit toward college degrees. This push to complete general education requirements before entering college is gaining momentum, despite studies that show Advanced Placement classes, and exams, favor and benefit mostly white, middle- to upper-class students because these students tend to have more time and resources to devote to AP coursework and also take multiple exams in order to earn college credit.

Understanding the world

While arguments for streamlining college and its costs are evergreen, foundational lessons taught across fields of study are as relevant in 2025 as they were in 1945. The U.S. faces threats to its democracy, is navigating rapid advances in technology, and is adapting to population shifts that will change how its residents live and work.

General education gives students broad foundational knowledge that can be used in a variety of careers. By design, it teaches an understanding of the world outside one’s own and how to live in it – a core requirement for a functioning democracy.

Kelly Ritter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. College ‘general education’ requirements help prepare students for citizenship − but critics say it’s learning time taken away from useful studies – https://theconversation.com/college-general-education-requirements-help-prepare-students-for-citizenship-but-critics-say-its-learning-time-taken-away-from-useful-studies-257083

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Sarah James, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Gonzaga University

The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations. Since 1987, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has administered the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to better understand when, where and why maternal deaths occur.

In April 2025, the Trump administration put the department in charge of collecting and tracking this data on leave.

It’s just one example of how the administration is deleting and disrupting American data of all kinds.

The White House is also collecting less information about everything from how many Americans have health insurance to the number of students enrolled in public schools, and making government-curated data of all kinds off-limits to the public. President Donald Trump is also trying to get rid of entire agencies, like the Department of Education, that are responsible for collecting important data tied to poverty and inequality.

His administration has also begun deleting websites and respositories that share government data with the public.

Why data is essential for the safety net

I study the role that data plays in political decision-making, including when and how government officials decide to collect it. Through years of research, I’ve found that good data is essential – not just for politicians, but for journalists, advocates and voters. Without it, it’s much harder to figure out when a policy is failing, and even more difficult to help people who aren’t politically well connected.

Since Trump was sworn in for a second time, I have been keeping an eye on the disruption, removal and defunding of data on safety net programs such as food assistance and services for people with disabilities.

I believe that disrupting data collection will make it harder to figure out who qualifies for these programs, or what happens when people lose their benefits. I also think that all this missing data will make it harder for supporters of safety net programs to rebuild them in the future.

Why the government collects this data

There’s no way to find out whether policies and programs are working without credible data collected over a long period of time.

For example, without a system to accurately measure how many people need help putting food on their tables, it’s hard to figure out how much the country should spend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program, formerly known as food stamps, the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, and related programs. Data on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment before and after the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 offers another example. National data showed that millions of Americans gained health insurance coverage after the ACA was rolled out.

Many institutions and organizations, such as universities, news organizations, think tanks, and nonprofits focused on particular issues like poverty and inequality or housing, collect data on the impact of safety net policies on low-income Americans.

No doubt these nongovernmental data collection efforts will continue, and maybe even increase. However, it’s highly unlikely that these independent efforts can replace any of the government’s data collection programs – let alone all of them.

The government, because it takes the lead in implementing official policies, is in a unique position to collect and store sensitive data collected over long periods of time. That’s why the disappearance of thousands of official websites can have very long-term consequences.

What makes Trump’s approach stand out

The Trump administration’s pausing, defunding and suppressing of government data marks a big departure from his predecessors.

As early as the 1930s, U.S. social scientists and local policymakers realized the potential for data to show which policies were working and which were a waste of money. Since then, policymakers across the political spectrum have grown increasingly interested in using data to make government work better.

This focus on data grew starting in 2001, when President George W. Bush made holding government accountable to measurable outcomes a top priority.

He saw data as a powerful tool for reducing waste and assessing policy outcomes. His signature education reform, the No Child Left Behind Act, radically expanded the collection and reporting of student achievement data at K-12 public schools.

How this contrasts with the Obama and Biden administrations

Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden emphasized the importance of data for evaluating the impact of their policies on low-income people, who have historically had little political clout.

Obama initiated a working group to identify ways to collect, analyze and incorporate more useful data into safety net policies. Biden implemented several of the group’s suggestions.

For example, he insisted on the collection of demographic data and its analysis when assessing the impacts of new safety net policies. This approach shaped how his administration handled changes in home loan practices, the expansion of broadband access and the establishment of outreach programs for enrolling people in Medicaid and Medicare.

Why rebuilding will be hard

It’s harder to make a case for safety net programs when you don’t have relevant data. For example, programs that help low-income people see a doctor, get fresh food and find housing can be more cost-effective than simply having them continue to live in poverty.

Blocking data collection may also make restoring government funding after a program gets cut or shut down even more challenging. That’s because it will be more challenging for people who in the past benefited from these programs to persuade their fellow taxpayers that there is a need for investing in a expanding program or creating a new one.

Without enough data, even well-intended policies in the future may worsen the very problems they’re meant to fix, long after the Trump administration has concluded.

Sarah James does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Data can show if government programs work or not, but the Trump administration is suppressing the necessary information – https://theconversation.com/data-can-show-if-government-programs-work-or-not-but-the-trump-administration-is-suppressing-the-necessary-information-259760

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Lisa McKenzie, Associate Professor of Health, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Acute lymphocytic leukemia is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in children, although it is rare. It begins in the bone marrow and rapidly progresses.

Long-term survival rates exceed 90%, but many survivors face lifelong health challenges. Those include heart conditions, mental health struggles and a greater chance of developing a second cancer.

Overall cancer rates in the U.S. have declined since 2002, but childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia rates continue to rise. This trend underscores the need for prevention rather than focusing only on treatment for this disease.

A growing body of literature suggests exposure to the types of chemicals emitted from oil and natural gas wells increases the risk of developing childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia.

We are environmental epidemiologists focused on understanding the health implications of living near oil and natural gas development operations in Colorado and Pennsylvania. Both states experienced a rapid increase in oil and natural gas development in residential areas beginning in the early 21st century. We’ve studied this issue in these states, using different datasets and some different approaches.

2 studies, similar findings

Both of our studies used a case-control design. This design compares children with cancer, known as cases, with children without cancer, known as controls. We used data from statewide birth and cancer registries.

We also used specialized mapping techniques to estimate exposure to oil and natural gas development during sensitive time windows, such as pregnancy or early childhood.

The Colorado study looked at children born between 1992 and 2019. The study included 451 children diagnosed with leukemia and 2,706 children with no cancer diagnosis. It considered how many oil and natural gas wells were near a child’s home and how intense the activity was at each well. Intensity of activity included the volume of oil and gas production and phase of well production.

The Colorado study found that children ages 2-9 living in areas with the highest density and intensity wells within eight miles (13 kilometers) of their home were at least two times more likely to be diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Children with wells within three miles (five kilometers), of their home bore the greatest risk.

The Pennsylvania study looked at 405 children diagnosed with leukemia between 2009 and 2017 and 2,080 children without any cancer diagnosis. This study found that children living within 1.2 miles (two kilometers) of oil and natural gas wells at birth were two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia between ages 2 to 7 than those who lived farther than 1.2 miles away.

The risk of developing leukemia was more pronounced in children who were exposed during their mother’s pregnancy.

The results of our two studies are also supported by a previous study in Colorado published in 2017. That study found children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia were four times more likely to live in areas with a high density of oil and natural gas wells than children diagnosed with other cancers.

Policy implications

To extract oil and natural gas from underground reserves, heavy drilling equipment injects water and chemicals into the earth under high pressure. Petroleum and contaminated wastewater are returned to the surface. It is well established that these activities can emit cancer-causing chemicals. Those include benzene, as well as other pollutants, to the air and water.

The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas. There are almost 1 million producing wells across the country, and many of these are located in or near residential areas. This puts millions of children at increased risk of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.

In the U.S., oil and natural gas development is generally regulated at the state level. Policies aimed at protecting public health include establishing minimum distances between a new well and existing homes, known as a setback distance. These policies also include requirements for emission control technologies on new and existing wells and restrictions on the construction of new wells.

Setbacks offer a powerful solution to reduce noise, odors and other hazards experienced by communities near oil and gas wells. However, it is challenging to establish a universal setback that optimally addresses all hazards. That’s because noise, air pollutants and water contaminants dissipate at different rates depending on location and other factors.

In addition, setbacks focus exclusively on where to place oil and natural gas wells but do not impose any restrictions on releases of air pollutants or greenhouse gases. Therefore, they do not address regional air quality issues or mitigate climate change.

Furthermore, current U.S. setback distances range from just 200 feet to 3,200 feet. Our results indicate that even the largest setback of 3,200 feet (one kilometer) is not sufficient to protect children from an increased leukemia risk.

Our results support a more comprehensive policy approach that considers both larger setback distances and mandatory monitoring and control of hazardous emissions on both new and existing wells.

Future research

More research is needed in other states, such as Texas and California, that have oil and natural gas development in residential areas, as well as on other pediatric cancers.

One such cancer is acute myeloid leukemia. This is another type of leukemia that starts in bone marrow and rapidly progresses. This cancer has exhibited a strong link to benzene exposure in adult workers in several industries, including the petroleum industry. Researchers have also documented a moderate cancer link for children exposed to vehicular benzene.

It remains unclear whether benzene is the culprit or if another agent or combination of hazards is an underlying cause of acute myeloid leukemia.

Even though questions remain, we believe the existing evidence coupled with the seriousness of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia supports enacting further protective measures. We also believe policymakers should consider the cumulative effects from wells, other pollution sources and socioeconomic stressors on children and communities.

Read more of our stories about Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Lisa McKenzie receives funding from the American Cancer Society and the University of Colorado Cancer Center.

Nicole Deziel receives funding from the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health, and the Yale School of Public Health.

– ref. Children living near oil and gas wells face higher risk of rare leukemia, studies show – https://theconversation.com/children-living-near-oil-and-gas-wells-face-higher-risk-of-rare-leukemia-studies-show-252994

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Liza Barros-Lane, Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Houston-Downtown

The July 4, 2025, floods in Kerr County, Texas, swept away children and entire families, leaving horror in their wake. Days later, flash floods struck Ruidoso, New Mexico, killing three people, including two young children.

These are not just devastating losses. When death is sudden, violent, or when a body is never recovered, grief gets tangled up with trauma.

In these situations, people don’t only grieve the death. They struggle with the terror of how it happened, the unanswered questions and the shock etched into their bodies.

I’m a social work professor, grief researcher and the founder of The Young Widowhood Project, a research initiative aimed at expanding scholarship and public understanding of premature spousal loss.

I was widowed when I was 36. In July 2020, my husband, Brent, went missing after testing a small, flat-bottomed fishing boat called a Jon boat. His body was recovered two days later, but I never saw his remains.

Both my personal loss and professional work have shown me how trauma changes the grieving process and what kind of support actually helps.

To understand how trauma can complicate grief, it’s important to first understand how people typically respond to loss.

Grief isn’t a set of stages

Many people still think of grief through the lens of psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ five stages of grief, popularized in the early 1970s: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

But in fact, this model was originally designed for people facing their own deaths, not for mourners. In the absence of accessible grief research in the 1960s, it became a leading framework for understanding the grieving process – even though it wasn’t meant for that.

Despite this misapplication, the stages model has shaped cultural expectations: namely, that grief ends once people reach the “acceptance” stage. But research doesn’t support this idea. Trying to force grief into this model can cause real harm, leaving mourners feeling they’re grieving “wrong.”

In reality, mourning is often lifelong. Most people go through an acute period of overwhelming pain right after the loss. This is usually followed by integrated grief, where the pain softens but the loss is still part of everyday life, returning in waves.

Although grief is unique to each person and relationship, researchers have found that mourners often strive to a) make sense of the death; b) adjust to a world without their loved one; c) form an ongoing connection with their deceased loved one in new ways; and d) figure out who they are without their loved one.

It’s difficult and at times disorienting work, but most people find ways to carry their grief and keep living.

When grief and trauma collide

However, some losses carry an extra layer of pain, confusion and trauma.

Sudden, unexpected, accidental, violent or deeply tragic deaths – like those experienced during the recent floods – can lead to what researchers call traumatic bereavement: grief that is disrupted by the traumatic nature of the death.

People experiencing traumatic bereavement often endure a longer and more intense acute grief period. They may be haunted by disturbing images, nightmares or relentless thoughts about how their loved one died or suffered. Many wrestle with dread, spiritual disorientation and a shattered sense of safety in the world.

Some of these deaths are also considered “ambiguous” – unclear or unconfirmed loss – such as when a body is never recovered or is too damaged to view. Without physical confirmation, mourners often feel stuck in disbelief and helplessness.

This was true in my case. Not seeing my husband’s body left a part of me suspended between knowing and not knowing. I knew he had died but couldn’t fully believe it, no matter how much I lived with the reality of his absence. For a long time, I caught myself repeating these words every morning: “Brent is dead. Brent is dead.”

In many cases, these reactions aren’t short term. Many people affected by traumatic loss remain overwhelmed and sometimes physically and emotionally impaired for years. Symptoms may taper over time, but they rarely disappear entirely.

Supporting mourners

Traumatic bereavement can feel unbearable. Many mourners struggle with intense, long-lasting reactions that can leave them feeling helpless, altered or even unrecognizable to themselves. They may appear withdrawn, forgetful or emotionally drained because their systems are overwhelmed. Coping can look messy or self-destructive, but these are often survival strategies, not conscious choices. I’ve also seen how those same struggles become more survivable when mourners don’t have to carry them alone. If you’re supporting someone through traumatic loss, here are three ways to help.

• Make space for the horror. Listen without flinching. Acknowledge the full weight of what happened and how terrifying and unjust the loss was. This means saying things like, “This should never have happened,” or “What you went through is beyond words.” It means staying present when the mourner speaks about what haunts them. Let them know they don’t have to carry this alone. You may feel the urge to say something hopeful such as, “At least the body was recovered,” but there is no silver lining in these cases. Instead, say: “There’s nothing I can say to fix this, but I’m not going anywhere.”

• Help them find others who can understand. Trauma can be isolating. Mourners often feel uniquely overwhelmed or confused. Support groups, peer companions and therapists trained in treating grief and trauma can offer the kind of recognition and validation that even the most devoted friend may not be able to provide.

• Take care of yourself, too. Being present for someone in deep grief takes energy, especially if you were personally affected by the loss. Stay connected to replenishing people, practices and routines. If you don’t, you may begin to experience trauma, too. Taking care of yourself will help you remain grounded so that you can show up.

I believe supporting someone through traumatic bereavement is one of the most meaningful things you can do. You don’t need perfect words or a plan. What sustains them won’t be advice or solutions, but your simple, powerful act of staying.

Liza Barros-Lane does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. When grief involves trauma − a social worker explains how to support survivors of the recent floods and other devastating losses – https://theconversation.com/when-grief-involves-trauma-a-social-worker-explains-how-to-support-survivors-of-the-recent-floods-and-other-devastating-losses-260908

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Evan Stewart, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UMass Boston

Catholic priests across the U.S. discuss immigration with their congregations more than leaders in many other faith traditions, according to our new research published in the journal Sociological Focus.

Catholic priests also said they discussed immigration more than nearly all other political issues, including hunger in their communities, capital punishment, health care and the environment. Abortion was the only one priests discussed slightly more often.

Our study, which uses data from the 2022 National Survey of Religious Leaders, found that 71% of Catholic priests surveyed said they spoke about any political issue with their congregations. Among them, just over half talked about immigration.

In white conservative Protestant congregations, Black Protestant congregations and non-Christian congregations, only about a quarter of leaders who discussed political issues said they talked about immigration. Leaders of white liberal Protestant congregations, however, talked about the topic almost as much as Catholic leaders did.

Why it matters

The United States has a long history of religious leaders addressing political matters, on both the left and the right – and today is no different.

With immigration raids on the rise across the country and an unprecedented level of funding approved for deportations, Catholic bishops in the U.S. are speaking out. Many of them have called for compassion and care for migrants and the need to uphold human dignity and due process, regardless of someone’s immigration status – in line with Catholic social teaching.

As sociologists who study politics and religion, we wanted to know what is happening on the ground in congregations. Given the church’s teachings about caring for the vulnerable, we expected that Catholic clergy might be particularly likely to speak out.

However, the percentage of people affiliated with a religious congregation is decreasing, and those who do attend are increasingly politically conservative. Rank and file Catholics are very divided on their support for immigrants, according to a 2024 national survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

In this context, we were curious about whether clergy would discuss a political issue such as immigration with their congregations or say they avoid it altogether.

What still isn’t known

The survey we used is from 2022, before some of today’s immigration enforcement policies took effect. That said, these findings demonstrate that immigration was on the radar for Catholic leaders before the recent changes under the current administration.

Because we focused on survey data, we got a good picture of trends among Catholic leaders nationwide. However, we could look only at whether religious leaders reported discussing immigration; we could not know exactly what they said, or how. There is much more to learn about what kinds of political messages come from the pulpit today and what messages tend to stick with congregants.

We did find that Catholic leaders of congregations where the majority of worshipers are Hispanic were much more likely to talk about immigration, compared with leaders of non-Catholic Hispanic congregations and Catholic leaders of mostly white congregations. Because Hispanic communities in the U.S. are facing the brunt of the immigration crackdown, this finding shows that Catholic leaders have been addressing the needs of their communities.

What’s next

Catholic parishioners may be exposed to different opinions about immigration from religious and political leaders. Diane, one of the authors, is furthering this research by conducting interviews with Catholics in Greater Boston. By asking church members to talk through their attitudes toward immigrants, we can learn more about how people make sense of complicated ethical questions.

The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

Diane Beckman received funding from Duke University to conduct research using data from the National Survey of Religious Leaders.

Evan Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Catholic clergy are speaking out on immigration − more than any other political issue except abortion – https://theconversation.com/catholic-clergy-are-speaking-out-on-immigration-more-than-any-other-political-issue-except-abortion-260485