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Black and white headshot of author Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon

Livia Gershon is a freelance writer in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her writing has appeared in publications including Salon, Aeon Magazine and the Good Men Project. Contact her on Twitter @liviagershon.

A father kisses his toddler on the cheek
Education & Society

Gender Roles in Early Parenthood

Parenting roles have changed enormously over a generation, but gender roles are still being propped up in some ways.
Homeless person with blank cardboard
Education & Society

Panhandling and Other Jobs

A ban on panhandling simply ignores the issues behind the practice.
Neon signs at a strip club
Business

Money and Power at Strip Clubs

A new viewpoint on who holds the money and power in strip clubs.
Two suited partners exchanging rings
Education & Society

What Gay Marriage Looked Like in the ’70s

In 1979, sociologist Joseph Harry took a look at what that era's marriage-like relationships between gay men were like.
Euro coins
Business & Economics

The Divisive Euro

In 1997, an economist looked at divided opinions about the Euro years before the currency was introduced.
Contemporary mansion
Business & Economics

The Richest Places in America

What do the richest places in America look like?
Schoolgirl writing in classroom.
Education

What Works to Keep Kids in School?

With national graduation rates still low, this article examines the best ways to keep kids in school.
A tired employee receives more work to complete
Business

Who Suffers in Rude Workplaces?

Not everyone is impacted equally when it comes to workplace bullying and incivility.
Engraving of Bristol, England from 1881
Politics & Government

Six Hundred Years of Government Intervention in the Labor Markets

A Harvard law professor argues that the laissez-faire era in the 19th century represented a blip in a long history of powerful labor regulations.
Volunteers happily clean up a park
Business & Economics

Why Do People Support Charities?

A paper explores the reasons why people give to charities.
Young man facing a hiring committee
Business & Economics

Hiring, Cultural Fit, and Discrimination

Executives make hiring decisions more by markers of social class than by actual qualifications.
A crowd holding up American flags in front of the U.S. Capitol Building
Politics & Government

Is Negative Political Campaigning Really So Bad?

The conventional wisdom about negative political campaigning is that it's ugly and destructive. But is it effective?
zookeeper operating on a monkey
Education & Society

What Makes Work Meaningful? Ask a Zookeeper

In interviews with zookeepers, researchers found that good feelings about work ran deeper than a standard survey metric like job satisfaction could capture.
A teacher calls on a student who has raised her hand
Education & Society

Teaching White Kids Anti-Racism

Teachers can take a step toward helping white kids overcome racial prejudice simply by addressing historical examples of racism.
A woman in a hospital gown sitting on a hospital bed with a doctor behind her
Politics & History

What Mid-20th Century Gynecologists Were Taught About Female Sexuality

Gynecologists of the past would be shocked by today's insights on female sexuality.
A row of telephone poles alongside a street
Science & Technology

Before Broadband, Seeking Universal Access to the Telephone

Today's debates about low-income subsidizes for broadband echo early fights for universal access to telephone lines.
Japanese students
Education & Society

Japan, the U.S, and the Perils of International Education Comparisons

Current comparisons of U.S. and Chinese educational systems echo earlier comparisons to Japan.
A black and white photograph of a 1590's housewife speaking to a salesman at her door
Business

“Uber for Sales” and Door-to-Door Vacuum Salesmen

The independent contractor model employed by Uber was used in the vacuum cleaner companies.
Older black and white photograph of the all female staff at Bryn Mawr summer school
Politics & History

Class, Feminism and the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers

A paper for Pennsylvania History looked at the way elite & working-class feminists worked together to create the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers.
An older prison door lock
Politics & History

Debtors’ Prisons, Class, and Patriotism in 18th Century Ireland

In a paper for Eighteenth-Century Ireland, Martyn J. Powell discusses the politics that seem to have limited the use of debtors' prisons in Ireland.
An individual scans a card key
Education & Society

Safe Rooms, Fear, and the Limits of Rational Thinking

Do safe rooms realistically protect people from outside threats?
Scattered paper money in various denominations
Arts & Culture

The Grateful Dead, Tape Trading, and the Music Industry

What the difference between tape trading and bootlegging in rock music?
Children dancing in a playroom
Education & Society

Why Did Kindergarten Become Just Another Grade?

How and when kindergarten shifted from play-based to academic based.
A doctor standing in front of the Cuban flag
Health

Cuba’s Medical Revolution

What can other countries learn from medical advances in Cuba.
A large classroom with students all faced towards the chalkboard at the front of the room.
Education & Society

Can Summer School Be More than a Punishment?

A Colorado high school teacher studies the benefits of summer school.

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