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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.

Stack of papers and spreadsheets
Business

The Birth (and Death?) of Modern Corporations

To imagine the end of modern corporations as we currently know them, it helps to go back to their birth.
A group of elementary school aged students working on an assignment together
Education

Tackling Racism in School Discipline

Skyline High School in Oakland, California addressed serious racial disparities in school discipline, with students leading the way.
The top of a government tax return form
Business & Economics

Why Everyone Thinks They’re a Victim of Tax Policy

The House of Representatives recently agreed to extend some business tax breaks retroactively into 2014. But the Wall ...
View from the back row at the movies
Arts & Culture

Why Go to the Movies?

In 2014, attendance at the movies hit its lowest level in two decades.
A casual business meeting
Business

Maybe Entrepreneurs Don’t Like Risk Much After All

Research shows that entrepreneurs are surprisingly resistant to risk.
Flags of the United Nations flying
Politics & History

What are International Goals Good For?

As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, created in 2000, approaches, we look at papers that explore the impact of international goals.
3D rendering of data as bars in neon blue
Business & Economics

Quantitative Research in 2015, as Imagined in 1990

If you want to get some perspective how much quantitative research has changed in the past few decades, try going back to 1990.
The White House
Business

Introverts at the Office—and the Oval Office

Did introversion harm Presidents Nixon and Carter's ability to perform on the job?
Financial Hardship Application
Politics & History

Is the “Culture of Welfare Dependency” Real?

Welfare dependency theories often point to a weakening of "traditional values of individualism, freedom and self-determination,"
Shelf of law text books
Education

The Origins of American Law Schools

When did law schools become a fixture in the training of elite Americans?
A man and woman look over a work report on a staircase
Business

Employee Morale Campaigns: The Early Years

Intensive studies of workers' moods to improve business performance goes back more than 75 years.
A mall decorated for Christmas
Business & Economics

The Demographics of U.S. Holiday Gift-giving

In a 1991 paper for the Journal of Consumer Research studied the effects of income, family size, and other demographic differences on gift-giving patterns.
A pregnant woman works on a laptop
Politics & Government

A Brief History of Pregnancy Workplace Rights

In a 1986 paper in the Journal of Public Health Policy, traced how pregnancy workplace rights has shifted over the years.
A leader speaks into a megaphone to a crowd.
Business & Economics

When Unions Fought for the Environment

In a 1998 paper in Environmental History, Scott Dewey argues that unions were a key force for the emerging cause of environmentalism in the 1950s and '60s.
Reporters hold old voice recorders and a microphone to their subject
Business

Reputation Management Lessons from Brand Scandals

What does it take for a brand to regain its customers' trust after something goes badly wrong?
Two girls look on at a laptop together in a classroom
Education

What’s the Value of Single-Sex Schools?

Research on the effectiveness of single-sex schools has been mixed.
Education

Rights and Freedom on Campus

There have been a range of debates happening over student rights and freedom.
Education and Leisure
Education

The Rise and Fall of “Education for Leisure”

Where did the notion of teaching people how to spend their free time come from, and why did it disappear?
A Help Wanted sign hanging in a store window
Business & Economics

Can Part-Time Jobs Be Good Jobs?

Brandeis University researcher Hilda Kahne argued for a more thoughtful approach to part-time jobs in a 1994 issue of Social Service Review
Facebook icons noting how many friend requests, messages, and notifications
Education & Society

Why Your Privacy is Not Just About You

Maintaining privacy is more of a social practice than one would think.
A family gathers around the table for Thanksgiving
Politics & History

The Modern Invention of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving as we know it was deliberately invented in the nineteenth century.
Older black and white photograph of a woman in the middle of a messy living room with three small children of various ages
Politics & History

The Italian-American Immigration Experience

As President Obama prepares to move forward on immigration reform, the debate over the role of immigrants in US society is ramping up.
An empty boat at a tropical shore between two rocky masse
Business

Is Taking Vacation Bad for Your Career?

Is taking time off for vacation bad for career advancement?
Close-up of triple 7's on the face of a slot machine
Business

Who Wins When Gambling is Legal?

Is expanding the role of legal gambling in the U.S. wise?
FedEx trucks lined up in a parking lot
Business

Before Amazon, There Was FedEx

How FedEx's data-driven approach paved the way for Amazon.

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