Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses
By: Michael Walschots, Postdoctoral Fellow, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study. In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned restaurants. As professors who study digitization, inequality and the economics of technology, we were interested in understanding its […]
‘Buying Canadian’ is an opportunity to reflect on the ethics of consumerism
By: Michael Walschots, Postdoctoral Fellow, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Ever since Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, everyday citizens have retaliated by pledging to “Buy Canadian.” Even though the tariffs were later postponed, the damage was already done. The Buy Canadian movement is broad: people are not only […]
Underpaid and overlooked, migrant labor provides backbone of Maryland Eastern Shore’s local economy
By: Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Professor of Anthropology, American University Every summer, people flock to Maryland to eat blue crabs. Named for their brilliant sapphire-colored claws, blue crab is one of the most iconic species in the Chesapeake Bay. The scientific name for blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, means “beautiful savory swimmer.” In restaurants and at home, diners pile steamed […]
Space missions are getting more complex − lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit
By: Wesley Marshall, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Denver Most space mission systems historically have used one spacecraft designed to complete an entire mission independently. Whether it was a weather satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, nearly every spacecraft was deployed and performed its one-off mission completely on its own. But […]
Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars
By: Shawhin Roudbari, Associate Professor of Environmental Design, University of Colorado Boulder and Shideh Dashti, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder Incarcerated people in Colorado are exposed to climate-related extreme heat and cold, plus flooding and wildfires. Because they’re unable to escape these hazards, their health suffers and some […]
Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska – even if they don’t realize it
By: Wesley Marshall, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Denver Healthy coastal ecosystems play crucial roles in the U.S. economy, from supporting multibillion-dollar fisheries and tourism industries to protecting coastlines from storms. They’re also difficult to manage, requiring specialized knowledge and technology. That’s why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the […]
US states are finally starting to put in place protections for the kids of family vloggers
By: Andre Martin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Notre Dame Ruby Franke was once one of the most popular YouTube family vloggers, posting videos featuring her husband and six children on her channel, 8 Passengers, that racked up over 1 billion views. In some, she chronicled their family vacations and family activities, such as […]
Online fundraising may require different strategies for different devices − new research
By: Kristen Ferguson, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Notre Dame Most charities aren’t tailoring their online fundraising strategies to the electronic device donors may use when deciding whether to click a “donate” button. That’s what our marketing research team determined when we reviewed the donation pages of every nonprofit on the Forbes Top 100 Charities […]
Traffic engineers build roads that invite crashes because they rely on outdated research and faulty data
By: Wesley Marshall, Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Colorado Denver “Can you name the truck with four-wheel drive, smells like a steak, and seats 35?” Back in 1998, “The Simpsons” joked about the Canyonero, an SUV so big that they were obviously kidding. At that time, it was preposterous to think anyone would […]
Cutting marketing spending often backfires on businesses – new research could help investors distinguish shortsighted cuts from smart ones
By: Andre Martin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Notre Dame Businesses are often tempted to cut their marketing budgets for the short-term savings it provides – but those cuts can cause problems in the long term. A new study my colleague Tarun Kushwaha and I published in The Journal of Marketing proposes a method for predicting whether these counterproductive […]