Five unexpected things about medical debt
100 million Americans hold medical debt which causes people to forgo or be denied necessary medical care. Luke Messac, a historian and physician, looks at five unexpected things about medical debt.
From broke to broker: following the tortuous path to truth
“To me, the history of etymologists’ wanderings reads like a thriller: so many naive and clever suggestions, such a blend of ignorance and ingenuity!” The Oxford Etymologist traverses the history of “broke.”
The risks of boosterism in research writing
At first glance, the significance of a piece of research may not be obvious, either from a paper submitted to a journal or from a published article. Its novelty, importance, and future impact are often uncertain, needing time to become clear to the research community.
Seven predictions for the biggest management trends in the next few years
What do you think will be the next big management trend? We asked Academy of Management Annual Meeting attendees for their predictions.
Why global museums amassed the ancestral dead, starting in Peru
It is a time of worldwide reckoning for museums that display or contain ancestral dead. But the specific story of the collection of Andean ancestors charts a different origin for this global process, and it asks us to think with more nuance regarding what to do with the museums it created.
Clever Hans and beyond
The Oxford Etymologist details the origin and development of the adjective “clever”.
How the US healthcare system is failing people with eating disorders [infographic]
People with eating disorders often do not receive sufficient support within the United States healthcare system, which can have a devastating emotional and monetary impact on patients and their families.
D.B. Cooper, Martin McNally, and the Golden Age of Skyjacking
In June 1972, Martin McNally pulled off one of the most daring airline hijackings in American history, parachuting from the aft stairs of a Boeing 727 with half a million dollars in cash.
More than emotion words
Interjections like oh or wow are sometimes described—too simply—as “emotion words.” They certainly can express a wide range of emotions, including delight (ah), discovery (aha), boredom (blah), disgust (blech), frustration (argh), derision of another (duh) or one’s self (Homer Simpson’s d’oh).
They certainly can express a wide range of emotions, including delight (ah), discovery (aha), boredom (blah), disgust (blech), frustration (argh), derision of another (duh) or one’s self (Homer Simpson’s d’oh).
Supporting a loved one who self-injures [infographic]
The stigmatization of self-injury remains common. Such stigma makes it difficult for people to reach out about their experience, even when they may want support. Further, many people who do not have lived experience, but who are concerned about someone who does, want to offer support but are unsure about how to navigate this. The […]
How to recognise and treat an episode of psychosis [infographic]
Psychosis is a rare experience and often misunderstood within society. Learn more about the symptoms, stages, and treatments for psychosis in the infographic.
How little we (can) know about the history of the English language
Historical linguist Tim Machan explores the history of the English language and what we (can) know about it, and how it has been recorded throughout history.
Understanding Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder [infographic]
Depersonalization is the third most common psychiatric symptom, yet clinicians and lay people still know little about its presentation and treatment. While it can indeed be a symptom accompanying other mental illnesses, it is also a full-blown disorder itself, recognized by every major diagnostic manual.
Breakthrough and disgrace: Knut Hamsun’s Hunger and Pan in retrospect
The 2023 award of the Nobel Prize for literature to the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse brings Norwegian literature into focus for English-speaking readers and provides a fresh angle from which to view the writings of Knut Hamsun.
A fool’s cap of etymologies, or the praise of folly
It is amazing how many synonyms for “fool” exist! It is almost funny that fool, the main English word for “a stupid person,” is not native, says the Oxford Etymologist in this week’s exploration of the origins of fools.
Infrastructure, public policy, and the Anthropocene [podcast]
On today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we discuss the state of human infrastructure in the Anthropocene with a particular focus on how research can best be used to inform public policy. First, we welcomed Patrick Harris, co-editor-in-chief of the new transdisciplinary journal, Oxford Open Infrastructure and Health, to speak about the aims and […]