The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

A different measure of poverty shows 70% of the world’s poor live in what the World Bank considers middle-income countries. EFE-EPA/Onome Oghene

Why the World Bank’s optimism about global poverty misses the point

Alf Gunvald Nilsen, University of Agder

The global poverty plot is thicker than what the World Bank would have us believe.

Zimbabwean Olympic gold medallist swimmer, Kirsty Coventry, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa after taking the oath of office. Aaron Ufumeli/EPA

Mnangagwa’s been wooing Zimbabwe’s white sports heroes. Here’s why

Tapiwa Chagonda, University of Johannesburg

In mending the relations with Zimbabwe's white community by roping in Kirsty Coventry and Bruce Grobbelaar, President Mnangagwa might just have pulled off a masterstroke.

Questions academics can ask to decolonise their classrooms

Shannon Morreira, University of Cape Town and Kathy Luckett, University of Cape Town

It's vital for academics in South Africa to start asking deep questions that examine what decolonialism could look like in their teaching.

A closer look at how crystal meth attacks gums and teeth

Sudeshni Naidoo, University of the Western Cape

Extensive decay and gum disease are overlooked and under-researched effects of crystal methamphetamine.

Why a new national carrier for Nigeria is never likely to get off the ground

Stephen Onyeiwu, Allegheny College

Many of the structural and institutional deficiencies that caused the collapse of Nigeria Airways are still present.

Pik Botha and Namibia: ambiguities and contradictions

Chris Saunders, University of Cape Town

Pik Botha defended apartheid and South Africa's occupation of Namibia, but in the end helped end both.

Universities need to take note of the gap between expectations and experience

Subethra Pather, University of the Western Cape

A study finds that there's a gap between the expectation of what university would be like, and the actual experience.

Ties between African countries and China are complex. Understanding this matters

Yu-Shan Wu, University of the Witwatersrand; Chris Alden, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Cobus van Staden, South African Institute of International Affairs

Not enough credit is given to the agency African governments have in their dealings with China.

Suicide behaviour in social circles increases risk for Kenyan men

Michael Goodman, The University of Texas Medical Branch

Young men in Kenya are more at risk of contemplating suicide if they have friends and family who attempted or have gone through with it.

Informal economies are diverse: South African policies need to recognise this

Mike Rogan, Rhodes University

South Africa needs to rethink the role of the informal economy as it mulls over ideas to beat joblessness.

Marrying technology and home language boosts maths and science learning

Mmaki Jantjies, University of the Western Cape

Schools should consider offering mobile learning technology in multiple languages to help pupils learn better in subjects like maths and science

China, Kenya relations and the question of racial discrimination

Juliet Okoth, University of Nairobi

Kenya has a legal framework that protects its citizens from racism but there are challenges with its implementation

Why same-sex marriage is not the ultimate tool for queer liberation

TL McCormick, University of Johannesburg

It is vital to make room for "queer" ideas about same-sex marriage.

Mobile money transfers have taken off in Somalia. But there are risks

Victor Odundo Owuor, University of Colorado

Mobile money transfers have become the norm in Somalia. Transactions total as much as $2.7bn a month.

Understanding a skin disease that’s peculiar to giraffes

Arthur Muneza, Michigan State University and Robert Montgomery, Michigan State University

The number of giraffes in Africa has dropped by 40% over the past 30 years, but the reasons for this remain largely unknown.

South Africa won’t create jobs unless it settles on a new social compact

Alan Hirsch, University of Cape Town

South Africa's jobs summit failed to acknowledge fundamental issues in the approach to development and job creation.

South Africa’s economy is in a mess. New finance minister must hit the road running

Jannie Rossouw, University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa's new finance minister comes with considerable skills and political finesse needed to steer the country out of its economic quagmire.

Moral courage and decency irrelevant as South Africa’s finance minister resigns

David Everatt, University of the Witwatersrand

Nhlanhla Nene was highly regarded for refusing to fund former President Zuma's ludicrous rent-seeking projects.

More Analysis and Comment

World Food Day

Roasted mopane caterpillars are eaten in Livingstone, Zambia. Rainer Lesniewski/Flickr

How insects can help fight hunger in the world

Esther Ndumi Ngumbi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Insects are an excellent tool to fight hunger and malnutrition because they are abundant and nutritious.

African countries’ policies must shift to achieve zero hunger

Sheryl L Hendriks, University of Pretoria; Elizabeth Mkandawire, University of Pretoria, and Nosipho Mabuza, University of Pretoria

It's one thing to come up with food security plans. But implementing them is tough.

Study in Ethiopia links healthy soils to more nutritious cereals

Tik users’ teeth are often damaged by their habit. Shutterstock

A closer look at how crystal meth attacks gums and teeth

Sudeshni Naidoo, University of the Western Cape

Extensive decay and gum disease are overlooked and under-researched effects of crystal methamphetamine.

Women with heart disease in sub-Saharan Africa face challenges, but stigma may be worst of all

Allison Webel, Case Western Reserve University and Andrew Chang, Stanford University

Noncommunicable diseases are a growing problem in Africa. Among women, heart disease is a particular concern. Medication to treat it can interfere with pregnancy, making women undesirable partners.

Why drugs alone won’t stop the spread of parasitic worms in Africa

Study in Ethiopia links healthy soils to more nutritious cereals

Total destruction: Syrian soldiers patrol in south Damascus, Syria, in May 2018. AAP/EPA/Youssef Badawi

The war in Syria may be ending, but is likely to bring a fresh wave of suffering

Mehmet Ozalp, Charles Sturt University

The Syrian civil war may be coming to an end, but the suffering and uncertainty are far from over for its people.

Jamal Khashoggi disappearance a defining moment for Saudi Arabia’s relations with the West

Armida L. M. van Rij, King's College London

UK and US relations with Saudi Arabia were already under serious scrutiny – even before the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist.

Research and Expert Database

Popular: food, water, transport, health, and energy.

Global Perspectives

Editors’ Picks

While robots in classrooms are still very new, some early examples of success are emerging. Shutterstock

Why R2D2 could be your child’s teacher sooner than you think

Kristyn Sommer, The University of Queensland and Marie Bodén, The University of Queensland

Robots in the classroom are highly engaging and motivating for students, and can have a cascading effect on learning across an entire school.

What happens next? Destruction from The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole, 1836, via Wikimedia.

The Roman ‘Brexit’: how life in Britain changed after 409AD

Will Bowden, University of Nottingham

Once Britain slipped away from the Roman Empire in the early 5th century, signs of Roman life began to disappear.

President Donald Trump shows a chart highlighting arms sales to Saudi Arabia. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Arms and influence in the Khashoggi affair

Russell E. Lucas, Michigan State University

A missing Saudi journalist has put Trump's 'America First' rhetoric to the test.

Avocadon’t? Nataliya Arzamasova/Shutterstock

Should vegans avoid avocados and almonds?

Dominic Wilkinson, University of Oxford

You have to draw an ethical line somewhere so if you were vegan, would you still eat avocados?

The ALMA telescope has seen tantalising hints of a violent event. ESO/B. Tafreshi/TWAN (twanight.org)

How we solved a centuries-old mystery by discovering a rare form of star collision

Albert Zijlstra, University of Manchester

The 'oldest known nova' (a star explosion) in the sky was actually not a nova, astronomers show.

Visiting an extreme haunted house can be delightfully terrifying. AP Photo/John Minchillo

Why is it fun to be frightened?

Margee Kerr, University of Pittsburgh

Visiting a haunted house or watching a horror movie can be terrifying and enjoyable at the same time. A sociologist explains the psychological benefits of being safely scared.

Dance is a unique way of passing on cultural stories to a younger generation. Aaron Hawkins/Flickr.com

How the loss of Native American languages affects our understanding of the natural world

Rosalyn R. LaPier, The University of Montana

Many Native languages are dying, and their loss has deep and profound implications for our world.

Chinese stamps commemorating Deng Xiaoping, a leader widely regarded to have modernised the country and made it a formidable economic power, 1998. Shutterstock

World politics explainer: Deng Xiaoping’s rise to power

James Laurenceson, University of Technology Sydney

China is one of the world's largest economies, and Deng Xiaoping was arguably the man who made that happen through his visions of economic reform.

How astrophysics could transform the treatment of cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases

Seb Oliver, University of Sussex

Galaxy images and patient records can be equally confusing. Now a team of astrophysicists have realised their methods could help medical professionals.

Only 3 percent of these prizes have gone to women since 1901. Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski

Why more women don’t win science Nobels

Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University

Progress has been made toward gender parity in science fields. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia.