Political scientists continue to explore how the current U.S. presidential primary system shapes the nomination process and produces certain kinds of outcomes. Critics note that candidates in primaries often must court party voters with more extreme positions, and early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire are not demographically or politically representative of the country as a whole.

Most countries have at least some length of maternity leave required by law. Part of the explanation for why maternity leave is necessary almost always references the assumed developmental benefits for children over the long term.

The Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, yet the U.S. unemployment rate has remained persistently high.  The long-term unemployed — individuals out of work for 27 weeks or more — risk losing professional skills and network connections, and may encounter discrimination from employers reluctant to hire applicants not currently working.

The eye-opening 2011 Census Bureau report on income, poverty and health in the United States spotlights a number of troubling trends in America, including the decline of median income figures.

In the United States, 85.6% of those 65 or older receive most of their income from Social Security. Certain groups of individuals, however, are significantly less likely to collect benefits. This poses a significant challenge for policymakers and others concerned with the well-being of the country’s aging population.

Over the past 10 years, school-based initiatives such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have successfully raised the test scores of some lower-performing students. But with most U.S. educational funds directed towards cultivating minimal levels of competency, few federal programs focus on maximizing the potential of higher-achieving students, or “high flyers.”

Organizations habitually shy away from adopting creative ideas, even though creativity is espoused as an essential driver of innovation, scientific breakthroughs, positive change, and even moral goodness. In other words, creativity is celebrated more than it is implemented, though it is not clear why this is the case.

Seventeen states have implemented controversial legislation requiring a photo ID in order to vote, including six states that enacted such laws in the wake of the 2010 elections. Opponents of voter ID requirements assert that photo ID requirements tend to disenfranchise the poor, younger, elderly, minority, urban and highly mobile voters. Proponents of such laws, typically Republicans, cite the ubiquity of photo IDs in modern society and the need to protect the integrity of the voting process.