Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — Social scientists at the Institute for Social Research will meet with representatives of the Fiji Ministry of iTaukei Affairs this week to discuss crucial census data utilized by the Fijian government. The iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) Village Household Census collected data on the iTaukei population in 2019 and 2023… Continue reading ISR to host research meetings with representatives of Fiji government
News Tag: Population Health
Landmark Research Trial in Mali Shows Dramatic Reduction in Under-Five Mortality Rates in Conflict Zones
Community health workers– trained laypersons who provide rapid, critical front-line public health services to rural and underserved populations– are dramatically impacting newborn, infant, and child mortality rates in Mali, according to a landmark research study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO). The results could inform how we protect children in areas… Continue reading Landmark Research Trial in Mali Shows Dramatic Reduction in Under-Five Mortality Rates in Conflict Zones
Article highlights three Indigenous approaches to youth suicide prevention
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — Suicide is commonly treated as a mental health issue, but Indigenous communities, specifically American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), often approach the issue as a social problem — one associated with settler colonialism. Addressing the issue from that perspective is the focus of a recent paper, which examines… Continue reading Article highlights three Indigenous approaches to youth suicide prevention
Why study the social sciences? To improve the lives of children
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — Why study the social sciences? Researchers at the Institute for Social Research (ISR) and elsewhere often face versions of this question when the social sciences are compared to some of the “hard” sciences. The answer can come in many forms, as the Consortium of Social Science Associations attempts… Continue reading Why study the social sciences? To improve the lives of children
Making the US Census an Accessible Classroom Resource, SSDAN Fosters Data Literacy
Data analysis has long been the coin of the Social Science realm, but the drive to prepare the next generation to use and make sense of data has never been more zealous. Higher education is adapting to wide and deep demands to train students, adding new programs in data science and shifting curricula across the… Continue reading Making the US Census an Accessible Classroom Resource, SSDAN Fosters Data Literacy
Aging study in Kenya to help Sub-Saharan Africa navigate major shifts in its population
ANN ARBOR—The population of Africa is the youngest in the world—but that is expected to change, rapidly, in the coming decades. Over the next three decades, the proportion of older Africans will triple across the continent. This population will nearly quadruple in Kenya, one of the most rapidly aging countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. And yet… Continue reading Aging study in Kenya to help Sub-Saharan Africa navigate major shifts in its population
The Dorothy S. Thomas Award and PSC’s Legacy of Training ‘Master Craftsmen’
Dorothy Thomas’s obituarist summarized her life tightly: Her aim was “to be a master craftsman and to turn out master craftsmen,” and she succeeded in both. The legendary population scientist Dorothy Thomas (1899-1975) who was the first female professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is also the namesake of the most… Continue reading The Dorothy S. Thomas Award and PSC’s Legacy of Training ‘Master Craftsmen’
Rates of forced sexual intercourse rise during the COVID-19 pandemic for certain US age groups
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — There is a high prevalence of forced sexual intercourse among women in the United States. According to a new paper, forced intercourse became even more common in early adulthood during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a potential increase in unintended pregnancies and many other sexual, reproductive, and mental… Continue reading Rates of forced sexual intercourse rise during the COVID-19 pandemic for certain US age groups
Losing a parent early in life impacts a person’s immune system as they age
Ongoing COVID pandemic could have ripple effects Contact: Morgan Sherburne When a person loses a parent or a caregiver at a young age, their immune system suffers later in life, according to University of Michigan research. A group of researchers led by Grace Noppert found that if the parents or caregivers of a child under… Continue reading Losing a parent early in life impacts a person’s immune system as they age
ISR honors former director David Lam with research symposium
Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research honored former director David Lam with a research symposium on Friday, May 19. Numerous former colleagues, students, and others affected by Lam’s work throughout his time at ISR and elsewhere spoke, capping a career in the social sciences spanning more… Continue reading ISR honors former director David Lam with research symposium