By SHARITA FORREST Brilliant characters often play key roles in movies and TV shows. However, when these characters are played by women and people of color, some audience members dismiss them as unrealistic, even if they portray real people and events, a recent study found. University of Illinois Urbana -Champaign communication professor Matea Mustafaj found that people who strongly… Continue reading Study: Brilliant white male characters more believable, some viewers say
News Tag: Research
How our view of science changes: Study tracks attitudes from adolescence to adulthood
ANN ARBOR—Science fascinates us as children and challenges us as adults, a 33-year study by University of Michigan researchers reveals. From the spark of curiosity in middle school to nuanced understanding in midlife, our attitudes toward science and technology shift dramatically, shaped by education, career paths and life experiences. The study, part of the Longitudinal Study… Continue reading How our view of science changes: Study tracks attitudes from adolescence to adulthood
Family matters: Living near relatives makes us heroic and harsh
ANN ARBOR—Many of us will soak in the merriment and drama that family gatherings bring during Thanksgiving. But beyond the Thanksgiving dinner table, new research suggests that living and being around family more often affects our psychology in some surprising ways. Are you willing to go to war for your country? Do you support the… Continue reading Family matters: Living near relatives makes us heroic and harsh
ISR to host research meetings with representatives of Fiji government
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
New Research Sheds Light on the US Shift toward Smaller Families
The national fertility rate has been in steady decline in recent decades, but the fundamental transition from high to low fertility in the United States occurred between the mid-nineteenth century and the 1930s. New research just out in Demography sheds new light on how fertility decline began in late nineteenth-century America, sparking the historic shift… Continue reading New Research Sheds Light on the US Shift toward Smaller Families
Police body cams can measure effects of officer communication training
ANN ARBOR – A new study based on body-worn camera footage capturing police-community interactions in Oakland, Calif., provides empirical evidence that police officer trainings can improve their interactions with the communities they serve. Findings published today in PNAS Nexus showed that police officers communicated more respectfully with drivers during traffic stops after they were trained… Continue reading Police body cams can measure effects of officer communication training
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
How to Use ICPSR and NACDA
The MCUAAAR hosted webinar for HBCU partners Researchers often start with the arduous task of gathering data, but tapping into high-quality data sets that have already been collected can be a fast and invaluable way to survey the field, explore topics, and test ideas. By stewarding secondary data, ICPSR serves the purpose of providing social… Continue reading How to Use ICPSR and NACDA
Climate change ignored? U-M study reveals sociology’s blind spot
Climate change is a social crisis. Societies drive climate change, bear the brunt of its effects, and carry alone the task of responding. Yet a new University of Michigan study finds a peculiar and pervasive lack of attention to climate change in the field of sociology, a field that can uniquely attend to these issues.… Continue reading Climate change ignored? U-M study reveals sociology’s blind spot