CPS launches SUNGEO project to assist in merging data across different scales

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — The Institute for Social Research’s Center for Political Studies (CPS) has launched a new project to address a common challenge for social researchers: misalignment that arises when data are collected at varying levels of scale. The Subnational Geospatial Data Archive (SUNGEO) went live in its beta form on… Continue reading CPS launches SUNGEO project to assist in merging data across different scales

Meet Kristine Ajrouch

MCCFAD Co-Director joins RCGD as research professor, with new Healthy Aging grant addressing dementia-related stigma among MENA-Americans  Growing up in an immigrant family, Kristine Ajrouch (Ahzh-ROOSH) has always been intrigued by people who immigrated – how they learned to think and talk in a new language. A native of Detroit, her maternal grandparents left Lebanon… Continue reading Meet Kristine Ajrouch

New study finds more than one billion people worldwide live in energy poverty

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — More than a billion people around the world live without access to sustainable, reliable, and affordable electricity according to a new paper. “Lost in the Dark: A Survey of Energy Poverty from Space,” published this month in the scholarly journal Joule, used nighttime satellite imagery to survey energy… Continue reading New study finds more than one billion people worldwide live in energy poverty

Abortion policy is changing every day. Minors are the most vulnerable– and the least understood

Youth Reproductive Equity kicks off a new research agenda today on minor abortion access ANN ARBOR – Time magazine ran a profile last summer about “Ashley,” a 13-year-old girl who went nearly mute after she was raped outside of her home in Mississippi: For weeks, she didn’t tell anyone what had happened, and with state… Continue reading Abortion policy is changing every day. Minors are the most vulnerable– and the least understood

Alzheimer’s and Arab Americans: More research needed

EXPERT Q&A ANN ARBOR—Middle Eastern and Arab American populations may have higher rates of Alzheimer’s disease and related cognitive impairments, but researchers don’t exactly know because these populations aren’t identifiable in national datasets. That’s because historically, Middle Eastern and Arab Americans populations haven’t been included as a distinct ethnic group in the U.S. Census, making… Continue reading Alzheimer’s and Arab Americans: More research needed

The evolving attitudes of Gen X toward evolution

ANN ARBOR—As the centennial of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 approaches, a new study illustrates that the attitudes of Americans in Generation X toward evolution shifted as they aged. The study, led by Jon D. Miller, research scientist emeritus in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, found that while students… Continue reading The evolving attitudes of Gen X toward evolution

Jason Owen-Smith named AVP to lead research intelligence strategy

Jason Owen-Smith, a sociologist who launched a national university data consortium designed to understand, explain and improve the public value of research, has been named an associate vice president for research at the University of Michigan. The Board of Regents approved his three-year appointment as associate vice president for research – institutional capabilities and research… Continue reading Jason Owen-Smith named AVP to lead research intelligence strategy

Lifetime of stress takes toll on cardiovascular health of Black Americans

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — Structural inequities and systemic racism in the United States has had long-term implications for marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Black Americans, in particular, experience higher rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease-related mortality than their White counterparts in part because of their greater exposure to stress across the life… Continue reading Lifetime of stress takes toll on cardiovascular health of Black Americans

Couples with similar drinking habits may live longer, according to a new paper

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — The couple that drinks together might live longer together, too, at least according to new research.  Findings in “Alcohol Use and Mortality Among Older Couples in the United States: Evidence of Individual and Partner Effects,” published recently in The Gerontologist, suggest that couples  who are concordant in their… Continue reading Couples with similar drinking habits may live longer, according to a new paper

Germ aversion impacted 2020 election voting behavior

Voters opted to pick candidates in 2020 by mail-in ballots, avoiding poll sites due to COVID-19 concerns rather than because of political party efforts to promote specific voting methods, according to a new University of Michigan study. Researchers tested attitudes toward using in-person, early and distanced voting in an experiment during summer 2020 and then… Continue reading Germ aversion impacted 2020 election voting behavior