Institute for Social Research API | Projects | Research Center for Group Dynamics

RCGD’s Elizabeth Roberts to Present Anthropology’s 2023 Rappaport Lectures

Elizabeth F.S. Roberts, Professor of Anthropology and RCGD affiliate, will give the 2023 Roy A. Rappaport Lectures this fall– a four-part lecture series titled “In Praise of Addiction.” This lecture series offers an ethnographic counternarrative to the never-ending U.S. Drug Wars that are justified by our profound disdain for dependency. Roberts juxtaposes this disdain with… Continue reading RCGD’s Elizabeth Roberts to Present Anthropology’s 2023 Rappaport Lectures

New paper explores the career impact of ISR’s James Jackson

Contact: Jon Meerdink ([email protected]) ANN ARBOR — James Jackson had a tremendous impact on the social sciences throughout his long and distinguished career. At his passing in 2020, he was recognized as a “giant” at the Institute for Social Research and in the larger research community for his work within the Research Center for Group… Continue reading New paper explores the career impact of ISR’s James Jackson

Research Shows How and When Police Car Stops Escalate

ANN ARBOR—The first moments of police interactions with drivers can tell us about what happens next—with officers often giving orders rather than providing reasons for traffic stops, according to a new study that analyzed law enforcement encounters. Nationwide, the public has highlighted the need for police officers to deescalate routine car stops, where Black drivers… Continue reading Research Shows How and When Police Car Stops Escalate

Celebrating the Robert Zajonc Centennial

The upcoming celebration of the Robert Zajonc Centennial in Warsaw, June 18-19, 2023, marks a 30-year collaboration between the Institute for Social Research and its sister institute, the Zajonc Institute for Social Studies (ISS) in Poland. The eminent social psychologist Robert Zajonc, who served as director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics and ISR… Continue reading Celebrating the Robert Zajonc Centennial

Robert Sellers Inducted into the National Academy of Sciences

Robert Sellers was named a 2023 inductee into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States. Sellers and one other U-M professor were 2023 inductees into the NAS in “recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” An affiliate of the… Continue reading Robert Sellers Inducted into the National Academy of Sciences

The Family Safety Net Project led by RCGD’s Lisa Wexler builds on community strengths to prevent suicide in rural Alaska

While suicide is a dire public health problem in rural Alaska, building on the strength of Alaska Natives’ family ties and the value they place on providing safe environments for young people may be more effective for preventing deaths than emphasizing the risks firearms pose in the home. Alaska Native communities suffer disproportionately from suicide,… Continue reading The Family Safety Net Project led by RCGD’s Lisa Wexler builds on community strengths to prevent suicide in rural Alaska

Build on community strengths to prevent suicide in rural Alaska, research says

Contact: Tevah Platt, 734-660-4999; Morgan Sherburne, 734-647-1844, [email protected] ANN ARBOR—While suicide is a dire public health problem in rural Alaska, building on the strength of Alaska Natives’ family ties and the value they place on providing safe environments for young people may be more effective for preventing deaths than emphasizing the risks firearms pose in… Continue reading Build on community strengths to prevent suicide in rural Alaska, research says

How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue

Contact: Tevah Platt, [email protected]; Morgan Sherburne, [email protected] ANN ARBOR– As climate change and population growth make water scarcity increasingly common, a much larger share of the global population will be forced to reckon with the costs of urban water scarcity. A new study in PLOS Water sheds light on how households bear the monetary and… Continue reading How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue

How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue

Architecture student and Wallenberg Fellow Meghana Tummala is another University of Michigan scholar grappling with the impacts of climate change. In this artwork, inspired by study abroad in Mexico City, she reflects on the city’s relationship with water: “Historically, it’s clear through the pyramids that the Aztecs clearly valued and respected all aspects of the land they were inhabiting — including the water — but after colonization, water was seen as an obstruction to “development.” Today, in the neighborhoods and places we have traveled to, water is luxuriously drained or used, through ornate spouts, intentionally exposed piping, grand fountains, or to clean the streets/sidewalks we walked on. It’s both feared and valued. Very little to no remnants of the lake that was Mexico City remains. Except in Xochimilco and UNAM, where we begin to see spouts and drains to bring water back to the way it was. It shows that water isn’t something to be feared but rather just as beautiful as other aspects of nature. This drawing is a visual representation of how water is treated and perceived over time."

ANN ARBOR– As climate change and population growth make water scarcity increasingly common, a much larger share of the global population will be forced to reckon with the costs of urban water scarcity. A new study in PLOS Water sheds light on how households bear the monetary and non-monetary costs when water supply is intermittent, rather than… Continue reading How Households Adapt to Water Scarcity: A New Study in Mexico City Sheds Light on Hidden Costs of a Global Issue