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Jan. 8-22: ‘The Abolitionists’

By Guest PostJanuary 2, 2013Culture13th amendment, 1863, 1865, abolitionist movement, american history, angelina grimke, beyond lincoln, black, black abolitionist, civil rights, documentary, drama, emancipation proclamation, end slavery, erica armstrong dunbar, female, frederick douglass, harriet beecher stowe, historian, john brown, male, pbs, slavery, the abolitionists, university of delaware, white, william lloyd garrison

UD’s Armstrong Dunbar a featured expert in PBS series ‘The Abolitionists’

The Abolitionists, airing on PBS this month, is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, but it offers viewers “a real understanding of the complexities of what it took to end slavery” beyond Lincoln’s proclamation itself, a University of Delaware historian featured in the series says.

Erica Armstrong Dunbar, associate professor of history with joint appointments in Black American Studies and in women and gender studies, was approached by creators of the three-part series to provide her perspective on the issues and individuals featured. The Abolitionists is part of the “American Experience” series and is scheduled to air Tuesday nights, Jan. 8, 15 and 22. (more…)

Who Likes Bling? The Answer Relates To Social Status

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2012Cultureadam galinsky, african americans, american adults, bling, capitalistic, consumer preferences, consumption oriented society, demographic characteristics, derek rucker, eric anderson, feelings, flat screen tv, high status, high status goods, high status products, low status job, nine point scale, philip mazzocco, positive evaluations, racial minorities, social status

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A desire for expensive, high-status goods is related to feelings of social status – which helps explain why minorities are attracted to bling, a new study suggests.

Previous research had shown that racial minorities spend a larger portion of their incomes than do whites on conspicuous consumption – buying products that suggest high status. (more…)

Public Obsession with Obesity May be More Dangerous than Obesity Itself, UCLA Author Says

By Guest PostDecember 23, 2012Culture, Healthabigail saguy, body mass, cervical cancer, civil rights, confirmation bias, diabetes, genetic factors, neighborhood limitations, obesity, obesity epidemic, obesity task force, poor nutrition, social factors, socioeconomic status, sociologist, stress, third factor, ucla, us population

Much has been made about who or what is to blame for the “obesity epidemic” and what can or should be done to stem the tide of rising body mass among the U.S. population.

A new book by a UCLA sociologist turns these concerns on their head by asking two questions. First, how and why has fatness been medicalized as “obesity” in the first place? Second, what are the social costs of this particular way of discussing body size? (more…)

Rise in Teen Marijuana Use Stalls, Use of Synthetic Marijuana and ‘Bath Salts’ is Very Low

By Guest PostDecember 22, 2012Culture, Generaladderall, amphetamines, barbiturates, bath salts, cannabinoids, cannabis, cocaine, colorado, crack, daily use, dea, designer drugs, ecstasy, hallucinations, hallucinogens, heart rate, herbs, heroin, illicit drug, index, indicator of use, k 2, lloyd johnston, lsd, marijuana use, narcotics, oxycontin, paranoia, psychotherapeutic drugs, rise, salvia, salvia divinorum, sedatives, side effect, spice, statistical significance, suicidal thoughts, synthetic cathinones, synthetic marijuana, teen marijuana, tobacco, tranquilizers, vicodin, violent behavior, Washington

ANN ARBOR — National samples of 45,000 to 50,000 students in three grades (8, 10, and 12) have been surveyed every year since 1991 as part of the nationwide Monitoring the Future study. Among the most important findings from this year’s survey of U.S. secondary school students are the following:

Marijuana. After four straight years of increasing use among teens, annual marijuana use showed no further increase in any of the three grades surveyed in 2012. The 2012 annual prevalence rates (i.e., percent using in the prior 12 months) were 11%, 28%, and 36% for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively. (Among the 8th graders there was a modest decline across the past two years—from 13.7% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2012—that reached statistical significance.) (more…)

How Proper Body Language Can Help You Make the Right Impression while Traveling Abroad

By Guest PostDecember 16, 2012Culture, Holidays 'n Travelsbody language, dining behaviour, holidays, right impression, rules of behaviour, travelling abroad

In everyday life the way we express ourselves with our body language is very important. This is equally important when travelling abroad and when you may be coming into contact with people who have different cultures and customs. Follow our tips below for how to behave during your holiday. (more…)

Close as a Blade-Shaving and Masculinity

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Cultureauto pogonotomy, beardless age, blade shaving, history of shaving, masculinity, moustache, paste for shaving

Moustaches from the classic handlebar to the dramatic Dali are soon to be cut short as the month of Mo’vember draws to a close, and clean shaven faces return from their period of charitable exile

Research by a historian at the University of Exeter into the history of shaving and masculinity in eighteenth century Britain shows the advancement of new technologies in steel and the connection between advertising are inextricably linked to a closer shave. (more…)

Support for Gay Marriage Grows in Michigan

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2012Culture, General2012 survey, american, ballot, catholics, charles ballard, district of columbia, election, gallup organization, gay marriage, grow, income level, maine, maryland, michigan, michigan residents, michigan state university, michiganders, pew research center, protestants, religious preference, state survey, support, united states, Washington

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Support for gay marriage is growing in Michigan, mirroring changing attitudes in many parts of the United States, according to Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey.

A recent survey found that 56 percent of the state’s residents support gay marriage while 39 percent oppose it. Two years ago, 48 percent supported gay marriage and 51 percent were opposed. (more…)

Author Paul Tough Gives Talk on the Traits that Help Children Succeed

By Guest PostNovember 14, 2012Culture, Educationariel kalil, character strength, character traits, chicago harris, college, completion rate, conscientiousness, crime lab, curiosity, dimension, homecoming, how children succeed, information, international house, james heckman, joshua anderson, journalistic enterprise, neighborhoods, nobel laureate, non cognitive skills, northwestern university, optimism, paul tough, perseverance, public policy, school success, Science, self control, social policy, stress, success, trauma, uchicago

To Paul Tough, his recent visit to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy was “a nice homecoming.”

During the two years of research for his new book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character, Tough spent time at UChicago and in its surrounding neighborhoods.

“The nerve center of my journalistic enterprise was a small dorm room in International House,” he joked Oct. 18 in a speech at Chicago Harris, saying that many of the ideas in the book drew from work in the Department of Economics, the Economics Research Center, the Crime Lab and from the Consortium on Chicago School Research. (more…)

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