Tag Archives: isr

‘Life as Research Scientist’: Carla Spence, Biologist

Carla Spence is graduating with a Ph.D in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Delaware in Summer 2014.  She entered graduate school after receiving her B.S. in biology from the same University.  She loves spending her leisure time with her husband, Sean, 2 years old son Trent, and her 8 months old daughter Callia.    (more…)

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The Waning of American Apartheid? Residential Segregation Declines in U.S. Metros

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The ideal of equal housing opportunities is closer to becoming a reality in most major U.S. metro areas, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

“While black-white segregation remains high in many places, there are reasons to be optimistic that ‘apartheid’ no longer aptly describes much of urban America,” said Reynolds Farley, an investigator at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) who studies racial segregation in the United States. (more…)

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Persuasive Speech: The Way We, Um, Talk Sways Our Listeners

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Want to convince someone to do something? A new University of Michigan study has some intriguing insights drawn from how we speak.

The study, presented May 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, examines how various speech characteristics influence people’s decisions to participate in telephone surveys. But its findings have implications for many other situations, from closing sales to swaying voters and getting stubborn spouses to see things your way. (more…)

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Brooding Russians: Less distressed than Americans

ANN ARBOR, Mich.Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy portrayed Russians as a brooding, complicated people, and ethnographers have confirmed that Russians tend to focus on dark feelings and memories more than Westerners do.  

But a new University of Michigan study finds that even though Russians tend to brood, they are less likely than Americans to feel as depressed as a result.

(more…)

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