Tag Archives: jared wadley

Network news climate change stories rarely report both impact, action

ANN ARBOR — When it involves climate change coverage, viewers don’t always get the complete picture from U.S. network television, according to a University of Michigan study.

Major networks—ABC, CBS and NBC—show the impact or actions taken in climate change stories, but rarely combine the components in the same broadcast to give viewers better coverage, the study shows. (more…)

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The Fed and Interest Rates: Biased Toward the GOP?

ANN ARBOR — With the elections less than a week away, it’s worth considering that the party of the president influences the policy behavior of the Federal Reserve Bank, according to a new University of Michigan study.

The Federal Reserve Bank increases interest rates before the presidential elections when Democrats are in office, but lowers the rates when Republicans control the White House. The independent bank finds it easier to accomplish its policy goals when Republicans control the White House than when Democrats do, the researchers say. (more…)

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Exercise and Healthy Eating Make a Difference Even Later in Life

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Women in their 70s had a longer life expectancy when they exercised and regularly ate fruits and vegetables, a new University of Michigan study found.

“This is the first study to show that the combination of a healthy diet and greater physical activity predict greater survival and that the combination of both positive factors confers lower mortality risk than either factor alone,” said Emily Nicklett, U-M assistant professor of social work.

Nicklett and researchers at The Johns Hopkins University studied the results from 713 women ages 70 to 79 years who participated in the Women’s Health and Aging Studies. (more…)

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American Teens Are Less Likely Than European Teens to Use Cigarettes and Alcohol, but More Likely to Use Illicit Drugs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

The results originate from coordinated school surveys about substance use from more than 100,000 students in some of the largest countries in Europe like Germany, France and Italy, as well as many smaller ones from both Eastern and Western Europe.

Because the methods and measures are largely modeled after the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future surveys in this country, comparisons are possible between the U.S. and European results. The 15- and 16-year-old students, who were drawn in nationally representative samples in almost all of the 36 countries, were surveyed last spring. American 10th graders in the 2011 Monitoring the Future studies are of the same age, so comparisons are possible. (more…)

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My Fair Physicist? Feminine Math, Science Role Models Do Not Motivate Girls

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Women who excel in male-dominated science, technology, engineering and mathematic fields are often unjustly stereotyped as unfeminine.

However, if women are perceived as having feminine qualities, their success may actually decrease interest in these fields (usually referred to as “STEM”), particularly among young girls, according to a new University of Michigan study. (more…)

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YouTube Campaign Videos More Positive Than Television Ads

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—YouTube campaign videos are more positive than ads aired on television, a new University of Michigan study shows.

YouTube videos are more positive because they are narrowly targeted to the highly informed, high motivated, usually supportive people who view a candidate’s online video, said Rob Salmond, the study’s author and assistant professor of political science. (more…)

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Pregnant Primates Miscarry When New Male Enters Group

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Pregnant female geladas show an unusually high rate of miscarriage the day after the dominant male in their group is replaced by a new male, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

The “Bruce effect” – in which pregnant females spontaneously miscarry after being exposed to an unfamiliar male – has been found repeatedly in laboratory rodents. However, no conclusive evidence for this effect had ever been demonstrated in a wild population prior to this study. Geladas are Old World monkeys that are close relatives of baboons. (more…)

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