Tag Archives: political science

Common Reader Author Visits

Katherine Boo talks of hope and struggle in Annawadi, India

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Katherine Boo found that despite having to struggle daily to survive, the people who live in Annawadi, India, also share the common hopes, dreams and aspirations of people everywhere in seeking to better themselves and their children.

Boo, the author of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, shared her experiences as a journalist reporting from the Mumbai slum during a 2012 University of Delaware First Year Common Reader program presentation held Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Mitchell Hall. (more…)

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Haitians Struggle with the Costs Associated with Crime

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— As violent crime continues to rise in Haiti, more households are helping their children cope with the trauma as well as deal with burdensome funeral and burial costs, a new University of Michigan report indicated.

Violent crimes were more common in densely packed zones in Haiti’s largest urban communities, including Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes and Gonaives.

Researchers released the new survey that looks at the economic costs of violent crime in Haiti. The report is the second in a monthly series that features longitudinal surveys of 3,000 households from August 2011 and July 2012. (more…)

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Rose McDermott: The Political Genome

A recent review of research co-authored by Rose McDermott highlights the role that genes play in political preferences, an area of study that began to draw significant attention in the last decade. McDermott speaks with Courtney Coelho about this growing field of research, its evolutionary roots, and whether it means anything for the prediction of future election results.

The connection between biology and political science is relatively new, but it’s one that has grown rapidly, with a boom in research linking genetics and political preferences in the last decade. Rose McDermott, professor of political science, has done research on this topic and recently co-authored a review, published in Trends in Genetics, of studies in recent years. (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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All levels of American Families Reeling From Economic “Shock”

More than 93% of American households experienced “substantial economic shock” in 2008-2009, according to a Rockefeller Foundation-supported study headed by political science professor Jacob Hacker.

The study report, titled “Standing on Shaky Ground: Americans’ Experiences with Economic Insecurity,” was launched at a press event at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 14. According to organizers of the event, the study, which is the first to detail the impact of economic insecurity on the well-being of Americans, suggests that increased risk of economic hardship has become the rule, not the exception, for many Americans — even in good times. (more…)

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