Tag Archives: sociology

Boys’ Lack of Effort in School Tied to College Gender Gap

New Book Examines Why Women Succeed More in College

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When it comes to college education, men are falling behind by standing still.

The proportion of men receiving college degrees has stagnated, while women have thrived under the new economic and social realities in the United States and elsewhere, according to two sociologists who have written a new book on the subject. (more…)

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New Book Traces Black Panthers’ Evolution from Local Activists to Global Anti-Imperialists

History has long denied the political genius of the Black Panther Party. At worst, its members have been cast as unconscionable criminals. At best, such seminal figures as party founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and early supporter Stokely Carmichael have been portrayed as outlaw folk heroes who, propelled by the progressive winds of the late 1960s, dared to take on the establishment.

But a UCLA graduate student in sociology who worked alongside former Panthers a decade ago as a community organizer in Oakland, Calif., didn’t buy the conventional wisdom. (more…)

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Microsoft Research Opens a Lab in New York City

New research lab will focus on computational and experimental social science, algorithmic economics, and machine learning, along with information retrieval.

NEW YORK CITY – In the two decades since the formation of Microsoft Research, the organization has grown from its beginnings on Microsoft’s corporate headquarters in Redmond, Wash., into a global research force with 12 labs across four continents — all devoted to advancing the state of the art in computing research and contributing cutting-edge advancements to Microsoft products.

Beginning May 3, that lab count increases to 13 with the creation of Microsoft Research New York City. (more…)

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Divorce Hurts Health More At Earlier Ages

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Divorce at a younger age hurts people’s health more than divorce later in life, according to a new study by a Michigan State University sociologist.

Hui Liu said the findings, which appear in the research journal Social Science & Medicine, suggest older people have more coping skills to deal with the stress of divorce. (more…)

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Large Weight Gains Most Likely for Men After Divorce, Women After Marriage

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Both marriage and divorce can act as “weight shocks,” leading people to add a few extra pounds – especially among those over age 30 – according to a new study.

But when it comes to large weight gains, the effects of marital transitions are quite different for men than they are for women.

For men, the risk of a large weight gain increased most prominently after a divorce.  But for women, the risk of a large weight gain was most likely after marriage. (more…)

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One in Four Missouri Families Worries about Food for their Children

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­— As the recession continues, economic casualties continue to mount. Daily, the media report that banks continue to foreclose on home loans and people are still losing their jobs.  

Missing from the headlines, however, is the growing number of people that are having more difficulty feeding themselves and their children. According to the 2010 Missouri Hunger Atlas, which was released by a University of Missouri research team, one in four Missouri families with children living at home worries about putting enough food on the table.

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Study of Death Penalty in North Carolina Shows That ‘Race Matters’

A new study examining death sentences in North Carolina over a 28-year period ending in 2007 shows that among similar homicides, the odds of a death sentence for those who are suspected of killing whites are approximately three times higher than the odds of a death sentence for those suspected of killing blacks.

(more…)

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Do creative work activities create stress?

*A new study identifies the challenges for the boundaries between work and family*

The demands associated with creative work activities pose key challenges for workers, according to new research out of the University of Toronto that describes the stress associated with some aspects of work and its impact on the boundaries between work and family life.

(more…)

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