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Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Sociology
Who’s at greatest risk to encounter the criminal legal system in the U.S.?
Who’s at greatest risk to encounter the criminal legal system in the U.S.?
New work from Penn, Princeton, and Washington University in St. Louis finds that for young people of color, contact with the system begins early and is incredibly widespread.
How a perfect storm of factors led to ‘the mother of all supply chain disruptions’
How a perfect storm of factors led to ‘the mother of all supply chain disruptions’
Penn experts reflect on the global supply chain snags that have stressed systems during the fall and holiday season.
Partnered, but still poor
Partnered, but still poor
Regina Baker, an assistant professor of sociology, challenges literature that touts marriage as a cure for poverty.
‘Black Families Matter’
‘Black Families Matter’
In a lecture organized by the Penn Program on Regulation, PIK Professor Dorothy E. Roberts argued that the U.S. child welfare system is designed to police Black families, not to protect children, and must be abolished and replaced with a new vision of family support and child safety.
Alexander Adames explores the ‘Costs of the American Dream’
Alexander Adames explores the ‘Costs of the American Dream’
The Ph.D. candidate in sociology examines the predictors and consequences of social mobility for people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Penn Libraries acquires the personal papers of historian and activist Elizabeth Fee
Penn Libraries acquires the personal papers of historian and activist Elizabeth Fee
The papers of the pioneering historian and health advocate, who died in 2018, adds to the Libraries’ growing collection of materials charting the history of public health activism.
A watershed created to power New York City
A watershed created to power New York City
Anna Lehr Mueser, a doctoral candidate in history and sociology of science, studies memory, loss, and technology in the New York City Watershed and the villages that were destroyed to construct it.
How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
Research from Penn sociologist Pilar Gonalons-Pons shows that, in cultures that value men as breadwinners, their unemployment can affect the long-term success of a romantic relationship.
How child tax credits will affect American families
How child tax credits will affect American families
Social scientists Amy Castro Baker and Pilar Gonalons-Pons weigh in on how expanded child tax credits beginning July 15 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will impact poverty, gender relations, and future policy
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.
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In the News
NPR
Need to break up with someone? Baboons have found a good way to do it, study finds
Robert Seyfarth of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about how and why groups of primates “break up” and warned not to project that information onto human relationships. "You always find somebody who says, yeah, the baboons are showing us that you shouldn't have a despotic breakup and it's bad to just dump somebody and walk off," he said. "But I guess I'm not going to go into that territory."
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NPR
Is there really a truck drive shortage?
Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the tough working conditions faced by long-haul truckers. "We have millions of people who have been trained to be heavy duty truck drivers who are currently not working as heavy duty truck drivers because the entry-level jobs are terrible," he said.
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Scientific American
What monkeys can teach humans about resilience after disaster
PIK Professor Michael Platt and Camille Testard, a Ph.D. student in the Perelman School of Medicine, spoke about their research on how rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico adapted in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “We see this massive surge in the time they spend in proximity to other partners, and their social tolerance increasing toward many different partners,” said Testard. “We saw active building of relationships with individuals that they didn’t really interact with before.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
What will sex, dating, and marriage look like on the other side of the pandemic?
Frank Furstenburg of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the pandemic’s impact on families and relationships. “I would be very surprised if we don’t see a sharp drop in fertility, and similarly a considerable decrease in cohabitation because the ability to experiment and form relationships has been severely curtailed,” he said.
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Associated Press
US births fall, and virus could drive them down more
Hans-Peter Kohler of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on the possibility of a further decline in birth rates due to the coronavirus. The question isn’t whether or not there will be decline, but rather if the decline will be lasting, he said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Wisconsin judge’s ‘regular folks’ remark shows how pandemic exposes classism
Annette Lareau of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the lack of contact between Americans from upper and lower classes. “There are few spaces where people of different classes encounter each other,” she said. “IKEA, the zoo, July Fourth parades. But increasingly, people stay within their own worlds. That helps them treat others with contempt and shame.”
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