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Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Sociology
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.
COVID communications and first generation students
COVID communications and first generation students
Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology and doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education, analyzes academic messaging to expose blind spots.
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Understanding and addressing barriers to COVID vaccine acceptance
Different communities have different reasons for wanting to wait on this shot. Getting to the heart of those concerns can help meet people where they are.
Toward a better understanding of ‘fake news’
Toward a better understanding of ‘fake news’
PIK Professor Duncan Watts publishes a framework for developing a comprehensive research agenda to study the origins, nature, and consequences of misinformation on democracy.
Mothers bear the cost of the pandemic shift to remote work
Mothers bear the cost of the pandemic shift to remote work
The pandemic exposed and reinforced gender-biased household divisions of labor, according to a new study by Penn sociologists.
Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript
Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript
Heather J. Sharkey and three students transcribed a hand-written manuscript of the doctoral dissertation by Alice Paul, who earned her Ph.D. from Penn in 1912. As part of a virtual symposium, they joined John Pollack of the Libraries to discuss their efforts.
COVID-19 and women in the workforce
COVID-19 and women in the workforce
Experts across Penn explain how the pandemic has exacerbated gender inequality and challenged female career advancement in the STEMM fields, education, and business.
Young and middle-age adults in the U.S. dying at higher rates
Young and middle-age adults in the U.S. dying at higher rates
According to a new National Academies report, cardiometabolic conditions now join drug overdoses, alcohol, and suicide as significant mortality causes. In a Q&A, demographer Irma Elo explains.
Media Contact
In the News
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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The New York Times
Trump hasn’t given up on divide and conquer
Daniel Hopkins of the School of Arts & Sciences and alumna Samantha Washington were cited for their research about changes in white Americans’ views on race during the last few years.
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