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How gender norms and job loss affect relationship status
A person outside leaning over on a black railing, with leaves and trees blurry in the foreground.

Pilar Gonalons-Pons is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences and a member of the Population Studies Center.

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.

Michele W. Berger

How child tax credits will affect American families
Woman sits at a desk with a baby

Approximately 39 million households across the country will receive the child tax credits, which are projected to cut child poverty in half, says Amy Castro Baker.

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

Kristina García

Is there really a truck drive shortage?
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.

In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020
A hospital room with all lights off but the fluorescent light above bed, which has a green blanket. Behind the bed is a hospital tray that swivels and a blue chair. On the yellow wall behind are about 8 outlets.

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.

Michele W. Berger

COVID communications and first generation students
Marcus Wright

Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology. (Image: Courtesy of OMNIA)

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.

From Omnia

What monkeys can teach humans about resilience after disaster
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.”

Toward a better understanding of ‘fake news’
a person with their back to the camera looking at a drawing of a television with two people debating

PIK professor Duncan Watts has published a new framework for studying media bias and misinformation, detailing an ambitious and comprehensive research agenda for understanding the origins, nature, and prevalence of misinformation and its impact on democracy

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
Teleworking mother holds up hand to son schooling remotely who asks a question

The pandemic has led to extra domestic labor—both housework and parenting—that disproportionately falls to mothers, according to a new study. 

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Alice Paul’s mysterious manuscript
Alice Paul in her graduation gown and a handwritten page from her dissertation.

Alice Paul received her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912. Professor Heather Sharkey and three students have spent the past year transcribing a manuscript of Paul’s doctoral dissertation that is held in the Penn Libraries collection. (Left image: Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institute, and the Alice Paul Centennial Foundation, circa 1912) (Right image: Courtesy of the Penn Libraries)

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.