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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
The world at our feet: Reflections on Earth and its prospects
The world at our feet: Reflections on Earth and its prospects
It’s our tiny oasis in a vast universe, and it’s feeling fragile. Five faculty from Penn Arts & Sciences who study the Earth’s geological past, its surface activity, and its soils and life forms discuss how Earth and its inhabitants can get along better.
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
The Panoptic Sort: Surveillance Q&A with Oscar Gandy
With the second edition of his classic 1993 book “The Panoptic Sort” recently published, Gandy discusses the past, present, and future of surveillance.
A new metric for designing safer streets
A new metric for designing safer streets
Penn researchers demonstrate how biometric data can help city planners more proactively design and evaluate the safety of urban infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians.
High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs
High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs
Using 27 years of detailed data on hyena social interactions, a team led by Penn biologists nailed down a pattern of social network inheritance and its implications for social structure, rank, and survival.
In Zoë Ryan, a collaborative new leader for the ICA
In Zoë Ryan, a collaborative new leader for the ICA
Zoë Ryan began her role as director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in November. Here, a look at Ryan’s time at the ICA so far and what’s ahead for the institution.
Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree
Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree
Janzen, the DiMaura Professor in Biology, on why cicadas (and wildebeests, salmon, and oak trees) act the way they do.
Digging into the government report on UFOs
Digging into the government report on UFOs
In a Q&A, historian of science Kate Dorsch illuminates the history behind reporting and investigating UFO sightings and contextualizes the new government report on such phenomena.
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
People are more likely to cooperate if they think others are cooperating, too. New research by biologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that overstating the true level of cooperation in a society can increase cooperative behavior overall.
Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright
Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright
May graduate Claire Sliney is the first Penn undergrad to receive an Academy Award, and to receive a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship. She heads to Paris to shoot a documentary about how female immigrants in France are portrayed in film.
In These Times: Race and repair
In These Times: Race and repair
OMNIA’s final episodes look into how institutions have perpetuated racial hierarchies, how the past reverberates through the present, and consider what justice looks like.
In the News
USA Today
System failure: How federal laws shield sexual predators like Dr. Larry Nassar
Marci Hamilton of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote an opinion piece calling for President Biden to establish a national commission on child sex abuse in order to address the problem’s systemic factors.
FULL STORY →
Fast Company
Want to go viral? Influencers won’t be much help if you’re trying to spread a complex idea
Damon Centola of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about findings from his recent study showing that social influencers may be ineffective when it comes to changing people’s beliefs and behaviors. Rather, he said, “every network has a hidden social cluster in the outer edges that is perfectly poised to increase the spread of a new idea by several hundred percent.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Not everyone who is eligible for the child tax credit is receiving it
Pilar Gonalons-Pons of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the challenges low-income people face in accessing the new child tax credit payments. “This has become a very big problem,” she said. “There’s controversy because the website is not phone-friendly. There’s been a deficiency in outreach, and it’s been left up to advocacy organizations to reach those who need the money.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
To honor John Lewis, we must turn back the rising tide of voter suppression
Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote about the resurgence of voter suppression laws in the U.S. To preserve the right to vote, Berry said, “We must pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And to do that, we must remove the Senate filibuster as a barrier to the legislation.”
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
In Trump’s Jan. 6 recast, attackers become martyrs, heroes
PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín spoke about how conspiracy theories persist, even when countered with facts. “The belief contains a device that protects it,” she said. “Nothing can invalidate the conspiracy theory. Trying to refute the theory proves the theory and signals you as a conspirator.”
FULL STORY →